Change to Pay-for-Parking Underway

Visitors to Las Vegas have long been used to and expected free parking at casinos as one of the perks that casino operators offered to attract customers. However, the era of free parking is ending as MGM Resorts International’s properties start to charge for parking this week.

Monte Carlo, New York-New York, Bellagio, Aria and Vdara are the first ones to implement the controversial paid parking program on Monday June 6, 2016, charging customers up to $10 per day. Luxor, Excalibur, and Circus Circus followed on Tuesday June 7; MGM Grand and Mirage are joining in today. Visitors to Mandalay Bay and Delano customers will lose their free parking privileges on June 13, 2016.

Local residents can still park for free until the end of the year. Members of MGM's M Life loyalty program who earned the Gold, Pearl, Platinum and NOIR status will receive free self-parking. Short term parking up to one hour is also complimentary.

While customers can book other properties that do not charge parking for now, the worry is that all other resorts on the Las Vegas Strip may soon follow the trend.

Postcard US-2002271 to Australia shows many MGM properties on the Las Vegas Strip that are affected by the changes, with MGM Grand on the left, and Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur, New York-New York, and Monte Carlo on the right.

Sand Island Lighthouse, Alabama

Postcard US-1987845 to Minnesota, USA shows the Sand Island Lighthouse located at the southernmost point of the state of Alabama, 3 miles or 5 kilometers offshore near Dauphin Island, at the mouth of Mobile Bay, Alabama. The 131-foot or 40-meter tall Italianate style lighthouse opened in 1838 to replace an earlier lighthouse destroyed by Confederate John W. Glenn on February 23, 1863 during the Civil War. Due to erosion and hurricane damages, it is on the Lighthouse Digest Doomsday List as one of the most endangered lighthouses in the country.

The lighthouse is one of the five Gulf Coast lighthouses featured on postage stamps and a stamped postcard book with pre-printed 28-cent postage issued by USPS in 2009.

Earlier on today, the 86th Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., Selma, a historical film based on the Selma to Montgomery, Alabama voting rights marches led by James Bevel, Hosea Williams, Martin Luther King, Jr. and John Lewis in 1965, was nominated for Best Picture and Best Original Song for the 87th Oscar Awards. However, as Selma's director Ava DuVernay was not recognized for her powerful work directing the film, it reinforced the perception that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, made up of predominately white, older men, is still falling behind in recognizing diversity. Today’s nominations see absence of black actors/filmmakers and female filmmakers nominated for directing or screenplay. The controversy becomes evident as the Twitter hashtag #OscarSoWhite is trending right now.

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.

National Day of Encouragement

September 12, 2014 is the National Day of Encouragement in the United States.

It was started by the Encouragement Foundation at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas in 2007. The first proclamation for the Day of Encouragement was issued by Mayor Belinda LaForce of Searcy, Arkansas on August 22, 2007. Mike Beebe, the current Governor of Arkansas since 2007, made a proclamation for September 12, 2007 as the "State Day of Encouragement" for Arkansas. A U.S. Senator simple resolution designated September 12, 2011 as "National Day of Encouragement."

As we all need some encouragement from time to time, why don't we make every day a Day of Encouragement.  Joe Grace pointed out five easy ways to celebrate National Day of Encouragement:

1. Tell somebody "great job" today,
2. High-fives, high-fives, high-fives, 
3. Call, email or text a friend or family member you haven't contact in a while, 
4. Help someone along with their goals,
5. Smile more.

Señor Frog's in Las Vegas

Postcard US-2412914 to California shows a variation of the "Keep Calm" motivation postcards, purchased at the University of Florida store at Zazzle. Interestingly, contrary to the intention of the phrase that was originated from a U.K. government propaganda campaign during World War II,  a trademark dispute occurred over the phrase as a registered EU trademark. The EU Trademark Office rejected the cancellation request on July 31, 2013. However, since trademark rights are jurisdictional, "Keep Calm" products are still available from third parities in the U.S. Searching "keep calm postcards" at Zazzle yields 163,485 results as of today.

Golden Gate Bridge Gets Safety Nets

Outgoing postcard US-2849014 to Poland shows the iconic Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

The Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District's Board of Directors approved funding for a suicide barrier, a decades-long effort for the advocates, on the Golden Gate Bridge Friday, June 27, 2014. The 76-million-dollar project will install steel-cable nets 20 feet beneath the east and west edges of the bridge, with construction planned from 2015 to 2018. Once built, the barrier would deter people from jumping to their deaths or catch them in the nets if they have actually done so. At least 1,600 people have jumped to their deaths from the Golden Gate Bridge since it was completed in 1937, including a record high of 46 last year in 2013.

The plan was not without controversy, in the past critics have complained that a barrier would ruin the bridge's appearance. More important, with underlining crises unsolved, it would simply displace suicides to elsewhere. Nonetheless, as mentioned in a SFGate article, statistics from a study shows suicide barriers on other bridges successful in deterring jumpers. #LifeIsWorthLiving

FIFA World Cup Opens Today

2014 FIFA World Cup opens with music and dance in São Paulo, Brazil today. The official anthem and slogan is "We Are One".

However, a protest, against the money lavished on football stadiums instead of essentials for people and schools, broke out in the very morning and was met with police forces. Meanwhile, Fifa's decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar is under on-going scrutiny with allegations of corruption.

Brazil team won over Croatia with a 3:1 victory in the opening game. While the Brazilian players like Neymar did beautiful job on the field, they could not escape from the controversies such as the over-generous penalty call and the staged training session.

Nonetheless, as the month-long tournament starts, watched by millions of people around the globe, we hope that we can be united and find more consensuses in the end. The 2014 World Cup plays from June 12 to July 13, 2014. The featured postcard was made from a team sticker by Hyundai, an official sponsor.
  

#450511240 / gettyimages.com

Harry Potter and Stamp Collecting

Postcard US-2545660 is going to India to a Harry Potter fan. It comes with a newly issued Harry Potter stamp by the USPS. However, the decision to issue those stamps is controversy as the USPS has bypassed the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee that has been charged with researching and recommending subjects for new stamps, The panel was dismal on the Postal Service's marketing department that has placed mass appeals and commercial values over stamps' culture values.

Inspector General David Williams at the USPS is asking for public input over the controversy:

• Should the Postal Service market stamp images that focus on a younger audience in hopes of reaching beyond traditional collectors and generating sales?
• Should the Postal Service be allowed to develop themes and images that do not focus on American heritage for the sake of sales?
• Or, should stamps be works of art and pieces of history and not based on fads or celebrities?
• What stamp images would you like to see?

If you have strong opinion on this topic, you can let your voice to be heard by adding comments to this blog.