See links to stamps from around the world that celebrate the Royal Wedding of HRH Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton. Also, I show you a very nice maximum card with a ROE-yal "wedding" from the Animal Kingdom, within the United Kingdom: The Roe Deer (Capreolus capreolus)

Best wishes to the newly-married couple! :)

I like them, and I hope they'll have a great marriage!

See: http://www.royalmail.com/portal/stamps/content1?catId=32200669&mediaId=136900792

I LIKE Royal Mail, inclusively at its Facebook page. :)

Please read this interesting website, which I follow in my blogroll: Stamp News | Philately News | Postage Stamp | philately
See more stamps with Will & Kate from other countries.

"Prince William, Duke of Cambridge KG FRS (born William Arthur Philip Louis on 21 June 1982) is the elder son of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales, and third eldest grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. 

He is second in the line of succession, behind his father, to the thrones of sixteen independent sovereign statesknown as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis. 

Consequently, he is also second in line, again behind his father, to the position of Head of the Commonwealth (figurehead of the 54-member Commonwealth of Nations) and Supreme Governor of the Church of England."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_William,_Duke_of_Cambridge

"Catherine Elizabeth Mountbatten-Windsor, Duchess of Cambridge (usually known as Kate, born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton on 9 January 1982) is the wife of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge. 

Their wedding took place on 29 April 2011. 

Catherine grew up in Chapel Row atBucklebury, a village near Newbury, Berkshire,^[2] and studied in Scotland at the University of St Andrews, where she met Prince William in 2001. 

They started a romantic relationship that continued until a break-up lasting for several months in 2007. 

However, they continued to be friends and rekindled their relationship later that year."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine,_Duchess_of_Cambridge
==========
My stamp design, at zazzle:

"

Bridal tiara and veil

The veil is held in place by a Cartier Scroll Tiara, made in 1936 and lent to Miss Middleton by the Queen. 

It was purchased by the Queen's father, the Duke of York (subsequently King George VI) for his Duchess (later Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Mother) three weeks before succeeding his brother Edward VIII (Duke of Windsor) as King. 

Princess Elizabeth (now the Queen) received the tiara from her mother on her 18th birthday.

Designed by Shane Connolly, the bride's shield-shaped wired bouquet contained myrtle, Lily of the Valley, Sweet William and hyacinth.^[80]

Groom's uniform

Although William is a serving Royal Air Force flight lieutenant and also holds the equivalent Royal Navy rank of lieutenant and Army rank of captain, he chose instead to wear the full dress uniform of the Irish Guards displaying the rank of colonel. 

William has been entitled to wear this uniform since 10 February 2011 when he was appointed the honorary colonel of the Irish Guards.^[81] 

Additionally he wore the peaked hat of the Irish Guards, rather than the bearskin. 

As a Knight of the Order of the Garter, he wore the order's blue riband, to which was affixed hisRAF wings and Golden Jubilee Medal.^[82] 

The uniform was made by the Savile Row tailors Gieves & Hawkes. 

William did not wear a sword as he was entering a church."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_of_Prince_William,_Duke_of_Cambridge,_and_Catherine_Middleton

=============
Also, I show you a very nice maximum card with a ROE-yal "wedding" from the Animal Kingdom, within the United Kingdom: The Roedeer (Capreolus capreolus)

"The European Roe Deer (Capreolus capreolus), also known as the Western Roe Deer or chevreuil, is an Eurasian species of deer. It is relatively small, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapted to cold environments. Roe Deer are widespread inWestern Europe, from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia, and from the British Isles to the Caucasus. It is distinct from the somewhat larger Siberian Roe Deer."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roe_Deer

In the Animal Kingdom, "wedding" is very simple, although courtship can be quite extensive.

They don't need any priest - their wilderness is PRIEST-ine enough...

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

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).

"Gorillas in the mist", and gorillas in the midst [of us]. The Kaspersky Kidnapping - Lessons Learned | STRATFOR. Also, I show you a maximum card (with my American postcard) from UK, with The Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla beringei), with a world-class, superb postmark made with a Low Speed Canceller (LSC4500). Here's the Clean Big Secret (not dirty little) of how UK makes the best postmarks in the world, perfecting the PAD PRINTING technology

Please read how an elderly Russian couple made "gorillas" / "muscles" out of their son and two of his friends.

Kidnapping, the future of stealing. 

Better than robbing banks.

But they didn't learn from the undoing of Pablo Escobar, the Colombian Lord of the Drugs, 

by his reckless cell phone call, a few minutes too long.

"Can you hear me now?"

Youbett Chorass.

Tracking and triangulation have allowed an airplane to be dispatched and it launched a deadly rocket.

Escobar was caught between a rocket and a hard place.

The Kaspersky Kidnapping - Lessons Learned | STRATFOR

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

As a companion item, I also show you the full image of the postmark (no gorilla postmark was available, so I chose this one).

We, maximaphilists, should always have that kind of reference image, for better deciphering and appreciation of the pictorial postmarks.

Royal Mail insists that a valid mailing address should be on the back of a maximum card (MC).

I used my friend Ian's address, by permission, and I obtained the postmark on the First-Class stamp.

Otherwise, with my USA address, Royal Mail would have said that I have insufficient postage.

Even if, in both cases, this MC was not supposed to be mailed alone, like a simple postcard, anywhere!

However, I provided a self-addressed (but not stamped!) return envelope with my USA address.

Postage was considered paid by virtue of me giving up those stamps for postmarking on my MCs.

I love workarounds, loopholes, circumventing and innovating!

Some of my MCs for Royal Mail are "artists formerly known as book cut-outs, folded card halves, etc."

 I added self-adhesive big mailing labels on the back, so I stiffened them to satisfy Royal Mail.

I also added that UK address sticker on all.

I have postcardized the hell out of them! :)

The  International Federation of Philately, Commission for Maximaphily (FIP CfM) "laws of maximaphily" are nothing but subjective rules, guidelines for EXHIBITING in FIP stamp expositions.

Nothing to do with the Justice System.

So, with my MCs from UK, no real law was broken, no animal was harmed in the process, the sky did not fall - everybody is happy! :) :) :)

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

"The Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei)^[2] is one of the two subspecies of the Eastern Gorilla. 

There are two populations. 

One is found in the Virunga volcanic mountains of Central Africa, within three National Parks: Mgahinga, in south-west Uganda; Volcanoes, in north-westRwanda; and Virunga in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The other is found in Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. 

Some primatologists say^[3] that the Bwindi population in Uganda may be a separate subspecies, though no description has been finished. 

As of Spring 2010, the estimated total number of Mountain Gorillas worldwide is 790^[4]."

"Adult males have more pronounced bony crests on the top and back of their skulls, giving their heads a more conical shape. 

These crests anchor the powerful masseter muscles, which attach to the lower jaw (mandible). Adult females also have these crests, but they are less pronounced.^[8] "

"The dominant silverback generally determines the movements of the group, leading it to appropriate feeding sites throughout the year. 

He also mediates conflicts within the group and protects it from external threats.^[12] 

He is the center of attention during rest sessions, and young animals frequently stay close to him and include him in their games. 

If a mother dies or leaves the group, the silverback is usually the one who looks after her abandoned offspring, even allowing them to sleep in his nest.^[23]

Experienced silverbacks are capable of removing poachers' snares from the hands or feet of their group members.^[24]

When the dominant silverback dies or is killed by disease, accident, or poachers, the family group may be severely disrupted.^[11] 
Unless he leaves behind a male descendant capable of taking over his position, the group will either split up or be taken over in its entirety by an unrelated male. 
When a new silverback takes control of a family group, he may kill all of the infants of the dead silverback.^[25] 
This practice of infanticide is an effective reproductive strategy, in that the newly acquired females are then able to conceive the new male's offspring.
Infanticide has not been observed in stable groups."

"Fears

For reasons unknown, Mountain Gorillas that have been studied appear to be naturally afraid of certain reptiles. Infants, whose natural behavior is to chase anything that moves, will go out of their way to avoid chameleons and caterpillars. 
Koko, the western lowland gorilla trained in sign language, is afraid of crocodiles and alligators, even though she was born in captivity and has never seen them. 
They are also afraid of water and will cross streams only if they can do so without getting wet (i.e. crossing over fallen logs). 
Dian Fossey observed and noted the Mountain Gorilla's obvious dislike of rain, as well.^[28]"

Gorilla, a consular affair...

