Steve Holden's Blog

Podcast Recommendation - Berlin Airlift Book Review

I just finished a highly recommended podcast interview with Andrei Cherny over at the Pritzker Military Library in Chicago about his book "The Candy Bombers." 

It is a great intro and overview to the history of the Berlin Blockage, and the remarkable airlift that changed history. 

While listening to the podcast it made me think a lot about what Dan Carlin over at the Hardcore History podcast likes to say about examining/studying/imagining one of those major "what if" time period scenarios in history.  By many accounts, if the airlift didn't work the "Cold War" could have been over (with the Russians controlling all of Europe) or radically different by the end of 1948.

Cold War Pointer - Bagley's Spy Wars Book

The Yale University Press Podcast has a great interview with the  Tennent H. Bagley the author of Spy Wars - Moles, Mysteries, and Deadly Games.

If you are interested in 1960's CIA vs. KGB stories and insight then you should enjoy the podcast.  The book sounds very interesting and is going on my someday maybe list.

Amount other roles at the CIA, Tennent H. "Pete" Bagley was the case officer for Yuri Nosenko.

Theatre Review "In This Corner" About Joe Louis & Max Schmeling

Unfortunately, this review is coming after "In This Corner" written by Steven Drukman has finished playing at the San Diego's The Old Globe theater.  But it is such a very good play, that I believe it will produced in other locations, so if you get a chance to see it, you should.

The play was extremely well done, and production was in the Cassius Carter Centre Stage (aka theater-in-the-round) so it was very interactive.

The story is about boxers Joe Louis played by Dion Graham and Max Schmeling played by Rufus Collins.  Both actor's are extremely talented and give outstanding performances.  The time frame for the story is from 1930 - 1970, and the boxing ring stage is supported by several great roles: Announcer, Trainer, Reporter, Nurse, and other Boxers.

As someone who knew very little details about Joe Lewis and Max Schmeling it was great to learn more via the engaging theater experience. 

So, if this show comes to your area or back to San Diego, I highly recommend you attend.

Some New Cold War History Recommendations

I am a big history buff. I am particularly interested in stories about World War II and The Cold War. 

I came across a bunch of recently released Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) docs at the Federation of American Scientists (FAS.org):

• "The Secret War in Korea, June 1950 to June 1952," March 1964 [pdf]
  
• "Record of Paramilitary Action Against the Castro Government of Cuba, 17 March 1960 - May 1961," May 1961 [pdf]
• "The Evolution of Ground Paramilitary Activities at the Staff Level, October 1949-September 1955," November 1968 [pdf]
• "The Berlin Tunnel Operation, 1952-1956," 24 June 1968 [pdf]

They all have some pretty interesting information in them.  I am fascinated by considering what the redacted parts contain.

The Cold War has many different angles and perspectives. One of the other resources that is really interesting is from Tony Kahn over at WGBH's Morning Stories podcast.  Tony produced the following series called "BlackListed" (RSS):

In October 1947, the House Un-American Activities Committee opened its hearing into Communist influence in the movie business and promptly denounced 19 prominent directors, producers, screenwriters, and actors as enemies of the state. One of them was Hollywood screenwriter Gordon Kahn, whose films include All Quiet on the Western Front and The African Queen.
    
In this six-part personal history of the Hollywood Blacklist, Gordon Kahn's son, Morning Stories producer Tony Kahn, tells the story of his father's 15 years of persecution and the fear that followed him, his family, and thousands of other Americans for being accused of having the wrong political ideas.

I have currently listened to three of six podcasts, and I am really enjoying this very well produced audio program.  No matter what your political views this is is a podcast that should not be missed.

Book Reviews: Dead Sea Scrolls, Google, Freemasonry

I finished reading several potentially interesting books during our recent family vacation trip to Vashon Island, WA:

• Weston W. Fields "The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Short History"
• David A. Vise & Mark Malseed "The Google Story"
• S. Brent Morris "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Freemasonry"

I really have to recommend the Fields book on the Dead Sea Scrolls.  It is very well documented and historically interesting - plus it has some great pictures.  Part of the Dead Sea Scrolls are on display in San Diego (through December 2007) which is the main reason I picked up the book.

The Google book is also recommended for those interested in technology, Internet history, and business & organizational ideas.  I personally only had a minor understanding of the history, technologies, and personalities related to Google so I found this book very interesting.

The Freemasonry book was entertaining but nothing spectacular.  I enjoyed it because my father and his father were Masons, and I learned a lot about what they probably went through.  The background history was interesting and I enjoyed the humor of the author.

