The 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Lady Bird Johnson, USA

On 30th November 2012. the USPS issued a set of 6 stamps to commemorate the achievements of Lady Bird Jonhson, who is best remembered for awakening the nation’s environmental conscience. 

With the help and encouragement of philanthropist Mary Lasker, she organized a committee that raised private funds to plant trees and flowering plants in the monumental areas of the nation's capital. Her efforts prompted local businesses and others in Washington, D.C., to begin beautification efforts in less touristy neighborhoods. She also encouraged community involvement in efforts to improve public spaces, schoolyards, and parks.

And while you may wonder how this fits into today's topic of "P" on Sunday Stamps... 5 of the stamps in the set bear the message "Plant for..." so I thought it would be an appropriate choice :)

I do believe that we can make our places of living more beautiful by planting more trees and flowers instead of building more and more buildings in an already concrete jungle.

Check out today's Sunday Stamps to see what others have come up with for the letter P :)

 

250 years since the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,Macedonia

So here comes another Sunday...and time for another visit to the Viridian's blog...where the theme this week is 'anything you wish'. The most tricky one for me I must say :)
Usually, id go for trains in such cases, sparing myself too much thinking...but I wanted to somewhat break that habit and post something different...and while wondering what could that be...something suitable came into the horizon...so here I am with this nice FDC issued by the Macedonian postal service in 2006, commemorating the 250 years since the birth of the child prodigy called Mozart....and why did my choice fall on this one? well, coz Mozart was actually born on January 27, so if he was still alive, today he would have been blowing 257 candles on his cake...boy, that would have been one very special cake....i hope it would have been cheesecake :)))
But unfortunately, this great man didnt manage to see many candles on his cake, since he died at the early age of only 35. But even this way, he has left great works behind him, having composed over 600 works.

well, im sure you all know who Mozart was, and more or less know the general things about him, so I wont bore you with that. ill just tell you that Ive never been to Salzburg, where he was born, but id REALLY love to go there one day...theyve told me that it is even more beautiful than Vienna...so me, who is absolutely in love with Vienna, must verify this on-spot one day :)
I love Mozart's works...I cant tell if i have a favourite, coz often it depends on how i feel, and to be quite honest, im terrible at remembering pieces entitled like "Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550" (though that is a really good one by Mozart) but titles like that just dont work for me.
At least the operas bear somewhat normal titles..
Unfortunately, Tom and Jerry seem not to have been into Mozart that much...there is an episode where Bart Simpson plays the Turkish Rondo, (which is a part of the Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K. 331, and is probably one of his most popular piano pieces) but honestly i dont think that im impressed much of it...I still prefer the good old Tom and Jerry making a great concert out of some beautiful classical masterpiece :)

so if you know a cartoon where Mozart's music has been used, please share :)

and on a side note, since we are at the Macedonian postal service here...wanted to share something (not so nice) with you...already did it at my postcards' blog, bur for those who do not read that one, or have missed it:
10 days ago, there was a huge fire at the main post office in Skopje...and unfortunately, that is the post office where the Philatelic Bureau is also situated...or should I say, 'was'...there were no deaths fortunately, but the damage is huge..and the post office is not working at the moment...all the employees there have been reallocated to other post offices...however, I cant find out where the philately lady is and if she is working at all or she is taking a break...I dont know if and how many stamps have suffered the fire but practically, right now, i cant get any nice new stamps....I have to be satisfied with the general (boring) ones that are sold at the post offices..and i feel sort of handicapped this way...she was my only source for all the old and new issues, and always very kind and helpful...i mean, the postal clerks are also really nice people, but they just struggle with providing me nice stamps, and it is not their fault either...so my only source is right now...i dont know where. It is also a pity, coz that building was of unusual architecture, and also, very valuable murals have suffered, which used to be in the hall of the post office..quite a tragedy =/

you can read more about it here in case you are interested (lack of websites covering the event in English...sorry)

wishing you all a great Sunday, and before you get on with your Sunday chores, click on the button below and see what other interesting stories you may find today:

100th Anniversary of the Birth of Jacques Cousteau, Macedonia

Good Sunday to you all! Nope, you are not at the wrong place...it is just me, trying to figure out my blog's issues and its refusal to let people comment sometimes...i dont know if it had to do anything with the template or something, but for now, ill stick to this until i have more time to explore the problem in more detail....coz what I also can't manage is how to get the 'reply' button below each comment...I actually think that ever since Ive started experimenting with that, is when the posting-comments problems arose....if anyone can help me out, please let me know, coz the problem is really driving me crazy and im so envious when i see the option on other people's blogs :)

ok, enough rent...lets see what today's Sunday Stamps has to offer....something related to commemorations...hmm, well. i decided to go with something Macedonian this time, since for sure we issue a lot of commemorative stamps...and when trying to pick which one id post for today....it was the blue colour which was a decider in the end :))

