gapingvoid: "cartoons drawn on the back of business cards"

Your cartoons make me smile. I love that about you.

I may be being dumb (or possibly European), but I don't get the "nice vacation spot" reference?

@Mark: I guess someone liked Samba ;)

Dang, didja miss out them Russkies, I mean our eastern European brethren?

Nice to know where we stand out here in the lush and green (and humid!)midwest! Not to worry, no offense taken. I am smiling. Love your art.

I think the map is a masterpiece. I have to tell you that for 1/3 of the silicon valley guys, the map is also educational ...!!!! :):):):)

My only problem with the map is that NY seems to be a tad too close to Canada. Move that down by about a half inch and you are set.

*Giggle giggle*
Perfect!!! Thanks for drawing this!
:)

There are more than rednecks in the Midwest, just as there are more than gays in the bay area. I live in small town midwest. I live on a lake, I can see lots of beautiful trees out my windows. I have a six mile, 15 min commute to a job in a high tech medical device company. My job takes me many places all over the world. Perhaps if you actually knew about the midwest you wouldn't be quite so dismissive.

@Les,

a) Have you never seen a Saul Steinberg map in the New Yorker? The whole point is to make sweeping generalizations
b) The Rednecks section is east of the Midwest
c) Unless I'm mistaken, Hugh spends a lot of time in TX as well as London, so there's a little bit of self-parody drawn here too.

I live in central Virginia, can see lots of nice trees and water yadda yadda etc., spend half my working with great people in NYC, Boston, and the Bay Area, and I think this cartoon is hilarious.

I love "View of the World from 9th Avenue" (saulsteinbergfoundation.org/life_work.html) Can you do something like that? The situation at hand might call for people turning into cavemen outside the San Francisco city limits, though. No pressure.

@ Dave,
I'm with you on the cartoon; I think it's hilarious. Now I'm a mid-westerner (Michigan) and I've got the trees, the water, etc. But I'm telling you, Rednecks are never very far way. They run rampant. Watch out.

@ Les, no offense need be taken by the map I wouldn't think- and I don't think anything has been dismissed here, just casually noted. And beautiful scenery is apart of the midwest- but putting Rednecks is way funnier than "beautiful scenery with short commutes to good jobs", right?

I haven't been by your site in awhile...great map!!! I love how large and true and central Point Roberts, WA is.........."hipsters and winos" (perfect). You did a beautiful job on drawing the border, although we are actually connected to Canada...........or were you drawing Baja? Oh well, same difference.

poor les. can't see that this is drawn by silicon valley perspective, not hugh's personal opinion. honestly, what would any californian think of anyone in them thar "flyover" states? of course...we're all rednecks to those from the left coast. and yet...it doesn't matter. they're not my friends and they're not my family, so why do i care what the californians think? get over yourself les, and keep it rockin hugh!

Les clearly misses the point. Hugh is not himself saying that the midwest is nothing but rednecks, he is lampooning the attitude of those in the Valley who think that. Likewise, Hugh is well aware that Britain is not a triangle and Australia is not the same size as LA.

People make the same mistake about Sacha Baron Cohen's "Borat" character. They think he is mocking Kazakhstanis in a very crass and racist way. In fact he's mocking people who hold such ridiculous stereotypes about Central Asia and foreigners in general.

Did it bother anyone else at all that the entire continent of South America didn't count as important enough to make the map? The Darian Gap is not the end of the known world ;)

Let the geeks know that Afghanistan is further north than Iraq - oh, forget it...they don't buy software anyway...either country.

that is so good. you are killin it