Category Archives: Restaurants

A Never Ending Read

Posted on December 18, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Did you know that there’s a book no one will ever be able to finish reading in their lifetime, and it only has 10 pages? In 1960, the French writer Raymond Queneau introduced what is probably the world’s longest book. … Continue reading →

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God Bless Us, Everyone

Posted on December 17, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

On this date in 1843, Charles Dickens published A Christmas Carol. Dickens wrote the novel after his first commercial failure. His previous novel, Martin Chuzzlewit had flopped, and he was suddenly strapped for cash. Martin Chuzzlewit had been satirical and pessimistic, and Dickens … Continue reading →

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A Wonderland for Christmas

Posted on December 16, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Just in time for Christmas, the NYRB Kids imprint has published a new edition of Lewis Carroll’s classic Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland illustrated by the Finnish author and artist Tove Jansson. Jansson is most famous for her Moomin books, which remain … Continue reading →

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I hang on the edge of this universe

Posted on December 12, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

I hang on the edge of this universe singing off-key talking too loud embracing myself to cushion the fall I shall tumble into deep space never in this form or with this feeling to return to earth It is not … Continue reading →

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All day the stars watch from long ago

Posted on December 8, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

 

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A Farewell to Arms (copyright)

Posted on December 6, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

It’s that wonderful time of the year when we anticipate all of the amazing works of art and literature that will lose their copyright protections. So, if you’ve been hankering to write that sequel to A Farewell to Arms or paint your … Continue reading →

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Today is a fog bank in which I am hiding.

Posted on December 5, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

PENTATINA FOR FIVE VOWELS Campbell McGrath Today is a trumpet to set the hounds baying. The past is a fox the hunters are flaying. Nothing unspoken goes without saying. Love’s a casino where lovers risk playing. The future’s a marker … Continue reading →

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End of an Era

Posted on December 3, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

If you have traveled in Italy during this century, it’s likely that you have enjoyed an invigorating little cup of espresso at the bargain price of €1. Sadly, Italy’s beloved inexpensive espresso, a cultural icon served at bars across the … Continue reading →

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“For every five people who read this book four will go insane.”

Posted on December 2, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Charles Fort’s Book of the Damned: “For every five people who read this book“, wrote novelist/playwright Ben Hecht, “four will go insane”. If you are feeling courageous, the book is available for free right here. In 2020, Stéphanie Colaux discovered an … Continue reading →

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Books break the shackles of time.

Posted on November 29, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

The video below is an excerpt from the 11th episode of Carl Sagan’s iconic 1980s Cosmos series, titled “The Persistence of Memory.” What an astonishing thing a book is. It’s a flat object made from a tree with flexible parts … Continue reading →

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