Category Archives: Asia

How Random Is This

Posted on September 25, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

New York City’s amazing Metropolitan Museum of Art is probably my favorite museum in the world and I’ve been to hundreds. It’s also one of the most visited museums in the world with nearly 2 million guests annually. The Met … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art, Asia, Europe, History, Middle East, Museums, USA | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Illustration Chronicles

Posted on August 8, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

I recently discovered the amazing website Illustration Chronicles: which explores a history of illustration through the images, illustrators and events of the past 175 years. Periodically the editors select a topic to explore. These concepts, such as music, satire, war, … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Asia, Books, Maps, Music, Writing | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Tokyo meets The New Yorker

Posted on July 26, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

Way back in 2017 I shared a story about a marvelous art and design project that creates faux-magazine covers called , The Tokyoiter, and was reminded of it by a recent post in a blog that I follow. The concept, … Continue reading →

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Maps Make The World

Posted on June 1, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

Have you ever wondered how cartographers created accurate maps of the world long before the development of aircraft or satellites ? The very informative short video below cleverly summarizes the history and development of maps throughout the ages. NB: If … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Asia, Europe, Film, History, Maps | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Just Another Manic Monday of Miscellany

Posted on May 16, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

The coolest doorway in Paris is at number 29 Avenue Rapp . Mondrian’s mysticism: Evolution (1910–1911) A NEW NATIONAL ANTHEM Ada Limón The truth is, I’ve never cared for the National Anthem. If you think about it, it’s not a … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Asia, Books, Photography | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Real Writer’s Cafe

Posted on April 29, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

Every coffeeshop in the world these days seems to be populated by folks busily working on writing projects of some kind. Now a café located in the Koenji district of Tokyo has opened to help writers meet their project goals.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Asia, Restaurants, Writing | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

What People Read

Posted on April 1, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

Regular visitors to TBTP are well aware that I am way too fond of clever infographics. I’m especially kean on the ones that examine reading habits around the world. The graphic above, which was created by Studying in Switzerland used international … Continue reading →

Posted in Asia, Books, Canada, ebooks, Europe | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Hotel Art

Posted on March 28, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

I have stayed in literally hundreds of hotel rooms over the years, but I rarely pay close attention to the furnishings or amenities. Unlike Japanese architect Kei Endo who focuses intently on her hotel surroundings. She then creates beautifully rendered … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art, Asia, Hotels, Tourism | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Monday with Murakami

Posted on February 21, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

Regular visitors to TBTP are well aware of my admiration for the Japanese author Haruki Murakami. I recently discovered this list of his five favorite books. Unsurprisingly, they are on my favorites list as well. F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby … Continue reading →

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Book House Library

Posted on February 17, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

These days it seems that the most innovative libraries are found in China. The  luminous Pingtan Book House Library is a new library in the rural village of Pingtan, China. It takes shape as an ‘infinitely looping’ staircase enclosed by a … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Asia, Books, Libraries | Tagged , | 1 Comment