Japantown

Outgoing postcard US-3263841 to Philippines shows a photo taken on September 21, 2004, of a crocodile-shaped bench and sculpture at Japantown (日本町) in San Francisco, California, the largest and oldest such enclave in the United States with six street blocks. The card features one of the Gifts of the Friendship stamps that depicts the clock tower outside the National Diet Building in Tokyo, rising behind a foreground of white dogwood flowers.

The area is home to Japanese cuisine restaurants, supermarkets, hotels, banks, bookstores and other shops, with a focal point at the Japan Center, opened in 1968 as part of urban renewal efforts. It is the site of the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival, a two-weekend festival in April, and the Nihonmachi Street Fair in August every year.

The Peace Pagoda, shown in a recent photo on May 30, 2015, is a five-tiered concrete Buddhist stupa that promotes World peace. Designed by Japanese architect Yoshiro Taniguchi, it was presented to San Francisco by the people of Osaka, Japan.

Bee Rock Tunnel, Virginia

Outgoing postcard US-3125851 to Czech Republic shows the Bee Rock Tunnel, a former railroad tunnel located Appalachia and Big Stone Gap, Virginia. It was built in 1891 by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. At 47 feet 7 inches or 14.50 meters, It was once known as the World's shortest railroad tunnel. However, it was soon realized that both the Westmoreland Tunnel (46 feet or 14.02 meters) in Gallatin, Tennessee and the Backbone Rock Tunnel (22 feet or 6.70 meters) near Crandull, Tennessee were shorter than the Bee Rock Tunnel. The Bee Rock Tunnel is now part of the Bee Tunnel-Roaring Branch Trail.

International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia

The International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) is celebrated every year on May 17. According to Wikipedia, "the day aims to coordinate international events that raise awareness of LGBT rights violations and stimulate interest in LGBT rights work worldwide."

The date of May 17 was chosen to commemorate the decision to remove homosexuality from the International Classification of Diseases of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1990.

Coincidentally, Massachusetts became the first state in the U.S. to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples on May 17, 2004. Since then, more states have followed suit, and public awareness and support has increased. Nationwide, same-sex marriage is now legal in 17 states and the District of Columbia. Bans have been struck down in Michigan, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and most recently, Arkansas and Idaho, pending appeals.

Locally, the Las Vegas steering committee of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is celebrating its Ninth Annual Gala Dinner with Golden-Globe and Emmy Award-Winning actor John Lithgow at Wynn on May 17, 2014. Celebrity appearances by screenwriter of the HBO “Big Love,” Dustin Lance Black; the cast members of Le Rêve, Melody Sweets of Absinthe, TV personality Chris Saldaña are expected with red carpet at 4:30 p.m. and the gala at 6 p.m.

Meanwhile, businesses are taking notes and have been increasingly embracing LGBT friendly approaches. The advertising card from the Tropicana Las Vegas promotes the hotel as a transformed LGBT friendly destination and boasts a score 90 out of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) 2013 Corporate Equality Index on their website. The Tropicana has also been hosting Xposed!, a new weekly LGBTQ beach party at at Tropicana Beach Club, on Saturdays since March 29, 2014.

A Postcard to Iran

President Barack Obama spoke with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani today, as the Iranian leader was heading to the airport to leave New York after attending the U.N. General Assembly meeting. During his time in the U.S., Mr. Rouhani made a number of public addresses indicating that Iran was open to restoring relationship with the U.S. and resolving conflict around the nuclear program in Iran. It is the first time leaders from the U.S. and Iran have direct communication since the Tehran hostage crisis more than three decades ago in 1979.

I was given an address in Tehran from PostCrossing on August 23, 2013. I hesitated to send out a card for a few days because I didn't want to give a reason to the NSA spying for communicating with people in Iran. However, since we PostCrossers had already been sending out mails oversea for sometime, we would have been targets already if they chose to do so. Traveling postcard US-2379246 shows a pair of table tennis paddles and a Ping-pong ball. Each paddle is decorated with a U.S. national flag and a Chinese national flag respectively. The postcard refers to the Ping-pong diplomacy that started with the exchange of table tennis players between the United States and People's Republic of China in the early 1970s. The event marked a thaw in U.S.- China relations that had been frozen since 1949 and paved the way to a visit to Beijing by President Richard Nixon. If history can be a guide, I am hopeful that an improved U.S - Iran relationship would contribute to the peace and prosperity in the Middle East and the world.

Update: The postcard was sent on September 2, 2013 and received on October 7, 2013.