|| 2/1/2008 || 2:20 pm || Comments Off || ||
L (A) T T I T U D E S – February 21st, 2008
As I mentioned before, I have one of my maps going up at a local gallery. I am offering ten signed prints of ISRAEL / PALESTINE 1993 for sale at the gallery. Printed at 48″ x 32″ with archival inks on stretched canvas, the map is printed large enough so that you can read the tiny print on the original map.
If you are interested in attending the opening night reception, I have added an event invitation on Facebook where you can RSVP.
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BLARGH! I was looking over the e-mail I sent to everyone and noticed a few typos! File that e-mail under lexical regret. Next time I’ll spend 45 more minutes proofreading….
|| 2/2/2008 || 4:59 pm || Comments Off || ||
Charlotte Spheres
: rendered at 15,000 X 10,000 :
About a week ago I noticed someone from Charlotte, North Carolina looked at my website multiple times. One time while they were exploring my website the person did a search for “Charlotte” and since I had not made a map of Charlotte yet, they didn’t find anything….
Using the same Lenz Projection elements used in Pentagon Spheres and Dupont Circle Lenz Quilt, I developed this unique map. However, unlike the Pentagon Spheres map, I arranged the height of the spheres in a different pattern and I used a diamond quilt projection for the background.
I am quite pleased with the results. Specifically, I like how the magnification varies perfectly on the left and right-hand side of the map. Below you can see a close up detail of two identical locations that were magnified differently. The magnification process is quite processor intensive which made this map take over 10 hours to render– the longest render time since I purchased my MacBook last year and I didn’t even render it at my standard size.
View the Google Map of downtown Charlotte, North Carolina.
: detail :
View the rest of the details:
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|| 2/3/2008 || 7:52 pm || Comments Off || ||
Charlotte Spheres #2
: rendered at 9,000 X 6,000 :
Using a portion of Charlotte Spheres #1, I created this derivative map. I noticed that there was over-projection in some parts of the first map, so I under-projected this map to reduce further pixilation. The result is one of the most exquisite quilt projection maps yet! It has a nice assortment of aerial photography at multiple scales and the geometric designs of the original buildings standout quite nicely. I look forward to getting this printed eventually because it’s quite fun to look at.
Speaking of printing, I spent some of my hard-earned funds on a 60″ x 40″ canvas print of Federal Triangle Quilt #4. This is the largest printing I’ve ordered for myself. I joined Imagekind exactly one year ago and not once did I ever get around to purchasing one of my maps at it’s largest size and on the most expensive media. It’s not like I didn’t want to, but I just wasn’t sure which one to purchase. I have a $2,500 check arriving shortly from the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities and I intend on purchasing quite a few more! Very excited.
One disappointment was how the canvas hangs using Poster Hangers. I hung it vertically and the sides of the canvas bend inward. I knew this was going to happen somewhat, but I was expecting so much bend– like a full two inches curving inward. Another interesting observation is how the texture of the canvas adds to the quilted nature of the projection technique. When it comes to quality and longevity of media, I think I’m going to do most of my future printing on canvas. It costs more, but I think it’s worth it.
Also arriving last week was Imagekind’s Sample Media Kit, which contains samples of all of the company’s media that my maps are printed on. It costs $15, but you get $15 off your next purchase, so it’s kind of worth it. My evaluation of the kit was rather simple: does it reflect too much light or does the paper/canvas tear? The winner, and what I printed Federal Triangle Quilt #4 and Israel / Palestine 1993 on, was the Epson Piezo Pro Matte Canvas.
View the Google Map of downtown Charlotte, North Carolina.
View the rest of the details:
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|| 2/4/2008 || 4:29 pm || Comments Off || ||
PHOTO: Thursday night at Napoleon
This photo was taken last Thursday night in the basement of Napoleon Bistro & Lounge. I have my hand placed similar to how Napoleon would have had his. I definitely need a new jacket and a new scarf now. I generally try to avoid the camera these days. BTW, the button says, “No War” in old english script.
|| 2/5/2008 || 3:12 pm || Comments Off || ||
Poorly Plagiarized Biography
Screen grab from a poorly written biography
By reading this article and using the Wikipedia listing of cartographers, this company decided to include me on their website. What is interesting is that they don’t sell my maps or link to my website. Worse is that the bio is poorly written and their maps look like they were made ten years ago. Their red/green/blue/yellow coloring reminds me of an old ESRI logo that I have on one of my old bags (not to mention Google’s colors). I am going to be contacting the company to see if I can buy one of my maps from them. {grin}
The text below briefly describes who was listed on Wikipedia last summer:
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|| 2/6/2008 || 3:46 pm || Comments Off || ||
Before there was Google Earth, there was Keyhole
Scan of a document promoting the Keyhole software
In May of 2004, the Association of American Geographers organized an event called “Mapping the News.” It was my first professional association meeting and I had quite a fun time. One of the items I picked up from the vendors was this Keyhole flyer. It was written for journalists who might use Keyhole’s mapping capabilities for their stories. Back then you could get one free week of Keyhole before you had to start paying for it.
I have a knack for saving random documents I think are interesting and last week I rediscovered the flyer when I was disposing of old papers. Shortly after this flyer was produced (I don’t know the exact date) Google bought Keyhole and released it one year later as Google Earth. The rest is history….
|| 2/7/2008 || 7:57 pm || Comments Off || ||
The Mount Pleasant Cross
: rendered at 18,000 X 12,000 :
I’ve known about the way to use an offset square quilt projection to create the cross design, but never made a full map until now. I can theoretically use this projection style on any future map— quite cool. I wonder what geography should be crucified next? {chuckle}
The street that creates the cross’s frame is 16th Street, which up until 1884 was the prime meridian on American maps.
###update– actually I found that this is not correct– not ALL maps, just some maps
View the Google Map of the Mount Pleasant Neighborhood in Washington, DC.
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|| 2/8/2008 || 9:13 pm || Comments Off || ||
ordered today: Superdome Quilt #2 & Charlotte Spheres
After praising the canvas prints I recently received, I decided to order two more maps. The way I see it is that these maps will be paid off using the grant money because they are not cheap!! They should arrive in a couple weeks and with their arrival I am going to shuffle the artwork on the walls of my house around. I now have more work ready to hang than wall space available in my house!
I chose the Superdome Quilt – 1st Derivative #2 (or just Superdome Quilt #2) because it’s been Imagekind Curator’s Pick for awhile and because I think it fits the “Mars Gravior Sub Pace Latet” concept I’ve been playing with recently. I also chose Charlotte Spheres simply because I really want to see what it looks like printed out. The optical experimentation on that map should show up very nicely. Both will printed at 32″ x 48″ on Epson Piezo Pro Matte Canvas. This is the largest size that Imagekind has for stretched canvas.
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|| 2/9/2008 || 5:51 pm || Comments Off || ||
Spinvision.TV
Screen grab of SpinvisionTV
A few months ago I mentioned my fondness for Flickrvision. Today’s update is called Spinvision.TV and it shows geolocated Youtube videos. It’s pretty fun to watch.
|| 2/10/2008 || 3:02 pm || Comments Off || ||
From Here to There in Google Maps
Screen grab of Google Map’s directions
Technically it’s the directions from Héré to Théré, but lets just forget about the four accent égues as they are lost in translation. —via Haha.nu
|| 2/11/2008 || 2:23 pm || Comments Off || ||
Poor Map Design: 5 Guys Famous Burgers & Fries
Inverted scan of 5 Guys poorly drawn map
The other day I was at Five Guys getting lunch and I picked up their to-go menu (below). On the back of menu was a completely blank page with the map above. When I saw it, I laughed out loud and said, “This has got to be one of the worst maps I’ve seen in awhile.” At least my grilled cheese sandwich was tasty..
Let me explain:
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|| 2/12/2008 || 12:27 pm || Comments Off || ||
The M&M’s of Australia say Vote Green
An ad agency’s portrayal of the Green M&M
This subvertisement is from an Australian M&M advertisement campaign. I’ve seen the same type of campaign done in America, however this campaign employs revolutionary iconography to sell the colors.
Today, however, I didn’t vote for a corporation, instead I voted in the D.C. Statehood Green Party Primary for Cynthia McKinney.
Related Green Entries:
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|| 2/13/2008 || 1:17 pm || Comments Off || ||
My vote verified by a paper ballot
An infographic showing how to hack a Diebold Accuvote-TS unit
So yesterday I participated in the DC Statehood Green Party Primary. This election cycle I was offered the opportunity to keep the tab from my ballot. Compared to those generic “I VOTED” stickers, the paper ballot is a much better souvenir because it shows that not only did I vote, I was voter number 2 at the precinct. Here’s the scanned proof:
Judging by the DC Board of Elections and Ethics results for my precinct (below), I can verify that the ballot above was the second and last DC Statehood Green Party ballot given out yesterday. If you scroll down to the bottom of the image, it shows that there were 2 people who voted for Cynthia McKinney and since the ballot above is market 00002, I can only infer that the other voter has 00001.
