Category Archives: USA

When Dali Met Disney

Posted on November 3, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

Destino is an animated short film released in 2003 by Walt Disney Feature Animation. What makes this short animated film noteworthy is that its production originally began in 1945, 58 years before its eventual completion in 2003. The project was … Continue reading →

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Día de los Muertos in NYC

Posted on November 1, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

For countless generations the indigenous people of what is now the nation of Mexico  have celebrated Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. The exhuberant celebration of life and death occurs annually during the first two days of … Continue reading →

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The Tell-Tale Heart

Posted on October 31, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

What better time than Halloween for a story from America’s father of psychological horror. And what better example than The Tell-Tale Heart. Among the numerous of Poe adaptations for stage, screen and television, there are at least 20 versions of The … Continue reading →

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the world dies over and over again

Posted on October 30, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

 

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Just in time for Halloween

Posted on October 30, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

I have no intention of ever setting foot inside the Salem, Massachusetts Salem Witch Board Museum but this spooky little museum in the historic town seems like the perfect spot for Halloween. The attraction located in the town that’s famous … Continue reading →

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Stare hard enough at the fabric of night

Posted on October 28, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

FIELD OF SKULLS Mary Karr Stare hard enough at the fabric of night, and if you’re predisposed to dark—let’s say the window you’ve picked is a black postage stamp you spend hours at, sleepless, drinking gin after the I Love Lucy reruns … Continue reading →

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Moving Light

Posted on October 24, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

Many years ago when I was writing a travel guide for Washington D.C., I discovered that one of its least visited sites was also one of its most beautiful. Overlooking the nation’s capital, the Washington National Cathedral is one of … Continue reading →

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Don’t Judge This Book By Its Covers

Posted on October 22, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

I’ve been looking forward to Dave Eggers’ follow-up to his best-selling tech novel The Circle and now its been released with an added surprise. His new book , The Every , is a sequel to his previous novel which skewered … Continue reading →

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Graphic Lessons on the Twentieth Century

Posted on October 20, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

When Dr. Timothy Snyder’s powerful book  On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century was published in 2017, I was a vocal evangelist for the book and its message. Now, the Yale history professor has released an updated and illustrated … Continue reading →

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The Great American Novel ?

Posted on October 19, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

During this week in 1851, Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick was first published as The Whale in three volumes by Richard Bentley in London. Almost one month later in November, the first American edition was published in New York by Harper & Brothers. Although many think of … Continue reading →

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