Category Archives: USA

What’s Your WOTY

Posted on December 29, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Along with seemingly endless “best of lists of the year” we are also now being offered lots of options for the WOTY (word of the year). The English language seems to provide ample fodder these days with a wealth of … Continue reading →

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Magic persists without us

Posted on December 26, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

“the Egyptians loved the cat were entombed with it instead of with the women and never with the dog but now here good people with good eyes are very few yet fine cats with great style lounge about in the … Continue reading →

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So this is Christmas

Posted on December 25, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Game developer John C. Worsley, who previously used Star Trek: The Next Generation scenes to create Picard singing a Christmas carol to Q, has created an amusing mashup of the original series sounding out a Star Trek rendition of the John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band holiday song “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” using … Continue reading →

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“Merry Christmas From the Family”

Posted on December 24, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

My favorite local radio station has been playing this modern classic Christmas tune for the last three decades. It never feels like the holiday without Robert Earl Keene’s Merry Christmas from the Family. Folks outside of the U.S. may think that … Continue reading →

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Holiday Cheer

Posted on December 23, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Way back in 1993, the American Beat writer William S. Burroughs wrote and narrated a 21-minute claymation Christmas film which was produced by Francis Ford Coppola. And, as you can well imagine, it’s not your typical smarmy holiday flic. The … Continue reading →

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True Meaning of Christmas

Posted on December 20, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

A touching short film starring Willian Shatner on the true meaning of Christmas.  

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Bookstores are making a comeback in the U.S.

Posted on December 13, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

After more than a decade of bad news stories about the imminent demise of the American bookstore it seems that things are looking up for a change.  

Posted in Books, Bookstore Tourism, USA | Tagged , | 3 Comments

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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Good News For Flyers

Posted on December 10, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Under consumer protection rules that the U.S. Transportation Department announced earlier this year, airlines may owe travelers money back when services that passengers paid for go awry. Some of those rules went into effect October. Here’s what air travelers in … Continue reading →

Posted in Air Travel, Public Transport, Tourism, USA | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Canada for free

Posted on December 7, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

It’s been a very stressful time for most folks in the U.S., but our neighbors to the north in Canada might have a timely gift. Destination Canada, the nation’s tourism board, is offering the chance to experience the joy and … Continue reading →

Posted in Air Travel, Canada, Tourism, USA | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment