Category Archives: Uncategorized

How They Do That

Posted on August 8, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Do you ever pass some amazing street art and wonder how it was created? Well, even if you never thought about it, here are some examples of amazing street art that has been popping-up around the globe in recent months. … Continue reading →

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Better Than a Pub Crawl

Posted on July 16, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Yesterday bibliophile bikers inaugurated Chicago’s first annual Bookstore Bike Crawl and Art Show. The participants pedaled from Powell’s Bookstore North to Bookworks Used and Rare Books, on to Unabridged Bookstore in Lakeview, then to Open Books (Chicago’s nonprofit bookstore) and … Continue reading →

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Silk Purse from Sow’s Ear

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

The International Interior Design Association has selected the McAllen, Texas Public Library as the winner of the 2012 Library Interior Design Award. The enlightened city of McAllen, with the help of Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle, Ltd., transformed an abandoned Wal-Mart … Continue reading →

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Ten Most Read Books in the World

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

British business writer James Chapman compiled a list of the Top 10 Most Read Books in the World based on the number of copies of each title sold during the last 50 years. Utilizing Chapman’s list, Chicago designer Jared Fanning … Continue reading →

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Hemingway Hotels ?

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

It seems that the entrepreneurial minions who manage Ernest Hemingway’s estate have entered into an agreement with developers to build a chain of Hemingway -themed hotels across the world.The notion is that the “Hemingway’s lifestyle” is a lifestyle worth emulating, or … Continue reading →

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Strike

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

On Strike: Today we are joining in solidarity with the workers, students and unemployed around the world in a global general strike. No work, no banking, no business, no commerce for me. If you can’t join the strike, you can … Continue reading →

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Koninginnedag (finally)

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Every April 30th, the citizens of the Netherlands celebrate Koninginnedag or Queen’s Day, a national holiday that commemorates the reigning Queen’s birthday. Like Mardi Gras in New Orleans, New Year’s Eve in Times Square, St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin and … Continue reading →

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A Valentine’s Day Kiss

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

As today is Valentine’s Day , I thought it would be an appropriate time to bring you the story of Auguste Rodin’s erotically charged masterpiece, The Kiss. The video below from the Tate museums,  explains how The Kiss was originally … Continue reading →

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Get Lost In Some Good Books

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Way back in 2011 we shared a story on the book sculptures and installations of the Slovakian-born artist Matej Krén. Now the enormous stacked book assemblege that he calls “Idiom” has found a permanent home in the Prague Municipal Library … Continue reading →

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Goodbye 2011

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

“Don’t be trapped by dogma…Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own voice.”

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