We Remember

Posted on December 21, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

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I am not resigned to the shutting away of loving hearts in the hard ground. So it is, and so it will be, for so it has been, time out of mind: Into the darkness they go, the wise and the lovely. Crowned With lilies and with laurel they go; but I am not resigned.

Lovers and thinkers, into the earth with you. Be one with the dull, the indiscriminate dust. A fragment of what you felt, of what you knew, A formula, a phrase remains, — but the best is lost.

The answers quick & keen, the honest look, the laughter, the love, They are gone. They have gone to feed the roses. Elegant and curled Is the blossom. Fragrant is the blossom. I know. But I do not approve. More precious was the light in your eyes than all the roses in the world.

Down, down, down into the darkness of the grave Gently they go, the beautiful, the tender, the kind; Quietly they go, the intelligent, the witty, the brave. I know. But I do not approve. And I am not resigned.

Edna St. Vincent Millay Dirge Without Music

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It’s A Very Dickensian Christmas

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

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Following an extensive eight month, £3 million restoration and redevelopment project, London’s Charles Dickens Museum reopened on December 10th just in time to celebrate a Dickens Christmas and to top-off the Dickens 2012 Bicentenary year festivities.

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The beloved author’s Bloomsbury museum, where Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby were written, has been expanded to incorporate the refurbished attic and kitchen. While the house nextdoor has been transformed into a state-of-the-art visitor and learning center.

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The Dickens Museum is located at 48-49 Doughty Street and is now open daily from 10am to 5pm.

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A Christmas Miracle (almost)

Posted on December 19, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

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The English North Yorkshire town of Malton seems a likely place to figure in a Charles Dickens tale and this year it does. When residents of the old Roman town learned that a rare specially bound and signed copy of A Christmas Carol with deep Malton ties was coming up for auction in New York City, they began a campaign to bring the book home to Malton.

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The former journalist and broadcaster Selina Scott, who lives in the area, helped the community to raise £27,280 to buy the copy, which was commissioned by the author for the family of his friend and lawyer Charles Smithson. It’s thought that Dickens wrote much of A Christmas Carol while visiting Malton and that he based some of the book’s locations on buildings in the old market town, including Ebenezer Scrooge’s counting house.

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Crime and Punishment

Posted on December 18, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

I was gobsmacked by Polish filmmaker Piotr Dumala’s extraordinary animated version of Dostoyevsky’s classic novel. This pared down version of the story is told without dialog and takes place entirely at night. Trained as an painter and sculptor, Dumala has an idiosyncratic animation style. He plasters panels, paints them in dark tones and then scrapes and sands images to create texture. Finally, he paints the scenes details.

Posted in Animation, Art, Books, Europe, Film | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Polar Express

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

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Last weekend a passenger on a Szczecin to Warsaw Poland regional train got a very chilly reception when she visited the train’s lavatory. She was shocked to discover that the toilet was encased in a three-inch thick block of ice. When she complained to the conductor, he reportedly responded, “It’s an old train, at least there’s no snow in the carriages.” The railway operator, Przewozy Regionalne blamed the “throne of the snow queen” on an unsealed window. I’ll never complain about Amtrak again.

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

A Tale of Two Bridges

Posted on December 16, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

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I can’t explain my interest in brilliantly designed bridges and I don’t feel the need to explore it. So, here’s a tale of two more way cool new bridges in Europe.

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Designed by Amsterdam-based NEXT Architects, this stunning span connects the old town center of Pumerend, Netherlands, just outside of Amsterdam, with the growing neighborhood of Weidevenne. The “Melkwegbrug” crosses the Noordhollandsch Canal and is bifurcated, with the tall section for pedestrians and a gently sloping section for wheelchairs and cyclists.

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The crazy, looping new bridge near the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo, Bosnia is the brilliant product of three local design students. Named the “Festina Lente”, Latin for make haste slowly, the bridge spans the Miljacka River with a wonderful sanctuary mid-span.

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Posted in Architecture, Europe | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

I Heart NYC and These Maps

Posted on December 15, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

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London-based artist and illustrator Jenni Sparks has created a new series of fantastic hand-drawn maps of New York City. The cleverly amusing maps include elaborate images of iconic neighborhood and borough hangouts that no tourist wants to miss. If you long to own your own copies, you van purchase at the Evermade website and even get free shipping for the holidays.

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Posted in Art, Maps, Tourism, USA | Tagged , | 2 Comments

I Want To Go To There

Posted on December 14, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

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Just in time for the release of the first edition of the Hobbit trilogy, Tolkien nerds can now lift a pint of Gaffer’s Ale at the very same tables as Gamgees, Tooks, Brandybucks and Bagginses. The Green Dragon Pub in “Hobbiton” was officially opened on November 29th by New Zealand Prime Minister John Kay.

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The new tourist attraction is situated on the primary set for the Hobbit near Matamata, New Zealand.

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Posted in Books, Film, Tourism | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

No Pine Scent Whatsoever

Posted on December 13, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

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For decades, the Flemish city of Hasselt, Belgium has erected a lovely, traditional Christmas tree in the city’s Grotemarkt main square. But this holiday season has brought a charmingly novel approach to the tradition.

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Working with local residents, the Belgian PR firm MOOZ created the joyously clever “Taste Tree”. Incorporating donated white, gold and blue porcelain plates and cups, Stefan Vanbergen and Inge Vanluyd of MOOZ built a stunning 30 foot tall tree composed of nearly 5,000 pieces of crockery.

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

Nothing Beats A Good Book

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Pundits have been writing obituaries for print books and libraries for years. But a recent study by the Pew Foundation suggests that even as e-readers proliferate print books and libraries remain popular in the United States. This neat infographic demonstrates just how e-books and print books can coexist.

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