Happy Pink Saturday (meme)! Souvenir page (A4 page-size, letter-size, 8x11'' dorincard) about corn

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

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

Happy Postcard Friday (meme)! Read from BBC: Lion (facts, pictures and stunning videos). My worldwide stamps and RSA maxicards with Lion (Panthera leo). Lions choose their 'Valentine' in a polygynandrous way (OMG!)

Read the BBC article here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Lion
and here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/adaptations/Polygynandry

These are stamps from my old collection, in high-res - click, and click again to zoom in:

"The lion (Panthera leo) is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg (550 lb) in weight,^[4] it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger. 

Wild lions currently exist in Sub-Saharan Africa and in Asia with an endangered remnant population in Gir Forest National Park in India, having disappeared from North Africa and Southwest Asia in historic times. 

Until the late Pleistocene, about 10,000 years ago, the lion was the most widespread large land mammal after humans. 

They were found in most of Africa, across Eurasia from western Europe to India, and in the Americas from the Yukon to Peru.^[5] 

The lion is a vulnerable species, having seen a possibly irreversible population decline of thirty to fifty percent over the past two decades in its African range.^[6] 

Lion populations are untenable outside designated reserves and national parks. 

Although the cause of the decline is not fully understood, habitat loss and conflicts with humans are currently the greatest causes of concern."

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

For the lion below, cougars are too exotic. He chooses his "Valentine" as part of his PRIDE. However, new word you may have learned today: polygynandry.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I will create one or more dorincards with this cut-out image from a book. :)

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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).

BBC: 'The birds and the bees'. 'Quiz: The surprises of animal sex'. Be my Valentine, in the (other) animal(s) world. To the heart, thru the body (language). Guest Heart Thursday meme. Black heart on the giant panda cub Tai Shan.

Guest Heart Thursday #44

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

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

My entry for the Guest Heart Thursday meme http://clytie-randomhearts.blogspot.com/ : the black heart on a hind leg of the giant panda cub Tai Shan, in the postcard AND ALSO in the stamp!!!.  See, I made it easy for you, not to waste too much time searching throughout the image...:)

The postmark is more visible here, on a different postcard:

The front side of the above postcard is this:

Please read this from BBC (viewer/reader discretion advised, although 'Naturalia non sunt turpia' = 'What is natural is not shameful'): http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12409270 Take the quiz.

Also: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/temporary-exhibitions/sexual-nature/index.html

"Adult £8, Child and concessions £4, Family £21

Free to Members, Patrons and children aged 3 and under.

This exhibition contains frank information and imagery about sex."

Child and concessions? If you make your child a concession/compromise, they charge you for the concession, too? [must be another word meaning...]

"The exhibition gallery is adorned with sepia and black-and-white images depicting animals in sexual congress like this one".

Sexual congress? Aah, so that's  why so many politicians from around the world make certain...trans(con)gressions.

"Some of these displays may raise eyebrows."

Egypt, Israel and a Strategic Reconsideration | STRATFOR. Also, a visual metaphor of the relationships (intended? perceived? real?) between two countries such as Egypt and Israel: mailed maximum card (USA) with my giant panda personalized stamp and a postcard with dog-drawn trumpeting (or releasing WickedLicks?) panda

Egypt:
Egypt (ⁱ /ˈiːdʒɪpt/; مصر, Miṣr, Arabic: [mesˤɾ]; Egyptian Arabic: [mɑsˤɾ]; Coptic: Ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, Kīmi), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypt


Israel: 
Israel (ⁱ /ˈɪzriəl/; Hebrew: יִשְׂרָאֵל‎‎, Yisrā'el; Arabic: إِسْرَائِيل‎, ʾIsrāʾīl), officially the State of Israel (Hebrew:  מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל (help·info), Medīnat Yisrā'el; Arabic: دَوْلَة إِسْرَائِيل‎, Dawlat ʾIsrāʾīl).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel


War and Peace...How Much Land Does a Man Need...The Living Corpse...The Power of Darkness.
All these are NOT about Egypt and Israel (or are they?), but they are titles of  literary works by Lev Tolstoi:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tolstoi


Please read: Egypt, Israel and a Strategic Reconsideration | STRATFOR

Let's say, shall we, that this could be (or is, if we so decide) a visual metaphor of the relationships (intended? perceived? real?) between two countries such as Egypt and Israel.

Feel free to comment ("Would it kill ya' to comment?") about how you interpret it.

Who's The Dog, and who's The Dawg (some human mastermind of this)?

Who's The Bear (giant panda bear)?

Who's [not whose, you grammar-averse students - you know who you are :) ] The Master, and who's The Servant here...if any?

Is that "team" going anywhere? Or just wherever The Dog finds a more compelling smell?

Are they at peace, or they could start a fierce fight at any time?

Is The Bear trumpeting, or just... releasing WikidLicks?

Who are The Puppet Masters, The Directors behind the scenes like this?

