Flag Friday XXXII

Flag Friday is a periodic discussion of the world's national flags; the project is explained and indexed here.

These discussions are about graphic design, and perhaps about nationalism and national symbolism in general. They should not be taken as critical of the countries, ideals, cultures, or people that the flags represent.

Saudi Arabia

Parsons: Doesn't like "Weapons," "Writing," or "Graven Images" on this flag, but gives it a "C+," 60/100.

Michael5000: Well, there's writing and there's Arabic calligraphy.  Placing a highly stylized rendition of the Islamic profession of faith packs a rather different spin on a flag than does, say, just sticking the word "Kansas" on that sucker.  Although it is a busy pattern, or at least a complex one, it is just a white-on-color pattern, and this lends it a bit of restraint.  And, it's easy to pick out of a lineup.

Grade: B


Senegal

Parsons: Pulling out the "Plagiarism" accusation, he gives it a "B", 70/100.

Michael5000:  For some reason, the fact that the center star is green is throwing me a little bit here.  I think it's just that the sample flag I found here is ratty and a bit off-specs.  It looks pretty good in other photos I've seen.

Grade: B+

Serbia

Parsons: says "(see Yugoslavia)"

Michael5000: When Serbia and Montenegro split the sheets in 2004, Serbia took its basic red, white, and blue tricolor and slapped a regal double-headed eagle on it.  This is, to say the least, kicking it old school.

Although busy, the eagle is certainly bad-ass, in the parlance of our times.  And the busy-ness is not completely out of control; there are only six colors (including white and two distinct reds) in use here.  But the crown seems like an odd choice for a country that, as far as I know, has no plans to reinstate a hereditary monarchy.  And the shield-on-red-white-and-blue-horizontal-tricolor gambit would seem more distinctive if Croatia, Slovakia, and Slovenia hadn't all got there first.  This look didn't even exist when I was a lad; now Eastern Europe is choked with 'em.

Grade: B-


Seychelles

Parsons: "Urrgh... ohhh... feel sick..." writes Parsons. This flag has "Bad Colours," it's "Too Busy," and it "Makes [him] Nauseous," which adds up to a "C-," 50/100.

Michael5000:   I too have a strong aversion to the radial heptcolor of the Seychelles flag.  It's distinct, yes; it's simple, yes; but it just doesn't look like a flag.  Does it?  I wanted to see it on a pole:

Well, it's festive, and maybe not as bad in motion as it is in diagram.  But still, I've got an instinctive aversion that I can't quite shake.  (I had forgotten that there was a different pre-1994 flag of Seychelles, but as soon as I saw it it was immediately familiar.  Funny how that works.)

Grade: C-


Sierra Leone

Parsons: It has "Good Colours" but it's a "Bad Tricolour."  Don't look at me, that's what he says!  "B," 70/100.

Michael5000: I am very, very fond of the Sierra Leone flag.  It has good colors, and unusual ones, and since they combine felicitously it produces a good tricolor.

I imagine that it's hard to hit the mark on those light colors, and this bit of photographic evidence suggests that the colors may be a little deeper in practice than on the drawing board.  But still.

Grade: A

It's the Book Arts!

a new occasional Thursday feature highlighting the work of Mrs.5000 and possibly friends, if they're so inclined.

"When I Heard the Learned Astronomer"
L&TM5K Reader la gringissima, 2011

3 3/4" x 3 1/4" x 1/4"
Accordion-fold book, I believe is the term.
Series Number 2/9

This piece recently arrived, without prior arrangement on our end, in the Castle5000 mailbox.  Like most occasions of good fortune, it immediately resulted in jurisdictional bickering.  I note that when I went to photograph it, I found it in the Michael5000 personal book arts collection, but I don't have any firm memory of intending to place it there.  But I digress.

The yellow band around the agreeably compact closed book simply slides off, and allows an interior of four pages -- really a continuous strip -- to unfurl.

