Halloween costume idea? WTH is this, a scary pig - the swine flu source, host of H1N1 virus? No. It's just a babirusa!

USA declares swine flu 'emergency'.
Just don't blame the babirusa, an innocent wild animal. :)

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll201/dorincard/World%20collections/Indonesia/INDONESIA3a.jpg
The two tusks that went thru the roof of the snout are crossed, in the case of the male in this photo. Read the text in the link above. :)

This is a freestyle maximum card (non-FIP), that I made from a cut-out from a book, with a matching Indonesian stamp that has been appropriately courtesy-handcanceled in Indonesia (I have other items from the same shipment where the handcancel / postmark is more visible - that's why sometimes I use transparent or white labels under the postmarks).

If I want to fully postcardize this item, I could apply white adhesive shipping label on the back - I could have even asked to be sent directly thru the mail, as a big postcard, with additional stamps on the address side, all wear, tear and loss risks assumed.

But I didn't do it here, because the back has a rare photo/article about aye-aye. I could eventually make an aye-aye MC -> double-sided maximum card, giving me 2 scanning opportunities.

Forgeries: how to spot fake stamps from St. Vincent about Michael Jackson, apart from the real ones

I suppose that the above maximum card, from my collection, is genuine. :)

From myphilately.com, a very nice and useful forum for stamp collectors, and not only - here's how to spot the fake stamps:

http://www.myphilately.com/blg_view.php?blog_id=1356

Navajo Jewelry - (virtual) maximum card. Raquel Welch, too.

The subject of this (virtual) maximum card is...Raquel Welch? Nah!...pas du tout. It's the art of Navajo jewelry - category: necklace.
Right? Yeah. Right. :)

Normally, I would put, maybe, additional postmarked stamp(s) on the back side, to make up the domestic postcard rate, currently 28 cents. So 26c more in stamp(s). But this is virtual, so...

FIP regulation: "- In general, abstract or symbolic subjects do not suit Maximaphily and are excluded from its field."
http://www.maximaphily.info/Articles/Regulations/MXLY%20regulations%20approved%20in%20Malaga%20conference.%20English%20version.pdf

Too bad, FIP! That's exactly what you should accept and aim for! Otherwise, anybody can simply stick to, for example, a bull postcard, a bull stamp (better be same breed) and a bull pictorial postmark. Or "a postmark from a post office nearby" a bull. Yes, it could be a nice MC (maximum card), but if it's all bull, then maybe it's too much bull. Viva variety!

But abstract or symbolic subjects could offer great opportunities for intellectual stimulation...

In this case, WE WILL NEVER FIND a regular, commercial postcard that matches EXACTLY the necklace from the stamp, I think.
So, instead, I found a SIMILAR necklace, hanging out with Raquel. (Not me; the necklace). :(

Is Raquel's necklace a Navajo artifact? How the hell should I know? It looks Navajo enough to me...:)

Now she's 69 :) (it's all in YOUR mind) years young, but in the Romanian postcard she was VERY YOUNG, when she didn't even know how to pluck her eyebrows, apparently. Eh, what do I know?
See tips from the Romanian-born Anastasia Soare, the Hollywood Brow Expert:
http://anastasia.net/blog/
In the above bloglink, please read Building, not Buliding or Bulding :) .

"Anastasia Soare was featured on For Business News on Wednesday, September 23, 2009. The segment entitled, Bulding a Business Brow by Brow focused on Anastasia’s Brow Empire, and how she became known as the Brow Guru. Check out the video here, or click on this link: Fox Business News: Buliding a Business Brow by Brow."

Best wishes to, in no particular order, Raquel Welch, Anastasia Soare and the Navajo jewelers!

:)