Category Archives: Uncategorized

London time travel

Posted on March 17, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

Sometimes web surfing serendipity ticks all of the boxes. Regular readers are au fait with my life-long love of cartography, my near obsession with historic travel guides, and my background as an erstwhile history teacher, so you won’t be too … Continue reading →

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How Fascism Came to America

Posted on January 21, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

I have heard from some TBTP followers outside of North America who are baffled by the new status quo in the United States. The video and synopsis below go a long way in explaining the morass that we now find … Continue reading →

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Not your usual guidebook for NYC

Posted on November 28, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Filmmaker and social media maven Nicolas Heller, also known as New York Nico, boasts more than a million people followers on his eponymous Instagram account where he chronicles the characters of New York City. Heller platforms ordinary New Yorkers along … Continue reading →

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Leaves have ripened to the fall

Posted on October 8, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

               “October” by Robert Frost O hushed October morning mild, Thy leaves have ripened to the fall; Tomorrow’s wind, if it be wild, Should waste them all. The crows above the forest call; Tomorrow … Continue reading →

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Appetite For Solitude

Posted on September 16, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

    Martin Amis, 14 Rules for writers (2009)  

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‘Many try to take us down, but we fight back.’

Posted on September 14, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

A big tip of the hat to TBTP loyal follower Will G. from the UK for reminding me about the project called Anna’s Archive. This literary anarchist site keeps popping back up even when entire nations try to drive a metaphorical stake … Continue reading →

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To Be Hopeful

Posted on July 28, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

                            To Be Hopeful “To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history … Continue reading →

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‘Like all hotel rooms, this one’s asking you / to cry’

Posted on July 22, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

The Gotham Hotel by K. Iver   has twenty-five floors. Its letters hum to pedestrians in large metal serif. From Floor 19, you can see offices across the street, suits dimming their desk lamps. Like all hotel rooms, this one’s … Continue reading →

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That Girl

Posted on July 10, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Like many art lovers, I am a sucker for Vermeer’s wonderful paintings. And, of course, I am fascinated by the mysterious “Girl with the Pearl Earring.” Whenever I am in the Netherlands, I make time to visit the underappreciated Mauritshuis … Continue reading →

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Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old

Posted on July 3, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Franz Kafka, born on this day in 1883. “You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait, be quiet still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself … Continue reading →

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