WWF maximum cards/ maxicards/ dorincards from Marshall Islands: 1) the largest land-living arthropod in the world; 2) the largest living bivalve mollusc; 3) the maxima clam; 4) the Triton's trumpet.

DID YOU KNOW that there are 2 kinds of giant clams?

Giant Clams...and Small Giant Clams!

[UL= upper left] "The coconut crab, Birgus latro, is the largest land-living arthropod in the world, and is probably at the upper limit of how big terrestrial animals with exoskeletons can become in today's atmosphere."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coconut_crab

[UR] " The giant clam, Tridacna gigas (known as pā’ua in Cook Islands Māori), is the largest living bivalve mollusc. T. gigas is one of the most endangered clam species. It was mentioned as early as 1825 in scientific reports.
[2] One of a number of large clam species native to the shallow coral reefs of the South Pacific and Indian oceans, they can weigh more than 200 kilograms (441 lb) measure as much as 120 centimeters (47.2 in) across, and have an average lifespan in the wild of 100 years or more.[3]."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_clam

[LL] "The maxima clam (Tridacna maxima), also known as the small giant clam, is a species of clam found throughout the Indo-Pacific. They are much sought after in the aquarium trade, as their often striking coloration mimics that of the true giant clam, however the maximas maintain a manageable size, with the shells of large specimen typically not exceeding 20 centimetres (7.9 in) in length."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tridacna_maxima

[LR] "Charonia tritonis, common name Triton's trumpet, is a species of very large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollus[k] in the family Ranellidae, the tritons."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charonia_tritonis

"The words mollusc and mollusk are both derived from the French mollusque, which originated from the Latin molluscus, from mollis, soft.Molluscus was itself an adaptation of Aristotle's τᾲ μαλάκια, "the soft things", which he applied to cuttlefish.^[27] The scientific study of molluscs is known as malacology.^{[28]"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mollusc}

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Happy Blue Monday! (meme)

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

Check out this image: A cat on a personalized stamp that I have customized at Zazzle.

Cat1.jpg A cat on a personalized stamp that I have customized at Zazzle. If you are having problems viewing this email, copy and paste the following into your browser: http://s289.photobucket.com/albums/ll201/dorincard/Stamps/?action=view¤t=Cat1.jpg&evt=user_media_share

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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...

:)

Pink (s)lip service and a true conch: The Queen Conch (Lobatus gigas). WWF maximum cards/ maxicards/ dorincards about Nevis.

What exactly is "a true conch"?

That's NOT a good question.

Why?

Because "The term true conchs, being a common name, does not have an exact meaning. It may refer generally to any of the Strombidae^[1] but sometimes is used more specifically to include onlyStrombus and Lambis^[2] or just Strombus itself.^[3]"

^?

^Anyway.

"Lobatus gigas, commonly known as the queen conch, is a species of edible sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family of true conchs, the Strombidae. This species is one of the largest mollusks native to the Tropical Northwestern Atlantic, from Bermuda to Brazil, reaching up to 35.2 cm (13.9 in) in shell length.

The queen conch is herbivorous and lives in seagrass beds, although the exact habitat varies during the different stages of its development. The adult animal has a very large, solid and heavy shell, with knob-like spines on the shoulder, a flared thick outer lip and a characteristic pink-colored aperture (opening). The flared lip is completely absent in younger specimens. The external anatomy of the soft parts of L. gigas is similar to that of other snails in the same family: it has a long snout, two eyestalks with well-developed eyes and additional sensory tentacles, a strong foot and a corneous sickle-shaped operculum."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Eustrombus_gigas_01.jpg

What you see above it's just a shell "corporation".

Wanna see the corpore/corpus/soft body?

Here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Strombus_gigas_Duclos_in_Chenu_1844_pl_1.jpg

A legitimate question is: what the...hell are those?

Can you handle the truth? Jack Nicholson said you can't!

Here:

"A drawing of an adult male Lobatus gigas (from Duclos in Chenu, 1844) showing the external soft parts including the spade-shaped penis on the left. Separate details show the mouth, and both sides of the claw-like operculum."

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

"Nevis (pronounced /ˈniːvɪs/) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, located near the northern end of the Lesser Antilles archipelago, about 350 km east-southeast of Puerto Rico and 80 km west ofAntigua. The 93 km² island is part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. The capital of Nevis is Charlestown.

Nevis, along with Saint Kitts, forms the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. The two islands are separated by a shallow two-mile (3.22 km) channel, known as "The Narrows". Nevis is conical in shape, with a volcanic peak, Nevis Peak, at its centre. The island is fringed on its western and northern quadrants by sandy beaches that are composed of a mixture of white coral sand with brown and black sand, eroded and washed down from the volcanic rocks that make up the island. The gently-sloping coastal plain (0.6 miles/1 km wide) has natural fresh-water springs, as well as non-potable volcanic hot springs, especially along the western coast."

"Alexander Hamilton, the statesman and one of the founding fathers of the United States, was born on Nevis around 1755, and spent a significant part of his childhood there. His father was a trader from Scotland, his mother was from Nevis. The place of his birth currently holds the Nevis Island Assembly Chambers and the Museum of Nevis History."

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

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

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Happy Pink Saturday!

^{Please visit "Pretty in pink"/ "Show us your pink" [objects, that is :)] meme here:}

^{http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/}

REPUB[L]ICANS "in the Wisconsin state senate have approved a plan to strip public-sector unions of most of their collective bargaining rights." - BBC. "Starve the beast" Reaganomics. "The richest 1% of the American population, who were paying an income tax rate of 70% had that rate chopped down to 50% and then to 28% under the Reagan administration." "Between 1978 and 1990 the government lost $840 billion in tax revenue whilst 1% of Americans accumulated $1 trillion. When Reagan first entered the White House the national debt was at around $700 billion, by the time he left the debt had exceeded $3 trillion." - read from Living in Philistia.

I'll say it again, coz you may have missed it in the fog of media wars and spin-mastering:

REPUB[L]ICANS "in the Wisconsin state senate have approved a plan to strip public-sector unions of most of their collective bargaining rights." - BBC. 

"But Democratic senate minority leader Mark Miller said the Republicans had shown disrespect for the people of Wisconsin and their rights.

"Tonight, 18 senate Republicans conspired to take government away from the people," he is quoted by the Associated Press news agency as saying.

"Tomorrow we will join the people of Wisconsin in taking back their government."

State unions had said they would agree to Mr Walker's proposed changes to their benefits - which would amount to an 8% pay cut - as long as they retained collective bargaining rights."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12695313

"Starve the beast" Reaganomics. 

"The richest 1% of the American population, who were paying an income tax rate of 70% had that rate chopped down to 50% and then to 28% under the Reagan administration." 

"Between 1978 and 1990 the government lost $840 billion in tax revenue [DORIN'S NOTE: that's "starve the beast"] whilst 1% of Americans accumulated $1 trillion." 

"When Reagan first entered the White House the national debt was at around $700 billion, by the time he left the debt had exceeded $3 trillion." - read from Living in Philistia.

http://livinginphilistia.blogspot.com/2011/02/reaganomics-review.html

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Please visit and join The Guest Heart Thursday meme!

http://clytie-randomhearts.blogspot.com/

Welcome to Guest Heart Thursday -
A place to share YOUR hearts!

My entry for today would have been a [Republican] politician's "heart for the American people".

I haven't found one in the Wisconsin Senate.

I'm still looking...

If this symbolizes "the heart of the American people", then it looks already chewed up by the greedy profiteers at the top:

It's nice to nurture a hobby, and find beauty even where it isn't, except thru the lens of our mind.
It's even more important to be acutely aware of what's going on in the world around us.
On-the-scenes, and especially behind-the-scenes.
Have a heart for the people, you greedy millionaires! :)

I am not against rich people, in principle.

Who wants to be a millionaire? Everybody, including me and including you, I guess. :)

The point is that while you are getting rich, you shouldn't take an assholistic approach towards your fellow countrymen.

Don't drive your fellows out of their jobs...

out of business...

out of their homes...

out of their hopes...

out of their mind!

Coz if you do, then all hell might break loose, eventually.

And you might lose big, or...everything! [oh, your God!]

"Beware the fury of a patient man."

"Be afraid of a man who has nothing left to lose."

Get rich, and help others get prosperous, too, at least at a reasonable level.

Live, and let live.

What! You prefer to "not let live"?

The Khmer Rouge regime has exterminated 1/4 of the population of Cambodia/Kampuchea.

Are records meant to be broken?

"A politician  does not see the light until he feels the heat."

Politicians from around the world: 

do you entertain the idea of finding out, first-hand, the euphemistic weight of

 "a ton of bricks"?