A Poetic Hobo

In American though the notion of the loner, the rambling man is as ingrained in our culture as that notion of the American Dream. Melville "Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and brining up the rear of every funeral I meet...the I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can" to Kerouac "I'd often dreamed of going West to see the country, always planning and never tkaing off" to Dennis Hopper's line in Easy Rider "What the hell is wrong with freedom? That's what it's all about", Americans long for the expanse before them. To no longer be trapped in cubicles and subway commutes but rather to see the open road. Yet this open road is nothing more than a collection of corporate America. I quote the musicain Guy Forsyth "I remember hearing songs about trains and feeling the rush of wonder that the world was both infinite and accessible all at the same time. Then is was songs about highways and born to be wild and little red corvette and the road went on forever in my mind. But not its clogged with stinking SUVs and two story pickup trucks that can climb over anything but the two story pickup truck right in front of it. Now even the Highways look the same, Starbucks and 7-11s and Wal-Mart’s line the feeder roads" It is against this backdrop that we find our young hero, Kenneth Flannery, who, burdened with debts from student loans from a college that promised him the world and credit card debt came about through the speculative excesses that accompany both wall street and online poker. He is the embodiment of the "Get Rich Quick" ethos that is the hallmark of our generation. Now embittered by corporate America's rigid structure he sets forth to conquer the world one couch at a time, hoping to prove that one can, as Thoreau so eloquently wrote so many years ago "When he has obtained those things which are the necessary to life, there is another alternative to obtain the superfluities; and that is, to adventure on life now...I do not speak to those who are well employed, in whatever circumstances, and they know whether they are well employed or not; but mainly to the mass of men who are discontented, and idly complaining of the hardness of their lot or of the times, when they might improve them"

Switch to hobo

So I've been neglecting this personal blog for a while, it's purpose has been replaced by twitter and the hobo site, purpose being to stay in touch with everyone and give quick mass blasts out to everyone I care about and care about me. I've just been busy.

As I type this I'm sitting on a kayak in the middle of a remote lake out in Wyoming, Leigh lake, where I'm camping the night, picture included. Life is good, as far as what I'm spending my time doing I couldn't be happier. Money coming in will really depend on how the hobo site does and my latest internet venture, mobubble.com, which is set to launch soon (in the real soon kinda way, not in the music slice soon kinda way).

I haven't told too many people about mobubble, but in short it's a means to post pictures and video from time to time about the goings on in your life from your camera phone, and I instantly sent to the phones of your friends who also have mobubble. Really cool. If you're interested in being a beta tester let me know, I'll be sending out private invitations this month.

Good times, I'll let you know if you have t switch completely over to the hobo feed, and those of you on facebook will see the change instantly.

Hobo Code

Days have been jam packed with rafting, hiking, programming, video editing, eating ice cream cones, and other good stuff. I've made some great changes to Hobo2.0Lifestyle.com to go along with the latest episode here in Jackson Hole.

For you web nerds out there, it's been a dive into php and the Google Map API to get it where it is now, but the results are great. Each episode now has a whole experience, not just the video. Now it's all on one page, a big map showing markers of where I've been on the trip with all my photos geotagged (pinpointed in the exact location they were taken) right on the map, and of course the video that pops up right on the same page. It took some figuring out to get it how I wanted it, but good times are rolling now.

So what's next? A couple more weeks in Jackson Hole, a visitor to look forward to, progress with MoBubble (another site I'm working on, details coming later next month), and some traveling ahead of me. I'm trying to get to Vegas in mid-late august, anyone think they can get me a ride? I'll be in Wyoming and Montana a bit, and I can always catch part of a ride east bound if it means landing in a spot where someone can head back west towards Vegas. In September I'm going to Sacramento. That's the story so far.

Hobo on The Road

Here's the latest episode from Hobo 2.0 Lifestyle, "road trip - episode 4". Also check out the map from the trip to see my route and stops.

You can easily subscribe through itunes or youtube to always get the latest episodes. If you use a different podcatcher/reader then you can subscribe here (I recommend Google Reader if you're not using anything yet, it works with your gmail or google account).

Road Trip

So I've been ignoring this blog in favor of working on and updating www.Hobo2.0Lifestyle.com a lot, but hey, it's all good times, I'm back now. You should go check that out though, I'm about 3 episodes deep with the video podcast, and you can subscribe to that through itunes with just one click from the hobo homepage, then you can check it out on your little ipod you apple freak. You can of course just watch them online or subscribe through You Tube too.

Anyways, the reason I'm so deep into that is because... road trip! I'm in Kansas at the moment, on route to Wyoming. Just a few days of travel has already given way to the spirit of it all and what I may be missing. As far as my stuff goes, I have more than enough... way more. I knew that going in, and over the next month I'll be getting rid of most of it until I have a nice tight pack of the essentials.

I don't know how much I'll be writing here compared to the Hobo blogs, so I suggest you check that out too while I figure out some kinda balance and distinction between personal and hobo. A lot of overlap... or total overlap... it is Hobo LIFESTYLE... whatever, good times.

Nathans Hotdog Eating Contest

I went down to coney island and watched one of the most intense sporting battles of my life. Here's a video I took of the event.

Wild Flying Thing

A little more action from the outdoor starbucks jam, here's a fresh video.