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International Conference on Cartography and Geoinformation Science (ICCGIS) annual conference, Montreal, May 16-17 2016

2123523275_983f039f2b_mThe International Conference on Cartography and Geoinformation Science (ICCGIS) will be holding its 18th annual conference from the 16th to the 17th of May 2016 in Montreal, Canada. Papers on cartography and toponymy are especially invited. The deadline for abstract submissions is the 16th of November 2015.

Click here for the official call for papers as well as information on registration.

Symposium on Atlases, Topography, and the History of Cartography, Rio de Janeiro, August 19-21 2015

10912431134_e942bdb4e5_mFrom the 19th to the 21st of August 2015, there will be a pre-conference Symposium on Atlases, Topography, and the History of Cartography at the Brazilian Foundation of Geography and Statistics in Rio de Janeiro. The Symposium is scheduled to include two days with scientific paper presentations as well as excursions to the Fundacao Bibliotheca Nacional and to the Museu Naval.

Click here for more on this event.

Bloomberg’s Granddaughter Gets a Hybrid Surname

Michael Bloomberg

Michael Bloomberg

Hybrid surnames are becoming increasingly popular. The New York Times reports that Zelda Violet Frissberg’s surname is the combination of Frissora, her father’s, and Bloomberg, her mother’s. Given that former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is her grandfather, New Yorkers are likely to see Fissberg denoting New York cultural and philanthropic institutions in the near future.

Generation Y: A Cuban Revolution

Yasmani Grandal

Yasmani Grandal

What do you Yasmany Tomás, Yasmani Grandal, Yasiel Puig, Yoenis Céspedes and Yunel Escobar all have in common? They’re members of Generation Y, an anti-government protest that took place in Cuba. Their names are a political rebellion. Keith Olbermann explains.

International EURALEX Congress, Tbilisi, Georgia, September 6-10 2016

4312721365_aa41c18cea_mFrom the 6th to the 10th of September 2016, the 27th annual international EURALEX Congress will be held in Tbilisi, Georgia. This conference is being organized by the Lexicographic Centre at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University. The EURALEX Congress is designed to bring together lexicographers, software developers, publishers, and researchers. The motto of the 2016 Congress is “Lexicography and Linguistic Diversity”.

The deadline for abstract submissions is the 15th of October, 2015. Click here for a list of topics being accepted for presentation. Papers and posters may be presented in any European language. However, abstracts should be submitted in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, or Russian.

For more on the organization, click here.

Student changes name to avoid £220 Ryanair fee

16601483654_9028d4a82e_mAfter his flight to Ibiza was booked under the wrong name, a student from Manchester, England, legally changed his name to match that on the booking instead of paying the alteration fee. Adam Armstrong had set his name on Facebook as Adam West, the stage name of the U.S. American actor who played the comic character in the now iconic ABC television Batman series. This backfired when his girlfriend’s stepfather, believing Adam’s surname to be West, booked their flights. After doing a bit of researching, Adam discovered that the fee for changing the name on the airplane ticket would have cost him whopping £220 (ca. $350), whereas officially changing his surname from “Armstrong” to “West” would cost less than half that amount. In one fell swoop, the resourceful Manchester student legally changed his surname to “West”, obtained a new passport, navigated around Ryanair’s booking alteration fees, and claimed his plane ticket for a well-deserved trip to sunny Ibiza. ZOOOIEEE!