Category Archives: Europe

San Francisco Stories

Posted on April 10, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

I recently shared a post about Short Edition free story vending machines coming to Philadelphia. Now, it seems the concept has already reached San Francisco and the Café Zoetrope, which is owned by the director Francis Ford Coppola. Take a … Continue reading →

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Automat Art

Posted on April 6, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

Instead of cigarettes, these old mechanical vending machines in the Netherlands now dispense one of a kind, handmade artworks. Each Pakje Kunst. or pack of art, costs just €4 and supports local artists and art programs. The two year old project, which was … Continue reading →

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Frankenstein Deluxe

Posted on April 4, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

To commemorate the bicentennial of the publication of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein  this year, Les Éditions des Saints Pères in Paris has published a limited edition, deluxe facsimile of the original manuscript in the author’s own handwriting. “Frankenstein is a canon in the history of … Continue reading →

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Springtime in Paris

Posted on March 31, 2018 by Brian D. Butler
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Dublin in the Drizzle

Posted on March 28, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

The 2018 winner of the Hennessy New Irish Writer of the Year award is Manus Boyle Tobin. His short story “Drizzle on the Windscreen” is a single sentence narrative about a homeless Dublin taxi driver. Tobin has said that his … Continue reading →

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Philadelphia Stories

Posted on March 27, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

About three years ago I did a post on the introduction of Short Édition short story dispensing machines in France. These brilliant kiosks provide users with one, three, or five minute reads on slim receipt-like paper strips for free. Last week, the Free … Continue reading →

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Drolatic Dreams of Pantagruel

Posted on March 26, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

The Drolatic Dreams of Pantagruel (Les songes drolatiques de Panatgruel) is a bizarre, Brueghel-esque volume of humorous and grotesque woodcuts published in Paris in 1565. Based on the satirical Life of Gargantua and of Pantagruel by François Rabelais, the book … Continue reading →

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Paper Matters

Posted on March 24, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

Many years ago, I tried my hand at paper making. I think that I still have files of homemade paper stashed away somewhere. I wasn’t very good at papermaking, but I developed a real appreciation for the skill involved in … Continue reading →

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Copenhagen Now Has A Parkipelago

Posted on March 23, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

CPH-Ø1 is a 215 square-foot handmade floating platform with a tree planted in the center. The min-island represents the first piece in a new project from local design studio Fokstrot. The “Parkipelago” is an innovative concept in public spaces coming to Copenhagen’s inner … Continue reading →

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Death Before Decaf

Posted on March 15, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

As a life-long coffee addict and devoted aficianado, I was thrilled to get turned-on to a periodical that is “about coffee, the people who drink it, and the cities they inhabit.” Drift magazine is all about the joys of wandering great cities, … Continue reading →

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