[analog drawing, digitized & 'shopped]
click to enlarge
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Wednesday, August 08, 2012
George Orwell on political-speak
"Political language—and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists—is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind." - George Orwell
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The origin and back story of the smiley face
By Jack Brummet, Pop Culture Editor
We mostly see it now as an "emoticon," a symbol used in computer messages, and sometimes tied to the phrase "have a nice day," but most often as a symbol for "like" or "I like this."
The smiley is the printable version of character 1 codepage 437 of the first IBM PC and all subsequent PC compatible computers. Unicode smiley and sad face characters :
Although the counterculture, and, later, the mainstream absorbed it, the ubiquitous image we all came to know was created in 1963 as a motivational image for employees of the State Mutual Life Assurance Company by Harvey Bell, a commercial artist. He created the design in ten minutes and was paid $45.
Even though Harvey Bell gets all the credit, the image was clearly in some use before 1963, like this advertisement for a movie from in 1953.
In 1967, Ball's smiley was used in an advertising campaign for Seattle's University Federal Savings & Loan. And the same design was later used when the Mad Man who launched that ad campaign, David Stern, ran for Mayor of Seattle in 1993 (he lost).
The smiley face made an appearance in the blockbuster movie, Forrest Gump. On one of his transcontinental runs, a shirt is given to Gump. When he wipes his face, the dirt stained shirt reveals what seems to be eyes and a mouth and the smiley face is born.
The overuse of the smiley face and"have a nice day" became annoying, and strayed far from its original meaning and intent. By the '70s. the smiley face and the phrase "have a nice day" become a hollow sentiment, perfect for Nixon-era America. Fifty years later,the unending smile, is still with us. Recently Wal-Mart abandoned it's use of the smiley on their uniforms and on signage. An interesting article on Wal-Mart's smiley can be found here.
A smiley face poster from the late 1960's
We mostly see it now as an "emoticon," a symbol used in computer messages, and sometimes tied to the phrase "have a nice day," but most often as a symbol for "like" or "I like this."
The smiley is the printable version of character 1 codepage 437 of the first IBM PC and all subsequent PC compatible computers. Unicode smiley and sad face characters :
| ☺ | U+263A or alt(+)1 | |
| ☹ | U+2639 | |
In the 60's, this yellow circle with two eyes and a smile (usually), the smiley face, was everywhere—on buttons, posters, signs, t-shirts, bumper stickers, coffee mugs, and emblazoned on numerous trinkets.
Harvey Bell's original smiley face?
Although the counterculture, and, later, the mainstream absorbed it, the ubiquitous image we all came to know was created in 1963 as a motivational image for employees of the State Mutual Life Assurance Company by Harvey Bell, a commercial artist. He created the design in ten minutes and was paid $45.
My version of the smiley
Even though Harvey Bell gets all the credit, the image was clearly in some use before 1963, like this advertisement for a movie from in 1953.
This work is in the public domain in that it was published in the
United States between 1923 and 1977 and without a copyright notice
Frownie
In 1967, Ball's smiley was used in an advertising campaign for Seattle's University Federal Savings & Loan. And the same design was later used when the Mad Man who launched that ad campaign, David Stern, ran for Mayor of Seattle in 1993 (he lost).
The smiley face made an appearance in the blockbuster movie, Forrest Gump. On one of his transcontinental runs, a shirt is given to Gump. When he wipes his face, the dirt stained shirt reveals what seems to be eyes and a mouth and the smiley face is born. The overuse of the smiley face and"have a nice day" became annoying, and strayed far from its original meaning and intent. By the '70s. the smiley face and the phrase "have a nice day" become a hollow sentiment, perfect for Nixon-era America. Fifty years later,the unending smile, is still with us. Recently Wal-Mart abandoned it's use of the smiley on their uniforms and on signage. An interesting article on Wal-Mart's smiley can be found here.
