Category Archives: Maps

Take the Night Train

Posted on December 17, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

On December 11th at 8.18pm the night train to Paris left Berlin Hauptbahnhof. This was remarkable because it was the first Berlin-Paris night train in over 9 years. The new Nightjet service between the German and French capitals is more evidence … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, History, Maps, Public Transport, Tourism, Travel Writing | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Where comedy meets geography

Posted on December 5, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

It’s always a treat when two of one’s interests intersect. In my case, I’m a huge comedy fan and a big old geography nerd. So I was happy to recently discover that Geographical magazine has a profile of the Map Men—that is, … Continue reading →

Posted in Maps, Public Transport, Tech, Travel Writing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Thank a pirate for guacamole

Posted on December 4, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

Born in England in 1651, William Dampier embarked on a life of piracy in 1679 in Mexico’s Bay of Campeche after a number of unsuccessful early jobs. He changed his fortunes by joining the rapidly growing field of high seas … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Europe, History, Maps, Restaurants, South America, Tourism, Travel Writing | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Information Is Beautiful

Posted on November 26, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

I am a sucker for infographics. Show me a cleverly designed graphic on any subject whatsoever and I’m in. So of course the Information is beautiful awards 2023 website sent me down an deep, deep rabbit hole. The Information Is Beautiful Awards … Continue reading →

Posted in apps, Art, Maps, Museums, Public Transport, Tech | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Maps: A Stranger Quest

Posted on November 16, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

Regular visitors to TBTP are well aware of my life-long fascination with maps, globes, and all things cartographic. So it won’t be surprising to find that I am excited to learn that Italian filmmaker Andrea Gatopoulos has made a documentary … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Maps, USA | Tagged | Leave a comment

omnium-gatherum

Posted on November 11, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

Using survey data, responses from community boards & city council members, and over 37,000 responses from NYC residents, a team at the NY Times has made a detailed map of the 350+ distinct neighborhoods in NYC. This map shows the 50 … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Asia, Books, Maps | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Everybody Has A Podcast

Posted on November 6, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

Maps.fm is a clever project that lets you use a world map to select podcast episodes that are about or related to a specific location on the map. Want to instantly be able to access every single podcast ever recorded … Continue reading →

Posted in apps, Maps, Tech | Tagged , | 1 Comment

What do you call a book nerd ?

Posted on October 23, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

Book lovers the world over have their own special nicknames. In English speaking countries, folks who are especially fond of reading are of often called “bookworms”.  The term bookworm comes from the holes in printed materials caused by larvae of … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Europe, Maps, Writing | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Neighborly

Posted on October 21, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

Can you name the eight countries which border Turkey ? If you can then you should head straight over to Neighborle. Each day on Neighborle you are shown a different country on an interactive map. Your daily challenge is to … Continue reading →

Posted in apps, Maps, Tech | Tagged , | 1 Comment

“I’ve been everywhere, man”

Posted on September 26, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

I was recently killing time in an airport waiting for a flight and spent a fun time trading travel recommendations with another flyer. We had both seen lots of fabulous places, but neither one of us could compete with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Animation, apps, Maps, Music, USA | Tagged | Leave a comment