Monthly Archives: June 2012

Another Reason to Visit Vienna

Posted on June 30, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Passangers passing through the international airport in Vienna, Austria now encounter an amazing art installation at Check-in Area 3. Stradding the corridor to the security checkpoint a towering wall of video monitors forms the ZeitRaum/Textscape. As travelers approach the wall, … Continue reading →

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Manhattan Project

Posted on June 29, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

The Manhattan Project is a fantastic and exhilarating five-minute time-lapse video of New York City. Videographer Cameron Michael lugged 120 pounds of camera gear all around Manhattan ( and violated a few city ordinances) to create this charming paean to the city … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Photography, Tourism, USA | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Road Trip Time Machine

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Did the minivan kill the station wagon? Do you even know what a “station wagon” is? Those of us who are old enough to have owned one will enjoy a trip down memory lane with film makers Sam Smartt and … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, History, Tourism, USA | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Stand Up for Our Libraries

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

The American Library Association has released a massive infographic describing the myriad of problems facing American libraries since the Great Recession. Public libraries have been an essential force for democracy and public education in the U.S. for more than two centuries. … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, ebooks, Libraries, Tech, USA | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

What’s Your Perfect Plane

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

What’s your ultimate version of the perfect airplane ? The British travel search site skyscanner recently surveyed 1,000 travelers and came up with an interesting Top Ten list that has a few surprises and some glaring deficiencies. In my humble … Continue reading →

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Ray Bradbury Saw It Coming

Posted on June 26, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Over his long and illustrious career, Ray Bradbury demonstrated an uncanny ability to predict technological innovations and sociocultural change. Many concepts and devices in his short stories and novels eventually became commonplace. Bradbury predicted everything from automatic banking machines to omnipresent electronic surveillance. … Continue reading →

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We want our free Wi-Fi

Posted on June 25, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

The universal traveler’s lament these days seems to be “where’s the free Wi-Fi ?”. Cities around the world have floated all kinds of public schemes, but none seems to have reached fruition as of yet. But just in time for … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Tech, Tourism, USA | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

The Future of Print

Posted on June 24, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Epilogue: The Future of Print is a wonderful short documentary about the world of books and print media. It’s also an affectionate and passionate encomium to printers, booksellers and books. The film, by Hanah Ryu Chung, is built around a … Continue reading →

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We’ve All Been There

Posted on June 23, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

If you’re part of the 99%, at some point in your life you’ve probably resorted to instant ramen noodles in some form for more than one meal. Now the lowly, but filling, instant noodle meal is being celebrated at its … Continue reading →

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Surf’s Up

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

This awesome animated film follows a neglected little bookmark on a wild surfing adventure when it’s unexpected liberated one day. “Much better Now” is a wonderfully visually entertaining film created by Phillip Comarella and Simon Griesser from Salon Alpin productions … Continue reading →

Posted in Animation, Art, Europe | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment