Just came across this amazing wiki called WikiMapia where they have satellite images of the whole earth and you can add meta data to it describing places, wiki-style. It’s pretty awesome! Anyone can add info, and just like all the other map programs, you can zoom down and see different detail of places. The photo above is my neighborhood.
Technorati Tags: socialgeography, wiki, mapping, tools, povertyjetset, map
I just read an incredibly interesting article about the revolutionary thinker Stewart Brand in the NY Times. It talks about his new ideas on the environmental movement, a group he divides in two: the romantics and the scientists.
Mr. Brand predicts that his heresies will become accepted in the next decade as the scientific minority in the environmental movement persuades the romantic majority. He still considers himself a member of both factions, just as in the days of the Merry Pranksters, but he’s been shifting toward the minority.
“My trend has been toward more rational and less romantic as the decades go by,” he says. “I keep seeing the harm done by religious romanticism, the terrible conservatism of romanticism, the ingrained pessimism of romanticism. It builds in a certain immunity to the scientific frame of mind.”
I find the idea really interesting. It’s been a nagging sensation in me for a while now, this idea that eating organic and drinking filtered water won’t save the planet. I mean, it’s obvious, but we do it anyway. But I love what he says, too, about energy, for example. I find myself on the brink of this very same thinking…
“It is one of the great revelatory bets,” he now says. “Any time that people are forced to acknowledge publicly that they’re wrong, it’s really good for the commonwealth. I love to be busted for apocalyptic proclamations that turned out to be 180 degrees wrong. In 1973 I thought the energy crisis was so intolerable that we’d have police on the streets by Christmas. The times I’ve been wrong is when I assume there’s a brittleness in a complex system that turns out to be way more resilient than I thought.”
I guess we’ll just have to do our best. Wait and see. And try not to be overly romantic about organic mineral water from Fiji.
I’m still dreaming of building an off-the-grid cob house on a mesa in the desert, though. No one can convince me that I can’t ward off the apocalypse on my own! 
Technorati Tags: stewartbrand, endoftheworld, environment, povertyjetset, sustainability, idea, apocalypse, psychedelic, 60s
It’s a sad day in the world of underground media and music. The venerable, excellent and unique magazine offering, Arthur shut it’s doors today. They covered all sorts of great bands from the cover story on Sunn O))))) to introducing me to Growing.
I knew that things weren’t all well because my pal Laris Kreslins had been the mag’s publisher until last month when he announced to us all that he was stepping down. I didn’t hear why, exactly, but I guess things weren’t right.
I’m sad to see it go. It was a great find, imported from the freaky SoCal scene by Laris himself, when he moved to Philly.
I hope something as good can spring from its ashes.
Update: Maybe it’s not dead after all! More after the jump…
Technorati Tags: art, arthurmagazine, love, magazine, media, music, povertyjetset, psychedelic
My dear friend Brooke Sietinsons has been working for months on a new-fangled device that’s gonna throw some real pretty light up on the wall. I’ve been helping her brainstorm here and there, and now the final project is coming!
Unfortunately, I won’t be able to be there because I’m projecting movies again at True/False Documentary Film Festival in Columbia, Missouri that weekend, but I encourage the rest of you Phillies to head on out!
Technorati Tags: brookesietinsons, performance, art, Philly, kaleidoscope, povertyjetset, projecting, psychedelic
I’ve been subscribing to Garrison Keillor’s “Writer’s Almanac” emails since I moved out of my tent in Western Massachusetts. I used to listen to it every day on NPR up there on my way to work. Poetry is, of course, always a really awesome way to start the day. Especially when it’s read to you by Mr. Keillor.
Yet now, four years later, I get a little annoyed by the daily email. Reading it is different than getting it read to you. Sure, you can click the audio stream. Most days I don’t read it. I mean, it’s still funny and good. Garrison gives us a little insider info on some cool historical figures. Reads a poem. And that’s that. Wipes the hands, calls it a day. But you know how it is when an email comes in every single day. Starts to look a lot like spam.
Long story short, for some reason I read today’s, and it struck me. A real Poverty Jet Set poem. Maybe even our theme poem. If this has happened to you (and hopefully you learned your lesson!), you’re automatically IN.
Poem: “Jet Lag” by Eve Robillard, from When Gertrude Married Alice. © Parallel Press. Reprinted with permission.
Jet Lag
He flies over the ocean to see his girl, his Sorbonne
girl, his ginger-skinned girl waiting for him in the City
of Light. Everywhere river and almost-spring gardens,
everywhere bridges and rainy statues. Streets going
nowhere, streets going on all night. I love you my mona
my lisa, my cabbage, my gargoyle, Degas’ little dancer
in dawn’s ragged gown. But on the third day she
picks up her books, tells him she needs to study:
she adores this town, she’s not coming home in May, she’s
going to stay all summer. Lowers her morning-calm eyes.
He’s all right in the cab, all right on the plane droning
him home in only three hours American — key in his lock now
his tick-tock apartment, shiver his shadow, his need
to sleep. Then with a tiredness washing over and
over him and through his raveling bones
he begins to know.
Technorati Tags: poetry, writersalmanac, garrisonkeillor, travel, povertyjetset, jetlag, everobillard, advice
I’ve met a couple long-distance bicyclists in my day. An interesting lot, to be sure. I’ve always day dreamed about biking across America (Paul, are you reading this?). Just for kicks.
One time, I had a conversation with this guy Dieter, the owner of a youth hostel in Dawson City, Yukon Territory that I was staying at. Dieter had this world map on his office wall with a thin, black line snaking its way up and down the continents of the earth, ending in that far, far corner of Western Canada. I asked him is those were his travels. “Yep,” he said. “My travels on my bike.”
If you ever find yourself in Dawson City, go say hello to him and stay at his hand-made youth hostel. It’s one of the finest hostels I’ve ever been to. Complete with Yukon-style “showers”, log cabins and super excellent international vibe. Not to mention near 24-hour daylight in the summer. You’d have to be pretty hardy to get up there in winter. Tends to be like 30-below most of the time.
Here’s a photo of Dieter, lookin’ fabulous in 1980 in the mountains of Columbia:
But I’m getting side-tracked. What was I was going to post about was another intrepid traveler, Tim Harvey. I was just reading about Tim, who just completed an entirely human-powered expedition to circumnavigate the planet that took him over two years. So awesome. That’s a photo of Tim at the top of the post. I wanted to share Tim’s story with you because this morning I saw a really inspiring interview with him during his last days on his trek. Unfortunately, I can’t embed the video, but you should really have a look. Click this link to watch it. Super, super stuff.
Technorati Tags: heros, concept, freedom, bikes, environment, inspiration, povertyjetset, travel, biking, adventure, escape, nomad, dawsoncity, timharvey, canada, video, radical
Scotty and Fiddy, the blokes I blogged about last month, made it! They successfully hitchhiked to all 50 state capitals in 50 days. I’m stoked for them. Good on ya, fellas! Read, watch and more about their adventures over at their web site.
I’m so all about these kinds of adventures. Totally pointless, but totally awesome. It’s like good art. Elegant, yet profound. Simple, yet complex.
Okay, maybe not like good art. But hey, it is pretty cool. Admit it, you’re jealous.
Congratulations, boys.
Technorati Tags: idea, travel, povertyjetset, humor, hitchhiking, adventure
Over Thanksgiving, I got really sucked into playing around with the newest iteration of Google Earth, and boy, oh boy is it awesome. Nothing quite matches its arm-chair-travel fabulousness. It’s like a traveler’s day dream machine. The thing that really blew my mind was that mountains are now in 3-D! I spent hours flying around to cool mountainous spots on the globe — places I’ve been and others that I want to visit. Here’s a picture of Telluride, where I lived for four years:
How awesome is that?
Somewhat coincidentally, a couple days later, I came across this article in BoingBoing about how Bahrainis are using Google Earth to rally for equality and against the excesses of the royal family. Nothing quite as cool as Interweb tools empowering people to fight for their rights. Isn’t that what this whole thing was about in the first place?
Technorati Tags: mapping, googleearth, travel, povertyjetset, map, boingboing, rights
Justin Glow over at Vagabonding just found a pretty awesome Flickr set by a London-based photographer named Michael Hughes. He takes postcards and other souvenirs of famous landmarks and shoots them in front of the landmark themselves. Uh, that doesn’t roll off the tongue. Here, just look:
Technorati Tags: povertyjetset, art, idea, travel
I think every town should have one of these:
Keep Austin Weird Map
Thanks, Gridskipper.
Technorati Tags: map, povertyjetset, socialgeography, weirdness, mapping, identity
I just went to the polls. It felt good, my hand shook by the last minute poll stumpers, to be thanked to be there, to see democracy in action (even though I was the only voter there).
After I voted, I had an enlightening conversation with the lady running the booths. I asked her if I got a receipt with my electronic vote.
“No, why?”
“It’s all so invisible. My vote just disappears into the machine. How can I be sure it’s registering my vote the way I want it to? How can I go back and show you emphatically who I voted for? What do they do if they need to recount?”
“My, you have a good point there. I don’t think I know.”
I wish voting actually mattered. I wish America would realize that it’s system is getting further and further corporatized, corrupt, and opaque. But, alas, I say this with nary a worry. I used to worry about things like this. But now, eh. Voting isn’t going to change the world. It’s going to have to be something bigger. It’s going to have to be something bolder. Voting is so 20th Century. I’m going to try and visualize a better reality, and attempt to be the revolution itself.
But just in case:
If you experience any irregularities in voting today, call 1-866-OUR-VOTE, the hotline for the National Campaign for Fair Elections. EFF lawyers and many others are standing by across the country to take legal action to remove malfunctioning voting machines, keep polls open, etc. [Link.]
