Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Monday, October 17, 2011
Spanish Football Stamps 2011
From then on, and up till its success in the World Championship in 2010, almost a hundred years later, the history of the National Team has had its ups and downs in its sporting achievements. The milestones in its history are the historical goals by Zarra, Marcelino, Torres and Iniesta, and those players who have become true football symbols such as Pichichi, Zarra and Ricardo Zamora.Amongst its biggest triumphs are the UEFA Eurocup in 1964, the Olympics in 1992, the 2008 European Championship and the 2010 World Cup.The ten stamps depict both the relevant scenarios that have accompanied the greatest achievements and the characters in the history of the National Team looked upon as symbols of national football.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Friday, October 14, 2011
Slovenia Stamps : 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Medal Winnes
Post of Slovenia issued Commemorative stamps on 24 June 2010, which will pay tribute to two Slovene Olympic medal winners in Vancouver – Tina Maze and Petra Majdič. The two silver and bronze medals won by them represent the most remarkable achievement that Slovene sportswomen ever produced.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
China : 2008 Beijing Olympic Venues
China Agricultural University Gymnasium :
The China Agricultural University Gymnasium (simplified Chinese: 中国农业大学体育馆; traditional Chinese: 中國農業大學體育館; pinyin: Zhōngguó Nóngyè Dàxué Tǐyùguǎn) is an indoor arena located on the campus of the China Agricultural University in Beijing. It hosted the wrestling events of the 2008 Summer Olympics. The Gymnasium's rooftop has a staggered, stair-like design.
It covers an area of 23,950 square metres and has a capacity of 8,200 which will be reduced to 6000. It will also be turned into a sports complex for students of the China Agricultural University after the Olympic Games.
Construction started the first half of 2005 and was completed in July 2007.
Laoshan Mountain Bike Course :
The Laoshan Mountain Bike Course (simplified Chinese: 老山山地自行车场; traditional Chinese: 老山山地自行車場; pinyin: Lǎoshān Shāndì Zìxíngchē Chǎng) is a mountain bike cycling venue located in western Beijing, China adjacent to the Laoshan Velodrome. It began its renovation and expansion program in May 2006.
The course hosted the mountain bike competitions of the 2008 Summer Olympics.
The project involves a competition course of 4.6 kilometres in circumference, a fixed building with a floor space of 8,275 square metres, a temporary spectator stand that seats 2,000 and other temporary facilities for competitions.
The project was completed in the second half of 2007 and became a training base for the Chinese cycling team. It was also opened to the public after the 2008 Games.
Peking University Gymnasium:
Peking University Gymnasium (simplified Chinese: 北京大学体育馆; traditional Chinese: 北京大學體育館; pinyin: Běijīng Dàxué Tǐyùguǎn), nicknamed China's Spine (simplified Chinese: 中国脊; traditional Chinese: 中國脊; pinyin: Zhōngguó Jǐ), is an indoor arena located in the southeastern part of Peking University in Beijing, China.
The gymnasium was constructed for the 2008 Summer Olympics and hosted the table tennis events of the 2008 Summer Olympics and the Paralympics. The gymnasium is the first in the world specifically designed for table tennis.
The gymnasium has a floor space of 26,900 m², 6,000 permanent seats and 2,000 temporary seats. It was completed in August 2007.
National Indoor Stadium :
The Beijing National Indoor Stadium, also known as the National Indoor Stadium (simplified Chinese: 国家体育馆; traditional Chinese: 國家體育館; pinyin: Guójiā Tǐyùguǎn), is an indoor arena that is located in the Olympic Green in Beijing, China. The stadium was constructed for the 2008 Summer Olympics. It is nicknamed the Fan (扇子, shānzi) due to its design resembling a traditional Chinese folding fan.
The stadium opened its doors on November 26, 2007 for the artistic Gymnastics test event.
At the 2008 Olympics, it hosted the Artistic Gymnastics, Trampolining, and Handball events. After the Olympics, the stadium can be used for sports competition, cultural and entertaining purposes, and will serve as a multi-functional exercise center for local residents.
The stadium has a capacity of 18,000 people.
National Aquatics Center :
The Beijing National Aquatics Center (simplified Chinese: 北京国家游泳中心; traditional Chinese: 北京國家游泳中心), also officially known as the National Aquatics Center, and colloquially known as the Water Cube (Chinese: 水立方), is an aquatics center that was built alongside Beijing National Stadium in the Olympic Green for the swimming competitions of the 2008 Summer Olympics. Despite its nickname, the building is not an actual cube, but a cuboid (a rectangular box). Ground was broken on December 24, 2003, and the Center was completed and handed over for use on January 28, 2008. Swimmers at the Water Cube broke 25 world records during the 2008 Olympics.
After the Olympics, the building underwent a 200 million Yuan revamp to turn half of its interior into a water park. The building officially re-opened on August 8, 2010
Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center :
The Qingdao International Sailing Centre (simplified Chinese: 青岛奥林匹克帆船中心; traditional Chinese: 青島奧林匹克帆船中心; pinyin: Qīngdǎo Àolínpǐkè Fānchuán Zhōngxīn) is a sailing marina located on the former site of the Beihai Shipyard by Qingdao's Fushan Bay at Shandong Province in China. It was constructed for the 2008 Summer Olympics. It hosted the Olympic and Paralympic Sailing competitions. Wind conditions vary greatly from very light winds to +15knots. During the Olympic competitions, fog was also an occasional factor.
The venue hosted “Good Luck Beijing - 2006" and in May 2008, the IFDS Qingdao International Regatta, where Olympic and Paralympic sailors got a headstart on familiarizing themselves with the venue and weather conditions.
Slovenia : 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist
Primož Kozmus (born September 30, 1979 in Novo Mesto) is a Slovenian hammer thrower and the current Olympic champion. His gold medals in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and the 2009 World Championships in Berlin made him the first ever Slovenian athlete to win both titles.His personal best throw and Slovenian record is 82.58 metres, achieved in September 2009 in Celje, Slovenia.
On 8 October 2009, Kozmus unexpectedly announced his temporary retirement from athletics. On 25 October 2010, he announced his return. After moderate achievements in the 2011 season, Kozmus stated his goal at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics was to place in the top eight in the finals. Still, he won bronze with 79.39 m.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Slovakia Stamp: 2010 Winter Olympic Games Vancouver
Date of Issue: 15. 01. 2010
Face value: 1 €
Dimensions: 40,4 x 27,2 mm
Layout/Format: TL
Stamps per TL: 50
Number in set: 1
Stamp designer: Peter Uchnár
Printer: Poštovní tiskárna cenin Praha, a. s.
Print technology: Offset
FDC designer: Peter Uchnár
FDC engraver: Arnold Feke
Cancellation design: Peter Uchnár
FDC Printer: TAB, s. r. o., Bratislava
FDC Print technology: WAITE
Friday, October 7, 2011
Liechtenstien Stamps: Winter Olympic Games Vancouver 2010
By longstanding tradition Liechtenstein issues special series of stamps for each Winter and Summer Olympic Games. What started in 1964 with the first official Liechtenstein Olympic stamp, on which the flags of the two host countries Austria (Innsbruck – Winter) and Japan (Tokyo – Summer) were jointly featured, has been regularly continued since the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich and will be continued this year too to mark the XXI Winter Games in Vancouver (Canada). As for last year’s Olympic stamp (Peking 2008), for this series too an artist from the country hosting the Games has been sought and found. Mark Heine is the Canadian artist entrusted with the task of supplying the artwork for this series and has created two large-format dynamic oil paintings, the first showing a downhill racer in the Alpine Skiing programme (face value CHF 1.00) and the second a cross-country skier in the Nordic Skiing programme (face value CHF 1.80). The sportsmen are shown in the new kit, which when the stamps were printed was still completely unknown to the general public. These outfits are intended to enable Liechtenstein’s winter athletes to continue the great successes of earlier years and perhaps help to bring about another sporting triumph. The time is surely ripe.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Happy Dasara (Happy Dassehra & Vijayadashmi)
Dussehra is a popular festival celebrated by Hindus all over India, albeit with different names. It is also known as Vijayadashmi ('Vijay' meaning 'victory' and 'Dashmi meaning 'tenth day), as it is believed that it was on this day that Lord Rama killed the demon-king, Ravana and rescued his abducted wife - Sita. In other words, it signifies the triumph of good over evil. The legendary triumph is reenacted to the day. In the northern parts of India, huge effigies of Ravana, his giant brother Kumbhkarna and son Meghnath are placed in vast open grounds. Fireworks and crackers are placed inside the effigies.
Actors dressed as Rama, his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana enact the final moments of the battle, at the Ramlila ground. After the enactment of the climax of the war with Ravana, the character playing Rama shoots an arrow with a flaming tip at the effigies from a safe distance and the crowd bursts up in cheer, as the crackers catch fire. The enthusiasm and the cheers sometimes even drown the deafening blast. Merriment ensues, as people indulge themselves games, dance and music that are held at the fair.Bengalis celebrate Dusshera as a part of their main festival - Durga Puja. This day marks the end of Durga Pooja celebrations, the preceding nine days being collectively referred to as 'Navratri'. Vijayadashmi is dedicated to Mother Goddess Shakti, who incarnated in the form of Goddess Durga, a combined manifestation of the divine energies of the Holy Trinity - Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh and all the other devatas, when they summoned her to kill the mighty demon known as Mahishasura and freed the world from his terror.
On Vijayadashmi, the idols of Goddess Durga are immersed into water, after the nine days of festivities. It is said that the people of the earth in the eastern state of West Bengal adopted Durga as their daughter and thus, she visits the home of her parents every year, during the last four days of Navratri, along with her sons Ganesha and Kartikeya, and daughters Lakshmi and Saraswati. She finally leaves for her husband's place on Vijayadashmi. Similar customs are seen in Orissa and Assam. In the North-eastern state of Tripura, huge fairs are conducted and effigies of Ravana, Meghnath and Kumbhkarna are burnts at Ramlila maidans.
In the southern states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, Vijayadashmi holds special significance. The day is considered auspicious for starting education or any form of art, such as dance and music. Saraswati Puja is conducted on the day, when the formal commencement of education of small kids takes place. It is called 'Vidya aarambham' (the beginning of Vidya, meaning education). In Karnataka (especially Mysore) and Andhra Pradesh, Dusshera is celebrated with fanfare. Huge processions can be witnessed in both the States. Although Dussehra is celebrated in different ways across India, the motive remains the same - to spread good cheer and celebrate the victory of good over the evil.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
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