Monthly Archives: May 2013

How Orwellian

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

Some perplexing news out of India this week reporting that George Orwell’s birthplace in Motari, Bihar is being developed into a memorial site—but to Mahatma Gandhi not Eric Blair. The little bungalow, where Orwell was born and lived until he … Continue reading →

Posted in Asia, Books, History, Museums, Tourism | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Free Paris Walking Tour

Posted on May 5, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

Well, now that I’ve grabbed your attention, I have to admit that the title of this post is a little misleading. The” walking tour” is just a 50 minute long video (see below) filmed on a week-long visit to Paris during … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Film, Photography, Tourism | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Manhattan, A Love Story

Posted on May 4, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

Becky Copoper walked the streets and boulevards of New York City’s borough of manhattan from end to end. Along the way she handed-out blank maps to ordinary New Yorkers and asked them to map their personal Manhattan and mail the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Maps, Tourism, Travel Writing, USA | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Little Free Libraries

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

In the winter of 2013, PEN, alongside the Architectural League of New York and IDEAS CITY Festival, commissioned ten emerging architects to design their take on the idea of the Little Free Library. On May 4, the ten little libraries … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art, Books, Libraries, USA, Writing | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Venice, City of Readers

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

A group of 100 authors in Italy have organized as Venice, City of Readers and have issued a manifesto protesting the disappearance of Venice’s bookstores. The writers, including Italian and international authors, gathered at the historic Salone della Libreria Sansoviniana … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Bookstore Tourism, Europe, Libraries, Tourism, Writing | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Can’t Ask for A Better Hotel

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

We all know by now that a significant percentage of online travel reviews are bogus, but a group of pranksters in the UK have raised some serious doubts about TripAdvisor‘s screening process. Last week an unidentified group of jokesters posted … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Hotels, Tech, Tourism, Travel Writing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment