The Dog Days of Summer: Astrological Geography of the Ancients

Back in the ancient days geography, astronomy, and astronomy were united in the same field. It was thought that the changes in the season were not only in sync with certain celestial events but also were the actions of divine-like forces that lived in the sky and visible as what we know as stars and planets. This combination of sciences and mythology gave us a common term for the hot days of high summer: the dog days of summer.

The Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and other nearby cultures noticed the star Sirius of the constellation Canis Major (Greater Dog) appeared at their height during the hottest time of the year. The corelation between the astronomy and climate that the name Sirius even comes from the Greek meaning "scorcher." (While some may have dreaded the rise of Sirius because of the heat, the Ancient Egyptians eagerly anticipated the rise of the "watch dog" as it gave advanced notice of the yearly flooding of the Nile River).

The Dog Days today though are not the same as they were in the past though. Sarah Jane of National Geographic's My Wonderful has written "These days, Sirius rises with the Sun earlier during the summer months, due to a phenomenon called axial precession, which means that the Earth's axis of rotation shifts slightly over time." Axial precession affects the way the Earth tilts and therefore impacts when the Sirus rises and meets its maximum height. The 1559 Anglican Book of Common Prayer has the Dog Days starting on July 7 and ending on August 18. The Farmer's Almanac (2010) has the Dog Days between July 3 and August 11. Going back in time the Ancients experienced the Dog Days between late July and very late August.

Map of the States' Debt

CNN has a depressing map which depicts the debt per capita per state. If one in lives in Massachusetts then their share of state debt is $4604 while the average Nebraskan only owes $15 dollars because of state overspending. (Hat tip: The Map Room)

The North Central states of Nebraska, Iowa, Wyoming, and South Dakota have the lowest levels of per capita debt. Historically these states have been criticized for having less services for their citizens; however, they are in less debt and will not have to take such drastic steps to avoid debt collapse like New Jersey currently is being forced to do.

The Geography of the Wedding of Catholicgauze and Catholicgauzette

By now Catholicgauzette and I are settling down and recovering from the massive, epic, and thoroughly enjoyable wedding/honeymoon we had. Instead of giving a run down of the wedding I will describe the elements of our wedding that were highly influence by geography.

Catholicgauzette's Wedding Outfit

A white wedding dress was chosen to be Catholicgauzette's wedding dress. The white today symbolizes purity but in fact the color choice is a product of the first wave of globalization and reestablishment of Anglo-American ties in the Victorian Era. White became the popular color for wedding dresses because of Queen Victoria's choice of white for her wedding which occurred in 1840. Both European countries and the English-speaking New World were allowing room for cultural cross-pollination despite high levels of nationalism. Victoria's style managed to transcend monarchists, republicans, and nationalists. Women did not care one way or the other because Victoria was a British queen, they only cared that she looked good in a white dress. The trend suck and is tradition today around the world.

Meanwhile Catholicgauzette's veil was of the mantilla-style. This design is popular in Spain and Latin America. My wife's experience with working with this area of the world has made her a Hispanophile. The veil is also popular among more traditional Catholics which Catholicgauzette and I both describe ourselves as. Thus the veil was one that instantly appealed to us.

Fancy Church

Fancy, eh?

We were married in the Buffalo-Niagara Falls region of western New York. The city of Buffalo is the most ethnic Polish city in the United States with the exception of Chicago. This makes the area very Catholic with many old style, ornate churches. The one we were married in is one of the largest in the region complete with alter, paintings, and stained glass. The sheer amount of wealth that was invested in the church reflects the booming economy that was once in Buffalo, New York. Great Lakes-St. Lawrence-Atlantic Ocean shipping, steel manufacturing, grain storage and more made Buffalo a rapidly growing economic power house in the latter half of the 1800s and into the early 1900s. However, the Rust Belt-effect along with shipping changes, government mismanagement, and various other factors has greatly harmed the economy in the Buffalo-Niagara region. Today the massive churches serve as monuments to a past golden age for the region.

The Service

Catholicgauzette and I are neo-traditionalists. We have no problem with a "modern", English-language service though we do prefer a respectful service with Latin prayers. The combination of old and new reflect our own culture with what we feel emphasizes the respectful awesomeness that is required when worshiping God. We are part of the newer generation of Catholics in the United States (of non-Hispanic background: Hispano youth is generally less "smells and bells" than English-speaking Catholic youth in the United States) who seek stability and faithfulness in the old ways while keeping the reforms that help relate Catholicism to the contemporary world.

