9/11 Memorial Museum - An Inspiration

9/11 Memorial Museum - An inspiration

The events of 9/11 were and are a tragedy, but the new World Trade Center and the 9/11 Memorial Museum is a testimony to the courage, resourcefulness and determination of the American spirit.

I visited the World Trade Center in January and rode 101 floors to the top in 47 seconds. It was an exhilarating experience. On this week’s trip to New York I visited the 9/11 Museum (opened in September) and was awed by it all.

The museum bears solemn witness to the nearly three thousand victims of the two attacks (February 26, 1993 and September 11, 2001) and all those who risked their lives to save others.

From the entrance hall through the concourse and and down the ramp to the Educational Center located on the original foundation level of the twin towers, is an experience to remember for a lifetime.

There is so much to see and appreciate. This is truly a spectacular response to the terrible events which bring it about, but it is also a determined response to the terrorists who caused it that America remains strong and we will not be defeated.

I hope everyone who sees this post will click on the link to the  9/11 Memorial Museum and spend some time visiting the museum. I believe you will be glad you did.

On advertising

Some thoughts on advertising

I was not consulted when individual advertisers worked up their copy for inclusion in The New York Times Style Magazine (July 17, 2016), and certainly was not consulted when the issue went to press. This is high fashion in spades: clothing, jewelry, makeup, household furnishings, etc. Top of the line, first rate stuff, bar none.

My status as a paid reader, however, gives me the right to comment, to  criticize or praise, as I see fit.

Three pages were devoted to trench coats. The opening copy read: “In the Trenches, The classic silhouette is back, as big and boxy as ever.” The pages were each filled with a model wearing Burberry and Paul Stuart trench coats. 

What would expect in an ad for a trench coat? This is a manly garment invented a hundred years ago for wear by military officers and men of action. Think Bogart. 

The advertisers obviously did not. The model in the three-page spread is a thin teen-ager of small build, who probably still shaves only once a week, and who is absolutely swamped by the coats he is modeling. He has the pouting look on his face that models, female and male, adopt for some strange reason. Like a show of emotion would shatter their psyche. 

I’ve worn trench coats over the years. They give you feeling of strength and savor faire. These three pages of ads would not sell me a trench coat. 

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Send comment to: arch@archibald99.com 

We must carry on

I do not remember any period in my 84 plus years when so many innocent people in America and elsewhere who were simply out and about enjoying themselves were deliberately killed. We are living in an age of terrorism for which there seems no ready solution compatible with decency, civil liberties and, in the United States especially, constitutional freedoms. 

The enemy seems almost invisible. The killers are themselves being killed during their rampages. After the fact investigations reveal the perpetrators  with at least psychological ties or sympathies with ISIS. 

To us in the West, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) is a terrorist group trying to re-create a political state (the Caliphate) to exert control over the Islamic world. They want to turn the pages back to the seventh century time of Muhammad and ignore fourteen centuries of growth and progress.  

Wether the leaders of this movement and the perpetrators of the recent carnage done in the name of ISIS are actually connected is practically impossible to establish. The link to ISIS can be psychological only, and what sets the perpetrator off on his killing rampage is unknown. This doesn’t stop ISIS from honoring the perpetrators as “soldiers of the caliphate.”

ISIS basks in the terror and inspires wanton acts of violence and carnage. ISIS recently reminded the world that vehicles could be a weapon. Result,  the tractor trailer truck being driven through crowds of people in Nice, France, killing at least 84 people. 

We will learn more about the driver of this truck in the days ahead. That is always the way.

Where the next terrorist act will occur is unknown. Vigilance is required. Nevertheless, we must go about our lives in the hope and promise of better days to come. 

Ungoverned Space: A National Security Challenge - The Cipher Brief

Ungoverned Space: A National Security Challenge - The Cipher Brief