The result is a distinctive illustrated guide to the world. Categories of cartographic curiosities include: Literary Creations, featuring a map of Thomas More's Utopia and the world of George Orwell's 1984;Cartographic Misconceptions, such as a lavish seventeenthcentury map depicting California as an island Political Parody, containing the Jesusland map and other humorous takes on voter profiles; Whatchamacallit, including a map of the area codes for regions where the rapper Ludacris sings about having hoesbr; Obscure Proposals, capturing Thomas Jefferson's vision for dividing the Northwest Territory into ten states with names such as Polypotamia and Assenisipia; Fantastic Maps, with a depiction of what the globe might look like if the sea and land were inverted. The Strange Maps blog has been named by GeekDad Blog on Wired.com one of the more unusual and unique sites seen on the Web that doesn't sell anything or promote an agenda and it's currently ranked #423 on Technorati's Top 500 Blogs. Brimming with trivia, deadpan humor, and idiosyncratic lore, Strange Maps is a fascinating tour of all things weird and wonderful in the world of cartography.

    And today, that means lifestyle photography, also referred to as "fine art wedding photography." Fine art wedding photography isn't just a catchy phrase; it's a modern approach in which design is paramount. Fine art wedding images are more graphic and stylized than traditional wedding photojournalism, as if they were pulled from the pages of a glossy wedding or lifestyle magazine. Acclaimed wedding photographer Jose Villa was a pioneer in fine art wedding photography before it became a trendy buzzword. Here, he shares his secrets for bringing a stylized sense of composition, lighting, posing, and most important, design, to your images, while still keeping them organic and narrative. You’ll learn Jose’s trademark technique of capturing the more natural moment after a pose, and tips for getting images right in-camera to avoid the need for heavy postproduction. Final chapters show you how to integrate design through the delivered product, whether an album or slideshow, and continue nurturing clients after the wedding by expanding to baby and family portraiture. Packed with real-life examples, solid techniques, and stunning images from one of the wedding industry's brightest stars, this book will both educate and inspire photographers seeking to update their work and satisfy a new generation of brides.

    Women need this kind of honest excavation of the process of living.” —Meryl StreepAn astonishingly frank, funny, poignant book for any woman who wishes they had someone who would say to them, “This happened to me, learn from my mistakes and my successes. Because you don’t get smarter as you get older, you get braver.”Sheila Nevins is the best friend you never knew you had. She is your discreet confidante you can tell any secret to, your sage mentor at work who helps you navigate the often uneven playing field, your wise sister who has “been there, done that,” your hysterical girlfriend whose stories about men will make laugh until you cry. Sheila Nevins is the one person who always tells it like it is. In You Don’t Look Your Age, the famed documentary producer (as President of HBO Documentary Films for over 30 years, Nevins has rightfully been credited with creating the documentary rebirth) finally steps out from behind the camera and takes her place front and center.In these pages you will read about the real life challenges of being a woman in a man's world, what it means to be a working mother, what it’s like to be an older woman in a youth-obsessed culture, the sometimes changing, often sweet truth about marriages, what being a feminist really means, and that you are in good company if your adult children don’t return your phone calls.So come, sit down, make yourself comfortable, (and for some of you, don’t forget the damn reading glasses). You’re in for a treat.

    Girls being silly. Girls being wild, stubborn, and proud. Girls whose faces are smeared with dirt and lit up with joy. So simple and yet so powerful, Strong Is the New Pretty celebrates, through more than 175 memorable photographs, the strength and spirit of girls being 100% themselves.Real beauty isn’t about being a certain size, acting a certain way, wearing the right clothes, or having your hair done (or even brushed). Real beauty is about being your authentic self and owning it. Kate T. Parker is a professional photographer who finds the real beauty in girls, capturing it for all the world to see in candid and arresting images.A celebration, a catalog of spirit in words and smiles, an affirmation of the fact that it’s what’s inside you that counts, Strong Is the New Pretty conveys a powerful message for every girl, for every mother and father of a girl, for every coach and mentor and teacher, for everyone in the village that it takes to raise a strong and self-confident person.