Cartophilia: Maps and Map Memorabilia

AT&T Fights Back With Big Map

2009-11-23T07:00:00.001-05:00

Unable to get any traction in the courts, AT&T has taken to the airwaves to fight Verizon Wireless: Map vs. Map.

Nice postcards, Luke. I thought I even saw a couple map postcards in the mix...

Via Mashable

New Map Tie and the Big Five Oh Oh!

2009-11-18T10:00:00.006-05:00

This is Cartophilia
post #500!

(Queue the balloons
and music!)

That's post #

D
.5K
1111101002
1F416

I forgot to note my 2nd Anniversary back in September but, by golly, I'm not going to let this milestone go unnoticed!

Woot!

Ok, enough of that. Today I am going to highlight this nifty map tie.

Ms. Cartophiliac found it last week at a thrift store. Score!

I find the way the tie designer mashed together geographic features to be reminiscent of the Calendria map from earlier this month, as well as Island Girl and Coastal Merger

UPDATE 11/19: And of course, the Mapkini!

On to 1,000!

Senators Draw Home States

2009-11-16T17:52:00.004-05:00

We all know that Sen. Al Franken can draw all 50 states from memory, but can your U.S. Senator draw your state? To help kick off Geography Awareness Week, National Geographic invited all 100 U.S. Senators to draw a map of their home state from memory and to label at least three important places. It seems only ~~eleven~~ twelve of them were brave enough to give it a try, including Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Susan Collins of Maine:

Michael Enzi of Wyoming also participated, but I think those square states are just too easy...

HT to Marilyn Terrell

Visualizing Empires' Decline

2009-11-16T16:03:00.004-05:00

As an experiment in information art, Pedro M. Cruz has created video representation of the evolution of the top four empires in decline during the 19th and 20th centuries; the British, French, Spanish and Portuguese:

Visualizing empires decline from Pedro M Cruz on Vimeo.

More info on how he did it.

Via Coming Anarchy

Kaffeslump World

2009-11-13T00:06:00.000-05:00

Erik Johansson, of Gothenburg, Sweden, is a photographer who likes to have fun with Photoshop.

Kaffeslump (Coffee Spill?):

Via Bored Panda

Amusement Park Maps

2009-11-11T20:06:00.005-05:00

The high point of the summer vacation, for many a kid, was an all-day trip to the nearest amusement park. Roller coasters, getting wet on the log ride, sometimes a cartoon character not named Mickey, and junk food on the midway trying to win stuffed bear. As a very young child growing up near Detroit, the park of choice was Boblo Island. Operating 1898 to 1993, boarding the SS Columbia or SS Ste. Clair riverboat ferries for the 18-mile trip downriver to the island park was always an adventure.

Later, my parents got more adventurous and were willing to make the 4-hour drive to Ceder Point, on Lake Erie, in Sandusky, Ohio. Being a young cartophile, the first thing I always did upon entering the park was purchase a map. Then carefully plan a course through the park that would most efficiently get me on all my favorite rides.

The amusement park aficionados at Theme Park Brochurs have pulled together maps and brochures from amusement parks all over the country. Their earliest map is from 1931! Unfortunately, they do not have a Cedar Point map from the late 1960s or early 1970s which would have been the first time I was there. Here is a map from 1980 (as a teen and young adult, being able to drive to Cedar Point with my buddies (or even better, a girl!) was a special kind of independence.)

Click map to enlarge

I first visited Kings Island, near Cincinnati, sometime around 1972 (the date for this map):

Click map to enlarge

It wasn't until I moved down here with my children that we visited regularly. I think I enjoyed it as much (if not more) then them. For a couple years we purchased season passes, and sometimes I would even sneak down on my own, without the kids, to ride some of the roller coasters that they were to small ride themselves. Every year, amusement parks try to top each other with the most thrilling hi-tech ride, but my favorites are still the old wooden roller coasters like the Blue Streak at Cedar Point or The Beast at Kings Island.

Of the two maps above, I still prefer the "cartoon" style of the 1972 Kings Island map. That is the style I remember and loved from my first visits to Cedar Point. The map from 1980 may have been clearer, and more accurate, but it certainly lacks charm. The single map from Boblo Island (1987) is so ugly, I cannot bring myself to reprint it here.

Also, here is an opportunity to pimp my friend Pat's blog, wherein he documents his amazing feat last summer, 12 Parks. 69 new coasters. 14 days in his Blog of Unintended Consequences.

Via Boing Boing

Give the Gift of Map Books

2009-11-11T00:15:00.004-05:00

The holiday shopping season is rapidly approaching. Here are two recently published books of interest to that cartophile on your shopping list:

The Map as Art: Contemporary Artists Explore Cartography by Katharine Harmon

In a sequel, of sorts, to her previous book on map art, You Are Here: Personal Geographies and Other Maps of the Imagination, Harmon promises to lead her readers to:

different destinations: places turned upside down or inside out, territories riddled with marks understood only by their maker, realms connected more to the interior mind than to the exterior world. These are the places of artists' maps, that happy combination of information and illusion that flourishes in basement studios and downtown galleries alike.

