Free Gas? Your Choice

During a recent stay at a hotel, I noticed a poster for their summer promotion. Make three hotel stays at their hotels and get a $50 gas card. The advertising material is designed to look like some sort United States board game:



While I'm not endorsing Choice Hotels (although I did have a pleasant stay), I do like hotels that use maps in their advertising.

The game looks about as interesting as Candyland, but perhaps with that $50 gas card, I could afford one of those "Land o' the Free" road trips...


#233

Land o' the Free

"When the mercury rises, it's all about freedom—to hit the road, float a lazy river, down a cold one in a mountain saloon, climb a crag or two, munch some local grub, cast for lunkers, watch the sunset from a seaside lodge."

I recently came across a July 2003 issue of Outside Magazine featuring descriptions of ten different summer road trips across the United States. Each road trip profiles the route, including "Adventure Stops", "Top Digs" (motels), "Best Eats", other "Don't Miss" opportunities, as well as recommendations for road tunes "On the Stereo"

Unfortunately, with the price of gas in 2008, I will content myself with the article illustrations by Zohar Lazar. Each article includes an illustrated map, designed to look like one of the old "Wish You Were Here" postcards.

These aren't postcards, but they should be!


#232

Mapping a Tragedy

Newspapers, and their accompanying websites, often create maps, diagrams and charts to provide further insight into current events. For those who have been following the story of the tragic shooting and murders at a Unitarian Universalist church in Knoxville, Tennesee, the Knoxville News Sentinal has created a map of the church, diagraming the sequence of events on Sunday morning:




#231

Kathryn Rodrigues

Kathryn Rodrigues, a Chicago based artist, says that maps are an enormous inspiration to her and her work.


Where Land Ends and Sea Begins #3, 2007. Mixed media.

By the time I was beginning high school, my family had moved ten times. This transient lifestyle left me with a deep interest in geography, memory and cultural identity. I see maps as being the intersection of these three subjects. They are able to reflect both home and abroad, the known and unknown, belonging and longing. It is precisely this ambiguity that continues to intrigue me. By referencing both visual and symbolic aspects of maps, I have recreated the process of investigating what and where I have come from, and the world around me today.

Germany. 2008. Photogram.


#230

Fantasy Cartography

Fantasy Cartography is a blog that offers a collection of maps from various fantasy and science fiction books. Also included are "other goodies from literature, the Bible (not fiction), or television programs, movies, and video games."

Since January of this year, the (unnamed) blogger has pulled together hundreds of maps. While I did not make an exhaustive search, nearly every one of a half-dozen or so authors I checked were represented in the collection. Each entry is extensively tagged allowing the user to search any title in the author's series in order to find the relevant map.

Below is an excellent example of a map of the Young Kingdoms surrounding Melniboné, from Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melniboné series of fantasy novels; authorized by the author.



My only quibble with the site is that many of the maps are not clearly marked to indicate if they are the "official" map (included in the book, or approved by the author) or "fan maps", drawn by fans based on their perception of the author's imaginary world.

Via The Map Room


#229

More Ohio Postcards

I finally got around to scanning the rest of my Ohio map postcards. There's not a whole lot to say about them. If you enjoy map postcards, then enjoy perusing these.

If you are interested in trading postcards, see Map Postcards to Trade and my Postcard Gallery.


















#228

Power Grid

My latest boardgame aquisition is Power Grid. As eurogames go, this one is middle-range in complexity. Success requires analysis and planning. I have played this game for several years, and a few weeks ago, I actually won for the first time! So I decided it was time I owned a copy.

The object of this game is to supply the most cities with power. To accomplish this goal players purchase power plants and the raw materials needed to run the plants. These materials include coal, oil, garbage, and uranium, but also includes wind and solar-powered plants. The winner of the game will create the most efficient network of plants powering the most cities. The base game comes with a map of the United States on one side:



and a map of Germany on the other:



Official game expansions include Italy, France and the Benelux countries:



However, many enterprising Power Grid fans have created their own maps, allowing them to play in Scandinavia:








...and Connecticut



As it often happens, I found something cool while looking for something else. GameInk.net is offering Power Grid (and other boardgame) themed T-shirts:



Power plant #44 in the game deck is one of the most desirable in the set, as it powers up to five cities, but because it uses solar and wind power, you do not need to purchase resources to burn.

"Money isn't everything, but it is a tie-breaker in Power Grid"

Game board images from BoardGameGeek.com

#227

Upcoming Hurricanes

From XKCD: A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.




#226

The Three Stages of Language Fluency

In The Three Stages of Language Fluency, an article posted on PickTheBrain.com, Steve Kaufmann argues that "billions of dollars are wasted on ineffective language and literacy instruction programs" which ignore what he calls, "the three natural stages in language growth." The key, he says, is "motivation and enjoyment, not a school or a diploma."

