My Neighbor the Totoro with Japanese Flag Fan

Japanese Flag Fan
My Neighbor the Totoro - 1988

The black balls of dust are known as 'makuro-kurosuke.' In the 1988 Japanese film by Hayao Miyazaki, they are seen here discussing their options - to stay or to leave the house upon the arrival of its new owners - two little girls and their father.

In the foreground is a Patriotic Japanese flag fan with the national emblem of Japan - a red disc in the center, on the left and right sides are the national birds - cranes. There is a wee bit of shimenawa - the folded red and white paper and strings hanging on the left and right sides of Japanese fan-decoration.

The 'soot sprites' are responsible for dirtying up a house when no one lives there. They are often confused as 'dust bunnies' but are a different animal altogether. This ground breaking film was produced by Studio Ghibli - a virtual counter match to America's Walt Disney Studios.

Japanese Ice flag in My Neighbor the Totoro - Tonari no Totoro

The Cat Bus runs past the Ice Flag
Tonari no Totoro 1988

In 1988 a magical little creature was released from Japan - the Totoro. You could describe it as a rabbit mixed with squirrel and a dash of fairy magic.

To the left in this scene is an flag signaling that ice can be purchased. Although this film take place in the early part of the 1900s, for sale ice flags are still commonly shown in this manner. The colours of the flag are red, white and blue. The red Japanese Kanji-Chinese letter means ice. The blue shapes along the bottom are supposed to represent ice or water. To the left of the flag is a dog barking at the normally invisible to humans cat-bus.

Old Thailand and Old Laos Flags - a harmony between the white elephant

Retired Flag of Thailand

1855-1916

In South East Asia the stories linked to a sacred White Elephant became national emblems. From 1865 to 1916 a white elephant on a red field was the national ensign of Thailand. Likewise the flag of Laos from 1952 to 1972 used a white elephant design.

Thailand and Laos are in that familiar formula of similar yet very different. Their languages are so close that most Thai speakers can with some effort understand Laotian with a little effort.

Retired flag of Laos
1952-1975

Since they are neighbors subsequently they have cultural similarities as nations tied to the teachings of Buddhism. There jungles and rice paddies hum with a familiar tune yet, they are distant neighbors.

Their lands are stroked with wild natural beauty, their cuisine and culture are alien to West exotic and may appear exotic and strange yet these unfamiliar way of live is attractive for many.

The Last State to officially join the Confederacy - Kentucky, 150 years ago today

Seal of the Rebel pro-Confederate Government

It was 150 years ago today December 10, 1861 that Kentucky dissolved its ties with the US government and joined the Confederacy to make it a neat 13 as it was in the original Anglo-American Rebellion in 1776.

At least that is one side of the story. But according to the official narrative of the United States, the addition of Missouri and Kentucky into the Confederate fold was dismissed and not recognized. Subsequently both states were spared the much hated military occupation during reconstruction.

A rump shadow anti-Union Kentucky Government met in Russellville on mischief night eve in 1861 and voted on an ordinance of secession. After a virtual six week probationary period, the rouge pro-Southern government was officially admitted unto the Confederacy. The capital of Confederate Kentucky was officially designated to be at Bowling Green.

Site of House where anti-Union Kentucky government
passed ordinance of secession on October 29, 1861

The central star of the Confederate Battle Flag represented Kentucky. Kentucky never adopted an official state confederate flag - as did North Carolina, Louisiana, and Florida. But Confederate Kentucky adopted an official Kentucky Confederate Seal. It featured a golden right hand military arm holding a white star. In an incomplete circle around the arm were twelve other white stars on a field of blue. On the outer seal in a circle on the bottom appears 'Voce Populi' and 'Kentucky' up top. On the left and right sides are two rose stems.

Many voices have labeled the US Civil as a War Between the States or more incendiary as a War of Northern Aggression. However Kentucky was of the divided class of states where the war could be called the War Between the Counties. Maryland, Virginia, Kansas, and Missouri were states where it was a virtual Checker Board War of County vs County.

Flags of Independent Sicily and Balearic Islands

Flag of Balearic Islands
Islands of Spain in the Mediterranean

In the Western Mediterranean Sea are the two distinguished islands of Italy and Spain - Sicily and the Balearic Islands.

They are virtual mulatto worlds in between Africa and Europe. Their histories follow a similar rhythm. Their initial written histories begin as colonies from Asia - namely the Phoenicians and Greeks. Eventually they became important bases for the Roman Empire. For a while they were colonies to Islamic States and teetered between the Christian and Islamic Worlds.

Flag of Independent Sicily - modern era
Island of Italy in the Mediterranean Sea

The modern flag of the Balearic Islands uses the colours and some of the patterns of the Catalan Nationalist movements within Spain. The colours of the Balearic flag are red, yellow, purple and white.

To the right is/was a popular flag for the Sicilian Independent movement after and during WWII. This pro-independence political party was popular from up until 1951. Coincidentally the modern flag of the Balearic Islands has a similar structure and colour theme.

Both flags match with a nine striped field -4 red and 5 yellow stripes. The canton of the Independent Sicily banner is a square with the three legged head of Medusa in yellow, while the Balearic Island's Flag has rectangular purple canton with a white castle.

The flags of these Western Mediterranean Sea Isles are united by a pattern and similar story arc of history. Both differ in speech from standard mainland Italian and Spanish. They are parallel lands with crisscrossing stories. They are wing-men to each other, of the Western Mediterranean.

Flags of Sicily and Balearic Islands

US Yacht and United States Power Squadron Flags

United States Power Squadron Flag

This is the flag of the US Power Squadron that was founded in 1914. It is a non-profit civilian educational organization dedicated to teaching basic knowledge and safety for boating. There are over 400 active squadrons. This group publishes a bimonthly magazine called The Ensign.

The flag of US Power Squadron bears a striking counter charge similarity to the flag of the US Yacht Ensign. Both flags use the colours red, white and blue. The canton features the exact same pattern - a white anchor surrounded by thirteen white stars. But differ in canton background colour.

US Yacht Ensigns use blue while the US Power Squadron uses red. Both flags have a field with thirteen stripes but in different directions and counter charged colours. The stripes of the US Yacht Ensign are horizontal - red and white, while the stripes of the US Power Squadrons are vertical - blue and white. They have an equal number of white stripes - six. Another difference is that US Power Squadrons have six short and seven long blue and white stripes, while the US Yacht Ensign has seven short and six long red and white stripes.

US Yacht Ensign

The US Yacht Ensign was officially created in 1848 and to be used by officially US licenced yachts. Due to the boom of upper class income families in the 1980s, several laws were subsequently passed to allow the flying of the US Yacht Ensign instead of the National flag in certain parts of the USA.


The US Power Squadron Flag and the US Yacht Ensign are certainly aligned together in design like Yin and Yang. They are both flown by civilians and not for government or military use. They are citizen flags for Americans at sea. The Yacht Ensign is a hallmark flag for the individual while the US Power Squadron is for a group.

US Yacht and US Power Ensigns
a flag for one and a flag for many




Youtube Videos from US Power Squadron