I love U-Haul's slogan for its ambiguity. The reference to moving either implies hauling your junk across the country in an automobile or trailer or being emotionally moved by some unnamed force.
I will be on the move next week so posting will be light. Above is a picture of where I'm moving: Ithaca, New York.
Of the four cheese markets in the Netherlands only the one in Woerden is authentic. Here, dairy farmers who produce cheese set the sale price with a market foreman (marktmeester) in an open setting. The other three cheese markets (kaasmarkt) are historical reproductions for tourists. They are located in the cities of Alkmaar, Edam, and Gouda.
The Gouda you find at the grocery store did not come from Gouda in the Netherlands unless it says "Noord-Hollandse Gouda." The European Union has strict standards on how place names are used on food labels. Strangely, the city of Gouda is not located in North (Noord) Holland, but South Holland - somebody should alert the PDO/PGI/TSG.
Southern Europe is cited in countless history books as the fuse that ignited World War I. Macedonia (also called F.Y.R.O.M.) was under the control of the Central Powers during the war. The French army fought throughout the area. Joined by British and Serbian forces they attempted to repel Austrian, German and Bulgarian armies.
Fifteen years ago a farmer near Gradesnica (a town in Novaci, Macedonia) happened upon some old glass bottles. According to the Independent,
The cases appear to be dotted all over Gradesnica, like bones buried by dogs. One cache was unearthed by farmers plowing their fields. Two more were found when a glint of metal in the sand of an old trench caught one farmer's eye.
The infamous autocratic regime running the Iranian government would like to have a total monopoly on photography. Nevertheless, last month the Iranian Flickr group celebrated their one-year anniversary. In spite of the national internet provider blocking flickr.com, these dedicated Iranians have been posting pictures of their nation for thirteen months now.
The city pictured here is called Yzad. Around a half-million people call this Central-Asian city home. Yzad is named after a Sasanian King who ruled in the beginning of the 5th century. Yazdegerd I, as he was called, was apparently a terrible leader, one account says this of him,
When he consolidated his power, he so greatly belittled the nobility oppressed the weak and shed so much blood that his subjects prayed to God to end his tyranny. He earned the epithet "the Sinner"
Check the previous Toponymy post on The Fire Temple or Agiary to learn more about Zoroastrianism and the religious history of Central-Asia.
Mexico's "Second City" in terms of population and business activity is Guadalajara. It takes its name from the city in Spain located in Castile-La Mancha. The literal translation of Guadalajara is "River of Stones" from the Arabic phrase: Wadi al-Hijarah.
Spanish Guadalajara was occupied by the Roman empire, however, all physical evidence of their presence has vanished. As the Islamic caliphate spread across the Iberian peninsula it established hundreds of new settlements. An "alcazar" or fortress was built at Guadalajara, and some of its ruins remain. Even though Islamic settlers did not found Mexican Guadalajara, the name is still rooted in Arabic.
This picture shows the Hospicio Cabañas, a hospital for orphans, elderly, handicapped, and chronically ill people. Built in the early 1800s it is a massive and simple building. It is home to several works by Mexican muralist José Clemente Orozco. UNESCO has designated it a cultural World Heritage Landmark.
Peter Tyson coined this nickname for Madagascar in the title of his ecologically-oriented book. The enormous number of species endemic to Madagascar draw biologists from around the world. Many distinct varieties of flowering plants, lemurs and chameleons of any color can be found only here. These species survive on Madagascar because of its isolation from other continents.
The central highlands and plateau divide the narrow island's East and West regions. Tropical forests are found mostly along the East coast while the West remains drier. This topography prevents plants and animals from inhabiting the whole of the island.
Geologists speculate that Madagascar is one of the oldest islands (having been separated from Africa for some 88 million years). That long period of time has allowed the fauna plenty of time to adapt to the special circumstances of their environment. It is also long enough that evidence of prehistoric creatures such as the Elephant Bird.
The Malagasy people have as fascinating story as their non-human neighbors. The island was settled between 1,800 and 1,500 years ago by Austronesian explorers from Indonesian islands. Sturdy boats and fast currents brought the Austronesian people from their home waters to places as far flung as Easter Island. Around the same time settlers from mainland Africa first discovered it.
