Category Archives: USA

To My Enemies

Posted on June 20, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

Watching the nonstop maddening show of U.S. politics and culture these days, I have been reminded of the poem “To My Enemies” by the under-appreciated American poet Bert Meyers. Meyers was born in Los Angeles on March 20, 1928. The son of … Continue reading →

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Freedom of the Press

Posted on June 5, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

Every day I seem to be reading another story about the erosion of press freedoms here in the United States and around the world. The insidious takeover of print and online news outlets by rightwing corporate capitalist enterprises is just … Continue reading →

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Whole lotta shaking going on

Posted on June 2, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

I don’t have a lot of personal experience with earthquakes. My area of North America is in a low to moderate risk zone. Although we did have a 2.30 quake in my town about 14 years ago. At the time, … Continue reading →

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“What is the purpose of all this?”

Posted on May 29, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

In the beginning, God created the earth, and he looked upon it in His cosmic loneliness. And God said, “Let Us make living creatures out of mud, so the mud can see what We have done.” And God created every … Continue reading →

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Dead Stars

Posted on May 28, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

DEAD STARS by Ada Limón Out here, there’s a bowing even the trees are doing. Winter’s icy hand at the back of all of us. Black bark, slick yellow leaves, a kind of stillness that feels so mute it’s almost … Continue reading →

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Browse, Borrow, Board

Posted on May 26, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

The U.S. city of Boston is making borrowing reading material on-the-go more accessible through a pilot program that will offer public transit users access digital content from books and periodicals to audiobooks and newspapers at 20 bus stops across the … Continue reading →

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What’s your sign

Posted on May 18, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

I have recently noticed a number of stories online suggesting that there is a resurgence in the popularity of astrology. While I do not want to wander into the quagmire of discussing  astrology, it’s interesting to note that the pseudo-science … Continue reading →

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Memories of Tomorrow

Posted on May 16, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

I’ve long been a fan of vintage travel posters and I especially enjoy the historic posters created to promote the U.S. National Parks. In 1934, the park service began to encourage  state and national park tourism by designing their own … Continue reading →

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Who the hell is Edgar ?

Posted on May 11, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

Here in the former Colonies we rarely pay any attention to the annual Eurovision music contest. However, this year the spirit of the iconic 19th century American author Edgar Allan Poe appears to be the inspiration for Austria’s entry in … Continue reading →

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Picturing Maps

Posted on May 10, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

I have long been intrigued by old school pictoral maps. The exmples above and below are from the  University of Michigan’s Clark Library Maps collection, each shows the United States through a different cultural lens, covering everything from literary giants … Continue reading →

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