Author Archives: Brian D. Butler

Sweet Travels

All of my life I have suffered from what we in the U.S. call a “sweet tooth”. This is not a uniquely North American dental disorder—although it can lead to one. It is simply the ongoing craving for candy and … Continue reading →

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See Venice And Die (or take a number)

I feel very lucky to have visited Venice before the advent of cruise ships and budget airlines. During my earliest trips to La Serenissima, it was possible to enjoy the city without hoards of cruise ship passengers and daytrippers. In … Continue reading →

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Park It

Inveterate map geeks will find themselves loosing hours on this new website created by an anonymous National Park Service ranger. Our fellow map lover has collected more than 1600 high resolution maps of U.S. national parks, recreation areas, and monuments, … Continue reading →

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Unforgivable

I’m usually drawn to street art that is amusing, snarky, or lyrical, but I was blown away by Cuban artist Erik Ravelo’s series “Unforgivable”. These heartbreaking images use street art to challenge  the world’s complacency, and the inaction of our … Continue reading →

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Free WiFi

One thing that most travelers want at the airport is free access to the internet. Well thanks to blogger Anil Polat we can all get free WiFi at airports around the world. The very clever computer security engineer has organized … Continue reading →

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Temples of Knowledge

I first ran across the exceptional architectural photography of Ahmet Ertug earlier this year when I was at the Hermitage Museum store in Saint Petersburg. His book on the dazzling palace museum was extraordinary. Now he has released his latest … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art, Books, Europe, Libraries, Museums, Photography | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Gulliver’s Travels

From a distance, it looks as though a zeppelin has landed on the roof of Prague’s DOX Centre for Contemporary Art. On closer examination, it’s apparent that the airship is actually a clever architectural installation. Gulliver, named for Jonathan Swift’s iconic … Continue reading →

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Celebrate May Day

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Welcome to Whitman

It seems appropriate to wrap-up National Poetry Month this year with a nod to the beloved 19th century poet Walt Whitman. Welcome to Whitman, Alabama is a brilliant documentary that uses the poetry of Walt Whitman to explore life in the … Continue reading →

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Some Random Island In The Pacific Ocean

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