VOTE Fine Art Serigraph by Jermaine Rogers x USA Today

This election season Jermaine Rogers was commissioned by the national newspaper USA Today to create a poster that would anchor their “Vote Because...” campaign. The resulting artwork was used in the nationally distributed newspaper, as well as repeatedly in target metro markets around the United States. As Jermaine explains, “The upper-brass at USA Today also commissioned an extremely limited edition fine art serigraph (screen print) to be produced, a portion of which were distributed to members of their brain-trust and staff. The remaining quantity is being made available to the public, via JermaineRogers.com.”

Describing Jermaine's artwork, the paper stated: “Jermaine came up with the perfect image: A still strong, but clearly concerned, Uncle Sam who is reaching out to the viewer for help. Uncle Sam is an iconic image instantly recognizable to Americans as the bold star of J.M. Flagg’s 1917 poster, which was used to recruit soldiers for both World War I and World War II. In that artwork, Uncle Sam is resolute. He knows what he wants and he doesn’t hesitate to ask for it.

In Jermaine’s reimagining, Sam is still strong, but he’s been worn down — like many of us — by a contentious, vitriolic election cycle. Instead of commanding the viewer, Uncle Sam is pleading with the viewer to vote — to not allow the news of the day, or election cycle, dissuade us from exercising our right to help chart our own future.”

“VOTE” by Jermaine Rogers x USA Today is a 26”x15” signed and numbered screen print. The Regular Edition was printed on Stardream Opal gallery stock with rich inks, is part of an extremely limited edition of only 75 copies and will retail for $60. The Lava Foil Variant is limited to just 20 pieces and will retail for $100. Both go on sale at 2pm CST today, Monday, November 7th, at the Jermaine Rogers online store.

Garbage Pail Kids 2016 Road to the White House Vinyl Figures by Funko

It’s been a while, but Funko is finally releasing new officially licensed Garbage Pail Kids vinyl figures! To commemorate the 2016 presidential election, with these GPK vinyl figures Funko pays homage to two of the biggest names in politics today, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. No Garbage Pail Kids collection is complete without Donald Dumpty and Billary Hillary! Pretty rad, right!?!

Each Garbage Pail Kids 2016 Road to the White House Vinyl Figure stands 4” tall and come packed in a full color window box perfect for display (and showcasing each character's grotesque details). Although these two GPK figures are not expected to hit store shelves until July 2016, but you can pre-order them now at Entertainment Earth for $9.99 each here.

Campaign 2016: Road to the White House Pop! The Vote Figures by Funko

Funko has officially entered the 2016 race to the White House with its new line of Pop! The Vote vinyl figures!!! To kick off its presidential campaign for this new Pop! The Vote toy line, Funko is releasing three of the current American presidential candidates: Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. Whether you're ready for Hillary, feeling “the Bern”, or just want to “Make America Great Again”, there's something for everyone!

Each Campaign 2016: Road to the White House Pop! The Vote vinyl figure stands 3.75” tall, has a rotating head and comes in a displayable window box. These three Presidents to be are not expected to hit store shelves until July 2016, but you can pre-order them now at Entertainment Earth for $9.99 each here.

Don’t Forget: “Vote Vampires” on Threadless!

Super Tuesday has come and gone, but it’s not too late to support your favorite undead monster in Threadless’ own special election. While each Threadless candidate brings something unique to the table (Vampires, Zombies, Robots, Ninjas and Pandas), let’s be honest…no one is as smooth and debonair as a Vampire!

This is just a friendly reminder about Threadless’ 2012 Election Contest that runs all this month. Threadless has given each candidate its own election themed design, and the candidate t-shirt with the most sales is deemed the winner. The Blot’s repping Vampire Nation, so head over to Threadless today and pick up the “Vote Vampires” t-shirt (available for a limited time). Each tee comes printed on a blood red t-shirt and is available for purchase at Threadless.com for $20. The shirt comes in both guys and girls styles, sizes S-2XL.

The Blot Needs You To “Vote Vampires” on Threadless!

