Baltic Connections

Posted on September 28, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

While I was researching an upcoming trip in the Baltic nations, I stumbled on this interesting graphic which describes an exciting rail project in the region.

The Rail Baltica project is set to finally integrate the Baltics into the European rail network and create a modern, high-speed rail link through Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, with connections to Poland and potentially Finland. The network will enable high-speed trains to run up to four times a day from Tallinn to Warsaw. Beyond its economic benefits, the rail link could also reshape regional population dynamics. Remarkably, 7 million people will live within a 25 km band of the railway’s route.

  • Starts in Tallinn (Estonia).
  • Passes through Parnu (Estonia), Riga (Latvia), Panevėžys and Kaunas (Lithuania).
  • Continues to the Polish border and links to Warsaw.
  • There’s also a planned branch to Vilnius (Lithuania’s capital) and Helsinki in Finland. 
  • Designed for speeds up to 249 km/h (155 mph) for passengers, and about 120 km/h for freight.
  • Fully electrified, double-track, and compliant with EU rail standards (ERTMS signaling, interoperability, etc.).
  • Total length: about 870 km.
  • Transport integration: Connects the Baltics more tightly to the rest of Europe.
  • Economic development: Boosts trade, tourism, and mobility.
  • Security and independence: Reduces reliance on transport links through Russia and Belarus.
  • Green transition: Offers a more sustainable alternative to cars, trucks, and short-haul flights.
  • Construction began in phases (earthworks, bridges, and station projects).
  • Full operation is currently expected around 2030 (after several delays).
  • Some sections may open earlier for testing or partial use.
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More Fun With Maps

Posted on September 26, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

Did you know this? The city of St. John’s, in Newfoundland and Labrador (Canada), holds an impressive geographical curiosity: despite being in the same country as Vancouver, in the far west, St. John’s is closer to places like Finland, the Sahara Desert, and even Brazil than to Vancouver itself!
This is because St. John’s is located at the easternmost tip of North America, almost “looking” directly at Europe and the South Atlantic. Vancouver, on the Pacific coast, is thousands of kilometers away—practically on the other side of the continent.
It’s a perfect example of how geography can surprise: even within the same country, distances can be so great that they end up bringing cities on other continents closer together. 🌎
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“ A Thousand Kisses Deep”

Posted on September 25, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

“We don’t write the play, we don’t produce it, we don’t direct it , and we are not even actors in it. Everybody eventually comes to the conclusion that things are not unfolding exactly the way they wanted, and that the whole enterprise has a basis that you can’t penetrate. Nevertheless, you live your life as if it is real. But with the understanding, it is only a thousand kisses deep, that is , with that deep intuitive understanding that this is unfolding according to a pattern that you simply cannot discern” – Leonard Cohen

The ponies run, the girls are young,
The odds are there to beat.
You win a while, and then it’s done –
Your little winning streak.
And summoned now to deal
With your invincible defeat,
You live your life as if it’s real,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.

I’m turning tricks, I’m getting fixed,
I’m back on Boogie Street.
You lose your grip, and then you slip
Into the Masterpiece.
And maybe I had miles to drive,
And promises to keep:
You ditch it all to stay alive,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.

And sometimes when the night is slow,
The wretched and the meek,
We gather up our hearts and go,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.

Confined to sex, we pressed against
The limits of the sea:
I saw there were no oceans left
For scavengers like me.
I made it to the forward deck
I blessed our remnant fleet –
And then consented to be wrecked,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.

I’m turning tricks, I’m getting fixed,
I’m back on Boogie Street.
I guess they won’t exchange the gifts
That you were meant to keep.
And quiet is the thought of you
The file on you complete,
Except what we forgot to do,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.

And sometimes when the night is slow,
The wretched and the meek,
We gather up our hearts and go,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.

 

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Take the train

Posted on September 24, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

I really enjoyed playing with the new website Chrono Trains .  Plug in any train station in Europe and this website will show you exactly how far you can travel on the continent’s rail networks within a set period of time. Useful for those of you looking to see how easy it will be to skedaddle using environmentally-friendly means, or, if you’re just looking to plan a travel itinerary. And it gives you links to buy tickets for the journeys it plans out, which is just perfect.

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Bookstore Tourism: Seoul

Posted on September 23, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

MoMA in New York City has opened a bookstore in Seoul, South Korea residents and visitors in the Korean city will find the new space in the Dosan Park area of Gangnam, the fast-growing and now-iconic neighborhood south of the Han River.

MoMA opened the bookshop with Hyundai Card, the credit card company under Seoul’s Hyundai Motor Group that has partnered with the museum for nearly 20 years. Inside, the layout unfolds as a series of distinct zones. The main book hall is finished in pale grey with polished concrete floors and floating metal shelves. This way, the colorful covers of MoMA publications become the focal point. The design store in the next room brings a bold shift in atmosphere, where walls and floors rendered in glossy yellow and orange create an immersive glow around the curated objects and apparel.

 

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Never has our future been more unpredictable

Posted on September 22, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

Never has our future been more unpredictable, never have we depended so much on political forces that cannot be trusted to follow the rules of common sense and self-interest—forces that look like sheer insanity, if judged by the standards of other centuries. It is as though mankind had divided itself between those who believe in human omnipotence (who think that everything is possible if one knows how to organize masses for it) and those for whom powerlessness has become the major experience of their lives. On the level of historical insight and political thought there prevails an ill-defined, general agreement that the essential structure of all civilizations is at the breaking point. Although it may seem better preserved in some parts of the world than in others, it can nowhere provide the guidance to the possibilities of the century, or an adequate response to its horrors. Desperate hope and desperate fear often seem closer to the center of such events than balanced judgment and measured insight. The central events of our time are not less effectively forgotten by those committed to a belief in an unavoidable doom, than by those who have given themselves up to reckless optimism.

 

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“The world is not in your books and maps. It’s out there.”

Posted on September 21, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

George Allen and Unwin, Ltd. of London published the first edition of J. R. R. Tolkien’s novel The Hobbit on this date in 1937. It was illustrated with many black-and-white drawings by Tolkien himself. The original printing was only a 1,500 run and sold out by December due to enthusiastic reviews.

 

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Caturday

Posted on September 20, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

 

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Travelers still need (and love) maps

Posted on September 19, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

It’s been years since I visited the tiny state of Rhode Island, but the next time that I go I will definitely make time for the Map Center. Cartographer Andrew Middleton took over the 70 year old shop two years ago and has reimagined the place. Just like bibliophiles, map fanatics are passionate about their stores. The video below is a love letter to the Map Center. The video came about, Andrew says, when a customer came back and insisted on filming it. (“Is this the highest form of flattery? Most people just leave a review!”) What I appreciate most about it is being able to see what’s on his shelves and walls, especially since I can’t visit it in person right now.

 

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Top Secret

Posted on September 18, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

The 1984 action comedy Top Secret! contains an odd sequence set in a Swedish bookstore. Val Kilmer, Lucy Gutteridge, and Peter Cushing acted the entire scene backward, and the filmmakers then reversed this performance to produce a dreamlike atmosphere in which impossible things happen. The scene required 17 takes and four dogs.

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