Atypisches Museum Berlin. Erected in 1851 opposite Charlottenburg Palace to house King Friedrich Wilhelm IV’s Imperial Guard, this building and its mirror image twin across the avenue have served the Staatlichen Museen PreuBishcher Kulturbesitz as museums since 1967 and 1960 respectively.
Designed by Friedrich August Stuhler, the buildings with small round temples sat on their flat roofs are important examples of 19th century city architecture despite extensive damage suffered during the last war. In our case, a Marshall built to enable the horses of the Imperial Guard adjoins the main building. The long hall with vaulted ceiling is divided into three halves by iron columns that were cast in a Berlin foundry around 1858.
It’s only 47 degrees F at the moment but I am hopeful. Warmth is on its way.
My TCK/Expat Films and Books page lists Memoirs by TCK and Expats, Films by and about TCKs, Resources for TCKs, and Fiction by or about TCKs. I recently updated and re-organized it.
I started reading TCK/Expat memoirs about 15 years. ago. As I read them, I put them on my website. Some I reviewed, some I didn’t. A lot of it was research for my book but also it was interesting. I learned a lot about Third Culture Kids (people who grew up outside their passport country because of their parent’s work). I recently came across a Ted Talk presented by a woman who is trying her best to educate people about TCK’s. It was such an important moment when she discovered her “tribe”, she wants spread the word. She founded TCK.Global where you can read TCK stories or share your own.
Other books I have read recently are The Rarest Fruit by Gaelle Belem and The Correspondent by Virginia Evans.
The Rarest Fruit is about a young slave boy who lives on the island of La Reunion near Madagascar. At twelve years old this boy figures out how to manually cross pollinate the orchid that produces the vanilla bean. This changed the whole industry and the economy of the island and in turn many other places as well. The story is kind of bitter sweet. It is a true story and reflects the times. I learned a lot.
The Correspondent is about an older woman who has written letters her whole life. She writes to authors she likes, to her children, to her friends, her ex-husband, her lover, her neighbor. We learn about her long life and her daily life through her letters. It is an easy read and very enjoyable.
I also read Murder on Lake Garda. A murder mystery that was kind of wordy and not really my favorite. I’m currently reading a Bridgerton novel by Julia Quinn. I’m trying to write a spy/romance novel so need to start researching. Not that Bridgerton has anything to do with spies, but she does a good job with the romance. Next up are Gabriel’s Moon by William Boyd, Magical Disinformation by Lachlan Page, and Black Ice by Anne Stuart. Wish me luck.
The theme of the 1968 World’s Fair HemisFair is “the Confluence of Civilization in the Americas” – a flowing together of the combined civilization of six continents. This is an over-all view of the fair in downtown San Antonio.
The General Electric Pavilion. In a futuristic building, General Electric presents the story of electrical living in the Southwest from the time the first lights blazed in the San Antonio Opera House to the present.
Eastman KodakPavilion. Visitors to the Eastman Kodak Pavilion are introduced to the complexities and delights of film and filmcraft in all its many forms.
San Antonio River, 1951
The Alamo Erected in 1718, as a church and fortress, it became the symbol of Texas independence. During the Texas-Mexican Independence War in 1836, it was defended and lost to the last Texan. Soon “Remember the Alamo” became synonymous with Texas independence.
Railroad Exhibit Building, New York World’s Fair 1939
The entrance to the railroad exhibit at the New York World’s Fair 1939 appears very much like a glorified and modernistic roundhouse for locomotives.The Rotunda above contains 25,000 square feet of floor space leading to a circular theme hall 180 feet in diameter surmounted by a dome approximately eight stories in height. Sponsored by the Eastern Presidents Conference of the railroads, the exhibit includes a building nearly a quarter of a mile long, an outdoor exposition including nearly a mile of track, a colorful pageant telling the history of American railroads and the largest working miniature railroad ever constructed. The building contains 110,000 square feet of floor space and is the largest at the Fair.
The Electrical Products Building, New York World’s Fair 1939
The Electrical Products Building, New York World’s Fair is a rainbow of colors glowing across the World of Tomorrow. The Electrical Building is in the “Blue Sector” with a mural hint of ‘Wonders’ displayed behind its portals. The oddly shaped pylon at the left is an outstanding feature of the building. Architects: Walker and Gillette.
Hall of Pharmacy, New York World’s Fair 1939
The Hall of Pharmacy at the New York World’s Fair 1939 shown in the center of this photograph, which has been taken over by contract by The Show Globe, Inc., presents the entire story of research, development, manufacture and distribution of drugs and pharmaceutical products. The building, built by the Fair Corporation, occupies one of the most prominent sites in the Exposition grounds, being close to the Theme Center, the 200 foot Perisphere and 700 foot Trylon, partly shown at the extreme left of the photograph. Architects: Pleasants Pennington, G. Lyman Paine, Jr. and I. Woodner-Silverman.
The 1939 New York World’s Fair took place in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens, New York. Many countries participated and over 44 million people attended over two seasons. It was based on the future with an emphasis on the ‘world of tomorrow’.
Selknam Hunters Indigenous people of Patagonia (Chile and Argentina).
Mural Escenografico – La Boca Martin Correa Urquiza, photographer
This is a Panagra, Jet Sky Postcard from the 1960’s.
Selk’nam family with guanaco pelts Tierra del Fuego, Argentina
Juaquin Torres García Universalismo Constructivo, 1944
Uruguayan-Spanish artist, theorist, and author, renowned for his international impact in the modern art world. Born in Montevideo, Uruguay, his family moved to Catalonia, Spain, where his artistic journey began.
Toubab Tales: the Joys and Trials of Expat Life in Africa By Rob Baker (2020)
I really enjoyed this book. The Baker family lived in Benin and Ivory Coast before moving to Bamako, Mali. Mrs. Baker is there to teach international children at a small mission school. Rob is an ethnomusicologist, studying Mali’s musical traditions.
Rob tells the story of life in Bamako and his travels to remote places to study music and musical instruments. He attends a music festival in Timbuktu, travels by motorbike to remote villages. In one village his colleague is bit by a very poisonous snake and it is a mad dash to get him to anti venom serum before he dies. Rob has many adventures in the far reaches of the country.
It all culminates with a military coup, street fighting, martial law, and a rather hurried escape.
It is too bad. Now it is not possible to visit Mali due to the political instability and civil unrest. It sounds like a fascinating place.
Crimson skies over Shovel Point and Lake Superior Tettegouche State Park, Minnesota
This is a postcard, I believe from the 1950’s or thereabouts.
This channel connects the upper and lower lakes of Minnetonka. Lake Minnetonka located about 15 miles west of Minneapolis has over 300 miles of shore-line. It is noted for its scenic beauty, fishing, sailing and a summer playground. A large amusement part is on the water’s edge at Excelsior, Minnesota.
Apparently the amusement park was there from1925 to 1973.
A familiar winter sight in the northland are dog teams powering sleds across sparkling fields of snow. Once a necessary means of winter transportation, dog sledding has evolved into an exciting winter sport with races for both amateurs and professionals.
Ely, Minnesota 1978
Minnehaha Falls
Visit The First City on the Mississippi. Bemidji, home of the legendary Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox!
