Tag: maps

  • Fatal Passenger Train Derailment

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    by

    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…

  • What Philadelphians Think About Philadelphia

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    Yo, Philly, apparently Pew did a survey on what Philadelphians think about Philadelphia. And what better way to talk about a survey than through an infographic. So thanks to the Inquirer, that is what we have. The interesting bit is that while there is a black-and-white, presumably print version, the website broke the whole graphic…

  • The Crisis in Syria

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    The crisis in Syria now resembles more of a civil war. The UN General Assembly has condemned the conflict and passed a resolution calling for Bashar al-Assad to step aside along with a host of other steps to resolve the conflict. However, nothing can happen until the Security Council agrees on a measure, which is…

  • Adding Guided Context to Maps

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    Maps are cool. They show the geographic distribution of data. And that is fantastic if there is a story in said distribution. But even if there is a story, sometimes given both the scale of the map and the amount of data encoded in the map, how could you possibly expect to find the story?…

  • Comparing the (Display of) Results in Colorado

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    Mitt Romney lost badly last night. No way around that. But as I watched the results come in through various sources, I noticed two interesting design decisions that made me think; one from the Guardian (the British perspective), and the other from the New York Times. Using only Colorado as an example, here is the…

  • Replacing the Bay Bridge for the Long Term

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    Bridges are vital parts of infrastructure networks connecting two separate pieces of territory, but often they can be choke points. Damage to a bridge can result to isolation at worst and at best long, circuitous reroutes that add significant time to travel. In the San Francisco area authorities are building a new bridge to replace…

  • Punxsutawney Phil’s Day in the Sun

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    Groundhog Day. It’s Punxsutawney Phil’s day in the sun. Or not. Depends upon the year. Anyway, the Philadelphia Inquirer did a small piece about the history of this famous little groundhog from remote northwestern Pennsylvania. Credit for the piece goes to Cynthia Greer.

  • Cities Split Apart

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    by

    Brendan Barry
    in

    I like maps. Ever since I was kid. This post is less of an interesting graphic, chart, or what have you, but instead to point you to an interesting opinion piece in the New York Times. Frank Jacobs of Strange Maps wrote the piece, which is about cities split apart by political boundaries.