Postcard US-6314090 from Maryland shows a vintage Halloween image from the early 20th century of a boy with his dog, checking out three funny pumpkins.
The US Postal Service issued four Forever stamps at the Milford Pumpkin Festival in Milford, NH on October 11,2019 for Halloween. The Spooky Silhouettes stamps feature a cat, two ghosts, a spider, and three bats rendered as black silhouettes against eerily backlit windows.
Postcard TW-1957358 from Taiwan shows the Tropic of Cancer Monument in Rueisuei (瑞穗) Township, Hualien County (花蓮縣), Taiwan.
The Tropic of Cancer is the most northerly circle of latitude at 23.5ºN on the Earth that may have the Sun directly overhead at the time of the Northern solstice (夏至). In 2016, this "shadowless" effect occurs at noon local time on June 20 at 23.43715°N when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun to its maximum extent.
The.Tropic of Cancer Monument was originally placed to the west of Rueisuei Train Station in 1933. It was relocated to to the Wuhe (舞鶴) Terrace on Provincial Highway No.9 in 1981 due to expansion of the Eastern Line Railway. However, the new location is actually two kilometers south of the Tropic of Cancer.
Two additional Tropic of Cancer monuments can be found in Taiwan at Shuishang (水上) Township, Jiayi County (嘉義縣), and Fengbin (豐濱) Township, Hualien County respectively.
The 18th annual Tel Aviv Pride Parade took place on June 3, 2016 with more than 200,000 participants from Israel and oversea. It's the largest event ever in the Middle East. The theme for the 2016 event was “Women for Change,” highlighting the role of women in the LGBT community.
Postcard TW-1958271 from Taiwan shows the Tel Aviv Pride Parade from a previous year. The 2017 Tel Aviv Pride Parade will be held on June 9, 2017.
In the United States, thousands turned out in Columbus, OH, Denver, CO, Olympia, WA, New Orleans, LA, Portland, OR, Chicago, IL, Albuquerque, NM and Providence, RI. for pride festivals and parades over the weekend. The mood for many people was somber as forty-nine people were killed and more than 50 others were wounded in a mass shooting inside the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, FL last weekend on June 12, 2016. Security were tightened at events over the weekend. Participants declare that they refuse to live in fear, with more people come out to show support.
Postcard US-4005401 to Thailand was a vintage card from the 1960s, with a view of Engineer Mountain Vista in autumn from the Million Dollar Highway, US 550 between Durango and Silverton in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado.
Postcard NZ-146552 from New Zealand shows a stunning sunrise with the Wellington Cable Car in the forefront. Established in 1902, Wellington’s historic Cable Car is the only cable railway currently in operation in New Zealand.
For visitors, no trip to Wellington is complete without a ride on the famous cable car; for locals, it's more than a commute. A good way to spend a morning is to get to the top of the Botanic Gardens early to watch the sunrise and view the cityscape. You will need to check the local sunrise time and the cable car timetable to plan the trip. Stop at the Cable Car Museum that was the original winding house. Then walk down to the city's central business district through the beautiful gardens and old houses.
The Cable Car is currently closed from June 7 to July 31, 2016 for upgrade.
Postcard PT-257988 from Portugal shows a beach scene in the Algarve, the southernmost region of continental Portugal. Known for its sunny Mediterranean climate and its beach and golf resorts, it is the most popular tourist destination in Portugal in the summer. It has half a million regular residents, with visitors and seasonal residents adding to another million during the peak holiday season. The Algarve receives near 10 million visitors annually, including 7 millions from overseas.
Postcard US-4036245 from Colorado shows the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA), located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. According to Wikipedia, it is the youngest of the five United States service academies, with its first class graduated in 1959. Graduates of the Academy's four-year program receive a Bachelor of Science degree, and are commissioned as second lieutenants in the United States Air Force. The Academy is also one of the largest tourist attractions in Colorado, receiving close to one million visitors every year.
President Obama attended the Academy's 2016 graduation ceremony yesterday on June 2, 2016 as the keynote speaker. In his final commencement address of his presidency, Obama shared some of the lessons he learned in the White House as president and commander-in-chief, and warned the graduating cadets about isolationism.
The United States Air Force Thunderbirdsperformed during the graduation ceremony. However, one of its fighter jets crashed on its way back to the Peterson Air Force Base after the fly-over demonstration.
Postcard NZ-146406 from New Zealand shows a view of the Milky Way from Down Under. According to an article from the Photography Roundtable, for people living in the Southern Hemisphere, the best time period to see and photograph the Milky Way is from February to October, as the galactic center of the Milky Way will not be visible from November to January.
For us in the Northern Hemisphere, the best time to see and photograph the Milky Way is between March and October with the galactic center in full view.
On a separate note, USPS released the Pluto—Explored! and Views of Our Planets Forever stamps during the first-day-of-issue dedication ceremony at World Stamp Show-NY 2016 on May 31, 2016. I was excited to purchase two sheets of the Views of Our Planets Forever stamps yesterday. However, to my disappointment, our local post offices had not ordered the Pluto—Explored! souvenir sheets. I will have to order them on-line.
Postcard RU-4476824 from Russia shows a chef in Santa suit with a new dish in his hand. It is true that there are always new food offerings in Las Vegas. Eater Las Vegas has recently put out a list of the 21 hottest restaurants in Las Vegas right now in May 2016. Try some of them out if you are in town.
