Tag: maps

  • The First Rule Is You Don’t Talk About It

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    There are two things one is not supposed to discuss in mixed company, and let us face it, the internet is some rather mixed company. One of those things, politics, I frequently mention and bring up on this blog. The other, religion, I do not. Until now. (I think.) From the National Post comes this…

  • 21st Century Prohibition

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    This map comes from the BBC, which investigates prohibition in the 21st century at the local level, as the national policy ended in the early decades of the 20th century. Credit for the map goes to John Walton, Harjit Kaura, and Nadzeya Batson.

  • Heritage Maps

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    Brendan Barry
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    From FlowingData comes a post to an interactive piece by Bloomberg that looks at the geographic distribution of different heritage—read heritage, neither race nor ethnicity—groups. (Its choice of groups, however, is slightly contentious as it omits several important ones, including African-Americans.) I would say that a typical map like this would simply plot the percent…

  • Bringing 19th Century Mapping Techniques to the 21st Century

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    Charles Booth was a 19th century social scientist living in Britain. He famously investigated poverty and mapped out which parts of London were teeming with vicious, lower-class criminals or well-to-do upper class folks. Today, one might use a simple choropleth style to paint whole swathes of London by postal districts or constituencies or some such.…

  • Happy St. Patrick’s Day

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    Brendan Barry
    in ,

    A day early given the weekend…so yeah, I’m (mostly) Irish-American. So this post is for the (extended) family.

  • Busting Bunkers

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    There is quite a lot of talk these days about the possibility of Israel, either with or without American assistance, launching an attack on Iran to halt the further development of its nuclear programme. The trouble is that Israel may not have the weapons necessary to carry out a successful attack, but the US has…

  • Delivery Routes

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    Sunday in the New York Times, an article on bicycle delivery had an accompanying infographic. It detailed the dinner route of the article’s main individual. The piece is an interesting use of small multiples to provide a timeline of a route, while each new delivery maintains the old paths for reference. And from a data…

  • Fatal Passenger Train Derailment

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    Sunday afternoon in Burlington, Canada, a VIA passenger train—think Canada’s version of Amtrak—derailed shortly after switching tracks. The two engineers in the locomotive and their trainee died in the accident, which is still under investigation. The National Post covered the story and included a few graphics to explain just what happened. Maps pointed out exactly…

  • And the Award Comes From…an Old White Male. Most Likely.

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    So apparently last night actors, directors, and others associated with the production of films won little statues. (And then probably celebrated with fancy foods and wines.) Yes, last night was the Academy Awards. But who is this Academy that decides upon the best films and performances? As it turns out, the demographics of the Academy…

  • Tsunami Debris

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    We are coming upon the date when a year ago an earthquake and its subsequent tsunami devastated Japan. As the wave rushed over land it ripped up and destroyed whole villages. Most of the debris remained scattered across the Japanese landscape, but as the water receded some was inevitably swept back out to sea. The…