Spiffing up that cubicle

At the first of January, my organization moved into a new office.

In some quarters, of course, "progress" is synonymous with replacing large, private offices with cubicles. My cubicle is all drab and corporate, of course, so the time came to spiff it up a bit.

Now, what says "I'm stylin' like Stalin and on the go, go, go!" more than a dandy Iron Maiden poster? So I got the one pictured here and stuck it up in my formerly dull area today.

Now, you'll notice this isn't just any old Iron Maiden poster. No, it's the illustration Maiden used for "The Trooper" single, featuring the iconic Eddie kicking serious ass.

Ah, but this particular poster does more than just drip with awesomeness. No, this poster is a tribute to great literature, folks.

Why? "The Trooper" is based, in part, on Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem, "The Charge of the Light Brigade." That poem, of course, dramatically recounts the exploits of a brigade of British light dragoons who boldly charged a Russian position during the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War.

Ah, the symbolism of it all is just fantastic! Besides, one of the hands reaching up for mercy (and receiving absolutely none from the heroic, doomed Eddie) just puts that icing on the cake, doesn't it?

Now, I could have chosen the "safe" route and put up one of those posters that reads "Hang in there, baby. Friday's coming!" and has a kitten dangling from a limb. I could have also put up one of those things with a snappy slogan like "You don't have to be crazy to work here, but it helps!"

Those, however, just wouldn't be as outright cool as the Iron Maiden poster I chose. Besides, I do believe I've scored a few points for thriftiness and efficiency with my beautiful poster. The aforementioned organization I work for is fixing to spend thousands of dollars decorating its new building, whereas I picked up my poster for $10 on eBay and improved the entire environment of my little slice of heaven. How's that for leading by example?

For those unfamiliar with the majesty that is "The Trooper," I've included a YouTube video here. That is followed by a fellow who put together an arrangement of the song on a harp. How's that for culture?