The Swedish retail giant IKEA opens its first store in Nevada today, offering stylish, relatively inexpensive and self-assembly home furniture along those famous Swedish meatballs from its 42nd store in the U.S., located by the 215 Beltway between Sunset and Durango roads in Las Vegas. Deputy Chief of Mission for the Swedish Embassy Göran Lithell joined the company executives and local government representatives in the opening ceremony.
Postcard SE-47353 from Sweden shows steamboats anchored in Stockholm, Sweden during a winter evening.
In this Astronomy Day 2016, we are showcasing postcard UA-1351038 from Ukraine that offers an unusual view of the Helix Nebula (螺旋星雲), NGC 7293, a composite image made from near-infrared photos using Y, J and K filters that were captured by European Southern Observatory's Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy in Chile. Located in the constellation Aquarius, it is often referred to as the "Eye of God" in pop culture.
Astronomy Day, started in 1973, is an bi-annual event for the purpose of promoting interaction between the general public and various astronomy enthusiasts, groups and professionals.
Initially, Astronomy Day occurs on a Saturday between mid-April and mid-May on or close to the first quarter Moon. Since 2007, an autumn rendition of Astronomy Day has been added to occur on a Saturday between mid-September and mid-October on or close to the first quarter Moon. Under such lunar influence, the events will happen on different dates each year, rather than on set calendar dates. The next date for Astronomy Day will be October 8, 2016.
Postcard US-2233438 from Ohio shows a pair of Amish children going to school with their lunch boxes.
According to the Amish News, "these children’s days are not given shape by a line-up of soccer games, piano lessons, camp, or play groups. Instead, the morning sun, chore-time twice a day, and the coming of evening set a structure for their time. So, too, do the days of the week and the seasons. In this largely rural, soil-anchored world, life follows the lead of the weather and the promise of productive fields and gardens."
Since the birth rate is considerably higher than the death rate, the Amish population has actually been growing over the past several centuries.
Postcard DE-4851768 from Germany shows Pluto and its moon Charon.
USPS announces that it will issue the Pluto – Explored! Forever stamps at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City, New York on May 31, 2016 during the World Stamp Show – NY 2016, in order to recognize the NASA's history-making first reconnaissance of Pluto: New Horizons mission in 2015.
The souvenir sheet contains four stamps in two designs. The first design shows an illustration of the New Horizons spacecraft, while the second design shows a striking image of Pluto taken by the spacecraft near its closest approach. The image is a composite of four photos from the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager, combined with data from the sensor Ralph.
According to the Swedish Tourist Association, "250 years ago, in 1766, Sweden became the first country in the world to introduce a constitutional law to abolish censorship. To honor this anniversary, Sweden is now the first country in the world to introduce its own phone number." Call the Swedish Number +46 771 793 336 today and you will get connected to an ambassador, who is a random Swede living anywhere in Sweden and who would talk about anything you want.
From the U.S. the local number is (301) 276-0600. Currently, Stockholm is in the Central European Summer Time Zone (CEST: UTC/GMT +2 hours) with Daylight Saving Time starting on March 27, 2016 and ending on October 30, 2016. In comparison, Las Vegas is in the Pacific Daylight Time Zone (PDT: UTC/GMT -7 hours) with Daylight Saving Time starting on March 13, 2016 and ending on November 6, 2016. Therefore, it is currently 9 hours behind of Stockholm. You can call anytime but keep the time difference in mind.
My recent received postcard SE-96903 from Sweden shows a Junkers F.13 aircraft, registered as S-AAAC and later as SE-AAC, which was used for the first flight between Stockholm and Helsinki on June 2, 1924 by AB Aerotransport (ABA), a Swedish airline that is part of the SAS Group today. The aircraft is now on display at the National Museum of Science and Technology in Stockholm.
Postcard CZ-806944 from Czech Republic shows Lipno, a village in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It is located along the Vltava River next to the Lipno Dam. The dam was built on the Vltava River between 1952 and 1959 as a flood control measure. With an area of 46.5 km2 or 4650 ha and a capacity of 306 million m3, it is the largest reservoir in the Czech Republic. Lipno Hydro Power Plant has two turbines with a combined capacity of 128 megawatts.
Postcard JP-789171 from Japan shows a silhouette of a Japanese Samurai under the tree.
Meanwhile, in order to offer visitors to Japan a taste of Japanese culture and tradition as soon as they are on board, Peach Aviation has developed a "SAMURAI aircraft" featuring seiza-style sitting on tatami mats and the captain dressing up as a samurai. However, the seats are limited, and the promotion is only valid for today on April 1, 2016.
Postcard BE-427724 from Belgium shows one of Grzegorz Chudy's paintings By Tram through Old Chorzówpublished 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.
The national flag of New Zealand, shown on the lower left corner of postcard NZ-96168 of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, is a defaced British Blue Ensign with the Union Flag in the canton, and four red stars with white borders to the right whose pattern represents the asterism within the constellation of Crux, the Southern Cross.
However, there has been on-going debates about changing the national flag for several decades, mainly because:
it is very similar to the national flag of Australia, causing frequent confusions;
as a derivative of the Blue Ensign, it acknowledges to the heritage of being a settler colony of the United Kingdom more than represents New Zealand's current status as an independent, sovereign nation;
it lacks representation of New Zealand's Māori culture and other ethnic groups.
Postcard IN-177804 from India shows the Shore Temple, built with blocks of granite in 700–728 CE, overlooking the shore of the Bay of Bengal at Mahabalipuram in India. It is one of the oldest structural stone temples of South India. Mahabalipuram was once a busy port during the reign of Narasimhavarman II of the Pallava dynasty.
As one of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram, the Shore Temple was recognized as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984.
