Thanks to Tom Biebrach for highlighting these images of Japanese paddy field art.
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Archive for August, 2007
Nice Paddy
Sunday, August 12th, 2007Cultural change…
Wednesday, August 8th, 2007Check out Alan’s response to my cultural jamming post, including some great videos showing changes in Tesco’s advertising over time.
Ski yogurts 7and a half pence… 
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Japanese loyalty songs…
Tuesday, August 7th, 2007The Hums Learning Hub, has some great examples of Japanese loyalty songs, which reminds me that our Japanese exchange visitors will be with us soon…
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Subverting culture…
Monday, August 6th, 2007Thanks to online friend Lucy Cottam for pointing me in the direction of the these images. These are examples of cultural jamming, where an individual or group changes the original message of an advertisement, to reflect what they believe is the true impact of producing the product or service .
By Zoe O’Connor
Usually the subverted advertisements are in highly public places to increase their impact and audience.
By Zoe O’Connor
Such anti-consumerists are also concerned about the impact of ad-creep, advertisements dominating not only public spaces, but increasingly private places as well. They believe that such consumerism encouraged by advertisements has a negative effect on the individual, linking consumerism with personal empowerment, not only are our consumer landscapes becoming similar, but our cultural landscapes are increasingly a reflection of our consumption; our identity is linked to what we buy…
For more see the Adbusters website.
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Hurricane footage…
Monday, August 6th, 2007Because you’re worth it 
. From the National Geographic, I thought it would be nice to add commentary over this…
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B.B.C. does map skills…
Monday, August 6th, 2007The B.B.C. has jumped onto the map skills debate, with an interactive quiz…
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Some maps skills…
Monday, August 6th, 2007The Daily Mail reports today that many drivers are clueless when it comes to maps, relying increasingly on SATNAV. They have a simple quiz for people, can you guess what these symbols show? Answers in the article.
Also if you bored, have a go with this European Countries map test, very addictive. Hat-tip GeoDave.
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Russia and the North Pole…
Friday, August 3rd, 2007
The fall out from Russia claiming of the North Pole continues, as reported in the Independent. Hat-tip Alan.
Bangladesh, which I’m to visit later in the year, continues to suffer from the Monsoon rains.
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Send us a postcard… again
Friday, August 3rd, 2007Just bumping this…
In a brilliant idea blatantly ripped off from Alan, we would like students (future, present, and past), staff, and blog readers to send us a postcard from their holiday destination/s. Our intention is to use the postcards in our induction to Geography in Year.7.
For students, all postcards will be put into a hat, the first three out of the hat will receive a nice geographical prize.
I’ll report back on our findings later in the year.
Please send postcards to
The Geography Department, K.H.C.T.C., Godfrey Drive, Kirk Hallam, Ilkeston, Derbyshire, DE7 4HH. United Kingdom.
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Russia Plants Flag… under the North Pole.
Thursday, August 2nd, 2007
Image courtesy of the B.B.C.
According to the B.B.C. . The reason why? Resources, specifically oil. Global Warming has resulted in the ice becoming thinner, meaning the potential to exploit oil reserves under the sea is becoming more cost effective; of course, our known supplies of oil are also running out, any country in the future with control of huge reserves is likely to have immense political power.
Unlike Antarctica, which is internationally protected, the Arctic region, which is sea, is contested by Russia, the US, Canada and Denmark. According to international law, countries can have an economic zone of two hundred nautical miles from their coastline, but the ‘zone can be extended where a country can prove that the structure of the continental shelf is similar to the geological structure within its territory.’ Russia claims that the Lomonosov Ridge is part of their territory, this extends under the North Pole. Ironically it seems that Canada and Denmark could also claim extended territory using the Lomonosov Ridge.
A contested extreme environment, and potentially a situation with political and economic consequences.
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