Category: History

Watch a War Movie.

“When good people see evil raise its head anywhere in the world, and do nothing about it, and become indifferent to it, that’s the consequence, because evil, conquers. Evil triumphs.”

– Survivor of the holocaust, from this video.

I get asked the question of “How can you like that movie?” when I talk about something I’ve seen lately, such as “All Quiet on the Western Front”, or “1917”.

I never get my point across very well, in part because I am always confused as to why someone wouldn’t want to see these attempts to recreate the past in a way that we can today get a view of what it might have been like to go through these events.

Anybody who reads history for a decent amount of time will see that we actually don’t know that much about the past, and of course, the further back we go, the less recorded history there is. There is far more history lost to time, than there is recorded. When you see something on television about how amazing it is that the Pyramids in Egypt were built, or some other puzzling ancient accomplishment, that is just a really obvious example of how little history has been preserved.

Actual recording of history didn’t become much of a thing until the time of Henry VIII, due to logistics, social and physical. And as far as humankind is concerned, that is relatively recent.

I saw these “Man-on-the-street” interviews in Hiroshima on the anniversary of the bomb dropped there in 1945. Actual citizens of that city had no idea what the significance of that day was.

Most Americans are the same way. Zero understanding of important events, so many of them in regard to war. And a total avoidance of anything, book or film, that might remind them of such.

The most difficult book I’ve ever read, “Hitler’s Willing Executioners“, gets detailed into the reasons of how one of, if not the most advanced society in Europe at the time, could descend into such a barbaric state. To think that we, today, are automatically so much better than the Germans of the early 20th century is total hubris. It very much could happen again, and in our country. It comes at us in other ways which would hide the obvious, like it did in Germany. Which is why avoiding anything resembling something that could possibly educate us about our past, is a mistake.

How are we as a society going to avoid wars and holocausts if we don’t understand how they happen? That is what ignorance is, and in this case, completely willing ignorance. Because there’s another popcorn movie or television show to go watch. And I like those too, of course. But historical topics are just as, if not more interesting, because they are based on actual people and events that can be looked into, there is more depth to the topic of the film. So much to be learned, and most of it very interesting.

Wars aren’t just battles and horrific events. They are logistics, politics, psychology, humanity, examples of selfishness and selflessness, strategy, and on and on. To just avoid the topic because there was the obvious horror of it, is not a good thing.

There is a guy who lives near us who fought on Iwo Jima. He’s in his 90’s. I’ve talked to him a little bit, and it was fascinating. I didn’t run away because it might be about war. I have to think he’s really disappointed that most people couldn’t name ten battles, places, events, or people, related to that massive event he experienced. Something that made the world we live in today.

Go watch a war movie. Then read about it. It’s fascinating and worthwhile.

061723 • Thrift Store Finds

So many great books today… The Conquest of Mexico was published in 1934, but unfortunately it is the abridge edition. Still very neat to find. This is abridged from two or three books…

A View From Abroad • With my familiarity in pre-Great War Europe becoming more detailed, this book (recent as well, from 2021!) looks very interesting.

Into the Rising Sun / Forgotten Victory / South Pacific Destroyer • First-hand accounts, my favorite.

The Great Terror • It’s shocking how young people who poo-poo Communism brush away The Great Terror as a sort of learning error in said ideals.

Pacific Payback / Tin Can Titans • I saw these last week, but they were full price, so I had to show up early today… they were still there! They are newer books, and in great shape!

Flying Forts / Tank Aces / Boot • I usually don’t go for these small paperbacks, but at the same time, I used to read these little books all the time back in the day. I read Iron Coffins a few years ago, and it was a good book, and reminded me that these little paperbacks are still a great format! The Flying Forts book is in bad shape, and there is a hardback version, but hey. I’ll see what I can do to fix it up, like I did with the Iron Coffins book.

The Book of the American West • I have been restraining myself from buying these, as I have a lot of great big books on the topic, and not much room. But I liked the way this was laid out, and all of the topics it covered, which appears to be everything!

All of these are just for watching, and at a buck-fifty apiece, that’s a lot of value when compared to an on-line rental, or streaming subscription. Plus, no time limits, forced commercials, no disappearing from a service, and I can keep them if I want to. Sunny is a keeper, as is Kick-Ass and The Rock. The other four are new to me.

052023 • Thrift Store Finds

I left three of these books at the ARC last week because they didn’t have the half-price color… they were still there this week! It’s always nice when that happens!

Das Reich: The March of the 2nd SS Panzer Division Through France, June 1944 • Anything by Max Hastings is gold… but the topic of this book is one of my favorites. Interesting, is the retreat of the Germans late in the war.

