The Map Center

The Map Center

@mapcenter.com

Andrew Middleton Cartographer, GIS specialist and educator A 'Peddler of Wheres' and owner of the oldest map store on the East Coast, The Map Center in Pawtucket RI. It's like a hip record store but for maps. www.mapcenter.com

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The Map Center
@mapcenter.com

A mom just came in SO EXCITED to find a map store bc her son would LOVE it. She tries to be coy. "My son is... Really into maps. Real special kid." I'm like, ma'am, this is a map store. Half my customers are on the spectrum. I have a trains and transit section. You're among friends.

The Map Center
@mapcenter.com

I finally watched "Face/Off" last night for the first time and I still can't decide if it's a bad movie or the greatest movie ever made.

The Map Center reposted

Maps In The Wild
@mapsinthewild.bsky.social

Swiss Topo Swatch @kennethfield.bsky.social Ken managed to acquire this super rare Swiss Topo Swatch. In 2012 Swatch gifted this model to employees of the Swiss Federal Office of Topography to celebrate the organisation, its founder General Guillaume Henri Dufour, and the "Dufour" map. It was…

mappery.orgSwiss Topo Swatch@kennethfield.bsky.social Ken managed to acquire this super rare Swiss Topo Swatch. In 2012 Swatch gifted this model to employees of the Swiss Federal Office of Topography to celebrate the organisation, its founder General Guillaume Henri Dufour, and the "Dufour" map. It was never released to retail.
The Map Center
@mapcenter.com

Non-cartographic book rec: "Automatic Noodle" by Annalee Newitz is a cozy dystopian scifi about robots starting a noodle joint in San Francisco. Gave me powerful Golden State feels! Newitz even used Joel Pomerantz's map Seep City to ensure the city hydrology worked! us.macmillan.com/books/978125...

us.macmillan.comAutomatic NoodleA cozy near-future novella about a crew of leftover robots opening their very own noodle shop, from acclaimed sci-fi author Annalee Newitz.An instant USA Tod...
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The Map Center
@mapcenter.com

Because I know every geographer in the Bay Area (lol I wish), I actually had a beer with Joel Pomerantz in like 2018 when Seep City came out. He did incredible, exhaustive research on the history of San Francisco's hydrology and hid did it all without GIS. I wanna say he used Illustrator. WTF.

The Map Center
@mapcenter.com

I tried to buy some of his maps for The Map Center but he only hand delivers his maps one at a time on a bicycle. No bulk orders.

The Map Center
@mapcenter.com

Non-cartographic book rec: "Automatic Noodle" by Annalee Newitz is a cozy dystopian scifi about robots starting a noodle joint in San Francisco. Gave me powerful Golden State feels! Newitz even used Joel Pomerantz's map Seep City to ensure the city hydrology worked! us.macmillan.com/books/978125...

us.macmillan.comAutomatic NoodleA cozy near-future novella about a crew of leftover robots opening their very own noodle shop, from acclaimed sci-fi author Annalee Newitz.An instant USA Tod...
The Map Center
@mapcenter.com

Overall I found it sweet, imaginative and richly explored. Gave me a killer restaurant list for the next time I'm in SF. It's an extremely millennial book in its vocabulary and attitude. Sometimes that felt too on-the-nose? 8/10 ideal quick read best served with a spicy hot noodle soup.

The Map Center reposted

Matt Ball
@spatialsustain.bsky.social

For 35 years, Donna Goldstein has used GIS to help Palm Beach County students learn, connect, and stay safe. She even studied the impact of GIS for those learning English, with reading scores that jumped 38%. www.esri.com/about/newsro...

esri.comFor Donna Goldstein, Maps Improve Learning Inside the Classroom, and Safety and Access Outside ItFor 35 years, Donna Goldstein used GIS to improve education, expand internet access, and strengthen school safety in Florida’s Palm Beach County.
The Map Center
@mapcenter.com

"The Wisdom of the Crowd" relies on the principle that people who are wrong are equally likely to guess over as under. Wrong answers cancel out and leave a weak signal of rightness behind. This works for stuff like "how many jellybeans in the jar" but not for emotionally charged outcomes.

