CHALK IT UP TO MAPPING

I remember the good ol' blackboard as being a soothing influence on me at school - perhaps subconsciously I was thankful there was a tangible presence in the room that could be responsible for, or at least sympathetic to, my vacuous stares. Any academic failings in subjects such as algebra, english or geography (surely not!) were all absorbed by an inky infinite abyss in the same way a black-hole nebula sucks in light. Fast forward to today >> in a digital world of information over-load, and one could be forgiven for assuming that there is now no need for an oldskool blackboard. But if there is still merit in pondering what one does not know (?) (including what one does not know about the world, the globe or even nz), a blackboard conduit, i think, represents a better metaphor for our imperfections and our awe than the ugly false-omniscience of the internet or indeed the sterile blankness of a whiteboard.

DESIGNER MAPS

Every now and again I stumble across a set of maps that have a cool design aesthetic.  I like the maps, and so I decide to reward the design company who made them by saying that I like them on my blogspot - its an organic relationship in a digital world... and I like it.

ANTI ANTIPODEAN

As a New Zealander who has just been on holiday to Europe for four weeks (have I mentioned that too much lately? oh well) I'm sick and tired of being referred to as another Antipodean - lumping me in by inference with those awful Australians and scallywag South Africans. So I say to them [in my finest Clint Eastwood voice] "who you callin' an antipodean buddy?" We get into a bar fight and thus ends a standard night abroad.  On the other hand, if the fine folk near the town of Ronda in Andalusia, Spain call me an Antipodean well then I shake their hand and say "how do you do?".  Why the different treatment? Well, 'Antipodean' by definition means a person from the opposite side of the world (or more amusingly in Greek; the opposite foot) and the Andalusians are on exactly the other side of the world from me - I know this because I've used this mapping applet ...and I'll fight anyone who disagrees!

SCRATCH THAT

Such is my commitment to Choice Map Tuesday, you may not have actually noticed that I have been on holiday in Europe for the last four weeks! Oh, the sights I've seen, the beer I've drunk and the maps I've used!  But how to keep track of all this? Well, the Scratch Map is one idea that offers the satisfying ability to literally scratch off the places that you visit.  Possibly not so good for you poor saps at work, but great for me!! :)  buy it here

WITH THIS MAP, I DO THEE WED

As a guy, weddings aren´t my natural topic of interest, but last week with the eyes of the world trained firmly on the royal wedding, I couldn´t really ignore the phenomenon altogether.  So, for the more female (and camp gay) readership of Choice Map Tuesday, this week, I´d like to remind you that maps do have a big part to play in these special events. If your´re interested (probably only if you're planning your own wedding) you may want to try out illustrated maps or DIY maps as examples of the many sites/ services available online.  For the guys, perhaps you could just imagine the cool maps that the snipers and security forces used.