patriots logo - round 2

Proposed New Patriot's Logo, click for larger view

A few years ago, I suggested that it was time for the Patriots to update their logo. They've had it for about half of the life of the franchise, prior to the current, flying Elvis design they had Pat the Patriot, a guy in a three point stance waiting to pounce. Pat lasted for the for about 30 years, and flying Elvis has been at it for another 30+ years. In a 2021 article, the folks at Upper Hand did a researched article which ranked the NFL logos good to bad, based on how people feel about them, using a series of metrics based on 7 different sports sites. They aggregated the data and the Patriots, I was not surprised to see, was ranked 28 out of 32 for their logo.

Graphically, the Patriots logo stinks, and people don't like it. There are others, who just love tradition and don't want to see things change. To those folks, I say this: Washington Commanders. their logo stinks too, by the way. this isn't college ball.

So what's wrong with the Pat's logo? It doesn't hold up. Part of the problem is the team name. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to change that, but the teams that are named after a "person," simply have a harder time, unless that person has some kind of strong visual iconography attached to it. The Vikings, for example, have a little something to work with. The Raiders? Nope. What does a raider look like? The Buccaneers? myeh, sort of a privateer, which a semi-legal pirate, from the Caribbean, so... Florida Pirate-y? The 49ers? What, I guy with a shovel?

Updated Version of my 2019 Logo

 

And the Patriots: A patriotic person, of the New England variety. So a guy in a tricorn hat? Again, not a lot of helpful iconography. So my thought, in 2019, was to take inspiration from the Flying Elvis logo, which includes some red stripes or ribbons trailing from his tricorn, and the white star on his blue hat, which obviously represent the stripes on the flag, and boil that down to try and eliminate the person represented by the Patriot. I came up with something similar to this, which I have since tweaked to eliminate the odd shape I had in blue. Its much more flag, or pennant-like. But maybe too much so, and maybe too close to what the Pats currently have.

 

Proposed Patriot's Logo on a Blue Background

That's where I started, and after looking at the logos that did best according to the Upper Hand research, I decided to simplify further, and go with the letters NE for New England, similar to what San Francisco, Green Bay, and even Kansas City did, AND still use the flag iconography that's built into the current logo, and the Patriot name. I used some curves to graphically express forward motion, and to recall the shapes of a football. I ran the white stripes through the letter forms to accentuate the action, and they recall gridiron lines on the field. I used a variation of the wordmark I came up with in 2019, but I removed the additional blue outline from the star as it was too similar to the Cowboys Lone Star logo. Its bold, recognizable, and easy to stitch on a hat.

On White Background with Wordmark

return to nerax - 2023

George Gendron

2016 was the last time I went to NERAX, the New England Real Ale Exhibition, 7 years ago.* That visit was actually to NERAX North, and I went with my newly minted 21 year old. This time, it was with both of my kids, at the NERAX's new home at the South Boston Lithuanian Club. We attended the Saturday evening session, and its a fun time to go, not as crowded as the Saturday daytime or the Friday evening sessions, but the casks do start to kick pretty quickly, and there were many options we didn't get a chance to try. I say that, but I've only ever tried 5 or 6 each time I go, there are just too many options.

A quick word about this year's program cover photo. I got a kick out of telling my kids about how much fun it was to see so many familiar faces of the volunteers, staff, and founders at the event. I was able to point out the woman who was tickled to see that my oldest had just turned 21 last time, reminisced a little about her own youth and then gave Alessia a few drink passes! What a sweetheart. One who I didn't see last night was George Gendron, one of the founders of NERAX, and the man on the program cover. George passed away a few years ago and is fondly remembered in a tribute within program. Thanks to George for all he's done for this great festival!

This year's exhibition dates were moved at the last minute due to some kind of scheduling problem, but we were informed in plenty of time, and our advance tickets were transferred over with no problems. However, that did mean that there were no food vendors this year at the exhibition, as they couldn't accommodate the late change in their schedules. We ended up bring a small box of snacks, which is typically not allowed. Thanks to the NERAX folks for allowing this, having a little food is great. As I normally do, I sampled quarter pints so that I'd have the opportunity to try a few things, and to be honest, I focused on the imports, given that my opportunities to try some of those ales without traveling is probably limited. All but one of the beers I sampled was from the UK.

There were close to 100 ales available this year

Dark Fruits Porter - Salem Brew Co., Wainfleet All Saints, England (ABV 4.4%) **

The first two beers I asked for were already kicked before the Saturday evening session started. The Dark Fruits Porter was my third choice, and it almost wasn't to be. They were able to get a quarter pint for me, and then maybe only one or two more before the cask kicked and the Reaper came out to erase it off the board, accompanied by a death knell, rung out on an empty keg. Bright black cherry on the nose, with notes of lemon lollipops. Dark, nut brown with a browned-butter colored, lacy head. Thin bodied, fruity and super smooth. There is a snappy brightness at first, smouldering to a soft, lasting bitterness. Reminded me of jam on toast!

Cross Borders Session Pale - Cold Black Label, Bridgend, Wales (ABV 4.2%) ***

Pale honey colored, with a light and wispy cream colored head. Citrusy fruit salad on the nose, which delivered in the initial taste. Full mouth flavor with a bready, sourdough finish and smooth mouth feel.

