By Tram through Old Chorzów

Postcard BE-427724 from Belgium shows one of Grzegorz Chudy's paintings By Tram through Old Chorzów published by Postallove. Chorzów is a city with 2 million residents in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice, on the Rawa River which is a tributary of the Vistula.

Grzegorz Chudy, born in Katowice and known for his watercolor paintings, is a teacher of Polish literature and Silesian language.

President Obama Made to All But One States With Utah Visit

President Barack Obama spoke in front of an array of solar panels at Hill Air Force Base in Utah earlier today, announcing a new program "the Solar Ready Vets" aiming to employ veterans in the solar energy industry, which the base will participate in with other military installations nationwide.

View image | gettyimages.com

Obama met with top leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in Salt Lake City yesterday to discuss the church's services in disaster relief and other humanitarian issues, and the need to overhaul the U.S. immigration system. Obama made his first visit to Utah after he traveled from Louisville, Kentucky earlier Thursday on April 2, 2015.

That left South Dakota as the only state which he hasn't traveled to during his presidency.

Postcard US-3135228 to Poland was a vintage card showing the Temple Square in the center of Salt Lake City, owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Built in 1853, it was designated as U.S. National Historic Landmark District in 1964, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.

I ♥ Kraków

Postcard PL-1034007 was a shaped card showing the Renaissance Cloth Hall at the Main Square in the Old Town of Kraków, Poland.

Located on the Vistula River, Kraków is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland, dating back to the 7th century. Historically an early trade center and once the capital of Poland from 1038 to 1569, it is one of the most important Polish academic, cultural, and artistic centers and  economic hubs, with 8 million people living within 100 kilometers or 62 miles of the city center.

At 40,000 square meters or 430,000 square feet, its Main Square is the largest medieval town square in Europe, also one of the best public spaces in Europe due to its lively street life, surrounded by historic townhouses, palaces and churches. Rebuilt in 1555 in the Renaissance style, the Cloth Hall is the dominated feature of the Main Square as one of the city's most recognizable icons. Once a meeting place for traveling merchants who met there to discuss business and to barter, the Cloth Hall is still used as a center of commerce. As a culture venue, it has received many distinguished guests and dignitaries, hosted receptions and performances, and housed the Sukiennice Museum division of the National Museum on its upper floor.

The Kraków Old Town was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978.

Vintage Cardinal Song Bird Illustration

Postcard US-2995481 to Poland shows a vintage cardinal song bird illustration from the 1800s. Known as the redbird or common cardinal, the northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) is in the genus Cardinalis and can be found in woodlands, gardens, shrublands, and swamps from southern Canada, the eastern United States from Maine to Texas, to Mexico. The bird has a distinctive crest on the head, and a black mask on the face for the male and a gray mask for the female. According to Wikepedia, "the male is a vibrant red, while the female is a dull red-brown shade. The northern cardinal is mainly granivorous, but also feeds on insects and fruit. The male behaves territorially, marking out his territory with song. During courtship, the male feeds seed to the female beak-to-beak. A clutch of three to four eggs is laid, and two to four clutches are produced each year. It was once prized as a pet, but its sale as a cage bird is now banned in the United States by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918."

The card was purchased from Zazzle.

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!

Krakow, Poland

Postcard PL-749739 from Poland shows Krakow, the second largest city in Poland. Its history dates back to the 7th century, making the city one of the oldest in Poland. Krakow has been one of the leading academic, cultural, and artistic centers and one of the most important economic hubs in Poland.

Krakow was named European Capital of Culture in 2000. It is the host city for the next World Youth Day in 2016.

Camp NaNoWriMo Starts Today

Postcard PL-766352 from Poland shows a stack of books. Many aspiring and experienced writers are familiar with National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), if have not actually participated one themselves. Organized every year in November, the 30-day-deadline-imposed event attracted more than 500,000 authors in 2014 and had produced a number of best selling books both traditionally and self-published.

To accommodate the participants' requests of flexibility in timing and the word counts, Camp NaNoWriMo, offered in April and July, is a month-long virtual writer’s retreat with a camping theme. Writers can choose to join a virtual cabin that consists of 11 other cabin mates from around the world. Unlike the typical high pressured NaNoWriMo, camp participants can write other type of projects, including poetry, screenplays, short stories, in addition to novels. Rather than the NaNoWriMo's mandatory 50,000 word counts, camp writers can also set their own targets.

Go ATOM Trefl Sopot!

ATOM Trefl Sopot is a professional volleyball team from Poland that won double-champion. The team is currently playing in Confédération Européenne de Volleyball (CEV) European Champions League in 2014 for the third consecutive time.

Postcard US-2615864 sent via TouchNote to Poland shows billboards featuring the team in New York City, a composite image made by PhotoFunia with team photos from their Facebook page. Good luck ATOM Trefl Sopot! Maybe we will see you on billboards in New York City for real in the future.

World Food Day

Today is the 68th anniversary of the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 1945. Many organizations such as the World Food Program have observed October 16 as the World Food Day since 1981. The World Food Day theme is "Sustainable Food Systems for Food Security and Nutrition" in 2013.

Postcard PL-496296 from Poland shows a variety of traditional food in Poland. It reminds us the food security and agricultural development is a global concern. Collaborative actions are needed in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition and poverty.

For more information, visit World Food Day USA.

Curtiss JN-4 Jenny

The postcard shows a Curtiss JN-4 Jenny aircraft with model wing suspended at Edwards AFB, CA in 1921. The Curtiss JN-4 was the type of aircraft used in the first air mail flight, and was featured in the 1918 24-cent stamp with printing error showing an illustration of the plane upside down.

The U.S. Postal Service is re-issuing 2 million of the “Inverted Jenny” souvenir stamps today to mark the opening of the Smithsonian’s William H. Gross Stamp Gallery that hosts the world’s largest stamp collection. The reissued Inverted Jenny has a face value of $2, in mini-sheets of six with a decorative border.

Since the post offices near me do not open on Sundays, I will have to wait until tomorrow to buy the stamps. The postcard is available for purchase at Zazzle.com.

Update: the postcard was later sent to Poland as US-2509925. 

Annisquam Lighthouse in Gloucester, Massachusetts

Annisquam Lighthouse in Gloucester, MA

I received a postcard PL-732364 from Poland a few days ago. Interestingly, it features the historic Annisquam Lighthouse on Wigwam Point in Gloucester, Massachusetts, USA.

The original lighthouse was a 12 m or 40 ft  wooden tower built in 1801. It was replaced by an octagonal wooden tower of the same height in 1851. The current cylindrical brick lighthouse was built in 1897.

The lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. It is still an active aid to navigation. However, there is no public access. Visitors may view the lighthouse across the Annisquam River from Wingaersheek Beach in Gloucester; or from a commercial cruise.

Map of Fiji

Map of the Republic of Fiji

I was assigned a PostCrossing recipient who wish to receive a map of Fiji that is available at Zazzle.com. Therefore I went ahead to place an order and sent it to Poland as US-2312780. I hope he wouldn't mind it was not mailed from Fiji. Internet commerce allows us to obtain goods that we have to travel there to buy in the past. In the case of postcards, I am sure it's a blessing or a curse. Anyway, I bought it because I like it myself, and it's unlikely I would travel there or get a postcard from Fiji soon. There are only seven PostCrossing users in Fiji.

Happy 58th Birthday: Disneyland!

The Art of Disney: Imagination Stamped Postal Cards

Disneyland at Anaheim, California first opened on July 17, 1955.  it was built on a 160-acre orange orchard costing $17 million. The original park included Main Street, Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland. Over the years, more attractions have been added. Now it grows into two parks: Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park. The newest attraction was the Cars Land opened last year with a massive mountain range in the Disney California Adventure Park, inspired by the 2006 Disney-Pixar film "Cars". The admission to Disneyland in 1955 was US$ 1.00. A 1-day one park ticket in 2013 is US$ 92.00.

The postcard US-2032235, sent to Poland and featuring Mickey Mouse as Steamboat Willie, was from "the Art of Disney: Imagination Stamped Postal Cards" with 27-cent pre-printed stamps. Those stamps are identical to the 42 stamps issued by the U.S. Postal Service at Disneyland Resort, in Anaheim, California, on August 7, 2008.