Earlier this summer, we shared a story about a Molson beer promotion that offered free beer in select locations around Europe. Now Dutch brewer Heineken has launched its own free beer promotion for its Amstel brand. So far, the “Amstel Pause” vending machines have only surfaced in Sofia, Bulgaria.
In order to get a free can of Amstel beer, participants simply need to push a button and pause for three full minutes in front of the vending machine. Patience apparently has its rewards.
Dear New York is a charming and imaginative homage to New York City. The whimsical little black and white video was created by Madrid-based artist/director Luis Urculo for the international clothing retailer Zara‘s new flagship outlet on 5th avenue in NYC. Don’t worry; it’s not a commercial ad.
Many Sci-Fi fans are aware of the treasure-trove of reading material available at the awesome site Tor.com . But if you love Sci-Fi and Fantasy writing, and have somehow missed it, get thee to Tor ASAP to participate in the site’s 5th anniversary celebration.
To mark the occasion, Tor has assembled 5 years of original short and long form fiction and made it available for free as a downloadable eBook. All you need to do is visit Tor and register. You can then download The Stories: Five Years of Original Fiction in ePub, Mobi or PDF formats.
In honor of what would have been writer Charles Bukowski’s 93rd birthday tomorrow, HaperCollins is releasing eight Bukowski novels in digital audio versions for the first time. Titles including Pulp, Post Office, Ham on Rye, Factotum and Hot Water Music are narrated by actor Christian Baskous. Too bad they don’t have readings by the man himself. Well at least we have YouTube.
I’m certain that this story would never pertain to regular followers of Travel Between The Pages, but we’ve all run across geographically impaired travelers who don’t know the difference between Bucharest and Budapest. To set these folks straight, the Romanian candy bar brand ROM has come up with an amusing campaign to clear up the confusion once and for all.
With billboards in both capitals, bus ads, posters, videos, a website, and even specially embossed candy bars with the logo “Bucharest is not Budapest”, ROM and the rest of Romania hope to avoid all those awkward moments with the cartographically challenged tourists.
I was captivated by Madrid-based artist Fernando Vicente’s intriguing series called “Atlas”, which is based on antique maps. The translucent painting allows the original geographic features of the old maps to remain visible while simultaneously creating a completely new unified image.
“Once upon a time there was a country born with the gift of writing, an author that wanted to tell a story, a book that wanted to be read, a tourist that did not speak Portuguese, and a book shop that did not know how to remain in the same place. All of them joined together, and wrote a new story”
In an effort to promote Portuguese literature in translation to tourists and travelers, a group of bibliophiles in Portugal launched Tell A Story exactly four weeks ago. To read a wide audience, they converted a classic 70s Renault van into a bookmobile, which is traveling the country this summer hitting popular tourist spots.
Inspired by writers’ calligraphy, the folks behind Tell A Story also created a “Writers’ Font”, which is downloadable from the project website.
Actually, there’s not much that’s free in Amsterdam these days, but this summer visitors and residents alike have been discovering free books, magazines and newspapers attached to public benches around town by big, red metal clips. The Ruilbank, or barter benches, are a project spearheaded by Pivot Creative, a center-city design firm.
Anyone is free to read the publications at the bench site or take them away. Users are, however, encouraged to swap reading material by leaving a book or magazine in the red clip.
This month marks the end of a venerable travel publication that served European rail passengers for 140 years. The Thomas Cook European Rail Timetable has been a ubiquitous companion for train travelers since 1873, but it seems that the internet and the advent of smartphone apps have sealed the fate of a once indispensable guide.
For years I used the European timetable to plot and plan my rail travels around the continent. Cosseted with my maps, guide books and the comprehensive Cook’s timetable, I’d calculate routes and sweat over connections that would enable me to squeeze ever hour out of my European trips. I admit that I’ve succumbed to the siren call of iPad apps, but I’ve never completely forsaken my Cook’s for planning long, involved trips.
Surprisingly, throughout the 140 year history of the Thomas Cook Rail Timetable the guide book has only had five editors. Brendon Fox, the current editor, has been at the helm for 28 years. Rumor has it that he and his team will be resurrecting the European timetable as an independent publication. If they do, I’ll be first online to buy a copy.
I was introduced to the magical world of Franz Kafka in my early teens, but New York City-based author Matthue Roth has pushed the envelope by adapting Kafka for children of all ages. My First Kafka: Runaways, Rodents, and Giant Bugs is a clever and adventurous kids book with marvelous, original black and white illustrations by the brilliant British artist Rohan Daniel Eason.
Roth developed the creepy, but fun book after discovering that his young daughters loved to be read Kafka stories. He then set about adapting the iconic novella The Metamorphosis, the short story Josefine the Singer and the prose poem Excursion into the Mountains for readers of all ages.
My First Kafka was published by One Peace Books of NYC in June.
Travel Between The Pages 