Category Archives: Europe

Worst Airline Meal Ever

Posted on August 22, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

Travel writer Miriam Porter recently reported on a very disappointing meal experience while flying Air Canada from Frankfurt to Toronto. Although she had pre-ordered vegan meals for the 10 hour flight a month in advance, when meal time came she … Continue reading →

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Life Jackets

Posted on August 21, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

The renowned Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei has created a wall from 2,000 life jackets that were discarded by Syrian refugees while attempting to escape the war in their homeland by crossing the Aegean Sea as part of an installation … Continue reading →

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A Night at the Garden

Posted on August 16, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

As we face an existential crisis which challenges whether the United States will remain a democracy or sink into a cesspit of neo-Fascist, Christian White Nationalist repression, it is worth remembering our history and examining how close we came in … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Film, History, USA | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

A Unique B & B Pop-Up

Posted on August 14, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

This charming adult pop-up book by Jan Pieńkowski’s was published in 1996 by Simon & Schuster. The book opens up into a house, decorated and inhabited by over fifty artistic works. A small guidebook tucked in over the staircase opens with … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Books, Europe | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Welcome to the AI Generation

Posted on August 13, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

It seems that each day we are introduced to yet another form of AI-generated art, literature, news, or advertising. This series of AI-generated travel posters, commissioned from research lab Midjourney for the luggage storage company Stasher, is the inevitable blend of … Continue reading →

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Whence the Manicule

Posted on August 11, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

I have long been fascinated by medieval manuscripts, incunabula, and early books in general. Recently I stumbled upon a number of images that included manicules within text margins and thought —whence the manicule. The manicule, ☛, is a typographic mark with the appearance of … Continue reading →

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How Far Can You Go

Posted on August 5, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

I’ve run across quite a few stories about this very neat website over the past week or so and thought that TBTP followers would be interested. How Far Can You Go By Train in 5h? is an interactive map which … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Maps, Public Transport | Tagged | 1 Comment

Towards Balance

Posted on August 4, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

I continue to be amazed by the spectactular land art created by the French mural artist known as Saype. He recently unveiled unveiled a new artwork in the Swiss Alps, near Villars-sur-Ollon, called “’Vers l’équilibre” (Towards balance) which depicts a … Continue reading →

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Marginal Medieval Memes

Posted on July 31, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

Even if you don’t geek out over illuminated manuscripts as much as I do, there’s a good chance that you will be entertained by the short video below. It’s likely that you’ve seen images from medieval manuscripts depicting both real … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Books, Europe, History, Libraries | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Smaller than a breadbox, bigger than a TV remote

Posted on July 30, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

Smaller than a breadbox, bigger than a TV remote, the average book fits into the human hand with a seductive nestling, a kiss of texture, whether of cover cloth, glazed jacket, or flexible paperback. – John Updike Today is international Paperback Book … Continue reading →

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