Author Archives: Brian D. Butler

Taming the Pippi Savage

Posted on February 7, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

Paris can be a glorious city, but sometimes the streets reek of urine from pippi savage (wild peeing). Now a team of entrepreneurs has developed a clever solution to this urban menace. The Uritrottoir (the name combines the words for urinal and pavement) is … Continue reading →

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Think Globally, Act Locally

Posted on February 6, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

I was shocked to discover that the Bronx, a New York City Borough with a population of 1.4 million people, has no bookstores. Although the Bronx has undergone an amazing transformation during the past decade,its last remaining bookstore chose to … Continue reading →

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London’s Smallest Library

Posted on February 5, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

London’s Borough of Lewisham is home to the city’s smallest public library. The Lewisham Micro Library was created by local resident Sebastian Handly, who purchased the old phone box from British Telecom and outfitted it with shelving, lighting, and a … Continue reading →

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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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