:)

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Please visit the newly started Postcard Exchange meme. "For the meme, we do it every Wednesday and the Linky is open until Friday. We'll start again tomorrow. Hope you can join us."

http://www.thelearningcenterbkk.com/2011/01/postcard-exchange-meme-starts-tomorrow.html

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For my giant panda bear and the German shepherd dog - is it "romantic" or "practical" to team up?

Or neither, nor?

:)

Please visit the Two 4 Tuesday meme:

http://www.two4tuesday.com/home/two4tuesday/

Happy Blue Monday! (meme). Happy Valentine suggestion: "From Estonia, with love!" My instagr.am photo of my postcard with the heart-shaped, cool blue Lake Väikejärv (?), Viljandi County, Estonia [don't make me specify Europe, for you :) ]

instagr.am

Idea 1 for maxicard Vaikejarv:

Idea 2 for maxicard Vaikejarv:

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Happy Blue Monday! (meme)

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

It's Year of the Rabbit, not Year of the Kumquats [the fruits depicted as the main (!!!) graphic element on the 2011 USPS stamp for YOTR, courtesy of the "vision" of the stamp illustrator Kam Mak]

This older Year of the Rabbit maxicard/ maximum card/ dorincard properly depicts a goddamn [ :) ] rabbit as the main graphic element of the stamp - as it should!

Now it's Year of the Rabbit, not Year of the Kumquats [the fruits depicted as the main (!!!) graphic element on the 2011 USPS stamp for YOTR, courtesy of the "vision" of the stamp illustrator Kam Mak]

http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/2011/pr11_006.htm

I strongly believe that you could put any secondary symbol (narcissus, kumquats, General Tso chicken with rice - whatever) of the Chinese Lunar Year celebration in the BACKGROUND.

But put the image of the zodiac animal in the FOREGROUND - that's the main symbol!

:)

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Happy Sunday Stamps!

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

New: Sunday Stamps meme! Here's a giant panda (personalized) stamp, postmark and postcard = maximum card/ maxicard/ dorincard

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Happy Sunday Stamp!

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

instagr.am is a free app for iPhones- Also an alternative to the tedious scanning of your stamps, postcards, etc. Dorincard (that's me) is using Instagram - a fun & quirky way to share your life with friends through a series of pictures.

instagr.am

dorincard

1 photo · 0 followers

Peace on Earth? Never was, never will be - not "everywhere, simultaneously". But at least we can do our best. However: "Si vis pacem, para bellum" - Latin adagio.

Hoping for peace is good, but there are too many "disturbers of peace".

Trying to have peace is better, if you take action.

Safeguarding the peace, even with armed forces if all else fails, is the best.

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Happy Blue Monday!

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

Germany and the Failure of Multiculturalism | STRATFOR; plus postcards from Deutschland

"Reprinting or republication of this report on websites is authorized by prominently displaying the following sentence, including the hyperlink to STRATFOR, at the beginning or end of the report."

"Germany and the Failure of Multiculturalism is republished with permission of STRATFOR."

Read more: Germany and the Failure of Multiculturalism | STRATFOR 



I am posting here excerpts and the link to a very good article by George Friedman, of http://www.stratfor.com.
Only financial reasons prevent me from subscribing - otherwise I would absolutely enjoy reading all their articles (especially those written by George).
Very insightful ideas...
masterful choice of the juiciest, most percutant words...
and a clear, enjoyable style.
Tasty and spicy (though not crazy-spicy) "Food for Thought".
READ, baby! :)
Don't limit your geopolitical horizon only to your 6 o'clock news, or so.
There are more significant things happening in the world (and eventually affecting "U 2") than the garden variety of your TV news, sandwiched between commercials.

"Two things have forced the re-emergence of German national awareness. The first, of course, is the immediate issue — a large and indigestible mass of Turkish and other Muslim workers. The second is the state of the multinational organizations to which Germany tried to confine itself. NATO, a military alliance consisting mainly of countries lacking militaries worth noting, is moribund. The second is the state of the European Union. After the Greek and related economic crises, the certainties about a united Europe have frayed. Germany now sees itself as shaping EU institutions so as not to be forced into being the European Union’s ultimate financial guarantor. And this compels Germany to think about Germany beyond its relations with Europe."


"Merkel’s statement is therefore of enormous importance on two levels. First, she has said aloud what many leaders already know, which is that multiculturalism can become a national catastrophe. Second, in stating this, she sets in motion other processes that could have a profound impact on not only Germany and Europe but also the global balance of power."

Read more: Germany and the Failure of Multiculturalism | STRATFOR 

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Let's say I want to create a maximum card about Germany [I have none, so far :( ].

FIP Commission for Maximaphily exhibiting rules say that I should NOT use a multiview postcard like this:

What I could do is to find (or create at zazzle) a small stamp with the flag of Germany, for example.

If I could get that stamp postmarked on the picture side, in some corner, it would look very good to me.:)

It would be a dorincard (in this case a non-traditional maximum card), representative of Germany.

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Another postcard that I received from a German partner/friend is this:

Doesn't that jumping lamb know that its destiny is to be sacrificial?

Or, maybe he knows, and that's exactly why he's jumping, "living his life at its fullest".

