20-Word Fiction (5 out of 10): The Stamps

Tonight, we continue with our series of 20-word fiction pieces. This is the fifth in a series of ten. After 11 years of blogging, it's hard to come up with new ideas, but hopefully this is working. And, perhaps, someone from a far away place like Vilnius, Lithuania, is reading this. Perhaps....

"Stamps. Stamps. Stamps. Where are the effing stamps? Gotta send that check to Duke Energy. I owe Verizon money too."

We dedicate this entry to the Verizon workers who are caught up in a labor dispute with the telecommunications giant. Yeah, despite the patriotic World War II stamp image, we aren't tea party people here.....!

Comic Strip Dialogue_ Open Letters

Today, we are going with comic strip dialogue from a newspaper we haven't used before; this one is "The News & Record," the daily newspaper in Greensboro, NC. The strip dialogue used here is from the Sunday, Dec. 2, 2012, edition of the newspaper.

Of course, our sincerest thoughts go out to the family of Jack Pinto, one of the children killed at the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut and the other victims' families, but we feel that with the constrains of the holiday season here in America, it is best to resume 'normal programming."

Here we go:

1) "Dear Editor. How did you manage to get this letter open?" (from "Shoe," yes, it is the reason for the Greek stamp, which we are using to show irony; the managing editor of this blog is a Turkish-American named Tilly Gokbudak, who happens to be me).

2) "How often do you check your email?" (from "Jump Start")

3) "Santa got down that?" (from "Over the Hedge")

4) "Is this your place?" (from "B.C.")

5) "You should go on Broadway or TV or the movies!!" (from "Curtis")

6) "I'm glad you speak his language" (from "Dennis the Menace")

7) "So........what's on the agenda today?" (from "Wizard of Id")


http://www.news-record.com

http://www.shoecomics.com

20 Things To Do List for September- Get a Haircut

With an image of Bulgarian stamps, a Japanese barber (that's not me in the barber's chair, in fact, I've never been to Japan) and a poster for Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman," which is apparently being revived on Broadway, we are posting our 20 Things To Do List for September:


1) Read the overcoming procrastination book (by Jane B. Burka, et al)

2) Use Craig's List more often

3) Wear the Batman tie more often

4) Get stamps

5) Visit the Unitarian Universalists  congregation in your area

6) See an ACC college volleyball game

7) Get a haircut

8) Watch Democratic Convention on PBS

9) Call Bob

10) recylcle

11) wash car

12) Write an essay

13) shoot hoops

14) Listen to "All Things Considered" on NPR on Mondays

15) Get more orange juice

16) Go to make-shift Facebook high school reunion in Bethesda, Maryland*

17) Have coffee some place besides Starbucks

18) See a local stage play

19) Go to a Turkish-American event

20) Laundry

*-Bethesda is not where I really reside; it's an in-joke for those of you who have read this blog day in and day out for the last seven years.


http://www.kramers.com (Bookstore in Washington, DC, where we originally saw the book mentioned in #1)

http://www.craigslist.com

http://www.neckties.com

http://www.uua.org

http://www.charlestonuu.org (We chose the Charleston, SC, UU congregation at random)

http://www.gopack.com (We chose North Carolina State's athletic page at random, nothing against Duke or UNC).

Casualties of Modern Technology- Stamps (11 of 12)

Today, we turn our attention to yet another casualty of modern technology, though it's still around and used widely around the globe, postage stamps usage has decreased everywhere from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Montevideo, Uruguay.

The postage stamp that was first used, according to Wikipedia, was the Penny Black Stamp in the United Kingdon, which sold for one penny, in 1840. A century later, Airmail stamps were widely used in America and shortly thereafter everywhere else. Other stamps include military stamps and official stamps.

Stamp collecting, known as pjphilately, is a popular hobby. Highly sought after stamps include the Hawaiian missionary stamps, first issued in 1851, which are worth circa $5000,000 today. Stamp collectors also tend to like stamps from Carribean nations, such as The Bahamas and Jamaica, since they occasionally feature  unusual design and topics.

Here in America, popular stamps, include the Statue of Liberty forever stamp, the Eid stamp used for the Muslim holiday, and Black History Month stamps, which this year, included "Ebony" magazine founder John H. Johnson.

http://www.beyondtheperf.com/


http://www.stampshows.com/

http://www.famousstamps.com/

http://www.ebony.com/

In the News_ American Postage Stamps Increase

On Monday, here in the United States, standard stamps for letters and bills will increase from 44 cents to 45 cents, though most stamps are now 'Forever Stamps," meaning they can be used even if stamp rates increase.

This image above is of the 1997 Marilyn Monroe stamp, which was part of the Legends of Hollywood stamp series.

SIDEBAR: Kudos to soccer star Clint Dempsey for being the first American to score three goals in the English Premiere League. His team Fulham defeated New Castle 5-2 yesterday.

In Turkish soccer, Istanbul powerhouse team Besiktas beat Antalyaspor 2-1 thanks to two goals from Portuguese nationals: Hugo Almeida (63rd min) and Manuel Fernandes (89th min).

Our favorite team in the Turkish league, Bursaspor fell to Sivasspor 2-1, but Argentinian star Pablo Battalla did kick one for the Crocodiles. Interestingly enough, the game-winning goal for Sivasspor, a team from eastern Turkey, came from Azerbaijani national Cihan Ozkara, who I mistook for a Turkish player (names are similar in both countries).

Special Quote of the Week- Mark Twain

Wow, even Newt Gingrich is quoting Mark Twain (1835-1910) these days, well at least according to Google, but we don't think he'll be using the quip we will posting down below.

The author best known for novels like "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and "Tom Sawyer" will be featured on a commemorative American postage stamp in June; the first one will be post-marked in (where else?!) Hannibal, Missouri. There is also a Mark Twain House in Hartford, Conn., which I was fortunate enough to visit as we headed north to Maine a few years ago. One of the museum's many highlights is a sketch that animator Chuck Jones ("Bugs Bunny") made regarding Twain.

Late last year, "The Autobiography of Mark Twain" also came out, and it has been selling well. I have not read the book, but I did read his novel "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" fairly recently. And, luckily I did not have to write a book report on it!

When we get a proper chance, we will be sure to make fun of Gingrich and Donald Trump, but today well we are slightly overwhelmed! But, I would love to see a Republican candidate shaking hands in places like Sioux City, Iowa, or Rock Hill, SC, and making lofty promises that they themselves know could never ever happen. I guess that's what C-Span is for.

Here is the quote from Twain:

"A man is never more truthful than when he acknowledges himself a liar."