Technorati Tags: electronicvoting, revolution, idea, politics, vote, voting, corruption, povertyjetset, Philly
The other day, I overheard some friends talking to one another about these women standing out in Clark Park in West Philly with a sign that read “Free Hugs“. According to all reports, these women were total hippies, which doesn’t surprise me considering they were in Clark Park, hippy mecca of Philadelphia.
However, upon further investigation, or rather by ways of mass dissemination of information via the Interweb, I have stumbled upon what is being called a global movement! A Poverty Jet Setter pal of mine recently ditched the house and the job and high-tailed it to Barcelona for the heck of it. After she got hugged randomly on the street in Spain, she directed attention to the world headquarters of the Free Hugs Campaign.
So it’s corny. Yeah. But what the hey? Let’s all put down our guns and our angry faces and get in on the newest love-in, baby. Start passing out the hugs today!
Technorati Tags: freehugs, idea, love, povertyjetset, travel
Freakin’ Bob Burnquist, man. Can you believe this dude? Builds a $280,000, 75′ high half pipe in his backyard and calls it an organic greenhouse! Amazing. The man is my hero.
“I’ve done some organic farming and I plan on doing some more,” he said, explaining how he skirted zoning restrictions. “In the conservation plan, the ramps are the agricultural buildings. I’ll put some plastic on the side and build a greenhouse underneath. That way it is proven it’s an ag building and I happen to skate on the roof.”
I suppose if you have money, this is the way to spend it.
Technorati Tags: radical, concept, heros, idea, povertyjetset, halfpipe, skateboarding
Adding to that last post…
“The rich enslave themselves, trading their freedom for mere things.”
–Socrates
Technorati Tags: QotD
My pal Joey over at Philebrity just found an interesting document at the University of the Poor, a high-minded lot geared up to eradicating poverty in America. In it, they provide some details about artists and their relationship to money. Not surprisingly, there’s some quantifiable truth to the old adage about “starving artists“.
I’m always amused by such pondering. Or maybe amused isn’t the right word. Conflicted is more like it.
On the one hand, I fit emphatically into this set. I’m an artist. I’ve held probably close to twenty five different jobs since college. I don’t have health insurance. I don’t own a home, a late model automobile or a 401k portfolio.
Yet on the other hand, I’m not poor. I’ve traveled all over the globe — Asia, Central America, Alaska, Europe — I’m virtually debt free — I have a college education from a top school — I have four days off a week — I move to awesome places on a whim — I have tons of good friends… How is this poor? Because I don’t own anything?
And I’m not alone. Poverty Jet Set, man. It’s a real thing. I keep saying that it’s something like the 21st Century version of The Sun Also Rises. It may sound bizarre to some people, but if you believe the equation that time = money, we would much rather have the time. We hate giving up our time in exchange for money. Each minute that passes is one minute less to live.
While the statisticians of the world love to quantify our so-called plight, ultimately, it ain’t such a bad deal. For now, I make the whole complexities-of-modern-life thing simple by choosing to stay cash poor, by choosing to live with less, on less so that I can have awesome adventures and suck the marrow out of life. Carpe diem.
Technorati Tags: philosophy, wageslaves, concept, freedom, travel, identity, less, artists, employment, povertyjetset, work, diy, adventure
My good friend Greg Babush recently posted a great ode to his choza, a crazy little shack near Telluride, Colorado that he’s lived in on and off for the last few years. I love the story and his photos. Reminds me of the times I’ve been up there and hung out, down that sketchy little path along the insanely steep embankment, feeling all Kerouac-in-the-firetower-esque.
Jeff and Ursula, my friends who own the property, have a totally off-the-grid home, too. The choza is on their land. They’re truly Poverty Jet Setters themselves, having just taken a couple-month trek to Central Asia just this past year. Good people.
Have a look.
Technorati Tags: adventure, choza, community, concept, housing, offthegrid, povertyjetset, sustainability, telluride
Treehugger just posted a great diagram today detailing a hypothetical instant disappearance of all humans on earth. It’s really amazing, have a look:
Technorati Tags: apocalypse, endoftheworld, environment, magdalenus, povertyjetset, people, sustainability
I just read about these couple guys (in Vagabonding) who’ve taken it upon themselves to hitchhike to all 50 state capitals within 50 days. Now that’s the kind of adventure I can get behind. Total pointless, totally cool, totally Poverty Jet Set. And fun as hell. Not only that, but they’re promoting themselves in an entertaining and oh-so-Web-2.0 manner — Flickr photos, YouTube videos, a MySpace profile and more.
Too bad they won’t be through Philly. Only Harrisburg, I suppose. Yuck! Oh, all right, Harrisburg isn’t ALL bad.
Hey guys, do you know about CouchSurfing.com already? Surely…
Technorati Tags: concept, hitchhiking, magdalenus, driving, povertyjetset, adventure, travel, blogging, ontheroad
This is what I’m thinking:
[From Treehugger]
Technorati Tags: magdalenus, droppingout, povertyjetset, architecture, design, endoftheworld, offthegrid