"According to an article ^[34] published by San Francisco State University in 1999, "Between four and eight million years ago [...] man, chimps, and gorillas began to evolve along three independent paths (Kimbel & Martin 1993). [...] We are not sure what the early relative of the gorilla was, but it can be traced back to an early ape known as Proconsul africanus. [...] 

Gorillas developed during the Pleistocene era (2 million years ago)."

Researchers recently have discovered that about 800,000 years ago, the mountain gorilla had evolved from the eastern gorilla.^{[citation needed"}

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

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

Here's the answer that I received from my good philatelic partner and friend Ian Billings (UK):

[DORIN]: Please explain this - and we could post your answer in some websites, too:

4) Why those great, world-class pictorial postmarks are available only for 1 day? Isn't a waste to create so exquisite cancellers, then retire/destroy them after only 1 day?

[IAN BILLINGS (UK)]: They aren't physical cancellers.  

See http://wilding.norvic-philatelics.co.uk/~ian/library/padcanceller.pdf  

Despite their appearance as hi-quality steel or polypropylene handstamps, they are actually thin plastic foils and use a process similar to off-set.  

The ones that run for more than one day, ie with a rollable date bar below the design, are rubber handstamps.  These are generally shown on our website with no date using the image supplied by Royal Mail."

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

So, please read this and ask your national postal administration, and many other companies from various industries, to cooperate with the Royal Mail about PAD PRINTING technology:

http://wilding.norvic-philatelics.co.uk/~ian/library/padcanceller.pdf  

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

For gorillas, the nose print is an unique identifier of individuals.

But all their noses look like a heart shape, don't they?

Say Yes. :)

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!

"Y'all know", don't you, about the gymnastics powerhouse Romania, with Nadia Comaneci and many other champions, having "flexible stretching accounts"...Bend it like Beckham? No, bend it like Razy! Watch the YouTube sensation. "Britain's Got Talent: 28-year-old dancer Razy, originally from Romania, is trying out for Britain's Got Talent with quite a unique act, taking queues from the film The Matrix"

Maximum card with Darth Vader, and others, from Star Wars movie series.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, let's borrow that cape for a moment (instantly transforming it into a long coat with sleeves) and give it to a neo-Neo from the Matrix movies, an amazing in-Vader from Romania, now an unemployed artist in Manchester, UK.

I bet he'll soon be deluged with lucrative deal offers...

Watch and DON'T try this at home!

It takes natural flexibility and rigorous training, over the years.

http://youtu.be/z62zrqaqVbY

Bend it like Beckham? No, bend it like Razy! 

Watch the YouTube sensation. 

"Britain's Got Talent: 28-year-old dancer Razy, originally from Romania, is trying out for Britain's Got Talent with quite a unique act, taking queues from the film The Matrix".

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

Now, if you dispute that Romania is a "gymnastics powerhouse", then watch this short compilation, "highlights, without the lowlights".

Without the mistakes, failures and accidents that occur in every national team, including Romania.

Your mileage may vary.

In this videoclip, just because "everybody and their teammate" is doing it, "easy, breezy, beautiful", it doesn't mean that "the lowlights" didn't happen, over time.

Even Nadia has fallen, occasionally.

Just so you know.

Keywords: "blue moon".

http://youtu.be/QZTo65OalaY

A few years ago, an American TV sports commentator of the Gymnastics World Championship "complained" that "the Romanians are killing you with THE CONSISTENCY" of the performances.

Meaning no frequent failures.

In fact, almost no major failure of a routine, at that competition.

As if Consistency is not a major achievement, highly respectable, in a sport where it's all too easy to fall, fail, or even get badly hurt.

Gymnastics has become maybe too acrobatic - check out the Rhythmic Gymnastics, for less acrobatics and more grace.

But that's another discussion.

(to be continued)

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

Please visit and join ABC Wednesday meme!

http://abcwednesday-mrsnesbitt.blogspot.com/
Today, O is for Outstanding Razy! :)