The composition of the book makes good visual use of the page folds, but the text of the piece -- from Whitman -- is spread across the length of the entire strip. This is delightful in the hands, but is a little awkward to photograph for the vertical world of the blog:

I had intended to feature several of Mrs.5000's pieces in "It's the Book Arts!" before asking other people if they wanted to play, but if fabulous pieces are going to just land in my mailbox -- our mailbox, whatever -- I'm not going to hesitate to feature them.  It's all part of my plan to establish as normative that L&TM5K readers send in awesome gifts as a matter of course.

La gringissima is, as I understand it, fairly new to this form of book arts -- "my first paper book was made in April," she says. Obviously she has some serious tranferable skillz at her disposal.  I probably should have asked her about doing this post.

Your Thursday Boring Postcard from Michael5000

War Notabilities, Series IV.  No. 4313.
Raphael Tuck & Sons' "Photogravure" Pstcard.
ART PUBLISHERS TO THEIR MAJESTIES THE KING AND QUEEN.

Admiral the Hon. Sir Edward Meux, G.C.B, K.C.V.O.  Naval A.D.C. to the King, Commander-in Chief at Portsmouth with Nelson's "Victory" as his Flagship.  Entered the Navy in 1870.  He served in the Egyptian War and the Bombardment of Alexandria, 1882, and was made Captain in 1889.  He was Private Secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty 1894-7; commanded the Naval Brigade at Ladysmith; was in command of the Royal Yacht 1901; second in command of the Channel Fleet 1903-4; Commander of Cruiser Squadron Mediterranean Fleet, 1904-6; and Commander-in-Chief of China Station 1908-10.

Provenance: From the Grandma and Grandpa5000 Collection, Gift of Mom5000, April 2011.

The Wednesday Quiz is no longer worth anything near $101 billion

It's:

The Wednesday Quiz, in its third incarnation, is basically the same old weekly game of knowledge, intuition, inductive reasoning, and willingness to risk public embarrassment in a friendly and moderately supportive environment!!  With a minor twist that will probably make it rather difficult at first!  


Traditionally, it is a closed-book quiz.

Answers may well come out Fridayish. Or Saturdayish.

1. This country came into being in 1861 as an expansion of the monarchy of the ancient House of Savoy -- although this isn't the way it's usually it's usually talked about. It wasn't complete in its modern form, however, until losing the Franco-Prussian War convinced the French to give up a chunk that they had been hanging onto.

2. I'm told Holi is the most fun, but there's also Diwali, Navaratri, Ganesh Chaturthi, Rama Navami, Janmashtami, and plenty of others. What are they?

3. Who is no longer worth anything near $101 billion, in part because he's given $28 billion to charity?

4. It's not a liquor, it's the name of the guy who painted this:

5. Who said

Nature is a language and every new fact one learns is a new word; but it is not a language taken to pieces and dead in the dictionary, but the language put together into a most significant and universal sense. I wish to learn this language, not that I may know a new grammar, but that I may read the great book that is written in that tongue. 

He who is in love is wise and is becoming wiser, sees newly every time he looks at the object beloved, drawing from it with his eyes and his mind those virtues which it possesses. 

Every great and commanding moment in the annals of the world is the triumph of some enthusiasm.

and:

I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.

6. In what movie do we meet Mookie, Buggin' Out, and the unfortunate Radio Raheem?

7. Who convinced himself that these were trips to Indonesia?

8. The eighth most populous country in the world considers itself especially vulnerable to climate change because it is so low-lying, with most of its land below 10 meters of elevation. What country is this?

9. Of what well known organization is this the symbol?

10. The county of Tanzania was formed by the 1964 union of mainland Tanganyika and this archipelago principality, which is famous in some circles for its cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and pepper. Where are we talking about?

--

I hate quotations. Tell me what you know, in the comments.  

Song of the American Road, pt. 18

LONGWOOD GARDENS, KENNETT SQUARE, PA.
Terrace view of famed Fountain Gardens looks across acres of landscape.  Old Boxwood accents the lawn area while "cubed" Norway Maples line path behind fountain basins made of stone brought from Italy for the purpose.

Hi, I'm writing this in the P.M.  How are you?  I am fine.  I miss you.  The old building next door is being torn down.  It is 115 years old.  They are going to build another apt. build.  Must go.  Bye!  Love, Steve




PLAYHOUSE SQUARE AT NIGHT, CLEVELAND, FIFTH CITY

3-22-23  Hello Emma,  This is gay Parie at night do you ever see Margarette I think she is mad at me.  how is the world treating you.  Jimmie J.


