Thursday, April 26, 2012

Cover - Canada

One more cover reached me from Canada today. Its my favourite of all the Canada covers so far. Reason - Complete set, odd shaped stamps.



These stamps are from the year 2005. Canada Post issued four domestic rate (50¢) stamps on October 1, 2005 to commemorate these youth-oriented, high-energy sports.
Wall climbing. 
Snowboarding.
Skateboard 
Mountain biking. 

Now that I have these stamps on a cover, I need two more sets of these, one for my odd shaped collection and the other for my Canada collection. Yes, ofcourse, the sheet is also wanted. 

Do feel free to add your thoughts, comments or suggestions
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Cover - Bulgaria

Yesterday I received this cover from Bulgaria. No covers in my mailbox since two weeks and this one was a delight when I got it. By the way the covers, that I had sent to a couple of friends, that I thought were lost also reached them finally against all odds.


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Sunday, April 15, 2012

I Ching Pa Kua - Macau - Odd shapes

Since 2001, Macau Post has issued eight series of stamps titled “I Ching, Pa Kua”. I have in my collection series nos five to seven. These stamps commemorate the Chinese philosophy of Taoism.

The I-Ching is also known as "The Book of Changes" and is vaguely dated to being 5000 years old. The I-Ching is commonly considered as the basis for China's major philosophies such as Confucianism, Taoism and Zen.

The basis of the I-Ching are the Trigrams which in turn gave birth to the Hexagrams, hence the hexagonal shape of the stamps.  The Trigrams are the Yin and Yang lines that surround the Pa-kua symbol arranged in eight combinations of three lines. Pa-kua philosophy analyzes even the simplest elements as having three parts: An egg consists of three parts, the shell, the white and the yoke; an apple incorporates three parts, the peel, the fruit and the pits. Even the skin itself has three layers. This is the concept of SKY MAN EARTH, which is a recurring classification in Pa-kua studies. Doubling the eight combinations of Sky Man and Earth lines of the Trigrams attained the sixty-four Hexagrams, hence the eight series of sheets of eight stamps each. The I-Ching is an explanation of these sixty four Hexagrams.

The fifth series of stamps titled as “Favourable Weather for Crops Raising” was issued on 9 October 2006, and symbolized “Gou, Da Guo, Ding, Heng, Xun, Jing, Gu and Sheng”.


The sixth series of stamps titled as “Conquer the Disaster” was issued on 1 March 2008, and symbolized “Song, Kun, Wei Ji, Jie, Huan, Kan, Meng and Shi”.


The seventh series of stamps titled as “Reach a Peak” was issued on 1 March 2010, and symbolized “Dun, Xian, Lü, Xiao Guo, Jian, Jiang, Gen and Qian”.

I can't wait to have the rest of the five missing sheets of the series in my collection.

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Odd Shapes - Indonesia

Two odd shaped miniature sheets from Indonesia. These are all I have so far.

2007 - Chinese Zodiac Signs

2008 - Year of the Rat

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Roadside Attractions - Canada Odd shaped

One of my favourite set of sheets is the roadside attractions series from Canada. I had just one of the set so far but now Ive got all the three and they are a beautiful set of odd shaped stamps.

Canada Post issued the first set in a three-year stamp series showcasing Canada’s famous roadside attractions in July 2009. The stamps are as fun and whimsical as the attractions they celebrate.

Mr. PG, Prince George, BC - 54c.
A staggering 8 metres tall, the giant “log” man is hard to miss. He’s been welcoming visitors to Prince George, BC, since 1960.

Sign Post Forest, Watson Lake, Yukon - 54c.
It all began in 1942, when a homesick U.S. Army G.I. working on the Alaska Highway put up a sign pointing the way and showing the mileage to his hometown. Others followed suit, and the Watson Lake Signpost Forest’s count today exceeds 64,000 signs.

Inukshuk (stone giant), Hay River, Northwest Territories - 54c.
This stunning sculpture belongs to the age-old Inuit tradition of building stone giants to guide travelers through Canada’s vast landscape.

