Cartophilia: Maps and Map Memorabilia

Chinese Dalian is Romantic of all

2010-02-08T18:54:00.005-05:00

Becca, "the unproductive library aide", spent last fall in Dalian, China, where she was studying Chinese. Upon her return, she presented me with this lovely map fan (sucking up to the boss...)

"Chinese Dalian is Romantic of all"

In the northeastern province of Liaoning, Dalian is China's northernmost warm water seaport. This city and its surrounding territory were hotly contested by the Russians and Japanese. The Battle of Port Arthur (now the Lüshunkou port district of Dalian) in 1904 marked the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War. See my earlier post on my antique Russo-Japanese War Map postcard.

Thanks for the lovely fan, Becca.

Last year she gave me these nifty postcards from Lüneburg, Germany, where she was studying German. (She's also studying Arabic!)

Speaking of studying Chinese... In the 2+ years I have been running this blog, no one has ever asked me about the background image. It is from the street map of Taipei, Taiwan, that I carried with me many years ago when, as a college student I spent four months in Taiwan pretending to learn Chinese.

I did not save the "unfaded" version of the map that I scanned for my background. Perhaps someday I'll dig up the rest of my memorabilia from that trip. I'm sure there must have been other maps

Fans previously on Cartophilia: I'm a Fan of Maps

Who Dat Nation?

2010-02-07T21:26:00.005-05:00

Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints for conquering the United Countries of Football

Cartographic Constructions

2010-02-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

Valerie Goodwin creates quilts that convey "a sense of place using aerial views and maps as inspiration. I enjoy working with both realistic and abstract imagery." In this "Tale of 2 Campuses" she depicts the Florida state capital of Tallahassee, and the cultural divide between the Florida State University and the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.

Her work is currently on exhibit through March 14 at the Gadsden Art Center in Quincy, Florida

Oxford

2010-02-01T07:00:00.001-05:00

Just a postcard quickie. Two postcards from my collection -- Oxford, England:

The city of Oxford is most famous for the University of Oxford.

In the United States, many communities would like to be associated with the academic reputation of Oxford, England. I counted 17 states that have a town named Oxford. Two of them (at least) have colleges or universities in those towns. How many "Oxfords" have you visited?

Island on a Lake on an Island on a Lake on an Island....

2010-01-29T14:43:00.005-05:00

In the Philippines, you can find the world's largest volcanic island on a lake, on a larger island, on a larger lake, on another (bigger) island.

Slideshow available on Treehugger

UPDATE: Josh Calder points me to the World Island Info blog that disputes The Philippines claim to the "largest volcanic island on a lake, on a larger island, on a larger lake, on another (bigger) island." Canada claims the title!

Thanks for the tip, Josh.

UPDATE 1/31: The controversy continues..

50 Equal States

2010-01-27T06:00:00.001-05:00

Tired of little states being over-represented in the Senate? Do you wish that all states had equal electoral vote power in national elections? Neil Freeman at Fake is the New Real has a solution. Redraw all fifty states so that they have relatively equal populations:

Interestingly, the only state that gets to keep most of its original shape is Missouri. Does that mean the Missouri already has the "perfect" population to represent 1/50 of the US population?

Via The Map Room

Josh Dorman's Topographic Fleurs

2010-01-26T10:59:00.004-05:00

Let's take a time out from sports and transit maps to take a look at mapping the soul. I am always drawn to artists who incorporate maps into their work. Josh Dorman often uses maps as an element in his paintings, or as in this case, he paints on the maps:

Four Fleurs
2008 acrylic on antique maps

The antique maps appear to be old United States Geological Survey topographical maps. Why paint on maps?

I collect outdated (pre-photography) textbooks, topographic maps, manuals, and documents. Paper that has lived a life and shows its age compels me to paint. I am intrigued by systems I do not understand and by information that is no longer relevant.

Josh's work is currently on exhibit at the Mary Ryan Gallery in New York. Time Out New York says:

Layering snippets of engraved illustrations redolent of Victorian encyclopedias over yellowing vintage maps, before adding painterly touches in ink and acrylic, Dorman conjures an imaginatively reordered universe teeming with organic and artificial life. Often transforming his topographical grounds into sweeping rural landscapes, he sprinkles each scene with incongruous groupings of flora and fauna, machinery and architecture, achieving a semi-improvised orchestration of multiple diverse parts into something like a symphonic whole.

HT to Kathi Flood

2009 UCF Conference Championships

2010-01-24T21:48:00.005-05:00

Conference Championships this weekend in the United Countries of Football.

Congratulations to the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints. We'll see these two Football "Countries" fight it out in two weeks! Peyton Manning will play against his old "home team" (he was born in New Orleans, and his Dad, Archie Manning, used to play for the Saints).

So, were all these playoffs necessary? At the end of the day, the two teams with the best records in their conference go to the Super Bowl.

My early prediction is that the Colts will win another Super Bowl. But good on the Saints for finally making it to the big game.

History of Vietnam in Maps

2010-01-21T06:00:00.001-05:00

"Curzon", one of the contributors to the always interesting international affairs blog, Coming Anarchy, has created an animated map showing the history of Vietnam, from ancient times to the present:

Click to see the animated version

This is only the latest in a series of historical geography maps from "Curzon". Other nations covered previously: Ethiopia, Poland, Armenia, Persia, Russia, India, Britannia, Sweden and Saudi Arabia.

Some Recent Magazines and a Book

2010-01-20T08:24:00.003-05:00

For your amusement, a smattering of recent magazine and book covers using maps as an element of their design.

From The Nation: President Obama must decide on future American involvement in Afghanistan.

Stores Magazine suggests that Vietnam, Indonesia and Mexico (VIM?) are the countries to watch for new muscle in emerging markets.

Time believes that California, in spite of being "an apocalyptic mess of raging wildfires, soaring unemployment, mass foreclosures and political paralysis," is still the future of American innovation and growth.

Finally, in his book, Crazy Like Us: The Globalization of the American Psyche, Ethan Waters maps out the way the United States shapes the expression of mental illness around the globe.

MLK Day - The Dayton Puzzle

2010-01-18T14:22:00.003-05:00

Today is the day that Americans honor the memory of civil rights leader and peace advocate, Martin Luther King Jr. As in many cities, Dayton commemorates the day with marches, rallies and speeches. It was a cold day for a march but spirits were warm.

Dayton has a special tradition that I always enjoy. Marchers gather at points north, south, east and west of the downtown and converge at the steps of the old County Courthouse. Each group is led by a piece of a puzzle. When combined the four puzzle pieces create a map of Dayton and the Miami Valley (the Great Miami River and its tributaries flow through Dayton).

This ritual is especially poignant for Dayton, because historically there has been a racial divide in the city of Dayton: Blacks on the West Side, Whites on the East Side. Over the years the lines between these divisions have blurred, and that's a good thing.

2009 UCF Divisional Playoffs

2010-01-17T20:52:00.003-05:00

Divisional Playoffs this weekend in the United Countries of Football.

As a sports fan, I was happy to see the Colts win and the Cowboys lose. As a poor mapmaker, I was happy to see the Ravens lose so that I wouldn't have two purple Football Countries.

Next week, for the first time in NFL history, both Conference Championship games will be held indoors. I'm looking for a Colts/Saints Super Bowl.

Dayton's Miami Valley Rail Authority

2010-01-15T00:15:00.001-05:00

Transit Map Theme Week on Cartophilia concludes with a look at transit maps close to home.

Dayton, Ohio, is the only city in the United States that can claim more than 120 years of continuous electrically-propelled public transit. In the beginning, it was electric trolleys. Today, the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority operates eight different electric bus routes, in addition to standard diesel buses.

For more info on Dayton's electric transit system, visit The Dayton Railway Historical Society.

However, at one time it seems, Daytonians had dreams of a light rail mass transit system for Dayton. The Third Rail tells the story of DART Derailed—Light Rail Frustrated in Dayton, Ohio. At the tail end of the article, reference is made to Darrek Jones' brilliant Miami Valley Rail Authority website. Unfortunately, the parody website no longer exists, but through a search of The Web Archive and Robert Reynold's Whimsical uses of the subway map theme, I've been able to piece together a couple images.

Theses images appear to have been created between 1999 and 2000. According to Reynolds, "The original pages for MVRA constituted a hoax web presence for the entire operating company, with pages describing all phases of MVRA operation and containing an introduction to all key personnel... a tour de force!"

What detail! But why? Was it just a hoax? A labor of love? Neither Reynolds nor I can determine what became of Darrek Jones. He no longer appears to live in the Dayton area... If anyone can fill in more details about this fantasy transit system, let me know.

#530

Ike Underground and Simplified

2010-01-14T07:00:00.001-05:00

Transit Map Theme Week continues here at Cartophilia.

The representational diagram style of the London Underground map has become the worldwide standard for maps of rail systems. Why not highway systems? Several variations of the United States highway system presented as a simplified diagram have turned up lately.

As a tribute, Cameron Booth has created his own Eisenhower Interstate System in the style of H.C. Beck's London Underground Diagram:

In detail:

Last year, I highlighted Chris Yate's The Eisenhower Interstate System (simplified). This month Chris informed me that he has created a new, revised edition that addresses many of the errors and omissions of the original:

Finally, for your amusement, another take on simplification: A Numeric Topology of the United States Eisenhower Interstate Highway System available as a poster from Hedberg Maps:

Hedberg Maps; their motto says it all: "Life's Too Short for Bad Maps"

New York City Subway Map Fabric

2010-01-12T11:23:00.002-05:00

I'm catching up on fun maps during Transit Map Theme Week here at Cartophilia.

