Spring's "teen" brusque arrival is near! "The Boss" of all 4 seasons. Maximum card / maxicard / dorincard that I created in 2006, with a postcard and matching stamp showing a "Cherry Blossom Festival"-view and the Jefferson Memorial, Washington, D.C.

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Happy Sunday Stamps meme!

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

"Mayavin Agency proudly presents Edward Maya & Vika Jigulina “Desert Rain Tour” for the first time in the USA! Starting on the 15th of March in Seattle, the sound of hits like “Stereo Love” “This Is My Life” and “Desert Rain” will make vibrate cities like Tampa on the 16th, Las Vegas on the 17th and Los Angeles on the 19th March! Make sure you’ll be attending the shows for a night to remember!" Also, stamp showing the Space Needle Tower in Seattle, WA.

Welcome to USA! Bine aţi venit în SUA!

I'm glad to spread the word! :)

"Mayavin Agency proudly presents Edward Maya & Vika Jigulina “Desert Rain Tour” for the first time in the USA! Starting on the 15th of March in Seattle, the sound of hits like “Stereo Love” “This Is My Life” and “Desert Rain” will make vibrate cities like Tampa on the 16th, 

Las Vegas on the 17th and Los Angeles on the 19th March! Make sure you’ll be attending the shows for a night to remember!"

See my previous posts with images and links:

http://dorincard.blogspot.com/2011/02/what-is-that-accordion-song-played-like.html

http://dorincard.blogspot.com/2011/02/part-2-edward-maya-feat-vika-jigulina.html

http://dorincard.blogspot.com/2011/02/happy-pink-saturday-meme-part-1-pretty.html

http://mayavinrecords.com/releases

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Panoramic view of  Seattle, Washington.

"Researchers at Central Connecticut State University consistently rank Seattle and Minneapolis as the two most literate cities among America's largest cities.^[21][22]Additionally, survey data from the United States Census Bureau indicate that Seattle has a higher percentage of college graduates than any other major American city, with approximately 53.8% of residents aged 25 and older holding a bachelor degree or higher.^[23]"

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

Like a song says: "Where have all the COWBOYS gone?..."

Them rednecks, too...

:)

Never Fight a Land War in Asia | STRATFOR. Red is the blood, red in the flag...Maximum card/ maxicard/ dorincard about the Vietnam War Memorial, in Washington, D.C. Please visit and join Ruby Tuesday meme!

Never Fight a Land War in Asia | STRATFOR

Whether you agree or not with all the ideas from that article, it's still an interesting read.

 

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Please visit and join Ruby Tuesday meme!

http://workofthepoet.blogspot.com/

"Desired Desire" - Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, sometimes known as Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam. I received today my first maximum card from Belgium, showing his house.

Erasmus lived in this house, too - in Anderlecht, Belgium.

Thank you, my friend Johan Ockerman (Belgium)! http://johanpostcards.blogspot.com/ .

Somebody in Belgium made a smart decision to apply the same pictorial postmark on the envelope, outside the stamp. That way, we have a perfectly clear image of the postmark, which is not possible from where the postmark met the stamp.

"Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (October 28,^[1] 1466 – July 12, 1536), sometimes known as Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, was a Dutch Renaissance humanist and a Catholic priest and theologian. His scholarly name Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus comprises the following three elements: the Latin noun desiderium ("longing" or "desire"; the name being a genuine Late Latin name); the Greek adjective ἐράσμιος (erásmios) meaning "desired", and, in the form Erasmus, also the name of a St. Erasmus of Formiae; and the Latinized adjectival form for the city of Rotterdam (Roterodamus = "of Rotterdam").

Erasmus was a classical scholar who wrote in a "pure" Latin style and enjoyed the sobriquet "Prince of the Humanists." He has been called "the crowning glory of the Christian humanists."^[2] Using humanist techniques for working on texts, he prepared important new Latin and Greek editions of the New Testament. These raised questions that would be influential in the Protestant Reformation and Catholic Counter-Reformation. He also wrote The Praise of Folly, Handbook of a Christian Knight, On Civility in Children, Copia: Foundations of the Abundant Style, Julius Exclusus, and many other works.

Erasmus lived through the Reformation period and he consistently criticized some contemporary popular Christian beliefs. In relation to clerical abuses in the Church, Erasmus remained committed to reforming the Church from within. 
He also held to Catholic doctrines such as that of free will, which some Protestant Reformers rejected in favor of the doctrine of predestination. 
His middle road approach disappointed and even angered many Protestants, such as Martin Luther [DORIN'S NOTE: not Martin Luther King Jr. - http://www.zazzle.com/c_am_sayin_postage-172331084925934503?rf=238693463283865848 ], as well as conservative Catholics.
He died in Basel in 1536 and was buried in the formerly Catholic cathedral there, recently converted to a Reformed church.^[3]"

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

Read from BBC: Lake Vostok drilling in Antarctic 'running out of time'. Also, see some "e-postcards" from Vostok Station, Antarctica.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wostok-Station_core32.jpg

I would love to receive some real postcards from Antarctica [from Vostok and all the other stations/research bases (28?)], written and stamped, preferably addressed to me, showing images like the above from wikipedia, my most favorite website. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:GISP2_team_photo_core37.jpeg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:LakeVostok-Location.jpg

"The lowest reliably measured temperature on Earth of −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F) was in Vostok on 21 July 1983^[9] (See List of weather records) Lower temperatures occurred higher up towards the summit of the ice sheet as temperature decreases with height along the surface."

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

Read this very interesting article from BBC:

"With only about 50m left to drill, time is running out for the Russian scientists hoping to drill into Vostok - the world's most enigmatic lake.

Vostok is a sub-glacial lake in Antarctica, hidden some 4,000m (13,000ft) beneath the ice sheet.

With the Antarctic summer almost over, temperatures will soon begin to plummet; they can go as low as -80C.

Scientists will leave the remote base on 6 February, when conditions are still mild enough for a plane to land."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12275979

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In other news from Antarctica:

First woman that successfully ended the 7 Volcanoes Circuit. Romanian 16 years old Crina COCO Popescu is the youngest mountaineer worldwide and also the first woman that finishes the Volcanic 7 Summits Circuit - reaching the summits of the highest Volcanoes on 7 continents!

Read more

Coco in Antarctica: the long wait is over

After the success obtained on 4th of January, when Coco completed the ascension of Mt. Vinson – a new age record for Romania, it followed a range of days in waiting of the departure to the next objective: Mt. Sidley, the highest volcano in Antarctica.

Read more

COCO - the world’s youngest alpinist that climb Mt. Vinson (in Antarctica)

Crina Coco Popescu finished Tuesday, 4th of January 2011, the ascension of Mt. Vinson - the higher peak of Antarctica, in her most important expedition, ”Antarctica 2010 – 2011”.

Read more

Read more about this exceptional girl from Romania:

http://www.celmaisus.ro/?lang=en

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Happy PFF (Postcard Friendship Friday)!

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

Read from BBC: "Your Good Samaritan stories". Let's see if I can illustrate, if only with a collateral symbolic reference, these 10 true stories.

Read the whole article here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12122809

Let's see if I can illustrate, if only with a collateral symbolic reference, these 10 true stories.

1. THE PASSING DOCTOR

"Virginia is for lovers", and the PORTABLE DEFIBRILLATOR is for restarting a heart. And a life.

2. THE PASSPORT OFFICIAL

A migratory bird flies across country borders without any passport stamp/visa...but humans may need one. Desperately. Bureaucracy vs. Open-mindedness.

3. THE MYSTERY DRIVER

Some say "we are what we drive". Others might say "we are what good deeds we can do (including while driving)". Such as quickly jumping into a car out-of-control. Then it doesn't matter "what you drive". It could be a beat-up truck, for example.

4. THE BUS PASSENGER

Maybe "the show must go on", but a bus must not, if a life is endangered and an ambulance is needed.

A bus can take you somewhere, or can have you taken somewhere.

5. THE SILENT WITNESS

You can have a fancy [motor]bike, but when you ran out of "petrol", even a 1 gallon gift can be a lifesaver.

6. THE ISLAND ANGELS

In Canada, as in any other country, some beings jump to attack you (like a hungry cougar - I mean puma or mountain lion...). Other beings jump to help you, and possibly save you from trouble.

Don't jump to conclusions until you see WHY you're being jumped.

7. THE GOOD NEIGHBOURS

It's good when you can afford to pay for your food.

It's also good to get a little help until you are able again to pay for your food.

Starving is avoidable, in many cases.

8. THE POLICE OFFICER

Some people become great winners, great champions, like Muhammad Ali. He never was an alcoholic or a smoker, said Lonnie Ali, his wife. His sports regimen and his religion did not welcome alcohol.

But even ordinary people can be winners at something, when they get good advice and gather enough self-will to conquer a potentially deadly addiction, such as alcoholism.

I could have used here, for this BBC story, the American stamp "Alcoholism: You can beat it!", but I don't have it. :)

9. THE SELFLESS STUDENTS

You don't necessarily need a sports car to be happy. Sometimes, a simple taxi at the right time is all the transportation you need to have a good time with friends and be happy.

10. THE THIRD MOTORIST

Pigs are not the only animals who produce a lot of manure. 

Sheep do it, too.

"Pigs" have also their own "manure".

The question is with whose "manure" should we put up, and for how long, if you get my drift. :)

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Happy PFF (Postcard Friendship Friday)!

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

Orient Express Train: Romanian cover and maximum cards with joint-issue stamps Romania-Austria

Thank you, my dear friend Teodor from Romania!  Multzumesc! :)

Salzburg (Austria) Railway Station

Sinaia (Romania) Railway Station - read the placard on the train car: Venice - Simplon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Orient-express_histoire.png

"The Orient Express was the name of a long-distance passenger train service originally operated by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. It ran from 1883 to 2009 and is not to be confused with the Venice-Simplon Orient Express train service, which continues to run.

The route and rolling stock of the Orient Express changed many times. Several routes in the past concurrently used the Orient Express name, or slight variants thereof. Although the original Orient Express was simply a normal international railway service, the name has become synonymous with intrigue and luxury travel. The two city names most prominently associated with the Orient Express are Paris and Istanbul, the original endpoints of the timetabled service.

In 1977, the Orient Express stopped serving Istanbul. Its immediate successor, a through overnight service from Paris to Vienna, ran for the very last time from Paris on Friday, June 8, 2007. After this, the route, still called the "Orient Express", was shortened to start fromStrasbourg instead,^[1] occasioned by the inauguration of the LGV Est which affords much faster travel times from Paris to Strasbourg. The new curtailed service left Strasbourg at 22.20 daily, shortly after the arrival of a TGV from Paris, and was attached at Karlsruhe to the overnight sleeper service from Amsterdam to Vienna.

On 14 December 2009, the Orient Express ceased to operate and the route disappeared from European railway timetables, reportedly a "victim of high-speed trains and cut-rate airlines".^[2]The Venice-Simplon Orient Express train, a private venture using original carriages from the 1920s and 30s, continues to run from London to Venice and to other destinations in Europe, including the original route from Paris to Istanbul.^[3]"

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