The trees pictured above are known as Baobabs, and yes, this variety is found only on Madagascar. You can see them in the daylight and at sunset.
I was going to title this post Unusual and Derogatory American Toponyms, but it just didn't feel right.
A ten minute segment on Weekend America pondered the significance of strange place names. Reporter Kelly McEvers investigated a small Illinois town named Goofy Ridge. According to local accounts it was dangerous, filled with meth-addicts, and really backwards. The "official account" of the origin of Goofy Ridge's name can be traced to a time when men in the area shot walnuts off one-another's shoulders (a la William Tell).
According to the sociologist interviewed here, the factual and truthful reason for Goofy Ridge's name is less important than how listeners respond to hearing an outlandish story. In his framework, toponyms like Goofy Ridge are applied by more powerful groups onto their weaker neighbors.
The second half of the segment is a discussion with Gary Gladstone, a photographer who sought out American towns with bizzare names (such as booger mountain). A gallery of his work is available online, you can go from Idiotville, Oregon to Tightwad, Missouri.
If you would like to listen to the segment you have two options. Download the MP3 [24.9MB] and start at the 31 minute mark. Or go to the Weekend America page and use Real Player.
The city of Oporto, Portugal lies at the mouth of the Douro river. In the green and steeply sloped valleys of this river the grapes for Port wine grow. Port is known as a fortified wine which means additional alcohol has been added to kill yeast and prematurely end the fermentation process.
Port wine owes its name to the Roman Empire. The settlement on the Douro river was called "Portus Cale" by the Roman armies who discovered it. Cale referred to the Celtic people who lived in the area.
Rio de Janeiro translates to "January River" in English. However, there is no river in Rio, only a large bay. Portugese explorers found the bay on the twentieth of January, 1502 (and added Rio because that was a word used for any large body of water). When the city was founded some 63 years later it was officially named, São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro 20, after Saint Sebastian.
The photographer who took the above picture describes life in the city's favelas. These improvised buildings surround Rio and many other Brazilian cities, housing the poorest city dwellers. She describes the situation,
As for the real dangers of the favela, that would just be crossfire between the military police and the dealers or between two rival dealers. It’s pretty much a daily thing, so it’s not really any major deal for the regular people who live there.
The Brazilian government has recently announced plans to invest $1.7 billion to improve living conditions in the favelas. That money is expected to bring running water, street lighting, hospitals and schools to these neighborhoods.
Rio de Janeiro's statue of Christ the Redeemer made the cut in the recent 7 Wonders poll. Completed in 1931 it's the newest of the "new 7" and one of three located in Central or South America.
The Springfield of Bart, Lisa, Homer, and Marge is in Vermont. Throughout the series, writers have offered few clues to the location of Springfield. There are over 50 towns and cities named Springfield in the US.
Springfield Vermont won the video contest put on by USA Today. You can watch all the videos online. The small city received more votes than its total population. As a result of its victory it will host the premier of The Simpsons Movie on the 27th.
It's difficult to verbally express how potent SketchUp is as a modeling tool. I think this video does an excellent job of showing how simply and seamlessly SketchUp can capture a real form in a digital format.
Compare that to Laser Scanning. The costs and intense software needed to interpret the "point cloud" generated by a laser scan make it unrealistic for the general public.
via Digital Urban.
At the Bruce Peninsula National Park visitors center a small sign was posted telling people not to build Inukshuk. Parks Canada defines Inukshuk as "an Inuit stone cairn having the rough outline of a human figure." But the word can be more closely translated to English as, "something which acts for or performs the function of a person."
As far as I can decipher these rocky monuments are visual landmarks for the inhabitants of arctic Canada. The barren landscape and unusual solar activity make land navigation difficult. Inukshuk are markers that help Inuit and other arctic peoples orient themselves.
Part of the reason for this rock person craze is the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. The official logo is an Inunnguaq: "imitation of a person" built out of boulders, it is a more rare type of Inukshuk. Vancouver's Olympic organizers have dubbed their mascot Ilanaaq, the Inuit word for "friend."
