Κυριακή 27 Οκτωβρίου 2013

COVER: FINLAND


GREECE 2013 - NATIONAL HISTORICAL EVENTS 1913 PART A' - THE 100th ANNIVERSARY OF THE LIBERATION OF IOANNINA


The war waged by the Balkanallies against the Ottoman Empire ended with many issues unresolved. In early 1913, operations on the Epirus front had ground to a halt, and the Hellenic Army was endeavouring to liberate Ioannina.
 In mid-January 1913, the Hellenic forces in Epirus were encountering difficult conditions. The Commander-in-Chief, Crown Prince Constantine, who assumed command  of the Army of Epirus in the middle of the same month, took a series of measures that aimed to improve the men's living conditions and nutrition, thus raising their morale and increasing their fighting ability, which had been considerably reduced. He also improved the flow of supplies to units at the front by utilising all available means of transport behind the lines, and put into operation a new plan for the capture of Ioannina. February 19th marked the beginning of the end, with a whole day of artillery fire. After many months of struggle, the much-anticipated liberation would be achieved by force and not by negotiation. On 21 February 1913, the Hellenic Army entered Ioannina.


Τετάρτη 23 Οκτωβρίου 2013

COVER: INDONESIA


Katy Perry on beau John Mayer: 'I actually am dating my crush'

Katy Perry might have had a rough end to her marriage with Russell Brand, but she's on to better things in her love life.

 "I actually am dating my crush".  "I had a crush on him for a long time and it so happens we fit together great."


The singer, whose album "Prism" came out this week, also opened up about her marriage.

"It was a new, fun, exciting journey," the pop star said. "But I like how I am now, and I think all things happen for a reason."



'I actually am dating my crush,' Perry said about her relationship with John Mayer.
 photo by: Larry Busacca/Getty Images for NARAS




One Direction Top Rich List For Under-30s

One Direction have earned a combined fortune of £59.33m, knocking Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe off the top of a Rich List for British celebrities under 30.

"One Direction: This Is Us" New York Premiere - Red Carpet

The highest new entry in the list is DJ and music producer Calvin Harris, who is worth an estimated £22.1m.

Names falling out of the top 30 this year include Paolo Nutini, Jamie Bell, Natasha Bedingfield and Sienna Miller.


The financial dealings, including TV shows, films, record sales and product endorsements were examined by a panel of industry experts to compile the list for Heat magazine.

One Direction were included as a single entry for their total earnings because the money was generated by the group rather than for any solo work.

Read more at: http://news.sky.com/story/1157818/one-direction-top-rich-list-for-under-30s

COVER: INDONESIA


Κυριακή 20 Οκτωβρίου 2013

COVER: CROATIA


USA 2013 - Ray Charles

Ray Charles an extraordinary composer, singer, and pianist, blind since childhood, went beyond category, blending blues, gospel, country, jazz, and soul music in a unique and highly influential pop music style. His many hits included “I've Got a Woman,” “Georgia on My Mind,” and “I Can't Stop Loving You.”

The stamp art features an image of Charles, taken later in his career, by photographer Yves Carrère. The stamp sheet was designed to evoke the appearance of a vintage 45 rpm record sleeve. One side of the sheet includes the stamps and the image of a sliver of a record seeming to peek out the top of the sleeve. A larger version of the photograph featured on the stamp and the logo for the Music Icons series appear on the reverse side.

Looking back over the course of his long career, there seemed to be little Charles couldn't do. His work spanned almost the entire breadth of American music and brought him 17 Grammy Awards, plus an award for lifetime achievement in 1987. Countless other prizes include the Polar Music Prize in 1998; the National Medal of Arts, awarded in 1993; and the Kennedy Center Honors in 1986. That same year, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Ray Charles performed for seven presidents: Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Clinton, and George W. Bush.

USA 2013 - Johnny Cash

 
Johnny Cash (1932-2003) is best remembered internationally as a country music artist, but we feel his influence just about everywhere—from rock and folk to blues and gospel. The Johnny Cash (Forever®) stamp is being issued this year as part of the exciting new Music Icons stamp series.

Resembling the appearance of a 45 rpm record sleeve, the square stamp features a photograph taken by Frank Bez during the photo session for Ring of Fire: The Best of Johnny Cash (1963). In the photo, Cash stares out at the viewer through a veil of shadow, his brooding expression fitting for an artist known to so many people simply as “the Man in Black.”

Cash found inspiration for his music in the stories of outlaws and laborers, and in his own life experience. A child of the Depression, he grew up in rural Arkansas, and the culture of that time and place—especially the Bible and gospel and country music—remained with him all his life. Themes of redemption, loneliness, love, loss, and death colored his music with a gritty realism that differed markedly from other socially conscious popular music. “I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die,” he sings famously in “Folsom Prison Blues.”

By the 1960s, Cash had become one of the top names in country music, with a string of hits that included “Cry, Cry, Cry,” “I Walk the Line,” and the Grammy award-winning “A Boy Named Sue.” Though his popularity waned in the 1970s and 1980s, Cash made a remarkable resurgence in the 1990s, culminating in several more Grammy awards. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1980 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

TAIWAN 2013 - Owls of Taiwan

Product name:Owls of Taiwan Postage Stamps (Issue of 2013) 
After releasing “Owls of Taiwan” stamp sets in 2011 and 2012, Chunghwa Post is following up with another set of four stamps in 2013 featuring Otus lettia, Tyto longimembris, Ketupa flavipes and Otus elegans botelensis. The designs follow. 
 1. Otus lettia (NT$5): About 22-26 centimeters in length, it has a tawny-gray facial disc with random black markings. The edge of its facial disc is black. It has prominent ear tufts. Its body is tawny-grey. Breast and underbelly feathers have arrow-shaped streak. The center of its belly is white. It can be found nesting in old growth forests, orchards and even city parks. 
 2. Tyto longimembris (NT$5): About 34 to 42 centimeters in length, it has a heart-shaped facial disc, which is red-brown when birds are young, gradually lightens over time. Its facial disc is edged in black dots that connect to create a dark outline. It lacks ear tufts. The top of its head and its back feathers are dark brown, it breast feathers are tawny, and its underbelly is off white. It lives in grassy areas of the mountains and foothills. 
 3. Ketupa flavipes (NT$10): About 55-60 centimeters in length, it is the largest scops owl in Taiwan. It has an orange-yellow facial disk, with yellow-brown ear tufts and head and breast feathers. The feathers on its dark brown back are edged with orange. It is found in broad-leaved forests near creeks, rivers and lakes.  
 4. Otus elegans botelensis (NT$25): About 19-22 centimeters in length, it is a subspecies of Otus elegans that is found only on Orchid Island, which is off the East Coast of Taiwan proper. It has a brown facial disc and ear tufts. Its head and upper body feathers are brown with dark brown and tan stripes. Its breast and belly feathers are tawny. It lives mainly in forests. A pictorial will also be released along with the stamps. The pictorial, a brilliant blend of text and images, includes all three sets of “Owls of Taiwan” stamps released between 2011 and 2013, and 12 postcards designed by the stamps’ designer.

Σάββατο 19 Οκτωβρίου 2013

ESTONIA 2013 - Birth centenary of the singer Raimond Valgre



 Raimond Valgre (7 October, 1913 – 31. 12. 1949, Tallinn) was born in the family of a shoemaker in Riisipere in North-Western in Estonia. He became one of the best known Estonian song writers whose songs are known throughout the country. As a child he took fancy in the violin but her mother decided that he should learn the piano instead. Later he played the accordion, guitar and drums in different bands and groups. During his lifetime he wrote nearly a hundred songs and most of them were about nature and love. During World War II, he was a member of the orchestra of the 8th Estonian Rifle Corps of the Red Army, and as a result of his service on the Eastern Front he became an alcoholic after the war. His music was banned in 1948 by the Soviet authorities. The revival of Valgre's compositions began in the Soviet Union of the 1960s. A biographical feature film about Valgre Need vanad armastuskirjad ("Those Old Love Letters") was shot in 1992.

Παρασκευή 18 Οκτωβρίου 2013

AGION OROS ATHOS 2013 - MINIATURES - DECORATIONS of ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS A'


0,40 €  H.M. OF CHILANDARI : Tetra - evangelium (17th cent.)
0,50 €  H.M. OF IVERON : Tale of Varlaam and Joasaph (13th cent.)
0,62 €  H.M. OF MEGISTE LAVRA : Sticherarion (17th cent.)
0,78 €  H.M. OF VATOPAIDI : Octateuch (13th cent.)
0,85 €  H.M. OF DIONYSIOY : Psalter (14th cent.)
2,00 €  PROTATON : Tetra - evangelium (10th cent.)

COVER: GEORGIA


Τετάρτη 16 Οκτωβρίου 2013

GREECE 2013 - SAILING TOURISM


Greece. A magical place, famous and loved for its many and varied attractions, has in recent years welcomed sailing enthusiasts from every corner of the globe, particularly during te summer, when the Aegean and Ionian fill with white sails hailed as the best in the world for yachting, while Greece is one of the sunniest regions in the temperate zone.
The growth of marine tourism has also been boosted by regattas, purely competitive in origin, which over the years have become major yachting events! To celebrate this important aspect of Greek culture, Hellenic Post issued the Commemorative Set of "Sailing Tourism".

Πέμπτη 10 Οκτωβρίου 2013

GREECE 2013 - 2.400 SINCE THE FOUNDING OF PLATO'S ACADEMY

This year marks the 2.400th anniversary of the founding of Plato's Academy, a uniquely important event in the history of Philosophy and the intellectual development of mankind. Plato's Academy was the first free University, a unique space for study, education and dialogue, which gathered together philosophers, orators, politicians and ordinary citizens, who went there in order to learn, discuss, debate and experiment. Philosophy, Political Science and Astronomy all flourished there, while important research was also carried out in the field of  Mathematics and Geometry.