Happy International Women's Day (IWD)! Ruby Tuesday meme. Maximum cards/ maxicards/ dorincards from USA

Best wishes to all the women in the world! :)

Just like men, they have hormones like testosterone and estrogen, but in very different percentage.

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

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

Besides, there are many notions and people in the middle ground between MALE and FEMALE:

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

Don't focus on "Season's Greetings"; focus on the red roses, for today's occasion, OK? :)

Yes, I used a white mailing label, coz I want the postmark to be visible.

Here, black on black means invisibility, get it? :)

"International Women's Day (IWD), originally called International Working Women’s Day is marked on March 8 every year.^[1] It is a major day of global celebration of women. In different regions the focus of the celebrations ranges from general celebration of respect, appreciation and love towards women to a celebration for women's economic, political and social achievements.

Started as a Socialist political event, the holiday blended in the culture of many countries, primarily Eastern Europe, Russia, and the former Soviet bloc. In many regions, the day lost its political flavour, and became simply an occasion for men to express their love for women in a way somewhat similar to a mixture of Mother's Day and St Valentine's Day. In other regions, however, the original political and human rights theme designated by the United Nations runs strong, and political and social awareness of the struggles of women worldwide are brought out and examined in a hopeful manner."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Women's_Day

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Please visit and join Ruby Tuesday meme!

http://workofthepoet.blogspot.com/

Can you spot a heart shape here? Hint: it's upside-down. Guest Heart Thursday meme. Official (from the Post) maximum card/ maxicard/ dorincard with Boxer Dogs, from Suomi/ Finland.

"White Boxers

Boxers with white markings covering more than one-third of their coat - conventionally called "white" Boxers - are neither albino or rare; approximately 20–25% of all Boxers born are white.^[5]Genetically, these dogs are either fawn or brindle, with excessive white markings overlying the base coat color. Like fair-skinned humans, white Boxers have a higher risk of sunburn and associated skin cancers than colored Boxers. The extreme piebald gene, which is responsible for white markings in Boxers, is linked to congenital sensorineural deafness in dogs. It is estimated that about 18% of white Boxers are deaf in one or both ears,^[6] though Boxer rescue organizations see about double that number.^[7][8] In the past, breeders often euthanized white puppies at birth; today, most breeders place white puppies in pet homes with spay/neuter agreements. White Boxers are disqualified from conformation showing by the breed standard, and are prohibited from breeding by every national Boxer club in the world. They can compete in non-conformation events such as obedience and agility, and like their colored counterparts do quite well as service and therapy dogs."

Temperament

“	The character of the Boxer is of the greatest importance and demands the most solicitous attention. It is renowned from olden times for its great love and faithfulness to its master and household. It is harmless in the family, but distrustful of strangers, bright and friendly of temperament at play, but brave and determined when aroused. Its intelligence and willing tractability, its modesty, and cleanliness make it a highly desirable family dog and cheerful companion. It is the soul of honesty and loyalty, and is never false or treacherous even in its old age.	”
	— 1938 AKC Boxer breed standard[9] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxer_(dog) "Never false or treacherous even in its old age"...compare that with grumpy old pets, especially males. Ungrateful pets... Compare that with dubious or dangerous pets such as Travis The Chimp, possible posthumous spokeperson for U-Maul Company.  To stop him, it wasn't enough a simple stabbing with a kitchen knife, by her desperate female owner who had been taking care of him with food-and-beverage-including-wine-and-bathing(!)-and-sleeping(!)-accomodations(?). It took police firepower, after Travis ripped apart the side-view mirror of a police cruiser and then he (it?) lunged to assault a police officer, too. How hard would have been for a big, muscular male chimpanzee to also rip apart a human's head? Not hard at all. A specialist said that a male chimp can be 10 times stronger (especially in the upper torso) than an average human male. "Travis walked up to the police car when it arrived and tried to open a locked passenger door, instead smashing a side-view mirror. Then he went calmly around to the driver's-side door and opened it, at which point Officer Frank Chiafari shot him several times. Travis retreated to the house, where he was found dead next to his cage.[8]" "He [Travis] was adopted by Sandra and Jerome Herold when he was three days old.[2" "Jerome died from cancer in 2004, and their only child died in a car accident; as a result, Sandra Herold considered Travis as a son and pampered him.[8][14] Sandra slept and bathed with Travis saying, "I'm, like, hollow now. He slept with me every night. Until you've eaten with a chimp and bathed with a chimp, you don't know a chimp." [16][17" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travis_(chimpanzee) How well did SHE know a chimp, mauling and all? Moral: you want a house pet? Don't take a chimpanzee, tiger, etc. Take a good breed of dog or cat, or so.

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!

Does E PLURIBUS, UNUM apply to finding your lifetime partner/matching heart/soulmate?

This is a folded card/greeting card, onto which I affixed stamps and I obtained pictorial postmarks (request by mail) from a post office in Loveland, Colorado.

This card is in no way inferior to a regular, "real" postcard that can be usually bought for some 33 cents, plus tax. Look at the price of this card.

Also, it is lenticular/3D/stereoscopic - and it looks pretty cool!

Out of many (E PLURIBUS)  "hearts" in a "black and white" world, the card implies that there's only one (UNUM) that's bright red for you, for your eyes/heart/mind/soul, and body, too.

Ya think so? You think so?

