Speaking of Madonna

(I just love Google!) http://strangemaps.wordpress.com/2007/07/11/145-the-madonna-map-syndrome/

Is This Stalking??

Speaking of Madonna and finding her house…

Out of this World

I thought “star maps” referred to locating Madonna’s house in the Hollywood Hills. Not anymore.

Check out Glenn McNatt’s review in yesterday’s Sun about the ‘spectacular exhibition” of images from the Hubble Space Telescope now on display at the Walters Art Museum.

Inferiority Complex

Let’s face it. We’re not blessed in Baltimore with the most extensive subway system. Look at this cool comparison of subway systems around the world.

Unfortunately, I think ours would look like this: .

No Child Left Behind

Wow. I really don’t like little kids, but I could deal with this one.

Anthropomor… oh, you get the idea

My new blog bud Izzy, from BP Maps, sent me some neat info about anthropomorphic maps. Thanks Iz! Here’s what the Iz-man says:

The essence of anthropomorphic maps is that they convey geographic information (location, direction) without the need for any physical image. The availability of portable image media, papyrus for example, eliminated the need for this type of map.

This is a map of Napi, the creator of the Blackfoot indians, and his wife.

If you sketched a map of Hermes (in Asia minor) and Aphrodite (in north Africa), it would be quite risque. The American indian maps are not. The bodies on those maps seem to be configured at a respectable distance from each other.

I asked Pegasus what he thought about this and all he said was: Horsefeathers!

A famous map of Asia in the shape of a horse.

Not Bad for a Dead Guy

So over the last couple of years, I’ve heard about this organization in Maryland which has been recreating John Smith’s exploration of the Chesapeake Bay. A group of volunteers spent a lot of time recreating Captain Smith’s shallop, (using 17^th century-era tools no less), and then sailing it around on the route that Smith would have traveled on his expedition.

The shallop was on display at the State Capital and the Maryland Science Center. Every place that it came ashore once it embarked on its journey because a historical site, and it got lots of press…I think the Queen (not me! I mean the real queen) even stopped to see it on her visit to the US.

John Smith is probably more newsworthy now than ever. (Or at least he will be, once his “people” find out he’s featured on this blog.)

All kidding aside, Captain Smith’s map of Virginia, from 1612 is going to be in the Walters Art Museum’s map exhibit opening in March. On the map, he noted his ascent with tiny crosses and located over 200 Indian villages, symbolized with tiny huts. A vignette in the corner shows Pocahontas pleading for Smith’s life.

You can check out more about the John Smith project here: http://www.johnsmith400.org/intro.htm

And check out more about John Smith the man, here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Smith_of_Jamestown

Wait a Minute Mr. Postman

I’ve noticed that us mappies have an affinity for other things that seem to be falling by the wayside in our culture – like letter writing. Another dying art. Why not keep it alive – here is a map to help.

Holy Map!

I’m not much of a bible reader but I think this is cool. Pick your favorite bible verse and find out where it takes (or took, I guess) place here.

A Great Day for Maps…

Let’s face it, not everyone shares my obsession with maps. So imagine my surprise when my somewhat quirky interest gets three big hits in the same weekend.

I’ve mentioned before that I’m dying to see Maps: Finding Our Place in the World when it comes to Baltimore, and this article in the Washington Post sets the stage pretty well. It’s got a slide show that includes some of the cool things from the Chicago exhibition.

And it seems that others are sharing my map excitement…Jonathon Crowe, who blogs at “The Map Room,” had this to say:
http://www.mcwetboy.net/maproom/2008/01/washington_post.php

Matt Ball, at Spatial Sustains mentions the exhibition and the book that was written about the collection.


Now that we have flipped the calendar to 2008 and the exhibition seems much closer to opening, I suspect that we’ll see a lot more postings in the coming weeks on different blogs around the net related to this exhibition.

If you see a posting out there and think I should link to it, please post it in a comment and I will include as many links in my postings as I can. Of course if you have your own blog, or just love maps, leave a comment too. I’m always looking for more info and cool sites to share.

I’m no relationship expert

If you read my kissing map post, you’ve probably guessed that I am not a relationship expert, but the guys at Mukety.com are. They have a really cool site that maps the relationships between people of power, and how their relationships are at the core of news stories.

Or the complex networks driving the presidential campaigns?

Or the ins and outs of the Major League Baseball’s steroid scandal?

How about network of wealth that fuels Paris Hilton’s celebrity?

The maps are interactive and lots of fun – even if Kevin Bacon doesn’t show up as often as you’d think.

If you like relationship maps and want to see another example, check out the virtual thesaurus (words have never been so much fun!) Type “map” into the search box and see where it takes you…