#year!

from /r/vexillology Top comment: Fun fact for all those (like me) who learned about Kiribati through vexillological texts/media like this: it's actually pronounced "Kir-i-bas", not "Kir-i-bat-i"

well except maybe write dragon age fic, randomly? would anyone give a shit if i wrote da2 fic? holy shit how long has it been since i’ve written anything

All the best to you! <3

me: one year since the boncas speech- since phil, who rarely opens up about his admiration for dan in public ways, just invited him on stage with him to show everyone he felt he couldn't have won that award, had such an amazing year, without dan. he let everyone know how important dan was to him with a sweet, very public gesture! ah cute! :)

from /r/vexillology Top comment: I have a good feeling somebody's going to comment "You shouldn't let flags touch the floor!". I'm aware of that, and I'm sorry. I took this picture in kind of a hurry, and we don't exactly have much room to properly hang up flags. The bigger flags are now sitting in my room, neatly folded. I made sure that the Oslo and Australia flags didn't touch the ground, since the Oslo flag is obviously pretty rare, and it means a lot to the seller that the Australia flag is taken as good care of as possible. I made an alternative version of this picture where all my gifts are labeled, which is why all the other stuff is there. Insert "man of culture" joke here. Anyways: The flag of the [Royal Gurkha Rifles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Gurkha_Rifles) consists of their cap badge on a green field. This badge depicts two [kukris](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kukri) and a royal crown. I couldn't find the significance of the green color. It and the Düsseldorf flag have grommet hoisting. The flag of [Düsseldorf](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%BCsseldorf) is a bicolor of the main colors of the coat of arms, generally with the coat of arms in the middle. I like flags with coats of arms on them, if they're done like this. The coat of arms' double-tailed lion comes from the arms of Count Adolf von Berg, who gave Düsseldorf city rights in 1288. The anchor represents the importance of shipping on the Rhine. The [Oslo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oslo) 900th anniversary flag is so rare that the only picture I could find of it was [this](https://pics.qxlstatic.no/20_821956716/oevrige-samleobjekter/flagg-fra-oslo-by-s-900-aars-jubileum-1050-1950.jpg), from an online auction. It seems to be screen printed cotton and definitely authentic. It consists of seven blue and white stripes, based on [the city flag from 1924-2000](https://dms-cf-06.dimu.org/image/03347TEWzpnD?dimension=1200x1200) (ditched in favor of an SOB). It depicts on it a stylized version of [the city seal](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Oslo_komm.svg/2000px-Oslo_komm.svg.png) in red, white, and blue, surrounded by the text "OSLO / 1050 / 1950". The flag of [Austria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austria) is based on the coat of arms of [the Babenberg dynasty](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/Coat_of_arms_of_the_archduchy_of_Austria.svg/2000px-Coat_of_arms_of_the_archduchy_of_Austria.svg.png). In legend, the flag is basically a reference to an old duke's dirty clothes. The Dienstflagge (i.e. state/government flag) adds the coat of arms to the middle. The coat of arms features a shield of the same design as the flag; an eagle, believed by many to have been derived from [the Habsburgs' double-headed eagle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f6/Banner_of_the_Holy_Roman_Emperor_with_haloes_%281400-1806%29.svg/2000px-Banner_of_the_Holy_Roman_Emperor_with_haloes_%281400-1806%29.svg.png); a hammer, sickle, and mural crown to represent workers, peasants, and bourgeoisie; and broken chains to represent liberation from Nazi tyranny. This particular flag has a sleeve along the hoist, which I haven't had for such a big flag before. Lastly, the flag of [Australia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia). I believe it's my first flag to have toggle and becket hoisting. It's a British blue ensign to represent allegiance to the Crown in the old days. It depicts the Southern Cross constellation to represent Australia's far southern location, which is what the country gets its name from. Lastly, it depicts the Commonwealth Star, which has seven points to represent [New South Wales, and Queensland too, Victoria, Tasmania, the South and West, and the rest](https://youtu.be/cfR7qxtgCgY?t=43). It was selected from a competition where multiple people (including a 14 year old) sent in pretty much the same design independently. On top of all of this I also got an early vexy present, which I'm waiting to post until after New Year's. I doubt you folks will appreciate it, but it's quite a rarity and was pretty hard to acquire.