Alternate California Flag

The attempt at a photo-realistic bear on California's state flag has always bothered me - though I love the bear on flag concept. Here's my attempt to preserve the flag's spirit but sort of streamline the bear.

Franco-Mongol Alliance?

Rabban Bar Sauma was a Turkic/Mongol Nestorian Christian monk who was sent as Mongol ambassador to Europe to meet with European monarchs, as well as the Pope, in attempts to arrange a Franco-Mongol alliance. The mission was unsuccessful.

If it had been successful, the Mongol Empire remained stable and ties between Europe, the Church and the Mongols have been strengthened what sort of flag would the Vatican be flying after a few decades or centuries?

This is my guess based on this version of alternate history.

I took the Catholic Flag (the crown and keys version is specifically for the Vatican, but often used interchangeable)

Add to that the top part of the soyombo from the Mongolian flag as that element appears in earlier Mongol banners circa the 1300s (or current Inner Mongolia separatists)

Replace the sun in the soyombo with the solar alisee pattee cross favored by the Nestorians and, viola/keman.

 I was kind of torn between that color scheme and incorporating blue, as it is simultaneously Mongol, Uyghur and Marian, so I went with it.

   

Basque Flag Proposal

I love flags and flag design. I also like to design flags for places that don't exist, and redesign flags to suit my personal tastes. While proud of my Basque heritage (I'm very mixed and that's one part of my background) I'm not in love with the design of the Basque Flag or Ikurriña - purely a design statement, not political. The colors are perfect - look at any photos of the Basque Country - white houses, red roofs and green landscape, but the design (based on the Union Jack)  does not thrill me. I took those colors and the prehistoric Basque sun symbol - the lauburu - and came up with a suggestion for a new design. 

Ultimate Mantra?

The Muppet Mahna Mahna song; the ultimate mantra?

It is also one of the rare good earworms

You can’t really be angry or sad if you have that stuck in your head.

Perhaps it is the “Go directly to Buddha-hood, do not pass Go” mantra.

If everybody in the world sang that for two minutes….

and no, I don't have a graphics program, so we are going with the primitive graphics

Mental Junk Drawer

This is just a collection of random unconnected thoughts and ideas; a mental junk drawer really. I do not wish to be offensive, but probably will wind up doing just that due to my sense of humor.