Dec

31st 2007

Geography of Bliss

Filed Under Books | Leave a Comment

cover_geography_bliss.jpgWhat makes different people in different countries happy?  Eric Weiner takes on this task in his travelogue ”The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World.”  As Eric Weiner explains in the opening of his book, he took off on a world journey to, ”I hoped, find some happiness along the way. I’ve always believed that happiness is just around the corner. The trick is finding the right corner.”  The book takes the reader through ten of the happiest and least happiest places one earth in an attempt to tweak out what makes people happy.  The NY Times has published an excerpt from the first few pages for those that want to experience a taste of the author’s style before checking out the entire book.   

Dec

19th 2007

Annual Geography Quiz

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Each year, the San Francisco Chroncile puts out a Geo Quiz.  The quiz doesn’t test you on rote geography, no naming of capitals (well, maybe one question) are on the list of questions.  The quiz is hard but fun and asks such off the wall questions as which international airport is named after a nun, what two countries that begin with an “A” don’t end with an “a”, which U.S. States allows you to vote absenttee from space, and which Middle Eastern capital was onced named “Philidelphia”? 

Test your geo smarts with this 50 question quiz:

Dec

17th 2007

Can Posh and Becks Make Geography Interesting?

Filed Under Education, Europe | Leave a Comment

The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority in the United Kingdom certainly thinks so.  Charged with developing the National Curriculum, the governing body is urging teachers of grade level students to “use music, films and soaps as an accessible, contemporary and different source of geographical information.”  Examples provided on the web site to make geography lessons more appealing is the use of David and Victoria Beckham’s family to understand socioeconomic decisions, watching mob movies to understand the geographic differences between north and south Italy, and Disney movies to understand biodiversity.  The suggestions have been heavily criticised by many as patronizing and representing a dumbing down of geography.  Chris Woodhead, Ofsted’s former chief inspector of schools, accused the QCA of “dumbing down” the “intelligence, challenge and excitement” of geography.  Alan Smithers, professor of education at Buckingham University, added: “What would excite young people is gaining a growing interest in the world. They can’t do this when they’re being patronised and talked down to.”

Read more:

Dec

13th 2007

Vita è bella Not So For Italians

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A study by Italian economist, Luisa Corrado, found Italians to be the least happiest of 15 Western European nations (Denmark was ranked the happiest ).  An article in the New York Times details the decline of the Italian way of life.  Eleven percent of Italians live in poverty and 15% have trouble making their salaries cover their monthly expenses.  An aging population combined with a low birthrate contribute to the economic woes of Italy and its ability to compete on a global level.  Mario Adinolfi, a thirty-six year old blogger quips, “We don’t have a Google.  We can’t imagine in Italy that a 30-year-old opens a business in a garage.”

Dec

13th 2007

Neighborhood Posters

Filed Under Cartography | Leave a Comment

The way different artists view their environments is always fascinating.  ORK Posters was started by Jenny Beorkrem, a graphic designer who was looking for a neighborhood Chicago poster but couldn’t find any that appealed to her.  Using a modern typesetting, ORK Posters visualize neighborhoods in Chicago, Brooklyn, Manhattan, San Francisco and Boston through the use of type of varying sizes fitted like a puzzle into the shape of the area.  

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Dec

10th 2007

How Well Do You Know Your World?

Filed Under Education, Games | 1 Comment

A fun way to learn about where places are in the world is to take advantage of the plethora of free geography games on the Internet.  One such game is “How Well Do You Know Your World?”  The object of the game is to accurately locate places on the world map as quickly as possible.  The game starts out easy with major world cities and then progressively becomes harder.  When you click on the map, the distance from your mouse click to the actual location is calculated.  Interesting trivia about the location accompanies each question. 

Dec

04th 2007

500 Year Old Map Naming America on Display

Filed Under Cartography, United States | 1 Comment

The oldest map using the name America will go on permanent display on December 13th at the Library of Congress.  The Library acquired the 1507 Waldseemüller Map of the World map for $10 million (purchase completed in 2003).  In addition to being the first map to use the annotation “America”, it is also significant for being the first map to show both the Western hemisphere and the Pacific Ocean as separate.  The map was printed on twelve separate sheets from wood blocks and assembled, has a dimension of more than 4 1/2 feet by 8 feet.

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