Category Archives: Europe

Holiday Lights

Posted on December 29, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

Last month my favorite Spanish street art collective Luzinterruptus installed their Consumerist Christmas Tree in Durham, England as part of the annual Lumiere Festival. To construct the nearly 30 foot tall tree, the group asked local residents to donate plastic … Continue reading →

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The Books and the Bees

Posted on December 27, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

Book Hive is an amazing animatronic, art installation that celebrates the 400th anniversary of Bristol, England‘s libraries. Now on display at Bristol’s Central Library, this fantastic installation was created by the art/tech group called Rusty Squid. The mesmerizing interactive work … Continue reading →

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Yule Got Your Goat

Posted on December 22, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

If you’re a gambler, the bookies in Gävle, Sweden are still taking bets on the fate of this year’s Gävlebocken ( Gävle Goat ). Each winter since 1966 the city in central Sweden has been erecting a 40-foot tall straw … Continue reading →

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We Always Remember

Posted on December 21, 2013 by Brian D. Butler
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Everything Comes To An End

Posted on December 20, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

I read this week that Nordstedts, the Swedish publisher of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo series has engaged author David Lagercrantz to write an “original” sequel to Stieg Larsson‘s Millennium series using characters from the trilogy. I don’t know … Continue reading →

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The Great War

Posted on December 18, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

I recently had a number of conversations with young friends and family members about their difficulties with their history classes in high schools and at university. As a former history teacher, I found the lack of connection with the subject … Continue reading →

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I Want a MultiPass

Posted on December 16, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

The MultiPass—named after a personal identification device seen in the sci-fi flick The Fifth Element—is a digital card that will allow users to pay for virtually any type of transportation throughout the UK. Like a digital wallet for travelers, the … Continue reading →

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The Little Prince : A New York Story

Posted on December 15, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

 For seven decades booklovers around the world have been drawn to Antoine de Sainte-Exupéry’s parable of an interstellar traveler, The Little Prince, who comes to Earth in search of friendship, compassion, and understanding. Few readers, however, realize that the iconic … Continue reading →

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Don’t Drink the Water

Posted on December 14, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

Amsterdam is commemorating the 400th anniversary of its iconic canals by selling souvenir sets of Amsterdam Canal Aqua. The four bottle set, which retails for €50, is filled from the Singel, Prinsengracht, Herengracht and Keizersgracht. Each bottle is labeled with … Continue reading →

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Don’t Be Rude

Posted on December 12, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

On my recent visits to Paris, I noticed that the Metro was more crowded than ever.But it seemed that Parisians were relatively civil compared to subway riders in NYC, or even London. So, I was a bit surprised to see … Continue reading →

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