Are you a creature of the night, or a creature of the day, depending on the season? Mongoose Lemur (Eulemur mongoz) - W.W.F. maximum cards / maxicards / dorincards from Comoros

"The mongoose lemur (Eulemur mongoz) is a lemur ranging from 12 to 18 inches long plus a tail of 16 to 25 inches. 

The mongoose lemur lives in dry deciduous forests on the island of Madagascar as well as in the humid forests on the islands of the Comoros. 

This makes the Mongoose Lemur one of only two lemurs found outside of Madagascar,^[3] though it is believed to be an introduced species in the Comoros.^[4] 

The mongoose lemur mostly eats fruit, though flowers, leaves and nectar also make up part of its diet. 

As such, mongoose lemurs act as both pollinators and seed dispersers,^[3] but may use the nectar of the kapok tree for nearly 80% of their diet in some parts of their range during the dry season.^[5] 

Feeding on grubs and beetles has also been observed.^[4] 

They are unusual among primates in that they will be diurnal or nocturnal depending on the season, being more active during the day in the wet season and changing activity to the night during the hotter dry season.^[3]

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

"The Comoros (ⁱ /ˈkɒməroʊz/; Arabic: جزر القمر‎, Ǧuzur al-Qumur/Qamar), officially the Union of the Comoros (Comorian: Udzima wa Komori, French: Union des Comores, Arabic: الاتحاد القمري‎al-Ittiḥād al-Qumurī/Qamarī) is an archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa, on the northern end of the Mozambique Channel, between northeastern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar. Other countries near to the Comoros are Tanzaniato the northwest and the Seychelles to the northeast. 

The capital is Moroni on Grande Comore."

[No, the inhabitants of Moroni are not called...]

"At 1,862 km² (719 sq mi) (excluding Mayotte),^[3] the Comoros is the third-smallest African nation by area. 

With a population estimated at 798,000 (excluding Mayotte), it is the sixth-smallest African nation by population—although it has one of the highest population densities in Africa. 

Its name derives from the Arabic word القمر qamar ("moon").^[4] 

The archipelago is notable for its diverse culture and history, as a nation formed at the crossroads of many civilizations. 

Though in the contested island of Mayotte the sole official language is French, the "Union of the Comoros" has three official languages: Comorian (Shikomor), Arabic and French."

Independence may not always be the most desirable thing, for some:

"However, the government of the Union of the Comoros (or its predecessors, since independence) has never administered the island of Mayotte, which France administers as an overseas department. 

Mayotte was the only island in the archipelago that voted against independence from France in 1974"

"As of 2008, Comoros and Mauritania are considered by US-based organization Freedom House as the only real “electoral democracies” of the Arab World.^[39]

Also in 2008, the Comoros were ranked 14th out of 48 sub-Saharan African countries in the Ibrahim Index of African Governance. 

The Ibrahim Index is a comprehensive measure of African governance, based on a number of different variables which reflect the success with which governments deliver essential political goods to its citizens.^[40]"

"Comoros is one of the world's poorest countries. 

Economic growth and poverty reduction are major priorities for the government. 

With a rate of 14.3%, unemployment is considered very high."

"With fewer than a million people, the Comoros is one of the least populous countries in the world, but is also one of the most densely populated, with an average of 275 inhabitants per square kilometre (710 /sq mi). In 2001, 34% of the population was considered urban, but that is expected to grow, since rural population growth is negative, while overall population growth is still relatively high.^[48] 

Almost half the population of Comoros is under the age of 15.^[49"]

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

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I'd like to see somebody hosting a Stamps meme for each day of the week, so 7 hosts.

Also, 7 hosts for 7 Postcard memes. :)

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

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).

How to Tell if Your Neighbor is a Bombmaker | STRATFOR. Also, some truffle-searchers and bombmakers are missing THIS. D'oh! Maximum cards from USA.

 Please read: How to Tell if Your Neighbor is a Bombmaker | STRATFOR

In Italy, there were some men with missing fingers.
Were they amateurish bombmakers?
No, they were truffle-searchers, and they have used domestic pigs for that purpose, of sniffing out the underground truffles..

Look at his ears!!!

Ears, fingers...omnivorous diet!

Let's say that the pig's ear to the left of the image way up is a black heart shape, chipped as it is, upside, at an angle.

Yes, it's a stretch, but so is any political decision, pretty much.

"Never wrestle with a pig" is a book title.
Well, wrestling truffles away from a pig's mouth is a risky endeavor, coz they can go...digital.
Eventually, the truffle-searchers smartened up and switched to using dogs. Dogs don't fancy truffles.
Duh...Doh...D'oh...

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

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!

New Google Tool Tells You How to Make Your Site Faster - read from mashable.com. Also, talking about speed - WOA FASTEST LAND ANIMAL [in the western hemisphere] PRONGHORN NON-AUTOGRAPHED MAXIMUM CARD (I CREATED ONLY A HANDFUL)

Please read: New Google Tool Tells You How to Make Your Site Faster

Talking about speed [just look, you don't have to compulsively buy anything]:

WOA FASTEST LAND ANIMAL [in the western hemisphere] PRONGHORN NON-AUTOGRAPHED MAXIMUM CARD (I CREATED ONLY A HANDFUL)

http://delcampe.com/page/item/id,0037985248,language,E.html

WOA doesn't necessarily mean the interjection Whoa!. :)
Here, it means Wonders of America, a cool series of 40 USPS stamps from 2006.

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

WHY is the pronghorn so fast?

Because it was chased, over time, 

by the prehistoric American cheetah. 

Seriously.

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

More details in a future blogpost.

Our enemies shape us, in time.

==========

Please visit http://www.wordlesswednesday.com/newhome/

Wordless is good, but if you simply look at the above image, you may miss some of the important aspects about it.

Some images are best left wordless, but some could use some meaningful words. :)

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

Please visit and join ABC Wednesday meme!

http://abcwednesday-mrsnesbitt.blogspot.com/
Today, L is for Long-distance runner.

"Societatea Românã de Maximafilie Dr. Valeriu Neaga". Please visit this interesting site for maximaphily from Romania!

Please visit: Societatea Românã de Maximafilie Dr. Valeriu Neaga


Here is a sample blogpost:
21.06.2010

APARITII RECENTE - "RASE DE CAI"

  Impunător şi maiestuos, uneori blând şi ascultător, alteori dur şi nărăvaş, calul a devenit de foarte multă vreme un statornic şi bun prieten al omului.

          Cu aproximativ zece mii de ani în urmă, omul a descoperit utilitatea calului. Nu se ştie când omul l-a domesticit şi nici care societate umană a folosit calul pentru călărie. Dar începând cu momentul când calul a devenit prietenul omului, omenirea a progresat cu o rapiditate dovedită şi recunoscută de istorie.
          Venind în sprijinul colecţionarilor de timbre şi al iubitorilor de cai, Romfilatelia introduce în circulaţie emisiunea de mărci poştale „Rase de cai“.
         Pe timbrul cu valoarea nominală de 0,60 lei este ilustrat Huţul.       
         Pe timbrul cu valoarea nominală de 1,00 lei este ilustrat calul Pur Sânge Arab.
         Pe timbrul cu valoarea nominală de 2,00 lei este ilustrat calul Lipiţan. 
         Pe timbrul cu valoarea nominală de 2,10 lei este ilustrat Furioso North Star.     
         Pe timbrul cu valoarea nominală de 5,00 lei este ilustrat Shagya Arab.       

Sursã:http://www.romfilatelia.ro

Immaculate Intervention: The Wars of Humanitarianism | STRATFOR. Also, a metaphorical, symbolic image about several "ACTORS" trying to grab (and actually grabbing) a "TROPHY". The Trophy could be Libya, this time...Maxicard from USA. Also, Ariel The Mermaid / Disney maximum card.

