Long gone are the days when a columnist, or even a publication, can thoroughly cover the massive amount of new issues being released by increasing amount of stamp issuing entities. Tragically, even the United States Postal Service has succumbed to the lure of using popular themes to squeeze as much out of stamp collectors as possible. Meanwhile, obscure (and often non-legitimate) nations in the former Soviet Union are even releasing stamps depicting President Clinton, Monica Lewinsky, and Kenneth Starr. Although this flood of new issues has made topical collecting more popular than ever, it is not about these "hyped" issues that I wish to write.

For generations, stamp collecting has been known for its ability to teach history, geography, and other fields of knowledge to children (and adults!) in a fun and easily approachable manner. I doubt that many people require stamps to learn about Elvis Presley, Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, or Monica Lewinsky. On the other hand, how many collectors know about the native dances of Papua New Guinea, the architecture of modern Germany, or the stories behind the Catholic Saints and Popes depicted on Vatican City stamps?

So, while I have no desire to condemn anyone who chooses to collect Disney stamps or Dinosaur topicals, with literally dozens of press releases arriving in my mail every week, my focus will usually be on issues that might normally go unnoticed. I will use a simple criteria in selecting new issues to write about: the stamps will be issued by a genuine postal entity, the face values of the stamps will actually correspond to postal rates for that nation, and the topic of the stamps will have a firm connection to the issuing country.

By sticking to this criteria, I will be able to use new issues to bring readers closer to the many diverse cultures and histories of nations from all parts of the globe. Austria has every right to issue stamps about one of its greatest natives, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, but I never have figured out the connection between Michael Jackson and the tiny island of St. Vincent. I certainly do not mean to imply that I will not ever write about a St. Vincent new issue, but only that the stamps will have to deal with a legitimate topic for this island such as its native wildlife or culture.

In this manner, we can prepare to journey through the natural, cultural, and historical aspects of a wide variety of nations--and avoid becoming a philatelic tabloid.