Re:"Keep Calm and Carry On": The Story of the Iconic World W...
by zbyszek on Friday March 23, 2012 @06:40AM
(#3744515)
Very odd to see this here; my mother works in that bookshop. I remember her telling me how the phones were constantly ringing for the whole week after that first ad was put in the paper, with everybody wanting that damn poster and nobody interested in any books at all.
It's a great place as well, with all the old railway station trappings around (there's even more in the publicly inaccessible bits at the back) and worth a visit (modulo disclosure of personal interest etc).
I carved the negative for the crown and bottom decoration out of a block of linoleum [1] (~13h), gathered what little old wood type I could find to print up our ad targeting algorithm[2] (~6h), cut out masks for the punctuation because there's no wood type punctuation at that size and printed the whole thing in by sending each poster 6 times through the press for each part (~7h). It was a fun project.
Re:"Keep Calm and Carry On": The Story of the Iconic World W...
by thristian on Friday March 23, 2012 @03:49AM
(#3744131)
The video claims the poster was kept in reserve for "times of crisis or invasion"; I've also heard that they were specifically intended to be deployed if the Nazi invasion was successful, as a euphemism for "please submit to the Nazis for the moment, we'll negotiate with them on your behalf as soon as we're able" gesture.
Re:"Keep Calm and Carry On": The Story of the Iconic World W...
by arien on Friday March 23, 2012 @05:55AM
(#3744340)
No hard evidence, I remember reading about it when I moved to the UK.
To me it simply means: in times of stress/danger, don't panic, don't lose your focus. I find it very inspirational. There's almost always a solution to our problems, but it's harder to find if we're not in the right state of mind.
Re:"Keep Calm and Carry On": The Story of the Iconic World W...
by jackfoxy on Friday March 23, 2012 @11:26AM
(#3745547)
Being as how the poster was commissioned on the eve of WWII, that means before Churchill became PM, it is plausible, but if some bureaucrat was thinking that, he dare not speak it or leave any written record. That's a meme that will probably live on in urban myth.
Re:"Keep Calm and Carry On": The Story of the Iconic World W...
by lifeisstillgood on Friday March 23, 2012 @02:57AM
(#3744019)
The wikipedia Page (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keep_Calm_and_Carry_On)
has some interesting links. I am amazed this is genuine - I had thought it was faux antique too. Sometimes things can be too good and true it seems
Re:"Keep Calm and Carry On": The Story of the Iconic World W...
by yread on Friday March 23, 2012 @05:51AM
(#3744327)
In August 2011, it was reported that a UK based company called "Keep Calm and Carry On Ltd" had registered the slogan as a community trade mark in the EU, after failing to trademark the slogan in the United Kingdom. They issued a take-down request against a seller of Keep Calm and Carry On products. ... The company is now trying to trademark globally in the United States and Canada.
What went through their heads? "Oh I've seen this cool poster in a couple of places, let's trademark it and make some money on something I haven't even created."
Re:"Keep Calm and Carry On": The Story of the Iconic World W...
by icebraining on Friday March 23, 2012 @07:53AM
(#3744719)
Thanks for that, I have a new wallpaper!
I just have a nitpick: I think it should break the two words into different lines, like the original does. I first thought it was because the word I chose was shorter (I used "WAVE ON", as in Hendrix's If 6 was 9), but it happens with "CARRY ON" too.
Re:"Keep Calm and Carry On": The Story of the Iconic World W...
by itsnotme on Friday March 23, 2012 @12:27PM
(#3745881)
The lettering is what makes the original poster. The original poster was most probably hand lettered by a talented lettering artist. Arial doesn't come remotely close.
Especially the capital "r". Arial's "R" makes me want to turn away. "I'm a capital p, but have a protuberance!" Its leg is about as graceful as a heavy duty shoring rod that has been heaved to, propping up an obese person. "Spare me that next step!".
Re:"Keep Calm and Carry On": The Story of the Iconic World W...
by c1sc0 on Friday March 23, 2012 @06:05AM
(#3744386)
I'm probably reading too much into it, but to me, "Keep Calm and Carry On" resonates very well with entrepreneurial spirit. A great reminder that even in defeat there is no need for drama: keep calm, carry on (& create something new!)
Re:"Keep Calm and Carry On": The Story of the Iconic World W...
by arethuza on Friday March 23, 2012 @06:38AM
(#3744510)
The role of propaganda was something that Orwell was interested in:
"propaganda in some form or other lurks in every book, that every work of art has a meaning and a purpose — a political, social and religious purpose — that our aesthetic judgements are always coloured by our prejudices and beliefs"
Re:"Keep Calm and Carry On": The Story of the Iconic World W...
by Corrado on Friday March 23, 2012 @03:57AM
(#3744143)
For some reason, this phrase grates on my nerves. Maybe it has Orwellian overtones that trigger something in my subconscious. I don't know what it is but this slogan makes me angry almost beyond rationality. Ironic.
P.S. Maybe its the fact that my boss has one of its parodies hanging in his office. :/
Re:"Keep Calm and Carry On": The Story of the Iconic World W...
by jberryman on Friday March 23, 2012 @11:27AM
(#3745553)
Wow, I didn't realize this was just (re-)discovered in 2000. Another riff on the slogan: knitting store by my house has a little sign in the window that reads "Keep Calm and Carry Yarn"
Re:"Keep Calm and Carry On": The Story of the Iconic World W...
by Lockyy on Friday March 23, 2012 @01:26PM
(#3746175)
As a personal note, I'm kind of getting sick of it. There is some variation of it in almost every store near me and it just grinds my gears to see it overused so much.
It's a great place as well, with all the old railway station trappings around (there's even more in the publicly inaccessible bits at the back) and worth a visit (modulo disclosure of personal interest etc).
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150768369153169
I carved the negative for the crown and bottom decoration out of a block of linoleum [1] (~13h), gathered what little old wood type I could find to print up our ad targeting algorithm[2] (~6h), cut out masks for the punctuation because there's no wood type punctuation at that size and printed the whole thing in by sending each poster 6 times through the press for each part (~7h). It was a fun project.
Yes, I'm a nerd, and I get bored.
[1]: Here's what the carved block looks like: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150756454243169
[2]: Not really, we'd be a pretty poor ad network if that was it.
Does anyone have any harder evidence either way?
To me it simply means: in times of stress/danger, don't panic, don't lose your focus. I find it very inspirational. There's almost always a solution to our problems, but it's harder to find if we're not in the right state of mind.
edit: Bit of a rewrite, added link
What went through their heads? "Oh I've seen this cool poster in a couple of places, let's trademark it and make some money on something I haven't even created."
So far it's on track for exponential traffic growth, which is exciting. All traffic either comes from facebook sharing or google.
I just have a nitpick: I think it should break the two words into different lines, like the original does. I first thought it was because the word I chose was shorter (I used "WAVE ON", as in Hendrix's If 6 was 9), but it happens with "CARRY ON" too.
Especially the capital "r". Arial's "R" makes me want to turn away. "I'm a capital p, but have a protuberance!" Its leg is about as graceful as a heavy duty shoring rod that has been heaved to, propping up an obese person. "Spare me that next step!".
Much parodied, indeed: http://www.allposters.com/gallery.asp?cat=141240&c=c&...
"propaganda in some form or other lurks in every book, that every work of art has a meaning and a purpose — a political, social and religious purpose — that our aesthetic judgements are always coloured by our prejudices and beliefs"
http://orwell.ru/library/articles/frontiers/english/e_front
P.S. Maybe its the fact that my boss has one of its parodies hanging in his office. :/