Category Archives: Europe

No Losers In This War

Posted on December 28, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

In 1981 the Spanish town of Ibi revived the 200 year-old tradition of the Els Enfarinats Festival. On December 28th each year a mock war takes place around the town hall. A group of local married men, called “els Enfarinats,” … Continue reading →

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Chanukah Lights

Posted on December 26, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

In the holiday spirit, here’s the pop-up book Chanukah Lights, published by Candlewick Press in 2011, with a text by Michael J. Rosen, illustration and paper engineering by Robert Sabuda, and additional design work by Simon Arizpe and Shelby Arnold, explores the eight day Jewish “festival of … Continue reading →

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je me souviens

Posted on December 21, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

 

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Nothing Happens (for a reason)

Posted on December 18, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

This captivating 11-minute film by Michelle and Uri Kranot is a mysterious, melancholy animation in which a diverse group of people slowly gather in a snow-laden field in Denmark. Nothing really happens in Nothing Happens and that’s kind of refreshing.

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No Need To Fly

Posted on December 17, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Europeans seem to be taking the lead in the creation of new travel paradigms. In Germany, DB, the German Railway Operator, has taken advantage of new attitudes towards responsible travel by promoting their discounted train tickets. Still, 72% of Germans … Continue reading →

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The 17th Century Kindle

Posted on December 16, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

In 1617. William Hakewill commissioned a traveling library to give as a gift to a friend. The Jacobean miniature mobile library consisted of fifty gold-tooled vellum-bound miniature books contained in a wooden case that resembled a large folio. Inside there were … Continue reading →

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Charles Dickens and the Marketing of Christmas

Posted on December 13, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Charles Dickens and his iconic story A Christmas Carol have become synonymous with Christmas celebrations, however a special holiday exhibition at  the Charles Dickens Museum in London demonstrates that his connection to the holiday season is not all candy canes … Continue reading →

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Home For Christmas

Posted on December 12, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Last weekend, the UK-based artist(s) known as Banksy stenciled a moving holiday themed artwork on a wall in Birmingham, UK. The piece, and accompanying video, were designed to highlight the homelessness crisis in the city. Of course, the mural was … Continue reading →

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Paris: 66 Million BC

Posted on December 11, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

I know the big name dinosaurs—Tyrannosaurus, Allosaurus, Velociraptor, etc.—but that’s about the extent of my grasp of Dinosauria. However, my nephew Cameron is a budding paleontologist at the age of two (yes, 2) and he constantly schools me on the … Continue reading →

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Mark Twain Travel Writer

Posted on December 10, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

When we think about the great 19th century American writer Mark Twain, his lauded Mississippi River novels usually come to mind. However, it was the 1869 travel book The Innocents Abroad, or The New Pilgrim’s Progress  which first brought him prominence. … Continue reading →

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