Series: 50 States, 50 ________A series of posts assigning various cultural ideas to states.

3

From Absaroka to Yazoo: The 125 United States That Could've Been

I allowed my own mind to wander and I came up with the beginnings of a historical geography narrative for the United States of my own, drawing on each of these sources. How could I spell this out? Well, I'm no novelist, because I just really don't have the imagination or skills necessary to put together a story in that format. However, I can make maps here and there, and I firmly believe that maps can do a pretty good job telling a story. What did I end up with? My own alternate history U.S. map of 125 states Read more

0

The United States of Pop Music

Using album sales to approximate a "popular" act to represent each of the 50 states, plus DC and Puerto Rico. Read more

26

The Popular Feedback Remix: 50 States, 50 TV Series

After the success in driving traffic that the first "50 States, 50 TV Series" encountered, I used the feedback from commenters to create a remixed map. Read more

14

Impressionist Geography: 50 States, 50 Words

I am purposely not providing any further explanation to the words as they are chosen.  Why?  Because if you look at this map, even if you don't know me and don't know a thing about me, you're going to see these words and begin connecting the dots. You're going to have your own perception of why I chose the words I chose, and you're going to come up with other possibilities for your own map. It's inevitable, because maps draw us in, and make us think.  You're going to know me a little better than you did before, and whatever ideas you scratch from this map about me will be absolutely 100% true; "knowing" someone is only a compilation of impressions and perceptions about that person, because we can never truly be in their heads or walk in their shoes. Read more

22

50 States, 50 Movies

A piece was published on the Huffington Post today, identifying every state of the U.S. by one movie. The selection criteria isn't necessarily clear on the HuffPo.... not much is said about what kind of thinking was behind these selections.  It appears that most of these movies have stories based in the states listed, which is a good idea. Now, beyond the fact that the cartography of this map is sooooooooo incredibly terrible (gross, gross, gross!), I do think they could have come up with some better selections for some of these states.  Okay, fine, many of these states.  Yeah, I'm sitting here, debating an issue of taste.  So?   My proposed changes, or at least suggestions for alternatives Read more