Procrastination Is:

Procrastination from Johnny Kelly on Vimeo.

Stumbled across this video, it's me and every other designer I know to a T. Now I'm going to go and make a cuppa.

Yorkshirisms

So I was over on Tom's blog and I see that he's posted somthing rather relevant to my interests...

"According to statemaster.com, these are some Yorkshire/lancasterisms.

* A bit-a´snap (A snack)
* A bunch a´fives (A fist, as in, "I´ll gi-thee a bunch a´fives!" A punch)
* Ah-cud eet-an´ors (I could eat a horse; I´m very hungry)
* Ah-cud eet a´scabby-donkey tween tu Brea´t-Vans (I could eat a diseased donkey between two Bread Vans as a sandwich)
* A piece a´cake (Very easy to do)
* A puddin´ in´ t´oven (Pregnant)
* A rate gu-ard so-art (A good sort of person)
* Allus at´t last push up (Always at the last moment)
* A reet gud do (A good party/celebration/wedding reception)
* As daft as a brush (A stupid/silly person)
* As thick as two short planks (Really stupid)
* A´streak a-yellow reet darn ´is back (A coward)
* Black-as´ ace-a-spades (Very dirty)
* Bold-as-brass (Very confident)
* Box in´t corner (Television)
* Brass-necked (Very confident)
* By ecky-thump (An exclamation of surprise)
* Cleck-udders-fax (A fictional town comprised of Cleckheaton, Huddersfield & Halifax)
* Clobber-thee (I will hit you)
* Can´t fathom it (Too deep/complicated to work out/understand)
* Don´t be daft (Don´t be silly)
* Dun´t make a´ a-perth a-diff-rence (It doesn´t change it even by one half-penny)
* Eee an´t got-a-clue (He has no idea)
* Ee´s not-reet-in´ ed (He´s not right in the the head; he´s probably insane)
* Eee wor 'ard on (He was fast asleep)
* ´Er bladder´s too near ´er-eyes (Her bladder is too near her eyes = she cries too easily)
* Fair to middel-in (Situation is normal, but not good)
* Feather in ´is cap (Proud because a person has an advantage, or gained a promotion)
* Furtha a-field (Further away)
* Get thee-sen off (Leave now, or you will be late)
* Get thee-sen on (Go away)
* Get-thee skates on (Be a bit quicker)
* Gi´ over (give up/stop it)
* Goin´ dahn´t nick (Ill/bad and maybe not going to get better)
* Got-it back-uds (Got it backwards - the wrong way round - misunderstood the point)
* Got out-ta wrong side a´bed (In a bad mood)
* Got up at crack o´dawn (Got up very early)
* Head-in´t clouds (Scatter-brained - a dreamer)
* He knows which side his bread´s buttered (He´s not stupid)
* Have five minutes (A short nap)
* I can´t face it (I can´t look at it - I don´t want it)
* I don´t give two monkeys (I don´t care)
* I don´t mind if I do (I would like that)
* If tha´ dances wi´ devil, thal´ ge´t pricked wi´-is ´orns (If you dance with the devil you´ll get pricked by his horns; you will suffer if you do evil things)
* In a fix (Someone has a serious problem)
* I´ll go t´foot of our stairs! (Very surprised but not shocked)
* I´ll slap thee-daft (I will slap you until you are senseless)
* I´ll tell thee summat fer-nowt (I´ll tell you something for nothing; it´s good advice and it will cost nothing)
* It-caps owt (It beats everything)
* It´s class, that is (It´s of a high quality)
* It´s not worth a ligh´t (It´s not worth anything at all)
* It´s way out-a my league (It´s too expensive - I can´t afford it)
* It´s way out-a my league (It´s too expensive - I can´t afford it)´
* I´ve niver seen the like (I have never seen anything like it)
* I´ve seen better-legs on a-table (A woman who has ugly/thin legs)
* It´ll do thee the world a´good (It will make you better)
* I´ll have him (I will get my revenge)
* I wouldn´t a-reckoned it (I wouldn´t have believed it)
* It's nut jannock (It's not fair)
* It´s nowt but spit an´ glue (It was not very well-made)
* It´s nowt like (It´s not aynthing like the thing that you mean)
* It´s on t´other foot now (The situation has completely changed)
* Let´s be havin´ ya (C´mon, let´s go)
* Let´ sleepin´ dogs-lie (Don´t talk about it)
* Livin' tally/ower´t brush (Not married but living together as man and wife)
* Nay-er cast-a-clout, ´till May is art (Do not cast away any clothing before May is over)
* Nobbut a mention (Not enough to be talked about; not worth mentioning)
* Not a-full-shilling (A person who is not quite normal)
* Not mah cuppa-tea (It´s not something I would like)
* Not worth tuppence (An object that has no value)
* Off ´is ed (Off his head; crazy)
* One a´t lads (A good friend)
* Put´t wood in-t´oil (Put the wood in the hole = shut the door)
* Pig in a poke (A confusing mess)
* Pull t´other leg, it´s got bells on (I don´t believe you)
* Pushin´ up´t daisys (Someone is dead)
* Put a sock in-it (Stop it, or shut up)
* Put thy/thee foot darn (Go faster in a car)
* See-a-man-abart-a-dog (See a man about a dog = I have to go to the toilet)
* Sent darn fer 5 (Sent to prison for five years)
* She´s got a pod-on (She´s angry)
* Six a-one an ´arf-a-dozen a´ t´other (Equal)
* Smallest room in´ t´house (Toilet)
* Swingin´led (Swinging the lead - pretending to be ill)
* Tek a-good likeness (Is very photogenic)
* Tekkin´t mick (Making fun of someone)
* Ten-a-penny (Very cheap)
* Thar´s done-it nar! (You have ruined everything now)
* Tha´s nowt so-queer as folk (People can be strange)
* Thy´ll catch thee death a´co-ed (You will get pneumonia and die)
* Thick in´t head (Not very intelligent)
* Think on (Think about it - be careful)
* Too right (That´s absolutely correct; I agree)
* Took a likng to-it (I liked it, after a time)
* Two-pennorth (Two pence; an opinion)
* Up the golden rockers (The stairs - go to bed)
* Up yours! (Go away because I don´t care about anything you say)
* Wet me whistle (Have a drink; usually beer)
* Where´s thee/tha bin? (Where have you been?)
* Would thee/tha credi´t it? (Would you believe it?)

* Barns-lay´ (Barnsley)
* Bra´t-fud (Bradford)
* Bradistan (Bradford slang - owing to it's large Asian population)
* Brid (Bridlington)
* Cass (Castleford)
* Cunnys-brer (Conisborough)
* Donny (Doncaster)
* Doncatraz (Doncaster Prisons)
* Flam-brer (Flamborough)
* Al-i-fax (Halifax)
* Arrow-gu´t (Harrogate)
* Udders-feeld (Huddersfield)
* Ull (Hull)
* Nares-brer´ (Knarsborough)
* Lee-ads (Leeds)
* Meccy (Mexborough)
* Mecs-brer (Mexborough)
* Ro-mish (Rawmarsh)
* Scar-brer (Scarborough)
* Sheff (Sheffield)
* Silverdale (A charity holiday camp near Morecambe for slum/poor children from Leeds)
* Ta´t caster (Tadcaster)
* Tod (Todmorden)
* Wayk´feeld´ (Wakefield)
* Wi´t-be´ (Whitby)
* Yo-ark (York)

* Ar´t West (to the West)
* Back oo-erm (Back Home)
* Darn-in´t smoke (London)
* Darn-Sarth (Down south)
* Darn-tarn (Down to the centre of the town/city - also "Up-tarn")
* See-sard (Seaside)
* Up´ No-arth (Up north = home)
* Yok-sha (Yorkshire)
* Yok-sha Day-ells (The Yorkshire Dales)


* Because of the harsh conditions that many Yorkshire people were forced to live in, their only recourse was, and still is, to make fun of the situation.

* Yorkshire humour is philosophical, gently sarcastic, self-effacing and dry. It follows the rule that all good comedy is directed firstly at yourself, and then at others, or a combination of both; meaning that as much as others make mistakes, or say/do silly things, it is also possible for yourself to do the same things. The laughter generated is a combination of relief that you are not the reason for the joke, but is also heart-felt sympathy for the person that the joke is directed aginst.

* "If tha´ can laff... t´ole world laffs wi´-thee, bu´t if tha´-crys, tha´ll cry alone."

Translation: (Laugh, and the whole world will laugh with you, but if you cry, you will cry alone).

Thanks Tom!I knew quite a few of those (being from the North like Tom. As well as the mottos and sayings, and the general lingo.)

If Countrys Had FaceBook

Thre's also a ww2 facebook page image but when reading through it, I didn't think it was appropriate.

Caricatures

In the library earlier today and I came across this little book whilst looking for a completely different book all together.

Englishmen are greedy in France. But that's ok in comparison to the French killing cats.

The moment a scot reach a position of power, he becomes self-important and tyrannical towards his inferiors. Oh...so that's where Gordon get's his inspiration.

(I apologise for my images drunken behaviour. They're not like that in preview. I'll go back and fix them in a minute)

It's from the British museum and it's a selection of comic and satirical prints dating back to over 300 years ago. I love these old kind of prints. Everyone was so sarcastic back then and didn't really care who they offended or if they offended them. Heck, if they did offend them then they'd done their job well.

It's certainly not what's in style anymore or the art direction I'm going in. However, they are the pre cursor to the other stuff I'm looking at.

Stereotypes!

I seem to be living on the Behance Network, and why not, it's a pretty awesome place full of some brilliant graphic design and illustration.

A stereotyped t-shirt I came across by Rubens Scarelli. In fact, I love all of his portfolio and his sun yet slightly distorted characters.





The great thing though was when I was scrolling through this piece, I knew exactly who each character was without the use of tag lines.

Mother Nature

Mother nature personified by Jared Nickerson over on the Behance Network.


Just pondering through their character design section.

I love the simple vector style and the incorporation of nature actually in the characters hair, rather around all around.

Afghanis-tan

Afghanis-tan illustrates the modern history of Afghanistan and its neighboring countries, starting from the imperialist era in the 19th century, through moe anthropomorphism. The title character, a short and clumsy girl, is a national personification of Afghanistan. Other female characters personify the nearby nations of Central Asia, such as Pakistan and Uzbekistan. Nations that have fought wars in Afghanistan at various times, such as Britain, the USSR and the United States also make appearances. The Taliban government and Al-Qaeda terrorist group are also represented in the comic.

Actually didn't know that about the name Pakistan and where it came from.
Again with Hetalia, people have said how educational the comic has been. I supposed this makes more sense than the evens of WW2 (which is something that all high-school kids are taught) We're less likely to know about these country's.

Again though, there's that criticism of personifying the countries and certain events. In particular, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 were depicted as "an incident where a cat called Al-Qaeda bit America".
...
Wow... Just...I have no words to describe that.

Regions Of England

I know that I've stated that I would personify counties in my brief, but upon talking to people and through my own research I've found this to be easier said than done. Yorkshire is easy for me, it's where I was born and bred after-all. It's also rich in culture and history. This can not be said for a few of the smaller counties that are still charming in their own way, but don't stick out as much.

This is why I'm also considering using the regions of England instead.

The Enjoy England website even lists the regions as destinations, rather than counties themselves.

List of regions:

East Midlands

East of England

Greater London

North East England

North West England

South East England

South West England

West Midlands

Yorkshire and the Humber

I think this will be easier to fit within the Enjoy England way of doing things, and general tourism. Also, when you click on one of the regions it takes you further in to show the region is split and the metropolitan cities.

Yorkshire Example:

So I can still do something with that.

Ceremonial counties of England

From good old wiki:

"The ceremonial counties are areas of England to which are appointed a Lord Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as counties and areas for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England and Lieutenancies Act 1997. They are often used in a geographic reference frame, and in this capacity are sometimes called geographic counties."

There are 48 counties (as of 2009)

Bedfordshire
Berkshire
Buckinghamshire
Cambridgeshire
Cheshire
Cleveland
Cornwall
County Durham
Cumbria
Derbyshire
Devon
Dorset
East Riding of Yorkshire
East Sussex
Essex
Gloucestershire
Greater London
Greater Manchester
Hampshire
Herefordshire
Hertfordshire
Isle of Wight
Isles of Scilly
Kent
Lancashire
Leicestershire
Lincolnshire
Merseyside
Norfolk
North Yorkshire
Northamptonshire
Northumberland
Nottinghamshire
Oxfordshire
Rutland
Shropshire
Somerset
South Yorkshire
Staffordshire
Suffolk
Surrey
Tyne & Wear
Warwickshire
West Midlands
West Sussex
West Yorkshire
Wiltshire
Worcestershire

I ran it through word with bulleted numbers just to check ><

Now to figure out what to do with all theses counties and how I'm going to personify them and for what purpose.

Scandanavia and The World

Sweden, Denmark and Norway

A series of satirical comics over on Devainat Art by a Danish artist (source) who didn't like the way the Scandinavian countries where depicted in Hetalia. This series is more accurate than Hetalia and it also gets a bit gritty at times and doesn't skip over details that leave bad tastes in peoples minds. (such as my own.)

When I say gritty, I mean Nazi Germany whipping Poland while trying to persuade Denmark to join them. (for modesty sake I'm not putting that up on here.) Also the terrible typeface choice of comic sans. Other than that, it's a bit more accurate than Hetalia and there a re far more recent subjects like Iceland's Volcano.

Iceland, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway

Nice to see British stereotypes are being forgotten about then.

I think she got tried of the British complaining about England's top.

And because it's HJ's favourite. Showing how Denmark is an incredibly safe aka. uneventful place to live.
Overall I like this series. Maybe you've got to have the same view on the humour. Yes it's a little bit racist but at least is a bit more accurate than Hetalia.

Hetalia Axis Powers

Am I really going to make a blog post about this? Well, it's very relevant to what I want to explore during this brief. So I apologise for anything that comes across as racist and generally terrible (especially animation wise). Well, nothing can be worse than my digital module.