I like the illustrations they use for their articles.


Thanks to Hunter for the link!


#225

Iraq-Pakistan Border

On Good Morning America, while commenting on Barack Obama's Middle Eastern tour, John McCain made a bit of a geography "gaff":

"We have a lot of work to do. It’s a very hard struggle, particularly given the situation on the Iraq-Pakistan border."

While I will not likely be voting for McCain, it wouldn't be because of this silly little slip of the tongue. However, the satirical side of the vast left-wing media conspiracy is having a field day. I just enjoy the maps:

Countdown with Keith Olbmermann

Media Matters

CrooksandLiars.com

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

Matthew Yglesias

Hip Hop is Read

In the interest of fairness, as soon as the vast right-wing media conspiracy mocks Barack Obama with maps, I'll be sure to cover it here.

UPDATE 7/23: Mr. RW Anon (see comments) is making me do all the work. OK, here we go:

I had forgotten about Obama's 57 states comment... in fact I vaguely recall an editorial cartoon that included a map... but I found this one from the Power Line Blog:



"Reader Porter Yates created the 57-state map above in honor of Obama's recent slip of the tongue. The map highlights all 18 states that voted for Kerry in 2004, all 31 states in Mexico, the 6 provinces in Canada that didn't vote conservative in 2006, Jamaica and Cuba (naturally)."

However, I think this new lapel pin is the funniest image to come out of that whole flap:


#224

Señor Cartophiliac es muy solitario

Mi esposa, La Gringrissima, ha ido a México para las tres semanas próximas a estudiar español. La ensamblaré durante la cuarta semana.

My wife, La Gringrissima, has gone to Mexico for the next three weeks to study Spanish. I will join her during the fourth week.

She has been studying Spanish for several years, both in the classroom and on her own. Not only does she enjoy learning languages (she also knows a smattering of Italian, German and Russian) but Spanish could become more useful in our community, where we have seen a marked increase in the Hispanic Community.

The green parts of this map highlight the area where she could likely find Spanish speakers:



Senora Cartophiliac will be attending the ENCUENTROS school in Cuernavaca (south of Mexico City) where she will experience a three-week immersion. She will spend time in the classroom, take field trips and live with a local family. She anticipates that this experience will "get he over the hump" and help her be more fluent.



Next month Mr. Cartophiliac will join her there. This will be the first time I have been out of the country (not counting Canada) since 1980 when I spent four months in Taiwan pretending to learn Chinese. I expect La Gringissima to be an "old hand" and fluent in the language, so she can guide and translate for me.

I also hope I'll bring home some nice maps...


#223

Let's Clean House With Ike And Dick

The collection of Steve Davis, political memorabilia collector and County Court Baliff, is currently being exhibited at the Dayton Metro Library. “Politics on Display”, An exhibit of Ohio and Presidential campaign posters and more, June 16 – August 16, 2008.

Davis has loaned the library over 50 political posters, as well as, assorted buttons and memorabilia of gubernatorial, presidential and senate races from as far back as the 1920’s to present day. This non-partisan display features both Republican and Democratic candidates including Richard Nixon, James Rhodes, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, Robert Kennedy, Walter Mondale and his running-mate Geraldine Ferraro.

Two items from the 1964 election have, of course, caught my eye: Both a Goldwater/Miller button, and a Johnson/Humphrey poster prove the patriotism of their candidates by using an image of the map of the United States (minus new states Alaska and Hawaii).




#222

Map Ads Get Their Point Across

Two recent ads seen in magazines and newspapers:



"The We Campaign is a project of The Alliance for Climate Protection -- a nonprofit, nonpartisan effort founded by Nobel laureate and former Vice President Al Gore. Our ultimate aim is to halt global warming. Specifically we are educating people in the US and around the world that the climate crisis is both urgent and solvable."

The use of a "word cloud" globe emphasizes how all can be a part of solving the problem of climate change.



You might just have treasure buried somewhere in your home. Do you have old savings bonds? Cash them in! But who would store their old savings bonds in the garage?


#221

More Google Maps Gone Bad

Google Maps Gone Bad


#220

Zagria

Michael5000 has created a handy index to his Forgotten Lands.

Zagria
Capital: Brevogrod
Population: 6,734,232 (1995 Census)
Area: 38,860 km2
Literacy Rate: 98%
Independence: 1672
Per Capita GNP: $12,030
National Anthem: “To Zagria we Pledge”

Economy: Zagria is an agricultural exporter, especially of grains, apples, grapes, and cheese. A coal/steel based heavy industrial sector suffers from aging and obsolete factories and facilities and from international competition. Oil fields underlying the southern plains of Svisla province provide Zagria’s most important source of foreign exchange.



