Thursday, December 30, 2010

teaparty Prodigy Of The Week: History 101 (D-) Design 101 (F)

Can we deal with the smaller sign on the left first? It contains an oft-repeated misquote attributed to Founding Father Thomas Jefferson that has been co-opted by foam-at-the-mouth teapartiers everywhere, and I'm pretty sick of it. Jefferson's actual quote is, "if we can but prevent the government from wasting the labours of the people, under the pretence of taking care of them, they must become happy." You can find the quote, in its proper context, here. The original document, even, is here. Interestingly, the aforementioned letter is a peek into Jefferson's brain and ranges into his opinions regarding a strong free press and his distinctly anti-Federalist views. You know those Federalists--the ones who opposed a little document near and dear to the teapartiers--The Constitution.
Also, that sign breaks my Big Rule: Not Succinct.

Now to The Main Event: What a disappointment that sign is, even to the teaparty. It is So Bad on So Many Levels that I might wear out my caps lock key. But humiliate it I must. Onward.

Firstly, from a solely Construction Standpoint, this "sign" is a travesty. Do you see that it is a sign ON a sign? Was this a Take-Home Project, and it still looks this terribly shlocky? I think it's even four sheets of 8 1/2 x 11 copy paper gluestik'd onto the posterboard. What's more, I think it is taped onto a snow shovel or some other implement. Look at the size of that handle and the two strips of broad, strapping Scotch tape that are straining to hold it all together. Yikes.

Now let's consider the Graphics on this sign. They are just hurtful to look at. There is a haphazard mix of upper and lower case letters. The positioning of the words is chaotic and thoughtless. The interrogative punctuation mark is, astonishingly, pleasantly wrought, but sags below the word line. And there is the egregiously unnecessary use of three exclamation points. Perhaps this may be acceptable if the teapartier in question is, possibly a seventh-grader discussing Justin Bieber on Instant Messenger, but if not, and if the teapartier is attempting to be Taken Seriously In His Outrage, then he has failed. And I digress. More befuddling is the overall color/design--or lack thereof. The observer is led to believe that the theme is blue & green, yet suddenly a bloody swath is cut by the S in "STOP." But not entirely! Either the red marker (and the blue and green ones, apparently) ran out and the signmaker did not have sufficient saliva to keep it going, or, like so many teapartiers, it had the perseverance of Governor Palin and quit halfway.

Finally, what teaparty sign would be complete without Inept Spelling? Homonyms are such a challenge for this group, ourn't they? There just sew dumb. And they don't have a handle on plurals either. At least they didn't spell it tax's. Then we'd all have to grab our axs and go over their and teach them a thing or too.

11 comments:

  1. I think it looks like a little kid did the lettering on that big sign. Somehow the idea of a parent bringing her kid in on it strikes me as even creepier than that of an adult turning out such crappy work.

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  2. " There just sew dumb. And they don't have a handle on plurals either."

    Oh,yeah, they have a handle,all right but,unfortunately,it belongs to my snow shovel,and I need it right now.I want to go down to that rally and bop some sense into "there" heads with it...

    Meanwhile, Nance, I'm on my way to sunny 40 degree Florida for the Winter.

    HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL ...

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  3. Nancy--I'm sure things will warm up down there soon, but right now, in NEO, we're basking in 57 degrees! I'm in Unseasonable Heaven, but wary. I know this is Terribly Shortlived. Enjoy FLA. I know lots of Floridians, so behave!

    Mary G.--I laughed out loud--seriously--when I saw your comment. Perfect!

    Siren--Hi! You know, I do too, but you never know. Did you notice the strange capital A in "taxs"? Like a birdhouse with a bridge.

    If a kid did do it, then shame on the parent for a variety of reasons, really.

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  4. Maybe the Dept. of Nance should declare 2011 as "The Year of the Sign."

    Signs and wonders.
    Signs and stupidity.
    Signs of the times.

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  5. Chaotic and thoughtless. I think both describe our Tea Party members completely.

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  6. aplo--Yikes. Don't lay claim to them ("our")!

    V--Oh, it's going to be The Year of Something, I'm sure. But I think it's a bit premature to decide What already.

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  7. I actually love that the sign is made from a snow shovel. Mostly because, like Nancy, it seems to make more of a weapon out of the sign. I clocked a bully over the head with a snow shovel when I was a kid. He was beating up my brother. He didn't mess with us again. Even though I was probably 7 or 8 at the time, and he was 12 or so (to my brother's 9 or 10).

    The thing that was confusing to me was the 'raisins'...then I realized it was 'raising', and lost interest in the rest of the idiocy.

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  8. Bwahahahahahahaha!!! I love, love, LOVE this post! Nance you're great :-) And I quote "It is So Bad on So Many Levels that I might wear out my caps lock key." That made me giggle out loud, because I was thinking the same thing when I studied the picture before reading the post!

    I am going to have to share this with others...

    P.S. HNY!!! ;-)

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  9. Tera--Welcome back to the Dept.! You have a lot of catching up to do. Happy New Year, and I do hope that 2011 is kinder to you than 2010, and on So Many Levels! LOL.

    j@jj--Speaking of snow shovels, don't tell me that you might have to get one over there in Cali, now! I see that some parts of your fair state that never get the White Stuff got some! Yikes!!

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  10. Yes! Thank you, and phew! I thought I would come back to some cursage after I so purposely used 3 exclamation points at the end of my Post Script. ;-) LMAO!

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  11. We never get it here. Even last year, when people who live 20 minutes away from us got a dusting, we didn't get any. :( It's not fair. I think the last time it snowed enough to make a snowball at our low altitude was 1975. And the people who got it last year hadn't had it since 1975 either, so it just doesn't happen often. Coincidentally, 1975 is the year we moved from Alaska to California, and I was missing snow SO very much. Little did I know it was going to be forever before I saw it again. Sigh.

    We can go to Tahoe if we want snow, and we sometimes do...and I lived in Philly from 94 - 96, and we got 3 feet in one storm, so I do have a TINY bit of street cred. But the Bay Area is feared much more for its earthquakes, fires, and insanely high housing prices than for our snow or our humidity.

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