I’ve been following photographer Sebastian Erras’ wonderful projects for a few years now. You may remember his brilliant series that focus on the floors of various of European cities. Now he has turned his camera upward towards the beautiful storefronts and facades of Paris. The video below provides a window on Paris Re-Tale and you can see more of the photos here.
Distriboto is a brilliant project in Montreal that re-purposes old cigarette vending machines to dispense comic books, zines, poetry, stories, mini-CDs, pins,and assorted original artworks. Collaborating with more than 1,000 local artists and writers, the project loads old vending machines with items that all sell for $2.00, with $1.75 going to the creators. The machines are found around Montreal and Quebec City in bars, clubs, libraries, performance spaces, and cafés.
I continue to be amazed by the endlessly imaginative ways in which book artist Brian Dettmer transforms discarded books. His latest series Dodo, Data, Dada plays with the concept of the changing place of the printed book in our culture. Dettmer says, “The physical book no longer has the monopoly and authority it once had. They now lie like furniture, hidden in basement boxes, or displayed on a shelf to signify intellect while they collect dust”.
Britain-based, Azerbaijan-born photographer and filmmaker Vugar Efendi has created two terrific videos pairing scenes from films with paintings that provided the inspiration for the shots.
Tom Gauld created this brilliant print for the London comic book store Gosh!s 30th anniversary celebration. Prints are available on their website.
If you have ever been gouged by a shady currency exchange, you will applaud the “Honest Prague Guide”. Along with producing helpful short videos on visiting the Czech capital, this tourism Robin Hood actively confronts Prague’s tourist parasites and tourist traps. Take a look at his video calling out the city’s most egregious currency diddle. You can follow his antics on Facebook and on his Youtube Channel.
Montreal-based Instagramer Olivier Martel Savoie has been traveling the world for the last two years visiting libraries and taking terrific photos with just his trusty iPhone. His series #olive_libraries covers beautiful institutions from Budapest to Boston.
“Without libraries what have we ?” Ray Bradbury
all images ©Olivier Martel Savoie
One of my all-time favorite London bookshops, Heywood Hill in the heart of Mayfair, is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year. To mark the occasion, the purveyor of antiquarian, rare, secondhand, and new books has launched “the worlds first major literary prize focused on readers of books, rather than writers.” The winner of the unique contest will receive The Library of a Lifetime : one newly published hardcover book per month for life, delivered anywhere in the world.
To enter the competition, simply fill out the online form and tell Heywood Hill which book published in English since 1936 has meant the most to you.
During the past month, I’ve taken six flights. Three were in Economy and three were upgrades to Business Class. I was able to upgrade on two of those flights with minimal bids on empty seats. The last upgrade was a freebee—thanks Icelandair—for being a loyalty program member. But the question remains: was it worth the cost to upgrade.
Since my upgrades also came with perks such as Business Lounge access and free meals and beverages, I’d say a definitive yes. The infographic below examines the question in detail.
I was so lucky this week to have been in Iceland for what was an almost nightly manifestation of the Aurora Borealis. The amazing light show was even visible from our apartment in the heart of Reykjavik. For those of you who know the city, we were staying on Frakkastigur just two blocks down the hill from the Hallgrimskirkja. The views from the balcony and loft skylights were astonishing.
The video below from Snorri Thor Tryvason and Saeva Helgi Bragason of Iceland Aurora Films captured the Northern Lights from 16 different locations around Reykjavik on two consecutive nights this week.
Norðurljós Reykjavík
Travel Between The Pages 