Food

People from the Buffalo-Niagara region love to brag about their food. Polish and German influences combine with urban, working class resourcefulness to create a melody of great taste in Buffalonian cuisine. We had kielbasa sausage (Polish), beef on weck sandwiches (German-influenced American), and Buffalo wings (American). The beef on weck and Buffalo wings are pure Americana. A German immigrant who owned a pub added salt on a kaiser roll roast beef sandwich in hope that patrons would buy and drink more beer and thus made the beef on weck sandwich. Buffalo wings were invented in Buffalo, New York by a bar owner who wanted to have a cheap to make yet profitable appetizer. The incredibly cheap chicken wing was discovered to taste delicious when cooked in a spicy sauce mix. Today Buffalo wings can be found all over the world (sadly for food fans the beef on weck sandwich is still limited to the greater Buffalo area).

International Travel

Now this is where the wedding got exciting. Our photographer-friend and his sister are proud citizens of Mexico. They traveled all the way from Mexico City to celebrate with us and take photographs of our special day. In between the wedding and reception we traveled to a nature park for a photo shot. The photographer-friend placed his bag on the ground to help us to the car. Sadly while he was helping us someone stole his bag with the cameras, photographs, and his and his sister's passports (Yeah). After the reception the Mexicans, Catholicgauzette, and I did a vast array of actions including contacting the police and family members. The nearest consulate for Mexicans was less than forty miles away; however, it was in Canada. The nearest consulate in the United States was in New York City. The Mexicans also used family connections to find out they have distant relatives who legally live in New York City for six months and spend the other six months living it up in northern Mexico. So because of consulate locations, globalization of migration, and the tightness of families in Hispano culture both Catholicgauzette and I were able to drop off our Mexican friends safely in New York where they could get new passports.

International travel, food, wedding dress, church, and service were all influenced by geography. In the end of the day I married the love of my life and began our life together.

Once Again: Geography is the Next Step for the Internet

As mentioned before: geography in the form of marketing based on an internet user's location is the next/right now big thing. CBS's Business Network has an online interview with Dr. David Bell who teaches marketing at the University of Pennsylvania in which he discusses geography's role in the next stage of internet commerce.

Map of the Spread of Billionaires Around the World

Map by Visualizing Economics

In the past billionaires were stereotyped as White, Anglo-Saxon, and Protestant. Today though things are different. The globalized economy has allowed wealth creation to spread worldwide. While there is a clear spatial clustering in the United States and Western Europe, the new economies of Russia, Latin America, the Middle East, India, and the Far East have been producing a growing number of billionaires.

The above map shows how new money billionaires dominate the billionaire club and that these people are no longer solely from the selective breeding pool of WASP society. Instead, globalization, open markets, and the computers have allowed the kid next door to climb their way up and become super rich.

The new market, international billionaire stereotype has now entered popular culture. Mexican beer company Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma (which is owned by the Dutch beer company Heineken International) runs advertisements featuring a Latin American billionaire dubbed "The Most Interesting Man in the World."



Meanwhile, the American DirecTv has a commercial with an actor playing a Russian billionaire who has it all

The Underwater River Continuation of the Bosphorus

"The underwater giant: The river, shown with a 3D scan using false color, flows along the bed of the Black Sea" - The Daily Mail

Back in middle school (about sixth grade) I was involved in a school activity which looked at a computer model of a underwater river bed in the Gulf of Mexico formed by water that rushed from the Mississippi River. That was the only experience I had with underwater rivers until the latest news story about British scientists discovering an active underground river.

The river is actually the continuation of the Bosphorus Strait as it pours water from the Mediterranean Sea into the Black Sea. The water from the Mediterranean is heavier because of its higher salt content and therefore sinks to the bottom. The force of the water digs into the soft Black Sea floor creating a river channel. The so far unnamed river is huge: up to 115 feet (35 meters) deep and half a mile (.8 kilometers) wide. This combined with the amount of water flowing through the river channel make the underwater river the sixth largest river in the world.

A neat thing to know about the underwater river is that it even has rapids and waterfalls! The ocean and seas are the world's last frontiers. Geographers who focus in oceanography are filling in the last "blank", actually blue, spots in the map. However, there is plenty of more spots to explore so if one wants to do on Earth discovers then oceanography may be up one's alley.

In 2009 I blogged about the below video in which the importance of oceanography and ocean exploration is discussed

Exploring Russia with RT's Travel Videos

The semi-official Russia television channel RT (formerly Russia Today) has a series of videos about various parts of Russia. The combination of environment, history, and culture give the videos the feeling of Rick Steves or Michael Palin. The travel series are Russia Close-Up, Wayfarer, and Russia's Golden Ring: A Journey in Time.

One can navigate the various episodes using the calendar though it is somewhat user unfriendly. Another option is to go to RT's Youtube page and use the search option for the shows.

An episode of each series is shown in the videos below.

Russia's Golden Ring looks at the UNESCO historical town of Vladimir


Wayfarer visits the western Ural city of Izhevsk.


Russia Close-Up visits the Orthodox monks on Valaam Island