Galaxy Express 999 - Train Guidance Flags 銀河鉄道 999 (スリーナイン)

 銀河鉄道 999 or rather the Galaxy Rail Line 999 was first broadcast on Earth in the year 1978.  It was made for Japanese audiences, but has subsequently reached millions beyond.

It is a Space Opera of a Star Trek kind from Japan, with its own unique spin.  The story centers on lucky Earth boy who obtained a coveted galactic rail pass for Inter Galactic Travel.  His mission is to get a planet where flesh and blood organisms can get a cybernetic body for free.  Accompanying our young hero is May-teru, メーテル who is wise and beautiful figure of guidance and protection.  She is loving, intelligent, and powerful.  When she has to fight, you'll find yourself backing and rooting for her 100%. 

Finally, there is an alien train conductor that looks like a Jawa from Star Wars.  No doubt this series was inspired by Lucas's work, and space based science fiction reached a boiling point across the world in 1977.

In one commercial break still shot you can see Tetsuro (星野 鉄郎) riding on a train. He is holding a solid yellow flag in his right hand and white flag in his left hand.

The train conductor is an enigmatic fellow.  Notice the glowing eyes like a Jawa.  The Jawa conductor is your average policy nub, however time and time again he is forced to show his human side to his companions across the cosmos.

The series was written by 松本零士, Matsumoto Reiji of Kurume, Fukuoka.  He also had a hand in directing Starblazers also known as Space Battleship Yamato -宇宙戦艦ヤマ. 


 

76 AD - Calibration Date for 76∞ Infinitum

Flag day 2020 brings into focus a flag dedicated to 76'∞ Infinitum.  This flag is the pre-septa' millennial flag for the year 76AD.  It is based upon the fusion of the 1776 American Betsy Ross flag, modern flag of Rome and ancient standards from the Roman Empire in the year 76.

The flag has stripes of golden yellow and red; the yellow stripes dominant.  In the canton is the Roman SPQR in an olive wreath.  SPQR means Senatus Populusque Romanus, which can be translated as: The Senate and People's Quorum of Rome.

Today, a quorum is the minimum number of persons needed for an assembly in order to conduct business.    Above the olive wreath is the Roman Eagle with cloud of 13 stars taken from the American Coat of Arms.  Thus this flag represents that the Dream of America is a timeless construct that was sleeping in the heart of Rome on June 14, 76.

Who knows what further dreams of the future will exist in the collective consciousness of 2176 or in the year 7676.  Will they remember the way and means of 1976 let alone 1076?  Will political correct language change so much that reading books from 2020 be banned, by the police or firehumans? Perhaps new political ideals will rise to surface that are hidden subliminally within our collective unconscious?

Although democracy is not an American invention, the seeds of modern America are partially derived from Ancient Rome.  Democracy as a governing body of persons is a timeless tradition practiced by all civilizations at one time or another in varying degrees.  However with the United States, the dedication to a democratic ideal rose to the surface as an honored and nearly sacred trust, that is to be maintained and protected.

The year 76 would have been a strange yet familiar world.  In the year 76, the second Pope, Pope Linus I passed away.  Linus was followed by Bronze Pope of Rome, Pope Anacletus I.    On the other side of the world the Jianchu Dynasty began.  In the Americas, the nations were in a dreamlike state of consciousness.  The triumphs and failures of the names of kings, queens, and country folk flowed in and out of consciousness, the details of 10,000 beautiful stories of struggle and glory were lost, until words were written.

Yet in another way, they were more awake to natural and primal forces of Nature.  Although the ancients of America could not read minds from the past, as we do today, they were better suited to read the unwritten word of Mother Nature and Father Sky.  Today, much of the modern mind is trapped in the overly precise and short sighted domain of words and symbolism.  Much has been forgotten on the way with the languages of  the Wind, Animals, Rocks, Earth and Heavens.

Nonetheless, this flag is dedicated to the spirits of 76'∞. 

NAVA 54 Vexibit—Startis Andredis: Septinsular Republic Flag

Startis Andredis presented a flag about the short lived Septinsular Republic that was trapped in the twilight zone between Russian and Ottoman Empires, in the after glow of revolutionary ambition stoked by Napoleon the Corsican.  The majority of the population was Greek, so in a manner of speaking it was the first precursor state to modern nation of Greece.