Please read this interesting article: Immaculate Intervention: The Wars of Humanitarianism | STRATFOR

====

Also, I show you below these maxicards from my collection.

A metaphorical, symbolic image about several "ACTORS" trying to grab (and actually grabbing) a "TROPHY". The Trophy could be Libya, this time...
Could Libya become...MARXist? :)

We only think that we know who these "ACTORS" are...

They look so different.

They ACT so differently: one is popping out his eye-bulbs, boldly expressing his interest.

Another one is disguising his hi-res scanning activity by "dimming" his eye-lids.

And yet another one is not even looking at the reality - he's already in a state of altered reality. He looks high, (or high up) but his mind is already in a different realm. But he still has a hands-on approach, to begin with.

What if these "ACTORS" are a certain..."BROTHERHOOD"?

Are they looking for FUN?

Or looking for FUND? [ask a Romanian to translate this word joke for you; or you can try translate.google.com]

"Oh, men...just want to have FUND" to paraphrase Cindy L.

If you financially support some combatants, you can hope that your help goes to fund-a-mentalist faction...the dissidents, the intelligentsia, the free-thinkers...

But what if you end up financially supporting a fundamentalist faction?

Here's a HUMANITARIAN / GOOD SAMARITAN intervention from a red-head mermaid, Ariel.

In this case, grabbing is justified and unavoidable.

She HAS to get him, in order to eventually get him.

For her.

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Please visit and join Ruby Tuesday meme!

http://workofthepoet.blogspot.com/

Most politicians would pass a BILL in favor of the SILVER SPOON-FED children of the rich. Not in favor of The Eurasian Spoonbill or Common Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia). WWF maximaphily "cartons" (since the postcards used for these MCs were NOT previously available commercially, as FIP CfM wants in its rules). But I still like such maximum cards! :)

"The Eurasian Spoonbill or Common Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia) is a wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae, breeding in southern Eurasia from Spain to Japan, and also in North Africa. 

Most birds migrate to the tropics in winter, with European breeders mainly going to Africa, but a few remaining in mild winter areas of western Europe north to the United Kingdom."

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

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Happy Blue Monday! (meme)

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

!!! 17 Nov 1882: postal card sent by Herr Scholem, from the city of Roman (Romania) to Herrn Josef Landau [?] in Stettin, Prussia/German Empire [present-day Szczecin, Poland]!!!

Ladies and gentlemen from around the world, this is the oldest postal/philatelic item that I own, so far!!!

Isn't that cool? :

I hereby make an appeal to everybody who has an advance knowledge of philately (especially postal history), and German language to help me uncover the story of this very old postal card.

Thank you!

What can I decipher?

17 Nov 1882: postal card sent by Herr Scholem, from the city of Roman (Romania) to Herrn Josef Landau [?] in Stettin, Prussia/German Empire [present-day Szczecin, Poland]!!!

The monetary sums appear to be denominated in K; I think that's Kreuzer:

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

More deciphering brainstorming about this - is happening here:

http://forum.postcrossing.com/viewthread.php?tid=54903&page=14

"Roman (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈroman]; Hungarian: Románvásár, German:Romesmark) is a mid-sized city, having the title of municipality, located in the central part of Moldavia, a traditional region of Romania. It is located 46 km east of Piatra Neamţ, in the Neamţ County at the confluence of Siret and Moldova rivers.

It is thought that the name was taken from Moldavian Voivode Roman I of Moldavia, believed to be its founder.^{[weasel words]} Roman's first son was Alexandru cel Bun."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman,_Romania

"Stettin developed into a major Prussian port and became part of the Prussian-led German Empire in 1871. 

