Trailer for The Other City.
Once again, I am participating in AIDS Walk Washington and, once again, I’m asking you to donate a few dollars to this cause.  This 5k run and walk benefits Whitman Walker Clinic, a non-profit organization that offers medical and dental care, addiction counseling, free HIV/AIDS tests, legal services, AIDS education, and [...]

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Who knew that glue could be so elegant?!  Several years ago I went through a serious rubber cement phase– mostly because I loved (needed) it’s ability to adhere paper without causing bubbles.  This was, of course, before I discovered Xyron’s adhesive runners, now my adhesive of choice for most projects.   Anyway, this glue stick…  Can [...]

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Yesterday was Women’s Equality Day!  90 years ago women in the United States gained the right to vote and ever since have been a political force to be reckoned with– on both sides of the metaphorical isle.  So today, 90 years and 1 day after our grandmothers’ gained the right to vote, indulge me just [...]

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Matt Chase, a DC-based designer (swoon), offers up a hip, retro-kitsch re-branding of the USPS.  My initial reaction was “gasp this is just too wonderful” but then I thought, “is it too trendy?  Will this kind of design hold up long-term for an institution like the USPS?”  The last (actual) major branding change was back [...]

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The toy company Melissa and Doug make a Stamp & Sort play set!  I picked this up at a local toy store as a gift for (another) friend expecting a child; it’s never too early to brain wash future philatelists!  However, if you Google “toy mailbox” you’ll find lots of cool ones.  My hope is [...]

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This stamp came out of the bag/bucket I picked up for $5.  I thought it was Syrian, over printed with… something.  I assumed it was French for something like airmail or “rush” or whatever (I don’t speak French, not even a little teeny bit).  Turns out, this is a stamp from The Alawites State (French, [...]

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I’ve just started collecting stamps, and after last weekend’s stamp show I’ve had a lot of stamps to sort through and put in an album.  Some of them I got in $5 bucket, but some of them I picked out for a variety of reasons.  Of all the stamps I’ve been gathering lately, I’m most [...]

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“Lighter Moments” in Karthick Ramalingam’s Flickr stream.
Licensed via the Creative Commons.

The Overland Mail
by Rudyard Kipling
(Foot-Service to the Hills)
In the name of the Empress of India, make way,
O Lords of the Jungle, wherever you roam.
The woods are astir at the close of the day –
We exiles are waiting for letters from Home.
Let the robber retreat [...]

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Oh it was fun to shop at the Stamp Show.  Vendors had boxes and boxes and boxes of envelopes, stamps, old letters, and other items that they just let you flip through.  My goodness it was almost like heaven on earth.  If only I had a billion dollars and lots of space for that sort [...]

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I knew about the Universal Postal Union but I didn’t know there was a UN Postal Administration until I spent time at the APS’ Annual Stamp show!  I purchased a few items they had available and talked to the husband and wife team who staffed the booth.  I learned, for example, that:
The United Nations is [...]

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