Sunday Stamps - (I) Ingmar and Ingrid from Sweden

For the letter I - Ingmar Bergman and Ingrid Bergman

(L) 2018 - Sweden - Ingmar Bergman Centenary

Design: Eva Wilsson

(R) 2015 - USA - Legends of Hollywood

Photographer: Laszlo Willinger (1940)

Searching for stamps to feature for the letter I, I was intrigued when I saw these two Bergmans. They share the same family name but are not related to each other. They shared professional work in the film industry though.

The stamp on the left is one of the two designs issued by PostNord in commemoration of the life of Ingmar Bergman. He is considered to be among the most accomplished and influential filmmakers of all time. The film, Persona, featured on this stamp is considered by Bergman himself as one of his most important works.

Thanks to Monica of Beyond the Lone Islands for sending me a postcard from Boras, Sweden with this stamp.

On the right is Ingrid Bergman, also famously known as Ilsa Lund, her character in the film classic, Casablanca. Ingrid is in the list of 100 Famous Actresses of Hollywood's Golden Era (1930 - 1959).

For more stamps with the letter "I", visit See It On A Postcard

P.S. As I'm still locked out from my linky account and I'm yet to receive a response from the page administrator, I decided to step back and cancel the recommence of the Postcard for the Weekend linky. I deeply apologize for the false excitement over this. 

Sunday Stamps - (C) Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden

For the letter C - Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden

2016 - Sweden - Royal Anniversaries

Photographer: Anna-Lena Ahlström

The stamp was issued on 17 March 2016 to mark the 70th birthday of the Swedish king and the 40th anniversary of his wedding to Queen Silvia. With King Carl XVI Gustaf on this stamp is Princess Victoria, heir apparent and Princess Estelle, 2nd in line to the Swedish throne.

For more stamps with the letter "C" - visit See It On A Postcard

Postcards for the weekend 43: Iconic person

UK Trip Spring Trip 2012 Souvenir Postcard

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, needless to say, she's such an icon of all monarch figures. It's sad that the postcard is damaged on top of her right eye ...

A lone postcard post this evening, folks. I'm too tired both from work and domestic series of unfortunate events. I published an entry 20 mins ago, only to realized that the city view (day time) theme is for next weekend! Glad I noticed before I go to bed!

~maria

Sunday Stamps: Humorous or odd

 

Charlie Chaplin is fondly remembered in many countries. This stamp is issued on 12 April 2014 by the Österreichische Post in commemoration of his 125th birthday.

For humorous or odd @ See it on a postcard

~maria

Sunday Stamps: Western hemisphere

According to reference.com, the United States of America is always included in the list of western hemisphere countries since such a small portion lies in the eastern hemisphere. As such for my contribution to Sunday Stamps this weekend, I'm sharing USA stamps I received with famous American personalities from the field of literature and performing arts.

Top row, L-R

1973 August 13 8 cents stamp, Robinson Jeffers

A poet and an icon of the environmental movement

2015 September 18 Forever USA, Paul Newman

An actor and philanthropist

2011 April 11 Forever USA, Charlton Heston

An actor and political activist

2015 April 7 Forever USA, Maya Angelou

A poet and civil rights activist

Bottom row, L-R

1998 July 15 32 c. Mahalia Jackson

A gospel singer and civil rights activist

2013 May 15 Forever USA, Lydia Mendoza

A pioneer of American-Mexican music

2013 September 23 Forever USA, Ray Charles

The pioneer of the music genre, soul 

2013 June 05 Forever USA, Johnny Cash

One of the most influential musicians of the 20th century

~maria

Marie Curie's Day

US-1821803, Sender: Amy
Sent: 16 Aug 2012 from Louisville, KY
Received: 16 Oct 2012, Traveled 13,529 km in 61 days

The Philippines' medical physicists community is joining the world in celebrating the first International Day of Medical Physics. The date is 7 November 2013, birthday of Marie Sklodowska-Curie. She's a Polish scientist, whom with her husband Pierre, won the 1903 Nobel Prize for Physics for the isolation of radium and polonium. In 1911, she became the first person to receive a second Nobel Prize, for further research into the properties of radium.

