Author Archives: Brian D. Butler

What Do We Have in Our Pockets

The short film below, which premieres this week at Sundance, was directed by Goran Dukic and is based on Israeli writer Etgar Keret‘s short story “What Do We Have in Our Pockets”. The tw0-page story is included in Keret’s terrific … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Film, Middle East, Writing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Inherent Vice Indeed

While trolling the net for more information on Thomas Pynchon‘s upcoming title The Bleeding Edge, I ran across a brief interview with director Paul Thomas Anderson regarding his work on the film version of Inherent Vice. Anderson describes his film of Pynchon’s novel as … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Film, movies, Uncategorized, USA, Writing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Free Book Incident

Seattle, Washington’s Wessel & Lieberman Booksellers has partnered with Olson Kundig Architects to create the Free Book Incident. This project “is not a book store (there is nothing for sale); it is not a library (there is nothing to return)”. … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Bookstore Tourism, USA | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Free is the way to travel

Rental car and camper companies need to move their vehicles between branches all of the time. In the U.S. we call them driveaway cars, but in Australia and New Zealand they call them relocation vehicles. The guest post below is … Continue reading

Posted in Tourism | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Better Than Streetview

This extraordinary panoramic photograph of Manhattan by Sergey Semonov won the 2012 Epson International Photographic Pano Award in the Built Environmental catagory. Based on multiple photographs taken from a helicopter trip over NYC, the 3D panorama is an awesome stitch-up. … Continue reading

Posted in Photography, USA | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

BiblioTech…meh

San Antonio, Texas Judge Nelson Wolff is a bibliophile with a surprising mission. Even though he owns an extensive personal library, with more than 1,000 collectible first editions, the Bevar County judge and library board chair has been the torchbearer … Continue reading

Posted in Books, ebooks, Libraries, Tech, Uncategorized, USA, Writing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Travel Can be Taxing

Travelers the world over are frequently blindsided by immoderate hotel taxes that boost the cost of overnight stays. The United States is no exception. When guests book hotels, they rarely explore the potential additional costs of local, city or state … Continue reading

Posted in Hotels, Tourism, USA | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Free Schwabylon ?

From the outside, we tend to view the Germans as a monolithic culture, but stories like this one demonstrate how wrong that viewpoint can be. There is an internecine war brewing in Berlin’s trendy Prenzlauer Berg District between native Berliners … Continue reading

Posted in Europe, Tourism | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Clocks Were Striking Thirteen

Penguin UK has decided to mark the sixty-third anniversary of George Orwell‘s death by launching “George Orwell Day” and by issuing a series of new paperback editions of his most beloved books. The series has all original covers designed by … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Europe, Freedom of Speech, History, Writing | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Is True Crime Your Genre ?

Are you in the market for a very special book collection? Do you have an interest in True Crime ? Well, eBay seller uswego has an offer just for you. For the farcical price of $1,000 (plus $250.00 shipping) you … Continue reading

Posted in Books, USA | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment