Don't let others stress you out – The Chart - CNN.com Blogs. "It reminds me of something Oprah once said she learned from Jill Bolte Taylor, the brain scientist who wrote “My Stroke of Insight”: “You are responsible for the energy that you create for yourself, and you’re responsible for the energy that you bring to others.” " Also, I show you my MAXICARD from CANADA with The COUGAR (Puma concolor), showing this feline relaxing on a mountain, away from it all

Don't let others stress you out – The Chart - CNN.com Blogs
"The first is to change the world – or at least the parts of the world you expose yourself to. You can do this by, say, turning off the television, not seeking out the goriest movies, staying away from the divisive forces in your life.

The second is to change your mind – that is, change your mental activity, either through attention or thinking. You can be exposed to something nasty, but you can shift your attention in a very rapid way so that you think of other things that are more positive or neutral. Say you’re stuck in a meeting with people who are very toxic. You can develop the capacity to shift or modify your emotional focus, and that can be immensely powerful.

The third is to change your body and how your body is responding. Gross suggests trying deep breathing or relaxation techniques to keep your body calm.

“We find in our work that people can use each of these strategies and it really changes the emotion and stress response – both the physiological and brain response and the brain areas associated with emotion generation.”

Goleman echoes this recommendation: “We are masters of our inner world. We can intentionally practice methods for relaxation that will counter the stress of negativity. The more we practice, the better it works as an inoculation against toxic environments. Find a relaxation method that works for you and practice it daily – the same way you would an exercise routine.” [MY NOTE: like jogging; or blogging; or "hobbying"]

And then there’s the flip side of contagious stress: contagious joy, happiness, bliss. Emotional contagion applies to positive emotions as well.

“Happily so,” observes Goleman. “When we’re with an upbeat person, we’re likely to catch their mood too.”

It reminds me of something Oprah once said she learned from Jill Bolte Taylor, the brain scientist who wrote “My Stroke of Insight”: “You are responsible for the energy that you create for yourself, and you’re responsible for the energy that you bring to others.” "

 I show you my MAXICARD from CANADA with The COUGAR (Puma concolor), showing this feline relaxing on a mountain, away from it all.

Security Weekly. The Geopolitics of the United States, part I - STRATFOR. Also, for ABC Wednesday meme (today is letter H), I show you a MAXIMUM CARD / MAXICARD / DORINCARD from USA, with The ARCTIC HARE (Lepus arcticus)

Please read this interesting article: Security Weekly
The Geopolitics of the United States - STRATFOR.

For ABC Wednesday meme (today is letter H), I show you a MAXIMUM CARD / MAXICARD / DORINCARD from USA, with The ARCTIC HARE (Lepus arcticus)

"The arctic hare (Lepus arcticus), or polar rabbit is a hare which is adapted largely to polar and mountainous habitats. It was once considered^{[citation needed]} a subspecies of the mountain hare, but it is now regarded as a separate species. The arctic hare survives with a thick coat of fur and usually digs holes under the ground or snow to keep warm and sleep. Arctic hares look like rabbits but have longer ears and can stand up taller, they can live/maintain themselves in cold places unlike rabbits. They can travel together with many other hares, sometimes huddling with dozens or more, but are usually found alone, taking in some cases more than one partner. 

The arctic hare can run up to 40 miles (64 km) per hour.^[3] 

Its top predator is the arctic wolf."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_hare

No, HARE KRISHNA is NOT a species of hare from India.

Arctic Hare[1]
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[2]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Lagomorpha
Family:	Leporidae
Genus:	Lepus
Species:	L. arcticus
Binomial name
Lepus arcticus Ross, 1819
Arctic Hare range

DID YOU KNOW that "Although hares are known for eating plants, they can eat meat"?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_hare

http://www.zazzle.com/what_stamp_postage-172780532697535446?rf=238693463283865848

Ask yourself WHAT would this cute Arctic Hare do, if he encounters an Arctic corpse (no, not Afrika Korps)...

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Please visit and join the ABC Wednesday meme!

http://abcwednesday-mrsnesbitt.blogspot.com/

Maybe YOU can easily get your daily fix from STARBUCKS, but WILD (BIG) CATS (like LEOPARDS) and WILD DOGS cannot easily get it from MARSHBUCKS. If those predators only see some nostrils above the water surface, then there's no SITATUNGA lying in that swamp pool, right? Wrong! I show you WWF MAXIMUM CARDS from BURUNDI, with SITATUNGA, or MARSHBUCK (Tragelaphus spekii)

MAXICARDS / MAXIMUM CARDS / CARTES MAXIMUM / ILUSTRATE MAXIME / DORINCARDS / MAXIMUMKARTEN / MAXIMUMKAARTEN / CARTOLINE MAXIMUM / TARJETAS MÁXIMAS

I show you WWF MAXIMUM CARDS from BURUNDI, with SITATUNGA, or MARSHBUCK (Tragelaphus spekii)

"The sitatunga or marshbuck (Tragelaphus spekii) is a swamp-dwelling antelope found throughout Central Africa, centering on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon and parts of Southern Sudan as well as in Ghana, Botswana, Zambia, Gabon, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya."

"Sitatunga live in papyrus swamps and are very good swimmers. 

They may take to the water to evade predators such as leopards or wild dogs, lying submerged in pools with only their nostrils above the surface. 

They have been known to sleep underwater. "

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sitatunga

Reddish-brown SITATUNGA...

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Please visit and join Ruby Tuesday meme!

http://workofthepoet.blogspot.com/

BBC - Science & Nature - Wildfacts - Ringed seal. LORD OF THE RINGed sealS? I show you a MAXIMIKORT / MAXIMUM CARD / MAXIMUMKARTE / DORINCARD / MAXICARD from SWEDEN with The RINGED SEAL (Pusa hispida)

BBC - Science & Nature - Wildfacts - Ringed seal

 I show you a MAXIMIKORT / MAXIMUM CARD / MAXIMUMKARTE / DORINCARD / MAXICARD from SWEDEN with The RINGED SEAL (Pusa hispida)

"The ringed seal (Pusa hispida), also known as the jar seal and as netsik or nattiq by the Inuit, is an earless seal (family: Phocidae) inhabiting the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions. The ringed seal is a relatively small seal, rarely greater than 1.5 m in length, with a distinctive patterning of dark spots surrounded by light grey rings, whence its common name. It is the most abundant and wide-ranging ice seal in the northern hemisphere: ranging throughout the Arctic Ocean, into the Bering Sea and Okhotsk Sea as far south as the northern coast of Japanin the Pacific, and throughout the North Atlantic coasts of Greenland and Scandinavia as far south as Newfoundland, and include two freshwater subspecies in northern Europe. Ringed seals are one of the primary prey of polar bears and have long been a component of the diet of indigenous people of the Arctic."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringed_seal

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Happy Blue Monday! (meme)

Please visit:  http://smilingsally.blogspot.com/

Happy Sunday Stamps meme! I show you WWF maximum cards from Australia: FIN WHALE (Balaenoptera physalus), BLUE WHALE (Balaenoptera musculus), HUMPBACK WHALE (Megaptera novaeangliae) and SOUTHERN BOTTLENOSE WHALE (Hyperoodon planifrons)

UL (upper-left): FIN WHALE (Balaenoptera physalus).

"The fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus), also called the finback whale, razorback, or common rorqual, is a marine mammal belonging to the suborder of baleen whales. It is the second longest whale and the sixth largest living animal after the blue whale, bowhead whale, and right whales,^[3]growing to nearly 27 metres (88 ft) long.^[3] The American naturalist Roy Chapman Andrews called the fin whale "the greyhound of the sea" because of its great speed when chased and slender build."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fin_whale

UR: BLUE WHALE (Balaenoptera musculus).

"The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is a marine mammal belonging to the suborder of baleen whales (called Mysticeti).^[3] At 30 metres (98 ft)^[4] in length and 180 metric tons (200 short tons)^[5] or more in weight, it is the largest known animal to have ever existed.^[6]

Long and slender, the blue whale's body can be various shades of bluish-grey dorsally and somewhat lighter underneath.^[7] There are at least three distinct subspecies: B. m. musculus of the North Atlantic and North Pacific, B. m. intermedia of the Southern Ocean and B. m. brevicauda(also known as the pygmy blue whale) found in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean. B. m. indica, found in the Indian Ocean, may be another subspecies. As with other baleen whales, its diet consists almost exclusively of small crustaceans known as krill."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_whale

LL: HUMPBACK WHALE (Megaptera novaeangliae).

The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is a species of baleen whale. One of the larger rorqual species, adults range in length from 12–16 metres (39–52 ft) and weigh approximately 36,000 kilograms (79,000 lb). The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. It is an acrobatic animal, often breaching and slapping the water. Males produce a complex song, which lasts for 10 to 20 minutes and is repeated for hours at a time. The purpose of the song is not yet clear, although it appears to have a role in mating."

"Found in oceans and seas around the world, humpback whales typically migrate up to 25,000 kilometres (16,000 mi) each year. Humpbacks feed only in summer, in polar waters, and migrate totropical or sub-tropical waters to breed and give birth in the winter. During the winter, humpbacksfast and live off their fat reserves. The species' diet consists mostly of krill and small fish. Humpbacks have a diverse repertoire of feeding methods, including the bubble net feeding technique."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humpback_whale

LR: SOUTHERN BOTTLENOSE WHALE  (Hyperoodon planifrons) .

"The Southern bottlenose whale (Hyperoodon planifrons) is a species of whale, in the ziphiid family, one of two members of the Hyperoodon genus. The southern bottlenose has been rarely observed, was seldom hunted, and is probably the most abundant whale in Antarctic waters."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_bottlenose_whale_(ziphiid)

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Happy Sunday Stamps meme!

Please visit: http://viridianpostcard.blogspot.com/

Artistamps ~ Art Name Plates ~ Rubber Stamps ~ Mail Art Supplies ~ Custom Laser Engraving. "WCP-NM.COM is the Internet home to Bill & Kathy Porter, owners and operators of a diverse, yet small group of businesses that is a culmination of our personal interests throughout our lives together. Although we are manufacturers of a variety of art and art related products - by one or more of our subsidiary enterprises."

Artistamps ~ Art Name Plates ~ Rubber Stamps ~ Mail Art Supplies ~ Custom Laser Engraving

"WCP-NM.COM is the Internet home to Bill & Kathy Porter, owners and operators of a diverse, yet small group of businesses that is a culmination of our personal interests throughout our lives together. Although we are manufacturers of a variety of art and art related products - by one or more of our subsidiary enterprises. We primarily serve the retail buyer here online, via our Internet storefront. But whether you shop us online while you're here, or prefer to do business over the telephone or in person, you will be assured of personal attention and old-fashioned service."

International Union of Mail-Artists - IUOMA

International Union of Mail-Artists - IUOMA

Mail art - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. "Mail art is a worldwide cultural movement that began in the early 1960s and involves sending visual art (but also music, sound art, poetry, etc.) through the international postal system. Mail Art is also known as Postal Art or Correspondence Art. The term networking is often used to describe Mail Art activities, based on the principles of barter and equal one-to-one collaboration."

Mail art - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Mail art is a worldwide cultural movement that began in the early 1960s and involves sending visual art (but also music, sound art, poetry, etc.) through the international postal system. Mail Art is also known as Postal Art or Correspondence Art. The term networking is often used to describe Mail Art activities, based on the principles of barter and equal one-to-one collaboration."

Scrapbooking - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. "Scrapbooking is a method for preserving personal and family history in the form of a scrapbook. Typical memorabilia include photographs, printed media, and artwork. Scrapbook albums are often decorated and frequently contain extensive journaling. Scrapbooking is a widely practiced pastime in the United States."

