m. c. de marco

In preparation for the upcoming month of procrastination and cat-vacuuming, I skimmed through my favorite NaNoWriMo forum last night, NaNo Technology, and found the usual topics—including how to make a map for your fantasy novel on your Mac.

Via a mailing list: NASA and Japan have assembled a new topographical map of the Earth using data from the Japanese Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer. You can download the data for free and make pictures like these, if you have the right software…

Via the Website at the End of the Universe: io9’s The Curious Art of Science Fiction Road Maps shows some of the Fictional Road Maps of Adrian Leskiw.

Via Daring Fireball: Election 2008 as seen in Mark Newman’s cartogram maps of the results. He also has a page about his cartogram software and related programs.

Once again, someone posted to the NaNoWriMo forums looking for mapping software, and I replied.

Wired has a short article on abstract planetary maps made by the US Geological Survey. I’m a sucker for a good map, but some commenters challenge their alleged beauty.

Galaxiki is a wiki for a fictional galaxy, in which you can buy your own solar system or edit unclaimed planets.