When men were men, communists were evil, and Ronald Reagan was a super-intelligent cyborg sent from the future to lead us to victory.
William Gibson: In 1981, it was pretty much every intelligent person’s assumption that on any given day the world could end horribly and pretty well permanently. There was this vast, all-consuming, taken-for-granted, even boring end-of-the-world anxiety that had been around since I was a little kid. So one of the things I wanted to do […]
The Baikonur Cosmodrome – at Boston.com
When it comes to rocketry, the Russians do not fuck around.
via B^2: The Ward-O-Matics posts about a vintage 1966 Fallout Shelter Handbook. And it is f*ing SWEET. Just look at how happy that family is… I mean seriously! If I’m not mistaken, the Dad is just kickin’ it… Totally smoking a pipe and joking with the Missus about how she’s always saying that they should […]
Via B^2: We Make Money Not Art presents the ol’ Soviet-era Ministry of Transportation building in Tbilisi, Georgia: Regine writes: …the photography brings out the conflict between a symbol of progress and its current state of decay. But all I can think is: turn-turn-scoot left-turn-scoot left-drop! A giant friggin’ game of Tetris.
Via Jalopnik:
USSR posters a photoset on Flickr: Cold War-era Nostalgia! (Not to be confused with glasnost-algia…) (tags: ColdWar art history research)
Via /.: 23 years ago today, Soviet Missle Commander Stanislav Petrov saved the world by refusing to believe that the United States had launched a concerted nuclear attack against The Mother Country. Nice going, man.
In a “that’s where I know you from” moment: reading the 28-June cover story in Seven Days (“Bombs Away” by Cathy Resmer), I get to this passage: Why would he want to live in an underground missile facility? “Who wouldn’t?” asks the cheeky Aussie. “The cool factor is just unbelievable.” Michael spends six weeks each […]
Via MeFi: Old propaganda posters about Stalin and the Soviet people. Some choice favorites: Silenced Statue of Liberty (I guess it was the weight of the money…) Poor kid and his closed school To vote is to rule? Stalin and Chairman Mao! (I think this one is my favorite, especially the Chairman’s book) Just say […]
A. sent this to me a while ago… Long overdue: The Cold War Museum. I love this idea. I can’t think of a better way to honor this twisted historical period (and ethos!) but housing its relics in an indestructible ICBM silo. Spy planes, listening devices, satellites, nuclear warheads, the Berlin Wall, Kruschev’s hat…!