Tag Archives: history

Nazca Exhibition in Kumamoto

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Last month we got a chance to go to the Nazca display at the Kumamoto Prefecture Museum of Art (one of my students reminded me about it; thanks Yoko!) I have to say that it was very interesting. The first section moved through a bit of the history and geography of the area, and there’s an illustrative timeline to give some perspective. This site has a good rundown on the details.

The artifacts on display were simply amazing. I guess because of the climate (the area looks awfully dry), many of the items were well preserved. Several items were more than 2,000 years old and were in excellent condition. There is a well-kept mummy that you have to see to believe.

The end of the display is dedicated to the huge line drawings in the desert floor. This area of Peru is a World Heritage site, so it’s on my list of places to visit. Unfortunately, people are doing great harm to the area with cars and motorcyles. I hope that kind of activity is stopped ASAP.

The Nazca display continues until January 27th. Get your tickets and go now!

Vote on the Fate of Barry Bond’s Balls

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The owners of two of the more well-known baseballs from the 2007 MLB season have put up polls on what to do with them. Barry Bonds first tied Hank Aaron’s record with home run number 755; choose that ball’s fate at endthedebate.com. Then Bonds broke the record with number 756; add your vote on that ball at vote756.com (you have until the 25th of September to vote). You can read more about the second ball in an article at Yahoo!.

Amakusa Research Project

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Bridge to enter Amakusa, Kumamoto

There has been a push at work to connect better with the local community. The idea is to share ideas for research with those already doing similar work. I joined in on a trip this week to Amakusa, an island area south of Kumamoto connected by bridges and a system of ferries. The photo above is of the first bridge that connects the island of Kyushu to the first large island of Amakusa. The photo below is a view from that bridge.

View from bridge in Amakusa, Kumamoto

We first stopped at a junior high school where there is a group of four or so people who develop and produce foods made from octopus. We learned that they get a supply of 30-40 kgs. a day of octopus, from which they make octopus ‘steak,’ giant ‘takoyaki’ (a kind of savory ball made from dough, vegetables, and seasonings), and other dishes. These products are then sold at the local souvenir shops. We sampled some of the octopus they use, and it was very tasty.

We next went to one of the local offices where the archives of Amakusa are kept. There was a long hallway where photos from various local events of the 20th and 21st centuries were hung on the wall. We then toured some of the rooms where the archives are stored. We did not really get to see any of the materials since they were all in boxes. Another missed opportunity was that the PR materials that were given to us were mainly photos of boxes. I think in the future some examples of the kinds of materials stored there would be enlightening; otherwise, it was a waste of copy paper.

From there we moved to Amakusa Airport where we learned about Amakusa Airlines’ business. Amakusa Airlines has one plane traveling: Amakusa to/from Kumamoto, Amakusa to/from Fukuoka, and Kumamoto to/from Matsuyama. We learned that their business has grown steadily over the years and that most of the passengers are business people.

We then went to Tomioka Castle which was fought over during the Shimabara Rebellion, but was destroyed in 1670 during the Shogunate period. The current site was rebuilt in modern times. The dark rocks below are the original rocks used to build the castle; the lighter ones were shaped for the reconstruction.

Tomioka Castle, Amakusa, Kumamoto

Here is a shot of what they found when they dug out the site. You can see that the castle was rebuilt with new walls.

Original Wall at Tomioka Castle, Amakusa, Kumamoto

I am a big fan of the coast in Amakusa. I would have to guess that I did about 50 dives at Myoken ga Ura (along the west coast of Amakusa) in the period from the summer of 1994 to the summer of 1998. I did not get many chances for a good shot, but this one is typical of the west coast:

We continued south and went to Oe where many Christians lived (and still live) before, during, and after Japan was closed to the West. Nagasaki’s Shimabara and Amakusa are so close that they share a lot of history. Here’s a shot of Oe Catholic Church:

Oe Catholic Church, Amakusa, Kumamoto

and one of Sakitsu Catholic Church:

Sakitsu Catholic Church, Amakusa, Kumamoto Sakitsu Catholic Church, Amakusa, Kumamoto

Both were destroyed during the Shogunate period and were rebuilt in the 20th century.

The day finished up at a nice Japanese Inn where the University members were joined by some of the workers of Amakusa City and Kumamoto Prefecture. I got to meet Mayor Yasuda of Amakusa City, a very friendly person. Amakusa City turns out to be a sister-city with Encinitas in San Diego. What a coincidence! Moonlight beach may just be the beach I have visited the most.

If you are planning a trip to the Kumamoto area, make sure you plan some time for an Amakusa trip. You will be glad that you did.

Loltun, Yucatán, México

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The photo is a little dark, but then again, so were the connected series of caves at Loltun (sorry, I didn’t find any decent sites to link to). These are located in the Puuc region of Yucatán, Mexico and were part of a Puuc region tour that we took last New Year. The others on the tour included Kabáh, Sayil, and Labná (I’ll save the links for posts on these sites later).

We drove up to the site (the only Mayan site on the tour with restrooms [keep that in mind]) and had to buy our own tickets. Read the small print on the signs carefully because the charge for the guide is included in the entrance fee. On the instructions of the guide, we moved quickly ahead of a huge group that was near the entrance. This turned out to be a good move because it could have been crowded in places (four members of our group were Mexican and were part of that larger group; it took them 45 more minutes to finish up).

Anyway, some of the caves were huge! There were lights placed in several areas, and virtually all of them shine in your eyes, rather than on the cave walls. Surely this can be taken care of! There are some figures on the wall in places, but they are hard to make out. I understand that not so long ago there were many very clear ones. Some stalagmites (as you may remember from your geology courses, they’re the ones from the floor up) in one room seemed to be hollow and made a kind of musical sound when hit (no hard instruments for this, please).

It turns out the caves were used as a last stand against the Spanish who were intent on controlling the area and the inhabitants. There were some large rocks piled up to close off one of the openings, but the Spanish got word that many were holed up inside. The climb up these rocks in very little light could prove challenging, so keep that in mind. I believe that climb and one other caused the delay with the other larger group.

The final large room, the one you see in the photo above, is like a scene from a movie. We understood that it was in fact used in a movie, but our guide was not sure which one. Maybe there’s an excuse to watch some potential candidates again.

One final note concerns the guide fee we had already paid that I mentioned above. As we neared the exit, our guide began to talk about how much other well-known tours cost, and that the usual fee was about $40 U.S. per family! There was one other family in our group; the father and I talked, and we decided to give the man $5 each. It was a good tour, and it took about an hour. A ten dollar tip for a job well done. Caveat emptor!

Casa del Adivino, Uxmal

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Despite what Lonely Planet’s book on Yucatán says about Uxmal’s Casa del Advino (Magician’s House) (“it gives a rather bad first impression of Uxmal to the visitor” [p. 173]), this is one of the most impressive sites I’ve seen in the Mayan world. The photo above was taken from the Palacio del Gobernador (Governor’s Palace), which is itself impressive with its largely intact Puuc facades.

Anyway, back to the Casa. It was quite typical in much of Meso-America to build structures on top of existing ones, especially the larger pyramids. There appears to be some debate on the whys and whens, but I have heard numerous times that many of the add-ons were put up based on the Mayan life cycle of 52 years. What you see in the photo above is the fifth of these structures. It has been and is being restored. I climbed it in 1990, but now it is closed. The backside is in the midst of reconstruction, and you can currently see inside some of the exposed layers.

There is more to see at Uxmal, and the Puuc region. Time permitting, I’ll post more. Oh yeah, regardless of my disagreement of the comment in the book above, it helped us get around to many places and filled in several gaps we would have otherwise missed.

El Caracol, Chichén Itzá

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The observatory/snail shell is one of my favorite man-made creations on the planet. One look at the shape makes it clear what its purpose was. Despite what our guide told us (that it was “just used to watch the stars, not the planets”), it was used by the astronomer-priests to measure the movements of the stars and planets (a week before I visited there was a show on TV about how this structure was used to measure the various locations of Venus in the night sky).

I’ll leave it to your searching techniques to explore the various thinking on the sources of the architecture, but the Caracol seems to have elements of Toltec, Puuc and Maya. Unlike most of the structures at Chichén, you can walk up the two flights of stairs, but you can no longer climb inside the Caracol. I’m not sure when this was stopped (it was not allowed in 1990 either), but I did go up it in 1985. It has a spiral stone staircase with a very narrow passageway. I had to get really small to get in there, but at the time I knew I was doing something that would not be continued. There was just too much damage to the top of the structure.

I did my best to focus on the structure itself in the photo, but I have to say that the crowds were completely overwhelming on this day! When I visited in 1985 and 1990 (both in the summertime), there were relatively few people and no vendors along the pathways. This time the pathways were half-blocked by locals hawking t-shirts and carved goods laid out on blankets. Seeing all of this took away from the awesome and mysterious experience that is Chichén. Caveat salutor!

Mérida, México

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Ah, Mérida… What a great city. I’ve been there three times now: one one-night whirlwind visit in 1985, one slightly longer visit in 1990, and a nine-night stay for the 2006-07 holidays. Friendly people (smiles everywhere), great food (watch out for those habaneros!), lots of places to visit, and an endless number of challenges for travelers. For those of you who like to have a home base for other traveling, Mérida serves as a great staging area to head out to the Mayan sites and other interesting places.

