This holiday weekend marks the end of the second season of the Thursday Quiz and the first season of the Monday Quiz. You'll be happy to know, I guess, that the Board of Director has already selected topics for another season of both Quizzes, to begin immediately this Monday. But until then, let's just take a moment to admire the trophy cases of some of our most bling-bedecked quiz regulars.
Mmmmm... Crow....
In the responses to this week's Monday Quiz, Rex Parker made this observation:
"I maintain that [Sol LeWitt] is a hundred million times more obscure than the other artists."
To which I dismissively but cleverly responded:
"@Rex: Nah, Sol LeWitt is roughly on par with Chagall and Rothko. One advantage he has is that, because of the three-letter first name and the consonant-vowel pattern of his last name, he shows up a lot in crossword puzzles. You should try your hand at crossword puzzles, Rex. I bet you'd really enjoy them."
Unfortunately, I later decided I would prove the point to myself with the help of the always-entertaining Google Trends. And here is the Trends graph showing Kandinsky, Chagall, Rothko, and LeWitt:
Damn. Rex, you were right and I was wrong. There, I said it.Interestingly, here is the Trends graph showing Kandinsky, Chagall, Rothko, LeWitt, and Rex Parker:
And lastly, here is the Trends graph showing michael5000:
The L&TM5K Awards for Flag Merit: Readers' Categories:
On Tuesday, fellow flag critic Chance suggested the banner of the Moscow-area Oblast of Yaroslavl as a candidate for Most Bad-Ass Flag.
On Tuesday, fellow flag critic Chance suggested the banner of the Moscow-area Oblast of Yaroslavl as a candidate for Most Bad-Ass Flag.
I'm inclined to agree. Runners-Up: Angola, Albania, Wales, Lviv Oblast (Ukraine), Saudi Arabia.Also: New flag critic Rebel, in a move certain to be popular in the Middle East, declared Lebanon the winner of the Most Christmassy Flag category.
Runners-Up: Norfolk Island, Bangladesh, Surinam, Belarus, Tainan County (Taiwan), Simbu Province (Papua New Guinea), Smaland Province (Sweden).
This will hopefully mollify Kadonkadonk as well, who seemed to feel that Lebanon was slighted in the original awards.ChuckDaddy, meanwhile, has suggested that Maryland has the Ugliest Flag.
This is not an opinion endorsed by L&TM5K. I see his point, but I actually like the Maryland banner for its unabashed old-school heraldic elements. (I am, however, openly hostile to the Old Line State's campy motto: "Fatti maschii, parole femine" -- "Manly deeds, womanly words.") In the Ugly Flag department, Zambia, Seychelles, Macedonia, and South Africa are standouts for me on the world stage; among the many train wrecks of the U.S. state flags, Delaware and North Dakota are highly egregious examples. How about you, gentle reader? Do you have a nomination or vote for Ugliest Flag?
Regarding Bridget B's idea of a "flag makeover" -- well, we'll be getting back to that soon.
Regarding Bridget B's idea of a "flag makeover" -- well, we'll be getting back to that soon.
Happy Holiday Weekend!
The Monday Quiz XI, which will have absolutely nothing to do with the birth, life, or legacy of Dr. King, will run at the usual time.
really? that's maryland's motto? now i'm openly hostile to it, too, but because it's terribly sexist.
ReplyDeletelove that bear with the axe, though.
that bear with the axe is TOTALLY badASS. no one's gonna fuck with a country with that flag.
ReplyDeletemaryland's flag sucks major balls. and so does their motto. seriously.
maryland's flag may, in fact, be the ugliest, but what's up with new jersey's? that has to be a close second.
I freakin' love the Maryland flag, man. It looks like something you'd see at Medieval Times. Way to be different.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my proudest moments.... all my years of watching PBS is starting to pay off.
ReplyDeleteHA! I wonder if I'm a trend. Probably not.
ReplyDeleteThe Maryland flag reminds me of my first marriage, specifically the point when we tried to compromise on a couch color.
ReplyDeleteWait, Chuckdaddy? I thought he retired. I was about to take him off my blogroll.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to check out the trends. I like a cool graph. Sol Le Witt had a traveling exhibit this year. I saw it at Oberlin's Allen Museum. That may explain the spike in interest this year.
ReplyDeleteOh that ugly flag . . .is.