Capitalization is WUNDERBAR

Georgetown, July 2011 [click image to enlarge].

These cheerful green buses can be found all around DC as part of Germany's "do Deutsch" campaign: it seeks to promote the joys of learning the German language and pique interest in German culture more broadly.The website promoted on the bus (www.Germany.info) has some interesting links, include a German "word of the week" blog.

The bus itself strewn with various German nouns that have entered everyday English speech. In German, all nouns should be capitalized - but things are pretty erratic here (some words are in all caps, some in lowercase). "Wunderbar" [wonderful] is an adjective, not a noun, but - strangely enough - it's capitalized. Oh those wacky Germans, being so playful with their capital letters!

E Pluribus Unum, Modern Takes

This modern take on the Latin motto adapts the Seal of the United States by incorporating the design motif of the Obama "O" logo into the eagle's shield. Georgetown, Manifest Hope, January 2009.

Above: A mural bearing the motto "E Pluribus Unum," near Gallery Place Metro, November 2009. This multicultural vision is inspiring, but I wonder if the group of people striking a dramatic posture under a shared banner might evoke (however unintentionally) the visual iconography of a very different time and place.

For a conventional use of this motto, see the previous posting.