You may play Macao-the-card-game, but don't play with Macao-the-parrot! It may remove your eye (then you'll need an...iPatch) or it may give you the finger (after it cuts it from you). The Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) - a beautiful, engraved stamp on a 2004 maximum card/ maxicard/ dorincard written and sent to me in 2011 as a simple postcard from the Czech Republic, by my Czech-German friend Wenzel.

Can you see the hearts here?

What we can't see anymore is the miniature sheet that was affixed on the left half of the postcard.

LESSON LEARNED: never overestimate your BODILY EFFLUVIA, such as saliva. Or a weak glue. Instead, affix with enough glue to make it stick.

Make it hard for the postal thieves or the impersonal, brutal Automated Postal Systems to tear off the stamps from your mail piece.

Many years ago, I casually played Macao, a version of the French card game "21".

That's not the point here.

However: here's how to play Crazy Eights / Macau / Macaua:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macau_(card_game)

"Macau (traditional Chinese: 澳門), also spelled Macao ( /məˈkaʊ/), is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China. 

It lies on the western side of the Pearl River Delta, bordering Guangdong provinceto the north and facing the South China Sea to the east and south.^[6]

The territory's economy is heavily dependent on gambling and tourism but also includes manufacturing.

Macau was a Portuguese colony and both the first and last European colony in China.^[7][8] Portuguese traders first settled in Macau in the 16th century and subsequently administered the region until the handover on 20 December 1999. 

The Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration and the Basic Law of Macau stipulate that Macau operates with a high degree of autonomy until at least 2049, fifty years after the transfer.^[9]  [DORIN'S NOTE: then what???]

Under the policy of "one country, two systems", the PRC's Central People's Governmentis responsible for the territory's defense and foreign affairs, while Macau maintains its own legal system, police force, monetary system, customs policy, and immigration policy. 

Macau participates in many international organizations and events that do not require members to possess national sovereignty.^[9][10] 

According to the CIA factbook, Macau has the highest life expectancy in the world.^[11]"

^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macau}

But that's not the point here, either.

The point is Macao The Parrot: The Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao).

"The Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) is a large, colorful macaw. It is native to humid evergreen forests in the American tropics. Range extends from extreme south-eastern Mexico to Amazonian Peru, Bolivia and Brazil in lowlands up to 500 m (1,640 ft) (at least formerly) up to 1,000 m (3,281 ft). It has suffered from local extinction through habitat destruction and capture for the parrot trade, but locally it remains fairly common. Formerly it ranged north to southern Tamaulipas. It can still be found on the island of Coiba. It is the national bird of Honduras."

"As Pets

Scarlet Macaws are quite demanding of time and resources, and in general, make for a rude, noisy, messy, and destructive house guest. 

One should spend a lot of time reading about these birds before inviting them into your home. 

Any large macaw can easily remove a finger, or remove

 your eye while perched on your shoulder. 

Not always aggressive, they are always somewhat unpredictable, even around experienced handlers."

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

Scarlet Macaw, less dangerous than Scarface [gangster Al Capone - he gave a new meaning to Be my Valentine: The St. Valentine's Day Massacre eliminated some of Capone's enemies, but outraged the general public].

Scarlet Macaw, more brightly-colored than ScarJo [actress Scarlett Johansson].

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scarlett_Johansson_with_soldiers_3.jpg

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