A musuem you can’t refuse

by Brett Atkinson on

One of my favourite Scorcese movies is Casino.

(It’s not as good as Goodfellas, but hey, what is?)

So it’s cool to see a new museum being planned in Las Vegas dedicated to the role of the Mob in making Las Vegas what it is today.

I haven’t been to Vegas yet, but I wish I’d seen it in the glory days of the Rat Pack and the Tropicana. Once I do get there I might be disappointed with the contemporary lure of all-you-can-eat salad bars and Cirque de Soleil.

Of course, Casino was set a few years after the 1940s and 1950s period the musuem’s going to focus on – a time when a gangster nickname like Bugsy, Lefty and Sneezy was nothing to be sneezed at.

OK, I made that last one up.

The musuem is scheduled to open in 2010.

Don’t fuhgeddabout it, OK?

Thanks to Hometown Invasion Tour on Flickr for the pic of Bugsy Siegel’s Flamingo.

Western culture meets Pyongyang

by Jamie Rhein on

An article in yesterday’s New York Times neatly dove-tails with Neil’s Infiltrating North Korea post on Arts and Culture. This coming February the New York Philharmonic will be performing in Pyongyang. North Korea invited them. Perhaps Neil’s visit so impressed the higher ups, i.e., “Who is that incredibly tall American who takes pictures of food and traffic women? He’s so polite, so charming, so interesting. Are there more like him?” that they decided to bring in more. Probably not, but it’s a thought.

The Philharmonic’s visit is no small feat. It’s more than just getting a large group of people with their instruments on an airplane. This is diplomacy at work. Despite the differences countries have politically, it’s hopeful that all will work out if the artists among us have the chance to share their talents around the globe. While the New York Philharmonic is in Pyongyang for their concerts February 26, 2008, they’ll also meet with conservatory students to give instruction. What a fascinating opportunity for both sides. Neil would probably vouch for that.

Exotic food from around the world

by Grant Martin on

Having traveled pretty extensively over the last few years, I’ve had the opportunity (read: been forced) to taste some truly delicious — and truly disgusting food. My reservations and weak stomach aside, I’ve always at least tried some of the local fare, even if it was called “Birds Nest White Fungus” or involved sauteed reindeer.

Along the way, I had the opportunity to take some shots of the exotic fare and in hindsight I’m glad I suffered through some of the tough dishes. Though they may have not been the most appealing at the time, they are definitely memories that will resound in my mind — and gastrointestinal system — for many years to come.

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Lady of Guadalupe Feast Day: Celebration Worthy of Note

by Jamie Rhein on

Here’s a heads up for next year since the day has passed. Still, since this is a month of holidays, I didn’t want this one to go unmentioned. December 12th is one of the most important holy days in Mexico and much of Latin America. The Lady of Guadalupe Feast Day is when people honor Mexico’s patron saint, the Lady of Guadalupe. She appeared in the 16th century to Juan Diego, a poor farmer in Mexico, and is thought to have been the Virgin Mary. His apron with her image on it remains.

Along with many church celebrations, processionals and ceremonies in Mexico and the U.S., December 12th is when hundreds of people make a pilgrimage to the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City, thought to be on the site when Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared. Inside the church, the tilma (apron) that belonged to Juan Diego is on display. Several million come here every year for mass and to see the icon. By the looks of the crowds in this YouTube video, it’s quite the place to visit.

Here is another video from a church in New Jersey that begins to celebrate the feast day the Sunday before the 12th. There is an interview with the priest about the celebration’s significance and footage of the happenings. And, here is an article from today’s Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky that also provides an overview about how this celebration is important to people who have immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico and those with Mexican heritage.

The photo was taken by Chantel Foster during the Our Lady of Guadalupe Feast Day procession in Albuquerque, New Mexico and posted on Flickr.

Infiltrating North Korea Part 8: The Cult of Kim

by Neil Woodburn on

“Comrad Kim Il Sung is worshipped by the Korean people, not only as the liberator of the Korean nation, but also as the genuine father and teacher who provided them with all rights and benefits which are indistinguishable to independent beings” –Pyongyang Review

The cult of Kim permeates North Korea.

From the moment we arrived at the Pyongyang airport and were greeted with a large smiling mosaic of Kim Il Sung on the outside of the terminal, there was hardly a moment when the face of either the leader or his son were not staring down on us in one form or another. “The Great Leader Comrade Kim Il Sung will always be with us!” is the most popular of political slogans in the North, and perhaps the most accurate as well.

Kim Il Sung was North Korea’s first leader following the defeat of the Japanese in World War II. He was trained under the Red Army and handpicked by the Soviets to take control of their newest colony. And he did not disappoint. The new leader quickly whipped the North Koreans into a communist stronghold that actually outpaced South Korea with rebuilding and economic growth in the immediate years following the war.

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In the process, Kim established himself as an omnipotent, iron-fisted ruler who tolerated no dissent, exiled opponents and naysayers to concentration camps, and cut off the population from international contact. A pervasive secret police force bolstered by an invasive network of personal informants further ensured that everyone toed the party line.

Like all communist leaders worth their salt, Kim patterned himself as the nation’s messiah. Through a carefully orchestrated combination of nonstop propaganda, brainwashing, and continuous re-education, North Korea has emerged as the world’s largest cult and Kim Il Sung as its glorified leader.

Kim is integrated into all aspects of life: children sing praises to him at school and workers honor him with shrines at their factories. Kim’s portrait is also hanging in every classroom, train station, public square and on the front of every official building. As if that’s not enough, every single North Korean adult is also required to wear a pin of his likeness on their lapel. “Korean people revere him as their father,” Pyongyang Review says, “and deem it their duty and their loftiest moral obligation to hold him, the man who fed and led them, high and loyal.”

Since Kim’s death in 1994, his son, Kim Jong Il, has assumed the throne and is now featured prominently in state propaganda standing beside the Great Leader (who has posthumously been promoted to Eternal President) or gloriously leading the nation forward on his own. In what is undoubtedly the only choice North Koreans have had in deciding a leader, they can now pick between their pins of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il to decide which leader they will affix to their lapel.

There is simply no escaping the Kims when traveling through North Korea. The above gallery is just a small selection of the never ending flood of statues, mosaics, photographs, and other Kim iconography we encountered during our five days embedded in the world’s largest cult.

Yesterday: The Mass Games
Tomorrow: Worshipping at the Altar of Kim