road warrior
photo: peggy markel
Our intrepid friend Peggy Markel just arrived in India to prepare to lead one of her amazing culinary adventures, Tasting Royal Rajasthan. She sent us this amazing picture of an ironing board computer table and the story behind it:
“We’re staying with a new friend, Rajiv Jani, friend of a friend. It is his rig, was already here. I knew you would love it. I thought to call it ‘permanent press’. Here’s how it came about:
Rajiv lived in Atlanta for 10 years and had all of his stuff shipped back to Delhi. He set up the ironing board in a spare room for his ironing. But he found out that he could have his shirts ironed for 2 rupees each. (1/2 a penny.) 25 shirts? $1.00.
He was looking for a place to set up his home computer and set a few things down on the ironing board until he found the right place. His electronics started growing there as that was where the internet connection was and the wiring was getting too complicated to move.To buy a new table from Ikea would cost $150. Then you need a chair. read more…
02.02.12 |
comments (1) |
in elements, inside, people, repurpose, road warrior, sightings, strategies, travel, why not? |
(Video link here.) When we’re introduced to a venture, our first impulse is always to ask: what’s the story behind it? What were the seeds of the idea that grew into a fully realized project? It’s the stories that win us over, which is why we’re are so taken with Jam in the Van.
Based in Venice, CA, Jam in the Van is the project of music fans looking for an uncommercialized, authentic music experience. Armed with an old Winnebago that they’ve turned into a state-of-the-art recording studio, these guys invite musicians to perform, film the unique performances, and put much of it online for free (scroll down for the current list of musicians). Music fans get to discover new artists or check out fantastic live-versions of their favorite tracks, and small independent artists get amazing free publicity. It’s such a rare and beautiful thing to see a project come together sheerly out of passion and drive. read more…
02.01.12 |
comments |
in art, music, people, reclaim, road warrior, travel, wheels |
We discovered RydeSafe Reflective Bike Decals via Better Living Through Design and quickly pledged to the RydeSafe Kickstarter project. These great-looking decals were designed by Tonky, an artist from Brooklyn who was hit by car and set out to make something that would keep him and other bikers safe while riding at night. The stickers are made from a film that reflects light (called conspicuity film), and are made to fit bike rims and frames, as well as helmets and accessories. The effect is quite striking, and makes you impossible to miss.
We love the mix of design and safety, but also think that these would make a great gifts for kids. We’re imagining walls and toys and clothes read more…
01.18.12 |
comments (1) |
in gifts, kids, outside, projects + play, road warrior, walls + windows, wheels |
photo: susan hochbaum
We love things that change our view. With the wind howling and the temperature cold, we found ourselves delighted with a little book that has taken us on an armchair trip through Paris, showing us the city through new eyes: the eyes of a pastry-o-phile. Pastry Paris: In Paris, Everything Looks Like Dessert
grew out of a teeny film graphic designer Susan Hochbaum created a couple of years ago, which we posted here (sadly, it has since been taken down.) It was perfect, with a sweet story behind it: “I came to Paris middle-aged, divorced, and newly in love. Granting myself a sabbatical and renting out my suburban home, I moved with my beau to this romantic city for a year of living shamelessly…Abandoning restraint, and with the appetite of a teenager…”
Hochbaum ate her way through the pastry worlds of Paris, seeing pastry everywhere she looked…
read more…
01.18.12 |
comments |
in food, gifts, outside, paths + processes, people, road warrior, sightings, travel |
Ever since we learned to drive, we wondered why sideview mirrors couldn’t be adjusted to avoid the blind spot that causes so many accidents, and kept us awkwardly looking over our shoulder to see if any cars were hiding in it. We never actually tried seeing if we could adjust the mirror, testing out possible solutions; we just went with the accepted wisdom. Until recently, when we read the about Society of Automotive Engineers’ simple solution to the blind spot issue, published in Car and Driver, that flies in the face of what has been considered gospel truth for ever:
“The paper advocates adjusting the mirrors so far outward that the viewing angle of the side mirrors just overlaps that of the cabin’s rearview mirror. This can be disorienting for drivers used to seeing the flanks of their own car in the side mirrors. But when correctly positioned, the mirrors negate a car’s blind spots. This obviates the need to glance over your shoulder to safely change lanes as well as the need for an expensive blind-spot warning system.”
The diagram above shows the simple shift.
Our big takeaway is that the experts – and accepted wisdom – ARE NOT always right. We question a lot (making our kitchen cabinets way deeper than the usual, making a “built-in tub” a modernist free-standing one after we saw that it had feet) and that questioning is one of the themes of ‘the improvised life’. We love this spectacular example.
via Lifehacker
Related posts: 4 ways to step outside of your comfort zone + conquer the ‘ok plateau’
dept. of subtle taboos: bathroom computer
designing slow life
drawing on furniture (like saul steinberg)
inspired electrical cord safety (tapedown with warning)
12.15.11 |
comments (1) |
in how-to, outside, road warrior, strategies, wheels |
The other day, we stumbled on Dargelos, an online store with stylish, thoughtfully-designed products for bicycle riders (some are great for NON bikers as well). We originally went to the site to check out their Lighting Vest, a hand-netted safety vest made from a specially-developed reflective 3M material that will make you highly visible to motorists (i.e. safe.) It is lightweight, can fit in your pocket and layer over just about anything you want to wear. It’s so great looking, we could imagine wearing it just for the hell of it.
While on Dargelos’ site, we discovered many other cool things… read more…
12.07.11 |
comments (4) |
in apparel, family + friends, gifts, inspiration, outside, resources, road warrior, soft, stores, textiles |
photo: sally schneider
One of our favorite things to do is walk around the the city checking out the ingenious anonymous improvisations that appear randomly in our sight lines. Lately, we’ve been seeing some great makeshift bike carriers, like these refrigerator shelves that have been affixed to the backs of bikes which appear to be meant for food delivery. We also love these photos Ellen Silverman sent us, of a rather frou-frou bike with a Cousin Itt-meets-Cyndi Lauper vibe…. read more…
10.13.11 |
comments |
in cheap + great, outside, road warrior, sightings, wheels |
Business cards can be so unimaginatively designed, that we are happy to post about innovative ones when we find them, as a reminder of the possibilities. We love this utterly succinct business card by Boris, although he got a good amount of flack about it on his site: some commenters complained that it doesn’t let people know what he does. It says enough for us; we get the gist (he is a”creative technologist” and general smarty pants).
It segues with an idea we’ve been meaning to write about: of buying blank business cards and then writing what you want on them ‘in the moment’, tailoring the info to the person you’re giving it to.. These days, many of us have multiple business and personal identities anyway—why not personalize a business card depending on the opportunity at hand? read more…
09.07.11 |
comments (1) |
in business, cheap + great, d-i-y, identity, materials, resources, road warrior |
Holton Rower
Holton Rower, whose Tall Painting got over 2,000,000 hits on YouTube (so far), sent us this photo of a car he spotted on the road. It is painted with strong, heart-felt messages that go WAY beyond the bumper sticker…easy enough to do, though it takes a kind of out-there courage. (It somehow reminds us of the Eleanor Roosevelt quote scrawled on a bathroom wall and our guerilla poetry post.)
What would your message(s) be?
Thanks a million, Holton!
Related posts: chalkboard volkswagon
‘window-box’ car bumper
vietnam’s culture of improvisation via charlie allenson (happy birthday charlie!!!)
cars as paint brushes and other guerrilla activities
helping people
‘love cannot be, without love’
07.13.11 |
comments |
in copy this!, outside, road warrior, sightings, wheels |
Matt Sumell* emailed us his swell car bumper improvisation and the story behind it:
…back in my college days I drove a Hyundai hatchback with a home-made wooden rear bumper. I graduated with an English and Environmental Science Degree, which prepared me for nothing at the time, so I took a job in the local Home Depot garden department. It was there that I got the idea for the window-box addition to my wooden bumper.
…at first I went with my favorites, Gerber Daisies. Then I planted wildflower seeds. I’d drive around, occasionally being ridiculed for my eccentric car. But every now and then, someone would pull up next to me on the highway, beep the horn and mouth “thank you.” It was pretty great.
It’s a take on guerilla gardening we hadn’t though of, with just the right combo of gift and surprise.
*Matt Sumell is a writer whose short stories have been published in Electric Literature, Noon, and elsewhere. Thanks Matt!
Related posts: repurposed swing set = hanging garden
guerilla florist bella meyer: “flowers as natural art supplies”
thinking about structures from the inside out
cars as paint brushes and other guerrilla activities
leaving secret (or surprise) presents
06.20.11 |
comments (3) |
in community, outside, paths + processes, people, road warrior, wheels |
Ellen Silverman
Ellen Silverman was picnicking with family and friends in Riverside Park in New York City when she saw some folks nearby serenely sitting at a pop-up picnic table, which had they’d unfurled out of a case in just a few moves. From Ellen’s not-terribly-comfortable vantage point sitting on a blanket on the ground (which was a little damp from recent rain), it looked pretty swell.
It’s like having a portable back yard. You could bring a little bunch of herbs: rosemary, lavendar or thyme, or mint for iced tea or lemonade, and arrange it in a paper cup on the table…or decorate it with striped table runner…
…and you could store the flat case under the bed…”
We hunted down the model Ellen saw, and then found other great options: read more…
06.06.11 |
comments |
in celebrations, cheap + great, family + friends, food, outside, resources, road warrior, stores, strategies |
