That's a good hobby....my wife does that also, she took all my old rush shirts and shirts from parties and fraternity related and made a nice quilt with it.

And vexillology is mentioned in a New York Times story today on a possible new flag for New Zealand: Maybe One Less Union Jack.

Quote:

While some critics are dubious about using a sports symbol [a silver fern on a black field is a popular alternative suggestion to the current flag, the silver fern being a national symbol used by national sports teams]—arguing that a country needs a flag, not a logo—The Herald was on the mark when it urged Mr. Key in an editorial to go bold and not leave momentous aesthetic decisions in the hands of a committee of politicians. “The selection of a design to be put before the public should not made by senior ministers,” the editorial said. “It should be entrusted to a panel of vexillologists, artists and designers.” That makes sense. For practitioners of vexillology — the study of flags — an opportunity like this does not come often, and they are surely eager to make the most of it.

For reference, the current New Zealand flag:

http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/n/nz.gif

and the silver fern flag:

http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/n/nz!sfern.gif

Now, back to our regularly scheduled thread on hobbies.


You need to check out the new Food Network Magazine. It has 50 deviled egg recipes. I really want to try the beef and horseradish one.

I usually put horseradish in mine - I'll have to check out the addition of beef, too! Is your daughter still making them?

She hasn't in awhile. I think she "overdosed" on them, so she hasn't been wanting any.

[QUOTE=MysticCat;2266579]And vexillology is mentioned in a New York Times story today on a possible new flag for New Zealand: Maybe One Less Union Jack.

For reference, the current New Zealand flag,

and the silver fern flag.

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Anybody take Latin in school? The vexilla or vexalla was the cloth standard of the Roman Legions. Each legion had a vexilla and an Eagle surmounting the initials S.P.Q.R. Each Cohort (roughly a battalion sized unit usually part of a legion but sometimes operating indepentently) had a Maniple, a bronze hand with other insigniae to identify the unit. Any body remember what S.P.Q.R. stood for? How about a Maniple - why a bronze hand?
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Different comment: Why get rid of the "Union Jack" in the NZ flag? Since Her Majesty is still Queen of New Zeeland it seems odd that the visual link to the soverign would be eliminated.

Senatus Populusque Romanus—The Senate and People of Rome.

Ask Canada why they did it 50 years ago.

As for New Zealanders, three main reasons: The current flag looks too colonial, it looks too much like the flags of too many other Commonwealth countries, especially Australia, and it's too British to represent such a diverse country.

The real question is what happens to the Union flag if Scotland votes to leave the Union.

SPQR - Mark one up for you! You nailed it (although I expected you would)!

Canada - HM is also Queen of Canada. Last demographic breakdown of Canada that I saw showed it to be not all that diverse. Native Canadians are far fewer than Native Americans and the two largest groups are British and French with several other relatively tiny minority groups. I think a key point is that HM is not the Queen of England here, she is Queen of Canada.

Australia - I grant you that Australia is far more diverse than I realized until about five years ago. Seems that since WWII Australia has really developed a diverse population. Still, HM is Queen of Australia directly. Couple of years back they held a plebecite and a strong majority of Australians voted to retain the Monarchy with HM as Queen.

New Zeeland - Again, the demographic breakdown is far less diverse than Australia. Native Maoris are few in number and Brits are the dominant majority. HM is Queen of New Zeeland directly as well.

My take is that if Her Britannic Majesty is Queen then the Union portion of the flag ought to be retained. Do whatever with the rest of the flag but keep the union portion intact.

As to Scotland, they would probably just remove the Cross of St Andrew and revert to the flag in use before the Act of Union. Incidentally, HM is Queen of Scotland although in Scotland she is Elizabeth I not Elizabeth II. Elizabeth I of England was never Queen of Scotland.

Over to you.

Hobby? Smokin' emcees with a mic in my hand. Sucka emcees come at me and end up one of those 21 emcees, a la Rakim.

I take seven emcees, put 'em in a line.
Add seven more brothers who think they can rhyme.
Well, it'll take seven more before I go for mine
And that's 21 emcees ate up at the same time.

Video games. Poker. Exploring different beers and wines. Exploring new restaurants. Riding my bicycle. Trolling Internet message boards (not here anymore, of course). ;) I just got suspended for two weeks on another board, and if I cut up again they will ban me. Looks like I will be spending more time on GC in the mean time. :)

My point in mentioning Canada was not diversity—though in the sense of "not everyone here is British, just ask Quebec," that was a consideration. I mentioned Canada as an example of a Commonwealth country that maintains the monarchy but chose to move away from a colonial flag. In the case of Canada, that was a red ensign rather than a blue ensign. I think most would say that the Maple Leaf flag is a much better Canadian flag than the defaced red ensign.

Haven't looked into it myself, though the article I linked says Auckland is more diverse than London or Sydney. Regardless, diversity is one reason the people of New Zealand (not Zeeland) are considering a new flag. To them, it matters. FWIW, it's been an issue in Australia for a decade or two as well.

Meh. The defaced blue ensign is the British equivalent of the seal-on-a-bed-sheet flags of so many American states—virtually indistinguishable except on close inspection.

Sorry, but unlikely, not quite and no.

First, the flag before the Union was the Cross of St. George, which is the flag of England. Ireland (Northern or otherwise) wasn't represented in the flag as it is now. Meanwhile, Wales may want some recognition. There have been various ideas and predictions in Britain already, and none have been simply using the Cross of St. George.

Second, properly speaking there is no such person as the Queen (or King) of Scotland, or of England for that matter. The Act of Union abolished the English and Scottish thrones, making the monarch the King or Queen of the United Kingdom. But if the throne of Scotland still existed, or if Scotland leaves the Union and re-establishes the Scottish throne, Elizabeth would correctly be Queen of Scots.

Third, while it is correct that there was never an Elizabeth I in Scotland, the decision was made when she became Queen that to avoid confusion she would be Elizabeth II throughout the UK, even in Scotland. (She is, however, a Presbyterian when in Scotland, not an Anglican.) Likewise, at least if Winston Churchill's advice were to be followed, a King James would James VII throughout the UK, even England. Of course, an independent Scotland might decide otherwise about Elizabeth II/I.

ETA: Sorry for the thread derailment. I guess Anglophilia and Scotophilia could be considered other hobbies of mine. :o

Bird watching. I'm a total bird nerd.
Hiking. I aspire to hike the entire AT someday. For now while the kids are small, I live vicariously through Trail Journals online and do small hikes at home.
Baking. Cookies, breads, pies, cakes once in a while, other assorted desserts. I HATE cooking though.
Reading.
Selling my Damsel in Defense. This has become my biggest time consumer lately, but it's totally worth it. I love helping other women protect themselves.

I'm a quilter. Been addicted for about 15 years.

DaffyKD

Have you ever done a "big year"? Like the movie, or is that fictitious?

Storage locker auctions (hobby and job), selling stuff on eBay (hobby and job), and drag racing. :)