Moonlight and Glow Sticks

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

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Waterfall, don’t ever change you ways,

Fall with me for a million days.

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When I saw these fabulous photos, I immediately flashed on Jimi Hendrix’s song “May This Be Love (waterfall)”. Now I can’t get it out of my head.

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Photographers Sean Lenz and Kristoffer Abildgaard have collaborated on a stunning project titled Neon Luminance. The young pair dropped Cyalume glow sticks (sealed) into waterfalls around northern California and then took long exposure photos to capture the intense, colorful submerged trails of light as the glow sticks flowed with the current. To complete the most complex shots, they strung together multiple sticks to develop patterns.

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In case you’re concerned, the glow sticks were completely sealed, never leaked and were collected after each photo shoot.

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You can see more at their website From the Lenz.

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Posted in Photography, USA | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Mental Map

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

Anne Emond is a Brooklyn-based writer, illustrator and comic artist. If you read The Rumpus, you probably have seen her very amusing “comiques”. I had to share her hilarious Mental Map: An Illustrated Guide to A Writer’s Thoughts”. I’m sure you can locate every writer that you know somewhere on this map.

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

Silence In The Library

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

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French photographer Jean-François Rauzier has been producing fantastic photos for four decades. In recent years, he has been creating astonishing images that consist of hundreds of shots assembled by computer into mind-blowing single images. These surreal images, created with Rauzier’s Hyperfoto system, are from his series titled Bibliothèques Idéales.  Dr. Who fans may be reminded of “Silence in the Library”.

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Posted in Architecture, Books, Libraries, Photography | Tagged , | 1 Comment

You can be a professional sleeper

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

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Hotel Finn is a newly renovated “budget” hotel centrally located in a historic Helsinki building next to the famous Stockmann department store. To promote the hotel’s re-launch, the Hotel Finn is searching for a “professional guest” to stay in each of their thirty-five renovated rooms. The only job requirement is to sleep in every room and then blog about the experience.

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According to the hotel manager Tio Tikka, they are looking for a dynamic blogger who is fluent in Finnish and English. A working knowledge of Russian is a big plus. Applications are being accepted until April 30th, and the job starts on May 17th.

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Vancouver to Mexico City by Subway

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

The webcomic site xkcd.com has developed an amazing map that links every subway system in North America. Based on this fanciful map, it appears possible to travel from Vancouver, Canada to Mexico City, Mexico completely underground. How neat is that? You can purchase your own poster copy of the map for $15 right here.

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Posted in Canada, Maps, South America, Tourism, USA | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Libraries of the Future

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

The infographic below was adapted from a keynote address for the State University of New York Librarians Association Annual conference by LibraryScienceList.

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Posted in Books, Libraries, Tech, USA | Tagged | Leave a comment

Book Bloc !

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

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The contemporary use of the book bloc began in Rome in 2010 when students protesting drastic educational funding cuts used oversized, handmade book covers as both shields and political commentary. The concept quickly spread to the UK, the rest of Europe and even to the U.S..

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Now, the Interference Archive, in Brooklyn, N.Y., is hosting an exhibtion called Book Bloc !, which features shields created by New York City students from CUNY and Cooper Union. The ehibit, which runs until April 24, focuses on book blocs as a protest tactic and symbolic cultural statements.

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The Interference Archive explores the relationship between cultural production and social movements. The all-volunteer collective maintains a fascinating archive of objects created by members of social movements, such as posters, flyers, buttons, publications, photographs and t-shirts.

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Posted in Books, Europe, Freedom of Speech, USA, Writing | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

What Makes NYC So Special

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

In their marvelous short video called “3 Words for NYC”, award-winning, Paris-based filmmakers Achille Coquerel and Thomas Kaufmann asked random New Yorkers to describe what they love about New York City in just three words. Not an easy challenge. I’m glad that they didn’t ask me; how can you sum up the world’s greatest metropolis in only three words?

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Posted in Film, Tourism | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Frommer is back

Posted on April 7, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

Travel Trend Frommer Anniversary

Budget travel guidebook godfather Arthur Frommer has announced that he has reacquired his iconic brand from Google and that he plans to resume publishing the famed guidebook series.

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Last year, Google bought the Frommer brand from publisher Wiley for a reported $25 million, but was inexplicably killing-off the Frommer guidebook line. Arthur Frommer and his travel writer daughter Pauline plan to resume publishing the guides in both print and e-book formats. They also plan to revive the Frommer.com website.

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Arthur Frommer launched his travel book series way back in 1957 with the self-published title “Europe on 5 Dollars a Day“. The book was based on a budget travel guide that he had produced for U.S. troops stationed in post war Europe.

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Google’s purchase and subsequent destruction of the Frommer brand is a head-scratcher, but kudos to the Frommers for keeping the old-fashioned guidebook alive.

Posted in Books, ebooks, Europe, Tourism, Travel Writing, USA, Writing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Paris in Winter

Posted on April 6, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

Andrew Julian photographed and edited this lovely little film The Quiet City: Winter in Paris. It demonstrates just how different the experience of a city can be based on season. My trips to Paris have always been in the early Autumn, and I’m scheduled to be back there this Spring, but after viewing this emotive film I will be planning my next visit in the Winter.

By the way, the moving score is Spiegel im Spiegel by Arvo Pärt.

Posted in Europe, Film, Music, Photography, Tourism | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments