Decoding Bosch

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For someone who has been dead for five hundred years, Hieronymus Bosch is getting an awful lot of attention these days. The Noordbrabants Museum in the painter’s home town of ‘s-Hertogenbosch in southern Netherlands has an exhibition featuring forty of his works drawn from collections around the world. A newly authenticated Bosch painting that was lost for decades has been discovered safe and sound in the “attic’ of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri. There is also a new documentary about the artist titled “Hieronymus Bosch: Touched by the Devil” due for release this year.

Art loving digerati can explore Bosch’s masterpiece “The Garden of Earthly Delights” through a fantastic interactive website  from the documentary filmmakers and there’s a very cool VR app available for iOS and Android.

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Real aficionados can still visit the artist’s most famous painting at Madrid’s amazing Museo del Prado. The last time that I was in Madrid, I actually went to see the hallucinatory triptych twice. But if you can’t make it to Spain, do check out the interactive website and the VR app; they’re both terrific.

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Posted in Animation, apps, Art, Europe, Film, History, Museums, Tech, Tourism | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Van Gogh in Chicago

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The Art Institute of Chicago has found a very clever way to promote their upcoming “Van Gogh Bedrooms” exhibition (Feb. 14 to May 16). The museum has created a real life replica of the artist’s famous Bedroom at Arles painting in Chicago and they’re renting it on Airbnb .

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According to the listing, “It’s decorated in a Post-Impressionist style, reminiscent of Southern France and times gone by. Its furniture, bright colors, and artwork will give you the experience of a lifetime.” The rental cost seems to be $10 per night.

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Color Me Medieval

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The adult coloring book craze has even reached the lofty academic heights of Oxford University. The esteemed Bodleian Library in Oxford has released its own coloring book drawn from its collections. You can download your own pdf version right here. Now you can indulge your need to color and feel cultured at the same time.

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Every Airline Should Provide One

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One of the perks of flying Icelandair for transatlantic passengers is the option for a free stopover in Iceland. Now the national carrier is offering to provide an individual travel friend during stopovers.

February through April this year, flyers can request a “Stopover Buddy” —an actual Icelandair staff member who will share a piece of their homeland as a personal guide. These “Buddy” experiences are surprisingly diverse and interesting. They range from high adventure wilderness activities like skiing and mountain climbing to more sedate ones such as cooking and cultural events.

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I’m just disappointed that the “Stopover Buddy” program will be ending before my next stopover in Iceland later this year. If you’re thinking about a trip to Iceland, check out the program here.

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Black Books Matter

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In honor of Black History Month, the National Book Foundation has published a timeline of National Book Award honorees.

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You Too Can Be A Londoner

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Carl Goes London is a new flavor in travel guidebooks; it offers a useful perspective for visitors whether they are in London for three days, three weeks or three months. Written with the digital nomad in mind, the book provides guidance on living like a temporary Londoner.

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Carl Goes London is the city guide for curious and creative people who want to become a citizen of London for the duration of their stay. Carl Goes London includes:

  • Eight interviews with locals, from entrepreneurial start-up owners to renowned chefs;
  • Information about working in London, including co-working spaces, networking and industry events, practical information about how to set up a business and where to go for a working lunch;
  • Guides to the different neighborhoods in London, including tips of where local residents like to hang out;
  • Our top tips of how to spend three days, three weeks and three months in London;
  • Where to eat and drink in London, from cafés and supper clubs, to traditional pubs and high-end bars;
  • Where to stay in London, from high-end hotels and fully serviced city apartments, to quirky guest houses and design hotels;
  • Ideas of how to ‘get lost’ in the city to explore London for yourself;
  • Practical information about how to get there, get around and generally get by in London for the duration of your trip;
  • Day and weekend trips away from London, and a guide to other places in the world with a similar vibe to London;
  • More than 100 color photographs to give you a sense of London’s DNA

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City guides in the series are also available for Amsterdam and Berlin. You can order yours or just learn more about Carl Goes right here.

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Posted in Books, Europe, Hotels, Public Transport, Restaurants, Tech, Tourism, Travel Writing | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

READ

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To honor the passing of David Bowie, the American Library Association is re-issuing the classic poster (above) of the late artist. If you spent any time in a library or school during the 1990s, no doubt you saw the iconic poster of Bowie suspended in mid-air while reading a copy of Dostoyevsky’s The Idiot. The exuberant poster is from the ALA’s long-running READ campaign, which featured popular figures reading books. Beginning in 1980 with cartoon characters, the poster series later included real life figures as diverse as Sting, Stephen Hawking, LL Cool J, and the cast of the Harry Potter films. President Obama even appeared when he was a freshman senator.

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the more noble instinct that aspires

I have been a fan of filmmaker and photographer Alex Soloviev ever since I stumbled upon his visual ode to Germany’s capital in Everyday Berlin. His new short film Highland Fairytale is an atmospheric and haunting visit to Catalunya’s most important pilgrimage site at Montserrat. Soloviev captures the spiritual power and mystery of the mountainous redoubt just an hour from bustling Barcelona. The opening verse is from Longfellow’s “Haunted House”.

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Bringing Back The Athenaeum

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Before there were free public libraries in North America, there were membership funded libraries. Often called Athenaeums, these literary associations were supported by dues paying members whose fees were used to buy books, pay librarians, and lease space. You probably won’t be surprised to learn that the concept for the first American athenaeum came from that dynamo of 18th century innovation Benjamin Franklin in 1731. Prior to the advent of the free public library in the 19th century, member supported athenaeums and libraries were found throughout North America. Prominent examples can still be found in Philadelphia, New York City, Boston, Providence, and Cincinnati. There’s even one in my little village dating from 1760 and still active.

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I was excited to find that the athenaeum concept has been revived at the new Folio: The Seattle Athenaeum. Just opened last month, this library and cultural center’s mission is to promote the literary arts through its library, book related cultural events, work space for writers, and preservation of private book collections.

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Located in a landmark 1930 YMCA building, the Folio is open to the general public, but members have access to browse the stacks and rare book collections, reserve writing spaces, borrow books, and participate in literary events. Memberships start at $75 per year.

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Guide to Tokyo

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Regular readers of TBTP have probably noticed that I have a fascination with travel guidebooks, both contemporary and antiquarian. If you saw my library, you might even call it an obsession. I’m always intrigued when I stumble upon a novel angle on the travel guidebook model. Tokyo Totem: A Guide to Tokyo is a wonderful exemplar of an uncommon approach to a two century old template.

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Written and edited by Edwin Gardner and Christiaan Fruneaux from the Amsterdam-based creative studio Monnik, Tokyo Totem brings together contributions from forty-six “urban explorers”. This diverse collaboration of experts, ranging from long-time expats to city-born locals, fuses essays, photography, cartography, mangas, art, and illustration.

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The bilingual—English and Japanese—travel guidebook eschews the typical what to see and where to eat/drink/sleep/shop model for a refreshing subjective approach that encourages visitors to engage with Tokyo on a personal adventure.

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The paperback version is published by Flick Studio and is available internationally through Amazon.

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