Friday, May 6, 2011
Interesting people: Abigail and Brittany Hensel, dicephalic parapagus twins. They learned how to live in inescapable togetherness, and they want us to get past our impulse to freak out - they, too, are worthy and respectable human beings, though highly unusual. Also, a "Learning never ends" freestyle maximum card
"Learning never ends" says the stamp from USA.
"I don't pay attention; I am not a stamp/postmark collector" seems to say the postmark, since a postal associate has inserted the date slug upside-down in the canceller.
"Start thinking about college" says the ad(vertisement) postcard.
This is not a FIP-compliant maximum card, since
"in general, abstract or symbolic subjects do not suit Maximaphily and are excluded from its field." says the Commission for Maximaphily of FIP:
I created this maximum card (or dorincard, if that pacifies you) regardless of any rule and regulation of FIP.
My only rule is: "if I want, I'll just do it."
My only question is: "Do I like it?".
What I say is "Yes, learning never ends - in various ways, with or without any college."
Interesting people: Abigail and Brittany Hensel, dicephalic parapagus twins
They learned how to live in inescapable togetherness, and they want us to get past our impulse to freak out - they, too, are worthy and respectable human beings, though highly unusual.
We all should learn about the diversity of life, including human life, and be more respectful, supportive and open-minded.
"Abigail "Abby" Loraine Hensel and Brittany "Britty" Lee Hensel (born March 7, 1990 in Carver County, Minnesota, US) are dicephalic parapagus twins, meaning that they are conjoined twins of whom each has a separate head, but whose bodies are joined.
They are highly symmetric, giving the appearance of having just a single body with little variation from normal proportion. In fact, several vital organs are doubled up, each woman having a separate heart, stomach, spine and spinal cord.
Each twin controls her half of their body, operating one of the arms and one of the legs.
This means that as infants, the initial learning of physical processes that required bodily coordination, such as clapping, crawling, and walking required the cooperation of both children.
While each is able to eat and write separately and simultaneously, activities such as running and swimming must be coordinated and alternate symmetrically.
Other activities as diverse as brushing hair and driving a car require that each twin perform a sequence of quite separate actions that coordinate with the other."
Please watch this video, get over your possible initial inclination to freak out (or to think about them as freaks), and appreciate the difficult, brave and unusual struggle of two human beings, trapped in the same body, to make a life (or two lives) for themselves, as much as possible.
There are other videoclips, too.
See also:
Lori and George Schappell - conjoined twins
http://dorincard.blogspot.com/2011/09/conjoined-twins-to-separate-or-not-to.html
See also:
"Masha and Dasha Krivoshlyopova were born in Moscow, Russia on January 4, 1950. They were ischiopagus tripus twins (their third, vestigial leg was amputated when they were 16 or 17 years old) with their spines conjoined at 180-degree angles."
http://dorincard.blogspot.com/search?q=masha+dasha
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Happy PFF (Postcard Friendship Friday)!
Please visit: http://thebestheartsarecrunchy.blogspot.com/ (wait until Beth posts the today's Linky tool for the meme, then make your entry, if you want to join).
Thursday, May 5, 2011
American maximum card with Bart Simpson saying "Peace, man.". Walt Disney discovered long ago that drawing 4 fingers is faster than drawing 5. Bart's 2 fingers for the Victory sign are stubby and chubby enough for me to say that they also form a heart shape
Bart Simpson, from the beloved animated TV sitcom "The Simpsons".
The problem with peace is that you cannot just wish to have it.
How can you have peace, when your enemy wants a piece [of you]?
Many times, the only way to keep the peace is to ENFORCE it.
Or to seriously threaten to enforce it.
And when necessary, demonstrate that you were not joking.
"I told you so!"
Si vis pacem, para bellum...
If you want peace, prepare for war...- Latin proverb.
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Welcome to Guest Heart Thursday -
A place to share YOUR hearts!
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
How to not MISS A BEAT while in Fiji? You go to a certain tribe, and in the presence of women you say the word for iguana: VOKAI, or SAUMURI, whichever works faster. Then they'll beat you with sticks. Google it! Also, I show you WWF maximum cards from Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga [Kingdom of Tonga] with... [OK, there are no Fijian tribeswomen around me...] The Fiji Banded Iguana (Brachylophus fasciatus)
"The Fiji banded iguana (Brachylophus fasciatus) is an arboreal species of lizard endemic to some of the southeastern Fijian islands.
