Go Amphibious

Posted on November 28, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

If you have ever dreamed of going camping and boating, the Sealander is the perfect solution for you. This nifty little schwimmcaravan retails for around $20,000, but it’s fully customizable and comes with an electric motor, heating and cooking equipment. I wish that I had one of these when I lived in Florida.

According to the Sealander company website , “Through its integrated waterproof chassis can be Sealander without trailers and slipway just launched. Among the wide bowl shape provides high stability and thus a safe location on the water. Due to the shallow draft can also navigate shallow waters. A low-emission electric motor allows the unlicensed use of almost all inland waters. The accumulator of the outboard motor can also take advantage of the power of the interior and while driving on land can be easily loaded on the towing vehicle.”

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Mapping Our Emotions

Posted on November 27, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Artist Ed Fairburn creates arresting portraits out of the hodge-podge of streets, roads, railways, topographical features and waterways on ordinary maps. His meticulously worked pencil and ink drawing are hauntingly emotional. Fairburn says, ” The work that I produce is largely figurative, and through the exploration of the human form I examine the patterns and structure that exist across the body”.

All images © Ed Fairburn

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Parade Redux

Posted on November 26, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Of course I missed the actual broadcast of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade last week (good excuse: I was cooking for 15), so I was amazed to find that former street artist and fellow Jersey boy KAWS had a balloon in the parade. The Brookly-based artist, who is known as Brian Donnelly at home, is famous for his clever reworking of comic cultural icons and his subversive toys and sculpture. His surprising entry into the pantheon of beloved parade balloons was his curiously moving figure called “Companion”.

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Book Building

Posted on November 25, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Eco-Artware, a retailer dedicated to “green” gifts, has posted a series of impressive projects created with recycled or discarded books. Some are prize-winning installations by artist Job Koelewijn, but the remainder are simply ingeneous efforts from bookstores and museums.

Job Koelewijn

Brunswick Bound, Brunswick, Australia

Savannah College of Art & Design, Savannah Georgia

Delft University Library

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Art in the Metro

Posted on November 24, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Many visitors to Amsterdam never ride the city’s limited Metro system; in fact many don’t even know that it exists. But the GVB’s clever campaign to refurbish the Zilbermeeuwen metro cars may encourage art-loving tourists to take a ride.

When the 30 year-old passenger cars began to show their age, the GVB partnered with the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts to start the “Art in the Metro” project. Local artists have already brightened 44 metro cars with original paintings.

The photos indicate the name of the artist and the metro car number.

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Be Safe Around Trains

Posted on November 23, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Most public transit safety advertising tends to be dull, unimaginative or even browbeating, so it was a treat to see the entertaining approach taken by Melbourne Metro in Australia. Animator Julian frost created this kooky little film called Dumb Ways To Die that doesn’t even mention public transportation until the very end of the film. But be aware that the musical ditty, also called Dumb Ways To Die, may make your head explode.

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Happy Thanksgiving Day

Posted on November 22, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Like most every kid growing up in the United States, each Thanksgiving Day holiday morning I was glued to the television in anticipation of the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade broadcast from New York City. It’s been quite a while since I’ve actually seen the parade in person, but I always try and catch a few minutes of this idiosyncratic American spectacle each year.

These vintage photographs from the early 1930s through the late 1970s are just a sample of the wacky, weird and sometimes freaky balloons that glide through Manhattan each Thanksgiving Day.

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Biellmann or Flutz in Paris This Season

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Built in 1900 for the Paris Universal exhibition, Le Grand Palais is one of the most extravagant buildings in a city of extraordinary architecture. Today, it houses the marvelous Galerie Nationale and the de la Decouverte science museum under its enormous glass-roofed halls.

But for the first time in its history it will become the Grand Palais des Glaces when it is transformed into the largest skating rink in Europe for the winter holiday season. The magestic venue will be open daily for skaters of all ages and skill levels during December and January. And while you’re there be sure th catch the amazing Edward Hopper exhibition (til January 28th).

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Go The Extra Mile

Posted on November 20, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

The Extra Mile is a brilliant start-up charitable organization with a very straightforward mission: they collect frequent flyer miles from all those folks who never use them and then provide access to the miles to people who need to travel to visit terminally ill loved ones.

Recently founded by Matt Dimmer following his own experience dealing with his father’s illness, The Extra Mile has partnered with the Hirshberg Foundation and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. You can find out more about the cause and about donating those unused frequent flyer miles right here.

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Every Book Is A Surprise

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

The Monkey’s Paw is Toronto’s self-described “most idiosyncratic secondhand bookshop”. So it’s not surprising that owner Stephen Fowler commissioned the creation of the Biblio-mat random book dispenser. The automat for books arbitrarily metes out improbably diverse titles that would normally be found on a seconhand bookshop’s discount rack, and all for the low price of $2. Here’s how the project works:

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