Free Paris Walking Tour

Posted on May 5, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

Well, now that I’ve grabbed your attention, I have to admit that the title of this post is a little misleading. The” walking tour” is just a 50 minute long video (see below) filmed on a week-long visit to Paris during late December 2011. Hence the Santa Claus at 1:46. The video is by someone who goes by the handle of Globe TrotterAlpha on his YouTube channel.

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Manhattan, A Love Story

Posted on May 4, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

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Becky Copoper walked the streets and boulevards of New York City’s borough of manhattan from end to end. Along the way she handed-out blank maps to ordinary New Yorkers and asked them to map their personal Manhattan and mail the map in to her.

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The project resulted in hundreds of maps by “amateur cartographers” and a charming book titled Manhattan A Love Story that compiles 75 of the maps. Cooper’s book, published by Abrams Image, is packed with “accidental autobiographies” that are entertaining and sometimes achingly personal.

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Little Free Libraries

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

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In the winter of 2013, PEN, alongside the Architectural League of New York and IDEAS CITY Festival, commissioned ten emerging architects to design their take on the idea of the Little Free Library. On May 4, the ten little libraries will be built and “planted” in neighborhoods across downtown New York City. Each will be an outdoor public library in miniature, tailored to serve the community they represent, holding about twenty books, lending on the honor-system, and inspiring curiosity, learning, and good will.

Artist Marcelo Ertoteguy’s yellow library pod  (pictured above) will be installed outside of NYC’s landmark St. Patrick’s Cathedral .

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On May 4, between 1-5 pm, book lovers are invited to celebrate the opening of each Little Free Library/NYC by picking up a free map at The Architectural League of New York and Brent Birnbaum Bureau of Apology’s booth at the IDEAS CITY street festival, and begin a walking tour of the libraries.

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You can support Little Free Library/NYC here.

The walking tour is free and self-guided.

 

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Venice, City of Readers

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

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A group of 100 authors in Italy have organized as Venice, City of Readers and have issued a manifesto protesting the disappearance of Venice’s bookstores. The writers, including Italian and international authors, gathered at the historic Salone della Libreria Sansoviniana in Venice to call upon city government, the Italian legislature, private foundations and the Venice Biennale to take action to support surviving bookshops.

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The organizers also created a map of “living, dying and dead” bookshops in Venice. The group has suggested that the city support the creation of a book market for multiple booksellers in the Arsenale. You can read the entire manifesto of Venice, City of Readers here.

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Posted in Books, Bookstore Tourism, Europe, Libraries, Tourism, Writing | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Can’t Ask for A Better Hotel

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

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We all know by now that a significant percentage of online travel reviews are bogus, but a group of pranksters in the UK have raised some serious doubts about TripAdvisor‘s screening process.

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Last week an unidentified group of jokesters posted glowing reviews for the “Belgrove Hotel” in Glasgow, Scotland resulting in the property’s ranking in the city’s top ten on TripAdvisor. Turns out that the Belgrove is actually a men’s homeless shelter. When they became aware of the spoof, TA promptly removed the property.

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One Day One Artist

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

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Les Bains, the once popular and now defunct nightclub, has been empty since 2010. But while it awaits renovation, the owner Jean-Pierre Marois has allowed dozens of street artists to turn the 19th century building into an art gallery.

The project—titled Un Jour Un Artiste—features the work of well known artist like Seth, VHILS, Mesnger, Sambre and Futura. Unforunately, their work will disappear when construction starts this summer. Meanwhile, you can see some of it here and below:

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Food Tripping

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

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Finding healthy food on a road trip in the U. S. is usually a big challenge. Now there’s a really helpful app that meets that challenge. Food Tripping uses GPS to enable travelers to locate the closest farmers’ markets, health food, vegetarian/vegan joints, juice bars and natural food restaurants.

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Created by the multi-media outfit Shft, the easy to use app also allows users to add their personal suggestions for inclusion in updates.

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One of the creators of the iOS and Android-based app is Adrian Grenier—yes, that guy from Entourage.

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Who Will Save Our Books

Posted on April 28, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

I have never read any of his bestselling blockbusters, but I’m now a big fan of author James Patterson for this full-page ad that he placed in the New York Times Book Review. Patterson wants to know “Who will save our books? Our libraries? Our bookstores?” Don’t we all?

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Posted in Books, Bookstore Tourism, Libraries, USA, Writing | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

All the Beer in China

Posted on April 27, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

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The always entertaining and informative website Buzzfeed created this clever video that demonstrates how much food one can purchase with the equivalent of $5 US in various countries around the globe.

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“How Much Food Can You Buy For $5 Around The World” examined the retail cost of bananas, rice, coffee, beer, Big Macs and more. Thought provoking stuff.

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Avoid Eye Contact

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

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New York City subway riders have one more reason to avoid eye contact now that thirty more subway stations and platforms are equipped with both wireless voice and data services. Travelers can connect to free wifi (see below), use mobile phones, text and surf the web.

Newly covered stations—as of April 25th—range from 18th street to 96th street on Manhattan’s West Side, including Times Square and Rockefeller Center. The MTA expects to eventually cover all 241 stations in the system.

To connect to the free wifi service, riders must choose “FreewifibyHTCone” and endure ads.

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