More Perfect Union@moreperfectunion.bsky.social

Polymarket got the Brazilian election completely wrong. The glorified gambling platform had Flavio Bolsonaro's odds at over 80% all the way up to the day voting took place. Lula ended up with 51.8% of the vote. futurism.com/future-socie...

futurism.com"Prediction" Markets Were Comically Wrong About the Brazilian ElectionThe prediction market Polymarket had Flávio Bolsonaro as an overwhelming favorite to win over Lula in the Brazil presidential election.
The Map Center
@mapcenter.com

I would not trust a Polymarket prediction for much, let alone a bet resembling "what is the IQ of the average Polymarket user?"

The Map Center
@mapcenter.com

This looks like a cool event that you should check out! Antonio's map of Prudence Island is one of my favorites at The Map Center!

Antonio Antoine@aasmith.bsky.social

On Nov 5th (7pm), I'll be chatting about cartography with my former Hopkins professor, Cassie Hansen. The GIS After Dark series is free to the public; however, you need to register to attend. #gischat #cartography advanced.jhu.edu/event/gis-af...

advanced.jhu.eduGIS After Dark: Practical CartographyJoin Cassie Hansen and Antonio Antoine Smith for a discussion on the real-world craft and application of creating compelling maps.
The Map Center
@mapcenter.com

There's a Belorussian woman absolutely CACKLING in my store right now as she's reading a Soviet military map of her hometown in Maryland.

The Map Center reposted

Jen Mapes
@mapesgeog.bsky.social

One of the final events of #NACIS2026 was touring the American Geographical Society map library where Karen Wynn Fonstad’s Tolkien maps and others are housed. Like a Narnia atlas planned but never published.

The Map Center
@mapcenter.com

Do you have any idea how it feels to walk into a room full of people you've looked up to your whole professional life and be seen not just as a colleague but as a friend? #nacis2026

The Map Center
@mapcenter.com

Hey #nacis2026 folks: drop a reply with something cool that you experienced during the conference. Let's make an inspo thread!

The Map Center
@mapcenter.com

I got to use a tactile map attached to a camera so that visually impaired users can touch a bumpy map and get a voice to read out an audio popup label!

The Map Center
@mapcenter.com

Well it's Thursday night so it's the time the geographers hang out after the conference, get drunk and discuss bike lanes.

The Map Center
@mapcenter.com

Google is not the final arbiter of map data. They can call the Atlantic ocean "Albert" if they wanted to. This is only a story insofar as it demonstrates that Google has discovered a limit to its acquiescence to the whims of the administration.

Carl Quintanilla@carlquintanilla.bsky.social

“.. According to Trump, Pichai responded: ‘No, no, no — this time I’m not doing it… Oceans are different, sir. They cover really a lot of countries. Please don’t ask us to do that.’” @variety.com $GOOGL variety.com/2026/digital...

The Map Center
@mapcenter.com

I missed a bus map session?? From SYRACUSE???

Robert Simmon@rsimmon.bsky.social

Carlos Gonzalez (carloscartography.wordpress.com/map-gallery/): Leveling Up the Bus: Exploring Alternative Transit Cartographies “Bus maps are boring“ and devalued in the U.S. ☹️

The Map Center
@mapcenter.com

I can't guarantee that you'll look this good in one of my tshirts but you will definitely look this nerdy.

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The Map Center
@mapcenter.com

Enjoy this "Pocket Monsters" Map (wink wink nudge nudge) from my very talented friend Dylan!

Moriarty Maps@moriartymaps.com

New work! I spent a couple months craftin' a huge (4'x3'!) watercolor map of Pocket Monsters for @desertbus.org's annual charity. Wrote a bit a blog post that's half about the making of the painting and half origin story. Check it and the map out here: moriartynaps.org/here-be-pock...

moriartynaps.orgHere Be Pocket MonstersPainting a new map of an old legend
The Map Center
@mapcenter.com

The crimes against geography continue. There is a process for moving historical objects. It was, unsurprisingly, ignored to serve one man's vanity.

ryan cooper@ryanlcooper.com

Whiskey Pete wanted to play with Eisenhower's famous globe, but his dipshit staffers dropped it while moving it and ripped a big hole in the side. christ www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

washingtonpost.comHegseth wanted Eisenhower’s globe for his office. His staff broke it.Photos obtained by The Post show a gash in the World War II-era artifact that resulted from a botched relocation attempt inside the Pentagon.
The Map Center
@mapcenter.com

There's a talk this morning about crocheting a map of Central Park and it has me rolling. It's about how hard it is to rasterize vector data, how we pressure ourselves to produce and how much joy there still can be in this work.

The Map Center
@mapcenter.com

One of many things I love about NACIS? A python Blender workflow using extensions made with Claude gets roughly the same amount of 'Oooh Aaaah Nice's as a project done in pen and ink. The medium is less important than the dedication and the heart and cartographers notice that shit. We love it all.

The Map Center
@mapcenter.com

On a long ago episode of 'Wait Wait Don't Tell Me,' muppeteer and voice actor Frank Oz was invited to "do Yoda" on air but he declined. He treated his characters as real people, not disembodied voices or performances to be conjured at will. I think that's why Tolkien maps are so good.

The Map Center
@mapcenter.com

Karen Wynn Fonstad was a trained cartographer and technical drafter who drew the maps of Middle Earth as a real place worthy of technical precision and professional exactitude. She respected the fiction so much that she eschewed fantasy cliches and treated the place as a real terrain.

The Map Center reposted

Jen Mapes
@mapesgeog.bsky.social

At #NACIS2026 in Milwaukee? Keep an eye out for the Fantasy Map crafting kit which will travel to social events this week. Celebrate the spirit of our keynote & field trip highlighting the work of Karen Wynn Fonstad by making your own map with fantasy stamps, antique papers, and watercolors!

The Map Center
@mapcenter.com

Evidence that NACIS is the most wholesome conference ever: Speaker showed off a map and revealed what it was depicting and the whole audience did a united "oohhhh" followed by laughter that everyone had the same reaction. Mappers are curious and supportive and take genuine joy in discovery.

The Map Center
@mapcenter.com

Feeling proud of myself. A big university wanted to vet me for a potential program in the future and so requested a visit outside of my posted hours. I told them a private tour is $10 per person (or good faith agreement to buy something). I'm trying hard not to say yes to everything.

The Map Center
@mapcenter.com

Their previous speaker (who recommended me!) didn't get vetted. He just got paid. I'm trying to act like I'm worthy of the same treatment.

The Map Center
@mapcenter.com

It is not the official position of The Map Center that all borders are immutable and good forever and ever. I have a long geographical wish list that includes Palestine, Western Sahara, Ukraine, Kashmir, Taiwan et al I just hate seeing the map get dumber.

The Map Center
@mapcenter.com

If you like a good album cover with a map on it, may I recommend a copy of Maps on Vinyl by Damien Saunder? mapcenter.com/products/map...

mapcenter.com"Maps on Vinyl" by Damien SaunderThis truly unique atlas of album covers, each featuring a map, is as enlightening as it is entertaining. Presenting 415 album covers – beautifully reproduced, expertly laid out and accompanied by deep...
Michael Daly@michaeldaly64.bsky.social

1969, Sussex By The Sea. Les Gray's Mud headlined my Fresher's Ball at Liverpool in 1982. Jellybread were a blues outfit, signed to Blue Horizon, who'd actually formed at the Uni

The Map Center
@mapcenter.com

There's this 8(?) year old girl in the store who, with a wide conspiratorial grin, just grabbed a massive tome about 19th century British geology. She's not gonna get far reading it it but she has really latched on to the wonders of a BIG BOOK.

The Map Center
@mapcenter.com

Mom tells me she has a bad sense of direction because she's a woman. I tell her that scientists find gendered differences in performance disappear after a few weeks of practice. Boys tend to be better only because we give them toys like Legos. "I LOVE LEGOS" the girl says. They buy a compass.

The Map Center
@mapcenter.com

I don't advertise this broadly but if I have time, each purchase of a compass for a kid comes with an explanation of how to use it involving a map of Rhode Island spread out on the rug. It's usually the highlight of my day.