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Saturday, July 23, 2011

Once you know black, you go...grey, then you go pinkish with spots, then you go white...WHO ARE YOU? You are THE CHINESE WHITE DOLPHIN (Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin) (Sousa chinensis chinensis). WWF maxicards from HONG KONG, CHINA


"The Chinese white dolphin (Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin, Sousa chinensis chinensis;traditional Chinese中華白海豚pinyinZhōnghuá bái hǎitún ) is a humpback dolphin species, one of eighty cetacean species
An adult is white or pink and may appear as an albino dolphin to some. 
Uniquely, the population along the Chinese coast has pink skin.[2] 
Pink skin is not pigment, but blood vessels for thermoregulation
The adult's body length is 200 - 350 centimetres and the infant's body about 1 meter. 
An adult weighs 150 to 230 kg. 
A Chinese white dolphin lives 40 years, which can be determined by teeth.

The Indo-Pacific dolphins are in Southeast Asia, and they breed from South Africa to Australia
There are two subspecies, with Sumatra, one of the Indonesian islands, as the dividing line between the Chinese and the Western subspecies, Sousa chinensis plumbea
The two subspecies differ in color and dorsal fin size. 
The subspecies found in Southeast Asia has pinkish white skin and a larger dorsal fin but lacks the fatty hump of South African and Australian relations.
At birth, the dolphins are black. 
They change to grey, then pinkish with spots when young. 
Adults are white."
[Take that, racists from around the world! :) ]
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Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China[note 1]
中華人民共和國香港特別行政區
A flag with a white 5-petalled flower design on solid red backgroundA red circular emblem, with a white 5-petalled flower design in the centre, and surrounded by the words "Hong Kong" and "中華人民共和國香港特別行政區"
FlagEmblem
AnthemMarch of the Volunteers
《義勇軍進行曲》
A panorama overlooking the skyscrapers of Hong Kong at night, with Victoria Harbour in the background
View at night from Victoria Peak
Hong Kong is situated on a peninsula and series of islands on the south coast of China, to the east of the Pearl River Delta and bordered to the north by Guangdong province
Official language(s)Chinese, English[note 2]
Spoken languagesCantoneseEnglish
Hong Kong[note 3] (Chinese香港) is one of two special administrative regions (SARs) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea,[12] it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour. With a land mass of 1,104 km2(426 sq mi) and a population of seven million people, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world.[13] Hong Kong's population is 95 percent ethnic Chinese and 5 percent from other groups.[14] Hong Kong's Han Chinese majority originate mainly from the cities of Guangzhou and Taishan in the neighbouring Guangdong province.[15]
Hong Kong became a colony of the British Empire after the First Opium War (1839–42)."

[MY NOTE: Opium War - "Coming soon, to a crackhouse near you!"]
Also, wasn't Karl Marx who said "Religion is OPIUM FOR THE MASSES?"
Think about it.

"Originally confined to Hong Kong Island, the colony's boundaries were extended in stages to the Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories by 1898. It was occupied by Japan during the Pacific War, after which the British resumed control until 1997, when China resumed sovereignty.[16][17] The region espoused minimum government intervention under the ethos of positive non-interventionism during the colonial era.[18] The time period greatly influenced the current culture of Hong Kong, often described as "East meets West",[19] and the educational system, which used to loosely follow the system in England[20] until reforms implemented in 2009.[21]
Under the principle of "one country, two systems", Hong Kong has a different political system from mainland China.[22] Hong Kong's independent judiciary functions under the common law framework.[23][24] The Basic Law of Hong Kong, its constitutional document, which stipulates that Hong Kong shall have a "high degree of autonomy" in all matters except foreign relations and military defence, governs its political system.[25][26] Although it has a burgeoning multi-party system, a small-circle electorate controls half of its legislature. An 800-person Election Committee selects the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, the head of government.[27][28]
As one of the world's leading international financial centres, Hong Kong has a major capitalist service economy characterised by low taxation and free trade, and the currency,Hong Kong dollar, is the ninth most traded currency in the world.[29] The lack of space caused demand for denser constructions, which developed the city to a centre for modernarchitecture and the world's most vertical city.[30][31] The dense space also led to a highly developed transportation network with public transport travelling rate exceeding 90 percent,[32] the highest in the world.[33] Hong Kong has numerous high international rankings in various aspects. For instance, its economic freedom, financial and economic competitiveness, quality of lifecorruption perceptionHuman Development Index, etc., are all ranked highly.[34][35][36][37][38][39][40]"

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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:

Friday, July 22, 2011

From the United States Postal Service (USPS): "PICTORIAL POSTMARKS" May 2006, Handbook PO-230, Transmittal Letter

http://www.apwu.org/dept/ind-rel/usps_hbks/po-series/po-230%20pictorial%20cancellations%205-06%20(570%20kb).pdf

Very useful information about PICTORIAL POSTMARKS.

From the FACEBOOK page of the U.S. Postal Service:
"U.S. Postal Service ‎@Dorin Not sure why you didn't receive the messages, but here's what was sent; All post offices should do hand-back postmarks as long as the items are not addressed to Corporations/Businesses. The post office should reference Postal Handbook PO230 for information8 minutes ago · 


Thank you, USPS!

Exotic SPERM WHALES (Physeter macrocephalus) maxicards issued by WWF for ST. HELENA.


"The sperm whalePhyseter macrocephalus, is a marine mammal species, order Cetacea, a toothed whale (odontocete) having the largest brain of any animal. The name comes from the milky-white waxy substance, spermaceti, found in the animal's head. The sperm whale is the only living member of genus Physeter. The synonym Physeter catodon refers to the same species. It is one of three extant species in the sperm whale superfamily, along with the pygmy sperm whale and dwarf sperm whale.
A bull can grow to 20.5 metres (67 ft) long. It is the largest living toothed animal. The head can represent up to one-third of the animal's length. It has a cosmopolitan distributionacross the oceans. The species feeds on squid and fish, diving as deep as 3 kilometres (9,800 ft), which makes it the deepest diving mammal. Its diet includes giant squid andcolossal squid. The sperm whale's clicking vocalization is the loudest sound produced by any animal, but its functions are uncertain. These whales live in groups called pods. Pods of females and their young live separately from older males. The females cooperate to protect and nurse their young. Females give birth every three to six years, and care for the calves for more than a decade.
Historically, the sperm whale was also known as the common cachalot; "cachalot" is derived from an archaic French word for "tooth". Over most of the period from the early 18th century until the late 20th century, the sperm whale was hunted to obtain spermaceti and other products, such as sperm oil and ambergris. Spermaceti found many important uses, such as candlessoapcosmetics and machine oil. Due to its size, the sperm whale could sometimes defend itself effectively against whalers. In the most famous example, a sperm whale attacked and sank the American whaleship Essex in 1820. As a result of whaling, the sperm whale is currently listed as vulnerable by the IUCN. The sperm whale has few natural predators, since few are strong enough to successfully attack a healthy adult; orcas attack pods and kill calves. The sperm whale can live for more than 70 years."

Like the sperm whale, YOU should be careful about SUCKERS around you - they can be dangerous.


APOCOPE is NOT the kind of cutting performed by The California Cutter CATHERINE KIEU BECKER.
"In phonologyapocope (pronounced /əˈpɒkəpiː/, from the Greek apokoptein "cutting off", from apo- "away from" and koptein "to cut") is the loss of one or more sounds from the end of a word, and especially the loss of an unstressed vowel."

"The name sperm whale is an apocopation of spermaceti whale
Spermaceti, originally mistaken for the whales' "sperm", is the semi-liquid, waxy substance found in the spermaceti organ or case in front of and above the skull bone and also in the junk, the area below the spermaceti organ and just above the upper jaw.[3]  "
If it looks like sperm...WAX-like sperm...then it's still not sperm.
"The case consists of a soft white, waxy substance saturated with spermaceti oil. 
The junk is composed of cavities filled with the same wax and spermaceti oil and intervening connective tissue.[3][4][5] The sperm whale is also known as the "cachalot", which is thought to derive from the archaic French for "tooth" or "big teeth", as preserved for example in cachau in the Gascon dialect (a word of either Romance[6] or Basque[7] origin). 
The etymological dictionary of Corominas says the origin is uncertain, but it suggests that it comes from the vulgar Latin cappula [and even more vulgar in Romanian], plural of cappulum, sword hilt.[8] 
According to Encarta Dictionary, the word cachalot came to English "via French from Spanish or Portuguese cachalote, perhaps from [Portuguese] cachola, 'big head'". 
The term is retained in the Russian word for the animal, кашалот (kashalot), as well as in many other languages."

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Saint Helena
FlagCoat of arms
Motto"Loyal and Unshakeable"


Saint Helena (play /ˌsnt həˈlnə/saynt-hə-lee-nə), named after St Helena of Constantinople, is an island of volcanic origin in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is part of theBritish overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha[3] which also includes Ascension Island and the islands of Tristan da Cunha. Saint Helena measures about 16 by 8 kilometres (10 by 5 mi) and has a population of 4,255 (2008 census).[2]
"
The island was uninhabited when discovered by the Portuguese in 1502. It is one of the most isolated islands in the world. For centuries, it was an important stopover for ships sailing to Europe from Asia and South Africa. The British also used the island as a place of exile, most notably for Napoleon IDinuzulu kaCetshwayo and more than 5,000 Boer prisoners. Saint Helena is now Britain's second oldest remaining colony (now termed overseas territory), after Bermuda."
"Saint Helena is one of the few territories in the world which has never had a recorded HIV / AIDS case."


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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).