Category Archives: USA

You have to see this place

Posted on July 9, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Two years ago, former journalist David F. Gallagher launched a clever Kickstarter project that was recently completed and posted online. He solicited backers to designate a geographic location anywhere in the world by address or latitude/longitude and promised to send … Continue reading →

Posted in Photography, Tech, USA | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Misery of Manila Folders

Posted on July 8, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

DOLOR Theodore Roethke I have known the inexorable sadness of pencils, Neat in their boxes, dolor of pad and paper weight, All the misery of manilla folders and mucilage, Desolation in immaculate public places, Lonely reception room, lavatory, switchboard, The … Continue reading →

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Magical Mystery Tour

Posted on July 7, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Vanity Fair magazine commissioned the marvelous video below guaranteed to warm the heart of any Beatles fan. It’s a 12 minute tour around the world using Google Maps, highlighting locations mentioned in the Beatles lyrics, from Liverpool to the Black … Continue reading →

Posted in Air Travel, Asia, Europe, Film, Maps, Music, Photography, USA | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

An American Tale

Posted on July 6, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Jamaican-born author Claudia Rankine is the author of Citizen: An American Lyric. It was named one of the best books of the year in 2014 by numerous media outlets, including The New Yorker, The Atlantic, National Public Radio, and Publisher’s Weekly. The … Continue reading →

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How Books Have Helped

Posted on July 5, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Washington D.C. is blessed with an abundance of excellent bookstores. One of my favorites has long been the wonderful Second Story Books in the Dupont Circle neighborhood. Now they have partnered with the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress … Continue reading →

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A Declaration of Independence

Posted on July 4, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Back in 1971 the computer was barely understood by the average person and the concept of an ebook didn’t yet exist, but when Michael Stern Hart, a technologist and futurist, was given access to the Xerox Sigma V mainframe at the University … Continue reading →

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I ❤ NY

Posted on July 1, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

You may not have known his name, but there is no doubt you’ve seen his work. Milton Glaser, one of the world’s most influential and pioneering graphic designers, died on June 26th, which was also his 91st birthday. The design … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Museums, Tourism, Travel Writing, Uncategorized, USA | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The rockets came like locusts.

Posted on June 29, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Like many antiquarian book collectors, I tend to focus on old first editions and elaborately bound illustrated books. Doing so can result in overlooking wonderfully illustrated paperbacks and re-issues such as this terrific 1979 edition of Ray Bradbury’s science fiction … Continue reading →

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Italian Old Style

Posted on June 27, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Frederic Goudy’s Italian Old Style typeface as published in the Lanston Monotype Machine Company’s Italian Old Style, A New Type by Frederic W. Goudy, designed by the eminent American typographer and type and book designer Bruce Rogers and printed in Mount Vernon, N.Y., in a second edition … Continue reading →

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We are in this together

Posted on June 25, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Telluride is a small town nestled in heart of Colorado’s majestic San Juan Mountains. It’s also one of North America’s best ski resorts. I’ve only visited during the late spring, so I don’t know much about the winter sports scene, … Continue reading →

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