Teddybären Postkarte

If I go down to the mailbox today, I’m sure of a big surprise. If I go down to the mailbox today, I’d better go in disguise! For every bear that ever there was, will gather there for certain, because today’s the day the Teddy Bears have their postcards.

Yes, my lyrics are a stretch to the beloved classic song, but the surprise that I found in my mailbox yesterday was just cause to have me singing. Behold the adorableness of this:

Just too cute, isn’t it!  And because it’s from Europe, it’s sophisticated, classy cute too!

As precious as this is, it’s not the first teddy bear postcard of the Collection (see my King Kamehameha Teddy postcard), but it is the first one of teddy bears superimposed onto a quaint European town. I also love the teddy’s little lederhosen (although his red eye is a bit disconcerting).

Here’s the back side:

Postcard message:
“Tchüss from Germany. What’s the only thing that can make the beautiful medieval town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber better? Teddy bears! This pen sucks. [top] Rain all the time!”

****************8
Picnic time for Teddybären
The little Teddybären are having
A lovely time today…

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Great Wolf Lodge – Great Fun, Not-so Great Postcards

I just got back from a mini-family vacation to Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls, Ontario.  It was our first time there. We loved it! The waterslides are amazing – as are the other entertainment (MagiQuest – an interactive game, arcade, story time, decor, etc.), food, and the staff.

But as I’m an avid collector, I was naturally seeking out some choice specimens from this locale to add to my collection.  The pickings were slim and expensive (they blew this quarter’s acquisitions budget). These are the only two they had:

A front entrance to a hotel is rather ho-hum, even if said hotel is cool looking.

The specimen below particularly appealed to my daughter:

The later is clearly the superior of the two as it’s cute, odd-shaped, and all. But neither of these postcards are particularly compelling or indicative of the fun to be had at Great Wolf Lodge.

Postcards are essentially advertising that people pay for. Think of it this way, people pay for the costs to produce the ad, with a decent profit margin added. Then they pay to market a company’s ad and key message(s) to their contacts (and possible future customers).  So making decent postcards is important!  And, I would argue, they should still be free (or at least not damn expensive) as they were in the old days – when a postcard could be found in every hotel’s desk drawer!

But hotels didn’t have roller-coaster waterslides or animatronic critters in the lobby –  so I’ll concede that hotels have improved in some ways.

Kamehameha Mayhem

Today, is the anniversary of the death of King Kamehameha the Great of Hawaii. He took over all the Hawaiian islands and founded the kingdom of Hawaii.

When we were in Hawaii last year, there were just so many sites to see – cultural, historic, and this:

It’s King Kamehameha 1 – in teddy bear form! It’s part of a teddy tableaux of Hawaiian history from Teddy Bear World, Waikiki, Oahu.

Hawaii is my favourite place in the world that I’ve visited. And Teddy Bear World is no small part of the awesomeness that is Hawaii. Even if we didn’t have a little kid with us, we would never have missed such unique sites as this!

Fighting For Our Rights in Her Satin Tights

There are so many postcards in my collection, that it is hard to decide which ones to display here.  But the one below is without doubt one of absolute favourites:

If this postcard was just sent to me without a message, it would still be a favourite. I’ve loved Wonder Woman ever since as a kid I was mesmerized by the stunning Linda Carter’s TV adventures on the show “Wonder Woman” (with the awesome theme song – from which I got this post’s title). I also loved Wonder Woman on the Super Friends cartoon (unlike fish-out-of-water Aquaman or the insipid, inbred Wonder Twins).

This postcard has all the classic Wonder Woman stuff – the lasso, the invisible jet (which always puzzled me how entirely visible it is), and Wonder Woman’s arch-nemesis Cheetah. You’d think Cheetah’s feline nature would make her kind to cats, but I’m glad Wonder Woman is saving the day!

Even better than the front is the message on the back, from a young family friend:

Message text:
“Dear Glen.
I hope you have a lovely Easter. I hope you will see me again because I miss you. I hope you miss me too. I hope you get any problems. I love you very much. I know you love me too!”

This card’s got it all – a great personal message, an awesome & original image, and Wonder Woman!  Truly a gem of the collection!

Kinda Day That a Kitten Is Needed

It’s a crappy day here in Toronto – winter refuses to give up its hold and I’m working instead of doing anything fun.  All around bad day!  To cheer myself I need what the Web is best at – sharing pictures and videos of cute kittens (the best being  I Can Has Cheezburger) – it’s cyber crack.

Surprisingly, I have a lot of postcards sent to me of cats. I’m not sure exactly why – or that I should be declaring this publicly. Below one of my favourites and oldest ones. It’s from my great-grandmother to my great-grandfather.

 

The kitten is even saying “Nothing to Worry Me” despite all the mayhem.  Words to live by! Kittens are so wise – and adorable!

Here’s the reverse side:

Message text:

“Clinton, September 25, 1910
Hello.  Sunday evening. I am staying with daddy tonight while Mama is away to Church. I received your card from Stratford. Let me know soon how your cold is.”

Even over a 100 years ago, they knew the healing powers of kitten images!

 

Somebunny is Coming Soon

The Easter Bunny will soon be coming. While his sweet treats thrill my daughter, my wife and I are less thrilled with aftermath of our kid’s Easter sugar overdose.

Here’s a postcard to get you ready for that special somebunny who’s coming:

Here’s the reverse side:

Message text:
“Ah scenic Detroit. The airport has a monorail that’s about it for excitement. On th way to Fort Myers, Florida for a couple of weeks. Hope the move went well and you’re getting settled into the new place. Happy bunnies!”