Happy Pink Saturday (meme)! [Part 1] Pretty in pink (or any other color): Vika Jigulina, who sings in Edward Maya's "Stereo Love" (Best International Song nominee). The haunting accordion sounds and rhythm...

Pretty in pink: "The Roseate Spoonbill (Ajaja ajaja), sometimes separated in the monotypic genus (Ajaja) is a gregarious wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family, Threskiornithidae. It is a resident breeder in South America mostly east of the Andes, and in coastal regions of the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, and the Gulf Coast of the United States.^[1][2]"

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

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

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

"I'll spread my wings/ And I'll learn how to fly"...to international success...

Now, who else is pretty in pink (or any other color)?

Vika Jigulina, for example.

Look at her dress at the top of this page:

http://mayavinrecords.com/vika-jigulina

Have you heard the beautiful, haunting, ("progressive house"-category) song "Stereo Love"?

Watch the videoclips from the above link! :)

The rhythm, the voices, the images...and the accordion virtuoso's supreme timing and instrumental skills. 

World-class! :)

Also:

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

Stereo Love, the new hymn/hit song of dance clubs, etc. from around the world! :)

Another videoclip (that I like, too), with a cover version an official remix of Stereo Love, sung by Mia Martina:

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

Another version, beautifully sung by Alicia, in Spanish:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gfd96rck28A

There's also a Portuguese version by DJ Osman, "image-intensive".

I expect that every country will come up with at least one version - why the hell not?

I am curious to see the exotic versions from Vatican City, Holy Mount Athos, Greenland, Saudi Arabia, French Polynesia...:)

Guest Heart Thursday meme: "Your heart has AIS, my heart has AIZ" - Where's the heart? Maximum card with Star Wars, from USA

Another very interesting blog, hosted by Clytie, is http://clytie-randomhearts.blogspot.com/

Guest Heart Thursday #43

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

===========

My entry:

 "Your heart has AIS, my heart has AIZ" - Where's the heart in this image?  [Not a NASA-level riddle]

=================

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Obama's State of the Union and U.S. Foreign Policy | STRATFOR. Also, a variant maximum card from USA, that I created with the Presidential Inauguration Day pictorial postmark - the superior quality ink (STAZ-ON like) did not smudge on the highly-glossy surface of the postcard.

Please read this interesting article from stratfor.com: Obama's State of the Union and U.S. Foreign Policy | STRATFOR
=====================

Obama's State of the Union address

The link to the speech is at the end of this blogpost.
========================
The stamp that I used for this maximum card/ maxicard/ dorincard is part of the FOON (Flags Of Our Nation) coil stamp series, which shows all the 50 states flags, and the American flag on several stamp designs.

Rush Limbaugh said he wants President Obama to fail. "The sooner, the better for USA".

And some said "Don't listen to Rush Limbaugh and FoxNews!".

I say you should listen to and learn from your "enemies" (or detractors/ political adversaries), too.

What if they still have some valuable points, in all the noise and "fog of war"?

"An enemy is a teacher - gratis".

Unlike Rush Limbaugh, I want President Obama to succeed, and I still hope that he can do a good, if not great, job for the American people, and for the world, in general.

But there are many obstacles, all around.

"We have a situation" means "we have a problem", or even "we're deep in it".

"We're in it, to dig it!"

President Obama ("The Audacity of Hope") has to deal with:

- the war in Iraq ("The Audacity of Soap").  

As in a soap opera, in that war theater there are many actors (their skill may vary), with many dramatic conflicts (some real, some invented), and the whole story plot is an...explosive mix.  

Also, chasing soap balloons (the effect) will not help you get rid of all the soap bars (the cause).  

Against a problem with "the radicals", you need, well, radical action. 

Clerics...Incitement and radicalization are not just a "cleric-al error".

- the war in Afghanistan ("The Audacity of Dope")

The Mom and Pop(py) small business is a big business, with global impact.

The poppy fields organically grown/harvested here go on to support the impoverished dealers and consumers from various cartels and 'hoods from around the world.

