Today's word is derived from:

Logo /loh-goh/noun: a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition.

and

Ludicrous / lud eh krus / adjective: causing laughter because of absurdity; provoking or deserving derision; ridiculous; laughable

Given the absence of fun pre-season NBA stuff to talk about, you might be all too familiar with other silly subjects that make gigantic online waves these days (according to Yahoo anyway). Feel free to check out the article discussing the controversy over the logo created by Jonathan Mak, a design Student in Hong Kong, to pay tribute to Steve Jobs after Jobs stepped down from his post at Apple. Or just read on, because I think that last sentence pretty much explains what you need to know.

From there, I illustrate today's word in a poem:

Logocrous

There once was a young man named Mak,
Who made a logo derived from a Mac,
In the apple he’d style,
A real famous profile,
And that, he figured, was that.

sad_apple_jobs_logo

Soon the famous man passed away,
Leaving news outlets in need of mass play,
They found Mak's pic online,
Thought it was fine,
And felt it had something to say.

Many thought it was more than just cute,
In fact a stirring tribute,
Round the world it went,
Everywhere sent,
And for Mak it became a big hoot.

Then came the news that another had created,
The same logo, but earlier dated,

Print

The design world was rocked,
Utterly shocked,
And Mr. Mak was roundly berated.

But before we get angry at Mak,
Consider the following tack,
The logo existed,
Before either man twisted,
The image for their own special knack.

You see, the easiest way to design,
Is to take something that was already fine,
Then add a bit here,
Subtract a bit there,
And pretend you’ve turned water to wine.

Hey, their skills are worthy of mention,
But they don’t deserve all this attention,
They flat out copied a logo,
A design trailblazer no-no,
So on praise I shall take an abstention.

But if thieving from Apple were a crime,
Bill Gates would be doing hard time,
Amidst all the fuss and regret,
It’s easy to forget,
About the loss of a talent sublime.


Seeing how I fancy myself a creative type, I decided to "design" my own stolen-logo post-mortem dedication – to basketball. No, that isn’t Steve Jobs in the ball. Thanks a lot, David Stern. The wrong design element of this picture is a withering corpse.

nba-davidstern image500


October 18 Update: From Anonymous: "It would look better if he was holding Sterns severed head" I'd want to remain anonymous saying something like that too. But hey, it's getting close to Halloween, so...

nba-logo-image_sternhead

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16 Comments:
Blogger Wormboy said...
Hah! Great Stern roast!

Unintentionally dirty quote from baseball: "'I was getting goose bumps sitting in the restaurant, thinking, man, that must be an awesome feeling,” Motte said. “And to be out there and be in that situation like that tonight, Yadi throwing his hands out, I don’t remember much after that. Yadi hugging me, me hugging him, next thing you know we’re on the ground and everyone on the team is standing over us.'"

And allow me to say how much fun it is to watch an old school baseball team do well. Small stadiums with rosters of puffed up, immobile sluggers ain't baseball, people. Once again, STL shows us the way the game should be played. Go Cards! {And boo American League! Down with the DH rule!}

Anonymous kono said...
Who knew, Jerry West was secretly a lobster?

looks like somebody is playing bowling with Stern's head.

Anonymous AK Dave said...
Is the logo playing Jai Alai?

Anonymous Dunpizzle said...
Looks like Stephen Jackson and Brandon Bass are going to Plan B

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMbTnXFgGP8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEmqe3ySyyc

Anonymous Anonymous said...
It would look better if he was holding Sterns severed head

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Can "Plan B" please become a Basketbawful term for when a basketball player tries to go into the rap game? You could have an entire term entry dedicated to them. It would be great.

Blogger Slasher said...
Has anybody noticed former nba baller's Jackson Vroman's blog on hoopshype.com? definately worth a look..
http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/vroman/2011/10/17/living-it-up/

Blogger The Sports Hayes said...
Here's a general question for the group. There's a book on the ABA, there's a book on the NBL and there are countless books on college and the NBA.

But would anyone read a book on the CBA? (Pre-Thomas years) I was just a kid when it was the equivalent of what the D-League is now and never really got to enjoy the experience. So if there was a book made, would I be the only one willing to take a look or are there others as well?

Anonymous Barry said...
I really dig the poem. A book about the CBA would be pretty good, it's going to be for a select group no doubt but someone should have a go at it.

Blogger Czernobog said...
Stern skipped the labour talks with "flu-like symptoms", we are amused.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AnbkAch7YjZbdmU7brHLARC8vLYF?slug=aw-wojnarowski_nba_labor_talks_breakdown_102011

Anonymous reggyray said...
what has happened to matt/'bawful? nothing to do with evil ted's posts or anything, it's just strange having him absent from the site for so long.

Blogger Evil Ted said...
RR - burnout and lockout.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
@ET

Sorry to hear that. Hope he gets better soon and thanks to you for manning the fort.

Blogger The Sports Hayes said...
Turns out there WAS a book about the CBA and I'm about to read it. Life On The Rim: A Year In The Continental Basketball Asssociaton. It was published in 1989.

This is why I wish the CBA (the one I'm about to read about) was still around because with the NBA locked out there's no bawful. There's always plenty of bawful in the minor leagies.

Anonymous Mike said...
Jobs is a great man! :(