A violent storm is blowing into the metropolitan areas of South Central Alaska. In its early stages gusts exceeding 40 mph, double the sustained speed, are visible in this below linked video.
Watch as Japanese Koi Fish whip in the wind above the swinging branches with their clinging red berries.
It is now dark, and as the winds continue to howl, a story I heard often as a child comes to mind. It seems every other month someone speaking at church would repeat the story of "I can sleep when the wind blows."
Here is the story:
And although this building and its pews are no more, this is where I sat to listen to that oft repeated story, and as I look closely at the archival photo, I can actually find my parents and a younger sibling pictured in the congregation:
It was an epic post COVID effort that at least virtually welcomed visitors back to Japan just before Japan would once again be open to foreign tourists.
John and Peter, a pair of prominent Japan YouTubers, joined together to produce a Hokkaido Documentary by traveling across Hokkaido by Motorcycle and RV. Their efforts included visits to Ainu villages and Ainu Museums.
Here thanks are offered to contributors who supported the effort. In their remarks one notes that the indoor National Ainu Museum remained closed due to COVID restrictions still in place. They were, however, able to experience the outdoor activities relating to Ainu culture.
FWIW, the stated above reference to my contributions related to Ainu culture included some materials I had donated to the National Ainu Museum relating to a rare sacred shitoki, one of which I had been able to identify was housed in the museum. Even though John and Peter were not able to go inside to see it, Ironically , as it turned out, one of the outdoor performers was seen wearing a shitoki in the produced documentary.
Here is a link to an edited version of the documentary focusing on the motorcycle riding portion as it was more recently posted on YouTube.
Note the performer wearing a shitoki is seen in the Ainu dance group at 24:50 - 26:10. It is visible as a turquoise beaded necklace with a medallion dangling from it:
Pictured below is the entrance to Hokkaido Japan's National Ainu Museum along with the Shitoki that was gifted to my Uncle by the people of Chitose when he left Japan after heading the Occupation Efforts there in Hokkaido. It was given to him in appreciation for his kindnesses to the townspeople in carrying out his Occupation duties and I inherited it from him.
Some of the Ainu related materials I had emailed to John and Peter as they traveled in Hokkaido included the following narrative:
"The Ainu were an indigenous people of Caucasian ancestry who inhabited Hokkaido before the Japanese expanded northward to Hokkaido. It is believed that they had cultural contact with the Alaska Eskimo ( today preferably termed Inuit) peoples although they are not genetically related. Many of their customs and beliefs do seem to have a commonality. For example, like the White-tailed Sea Eagle in Hokkaido, the Raven in Alaska is similarly revered.
Even the language of the Inuit People shares some common terminology. In Japanese the word “Umi” means sea. In the Inuit language, the word for a small open sea going vessel made from stretched skins is an “Umiak.”
A Tamasai is a beaded necklace worn by the Ainu people of Hokkaido on special occasions. In various of their ceremonies it was believed to protect the wearer from evil spirits. When a medallion is attached to the necklace the two together are termed a Shitoki. When the attached medallion is of a White-tailed Sea Eagle it has even added meaning since the White-tailed Sea Eagle was both hunted and revered by the Ainu People.
Stationed in Chitose, my uncle headed the occupation efforts in Hokkaido after World War II. The Japanese people there were so appreciative of his kindness and benevolence that when he left Japan they gave him a special momento, a Tamasai Shitoki. I subsequently inherited it and it is now here with me in Alaska where I reside.
Tamasai are beaded necklaces worn by the Ainu people of Hokkaido on special occasions. As noted above, in various of their ceremonies they are believed to protect the wearer.
The Shitoki medallion represents the White-tailed Sea Eagles that the Ainu hunted. Reportedly the more strands and more beads the more valuable the Tamasai. From the ones I have seen pictured from museums the one given to him appears to be among those so characterized as having more beads and strands. The jade and other beads would have originated from trade with China in past centuries."
PHOTOS AND VIDEOS FROM TODAY'S VISIT TO THE ALASKA VETERANS MUSEUM
Join Dennis, an Alaska Military Veteran, as he shares with us artifacts and stories from the history of World War II in Alaska as they have been preserved at the Alaska Veterans Museum.
The museum founded in 2011 honors both the history and the veterans themselves whose service has contributed to the freedoms we share today.
This video focuses on the museum’s World War II room which contains a model of the lost at sea U.S.S. Grunion, a submarine that was struck by the enemy and disappeared for 65 years until it was found after coordinates recorded by a Japanese sailor were discovered.
The museum adds its own story when a son of one of the lost seamen visits the Alaska Veterans Museum and discovers his own childhood photo with his dad in a tribute book that the museum had compiled to honor the lost sailors.
The contributions of individual resident Alaskans in World War II as members of the Alaska National Guard that was called up to active duty, the subsequently formed Alaska Territorial Guard and civilian volunteer “Eskimo Scouts” are explained as having been the origins of today’s Alaska National Guard.
Link to Video of The World War II Room at the Alaska Veterans Museum:
The USS Grunion submarine disappeared after being downed by the enemy off Alaska during World War II. 65 years later it was found through the assistance of Titanic searcher Ballard and the fortuitous finding of recorded longitude and latitude coordinates kept by a Japanese sailor.
The incredible story does not stop there. In 2018 a visitor to the Alaska Veterans Museum located in Anchorage Alaska was thumbing through a tribute book to the lost sailors aboard the USS Grunion that the museum had assembled. To his amazement he found a photo that included him and his brother as children along with their lost dad.
Here Alaska Museum Curator Jan not only shares the experience but shows us the photo itself.
Link to the Video of the Discovered Fortuitous Photo:
The occasion for today's visit to the Alaska Veteran's Museum was to donate a book that the museum did not have that adds light to the actual story of the Alaska National Guard.
Over the years there has been some confusion about how long the original Alaska National Guard remained in Alaska after its organization under Territorial Governor Ernest Gruening in 1940 - 1941. In the months preceding the November 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor the Alaska National Guard was federalized and its members called into active duty.
Among those Alaska residents who had joined in 1941 was my own uncle, a mining foreman in Juneau, Alaska. Upon the Alaska National Guard being federalized, the designation of 297th Infantry Battalion was added to Alaska National Guard. As chronicled in the donated book titled, "Alaska National Guard, 297th Battalion," this Alaska National Guard continued to serve in Alaska through most of World War II.
In the book, written by one of the Alaska National Guardsmen hailing from Ketchikan, Alaska, numerous individual accounts have been collected including one that describes a late 1943 winter expedition that my uncle, then a Lieutenant Colonel, headed as the Commanding Officer of the Alaska National Guard battalion. It constituted one of the longest and most arduous marches of World War II as winter equipment was tested by traveling from Talkeetna to Denali Park Station in sub zero temperatures.
Here are related still photos:
A plaque at the museum that erroneously states the Alaska National Guard departed Alaska in 1941:
The donated book that describes the Alaska National Guard'a active involvement in Alaska for a number of years after 1941:
Pictured below is a statue fronting the Alaska Veterans Museum depicting one of the volunteer civilian scouts who were provided out dated World War I rifles by the Alaska National Guard as recounted in the donated book. They were handed to a Major Marston who then delivered them by dog team to distant villagers.
And here is a still shot of the photo that a son of one of the lost USS Grunion submarine sailers discovered at the Alaska Veterans Museum as described in the narrative above:
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"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working" Pablo Picasso
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WEIRD
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My YouTube Channel
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No reverse
Just like my '57 MGA
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Space X Falcon 9 rocket launch Saturday night.
The picture isn’t good but it was very cool to see.
Boyne Mountain, MI
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TODAY'S WINDSTORM SENDS FISH FLYNG HERE IN ALASKA
A violent storm is blowing into the metropolitan areas of South Central Alaska. In its early stages gusts exceeding 40 mph, double the sustained speed, are visible in this below linked video.
Watch as Japanese Koi Fish whip in the wind above the swinging branches with their clinging red berries.
Link to Windstorm YouTube Video:
It is now dark, and as the winds continue to howl, a story I heard often as a child comes to mind. It seems every other month someone speaking at church would repeat the story of "I can sleep when the wind blows."
Here is the story:
And although this building and its pews are no more, this is where I sat to listen to that oft repeated story, and as I look closely at the archival photo, I can actually find my parents and a younger sibling pictured in the congregation:
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APPRECIATING HOKKAIDO JAPAN'S AINU CULTURE
It was an epic post COVID effort that at least virtually welcomed visitors back to Japan just before Japan would once again be open to foreign tourists.
John and Peter, a pair of prominent Japan YouTubers, joined together to produce a Hokkaido Documentary by traveling across Hokkaido by Motorcycle and RV. Their efforts included visits to Ainu villages and Ainu Museums.
Here thanks are offered to contributors who supported the effort. In their remarks one notes that the indoor National Ainu Museum remained closed due to COVID restrictions still in place. They were, however, able to experience the outdoor activities relating to Ainu culture.
FWIW, the stated above reference to my contributions related to Ainu culture included some materials I had donated to the National Ainu Museum relating to a rare sacred shitoki, one of which I had been able to identify was housed in the museum. Even though John and Peter were not able to go inside to see it, Ironically , as it turned out, one of the outdoor performers was seen wearing a shitoki in the produced documentary.
Here is a link to an edited version of the documentary focusing on the motorcycle riding portion as it was more recently posted on YouTube.
Note the performer wearing a shitoki is seen in the Ainu dance group at 24:50 - 26:10. It is visible as a turquoise beaded necklace with a medallion dangling from it:
Link to the Documentary:
Pictured below is the entrance to Hokkaido Japan's National Ainu Museum along with the Shitoki that was gifted to my Uncle by the people of Chitose when he left Japan after heading the Occupation Efforts there in Hokkaido. It was given to him in appreciation for his kindnesses to the townspeople in carrying out his Occupation duties and I inherited it from him.
Some of the Ainu related materials I had emailed to John and Peter as they traveled in Hokkaido included the following narrative:
"The Ainu were an indigenous people of Caucasian ancestry who inhabited Hokkaido before the Japanese expanded northward to Hokkaido. It is believed that they had cultural contact with the Alaska Eskimo ( today preferably termed Inuit) peoples although they are not genetically related. Many of their customs and beliefs do seem to have a commonality. For example, like the White-tailed Sea Eagle in Hokkaido, the Raven in Alaska is similarly revered.
Even the language of the Inuit People shares some common terminology. In Japanese the word “Umi” means sea. In the Inuit language, the word for a small open sea going vessel made from stretched skins is an “Umiak.”
A Tamasai is a beaded necklace worn by the Ainu people of Hokkaido on special occasions. In various of their ceremonies it was believed to protect the wearer from evil spirits. When a medallion is attached to the necklace the two together are termed a Shitoki. When the attached medallion is of a White-tailed Sea Eagle it has even added meaning since the White-tailed Sea Eagle was both hunted and revered by the Ainu People.
Stationed in Chitose, my uncle headed the occupation efforts in Hokkaido after World War II. The Japanese people there were so appreciative of his kindness and benevolence that when he left Japan they gave him a special momento, a Tamasai Shitoki. I subsequently inherited it and it is now here with me in Alaska where I reside.
Tamasai are beaded necklaces worn by the Ainu people of Hokkaido on special occasions. As noted above, in various of their ceremonies they are believed to protect the wearer.
The Shitoki medallion represents the White-tailed Sea Eagles that the Ainu hunted. Reportedly the more strands and more beads the more valuable the Tamasai. From the ones I have seen pictured from museums the one given to him appears to be among those so characterized as having more beads and strands. The jade and other beads would have originated from trade with China in past centuries."
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
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The scenic route in New Hampshire
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INYNWHWeTrust-TexasNationals,ajaan,blu62vette
coinJP, Outhaul ,illini420,MICHAELDIXON, Fade to Black,epcjimi1,19Lyds,SNMAN,JerseyJoe, bigjpst, DMWJR , lordmarcovan, Weiss,Mfriday4962,UtahCoin,Downtown1974,pitboss,RichieURich,Bullsitter,JDsCoins,toyz4geo,jshaulis, mustanggt, SNMAN, MWallace, ms71
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high density housing
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INYNWHWeTrust-TexasNationals,ajaan,blu62vette
coinJP, Outhaul ,illini420,MICHAELDIXON, Fade to Black,epcjimi1,19Lyds,SNMAN,JerseyJoe, bigjpst, DMWJR , lordmarcovan, Weiss,Mfriday4962,UtahCoin,Downtown1974,pitboss,RichieURich,Bullsitter,JDsCoins,toyz4geo,jshaulis, mustanggt, SNMAN, MWallace, ms71
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Spectacular!