While most of the province retained an agrarian character, Stettin was industrialized and its population rose from 27,000 in 1813 to 210,000 in 1900 and 255,500 in 1925.^[51] 

Major industries prospering in Stettin since 1840 were shipbuilding, chemical and food industries and machinery construction.^[47]

Starting in 1843, Stettin became connected to the major German and Pomeranian cities by railways, and the water connection to the Bay of Pomerania was enhanced by the construction of the Kaiserfahrt (now Piast) canal.^[47]"

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

Now, don't ask me about the text, coz Ich weiss nicht Deutsch so gut; nur ein wennig...:)

The coat of arms on this historic postcard belongs, of course, to the Kingdom of Romania. It has the royal motto:

"Nihil Sine Deo, Latin for "Nothing without God", is used as a motto by the German Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen royal family.

This formula was the motto of the Kingdom of Romania, while ruled by the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen dynasty (1878 - 1947). The motto is proudly displayed in the arms room of Peleş Castle."

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

"Timeline (1859 - 1939)

1859	Alexander John Cuza unites Moldavia and Wallachia under his personal rule.
1862	Formal union of Moldavia and Wallachia to form principality of Romania.
1866	Cuza forced to abdicate and a foreign dynasty is established. Carol I signed the first modern Constitution.
1877	April 16. Treaty by which the Russian troops are allowed to pass through Romanian territory April 24. Russia declares war to the Ottoman Empire and its troops enter Romania May 9. Romanian independence declared by the Romanian parliament, start of Romanian War of Independence May 10. Carol I ratifies independence declaration
1878	Under Treaty of Berlin, Ottoman Empire recognizes Romanian independence. Romania ceded southern Bessarabia to Russia.
1881	Carol I was proclaimed King of Romania on March 26. [MY NOTE: The postcard is dated in 1882, remember?]
1894	Leaders of the Transylvanian Romanians who sent a Memorandum to the Austrian Emperor demanding national rights for the Romanians are found guilty of treason.
1907	Violent peasant revolts crushed throughout Romania, thousands of persons killed.
1914	Death of Carol I, succeeded by his nephew Ferdinand.
1916	(August) Romania enters World War I on the Entente side. (December) Romanian Treasure sent to Russia for safekeeping, but was seized by Soviets after the Romanian army refused to withdraw from Bessarabia. [MY NOTE: cheese of the B type...]
1918	Greater Romania is created.
	By the Treaty of Versailles, Romania agreed to grant citizenship to the former citizens of Russian and Austro-Hungarian empires living in the new Romanian territories.
1919	A military conflict occurs between Romania and Hungarian Soviet led by Béla Kun. The Romanian Army takes over Budapest on 4 August 1919. The city is ruled by a military administration until 16 November 1919.
1920	The Treaty of Trianon upholds Romanian unification." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Romania You thought "it's a long way to Tipperary"? [that's a cultural reference, don't worry about it] It was a long, long way for the Romanian lands/principalities to achieve unification and independence from all those ancient and feudal enemies and invaders. Them B cheese... (Hint: read aloud, until you get it...) http://www.zazzle.com/yes_thats_an_euphemism_postage-172784866997600135?rf=238693463283865848

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

Happy Sunday Stamps meme!

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

"Bite me!" says GUAVA (genus Psidium). Keep staring at this, and you'll get a Pavlovian reflex. Maximum card from USA. Thank you, Terry, my friend! :)

"Guava fruit

Guava fruit, usually 4 to 12 cm long, are round or oval depending on the species. 

The outer skin may be rough, often with a bitter taste, or soft and sweet. 

Varying between species, the skin can be any thickness, is usually green before maturity, but becomes yellow, maroon, or green when ripe.

Guava fruit generally have a pronounced and typical fragrance, similar to lemon rind but less sharp. 

Guava pulp may be sweet or sour, off-white ("white" guavas) to deep pink ("red" guavas), with the seeds in the central pulp of variable number and hardness, again depending on species."

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

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

Happy Pink Saturday! (still open on Sunday!)

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

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