Fernando Poe Jr. (National Artist for Cinema)

It's official! Fernando Poe Jr. popularly known as Da King or FPJ was formally conferred the National Artist for Cinema post humous award on August 16, 2012 by President Benigno "Noynoy" S. Aquino III.

 

View the stamps here...

Cebu Stamp Club's July 2012 Stamp Meeup

Unmindful of the typhoon weather, some Cebu Stamp Club members came for the July 2012 meeting held at the 2nd floor of McDonald's Jones. We appreciate the effort of those who came despite the very bad weather.

Check out the photos here..

It's Dr. Jose Rizal's Birthday!

Today is the Philippines' national hero's birthday, Happy birthday Dr. Jose Rizal! 

In my own little way, I always make it a point to pay tribute to this great Filipino through my stamps. Through Cebu Stamp Club, exhibits were held in different venues here in Cebu featuring my Rizal and Rizaliana philatelic collections.

Featured above is a replica of the Rizal monument I purchased from a local bookstore. I just placed two stamps featuring Jose Rizal that were issued during the American period in the Philippines.    

2012 Philippines First Day Cover Album Pages (January - Aprl)

I am glad that it's a holiday today being Labor Day. This enabled me to have the time I needed  to make the album pages for my 2012 Official First Day Covers from January to April released by the Philippine Postal Corporation (Philpost).

The fdc pages are printed in A4 high gloss waterproof photo paper and printed using a desktop printer. After mounting the fdcs, I then inserted the pages on a clear book album.

This personalized album beautifully features the artistic cachets of the covers as well as the stamps, souvenir sheets and first day of issue cancellations.

The January to April official fdc issues highlight the following: 60th Year of the Lyceum University of the Philippines, the Centennial of The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the Philippines, 50th Anniversary of the Diocese of Malolos, 75th Anniversary of Davao City, the Centennial of the Ateneo de Zamboanga University, 100th Anniversary of the St. Agnes Academy of Legazpi City, Philippine Folklore Heroes and Heroines Featuring Maria Makiling, 50th Year of the Asia Pacific Postal Union, and the 20th Anniversary of the Philippine Postal Corporation (Philpost).     

   

James Bond 007 @ 50

Royal Mail has come up on May 1, 2012 with a special limited edition commemorative sheet that highlights the 50th anniversary of the James Bond 007 series.

Bond fans were given the opportunity to vote for the 10 iconic Bond movie posters from the 22 Bond movies that will be featured in the sheet. 

The poster art is used on ten stamp labels, alongside ten Union Flag stamps. The sheet is beautifully presented in an attractive ‘golden’ anniversary pack, with a backing card carrying stills from all the Bond films featured, as well as a précis of each plot, dates of release and the names of the main characters and who played them.

The featured films are Casino Royale, From Russia with Love, Dr No, For Your Eyes Only, Goldeneye, Goldfinger, The Living Daylights, Live and Let Die, Moonraker, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

Canada's Titanic Stamps

Today marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic which hit an iceberg and sank in the North Atlantic that claimed 1,500 lives. The Titanic was almost 280 meters (883 feet) in length and was the largest passenger steamship in the world at that time. 

 

To commemorate this famous maritime disaster, Canada Post issued on April 5, 2012 stamps depicting various parts of the titanic created by designers Dennis Page and Oliver Hill of Halifax.

The RMS Titanic's enormous bow and two front anchors appear in the center of the first pair of the stamps. Southampton (England), the place were the Titanic's maiden voyage began is shown. On the left is Halifax (Nova Scotia, Canada) which became the center of recovery efforts after the ship sank.

The second stamp pair shows the 3 propellers that were located at the rear of the ship—2 larger outer propellers and a smaller center propeller. At the bottom of each stamp sits the House Flag of the White Star Line, the owner of the Titanic. This iconic red flag flew from the Titanic's main mast and was also displayed on her tickets, cutlery and furniture.

A fifth stamp shows the Titanic at sea between Southampton and Halifax. Cape Race, N.L., is highlighted because its radio station was the first land-based site to receive the ill-fated ship's distress signal. Halifax played a major role in the Titanic story when the city's cable ships were dispatched to pick up bodies from the Atlantic in the days after the accident. 150 people whose bodies were recovered were laid to rest in the city's three cemeteries.

A Souvenir Sheet features the international rate stamp, which depicts a full color side illustration of the Titanic.

Included in this year's centennial activities is the re-release of James Cameron's Titanic movie in 3D.

Eight Churches in a Day

Earlier today, me and my son Jerald Kervin decided to embark in our first ever visita iglesias that would involve eight churches in the cities of Cebu and Mandaue. Excited and determined to be able to fulfill our mission, we left at almost 11:00 in the morning bringing along some chocolate fudge bars and lots of water.

We both agreed to offer five Our Father, five Hail Mary, and five Glory Be along with a thanksgiving prayer as well as intentions for our family and for the departed souls of our relatives and the poor souls in purgatory.

The churches we went were the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño, the Santo Rosario Parish and the Our Lady of Lourdes Parish. Feeling hungry at this time, we decided to have lunch at a Jollibee Restaurant where we ordered fried bangus (milk fish) with fresh tomatoes, rice, coke sodas and french fries. We stuck with Church tradition to refrain from eating beef, pork and chicken meat from Thursday till Saturday.

We then proceeded to Redemptorist Church while having some potato chips and chocolate drinks along the way. After our prayers at the said church and with the scorching heat of the sun, we decided to have some ice cream bars at a nearby Julie's outlet. Mine was Rocky Road while Kervin got his favorite Double Duch. Our next stop was the St. Joseph the Patriarch Parish, the last church in our list located in Cebu City.

The next itinerary were the two churches in Mandaue City. We arrived at the National Shrine of St. Joseph where we were just in time for the general absolution ceremony. The last church we went was the San Roque Parish. After our prayers were done and some souvenir poses, we both agreed to go home where we arrived at exactly 5 pm.
 
Both of us never thought this would be a great bonding and a fulfilling experience but it truly was! At this early, we have promised to make this a family tradition.