2014-05-29

Crisântemos nas ruínas



Ruínas da Catedral de São Paulo
Ruins of Saint Paul's Cathedral
Historic City Centre
Macau
Special Territory, China
中國 澳門 大三巴牌坊
2014.02.14
© Alton Thompson 唐博敦

Cathedral constructed 1582-1602
Façade constructed 1620-1627
Cathedral destroyed in fire 1835



2014-05-25

Vishnu Kurmavatara Churns the Milk Ocean


Suvarnabhumi International Airport (BKK) 
Bangkok, Thailand 
ไทยกรุงเทพ 
 2007.02.14 
©Alton Thompson 唐博敦
Samudra manthan • Churning the Milk Ocean 
Vishnu Kurmavatara dances atop Mount Mandara. Demigods (devas) and
demons 
(asuras) on either side churn the the primordial Milk Ocean to
obtain 
amrita, the nectar of immortality.

Alton's Images
________________________

2014-05-18

Leading Lady

We Florida State alums have been talking quite a bit lately about logos and attendant art work. This seems a good time to offer a suggestion for adding a new touch of elegance to a lady I have always admired: the icon of women's athletics.


Florida State had a distinguished history as a women's school through the first half of the twentieth century, and the first national titles the co-ed university earned were in women's sport. The logo adopted for use by women's athletics has been popular since its inception. Here's the design by the original artist that was adopted by the university:


Circles and ovals interact in a stylish way that leads the eye around the image and back to the face. In the hair strands the circles spin out into Art Nouveau curls. What's not to like?

Well, for me, just that single word State. As an identifier it's hardly distinctive. There are many states. Fortunately, the school has long since abandoned that approach, preferring to identify itself on the international stage with more informative constructions like Florida State and FSU.

The school's recent development of a uniform pattern based on traditional Seminole patchwork offers a chance to retire that lackluster detail. Going with the so-called 'heritage pattern' in the headband gives the lady a more realistic and elegant look. Happily, the central symbol in the patchwork pattern implies both an F and an S.

Here's the lady again, with my recommended update:


Just a suggestion, for the good of the order. Go, Seminoles.

__________________


2014-05-10

News from Taiwan



The post that originally appeared here has been revised and published as a free e-book. Please consider downloading News from Taiwan from the Smashwords site, and let me know what you think.

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