Author Archives: Brian D. Butler

Covering Nineteen Eighty-Four

Posted on February 4, 2017 by Brian D. Butler
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Tourists Go Home

Posted on February 3, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

Last week, the city of Barcelona finally said enough to uncontrolled tourism. The municipal government voted to impose the most sweeping ban on tourist accommodations seen anywhere in Europe, along with added measures to regain control of the city from … Continue reading →

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Bite Me

Posted on February 2, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

About a year ago, we had a peek at some of Paris-based pastry chef Tal Spiegel’s tantalizing photos of dazzling baked delights. Since I acutely needed a break from the non-stop depressing news cycle, I decided to catch-up on Chef … Continue reading →

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Tales About Nothing

Posted on February 1, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

I couldn’t resist sharing these brilliant faux pulp magazine covers by the illustrator and comic book artist Stephen Andrade.   all images ©Stephen Andrade

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Dystopian Literature Sells Bigly

Posted on January 31, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

Since the election of the bloated, orange pustule, dystopian fiction has become so popular that George Orwell’s iconic novel 1984 has jumped to the top of bestseller lists around the world. Penguin publishing has announced that it is rushing another … Continue reading →

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Alternative Reality

Posted on January 30, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

Since the depressing events of January 20th, I have been thinking of Philip Roth’s alternative history novel The Plot Against America. Our would be dictator’s references to “America First” reminded me of the anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, fascist movement championed by Nazi-loving Charles Lindbergh. … Continue reading →

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Kafka : On The Cheap

Posted on January 29, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

During the summer of 1911, Franz Kafka and his friend Max Brod took a railway journey through Switzerland and France. While they were hanging out in Lugano, Switzerland, Kafka hit on a novel notion for “reforming” the traditional staid travel … Continue reading →

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Hashtag Tourism

Posted on January 28, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

The always inventive urban transit cartographer Jug Cerovic has teamed up with graphic designer Andrea Rohner and software engineer David Goldwich to create a new travel website featuring metropolitan transit maps labeled with popular Instagram hashtags rather than subway stations. … Continue reading →

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Don’t Be Like These Tourists (Warning: Intense Images)

Posted on January 27, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

Many years ago, I chose to cut short my visit to the Terezín Concentration Camp in the Czech Republic due to the obnoxious behavior of groups of adolescents who laughed, joked, and generally clowned around with total disregard for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, History, Museums, Photography, Tourism | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Intellectual Raves

Posted on January 26, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

Beginning tonight and running through the early hours of Monday morning, the Institut Français will be hosting a series of all-night marathon “intellectual raves” in dozens of cities around the world. The 2017 La Nuit des Idées or Night of Philosophy and … Continue reading →

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