Monday, May 31, 2010

NASDAQ, not NASCAR

Image removed.  Link here.
Dan Reynolds gives us this map-related cartoon about a couple of lost NASCAR fans ending up at NASDAQ headquarters.  I suppose both have to do with stock... or stock cars?  By the way, there is actually a globe on the store next to the NASDAQ building:

Friday, May 28, 2010

ERIF

Cartoonist Mike Williams gives us this quirky take on the practice of printing "Fire" (and "Ambulance" and sometimes "Police") backwards on emergency vehicles so that drivers can read the words in their rear-view mirrors.  The caption says "Excuse me, sir, but could you direct me to Reppeplue Avenue?"  Actually, I'm not confident that I got that street name correct.  Anybody have a better idea what it says?

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Brett Farve

This is sports-oriented editorial cartoon by Joe Heller ran in September of 2007 when Brett Farve was riding high with the Green Bay Packers.  Much has changed since then.  There's no way cheeseheads would be this dedicated to Farve any more.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Pirate detection

A Sunday strip from Jim Meddick's Monty in June 200.  I've posted examples of pirates and treasure maps before, but not a metal detector.  Has the sport/hobby of geocaching expanded or contracted the hobby of metal detection?  

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Go to geography

Jef Mallet again giving us another map-related Frazz strip.  This could be another fun way to teach geography, but possibly more distracting, less productive than this one.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Friday, May 21, 2010

You are Mensa

 Roy Nixon gives us another "You are here" gag.  He does a LOT of these.  Expect plenty more in the future.  

 

By the way, that's a thoroughly European city layout.  Not even Eastern cities in the US look like that And Western US cities are particularly and often monotonously gridded. 

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Made in Malaysia

Robert Weber had this published in The New Yorker in May of 2000.  It covers a lot of topics, including globalization, fair trade, manufacturing, education, etc. Actually, I think this would be a fantastic way to teach geography.  Even make it into a contest to see which kid could find the thing manufactured from farthest away, which kid had the most things manufactured the closest, put points on the map showing where all of the things come from, etc. 

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Snowdon

Duncan Bourne comments on whether or not GPS units are very needful, what with all the other directions and signage available to travelers.  More specifically he's commenting on the busy-ness of Snowdon, a very popular mountain in Wales/Great Britain.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Roadside cartographer

This depiction of a roadside cartographer by Henry Martin makes me feel happy and calm.  It's such a pleasant concept.  Thoroughly obsolete today, what with all of our electronic guidence systems.  But in April of 1987 when this ran in The New Yorker, it might have almost been practical... but the only place where there'd be enough lost traffic would probably be a more urban setting.   But this did remind me of the story "The Mappist" by Barry Lopez, which I heard on the Selected Shorts program.  I highly recommend both. 

Monday, May 17, 2010

You are cubicle

Does this cartoon from Ron Therien look familiar?  That'd be because he has done almost the exact same joke before.  This "You are here" gag kind of looks like it has a more of a maze theme to it  but I may be wrong about that.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Rand McNally coasts

A print ad for Rand McNally "Auto Trail Maps" from 1922.  This ran well before the extensive well-developed road networks we take for granted today.  At 35 cents each, adjusting for inflation, that's about $4.50 today.  And far more comprehensive nation-wide maps come "free" with many smart phones today.  At some point comparing value on inflationary terms alone becomes meaningless.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Roadmap for AIDS

So several years ago, when the powers that were put together the ill-fated "Roadmap for Peace" in the Middle East, editorial cartoonist Shamsudin Ismail made this suggestion for a different kind of roadmap.  This was not the only cartoonist who tried to get the Roadmap for Peace concept applied to a different cause.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Coast to coast

Michael Maslin gives us another map-related cartoon in The New Yorker.  In this one I can't tell whether the couple has been arguing about directions, but they certainly went too long before asking for help. And, unlike this example from Sherman's Lagoon, the distances given are approximately correct.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Mondrian

Simon Bond did this brilliant map-related parody of the famous (infamous?) modern artist Piet Mondrian. You may be familiar with his work without being familiar with his name:
Composition 10
It's one of those iconic styles that often comes up when people are commenting on the simplicity, or over-simplicity, of modern art. While I'm not a fan of this guy's work, it's obvious that some of it can be very map-like. Take his work "Broadway Boogie Woogie":
Broadway Boogie Woogie



Of course that work looks awfully like his "Victory Boogie Woogie" so maybe it's not so map-like after all... assuming "Victory Boogie Woogie" isn't supposed to invoke the aesthetic of maps.
Victory Boogie Woogie



Monday, May 10, 2010

Winer

Stephan Pastis doesn't shy away from the pun in his Pearls Before Swine strip. This is a fairly mild example compared to some puns he's presented.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Golden opportunity

Here's an old one from a February 1954 issue of The New Yorker by Barney Tobey.  What is hard to see is that there are other people already digging on the other side of the hill with the tree.  Bugs Bunney's encounter with maps and gold prospecting is funnier.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Lost in the ordinance survey office

Nigel Sutherland gives us this gag about the mapmakers getting lost.  In England the Ordinance Survey has long been the organization responsible for mapping.  This very old cartoon attests to that.