Unrealised Moscow

Ever since its inception, the Soviet Union sought to show the superiority of communism through its military and space technology. But the Soviets wanted this dominance to be expressed symbolically which led Soviet architectures to plan some really amazing buildings to project this power. Unfortunately*, these idols to communism were never built due to time and budgeting constraints....continue on and you'll see why. (*I say "unfortunately" because one, these would be awesome to see even today; but two, constructing these buildings would of cost the Soviet Union so much money it would of probably sped up the fall communism.) Unrealised Moscow brings us a vision of what could have been...

Aeroflot Building
Designed in 1934 by D. Chechulin, the building was to be a monument of Soviet aviation. Although the building never came into fruition, some of the elements were used in other various government buildings.

Building of the People's Commissariat of Нeavy Industry
Also designed in 1934, architect I. Fomin tried to conserve the St. Petersburg neo-classical school of architecture in his design.

The Рalace of Technology
In 1933, architects Samoylov and Yefimovich competed with others to design a monument "to the achievements of Soviet industrial technology, agriculture, transport and communications." It was to be located on the banks of the Moskva River.

Building of the People's Defence Commissariat
In 1933, architect Rudnev wanted to design a building "conveying an impression of grim impregnability and crushing might to correspond to the official image of the Red Army" Although this building was never realized, Rudnev went on to build others such as the Moscow State University.

Now Самая грандиозная (the most grandiose)....

Palace of Soviets
This huge, controversial, building was to be the symbol of the "imminent triumph of communism." Design and construction was to be completed in stages, starting with he Kremlin demolishing the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in 1931 (where it had been situated since 1883) to make way for the Palace. Entrees in the competition to design to Palace came from all over the world, including the US. Iofan, Schuko, and Gelfreikh became the leading architects drafting the basic features. Stalin quickly stepped in (of course) and demanded the tower to be taller and a giant statue of Lenin to placed on top (Engineers today say this was totally unfeasible, the 6000 ton statue would have probably led to the building sinking in to the river bank). Construction, over the years, came to an end due to limited budgeting and flooding from the river. The only relic of the building today is a giant slab of metal and concrete.

View more of these huge unrealized Soviet buildings at Unrealised Moscow.

Geography of Personality

The Wall Street Journal recently put out an article focusing on a study found in the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science(pdf). The study, using 60,000 questionnaires, mapped the U.S. based on personality traits (extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness). Then the study overlays data about crime, poverty, and heath to see if there are any correlations. The findings are interesting. But as a psychologist in the article points out, this might only "reinforce stereotypes and tempt us to draw overly simplistic conclusions[,]" going on to say "we tend to reject information that doesn't agree with our stereotypes." Draw your own conclusions...

Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics

Have you ever wondered which countries have the most corrupt governments? Or which countries have the highest CO2 emissions? Or most liters of beer consumed? All this and whole plethora of other stats can be found at NationMaster.com. It is a collection of user made graphs based off numerical data found from various sources, mainly the CIA Factbook. Though the site looks pretty straight foward, I would caution those who look at these statistics to keep a critical eye on the sources of the data. Remember:

A statistical analysis, properly conducted, is a delicate dissection of uncertainties, a surgery of suppositions.
~M.J. Moroney

Mapping Patterns

The BBC recently put out a TV program that collected the GPS data of various networks to show the workings of telecommunications, maritime trade, and vehicular movement across London.

Lasers, Geography, and Radiohead

When I tell people about LiDAR their eyes glaze over and they begin drooling on themselves. Most of them don't grasp the concept of using lasers to geographically map out an area. But, then I tell them how the popular British band, Radiohead, used it to produce a music video. Afterward, I walk away without looking like a drip.

Capitals

A short clip from the people at GOOD Magazine covering the meanings of various capitals found around the world.

Differences between Eastern and Western culture

Click here and find out the distinctions between East and West thinking through simple, witty graphics. If one is more interested in finding the psychological reasoning behind the two types of thought, I would recommend reading The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently...and Why.

Many people have even examined the differences of Eastern/Western culture and psychology through two classic board games, Go (Eastern origin) and Chess (Western origin). Go is a much more holistic, strategic game, starting with a blank board and building up "territory". Whereas Chess is seen as a more linear, tactical game, striving to accomplish one goal, capture the King. By analyzing the game Go, the West can have a significant insight in Eastern strategy which can be used for diplomacy, trade, and even war.

The Shia Revival

Many times when reading about the Middle East and Islamic studies I find the books to be, well, dry. *cough* Bernard Lewis *cough* But being almost finished with The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam Will Shape the Future, I have to say this is one of the exceptions. The book focuses on the formation, spread, and effects of Shia Islam throughout history. Nasir does an excellent job of writing about the particular differences between Shia and Sunni Islam without being bogged down in minutiae. Even if one has little interest in Middle Eastern Studies, I would still recommend taking a gander at this invaluable resource.

A Time Lapsed Vacation

I am always interested in time lapse film, especially of places I hope to someday visit. Here are two clips I've come across that were amazing. The first one is of Tokyo and the second is of Antarctica.

US States Renamed For Countries With Similar GDPs

click image for larger view

The map above breaks down the U.S. GDP into individual state GDPs, and then compares those with countries around the world. One must point out the population of each state is not taken into account with this map. For example, just because Oregon has a GDP comparable to Turkey, the people of Oregon have a higher quality of living because the overall population is less. In other words, it is the same amount of money but just spread around to a smaller population.

Source: StrangeMaps