Monthly Archives: December 2020

Forest of Hope

Posted on December 21, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

I spent November 2019 in New Zealand and had hoped to be back again this year, but the Covid-19 pandemic ended that notion. Still, I hold out some hope to return to Aotearoa sometime in 2021. In the meantime, New … Continue reading →

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Within you there is a stillness and a sanctuary

Posted on December 20, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Hermann Hesse : “This day will never come again and anyone who fails to eat and drink and taste and smell it will never have it offered to him again in all eternity. The sun will never shine as it … Continue reading →

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Bookmarking it old school

Posted on December 19, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

How to use a medieval bookmark: 1.) Read. 2.) Spin the volvelle to mark where on the page you stopped reading (I-IV correspond to different sections on the page. 3.) Close book. 4.) Repeat as necessary. By the way, the … Continue reading →

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another good thing about books

Posted on December 18, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

 

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like a downhill brakes-burned freight train

Posted on December 17, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

AND STILL IT COMES Thomas Lux like a downhill brakes-burned freight train full of pig iron ingots, full of lead life-size statues of Richard Nixon, like an avalanche of smoke and black fog lashed by bent pins, the broken-off tips … Continue reading →

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Rocky Mountain High

Posted on December 16, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

A few years ago, I took a road trip around the U.S. southwest. One leg of the journey was a drive between Denver, Colorado and Moab, Utah, with a stop in Glenwood Springs, Colorado along the way. It’s a route … Continue reading →

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Old Nieuw Amsterdam

Posted on December 15, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

I come from two old New York City families, but not nearly as old as these 17th century views of the city when it was still the Dutch  West India Company’s colony of Nieuw Amsterdam. Published in 1651, the image … Continue reading →

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The Ideal Library

Posted on December 14, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

 

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Color the Classics

Posted on December 13, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Puffin + Pantone is a series of classic novels paired with their perfect Pantone color match. Each cover is made to resemble the globally recognized color chip that’s defined Pantone as the standard in color communication all over the world. Puffin … Continue reading →

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Be not inhospitable to strangers

Posted on December 12, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

The iconic Paris bookstore Shakespeare and Company has frequently been in the news recently due to a world-wide fund raising effort to save the financially troubled landmark. You may not know that before it got its well known name the store was … Continue reading →

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