Enjoy while you can! (whatever you enjoy)

Asian Golden Cat (Pardofelis temminckii; syn. Catopuma temminckii) - this is a dorincard that I created with an A4 (page-size) image of a magazine page.

Is this a traditional, FIP-compliant maximum card? No.

Is this made with a commercial, normal size postcard? No.

Do I like this dorincard? Yes.

How about you?

Wild experiment: go to your local store(s) where you buy postcards, and ask, with a straight face, for "a normal postcard with an Asian Golden Cat, in other words Pardofelis temminckii."

The clerk will look at you, wondering what the hell is wrong with you, then you'll get a NO.

So what's a collector to do? Nothing?

YOU do that, if that's what you want.

I prefer to find solutions.

In this case, I found this large, detailed, gorgeous image in a magazine.

I own this copy of the page (a real page), and I can do many things with it.

Of course, I choose to use it as a postcard.

I could even mail it, but I would risk getting it damaged or losing it.

The normal fate (99.99% of the time) of a magazine page is to end up in the trash, don't you think?

Well, think.

:)

Since the image is superb, I could really affix the label with the postmarked stamp onto it.

My good friend Ye Choh San (Malaysia) has sent me that serviced label, at my request.

"The Asian Golden Cat (Pardofelis temminckii syn. Catopuma temminckii), also called the Asiatic Golden Cat and Temminck's Golden Cat, is a medium-sized wild cat of Southeastern Asia."

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

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Happy PFF (Postcard Friendship Friday)!

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

"Men are not dogs. Dogs are LOYAL!" - Wanda Sykes. Shipping Labels from Zazzle.com

"Men are not dogs. Dogs are LOYAL!" - Wanda Sykes. Shipping Labels from Zazzle.com

Another element of a mailpiece, that can be personalized as you wish, is your address label.
This is an example of how you can add your favorite photo to it, such as your beloved puppy.
Then you personalize it online with your own mailing address.
The image above shows the bigger model - a shipping label.
The mid-size is the address label.
The smallest size is the return label.
You can see them all, customizable, in my zazzle store. Click on the links to visit, if you want.

Every day, in USA, about 11,000 cats and dogs (many of them are adoptable) have to be euthanized [translation: put to sleep] [further translation: killed] in animal shelters.
Those unfortunate cats and dogs can't "claim sanctuary"...

A tiger cub needs the care of a mom that's a tigress, not a..."cougar" - custom maximum card (USA) that I created

I ordered that nice photo print in a postcard size 10x15cm (4x6 "), and I can attach anytime a postcard-backing paper, if I want.

Or, I can re-order it as a postcard, from the print shop.

http://www.winkflash.com

The stamp is my design at Zazzle.

http://www.zazzle.com/siberian_tiger_hug_postage-172968708985811645?rf=238693463283865848

In the enlarged image below, look how thrilled is the tiger cub that his mom plays with him!

"Open up your loving arms!"...:)

The postmark is from my Mailers' Postmark Permit canceller, my own official/legal/valid postmarking device.

http://mppclub.org/

How concordant is the postmark with the stamp and the postcard?

Well, the postcard image shows tigers from the Berlin Zoo (Germany, I suppose, 'cause we have Berlin localities in USA, too).

The stamp image shows tigers from the Buffalo, New York Zoo.

My Sterling, VA postmark is concordant at least on a zoomed-out level (both states of Virginia and New York are in USA).

Do I attempt to focus my MC (maximum card) only on a specific Zoo? On specific tigers?

http://www.zazzle.com/no_no_no_no_baby_postage-172866537361275772?rf=238693463283865848

I just want to focus my MC on the general relationship between a tiger cub and his mother.

http://www.zazzle.com/sheesh_postage-172193995595441185?rf=238693463283865848

A Zazzle custom stamp [= custom(ized) postage, personalized stamp, personalised stamp] has a thin plastic coating, to prevent fraud by laser-printing, and to prevent the obscuring of the IBI (information-based indicia; the black and white little squares) by the ink of the postmark.

How can you get a postmark onto a Zazzle stamp?

A USPS postal associate may, or may not agree to postmark it. Officially, "it doesn't require a postmark".

I interpret that as "it's still OK to postmark it on (nice) demand, for philatelic purposes."

I had to use a trick that George C. and some other maximaphilists around the world have experimented with: harsh dishwashing scrub pad (cut out a thumb-size square), used carefully to dull the glossiness of the postcard.

Any brand name: Scotch Brite, etc. would do.

So I scrubbed just right, with "the Midas touch" ["special touch", though not transforming anything into gold :) ], the matte postcard and the plastic-coated zazzle stamp.

Thus, the postmark ink was absorbed well-enough. 

You can see the postmark, can't you?

My good friend/MACSU colleague/mentor/client George Constantourakis (Canada) knows a trick or two (or 1001) about maximaphily.

After all, he is the current Chairman of the Commission for Maximaphily from FIP (The International Philatelic Federation), for God's sake!!!

:) :) :)

http://www.maximaphily.info