List of books from Abe Books, weird books. Many more at the link.
I selected less than 1/3, dragged them to photoshop, and then used only half of those. I hated leaving weird books behind.
One of Abe Books' weird books is The Pop-Up Book of Phobias. What's weird about that? I own that one. It's a popular book even among non-collectors. Gawl.
Pop-ups by Matthew Reinhart, uncharacteristically uncomplicated. You should buy one.
12 comments:
The Joys Of Jello.
That goes in many directions.
Has anyone else noticed how lame the North Korean flag is?
Really? I was admiring how ace it is, design-wise. I'd rate it an A.
Whereas South Korea flag is just dopey. Universal balance, and the four elements. Big f'k'n deal. How impressive. NOT! Utter absence of imagination. For design, I rate it a D-.
For design, Japan is the best. The best of all of the flags. And the whole peace-flag/war flag thing is outstanding. Put the rays on the sun, and you got purpose. A scary purposeful flag. Best of all designs. A+++ For both flags.
For design, USA near the bottom, way too busy. So many stars crammed into one corner. And the number changes. rated D
Same with Britain. Ugly-ass flag. Looks menacing. Equates with confederate flag. Just gross. Rated F.
Mexico. Deplorable. F
Canada, excellent. Simple and meaningful. A
Chip! The Stars and Stripes is a great flag. And I'm talkin' design-wise. Yes, it's busy but so what? Simple is not always best. Likewise The Union Jack. Great flag. Well, we'll just have to agree to disagree. The only flag I hope we can agree is spectacularly beautiful is the flag of Brazil. Now don't disappoint me. :^)
It's a little like judging your Mother's beauty. It's impossible to be objective.
The history of the American flag is worth learning. The overall aspect ratio, the size of the stars, all of those things are well thought out and many of the details have great historical significance.
http://www.vexman.net/flagspec.htm
Think of it in terms of graphic design. Not how cool it is. Or how much you love it.
I thought Hawaii State flag should be an island with palm tree and a rainbow, and here it is some serious shit, with fuck all backward British flag. It's a ship thing meaning distress on board, and the rest those stupid white, red, blue bars. Yuk. It's an ugly flag.
Mexico has that stupid eagle on a cactus with a snake in its mouth. Symbolism is one thing but allegory on a flag is another. And allegory of Aztec mythology, omitting all the other indian groups, most of whom were better. Aztecs were the worst. Their entire economic structure depended upon pillaging the production of their neighbors. And Mexico's national anthem absolutey sucks. And I mean chupa la iguana muy grande.
There. I said it. They have terrible aesthetic sense.
Mexicans, at the cry of war
Make ready the steel and the bridle
And let the earth shake to the core
At the roar of the cannon
And let the earth shake to the core
At the roar of the cannon
Gird, oh country, your head with an olive wreath
Given by the divine archangel of peace
Since your eternal destiny was written in heaven
by the finger of God
But should a foreign enemy
Profane your ground with their sole
Think, oh beloved country, that heaven
Has given you a soldier in every son
Dear homeland! Dear homeland!
Your children swear
To exhale breath in your cause
If the bugle in its belligerent (warlike) tone
Summons them to fight with courage
You will get the olive garlands!
They will have a memory of glory!
You will get a laurel of victory!
They will have a tomb of honor!
Don't make us come over there and kick your butts again.
See what I mean? Terrible flag, terrible Himno Nacional Mexicano.
Cool flags with dragons are excellent art but not graphically wise because it condemns children to master drawing dragons. You have to be an artist straight up just to draw your own flag.
Flags with writing on them suck. It means no imagination.
Flags that children couldn't draw suck.
U.S. Flag is one such. Children don't know how to arrange the stars in two sets, 30 stars interlaced with 20 stars; 5X6 interlaced with 4X5. Too complex. They might know how many stripes but they seldom know which color to start with and which color underlines the the box of stars, and which color to end with. Ans: R,W,R. Too much going on. Terrible logo. Also, a 5-pointed star is the most difficult star to get right.
This is how hard it is to draw a 5-pointed star. First draw a clock face. 5 (star points) X 12 minutes = 60 minutes. So then, put a red dot at:
O seconds, 12 seconds, 24 seconds 36 seconds 48 seconds
Or
12:00
2 min 2 sec
4 min 4 sec
7 min 1 sec
9 min 3 sec
Then connect the dots. Every other dot.
There has to be a better way.
360 ° ÷ 5 = 72
Therefore, start at the top and use a protractor to discover 72° and 144° Fold in half and mark the points opposite for 216° and 288°.
There has to be a better way.
We all know ↙︎, ↗︎,←, ↘︎, ↖︎
But you must find your exact points first. Or else your stars come out all wonky.
Betsy Ross, why did you pick a 5-pointed star? Huh? Had you picked a 6-sided star, the whole flag-drawing thing would be a lot easer. And now we're all vexed. All of us. Forever.
Dear internet, how did Betsy Ross draw a 5-pointed star?
[betsy ross, 5-pointed star]
* Cut a 5-pointed star in one snip. U.S. history.
1) 10 X 8.5 paper fold in half.
2) Fold again, then unfold to get a line. (half of 5" = 2.5")
3) Folding from the vertical center (4.25) bring the top left corner down the line you made.
4) Bring that same corner back to the left, folded over itself to match the left edge.
5) Do the same thing to the top right corner.
6) Bring the new folded corners together.
7) Bring the new right corner up to the top point and fold to create a line.
8) Cut from that corner through the fold line you just created and the original vertical line, Snip off most of the paper.
9) Viola! I meant to say, Voila! Now you have a perfect star but with a crease down the center of each point. Who cares? It's for a flag. You got your star template.
If your star looks like crap its probably because you're a dope. Start over and try again, and keep trying until you get it right, Stupid.
That instruction was too hard. Let's keep looking.
Betsy Ross Star. All About Origami.
Betsy Ross knew about origami? U.S./Japan relations began early 19th century. Betsy Ross did not know about origami. It's the exact same instruction.
They were terribly clever. I couldn't think of that if I had a year. I still don't see how they start with a rectangular piece of paper and find the five points within a circle. They're blowing my mind. I'm going to have to try it and see how this works. Because they cut through points made by dividing things in half and discard most of the material. If Betsy Ross really did this then she sure was ace.
Man, our forbearers were smart.
But they were terrible at graphic art. And they had no idea how many states the country would grow to. The whole star thing got way out of hand. And that's why the flag is graphically poor.
But it's okay to still love it.
My favorite, after the Betsy Ross original or the Fort McHenry Star Spangled Banner was the 48 star flag. I have one framed. It used to hang in my living room. I took it down when Obama was elected. Maybe I should put it back up.
The circle of stars was a good one. But those days are gone unless one is a yachtsman.
hair metal makes me laff
I like the 48 star one too.
We had one in 1965 in a brand spanking new school, the second of three 5th grade schools. Three schools in one year. The tile was new, the ceilings were new, the doors and windows and desks were new, every book in the library was brand new. The flags were new. But outdated. And I sat there and looked up at it and thought, now that's how stars should be arranged, six rows of eight, just like God intended.
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