It’s Super Tuesday, and Americans all around the country are voting in their state’s presidential primaries today. Not to be out done, starting today Threadless is holding its own special election with five unique candidates: Vampires, Zombies, Robots, Ninjas and Pandas! Each candidate gets its own election design, and Threadless will be having a contest that runs all this month in which the candidate t-shirt with the most sales is deemed the winner of Threadless’ 2012 election. But wait, there’s more! Five blogs were asked to participate in the Threadless Election, each representing a different candidate, and TheBlotSays.com was chosen to fly the blood red flag of Vampire Nation!

Is this a slam dunk or what!?! I don’t want to say this is a sure thing, but of the five candidates who has broader mass market appeal than Vampires? They’re as ingrained in pop culture today as ever before and everyone has their favorite. Do you like your Vampires sparkly like Edward or stuffed like Sesame Street’s The Count? Maybe you’re old school and prefer Dracula or new school and love True Blood’s Bill Compton and Eric Northman. No matter what you’re into there’s a Vampire for you! And why not proclaim your love for Vampires everywhere by picking up one of these awesome “Vote Vampires” t-shirts from Threadless. Together we can anoint Vampires the king (or is it president) of Threadless and put those ninjas, pandas, robots and zombies back where they belong…at the bottom of your closet!

Threadless’ mock-election starts today, Tuesday, March 6th, and runs through the end of the month. Help TheBlotSays.com support the “Vote Vampires 2012” campaign by heading over to Threadless.com and purchasing a “Vote Vampires” t-shirt. Each tee comes printed on a blood red t-shirt and is available for purchase at Threadless.com for $20. The shirt comes in both guys and girls styles, sizes S-2XL.

2009 Presidential Inauguration - The Blot Says… Goes To Washington

We’re just a few days away from Barack Obama’s inauguration as the 44th President of the United States of America and The Blot Says… will be there to cover it. Unfortunately, The Blot won’t be traveling to Washington, DC for the big event. Instead Aly’s leaving tomorrow to attend the 2009 Presidential Inauguration and when she returns we’ll hopefully be putting up some really cool pictures along with The Blot Says…’ very first post from a guest blogger. I can’t lie, I’m more than a little jealous she’s getting to go to D.C. for the week and attending one of the biggest cultural events in recent memory while I'm stuck at home watching it on TV.


There will be many firsts for our nation on January 20, 2009, and I am sure the significance of the day will be lost on no one. Here’s hoping a little change goes a long way.

If you’re interested in purchasing the official Inaugural Poster for President Elect Obama designed by OBEY Giant’s Shepard Fairey, they are available here at Manifest Hope.com. The 24” x 36” limited edition red, white and blue Barack Obama Presidential Inauguration print comes in two different editions: a signed and numbered print (edition runs from numbers 1-1,000) can be yours for $500, while an unsigned and numbered print (edition runs from numbers 1,001-9,999) can be yours for the much more reasonable price of $100. If you’re interested in a signed and numbered print you should act quickly as I am sure it will sell out within the next week.

Time Magazine’s 2008 Person of the Year Issue Cover Artwork by Obey Giant’s Shepard Fairey

If Obey Giant was not considered mainstream after all of the national media coverage of Shepard Fairey’s Barack Obama Presidential campaign artwork, it certainly is now. Fairey was asked by Time Magazine to illustrate the cover of its Person of the Year issue, which hits newsstands this week. Obama was chosen Time’s 2008 Man of the Year, so it was only fitting that the long running periodical ask Fairey to create the cover of such an monumental issue.


Time has even branded Fairey as its Icon Maker of the Year since his Barack Obama posters became the icon of the 2008 Presidential campaign. Time has posted a video about Fairey in which he explains how he created the cover for Time Magazine’s 2008 Person of the Year issue. Head over to Time.com to watch the very interesting video.

Election Day Is Finally Here!

The 2008 United States of America Presidential Election is finally coming to a conclusion and The Blot couldn’t be happier. This Presidential election season might have been the longest one in history, or at least it feels like it was. Considering the state of the world economy, I’m a bit saddened at the numbers being reported for campaign spending. There has to be a better way to use these millions and millions of advertising dollars, right? Regardless, if you’re a registered voter in the United States you owe it to yourself, your friends and your family to take advantage of your right to vote and head down to your local polling station today.


The Blot voted two weeks ago, so depending on how you look at it I am either lucky to avoid the hysterics or missing out on the excitement at the polls today, November 4th. Today is shaping up to be a historic day on a number of accounts; we could either be electing our first African-American President (Barack Obama) or electing the oldest President elected to a first term in office (John McCain) and the first woman elected Vice-President (Sarah Palin). Everyone is expecting record turnouts today, so make sure to go out early and vote no matter who you support!

If you’re interested in ordering the very cool Barack Obama VoteForChange.com - Working For Gas poster above by Tristan Eaton (they are $40 each and it’s an open edition) click here.

John Rich, Gretchen Wilson and Cowboy Troy Perform At The 2008 Republican National Convention

The Blot, like many Americans across this great country, tuned into the 2008 Republican National Convention last night to see Alaska Governor Sarah Palin give her first big speech as the GOP’s Vice Presidential candidate. It was an excellent speech and a great introduction of Palin to the national political scene, but it was definitely not the highlight of the night. No, that award goes to John Rich, Gretchen Wilson and Cowboy Troy’s performance of the Big & Rich song “Our America.”


Now anyone who knows The Blot knows I hate country music, but I do have a sweet spot in my heart for the MuzikMafia, an informal clique of American country music artists founded by Big & Rich which includes Gretchen Wilson and Cowboy Troy. I justify it by saying Big & Rich’s style of country is as much rock as it is country, and the fact that two of their songs have been featured prominently on ESPN – “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)” was the theme song to the network’s 2005 coverage of the World Series of Poker and “Comin’ To Your City” was used in 2007 as the theme song to College Game Day. And you don’t even want to get me started on Cowboy Troy’s unique brand of hick-hop music. I don’t care what anyone says, Cowboy Troy’s first album, Loco Motive, is a classic!

But I digress, performing the song “Our America” is perfect for any National political convention. If you’ve never heard “Our America” and like patriotic songs then I highly suggest you head to iTunes and download the track off of Big & Rich’s second album, Comin’ To Your City. It is just a mishmash of a number of different patriotic songs, which in theory shouldn’t work as one unified song but it really does. Rich, Wilson and Troy performed wonderfully last night in Minneapolis at the GOP convention, and I loved the way Cowboy Troy chimes in throughout the song performing lyrics from the Pledge of Allegiance. If you missed it last night, trust me, the song is even better live than it is on the album.

Jack Nicholson Endorses Hillary Clinton

I know, you're probably thinking why is The Blot posting this? While this would normally mean nothing to me, Nicholson took his endorsement to the next level by releasing a really creative web ad on Saturday with help from director Rob Reiner. (link) The advertisement in support of Senator Clinton takes “a humorous collection of clips that put his support into the mouths of his most film famous characters.” (link) While the ad was done without the Clinton campaign’s endorsement, it is probably the best "Clinton for President" ad I’ve seen since her campaign started last year. The YouTube clip titled “Jack and Hill” uses scenes from many of Nicholson’s best performances from films including Batman, The Shining and A Few Good Men (and I think Chinatown and Easy Rider). Check out the ad for yourself and let me know what you think.

Custom Obama for President Air Force One Sneakers

So last month after my first post on Barack Obama I had a long discussion with Sam, a faithful reader of The Blot Says…, on whether or not Barack Obama or anything political could be considered pop culture. My viewpoint on the subject is of course. Everything and anything can be pop culture, especially the leader of the free world. I think Saturday Night Live alone makes politics a part of pop culture week in and week out.

The most classic examples of Presidents defining the pop culture of their time are John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. Obviously Kennedy was way before my time, but just by listening to baby boomers talk about him today shows what a huge impact he’s had on a generation and its culture. As for Reagan I think it’s a chicken or the egg situation. Was it Reagan and his ideology that made the 80’s decade what it was or did the culture and ideals of the “Me era” just happen to find their perfect President?


An even better example is President Bill Clinton who completely changed how politicians would be viewed and elections would be fought. The minute he stepped onto the set of The Arsenio Hall Show in June of 1992 and played his saxophone there was no turning back. Combine that with Clinton’s 1994 appearance on MTV’s Rock the Vote where a sitting President was asked the infamous “Boxers vs. Briefs” question and it is easy to see that a new era of pop culture was born in the 90’s. It was the start of the internet and really a whole new world where anything goes and the age of “no information is too much information” was born.