The City Quilter of New York City "specializes in fabric for the urban quilter and sewer" (oh, sew-er, I had to re-read that before I understood they weren't talking about the underground sanitary system...) including New York themed fabric patterns like this:

The New York City Subway System is available in three backgrounds (white, beige and black).

Other New York City themed fabrics; taxis and the New York Times:

Via The Map Room

Netflix Queues: Chicago Loves Benjamin Button

2010-01-11T14:58:00.009-05:00

The New York Times has pulled together 2009 data from Netflix to show rental patterns by neighborhood, in a dozen cities.

A Peek Into Netflix Queues

The #1 Netflix rental for Chicago (and in most other communities) in 2009 was The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

HT to Matt

MapMarks Transit Blog

2010-01-11T06:00:00.005-05:00

This week is Transit Map Theme Week at Cartophilia!

In the last several weeks I have either happened across, or had links to interesting transit maps sent my way. So many in fact, I don't want to cram them all in to one post.

Today, I will introduce you to a new blog by Transit Map maven, Mark Ovenden: MapMarks. Mark promises to share with us about "maps, metro's, cartography, transport and a handful of other nonsense."

Mark Ovenden is the author of two recent books on transit maps:

Transit Maps: The World's First Collection of Every Urban Train Map on Earth
Paris Underground: The Maps, Stations, and Design of the Metro UPDATE 1/12: This book just got a review in the NewYorker.

Via The Map Room

2009 UCF Wildcard Weekend

2010-01-10T20:00:00.004-05:00

Last week I introduced the end-of-2009 NFL season United Countries of Football map.

Tonight, after an exciting overtime win by the Cardinals, the Wild-Card round of the playoffs have ended. Four Football Nations have been vanquished: Cincinnati, Philadelphia, New England and Green Bay. The new map stands at this:

Aside from my disappointment at the Bengal's loss and the Cowboy's win, I did pick 3 out of 4 correctly. However, I have a problem with the map. Once again I used poor color choices and now the Minnesota Vikings' and the Baltimore Ravens' territory is colored with the same shade of violet!

Therefore, next weekend, I will find myself rooting for the Vikings over the Dallas Cowboys (I would anyway), and I will naturally be rooting for the Indianapolis Colts over the Ravens. Then all things will be map-color-well.

#525

George of the Jungle Deep in the Heart of Africa

2010-01-09T07:00:00.000-05:00

As a kid in the 1960's, I was a fan of the wacky humor in the George of the Jungle cartoon show (including Tom Slick and Super Chicken!). I never saw the Brendan Fraser live-action Disney film version that was made in 1997 (and doubt I ever will) however, I happened across a YouTube video of the intro and caught sight of this goofy little map that shows they still retain the wacky sentiment....

Deep in the heart of Africa:

Here's the Disney version video:

But I still prefer the original:

"Ah ah ee ee tooky tooky!"

Say No to Graduate School (Especially in the Humanities)

2010-01-04T10:51:00.007-05:00

Happy New Year, Carto-fans!

I am already well on my way to succeeding with my New Year's resolutions:

New Year's resolution #1: Break that crack cocaine addiction once and for all. So far so good... haven't had a craving once this year... or ever.

New Year's resolution #2: Continue to resist the urge to go back to graduate school.

Since graduating from Library School, back in the dark ages, before Al Gore invented the Internet, it has been suggested to me that I ought to go back for a second master's or a PhD. I have occasionally given it more than 30 seconds of consideration. But fortunately, I have consistently resisted the urge. I could spend years, and thousands of dollars, but who can guarantee that it would pay off with a better job... or any job?

Last year, Thomas H. Benton gave this same advice in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

I include this link to his article, Graduate School in the Humanities: Just Don't Go, because (1) it is good advice to undergraduates, and (2) it comes with a spiffy map related graphic.

Most undergraduates don't realize that there is a shrinking percentage of positions in the humanities that offer job security, benefits, and a livable salary (though it is generally much lower than salaries in other fields requiring as many years of training). They don't know that you probably will have to accept living almost anywhere, and that you must also go through a six-year probationary period at the end of which you may be fired for any number of reasons and find yourself exiled from the profession. They seem to think becoming a humanities professor is a reliable prospect — a more responsible and secure choice than, say, attempting to make it as a freelance writer, or an actor, or a professional athlete — and, as a result, they don't make any fallback plans until it is too late.

