Monthly Archives: January 2012

Save Christiania (and own a piece of history)

Posted on January 21, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

It’s been forty years since a rag-tag coalition of Copenhagen residents and backpackers from around the world tore down the fence and occupied an unused military complex in the heart of the Danish capital, giving birth to the Freetown of … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, History, Tourism | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Boston’s Newest Jewel

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Yesterday, the stunning new addition to Boston’s wonderful Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum was officially opened to the general public. Designed by the Italian architectural studio Renzo Piano, the extension houses a new 2,000 square-foot exhibition space, a stylish cafe, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art, Museums, Tourism, USA | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

A book about a film about a journey to a Room

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

I’m a big fan of British novelist/essayist/travel writer/critic Geoff Dyer (although some of his recent New York Times Book Review columns have baffled me). So, I was intrigued by the news that Dyer has written a book which explores the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Europe, Film, Writing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

There’s a Bluebird in My Heart

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

If you follow TBTP, you may be somewhat weary of the frequent Bukowski posts and stories. Well too bad because here’s another. Published in the 1992 anthology The Last Night of Earth Poems, Charles Bukowski‘s unusually tender poem “The Bluebird” … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Books, Film, Writing | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Paris by Carousel

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

California-based, Barcelona-born photographer Pep Ventosa has created an otherworldly series of composite images of carousels and amusement park rides in Paris, Barcelona and California. Pep slowly circles the rides, taking dozens of photographs and then blends them into one phantasmagoric … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Photography, USA | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Buy Where You Shop

Posted on January 15, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Our friends at the amazing family-owned, indie Harvard Book Store located in the very heart of Cambridge, MA have produced this humorous, but guilt-inducing little video to urge book buyers to stop using indie bookstores as showrooms to browse for … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Bookstore Tourism, USA, Writing | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Ikea Underground

Posted on January 14, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

This past week, the international, flat-pack furniture mega-store chain Ikea installed a fully furnished apartment in the Paris Auber RER underground station. Five “roommates” were recruited to live the underground life Ikea-style for six days while demonstrating the functionality and ingenuity of Ikea’s space-saving design … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Tourism | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Would You Use the Sleepbox ?

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Have you ever found yourself desparate for a few hours sleep while stranded at an airport or train station, but you didn’t want to fall asleep in public ? Well, the clever folks at Arch Group have a solution for … Continue reading →

Posted in Hotels, Tourism | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The Bookstore at Night

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Sean and Lisa Ohlenkamp, owners of Type bookstore on Queen Street in Toronto, Canada, spent many sleepless nights producing this charming little stop-motion video of their bookstore at night. They did have the assistance of a crew of twenty-five volunteers … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Bookstore Tourism, Canada, Film | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Brando Blanked Kerouac

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

In 1957, Jack Kerouac wrote to Marlon Brando begging him to buy the film rights to his novel On the Road and to turn it into a movie. Kerouac pitched the idea that Brando could play Dean Moriarty and that … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Film, History, USA, Writing | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment