Explore The World

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

GG5

Here’s yet another opportunity to squander your valuable time down a web blackhole. The amazingly simple and dangerously addictive website GeoGuessr was creatred by Swedish IT consultant Anton Wallen to torture armchair travelers. Players can challenge themselves by putting their geographical knowledge and detective skills to the test. GeoGuessr uses randomly chosen Google Street View images to inspire educated guesses on locations around the globe. Give it a spin. Just don’t blame me if you can’t pull yourself away.

geoguessr1

jpLsuPI

geoguessr_0_cinema_640_0

91

Posted in Maps, Tech, Tourism | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Vespalogy

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

If you have ever owned a classic Vespa scooter, or rented one on your travels, you will certainly be tickled by this marvelous animated history of the way cool two-wheelers. The retro graphic tribute to seventy years of Vespa was created by the folks at the Paris-based Nomoon Agency and the fitting musical accompaniment is by Supercarburant.

Posted in Animation, Europe, History, Tourism | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Industrial Chic

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

2

During the past six weeks I’ve managed to stay in six different hotels, in five countries, on two continents. So, I’m feeling like a bit of an expert on hotel design and amenities. That’s why I took particular notice of the newly renovated Prahran Hotel in South Melbourne, Australia.

1

This classy small hotel provides a primer in thoughtful use of industrial materials without the usual overkill. The standout element has to be the innovative utilization of concrete drainage piping to transform the hotel restuarant/bar. Take a peek:

3

5

4x

8

6x

9

Posted in Architecture, Hotels, Tourism | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

I’ve Been Everywhere (not)

Posted on June 15, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

everywhere_timdenee_monterey_v1

Created by California designer and illustrator Adrian Walsh, the Everywhere Project is a collaborative effort that pays tribute to the iconic folk song “I’ve Been Everywhere“. An invited group of artists have been contributing luggage labels representing the 92 locations named in the American version of the classic tune. You can see all of the completed labels at the project website.

LanTruong-Chicago

Print

MaryKateMcDevitt_Nashville_864

EVE_Kalamazoo_DF_v01

FARGO%20luggage%20tag_864

bangor_864

contino-everywhere_864

Posted in Art, Tourism, USA | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Know When To Fold Them

Posted on June 14, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

maurice-4

Paris-based French artist Mademoiselle Maurice recently called upon hundreds of volunteers to help complete a pair of street art installations in Angers, France for the artaq 2013 festival. The colorful works along the Maine River and on the approach to the Montée St-Maurice Cathedral required more than 30,000 pieces of origami folded by school kids, senior citizens and other helpers.

maurice-2

maurice-3

You can see more of her wonderful work here.

maurice-6

maurice-7

maurice-5

maurice-8

Posted in Art, Europe | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Pulp Fictions

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

7

Utah artist and illustrator Timothy Anderson has created a fantastic series of vintage pulp fiction-style book cover art for some of our favorite science fiction and animated films. Take a look and then visit his website, and consider purchasing a print. I’ve got my eye on the Blade Runner cover.

5

6

3

2

4

1

Posted in Animation, Art, Books, Film, movies, USA, Writing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Sleep Like an Egyptian

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

1417-649x432

Located at Egypt’s Siwa Oasis, just thirty miles from the Libyan border, the handsomely restored Adrere Amellal Hotel is an unlikely luxury eco-lodge. Set lakeside, the hotel was built at a site that has seen human habitation on and off for more than 10,000 years.

1516-649x434

The hotel itself has been constructed from a combination of ancient ruins, kershef ( a mix of mud and rock), stone, wood, masonry and plaster. All of the furnishings were handcrafted using traditional techniques.

1712-649x463

270-649x463

Lodgers forgo modern amenities such as electricity, a/c, phone service and even wifi. And all for the low price of about $500 US per night.

1128-649x434

1321-649x526

1223-649x487

839-649x432

652-649x434

557-649x434

Posted in Africa, Hotels, Middle East, Tourism | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Biblio-Surrealism

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

vladimir-peintre-surrealiste reading lamp

Russian-born, U.S.-based artist Vladimir Kush describes his work as “metaphorical realism”, but his literary themed paintings could easily be called biblio-surrealist. Working primarily in oil on canvas or board, Kush also is known for lyrical sculpture pieces. The artist’s work is available at his own galleries in Maui, Las Vegas and Laguna Beach, California.

vladimir-peintre-surrealiste-

vladimir-peintre-surrealiste-10-img

vladimir-peintre-surrealiste geneology tree

vladimir-peintre-surrealiste-boookmark

vladimir-peintre-surrealiste pillow book

vlad

vladimir-peintre-surrealiste Book of Books

Posted in Art, Books | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Is it art or cartography

Posted on June 10, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

I know, enough with the maps already. But these are awesome—really. Japanese artist/photographer Sohei Nishino’s Diorama Map series is based on his unique approach to cartography. Nishino wanders around a city shooting hundreds of images with actual film, then cuts the photos into thousands of pieces before arranging and pasting the pieces into his fantastic maps. So far, he has completed thirteen city maps, including Paris, NYC, London, Tokyo, Berlin and Jerusalem.

diorama_tokyo

sohei-nishino_diorama-maps_kyoto_collabcubed

diorama_shanghai

diorama_paris

diorama_istanbul

diorama_berlin

sohei-nishino_diorama-maps_collabcubed

Posted in Art, Maps, Photography | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

How Do You See The World

Posted on June 9, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

tumblr_mntdge8s1I1s8qw07o10_1280

Close your eyes and visualize a map of the world. Chances are that your personal world map is strongly influenced by your country of origin or your long term place of residence. In fact, New Yorker Benjamin Pollach has created a project that demonstrates how our backgrounds influence our world view.

24

The crowd-sourced project, called World Map Archive, involves the collection of hand-drawn world maps that are solicited from volunteers around the globe. You can participate by visiting the project website. And, you can see an exhibition on the project that opened on June 1st at The WYE in Berlin.

17

tumblr_mnmuhbzSf51s8qw07o1_1280

14

11

25

6

4

Posted in Maps | Tagged , , | 1 Comment