Michel Block
Monday, February 1st, 2010Michel Block
whatever happened to?
the music group kool skool,new kids on the block,peter gabriel,men at large,village people are they dead yet?milli vanilli color me bad,vanilla ice,willie nelson,sinead o,connor,karen white,michel'le,and the o'jays?thats all i can think of for now can you help me?
You got a list! The light skinned guy from Milli Vanilli killed himself, Willie Nelson is still going strong. Sinead is somewhere high, Michel'e got kids I bet, Karen White married record producer Terry Lewis and she don't ever have to work again with that money, Vanilla Ice is doing corney reality shows, Village people are in hiding with kool skool and new kids. Peter Gabriel is somewhere trying to perform, the O'Jays still kicking it touring, and Men at Large are eating Kentucky Fried Chicken as we speak. Anymore questions?
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| 1971 ROMANIA NRMICHEL BLOCK 89 MNH RARE | |
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| 1972 ROMANIA NRMICHEL BLOCK 102 MNH | |
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| 2004 ROMANIA MICHEL NR BLOCKS 341 342 MNH | |
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| EGYPT 1960 MICHEL BLOCK 3 MNH | |
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| EGYPT 1959 MICHEL BLOCK 2 MNH | |
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| EGYPT 1964 MICHEL BLOCK 7 MNH | |
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| EGYPT 1962 MICHEL BLOCK 5 MNH | |
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| EGYPT 1964 MICHEL BLOCK 8 MNH | |
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| EGYPT 1966 MICHEL BLOCK 12 MNH | |
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| EGYPT 1961 MICHEL BLOCK 4 MNH | |
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| EGYPT 1967 MICHEL BLOCK 13 MNH | |
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| EGYPT 1966 MICHEL BLOCK 11 MNH | |
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| EGYPT 1958 MICHEL BLOCK 1 MNH | |
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| 2004 ROMANIA MICHEL NR BLOCK 347 MNH | |
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| 1980 ROMANIA NRMICHEL BLOCK 172 MNH | |
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| 2004 ROMANIA MICHEL NR BLOCK 343 MNH VERY RARE | |
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| 1937 ROMANIA COMPLETE YEAR NRMICHEL 527 546 + BLOCK MNH | |
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| HUNGARY 1940 MNH BLOCK MICHEL BL9 ARTISTS | |
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| Ajman 1969 Michel Block122 124B Kennedy 3P | |
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| Hungary FDC IMPERFORATED Sc 3141 Michel Block 199 | |
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| Hungary FDC IMPERFORATED Sc B 339 Michel Block 196 | |
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| Hungary FDC IMPERFORATED Sc 3101 Michel Block 194 | |
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| Hungary FDC IMPERFORATED Sc 3117 Michel Block 195 | |
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| 1983 ROMANIA NRMICHEL BLOCK 196 MNH | |
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| Poland MNH Michel Block 61 Black Print | |
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| Poland MNH Michel Block 74 Black Print | |
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| DG 133 215 red stereo tulips MICHEL BLOCK 6th Int Chopin Competition 1960 10 | |
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| 1978 ROMANIA NRMICHEL BLOCK 150 MNH | |
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| 1984 ROMANIA NRMICHEL BLOCK 208 MNH | |
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| 1984 ROMANIA NRMICHEL BLOCK 204 MNH RARE | |
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| Hungary FDC IMPERFORATED Sc 3085 Michel Block 191 | |
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| ANTI TUBERCULOSIS Jordan 66 IMPERF sheet of 3 Michel Block 33 MNH V965 | |
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| ANTI TUBERCULOSIS Jordan 66 IMPERF sheet of 3 Michel Block 34 MNH V966 | |
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| 1932 ROMANIA NRMICHEL BLOCK 1 ERROR MNH VERY FINE BACK ETXREMELY RARE | |
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| HUNGARY 1945 MNH MICHEL 774 777 SCOTT B175 B178 PEACE IN BLOCKS OF 4 | |
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| HUNGARY 1964 MNH MICHEL 2031 40 SCOTT 1598 1606 TOKYO OLYMPICS BLOCKS OF 2 | |
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| HUNGARY 1963 MNH MICHEL 1924 37 TRANSPORTATION BLOCKS OF 4 AUTOMATA STRIPS OF 3 | |
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| Ajman Michel Cat 747 754 A Butterflies 2 Blocks of 4 | |
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| 1946 EGYPT 1+1M SCOTT B3 MICHEL284 USED BLOCK CS03949 | |
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| 1946 EGYPT 10+10M Sc B4 MICHEL285 USED BLOCK CS03951 | |
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| 1946 EGYPT 17+17M Sc B5 MICHEL286 USED BLOCK CS03953 | |
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| 1946 EGYPT 22+22M Sc B6 MICHEL 287 USED BLOCK CS03955 | |
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| 1985 ROMANIA NRMICHEL BLOCK 216 MNH | |
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| 2009 ROMANIA ISRAEL NRMICHEL BLOCK 456 MNH | |
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| RUSSIA 1971 KRAMSKOI BLOCK MICHEL B 70 S SHEET MNH | |
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| Japan 1951 block Towada national park Compleet with map MNH Michel number 40 | |
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| RUSSIA 1965 COMMUNICATION BLOCK MICHEL B39 S SHEET MNH | |
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| VIET NAM MICHEL 1387 PROGRESSIVE PROOF BLOCKS 4 400 | |
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| VIET NAM MICHEL 1488 PROGRESSIVE PROOF BLOCKS 4 800 | |
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| VIET NAM VIETNAM MICHEL 1488 PROOF BLOCK 4 NGAI 200 | |
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| VIET NAM VIETNAM MICHEL 1489 PROOF BLOCK 6 NGAI VF 300 | |
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| VIET NAM VIETNAM MICHEL 1934 PROOF BLOCK 4 NGAI VF 200 | |
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| VIET NAM VIETNAM MICHEL 1983 PROOF BLOCK 4 NGAI VF 400 | |
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| RyuKyu 143 block x4MNHMichel 172 Bird week 1966Swallow | |
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| Palau 324 ad blockMNHMichel 694 697 Birds 1994BoobyFrigate birdCormorant | |
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| Kuwait 583 590 ad 8 blocksMNHMichel 578 609 Birds 1073DoveHoopoeCurlew | |
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| Fujeira 356B 364B Michel imperf blocks x4MNH Birds | |
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| China PRC 2528 2529 blocks of 4MNHMichel 2562 2563 Cranes1994 | |
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| 1986 ROMANIA NRMICHEL BLOCK 230 MNH | |
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| Albania MNH Sc 744 Michel Block 24 Value 17 Euro | |
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| Albania MNH Sc 744 Michel Block 25 Value 17 Euro IMPERF | |
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| Albania MNH Sc 671 Michel Block 19 Value15 Euro IMPERF | |
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| AJMAN MICHEL BLOCK 3A4A S S MNH | |
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| AJMAN MICHEL BLOCK 3B4B IMPERF S S MNH | |
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| Albania MNH Sc 734 Michel Block 23 Value 25 EuroIMPERF | |
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| Paraguay Stamp S S MNH UPU centenary Michel block 229 | |
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| ICELAND STAMPS SMALL KOMPLEKT3 block stampsMICHEL 6370 ewro MNH | |
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| 1975 ROMANIA NRMICHEL BLOCK 123 MNH | |
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| 1945 ROMANIA NRMICHEL BLOCK 27 MNH RARE | |
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| 1941 ROMANIA NRMICHEL BLOCK 15 MNH | |
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| 1972 ROMANIA NRMICHEL BLOCK 96 MNH | |
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| 1976 ROMANIA NRMICHEL BLOCK 129 MNH RARE | |
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| 1972 ROMANIA NRMICHEL BLOCK 103 MNH | |
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| RED CROSS Bolivia Michel 1394 Block of 4 MNH VF | |
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| Hungary FDC IMPERFORATED Sc 3119 Michel Block 197 | |
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| Hungary FDC Sc 3101 S S Michel Block 194 | |
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| Hungary FDC Sc 3085 S S Michel Block 191 | |
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| 1966 ROMANIA NRMICHEL BLOCK 62 MNH | |
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| 1966 ROMANIA NRMICHEL BLOCK 61 MNH | |
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| Hungary FDC Sc 3141 S S Michel Block 199 | |
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| Hungary FDC Sc 3117 S S Michel Block 195 | |
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| Hungary FDC IMPERFORATED Sc 3151 Michel Block 200 | |
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| Germany Heuss block of four never hinged Michel Euro 28100 | |
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| Albania MNH Sc 671 Michel Block 19 Value15 Euro | |
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| Albania MNH Sc 734 Michel Block 22 Value 25 Euro | |
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| Hungary FDC IMPERFORATED Sc 3071 Michel Block 189 | |
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| HUNGARY 1965 1966 MNH MLH BLOCKS MICHEL BL 49 BL 51 BL 54 STAMPDAY SPORTS | |
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| Hungary FDC IMPERFORATED Sc 3093 Michel Block 192 | |
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| TURKEY 1951 MICHEL BLOCK 4 S SHEET MNH | |
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| Bulgaria MNH Michel Block 137 CV 6000 DM | |
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| 1963 ROMANIA COMPLETE YEAR NRMICHEL 2125 2228 + BLOCKS MNH | |
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| YUGOSLAVIA 1932 MICHEL 243 248 PAREUROPA SET BLOCK 4 MINT NEVER HINGED | |
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| YUGOSLAVIA MICHEL 340c 347c 426 427 PERF 115 x 125 BLOCK 4 MINT NEVER HINGED | |
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| 1945 ROMANIA COMPLETE YEAR NRMICHEL 827 920 + BLOCKS MNH | |
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| AJMAN SPACE APOLLO 8 MICHEL BLOCK 68A | |
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| 1946 ROMANIA COMPLETE YEAR NRMICHEL 921 1017 + BLOCKS MNH | |
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| UMM AL QIWAIN MICHEL BLOCK 3A MNH | |
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What To Say When There's Nothing to Say
If you're anything like me, you'll have days when you wake up in the morning with that feeling of dread: when I get back to my creative work, I won't have anything to say.
It's an awful feeling. The ground seems to fall away from under me and in its place arises. P A N I C! The brain takes over, accelerates to hyperwarp speed and zooms off in its familiar search mode, rushing hither and yon in sheer desperation to find something intelligent to say. Something that makes some sense, that communicates something of importance, that will astound my readers with my wisdom and the depth of my experience and knowledge. Something that will contribute in some significant way to the well-being of this troubled world and my fellow-citizens. Something that will, well, validate me and make me feel good about myself.
Oh, and the counterpoint of course is this: if I don't have anything to say, I'm worse than useless. I'm a parasite. I'm a fraud. I know it's pretty stupid thinking, really. But the feeling is a real one.
So what to do about it? First thing, of course, as always, is to take a breath. One of the well-known human responses to panic is to stop breathing—as though that would help! So it's important to sit quietly and restore this simple and most basic act by consciously observing the breath as it enters and leaves the body, and allowing it gradually to replace the brain activity with its calming discipline. Breathing out, breathing in. And when you think of it, that in itself is inspiration, isn't it?
That done, I personally have several games I play to get back into the process of creation. Because that's what it's about: creative work is never, for me, about "saying something." It's about process. It's a dance, an interaction with medium, no matter what your medium might be: words, paint, clay, song, musical notes. As a French poet said, poetry is not a use of language; it's a madness inside language. The need to have "something to say" is no more than a barrier we put up when we're too worried, too scared, too timid, too mistrustful to let it out and damn the consequences.
(I wrote a book once whose title was"While I Am Not Afraid." The title—which said a lot about the spirit in which the book was written—came from a marvelous text by the photographer Duane Michels, which he used as a companion piece to the photograph of a male nude. It said this:
Let me write this now,
This very moment,
While I am still foolish,
Before I become sensible again
And know better;
And while I am not afraid
To say things out loud.
A text, in my book, to live by!)
So then, one of the games I play is to prolong my breath-recovery into an actual meditation session in which I purposefully try to nudge all intruding thoughts away and give the mind the simplest (and hardest!) of all tasks: to focus exclusively on the breath itself. What happens most frequently when I succeed is that the unconscious mind takes over and keeps working while my brain is busy with its concentration on the breath; when I open my eyes and return to the normal state of being, guess what? The unconscious mind has done the spadework for me. The words start effortlessly to flow. I'm ready to go.
Another game also requires some quiet reflection time: I tell myself the story of yesterday. It's not necessarily a narrative that comes up—although it might be. Very often, though, it's a single moment, an event, a mini-epiphany that arises, perhaps one that I simply passed over as it occurred and allowed to disappear unnoticed and unmemorialized into the past. It could be no more than a glance from a stranger in a crowd, the movement of a hand, the expression on a face. It could be the turn not taken, the adventure passed up in favor of the familiar route. But yesterday, for me, is always filled with moments rich in opportunity, in unprocessed, unrecorded matter—an abundant source of "what to say."
As is, of course, the Now. Sometimes, I find, I have only to look around me. The images are there. The signs. The picture of my grandfather, the dog in a patch of sunlight on the carpet, the notepad on my desk with a couple of words scribbled out on it. Each moment is a complex mother lode, replete with particular and inscrutable meaning, awaiting nothing but my pick and shovel to start mining it.
Just as fruitful, as a resource for that first image, that first word, that first "idea" is the daily newspaper. You don't have to be looking for news. There's a surprising wealth of discrete images—in the photographs, the ads, the texture of the words. Pages and pages crammed with stories, people, insights, problems, conflicts. We need not take them literally. The imagination, once it's opened up and ready for adventure, can seize on anything and run with it. What happens all too frequently is that the search for that "something to say" is precisely what shuts the imagination down, turns it off, or freezes it into inertia. Meantime the opportunity is right there, staring us in the face from a common newspaper—not to mention the inexhaustible resource of books and images that others have created in their search. Don't get me started!
Not least, there are dreams and fantasies. I'm not actually very good at remembering dreams myself, though I do believe that we can train our minds to recall where they take us in our sleeping hours. Inevitably, though, when I do remember them, my dreams create wonderful paths to follow as I write them down. Again, I'm careful not to be too attached to trying to accurately recall the detail. Once I'm on the path, I tend to follow where the words and images are leading me, rather than the strict narrative of the dream. It's the medium I trust to show me where I need to go.
Whatever game I choose to play, here's the thing: it's not only ludicrous for me to tell myself that I have nothing to say. It's also a damn lie. The more honest truth is that it's impossible NOT to have anything to say. As soon as I open my mouth, complete a gesture, perform an action, no matter how seemingly trivial, I have created meaning. I have "said something." My very inaction, my paralysis says something, as does my panic.
So I take heart when that feeling surfaces. I remind myself that it's always possible to step around this self-created barrier and venture forth, beyond it, into the unknown which is where creation happens. And I try to remind myself, as I start out on that next adventure, that I'm better off if I don't have the least idea what I'm looking for until I've found it.
About the Author
Peter Clothier is the author of
The Real Bush Diaries.
Visit his Web site to learn more about his imaginary conversations with President Bush, http://www.peterclothier.com