Category Archives: Europe

London: A Guide for the Naive

Posted on April 8, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Feeling a tad bit overwhelmed by London, then follow along with late night tv host and part-time beekeeper “Vincent Mahoney” as he leads a half hour video tour of the UK capital for the untutored visitor. Packed with outrageous lies, … Continue reading →

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To Rome with Love

Posted on April 7, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

What’s not to love: Directed by Woody Allen and starring Penelope Cruz, Ellen Page, Judy Davis, Roberto Benigni, Alec Baldwin, and Jesse Eisenberg. Here’s the new trailer for the upcoming film . Even if you’ve been let down by Allen;s … Continue reading →

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5,000 Books (more or less)

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Madrid-based artist Alicia Martín’s amazing installation at Casa de America cultural center in the heart of Madrid appears to pour out of the building like an avalanche of literature. This piece is part of an ongoing series of installations around … Continue reading →

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Birth of a Book

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

I absolutely love this short film, Birth of a Book, which is a brief vignette on the actual creation of a real book using traditional printing methods. The film was shot, directed and edited by Glen Milner for the Daily … Continue reading →

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Nearly Orwellian

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

The Orwell Prize is Britain’s most prestigious award for writing. Each year a select committee awards the prize—actually four prizes—for work that aims to achieve George Orwell‘s goal “to make political writing into an art”. The long lists for the … Continue reading →

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Eurostyle Urban Hacktivism

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Self-described “urban hacktivist” Florian Rivière from Strasbourg has come up with a foolproof method for crossing busy European streets. His portable crosswalk would have come in handy last week in Madrid. Check-out his website for more of his tongue-in-cheek inventions and … Continue reading →

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Amsterdam This Summer ?

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Yesterday marked the opening of the new temporary exhibition in the Anne Frank House: “We too might move on”. The exhibition sheds light on the flight of the Frank family, the Van Pels family and Fritz Pfeffer from Germany to … Continue reading →

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La Dolce Vita

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Following the devastation of World War I, and the loss of income from foreign tourism, the Italian government developed a promotional agency, ENIT, to encourage Italian tourism abroad. An integral component of the campaign was the use of fabulous advertising … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Books, Europe, History, Tourism, Travel Writing | 3 Comments

Mild, Mild West

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Next month’s issue of Budget Travel magazine (old-school version) will be featuring an excellent short article on Amsterdam’s West neighborhoods by Maria Robertson-Textor. The city’s former industrial area has been undergoing a slow, but inexorable gentrification for the last decade … Continue reading →

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Hanging On

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Finnish conceptual artist Kaarina Kaikkonen creates her flowing, site-specific projects entirely from recycled clothes. Intially she worked only in men’s shirst, ties and jackets, but she has now expanded her work to incorpoated all types of clothing. The garments are … Continue reading →

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