Zagria is an anomaly in Eastern Europe. In this region of the Earth, as in no other, countries represent the territorial aspirations of cultures. The Poles have their Poland, the Slovaks their Slovakia, the Magyars their Hungary, and the half-dozen former Yugoslavs their half-dozen former Yugoslav republics. Yet within this mosaic of nation-states sits heterogeneous Zagria. Polyglot (Hungarian, Russian, Bulgarian, Romanian), religiously inclusive (Catholic, Orthodox, Islamic, and, surprisingly, Lutheran), Zagria is easily as culturally diverse as any other similarly sized piece of land on Earth.

For all of this, many observers find Zagrian society is disappointingly prosaic. Its many ethnic groups have neither walled themselves off into discrete enclaves, nor exhibited an unusual degree of mingling or intermarriage. There is little sense of animosity or contention between the people of this land, but neither is there any widespread sense of patriotism or national unity (Menillini, The New Nationalism).



Since independence, Zagria has gone through prime ministers at a rate of more than one per year, with parliamentary coalitions in constant flux and no political party able to maintain a stable majority. Post-communist economic stagnation and a widespread culture of corruption and bribery have created fertile grounds for a shadow oligarchy of ostentatious gangster-businessmen and their well-dressed thugs. To the average Zagrian of any culture, such things have long since ceased to excite much anger. “In Zagria,” wrote Brevograd’s great novelist Gnadyy Zvorić, “public life is as constant as weather, and as fruitfully cursed.”

Flag: Based on the shields of the medieval dukes of Zagria, the flag is a simple black diagonal through a field of dark green.

UPDATED 2008-08-28



#219

Baarle-Nassau/Baarle-Hertog

In 1830, the Kingdom of Belgium secured its independence from the Netherlands. Later the Treaty of Maastricht, in 1843, precisely settled the exact boundary between the two nations. The cartographers carefully drew this new border along ethnic lines. Today, tiny enclaves of Belgium exist within the borders of the Netherlands.





Residents of the cities of the cities of Baarle-Nassau and Baarle-Hertog can find themselves crossing this international border as they walk or drive to work or just to visit their neighbors. Some, in fact live ON the border.

Via boingboing

Sources:
BLDBLOG
Wikipedia
Barry Smith
Mapquest


#218

Philippines

A postcard collector from the Philippines contacted me and we are now trading postcards. She sent me these beautiful cards from her homeland:



Spain colonized the islands in the 16th century. During the Philippine Revolution, they briefly won independence until occupied by the United States during the Spanish American War. The Filipino people continued to struggle for independence until the end of World War II. The nation became independent in 1946.



In 1972,President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law. The People Power Revolution of 1986, led by Corazon Aquino, widow of the assassinated opposition leader, Benigno Aquino, ultimately overthrew that authoritarian rule.



In 2008, President Bush expressed his regard for the Filipino people: "I am reminded of the great talent of the -- of our Philippine Americans when I eat dinner at the White House.... And the chef is a great person and a really good cook, by the way, Madam President."



Contact me if you have map postcards to trade. I have many postcards, some with maps, others without, available to trade with you.


#217

Flounder Lee

Flounder Lee is an artist currently living in Indianapolis. He describes his work as dealing with "the intersections and interactions between things. The intersections between public and private, art and life, history and the present, among others, have always informed my work. I use mapping and indexing to recreate/reconstruct the space-time surrounding my life."

One of his current project is titled, Treaties:

"Treaties between Europeans and aboriginals were made and broken time and again. Many were never even recognized by the tribes that supposedly signed them. Even if they were never formally recognized, I plan on exploring the boundaries of these lands the treaties set out for my native ancestors by my European ancestors. After finding the historical reference maps and plotting the boundaries, with modern equipment such as a GPS, Google Earth, and a camera as my guide, I will go out and find these borders in the landscape and photograph both inside and outside the imaginary lines set down in these treaties."

Lee combines maps from the Library of Congress with his photographs:



72 (Indiana/Delaware, Potawatomi, Miami and Eel River Miami)


#216

Colombian Joe

Let a map of Colombia help you wake up this morning:


Colombia beautiful land by getuchito
For the Worth1000 Nationalism 7 contest.

More about coffee, and other exports from Colombia.


#215

Where Is Local Girl?

Caroline Clifford is a UK web comic blogger, known as Local Girl. I find her comics and stories about her daily life amusing (if sometimes a little TMI...).

Local Girl has embarked on a summer adventure traveling through Canada and the United States by bicycle, bus and train. She has created a Google Map that allows her fans to know Where Is Local Girl?:



She started in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and is working her way through the Maritimes before heading south. I especially like the custom marker pin she has created using her comic icon.

Perhaps at some point she will cross paths with Evan on his "crazy ass" adventure.


#214

Where In The World Is This?

It is an island... somewhere on the planet Earth:



If you can identify it, visit Where On Google Earth? and post your guess.

Gary Arndt is a world traveler, and every 2-3 days he posts a new contest to identify a location from Google Earth.


#213

Competitive Counties

Robert David Sullivan, from Beyond Red & Blue wrote an op-ed piece last week for the Boston Globe.

In "Changing the polarized electoral landscape" Sullivan discusses the shrinking number of counties that are truly competitive in presidential races.



The gray areas on the maps are counties with a margin of victory less than 10 points. The other counties went strongly one way or the other... I am skeptical about Barack Obama's campaign plans to redraw the political map with a "Fifty State Strategy". If he can do it, then perhaps we will see more gray on the 2008 Competitive Counties map.

What does that map say about who we are and where we live? does it mean that most of us vote the way we do because of where we live, or do we choose to live where we are surrounded by people that have similar political views?


#212

Forvik Update

Today is the Independence Day holiday in the United States. Last month, we learned of an announcement of the "independence" of the latest "micronation": the island of Forvik. We also see that they now have a flag.

However, not all is peaceful in the North Sea. Cartophilia has learned of a competing claim for sovereignty of the island.

The website, Forvik - Truth & Light, offers evidence of prior ownership, dating back to 1899. Below is a photograph of island and its inhabitants in 1938.


The decendants of that original owner now live on Cape Verde.

The Cape Verde military has mobilized for invasion!

Could be trouble.

Cartophilia and the BBC will keep you informed as the situation develops.


#211

Fireworks

Where can you buy fireworks for the 4th of July? It is illegal in many states.

From the National Council on Fireworks Safety:



#210

Brave n00b World

Who says there are no new lands to discover and explore?

At Interesting 2008, James Wallis, geophysicist and game design consultant, presented some findings from his recent research:

I have spent the last few months on sabbatical, visiting a persistent fantasy world known as ‘Of Warcraft’. During this time I have made some preliminary observations about the nature of the world, which I am going to publish here in a series of short papers. It is my hope that this work may lead to further examination of this curious habitat, and the foundation of the academic field of Azerothian Studies, with a nice chair and honorarium for myself, &tc. &tc.

Among his findings, he as determined that the size of "Of Warcraft" is approximately 113 square kilometers; roughly the size of Newcastle. Additional findings discuss the size of "Of Warcraft" as a planetoid, as well as physics and time relativity issues.

Clearly, more reasearch is called for. View the full lecture below or here.



Thanks to Hunter for the link.


#209

Evan Crossing the US

In March of this year, Evan, twenty-three years old, left his home in Northern California and began his walk across the United States. Monday this week we had the pleasure of hosting him for a night here in Dayton, Ohio.

He had many interesting stories to share, and good conversation. We could have gone late into the night, if most of us didn't have to go to work the next day... Some of his adventures are chronicled in his blog: Evans crazy ass adventures crossing the US ect. Unfortunately, his Flagr map stopped working about halfway through Missouri:



From Dayton, he will continue across Ohio to Pennsylvania. His goal is to make it to Massachusetts by the end of the summer.

Ms. Cartophiliac connected with Evan via the Couch Surfing Project, a "worldwide network for making connections between travelers and the local communities they visit." These connections provide opportunities for individuals to find a free "couch" to stay the night while traveling, and maybe make a few new friends along the way.

Each dot on this map shows locations where couch surfers might be able to find a friendly sofa:



Evan has used this network to connect with Couch-Hosts from Europe to China. After he is done with this trip, he says he's off to Japan. Good luck on your trek, Evan. May your feet find soft highways...


#208

Maps On The Brain

A selection of recent publications with maps on the cover:

A book:

The Political Mind: Why You Can't Understand 21st-Century American Politics with an 18th-Century Brain by George Lakoff

The author attempts to explain why a great number of Americans actually vote against their own interests.



Some magazines:





The cover of this issue of The New Yorker (June 23, 2008) features cover art, “Summer Job”, by Bruce McCall.

If you cannot make out the detail, it fancifully depicts bears checking in and out of the "Employees Entrance" at a National Park, while the tourist are reminded, "No picnicing in Buffalo Wallows."

If you look very closely, you can see that, yes indeed, there is a map! A "You Are Here" map of the park for the tourists.

This cover reminds me of the old Warner Brothers Cartoon where Ralph the wolf and Sam the sheepdog clock in, as buddies, before battling over the sheep.



“Subway Man”, by Roz Chast, graces the June 30 issue of The New Yorker. A stressed out commuter IS the transit map of Manhattan.

Finally, the June 21, 2008, issue of the New Scientist magazine features a very hot looking planet Earth, for a cover story on global warming.


#207