Saturday, March 31, 2012

Friday, March 30, 2012

Flag of the Mediterranean Sea






This flag is for the Mediterranean Sea, or rather the flag for the 'Sea of Middle Earth.'  It is broken into three parts that represent its three continental coastlines: Asia, Africa, and Europe.


 Flag of the Mediterranean Sea
The yellow bar represents Europe's Coastline and is in the traditional position for north. The indigo 'bottom-southern' half represents Africa's Coastline. It is often a cultural bias that the western mind conceives this sea as a European Sea, but this is not the case.  Asia and Africa are key cultural elements in making up the Mediterranean Sea.

Note that most if not all writing systems in Europe originate from Africa - via the Egyptian primary alphabet.  Likewise most if not all mainstream religions of Europe originate from Asia - of the Abrahamic Traditions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. 

Finally the coast line of Asia is represented by the fly green half with a white stripe denoting a separation yet connection to Europe and Africa.  When you mix yellow and blue it makes the colour green.  This reflects the fact that although Africa and Europe are separated they join hands through Asia.  Only Asia touches Africa and Europe as the proverbial middle man.

The seahorse emblem was chosen since the Mediterranean Sea looks a bit like a sea horse already, with the outline of its head at the western end of the Mediterranean Sea.

It is the right of any nation that has a Mediterranean Sea watershed to fly this flag.  It truly is the ancient Sea of Middle Earth since Africa, Europe, and Asia all meet at this water junction.  Coincidentally the only opening to an ocean opens west - directly due west  to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in the Americas.





--------------
 map image credit
Mediterranean Sea - Eric Gaba (Sting - fr:Sting) All rights released Own work ;
Raster background map : screenshot from NASA World Wind (Public Domain) June 2007

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - Out office-house UK Flag

Notice UK flag on top
You can barely notice a small British flag up top.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Dr. Whitney Smith's NAVA 43 freebie vexi-art by Beatriz Grayson

At NAVA 43 Dr. Whitney Smith spoke about the importance quilts in the Vexillological universe. He seemed to advocate the inclusion of these wonderfully hand made textiles. Quilts of all sorts have been made with flags in their design just as some flags have been made into quilts. Dr. Smith ended his lecture by handing out a card that featured the vexillological quilt art of Beatriz Grayson.

Grayson's quilt flag was essentially the modern 50 starred US flag with a rainbow pallet of colours and added designs. The 13 stripes were a rainbow patch of colours, starting from the bottom: purple, blue-green, yellow, orange, light green, red, and blue. Likewise the stars varied in colours. Additionally the quilt-flag had writing upon it. In the canton area in between the stars it is written "I wish upon the flag that we embrace diversity. I wish upon this flag that honoring uniqueness we treat each other with respect. I write upon this flag that we recognize our part in the global family." Inter spaced inbetween the coloured stripes in cursive, "life liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

The title of the quilt is Flag of Wishes - 2003






with the words written on the back - "A soft protest against the chiseling of our rights; a hopeful prayer for our immediate and global family; and a reminder that we, Americans, are not just red, white and blue, but of all the colors that exist" pieced and fused quilt 62" x 38"

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Mississippi-Alabama Heritage Flag

Mississippi-Alabama Heritage Flag
"The Missibama Flag"

For 20 years the land that would become the fine state of Alabama was a part of Mississippi Territory. From 1798 unto 1817 all of what became Alabama was under the territorial government of Mississippi.

Usually older states are more east but in this case it is reversed. Mississippi is the big sister of Alabama handling lil'bama's affairs until she came of age.

The design is based on the flag of Mississippi, with the Confederate Battle Flag replaced with a square flag of modern Alabama. This flag can be flown over any part of Alabama since it was once all managed by Mississippi.

Monday, March 26, 2012

New Mexico-Colorado Heritage Flag

New Mexico Colorado Heritage Flag
"The New Mexilorado Flag"
Parts of Colorado were once a part New Mexico's claim when it was a part of Mexico and a US territory. Thus it is proper to fly this flag in those regions like Springfield and Trinidad, CO.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Flag of Ravenclaw - from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2

Ravenclaw Banner
Harry Potter & TDHP-2

A flag for Ravenclaw makes an appearance in the last Harry Potter film - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows II - 2011. It appears during a psychic flash when Harry falls into the water after riding a dragon that guards treasures at the Goblin Bank.

The flag features the livery of house of Ravenclaw on a heraldic shield. Upon the shield is a standing raven facing sinister with wings spread pride. In the the helm is crested with a white eagle head with mantling - blue and white. Along the compartment is the name of the house - 'Ravenclaw.'

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Flags from Beetlejuice - 1988

Betelgeuse or Beetlejuice
the unscrouplulous bio-exercist played by Michael Keaton

In 1988 Tim Burton created a timeless horror-comedy with a smallest of heart warming messages. You may not have caught it. Mr. Burton's message of choosing to life over suicide is almost imperceptible - introduced as a running joke. Burton covers up the moral message with magic, love, humor, art, silliness, and a bit of absurdity. In the end the emo/goth daughter Lydia chooses to live.
Although the movie title and star of the movie was officially spelled Beetlejuice - in the movie the outcast professional bio-exorcist was spelled Betelgeuse.

Is that Jack from the Nightmare before X-mas?

Is this Jack? Jack from the Nightmare Before Christmas? Five years before it was released in 1993? It seems this image has been haunting the imagination of Burton for some time. The 'Jack' finial appears as a finial on Beetlguese's merry-go-round hat.




Can possession can be fun? With good Ghosts?

Here Lydia (played by Winona Ryder) shows that possession by friendly and respectable ghosts can be fun! After she does well on her exams Lydia is allowed to levitate and be possessed by songs and dances from the those that live no more?

Notice the badge of her school features a yellow wreath with royal crown at the crest.



US flag in Beetlejuice - 1990

The US flag makes a brief cameo at the end when we see Lydia's new school - Miss Shannon's School for Girls. This became the focal point of the animated Beetlejuice cartoon series 1989-1991.



Friday, March 23, 2012

Imaginary Bulgarian Kingdom Flag from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, 1968


In the fantasy sequence of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang our cast visits the imaginary and evil Bulgarian Kingdom that does not like children. The main colours or livery or purple, black and white.




Solders with lance pennons with livery










Notice Flags along upper left wall

Grand hall with people in 'team-gang' colours - purple, black and white.












The Royal Arms

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - Flags of Success!

Flags from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang 1968

Before Indiana Jones rescued the children in the Temple of Doom there was Chitty Chitty Bang Bang 1968. The movie is based upon the author famous for giving life to Bond, James Bond that is - Ian Fleming.

In this scene we learn that the "Rose of Success" depends blooms out of the ashes of failure.

There are two flags waved in this scene a red flag with a white 'X' and a white flag with five small navy blue crosses in dice pattern.



The flags in this movie are coincidentally used by NATO for symbolize 'zero' via the white and small blue flag, while the red flag with white saltire represents 'four.' But the time frame of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is set before WWI and before the creation of NATO. It's all just a coincidence beside the sequence is derived from imagination adventure sequence from Caractacus Potts.


Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Monday, March 19, 2012

Lebanon and Tahiti - Fraternal Twins, Heaven on Earth

Flag of Lebanon
aka the Holy Land

The flags of Lebanon and Tahiti are connected in the winding the mysterious way of providence. Providence is kinda' like officially recognized superstition. But there is a fine line between superstition and providence. Just think of the movie Pulp Fiction - when Jules Winnefield and Vincent Vega debate whether an assissin's bullet missed them by divine intervention (Rated R link - Adult Language and graphic violence). Vincent (John Travolta) chooses to embrace a purely objective point of view - the brush with death was simply a statistical event, since stuff like that happens all the time. While Jules (Samuel Jackson) embraces it as more than chance and is touched by a higher power. Subsequently he chooses to amend his ways. Jules felt providence while Vincent saw it as dumb luck. Although gangsters and nations seem like different entities - aren't nations simply gangs with written codes of conduct? Cross the law of a nation or gang, one too many times or in the wrong way and they will summon the angel of death with extreme prejudice.
Flag of Tahiti
aka French Polynesia

Also note in modern days, providence lost a lot gravity due to modern scientific objective thinking - subsequently the concept of providence was cast out of the modern western mind with superstition. But a few academics thought this was a bad idea. It wasn't until work of a Carl Jung PhD, that the modern rational Western mind revisited and re-recognized the power of providence under a new scientific academic terminology - synchronicity. Synchronicity is basically a modern academic word for providence, and providence was one of George Washington's favorite adjectives for the footprint of the divine. If Mr. Washington were alive to day he'd totally buy into synchronicity - yet a kind of synchronicity tempered with a healthy respect for the rational mind. If you loose the capacity to be rational and objective then all you have is primitive superstition, and Washington was not superstitious.

In the modern era both Lebanon and Tahiti were adopted by the modern French Empire. Lebanon has since then gained total independence while Tahiti remains under French control. Coincidentally they exhibit a similar pattern amongst their flags. Both are horizontal tri-bars of red, white, and red. In the middle are cultural icons with deep religious significance.

When compared they hi-light a comparison from the natural divine world - the tree - with something made with by the hand of man - a boat. The tree is a cedar which is mentioned with respect in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions. The boat of Tahiti is an outrigger in front of the sun on the sea with five human shapes.

Geographically they are at opposite ends of the earth - they are nearly antipodal. If you were to dig downwards from Lebanon, you'd reach French Polynesia. They are both at cultural centers of the earth. Lebanon at the center of three continents - Africa, Asia, and Europe. Likewise French Polynesia is geographically in between the Americas, Australia, and Antarctica. Believe it or not a few of the southern islands of French Polynesia are closest to Antarctica rather than the Americas and Australia. What this means is, from one geographic rubric of rules - the eastern isles of Tahiti are a part of America, the western isles are a part of Australia, while a few southern isles are a part of Antarctica.*

















*whichever continent an island is geographically closest too, then it is a part of that continent.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Nauru and Curacao - Flag Twins

Flag of Curacao

Flags often bear some resemblance to each other. But in my estimation it is no accident. For some odd reason the flags can be paired up two by two in a certain way.

In this case the flag of Curacao is what I call the fraternal banner to Nauru. Their flags match by design and symbolism. Both feature a navy blue background with a single horizontal yellow stripe. Stars are also featured on both flags but Curacao has two five pointed stars while Nauru has one star with twelve points.

Flag of Nauru

Wondrous island nations from the Atlantic unto the Pacific.* They are connected by the mysterious flow of happenstance, but this is no accident.

Of uncanny historical harmony - these island 'nations' on opposite ends of the earth were simultaneously adopted by the German Empire in 1888. In 1888 A small part of Curacao was home to an Imperial German Shipyard - Klein Curacao to be specific. This smallest of German Colonies didn't last the year due to technical difficulties. At the same time in 1888 the Germans were able to establish a foothold at Nauru making it a colony until the end of WWI in 1919.
















Rumor has it, Germany's short adoption of Nauru resulted in the genesis of the hard to find Nauru-Pacific Lager. Nauru-Pacific Lager is the most sought out after beer in the South Pacific. It has won over 20 Polynesian-Blue Ribbons, so I was told.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

St. Paddy's Day 2012

A day for luck and gratitude for all the luck to come your way! It's St. Paddy's Day 2012.











Friday, March 16, 2012

Apocalypto Mayan Temple Flags - 2006

Notice Long Flags with Mayan writing

In 2006 Mel Gibson's Apocalypto enchanted audiences across the world. The film centers on a semi-fictional Mayan culture of Central America at the dawn of Spanish Exploration of the New World.

Before the arrival of Spain human sarafice was a common spectacle deeply engrained in few of the Central American cultures. Here warriors of the city attacked the 'jungle' people to be used as slaves and religious offerings to the Gods.



A Long flag decorated with a warrior?













Several Long Flags all of similar styles





















the flag in the upper right shows Mayan writing

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Monday, March 12, 2012

Muppetland - Baby Land Flags 1987

Baby Land
Muppet Babies 1987

It's often the case, a successful television show gets a popular momentum to smash open the gates of Hollywood, but there are many instances where the movie hops the fence back to TV land. This happened to the smashing 1984 Muppet movie The Muppets Take Manhattan - it became the inspiration for a Muppet television show Jim Henson's Muppet Babies.

During the movie after Miss Piggy gets into a fight with Kermit the Frog, they make up and she sings him a song that she'll always love him and dreams about an alternate reality where they meet as babies. The over the top cuteness of this adorable dream scene inspires the creation of a CBS cartoon series featuring the Muppets as babies with similar theme of letting dreams and make believe mix.

In the fourth season 1987 the baby Muppets TV show they dream up a theme park for babies. Like all theme parks flag and pennants are to be found all over - as waving flags are the daylight counter for lights at night.












Baby Land commercial 1987
Jim Henson's the Muppet Babies



The inspiration for a TV show from the movie
The Muppets Take Manhattan - 1984



Saturday, March 10, 2012

Flags of Heraldry of Marry Poppins - 1964

Mary Poppins
notice the arms of the Teas restaurant

Mary Poppins is the ideal nanny who orginated in the dreamworld down under from the southern celestial skies. Poppins adds charm and perspective to help little children see the lighter side of life

Before J.K. Rowling their was P.L. Travers - the author of Mary Poppins. Ms. Travers was born down under in Queensland Australia 1899. But her writings from fantasia took to the silver screen in 1964 with the magical working of Walt Disney.

In the film Mary Poppins 1964 they stop at the "Teas" restaurant with penguin waiters. The lovely hole in the wall or rather crack in the sidewalk uses the traditional art of heraldry as its business logo. The consists of a red swan facing right - dexter - on parted in pale shield of arms. A motto is in the compartment on a scroll.

The Poppin's Merry Go Round with flags

Flags are common decorations at theme parks, even in magical sidewalk chalk art. If you should ever gain the chance to travel to such a mysterious place, take note of the flags! The flags in this manner act as decorative icons rather than symbols of nation. Perhaps the nation of fun? In this case the colours flags and pennants at amusement parks are the colourful complement to the blinking lights at night.

Watch the Restaurant scene here

Friday, March 9, 2012

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure 1989

The opus magnus key note that captures, closes, and yet opens the spirit of the 80's - Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure - 1989.

"Be excellent to each other," Bill S. Preston Esquire
"Party on" Theodore - Ted - Logan

Notice pennants and arms
Sandimus water park

The film centers on two fun lovin' high school students with big dreams. Their hearts are in the right place but their heads are way off the beaten path. But a glimmer of their destiny unfolds at the foot of the Circle K convenience store where past, present, and future collide. They are given a choice to go forward or be left behind - they choose to go forward and time travel hijinx is the result with historic proportions.



In Sandimus 1989 the US flag is flown with the Spanish flag

Ted and Bill are fated to unite the earth in peace and harmony so people-kind can get true meaningful contact between extraterrestrial and house hold pets. With their cosmic grooves the Nations stop fighting and people chill. But before any of that happens, the boys must pass their oral history report on great historic figures in the past.

The result - an out of sight gimme more input presentation and an A+. This shows that even the smallest seemingly most mundane of things can have great consequences.


Big hair, rocking music, and wild mind expansion on the learning historical front. History effects us all.

Is it so hard to be excellent to each other?








Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Flag of the northern most isle of Earth - "Septrallia"

Kaffakelubben Island
Greenland/Denmark

This is the flag of the northern isle of earth. First sighted by an American in 1921 - Robert Perry. But it was a Danish explorer who first to set foot upon it - Lauge Koch.

The recognition of this land as being the most north of north was in 1969. But there is some debate that their might be an even more northerly portion of earth - Oodaqq. But Oodapp is more like a gravel bank and often covered by ice or under the ocean. This makes Kaffkelubben the most northern permanent island of earth.



The flag is composed of three colours - red, black and white. The colours red and white are taken from Greenland and Denmark. The background is black with the constellation of Ursa Minor - the little bear. There is a triangle with fleur de lis pointed towards the north star. On traditional map making the fleur de lis is associated with the direction north.

Monday, March 5, 2012

Arms of Bushwood Country Club - Caddyshack 1980

Arms of Bushwood Country Club

Probably the most memorable film about Golf - Caddyshack 1980 was a rip roaring comedy about Golf with deep meaning. The movie took place at the fictional Bushwood Country Club.

Like all respectable country clubs it carries its own coat of arms. To the left of Judge Elihu Smails - wonderfully played by Ted Knight - we can see the coat of arms of Bushwood.

The image consists of a six pointed fimbrated cross. Along the saltire portion are two crossed golf clubs. Along the fess portion of the cross are the letters C, B, C - with the letter B superimposed over the crossed golf clubs. In the top-chief is the Country Club name "Bushwood." Finally their is a border.

Danny Noonan as the Caddy

The 'hero' of the movie Danny Noonan a young college bound youth who is having a devil of time committing to a future is a caddy. In this picture we can see the colours version of the arms of Bushwood. The colours include red, green, yellow, and white.








Close up of BUSHWOOD Arms












Notice American Flags on the tables of Bushwood Country Club
Al Czervik roasts some of the guests at the country club

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge Flag, Harry Potter - Order of the Phoenix 2007

Minister of Magic Banner
Cornelius Fudge

During adventures in the Order of the Phoenix, a visit to the ministry of magic is in order. For Harry Potter must explain his illegal under age use of magic in front of a muggle. The spell that Harry uses is a patronis spell - a defensive spell against dark magic. A magician casts this spell by allowing his or her spirit to be filled up love and something near and dear to the heart. The result is a positive thought force vortex that pushes away the dreadfully fear mongering essence of whatever is attacking, its especially useful against tormentors.

Before the hearing in front of the Minister of Magic - Potter passes by a flag with the chief minister of magic upon it. The flag is has a white background with a magically printed image of the standing minister - Cornelius Fudge.

In the upper left hand corner of the flag is the symbol for the Ministry of Magic. It is the letter 'M.' Along the left, right, and bottom are three stars with seven points.


Before Potter's hearing the badge of the Ministry of Magic can be seen on the shirt of the lift operator. It features an eagle in the crest facing dexter with wings in full spread with an arc of dashes around the letter 'M.'

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Space Ace - 1983 insignia of STAR PAC

Star Pack insignia
features a four armed whirlpool galaxy

Here a ship being piloted by Dexter 'Ace' the Space Ace. Space Ace was a part of the break though video game released in 1984 as the second movement to Dragon's Lair.

Don Bluth studios was responsible for the games design. This game is set in the future where a blue skinned alien - Commander Borf - is planning to attack earth with an 'infanto ray' which causes an organism to revert to younger state of being.



Star Pac Flag

But Space Ace the defender of justice, truth, and planet earth stands in Borfs way.