Category Archives: Middle East

The Art of the News

Posted on January 1, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

San Francisco artist Johnny Selman has created a challenging internet project, BBCX365, which aims to bridge the enormous knowledge gap between Americans and international news. Each day he designs a new and compelling poster based on a BBC headline. Once … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Asia, Europe, Middle East, South America | Tagged | Leave a comment

Books Not Bombs

Posted on September 5, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

The mission of Operation Medical Libraries is to collect and distribute current medical textbooks and journals to war-torn countries through partnerships with American medical schools, hospitals, physicians, dentists, medical professionals and the US military. Almost all medical professionals in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Asia, Books, Libraries, Middle East | Leave a comment

No Fatwas Please

Posted on September 4, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

Los Angeles artist Sandow Birk’s expansive multi-media projects and murals have dealt with contemporary issues of urban angst, war, prisons and politics, but his new “American Qur’an” project challenges his audience in new and dangerous ways. In this courageous work, … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Books, Freedom of Speech, Middle East | Tagged | 1 Comment

Historic Jaffa-Tel Aviv

Posted on August 11, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

Post and photograph by Annie MacDougall   Built in 1892 to serve as the terminus of the Jerusalem-Jaffa Railway,Tel Aviv-Jaffa’s old train station has been renovated into a stylish complex that houses shops, restaurants, arts shows & classes, two weekly … Continue reading →

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How Kafkaesque

Posted on July 22, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

Franz Kafka instructed that all his manuscripts were to be burned after his death, but his friend Max Brod chose to disregarded the request, setting-up a complicated legal tussle over thousands of pages of manuscripts that has the literary world in a … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Europe, History, Middle East, Writing | Tagged , | 1 Comment

The Atlas Obscura…don’t get lost there

Posted on July 6, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

 Welcome to the Atlas Obscura, a compendium of this age’s wonders, curiosities, and esoterica. The Atlas Obscura is a collaborative project with the goal of cataloging all of the singular, eccentric, bizarre, fantastical, and strange out-of-the-way places that get left … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Asia, Books, Canada, Europe, History, Middle East, Tourism, Travel Writing | Tagged | 1 Comment

A World Mapped By Stories

Posted on June 5, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

Controversial author Salman Rushdie spent a decade in hiding after his novel The Satanic Verses resulted in a deadly fatwa from Iranian dictator Khomeini. Now the Indian born novelist is the focus of an extraordinary public multi-media exhibition entitled “A … Continue reading →

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Eyeless (and lawless) In Gaza

Posted on June 3, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

“…Promise was that I Should Israel from Philistian yoke deliver; Ask for this great deliverer now and find him Eyeless in Gaza at the Mill with slaves…”                                                                                                    John Milton, Samson Agonistes The unrelentingly bleak news from the Middle … Continue reading →

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