...yer sign

I'll bet many of y'all are saving up to use this one during the next thunderstorm.  I know I am.

Geography burn

I don't have video for this geography fail/win, but it does seem to be in keeping with this week's pattern of failures in geography.

Hungary pains

I know we've already done one epic geography fail video this week, but it's Groundhog Day tomorrow, so let's do another.

This time it's from the now-cancelled Jeff Foxworthy-hosted game show "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?". Prepare for 3 minutes of cringe:

South Carolina epic geography fail

See, I'm not sure if I should post this for Animated Map Thursday, two-fer Tuesday, or Friday Fail (win).  But since last week was the primary in South Carolina and I haven't found any new South Carolina-map -themed editorial cartoons (though I didn't look very hard) I figured I'd follow the Tuesday Two-fer theme from the last two weeks and post what might be the most epic geography fail in recent pop culture history.  I give unto you the 2007 Miss Teen USA contestant Miss South Carolina: Lauren Caitlin Upton:



Why is this a two-fer?  Because there is also a t-shirt at Busted Tees:

Starslip

Starslip by Kris Straub who happens to be among the internet's more successful webcartoonists.  Starslip is lots of fun and well worth getting addicted to. I like the silliness of looking for planets on hardcopy 2D paper maps.

Traffic zoo

Traffic.

Persol maps

I've never heard of Persol before. It appears to be a company that makes lenses.... in this case sunglasses... this case being a pretty little animated ad for Persol's sunglesses that features some nice maps.  Enjoy:


A Year of Sun with Mr. Persol - HD from Yuki 7 on Vimeo.

Buni saves

This is Buni, by Ryan Pagelow.  The titular character is typically mute and dangerously optimistic.  Here he fails to save the world.

Primarily New Hampshire two-fer

There weren't quite as many New Hampshire-map-related editorial cartoons as there were for Iowa.   But hey! We're up to 31 states that have been specifically featured in this map-related-comics blog! Only 19 more to go.  Should be able to knock out a few more of them this election season. 

These first two came from Daryl Cagle.  My apologies for that second one.  It goes WAY too far.... and suggests that New Hampshire is a very difficult state to anthropomorphize. 

This next one is from Bill Day and foreshadows the South Carolina primary:

Texas Tales

Here's the article that (kinda) explains this post:

PIGS! ... and a birthday.

Happy Birthday to a brand new island in the Red Sea. Smithsonian article about it.
Kinda makes up for Global Warming sinking an island in 2010 (thus resolving a 30-year-old international dispute)

I'm not satisfied with the comic-ness of this post so... PIGS! (available free from the Library of Congress)

Dance map revolution

This is simply silliness.... inexplicably performed in front of a map.

SOPA STRIKE: STOP SOPA NOW!

SOPA STRIKE: STOP SOPA NOW!
In solidarity with the SOPA strike.

Primarily Iowa two-fer

It's presidential primary season.  So it's time for editorial cartoons featuring the states that are holding primaries.  We'll start, of course, with Iowa:

 This one is by Marshall Ramsey... and I'm pretty sure it's about the fractured nature of the GOP party voting... although I'm not quite getting the debris falling...? Is that emblematic of deteriorating GOP cohesion?

This anthropomorphized Iowa is Daryl Cagle commenting on the craziness that is the states competing to be the first to hold presidential primaries.  I gotta agree that jockeying for position is beyond silly.  I wonder which state is the most difficult to anthropomorphize? Which one is the easiest?

This one is by Bob Gorrell... clever little pun I suppose.

And back to Daryl Cagle again, this time presaging what we all know comes next: Next Tuesday's two-fer will focus on New Hampshire!

Google Steno

Some of you may have seen this Google Doodle last week noting the 374th anniversary of the birth of Nicolas Steno.  Given that it resembles a geological map for the purposes of demonstrating Steno's foundational contributions to the discipline of geology (one of my academic pursuits) it's a perfect fit for this map-related-comics blog.

Earth drops

German photographer Markus Reugels creates these shots by dripping water in front of a high-resolution image and quickly capturing the drop in mid-flight.

FedEx dominoes

Recently there has been a spate of videos going around documenting seriously flawed practices by FedEx delivery personnel.  Conan even spoofed it. (though to be fair, UPS is not immune from this sort of behavior).

Well, not that I'm a big FedEx booster, but here's one that shows some of the geographic prowess FedEx can achieve, at least in its advertising (notice the gigantic map painted on the floor of this set-up):

Geographic ingratitude

Tom Batiuk's Funky Winkerbean.  

Notice the little globe in the travel agency.  That's the map part of this map-related Funky Winkerbean strip by Tom Batiuk.  Talk about ungrateful! This imaginary travel agent (because are there any travel agencies anymore?) offers an amazing travel package to a fascinating location that is very much in keeping with the sports theme of the charity, and the titular character there dismisses it like the slimy cretinous slug that he is.   

The proper response here would have been: "Holy Kenya!, Really!?  That's an amazingly generous offer! I can't tell you how thrilled we are to have such a valuable donation for our raffle.  We'll save that prize for last.  By the way, how in the world have you managed to stay in business all these years?"

Redistricting two-fer

'Tis the season of redistricting.  There's a great guy, John Milem, up in my neck of the woods who was recently recognized for his volunteer work on the redistricting in Washington State. So today is a redistricting-themed two-fer in honor of him and to recognize that the redistricting battles in the states around this Union are winding down (either the states have their redistricting done or, if they don't, the court battles begin).  There are some promising signs that with the burgeoning digital cartographic tools available so much more broadly to so many more people the days of the gerrymander may be numbered.

Please, if you've see any more redistricting cartoons let me know.

This one is by Jeff Parker, noting the struggles Florida is having with redistricting:

This bit of cartographic poetry is from Tom Toles:

Also, this is the first cartoon in this blog to specifically feature Maryland so that brings our total of states mentioned to 29.  I suspect that this primary season will be perfect for collecting several more state-map-themed cartoons.  Let me know if you find any.

Here's some links to previous redistricting-themed map-related cartoons:
The power of the redistricting cartographer
Israel's redistricting issues under Sharon
Same thing under Olmert
The classic Gerrymander cartoon that started it all

Custer's Stand

General Custer sold maps? From Dan Piraro's Bizarro.

Quinault dragons

Somebody added monsters and dragons to the park map.  Cute.  I actually mapped this area for a project once.  Made a time-lapse animation showing changes in forestation of the area for timber inventory.  It was fun.

GIS rap

This probably isn't the only GIS rap in existence, but it is one I've found.

Zen GPS

Buddhist monk's GPS. Speed Bump by Dave Coverly

Two maps two-fer

Today's two-fer involves 2 beautiful "hand-drawn" maps (the second one was done on a computer, sure, but involved so much intricate detailed work that it's legitimate to call it hand-drawn).

The first is from designer Paula Scher and is a book full of her beautifully rendered maps that are purposefully careless-to-accuracy. Below is a sample and here is a link to an article and slideshow explaining them:

The second is the map that got the “Best of Show” award at the annual competition of the Cartography and Geographic Information Society. Made by one David Imus in Eugene. Looks like interest in the thing crashed his server. Article about it and an image of it below:

Plumber's world

The world according to the Mario franchise.

Geography statement

A familiar refrain.

Happy new year.  May this next one not suck.

I want my solar parity

John Farrell over at Energy Self-Reliant States made this interactive and animated map mash-up that shows " which major metropolitan areas can beat grid prices with local solar first, and how quickly unsubsidized solar could take over America's major metropolitan areas."

Link to see when your city can bask in off-grid rays: http://energyselfreliantstates.org/content/mapping-solar-grid-parity

While I'm thrilled that some cities begin to achieve parity as early as 2013, I gotta wait until 2026 to get mine.

Where is the love?

Some time ago I did a big reveal of Carmen Sandiego that included speculation about the romantic connection between Carmen and Waldo (of "Where's" fame).  Here's another on that theme:

Boulder warming

When I first moved to Colorado many moons ago there was a front page article with a photo about a couple who had proudly made a map showing how an earthquake would drop most of the western United States, including the Rocky Mountains, into the Pacific Ocean, leaving much of the Denver Metro Area as beachfront property.  This couple was very serious and fervently believed in this theory of theirs.... or so the article claimed.  I've not been able to find that article (although I haven't actually tried) but what appears above is an artist's rendition of kinda the opposite... as in this is what it might look like looking south for almost everything east of Denver to become ocean... again I should say, since back during the Cretaceous it all was ocean... as one can see in this animation.    But actually this could be a convoluted global warming type theme... so we'll add this other one by Chip Bok which is very much global warming oriented and call it a a day.

Kringus reveals plans

This is farther in to the same "Kringus" story line form Scott Kurtz' outstanding Player vs. Player webcomic. This is where we finally find out what Kringus is up to.  If you think this is sinister, y'ain't seen nuthin' yet.  Later Kringus story arcs go way into the deep end. 

But even as fun as the Kringus stories can be, my favorite Christmas map-related comic is this one:
http://blueskygis.blogspot.com/2009/12/i-love-christmas.html

Kringus does GPS

Here's a treat: Player vs. Player by that giant in the webcomic industry (pun intended) Scott Kurtz.  This episode comes from towards the beginning of one of the first "Kringus" story arcs that Kurtz did. Notice the GPS device labeled on the diagram. This story arc starts here:
http://www.pvponline.com/2007/12/03/kringus-risen-part-1/

These "Kringus" story arcs have become rather elaborate in recent years.  Well worth the time of looking them up through the comprehensive archive. 

RSA Animate: whiteboard globe

RSA Animate is a series of amazingly well-drawn whiteboard diagrams of interesting talks on various fascinating topics. In this one Matthew Taylor explores the meaning of 21st century enlightenment.  Don't let the fun drawing of the globe early on distract you from the fascinating presentation.

Rex Morgan M.D.

Rex Morgan M.D. by Woody Wilson & Graham Nolan.  Not only is the a folding map in panel 3, but there's a reference to a map light in the car in panel 6.  Do people still call interior car lights map lights?

The story arc this belongs to involves some Alzheimer-y elderly folks (who are nevertheless having relations) wandering off from the retirement community ... and I think getting themselves kidnapped by rather incompetent, very mild crooks.

Mapping Tozo

David O'Connell's Tozo is a rather popular webcomic that's got a rich story line and has been running for almost 5 years now. Like Girl Genius, it's in the Steampunk style and, also like Girl Genius, it takes place on an Earth parallel, in Europe.  The setting is a stand-in for Venice, but the papacy has headquartered there rather than Rome..... and there's something mysterious happening on the European mainland involving an asteroid.  

Panel 2 there is the first glimpse of the map of Nova Venezia there is the offices of its ruler the Doge, Lady Celestine.... although this version of Venice doesn't quite look like ours.

She's scheming there against our hero, Detective Tozo, who is having a conversation with Professor Borello, who made him that little mecha-golem Klikker in that first panel, who was preceded by Tikker who the professor also made, but who ran off and became a spy for the resistance against the Spider Empire on the mainland.

 The Doge, Lady Celestine, resplendent in her palace... with her globe to the side.  This is the front page for Chapter 2.

 The evil Count Carlo on the cover of Chapter 3.  Note the map on the dresser to the left.

 Part of the background story explaining The Shard, The Spider Queen, and so forth.  There's that map again.

 Uh-oh! War has broken out between The Doge and the Papacy.  That's not good!

Read the whole story at Tozocomic.com

You are not getting things done

It's a "you are here" gag in Ziggy, by Tom Wilson (this time without the paranoid parrot). 

Antique GPS

Classic atlas.

Muppet cartography

A new Muppet Movie was released a few weeks ago. Here's a Sesame Street video about making maps featuring Ernie:




I remember when making maps was that simple. There was a great exercise in elementary school where we used a few drops of green, brown, yellow and white paint on blue paper. We folded the paper and unfolded it to make a Rorschach image... and that was our topographic map of our new imaginary land which we had to write a report about. It was one of the most fun learning experiences of my life.

Faithful

In this Sherman's Lagoon strip by Jim Toomey from September of 2005 our friendly sea creatures are  contemplating another road trip... using a folding map with fins... at the bottom of the sea...Comics!

California 'toonin' two-fer

Here's a California-themed two-fer.

The first is a  about a drought California had in 2008 by Patrick O'Connor

The second is about California's former governator, Arnold Swarchenegger and his troubles with the state's budget in 2009 by RJ Matson:

And finally a T-shirt design from "Busted Tees"

Own the world

Here's Lio by Mark Tatulli. Crazy little kid.

DNA of the Christopher S. Bond Sciences Center at MU

 

Some of you out there may know about the University of Missouri.  And some of those may know about the Christopher S. Bond Sciences Center.  But were you aware of the shape of the sidewalk out front? 

It's on the campus map too.

Musical mapping

Remember the musical subway animation from a while ago?  Today's animated map combines gaming with music and mapping.  Isle of Tune is an online (and now mobile) game and music-maker that allows the user to map out roads for cars to drive on and make music. What you're seeing above is the map that plays Beat It.  Try it out!

It does remind me a bit of the Honda commercial from a few years back where they cut rumble strips in a road to play the William Tell Overture  with a car... call me a music snob, though, but it sounds (annoyingly) flat to me: