Cebu Stamp Club Was Founded Today!

Time really flies! I still recall on this very day in 1996 when Cebu Stamp Club held its first club meeting at the University of Cebu, Sanciangko St., Cebu City.

The first Officers and Board of Trustees were elected on that day. Back then, we used to meet every second and fourth Sunday of the month.

We came out with our first stamp exhibit, "The Rizal Martyrdom Centennial Stamp Exhibition" on December 18 - 31, 1996 at the Cebu City Museum to commemorate the 100th martyrdom of Filipino National hero Dr. Jose P. Rizal.

Since that day, Cebu Stamp Club has been very active in promoting philately in Cebu. Happy anniversary CSCI!

Shown above are Cebu Stamp Club members during the Rizal exhibit in 1996.

"Nature, Culture and History Through Stamps" Exhibit in Dumaguete City

The newly formed Dumaguete Stamp Collectors Club came out with a very beautiful stamp exhibit at the Robert Silliman and Metta Silliman Library Main Entrance Hall, Silliman University in Dumaguete City yesterday.

The club is composed of Dumaguete-based Cebu Stamp Club members Gary Rosales, Aidalyn Arabe, Allan Bennett Uy Matiao, Richard Rausher and Penn Larena who all took the initiative of coming out with a stamp club of their own.

I had to leave for Dumaguete City early Saturday morning to attend the 4:00 PM opening of the exhibit. The club invited me to be their guest speaker.

During the event, I got to meet again Arlene Uypitching, an avid stamp collector who is also a Silliman University Cultural Affairs committee member. I was also introduced to Lito Diago and Milfred Ong, who are members of the DSCC.

The last time I was in Silliman University was in August 28, 2008 when Cebu Stamp Club, Incorporated opened the Selyo at Kasaysayan stamp exhibit which featured Philippine heroes.

Gary, the club's president along with his members billeted me at a very cozy hotel and took me to a group dinner at Casablanca, a new restaurant in the city. There we get to talk about stamps and shared to them lots of tips.

To the members of the Dumaguete Stamp Collectors Club, I salute you all for a very successful philatelic event!

The first photo features Penn Larena, Gary Rosales and yours truly. Second shows the officers of the Dumaguete Stamp Collectors Club with me after dinner at Casablanca.

Remembering Da KIng

Today, we remember the late King of Philippine Movies, Fernando Poe Jr. who was born on August 20, 1939. In real life, he was known as Ronald Allan Kelley Poe.

Whenever a film stars FPJ, it was always expected to be a box office sensation. I can still remember our jam-packed movie houses whenever an FPJ movie was shown. I for one am a fan!

During the peak of his career, there was a common story in Mindanao that when a villain succeeded in hurting FPJ, the screen just literally got peppered with bullets by the moviegoers. These incidents prompted film producers and directors to make it a point not to kill him in his movies to avoid similar incidents.

FPJ always played hero in his films who fought for the common man. This won for him the respect and admiration of the Filipinos. He was also famous for immortalizing Ang Panday, a comic book character by Carlo J. Caparas.

Fernando Poe Jr. ran an unsuccessful bid for the presidency against Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in the 2004 Philippine Presidential elections. A few months later on December 14, 2004, he passed away due to cerebral thrombosis with multiple organ failure.

On May 24, 2006 he was honored as Philippine National Artist through Philippine Proclamation No. 1065.

Featured above are the Panday movies of FPJ. Below it is a souvenir sheet released by Philpost on November 17, 2008 the highlights Carlo J. Caparas' komics super hero Panday.

Christmas Island Frigatebird WWF

The rarest native seabird on Christmas Island, the frigatebird, is featured as part of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Conservation Stamp Collection.

The frigatebird (Fregata andrewsi) is the rarest endemic seabird on Christmas Island, listed as vulnerable under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. Considerable areas of the frigatebird's former breeding habitat have been cleared, and its current breeding areas are now threatened by the invasive Crazy Ant and pollution from past phosphate mining.

Australia Post comes out with this issue on August 17, 2010 with denominations of 2 x 60c and 2 x $1.80.

Cupids, 1610-2010

In August 1610, English colonists, sent out by the London and Bristol Company and led by prominent Bristol merchant John Guy, arrived in Cupids (then Cupers Cove) on the north side of Conception Bay on Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula. There, they marked the start of British overseas expansion by establishing the first English settlement in what would become Canada and one of the earliest European settlements in North America.

Evidence of the original colony was uncovered in 1995, during a survey led by the Baccalieu Trail Heritage Corporation’s chief archaeologist William Gilbert. Since then, five early-17^th century structures (some of the oldest European buildings in North America) and more than 145,000 artifacts have been unearthed.

This August, Canada Post will celebrate the 400th anniversary of this historic settlement with a commemorative stamp. The stamp features a portion of a 17^th century map of the Avalon Peninsula, compiled by John Mason (1586 – 1635). It’s the first English map of Newfoundland produced from first-hand observation and the first to show Cupids’ location. The stamp comes out on August 17, 2010.

Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games

Singapore Post releases on August 14, 2010 stamps highlighting the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games.

The first two designs highlight the World Culture Village and Island Adventure formats of CEP. Athletes will learn about diverse cultures, teamwork and leadership through these two activities.

The next two designs feature the mascots in their favourite sports of Aquatics – Swimming and Basketball respectively.

Raffi and Davey's "Love x 2" SM City Cebu Mall Tour

A few days ago, I was in touch with a pretty Cebuana friend who is now a recording artist based in Manila.

Raffi Quijano just celebrated her birthday and I was among those who greeted her. She never forgot her friends and took time to say thanks and invited me to see her at SM City Cebu at 4PM of August 13, 2010 for her "Love x 2" acoustic album tour.

At 3:30PM yesterday, me and my son, Kervin were at the event center of SM City Cebu. There I got to meet Lee Jennie, an American who founded the Adam Jennie's Christian Center for Special Children, Inc. based in Mandaue City, Cebu.

Lee brought along the kids from his center complete with flowers for Raffi, who has been helping them for some time now.

The show didn't start until 6:00PM but we didn't mind the time waiting. Me and Lee got to talk about how he started helping special kids here in the Philippines and introduced me to some of his Caucasian friends.

Everyone got a special treat when Raffi and Davey started singing the hits in their album. Kervin's favorites Baby and Two is Better Than One.

I bought an album inside the venue and got a bonus poster! Raffi and Davey wasted no time in signing their autographs. Aside from the signatures, Kervin also got the chance to pose with them.

At Php 299.00 only, one can get their beautiful acoustic album "Love x 2" in all music outlets all over the country.

A Miniature Sheet for Pope Benedict XVI UK Visit

The Isle of Man presents a two-stamp miniature sheet with label commemorating the beatification of Cardinal Newman and the first papal visit to Britain since May 1982, when Pope John Paul II’s six-day tour drew huge crowds.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown extended a formal invitation to the current Pope and the trip is the first official state visit by a pontiff, as that of John Paul II was on a pastoral basis and did not follow an official invitation by the UK government
.

The miniature sheet to be issued on August 11, 2010 features two stamps featuring Cardinal Newman and a label image of Pope Benedict XVI.

New Zealand's 2010 Scenic Definitives

On August 4, 2010, New Zealand comes out with new definitive stamps to reflect the upcoming changes in postage rates.

The five stamps highlight beautiful scenic spots in New Zealand. These are Mitre Peak, Milford Sound ($1.20), Queenstown ($1.90), Lake Rotorua ($2.40), Kaikoura ($2.90), and Christchurch ($3.40).

The 25th Asian International Stamp Exhibition

The 25th Asian International Stamp Exhibition (BANGKOK 2010) will be held at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC) Bangkok, Thailand on August 4 – 12, 2010.

Thailand Post Co., Ltd. (THP) is organizing the event in cooperation with The Philatelist Association of Thailand (P.A.T.) and Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB).

The exhibition’s venue is located in the center of the capital with advanced and convenient mass transportation services that can support the gathering of all types of city people with purchasing power.

The area is divided into 3 sections; the international postage stamp sales area for 50 booths, the local postage stamp sales area for 50 booths and exhibition area for 1,500 square meters.

World-class standard hotels are available in special prices for all visitor attendance at only 5 minutes distance from the venue and in the middle of shopping arcades.

The main objectives of the Exhibition are:

• To publicize the evolution of Thai postage stamps and encourage activities on stamp collecting to propagate and expand into the Asian region countries.
• To publicize and display postage stamps from the Asian regions.
• To publicize and display competing postage stamps from collectors and make sales distribution.
• To display an Exhibition of the Royal family, the King and Queen of Thailand on the auspicious occasion of their 60th year Wedding Anniversary.

Burke and Wills Stamp

The 150th anniversary of the Burke and Wills expedition, the first South - North crossing of the continent is celebrated with the release of this special stamp issue of August 3, 2010.

On 20 August 1860, the Burke and Wills expedition left Melbourne for the Gulf of Carpentaria. The explorers hoped to be the first Europeans to cross Australia from the south to the north.

While the explorers reached the Gulf, the expedition ended in tragedy. Physically exhausted from their journey, they hoped to find William Brahe and much needed help and supplies at Cooper's Creek. Their expectations were dashed when they learned that Brahe had left Cooper's Creek only hours before their arrival. Burke, Wills and King then set off towards Mt Hopeless, in South Australia.

Despite offers of help from local Aboriginal people, Burke and Wills died on Cooper's Creek in June 1861. The only person to survive was John King, who was found in September by a search party sent from Melbourne.