Author Archives: Brian D. Butler

Making Art Underground

Posted on July 24, 2015 by Brian D. Butler

After years of dodging the authorities to demonstrate their artistic chops, three Prague graffiti stand-outs —Michal Škapa, Pasta Oner and X-Dog—were recently invited by the city’s Metro system to cheer up the Soviet-era Andel underground station.

Posted in Art, Europe, Public Transport | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Die Vernandlung

Posted on July 23, 2015 by Brian D. Butler

We are all familiar with the iconic absurdist story of Gregor Samsa who wakes one day to discover that he has turned into an insect. In the remainder of the tale, Kafka describes how Samsa’s transformation impacts his family. During … Continue reading →

Posted in Animation, Art, Books, Europe, Film, Writing | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Attention Visitors to New York City

Posted on July 22, 2015 by Brian D. Butler

Coming from a family that called New York City home for more than a century, I am constitutionally required to complain about the way tourists walk the sidewalks and comport themselves when visiting the city. There’s nothing like gawping tourists blocking … Continue reading →

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Peripatetic Parisian Library

Posted on July 21, 2015 by Brian D. Butler

Où est la bibliothèque ? Any place you would like it to be is just dandy with the marvelous Bibliambule . This summer, a charming little rolling library, complete with seven hammocks for laid-back readers, has been popping up around … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Books, Europe, Libraries, Tech | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Rimini is apparently Felliniesque

Posted on July 20, 2015 by Brian D. Butler

If you have ever stumbled across the Italian Avant-garde magazine Toilet Paper, you have probably had a laugh, but maybe left somewhat bewildered. The recent issue of the ongoing collaboration between Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan and photographer Pierpaolo Ferrari is no … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Europe, Photography, Tourism | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

A Place Just For Book Lovers

Posted on July 19, 2015 by Brian D. Butler

My television cable service offers literally hundreds of channels to chose from 24 hours a day. There are networks devoted to every sport imaginable. There are dozens of food and cooking shows. There are even entire networks that only show … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Bookstore Tourism, ebooks, Libraries, USA, Writing | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Invisible Cities

Posted on July 18, 2015 by Brian D. Butler

Artists Leighton Connor, Joe Kuth and Matt Kish originally planned to publish a book of illustrations based on Italo Calvino’s brilliant book Invisible Cities. Unfortunately copyright issues will likely preclude their book’s publication for the foreseeable future. However, the three … Continue reading →

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Listen to the City

Posted on July 17, 2015 by Brian D. Butler

The French railway company Thalys recently launched an entertaining advertising campaign via billboards in Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam. Each of the project freestanding billboards has a map of one of another trio city with 1,000 built-in audio jack ports. Passers-by … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Tech, Tourism | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Frosted Murakami

Posted on July 16, 2015 by Brian D. Butler

A big h/t to Brooklyn writer/blogger/cartoonist Kate Gavino for these wonderful literary breakfast cereals.

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How to embarrass yourself in Paris

Posted on July 15, 2015 by Brian D. Butler

I readily admit that my language skills are atrocious. Wherever I travel, I always manage to awkwardly mangle any attempts at spoken communication in the local language. Oddly, my written understanding and comprehension can be adequate, but it all goes … Continue reading →

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