Maps

A few weeks ago I went to a much anticipated exhibit at the Field Museum on Maps. It was one of the most fascinating exhibits I have seen in a long time!

Some of the most interesting maps were the ancient maps showing shorelines for merchant ships; A New York to Paris flight plan from 1927; A few Medieval and Renaissance Christian World Maps (so many maps depicted unusual world centers); The sketchbook from a Confederate topographer; Maps done by Jefferson, Washington and Lincoln. (Jefferson's map proposed the boundaries for 14 new states); A map of Cholera deaths in London as people tried to figure out the source; The Land of Oz; The Hundred Acre Wood; and a pictoral travel guide from Chicago to Lake Geneva from 1905.

For those of you who aren't in the Chicago area, you can see some of the exhibit here.

In other news: violence reportedly stopped in the Baghdad area due to surprising snowfall that many hadn't seen their entire lives; A pair of twins, separated at birth, met later in life and got married; and the FBI has had several wire taps disconnected for failure to pay the bills.

The People of Sparks

For Christmas, I was given several books. I have just finished the first of them. Before you become impressed, know that it was a children's book. The People of Sparks is an adorable book about a community of people that has been living underground for generations restarting on a vast and empty earth after some mysterious great disaster that almost wiped out humankind. This is the sequel to The City of Ember, which I think I enjoyed even more.

As always, children's books are full lessons that ought to shape our malleable personalities and from this book I learned that it is best to give people the benefit of the doubt AND one shouldn't be led by other people's moral compasses AND that friendship is precious.

In other news: The US AirForce has made itself useful by dropping a much needed engine part down to a British stuck-frozen fishing ship in the Antarctic; low-energy lightbulbs contain small amounts of mercury, which could be dangerous; Britney Spears is back all over the news putting Lindsay Lohan at number two for ridiculous attention getting activities; and the Chicago Tribune published an excellent article on Sarkozy that really gives you a feel for the lives of the upper echelons of society.