Cebu Stamp Club's CSCI Newsletter February 2011 Issue

Cebu Stamp Club is going to be 15 years old this 2011. The club came into existence on August 24, 1996.

Although it was registered on January 30, 1997, we usually celebrate our anniversary every August and hold big exhibits during this month.

Lots of activities are being lined up by the club and we are glad to inform everyone that the club is stronger than ever. Under the new board, CSCI will continue to make waves.

Here's the complimentary download link of the CSCI Newsletter February 2011 Issue.. http://www.easy-share.com/1914245166/csci newsletter february 2011.pdf Just copy paste the link in your browser.

25,000 Gathered for Edsa At 25 Celebration

Around 25,000 people gathered on February 25, 2011 to celebrate 25 years of the EDSA People Power 1 along the Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) in Quezon City.

It was nostalgia for most people who attended the festivities. People took souvenir photos with the Lady of Edsa Shrine as their background.

The color yellow dominated the occasion with multitudes of people coming in yellow shirts, caps and umbrellas while yellow ribbons and posters filled the place.

Yellow was the symbolic color used by Cory Aquino during the 1986 protest actions against the regime of President Ferdinand Marcos.

During this year’s celebration, President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino Jr. led the nation in the festivities and spoke at the reenactment of the historic “salubungan” of the forces that comprise People Power.

President Aquino urged those who fought against Marcos to help his administration in the fight against poverty.

"The fight that we started in EDSA is not yet over and it cannot be continued by just one person. In the same way that we faced off tanks and put an end to the dictatorship, we must also end the problems that we have inherited," he told his supporters.

Photo above features the heroes of Edsa with President Noynoy Aquino as he pays tribute to the millions of Filipinos who took to the streets in 1986 to stop loyal soldiers of President Marcos from arresting top military officers who were against him.

Philpost Releases Pre-stamped Envelopes of EDSA at 25

February 25, 2011 is a celebration for the Philippines as we commemorate the 25th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution.

To highlight the event, the Philippine Postal Corporation (Philpost) has decided to release two pre-stamped envelopes with the cancellation bearing the February 25, 2011 date.

In my opinion, Philpost should have used real stamps instead of just printing a stamp design on the envelopes. Some friends in Manila told me that the postal administration claimed that they don’t have the funds for this. It would have been nice to see Cory and Ninoy together on a stamp. That would have been a first!

Royal Mail Celebrates Musicals Through Stamps

The United Kingdom’s Royal Mail came out with a set of stamps to celebrate the diversity of British musicals.

The stamps were from a selection of seven decades of popular stage musicals. These are Oliver, Blood Brothers, We Will Rock You, Monty Python's Spamalot, Me and My Girl, Return to the Forbidden Planet and Billy Elliot.

Released on February 24, 2011, these beautiful stamps feature a combination of both the posters and the performances that helped to make these shows the hottest tickets in the West End.

Art Canada Series

Canada Post issued three new stamps on February 21, 2011 featuring the artwork of Canadian aboriginal artist Daphne Odjig.

The stamps highlight three of Odjig's acrylic pieces with each painting, Spiritual Renewal (1984), Pow-wow Dancer (1978), and Pow-wow (1969), representing Odjig's passion for the arts and love of her native heritage.

The February 2011 Stamp Meetup Goes North of Cebu

It was decided during the January meeting at my house that the February 20, 2011 stamp meetup of Cebu Stamp Club be held at the house of Kenneth and Gina Turner in Catmon, Cebu.

The town of Catmon situated north of Cebu is about 57 kilometers away from the city.

CSCI Stampers converged at my residence at 9:00 in the morning and proceeded to Danao City’s Gaisano Capital Mall where Gina Turner met the group.

From Danao City it took us 15 minutes to reach Catmon and were in time for lunch where Kenneth Turner welcomed everyone to their 2.8 hectare place. True to their word, Gina’s lechon (roasted pig) was the highlight for lunch.

Me and my son Jerald Kervin, Ricky Teves, Eyan Yu, Richard Guimbarda, Ralph Ordiz, William Tampus, Edmund Gruenbaum and Denden Ibale enjoyed the delicious food prepared by the generous hosts.

Soon after, Ken took out boxes full of thousands of worldwide stamps on envelopes. The stampers wasted no time in checking out the stamps. The group didn’t mind the passing hours as they were engrossed in sorting out the stamps of their choice to take home. At exactly 4:00 pm, everyone said their thanks and goodbyes to the Turner couple. What a meetup!

See more photos of the meetup at the Cebu Stampclub facebook account.

The March 19, 2011 meetup will be a party at the privately owned Borromeo Beach Resort in Cansojong, Talisay City.

Taiwan’s Unique Stamps on Valentines

A new set of stamps celebrating Valentine’s Day was released by Chunghwa Post on February 14, 2011.

Taiwan’s postal authority aims to attract the younger generation to stamp collecting and to encourage letter writing. Love is the main message of the stamps.

The uniqueness of the stamps is the use of the QR code (quick response code) technology. QR code can store more information than regular barcode. To decode the hidden message, users only have to take a picture of the QR code with a mobile phone camera that can take images of over 300,000 pixels, and the decode software in the phone will read the message and display it on the screen.

The design of the stamp features a heart formed by a row of perforations, as well as images of roses, presents, hearts, and the word "LOVE" created from pixels. Through the interaction between the sender and the receiver, these stamps convey love and heighten the romantic atmosphere of Valentine's Day. The message of the code is "Happy Valentine's Day" for the NT$5 stamp and "I Love You" for the NT$25 stamp.

Reagan on Forever Stamps

In Simi Valley, California, the United States Postal Service (USPS) released on February 10, 2011 the Ronald Reagan (Forever®) commemorative stamp. Valued at 44-cents, the stamp was designed by Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, Maryland.

The issuance of the stamp marks the centennial of the birth of Ronald Reagan (1911-2004), who was America's 40th President. The stamp issuance is among a number of centennial events that will take place in the United States this year to commemorate Reagan's life and legacy.

The stamp art by Bart Forbes, Plano, Texas, was created in oil wash on board and was based on a photograph of Reagan taken in 1985 during his presidency, at "Rancho del Cielo" (Ranch in the Sky), near Santa Barbara, California.

Anime Characters Highlight Japan 2011 International Stamp Exhibition

On February 8, 2011, the Japan International Stamp Exhibition opens at the Pacific Yokohama.

This event aims to promote overseas Japanese postage stamps as evidence of the improvement and development of philately in Japan. It also wants to increase international friendship through cultural stamps exchange.

Highlight of this year’s International Stamp Exhibition is the promotion of Japanese anime. A part of the country’s cultural history, it gained popularity among different people regardless of their age and nationality.

Featured on the stamps are famous Japanese Anime characters - Astro Boy, Doraemon, Pokemon, Hello Kitty and wildlife cartoon characters.