Guidon, Signal Corps and Yin & Yang

US SIGNAL CORP GUIDON

Guidon is a type of flag usually for military use. This Guidon's emblem is for the US Signal Corps.

"THE K FLAG"

Note the Yin and Yang symbol is an abstraction of the US Signal Corps Flag. Or rather the US Signal Corps Emblem is an abstraction of the Yin and Yang essence? Many flags exhibit an 'Yin-Yangic' phenotype.

Original US Signal Corps Flags

Guidon"the K flag" of Spanish American War

Doylestown Township Flag & Seal

(UNDER CONSTRUCTION)


Doylestown, PA is the County Seat of Bucks County. The pleasant story book community was incorporated as a borough in 1838.





learn more and visit the Borough's Website at www.doylestownpa.org/

Jack Harold Bandera

I once knew his guy called Jack, who played the trumpet and whose father was a distant cousin of Antonio Bandera. Jack loved flags and wanted to write books about them. He coined a word, Banderology in 1961,but someone had already beaten him to the punch with something called Vexillology.

Poor Jack

Reservation 729B10SG

Fukuoka Prefectural JET Meeting, 2000

Ten years ago I gave my first vexillologial presentation in Fukuoka Prefecture, by accident. At the Fukuoka Prefecture Mid Year Seminar I gave workshop number 5, Effective Use of the Text.

You can see the Fukuoka
prefectural symbol on cover
of Mid-Year Seminar Pamphlet
Many foreign English Teachers often found the assigned English texts less than effective. However, I pointed out that the dry text can be used as model to write your own lessons.

A primary directive of being a JET was cultural exchange. English Teachers in Japan can fall into the trap of simply rehashing text materials or becoming a living tape recorder. Teachers were encouraged to dig into their own culture and model lessons about their nation, cultural holidays, or whatever. Using a personal cultural holiday that each JET knows intimately: Halloween, St. Patrick's Day, Christmas, Canada Day, so long as a love and sincerity was behind the motivation. Any subject could easily be turned into a lesson: vocab, worksheet, quiz!

During this workshop, I did something very bizarre, that foreshadowed my vexillological calling. I modeled a lesson about flags of Korea. During the lesson I made a Japanese flag out of construction paper and turned it into a South Korean flag by adding blue paper and drawing the black Yin-Yang trigrams in each corner. Amazingly none of the Japanese teachers present made a comment. Whatever emotions they may have felt on the inside they chose not to voice it. Oddly enough, two years later Korea and Japan hosted the world cup in Asia for the first time and did it together!

Making a Korean Flag out of Japan's Flag

PREFECTURAL JET SPEAKER LIST: FUKUOKA HS 2000
(click picture to see other JET colleagues)

Interested in Teaching English in Japan on the JET Program? Click Here

NAVA 42: Austin's Flag Proposal

Original Drawing by Steven Austin

One of the most fascinating flags at NAVA #42 was the flag proposal drawn by Steven Austin. He chose the colours of red, green and white in honor of the Mexican Flag. The stripes were a homage to the American-Mexicans. Finally the canton, in the upper left, is a modified union jack representing the British Heritage of the newly soon to be most dominant immigrants of Texas.

It was a privilege to see living history. Reading and hearing so much about Austin this and Austin that, and finally seeing the hand writing and art work of Austin himself was... amazingly graceful.

Modern Rendition of Austin's Flag Proposal
(with out sketches on the star)

NAVA 42 Movie about Austin's Flag in State Capitol

Interested in flags? Come join us! NAVA's Website : www.nava.org/
Commentary is Charles Spain, a former NAVA President

Steven Colbert & US Flag

The US Flag has become a ubiquitous emblem waving in the background of cable news networks. One amazingly effective, over the top, and delightful use of the US Flag takes place on the Colbert Report on Comedy Central.



In the show's introduction Steven Colbert jumps off a 'SCILF' while holding the US flag. He then swoops through the air while all sorts of capitalized adjectives that humbly describe himself and the show fly through the air.

Steven lands on the floor like a Gladiator meets Captain America, and the arena comes to life like he is Magneto from the X-Men. It is an funny, effective, and 'Vexillicious' use of the American Flag but perhaps all things are not what they seem?



A covert reporter from Fox News has discovered a subliminal message in Colbert's background. It seems that Mr. Colbert may have a secret Islamic Agenda? The Muslim Crescent with star can be seen in the background. Perhaps he is an operative of Turkey psi-ops corp?
Or perhaps Colbert is an extreme fan of Turkey Meat?

"Steven's Genetically Modified Cybernetic Flageegul"

Wanna watch episodes of Colbert? www.colbertnation.com/home