The shot you see above is from the zócalo/centro/plaza (I heard all used) around sunset. It was a beautiful sight with all the colors changing every minute. The building you see is the oldest cathedral in North America. There are lots of sites (try the ones linked here) with information on history, dining, lodging, and places to visit.

I ask one favor. This city sustains some of the nicest people I know. If you visit, treat them with the same respect that they will show you. My greatest fear is that some are going to take advantage of the generosity of these people. A careful reading of the history of the area shows how they’ve been treated over the past several centuries.

Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Play It!

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I think just about everyone wants to try one of the quiz-type game shows for real some time, you know, just to see. Walt Disney World’s Disney-MGM Studios USED to give people a chance to try it for themselves. I say used to because the attraction closed last year in the middle of August (the one in California Adventure at Disneyland Resort closed before then). I turned out to be one of the last to sit in the “Hot Seat” before it closed.

To get to that seat one needed to choose the correct order of four items before anyone else of up to 500 people in the audience. The one that got me there was choosing the chronological order of four songs from the 1960′s. I knew three of the songs, but I was not sure of the exact order. Since speed is of the essence, I did my best, pushing a couple of them at random. The next thing I knew, my seat number was flashing and my mug was on the big screen. They had a host as personable as those you’ve seen on the TV versions of the game, and she did a fine job. The game is played much like the one you see on TV, but they are a bit more relaxed in the first round of five questions. I found all of those to be as easy as you would expect.

The big difference in this version of the game was that they did not offer cash for prizes. After answering the first five question correctly, the prizes were five trading pins and a baseball cap based on the game. The second round of questions was almost as easy, but I needed to “ask the audience” on a Prada design question. The 32,000 point level yielded a polo shirt, another five pins, and a pin-trading strap.

I needed to answer five more questions for a Disney cruise to the Bahamas. I got the next question right; four more to go. The twelfth question was a stumper: What was the name of the submarine in the movie “Atlantis: The Lost Empire?” I missed that one when it was making the rounds (did anyone watch that movie?) This provided a chance to use a lifeline different from that of the TV show: “Ask a complete stranger.” When that one is used, they dial a number that goes outside the studio somewhere. The cast member who answers the phone finds an unsuspecting passerby who then attempts to help the contestant. The woman who helped (thanks for doing that!) didn’t sound too sure of her answer (did anyone watch that movie?) I used up the 50-50 lifeline which got rid of two answers, including the one offered by the passerby (I made the right move). So now I just had to choose the right one of the two. I picked one, and a bunch of audience members applauded. I thought I got it, but unfortunately it was the other.

Bummer that I didn’t get to go further, but I had a blast giving it a try. I would do it again in a second.

Bye, Dad

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My father passed away earlier this year from heart disease. This happened just as the family here was getting moved in for the sabbatical. Needless to say, a visit with him before he died would have been a very good thing. His passing came as a shock to us and all who knew him. I put together some words about him which follow:

He was born in Laurel, Mississippi where he lived until he joined the Navy in 1943. He was a flight instructor during WWII and was one of the few pilots at the end of the war to be asked to continue service. He was trained as a fighter pilot and flew Navy fighters such as the propeller-driven Wildcat, Hellcat, Bearcat, and Corsair. When the Navy moved to jets, JB flew the Banshee, the Panther, the Cougar, and the Crusader. Since he was always ready to fly, he also took assignments in various non-combat planes such as the C-3 and Beechcraft models of the day. He was trained as a photography pilot and was deployed on several aircraft carriers which toured East and Southern Asia. Another highlight in my father’s naval career was as one of the commissioning officers on the nation’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the Enterprise.
After retiring from the Navy in 1966, JB began a career as a flight instructor and later, corporate pilot. He worked at Jim’s Air and moved to Crown Air where he was Chief Flight Instructor. Later he became the Chief Pilot for Hawthorne Machineries and flew Mr. Hawthorne and his clients to various places in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. He also flew several fights in the Hawaiian islands where research into atmospheric conditions was being conducted. JB retired from professional flying in the 1990′s, but he maintained his private pilot’s credentials until his death. In total, he had over 23,000 hours of flying time, and his flying career spanned close to 63 years.
In more recent years, JB stayed active by riding his bicycle, going to the sauna regularly, and staying active in his community. He was well-known by all the businesses he frequented and was famous for making and sharing his chocolate chip cookies.
He will be sorely missed by all whose lives he touched. Happy flying, Dad…