Scrapbooking - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Scrapbooking is a method for preserving personal and family history in the form of a scrapbook. Typical memorabilia include photographs, printed media, and artwork. Scrapbook albums are often decorated and frequently contain extensive journaling. Scrapbooking is a widely practiced pastime in the United States."

Marcophily - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. "Marcophily, occasionally called Marcophilately, is the specialised study and collection of postmarks, cancellations and postal markings applied by hand or machine on mail that passes through a postal system and applied by the postal operator through whose domain they pass. "

.Marcophily - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Marcophily, occasionally called Marcophilately, is the specialised study and collection of postmarks, cancellations and postal markings applied by hand or machine on mail that passes through a postal system and applied by the postal operator through whose domain they pass. "

No, your ex-girlfriend is NOT the land mammal with the biggest mouth. It's The COMMON HIPPOPOTAMUS (Hippopotamus amphibius). I show you WWF maxicards from CONGO DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC (ex-Zaire)

"The hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius), or hippo, from the ancient Greek for "river horse" (ἱπποπόταμος), is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae (the other is the Pygmy Hippopotamus.) After the elephant, the hippotamus is the third largest land mammal and the heaviest extant artiodactyl, despite being considerably shorter than the giraffe.

The hippopotamus is semi-aquatic, inhabiting rivers, lakes and West African mangroveswamps ^[3] where territorial bulls preside over a stretch of river [MY NOTE: that's a stretch] and groups of 5 to 30 females [MY NOTE: that's EVEN MORE of a stretch, but hey!...] and young."

"Despite their physical resemblance to pigs and other terrestrial even-toed ungulates, their closest living relatives are cetaceans (whales, porpoises, etc.) from which they diverged about55 million years ago.^[4] The common ancestor of whales and hippos split from other even-toed ungulates around 60 million years ago".

"Even though they are bulky animals, hippopotamuses can run faster than a human on land. Estimates of their running speed vary from 30 km/h (18 mph) to 40 km/h (25 mph), or even 50 km/h (30 mph). The hippo can maintain these higher speeds for only a few hundred meters."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippopotamus

Democratic Republic of the Congo République Démocratique du Congo
Flag Coat of Arms
Motto: Justice – Paix – Travail   (French: Justice – Peace – Work)
Anthem: "Debout Congolais"   (French:"Arise, Congolese")
Capital (and largest city)		Kinshasa 4°19′S 15°19′E
Official language(s)		French
Recognised national languages		Lingala, Kikongo,Swahili, Tshiluba
Demonym		Congolese
Government		Semi-presidentialrepublic
-	President	Joseph Kabila
-	Prime Minister	Adolphe Muzito
Independence
-	from Belgium	30 June 1960

"The Democratic Republic of the Congo (French: République démocratique du Congo) is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world. With a population of nearly 71 million,^[1] the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the eighteenth most populous nation in the world, and the fourth most populous nation in Africa, as well as the most populous officially Francophone country.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is often referred to as Congo. However, in order to distinguish it from the neighbouring Republic of the Congo to the west, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is sometimes referred to as DR Congo, DRC, or RDC (from its French abbreviation), or is called Congo-Kinshasa after the capital of Kinshasa (in contrast to Congo-Brazzaville for its neighbour). It also borders the Central African Republic and South Sudan to the north; Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi in the east; Zambia and Angola to the south; the Atlantic Ocean to the west; and is separated from Tanzania by Lake Tanganyika in the east.^[1]The country has access to the ocean through a 40-kilometre (25 mi) stretch of Atlantic coastline at Muanda and the roughly 9 km wide mouth of the Congo River which opens into the Gulf of Guinea."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr_congo

"In Zaire, in Zaire..." :)

Can you see some PINK in the set of maxicards above?

Gum tissue? Writing on a stamp?

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Happy Pink Saturday! (still open on Sunday!)

^{Please visit "Pretty in pink"/ "Show us your pink" [objects, that is :)] meme here:}

^{http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/}