A Question of Honor: Forgotten Heroes of World War II • First-hand accounts, another of my favorite topics.

Bitter Glory: Poland and It’s Fate 1918-1939 • It’s no surprise why Poland is currently on it’s way to having the biggest military in Europe, and is one of the biggest backers of Ukraine against the Russian Federation.

Of Arms and Men: A History of War, Weapons and Aggression • As I always say to those people who are perplexed as to why I read so much about military history; there are so many ways to look at it, and this is the logistical side. There’s the personal, empathecial, political, humanitarian, what-if, etc.

One Square Mile of Hell: The Battle for Tarawa • I read about this in the books that The Pacific were based on. It will be nice to have another take on it.

Who Financed Hitler: The Secret Funding of Hitler’s Rise to Power 1919-1933 • One of the often overlooked topics regarding Hitler.

Clues to America’s Past / The Vikings / The Wild Shores America’s Beginnings • These are three of the National Geographic books that I have a lot of already, but they are so good, and cheap! Also interesting in that they were published around the time I was born.

I never get this many DVDs or Blu-rays, but that’s the way it goes. And if the ones I puchased to simply try out don’t work out, they can go back without an issue since I didn’t pay more than a buck-fifty for any of these! No subscriptions, nothing that disappears from a service, and all for the price of one month of any given streaming service!

Also: Over the past few years, there are more and more movies that I would usually watch, just because of the franchise, character, or actor. But now, with the way things are goign in the movie industry, I have learned to only see movies that I know are going to be good. That don’t ruin classic characters, overuse Member-Berries, etc. So, I’ll never see the new Indiana Jones, most of the newer Marvel movies, etc.

Also, this is because I’ve seen enough movies by now to just naturally have a lower tolerance for bad stories as I’ve seen so many. It’s way past time to start being more selective. Even Action Jackson below is a better watch than something like The Last Jedi or the Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey, Predators, The Eternals, etc. A comprehensive list would be long and not worth putting together, but you get the idea.

Action Jackson • I haven’t seen this since it first hit video in… the late 1980s? I don’t think it was that good, but I want to see Carl Weathers in what would have been his franchise character.

052223 • Just tried to watch this. Not a good movie, which is too bad, because I like Carl Weathers. This DVD actually sells pretty high online, and the Blu-ray is far more expensive. Which is now, not an issue because it isn’t worth having.

Fargo • They’ve done such a great job with the series, I need to see the original again, and I didn’t own it.

Good Will Hunting • Always hear about how good this one is… I watched this when I got home, and it I really is well-written. It is even better when you consider the level of quality stories that aren’t told these days. It actually deserves the awards that it won, and it’s neat to see these actors in their prime.

Creed / Rocky Balboa • I almost have all the Rocky movies on Blu-ray now.

The Jackal • Like Action Jackson, something to watch, but not a top-quality movie. Interesting to see Bruce Willis when he was so young, and Richard Gere try to pull off an Irish accent. Or Scottish. Same thing. Also, one of Jack Black’s early roles. He was also in some Will Smith movie around this time as some minor character.

The Greater Glory • Just a risk that it is any good, it was like brand-new, and I like the actors in it.

The Manchurian Candidate • I have always read about how great this movie is, and since it was like-new, I’m going to give it a try.

Amazing War Machines / Legends of Air Combat: Jets Over Vietnam • War Machines was still in it’s wrapper… these things are hit-or-miss (no pun intended), either cheaply put together, or well-done.

Mad Men: Season One • I re-watched this show a year or two ago, it holds up well. By the creators of The Sopranos. I have Season Two on Blu-ray, but the rest are on DVD still.

House: Seasons Two through Seven • Thanks to clips off of YouTube, I bought Good Will Hunting, and now House (Suits is next, but I doubt I’ll see that at a thrift). It’s a shame that the first and last seasons were missing, I really looked for them but they weren’t there. No matter, the rest of them were only a buck-fifty, so I can deal with it. Most series can still be enjoyed even if one doesn’t start at the beginning. I remember getting into 24 in season four, it was still great, and it was neat going back to the earlier seasons… like actual, well-done prequels when watched this way.

The Vivaldi Album • I have a lot of Cecilia Bartoli, and I had to check my list several times to make sure I didn’t have this one. I’d be more familiar with this if I didn’t listen to Magdalena Kozená as my primary female vocalist.

J.S. Bach: 3 Concerti After • I have been listening to a lot of organ music over the past few years, and I listened to this one right away; although I have a lot of albums like this, this one was really easy to get into.

Denon: New releases: Classical Sampler 1995-1996 • I left this one last week, because the line was so long. Still there! I like mixes like this and don’t see them that often.