Category Archives: Tourism

Baggage

Posted on July 11, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

Baggage is a short, stop-animation film by Lucy Davidson about the sometimes complicated experience of being seen — when going through airport security. As a recent student of Aardman Academy, which is operated by its Academy Award-winning namesake animation studio, Davidson tapped into … Continue reading →

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Wish You Were Here

Posted on July 10, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

I recently discovered the dubious concept of Beforehand Postcards. The conceit behind Beforehand Postcards was that, if you were going on vacation to Europe, you could buy your postcards from them beforehand. Then you could address the cards, and maybe even write … Continue reading →

Posted in Air Travel, Europe, Tourism | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Il caffè fa girare il mondo

Posted on July 5, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

You can visit coffee shops in different places around the world in this video. A coffee drink is ordered in nine countries, and we get to watch it through the customer’s POV. Each coffee drink is captioned, indicating its name … Continue reading →

Posted in Asia, Film, Restaurants, Tourism, USA | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Kyoto Retreat

Posted on June 29, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

During my all too brief week in Kyoto, I was unable to visit one of the city’s best kept secrets due to scheduling conflicts. If find yourself in the old imperial capital and you want to escape the frenetic pace … Continue reading →

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Incomprehensible

Posted on June 7, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

Over the years I have had the opportunity to visit the UK many times and on every trip I find myself baffled by the overwhelming variety of accents and dialects. Patrick Foote of Name Explain investigated why the UK, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, History, Maps, Tourism | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Apologies in advance

Posted on June 6, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

Apologies in advance for what may be a flurry of random posts about my recent experiences while traveling in Japan. I had so many wonderful experiences and also moments of recognition involving random things that I stumbled upon. In that … Continue reading →

Posted in Asia, Books, History, Tech, Tourism, Writing | 1 Comment

A Tale of Two Cities

Posted on June 3, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

I have always been intrigued by the many cities within cities in Europe that hide traces of their early Roman incarnations. Over the years when I’ve visited London I have sought out those barely hidden remnants of ancient Londinium . … Continue reading →

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Dickensian Celebration

Posted on June 2, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

To celebrate the exact 155th anniversary of Charles Dickens‘s death and the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Charles Dickens Museum in London, the museum will be free of charge to all visitors on June 9 when it will … Continue reading →

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Minding Your Manners

Posted on June 1, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

I’ve just returned from an amazing three-week trip to Japan and was delighted and overwhelmed by so much that I encountered, including the fabulous graphic design work everywhere. Passing through Kyoto Station I spotted a clever ad campaign while heading … Continue reading →

Posted in Animation, Art, Asia, Public Transport, Tourism | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

I can’t believe that NYC is #17

Posted on May 30, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

To paraphrase Tolstoy’s famous opening line: All happy cities are alike; each unhappy city is unhappy in its own way. Maybe that’s too clunky a way to introduce the 2025 Happy City Index, but I’m seriously jetlagged so it will … Continue reading →

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