Greetings from Nashville, Tennessee

Postcard US-3064194 from Michigan, USA was a "Greetings from Nashville", Tennessee card that highlights its nickname "Music City" with an antique guitar. As the capital of the state of Tennessee, Nashville is located on the Cumberland River in the north-central part of the state, serving as a center for the music, healthcare, publishing, banking and transportation industries. It also has a large number of colleges and universities.

Today, the United States Supreme Court agreed to hear the case Tanco v. Haslam, No. 14-562 from Tennessee challenging state laws barring the recognition of same-sex marriages performed outside the state. It was part of the consolidated cases in which the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld the bans on same-sex marriage in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. By granting petitions seeking review from plaintiffs challenging those bans in each state, the United States Supreme Court posed to decide once for all whether the Constitution requires states “to license a marriage between two people of the same sex” and whether states must “recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out of state.” The Supreme Court's decision is due before the end of June. Governor Bill Haslam of Tennessee, a Republican, did what litigants who have won in the lower court usually do by urging the Supreme Court Justices not to hear the case.

Greetings from Texas

Postcard US-2445192 was a "Greetings from Texas" card, sent from Dallas, Texas. On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas at 12:30 p.m. central time. However, 51 years later, the mystery is still considered unsolved by many as questions remain.

In Las Vegas, “The JFK Exhibition” opens today at the Tropicana with memorabilia from the JFK White House, including many items related to his fateful visit to Dallas. Among them, a full-scale replica of the fuselage of Air Force One during the presidency of JFK will be on display through January 3, 2015.

Happy 150th Birthday, Nevada!

Postcard US-3017742 was sent to Germany with warm greetings from Nevada. On October 31, 1864, Nevada became the 36th state of the United State during the Civil War. Today marks the 150th birthday of the "Silver State" Nevada.

Las Vegas hosted a special Nevada Day Parade for the first time started at 10 a.m. to celebrate the State’s Sesquicentennial, highlighting the legacy of Southern Nevada. 150 groups marched up 4th Street in Downtown Las Vegas, consisting of floats, antique cars, horses, motorcycles, and marching bands. Hard to miss were larger-than-life Birthday Cake, Elvis, and American Eagle balloons.

Celebrations continue tomorrow including the 76th annual Nevada Day Parade in Carson City on November 1, 2014.

You can purchase a copy of the Greetings from Nevada postcards from Zazzle.

Schöne Grüße aus Daun

Postcard DE-3495274 was a nice greeting from Daun, Germany. It shows die Dauner Maare, a group of three volcanic lakes 2.5 km  (1.6 mi) to 3.5 km (2.2 mi) southeast of Daun’s town center. The main town of Daun has only about 5,000 permanent residents. It is known as a spa town and the mineral water springs in the surrounding area, due to the volcanic geological features in the area. Daun is home to the Eifel-Vulkanmuseum, a museum dedicated to provide information about volcanic and other geological phenomena in Eifel and world wide, using interactive computer models to explain the exciting and complex geological processes including both physical and chemical processes. 

Greetings from Connecticut

Postcard US-2928994 was a "Greetings from Connecticut" map card. Connecticut is the southernmost state in New England, with the city of Hartford as the capital. The state is named after the Connecticut River, seen on the map that approximately bisects the state, meaning in the Algonquian languages, a sub-family of Native American languages, for "long tidal river."

According to Wikipedia, Connecticut is the third smallest state by area, the 29th most populous, and the fourth most densely populated of the 50 United States. It was initially settled by Dutch settlers in present-day Hartford area. Then the first major settlements were established in the 1630s by England, which eventually led to one of the 13 Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution.

It was the 5th State admitted into the Union on January 9, 1788. (In comparison, Nevada joined the U.S. as the 36th State on October 31, 1864.) The State Flower is Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia), and the State Bird is American Robin (Turdus migratorius), as seen on the card.

Kesäterveiset

It was a delight to receive postcard FI-2129218 from Finland in the last day of June. Kesäterveiset, in Finnish, means "summer greetings." In a previous post, I found the winters in Chicago, IL and Helsinki, Finland similar. However, for the summer, it seems much more pleasurable in Finland in comparison with Las Vegas. The high temperature is 16.7°C or 62°F with a low at 9,4°C or 49°F in Helsinki on July 1, 2014. In Las Vegas, an excessive heat warning has been issued for Tuesday and Wednesday, with a forecast of high temperature at 45°C or 113°F and low at 27.8°C or 82°F for tomorrow on July 1, 2014. One year ago on June 30, 2013, the temperature at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas tied the all-time high record of 117°F or 47.2°C, first set on July 24, 1942 and next on July 19, 2005. It also broke the previous record high in June, which was 46.7°C or 116°F on June 15, 1940.

The photo on the top right of the postcard shows cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus), native to alpine and arctic tundra and boreal forest. It produces red edible fruits similar to those of raspberry or blackberry we have here. According to Wikipedia, "unlike most Rubus species, the cloudberry is dioecious, and fruit production by a female plant requires pollination from a male plant."

What else can beat the summer heat better than a glass of tropical triple fruit smoothie? The bottom layer was blended with strawberry and banana using coconut water; a mix of avocado and blueberry was in the middle; while the top layer consists of mango and banana. I would try to substitute blueberry with cloudberry once I could find the supply.

Greeting from Searchlight, Nevada

During the Nevada 150th Year Sesquicentennial celebration, people around the world are getting to know many other places in Nevada in addition to the well-known Las Vegas, Reno and Carson City. Searchlight is one of such small unincorporated towns in Nevada. Located 90 kilometers or 57 miles from Las Vegas at the topographic saddle between two mountain ranges in Clark County, it had a population of 539 as a census-designated place (CDP) in 2010.

Senator Reid Spoke at the Commemorative Nevada Statehood Stamp
First-Day-of-Issue Event on May 29, 2014

Searchlight is the hometown of the U.S. Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid. Edith Head (October 28, 1897 – October 24, 1981) also lived there. She was a Hollywood costume designer who won eight Oscars, still a record in its category and more than any other woman.

The postcard was purchased from Zazzle.com. You can personalized the postcard with any place name in Nevada.

Terveiset Luostolta

Postcard FI-2007427 brought "Greetings from Luosto" from Finland. Luosto is a mountain in Finnish Lapland with an elevation of 514 meters or 1686 feet. It's part of the Pyhä-Luosto National Park. The area is home to ski centers, and the Finnish Meteorological Institute weather radar.

As Getty Images just opened up embedded photos, my search of "Luosto, Finland" on their web site returned only the following photo. Their embed tool is very simple to use. However, I wish there were an option to allow customized size.

Greetings from Toronto

Postcard CA-393552 brought greetings from Toronto, Canada. Toronto usually has a Christmas Tree Lighting Fireworks at its City Hall on November 26. This year was no exception. You can watch the 2011 fireworks on YouTube.