Category Archives: Europe

A mesmerizing journey

Posted on July 25, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

I ran across the stunning stop-motion video Takrar on a number of websites over the past week and watched each time. Takrar or Repetition is an experimental film that celebrates the timeless and intricate beauty of ancient craftsmanship. Filmed in Istanbul, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Animation, Architecture, Art, Asia, Europe, Film, Tourism | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Paris: RINGdeLUXE

Posted on July 22, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

Plastique Fantastique (aka Marco Canevacci and Yena Young) created RINGdeLUXE, an exciting in situ installation enveloping the iconic Léopold-Sédar-Senghor footbridge across the Seine for the 2023 Nuit Blanche festival. The monumental ring artwork captures the imagination of its observers with its … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art, Europe, Film, Public Transport, Tourism | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Life-Changing Books

Posted on July 18, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

Among the many vocations over the course of my life was a two decade stretch as a psychotherapist. While the most rewarding work, it was often filled with self-doubt and angst. During my graduate school education, I was fortunate to … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Europe, History, Writing | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Nothing stops bibliophiles

Posted on July 9, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

I just learned from a friend’s social media posts that in the middle of a horrific war the book community in Ukraine actual held the nation’s largest annual book festival. The poster above is for the 2023 International Book Arsenal Festival which … Continue reading →

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A Hunger Artist

Posted on July 3, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

In honor of Franz Kafka’s 140th birthday, here’s his popular short story “A Hunger Artist.” Published just two years before Kafka’s death from tuberculosis in 1924, the story is often viewed as a reflection of his illness and his struggles … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Europe, Writing | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Summer Sunday Sundries

Posted on July 2, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

“In its June 26, 1948, issue, The New Yorker published Shirley Jackson’s unsettling story “The Lottery,” and it’s not an overstatement to say that readers freaked out. They wrote letters in droves, angry or unsure about what this slowly unfolding … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Asia, Books, Europe, History, Museums, Restaurants, Tourism, USA, Writing | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Books on Maps

Posted on June 28, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

If you stop by TBTP regularly, you probably know how I feel about maps and literary websites that manage to combine books AND maps. Books On Maps: is a new project that is mashing up cartography and novels. You don’t … Continue reading →

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Roman ruin that’s not just for cats anymore

Posted on June 25, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

Invariably when I visit Rome I always seem to wander by the Largo Argentina to gape at the inaccessable Area Sacra where Brutus stabbed Caesar on the Ides of March in the year 44 B.C.E. Until just recently, the site … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Europe, History, Museums, Tourism | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Living in the Real World

Posted on June 24, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

Most reasonably educated adults—other than flatearth nincompoops—are well aware that the way we map our planet distorts the actual size of countries and continents. For centuries, we have generally ignored the wildly misleading maps that are used in most publications. … Continue reading →

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

Cut & Run

Posted on June 19, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

“Most artists have an obsession that defines their work,” reads the message from Banksy on the wall of Glasgow’s GoMA gallery. “Monet had light, Hockney has colour, I’ve got police response time.” Everyone’s favorite graffiti artist just launched his first … Continue reading →

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