Cliff, I also want to send my compassion to you. And my thanks to this community for balancing the tragic with the comic. My dad passed two weeks ago, on the eve of his 97th birthday. His last year of life was profoundly enriched by hearing my weekly entries, which he could often actually understand and appreciate, even with dementia (perhaps aided by it.) He was so proud to know that his love of humor had been passed along to me. This week's ink would most definitely have delighted him. I'm imagining his applause, and so grateful that we got to share this gift while he was here.
I want to hasten to say that I laughed heartily at all the entries listed! Hilarious! Suffering in Fla. Solstice, too, Chris. Was gonna say "F'ing hilarious!" but didn't want to bust the standards . . . and then remembered: No Standards! Ha!
Karen and I are in St. Augustine today visiting our youngest son. Nice to have afternoon showers here. We return next week on what's forecast to be a 102-degree day.
A critical element of any flag of a nation that has a waterfront is that the flag must be distinguishable when it is upside down, since flying the flag inverted is a universal distress sign. Any flag that cannot be identified as inverted, from a distance, is a failed design. Lots of those flag designs fail. Although Uganda is landlocked, so I guess that doesn't really matter to them.
An inverted flag is also a common protest symbol, so likewise for effect it wouldn't do to have the viewing public mistakenly believe you're just being patriotic.
Maryland’s flag is one of the most striking and excellent in the world. (Virginia’s SOB is vomitrocious). Of those offered here, Tampa’s is silly, but Uganda’s is the most hideous.
Maryland is striking like a hammer pounding nails through my eyeballs into my brain. It looks to me as if it could trigger seizures, if I were prone to those. Even so, Tampa's is just as bad or worse.
Oh, please. Tampa's is MUCH worse. But the Maryland flag is otherwise consistent with inducing seizures -- they just aren't as bad as Tampa-based seizures.
I also find it UGLY because it is the coats of arms of the Calvert and Crossland families. It was designed to show unity and reconciliation but to me it is a reminder that both families had strong ties to the expansion of slavery in the area. Under Charles Calvert, 3rd Lord Baltimore: "Slaves's lives were made more difficult under Charles's government. During his term, the Assembly officially made slavery legal, and ordered that slaves serve their masters for life." (Slaves's lives were made more difficult under Charles's government. During his term, the Assembly officially made slavery legal, and ordered that slaves serve their masters for life.) During the Civil War, the Calvert arms were used by Union supporters and the Crossland arms were taken up by Southern sympathizers, but both have a history of slavery that tarnishes the whole thing in my eyes.
I would tend to agree with the first sentence, but I think that most native Marylanders would do the same. Having lived in Germany for nearly three decades, I can't say that the colors of Uganda's flag are bothersome (I think all Belgians would agree with that part), but that duplication of the stripes is certanly painful to the eyes.
I strongly believe that if a flag cannot be easily reproduced and with reasonable accuracy by elementary school children, it is a bad flag. The sort of team/civic/national pride that a flag is supposed to inspire is a very basic emotion and should not be complicated by too-cute frippery.
Haiti is too complicated at the center. Tampa is an abomination (is that a green SR-71 approaching a pirate ship on a bombing run?). Uganda isn't bad. Alberta is a bit too simple. An additional color somewhere would go a long way. Maryland's flag is visually jarring, and properly despised by most people not actually from Maryland.
Sorry, in case you missed this, what with all the indictments and Marge getting the heave-ho from the Chaos Carcass, couldn't let this pass and especially since we're talking, in essence, about making a statement (with flags). Okay, okay --- weak attempt at relevance. So sue me. Thanks to TIME (and streamer Hulu): "Kourtney Kardashian sees her wedding dress for the first time in Milan." Although I would personally go with, "A lot of Kourtney Kardashian is seen for the first time in her wedding dress in Milan." https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/kardashians-kourtney-wedding-business.jpg?quality=85&w=1600
Had me and two others here worried when you issued that thinly-veiled, ominous warning in a recent blog. The one about what might happen if not enough of us forked over our crumpled $5.00 bills. To forestall or avoid that, I suggest: “Plastics … there's a great future in plastics.” Or more to the point, merch, gewgaws or tchotchkes. Man (and woman) does not live by words alone. To start, imagine the Taylor Swift-concert-ticket style tsunami of interest in the now "Runner-up" ("Top Losers") currency collection, expanded and made available to all, with a new "must have" signed bill issued every month at an exorbitant price. Imagine, as well, Valerie's reaction to being cut out of the proceeds by her own mother. Priceless. Might even contract with the Mar-a-Lago business office to run you off some classified doc copies to give away with founding subscriptions. Gene and Pat royal bobbleheads. Blue eye shades (green is so mid-century) inscribed, "At a Loss for Words" and the long-coveted, "Weingarten's Original Fart-In-A-Can (Accept No Substitutes)," previously available only in prototype. Might want to dash off a quick email to Janet Yellen to start negotiations while she's still in China.
Thing is, all the flags look like they were designed by committee --- like the proverbial horse (camel) --- under the design principle of "more is more." Then, of course, there are countries who presumably couldn't be arsed to design their own flags --- like Indonesia, Monaco and Poland and Chad and Romania -- to name, shockingly, just a few.
I have it on questionable authority that it was the Maryland flag-based uniforms (and helmets in particular) worn by the football "Terps" which led to the university being asked (nicely, but firmly) to leave the ACC. The Big Ten apparently didn't have a problem with uniform-induced severe spectator eyestrain and nervous system trauma.
Toenails you say ? Obviously, the curvature in a clipper is designed to help ensure full employment for podiatrists, among clinicians dealing with ingrown toenails. But the real question is, what's with the hey-look-at-my-feet toenail polish colors ?
Cliff, I also want to send my compassion to you. And my thanks to this community for balancing the tragic with the comic. My dad passed two weeks ago, on the eve of his 97th birthday. His last year of life was profoundly enriched by hearing my weekly entries, which he could often actually understand and appreciate, even with dementia (perhaps aided by it.) He was so proud to know that his love of humor had been passed along to me. This week's ink would most definitely have delighted him. I'm imagining his applause, and so grateful that we got to share this gift while he was here.
Congratulatink!
I want to hasten to say that I laughed heartily at all the entries listed! Hilarious! Suffering in Fla. Solstice, too, Chris. Was gonna say "F'ing hilarious!" but didn't want to bust the standards . . . and then remembered: No Standards! Ha!
So did I! All good!
Me too! And right there with you, Lynne, as a fellow Floridian!
congrats, Judy! Yours, as always, so good! And sympathies for us abound, I am NOT going outside until November.
Karen and I are in St. Augustine today visiting our youngest son. Nice to have afternoon showers here. We return next week on what's forecast to be a 102-degree day.
A critical element of any flag of a nation that has a waterfront is that the flag must be distinguishable when it is upside down, since flying the flag inverted is a universal distress sign. Any flag that cannot be identified as inverted, from a distance, is a failed design. Lots of those flag designs fail. Although Uganda is landlocked, so I guess that doesn't really matter to them.
Interesting point!
An inverted flag is also a common protest symbol, so likewise for effect it wouldn't do to have the viewing public mistakenly believe you're just being patriotic.
Maryland’s flag is one of the most striking and excellent in the world. (Virginia’s SOB is vomitrocious). Of those offered here, Tampa’s is silly, but Uganda’s is the most hideous.
Maryland is striking like a hammer pounding nails through my eyeballs into my brain. It looks to me as if it could trigger seizures, if I were prone to those. Even so, Tampa's is just as bad or worse.
Oh, please. Tampa's is MUCH worse. But the Maryland flag is otherwise consistent with inducing seizures -- they just aren't as bad as Tampa-based seizures.
I also find it UGLY because it is the coats of arms of the Calvert and Crossland families. It was designed to show unity and reconciliation but to me it is a reminder that both families had strong ties to the expansion of slavery in the area. Under Charles Calvert, 3rd Lord Baltimore: "Slaves's lives were made more difficult under Charles's government. During his term, the Assembly officially made slavery legal, and ordered that slaves serve their masters for life." (Slaves's lives were made more difficult under Charles's government. During his term, the Assembly officially made slavery legal, and ordered that slaves serve their masters for life.) During the Civil War, the Calvert arms were used by Union supporters and the Crossland arms were taken up by Southern sympathizers, but both have a history of slavery that tarnishes the whole thing in my eyes.
The repeat in parentheses was supposed to be this link: https://mdroots.thinkport.org/library/charlescalvert.asp
I would tend to agree with the first sentence, but I think that most native Marylanders would do the same. Having lived in Germany for nearly three decades, I can't say that the colors of Uganda's flag are bothersome (I think all Belgians would agree with that part), but that duplication of the stripes is certanly painful to the eyes.
I strongly believe that if a flag cannot be easily reproduced and with reasonable accuracy by elementary school children, it is a bad flag. The sort of team/civic/national pride that a flag is supposed to inspire is a very basic emotion and should not be complicated by too-cute frippery.
Haiti is too complicated at the center. Tampa is an abomination (is that a green SR-71 approaching a pirate ship on a bombing run?). Uganda isn't bad. Alberta is a bit too simple. An additional color somewhere would go a long way. Maryland's flag is visually jarring, and properly despised by most people not actually from Maryland.
I'll accept "too long," but "self-indulgent" is a helluva criticism from a guy who never experienced a fart that he didn't deem worth documenting.
Anyway, my submission for the Style Invitational this week will be a 10,000-line epic poem about my most recent bowel movement. You're WELCOME.
Wow, Cliff. Sincere condolences, this happened to the husband of my friend, both in their early 50s. Same comfort, quick. Deep sympathy.
Sorry, in case you missed this, what with all the indictments and Marge getting the heave-ho from the Chaos Carcass, couldn't let this pass and especially since we're talking, in essence, about making a statement (with flags). Okay, okay --- weak attempt at relevance. So sue me. Thanks to TIME (and streamer Hulu): "Kourtney Kardashian sees her wedding dress for the first time in Milan." Although I would personally go with, "A lot of Kourtney Kardashian is seen for the first time in her wedding dress in Milan." https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/kardashians-kourtney-wedding-business.jpg?quality=85&w=1600
Tampa's flag is truly hideous. It's like they decided to do All The Things. Rectangular? Pennant-shaped? How about all of the above?
Calgary's may actually meet a lot of the criteria of a quality flag: simple, spare, easy to draw. But it made me laugh out loud.
René Desfartes: “I stink, therefore I am.” (Jonathan Jensen) - This could almost be used as an example for Tom Witte's word Farceny:
REPORT FROM WEEK 1175: *YUX: THE 13-SCRABBLE-POINT NEOLOGISMS FROM WEEK 1175*
*FARTESIANS:* Their model is "I stink; therefore I am." (Jon Gearhart,
Des Moines)
I don't mean to imply Jonathan stole my joke. It is a result of "grate minds (st)ink alike."
Had me and two others here worried when you issued that thinly-veiled, ominous warning in a recent blog. The one about what might happen if not enough of us forked over our crumpled $5.00 bills. To forestall or avoid that, I suggest: “Plastics … there's a great future in plastics.” Or more to the point, merch, gewgaws or tchotchkes. Man (and woman) does not live by words alone. To start, imagine the Taylor Swift-concert-ticket style tsunami of interest in the now "Runner-up" ("Top Losers") currency collection, expanded and made available to all, with a new "must have" signed bill issued every month at an exorbitant price. Imagine, as well, Valerie's reaction to being cut out of the proceeds by her own mother. Priceless. Might even contract with the Mar-a-Lago business office to run you off some classified doc copies to give away with founding subscriptions. Gene and Pat royal bobbleheads. Blue eye shades (green is so mid-century) inscribed, "At a Loss for Words" and the long-coveted, "Weingarten's Original Fart-In-A-Can (Accept No Substitutes)," previously available only in prototype. Might want to dash off a quick email to Janet Yellen to start negotiations while she's still in China.
In that specific case, "...substitutes" should be pronounced "sub-shit-toots".
I grew up in Tampa, and I had no idea that the city had adopted that monstrosity in 1930.
Thing is, all the flags look like they were designed by committee --- like the proverbial horse (camel) --- under the design principle of "more is more." Then, of course, there are countries who presumably couldn't be arsed to design their own flags --- like Indonesia, Monaco and Poland and Chad and Romania -- to name, shockingly, just a few.
There's also the Netherlands and Luxemburg (barring the quibble of a Pantone definition for "blue").
I have it on questionable authority that it was the Maryland flag-based uniforms (and helmets in particular) worn by the football "Terps" which led to the university being asked (nicely, but firmly) to leave the ACC. The Big Ten apparently didn't have a problem with uniform-induced severe spectator eyestrain and nervous system trauma.
Toenails you say ? Obviously, the curvature in a clipper is designed to help ensure full employment for podiatrists, among clinicians dealing with ingrown toenails. But the real question is, what's with the hey-look-at-my-feet toenail polish colors ?
Did “carf “ meet the challenge? It seems like the substitution was not the F but the C.
I added an F to car.
Ah, that makes sense!