Hetalia: Axis Powers is a webcomic, later adapted as a manga and an anime series, by Himaruya Hidekazu. The series presents an allegorical interpretation of political and historic events, particularly of the World War II era, in which the various countries are represented by anthropomorphic characters. Hetalia is a portmanteau combining the Japanese words for useless and Italy. This is to make light of Italy's apparent cowardice during World War II.

(Allegory: Teaching lessons through symbolism)

So far, over 40 countries have been personified as human characters. In Hetalia, these characters are normally referred to by their country's name. Yet they do have real names, normally the most common name in the country.

The Axis Powers group of characters consists primarily of Germany, Italy, and Japan, who are also the protagonists of the series. <--- Hmm the enemy.

Yes I know it was a long time ago. Tragedy X time = humour

As innocent as this looks it still left a slight bad taste in my mouth. (Yes...I did watch all 57 episodes.)

Germany, Italy (at the front) and Japan in the back.

Episode one, when Germany fist comes across Italy. He's expecting this great warrior reminiscent of the Great Roman Empire (Italy's Grandfather) ...Yet he get's this:

Italy. A sissy coward who, I kid you not, say's pasta nearly once a sentence.

It never goes into the gritty details of the war. Germany is pretty much just a stereotypical blonde, and a typical German solider from the era. There's no mention of Nazi Germany or Hitler nor is it really explained what they're fighting for. You'd think in a series about World War 2 there would be some slight back story as to why there was a war in the first place! Many people, of course, all ready know why. But the thing I find most shocking about this series is that people have actually commented saying that they've learnt more from this series than in any school lesson.

I...have no words to say to that.

Yes yes, I'm taking this all way to seriously. But it was a war, and people did die and horrifically. I do wonder what veterans would think of this. However, as just a series it was amusing and it wasn't as if anything offended me just the dumbing down of the war it's self. (I actually loved England's massive eyebrows.)

I would post a video but you have to stream the actual episodes (they're only 5 minutes long).

As bad as I think it is, I still love the idea of it. Personifying countries, story telling through symbolism and just a dash of humour. I guess I just don't like the art work or the way WW2 is portrayed.

Then again, hypercritical moment, I happen to love series 4 of Black Adder.

Another "problem" I have with the series is that it's told from a Japanese perspective. That's somthing I'll talk about in my next post: Scandinavia and The World!

Now to stop this post from being so text heavy; Some Hetalia Fanart that looks better than the series:

I do love England's eyebrows. (Source)

(source)

Moe anthropomorphism

Only in Japan...

So when I was fourteen I was quite into anime. I say quite, I used to watch it streamed on the internet and the only one I ever really liked was Full Metal Alchemist. (mostly because I love the comic book...still do, but that's just me)

However, I was slightly aware of something known as Moe anthropomorphism. The only way I can explain is by showing you this image:

Yes...that is Wikipedia, in human form.

Other examples include computers, operating systems, vehicles, countries and food.

And of course; other websites.

(This ones been floating around the internet for a while. There's also another one but it's not really blog friendly and I'd have to explain it to most people. But you get the idea)

Now, I'm no longer a form of anime as an art style. I have developed my own style, personality and taste and it's mostly been influenced by my growing comic book habit. However, I do like the idea, to an extent. That's mostly why I want to explore personifying the counties of England. But we'll see on Tuesday how well that goes down.

Personification~

Ok, so. For this new module I've been looking at the "my dogs are barking" brief and the idea of stereotyping and personification hit me like a good idea does. I think it was the part talking about regional dialect and I suddenly remembered a very bizarre anime I came across last year. However, I'm jumping ahead of myself.

First of all, an explanation. Death personified is the Grim Reaper. The skeleton donned in a long hooded robe, carrying around a big old scythe.

Here he is:
Grim, from the Grim adventures of Billy and Mandy. Death itself isn't a person, it can't be a person. It's Anthropomorphism.

From good old wiki: Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics to, or, some would argue, recognition of human characteristics in, non-human creatures and beings, phenomena, material states and objects or abstract concepts.

Examples include animals and plants and forces of nature such as winds, rain or the sun depicted as creatures with human motivation able to reason and converse. The term derives from the combination of the Greek ἄνθρωπος (ánthrōpos), "human" and μορφή (morphē), "shape" or "form".

The idea I want to look into is National Personification.
"A national personification is an anthropomorphization of a nation or its people; it can appear in both editorial cartoons and propaganda."

Examples Include:

Britania (UK) and Uncle Sam (USA)

1914 poster showing Marianne (France), Mother Russia (Russia) and Britannia (UK).

And good old Uncle Sam again.

I've always loved this idea of giving something a personality and beings that really has no reason for being other than to show patriotic pride to what ever country. It's a reason why political cartoons and strips are so popular and easy to understand.