Category Archives: Europe

La Biblioteca del Mondo

Posted on May 8, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

Umberto Eco: A Library of the World is a wonderful new documentary about the bestselling Italian author with perhaps the greatest intellectual appetite of any writer of his time. Directed by Davide Ferrario, the documentary will launch in the U.S. beginning … Continue reading →

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

Not a scientific survey

Posted on May 3, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

“An Italian, speaking English, rating croissants on YouTube, in Paris, while the French people are doing a massive strike. That’s the magic of Europe in one video!” Over the last week or so, I’ve run across the wonderful short video … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Tourism | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Game of the World

Posted on May 1, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

Created in 1645 by Pierre Du Val, Le Jeu du Monde is one of the oldest known geographic board games. The purpose of the 17th century French board game is to progress from the North Pole to the center of … Continue reading →

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How it’s built in a timelapse

Posted on April 28, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

I am not much of a cruise ship kind of guy, but I was fascinated by this timelapse video.  MK Timelapse GmbH recorded the entire construction process of the AIDAnova, an 1105-foot-long cruise ship that carries 6600 passengers. The footage from Germany’s Meyer … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Europe, Film, Tourism | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Wonderground

Posted on April 27, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

This pictorial map of London was originally published in 1914 as an advertising poster for the London Underground. The design became very popular with the public and was published in several different editions. It is credited with reviving Tube travel as well as … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Europe, Maps, Public Transport | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Epic Iceland

Posted on April 21, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

One of my longest running travel obsessions has been the extraordinary island nation of Iceland. I’ve been lucky enough to have been visiting there for more than 40 years. In some ways Iceland has experienced amazing changes during the last … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Film, Photography, Tourism | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Spinoza’s Airtight Case

Posted on April 16, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

Permanent Link to this Comic: https://existentialcomics.com/comic/488 Support the comic on Patreon!  

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Saturday Sundries

Posted on April 15, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

I won’t be spending my summer this year riding the rails in Europe, but I can still torture myself by reading articles about luxury trains and gourmet food. You can too, if you check out this excellent piece from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Air Travel, apps, Europe, History, Maps, Museums, Public Transport, Restaurants, Tourism, Travel Writing | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Don’t get suckered this summer

Posted on April 14, 2023 by Brian D. Butler
Posted in Europe, Tourism, USA | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

An odd place for a lighthouse

Posted on April 3, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

It’s always a treat to stumble upon an engaging short story and doubly so to discover a prize-winning work. The VS Pritchett Short Story Prize for 2022 was recently awarded to Kaliane Bradley’s genre-bending story Doggerland. Simultaneously humorous and creepy, the story … Continue reading →

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