St. Patrick's Cathedral

Postcard US-3263831 to California was a vintage card showing St. Patrick's Cathedral, a decorated Neo-Gothic-style Roman Catholic cathedral church and a prominent landmark of New York City, directly across the street from Rockefeller Center in midtown Manhattan and specifically facing the Atlas statue. The cathedral was completed in 1878, The cathedral and associated buildings were declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976. According to a spreadsheet of NRHP list from the National Park Service, it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on December 8, 1976 with a reference number 76001250.

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.

Saint Basil's Cathedral, Moscow, Russia

RU-3443849 came from Russia with two postcards showing various landmarks in Moscow, one of which features Saint Basil's Cathedral, once a Orthodox church and now a part of the State Historical Museum in Red Square in Moscow, Russia. The building, located in immediate proximity of the Kremlin Palace, is officially known as the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos on the Moat. Built from 1555 to 1561 on orders from Ivan the Terrible to commemorate the siege of Kazan, it was once the tallest building in Moscow until the completion of the Ivan the Great Bell Tower in 1600. Shaped as a flame of a bonfire, the Cathedral has a unique design with eight side churches surrounding around the ninth church of Intercession in the center. It was recognized as part of the Kremlin and Red Square UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1990.

Montmartre

Postcard FR-446497 from France shows Montmartre, a 130-meter-tall hill in the north of Paris, France. It is known for the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on its summit. The ancient Romans had referred the site as Mount Mercury in the 8th century, and Mount Mars in the 9th century. Saint Denis, a Christian bishop, was decapitated on the hilltop in 250 AD for preaching the Christian faith. The hill was named Mountain of the Martyr to commemorate the martyrdom of Saint Denis.

Many artists had set up studios or shops in or around Montmartre, including Salvador Dalí, Amedeo Modigliani, Claude Monet, Piet Mondrian, Pablo Picasso, Camille Pissarro and Vincent van Gogh.

Now Montmartre is also know as a nightclub district with vibrant nightlife.

Amish Country

Postcard US-3064227 from Pennsylvania shows traditional Amish buggies in Pennsylvania. According to Wikipedia, "the Amish are a group of traditionalist Christian church fellowships, closely related to but distinct from Mennonite churches, with whom they share Swiss Anabaptist origins. The Amish are known for simple living, plain dress, and reluctance to adopt many conveniences of modern technology."

Basilica of Superga

Postcard IT-288254 from Italy shows the Basilica of Superga church near Turin, Italy. Built from 1717 to 1731 for Victor Amadeus II of Savoy and located at the top of the hill of Superga, the church was designed by Italian architect and designer Filippo Juvarra in late Baroque style. Under the church, the Royal Crypt of the Basilica of Superga is the burial place of the House of Savoy, one of the oldest royal families in the world,

Dresden Frauenkirche

Postcard DE-3525462 from Germany shows the restored Frauenkirche, a Lutheran church in Dresden, the capital of the German state of Saxony by the River Elbe near the Czech border as part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area with 2.4 million people.

Built in the 18th century, the original church was destroyed in the bombing of Dresden during the final months of World War II. The bombing by the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) in February 1945 destroyed over 1,600 acres or 6.5 square kilometers of the city center and killed around 25,000 people, which resulted in post-war controversy on whether or not the attacks were justified due to heavy civilian casualty. The remaining ruins had been left as a war memorial by East German leaders until the church was rebuilt between 2004 and 2005 after the reunification of Germany in 1990. With one of the largest domes in Europe, Frauenkirche is not only a fine example of Protestant sacred architecture but also a symbol of reconciliation between former enemies.

Oude Kerk in Delft

Postcard NL-2434080 from the Netherlands shows the Oude Kerk (Old Church), a Gothic Protestant church, in the old city center of Delft in the Netherlands. It is noted for a 75-meter brick tower that leans about two meters from the vertical.

Holy Spirit Cathedral in Minsk

Postcard BY-1136358 from Belarus shows the Holy Spirit Cathedral, the central cathedral of the Belarusian Orthodox Church, in Minsk, Belarus. The Cathedral dates back to 1633-1642 when the city was in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It suffered fire damages in 1741 and was reconstructed afterwards.

Among the various images of saints inside the Cathedral, the Theotokos icon of Virgin Mary, "Mother of God", has been believed as miraculous with tears of diamonds to help people in poverty.

Last in 2013 or First in 2014?

Postcard ES-215704 from Spain was the last official card I received in 2013. However, since the PostCrossing server resides in UTC/GMT zone, the registered arrival date was January 1, 2014. That would make this card my first in the New Year.

The postcard shows a night view of Seville, the fourth-largest city in Spain, with the Torre del Oro (Gold Tower) at the left-center by the Guadalquivir River and the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See at the top-right in the background.

Built in the early 13th century, the Torre del Oro was a military watch tower that controlled access to Seville via the river. It got its name due to its golden shine projected on the river, caused by its building materials: a mixture of mortar, lime and pressed hay. It served as a prison during the Middle Ages. 

The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See, known as Seville Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral that ranks as the largest Gothic cathedral and the third-largest church in the world. It was recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987, along with the Alcázar palace complex and the General Archive of the Indies.

The Latter Days

Thirty five years ago, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) opens its priesthood to "all worthy men" on June 9, 1978, ending a 148-year-old policy of excluding black men. A line in the lyrics of "the Book of Mormon" alluded above event: "I believe that in 1978 God changed his mind about black people..."

I realized that I still had a couple of the advertising cards of the movie "Latter Days" from its screening at the Gateway Theatre in Fort Lauderdale on February 20, 2004. According to IMDB, the movie is about a promiscuous gay party animal who falls for a young Mormon missionary, leading to crisis, cliché, and catastrophe. You can watch Latter Days' official trailer on Youtube.

So, I hope some day the LDS church will recognize LGBT members are belong to "all worthy men", not someones who have mental diseases to be cured. Indeed, changes are in the air. Stephanie Mencimer from MotherJones had a pair articles on Mormon Church Abandons Its Crusade Against Gay Marriage, and How the Mormons Ensured Victory for Gay Marriage. Recently, LDS Church accepted new Boy Scout policy on gay members.

I bought a copy of the Latter Days movie when it was out in DVDs. I feel It still resonate with anyone who has ever fallen in love when I watched it again after all these years. Now you can own a copy in Blu-ray from Amazon.