It is found in Tonga, where it was probably introduced by humans.[2] It is one of the few species of iguanas found outside of the New World and one of the most geographically isolated members of the family Iguanidae.[3]
Populations of these iguanas have been declining over the past century due to habitat destruction, and more significantly, the introduction of mongoose and house cats to the islands.[3]
The species is diurnal, spending their days foraging, basking and watching over their territories by day and retreating to the treetops at night.
Fiji iguanas are considered a national treasure by the government of Fiji, and its likeness has been featured on postage stamps, currency, and phone book covers."
Well, I showed you above WWF maximum cards from Tonga.
"The Fijian name for iguana is "vokai", although some tribes call it "saumuri".[8]
Two tribes regard the iguana as their totem and as such its name is not allowed to be mentioned in the presence of women or the offender may be beaten with a stick.[8]
The majority of Fijians, however, are terrified of iguanas because of their behavior when threatened.[8]
On such occasions, an iguana turns black, opens its mouth and lunges at attackers.[8]"
Now THAT's a...LUNGE LIZARD.
Speaking of which:
"The term Lounge Lizard is usually used to refer to lounge musicians, most often in a negative sense (as tacky, tasteless, etc).
Since its first appearance as American slang in 1917, "lounge lizard" has surprisingly shown up in nearly every decade.
A "lounge lizard" is typically depicted as a well-dressed man who frequents the establishments in which the rich gather with the intention of seducing a wealthy woman with his flattery and deceptive charm.
The term presumably owes something to the cold and insinuating quality of reptiles.
It has also been suggested that the name derives in part from the "lizards," that is, shoes made from crocodile or snakeskin, that were sometimes sported by such men, but there is no solid evidence of this.
Charles Plymell has written that Robert Branaman coined the phrase in the 50's (Wichita, KS) in regards to those people that spend an excessive amount of time going from bar to bar.
Eventually, the lounge lizard as social parasite decided to play chameleon and take on many appearances. "Lounge lizard" then became a generalized term applying to any frequenter of nightclubs."
COURTSHIP: unlike men, male iguanas cannot take the females on a date to show them a CHICK FLICK.
Instead, they do a TONGUE FLICK. Especially in Tonga?
"Courtship is similar to other iguanids, with males approaching and tongue-flicking the female's back, forelimbs and nuchal regions [MY NOTE: no, not what you think, youpperv] after a series of rapid head bobs."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiji_Banded_Iguana
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiji_Banded_Iguana
If the female is receptive, she will say "Yes, Siree...bob!"
Not in Romanian, but in Tongan:
Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga means Kingdom of Tonga
"Tonga (pronounced /ˈtɒŋɡə/, Tongan [ˈtoŋa]), officially the Kingdom of Tonga (Tongan: Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is anarchipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over 700,000 square kilometres (270,000 sq mi) of ocean in the South Pacific. Fifty-two of the islands are inhabited.[4]
The Kingdom stretches over a distance of about 800 kilometres (500 miles) in a north-south line located at about a third of the distance from New Zealand to Hawaii.
Tonga also became known as the Friendly Islands because of the friendly reception accorded to Captain James Cook on his first visit there in 1773.
He happened to arrive at the time of the ʻinasi festival, the yearly donation of the first fruits to the Tuʻi Tonga, the islands' paramount chief, and received an invitation to the festivities.
According to the writer William Mariner, in reality the chiefs had wanted to kill Cook during the gathering, but could not agree on a plan.[5]
Tonga is also the only island nation in the region to have avoided formal colonisation.[6]"
One of the greatest upsets in the history of amateur boxing, when the champion from the boxing powerhouse Cuba was soundly defeated by an illustrious unknown from Tonga, of all places...
"Tongan Boxer Paea Wolfgram won the silver medal in the Super Heavyweight division (>91 kg) at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics.
Thus far, he remains the only athlete to have won an Olympic medal from the island nations of the South Pacific outside Australia and New Zealand.[citation needed]
Tongan women have a reputation as skilful jugglers.[38]
[MY NOTE: Jugglers R Us.]
A number of US citizens of Tongan descent have made successful careers in American football."