"Coming soon, to a crackhouse near you!"

Also, Afghanistan is harboring other problems, as we all know.

USA still has to deal with the TORA Syndrome: from "Tora! Tora!" to Tora Bora, there are always attackers, who then pose as the victims of aggression.

- the political pressure from various countries (including, maybe, Vatican City), interest groups, religious organizations (only for the sake of rhyming, let's say "The Audacity of Pope")

You cannot please everybody at once, so prioritizing will result in temporary winners and losers.

- the American people (The Audacity of Cope")

We, in USA, are scrambling to cope with a myriad of problems, of all kinds.  

Well, ALMOST all kinds.  There are problems, here and there in the world, that we don't have to cope with.

"Like what? Like what?"

Like KURU. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuru_(disease)

We don't feel pain in the Kuru.

- the Democratic Party ("The Audacity of Rope")

You never know who's on your side, this voting time around.  

But the democrats, like many other politicians, learn early all the ropes of politics, then they pull the ropes, as instructed by the senior leadership.  

Ropes of the Puppet Masters...

No?

- the Republican Party ("The Audacity of Nope")

"Just say NO!" gets you only so far.  

The best thing that happened lately to President Obama is the recent rise of the Republicans.

How can you keep saying NO to your fellow Republicans now?

Sometimes, you can win by losing, and vice-versa.

===============

Obama's State of the Union address

The actual speech: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12286629

Floating anniversary of Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Also, Muhammad Ali's birthday.

Liberty - an ideal for which many have fought and died, including Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr.

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

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr._Day

"Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African American civil rights movement.^[1] He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi.^[2] King is often presented as a heroic leader in the history of modern American liberalism.^[3]"

^{Did you know this?}

^"Martin Luther King Jr. expressed a view that black Americans, as well as other disadvantaged Americans, should be compensated for historical wrongs. In an interview conducted for Playboy in 1965, he said that granting black Americans only equality could not realistically close the economic gap between them and whites. 

King said that he did not seek a full restitution of wages lost to slavery, which he believed impossible, but proposed a government compensatory program of US$50 billion over ten years to all disadvantaged groups. 

He posited that "the money spent would be more than amply justified by the benefits that would accrue to the nation through a spectacular decline in school dropouts, family breakups, crime rates, illegitimacy, swollen relief rolls, rioting and other social evils".^[71] 

He presented this idea as an application of the common law regarding settlement of unpaid labor but clarified that he felt that the money should not be spent exclusively on blacks. 

He stated, "It should benefit the disadvantaged of all races".^[72]"

^{How about this?}

"King began to speak of the need for fundamental changes in the political and economic life of the nation. Towards the time of his murder, King more frequently expressed his opposition to the war and his desire to see a redistribution of resources to correct racial and economic injustice.^[97] 

Though his public language was guarded, so as to avoid being linked to communism by his political enemies, in private he sometimes spoke of his support for democratic socialism. 

In one speech, he stated that "something is wrong with capitalism" and claimed, "There must be a better distribution of wealth, and maybe America must move toward a democratic socialism."^[98]

King had read Marx while at Morehouse, but while he rejected "traditional capitalism," he also rejected Communism because of its "materialistic interpretation of history" that denied religion, its "ethical relativism," and its "political totalitarianism."^[99]

King also stated in his "Beyond Vietnam" speech that "true compassion is more

than flinging a coin to a beggar....it comes to see that an


 edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring".^[100] King quoted a United States official, who said that, from Vietnam to South America to Latin America, the country was "on the wrong side of a world revolution."^[100] King condemned America's "alliance with the landed gentry of Latin America," and said that the United States should support "the shirtless and barefoot people" in the Third World rather than suppressing their attempts at revolution.^[101]"

^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.}

What de-classified revelations will we have, if any, in 2027?

