Remember, folks. The President you elect today owns the head you’ll be licking tomorrow.
politics
Queen: 1. Punk: 0.
Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, turned 90 on April 21st, but she’s stretching celebrations out all the way from April until June, because She’s The Queen So Suck It Plebs.
Last year I wrote about Australia’s tradition of marking Her Majesty’s birthday with a stamp issue. In that post, I may have inadvertently given readers the impression that I’m not a fan, with ambiguous phrases such as “pointless allegiance to Empire”, “another country’s monarch is irrelevant to a nation half a planet away in the 21st century”, and “reliably some of the dullest Australian stamp issues each year”.
Well, didn’t I have to swallow my republican tongue with this year’s issue. I didn’t mention it here when it was released, but I keep seeing it at the Post Office, and it is no less stunning for the delay.
It’s all about this Australian Golden Wattle diamond brooch. Continue reading
Princess stamps? AMAZEBALLS
OMG YOU GUYS I INTERRUPT MY TEMPORARY BLOG BROWNOUT TO BRING YOU THIS AMAZING NEWS THAT I JUST SAW ON THE AUSTRALIA POST WEBSITE!!!
A BABY WAS BORN ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD OVER THREE MONTHS AGO AND SOON WE WILL HAVE STAMPS ABOUT IT!!! Continue reading
The Queen isn’t dead. Long live the Queen!
Due to general busy-ness I’ve missed a few Australian releases of late. But I thought Aussie Post did a decent job of the Centenary of the Anzac landing, amid the appalling jingoism currently en vogue down under. No doubt they’ll release some hideous and overpriced Anzac-themed ‘Impressions’ products at year’s end, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Then we’ll blow it up behind us so the Germans won’t get us. Continue reading
USA portraits – and the best stamp they never released
Credit where it’s due. How well does the United States Postal Service do portrait stamps?
It’s got a head start, being in America and all. With its entrepreneurial spirit, vibrant cultural scene, and comprehensive disenfranchisement of minorities, the USA is never short of an innovator, an envelope-pusher or a trailblazer to honour on a stamp.
Take the Maya Angelou stamp that’s out on April 7. No frills, just elegance and eloquence. A dignified tribute. I was gobsmacked to read that the image is that of a painting (!) – an oil-on-canvas number by Ross Rossin that resides in the National Portrait Gallery. Look at that face, and imagine the stories it could tell. Continue reading