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Please visit and join ABC Wednesday meme!
http://abcwednesday-mrsnesbitt.blogspot.com/
Today, P is for Politically Incorrect in Fiji! :)
Today, P is for Politically Incorrect in Fiji! :)
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
A heartfelt, but Creutzfeldt gift to avoid: antler velvet as aphrodisiac, from North America. Maximum card / maxicard / dorincard with The Elk, or Wapiti (Cervus canadensis)
"The elk or wapiti (Cervus canadensis) is one of the largest species of deer in the world and one of the largest land mammals in North America and eastern Asia.
In the deer family (Cervidae), only the larger moose (Alces alces), which is called an "elk" in Europe, and the sambar (Rusa unicolor) rival the elk in size.
Elk are similar to the Red Deer(Cervus elaphus) found in Europe, of which they were long believed to be a subspecies.
However, evidence from a 2004 study of the mitochondrial DNA indicates they are a distinct species.
Elk range in forest and forest-edge habitat, feeding on grasses, plants, leaves, and bark.
Although native to North America and Eastern Asia, they have adapted well to countries where they have been introduced, including Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand.
Their great adaptability may threaten endemic species and ecosystems into which they have been introduced."
Don't accept a gift of edible antler velvet as aphrodisiac, from North America - that gift may be heartfelt, but Creutzfeldt.
"A male elk can produce 10 and 11 kilograms (22 and 24 lb) of antler velvet annually and on ranches in the United States, Canada and New Zealand, this velvet is collected and sold to markets in east Asia, where it is used in medicine.
Velvet is also considered by some cultures to be an aphrodisiac.[45]
However, consuming velvet from elk in North America may be risky since velvet from animals infected with chronic wasting disease may contain prions that could result in a human getting variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.[72]"
Bull elks DIG IT...A fight: they are in it, to win it..."i'm in, ur in!"
" If neither bull backs down, they engage in antler wrestling, and bulls sometimes sustain serious injuries. Bulls also dig holes in the ground, in which they urinate and roll their body. The urine soaks into their hair and gives them a distinct smell which attracts cows.[23]"
To be, or not to be antler-y, horn-y
"The formation and retention of antlers is testosterone-driven.[20]
After the breeding season in late fall, the level of pheromones released during estrus declines in the environment and the testosterone levels of males drop as a consequence.
This drop in testosterone leads to the shedding of antlers, usually in the early winter."
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A bull elk walks into a RED sunset...
Please visit and join Ruby Tuesday meme!
Monday, May 2, 2011
BBC News - Osama's death: What next for al-Qaeda?. Also, I show you a maximum card with the implied message about "the shot in the head, heard around the world". UPDATE: read interesting counterterrorism topics from wikipedia.org!
More suicide bombings...
More "infidels" killed...
Statistical evidence indicates that more innocent muslims die in the same explosion almost every time when "infidels" are targeted.
That's A LOT of collateral damage.
I see that this blogpost of mine gets a lot of visits, from around the world.
Let me add some interesting food for thought - maybe you want to expand your reading.
See also
 | Book: Counterterrorism Handbook |
| Wikipedia Books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print. | |
- Civilian casualty ratio
- Counterinsurgency
- Explosive detection
- Extrajudicial execution
- Extraordinary rendition
- Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism
- Irregular warfare
- Manhunt (law enforcement)
- Manhunt (military)
- Preventive State
- Security increase
- Special Activities Division, Central Intelligence Agency
- Targeted killing
- Terrorism Research Center
[edit]
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Happy Blue Monday! (meme)
Please visit: http://smilingsally.blogspot.com/
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Some feedback received about me and my blog here
[DORIN'S NOTE: There are over 100 million websites.]
"There are 1,699,250 sites with a better three-month global Alexa traffic rank than Dorincard.blogspot.com.
About 43% of visitors to the site come from France, where it has attained a traffic rank of 152,077.
About 80% of visits to the site consist of only one pageview (i.e., are bounces).
Dorincard.blogspot.com's visitors view an average of 1.5 unique pages per day.
Visitors to the site spend roughly two minutes on each pageview and a total of three minutes on the site during each visit."
- Maximum Delight
- Feb 21, 2011
Postcards and stamps, mainly featuring mammals and birds but Dorincard also has other creations
and interests he likes to share.
His enthusiasm for Maximum cards (a postcard and a similar themed stamps sent through the
postal system) shines through.
He shows how he gets the right card, stamp and postmark together.
Visiting his site you will also learn things about the natural world told with a dry sense of humour,
possibly with a play on words, and a unique style of headings.
Topical and informative both for the enthusiast and casual visitor.
1,699,251
152,077Wedding gifts from Zazzle
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