Category Archives: USA

The Very Definition of Irony

Posted on August 26, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

  Even if you do not live in North America you are probably aware that the United States has been experiencing a wave of book bannings and attempts by a vocal neo-Fascist Christian Nationalist minority to censor both library books … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Freedom of Speech, History, Libraries, USA, Writing | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Swimmer

Posted on August 20, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

I’ve just returned from a short road trip that took me to barrier island towns on the Atlantic coast from Delaware to Virginia. While I was staying in the lovely town of Fenwick Island in Delaware, I noticed the same … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Tourism, USA | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Meaning is a shaky edifice

Posted on August 19, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

Salman Rushdie // “But human beings do not perceive things whole; we are not gods but wounded creatures, cracked lenses, capable only of fractured perceptions. Partial beings, in all the senses of that phrase. Meaning is a shaky edifice we … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, USA, Writing | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Bookstore Tourism: Secret Bookshop Brooklyn

Posted on August 18, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

Hidden within an iconic New York City bodega in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint neighborhood you can find the newly launched Burnt Books. No secret passwords or handshakes are required to browse their stock of secondhand and collectible books; you just need find … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Bookstore Tourism, Tourism, USA | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A Night at the Garden

Posted on August 16, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

As we face an existential crisis which challenges whether the United States will remain a democracy or sink into a cesspit of neo-Fascist, Christian White Nationalist repression, it is worth remembering our history and examining how close we came in … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Film, History, USA | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Parable of the Blind

Posted on August 12, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

“The Parable of the Blind” by William Carlos Williams This horrible but superb painting the parable of the blind without a red in the composition shows a group of beggars leading each other diagonally downward across the canvas from one … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, USA, Writing | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Sunday Funnies

Posted on August 7, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

 

Posted in Animation, Art, Books, Tourism, USA | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

“Ten percent of what I write is immortal”

Posted on August 6, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

You Never Had It – An Evening with Bukowski is a documentary from director Matteo Borgardt that transports you back to January 1981 for an intimate evening conversation with legendary writer and poet Charles Bukowski at his San Pedro home. … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Film, USA, Writing | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Death and Mayhem in National Parks

Posted on August 3, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

Over recent months, it seems that there has been a story about tourists in Yellowstone National Park being gored by bison, mauled by bears, bitten by wolves, or scalded by steaming pools every week. In most cases the deaths and … Continue reading →

Posted in Maps, Tourism, Uncategorized, USA | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

A Summer Reading List You Can Trust

Posted on July 28, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

President Barack Obama has released his annual summer reading list. On Facebook, he wrote, “I’ve read his summer reading list. “I’ve read a couple of great books this year and wanted to share some of my favorites so far. What have … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, USA, Writing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment