The travel company Thomson Holidays pulled data from TripAdvisor to create this infographic for the top tourist attractions around the world. We may have our personal doubts about the choices, but who are we to quibble with TripAdvisor users. Here’s a link to the original makers of the graphic at VoucherCloud.com.
Every year, the National Geographic tantalizes cartography geeks with a selection of the year’s best published maps. The 2016 list is fascinating and wildly diverse in focus and design. I’ve shared some below, but you can view the entire list right here.
Today marks the 28th anniversary of the bombing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. My amazing brother Steve, along with 269 other innocent people, was murdered by Libyan terrorists in this heinous, evil act. We never forget, and we never forgive.
Faithful reader, and occasionally contributor, Evan Smythe has sent these images of an amazing Alice-inspired calendar from the brilliant book designer and illustrator John Coulthart. I love the Victorian Psychedelia vibe of the eye-popping art work. Apparently the calendar is seven years old. Maybe we can hope for an update soon.
If you’ve ever visited Montreal during the winter months, then you know that it can be cold, dark and dreary, but each year the Luminothérapie festival discovers new and entertaining ways to dispel the gloom and lighten up the season. This year, artists Olivier Girouard and Jonathan Villeneuve have collaborated to create a temporary art installation that encourages public participation. The Loop was inspired by 19th century zoetrope machines, early cinema devices that used images in a spinning frame to create the illusion of motion. Loop participants sit in circular pods and move a bar back and forth to spin the device generating a colorful, strobing light show.
The entire Loop installation will move on to other Canadian cities, France, Belgium, Switzerland, and the U.S., but it will be accessible in Montreal until January 29, 2017.
images via Quartier des Spectacles
10 reasons why books make the best gifts
Over the years, I’ve sold copies of a number of versions of Lewis Carroll’s masterwork Alice in Wonderland, but I’ve never owned this 1899 illustrated U.S. edition. Published by M.F. Mansfield and A. Wessels, New York, this wonderful version has 12 full-page illustrations of color drawings by Blanche McManus.
You can see a complete copy of the book online on the website for the University of Florida George A. Mathers Libraries digital collections. I spent many hours lost in the stacks of the libraries at UF during my undergraduate days. The surprisingly good collections were the best thing about the University, along with the free range alligators on campus.
h/t to Michael Pederson
Travel Between The Pages 