Monthly Archives: March 2025

where everything was forbidden

Posted on March 31, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

“Making Do” by Italo Calvino translated by Tim Parks There was a town where everything was forbidden. Now, since the only thing that wasn’t forbidden was the game tip-cat, the town’s subjects used to assemble on meadows behind the town … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Europe, Writing | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Renaissance Kindle

Posted on March 30, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

The Bookwheel, invented in 1588 by Italian engineer Agostino Ramelli, was a heavy, 600-pound wooden rotating bookcase that let scholars easily use up to eight open books at once. It had a clever gear system to keep the books upright … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Europe, Libraries | Tagged | 1 Comment

You too can be a travel cat

Posted on March 29, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

If you like travel, and you like cats, then you will enjoy the game Travel Cat, TripGeo’s playful flight-sim exploration game allows you to explore over 11,000 cities worldwide from the comfort of a feline piloted golden monoplane. “Welcome to … Continue reading →

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fooleries of magic and religion

Posted on March 28, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

  Man is so intelligent that he feels impelled to invent theories to account for what happens in the world. Unfortunately, he is not quite intelligent enough, in most cases, to find correct explanations. So that when he acts on … Continue reading →

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The Wonky House of Windsor

Posted on March 27, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

No, I’m not referencing the British royal family—although they are a shambolic mess—I’m referring to a lovely, rickety looking building a historic Windsor, England. If you have every visited the tourist town, you have likely had a peep at the … Continue reading →

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

A really, really nice tunnel

Posted on March 26, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

I recently spotted the video below about Bergen, Norway’s amazing bike tunnel. And, I had two thoughts. First, wow, this is a wonderful piece of transit engineering. Second, I haven’t been in Bergen in more than 40 years. Even if … Continue reading →

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

Break Time

Posted on March 26, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

We may or may not be on a break, it depends who you ask. Please check back soon.

Posted in Travel Writing | Tagged | 1 Comment

Deep Fry Everything

Posted on March 25, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

As I may have mentioned 20 or 30 times, I’ve been planning a trip to Japan and keep falling down Japan related rabbit holes. Like any sane person, I love Japanese cuisine, but as a vegetarian it’s sometimes difficult to … Continue reading →

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Mapping Monday

Posted on March 24, 2025 by Brian D. Butler
Posted in Africa, Asia, Canada, Europe, Maps, Middle East, USA | Tagged | 3 Comments

An Amusing Anecdote

Posted on March 23, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

 

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