Saturday, September 24, 2011
CONJOINED TWINS: to separate, or not to separate? It depends. "Lori and George Schappell (born as Lori and Dori Schappell, September 18, 1961 in Reading, Pennsylvania) are conjoined twins. George has performed as a country singer. In 2007, George, who was at that time known as Reba Schappell, stated that although born female, he identified with the male gender and changed his name to George" - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://youtu.be/7pR2uWhAkaQ
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lori_Schappell
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This painting by Winslow Homer shows two boys.
| Lori and George Schappell | |
|---|---|
 George in concert with his sister, Lori, who is holding the microphone. | |
| Born | Lori and Dori Schapell September 18, 1961 Reading, Pennsylvania |
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lori_Schappell
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This painting by Winslow Homer shows two boys.
They may be twins, but they are not conjoined twins.
So they have the LUXURY of separate, independent lives..
About Masha and Dasha Krivoshlyopova, from phreeque.com. "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."
Please visit: Masha and Dasha Krivoshlyopova
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| "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." |
Sometimes, the stork delivers unusual babies...
The Common Quail (Coturnix coturnix), is a small, rotund bird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. Maxicard from ROMANIA
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| http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Quail |
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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, September 23, 2011
Cover (philately) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cover (philately) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| 1959 cover from w:Australian Antarctic Territory, scanned by User:Stan Shebs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Australian_Antarctic_Territory_postal_cover1959.jpg |
What's the connection between STEPHEN THE GREAT and La Femme NECHITA? It's VASLUI, ROMANIA. "Stephen III of Moldavia (...) was Prince of Moldavia between 1457 and 1504." "He was victorious in 46 of his 48 battles, and was one of the first to gain a decisive victory over the Ottomans at the Battle of Vaslui, after which Pope Sixtus IV deemed him verus christianae fidei athleta (true Champion of Christian Faith)." ALEXANDRA NECHITA (born in 1985, in VASLUI City) is a Romanian-American painter, muralist, sculptor, activist, philanthropist, etc.
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| http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_the_Great |
"Stephen III of Moldavia (also known as Stephen the Great, Romanian: Ștefan cel Mare,pronounced [ʃteˈfan t͡ʃel ˈmare] or Ștefan cel Mare și Sfânt, "Stephen the Great and Holy"; 1433, Borzești – July 2, 1504) was Prince of Moldavia between 1457 and 1504 and the most prominent representative of the House of Mușat.
During his reign, he strengthened Moldavia and maintained its independence against the ambitions of Hungary, Poland, and the Ottoman Empire, which all sought to subdue the land. Stephen achieved fame in Europe for his long resistance against the Ottomans. He was victorious in 46 of his 48 battles, and was one of the first to gain a decisive victory over the Ottomans at the Battle of Vaslui, after which Pope Sixtus IV deemed him verus christianae fidei athleta (true Champion of Christian Faith). He was a man of religion and displayed his piety when he paid the debt of Mount Athos to the Porte, ensuring the continuity of Athos as an autonomous monastical community."
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| Alexandra Nechita [DORIN'S NOTE: in Romanian, Nechita is pronounced NEKITA] | |
|---|---|
 Alexandra Nechita at Houston Galleria shopping complex in 2010. Photo by Ron Scubadiver | |
| Born | August 27, 1985 Vaslui, Romania |
| Nationality | Romanian, American |
| Movement | Cubism |
| Influenced by | Pablo Picasso |
"She was born in Vaslui, three months after her father, Niki Nechita, escaped from Communist Romania. She and her mother, Viorica Nechita, had to wait for two years before being allowed to join him in the United States. The family settled in California, where her father found work as a lab technician, and her mother as an office manager.
At the age of two, she was working with pen and ink and by five was working with watercolors. Upon her seventh birthday, oil and acrylics were her tools. She had her first solo exhibition at the age of eight at the public library in Whittier, Los Angeles County. At this time she was attending a small private school in Whitter CA- Faith Lutheran School. When Nechita graduated, she gave her teachers a special painting that she had painted.
She has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show and has appeared with numerous celebrities, including Bill Clinton. In addition to talk show appearances, Alexandra was featured in the television show Boy Meets World, in the 1998 episode "Better Than The Average Cory", starring as herself. Her talent led to her being known as the "Petite Picasso"; as her work, to some, resembles that of the master. She was known as a child prodigy until late in her teens."
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| This is juat a demo/idea of a stamp. I could finalize it anytime, and Zazzle will approve it, because there's no copyright issue whatsoever. Simply the name Alexandra, a common name for many people. But my point is that I could pay homage and promote even further Alexandra Nechita, for example, with zazzle items (not just stamps) about her artwork, actions and goals in life, should she wish so. She's already famous in the art world, of course, but stamp collecting, still the #1 hobby in the world, would be another nice area in which she could be known and appreciated. |
Images of some of her paintings:
http://www.piersidegallery.com/artists/nechita/
Links in Romanian, but you can still get the gist, see some photos...:)
http://www.evz.ro/detalii/stiri/micuta-picasso-alexandra-nechita-s-a-facut-mare-946703.html
http://www.evz.ro/detalii/stiri/micuta-picasso-mai-dorita-ca-maestrul-spaniol-935139.html
http://www.evz.ro/detalii/stiri/micuta-picasso-uneori-sumele-care-mi-se-ofera-sunt-absurde-871853.html
http://www.evz.ro/detalii/stiri/micuta-picasso-mai-dorita-ca-maestrul-spaniol-935139.html
http://www.evz.ro/detalii/stiri/micuta-picasso-uneori-sumele-care-mi-se-ofera-sunt-absurde-871853.html
Bravo, Alexandra, and parents, too! :)
I envy, in a positive way, that you earned your "freedom to make decisions", to work exclusively for your true vocation in life! :)
I may or may not fully understand and appreciate your artwork (yet), but I really love your life story.
I also appreciate your honesty and lack of arrogance, when you enrolled in the College of Arts.
You were already rich and famous, but you wanted that experience anyway, despite the envy and ridicule of some classmates.
You are realist, and you have accepted that your artwork is dismissed or "demolished" by some, but then you don't expect to please quite everyone in the world.
What I hope you will continue to do is to help others work towards their dream, art-related or not, thru the power of your global influence.
You will remember forever, won't you, the lady who borrowed $5,000 to buy your artwork mainly to support your incipient career, when you were very young.
And the gentleman who enabled you with your first million-dollar contract ($1.4M).
You, too, should be the helper/Mecenas of young talented people. :)
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The postcard in this blogpost is the one at the top, used to create the Stephen The Great maximum card.
Also, Alexandra Nechita could create postcards ("confetti of friendship") to promote her artwork and ideas, including as an UN Ambassador in art.
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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, September 22, 2011
Cutting Through the Lone-Wolf Hype | STRATFOR. Also, I show you my LONE WOLF MAXICARD from USA. Wikipedia: "Although wolf packs do cooperate strategically in bringing down prey, they do not do so as frequently or as effectively as lionesses do; unlike lions, wolves rarely remain with their pack for more than two years, thus they have less time to learn how to hunt cooperatively. Contrary to lion prides, food acquisition per wolf decreases with pack size.[94] Overall, single wolves or mated pairs typically have higher success rates in hunting than do large packs. Single wolves have occasionally been observed to kill large prey such as moose, bison and muskoxen unaided.[95]"
Please read: Cutting Through the Lone-Wolf Hype | STRATFOR:
'via Blog this'
"The gray wolf (Canis lupus, excluding the domestic dog and the dingo), also known as the wolf, is the largest extant wild member of the Canidae family. Though once abundant over much of Eurasia, North Africa and North America, the gray wolf inhabits a reduced portion of its former range due to widespread destruction of its territory, human encroachment, and the resulting human-wolf encounters that sparked broad extirpation. Even so, the gray wolf is regarded as being of least concern for extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, when the entire gray wolf population is considered as a whole. Today, wolves are protected in some areas, hunted for sport in others, or may be subject to population control or extermination as threats to livestock, people, and pets.
'via Blog this'
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| I show you my LONE WOLF MAXICARD from USA. |
| Gray wolf Temporal range: Late Pleistocene–Recent | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Eurasian wolf (Canis lupus lupus) at Kolmården,Sweden | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Canidae |
| Subfamily: | Caninae |
| Tribe: | Canini[2] |
| Genus: | Canis |
| Species: | C. lupus' |
| Subspecies: | all Canis Lupus subspecies except domestic dogs and dingoes |
| Binomial name | |
| Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758 | |
| Subspecies | |
37 ssp., see Subspecies of Canis lupus | |
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| Range map. Green, present; red, former. | |
Gray wolves are social predators that live in nuclear families consisting of a mated pair, their offspring and, occasionally, adopted immature wolves. They primarily feed on ungulates, which they hunt by wearing them down in short chases. Gray wolves are typically apex predators throughout their range, with only humans and tigers posing significant threats to them.
Genetic studies reaffirm that the gray wolf is the ancestor of the domestic dog. A number of other Canis lupus subspecies have been identified, though the actual number of subspecies is still open to discussion."
"Hunting and feeding behaviours
Although wolf packs do cooperate strategically in bringing down prey, they do not do so as frequently or as effectively as lionesses do; unlike lions, wolves rarely remain with their pack for more than two years, thus they have less time to learn how to hunt cooperatively. Contrary to lion prides, food acquisition per wolf decreases with pack size.[94] Overall, single wolves or mated pairs typically have higher success rates in hunting than do large packs. Single wolves have occasionally been observed to kill large prey such as moose, bison and muskoxen unaided.[95] When hunting, wolves will attempt to conceal themselves as they approach their prey. With ungulate herds, they then either attempt to break up the herd, or isolate one or two animals from it.[96] If the targeted animal stands its ground, the wolves either ignore it, or try to intimidate it into running.[97]When chasing small prey, wolves will attempt to catch up with their prey as soon as possible. With larger animals, the chase is prolonged, in order to wear the selected prey out.[95] Wolves usually give up chases after 1–2 km (0.62-1.3 mi), though one wolf was recorded to chase a deer for 21 km (13 mi).[32] Sometimes, a single wolf will distract the herd with its presence, acting as a decoy, while its pack mates attack from behind.[62] Wolf packs may also set up ambush trails; Indian wolves have been observed to chase gazelle herds through ravines where other wolves lie in wait within holes dug prior to the hunt,[98] while Russian wolves will set up ambushes near water holes, sometimes using the same site repeatedly.[96] Both Russian and North American wolves have been observed to drive prey onto crusted ice, precipices, ravines, slopes and steep banks to slow them down.[99] Mature wolves usually avoid attacking large prey frontally, instead focusing on the rear and sides of the animal. They kill large prey by biting large chunks of flesh from the soft perineum area, causing massive blood loss. Such bites can cause wounds 10–15 cm in length, with three such bites to the perineum usually being sufficient to bring down a large deer in optimum health.[99] When attacking moose, they occasionally bleed it to death by biting its soft nose.[100] With medium-sized prey such as roe deer or sheep, northern wolves kill by biting the throat, severing nerve tracks and the carotid artery, thus causing the animal to die within a few seconds to a minute,[101] while the smaller southern wolves may grab the animal by the neck and stun it by jerking its head downward, hitting its nose on the ground.[9] When prey is vulnerable and abundant, wolves may occasionally surplus kill."
"
Enemies and competitors
Wolves typically dominate other canid species in areas where they both occur. In North America, incidences of wolves killing coyotes are common, with such incidences being especially common in winter, when coyotes feed on wolf kills. Wolves may attack coyote den sites, digging out and killing the pups. They rarely eat the coyotes they kill. There are no records of coyotes killing wolves, though coyotes may chase wolves if they outnumber them.[133][134] Near identical interactions have been observed in Eurasia between wolves and golden jackals, with the latter's numbers being comparatively small in areas with high wolf densities.[133][135][136] Wolves are the most important predator of raccoon dogs, killing large numbers of them in the spring and summer periods.[137] Wolves also kill red, arctic and corsac foxes, usually in disputes over carcasses. They may eat the foxes they kill.[138][139] In Asia, they may compete with dholes.[140]
Brown bears are encountered by wolves in both Eurasia and North America. Generally, the outcome of such encounters depends on context: brown bears typically prevail against wolves in disputes over carcasses, while wolves mostly prevail against bears when defending their den sites. Both species will kill each other's young. Wolves will eat the brown bears they kill, while brown bears seem to only eat young wolves.[141] American black bears occur solely in the Americas. Wolf interactions with black bears are much rarer than with brown bears, due to differences in habitat preferences. The majority of black bear encounters with wolves occur in the species' northern range, with no interactions being recorded in Mexico. Wolves have been recorded on numerous occasions to actively seek out black bears in their dens and kill them without eating them. Unlike brown bears, black bears frequently lose against wolves in disputes over kills.[142] While encounters with brown and black bears appear to be common, polar bears are rarely encountered by wolves, though there are two records of wolf packs killing polar bear cubs.[143] Wolves will also kill the cubs of Asian black bears.[144] When attacking bears in daylight, wolf packs have been known to harry their quarry and wait till nightfall before making the final assault, as wolves have better night vision than bears.[145]
Wolves may encounter striped hyenas in Israel and Central Asia, usually in disputes over carcasses. Hyenas feed extensively on wolf-killed carcasses in areas where the two species interact. On a one-to-one basis, hyenas dominate wolves, though wolf packs can drive off single hyenas.[146]
Large wolf populations limit the numbers of small to medium sized felines. Wolves encounter cougars along portions of the Rocky Mountainsand adjacent mountain ranges. Wolves and cougars typically avoid encountering each other by hunting on different elevations. In winter however, when snow accumulation forces their prey into valleys, interactions between the two species become more likely. Although they rarely interact, wolves and cougars will kill each other, with packs of the former sometimes usurping the latter's kills.[147] They hunt steppe cats, and may pose a threat to snow leopards.[148] Wolves may reduce Eurasian lynx populations.[149]
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In the top image, of my maxicard, do you see a heart shape?
I see one...
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.a small white one, in the middle of the back (spine), with the tip pointing to the tail.
