gulfnews : My World: Stamp designer Christiane Weber

gulfnews : My World: Stamp designer Christiane Weber

Only 5 live in captivity: The DUGONG (Dugong dugon), also known as "Lady of the sea", "sea cow", "sea pig" and "sea camel" - as if Lady is interchangeable with Cow, Pig and Camel (what's up with that?). WWF maximum cards / maxicards / dorincards from Vanuatu

Only 5 live in captivity: The DUGONG (Dugong dugon), also known as "Lady of the sea", "sea cow", "sea pig" and "sea camel" - as if Lady is interchangeable with Cow, Pig and Camel (what's up with that?). WWF maximum cards / maxicards / dorincards from Vanuatu

"The dugong (Dugong dugon) is a large marine mammal which, together with the manatees, is one of four living species of the order Sirenia. 

It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest modern relative, Steller's sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas), was hunted to extinction in the 18th century. 

It is also the only sirenian in its range, which spans the waters of at least 37 countries throughout the Indo-Pacific, though the majority of dugongs live in the northern waters of Australia between Shark Bay and Moreton Bay. 

The dugong is the only strictly-marine herbivorous mammal, as all species of manatee utilise fresh water to some degree."

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

Humans can "flip the finger", but dugongs..."Dugongs have two teats, one located behind each flipper."

"They are often considered as the inspiration for mermaids".

"Mating behaviour varies between populations located in different areas.^[13] In some populations, males will establish a territory which females in heat will visit.^[5] In these areas a male will try to impress the females while defending the area from other males, a practice known as lekking"

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

"A lek is a gathering of males, of certain animal species, for the purposes of competitive mating display. Leks assemble before and during the breeding season, on a daily basis. The same group of males meet at a traditional place and take up the same individual positions on an arena, each occupying and defending a small territory or court. Intermittently or continuously, they spar individually with their neighbors or put on extravagant visual or aural displays (mating "dances" or gymnastics, plumage displays, vocal challenges, etc.)."

"A lek when females come together to compete for males is called a mung (as in the yellow-spotted millipede)"

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

Will Facebook ever transition from LIKE-ING to LEKKING?

What do YOU know about VANUATU?

I'm not holding my breath, so let's see:

Republic of Vanuatu Ripablik blong Vanuatu  (Bislama) République de Vanuatu  (French)
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Long God yumi stanap"  (Bislama) (In God we stand[1][2][3])
Anthem: "Yumi, Yumi, Yumi"  (Bislama) ("We, We, We")
Capital (and largest city)		Port Vila 17°45′S 168°18′E
Official language(s)		Bislama, English, French
Demonym		Ni-Vanuatu; Vanuatuan
Government		Parliamentary republic
-	President	Iolu Abil
-	Prime Minister	Sato Kilman
Independence		from France and theUnited Kingdom
-	Date	30 July 1980

"Vanuatu (Bislama IPA: [vanuaˈtu]; English /ˌvɑːnuːˈɑːtuː/ ( listen) vah-noo-ah-too or /vænˈwɑːtuː/ van-wah-too), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (French: République de Vanuatu, Bislama: Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some 1,750 kilometres (1,090 mi) east of northernAustralia, 500 kilometres (310 mi) northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.

Vanuatu was first inhabited by Melanesian people. Europeans discovered the islands in 1605 with the arrival of a Spanish expedition led by Fernandes de Queirós in Espiritu Santo. In the 1880s France and the United Kingdom claimed parts of the country, and in 1906 they agreed on a framework for jointly managing the archipelago as the New Hebrides through a British-French Condominium. An independence movement arose in the 1970s, and the Republic of Vanuatu was created in 1980.

The nation's name was derived from the word vanua ("land" or "home"),^[6] which occurs in several Austronesian languages,^[7] and the word tu ("stand").^[8] Together the two words indicated the independent status of the new nation.^[8]"

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

Ever heard of LANDDIVING? Don't click this if the slightest nudity offends you:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Vanuatu

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Happy Blue Monday! (meme)

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

Carte postala recomandata (registered postal card) sent on 16 March 1963 by Dr.CORNECI Ioan, from the Radiobiology Laboratory, The Oncologic Institute, Bucuresti (Bucharest), Republica Populara Romina (Romanian Popular Republic - see how POPULAR Romania used to be?) - and arrived on 30 March 1963 for T. MAKINODAN, Biology Division, The Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.A. Franked with 2 stamps showing NUCLEAR REACTION, and 2 stamps showing ALCOHOLIC REACTION

Carte postala recomandata (registered postal card) sent on 16 March 1963 by Dr.CORNECI Ioan, from the Radiobiology Laboratory, Bucuresti (Bucharest), Republica Populara Romina (Romanian Popular Republic - see how POPULAR Romania used to be?) - and arrived on 30 March 1963 for T. MAKINODAN, Biology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.A. Franked with 2 stamps showing NUCLEAR REACTION, and 2 stamps showing ALCOHOLIC REACTION.

The backside of that postal card is legible enough, in print (4 languages) and handwritten in English, so you can read for yourself, if you have such an inquisitive mind.

If not, who cares? :)

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Happy Sunday Stamps meme!

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