You Are Here featured previously on Cartophilia:
Happy Father's Day to Me
On the Road to...?
Be My Cartographic Valentine

Strange Maps: An Atlas of Cartographic Curiosities by Frank Jacobs

Jacobs has been publishing his hugely popular Strange Maps blog since 2006, where he "collects and comments on all kinds of cartographic curiosa". As has become a blogger custom lately, he has collected over one hundred of his strangest maps into this handsome soft cover coffee table book. Includes his extensive commentary.

UPDATE 11/13: The Freakonomics blog has an interview with Frank Jacobs (HT to The Map Room).

Interestingly, both books feature upside-down/inside-out maps on their covers.

Tell them Cartophilia sent you.

#495

Desktop Earth

2009-11-10T11:45:00.003-05:00

Cartofan Joel recommends his favorite desktop wallpaper application for all its mappish goodness. Desktop Earth:

Desktop Earth is a wallpaper program that shows what Earth looks like from space. The program can be configured to update regularly, changing the view based on local time or seasons.

Interactive Ship Traffic Map

2009-11-06T08:19:00.003-05:00

Since 2004, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has required vessels to carry an AIS (Automatic Identification System) transponder on board, which transmits their position, speed and course, among some other static information, such as vessel’s name, dimensions and voyage details. All this data has been pulled together into an academic, open, community-based project: MarineTraffic.com

Here we see ships "squeezing" through the Straits of Gibraltar.

The data is uploaded in the database in real time, and the positions on the map are correct to within one hour.

The project is currently hosted by the Department of Product and Systems Design Engineering, University of the Aegean, Greece. While the system is not intended as a method to enhance safety at sea (in other words, don't use this tool to avoid collisions), the creators intend this data to be used as research to simulate vessel movements in order to contribute to the safety of navigation as well as provide design models for the spotting of the origin of pollution and creating efficient algorithms for sea path evaluation and for determining the estimated time of ship arrivals.

It is also just fun to watch the ships moving about.

My first fear about this tool, was that it might be used for evil purposes. Couldn't pirates use this tool to plan their next attack? Fortunately, the mapping tool does not extend to the Horn of Africa waters near Somalia.

Via Coming Anarchy

AT&T Sues Verizon Over Coverage Map

2009-11-05T09:17:00.003-05:00

For several weeks, the Verizon Wireless commercial mocking AT&T for their coverage has caught my eye:

I thought at the time that there had to be something wrong with those maps. I could not believe that AT&T customers were that limited...

It turns out, AT&T agrees. They have filed a lawsuit, claiming that Verizon is misleading "consumers into believing that AT&T doesn't offer ANY wireless service in the vast majority of the country."

So, what the map really shows is 3G coverage, whatever that is. AT&T apparently offers less 3G coverage, but most of the country is covered for standard cell phone service.

Full disclosure: I am a Verizon Wireless customer, but sadly, I have not received any sort of considerations from them. Hey! I'm easy. For a significant discount on my cell phone service, I could become a shill for Verizon. Can you hear me now?

UPDATE 11/20: I see that AT&T has lost their battle...

Calendria

2009-11-03T05:00:00.001-05:00

Electrofork designer and illustrator Elizabeth Daggar sent to me a copy of her "timely" 2010 calendar/poster, Calendria:

The twelve nations of Calendria take their names from months on the calendar: Decembreland, Januarria, Octsburg, etc. Included with each month is a history of its nation, with notes on its geography and culture.

But take a closer look at the map... so much seems familiar. In a special section of her website, she gives a detailed, step-by-step guide to how she created her world:

THE PROCESS
How to design a world? (It begins with a love of cartography.)

I really just wanted to design a map. The reemergence of Electrofork's annual calendar seemed a perfect excuse– to create a world that felt familiar, at least at first glance. Maybe a kind of Pangaea. The point of departure: screen shots of the two hemispheres of earth; one containing North and Central America, the other displaying Europe, the Near East and the Northern portion of Africa. This afforded both the scale and a motley of shapes to reference.

This cartographic flight of fancy should provide entertainment year-round. Available via Etsy.

Movie Characters in Narrative Chart

2009-11-02T10:21:00.003-05:00

xkcd, the "webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language", offers these charts that show movie character interactions:

The Lord of the Rings chart is also "geographic" in its presentation.