Cartophiliac Jr. often speaks of getting a PhD in his chosen field in the Humanities. I hope he also works on his burger grill and deep-fry skills...

Just Don't Go, Part 2

New Year's Resolution #3: Continue to provide amusing map related illustrations whenever I see something that tickles my fancy, and I have the time and/or inclination to post it here.

There, I think that covers everything.

Happy 2010!

2009 United Countries of Football

2010-01-03T23:19:00.007-05:00

The NFL 2009 regular season has come to an end. For the third year, I am playing around with the imaginary United Countries of Football.

What if the fans of each team formed their own country, and by the end of the season, Divisional Champions have "conquered" their foes? Why the cartogram? See the original post for more details.

2009 Retrospective Part II

2009-12-30T10:07:00.004-05:00

Continuing my look back at some of my favorite posts from each month in 2009:

July:

When Al Franken was finally confirmed as Senator from Minnesota, his Stupid Human Trick came to light once again. He can draw all fifty states from memory in under two minutes!

August:

There were many great posts in August, including my delight at being mentioned in a map book, however, I would not be a red-blooded American heterosexual male if I did not choose Mapkini and Curtain as my favorite of the month...

September:

Upon closer inspection, Stephen Von Worley's map of the contiguous United States, visualized by distance to the nearest McDonald's looks a lot like fat globules.

October:

In October we got a look at the path of the Olympic torch on its way to Vancouver, Canada. I thought it reminded me of one of Billy Keane's Family Circus circuitous routes...

November:

In November, I learned that Michigan is not the only state that can be portrayed by the human hand. West Virginia has its own unique way of representing its geography.

December:

Finally, in December I made my own Icosahedron Earth.

I hope you've enjoyed maps as much as I have this past year. As usual, the number of posts fell during December because of non-cartophilic real-life stuff (I recently became re-involved with community theatre... now there is a real time suck), but I have a huge backlog of interesting maps to share with you in 2010. I hope you'll stick with me.

Happy New Year!

2009 Retrospective Part I

2009-12-28T16:00:00.008-05:00

As 2009 comes to a close, I'll take a look back at some of the cartographic fun I've had with this blog. I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have. Following are my favorite posts from each month.

January:

The United States of Football. No one else seems to like them... the only feedback I ever get is from a fan who feels their team's territory has been misdrawn. However, I enjoy making them, so I will continue to create these maps of the United State as the NFL playoffs progress. Since the 2009 season does not end until January 3, you'll have to wait until next month for the first installment.

February:

In February, I found several more examples of Cartographic Valentines, including this map of Terra Romantica by Alison Murray Whittington (that later became Ms. Cartophiliac's valentine).

March:

The stained glass globe at the Mapparium in Boston was a special treat in March.

April:

In April I enjoyed a serendipitous convergence between a library reference question and one of my favorite boardgames with Real Power Grids.

May:

The Teabaggers in Texas could not stop talking about secession in 2009. The very thought of the Kenyan-born Barack Obama as president was just too much to handle. This led me to imagine what the map of the United States might look like if other secessionist movements were able to succeed: The Disunited States of America

June:

In the Spring, Ms. Cartophiliac and I purchased new bicycles and in June we set out on a goal to bicycle the full-length of the Little Miami Scenic Trail before the end of Summer. (We finished in September.)

Part II coming soon.

#520

NORAD Tracks Santa

2009-12-24T11:23:00.004-05:00

NORAD has been tracking Santa Claus since 1955. Why? To make sure they don't accidentally mistake him for a nuclear warhead and shoot him down! That would kind of suck, wouldn't it?

Where is Santa right now? Follow him on NORAD's Santa Tracker:

This screen capture was made when Santa was on his way to Thailand.

Happy Christmas to you all.

More Springfield, USA

2009-12-18T15:22:00.003-05:00

An update to my post about yesterday's 20th Anniversary of the Simpsons.

Cartofan Dan sent me two screen captures that depict a rare map of Springfield on the show. Both are on the wall at Chief Wiggums' Police Department Headquarters:

I had challenged Dan to find some screenshots for me, and he delivered. From Dan:

I did a quick search and found a couple screenshots that show the map shown in the police station in the show (found on the great Simpsons fan website lardlad.com), and also included a map of ancient Constantinople, though these are considerably easier to find and I'm sure you've seen much better.

As for the Springfield- Constantinople connection, Springfield is shown with the very distinct shape of Constantinople's walls and Golden Horn shoreline, and the red line on the Springfield map that seems to be a highway corresponds nicely to the Mese! The Simpsons has always shown a pleasant awareness of history, and I do know many of its writers studied history in their college careers, so this may have been deliberate. If not, it's a nice coincidence.

Thanks, Dan!