Trump Breaks Silence After Forcing Cracker Barrel To CHANGE Logo

Benny Johnson weighs in on Cracker Barrel's cancellation of the new logo. 

White House Trolls Cracker Barrel Logo

Before the announcement that Cracker Barrel was dropping the misguided plan to change its logo, the White House trolled the restaurant company with an image of President Trump with a parody of their old logo.

And, no, the above image isn't the one the White House posted. I found this one at Facebook.

According to the Gateway Pundit:

The White House trolled Cracker Barrel by posting a parody of the company’s old logo with President Donald Trump replacing Uncle Herschel and captioning it “go woke, go broke.”

The image also features the words “America First” replacing the company name and “AMERICA IS BACK” at the bottom.

The restaurant chain, long beloved for its traditional American charm, faced a storm of criticism after unveiling a modernized logo that ditched iconic elements like Uncle Herschel, the barrel, and the “Old Country Store” tagline. 

To read more and see the image, go here. 

Cracker Barrel Drops New Logo

Above, the old logo is staying.

Cracker Barrel made a big "about face" and reversed course yesterday when they announced that they will drop the new logo and retain the old one.

NewsBreak reported:

Cracker Barrel announced Aug. 26 that it is dropping its much-criticized new logo and returning to the "Old Timer."

"We thank our guests for sharing your voices and love for Cracker Barrel. We said we would listen, and we have," the company wrote in a statement provided to USA TODAY. "Our new logo is going away and our 'Old Timer' will remain."

The nationwide restaurant chain and country store, which is known for its comfort food and nostalgic atmosphere, unveiled a new, simplified logo with the launch of a fall menu campaign on Aug. 19.

The "enhanced brand look" was intended to modernize the company's brand, executives said. The intent includes moving its restaurants away from nostalgia-rich decor to something more contemporary and less cluttered.

The change drew sharp criticism from customers and politicians, with both President Donald Trump and the Democratic Party decrying the change. 

Unless Cracker Barrel decides to retain the decor that people love, it is too early to break out the champagne bottles.

To read more, go here. 

Cracker Barrel Goes Woke (Video)

Above, the iconic Cracker Barrel logo.

Like Land O Lakes butter, Aunt Jemima, Bud Light and others who have gone woke and suffered since, the great Cracker Barrel Old Country Store restaurants have had their iconic logo changed and the restaurants are being remodeled into some crappy-looking flaming beige look. Frankly, it looks like shit!

Above, the fireplace at an Albuquerque Cracker Barrel. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The CEO of Cracker Barrel, Julie Felss Masino, claims that customers love the new logo and look. She's full of it. Everyone I've talked to about it hates it. Whomever hired this gal, needs to have their heads examined. She's destroying the company's brand. Denny's has more of an inviting style.

The Benny Show (Benny Johnson) discusses the new wokeness of Cracker Barrel. I totally agree with him.

GO WOKE, GO BROKE!

New Space Force Logo: It's Only Logical

To boldly go where no snowflakes have gone before.

Some liberals on Facebook aren't too happy with the new Space Force logo that President Trump revealed in a Twitter Tweet today.

The logo Trump revealed is obviously a knock-off of the Starfleet logo from Star Trek.

According to Vice.com:

Donald Trump just tweeted out the logo for Space Force, a new branch of the United States military created to deal with threats in space. It is an obvious knock off of the logo for Starfleet, the space force of the United Federation of Planets, from the popular television show Star Trek.

Since Star Trek takes place in the 23rd Century, maybe this is the beginning of Starfleet?

Here's the Starfleet and Space Force logos:

To read more, go here.

Live long and prosper!

Roswell Trademarks New Logo

Above, the previous Roswell logo on a city vehicle. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The city of Roswell, New Mexico, famous for the 1947 UFO crash (actually, the crash occurred closer to the town of Corona), has a new logo and the city has it trademarked.

KRQE reported:

ROSWELL, N.M. (KRQE) - The city of Roswell now has exclusive rights to its new logo.  

The city secured a trademark on the green "R" with a flying saucer, protecting it from unauthorized use.

The trademark is good for ten years.

To see the new logo, go here. 

Need Art?

Above, Asya with the completed "Three Mesas" painting. Photo courtesy of Asya.

One has to count themselves as fortunate in meeting someone who has the artistic talent to be able to create artwork or graphics to suit the needs or wants of clients and is easy to work with.

Such is the case with Asya Lipovetskaya (or just "Asya") of Chakra Graphics.

Above, Asya and Armand at the 2016 portrait unveiling party at the
Odyssey Restaurant in Granada Hills, California. Photo by Lori Thornhill.

I first enlisted her services two years ago when I commissioned a portrait painting of yours truly. I was curious to see how an artist would "interpret" me in an oil painting. I've always want to have a portrait painting done.

Next, I had her make the "masthead" (or header) for this blog using a photo that I took of "The Mittens" in Monument Valley.

Recently, since I could not find a painting with a Southwest theme that I liked, I commissioned Asya to do an oil painting of the three mesas that are across the valley from my home in Jamestown, New Mexico.

The painting that resulted is, in my opinion, her best work to date. I think the met the challenge with (pardon the pun) flying colors.

Above, her logo for her Chakra Graphics business.

Asya is quite talented in many facets of art. From oil and watercolor paintings to graphics (including logos). Her website has examples of her past work. 

She is open to work commissions. She generally works from her home in St. Petersburg, Russia, but does occasionally travel to the U.S. for work projects. She can be contacted through her Chakra Graphics website.

To access her Chakra Graphic website, just hit the log graphic for it on the right side of this page or go here. 

Shibuya 109: A Makeover and Logo Contest

Above, the Shibuya 109. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Most Godzilla and Gamera fans are familiar with the Shibuya 109 building. It appeared in Gamera 3 and in Godzilla x Megaguirus. In both movies, the building didn't fare too well, if you get my meaning.

The building has been a landmark for about 39 years and it is about to get a makeover.

According to SoraNews24 (formerly known as RocketNews 24):

Your chance to see your design up in lights at one of the world’s busiest intersections.

Shibuya’s 109 building is one of the most famous landmarks in Tokyo, and a dream destination for young women looking to shop for cute and fashionable clothing and goods inside the multi-storey shopping mall. 

Located right by the famous scramble crossing, the building has been looming over the intersection with its large “Shibuya 109” sign for 39 years, and now, to mark its upcoming 40th anniversary in 2019, the building’s operators are looking to give the ageing beauty a facelift, with an all-new logo.

Designs for the new logo, which will feature on advertising for the shopping mall, as well as on the outside of the building, will be selected from the public through a special contest that’s currently running from 18 April to 20 May. Not only will the winning design change the cityscape at Shibuya’s famous scramble crossing, it will also net the winning designer a prize of 1.09 million yen (US$9,967.90), while three runners-up will be awarded 109,000 yen ($996.62) each.

To read more, go here.

2 Million Threshold Crossed!

The ol' Rancho has crossed the 2 million page views threshold, so the new header has been installed.

The photograph was taken of "The Mittens" at Monument Valley by me last November and the calligraphy and lettering was done by Asya. She also did another version which will probably be interchanged with this one.

The header image had been reduced by 45%, but even with the reduction, it is still pretty large. I may reduce it down a little further later.

Asya is a very talented graphic artist who also does logos. I have added a widget for her under the title "Chakra Graphics". Click on the photo to go to her website and see her past work. But here is the direct link. Need a logo? See what Asya can do!

Header Done

Above, Asya with the portrait of yours truly. Photo by Lori Thornhill.

Artist Asya, who did my portrait painting last year and is now in New York, has come through with new headers (or masthead or nameplate).

She did several of them, but two of them were standouts that I'll be using once this blog reaches 2 million page views. That shouldn't be too long from now as it is now under 80,000 views away from the 2 million mark.

Asya has been working for a fashion magazine creating calligraphy and logos for article pages.

Header Progressing

Above, Asya at the portrait unveiling party last October. Photo by Lori Thornhill.

Asya and I went further along in our discussions the new header (masthead or nameplate) for this blog.

