The Voice of Vexillology, Flags & Heraldry

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Police and Fireman fallen on duty flags

For Fallen Police Officers
in the line of duty

The fallen officer in the line of duty flag matches in pattern to the fallen firefighter on duty flag. Both flags are horizontal tri-bars. The colour blue is commonly associated with the police. Likewise fire trucks are often coloured red - thus a red stripe.

For Fallen Firemen

in the line of duty

Police and firefighters are like natural extensions of the city. They must accept the call whenever it occurs and have confidence and courage to act with bravery. Typically they have excellent instincts matched with excellence of strength.

Often it is people from firefighter or police families who make excellent military personnel.

Friday, May 4, 2012

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome Vexilloids - Bartertown Official Staff

Semi-religious official and
Spokesman of Bartertown

Long long ago, before the Hunger Games there was Mad Max and a Thunderdome...

In 1985 the third movie of the Max Mad trilogy came out - Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome presents a clear and enchanting view of a post apoctylipic world. In the final quarter (1980s) of the Cold World the threat of a nuclear holocaust was real and present, every more so than terrorism.

But Mad Max presents a story where the world goes on. Things have changed, but the human drama stays the same. Politics and power struggles never go away.

Two Men Enter,
Once Man Leaves

But at Bartertown - disputes are resolved on an individual basis. Instead of a complicated legal system with lawyers - the community preaches that people with unresolved issues duke it out to the death and leave the rest of the community alone. People with disputes face off in the Thunderdome. The chant is "two men enter, one man leaves."

During the Thunderdome sequence a vexilloid makes an appearance. It features an elegantly fashioned black and white pole. The finial is a black ball topped with a silver wheel with wings.
Also note the Master of Ceremonies also has wears a Freemason pendant as a necklace.

Mad Max franchise is one of those odd series that arguable gets better with the sequels. But it is an Australian film after all and things often spin the other way down under.

Thunderdome Fight Scene: Mad Max III 1985

Bartertown Imperial Guard Vexillums & Pigs = Power, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome 1985

Bartertown Imperial Guard with Vexillum

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome is a part of the epic post apocalyptic series about the future of humanity after a nuclear war.

The film does not explain who was wrong, right or place blame - rather it illustrates a state of culture that changes to into techno wild-west mash up.

Whole Vexillum

Close up of Bartertown's "AUNTY ENTITY IMPERIAL GUARD RULE O.K." flag. All the imperial guard flags feature a portrait of the chief administrator Aunty Entity played by Tina Turner.

Pigs = Power Vexillum

The key resource of Bartertown is methane - which is extracted from pig manure. As it is now and in this imaginary future, allocation of energy resources are powerful aspects of power and politics.

May the 4th (FORCE) Holiday Fun - a flag from Return of the Jedi

Jabba's Sail Barge Ensign
from Return of the Jedi 1983

May 4th has become something of Star War holiday, due to the iconic expression "May the Force be with you" and its similarity to "May Fourth."

In honor of this American Original Holiday, it is appropriate to talk about Star Wars. Flags appear in the newer prequel episodes but the only vexilloid that remotely looks like a flag appears in the 'original pre-post-movies.' Bascially in the original 1970-1980s Star Wars movies.

A small flag appears during Han's rescue aboard Jabba's sail barge. Near the back end of Jabba's sail barge - we can see a small black pennant. The detail is difficult to make out, probably has something to do with Jabba the Hut. Maybe it is a personal coat of arms? Who knows?

Princess Leah at gun turret with
Jabba's Sail Barge Ensign

In the upper right hand side you can see the black pennant blowing the in wind behind the pole.

George Lucas is careful not to have any flags appear in the original movies. But it is the only one to be seen fluttering in the wind. It is one Star Wars prop worth a significant amount. It's probably sitting somewhere on someone's wall or forgotten in a dusty drawer bin.

Jabba's Sail Barge Flag with Boba Fett and other alien thugs

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Lost Boy Vexillum - Mad Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome 1985

Mute Shaman Boy Vexilloid

Several flags appear in the third episode of the Mad Max movies. This vexillum is seen in the room of the mysterious mute lost boy who apparently is something like a shaman.

The vexillloid is hand made with primitive tools. It features the face of the mute boy with black and white face paint. Perhaps due to his incapacity to talk, he is regarded by the others as a holy figure - perhaps with a highly developed sense of the intuitive mind.

Mute Boy with black and white face paint

The Lost Children are a group of kids who crash landed in the Australian Desert after a nuclear war and the adults have long ago all passed away. They grow up isolated from any adult culture. This results in a misinterpretation of their heritage and mutation of their language.

But they believe that someday 'Captain Walker' will come back. They interpret the arrival of Mad Max played by Mel Gibson as the cosmic return of the semi-legendary Captain Walker.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Forlorn Flag of the Orkney Islands & the Forlorn Nation of Scania

These two regions of Europe's would be 'Northern Mediterranean' sea have similar cultural flags that shout out - nation.

Scania is on the sourthn tip is Sweden that was hotly contested between Denmark and Sweden. It is in the 'be our best bud not theirs category' like Smolensk, Alsace-Lorraine, and during the US Civil War - Kentucky. Eventually dreams of a Danish tip on Scandinavia Major were extinguished. Likewise long long ago Danish ambition amongst the Orkney Isles was smothered.

The unofficial flag of the Orkney Islands is attached to the previously unofficial flag of Scania - recently made legal in 1999. The official flag of the Orkney Islands differs and is paired up another flag - the Aland Inslands.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

The US state flags are ugly and should be changed?

Perhaps?

However there seems to be a reason for everything, at least most of the time.

It is easy to dismiss and scorn things that seem unusual. It seems to be a part of our nature. For example the Algol Star has a noticeable variability - thus the ancient mind in nearly all cultures assumed it was associated with the dark arts or evil. This variable star is the eye of Medusa in the Perseus Constellation.

Basically heraldic and humbly appropriate state seal flags are often judged in the modern eye as ugly. The key motive to change flags of this nature is rooted to personal taste. But this effort to create pleasing flags to today's view point obliterates historical value, and replaces it with the fluctuating flavors of the moment. Who is to say that in 50 years tastes wont change again?

A key argument to keep state flags as they are is that they illustrate the phenomena of Providence. Almost by 'accident' the 50 American State Flags show a pattern that echos of why things are and reveals a meta-vexillological structure.

The new paradigm is that flags exhibit a certain kind of dualistic pattern. A coherent pattern emerges with the 50 US state flags, when put in a certain order - two by two. This idea runs counter to the seemingly random order of flag creation. Who would've thought that each US state flag can be paired up with a similar looking flag? And are deeply tied together with parallel lines of culture, politics, and history?

This idea may seem like a 'strange red pill.' But perhaps you need to see and it for yourself - watch the videos below.

This idea is big and has the potential to change the way we look at America and the international order. It is a strange and lonely feeling to be at the spear head of a new idea. Lonely because we are the first to come up with a new idea, and strange because this idea invokes the power of synchronicity and Providence.

And going out on a limb...any civilization similar to our own that has nation states populated with equivalent flags will, I strongly theorize will also exhibit this matching vexilloid phenomena.

A question often asked after meeting people who 'get this flag paring phenomena' is 'How does this happen?' My current answer is that it points to Providence and or synchronicity. Providence and synchronicity essentially describe the same phenomena but with slightly different qualifiers.

Washington spoke a lot about 'providence'
which is synonymous to 'synchronicity.' He never spoke
of synchronicity because it was not yet coined!

Providence was one of George Washington's favorite adjectives for the footprint of the divine. The key to understanding its meaning only comes with time and experience. To know Providence is to know falling in love. Providence is a deep loving feeling in conjunction with a logical or non-logical thought.

The questions of 'How come?' 'Why did it happen that way?' and judgement of a situation as being good or bad fortune become moot with a heartfelt experience of Providence. Providence is the call sign to the non-linear reality that permeates our logical centers of mind.

With Providence regret no longer feels like a harsh burden but seems to take on a semi-solid shape, acting as a barrier in the best interest of your own protection. Overall Providence is a very comforting Yoda like Jedi Knight feeling.

Synchronicity is a relatively new baby boomer word that became official in 1951. Before the rise of scientific objective reality, Providence was shadowed with a heavy spell of superstition. With the advent of the industrial revolution and modern 'objective' point of view - the enchanting rhythms of Providence went to the way side.

But Dr. Carl Jung's scientific investigation brought new life into the perceptible non-linear heart felt personal experience commonly known as synchronicity. His work resulted in a modern reformation of Providence into the word "synchronicity." Providence was presented in an academic manner, palatable to the hard nosed modern scientific academic establishment.

The key difference between Providence and synchronicity is that synchronicity has a non-religious connotation while Providence has an overtly spiritual-divine flare.

Basically synchronicity is Providence cloaked in 'Western academic mumbo-jumbo,' or rather Providence is synchronicity is covered with divine-love.

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