Flags from Blue Collar Comedy Tour: 2003

The US flag makes several almost accidental appearances in the original cinematic classic Blue Collar Comedy Tour: The Movie 2003. America was surely in the mood for some good ol' country laughs.  More original an' natural than Hee Haw.  Four southern gentleman were able to cook up some comedic home style chuckles that just tickled the side belly of Merica'.

Yes indeed, that is Jeff Foxworthy playing a part with some wacky doodle mullet hair-hat combo.  It just so happens that Mr. Foxworthy is wearing an American Flag on the honor point of his ball cap.

Here Larry the Cable guys uses a Fart Machine bought from Spencer Gifts to lay one out on an innocent passerbyer who just happens to be a wearing t-shirt that has the American Flag on it. Oh yeah, nearly forgot...you can also see the Arizona State flag in the first pic.

Viva La Revolution Flag - Dragon Ash 1999

In 1999 the seeds from a smashed pumpkin were eaten by a dragon.  The result was a smash hit song on the Japanese Pop charts back in the Summer of 99' - Grateful Days.

The album cover for this song was influenced by art that originated in 1830 - Liberty Leading the People.  But instead of a French Tri-colour the flag has been replaced with a 'Dragon Ash' flag.  The Dragon Ash Flag has a red background with a rectangular black cross centered in the middle that does not reach the borders.  Within the black cross written in white calligraphy is Via La Revolution which is the name of the album.  Additionally several members of the group take the place of Liberty's supporters.

The inside cover art also featured flags.  In this case the members of the band were given a variety of flags, many of the designs had the fluer-di-lis upon it.

The most popular cut off this album was Grateful Days, as the title alludes too, it all about being grateful.  Since this is my 5th year anniversary of blogging I have much to be grateful for.  Thanks for reading!  This song is dedicated to yous - the readers. 

Flags and Vexilloids from Altered States 1980

 Altered States is a 1980s flashback to the 1960s setup with a serious academic tone.  It is a hard core science fiction diddy with speculative gleanings on the atypical states of consciousness.

Here the protagonist of the story is a talented Ivy League Professor exploring the more than mysterious aspects of the human mind.  In the background is the University Pennant for Columbia University.

Dr. Jessup travels to Mexico where natives practice a sacred ceremony to connect with the 'original mind' before time.  Notice upon the wall is a Yin and Yang symbol, which is a profound symbol within Taoism.






In front of Low Memorial Library is the famous statue of Alma Mater holding a vexilloid in her right hand.  Alma Mater is quite the famous statue as it made an appearance in another altered vision of reality - the Ghost Busters in 1984.

Amazingly a Coke and Pepsi can appear in this film simultaneously, all by accident.  Like Yin and Yang these two corporate entities have established themselves across the shopping scape of the world.

Today putting these two products together in the same Hollywood film is taboo and may cause lawyers to manifest out of thin air, but in 1980 subliminal product placement in cinema was in its infancy allowing such rare and exquisitely bizarre abominations to take place.
 

Flags from the Terminator - 1984

In 1984 a movie from the dream space of James Cameroon came to light - The Terminator 1984 starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.  A cybernetic organism dominated by a machine mind attempts to assassinate the ancestor of human resistance - John Connor.  It is this unborn man in 1984 who eventually undermines the machine directive to enslave and or exterminate the human species.  


Several flags appear in the film.  The first vexilloid is a common city street banner.  It has pink pile extending from the hoist making a swallow tail pattern along the fly. It is impossible to see what is written on the flag but it most likely deals with a city festival announcement or advertisement for a product or service.

The flag of Los Angeles also appears in the film during the police precinct scene.  The city flag of Los Angeles is divided into three sections of red, yellow, and green with the city seal in the center.

Of course, the flag of the United States is also visible when Sarah is taken into police custody.  The finial of the US flag clearly visible.

CBFA Meeting 2013 - Philadelphia

The Chesapeake Bay Flag Association met yesterday in Philadelphia, starting at Washington Square.  The tour then stopped at the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.  The highlight of the tour was a private viewing of the Brandywine Flag on generous courtesy.

 Afterwards we were given a private peek at the old Philadelphia US Marine museum where our host Keith Bassolino presented a charming collection of fine flags from his personal collection.  Then we stopped Carpenter's Hall.  Afterwards the group made an obligatory stop at the Betsy Ross House for a tour and group photo. 

Across the street from the Betsy Ross house we were given a behind the scenes tour of the Humphry's Flag Shop. 

Finally we dined on the hallowed grounds of the most enchanted of Colonial Era Restaurants - The City Tavern.  At the Historic Tavern a splendid discussion on flags and other such collectables took prime portion of discussion, as to be expected.  I was able give a short vexi-bit presenting my recently created Colonial Heritage City Flags that honor the nine cities that were at one time temporary capitals of the United States.  Additionally I presented a collection of unique flags created for the memorable lines latitude of longitude. 

The Bengali Badger Flag from Ice Age - Continental Drift 2012

More than 10,000 years ago the animals fight amongst themselves for survival, but a rag tag team made up of a carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores must learn to work together or perish.

This the running theme in the digitally animated series about animals that recently lived on Earth in the past  during the - Ice Age. 

In Ice Age: Continental Drift one of the 'bad guys' is a Bengali Badger with a strange pattern on its back that resembles a jolly roger.  Subsequently he becomes a living flag for his wolf pack of bad guys.


You can see Gupta the Bengali Badger hanging on a stick, becoming a living virtual vexilloid.  His merciless band of animal baddies are lead my a rather large and mean Gigantopithecus.

Nibiru Temple Flags from Star Trek into Darkness - 2013

 The opening scene in Star Trek into Darkness takes place on Nibiru.  The temple of Nibiruians has yellow vexilloid like flag at top, denoting that flag like items are of importance across the galaxy.

 You can see yellow vexilloids on the side.

Aircraft Insignia of Baron Boris von Frankenstein & Vampire Lady Bug Emblem from Mad Monster Party!

  
The leader of the world's monsters - Baron Boris von Frankenstein -  has a personal air force whose aircraft markings feature a human skull with one eye larges than the other.  Note that Baron Boris may be a man or machine, or part man-machine?  Who knows, we will just have to wait for Mad Monster Part II!! Rumor has it that Jason, Freddy, and the Gremlins will be in it?



The original funky bone jam band from the sixties makes an appearance in Mad Monster Party? The emblem of the band is a vampire lady bug with fangs - Little Tibia and the Fibias.

Shipping flag from Mad Monster Party? 1967

 Mad Monster Party? 1967 is a Halloween Classic that features a cavalcade of American Octoberfest Monsters.  With the magic of modern storytelling - it is the rare and hard to find form of art - animated sculpture art.

The monsters have gathered upon one of the few shipping lines - Caribbean Cruises - to sail by a mysterious island, that is home to a mad evil scientist.  During their boat trip the flag of the ship's carrier makes a fleeting cameo on the stern - back end of the ship. 

The flag of the Herring features a red anchor upon a black circle in a white background.  Within the lower half of the circle are blue waves.

Mad Monster Party? 1967 was created naturally unassisted with computers.  This gives it a unique charm that is impossible to appreciate in modern computer assisted kinesthetic-still animation sculpture. 

Vexilloids and Flags from the Munsters Television Show

In the heart of the mid-60s America was given a trick or treat with a surreal Halloween like family - The Munsters.  The was a mish mash Frankenstein Situation Comedy that combined the drama, humor, and horror. 

It was a surreal humorous take on the father knows best sit-coms, but in this case father was a reanimated zombie married to a family of vampires from Transylvania. 

Essentialy absurd and cartoonish, yet very serious and lighthearted.  It followed the standard pack of family situation comedies but it had something special. 

Here Lilly Munster is dressed as Little Bo Peep with a Shepard's cane.



 




 
Behind the shadow of Spot the Dragon is a family coat of arms - assuming they belong to the Munsters.

Oct 1

2013

Night in Venice Flags on the "Winner Prize" July 15, 1989

 Night in Venice is an annual summer boat parade held in Ocean City, New Jersey.  In it people decorate their boats in themes and winners of certain classes get awards for outstanding decorations.  Additionally houses that have private harbor entrances are allowed to decorate their homes in the spirit of the night and compete for prizes as well. 

In the summer of 1989 a rather unique prize featured a lacquered letter box with a sailing ship design. 


Of vexillological interest are the three flags on the mastheads.  Near the back end of the ship or 'Rudder Mast' is a red pennant with white circular design near the hoist.  On the 'Central Mast' is horizontal tribar, starting from the hoist: red, blue, and green.  And finally on the 'Forward Mast' is a longer blue swallow tail pennant. 

Flag for the opposite side of the Prime Meridian - 180th Merdian, Antimeridian, Omega Meridian, and International Date Line

Flag of opposite of the prime meridian or 'omega' meridian is based upon the flag of the prime meridian but the colours orange and blue are switched.  It is also the international date line when these lines are in sync.  Basically its the flag of the international date line when the international dateline is in tune with the prime meridian, but the design of the international date line varies. 


When the international dateline shifts east, it means that the day is starting earlier thus is has a blue shift like a blue shifted galaxy.  But when the international dateline shifts west, it means means that the day is ending later thus it has red shift like a red shift galaxy.


There is a natural 48 hour daily cosmic cycle on earth, but due to political tinkering and making business harmonious we have more than 48 hours time zones, as of now there are officially 50 hours in a day. Maybe some day they will add more?  Thus if you want your business to be a leader, you may want to register your shipping fleet in Kiribati or open an office there so you can get a two hour head start?

Flag for the Prime Meridian

The flag of the Prime Meridian uses the colours blue, white, yellow, black, and orange.  The central blue checker pattern represents the center zero point of prime meridian. The black and yellow horizontal stripes symbolize that when it is high noon at the prime meridian the day has officially begun at midnight on the other side of the world.

Countries that can fly this flag on their prime meridian include: Ghana, Togo, Burkina-Faso, Algeria, Mali, Algeria, Spain, France, and England - as well as Antarctica. 

The checker pattern indicates that the person has crossed a unique line of sorts as when one crosses the finish line.  It is to be waved vigorously when one has crossed this zero point.  This special meridian is the arbitrary dividing line between the Western and Eastern Hemispheres.



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Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/battyden/with/308493413/

Flag for the Antarctic Circle

The flag of the Antarctic Circle features the natural colours found on its most populous biped - the penguin.  It is quartered into two designs - an orange, red, and white checker portion and a solid black portion.  In the lower left hand quadrant is the constellation Octans the Star Compass. Octans is the most southern celestial constellation and home to the Southern Star which is noted with eight points.









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Photo Credit: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/picturesoftheday/8170280/Pictures-of-the-day-30-November-2010.html?image=1

Flag for the Arctic Circle

The flag of the Antarctic Circle is quartered with two white and indigo checkered quarters.  In the opposite quadrants are solid navy blue areas, but in the upper left quadrant is the constellation Ursa Minor, the Little Bear, and the North Star.  The six stars of the 'Little Dipper' have four points, and North Star has five points. The checker pattern is based upon the feeling one gets when crossing a finish line, but in this case it is a congratulatory checker wave for crossing the Arctic Circle.

The Arctic Circle runs through Canada, the United States, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, and Greenland at 66 degrees North.

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Photo Credit: http://www.allposters.com.au/-sp/Seal-Pup-posters_i373483_.htm

Flag for the Equator

The Equator Flag can be flown officially at the Equator.  Thus the nations of Ecuador, Peru, Columbia, Brazil, Gabon, Little and Large Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, Indonesia have the right to fly this flag on land at their appropriate places.  Likewise this flag can be flown under 1 degree North or South.

The Equator Flag has a white background with a red checker stripe in the middle.  It is bounded by to the top and bottom with black and yellow sandwich stripe.  

The checker pattern denotes a sense of victory as when one crosses the finish line.  Typically race cars get a black and white checker flag to signal their final lap when they are about to cross the finish line.  Likewise when people cross the equator they are crossing a natural geological line worthy of a victory dance. 

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photo credit: taken by Husond, en:Image:Equator_São_Tomé.JPG, enwp upload on 02:00, 14 October 2006

Flag for the Tropic of Capricorn

The flag for the Tropic of Capricorn is essentially a checker flag.  The main part of the checker pattern is composed of violet and black.  Along the center is a bottom to top stripe with three yellow Capricorn symbols upon it.  On either side of the Capricorn Stripe the checker pattern has become yellow.

























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Photo Credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tropic_of_Capricorn_Jujuy.JPG
Djr xi 24 March 2010

Flag for the Tropic of Cancer

This flag uses the symbolism of Cancer with a line.  Flown at the tropic of Cancer, only a few nations can fly this flag on their portion of the Tropic of Cancer.  Thus Western Sahara, Mauritania, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, India, Bangladesh, Burma, China, Mexico and the Bahamas can fly this flag on land, but any ship at sea when crossing the 23rd parallel north can fly it as well.   

The basic pattern for the Tropic of Cancer Flag is a checker pattern.  The checker field is composed of two areas - a light blue static pattern and a multicoloured tropical pattern.  The multicoloured of the checker half is composed of pink, yellow, orange, and lime green squares.  The orange squares are cut in a half by a pink downward diagonal with three black symbols for the sign Cancer, which represent the three continents it passes through: Asia, Africa, and North America.

The blue checkers represent the crystal blue waters of the tropics, while the bright colours represent the delicate colours of corals and fishes that inhabit this region of earth.

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Photo Credit: http://www.island-real-estate-bahamas.com/

Flag for the Temperate Circle of Lynx

This flag is to be flown at 45 Degrees North, in between the North Pole and Equator.  Its name takes elements of its more famous longitudinal cousins the Arctic Circle and Tropic of Cancer.  The constellation Lynx was chosen because it lies at a mostly temperate parallel to the latitudes of Earth.

 Essentially the 45th Parallel North's more formal or enchanting name is the Temperate Circle of Lynx.  Along the fly field is checker stripe within a square that represents a 45 degree angle, which reflects the fact that its the 45th Parallel.  45 degrees is a kind of magical mathematical angle, in this case whether north or south the 45th parallel has similar climates.

The Temperate Circle of Lynx passes through the United States and Canada passing through: Nova Scotia, Maine, New Hampshire, Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, and finally Oregon. In the Larger Land Hemisphere it crosses: Japan, China, Russia, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Romania, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Italy and France. It is at this latitude where the four seasons can be noticed in earnest.   

Four colours compose the Temperate Circle of Lynx Flag - red, green, white, and yellow that represent the four seasons.  White represents winter, yellow represents fall, green represents summer and red represents spring. 

Often it is a variety of species get a temporary white winter coat during the winter, and loose it with the spring thaw in April.






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Hokkaido Squirrel Photo Credit: 
http://www.pbase.com/merigan/image/109945153

Flag for the Temperate Circle of Lupus

Here is a flag to be flown at 45 degrees South, which is in between the Equator and South Pole.  The Temperate Circle of Lupus is basically the middle latitude in between the equator and south pole.  Lupus was chosen because this constellation is mostly in the middle temperate zone of the southern hemisphere since that gets a full summer, winter, fall and spring.

The Temperate Circle of Lupus passes through only three countries: Argentina, Chile, and New Zealand.

The colours brown, orange, white and yellow compose this flag.  The colour white represents the winter, orange echoes of summer, brown of fall, and yellow of spring.  




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photo credit:
 http://www.hdwallpaperstop.com/kiwi-bird-hd-wallpapers/

The Original Garbage Pail Kid Flag - Meanaced Dennis #173

Although not the first Garbage Pail Kid to feature a flag, it is the most original flag created for the Garbage Pail Kid Series - Menaced Dennis #173a of the fifth series. In it, during a scary dream, a bunch of green caterpillars can be seen crawling into Dennis' nose and head.  The original flag features a red square background with a brown 'wooden x' fimbrated in white.  

The first Garbage Pail Kid card to feature a flag was number #44 Sy Clops in series number two, 1985.  The red pennant of a sailing ship in the background can be seen.

Old Gloria #241 - The Garbage Pail Flag Kid

Treading in the shadows of the lovable Cabbage Patch Dolls are the Garbage Pail Kids.  During the 1980s these macabre collector's cards ran across the imagination of young children.  Many of the themes were horrors and beyond grosser than gross. 

Of vexillological note are the cards that feature the US flag.  Perhaps the most vexillologically vexing Garbage Pail Kid was Old Gloria #241a.  Old Gloria or Jose Can You See #241b, features a garbage pail kid as the American Flag.  The card features a Cabbage Patch Like Kid holding on to a Flag Pole with a golden eagle finial and being blown in the wind.

The US flag appeared earlier in the 5th series card in the background of Ruptured Rupert #199a or Gassy Gus #199b.    This card features a Macy's Day Parade Garbage Pail Kid  Balloon that has burst open in the back of the head and is loosing helium.  In the background is a US flag with reversed red and white stripes.

Additionally during the series the US flag appears in the background of Mark Spark #238a or Cherry Bomb #238b.  This card features the dangers of playing with fireworks.  The theme of the card is set to celebratory atmosphere of the 4th of July.