We’ve All Been There

Posted on June 23, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

If you’re part of the 99%, at some point in your life you’ve probably resorted to instant ramen noodles in some form for more than one meal. Now the lowly, but filling, instant noodle meal is being celebrated at its very own museum in Yokohama, Japan.

Opened at the end of 2011, the interactive CupNoodle Museum chronicles the history of the instant ramen noodle from creation by Momofuku Ando, founder of Nissin Foods, in 1958 until today.

The museum features displays on all things ramen, including manufacturing and marketing, a mini noodle theme park and of course a Noodle Food Court.

Related articles
Posted in Asia, Museums, Tourism | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Surf’s Up

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

This awesome animated film follows a neglected little bookmark on a wild surfing adventure when it’s unexpected liberated one day. “Much better Now” is a wonderfully visually entertaining film created by Phillip Comarella and Simon Griesser from Salon Alpin productions of Lisbon and Vienna.

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

Google Street View Trekker

Posted on June 21, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Google Maps Street View feature is a versatile and helpful tool, as well as a major time-waster for anyone with an internet-enabled gadget or computer. Now Google is bringing the Street View technology to parks, recreation areas and the wilderness with hiking trails.

At a demo last week, Google offered the first peek at their Street View Trekker technology, a nifty backpack-mounted camera that they are using to get detailed views of trails.that are not open to vehicular traffic.

Google is just beginning to roll-out the technology, so it will be a while before we can use the Trekker-view for a hike, but it won’t be long.

Related articles
Posted in Tech, Tourism | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Our Future Airline Seats (maybe)

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

British aircraft seating manufacturer Contour Aerospace and Factory design consultants have created a cool, futuristic seat-pod concept that can provide airline passengers more control of their personal space, along with a comfy flat-bed, mood lighting and individual media interfaces. This next wave in airline seating innovation is aimed of course at business class and premium flyers, but maybe the space saving designs will even reach the economy cabins, too.

Related articles
Posted in Tourism | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Indie Bookstores Represent Everything You Want

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

“Barnes Kong is on a rampage! The simian chain bookstore monster could go on stomping on independent bookstores and kidnapping dead authors forever, but the fearsome Amazilla has other plans: He wants in on the action. As the two battle with their laser e-readers, they destroy every public institution in sight. Can the Rebel Bookseller save the day, resue Emily Dickinson and bring back a community of books?”

I guess that you will have to read Andy Laties’ book on the state of the contemporoary book biz from Seven Stories Press. But first, take a look at his very amusing book trailer:

Related articles
Posted in Animation, Books, Bookstore Tourism, ebooks, Libraries, USA, Writing | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Stephen King’s Universe

Posted on June 18, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Australian artist/fabric designer Gillian James has been an avid Stephen King fan since the 5th grade when she  surreptitiously read a purloined copy of Carrie. Now she has created a massive infographic tribute to Stephen King’s novels outlining the connections among characters and books. I’ve met a few obsessive Stephen King fans over the years, but none quite this compulsive.

Related articles
Posted in Books, USA, Writing | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Save a Piece of Travel History

Posted on June 17, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Larger than the Titanic, faster than the Queen Mary, the luxury superliner the SS United States was launched with much hoopla sixty years ago. Unfortunately, the once proud travel superstar sits rusting away at a lonely berth on the Philadephia riverfront across from the local IKEA .

But now the SS United States Conservancy has enlisted the aid of NFL championship coach Dick Vermeil in a last ditch campaign to save the great ocean liner from the scrap yard. Vermeil has recorded a personal appeal, which will be broadcast in public service announcements throughout the United States.

For more information on the SS United States Conservancy efforts to rescue, repaire and restore the iconic ship visit ssusc.org  . You can even make a donation to the cause on the website.

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

Just In Time For Bloomsday

Posted on June 16, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Designed for “saunterers, idlers and tech-savvy literati”, and launched just in the nick of time for this year’s Bloomsday celebrations, JoyceWays is a new app developed by students at Boston College in conjunction with Dublin’s Joyce Centre.

 

The app offers excerpts from Ulysses, archival photographs, maps, expert crtiticism, information on more than 100 Dublin locations, vintage artwork, videos, narration by broadcaster Frank Delaney, and much more

Related articles
Posted in apps, Books, Europe, Tech, Tourism, Travel Writing, Writing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Barcelona’s Book Train

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Passengers on the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalan National Railways) will soon have access to a virtual onboard library on trains in and around Barcelona. Select trains will display posters of forty books along with QR codes. After scanning the codes, riders will be able to read chapters from books by authors such as Philip Roth, Cormac McCarthy, Umberto Eco and Walter Isaacson. The Bibliotren is a partnership between the Catalan Government’s literacy program and Random House Mondadori publishers.

Posted in apps, Books, ebooks, Europe, Tech, Tourism, Writing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Which Books Should You Read

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

You don’t have to be a student to appreciate this well constructed flowchart from Teach.com . “Which Books Should You Read This Summer” was created to encourage students to pick-up a few good books this summer even if they don’t have any assignments. Fiction & non-fiction, classic & contemporary, the chart has great selections.

Related articles
Posted in Books, ebooks, USA, Writing | Tagged , , | 2 Comments