This morning's sunrise:
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PHOTOS AND VIDEOS FROM TODAY'S VISIT TO THE ALASKA VETERANS MUSEUM
Join Dennis, an Alaska Military Veteran, as he shares with us artifacts and stories from the history of World War II in Alaska as they have been preserved at the Alaska Veterans Museum.
The museum founded in 2011 honors both the history and the veterans themselves whose service has contributed to the freedoms we share today.
This video focuses on the museum’s World War II room which contains a model of the lost at sea U.S.S. Grunion, a submarine that was struck by the enemy and disappeared for 65 years until it was found after coordinates recorded by a Japanese sailor were discovered.
The museum adds its own story when a son of one of the lost seamen visits the Alaska Veterans Museum and discovers his own childhood photo with his dad in a tribute book that the museum had compiled to honor the lost sailors.
The contributions of individual resident Alaskans in World War II as members of the Alaska National Guard that was called up to active duty, the subsequently formed Alaska Territorial Guard and civilian volunteer “Eskimo Scouts” are explained as having been the origins of today’s Alaska National Guard.
Link to Video of The World War II Room at the Alaska Veterans Museum:
The USS Grunion submarine disappeared after being downed by the enemy off Alaska during World War II. 65 years later it was found through the assistance of Titanic searcher Ballard and the fortuitous finding of recorded longitude and latitude coordinates kept by a Japanese sailor.
The incredible story does not stop there. In 2018 a visitor to the Alaska Veterans Museum located in Anchorage Alaska was thumbing through a tribute book to the lost sailors aboard the USS Grunion that the museum had assembled. To his amazement he found a photo that included him and his brother as children along with their lost dad.
Here Alaska Museum Curator Jan not only shares the experience but shows us the photo itself.
Link to the Video of the Discovered Fortuitous Photo:
The occasion for today's visit to the Alaska Veteran's Museum was to donate a book that the museum did not have that adds light to the actual story of the Alaska National Guard.
Over the years there has been some confusion about how long the original Alaska National Guard remained in Alaska after its organization under Territorial Governor Ernest Gruening in 1940 - 1941. In the months preceding the November 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor the Alaska National Guard was federalized and its members called into active duty.
Among those Alaska residents who had joined in 1941 was my own uncle, a mining foreman in Juneau, Alaska. Upon the Alaska National Guard being federalized, the designation of 297th Infantry Battalion was added to Alaska National Guard. As chronicled in the donated book titled, "Alaska National Guard, 297th Battalion," this Alaska National Guard continued to serve in Alaska through most of World War II.
In the book, written by one of the Alaska National Guardsmen hailing from Ketchikan, Alaska, numerous individual accounts have been collected including one that describes a late 1943 winter expedition that my uncle, then a Lieutenant Colonel, headed as the Commanding Officer of the Alaska National Guard battalion. It constituted one of the longest and most arduous marches of World War II as winter equipment was tested by traveling from Talkeetna to Denali Park Station in sub zero temperatures.
Here are related still photos:
A plaque at the museum that erroneously states the Alaska National Guard departed Alaska in 1941:
The donated book that describes the Alaska National Guard'a active involvement in Alaska for a number of years after 1941:
Pictured below is a statue fronting the Alaska Veterans Museum depicting one of the volunteer civilian scouts who were provided out dated World War I rifles by the Alaska National Guard as recounted in the donated book. They were handed to a Major Marston who then delivered them by dog team to distant villagers.
And here is a still shot of the photo that a son of one of the lost USS Grunion submarine sailers discovered at the Alaska Veterans Museum as described in the narrative above:
Wednesday Afternoon Views:
How many engines does it take to haul a freight train? This one needs locomotives from two different railroads to do the task.
Also captured in this video are Mount Foraker (left ) and Denali (right) peeking up over the distant horizon.
And here are some closer-up views of the two snow and ice covered Mountains Foraker and Denali as they appeared Wednesday Afternoon:
And finally, two of the cars being hauled by the above train.
Wondering what happened to your impounded car?
The "caboose:"
The Sunset Views from last night:
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Stopping at Stuckey's was always fun when on a family road trip
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