Comment 5 for bug 553854

Apparently, this workaround is resolving the issue for some users (linked below). I haven't had time to test this. Perhaps this could be investigated and used towards developing a solution. (LaunchPad user idyllic claims to have devised this solution - https://launchpad.net/~idyllic)

http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-to-Fix-the-Big-and-Ugly-Plymouth-Logo-in-Ubuntu-10-04-140810.shtml