What if you and your "other half" are not in geographic proximity?

What if you are, but you walk right past your UNUM, oblivious to the heart "in living colors"?

How can you assess (not asses) if an unidentified, new "heart candy" is good beyond the physionomy?

The core could be hard or soft, bitter or sweet (or bittersweet), etc.

Some choose to sample-kiss frogs, others choose to sample-break "hearts".

Here's a very nice blog, hosted by Beth, with a quite catchy title:

http://thebestheartsarecrunchy.blogspot.com/

Says Beth: "CRUNCHY HEARTS

The title of my blog, "The Best Hearts are Crunchy," comes from a comment made years ago by a five-year old girl, as she thoughtfully perused a tempting box of Valentines Day candies. She is probably a grown mother by now, with children of her own. 

I loved what she said so much, I wrote it down on a napkin."

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

Happy crunching!

(numbers, not hearts)

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

Guest Heart Thursday #40

Welcome to Guest Heart Thursday - 
A Place to share YOUR Hearts!

Polar bear, (Ursus maritimus), mother and two cute Postage Stamps from Zazzle.com

Polar bear, (Ursus maritimus), mother and two cute cubs Postage Stamps from Zazzle.com

Non-FIP maximum card/ maxicard/ dorincard: Deer from Shenandoah National Park, VA, USA

I was exasperated by the smudging of the postmark ink on the glossy postcards, so I experimented with the non-FIP solution of using a label. Oh, well, I like it. 

At least I can see the postmark, which ideally should have been from a post office in or near the park.

Anyway, I consider it as a modest salute/tribute/honor to Shenandoah, originating from Sterling, VA, near my home.

That postmark is from my own Mailer's Postmark Permit canceler, which uniquely identifies me as permit holder #67 (I should have had #1, I guess, but my pre-cancel application # to USPS was aggregated with the 66 bulk mailers from that zipcode).

"The most difficult thing of those three mentioned in the title is to create your own pictorial postmark, legal and valid for postage with your Post (USPS in my case - the United States Postal Service)."

Details here: http://dorinco.webs.com/

Little Mermaid/Disney maximum card/maxicard (USA)

Personalized stamp that I created at zazzle.com: African Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis)

http://www.zazzle.com/african_forest_elephant_loxodonta_cyclotis_postage-172841520443678126?rf=238693463283865848

Here is a Zazzle stamp that I have designed and dedicated to my fellow postcrosser (http://www.forum.postcrossing.com) mingshu (Irene, from Finland).
She is very passionate about elephants. :)

"Elephants are large land mammals in two genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta. Three species of elephant are living today: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). All other species and genera of Elephantidae are extinct, some since the last ice age: dwarf forms of mammoths may have survived as late as 2,000 BC.[1] Elephants and other Elephantidae were once classified with other thick-skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata."

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

http://www.pibburns.com/cryptost/pygmyele.htm

Happy Valentine Day, or Best Wishes to you even if you're not observing it!

The point is not "Are you a tough cookie?". It's "Are you a good enough cookie?"
What about the other cookies? Who's to say you're better than them?
And if you are, then who am I to deserve you?
The challenge is not to find the best cookie out there, but the one that's most suitable for you, IF we're talking  long-term relationship.

Happy New Year! Be healthy! :)

Best wishes to everybody! :)

Merry Christmas! :)

http://www.santas.net/howmerrychristmasissaid.htm

In Romanian it is "Crăciun fericit!", or "Sărbători fericite!" [not "vesele"]

Pussycats Galore...Ye, men! Maximum card from Yemen

Going somewhere in a handbasket?
:)
Or here to stay?

WWF Maximum cards from Paraguay: giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla)

These are two official maximum cards (MCs) produced by the World Wildlife Fund, on behalf on Paraguay Post. Very interesting animal. I shouldn't have to provide direct links to wikipedia, etc. each time. You should read further on your own, if you are really interested.
Am I right? :)
Do you notice the young one, riding on mother's back - both on the postcard and on the affixed stamp? Hold on for dear life, baby...or else.

Look at these maximaphily pieces. Are they perfect? No.
Why?
Because of the placement of the stamp, and the postmark.
They could have been better placed on the upper left corner, without obscuring at all the animal's image. Do you agree?
What else?
The subject of the pictorial postmark. Yes, it's the WWF logo, the lovely giant panda. Most postmarks applied from WWF HQ in Switzerland have it. Only some local issues of such MCs have non-panda postmarks, such as the tigers from Russia - with tiger postmarks. See the tiger cub in the grass MC here:

http://www.squidoo.com/dorincard

The Paraguay MCs postmark is good, clean and clear. It could have been even better - perfect - if it featured a giant anteater, instead, for maximum concordance.
Overall, I like it, and I'd love to get or create more maximum cards/ maxicards/ maxi cards/ dorincards with the exotic (for me) wild mammals of Paraguay. :)

Maximum card (South Africa): Nelson Mandela

Another great piece of maximaphily: maximum card with Nelson Mandela. You should know already who he is. If not, "google or wikipedia him" :D...
Maximum card/maxicard/maxi card/dorincard created specially for me by my friend F., in South Africa. Thank you again! ;)

Postmark from Loveland, Colorado

Experiments with postmarks

A French philatelist just bought these personalized stamps, which I created after Spain's victory at EURO 2008 Football Championships

:)