Battersea Dogs & Cats Home - Since 1860

Battersea Dogs & Cats Home - 150th anniversary - Royal Mail Stamps

150 years of cruelly miniturising rescued animals to save on food and accomodation bills. Yet still celebrated, now with stamps, now with the Queen's approval... where will it end? It beggars belief.
How much longer can this be allowed to go on for?
Why do we all continue to turn a blind eye to all that goes on at the Battersea Dogs Home?

"we’re making a number of stamp issues available; each one beautifully capturing the richness and diversity of British heritage and culture." (Royal Mail)

With respect, are they bollocks. And, to put it mildly, it's a National Disgrace.
It is not part of British heritage or culture to shrink dogs to postage stamp size.


battersea_yapper_dog.jpg

(actual stamp size) Does that look normal to you?

"Leonard (above), a terrier, eventuallly less than 1cm tall, somewhat underweight and wary of people. He now lives with his new owners Claire and Pete in Maidenhead."(source)

---------------------------------------------



"Tigger, a tomcat, was brought into Battersea after his owner died. He now lives with his new owners Charlotte and Ciaran in London" (source)

His left wang eye is clearly visible. It may have been due to shrinkage.

---------------------------------------------


Two miniturised Battersea dogs together - both sat against actual sized postage stamps - a rare sight.

"Herbie, a mongrel, competes in nanoball competitions and has represented Battersea Dogs and Cats home in the sport. Tafka, a collie, ex-miner, came to Battersea because her owner died and now lives together with Herbie and their new owner Tamara in Berkshire! (source)


Sources:
Battersea Dogs & Cats Home
Royal Mail Special Special Stamps
The Guardian

Bald Guy Cards - Facts & Interview

Bald Guy Greetings: When you care enough to send a witty jest

Our Bald Guy Birthday cards are selling like proverbial hot cakes (where on earth can you buy hot cakes nowadays?).

We wanted to know more about the deviant brain geniuses behind the Bald Guy snark: Ian Kalman and Sean Farrell.

Little is known of Sean Farrell. What we have gleaned so far is that he is a multi-millionaire, eco-warrior, reclusive philanthropist, rides an original Moto Guzzi California and is an award-winning advertising art director who also designs movie posters for 20th Century Fox. But, disappointingly, not bald.

Ian Kalman, on the other hand, both genius writer and President of Bald Guy cards... is bald.
Well, not quite... Ian is one of those freakishly, throw-backishly hairy guys that has to shave more than once a day.
Prior to Bald Guy Ian wrote commercials for Budweiser before turning to soft drugs and hard shaving.

In order to sustain the Bald Guy corporate image Ian now shaves his head 4 times a day and it is only during these intensely creative and bitterly resented shaving periods that Ian stares deep into his shaving mirror and only then is able to develop and fine tune his greetings card snark.
Despite this Ian remains upbeat, "Shaving 4 times a day, it could be worse. Muslims have to pray 5 times a day on their knees, at least I can see what I'm doing..."

"Just this morning I snicked my ear whilst thinking about a special friend and came up with this..."

For my special friend
on your Birthday

inside:
Part of me calls you my special friend
because you're special to me.
But part of me calls you that
because it makes you sound retarded.




"We've been described as the "Anti-Hallmark" of greeting cards, but I like to think of Hallmark as the "Anti-Bald Guy Greetings" of greeting cards" said Ian.

---

Skinnymag journalist Jennifer Elks has this to say about the Bald Guy guys:

"Once upon a time, a man with a tremendously thick and beautiful mane of hair woke to find that it had all fallen out. Traumatized into a life of silence and mental instability, the only way he could communicate was through a series of cards he created ...

Never mind, I've got nothing. Actually, Ian Kalman and Sean Farrell - only one of whom is bald - are the men behind Bald Guy Greetings, a new local greeting card company with a wicked sense of humor. The "fake history" of the company was something they promised on their website, but it never appeared.

"I've been waiting a year for Ian to write that one," Farrell says. "I think he got a little too into writing the real history and got tired. It's longer than War and Peace."

Kalman, a Bay Area native and copywriter, met artist Farrell working at a local advertising agency in 1998. The two became friends but never collaborated on a project until Bald Guy Greetings. According to the real history of the company, they got their name from a friend who commented on Kalman's lack of hair. Shouldn't both of them be bald? You wouldn't want to mislead people.

"Not only is Sean not bald, he has a ridiculous amount of hair," Kalman says. "I've been trying to talk him into shaving it bald for the sake of our greeting cards, but he refuses.

The line includes a slew of birthday, get well, apology, anniversary and relationship cards, all with some kind of eloquent insult or back-handed compliment, as well as the first "you're welcome" card we've ever seen.

Other favorites include the "I'm sorry" card with "I still think it's your fault, but they don't make a card that says that" on the inside, "I was thinking of you the other day" / "But to be honest, I was thinking about a lot of people," and "Congratulations, you two" / "Regardless of what everyone says, I don't think either of you settled."

It almost seems a shame to create such a witty collection of cards when snail mail is dying a slow, painful death at the hands of email, taking away the personal touch that giving or sending a physical cards brings.

It's definitely dying, of course it is. We're a lazy society," Kalman says. "But when you get an actual, real card in the mail with a handwritten note in it, it means a lot more than getting an e-card. E-cards are just kind of a last-minute thing, but if I actually care about the person and I want to say something special, then I'll write them a card."

The two have come a long way from their humble beginning just before Christmas of 2005, with their first sale of cards made on an HP home printer. Though they've graduated to using a professional printer - the cards are still made locally, on recycled paper - they say they have some growing to do before Bald Guy can become a full-time gig.

"Bald Guy is just kind of a hobby right now, we both still freelance in advertising," Kalman says. "But my dream has always been for this to take off. I love it; we don't make any money doing it right now but it's so much fun."

"My dream would be to paint and sell my stuff for enough money to pay my dad back," Farrell says. "[But] I would love to see the line catch on so we can try some other things under the Bald Guy name," Farrell says. "I think the characters and the tone of the writing lends itself to a lot of different areas."

You many want to avoid sending Bald Guy cards to loved ones who don't have a sense of humor. Otherwise, "Get well soon" / "Before you become a financial burden on the entire family" might not go over well.

------

So now you know.

Bald Guy Cards @ Cool Cards

Cornwall man celebrates 110th birthday

"I don't know how it happened.
I never thought I'd get to this."

"Stanley Lucas, who was born on 15 January 1900 and now lives in a care home in Bude, has received seven birthday cards from the Queen.

He said: "I don't know how it happened. I never thought I'd get to this."

But he said his faith was important to him, he had an active life, and good care had helped.

'No half measures'

Mr Lucas, who was born in Morwenstow in north Cornwall, said he was too ill to serve in the armed forces during World War I, and he worked through both world wars as a farmer.

He was a member of Bude Town Council throughout the 1960s and was a keen bowler, still playing when he reached 100.

When asked if his Methodism was important in his life, he replied: "Yes very much so, and no half measures."

His daughter, Phyllis Stevens, said she had her own ideas about how he had made it to such a grand age.

She said: "It's down to hard work, good living, good plain food and good care."

Mr Lucas received his first birthday card from the Queen at the age of 100, and has continued to receive them since reaching 105"

Source: BBC

Happy Birthday Mr. Lucas..!

The Pig of Happiness - Film

An original animated film by Edward Monkton. Watching it is likely to make you a happier person. Sharing it with your friends is likely to make them happier too. So spread the love & press play.




Voice by Geoffrey Palmer
Animation by Andy Veasey for Essence
Music by Simon Bass
Sound by Zak Kurtha and Scott Marshall for Angel's Egg
Post Production by Essence
Produced by Giles Andreae


Buy The Pig of Happiness greeting card at Cool Cards

Recycle your Christmas cards - Woodland Trust

The Woodland Trust Christmas Card Recycling Scheme
They turn cards into trees




Just take your Christmas cards to WHSmith, TK Maxx and Marks & Spencer stores and drop your cards into the special bins in stores during January 2010.

Why take part?
You'll be helping to plant more trees in the UK, creating places for wildlife and people.

Who runs the scheme?
The Woodland Trust, the UK's leading woodland conservation charity.

How it works
They'll recycle your cards and plant trees, with your help they're aiming for 12,000 trees!

Where should they plant the trees? You decide!



Clive Anderson, Comedian and Woodland Trust President

"If everyone recycles just one Christmas card with the Woodland Trust this year enough funds will be generated to plant 15,000 trees. So imagine what the Trust could do if everyone recycled all their cards with it this year."



Jane Horrocks, Actress

"More than 1 billion cards get sent in the UK at Christmas and we want to recycle as many as possible."



Gabby Logan, TV presenter

"Be a good sport this year and go green by recycling your Christmas cards for the Woodland Trust. If we all recycled just one card, the Woodland Trust would be able to plant 15,000 trees! So please don't forget - every card really does count. Just take them along to your nearest WHSmith, Tesco, TK Maxx or Marks & Spencer store throughout January."

Woodland Trust

New: Bald Guy Cards

Bald Guy Cards



Refreshingly honest, sometimes brutal, always sarcastic, but never the less very caring cards.
Ian Kalman & Sean Farrell of San Francisco, California, a snarky greeting card partnership that lovingly tell it like it is.

Supposedly, the UK has led the world in greeting card design, but the likes of American designers Bald Guy cards and Fomato cards suggest that's not quite the case nowadays..?
Seems to be a huge UK market for crude, in your face, blunt greeting card messages along with sickly sweet traditional sentiment cards. America seems to be hitting the middle ground just lately, and doing it rather well.



We don't like the word 'exclusive' - we're just that way.
But can you buy Bald Guy birthday cards online elesewhere in the UK? No you can't.



7" x 5" - green envelope - not cello wrapped - recycled board

Bald Guy Cards at Cool Cards

In praise of: Posties

Christmas at the Royal Mail

Another gem from Roy Mayall:

"Christmas is the most important time of the year for the Royal Mail. It is when the company comes into its own.

It’s not only about the volume of traffic, though this is phenomenal. People are receiving ten, fifteen, or twenty times their usual mail. And it’s not just Christmas cards either. Everyone is trying to sell you something. So there are endless catalogues, brochures, special offers, two-for-the-price-of-one deals.

And then, after this, there are the presents. People may not send as many letters as they used to, but they can sit up all night browsing the internet for gift ideas, paying for them by credit card, and getting them sent by post the next day. Most of this comes through the Royal Mail.

There’s something of the Dunkirk spirit in delivery offices at this time of year. It’s a veritable assault of mail, and postal workers are braced for the force of the attack. There are times when we feel like the last troops defending the beaches as a never ending barrage of letters and cards and magazines and parcels is thrown at us. And then, after that, we are like the little ships evacuating the mail through the channel, on our bikes and in our trolleys, safely delivering the post to your homes.

It’s a great feeling. There’s great camaraderie in the office, great spirit, and a huge sense of achievement when it’s all over; after which we get two days off work – Christmas Day and Boxing Day – before we resume our rounds again.

But – as I say – that’s not all there is to it.

There’s something else, something more subtle, but no less substantial.

Because we are not only delivering the mail. We are delivering goodwill. We are delivering keepsakes and remembrances. We are delivering thoughts of our friends. We are delivering Christmas wishes and New Year greetings from across the country and around the globe. We are more than just posties then. We are the thread that weaves through the fabric of society, binding it together.

You see, us posties are being grossly underestimated. You think that all we do is read an address and then stick the letter through the door, but there’s much more to it than that.

These days there’s immense pressure on us. We are carrying more mail than ever, and working at a faster pace. There has been a 30% reduction in staff levels in the last two years and increasing volumes, particularly of parcels. There are more part-time posties and casuals. There are more rounds being done on an ad-hoc basis with no full-time postie being assigned. There’s an ever increasing volume of junk mail being generated by data bases in computers sent to people who moved out years ago, to addresses that no longer exist".

Continue reading Christmas at the Royal Mail by Roy Mayall

NEW: Fomato cards

New to Cool Cards, a snarky big welcome to: Fomato cards.



A small greeting card company based in Los Angeles, Fomato was formed in 2004 by a group of disgruntled restaurant co-workers.



Emmie Hsu, the disgustingly talented designer of Fomato cards, just doesn't know when to stop when it comes to greeting card design. More often than not she fills the front, both inside pages AND the back page with snarky words and images.



Can you buy Fomato cards online elsewhere in the UK? No you can't.
Can you personalise these cards? No you can't. There isn't room.