She knows what I have in mind for it and sent her some materials to use. On the photo I plan to use, she said, "Beautiful picture, looks like a professional photo for a post card."

She expects to have the calligraphy done in about a week.

For the rest of you, it won't be unveiled until the blog actually hits the 2 million mark. Sorry about that!

Changes Are Coming

Above, this is one header idea I toyed with, but I rejected it.

Since this blog is fast nearing 2 million views, it is time to be planning for a possible change in design of the overall look of the blog, including a new header (or masthead or nameplate in traditional publishing). This will be the third or fourth header change since I started this blog in 2008.

Above, same header idea, but modified and also rejected.

I have an idea on what I want to do for the header, so I checked with Asya (who painted my portrait last year). Besides being a painter, she also does calligraphy and logos and is quite good at both. We'll see what she comes up with.

I anticipate that the blog will be hitting 2 million views before summer, so it is time to get the ball rolling.

Asya's Business Card

Last week, Asya attended a charity pre-Emmy party in Beverly Hills. Before attending, she had some business cards printed.

She gave me one of them last night and the design of it is very beautiful. Besides paintings, she also specializes in logo design. Her card shows how talented she is on logos. I have seen other examples of her logos and they were all nicely designed.

If one is in need of a logo for their business (or whatever), contact Asya here.

Four Shortlist Designs For Japan's 2020 Olympics Logo

Japan has unveiled four logo designs for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. These are on their short list.

One of these will replace the one that stirred up much controversy with claims of plagiarism,

I like the bottom right one.

Hillary's Boring "Hospital" Logo

So Hillary Rodham Clinton announced her campaign (surprise!) for president in 2016.

Politics and ideology aside, her campaign logo has to be one of the most boring and unimaginative I have ever seen. It looks like a sign you might see on a street or freeway indicating that a hospital is nearby. The only thing different from such a hospital sign is the red arrow pointing to the right. Does this mean Hillary is moving to the right?

Is this the best that "Madame Big Buck's" campaign team can come up with?

Here it is:

JapanTravel Unveils New Logo and Website Design

Above, JapanTravel's new logo.

JapanTravel.com has unveiled its newly designed website and logo.

It was formerly known as JapanTourist, but changed its name last year. JapanTravel is striving to be Japan's largest multi-language travel website. I have been a contributor since 2012. Last February, I met with the team of JapanTourist over lunch in Tokyo's Roppongi Hills.

Above, at lunch in Roppongi Hills last February with the JapanTravel team.

To visit JapanTravel.com, go here.

Help JapanTravel Choose A New Logo

Above, Geoff Day (far left), the JapanTravel team and I at lunch last February in Tokyo.

Geoff Day of JapanTravel, the Japan travel website that I contribute to, is asking people to help them choose a new logo.

There are eight contenders to choose from.

Here is one of them:

Their current logo is this one:

I have already voted. If you would like to participate on helping them choose a new logo, go here.

USA Today's New Logo: Doesn't Work For Me

"The nation's newspaper," USA Today, has adopted a new look to its print edition.  It tops it with a new logo.

Unfortunately, I am not impressed with the new logo.  Here it is:

And here's the old, and better (in my opinion), logo:

I don't know why publishers insist on tampering with their publications' logos.  DC Comics adopted a new logo earlier this year.  It is nowhere near as good as the one it replaced.

Logo Project

My roomie's cook school assigned the class a project. It is to come up with a logo for their school newsletter/newspaper.

She asked me to assist. We came up with two ideas:





Any ideas? Suggestions?

DC Comics' Ugly New Logo

Above, the new DC Comics logo.

DC Comics/DC Entertainment has registered a new logo.

Well, I got my first look at it and can only say one thing: "Damn, that's ugly!"

Looking at it, I have to wonder what moron at DC decided that a new logo was needed and why they chose this design. There was nothing wrong with the present one (below).



The current regime at the comic book giant recently revamped and restarted their line of super-hero characters with ugly new costumes, etc. I guess the new logo is probably fitting since they made their cash cows look like hell (especially Superman).

What were they thinking?