"On January 31, 1977, United States district Judge John Lewis Smith, Jr., ordered all known copies of the recorded audiotapes and written transcripts resulting from the FBI's electronic surveillance of King between 1963 and 1968 to be held in the National Archives and sealed from public access until 2027.^[181]"

^"Allegations of adultery

Having concluded that King was dangerous due to communist infiltration, the focus of the Bureau's investigations shifted to attempting to discredit King through revelations regarding his private life. FBI surveillance of King, some of it since made public, attempted to demonstrate that he also engaged in numerous extramarital affairs.^[164] Further remarks on King's lifestyle were made by several prominent officials, such as Lyndon Johnson, who once said that King was a "hypocritical preacher".^[171] Ralph Abernathy, a close associate of King's, stated in his 1989 autobiography And the Walls Came Tumbling Down that King had a "weakness for women".^[172][173] In a later interview, Abernathy said he only wrote the term "womanizing", and did not specifically say King had extramarital sex.^[174] King's biographer David Garrow detailed what he called King's "compulsive sexual athleticism." Garrow wrote about a number of extramarital affairs, including one with a woman King saw almost daily. According to Garrow, "that relationship, rather than his marriage, increasingly became the emotional centerpiece of King's life, but it did not eliminate the incidental couplings that were a commonplace of King's travels." King explained his extramarital affairs as "a form of anxiety reduction." Garrow noted that King's promiscuity was the cause of "painful and overwhelming guilt".^[175]"

^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.}

"King spoke earlier about what people should remember him for if they are around for his funeral. He said rather than his awards and where he went to school, people should talk about how he fought peacefully for justice.:

“

I'd like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to give his life serving others. I'd like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to love somebody. I want you to say that day that I tried to be right on the war question.  I want you to be able to say that day that I did try to feed the hungry.  I want you to be able to say that day that I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked.  I want you to say on that day that I did try in my life to visit those who were in prison.  And I want you to say that I tried to love  and serve humanity. Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major.  Say that I was a drum major for justice.  Say that I was a drum major for peace.  I was a drum major for righteousness.  And all of the other shallow things will not matter.[127]" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr. ================== Happy Birthday, Muhammad Ali, my most favorite boxer ever! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Ali ============================================ Happy Blue Monday! Please visit:  http://smilingsally.blogspot.com/

"WAGSTAFF: A Voice vs. An Echo." Also, a set of dorincards with Audrey Hepburn, a most classy Lady of the silver screen

I like and I follow this screenwriting blog, by Stephen Hoover:
WAGSTAFF: A Voice vs. An Echo

"True artists have their D.N.A. imprinted on their masterworks.   You can recognize the work of a master painter immediately.   Same with a writer.   Rare are unique voices -- distinct and resonating -- in any artistic field."


We should work at finding and expressing our voices.
:)
============================

This is a traditional maximum card, but can you decipher the postmark?

Out of sheer desperation, I decided some time ago to also create (occasionally) maxicards with labels (either white or transparent) so we can see the dam(ned) darn postmarks.

http://www.zazzle.com/what_stamp_postage-172780532697535446?rf=238693463283865848

You think that's CURSING?

http://www.zazzle.com/i_dont_think_so_postage-172747464236221795?rf=238693463283865848

http://www.zazzle.com/now_where_was_i_before_i_got_interrupted_postage-172442505130559121?rf=238693463283865848

Oh, yeah - Audrey Hepburn.

Here she is:

http://delcampe.com/page/item/id,45129971,var,BEAUTIFUL-CLASSY-AUDREY-HEPBURN-non-traditional-maximum-card-maxicard-6,language,E.html

Can YOU see the postmark now?

http://www.zazzle.com/yep_sure_thing_postage-172043653061207202?rf=238693463283865848

http://delcampe.com/page/item/id,45129745,var,BEAUTIFUL-CLASSY-AUDREY-HEPBURN-non-traditional-maximum-card-maxicard-2,language,E.html

http://delcampe.com/page/item/id,45129962,var,BEAUTIFUL-CLASSY-AUDREY-HEPBURN-non-traditional-maximum-card-maxicard-5,language,E.html

http://delcampe.com/page/item/id,45129949,var,BEAUTIFUL-CLASSY-AUDREY-HEPBURN-non-traditional-maximum-card-maxicard-4,language,E.html

http://delcampe.com/page/item/id,45129768,var,BEAUTIFUL-CLASSY-AUDREY-HEPBURN-non-traditional-maximum-card-maxicard-3,language,E.html

Niagara Falls in winter - maximum card/maxicard from my good friend Terry (USA). Also, please support Wikipedia.org!