So here we see a nice blue  FDC issued in 2010, commemorating the centennial of Jean Jacque Costeau's birth.

im pretty sure most of you had heard about him, but for those who havent and as a small reminder for those who have....Born in 1910, Jean Jaques Costeau was a French naval officer, explorer, conservationist, filmmaker, innovator, scientist, photographer, author and researcher who studied the sea and all forms of life in water. He co-developed the Aqua-Lung and pioneered marine conservation.
His legacy includes more than 120 television documentaries, more than 50 books, and an environmental protection foundation with 300,000 members.
His work also created a new kind of scientific communication, criticised at the time by some academics. The so-called "divulgationism", a simple way of sharing scientific concepts, was soon employed in other disciplines and became one of the most important characteristics of modern television broadcasting.
He died in 1997, at the age of 87.

btw, i just wish those fish and whales and dolphins on the FDC were actually real pictures, not drawings...

lets see what others have chosen to commemorate today....click below :)  And enjoy your coffee/tea while reading this....im having a nice green smoothie...always a great way to start the day :)

400 years since Rembrandt's birth, joint issue between Netherlands and Germany

here comes a small piece of art for today's Sunday stamps

I picked this cover with the sheet issued in 2006, to commemorate the 400 years since the birth of this great dutch painter and etcher. He was born on 15 July 1606 and died on 4 October 1669.

Im pretty sure you know quite a lot about him, so I wont be holding on to his general life, but will try to explain what's on the stamps here.

the set consists of 5 stamps plus a vignette, containing the information.
all stamps have a face value of 0,39 euros, and this is actually a joint issue between Netherlands and Germany, which has arisen some controversies, esp regarding a 70c stamp of Saskia in the prestige booklet, which the German's found invalid, since he printing - made in the Netherlands - was different from the prinitng made in Germany for the German sheetlets. The Dutch one actually contained the text in German and in some catalogue listings was said to be good for postage only in the Netherlands, which on the overall is rather confusing as to what's what, so i wont go into depth about it here.


Anyways, as for the stamps here, they all show Rembrandt's works. The top left stamp shows us Saskia van Uylenburgh in a pompous dress (Rembrandt's wife). The portrait was done sometime around 1642 and can be found at the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen in Kassel.

The stamp next to it shows a portrait of Titus reading, c.1657-1658 (Rembrant's son) at The Kunsthistorisches Museum (or the Museum of Fine Arts) in Vienna.

The third stamp in that row shows us the painting called "Woman in a doorway", c. 1656-1657, and can be found at the Gemäldegalerie (or the Art Museum) in Berlin.

As for the bottom stamps, the both show etchings, where the one on the left shows us the "Bearded man, in a furred oriental cap and robe", from 1631, which some consider to be a portrait of Rembrand's father. This can be found at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, while the other one shows us the artist's mother seated at a table, c.1629 - 1633, which can again be found at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

for some more artistic inputs, click on the big button below

Toše Proeski 1981-2007, Macedonia

This FDC was issued by the Macedonian Post Office in 2007 in honour of one of the most famous Macedonian people ever, Toše Proeski.

Some of you know him, some have no idea who he was, but he was a very important part of the Macedonian music and culture in general, who had touched the hearts of many, not just in Macedonia, but across the Balkans as well, and was, I can freely say so, the best ambassador of our country.
I think that whatever I say about him, wont describe his greatness...you really had to know him in order to be at least a bit  aware of it so I wont go into details about his biography or career. And for any info youd be interested in, there are many sources about him on the internet. But I just do want to commemorate this day at least somehow.
If the destiny hadnt twisted the paths on 16 October 2007, today this great man would have celebrated his 30th birthday....unfortunately, it is his fans and all the Macedonian people who are left to do so, by attending or organizing all sorts of commemorative concerts and events. But of course, without the celebrator, it is not even close to same.
RIP Toše!

Technical Specifications about the stamp:


Face value: 12 denars
Perforation: Comb
Size: 30.2x40.2mm
Printing technique: Offset
Date of issue: 15/12/2007

The FDC comes with two different cancellations, one with the town of Kruševo, and another one with the city of Skopje. Being that Toše's hometown was Kruševo, I prefer this FDC. And I think that this picture with the pigeon in his hands, pretty much describes the heart and soul this man had.

Centenary of Railway Service in Hong Kong

An absolutely stunning piece of mail!!!!

This is the official souvenir cover issued by the Hong Kong post regarding the Centenary of its Railway Service. The issue consists of 6 stamps and all can be seen on this cover.

Over the past century, along with the rapid development of Hong Kong, local railway services have expanded to cover an extensive network of destinations. The railway system has advanced in stages with the times and introduced many new trains, from the earliest steam engines to diesel locomotives of the 1950's, to the automated electric trains of today - all for the purpose of providing our community with convenient and reliable train services. On 1 October 2010, the centenary of the railway service in Hong Kong was celebrated. To mark this occasion, Hongkong post issued a set of six stamps showcasing trains from different periods to commemorate important milestones in local railway history.

$1.40 Steam Train - The first train began to steam along the track of the section within Hong Kong of the Kowloon-Canton Railway, from Tsim Sha Tsui to Lo Wu, on 1 October 1910. The steam engines from the early days were gradually replaced by diesel locomotives from the 1950's onward until they were all retired from service in 1962. The building at the upper part of the stamp is the Hong Kong railway museum.

$1.80 Diesel Train - In 1955, diesel trains opened a new page in local railway history. The first two diesel locomotives in Hong Kong, No.51 and No.52, were named Sir Alexander and Lady Maurine respectively. Locomotive Sir Alexander is now kept at the Hong Kong railway museum for public viewing. The building at the upper part of the stamp is the Clock Tower of the then Kowloon-Canton Railway terminus in Tsim Sha Tsui.

$2.40 Electric Train - The 1980's saw an era of electrification in Hong Kong's railway history. The first generation of electric trains, with the driver's cab front painted yellow as shown on the stamp, was in operation from 1982 to 1999. The building at the upper part of the stamp is the old Hung Hom terminus.

$2.50 MTR Passenger Train - Hong Kong's Mass Transit Railway (MTR) commenced construction in 1975 and was officially opened on 1 Octobr 1979, with trains running between Shek Kip Mei and Kwun Tong. Th Metro-Cammell Train or M-TRAIN for short, depicted on the stamp is the longest-serving model used by the MTR. The building at the upper part of the stamp is the International Finance Centre situated above the MTR Hong Kong station.

$3 Kowloon-Guangzhou Through Train - The Kowloon-Guangzhou Through Train (Ktt) has been providing non-stop train services between Hong Kong and Guangzhou since August 1998. The Ktt is the only train service using double-decked direct passenger train. A journey between Hung Hom and Guangzhou East Station takes about 1 hour and 50 minutes. The building at the upper part of the stamp is the MTR Hung Hom Station.

$5 Airport Express Train - Airport Express Train started operation in mid 1998, take as little as 24 minutes to complete the 35.3-kilometre journey between the Airport and Central. The building at the upper part of the stamp is the Hong Kong International Airport from aerial view.

Stamp Printing Details:

- Date of issue: 28 September 2010
- Paper: Paper with security fibres
- Process: Lithography
- Stamp size: 28mm x 45mm
- Stamp Layout: Pane of 25 stamps
- Perforation: 13.6x13.25 (one elliptical perforation on each vertical)
- Design: Clement Yick
-Illustration: Roxy Lau


Thanks a lot to Edward for this one!

60 Years of the Philatelic Society in Macedonia

Well, I thought that this would be the most appropriate way to make the REAL inauguration of this blog (leaving aside the intro post).

29th of January was a commemorative day since it was the 60th anniversary of the Macedonian Philatelic Society, and due to that they published this commemorative envelope which could have been bought at the philately on the actual date with the special postmark of course.

It was designed by one famous Macedonian artist, Živko A. Popovski, who mainly paints flowers, and on this envelope, the Macedonian flag is symbolized (the red and the yellow colour).
Well, since it had a special postmark, I had to grab this and send it to myself (sending it on any other day wouldnt have been possible, neither it would have made any sense....). And it arrived, safe and sound in exactly 4 days, which compared to the postcard, is an improvement.
I just dont like it that they didnt issue a special stamp either...it would have been MUCH MUCH better, instead using some "left-in-stock" ones (it was issued in 1999 in a set of 4 stamps)....I guess they used this one coz of the flower (since it relates to what this man mainly paints).
Unfortunately, if you wanted to send some of these abroad, you had to add other totally random stamps (depending whats available)....so quite a disappointing point, but still...i preferred to have it than not have it at all, since 60 year anniversaries dont happen every day....I only dont know why it is "60" and not "50" which would make more sense.

On 31st January there was also a meeting held at the Philatelic Society....nice event, where probably I was the youngest one...I also got a signed picture from the above mentioned Mister, who had brought some of his work to be shared with the fellow philatelists.