It looks like Cynthia McKinney beat Ron Paul in my precinct (2 votes to 1 one). Only nine people voted republican compared to the two Statehood Green (one being me). Thats some hyperlocal politix.
Related 2008 Election Entries:
- Bird's Eye views of Big Diomede, Russia
- Uncertified Election Results from Precinct #137 in Washington, DC
- Jason Linkins 2008 Election Recap is up on the Huffington Post
- Video of my vote at Precinct #137 in Washington, DC
- Spam from presidential candidate John McCain: Make History Tomorrow
- New videos are up on the Huffington Post - Foreign Correspondents Edition
- Bird's Eye View of Little Diomede, Alaska
- The microphone flag I designed makes an appearance
- The newest Vlogorrhea with Jason Linkins & Ana Marie Cox is now up on the Huffington Post
- Change in America by Head-Roc featuring GODISHEUS International Funk Train aka The G.I.F.T
- YouTube Video of Cynthia McKinney on Al Jazeera's Riz Extra show
- Illegal Popup Advertisement featuring John McCain
- Stickering Shepard Fairey's "The Duality of Humanity" in Washington, DC
- Third Party Presidential Ballot Access in the United States of America [updated]
- Interviews with Alex Jones at the DNC in Denver and other videos
- Empirically demonstrating how voting can prove uniqueness
- Wasilla, Alaska is literally off the map, the Google Map that is
- Third Party Presidential Ballot Access in the United States of America
- Protest videos from the first day of the RNC in St. Paul, Minnesota
- Iraq Veterans Against the War Concert & March at the 2008 DNC
- Two Huffington Post Interviews are up - Tim Daly, Rufus Wainwright, and Margaret Cho
- A Polar Bear In Denver
- Democratic National Convention 2008 - Photos from Day Three
- Democratic National Convention 2008 - Photos from Day Two
- Democratic National Convention 2008 - Photos from Day One
- Obama's vice presidential selection is a slap in the face to every progressive American
- La Bruja recites her poem "Be Who You Are"
- Al Franken draws a pretty good map of the United States; then sells it for $200
- YouTube Has Chosen For You! - Digital Scrapbooking Explicit Bipartisanship
- Dalai Lama: "If you have a Green Party I want to join it"
- CurrentTV: Green On Green [feat. the 2008 Green Party Presidential Candidates]
- Face the (Corporate) Candidates on YouTube
- My vote verified by a paper ballot
- The M&M's of Australia say Vote Green
- 2008 Green Party Debate [tonight on KPFA]
|| 2/14/2008 || 1:22 pm || Comments Off || ||
Tidying up MySpace (and Friendster)
So I met someone a few weeks back and I was looking at her MySpace page’s comments section. I instantly learned quite a bit more information that I really cared to learn about that person. Upon realizing that I didn’t want that type of passive sleuthing to be available within my digital sphere, I decided to go through and remove all 677 comments on my MySpace profile that have accumulated over the last 5 years.
Yet those digital memories are not gone forever, rather, I went through and saved the HTML of every page of comments. I think I might illegally post them to an unlinked folder on this website for safe keeping. Reading over all them was quite cathartic to say the least— old friends who I don’t see anymore, ex-girlfriends, memories of past parties, and my favorite, the lexical migration from Friendster’s testimonials to inane discussions to people’s e-flyers. All I can say is that MySpace is one of the finest data mining operations on the internet and I’m happy there is now a little less data to be mined.
For the last 7 months I’ve been working on a digital art project related to some ambiguous content I’ve found on MySpace. I have over 100 different images I am going to collage together. Its going to take awhile, but I think the result will be a striking indictment on MySpace’s decline in popularity.
|| 2/15/2008 || 1:45 pm || Comments Off || ||
87 & 280 Quilt
: rendered at 18,000 X 12,000 :
Similar to the Los Angeles Interchanges Series (LAIS), I decided to make my first San Jose, California map using imagery from the interchange of California State Route 87 & interstate 280. Unlike the LAIS, which used only the Diamond Quilt Projection this map uses a Hexagon Quilt Projection.
View the Google Map of the interchange.
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