Beach Hut - Leigh On Sea Brewery, Leigh On Sea, Essex, England (ABV 4.5%)

Dried grass yellow with a frosty looking haze with a thin, wispy head like cirrus clouds and a fine ring of white foam at the glass edge. Slight funk with fruit juice on the nose, and notes of pineapple. Finely texture, creamy mouth feel, tropical fruits, and a dry, wheat cracker bitter finish. I like this one very much, and the next one I went for was from the same brewery.

Legra Pale - Leigh On Sea Brewery, Leigh On Sea, Essex, England (ABV 3.8%)

Blazing bright, warm yellow color with a fine bubbly, tatted top. Huge, juicy start. Clean, grapefruit pith astringency, and a crisp dry finish. I bragged about this one, and made a note that this would be a perfect house beer. Super drinkable and refreshing, with a low ABV so you could have a few throughout the day. Would be great for a winter party or a summer barbecue.

Sweet Stout - Well Drawn Brewing Co., Bedwas, Caerphilly, Wales (ABV 5.0%) ****

Deep brown-black that let no light pass with a caramel colored, bubbly froth. Brown bread and molasses on the nose. [All of the beers I've had so far are thin! This one too.] Rich dried fruits flavor. Prunes, maybe? Cherry cordial filled chocolate, like a Bon Ami. After after, slightly under ripe pears, with the skins still on. Long, creamy finish. There was a lot going on with this one. Dessert beer at its best.

Ishmael Ale - Rising Tide Brewery, Portland, Maine, USA (ABV 4.9%)

Call me Ishmael. The tasting notes indicate that this beer is a collaboration with New England Distillery Co. They rested the beer in American oak barrels, which had been used for a rye whisky, that was distilled from one of Rising Tide's rye based pale ales. Rich amber brown with a delicate head. Sweet, malty tones on the nose. Citrus juicy with red wine tannin and sweetness which evaporates to a dry, orange amaro bitterness. Sweet, clean burnt sugar finish. The whiskey aromas dance over the glass and on the palate. This was a great way to finish up for the evening!

 

Stefan & Alessia sampling the wares

* The first time I went to NERAX was in 2010. I just took a quick look at that post, from 13 years ago, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that I paid $15 to get in, and $5 glass deposit. Exactly the same as we paid last night! The quarter pint sample were pretty close to the same price to, if not the same. I didn't record that in 2010. What that means is that the sponsors of NERAX are stepping up to keep this longest running real ale exhibition in North America affordable for all of us.

** I think the tasting notes on this one may need some clarification. I found the Dark Fruits Porter by George Bateman and Son Ltd, Salem Bridge Brewery, Wainfleet, Lincolnshire. I think Salem Brew Co. is a subsidiary, or a brand/trade mark owned by Bateman. Bateman had their XXXB on tap for the festival as well.

*** Cold Black Label also appears to be the mother company to at least two beer labels: Brecon and Lithic. Brecon had their own three offerings, so perhaps this was a special cask for the festival. Note: Brecon's website just has a beautiful mountain scene splash page and no content, which you can find thru Cold Black Label's site.

**** Well Drawn doesn't seem to have their own website, altho I found some links to a facebook page, and a listing on Untappd, which actually includes some comments about their NERAX offering this year.

death in vienna

A Death in Vienna by Daniel Silva is book 4 in the Gabriel Allon Series. I may have read this in the past, but it was probably before this blog, which makes sense given that this blog dates back to 2009, and this book was published in 2003. If I have read this previously, enough time has gone by that it didn't feel like a re-read. It was also interesting to go back into Silva's earlier Allon writing and see how things are different than they are now. There are obviously some similarities in the Allon series books, and the story arc (in more recent books) tend to be similar in a lot of cases, but not as much with this one.

It could be that this is an older, earlier work in the series, and the characters and style were still developing, but it may also be that this book is described in the backmatter as the third in a Holocaust series. It may be a combination of these things that makes things that makes this stand out, and I may be feeling like I've read this because I read one of the other books in that short series within a series.*

Fans of Silva and the Allon series will not be disappointed, and it may be worth while for serious fans to go back and re-read some of Silva's earlier efforts to see if I may be right about the style and story arc items I've pointed out, or at the very least, too see how things have changed, and remind ourselves about where these characters came from.

* I found 13 Daniel Silva books on my list of books read since 2009 on this blog.

river of doubt

At some point in February or March, I read River of Doubt, by Candice Millard, but I didn't get a chance to write about it. It was probably after Wool, but before Shift. I probably spent my time working on my post about why March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb instead of writing about this.

I heard from someone that I should read this, and its been a while since I put it on my list. It even made it to this blog; you can find it in the "notes and scribbles" applet at the bottom right of the page. The link takes you to the hardcover version of the book, so its probably been there a while.

In any case, I can see why, this was a good one. I'm not a big nonfiction fan, but I did like this one. I had no idea about this trip that Roosevelt took into the interior of the Amazon, which he decided to take just after his losing bid for the presidency in 1912. Millard lays out the trip from the early conception and planning stages through to its completion, along with some anecdotal information about the later lives of some of the expedition's members in an epilogue.

Most of the story is based on notes, letters, news stories and reports, and other documents. It seemed to me that very little needed to be glossed over by the author; she was able to find documentation for nearly every event and every day of the expedition. 

I was surprised and how difficult and trying this trip was without my never hearing about it. By the end, I was amazed that the party even made out alive.