Thursday, February 3, 2011

Guest Heart Thursday meme: "Your heart has AIS, my heart has AIZ" - Where's the heart? Maximum card with Star Wars, from USA

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

Guest Heart Thursday #43


Welcome to Guest Heart Thursday -
A place to share YOUR heart!

===========

My entry:
 "Your heart has AIS, my heart has AIZ" - Where's the heart in this image?  [Not a NASA-level riddle]


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Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Groundhog, Woodchuck, Land-beaver or Whistlepig (Marmota monax) - maximum cards/ maxicards/ dorincards/ MCs from USA

"The groundhog (Marmota monax), also known as a woodchuck, or in some areas as a land-beaver, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. Other marmots, such as the yellow-bellied and hoary marmots, live in rocky and mountainous areas, but the woodchuck is a lowland creature. It is widely distributed in North America and common in the northeastern and central United States. Groundhogs are found as far north as Alaska, with their habitat extending southeast to Alabama.[2]"


"The groundhog is the largest sciurid in its geographical range, typically measuring 40 to 65 cm (16 to 26 in) long (including a 15 cm (6 in) tail) and weighing 2 to 4 kg (4 to 9 lb). In areas with fewer natural predators and large amounts of alfalfa, groundhogs can grow to 80 cm (30 in) and 14 kg (31 lb)."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog


"Groundhog Day is a holiday celebrated on February 2 in the United States and Canada. According to folklore, if it is cloudy when a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day, it will leave the burrow, signifying that winter will soon end. If it is sunny, the groundhog will supposedly see its shadow and retreat back into its burrow, and winter will continue for six more weeks.[1]"
"the National Climatic Data Center reportedly has stated that the overall prediction accuracy rate is around 39%.[25]"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_day


I created this maxicard although I knew that the postmark will not be very visible.  I wanted to leave the text unobscured, and I hoped that the ink of the postmark will be good enough.  Hoping is free - anybody can do it.  Anyway, you can see the postmark on the backside, below.


The FDOI (First Day of Issue) postmark was applied by USPS (United States Postal Service) in Toronto, Canada.  
Is Canada [officially] part of USA?  :) 
No, but it was during CAPEX (Canada Philatelic Exposition/Exhibition) and USPS decided to have there the FDOI postmarking event for that great, beautiful 50 stamp-series.






Tuesday, February 1, 2011

"Desired Desire" - Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, sometimes known as Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam. I received today my first maximum card from Belgium, showing his house.


Erasmus lived in this house, too - in Anderlecht, Belgium.

Thank you, my friend Johan Ockerman (Belgium)! http://johanpostcards.blogspot.com/ .
Somebody in Belgium made a smart decision to apply the same pictorial postmark on the envelope, outside the stamp. That way, we have a perfectly clear image of the postmark, which is not possible from where the postmark met the stamp.


"Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (October 28,[1] 1466 – July 12, 1536), sometimes known as Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, was a Dutch Renaissance humanist and a Catholic priest and theologian. His scholarly name Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus comprises the following three elements: the Latin noun desiderium ("longing" or "desire"; the name being a genuine Late Latin name); the Greek adjective ἐράσμιος (erásmios) meaning "desired", and, in the form Erasmus, also the name of a St. Erasmus of Formiae; and the Latinized adjectival form for the city of Rotterdam (Roterodamus = "of Rotterdam").

Erasmus was a classical scholar who wrote in a "pure" Latin style and enjoyed the sobriquet "Prince of the Humanists." He has been called "the crowning glory of the Christian humanists."[2] Using humanist techniques for working on texts, he prepared important new Latin and Greek editions of the New Testament. These raised questions that would be influential in the Protestant Reformation and Catholic Counter-Reformation. He also wrote The Praise of FollyHandbook of a Christian KnightOn Civility in ChildrenCopia: Foundations of the Abundant StyleJulius Exclusus, and many other works.
Erasmus lived through the Reformation period and he consistently criticized some contemporary popular Christian beliefs. In relation to clerical abuses in the Church, Erasmus remained committed to reforming the Church from within. 
He also held to Catholic doctrines such as that of free will, which some Protestant Reformers rejected in favor of the doctrine of predestination
His middle road approach disappointed and even angered many Protestants, such as Martin Luther [DORIN'S NOTE: not Martin Luther King Jr. - http://www.zazzle.com/c_am_sayin_postage-172331084925934503?rf=238693463283865848 ], as well as conservative Catholics.
He died in Basel in 1536 and was buried in the formerly Catholic cathedral there, recently converted to a Reformed church.[3]"

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Top 30 Stamp Collecting Blogs, by guidetoartschools.com

#2:
"Dorincard: Blogger Dorin C is a stamp and postcard fanatic, and luckily he's more than pleased to write prolifically and charmingly about his obsession. He has a particular bent for stamps with wild mammals on them, but his blog demonstrates an affinity for stamps of all forms and backgrounds, as long as they offer a special narrative that's worth sharing with his readers.


  • Source: http://www.guidetoartschools.com/library/best-stamp-collecting-blogs#ixzz1KirbuA4p
    "

    Some feedback received about me and my blog here

    [DORIN'S NOTE: There are over 100 million websites.]

    From alexa.com traffic rank site

    "There are 1,699,250 sites with a better three-month global Alexa traffic rank than Dorincard.blogspot.com.
    About 43% of visitors to the site come from France, where it has attained a traffic rank of 152,077.
    About 80% of visits to the site consist of only one pageview (i.e., are bounces).
    Dorincard.blogspot.com's visitors view an average of 1.5 unique pages per day.
    Visitors to the site spend roughly two minutes on each pageview and a total of three minutes on the site during each visit."



    inkling (Enthusiast)

    The best use of this site is Other.

    Likes
    • Good content

    Comments:
    Postcards and stamps, mainly featuring mammals and birds but Dorincard also has other creations
    and interests he likes to share.
    His enthusiasm for Maximum cards (a postcard and a similar themed stamps sent through the
    postal system) shines through.
    He shows how he gets the right card, stamp and postmark together.
    Visiting his site you will also learn things about the natural world told with a dry sense of humour,
    possibly with a play on words, and a unique style of headings.
    Topical and informative both for the enthusiast and casual visitor.
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    1 Review
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