HISTORIC MURPHY'S, CALIFORNIA
The Heart of the Gold Rush Country located in the high Sierra's provides excellent hunting and fishing for the visitors of this historic town of yesteryear.

ph. 209-7xx-xxxx.  Murphys - April 13
Dear Helen & Bill - I'm home from my trip & it was simply delightful.  Just had a letter from Grunde & am wondering if you'll be home when he comes to visit you on May 17 to 22.  He'll be here from 22 to 26 -- I plan on coming up your way about June 1st or so -- going to K-7 [?] then up to Seattle & into Canada for a few days.  Vera is fine now.  When's your trip to Europe?  Thought it was in May.  Let me know.  Love H.


WALLACE RESIDENCE CENTER
UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO


Exemplifying the most modern dormitory facilities, the Wallace Residence Center has a central cafeteria which is winged by by halls providing rooms in suites.  The suites have their own bathroom as well as study and sleeping quarters.  In each suite, four students share campus living experiences.

Hi!  How about this?  Private bath!  Melvin wasn't registered for the camp altho his mom said he was.  Hope Ed. is holding up under it all.  Keep your chins up.  Love Mom & Dad


Card #2 is a gift of L&TM5K reader Elizabeth, September 2010
Card #4 was purchased at an estate sale by Mrs.5000, October 2010

The Postage

Since it has been nearly a century since the Ottoman Empire lept into the proverbial dustbin of history, and since the dynastic land empire concept had been wearing thin even then, seeing an Ottoman postage stamp can seem a little bit like finding Pepin the Short's cell phone.  But naw, it was a country well into the era of postal service.


If I'm not mistaken, this stamp bears the "Scott number" 254, which I believe means that it is very approximately the 254th specific stamp design issued by its country, ie. the Ottoman Empire.  It was issued quite late in the game, 1914.  The folks at Yellow Aircraft, "Your Online Ottoman and Turkish Stamp Store" will sell you a used specimen for 35 cents, which is really about the lowest possible price you could pay for any single item online.  I have not proven that my unused specimen isn't tremendously valuable, but I feel it's a safe bet.

The 5000s at Play

I wish I had discovered earlier the Kurt Vonnegut quote "peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God."  Or that "unusual travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God."  Or that "unexpected travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God."  Quoters on these here internets are rather free with the opening word, and I do not have the text handy at present.  But you get the idea; it is an assertion by a famous person, or at least by a character imagined by a famous person, in support of the practice of arbitrary travel!  So obviously I feel it is very wise.

During the blog sabbatical of a few weeks back, Mrs.5000 and I were out dancin' in the Vonnegutian sense.  I've prepared a little synopsis of our trip for you.  Some will be surprised to find that it did not involve new county acquisition (for me; the Mrs. may have bagged one), even though we got fairly close to fresh turf at our apogee.  Well, I've got plenty of other random factors to guide my travels.

It was like this:

So, the dark purple line east from Portland is the initial freeway burst to get through the Cascades into dry county.  From there, red lines indicate new roads for the AART (Atlas of All Roads Travelled).  The yellow circles denote unsuccessful geohash attempts, and the green circles indicate successful ones.  (Expeditions 58-67, full descriptions and photographs of which are available here.)  I'll have you know that we pioneered three new graticules, so of course we are very proud and happy about that:

 There were scenic vistas:

And mishaps!

The little feet on the map are places where I went running: in and around Spray, John Day, and Ontario, Oregon, and Moscow, Idaho.  This made a big splash on my recently crafted county biking/mapping of Oregon.

...on which yellow represents counties in which I've biked, blue indicates counties in which I've run, and green is what you get when you mix blue and yellow.  It also allowed me to add another state to the short list of states I've run in, something I started thinking about last summer.

Anyway, we had a grand time, and resolved that we should continue to sample the scenic wonders of Eastern Oregon every decade or so!

If you are very good, maybe I will share some samples from the extensive library of pictures of grain elevators that Mrs.5000 took during the trip.