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Tuesday, August 07, 2012
The return of Governor Chris Christie (he actually never left)
By Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Editor
[illustration by Jack Brummet]
The Drudge Report reported today that President Barack Obama told a top fundraiser that Romney wants to choose Gen. David Petraeus for the vice presidential slot. That would be interesting. But it also appeared in The Drudge Report, so the veracity of that rumor is immediately called into question.
[illustration by Jack Brummet]
The Drudge Report reported today that President Barack Obama told a top fundraiser that Romney wants to choose Gen. David Petraeus for the vice presidential slot. That would be interesting. But it also appeared in The Drudge Report, so the veracity of that rumor is immediately called into question.
Politico today reported that
Tim Pawlenty, Rob Portman, Marco Rubio, Kelly Ayotte, Bob McDonnell, Paul Ryan and Bobby Jindal were out of the running, since they have all been assigned speaking slots at the Republican convention in three weeks. I still think that Rubio and Ryan are in it, but I have nothing rational or factual to back that up. Jeb Bush must have bigger plans for 2016 (assuming Romney survives his income tax problems and remains on the ticket). The Condoleezza Rice VP-ship was always just a GOP opium pipe-dream.
What's also interesting is that, after being more or less out of the running the last couple of months, Chris Christie is either being considered as a possible VP, or his name is being conspicuously tossed around just to keep things interesting (anything to get people to quit talking about Mitt Romney's taxes, and his disastrous European Leadership Tour). His loud, brash, blunt style would be an interesting, and most likely extremely-awkward, adjunct to Mitt Romney's near-total absence of charisma, charm, and, as we have seen the last few months, political intelligence, and a crippling inability to connect on any sort of retail level with the voters. Christie on the ticket wouldn't be an actual personality transplant for Ex-Governor Romney, but it might not hurt.
No one is voting for Mitt Romney; they're voting against The President. Mitt's big dilemma now is to figure out how to make people like him. And that, friendos, is a Sysiphean rock to push up the hill.
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Poem: The Reverse King Midas Touch
By Jack Brummet
Sending out feelers and then testing the ground,
The right place was one place he could
never be found.
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Monday, August 06, 2012
Washington State residents: don't forget to vote (and give the nod to Jay Inslee for Governor)
By Jack Brummet, Pablo Fanque, and Mona Goldwater
Hey friendos - we just wanted to remind you that if you live in Washington State, remember to vote and mail in your ballot today. That's the most important thing. But, if you can find it in your heart to vote for Jay Inslee for Governor, please do it! Jay has been Jack's congressman for a long time. He's a good soul and will be a great governor. In a very rare moment of solidarity, all three of the editors of All This Is That voted for him this weekend.
Hey friendos - we just wanted to remind you that if you live in Washington State, remember to vote and mail in your ballot today. That's the most important thing. But, if you can find it in your heart to vote for Jay Inslee for Governor, please do it! Jay has been Jack's congressman for a long time. He's a good soul and will be a great governor. In a very rare moment of solidarity, all three of the editors of All This Is That voted for him this weekend.
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Sunday, August 05, 2012
Ed Rendell: "I'm for Michele Bachmann for Vice President"
By Jack Brummet, ATIT Presidential Historian
Ex-Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell--one of my favorite yellow dog Democrats--weighed in with a big smile on Mitt Romney's Veepstakes on CBS's "Face The Nation," and even drew a chuckle from the show's host Bob Schieffer.
Ex-Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell--one of my favorite yellow dog Democrats--weighed in with a big smile on Mitt Romney's Veepstakes on CBS's "Face The Nation," and even drew a chuckle from the show's host Bob Schieffer.
“I just want to go on record," Rendell said. "I’m for Michele Bachmann for Vice President. I want everyone to be clear about that." Here's Rendell in a brief video clip:
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Golden Garden, Seattle - Bikini Days
By Jack Brummet
[analog-digital hybrid]
[analog-digital hybrid]
click to enlarge
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Saturday, August 04, 2012
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