#490

Olympic Torch -- Family Circus Style

2009-10-30T13:43:00.000-04:00

The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games website has created an interactive map of the path the torch will take on its trek across Canada:

Now, of course I understand why an Olympic Committee would choose a path that squiggles to and fro across the country. They want to hit all the provinces and major population centers, to build community and excitement about the games. However, upon seeing this map, the first thought that came to my mind was one of Billy's meandering path maps from the Family Circus comic strip:

While digging up the two map/strips above, I found another Family Circus map...

My apologies...

Olympic map via that fine Canadian map blogger, The Map Room

The Onion: World Map Rearranged To Accommodate Poor Geography Skills Of Americans

2009-10-29T12:01:00.000-04:00

From The Onion:

World Map Rearranged To Accommodate Poor Geography Skills Of Americans — Nations Ordered Alphabetically

Franken Adds Alaska and Hawaii

2009-10-26T07:37:00.000-04:00

For those of you who were suitably impressed by Al Franken's Stupid Human Trick... Good news! It gets even better!

Begich begs, so Franken adds Alaska, Hawaii to his freehand map of the USA

The Map Realm: The Fictional Road Maps of Adrian Leskiw

2009-10-23T07:00:00.000-04:00

Adrian Leskiw is a self-described "avid map collector and roadgeek". He loves road maps so much, he can't get enough of them, so he creates his own road maps of imaginary places:

The island nation of Breda is:

...located somewhere in the south Pacific and was most likely a British colony at one time and consequently roundabouts and European interchange designs are prevalent. The nation's roads are divided into five classes and each one is identified by it's own unique color-coded signage. Motorways are blue, primary highways are green, secondary highways are red, regional roads are yellow, and local roads are white. Motorways are identified by the label Mx beside the international symbol for limited-access highways, primary and secondary highways are identified by a black on yellow Australian-style shield affixed on the appropriate background color, and regional and local roads are referred to by name or primary destinations...

...etc.

I love these maps. I'll be planning my next holiday in Breda...

Via The Geo Lounge

The World According to Ronald Reagan

2009-10-21T10:00:00.001-04:00

A little Cold War humor:

Via Kelso’s Corner

#485

Mo Rocca

2009-10-19T07:00:00.000-04:00

Mo Rocca (Maurice Rocca), is a writer, comedian and political satirist. He is perhaps best known as a regular panelist on the NPR news quiz radio show, Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me. He is also on Twitter:

I wish I had a name that could be easily punned into the name of a country.

Google Street View Guys

2009-10-15T15:45:00.004-04:00

I've always wondered what it would be like to be a Google Street View camera car driver...

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Cartograms as Tumoresque Insects

2009-10-15T07:00:00.000-04:00

FastCompany.com's Infographic of the Day highlights Ballooning Population Maps:

Cartograms are often used to illustrate population density vs the area of a geographical entity. The BBC asks:

Conventional maps show the shape of a country according to its land mass. But what if you drew a map according to where people lived?

Visit People Powered Maps to see nations inflate around their population centers.

Thanks to geoparigm who asks, "Does anyone else think Cartograms look like tumoresque insects?"

Handy Maps

2009-10-14T07:00:00.000-04:00

Two map illustrations sent to me by Hunter:

A Long Way to Shiloh is a crime thriller novel written by Lionel Davidson (1966). Among its many editions, this Penguin paperback gets my attention.

Below is an illustration from PickTheBrain, 15 Web Tools to Enhance Language Learning.

Happy Blogiversary!

2009-10-13T14:43:00.002-04:00

Happy Second Birthday to TheElectoralMap.com! My favorite political geography blog.

Reading about Patrick's anniversary reminds me that I completely forgot to note my own second anniversary last month: September 4. (Perhaps because September 4 is also the anniversary of a failed marriage, it remains obscured in my mind.)

Last year, I noted my first blogiversary here. Perhaps I'll do something special for post #500 which should be coming up soon...

This is post #480

Leviathan

2009-10-13T07:00:00.001-04:00

Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld, is a young adult steampunk novel set in an alternate-history Europe. The Great War is coming, but instead of the Allies vs Central Powers, it is the Clankers vs Darwinists. The Clankers have developed great steam powered machines, and the Darwinists have bred giant beasts as their weapons.

The map illustration is intentionally reminiscent of the "allegorical maps" of the period.

Via boing boing

Cardboard World

2009-10-11T22:18:00.002-04:00

Driving around town this weekend, I had to pull over and take a picture of this company's sign:

Cardboardy Earth goodness.

ACORN Conspiracy

2009-10-06T10:55:00.006-04:00

In Salon.com today, the comic strip This Modern World by Tom Tomorrow, has a little fun mocking Fox News personality, Glenn Beck. In the process, he created a new logo for A.C.O.R.N., the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.

I love the tentacles squeezing the globe of the Earth.

Dr. Evil would give ONE MILLION DOLLARS for a logo so cool.