Friday, March 16, 2012

KEEP CALM AND HUG A DOG


I am obsessed with the "Keep Calm and Carry On" poster from World War II-era Britain.  It's such a reassuring little motto and I try to say it over and over to myself like a mantra.  (If there's one thing I've never learned to do it's "keep calm".)  I've mentioned before that I want to have Obama's Zen-like calm, but my inner Rahm Emanuel gets the better of me and shoots my middle finger skyward against my will. 

I recently read an article on BBC America's Anglophenia blog about this poster and it included the most charming video.  I knew the basic origins of the poster, but seeing this incredible second-hand bookshop, Barter Books in northern England, just increased my enthusiasm for this bit of propaganda.  (Plus, as a confirmed bibliophile, I'd give my right boob to visit that bookstore.) 

I must admit that, yes, I did purchase the iPhone app (and if my husband is reading this he can quit clutching his chest like Fred Sanford.  It only cost $.99).  With the app, though, I can join the thousands who have created their own slogans for this iconic poster.  I'm partial to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy-inspired one that reads "Don't Panic and Carry a Towel" or the knitting one urging me to "Keep Calm and Carry Yarn."  I now add to that my own creation:



And be sure to check out the video below.  It totally makes me want to wave a Union Jack.




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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, couldn't you imagine just losing yourself in that bookshop, taking a couple of books in by the fire to read.

steph said...

My favorite-- the Keep Calm and Carry Yarn (got me through last weekend!!!!)

I just love the Brits! We were in London a couple days after the bombings--and lost--stopped a Uzi carrying bobby;

well, he said, due to our latest little inconvenience, that road is now closed for a bit.
Epitome of understatement!!!

Arabs Got Talent said...

That was amazing thanks for sharing..