12.5cm x 17.5cm - White envelope - not cello wrapped - NOT personalisabubble

Cool Cards
Cool cards: Fomato cards

In praise of: Royal Mail

Junk Mail

• The average home receives over 200 items of unwanted junk mail every year.

• Over half a million tonnes of junk mail is generated annually in the UK.

• UK junk mail uses 3.5 million trees each year.

Source: BBC - Junk Mail - Climate Change

• 17.5 billion pieces of junk mail are produced every year in the UK. This includes both addressed and unaddressed junk mail.

• To produce all this junk mail 550,000 tonnes of paper and 16.5 billion litres of water are used.

• 650 pieces of junk mail are posted through the average British letterbox every year.

• On average 80 pieces of addressed junk mail are sent out to the 583,000 people who die every year in the UK following their death.

Source: Stop Junk Mail


How can you help combat climate change, save over 4kg of CO₂ a year, reduce landfill, reduce the need for recycling and help postie at the same time? Here's one very simple way to do it: Sign up to the Mailing Preference Service and opt out of junk mail.

In praise of: Royal Mail

Roy Mayall (Roy Mayall - Royal Mail, geddit?)

Roy Mayall is a postman. 50 something. Lives down south and has been doing his round for "a number of years". Roy has the most fascinating blog detailing his working life and a portrays a wonderful view of life within the Royal Mail.

His book, 'Dear Granny Smith: A letter from your postman', is currently the Radio 4 Book of the Week. "A letter from your postman written by Roy Mayall and delivered by Philip Jackson; a heartfelt musing on the past, present and future role of one of the oldest British institutions, the Postie. Why postmen used to have the best job in the world, and why it's heading towards becoming the worst"



Listen to it here: Radio 4 Book of the Week

Visit the Roy Mayall blog: Going Postal

In praise of: Royal Mail

Night Mail.

December, busy time of year for the Royal Mail. Or rather, a busy time for its employees. Let's spare a thought and give thanks to this invaluable service and its dedicated workforce eh?

Let's start with a bit of nostalgia...

Night Mail.

Night Mail is a 1936 documentary film about a London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) mail train from London to Scotland, produced by the GPO Film Unit. A poem by English poet W. H. Auden was specially written for it, used in the closing few minutes, as was music by Benjamin Britten.

Night Mail Poem - W. H. Auden:



Night Mail - Film:
Part 1.




Part 2.




Part 3.

New: Positive Ageing, Edward Monkton

Positive ageing and gay kittens.

Just in... Just-in, bit of a gay name is Justin, but true all the same... a bit Welsh.

Anyway. Just in...

From Edward Monkton: The Birthday Gayness Test.





We've made mention of Positive Ageing before now, but it seems to be slow progress... Edward seems to suggest why...



"OLD PEOPLE

Let us all LEARN from the Dignity
and Wisdom of the Old, for their
LIVES have been RICH and varied,
and their KNOWLEDGE is beyond
our normal understanding.

So... start SPEAKING!"



Where and how do old people learn how to begin to learn how to speak?

Design idea: Weird Books

Guess which are real books...



















Answer: They all are.

And, at the time of blogging, available to buy from from Abe books - Weird Book Room

Design idea: Nails

How expressive can a nail be? Czech photographer Vlad Artazov shows just how...

























Vlad Artazov
also: Design Swan

Positive Ageing - Active Ageing

Barnet Age Concern - Photography Competition results:

First prize:



"Walking couple by John King, aged 83
This photo, which took first place in the competition, was taken in Biot in the south France, shows Ralph, 74 and Pam, 68, formerly of Parkway, Camden (now resident in Cannes)".

Source and more photos: The Guardian
Cool Cards: Positive ageing

Design Idea: Double self-portraits

IMAGINE FINDING ME

I found these double self-portraits incredibly thought provoking. Images that seem to travel through time...
As a child, what might you ask your future self? As an adult, what would you ask or tell your childhood self? What might we hope to do differently..?

Chino Otsuka inserts modern photos of herself as an adult into photos of herself as a child.

1976 and 2005, Kamakura, Japan:


1985 and 2005, Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China:



1982 and 2005, Paris, France:





"If,
again
I have a chance to meet,
there is so much I want to ask
and so much I want to tell"

Source: Chino Otsuka