Travel Between The Pages

Advice From a Caterpillar

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

There have been many brilliant illustrated editions of Lewis Carroll‘s masterpiece Alice in Wonderland published over the last century, but Salvador Dali‘s take on the book has to be the most original. Published by New York’s Maecenas Press-Random House in 1969 and distributed as their book of the month, the volume went on to become one of the most sought-after Dalí suites of all time. It contains 12 heliogravures, one for each chapter of the book, and one original signed etching in 4 colors as the frontpiece, all of which the folks at SoHo’s William Bennett Gallery have thoughtfully digitized for our enjoyment. There were only 2,500 copies printed and, if you can find one, they go for $12,000 to $15,000 these days.

Alice in Wonderland – review (guardian.co.uk)

Posted in Art, Books, Writing | Tagged Alice in Wonderland, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll, Salvador Dalí | 1 Comment

Terry Pratchett Meets the Grim Reaper

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

If you don’t know who Terry Pratchett is, or you have not read any of his hilarious Disc World books, stop reading this blog and run out and buy a copy of any of his books right now.

In 2008, after he had just turned 62, the renowned British novelist was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers. This year Pratchett began the process to explore his assisted suicide options. Terry Pratchett: Choosing to Die is a difficult film to watch, but powerfully moving film in which the beloved author explores both his personal options and the cultural controversies surrounding assisted suicide.

“What you’re abou to watch, may not be easy, but I believe it’s important… Is it possible for someone like me, or you, to arrange for themselves the death they want?”

Snuff, by Terry Pratchett (independent.co.uk)
Neil Gaiman Interviewing Terry Pratchett of the Day (geeks.thedailywh.at)

Posted in Books, Europe, Writing | Tagged Alzheimer's disease, Assisted suicide, Discworld, Terry Pratchett | 1 Comment

Library of Human Imagination

Posted on November 20, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

Jay Walker is an American entrepreneur and inventor (he founded priceline.com and holds more than 250 U.S. patents) who has used his massive wealth to create an astonishing private library in his Connecticut mansion. Walker’s Library of Human Imagination contains more than 50,000 volumes and hundreds of museum quality displays. The library’s architectural plan was inspired by M.C. Escher artwork.

Unfortunately, the only way to visit the library is by personal invitation. mine appears to have been lost in the mail. But you can still watch a cool TED talk by Jay Walker.

Posted in Books, Libraries, Museums, USA | Tagged Connecticut, Jay Walker, Libraries, priceline.com | 2 Comments

Beijing Wonderland

Posted on November 19, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

Construction began in 1998 on an ambitious project to build Asia’s largest and greatest amusement park . But since then the “Wonderland” project, outside of Beijing, has been scrapped after funding dried-up. Last year, UK photographer Catherine Hyland explored the haunting semi-ruined park and documented the site in film and still images. Hyland’s photos reveal an eerie landscape of partially built attractions, rides, crumbling infrastructure and encroaching farmland.

Posted in Architecture, Asia, Film, Photography, Tourism | Tagged Amusement park, Beijing, China | 1 Comment

London Underground (for real)

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always hearted the iconic Harry Beck London underground map, but anyone who has used the famous map to navigate the tube system has occasionally found it wanting. To remedy the situation, the graphic design group UN/HERD has re-imagined the underground map by deconstructing the design and separating the tube lines into individual geographically more accurate designs.

Walk the Lines: the London Underground, overground, By Mark Mason (independent.co.uk)
Evolution of the London Underground map (kottke.org)
Beck, H.C (stoneletters.wordpress.com)
The Beauty of Whitespace in Maps (wisdump.com)

Posted in Europe, Maps, Tourism | Tagged England, Graphic design, Harry Beck, London, London Underground, Transport, Tube map, United Kingdom | Leave a comment

Where In The World

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

Where in the world is the Internet? Well, it appears that a big bundle of the Internet is hiding out in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Most of us naively think of the Internet as an amazing cultural phenomenon, but what about the physical “stuff” that makes it all possible?

Image via Wikipedia

Ben Mendelsohn created this mind-blowing (well at least really interesting) short documentary that pulls away the curtain on some of the most basic mysteries of the little known world of the Internet. 60 Hudson Street explores the deceptively nondescript building that houses one of the world’s most important Internet nodes.

Take a look:

Posted in USA | Tagged 60 Hudson Street, Ben Mendelsohn, Hudson Street, Lower Manhattan, Manhattan, New York, New York City | Leave a comment

American Censorship Day

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

Today the United States Congress begins holding hearings on the first significant U.S. Internet censorship legislation. If this very scary bill passes, the Internet will never be the same. We are on the precipice of a new era of repression and control. This is a basic free speech bill that has the potential to impact every Internet user.

This frightening legislation will allow the U.S. government and even private corporations the power to order service providers to block any website based on links or posts by users. Ordinary Internet users will be at risk for felony prosecution. Blogs and social network sites will be at risk for censorship.

Please write, call and email your Congressional representatives and demand that they oppose this evil legislation. You can learn more at the American Censorship website.

American Censorship Day is this Wednesday – And You Can Join In! (eff.org)
American Censorship Day is this Wednesday (Nov 16) – And You Can Join In! (censorshipinamerica.com)
American Censorship Day (avc.com)

Posted in Freedom of Speech, Writing | Tagged censorship, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Freedom of speech, Internet censorship, United States, United States Congress | Leave a comment

Build A People’s Library

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

The Occupy Wall Street People’s Library blog has been encouraging Occupy sympathizers to create their very own “people’s libraries” in their own communities and neighborhoods. The OWS Library is suggesting that like-minded folks search-out “privately owned public spaces” in their own communities, bring down a selection of books and waterproof boxes. According to the OWS People’s Library blog, “It all starts with a few books in a box”.

The People’s Library (scottcclibrary.wordpress.com)
The People’s Library is the collective, public, open library of the Occupy Wall Street leaderless resistance movement. (librarian.net)

Posted in Books, Freedom of Speech, Libraries | Tagged Libraries, New York City, OWS Library | Leave a comment

Islands of Britain

Posted on November 14, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

I recently stumbled across this fascinating documentary hosted and narrated by actor Martin Clunes of Doc Martin and Men Behaving Badly fame. The show travels throughout Britain visiting various islands and exploring how the progress of technology is impacting the life styles of the residents. You can view many of the series segments here for free.