They Can't All be Forever Stamps

Damon W. Root | December 30, 2008

The U.S. Postal Service announced its slate of 2009 Commemorative Stamps yesterday and they certainly tried to offer something for everyone—even the Objectivists, who will no doubt enjoy pairing the new Gary Cooper stamp with the last of their Ayn Rand stash. It's certainly nice to find fighting liberal Oswald Garrison Villard among the "Civil Rights Pioneers" collection, though fellow Gold Democrat Moorfield Storey might have a been a better choice. Not only was Storey the NAACP's first president (Villard was the disbursing treasurer), he also argued and won the group's first significant victory before the Supreme Court (Buchan v. Warley, which relied on property rights to strike down a residential segregation law). And as far as the "United States Supreme Court Justices" collection goes, Louis Brandeis isn't exactly the most feminist choice.

Check out the Postal Service's press release for pictures of all these and more. (Via How Appealing)

Comments

Lefiti|12.30.08 @ 4:57PM|#

A privatized postal sevrice would do a commeorative stamp of Bullwinkle if it fucking wanted to.

Lefiti|12.30.08 @ 5:00PM|#

I'd give my uncle a blumpkin if he'd stop smacking me with his cock.

VM|12.30.08 @ 5:00PM|#

No it wouldn't, Lefiti. It would be too busy exploiting the poor people and starting wars for oil.

mein gott. don't you ever read your own words?

EJM|12.30.08 @ 5:01PM|#

The Early TV Memories commemorated in the 20 stamp set include: [The] Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet; Alfred Hitchcock Presents; [The] Dinah Shore Show; Dragnet; [The] Ed Sullivan Show; [The] George Burns & Gracie Allen Show; Hopalong Cassidy; The Honeymooners; Howdy Doody; I Love Lucy; Kukla, Fran and Ollie; Lassie; The Lone Ranger; Perry Mason; [The] Phil Silvers Show; Red Skelton; Texaco Star Theater; [The] Tonight Show [apparently Steve Allen-era]; [The] Twilight Zone; and, You Bet Your Life.

This is probably the only set that really matters. (Perhaps they'll do Bullwinkle in the next batch.)

|12.30.08 @ 5:02PM|#

Lefiti,

Wow, you're sounding more libertarian every day. Of course, the market value of such a stamp would depend quite a bit on who Bullwinkle was experiencing relations with.

Is there an Orion Slave Girl commemorative stamp, yet? Seems like there should be, given their important contributions to American society.

Jeff P|12.30.08 @ 5:04PM|#

Having Bob Hope on a postage not only cheapens the institution, it diminishes us as a people.

|12.30.08 @ 5:05PM|#

A privatized postal sevrice would do a commeorative stamp of Bullwinkle if it fucking wanted to.

Any private postal service that had the balls to make a "WHATSAMATTA U." stamp (or Lysander Spooner) would get my business.

"Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat."

Jeff P|12.30.08 @ 5:08PM|#

I will not recognize the existence of a Bullwinkle stamp until there is a Commander McBragg stamp.

This is a mtter of principle.

|12.30.08 @ 5:12PM|#

I'd buy a Jack Burton stamp.

Jeff P,

What about a stamp commemorating Dudley Do-Right's horse?

|12.30.08 @ 5:13PM|#

I'd settle for a "make big trouble for moose and squirrel" Boris and Natasha stamp.

|12.30.08 @ 5:15PM|#

Episiarch,

With Lefiti's special Bullwinkle feature?

Jeff P.|12.30.08 @ 5:20PM|#

I was never a Do-Right fan. I might get behind a SuperChicken or Courageous Cat stamp.

How about stamps commemorating fictional government agencies? S.H.I.E.L.D., CONTROL, U.N.C.L.E., IMF, that group Steve Austin and Jaime Summers worked for.

Or fictional presidents, there's over a thosand of them
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fictional_Presidents

|12.30.08 @ 5:21PM|#

Now I f*cking love the Assault on Precinct 13 and Escape from New York soundtracks, but I think ProL has summoned the Coup DeVilles' music video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D03E9kUTTtQ

VM|12.30.08 @ 5:22PM|#

ProGLib:

Orion Slave Girl stamp. 69 cents. (Jack Burton stamp would rule.)

and you better watch it, Epi. big trouble make you.

Jeff P|12.30.08 @ 5:25PM|#

That was evil, Coop. Shiny shiny evil.

|12.30.08 @ 5:26PM|#

OSI.

I have a good one: a stamp honoring the Village. One for Number 2, one for Number 6, and a special one for Number 1. The Number 1 stamp is blank, but if you peel off the top layer, a picture of Number 6 lies underneath.

I'd like a "you maniacs!" stamp, as well.

EJM|12.30.08 @ 5:30PM|#

How about stamps commemorating fictional government agencies? S.H.I.E.L.D., CONTROL, U.N.C.L.E., IMF, that group Steve Austin and Jaime Summers worked for.

I'd prefer the West/Gordon-era Secret Service.

|12.30.08 @ 5:31PM|#

EJM,

From the TV series, right? The movie was an abomination.

While we're in the 60s, I think the IMF should be honored, too.

Brad Warbiany|12.30.08 @ 5:31PM|#

What are the odds that the USPS didn't actually secure all the legal rights to the characters in the Early TV Memories series?

Now that would make for a funny lawsuit :-)

|12.30.08 @ 5:32PM|#

Maybe we should do a series for each cylon skinjob model. Special editions for the Final Five!

Jeff P|12.30.08 @ 5:33PM|#

OSI, thank you.

The problem with Village stamps is that you wouldn't trust any mail bearing them. You know a gas would pour out and render you unconscious...

Y'know, we need a Prisoner/Pufnstuf mashup.

|12.30.08 @ 5:36PM|#

I'd prefer the West/Gordon-era Secret Service.

Oh man, doing all of the Batman villains would rule. Where's my King Tut stamp?

Elemenope|12.30.08 @ 5:37PM|#

Maybe we should do a series for each cylon skinjob model. Special editions for the Final Five!

Never mind the "Starbuck: Then and Now" potential.

|12.30.08 @ 5:37PM|#

Rover gets its own stamp, too. I almost forgot. And, of course, each Number 2 gets one. As does the bike.

|12.30.08 @ 5:39PM|#

Say, I have a serious one. What about a stamp series for magicians? I'd like to see an Amazing Randi stamp and a Penn & Teller stamp. And yes, why not a Doug Henning stamp?

|12.30.08 @ 5:40PM|#

Not that my previous entries weren't serious. Perhaps "more likely" is what I meant.

|12.30.08 @ 5:43PM|#

An Amazing Randi stamp would be brilliant. Something about him showing up Uri Geller on Johnny Carson would do the trick.

|12.30.08 @ 5:45PM|#

But then you'd end up with David Blaine and Criss Angel stamps, ProL. And we can't have that.

|12.30.08 @ 5:48PM|#

Episiarch,

You know, I was thinking the exact same thing. I think we could still have the Great Magicians Series, only we have to somehow get named to the Great Magicians Series Nominating Committee first.

EJM|12.30.08 @ 5:54PM|#

From the TV series, right? The movie was an abomination.

You are correct.

VM|12.30.08 @ 5:55PM|#

Epi - Chris was on Penn's radio show. worth a listen.

|12.30.08 @ 5:57PM|#

EJM,

I less popularly believe the same thing about the Mission: Impossible movies. Mr. Phelps as a bad guy? WTF?

VM,

I heard that one. At least he admits it's BS. Blaine totally sucks.

VM|12.30.08 @ 6:01PM|#

yeah. don't like the BS types.

the early series of Mission Impossible was great. the vague opening credits. how the end just sort of happened, but there was still stuff going on. great stuff.

Randi

|12.30.08 @ 6:01PM|#

I'll have to check that out later, VM, I'm still at work.

I heard that one. At least he admits it's BS. Blaine totally sucks.

South Park went after him and used him as a proxy for Scientology.

VM|12.30.08 @ 6:04PM|#

Epi - gotcha! enjoy!

gotta love it when south park goes after those types :)

|12.30.08 @ 6:07PM|#

VM,

One thing that's fun about the Mission: Impossible series is that it was produced on the same lot as the original Star Trek series. There is a ton of crossover in props, guest stars, etc. Even Mr. Sulu was a guest! And, of course, Nimoy joined the cast later.

VM|12.30.08 @ 6:09PM|#

really? that's fantastic!

so, did Martin Landau get to make out with any of the aliens?

and was Wayne jealous? hmmm. something like that might have to get incorporated into the Noir...

|12.30.08 @ 6:20PM|#

I can't remember exactly, but Takei was one of the MI team for an episode. Spock's dad was on a couple, as was that guy who played Apollo, the former Greek god. The list is really long--I bet there's fifty or sixty crossover guest stars.

Landau was a contender for the role of Spock, I believe. It's all quite incestuous.

|12.30.08 @ 6:37PM|#

putting spooner on a stamp would be right up there with putting andrew jackson on a federal reserve note

EJM|12.30.08 @ 6:39PM|#

One thing that's fun about the Mission: Impossible series is that it was produced on the same lot as the original Star Trek series. There is a ton of crossover in props, guest stars, etc. Even Mr. Sulu was a guest! And, of course, Nimoy joined the cast later.

One of the great things about mid- to late '60s spy and sci-fi shows is how many character actors (e.g., Victor Buono, Roger C. Carmel, Michael Dunn, Yvonne Craig, Ricardo Montalban, William Windom, John McGiver, Theo Marcuse, Malachi Throne, and William Schallert) regularly appeared in a lot of them. This YouTube video gives a good rundown of those who appeared on both WWW and Trek.

Also, consider that both Gene L. Coon and Fred Freiberger served as producers during WWW's first season--and then went on to produce Trek. And, there's also the matter of character names (e.g., James T. West vs. James T. Kirk, and Alexander "Scotty" Scott vs. Montgomery "Scotty" Scott).

Landau was a contender for the role of Spock, I believe.

You are correct; he also apparently turned down the role of Illya Kuryakin.

VM|12.30.08 @ 6:45PM|#

great stuff!

Jeff P|12.30.08 @ 7:09PM|#

Great video, except now I demand a Sherry Jackson stamp, so I can lick her again and again...

EJM|12.30.08 @ 7:20PM|#

On a separate note, perhaps the best case of coincidental guest-star casting ever was for the very early U.N.C.L.E. episode "The Project Strigas Affair"--which features Shatner and Nimoy (pre-Trek), along with Werner Klemperer (pre-Hogan's Heroes).

|12.30.08 @ 7:31PM|#

Um--not that this seems to be about stamps anymore, but wasn't/isn't there an online program wherein one can publish ANY of their photos as stamps, for a charge, and print on their own printer at home? I suppose copyright issues might arise. "But, that's MY OWN photo of Ayn Rand, from the 60's in NY!"

BakedPenguin|12.30.08 @ 7:42PM|#

Sapient - keep refreshing (or close the tab and reopen it), and you'll see it as a banner ad.

|12.30.08 @ 8:29PM|#

Werner Klemperer (pre-Hogan's Heroes)

Seriously dude, if they had a "stars of Hogan's Heros" series of stamps I would insist that any organisation I was involved with use only those to send mail. None of that franking bs allowed!

alan|12.30.08 @ 9:17PM|#

The local bird cage liner printed a picture of the I Love Lucy commemorative stamp today.

What a great show that was. Remember the episode where Ricky comes home one evening, and Lucy greets him all doe eyed and puss lips, trying to explain her way out her latest shenanigans when Ricky pulled his arm back and smacked her so hard she hit the wall and fell to the floor. Ricky jumps into his chair, and says, 'I don't give a flying fuck about your drama, you stupid bitch, now come over here and blow me.' You've all seen that one right?

There are things that should not have escaped the 20th Century, I Love Lucy is one of them.

jk|12.31.08 @ 3:13AM|#

There are things that should not have escaped the 20th Century, I Love Lucy is one of them.

OK, but one episode includes Barbara Eden's TV debut. Can we keep that one?

|12.31.08 @ 10:14AM|#

Y'all don't have to wait for privitization. You can put your own image on a stamp now at a few of the sites that work with the postal service. Just do a google on personalized postage stamps