Pysanka (giant Easter egg), Vegreville, Alberta - 54c.
A massive Easter egg—the largest in the world, in fact—is on display at the entrance to Elk Island National Park. Its name, Pysanka, is Ukrainian for “Easter egg,” and it symbolizes Vegreville’s vibrant folk culture.


The second set of the series was issued in July of 2010.
big Coffee Pot, Davidson, SK - domestic rate.
A tribute to the town’s hospitality, it’s believed that this 7.3 metre-tall landmark has the capacity to fill nearly 150,000 cups of coffee. 

The Happy Rock, Gladstone, Manitoba - domestic rate.
You just can’t help but smile back at this jolly black-and-white rock decked in top hat and boots, grinning ear-to-ear as he welcomes visitors to the town.

The giant steel Wawa Goose, Wawa, Ojibwe - domestic rate.
Stands poised for flight, alerting visitors that the town is a stopover for flocks of Canada Geese headed south for the winter.

A giant Atlantic Puffin, Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan - domestic rate. 
A tribute to the charismatic seabirds that live in colonies around the town’s shores.


And the third set of stamps was issued in July 2011
The World’s Largest Lobster Shediac, New Brunswick - domestic rate.
The world’s largest lobster attracts roughly half a million visitors a year. Designed by notable animal sculptor, the late Winston Bronnum, the lobster is made of reinforced concrete and steel. It took three years to build and was completed in 1990. Measuring 10.7 metres in length and 5 metres in height, it weighs 50 metric tons and rests on a 32 metric ton pedestal.

The Wild Blueberry, Oxford, Nova Scotia  - domestic rate.
Oxley, the giant Wild Blueberry has made his home at a gas station at the entrance of the town since 1999, when the Irving Oil Company “relocated” him from Peticodiac, New Brunswick. Standing 2.4 metres high and 3.3 metres wide, this big brute of a berry, built of steel rebar and cement, weighs in at eight tons.

The Big Potato, Prince Edward island - domestic rate
This giant potato sculpture guards the entrance to the Prince Edward island museum. Made of fibreglass and standing 4.3 metres high and 2.1 metres in diameter, this spectacular spud has mashed its way into many a tourists’ snapshot.

The Giant Squid, Glover’s Harbour, Newfoundland - domestic rate
In 1878, fishermen landed a giant 16.7 metres long squid, recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the biggest creature of its kind in the world. This life-size sculpture, completed in 2001, was designed by Don Foulds, with collaboration from Edward O’Neill, Niel McLellan, and Jason Hussey. Located on the main drag in Glover’s Harbour, this concrete and metal replica is positioned close to the site of the original squid’s capture.

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Adapted from the Canada post web site

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Cover - Japan

In the last two weeks, there has been quite a lull in the covers Ive received and there were only three I got. Worse though is the fact that two covers Ive sent last month have not reached the addressees yet. Im just hoping that they receive the covers sooner or later.

Here's a beautiful cover from Japan I received last week.


The clear beautiful cancellation of the landscape

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Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Another real posted FDC from the US of A

Awesome cover. Cancellation is special and I am quite fascinated by the rooster weather vane stamp.



The “Grand Canyon State” is commemorated on a new Forever Stamp by the United States Postal Service, marking the state’s 100th anniversary. The stamp features artwork by Ed Mell, a native of Phoenix. Mell portrays Cathedral Rock, one of the colorful and much admired sandstone rock formations of Sedona, Arizona on this stamp.


The 45-cent Weather Vanes First-Class Mail stamps are available in five designs in pressure-sensitive adhesive coils. Each of the five designs features a photograph of eye-catching 19th century weather vanes made in the
United States. All the weather vanes featured are part of Shelburne Museum’s collection:  a cow, an eagle, two roosters and a centaur. I must have all the five in my US collection soon. The rooster here on this cover is the rooster with the thick, rounded tail was made between 1875 and 1900 by Rochester Iron Works in Rochester.

Thanks Antoinette.

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