The most common ethnicity of white Americans in every county

 

America's oldest Chinese restaurant is in Montana

 

Havana, Day 4

Our last day in Havana.

We started with a presentation by a LGBT rights advocate who happens to be a cancer ICU physician. 

We then went to the Museum of Cuban Art. I was expecting a lot of propaganda art like in the Soviet Union and North Korea, but I saw something else entirely.

Wilfredo Lam was Cuba's greatest artist. He studied and worked with Picasso. This piece reminded me of Guernica.

This 1976 painting by a Chinese-Cuban artist reminded me of my parents' 1973 wedding photo. Identical!

I wanted to visit the Museum of the Revolution but it was being renovated. So I took these photos of vehicles involved in successful and attempted coups.

Lunch was at Al Carbon. Very protein heavy. The band got a couple of people from our group to join in.

The afternoon was free and I continued my search for a Chaika. I got a ride in a tuk-tuk.

I did get a photo of a Peugeot convertible taxi. Probably the only one in existence.

Having failed once again, I got a ride back to my B&B in a tired Lada.

Before dinner, we enjoyed a private performance by the Havana Youth Orchestra in an old church. The acoustics were awesome. The music was a mix of classical with a Cuban influence.

Our tour operator rented out a dozen classic American convertibles and had them drive us from the church to our dinner. We went along the Malecon, horns beeping, engines revving, and Yankees yelping the entire way. Very obnoxious but fun.

Our farewell dinner was at one of our tour guide's home. He splits his time between Havana and Miami and is an art enthusiast. We all had a great time.

The next day, I flew out. I highly encourage all of you to visit Cuba!

Amazon uncontacted tribe photo

Losing the Rule of Law

 

The Battle of Midway

I was reading about China's latest aircraft carrier and thought about the Battle of Midway. I knew it was an epic clash involving battleships and planes, but I did not know the details. This video succinctly explains everything that took place.

Top Gun Maverick

This is an excellent movie. The actors were filmed inside real flying F/A-18s. USA! USA!

Countries considered as electoral democracies by Freedom House

 

Cuba trip research

Well, the trip planning is ramping up. I just purchased a Lonely Planet Cuba guide, looked up recommended vaccinations, and shopped for travel insurance.

Anthony Bourdain- Cuba from IUEP on Vimeo.

Percentage of Population “Absolutely Certain” God Exists in Europe vs US

1992 Microsoft Excel ad

 

Chinese-Cubans

 

I'm going to Cuba!

Unless I end up going to Suriname on a whim, Cuba in November will be my first trip on a plane since February 2020. I am very excited about learning the culture, checking out Havana, and spotting weirdo cars. I'll post more as the date approaches and I do more research. I'll be on an official government-approved educational tour so everything is regimented and I'll have government minders with me almost the whole time.

Small Israeli tank force destroyed Syrian army

They say the Battle of Donbas will be the largest tank battle since the 1973 Yom Kippur War. So I looked it up. Holy shit, Israel did an incredible job. Truly David versus Goliath. The last segment on the Valley of Tears was almost like a video game. So many young men's lives lost.

Bald and Bankrupt goes to Syria

How could 500,000 lives been lost? The people look so nice and welcoming. Everything outside Damascus is just rubble.

Inside the Nakagin Capsule Tower

The 1972 icon is being knocked down as we speak. :(

Taj Mahal from a different perspective

Where were/are Americans born

What a neat graphic!

Colin Thubron's The Amur River

One of my 2022 goals is to read ten books. With Covid keeping us at home once again, I finished the first book already. It's Colin Thubron's The Amur River. Thubron is one of my favorite travel writers. His books about Central Asia and Siberia inspired me to travel to exotic places via inconvenient means and opened my mind to less-studied cultures.

Thubron, incredibly, followed the entire length of the Amur River from Mongolia to Russia to China and back to Russia. He rode horses (and broke two ribs and a femur), walked, hitchhiked, rode buses, and even went on a hydrofoil. He did all this at the age of 80. This is in all likelihood his final adventure, and I got melancholy while reading his journey. It's a story about how China and Russia influenced this area for a thousand years, and how the people of the two nations see each other now. Russians in general distrust the Chinese. The Chinese in general see Russia as a source for raw materials. 

Afghanistan today

This is worth a watch during winter break. France24 interviewed female activists, opium growers, local officials, and many others to show what Taliban rule is like.