I bring this up because every day I see Senator Obama becoming more and more ingrained in the pop culture of today. And really he’s doing it in a very unique way that many, if not most, elected officials would kill to be able to. It started with OBEY Giant’s campaign posters, but now his reach is expanding into new and uncharted pop culture territory. Sneaker Obsession brought to my attention last week these amazing custom Obama for President Air Force One Sneakers. I think once you start seeing your influence reach the sneaker community then you’ve really entrenched yourself into every possible avenue of American pop culture. (link)


The shoes were designed by a Cincinnati, Ohio artist named Van who does some amazing work with shoes. These sneakers really incorporate all of the major symbols of Obama’s Presidential campaign including his catchphrases “Change” and “Yes We Can,” his campaign’s logo and two completely different picture perfect portraits of the Illinois Senator. You can check out more pictures of the Obama Air Force Ones and a ton of other crazy designs at Van’s MySpace page. I really can’t decide which kicks I like better, his 2Pac inspired sneakers or his 2 different styles of Spider-Man Air Force Ones.




So now I want to hear from all of you, what do you think? Do Presidents, Elected Officials and Political Candidates fall under the realm of pop culture?

Barack Obama Invades The 40 Acres

While the Democratic presidential debate in Austin may be over (currently being replayed on CNN as I write this) and Senators Obama and Clinton are back out on the campaign trail, there is still one important issue to discuss…Senator Obama’s visit with the University of Texas’ football team earlier today. I was actually kind of shocked to find out that Mr. Obama took time out of his busy campaign schedule to take a tour of the school’s athletic facility and spend some quality time with Mack Brown and his players…but it did make for a pretty cool photo op.


The Austin American Statesman reports that while Texas Head Coach Mack “Brown has said that he doesn’t even vote (in anything other than the coaches poll), lest he be seen as straying too close to the political fire…his wife has donated to Obama’s campaign, giving $500 last March.” (link) Mack knows, as any good head football coach should, that picking a side, Democrat or Republican, can lead to a dicey situation while out recruiting, but it can’t hurt to have one of the most popular people in American flashing the Hook‘em Horns sign while campaigning to be the next President of the United States.




To view all of the pictures from Senator Obama’s time with the Texas Longhorns football team click here. To read the Austin American Statesman’s report of his visit to the University of Texas campus click here.

OBEY Giant – A Vote For Obama Is A Vote For Progress

As most of you know Shepard Fairey is one of my favorite artists. I bring this up because OBEY Giant released the red, white and blue print Obama today, a portrait of Senator Barack Obama. While it might sound random, Fairey has often made portraits of other important, influential people in history. The print is very striking and of course includes the obligatory Giant face included somewhere in the picture. The print is 24” x 36” and only 350 were made. As with most OBEY Giant prints, each one is hand signed and numbered by Shepard Fairey.


Shepard included with the announcement of his latest print his ringing endorsement of Obama for President. On the OBEY Giant website Fairey stated:

I believe with great conviction that Barack Obama should be the next President. I have been paying close attention to him since the Democratic convention in 2004. I feel that he is more a statesman than a politician. He was against the war when it was an unpopular position (and Hillary was for the war at that time), Obama is for energy and environmental conservation. He is for healthcare reform. Check him out for yourself www.barackobama.com. Proceeds from this print go to produce prints for a large statewide poster campaign.

Thanks. - Shepard

Anyone interested in helping out please email info@obeygiant.com with OBAMA as the Subject Title for instructions.

Over the weekend Senator Obama received another more prominent endorsement from daughter of President John F. Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy. Ms. Kennedy came out in support of Mr. Obama stating that “he could inspire Americans in the same way her father once did.” (link) Ms. Kennedy wrote in an op-ed posted on The New York Times website January 27th that “Over the years, I’ve been deeply moved by the people who’ve told me they wished they could feel inspired and hopeful about America the way people did when my father was president. I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president – not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans.” (link)

What do all of you think, do you agree with Ms. Kennedy? Or, do you even care what Caroline Kennedy thinks? Why is her opinion given so much weight, because her father was a former U.S. President? It’s strange that because her last name is Kennedy this op-ed is given so much credence and publicity. Up until now the only three things I knew about her was who her parents were, who her brother was, and that the song “Sweet Caroline” was written about her.