 

Cold War Intelligence Production Pointer

American Thinker has a very interesting article by Herbert E. Meyer entitled "The Big Secret of that Leaked NIE (National Intelligence Estimate)".

If you are a Cold War history buff, the insight into how intelligence data was presented to President Ronald Reagan is pretty interesting.

Some Interesting History: Entebbe

I found the following article on the "Entebbe Operation" pretty interesting reading from a historial and political perspective. More via Wikipedia.

As a Cold War history buff, I wish a similar in-depth article was written to expand on this short blurb about CIA efforts in Istanbul in the 1980s.

QuadPolar #002 - Hacking, Vinyl, Artwork, & Food

QuadPolar #002 ... links for you and me:

1. Crosley Radio Specials: radio and turntables with support for CDs and tapes. {Crosley@Amazon}
2. Military artwork by Charles Waterhouse
3. Hack-A-Day notes that Metasploit is now running on the Linksys WRTSL54GS.
4. 'Tech' Food Conference (25Jun06 via Wired)

Why?

1. I'm looking to move some vinyl to digital format, and I'd also like to listen to some vinyl directly from time to time, especially Frankie Valli and The 4 Seasons plus I still have a pretty good size catalog of 80's music on vinyl and tape.
2. This is interesting for a yet-to-be-announced new project.
3. Just plain technically cool.
4. Food and technology are independently interesting to me, together they seem even more interesting.

Survived the DC Trip - Theodore Roosevelt Island, Beer Recommendation, & W.E.B. Griffin

I managed to survive and still have a good time on my recent business trip to Washington DC (the way back was DCA to Dallas to SAN). 

One of the main reasons I had a good time, was that I managed to sneak in three great runs in the Rossyln area of Virgina. One of the better ones included an exploration of Theodore Roosevelt Island which is part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway that is operated by the Virgina Turkey Run Park.

I'm also going to have to recommend the following beers:

• Rogue's Kell Irish Style Lager
• Ridgeway Brewing's Very Bad Elf Special Reserve Ale (7.5% AlcVol which is based on a 1795 Thames Valley recipe)
• Weisse Hacker-Pschorr Traditional Wheat Ale

Lastly, I have to admit I'm becoming a fan of "reading fiction books" while in transit, vice pulling out the work Tablet PC or the personal iBook or a tech journal.  Right now, I am busy quickly turning pages of W.E.B. Griffen's By Order Of The President.  This is my first Griffen book (definitely not my last Griffen book). I had heard his name before, but never got introduced until I listened to his recent podcast at Pritzker Military Library.

Summary of Our New York City Trip

Thursday (4/6):

• Fly from SAN to IAD to LGA
• Visit Times Square
• Dinner at Harmony View

Friday (4/7):

• Walking around SoHo and NYU
• Lunch with Paul from The Point Podcast at Savore (excellent Italian food!)
• More shopping in SoHo (including Apple Store)
• Jersey Boys musical

Saturday (4/8):

• Rainy day in NYC :-(
• Some shopping in Midtown
• Meeting up with Christy's high-school friend Judy:
• Dinner in SoHo at Ino (excellent food & wine!)
• Drinks in SoHo at The Room with (spotted Mike Myers drinking a hefeweizen - no picture though because he is paparazzi-savvy and he expertly dodged our 'staged' tourist picture attempt)

Sunday (4/9):

• Morning run in Central Park (amazing)
• World Trade Center (very emotional)
• Wall Street
• South Street Seaport
• Brooklyn Bridge
• Dinner at Heartland Brewery

Monday (4/10):

• Circle Line Ferry Ride
• Statue of Liberty
• Ellis Island
• Drinks at Novotel with a huge Frankie Valli &  The 4 Seasons fan

Tuesday (4/11):

• Top of the Rock (highly recommended)
• Interview with John Lloyd Young for JerseyBoysPodcast.com
• Empire State Building (very long wait - bring a book)
  
• Drinks and dinner at House of Brews

Wednesday (4/12):

• Morning run in Central Park
• Interviews for JerseyBoysPodcast.com with:
  
  • Michael Longoria
  • Peter Gregus
• Jersey Boys (matinee)
• More interviews with cast members:
  • J. Robert Spencer
  • Daniel Reichard
  • Jennifer Naimo
  • Erica Piccininni
  • Sara Schmidt
  • Heather Ferguson
  • Christian Hoff
• Jersey Boys (standing room during evening performance)

Thursday (4/13):

• Last minute gift purchasing
• Fly from LGA to DEN to SAN (ran into a co-worker at LGA's security screening who was in NYC with her daughter for Spring Break)