Free Comic Book Day

Postcard US-3139091 to the United Kingdom an advertising card for the Alternate Reality Comics, one of several Las Vegas comic bookstores that hosted the Free Comic Book Day events earlier today.

Free Comic Book Day, first started in 2002 and taking place on the first Saturday of May, is an annual promotional effort by the North American comic book industry to help bring new readers into independent comic bookstores. In 2005, it coincided the movie release of Avengers: Age of Ultron this weekend.

At the Alternate Reality Comics, greeters were dressed in costumes and helped to direct customers to free selections where a customer could get up to 4 free comic books. The store also hosted local artists who would draw for you.

St. Mary's Cathedral, Covington, KY, USA

Postcard US-3100095 to China was a 1940 vintage postcard showing the Roman Catholic St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington, Kentucky. Designed by Detroit architect Leon Coquard and built in 1895, its exterior was inspired by the Notre Dame of Paris in an one third scale replica. Services were first held in 1901. However, the construction stopped in 1915 with planned 52- feet or 16-meter tall towers un-built. Pope Pius XII elevated the cathedral to the rank of minor basilica on December 8, 1953.

The restoration of the Cathedral was recognized by the Cincinnati Preservation Association with a Preservation Award in 2002.

President Jimmy Carter Turns 90

Jimmy Carter, Jr., the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981 who was born October 1, 1924, turns 90 today on October, 1, 2014. Know as a peanut farmer, he served two terms as a Georgia State Senator and one term as the Governor of Georgia before elected President in 1976. As President, he created two new cabinet-level departments: the Department of Energy and the Department of Education, which were among those to be eliminated by Republican presidential candidate, Texas Governor Rick Perry in 2011 if he became President. Jimmy Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

Postcard US-1555328 to Germany shows the skyline of Atlanta, Georgia where the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum and the Carter Center is located. It was among the first few official PostCrossing postcards I sent off.

Groningen, the Netherlands

Postcard NL-2213389 from the Netherlands shows a city view of Groningen, the capital city of Groningen Province and the largest city in the northern Netherlands with a population of 198,108 in 2014. As a college town, students account for one-fourth of the total population with 28,000 from the University of Groningen and 25,000 from Hanze University of Applied Sciences.

Groningen was noted as the "World Cycling City" in 2007 because 57% of trips within the city were made by bicycle. A large network of bike paths make it convenient to cycle to various destinations. Groningen was named as Fietsstad 2002, the top BikeCity in the Netherlands for 2002.

The local football club, FC Groningen, founded in 1971, is playing in the Dutch highest football league the Eredivisie.

Today, the Netherlands National Football Team claimed third place at the 2014 FIFA World Cup with a 3:0 victory Over Brazil.

Polar Bears and the Moon

Postcard US-2776626 to Poland shows two polar bears gazing at the moon, from a Coca-Cola advertisement campaign in 2002. You can read more about how the Coca-Cola polar bears came to life by visiting the Enduring History of Coca-Cola's Polar Bears; and see more polar bear posters and other Coca-Cola's advertising postcards.

If you get a chance to visit the Everything Coca-Cola store in Las Vegas, make sure to have your picture taken with the polar bear. You may even find the bear dancing!

Vegas Valley Book Festival

The Vegas Valley Book Festival just concluded a three-day celebration of literature and imagination from October 30 to November 2, 2013. Founded by Nevada Humanities in 2002, it has featured authors from around the globe participating in a full schedule of panel discussions, book signings, readings, workshops, poetry, children's literature, and special events.

Postcard US-1920289 to the Netherlands shows Dennis Lehane as the closing keynote speaker of the 2010 festival at the Clark County Library on November 7, 2010. Dennis has written several novels, including A Drink Before the War, Mystic River, "Gone, Baby, Gone", and the latest Moonlight Mile. My favorite quote of Dennis came from his book Shutter Island: “Which would be worse, to live as a monster or to die as a good man?”