Category Archives: Maps

Cartography comes to Harlem (apologies to Chester Himes)

Posted on February 19, 2026 by Brian D. Butler

Elmer Simms Campbell is famous for his decades of work as an illustrator for some of the most popular U.S. periodicals, such as Esquire, Playboy, and Cosmopolitan,  during the mid to late 20th century.  In 1939, Campbell became the first … Continue reading →

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New York, New York

Posted on February 9, 2026 by Brian D. Butler

I was astonished by the new website isometric nyc. This project offers an amazingly detailed and incredibly comprehensive isometric pixel art map of New York City – not just Manhattan either, but all the other boroughs too, including my ancestral land of … Continue reading →

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Occupation Cartography

Posted on January 27, 2026 by Brian D. Butler

Over the last year or two I’ve seen many social media posts about “occupying powers” and accusations about nations or peoples being “colonizers”. I’ve been thinking that maps may help clarify some of the confusion.    

Posted in Asia, Cartography, Maps, Middle East | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

How well do you know geography

Posted on December 15, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

When I was just a nerdy little kid, my friends and I would play a simple game the we called “Geography”. It entailed a player naming a country and the next player challenged to name another nation starting with the … Continue reading →

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Too Many Rivers To Cross

Posted on December 1, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

Possibly inspired by All Streets, Ben Fry’s map of all the streets in the US, Nelson Minar built a US map out of all the rivers in the country.  

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Dylan’s mind and other diversions

Posted on November 16, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

Can AI tell us anything meaningful about Bob Dylan’s songs? What was uncovered when computer scientist Prashant Garg  fed Dylan’s official discography from 1962 to 2012 into a large language model (LLM), building a network of the concepts and connections … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Maps, Museums, Photography, Writing | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

September Song (hot, hot, hot)

Posted on September 8, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

Here in North America meteorological Fall started on September 1st. But if you live here and have been paying attention, you may have noticed that the usual cooling after the Summer season has been arriving late. That’s because the Autumn … Continue reading →

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“It takes a train to cry”

Posted on September 3, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

  Although I reside in the Philadelphia metro area, I frequently use the New Jersey Transit system to travel to New York City. When it works smoothly, the trip is quick, convenient and relatively inexpensive compared to Amtrak. However, NJTransit … Continue reading →

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Where in the world is the Republiko of Zendia

Posted on August 7, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

How do you find a republic that never existed ? During the 1950s Cold War, U.S Army cryptologist Lambros D. Callimahos created the mythical  “Republiko of Zendia” to use in wargaming for U.S. military intelligence codebreakers simulating the invasion of … Continue reading →

Posted in Cartography, History, Libraries, Maps, USA | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

A Visit To Narnia (with guest star)

Posted on June 8, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

 

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