Frank Sinatra Show On ABC TV - Sponsored By Chesterfield

As I have succumbed and bought a packet of cigarettes again today (after a week of resilience) here is an apt blog post - a Chesterfield ad, from the times (50's) when smoking was cool. It is actually an ad for Frank Sinatra's show on ABC TV, with Chesterfield as a sponsor. What you probably can't see written in small letters beneath pictures is a unique way of phrasing things - my favourite is the caption for the penultimate picture, stating: This is satisfaction - man-size satisfaction! Chesterfield! :D Thanks goes to Michaela :)

Franz Kafka

Franz Kafka must be one of the more interesting and widely known literary figures of the last century - he was born into a middle-class, German-speaking Jewish family in Prague, the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He trained as a lawyer, and after completing his legal education he was employed with an insurance company, forcing him to relegate writing to his spare time. Over the course of his life, Kafka wrote hundreds of letters to family and close friends, including his father, with whom he had a strained and formal relationship. He died in 1924 at the age of 40 from tuberculosis.

His work, which fuses elements of realism and the fantastic typically features isolated protagonists faced by bizarre or surrealistic predicaments and incomprehensible social-bureaucratic powers, and has been interpreted as exploring themes of alienation, existential anxiety, guilt, and absurdity. His best known works include Die Verwandlung (The Metamorphosis), Der Process (The Trial), and Das Schloss (The Castle). The term Kafkaesque has entered the English language to describe situations like those in his writing.

I have to admit I have only ever read parts of two of his books, 'the metamorphosis' and 'in the penal colony' (I believe they were part of obligatory reading in highschool/uni) as back then it was a bit heavy on my brain. I should definitely try to rectify that...also, as I've learnt his work is not so easily translated from German, I thought maybe I should try reading the original - now thats a challenge!! In any case I love this collage postcard and stamp, thank you Anna :)

Fidel Castro En La Sierra Maestra, Cuba

Last week there was a hint of Cuban postcards finally arriving to their destinations...those were sent later than mine, so I was curious to see if mine will arrive...and surely they did, yesterday :) The cancellation shows they were sent a full week after I've put them in the mailbox, and took them further 11 weeks of travelling, but they are here and in a good shape so all is well :)

I couldn't resist sending one with Fidel - he sure is a controversial figure, but a very interesting one.

Marlene Dietrich

 

As I have quite gotten into black/white movies lately, I will post this portraiur of the wonderful Marlene Dietrich accordingly. Though I don't think I have any of her movies lined up I can say I have enjoyed the company of her peers Bette Davis and Ingrid Bergman in the last few days. And now, time for another classic, good night!

Merci Tamarye for the wonderful card :)

Messi 10

 

As the Spanish League is kicking off this weekend I hope it brings us great games esp. from Barca and the brilliant Lionel Messi :) When he plays its like some kind of art..!

Marilyn And The Press

Beautiful Marilyn's smile as she poses for the press...She was really something wasn't she?

The stamp is not only round but awesomly big - issued in 2000 celebrating Lithuanian medals at the Sydney Olympics, with the flag colours in the background. Its the kind of stamp that makes you go 'wow' when you turn the back of a postcard :) Thanks so much Ingrida!

Faces Of Marilyn

RU-500432

 



Perhaps They Will Make You Smile..? :)))

'Sex is only dirty when its done right'

Maybe this assortment of German postcards can bring a smile to your face on this cold winter day xD

Bob Marley Singing

Another 1st today, a Bob Marley card - thank you Mary :)

I cannot call myself a Bob Marley fan but I do enjoy some of his songs and I do respect his impact on modern music. His early death at the age of 36 was surely a great loss; i was moved when reading a eulogy to him by the Jamaican Prime Minister:

'Bob Marley was never seen. He was an experience which left an indelible imprint with each encounter. Such a man cannot be erased from the mind. He is part of the collective consciousness of the nation.'

There is one song of his that gives me goose bumps as soon as I hear the intro...

'Could you be loved and be loved?

 Could you be loved and be loved?

 Don't let them fool ya,
 Or even try to school ya! Oh, no!
 We've got a mind of our own,
 So go to hell if what you're thinking is not right!
 Love would never leave us alone,
 A-yin the darkness there must come out to light. '

(this is uncanny, as soon as I finished writing the post Bob starts singing on the radio..!)

Audrey Loves Animals

Yes Audrey Hepburn is a charming lady - but even more so when showing affection for animals :) Especially the cutest little donkey foal!
Private swap with Olga/kAchirka, thank you :)

Portrait Of Dalai Lama

Interesting combination of the themes on postcard and stamps :))

Ad Cards, Brazil

Photography Exhibition in Rio de Janeiro - 'Guardians of the Amazon Forest' 

 David Lynch - 'The dark Side of the Soul'

 Seabed 3D - Imax

Normally i dont exchange ad cards in an envelope - but the donkey card was just too good to be missed, and it had no place in the back whatsoever to put the address or the stamps. The same handicap follows the other two cards, so i was happy to get an envelope. It was great to swap with Cristina - obrigada :)

Frida Kahlo, Mexico

FRIDA KAHLO - Autorretrato con Bonito (1941)

I like art. I like receiving art postcards. I like receiving images of famous people. And i love Mexico! So really, there is nothing not to be liked about this card :=D

Frida Kahlo de Rivera was a Mexican painter best known for her self-portraits. In her homeland her work has been celebrated as emblematic of national and indigenous tradition, and by feminists for the depiction of the female experience and form. She had a turbulent life, what with marrying the famous artist Diego Rivera, and suffering from numerous illnesses. The movie Frida from 2002 was, I thought, very interesting to watch - both informative and emotional, and beautifully picturesque :)

Big thanks to els for this private swap :)

James Dean In Times Square

James Dean in Times Square, New York, 1955. by Dennis Stock.

This is one of the most reproduced photographs of the post-war period, taken the year Dean died. There is a series of James Dean photographs taken by the same photographer in Hollywood, New York and star's hometown of Marion, Indiana. I am sure they would all make excellent postcards! This was received as official card (DE-951635) from Kazoe. Big thanks!

Yuri Gagarin

Thanks to RRs on the forum i've come into possession of these wonderful cards showing the best-known Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin :) I love the fact that i have a card showing him 'at work' and another in a much more leisurely manner. A big thanks goes to Olga (snisa) and Sveta (orange_froggy)!

Yuri Gagarin was the first human to journey into outer space in his vostok spacecraft, and complete an orbit of the earth, on april 12, 1961. he was only 27 years old! He must be one of the most popular people from Russia - a household name :) My parents have memories of his endevour, and to them it just sounded unbelievable at the time that the man was actually travelling thru space!

Unfortunately his life story didnt end happily...in 1968, while on a routine training, his MiG-15UTI crashed near the town of Kirzhach. his body was cremated and the ashes buried in the walls of the kremlin on Red Square in Moscow. Behind he left his wife Valentina and two daughters Elena and Galina. And a legacy never to be forgotten.

Marlon Brando As Stanley Kowalski

A very, very good example of a great movie card! I was lucky to find this in one of the offer tags - thank you marnie! Marlon Brando has been one of my favourites ever since i've seen him in 'A streetcar named Desire' - and this is him in that movie exactly, in his famously tight t-shirt :)

'A Streetcar Named Desire' is from 1951, and is an adaptation of a play by Tennessee Williams. Next to Marlon Brando it starred Vivien Leigh, Kim Hunter and Karl Malden - all three have won the Academy Award for their performances.