NYC and Philly Optimized

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Brian D. Butler

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If you follow travel blogs, you have probably seen posts on the optimal road trips through the United States and Europe. The brilliant coder behind these maps is a PhD candidate named Randy Olson. Now he has used the same algorithm to create optimized walking tours of New York City and Philadelphia.

Olson used top TripAdvisor attractions to plan visits to major sites in both cities. If you plan to use either map, it might be a good idea to spread the tours over at least two days. And if you use the Philadelphia map, use public transportation, a bike or car to do the Fairmount Park and Zoo bit.

Before you go, visit Olson’s blog to find out more and to even use his algorithm to create your own walking tours.

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Posted in Maps, Public Transport, Tech, Tourism, USA | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Fantastic Cities

Posted on April 19, 2015 by Brian D. Butler

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It seems that adult coloring books (no, not that kind) are a thing now. They’re even topping Amazon’s bestseller list. Ontario Canada-based artist Steve McDonald has created a timely coloring book for grown-ups called Fantastic Cities. The highly detailed architectural drawings provide both “real and imagined” views of New York, Amsterdam, London, and many more cities around the world. So, get out your secret crayon stash. The beautifully imagined book will be out on from Chronicle early this summer and can be pre-ordered right here.

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Posted in Architecture, Art, Books, Canada | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

The Perfect Flight

Posted on April 18, 2015 by Brian D. Butler

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The travel search engine Skyscanner.net surveyed 2,000 travelers regarding their flying preferences and then commissioned mathematician Eugenia Cheng from the University of Sheffield to create the formula for the perfect flight.

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Posted in Air Travel, Tech, Tourism | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Fly BOAC

Posted on April 17, 2015 by Brian D. Butler

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Posted in Africa, Air Travel, Art, Europe, Public Transport, South America, Tourism | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

How Does Yours Rank

Posted on April 16, 2015 by Brian D. Butler

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The Passport Index is an interactive website that collects, displays and ranks passports from countries around the world. Passports can be explored by country name, cover color, world map, and by “Passport Power Rank”. Guess who is number 1?

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Posted in Air Travel, Tourism, USA | Tagged | 1 Comment

Call Allen Ginsberg

Posted on April 15, 2015 by Brian D. Butler

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I nearly forgot to mention that this is National Poetry Month. To celebrate San Francisco’s literary heritage and to commemorate the Beat Poets, a clever cabal of contemporary hipsters developed the “Call Allen Ginsberg” project. They installed street art pieces around the city featuring a silhouette of the iconic poet and a phone number. If you call the number—and you can call from anywhere in the world—you will hear poems read by local poets. So, give Allen a call at 415-763-6968.

Posted in Art, Books, USA, Writing | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Sonnet 27

Posted on April 14, 2015 by Brian D. Butler

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Two years ago, the New York Shakespeare Exchange launched an ambitious, crowdfunded project to create 154 short films based on Shakespeare Sonnets. The Sonnet Project, which features 154 different actors filmed in 154 different New York City locations, aims to bring Shakespeare to people who may not connect with his work.

Sonnet 27, the 100th episode in the project, premiered this week, starring Emmy-winning actress Carrie Preston. You can find all 100 sonnet films at The Sonnet Project.

Posted in Film, Theater, USA, Writing | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Hey Taxi

Posted on April 13, 2015 by Brian D. Butler

Whether you call them cabs, taxis, jitneys, jeepneys, or hacks, when you need to get somewhere fast they’re worth the price. This infographic from The Taxi Centre compares rides around the world.

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Posted in Europe, Public Transport, South America, Tourism, USA | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

London G. O. T.

Posted on April 12, 2015 by Brian D. Butler

It seems that most people that I know are counting down the hours until the new season of Game of Thrones begins tonight. Although those of us who were early readers of the Ur text are already grumbling about the rumored changes to the story line. But we can all have a laugh at the Londonist’s take on what GOT would like be if set in London.

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Posted in Books, Europe, Maps, USA, Writing | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Why Not Brooklyn

Posted on April 11, 2015 by Brian D. Butler

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When I first heard that there was a store in New York City devoted to the humble pencil, I assumed that it was in Brooklyn—the home of all things artisanal. But surprisingly CW Pencil is located on Forsyth Street in the Lower East Side. Launched about four months ago, the shop has more than just pencils—that’d be silly—there are erasers, sharpeners and notebooks too.

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Pencil entrepreneur Caroline Weaver explains the shop this way:

“My love for pencils stems from many things. I was definitely influenced by my mother’s obsession with nice pencils but mostly I just grew to appreciate them on my own. In school it’s cool to use a mechanical pencil, but most of them are cheap, the lead breaks and they’re generally just truly awful. I made it a point to always have an arsenal of freshly sharpened pencils with me from a young age and grew to appreciate the feeling of writing with something so tactile. The smell of the wood, and the sensation of sharpening—nothing beats it, really.”

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