You could read yourself about Niagara Falls, if you really want.

Or I could give you the bottom line, in my subjective opinion, from my most favorite website in the world: wikipedia.org.

Or from other source.

But I want to invite you to read this, and contribute at least $1 (one). Or more, if possible.

Mark Zuckerberg, please contribute $1 followed by many zeroes. Facebook should not be followed by many "zeroes"...Reading and learning increase the IQ, in general.

Bill Gates, please write this binary code on a check file payable to Wikipedia: 1000000. Then sign. Or Melinda can do it. Es una linda señora y benefactora [I'm winging it -  I don't know Spanish :) ].

Martha Stewart, please craft an artistic check file to Wikipedia. It would be a good recipe for you to get good karma and stay away from that place with "bar exams" from angry soyezlesbiennesvenues...

Warren Buffet, please open an All You May Need Buffet at your designated banks, where each worthy recipient may get a check from you, for the dollar amount needed. Invest in education, not just in stock market.

Wikipedia is a "Book" faced by almost as many users (400M) as Facebook (500M).

"From Wikipedia Founder Jimmy Wales

If everyone reading this donated a dollar, our annual fundraiser would be over in just a few days.

Not everyone can or will donate. And that’s fine, because each year just enough people support Wikipedia with a small donation. If you feel it's your turn, please make a small donation of $10, $20, $35 or whatever you can to keep Wikipedia free.

Most people don't know this, but I'm a volunteer.

I don't get paid a cent for my work at Wikipedia, and neither do our thousands of other volunteer authors and editors. When I founded Wikipedia, I could have made it into a for-profit company with advertising banners, but I decided to do something different.

Commerce is fine. Advertising is not evil. But it doesn't belong here. Not in Wikipedia.

Wikipedia is something special. It is like a library or a public park. It is like a temple for the mind. It is a place we can all go to think, to learn, to share our knowledge with others. It is a unique human project, the first of its kind in history. It is a humanitarian project to bring a free encyclopedia to every single person on the planet.

Every single person.

We're a small organization, and I've worked hard over the years to keep us lean and tight. We fulfill our mission, and leave waste to others.

To do this without resorting to advertising, we need you. It is you who keep this dream alive. It is you who have created Wikipedia. It is you who believe that a place of calm reflection and learning is worth having.

This year, please consider making a donation to protect and sustain Wikipedia.

Thanks,

Jimmy Wales

Wikipedia Founder"

http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/WMFJA032/en/US?utm_medium=sitenotice&utm_campaign=20101217JA036&utm_source=20101217_JA027A_US&country_code=US

Great Union Day (Romanian: Ziua Marii Uniri, also called Unification Day) occurring on December 1, is the national holiday of Romania.

"Great Union Day (Romanian: Ziua Marii Uniri, also called Unification Day^[1]) occurring on December 1, is the national holiday of Romania. It commemorates the assembly of the delegates of ethnic Romanians held in Alba Iulia, which declared the Union of Transylvania with Romania.

This holiday was set after the 1989 Romanian Revolution and it marks the unification of Transylvania, but also of the provinces of Bessarabia and Bukovina with the Romanian Kingdom, in 1918."

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

A previous Unification was accomplished by Michael The Brave, in 1600:

"Michael the Brave (Romanian: Mihai Viteazu(l), Mihai Bravu, 1558 - August 9, 1601) was the Prince of Wallachia (1593–1601), of Transylvania (1599–1600), and of Moldavia (1600), the three Romanian principalities^{note 1} being joined in the form of personal union for a brief time under his rule."

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