We're doing two programs for the celebration. First we had unveiling of portraits of the Pillars of Medical Physics in the Philippines on 7 November. Then tomorrow, we'll have a colloquium on radiation protection and safety. We're currently experiencing the strength of the super typhoon Haiyan. Hopefully tomorrow, the weather will be better and that we can have another happy photo like the ones we had yesterday.

I'm off to bed for now as it's gonna be a long and busy Saturday for me and my colleagues. I'm on the scientific committee. There's a high chance that my committee-mates won't be around ... 1 is stranded at fieldwork because of the typhoon, and another 1 is strapped to a wheelchair due to a recent ACL surgery. Wish me luck! 

But oh, before I finally sign out for tonight, happy Postcard Friendship Friday folks! I wish us all many nice postcards to view and a great weather for the weekend!

~maria

Nobel Laureates in Chemistry & Physics

Petrus Josephus Wilhelmus Debije, a Dutch-American physicist and physical chemist, Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1936.

Melvin Calvin, an American Chemist, Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1961.

Frits Zernike, a Dutch physicist, Nobel Prize for Physics in 1953.

Maria Goeppert Mayer, a German-American physicist, Nobel Prize for Physics in 1963.

The theme this week for Viridian's Sunday Stamps is Industry, interpreted broadly. I honestly had to look up the meaning of industry -- The Merriam-Webster online defined it as noun, the process of making products by using machinery and factories. I decided to feature scientists, more specifically Nobel laureates for this theme. Their discoveries are the core concepts of many processes in production of almost everything in factories. 

I am a physicist in profession but whenever I read about the works of other scientists, I am ashamed to call myself one... much respect and admiration for their brilliant minds!

~maria

Albert Einstein: Self-Portrait

Albert Einstein, c. mid-1920's
Photograph courtesy of American Institute of Physics - Niels Bohr Laboratory
US-1897546, Sender: Gina, Sent: 3 Oct 2012 from Williamsburg, Virginia
Received: 17 Dec 2012, Traveled 13,972 km in 75 days

"One doesn't need to understand the world, it's enough to find one's way around it."
DE-1388891, Sender: Alare, Sent: 21 May 2012 from Cologne, Germany
Received: 8 June 2012, Traveled 10, 339 km in 18 days

Mass-Energy Equivalence
FI-1544668, Sender: Plp, Sent: 22 Sep 2012 from Espoo, Finland
Received: 5 Oct 2012, Traveled 8,952 km in 12 days

August 2013 is Inventor's Month. Before it ends, I wish to share some of my Einstein postcards and also one of my favorite essays of him from the book, Albert Einstein: Out Of My Later Years. --

Self-Portrait

Of what is significant in one's own existence one is hardly aware, and it certainly should not bother the other fellow. What does a fish know about the water in which he swims all his life?

The bitter and the sweet come from the outside, the hard from within, from one's own efforts. For the most part I do the thing which my own nature drives me to do. It is embarrassing to earn so much respect and love for it. Arrows of hate have been shot at me too; but they never hit me, because somehow they belonged to another world, with which I have no connection whatsoever.

I live in the solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity.

The English translation of the quote on the second postcard was by the sender. Thinking deeper of it, I believe it's a shorter version of the essay I found on the book.

Sharing these postcards for Beth's Postcard Friendship Friday. Wishing every one a relaxing weekend.

~maria

Pope John Paul II

This post was inspired by Hawwa's Palais des Papes stamp from last week's Sunday Stamps.

I have always been drawn into the amiable countenance of Pope John Paul II. I won't comment about him as pope cause I am not an avid follower of the Holy See. But will say and I believe he's one truly amazing person. He's got a great bio: being chosen as the first non-Italian pope in more than four hundred years in the Roman Catholic faith, second longest serving pope in history, and one of the most traveled world leaders -- having visited 129 countries as a pope. 

Pastoral Visit of Pope John Paul II to Poland, released 2 June 2004

Pope John Paul II's real name is Karol Józef Wojtyla. He was born on 18 May 1920 in Wadowice, Poland. He finished his religious studies in a secret seminary in Krakow after World War II. He continued his studies in Rome. Then returned to Poland to serve.

Traces of Karol Wojtyla, released 18 May 2010
Church of St. Peter the Apostle in Wadowice
and the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Wadowice

He became pope in 1978. He was a charismatic religious leader but also had his critics. He survived an assassination in 1981 in St. Peter's Square, Vatican City. He was more loved when he forgave his assassin. He died on 2 April 2005 at his Vatican residence from an illness. Three million people came to mourn and say good bye during his funeral.

He was beatified on 1 May 2011. To read more about Pope John Paul II, here's a link for a Uncle Wiki's article about him. 

Have a great week ahead everyone. I've been sick, my wallet got stolen and my laptop crashed so I'm not in very good spirits lately. But I'm grateful my laptop was revived, I didn't lose a lot of important files, and I can post for Sunday Stamps before June ends. I will go on hiatus for a month to prepare for the final assessment of my clinical residency at the end of July. 

Au revoir,

~maria

The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge

A postcard I sent to myself ;-)
Sent: 29 May 2012, Sent from Slough, United Kingdom
Received: 19 June 2012, Traveled 10782.5 km in 22 days

His Royal Highness Prince William the Duke of Cambridge and Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge is another beautiful royal couple. To continue my love and romance theme for the month of June, let me share an excerpt from the prayer they made for their wedding back in 2011:

In the busyness of each day, keep our eyes fixed on what is real and important in life and help us to be generous with our time and love and energy.

I hope their story will continue to blossom and be as wonderful as that of their grandparents, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.

~maria

Queen Elizabeth & Prince Philip

A postcard I sent to myself ;-)
Sent: 3 June 2012, Sent from London Heathrow Airport
Received: 20 June 2012, Traveled 10,748 km in 17 days

The theme for my Postcard Friendship Friday post today is a continuation from last week, on love and romance. (Actually, I think I'm sticking to this theme for the whole month.)

I am a fan of this royal couple: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness Prince Philip The Duke of Edinburgh. I won't write lengthy and colorful praises anymore of their 65 years of marriage; that's already everywhere in print and in the net. I'm sharing the postcard because I've been reading news about Prince Philip being sick. That makes me ponder deep on the sorrow it brings to Queen Elizabeth. I know, it's completely none of my business... But I bet that sorrow is more than all the sorrows she's encountered all these years of being a monarch combined altogether...even though she's also in her senior years now herself.

I was stranger to this fear. Falling in love with my bestfriend, thinking ahead, and imagining losing him -- it's one of the worst thoughts in the world! Again, I know, I shouldn't worry about this. We're young, just starting in a romantic relationship... But you know sometimes, you just can't help it. Can you imagine your life without that very special person who's always been at your side; your constant strength and guide? I can't. Well, we argue, we fight, and we have our misunderstandings too. But the feeling remains the same, he's one person I can't ever imagine living without.

Ok. Erase those dim thoughts. Back into the happy and inspiring emotions whenever we think of romance and love. In my admiration of this couple, let me share here excerpts from the speeches they made on their 50th wedding anniversary:

The main lesson we've learned is that tolerance is the one central ingredient of any happy marriage. It might not be so important when things are going well but it is absolutely vital when things get difficult.

 - Prince Philip, 1997

He has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I, his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater that he would ever claim or we shall ever know.

- Queen Elizabeth, 1997

I won't be a queen like her but I've learned that regardless of social status, everyone have to struggle and  make sacrifices like anybody else. I hope that all couples I know and would come to know, will learn the same tolerance similar to Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. And that every man and woman who pledged their love, may always be the strength and guide of each other, specially when troubles challenge their relationship.

~maria