Julian Simon & CATO Promo Video

All I can say is that this is priceless! A propaganda video for propaganda!

Speak of the devil... talking about humans migrating around the world and where we come from, this just popped up on MSNBC.COM today. Check it out!

Best,

Ian

New Readings for the Weekend and Upcoming Week

I have posted some additional readings that are required (except for the one on the basics of geography, which is supplemental). Please read the Economist reading on Migration by Wednesday and the anti-overpopulation readings I posted, as well as the other readings on your syllabus assigned for Week 4, by Friday, February 22nd. Thanks. Have a great weekend!

Spying on Your Neighborhood's Lifestyle

Click here to spy on neighbors in your zipcode.

For Friday, please finish reading Chapters 5 & 6 in the Reader and read Chapter 2 of de Blij's "Why Geography Matters." Bring in an article -- current event or otherwise -- to discuss on Friday. Think about questions a geographer might ask about the place or people in the article and what techniques they might use to get information to answer their questions.

See you on Friday!

In Case You Don't Have Enough To Do...

Learn the countries of the world -- sans former Soviet Republics and Slovakia. :)

Hope you enjoyed the Super Bowl! See you all tomorrow.

Favorite Music, Books, and Films

Me again. Or actually "I again," which works as both my initial and a pronoun using this abbreviated sentence structure. Cool!

I digress.

I just want to remind you that you need to bring in a list of (some of) your favorite music, books, films, and whatever else you are into ("Lost," "Gray's Anatomy," "Scenes from a Marriage," "Alf," etc.). I would also like you to list where these bands, authors, and films come from. And if you feel like it, where they take place/are filmed/or whatnot.

That's all tonight. Thanks.

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Ian's Picks
Recent Favorite: Radiohead (Oxford, England). In Rainbows.
Honorable Mention: Kimya Dawson (Olympia, Washington & Upstate New York). Remember That I Love You.
Honorable Mention: Budapest Eskimos (Budapest, Hungary). Any of their DJ sets. Find them on Pandora!

Film: Lost in Translation. American. Film Location: Japan.
Honorable Mention: The Last King of Scotland. Not sure. IMDB here I come!

Readings for this week...

It was great to meet you all today. I think we are going to have a great class. The vibe just felt right.

We'll see for sure, though, when you come on Friday. If you are ready to talk about the readings, I will be stoked.

FOR FRIDAY PLEASE READ

Harm de Blij "Why Geography Matters": Chapter 1.

• Offers A good introduction to... well, yeah, the title doesn't leave much for speculation, but aside from the title, this book is pretty darn good.

The Introductory Reader in Human Geography

• Introduction to the Book -- read this. I may have said you don't have to in class, but I lied.
  
• Intro to section one (read this but if you skip any reading, skip these three pages)
• Chapter 1: "The Four Traditions of Geography" (or: how to oversimplify something that is far more exciting)
  
• Chapter 2: Geography's Perspectives (or: how to complicate something that should be far more exciting)
• Chapter 3: Geography & Foreign Policy
  
• Chapter 4: Reflections of an American Geographer on the Anniversary of September 11th