Category Archives: USA

dark as it is

Posted on April 4, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Thanks W.S. Merwin 1927-2019 Listen with the night falling we are saying thank you we are stopping on the bridges to bow from the railings we are running out of the glass rooms with our mouths full of food to … Continue reading →

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TGI Frida

Posted on April 3, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Faces of Frida is one of the most extensive curations on the iconic Mexican artist ever assembled and it’s available through the Google Arts and Culture app. Comprised of 800 Frida Kahlo paintings, artifacts, high-resolution images and features, it offers … Continue reading →

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Mondays are still miscellaneous

Posted on March 30, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

What a brilliant idea to promote local libraries. This is a tribute that the city of Vigo in Spain wanted to pay Jules Verne (on the occasion of the centenary of his death) for having mentioned this city in his … Continue reading →

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National Emergency Library

Posted on March 29, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

In this time of crisis. the Internet Archive has created a National Emergency Library to make reading and research materials available online for everyone. The official post below outlines the project and its offerings. To address our unprecedented global and immediate need … Continue reading →

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All is vanity

Posted on March 24, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

“Herman Melville” by W.H. Auden Towards the end he sailed into an extraordinary mildness, And anchored in his home and reached his wife And rode within the harbour of her hand, And went each morning to an office As though … Continue reading →

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Million Cat Caturday

Posted on March 21, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

“Millions of Cats” is a picture book written and illustrated by artist Wanda Gag in 1928. The book won a Newberry award in 1929 and is the oldest American picture book still in print.            

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Conquest of Mars

Posted on March 17, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Here is copy number 55 of the first edition of Edison’s Conquest of Mars by Garrett P. Serviss. There were only 1,500 copies in the first edition, and only 1,450 of those were offered for general distribution. Serviss, an astronomer, wrote Conquest in 1898; … Continue reading →

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Free Books (really)

Posted on March 13, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

h/t to Stanislav and Milen for the extensive links FAMOUS AUTHORS Classic Bookshelf: This site has put classic novels online, from Charles Dickens to Charlotte Bronte. The Online Books Page: The University of Pennsylvania hosts this book search and database. … Continue reading →

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We Are The People

Posted on March 10, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Iggy Pop’s video “We Are the People” is based on a poem written in 1970 by the late, great Lou Reed. Of the poem, Pop told the BBC last year, “My God, this is the country today as I understand … Continue reading →

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Ugliest Place I’ve Ever Seen

Posted on March 9, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

When designer Amber Share found that there were one-star reviews for all 62 of the U.S. National Parks she decided to illustrate and hand letter travel posters for them “as a way to put a positive, fun spin on such … Continue reading →

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