The flag looked much somewhat like the Republic of Venice.  After Napoleon's defeat this 'nation' became an autonomous zone from 1807 to 1815.  The British adopted these isles in 1815 and held sway until they proceeded to join Greece in 1864.

Andredis also showed us the Naval flag of the Septinsular Republic, which only had one ship.  The Naval Septinsular Republic flag had framing of yellow with an canton of St. Mark's lion on red within a blue field.

NAVA 54 Vexibit—Grant Owens: Vexillological Association of Kansas City

Grant Owens presented the flag and details about a relatively new vexillological association in Kansas City, Missouri—the Vexillological Association of Kansas City. The Flag has the standard V shape and uses the colours cyan, navy blue and white.

Links to the Group as as follows:
WEBSITE: https://vexikc.wordpress.com/
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/VexillologicalAssociationofKansasCity/
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/vexikc
INSTAGRAM: @vexick

NAVA 54 Vexibit—Al Calavari: Annin & Co Postcard Recall Notice from 1917

Al Calavari showed us an artifact from 1917 as the United States entered WWI.  During such times the demand for US flags can increase.  Consequently Annin & Co. sent out a post card notice that older price quotes are hereby changed, due to 'unprecedented demand for U.S. flags.'

Often in times of crisis and before the start of new war there is collective patriotic push organically signaled by an durastic demand for US flags.

NAVA 54 Vexibit—Greg Hersh: A New Flag for Kodiak Island Proposal

Greg Hersh presented a vexibit for one of America's largest islands, Kodiak Island.  Currently, the city of Kodiak on Kodiak island has the typical rank and file seal on a field flag (RAFSOAF Flag).  Kodiak City's flag features four creatures: a bear, salmon, king crab, and prawn.

Hersh proposed a Kodiak Flag redesign in the 'Good Flag' style.  It is composed of a field of blue and black divided by a thin diagonal bend, from the lower hoist to upper fly.  In the middle is an eight pointed rose compass of green with white fimbration, with the cardinal points larger than the middle points.


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As stated in the opening speech by the current ICV president Zeljko Heimer, this is not vexillology.  Specifically, creating and designing flags is not vexillology.  But talking and writing about a newly designed flag flag is vexillology.  Likewise, the countless flag designs that become are not vexillology, until another person describes the flag: as within the descriptive-data collection field of vexillology.  It is a weird corner that the founder of vexillology has painted himself into and other would be vexillologists.

Further, Whitney Smith's fame as the founder of vexillology is critically dependent upon himself designing one particular flag... for Guyana.  Smith owes much of his gravitas and fame for not doing vexillology.  Ironically, the world remembers Whitney Smith best, for his non-vexilological work, which he himself does not consider to merit the inclusion within the definition of vexillology.

Smith's key footnote to world civilization is (from his perspective) as an artists, than as an academic.  The quandry for Smith is that he will always be best remembered as a vexillologist for a "non-vexillological achievement" as the primary flag designer for the nation of Guyana.  It seems quite illogical that excluding the creation of flags as a non-vexillological exercise.  Yet, Smith was able to recognize his own imperfections, he once stated it might have been a better idea to spelled this discipline as vexology or vexilology instead of vexillology.  Unto this day, vexillology catches flack from spell checks across the internet, as it is yet to be considered a real world by the matrix of machine mind, maybe a change in the spelling and definition of vexillology is in order?    

 

NAVA 54 Vexibit—Ted Kaye: A Rajneesh Flag from Oregon

Ted Kaye was personally given a flag from the Rajneeshi community of Oregon.  It has the iconic emblem of the red and white dive above a transitioning sun.  The background field is similar to the flag of Poland, but the red area is larger.

If you didn't know the Rajneesh community made headlines in 1981 to 1988 as an alternative and somewhat controversial experimental utopian community, that was derived from the culture of India.  The local US government had several issues with this American community tilted towards an India spiritual path, yet blended with new age ideals.  Unlike the tragedy of Waco, Texas with the Branch Davidians, bloodshed was averted.

The topic was of particular interest to Kaye, since the organization lived within his home state of Oregon.  Kaye is the primary author of Good Flag, Bad Flag.

He also expanded upon the wording of Bad Flag.  Bad Flag refers to 'Bad Flag Design' rather than a flag being bad or evil.  Thus Good Flag refers to good flag design, which is a flag that is recognizable and easy to determine from great distances.