When I was in England back in 1999 I went to the then-new Premier League Hall of Fame in London.  This postcard had the intial inductees, including France's beach soccer coach Eric Cantona and recent LA Galaxy discard Ruud Gullit.

I don't think this Hall of Fame exists anymore; I couldn't find much about it online.   It was pretty expensive and deserted when I visited.

I was in England for the millennium and this stamp celebrated the world cup win in 1966, so it seemed like a good postcard to buy.

In 2001, MTV briefly relaunched "unplugged" on mtv 2, and R.E.M. played again.  This fanclub postcard advertised that show.

I quite like the self-awareness of this postcard.  Too bad the movie it advertised was such a disappointment.

2001 really was a different time.  I got this fanclub postcard advertising a special website www.remreveal.com that would stream 6 (!) "exclusive tracks" from the new CD for a total of 48 hours (!).  It seems like almost everything is fully streamable weeks in advance now.

Back in 2001, MTV 2 used to play music.  This R.E.M. fanclub postcard advertised the airing of several old documentaries and concert videos featuring the band.

I used to be on the mailing list for Elephant 6 band Elf Power, who always seemed like nice people.  I saw them play a few times, including once opening for Wilco.  They're still at it, despite the fact that I don't think they ever got too popular.

Another fan club postcard from the R.E.M. reveal album.  This song at least has a neat part that sounds like an old modem dialing up.

I bought this one in Germany, too.  It's pretty much a bad copy of the promo art for the Losing My Religion single.

Yes, I was a member of the r.e.m. fanclub for a bunch of years.  This is a promotional postcard for the song "saturn return" which I pretty much hate, from the not good album reveal.  I kind of gave up on r.e.m. for a few years around this time.

I bought this postcard in Germany, when I was there during high school.  I was a big R.E.M. fan  then.  It occurs to me that at this time bringing cameras into concerts was pretty discouraged unlike today when everyone has digital things.  Probably that is why I bought it despite the terrible picture quality.

This postcard came with a scan of a draft of handwritten lyrics for the Mountain Goats song "Moon over Goldsboro" on the front and an explanation from Mountain Goat songwriter John Darnielle on the back.

This is a promo postcard for Domino Records release of Neutral Milk Hotel's "In the Aeroplane over the sea".  It has quotes from people in Franz Ferdinand and Arcade Fire on the back.  Not the main guys either; the bass players from each band.  Not sure why their opinions especially matter.

This is a promo postcard for the UK release of the Stephen Malkmus "Face the Truth" album.

It's the Queen's Royal Library at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen.  There's an elevator to get to the second level, but it's apparently very slow.  Any Danish citizen can request to borrow books from this library.

I guess it's technically a commonwealth map.

From the WORST VACATION EVER.

I picked up this promotional postcard for Horton Hears A Who in Copenhagen.

This postcard shows the settlement of Iceland.  I picked it up on our 2008 trip to Iceland, at the National Museum.

S. wrote:

Hi B!

As promised here is your postcard from Down Under.  Australia is great --the people are really friendly and much more laid back than we are.  I think Americans should adopt the Aussie mentality--instead of "you're welcome" they say "no worries!"  With a motto like that, everyone would be less stressed.  So far, though, the highlight of my trip was getting to hold a koala.  They are too cute.

J. wrote:

Dearest B-

I hope this postcard and the cute animals contained therein find you well.  I'm out west and enjoying it.  We saw the end of the Oregon Trail today.  We also went to a very large bookstore.  The people here all seem nice and happy too.  It's just a little chilly in the morning.  Keep it real...

Picked this one up on my trip to Germany.

Probably from a dad business trip.

Of course, the Hornets now play in New Orleans.  I don't know if the Bobcats play in this arena or somewhere else.  It's not that old; the postcard says it was completed in 1988 and is one of the largest facilities of its kind.  

Another interesting fact from the card: Charlotte was first referred to as a "Hornet's Nest" of rebellion by General Cornwallis during the Revolutionary War.

Home of the NY Red Bulls, for now.

New Comiskey