Category Archives: USA

September Song (hot, hot, hot)

Posted on September 8, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

Here in North America meteorological Fall started on September 1st. But if you live here and have been paying attention, you may have noticed that the usual cooling after the Summer season has been arriving late. That’s because the Autumn … Continue reading →

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The First Day

Posted on September 5, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

“On an otherwise unremarkable September morning, long before I learned to be ashamed of my mother, she takes my hand and we set off down New Jersey Avenue to begin my very first day of school.” –“The First Day” from Lost … Continue reading →

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“It takes a train to cry”

Posted on September 3, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

  Although I reside in the Philadelphia metro area, I frequently use the New Jersey Transit system to travel to New York City. When it works smoothly, the trip is quick, convenient and relatively inexpensive compared to Amtrak. However, NJTransit … Continue reading →

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Where in the world is the Republiko of Zendia

Posted on August 7, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

How do you find a republic that never existed ? During the 1950s Cold War, U.S Army cryptologist Lambros D. Callimahos created the mythical  “Republiko of Zendia” to use in wargaming for U.S. military intelligence codebreakers simulating the invasion of … Continue reading →

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Oh Summer’s Day

Posted on August 4, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

Emily Dickinson, “The Bee is not afraid of me”  

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Landlord’s Game

Posted on July 29, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

In 1904, Elizabeth Magie patented “The Landlord’s Game” the original version of what we now know as Monopoly. Her goal wasn’t entertainment. It was education. Magie designed the game to highlight the dangers of wealth inequality and unchecked capitalism, showing … Continue reading →

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The house was quiet and the world was calm

Posted on July 25, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

The House Was Quiet and The World Was Calm By Wallace Stevens The house was quiet and the world was calm. The reader became the book; and summer night Was like the conscious being of the book. The house was quiet … Continue reading →

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Bookshop.org’s 100 Bestselling Books of 2025 (So Far)

Posted on July 14, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

The online bookseller bookshop.org recently released a list of their bestselling books of the year (so far). The list is quite a bit different than what you might see from larger booksellers and looks more like what your local bookstore … Continue reading →

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Reading machine

Posted on July 6, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

Many, many years ago, I lived in the university town of  Gainesville, Florida. One of the many limitations of the small city was its not so great transportation services, including a sorry little airport. But now the Alachua County Regional … Continue reading →

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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