Worth a trip just for the pastries

Posted on May 26, 2016 by Brian D. Butler

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The newest travel guide from the media brand Monocle is devoted entirely to Austria’s grand capital of Vienna. Much like the previous eleven editions in the travel guide series, this book is divided into nine sections focusing on the usual travel categories. For the Vienna guide, Monocle wisely partnered with local photographers Arnold Pöschl and Daniel Gebhart de Koekkoek. While far from comprehensive, the guidebooks in this series always provide enough insider knowledge to make them worthwhile.

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Posted in Architecture, Art, Books, Europe, Maps, Restaurants, Tourism, Travel Writing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Take Me Anywhere

Posted on May 25, 2016 by Brian D. Butler

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Actor/performance artist Shia LaBeouf, along with traveling companions Nastja Rönkkö and Luke Turner are hoping to harness the power of social media for a road trip in the name of “art”. From May23rd through June 23rd, the collective are hitchhiking, starting in Boulder, Colorado, and inviting anyone to pick them up and take them anywhere the driver chooses. The group is tweeting their coordinates using the hashtag #TAKEMEANYWHERE. They are documenting their trip in real time online.

LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner’s request, #TAKEMEANYWHERE, aims to examine the nature of human decency, naivety and iniquity on social media. Using of the virtual world to dictate their journey IRL around the country, they hope to uncover truths of human interaction in the digital age.

The “trip” was commissioned by the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art and the Finnish Institute. You can learn more (if you care) right here.

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You Don’t Need To be Irish

Posted on May 24, 2016 by Brian D. Butler

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China has the best new bookstores

Posted on May 23, 2016 by Brian D. Butler

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While beloved bookstores are closing all across the United States, remarkable shops are popping up throughout China. This incredible bookstore, designed by XL-MUSE group, is located in the new commercial center of Binjiang District in Hangzhou.

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photos © Shao Feng

Posted in Architecture, Asia, Bookstore Tourism, Tourism | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Picnic Is Canceled

Posted on May 22, 2016 by Brian D. Butler

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Underground Reading

Posted on May 21, 2016 by Brian D. Butler

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Riding the New York City subways, you’re going to see lots of folks engrossed in a wide variety of reading material. Comedians Akilah Hughes and Scott Rogowsky elicit plenty of double-takes and much laughter with their twisted fake book covers. If you’re easily offended, skip the videos below; otherwise laugh yourself silly.

 

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Shakespeare Lives

Posted on May 20, 2016 by Brian D. Butler

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The British Council commissioned a series of films to celebrate the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death. Director David Wilson’s contribution reinterprets Act 1, Scene V of Macbeth. The two-minute film starts with actress Vicky McClure as Lady Macbeth in a banal suburban house. The tension quickly escalates until [spoiler alert] the film shifts into an hallucinatory animation by Ian Miller.

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So we don’t die of truth

Posted on May 19, 2016 by Brian D. Butler

“We have our arts so we don’t die of truth” Ray Bradbury

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Magic Mountains

Posted on May 18, 2016 by Brian D. Butler

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Just about 20 minutes south of the famous Las Vegas Strip, Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone has erected a monumental installation of stacked boulders. Rising 10 meters above the desert, “Seven Magic Mountains” is constructed of colorfully painted limestone rocks, which are precariously stacked in columns. The fluorescent cairns evoke an emotional contrast between artifice and nature.

You can see the privately funded installation until May, 2018, and find-out more about the project on a dedicated website.

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It’s Museum Day

Posted on May 17, 2016 by Brian D. Butler

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Tomorrow is actually museum day. In fact May 18th is the 39th International Museum Day. More than 30,000 institutions in 120 countries around the world will be waiving admission fees and welcoming all comers for special events, shows and exhibitions. So, skip work, cut school, play hooky, and get yourself to a museum or two. Check the website for institutions near you.

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Posted in Africa, Architecture, Art, Asia, Europe, History, Middle East, Museums, Photography, South America, Tourism, USA | Tagged | Leave a comment