Category Archives: Tech

How is a book like a spoon ?

Posted on January 3, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

I was recently asked by a TBTP subscriber why I never posted any stories about e-books or e-readers. My flippant response was to share the quote (above) from the late, great author/philosopher/bibliophile Umberto Eco from his book This Is Not the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, ebooks, Tech, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Paradox of Liberty

Posted on November 26, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

The National Museum of African American History and Culture first opened its doors in 2016. Now, the Smithsonian institution on the National Mall in Washington, DC, is bringing its exhibits to life online, making them accessible to audiences worldwide. Launched … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, History, Libraries, Museums, Photography, Tech, USA | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Actual Reality Without Silly Headsets

Posted on November 15, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

I love all things Iceland, including the country’s always clever tourism campaigns. The newest one satirically trolls Facebook’s recent name change to Meta and its VR-fueled metaverse dreams. “Introducing the Icelandverse” is a new campaign from Inspired by Iceland that … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Film, Tech, Tourism | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Don’t Judge This Book By Its Covers

Posted on October 22, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

I’ve been looking forward to Dave Eggers’ follow-up to his best-selling tech novel The Circle and now its been released with an added surprise. His new book , The Every , is a sequel to his previous novel which skewered … Continue reading →

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I would prefer not to

Posted on October 14, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

Writer Clive Thompson has created and shared a new online tool allows you to visualize any piece of writing by stripping away everything but its punctuation. His free web tool—”just the punctuation”—allows you can paste in any piece of text … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Tech, Writing | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Primary Source

Posted on July 16, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

It’s now possible to read one of the oldest books of English literature in the world  online.The Exeter Book is a 1oth century anthology of poetry in Old English and one of  only four manuscript books containing virtually all the English … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, ebooks, Europe, History, Libraries, Tech, Writing | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Strolling Cities

Posted on June 14, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

Strolling Cities is a trippy project by Italian artist, designer and researcher, Mauro Martino,  that uses AI to generate visual poetry. The AI model trained with millions of photos of nine Italian cities (Milan, Como, Bergamo, Venice, Genoa, Rome, Catania, … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Public Transport, Tech, Tourism | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Waterman Butterfly, Hobo-Dyer, or Goode Homolosine

Posted on May 16, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

I nearly did a Master’s degree in Geography, but the constant battles over map projections put me off. This clever video by Randall Munroe helps to explain some of the most popular options. You don’t have to be a map … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Animation, Asia, Europe, Maps, Middle East, South America, Tech | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Ghost Words

Posted on April 20, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

What does palimpsest mean? 1 : writing material (such as a parchment or tablet) used one or more times after earlier writing has been erased. 2 : something having usually diverse layers or aspects apparent beneath the surface.   One … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Asia, Books, Europe, History, Libraries, Middle East, Museums, Tech, Writing | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Saving Traditional Techniques

Posted on April 19, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

I first became enamored with traditional Japanese printmaking many years ago when I saw a show at Amsterdam’s Rijksmusem on Van Gogh’s personal collection of prints. The collection is now housed at the Van Gogh Museum. There are many steps … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Asia, Film, Museums, Tech | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments