Category Archives: History

Brando Blanked Kerouac

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

In 1957, Jack Kerouac wrote to Marlon Brando begging him to buy the film rights to his novel On the Road and to turn it into a movie. Kerouac pitched the idea that Brando could play Dean Moriarty and that … Continue reading →

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Painting by Numbers

Posted on January 6, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

The always enjoyable London Transport Museum at Covent Garden is debuting a very cool new exhibition in its main gallery today called “Painting by Numbers”. The show features vintage versions of the au courant interweb fad—infographics. The historic versions of … Continue reading →

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The Art of Travel

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

The Boston Public Library Print Department is home to a marvelous, though little visited, collection of more than 350 vintage travel posters from the “Golden Age of Travel”, the 1920s through 1940s. Rail travel had opened up all of North … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Art, Asia, Europe, History, Middle East, South America, Tourism, Travel Writing, USA | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Goodbye 2011

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

“Don’t be trapped by dogma…Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own voice.”

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Winter Dreams

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

F. Scott Fitzgerald died 71 years ago yesterday of a massive heartattack. He was just 44 years old. This brilliant documentary, F. Scott Fitzgerald: Winter Dreams, was produced for the PBS series American Masters. The inventive film has no traditional … Continue reading →

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We Remember

Posted on December 21, 2011 by Brian D. Butler
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Homage to George Whitman

Posted on December 17, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

Way back in 2005, the Sundance Channel aired Portrait of a Bookstore as an Old Man, a documentary that pays homage to George Whitman, the American founder of the most famous independent bookstore in Paris, Shakespeare and Company. Whitman died … Continue reading →

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Pssst…French Books

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

  The Grolier Club of New York City has fostered interest in, and support for, book arts for more than 125 years. It also offers regular exhibitions, displays, lectures and publications on publishing, printing, libraries, book art and the book … Continue reading →

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eBook Treasures

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

Bibliophiles will be dead chuffed to discover eBook Treasures a new way to view (and own) rare books. The UK-based organization has partnered with the British Library, the Royal Society, the John Rylands Library and the British Natural History Museum … Continue reading →

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Sinking Buddha

Posted on December 3, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

While attention has been focused on the recent flooding in and around Bangkok, an endangered UNESCO World Heritage site has been overlooked: the ancient Thai temples of Ayutthaya Historical Park, which have survived centuries of severe tropical weather, have been … Continue reading →

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