All posts by john musil

Mapping_The Invisible Soundtrack

If Mapping_The Invisible had a musical score, it would sound something like Phillip Glass’ Glassworks Something that starts off in a familiar context but turns to the unexpected. Experimental and digestible. On second thought, perhaps Koyaanisqatsi (film score by Glass) is the more appropriate choice. I would argue that it is a cinematographic map. If you now have an abundant source of free-time and don’t know what to do with it, please watch it at your leisure:

Mind altering, no chemicals necessary.

That is, to me at least. I’d like to believe everyone has their own sonic interpretation of the course. What did it sound like to you? Anyone?

Anyone?

Hello?

M_TI

Gerrymandering: Partisan Mapping

Mapping Support’s 2017 USA Congressional District Map uses GIS with Google to highlight current gerrymandered electoral districts in the US (the interactive map is worth checking out). In some states politicians (as opposed to independent  or judiciary groups) redraw voting districts to compose an electoral district that would align in the incumbents’ favor. The map above is a district that dilutes urban (more likely minority and democratic-leaning) voters with suburban and rural voters (more likely white and republican).  Not surprisingly, these maps are contentious. The US Supreme Court has ruled earlier this month that districts drawn in republican controlled North Carolina are based on race and therefore unconstitutional. The Court will also hear another important trial in which the justices may finally clearly lay out the limits of gerrymandering. The NYTimes puts it more eloquently in an editorial why politicians shouldn’t make maps.

Source: https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/05/30/opinion/30tue1/30tue1-blog427.jpg

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Glacier Map

Mapping 50 Years of Melting Ice in Glacier National Park

from NYT

As Donald Trump tries to silence the EPA on climate change the glaciers are melting. An example of maps that communicate much more effectively than words alone.

Weed Maps App

Disclosure: I’m not promoting or condoning this app- I just happened to see 2 billboards for it over the long weekend and thought it was funny enough to share it. The first “High Vancouver” billboard was spotted driving back into Vancouver from YVR, perhaps banking on cannabis tourists arriving to the city. The second was in Brewery Creek – an area full of  breweries and a number of dispensaries.

Available in the App Store or visit directly here.

Contested Maps: Kitsilano

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vancouver-bc-may-18-2017-sam-greers-map-at-all-nations
Mapping used as a means to lay claim to land.

Arlen Redekop / PNG | Source: http://wpmedia.vancouversun.com/2017/05/vancouver-bc-may-18-2017-sam-greers-map-at-all-nations.jpeg

A (true) story in our own back yard of a man and a map and some lies and some land. And also proof that if you hang onto old maps you can make good $.

A little sneak peak:

The CPR tried to put a rail line and telegraph poles through Greer’s claim, but he tore up the rail ties and cut down the poles. The railway retaliated by tearing his house down when he was away, twice.

Hilarity ensues at The Vancouver Sun.

Halprin’s Score: Symbolization of the Creative Process

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Halprin
Source: http://graphbooks.com/image/books/_1200/Halprin.jpg

[Halprin Workshops]. Halprin, Lawrence, et al.

Experimental Workshop Score for the UC Berkeley Art Museum (1971).

Lawrence Halprin
Paper, 13 x 22″

The late Lawrence Halprin used scores as a means to visualize his creative process. By graphically communicating the abstract,  Halprin creates an open map that invites collaborators to become involved in the process.

The Squaring of Circleville

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circleville-grid
The town plan of Circleville, OH

source: http://99percentinvisible.org/episode/mini-stories-volume-1/

Mini-Stories: Volume 1

Fascinating podcast to listen to on your way home about how a bunch of squares put Circleville into a corner. The story of a town plan based on a grid of concentric circles, courtesy of 99% Invisible.