In which I talk about postcards (and many other things) for 36 minutes, 26 seconds, and 121 milliseconds. Plus there’s some music as an intro and outro. This is the last in the series for National Postcard Week 2021.

In which I talk about Johnny Astro, growing up on the same street where Ray Bradbury grew up, and why I collect space postcards.

In which I talk about polymer physics, design of experiments, rheology, digital calipers, coefficient of friction, bending deflection, stiffness…and why in the hell so many postcards get marred in the mail. 

How many stamps do you put on a postcard? 

I’ve tested scores of pens and pencils to write postcards. Here’s where I tell you about it. 

Links to pens and pencils I use to write postcards:

Blue Sharpie

Tombow

Staedtler

Sarasa Zebra

Retro 51

Baronfig

Sakura

Blackwing

Camel

It’s National Postcard Week this week. I talk about it. 

I chatted with postcard collector extraordinaire Mark Routh of Mark’s Postcard Chat about what defines a postcard — and how we make a distinction between a postcard and a piece of art. I think you’ll be surprised at the answer. 

I went on a trip across nine states and 20 hours of driving. I stopped along the way. I was Desperately Seeking Postcards. This is a show I recorded along the way. 

Artist Nicole Carnes joins me on this episode where we discuss a wide range of topics: from her art, her inspirations (Vincent Van Gogh and Toulouse Lautrec), her ambidexterity, and what pictures she visualizes when she gets art inspiration.

You can find Nic on Instagram @rockabillynic.

Nic’s Etsy store: Fiber and Wooly Arts

Midnight in Paris

Loving Vincent

Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience

Mark Routh joins me this time to talk about curating his world-class Covid postcard (and associated mail and stamp) collection. He gives pointers to budding postcard collectors on how to start and where to focus to build a collection. 

You can find Mark’s work many places, including as a long-time author at Picture Postcard Monthly and at his blog — Mark’s Postcard Chat