NEWSLETTER NO. 11 OF 2007
AXIS OF EVIL MAPPING NEWSLETTER # 11 End of December, 2007
The Axis of Evil Mapping Newsletter is released irregularly. Any opinions expressed are strictly those of myself and are not intended to provoke anything more than the intellect.
INTRODUCTION
This last newsletter for the year will not be mercifully short. 2007 has been an interesting year for ITMB, which I have no intention of reviewing at this time. Lan and I, on behalf of ourselves and our staff wish you and your colleagues a peaceful and harmonious Christmas season. Regardless of where you are, or what your religious beliefs may be, the winter solstice records the end of yet another year and the beginning of a brand new future. Hope springs eternal in humankind, and we hope for better times in 2008. I hope that the forthcoming year will be advantageous to you. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
In our own family, we are pleased to announce the marriage of our lovely daughter Phuong, in Hanoi, on January 2nd. Lan and I will both be in Vietnam for the first week of 2008 to bear witness. At ITMB, our wholesale manager, Spencer Howay, has just let us know that his wife and he are expecting their first-born in May. We have also welcomed four new staff this month. Dinesh is from India, and will be training on cartography; Moe is from Iran and is in training in shipping, Soshi is training on retail and wholesale, and Jennifer is training in wholesale. We are, unfortunately, losing two of our student volunteers, Stephen and Miki, whose course time with us has been much appreciated.
FORTHCOMING EVENTS AFFECT ITMB
December is always a difficult month for business. On the one hand, those of us with retail outlets hope to be super busy; on the other hand, work flow is always disrupted. For us, the delays in printing new maps and the difficulties related to shipping become vexing. We have 10 titles at the printers right now. Five more titles arrived last week. Two more are in ships headed for Canada. Four more are in Belgium. Three more will be sent to press this month. Nobody seems able to predict when any of this material will arrive in our warehouse.
Speaking of which, we have outgrown our existing warehouse, and have sold it. Dramatically escalating land valuation in the City of Vancouver has made it impossible for us to find an affordable alternative within the city proper, so we are reluctantly joining the exodus of businesses fleeing extortionate taxes and will be moving to suburban Richmond, BC, sometime in the spring of 2008. Distance-wise, we won’t be going far – about 10km/6mi. We will have twice the space we now have for half the price; property taxes of $25,000 as opposed to our current $60,000; on-site parking for 20 vehicles as opposed to 3; proper heating and air conditioning; and a building that is much newer than what we have now. It will still need renovations before we move, and I am super busy right now moving thousands of stored cartons of maps from one warehouse to another.
These are all pluses. The negative is that we have been very closely associated with the City of Vancouver (as opposed to the urban area of greater Vancouver) for the past 28 years, and moving ‘south of the river’ will probably decrease our retail sales significantly. We have decided to reduce the size and scope of our retail operation so that we can focus more of our attention on publishing. We have 45 brand new titles in our production schedule for 2008, plus 50 updates, and we need to concentrate on updating and publishing to a greater extent than we have been able to do until now. We will be working with two excellent independent retailers in Vancouver to continue map coverage within the City, and we will maintain a good map and globe store in our new premises, but we will also be downsizing somewhat.
ONE LAST FUNNY STORY FOR 2007
A man in Vancouver had a pet snake – an exotic and poisonous reptile. Inevitably, the snake bit the man, poison inflamed his arm severely and he was rushed to hospital with life-threatening reactions. That isn’t funny, but the man’s reaction to his situation is hilarious. He would not accept any responsibility for his situation, but angrily blamed the Canadian government for allowing him to import a poisonous snake (there are, unfortunately, no Canadian laws against such imports) and threatened to sue the government (good luck). He also lambasted the hospital that saved his life for not injecting him with a home-made anti-venom liquid cooked up by a friend five years previously, and the doctors treating him who apparently were not too knowledgeable about cobra venom. He’s lucky to be alive and his reaction is to sue everyone in sight. Is that funny or not?
RAND McNALLY SOLD TO NEW OWNER
Rand McNally, the largest map publishing/marketing firm in the world, has been sold to a consortium based in New York City. No changes in leadership or direction have been announced. Essentially, Rand was sold in 2002 (if memory serves) by its then-owners to a venture capital firm that specializes in turning around good, but troubled, companies. Having returned Rand to the world of reasonably well-run businesses, the venture firm is moving on to new pastures, leaving Rand well-managed and ready to tackle the challenges of adapting to a changing marketplace for maps.
ITMB TITLES: WORK IN PROGRESS (much the same as last month)
Auckland/Wellington/Christchurch is a new ITMB title currently at press. We’re expecting to release this title in late January.
Bowron Lakes Canoe Route (BC) is now being prepared, for probable release in March, 2008.
Buenos Aires/Northern Argentina is essentially an updated city map of BA, with a detailed map of the portion of Argentina closest to the city filling the second side of the paper. This map is at press and expected in January.
Guatemala This important title has been sent to the printer. It will be released in January.
Guernsey/Alderney/Sark/Herms and St. Peter’s Port is a new ITMB travel title, whose actual name will be the Bailiwick of Guernsey, is at press and expected by mid-January.
Hue/Danang and Central Vietnam is close to being completed. No ETA is available at the moment.
Istanbul is at press and expected in mid-January.
Jersey and St. Helier’s is a new ITMB title that is at press and expected to be available early in January. The largest of Britain’s Channel Islands is a lovely corner of the world, and we have been able to persuade a great cartographer to prepare an extremely detailed map of the Bailiwick. Congratulations and best wishes to Dave, who is currently honeymooning with his new bride.
Mexico Sonora and Chihuahua States is also at press and expected in January.
Mexico Travel Road Atlas 1st Ed. 2008 1:1,000,000 – This book is a new venture for ITMB. Many years ago, PEMEX, the Mexican national oil company, published an excellent road atlas of all of Mexico at this scale. It has been out of print for years. Only oldsters in the trade even remember that atlas. Well, Lan has been secretly working away at mapping Mexico at 1:1M scale (hence the new maps) and now we have our very first road atlas at press. It’s only taken 28 years to reach this stage! It should be available by Christmas.
South America is at press in Europe. Due to shipping times, we cannot give an ETA at this time.
South America Wall Map 1st Ed. 2008 1:5,000,000 ISBN 978155341 is a new venture for us. This huge map will be marketed on our behalf by Craenen Distribution throughout Europe and by ITMB in North America. The wall map will be available in a paper format, a laminated format, and with magnetic hanging strips, all in tubes. It should be ready for sale in Europe by mid-December, and by mid-January in America.
Sunshine Coast (BC) is approaching completion. The coastal region northwest of Vancouver is an interesting and scenic part of our province, currently covered by two titles – Gibson’s and Powell River. This new map will cover a wider area and be more up-to-date. No ETA is available yet.
Vienna is underway. No completion date is available yet, but I’ll predict February.
Wells Gray Region (BC) is also at press. Wells Gray Park is about the size of Belgium/Luxembourg or Prince Edward Island. It is a lovely wilderness area with lots of recreational opportunities. This double-sided topographic map has been enhanced by adding all the recreational activities we can find, and is scheduled for printing in January as part of our Great Parks of Canada series.
FORTHCOMING ITMB EVENTS
Mrs. Do Ngoc Lan Joyce and Jack Joyce wish to announce that our daughter, the inimitable Lan Phuong, will marry her beloved Linh in Hanoi, Vietnam, on January 2nd 2008. All are invited to join the 300 invited family members, who will be assembling for the event of the year. Phuong (24) is the first of her generation to marry and this is always a HUGE event in Vietnamese culture. Linh and Phuong own their own business in Toronto, Canada. ITMB will be effectively shut down during the festivities, due to excessive partying. Lan leaves for Vietnam on the 18th to organize things as only a mother-of-the-bride can do; I follow on the 30th and plan on smiling a lot.
IMTA Planning Session, San Antonio, Texas – Jan. 18-20, 2008 is always a fun event. Lan booked us a flight to Phoenix, Arizona, because it was cheaper to fly there than to San Antonio. I’m serious. She does this all the time, which is why we spend so much time travelling. We should arrive on time – I hope.
IMTA Portugal, in Cacais, near Lisbon, February 28/29- March 1st, 2008 – We’re not only attending, but will be researching the Azores Islands during our visit. Can another ITM map be in our future??? I’ll never tell.
Rhodesia Study Circle 60th Anniversary Convention, Royal Leamington Spa, England – we’ll be there! And map people world-wide will be asking the what? Where? Why? It’s a secret. Can’t tell or I’d have to cull you.
London Book Fair, Earl’s Court, - April 14-16 – we have our stand booked already. This will be a bigger and better organized show than last year, and we’re already looking forward to it. Apparently, Lan has us booked into arriving in London via Tunisia. I don’t even ask why she does these things anymore; I’m just along for the ride.
IMTA Board Meeting – May 28-29, somewhere in the LA area. We’ll be driving from Vancouver, so don’t care where we meet. Linda says TBA. I guarantee that we’ll find a less expensive place to stay than the IMTA site!
BookExpo USA, Los Angeles May 30-June 1 – We will be at Stand 2755 with a big stand. Since we’ll be driving from Vancouver, we’ll have a wider selection of maps to show off (and we’ll find an inexpensive place to stay).
IMTA World Mapping Conference “Mapping the Future” – Vancouver, Canada at the famous Hotel Vancouver in downtown Vancouver September 14-16, 2008, with Alaska cruises and RV rentals a possibility. This convention promises to be one of the most important, largest, and most exciting gatherings of the mapping industry in years! It’s SO big, even Nicolson Maps of Scotland plan on attending, and they NEVER spend a dime! Even Guenther Nelles might break down and attend, if he can persuade his boss (wife) to come along. You should come too. Nine exhibitors have signed up already, which is extraordinary, considering that prices haven’t been established yet. I’ll have lots more info in future newsletters.
ITMB TITLES PUBLISHED IN DECEMBER, 2007
Antarctica Travel Reference Map 4th Ed. 2008 1:8,000,000 ISBN 9781553410140 $12.95us/cdn E8.95 6.99GBP – This is actually brand new artwork, replacing the partly-digital version with new digitized line work. It looks similar to our earlier editions; its real value will be in tracking changes to the continent as the ice cover gradually melts. The map is printed single-side, on paper; AVAILABLE.
Borneo/Kalimantan Travel Reference Map – at press, due in January
Central America Travel Reference Map 7th Ed. 2008 1:1,100,000 ISBN 9781553410645 $12.95us/cdn E8.95 6.99GBP – We have added a LOT of new information to this map. Apart from that, this is an updated map with a new cover and a new ISBN. It is printed double-side on paper; AVAILABLE.
Croatia Travel Reference Map – has been printed, due early January.
Gibraltar Travel Reference Map 1st Ed. 2008 1:80,000/1:10,000 for Gib ISBN 9781553415954 $12.95us/cdn E8.95 6.99GBP – We are always pleased to announce the release of a new title. The Straits of Gibraltar, as this map should be named is historically significant as the crossing point between Europe and North Africa and, more recently, as the guardian of the Mediterranean. It is now moving into a new era – tourism. The city/colony of Gibraltar itself is well worth a visit, and a detailed map is provided. The Spanish city/colony on the North African coast is equally interesting and is also shown, as is Tangier and a good stretch of the Moroccan north coast. This map is printed single-sided, on paper; AVAILABLE.
Guernsey Travel Reference Map – at press, due in January
Gulf Islands (BC) Travel Reference Map – at press, due early January, 2008.
Guangzhou (China) ITM City Map 1st Ed. 2008 1:15,000 ISBN 9781553416364 $10.95us/cdn E7.95 5.99GBP – We are pleased to announce the release of our fourth city map for China. Guangzhou, formerly known as Canton, is one of the largest cities of southern China, located on the Pearl River, north of Hong Kong. Traditionally more easy-going than Beijing, Guangzhou is the ancestral home of the vast majority of the Han-dialect people. I first visited the city in 1982, when it was illegal for individuals to enter China. The city has completely changed since those days. As far as I know, this is the only map of the city published outside of China. It shows historic Shamian Island, the new subway lines under construction, the railway stations, and new toll expressway, shopping districts, the huge Sun Yat Sen complex, and the nearby White Cloud Mountain Resort; single-sided, paper, AVAILABLE.
Guatemala Travel Reference Map – at press, due in January
Istanbul ITM City Map – at press, due early January
Jersey Travel Reference Map – at press, due in January
Mexico Sonora/ Chihuahua States Travel Reference Map – due early January
Mexico Travel Road Atlas – due early January
South America Wall Map due mid-December in Europe, mid-January in America.
Yucatan Peninsula Travel Reference Map 9th Ed. 2008 waterproof 1:500,000 ISBN 9781553410638 $12.95us/cdn E8.95 6.99GBP – This is our most recent version of a perennial favourite; seems hard to believe that we are releasing our ninth edition. Apart from a new cover and US price, the colours of the map have been softened to make the map easier to read, road information has been updated, and new touristic information has been added. The map is printed double-sided, on durable ITM waterproof paper; AVAILABLE.