Monthly Archives: April 2021

Ghost Words

Posted on April 20, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

What does palimpsest mean? 1 : writing material (such as a parchment or tablet) used one or more times after earlier writing has been erased. 2 : something having usually diverse layers or aspects apparent beneath the surface.   One … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Asia, Books, Europe, History, Libraries, Middle East, Museums, Tech, Writing | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Saving Traditional Techniques

Posted on April 19, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

I first became enamored with traditional Japanese printmaking many years ago when I saw a show at Amsterdam’s Rijksmusem on Van Gogh’s personal collection of prints. The collection is now housed at the Van Gogh Museum. There are many steps … Continue reading →

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How A Bookshop Cat Copes

Posted on April 18, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

 

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Climate Crisis

Posted on April 17, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

Finland’s Helsingin Sanomat newspaper has created a free and downloadable variable font that aims to make the urgency of climate change tangible by mirroring the declining amount of Arctic sea ice in its disappearing letterforms. While a regular typeface has … Continue reading →

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your secret belief in perpetual spring

Posted on April 16, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

IN PERPETUAL SPRING Amy Gerstler Gardens are also good places to sulk. You pass beds of spiky voodoo lilies and trip over the roots of a sweet gum tree, in search of medieval plants whose leaves, when they drop off … Continue reading →

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On the Fiery Edge of Oblivion

Posted on April 15, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

Just when I managed to pull myself away from obsessively checking in on the Fagradalsfjall volcanic eruption in Iceland, the local band Kaleo released this astonishing music video. The performance video for Skinny was filmed live during a volcanic eruption … Continue reading →

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Mystery, History & some Cartography

Posted on April 14, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

One of the joys of being vaccinated against Covid-19 has been the ability to return to bookstore browsing. On my most recent visit to our local indie bookshop (shout out to Newtown Bookshop ) I picked up a copy of … Continue reading →

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This book can help save the Planet

Posted on April 13, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

The international retail giant Ikea has published a cookbook for creative cooking with recycled food waste called The ScrapsBook and it’s available to download for free. IKEA has created The ScrapsBook, in collaboration with chefs from across North America. This … Continue reading →

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Flipping Brilliant

Posted on April 12, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

If you ever wax nostalgic for the old iconic railway station flipboards like the one pictured above from Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station, you are going to love this story. Chee-Kit Lai, founder of Mobile Studio Architects, has created what may … Continue reading →

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Was Mordor actually in Siberia

Posted on April 11, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

I haven’t watched much classic Soviet-era Russian television, but I imagine that little of the content was as weird as the recently rediscovered version of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Embedded below are parts 1 and 2 of the … Continue reading →

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