UPDATE: Polls are closed! And the winner is…

LOVEANDTRASH.COM

We’ll be launching in just a few weeks. (Don’t know what this is about? Read below…)

Big news from Raggedy Annarchy and Jessica The Hun:
We’re launching a new blog
dedicated to
creativity, radical interdependence
and
how to be awesome for cheap.

This will be a place where YOU can show off your projects, promote your friends’ good work, and pick up new ideas. It’s dedicated to the little things we all do in our lives: to guerrilla gardeners and creative welders; to bike riders and secondhand fashionistas; to fire dancers, banjo pickers, amateur collagists and part-time poets.

Name That Site → WIN

Now through Saturday 3/6, leave a comment below with your name suggestion! We’ll pick the finalists, and run a vote next week.

If your suggestion becomes the name of this new site, you get a one-year Flickr Pro account, or a year’s subscription to one of these mags: Juxtapoz, Make, Wired, National Geographic or Popular Science. Your choice.

Need some inspiration? Here are some examples of what we’ll be publishing:

art video bikes general food pr0n zombies unicorns sewing lessons motivation ridiculous recycling poetry	photos fashion recipes (vegan and meatatarian) clowns weird welding inspiration transmogrification music lots and lots of art fabulous trash
…and whatever else YOU come up with.

Please note:
1. We get to suggest names too. If our suggestion wins, we keep the prize.
2. You can check to see whether your name idea is available: click here and search for your domain name.

OK GO.
Comment below to win!

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2010. | Permalink | 56 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: alternative, art, contest, diy, featured posts, freegan, garbage, gardening, green living, how-to, prize, prizes, recycling, reuse, starving artists, sustainable, zombies

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

In honor of Valentine’s Day, guest blogger The Apocalyptic Housewife is back with a dose of romantic realism—and a freegan Valentine idea.

I’ve been married a long, long time.

My husband loves me, loves us, and hates ‘compulsory holidays’. He also hates Facebook.

But he’s a great guy: he always gives me something special for non-compulsory occasions, like a $100 pillow when he noticed I’d been cracking my neck for weeks. And when a persistent, Facebook-obsessed friend finally copied a quiz into email and sent it to him, he answered it.

I was copied on the email, so I peeked.

“What would ______ say is your favorite scent?”

“My wife’s pillowcase.”

The Inspiration

On Thursday, M. had to leave for work immediately following a, umm, ‘nap’. I had the day off.

“I hate getting up now. Look at how even my t-shirt is mocking me”

After M. showered, dressed and left for work, I took my after-glow-anointed neck and my shrug and my cat onto the sofa for a nap. ZZzzzzzzzzmmmmmmmmmm.

When I awoke, I noticed that M. had left his old headphone bag in the trash. My brain leapt from headset to sewing machine to pillowcase, like a pinball lighting up the ’tilt’ sign.

If you try this at home, don’t leave out the ‘nap’ part;
your idea will undoubtedly be even better.

I already had Grandma’s ancient creaking sewing machine set up on the kitchen table where I made this bitchin’ shrug (pictured above) out of a bagged-out sweater and Brother Dennis’ dia de los muertos heart.

I had been meaning to make some Pillowcase Dresses for Haitian Relief, but my sewing skillz needed some brushing up—ie, I was ready to sacrifice a pillowcase for practice.

How to Make a Pillowcase Headphone Bag

You’ll need:
• A standard pillowcase
• A string (shoelaces work great)
• Scissors
• Iron
• Sewing machine, or needle+thread+dedication

1. Cut the pillowcase roughly in half lengthwise, and remove the hemmed section. You should have a long-ish strip of fabric, sewn on two sides. Cut it down more if you like.

2. Fold down the long edge. Turn down twice to make a casing, which should be wide enough that your string slides through easily. Iron to make a straight edge.

For best results, use a press-cloth.

For lousy results, iron directly onto a vinyl tablecloth, which is guaranteed to melt all over your iron.

3. Sew along the folded edge, using a zigzag stitch, and thread the string through. This will be the mouth of the bag, and the drawstring to pull it closed.

If you have trouble, attach a safety pin to one end of the string: it’ll be easier to thread that way.

Since I wanted this bag to remind M. of  my side of the bed while he’s using his headset at work, I used the shoelace that he teases the kitties with.

What’s a catnap without a cat?! And, look! Hearts!

4. Turn the pillowcase inside out, and sew along the open edge leaving the drawstring casing open. You should now have an inside-out bag.

5. Turn the bag right-side out and admire your handiwork.

The finished bag. It fits neatly into a backpack, holds a standard headset comfortably, and reminds M. of his warm, sleepy wife. Also, it cost NOTHING.

(Except for a new tablecloth.)

Happy Valentine’s Day, world! Go do something half-assed and whole-hearted. It’s worked pretty well for us.

© raggedyannarchy for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: alternative, buy nothing, craft, diy, featured posts, freegan, green living, how-to, love, reuse, romance, sewing, sustainable, valentine's day

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Somewhere in California, a blighted, mosquito-vector abandoned property is about to get an echinacea dose via seedbomb.

Seedbombing combines elements of childhood disgruntled mudbomb-hurling; the balance of meticulousness and zen that good gardeners possess; and my own forte, the invisibility and vigilance of a sniper.

It also requires a certain attitude. The first step to seedbombing is:

1. Understand that a job worth doing is worth doing crappily.

(...)
Read the rest of The Apocalyptic Housewife Goes Seedbombing (711 words)

© raggedyannarchy for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2009. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: adventure, alternative, buy nothing, diy, environment, featured posts, freegan, gardening, guerrilla gardening, how-to, nature, outdoors

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Now why don’t I let the lady introduce herself?

The Not-Nice, Apocalyptic Housewife

(...)
Read the rest of INTRODUCING: The Apocalyptic Housewife! (493 words)

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: art, diy, freegan, green living, suburbia

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

By the time I reached Boston, I’d been on the road for ten months. I’d already worn through a pair of boots, and repacked my entire bag with summer clothes. But one thing that happens when you’re traveling is that clothes just don’t last as long.

Part of it was due to the fact that I was washing things however I could: hot water, cold water, river water, bathtub water, laundry soap, shampoo, Dr. Bronner’s, scrubbing-with-gravel… and yes, that was wearing my poor threads to shreds.

But mostly, the demise of my duds was due to the fact that I wore the same thing every gosh-dang day. New outfit? Ha! Not on the road, not when you’re broke. Now, I’ve never been much of a clothing horse, but still… a girl’s gotta dress up sometimes.

And so there I was in Boston in my worn-out hand-me-downs, pirate pants, threadbare socks and stained shirts—and I said to myself, “Hun, it’s time for a new look.”

(...)
Read the rest of Boston's Best Thrift? $1-A-Pound at the Garment District. (315 words)

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: alternative, cheap, counterculture, diy, dumpster diving, ecotravel, fashion, green living, recycling, reuse, starving artists, sustainable, thrift, tourism

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

I ain’t gonna lie, I was scared to visit New York. Somewhere in my small-town hippie-chick psyche, I was convinced that city would eat me alive, and spit me out broke onto a westward-bound highway.

But my poverty and naïveté have never stopped me before, right? So I headed for the Big Cheese, and (thanks to good buddies Landry, YP & Eggie) found myself in safe and luxurious Brooklyn digs. All that was left, then, was for me to tackle Manhattan.

I saddled up The Navigator and hopped a subway, and soon became enthronged in the teeming masses of New York.

(...)
Read the rest of Chicken in the City (934 words)

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2009. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: adventure, alternative, art, buy nothing, chickens, counterculture, diy, eco travel, ecotourism, ecotravel, featured posts, freegan, green living, hiking, how-to, New York, outsider art, photography, rubber chicken, starving artists, superhero, transportation, travel, walking

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Added Value’s community garden in Brooklyn.
See more photos from New York’s community gardens

So there I was in Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighborhood. Just out of the way of public transportation and once heavily controlled by the Mob, this area has become somewhat of a car-oriented wasteland in recent years. Blocks are wide, full of brick buildings and parking lots. A brand-new Ikea sparkles in one corner, beckoning Brooklynites with all its fabulously disposable wares.

And right next to the Ikea? Why, a huge, flourishing community garden!

A garden grows in Brooklyn.
See more photos from New York’s community gardens

The Added Value Urban Garden is a volunteer-driven, youth-oriented community garden that also happens to be planted right on top of the asphalt here in Brooklyn. The farm is funded with grant money and is considered a public land in New York—which means that it’s open to everyone. Two days a week, volunteers come from all over town to help with planting, weeding, composting and harvesting. During the summer, a weekly farmer’s market brings in cash and public interest. And in between, Added Value works with young kids from the neighborhood, providing paying jobs.

That paid work is incredibly important. I talked to a Red Hook teenager who used to make money selling water on the streets. That’s a sight better than selling drugs, but still not a great job for a 14-year-old. He heard that the NY Department of Youth and Community Development was helping kids find work, and went down to the recruiting office looking for better work. They placed him here at the Red Hook garden, where he’s now a leader in the youth program.

(...)
Read the rest of Try This at Home: Join a community garden (444 words)

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2009. | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: agriculture, Austin, buy nothing, Chicago, community, Detroit, diy, education, environment, gardening, green living, locavore, New York, outdoors, sustainable, volunteer

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

This is the Waterpod™.

If you live in New York—or if you’re a sustainability geek—you probably heard about this highly ambitious project: 5 artists living on a barge on the waterways of New York, creating their own food, water and shelter in a demonstration of sustainable technology. The Waterpod visited each borough of New York, hosting events and offering free demonstrations and information to all visitors.

Cool stuff, at least in theory. Apocalypse enthusiasts and Kevin Costner fans alike have long toyed with the idea of living on the water; finally, somebody (one Mary Mattingly) got up the gumption to try it. And as it prepared to launch this spring, everyone from Discover to Inhabitat was singing its praises.

However, by the time I arrived in NY, the project had gotten some mixed press. Questions of the barge’s true sustainability were rampant—and my interest was piqued.

I tried to find information on the technical details via the project’s website, but only found a lot of artist-speak and a long James Joyce quote about water. What was the Waterpod exactly, and was it actually a viable living space—or just a high-concept artpiece created by ambitious amateurs?

The answer, not surprisingly, was a little of both. What I found at the Waterpod was not so much a fully-functioning project as a demonstration of possibility. Maybe it doesn’t work perfectly, but it offers fantastic food for thought and a lot of inspiration.

(...)
Read the rest of The Waterpod: life on a New York boat (883 words)

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2009. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: agritourism, alternative, art, biotecture, chickens, citizen science, design, diy, ecotourism, education, energy, energy-efficient, environment, experimental, farming, featured posts, gardening, green building, green living, habitat, New York, organic, permaculture, radical, recycling, reuse, river, solar, starving artists, sustainable, teaching, water

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

I was going to write a post on the art of the underground bike scene, but these photos tell the story better themselves. So, for your Wednesday-morning consideration: the art, the fire, the fury and the girls of the bike world. Enjoy!

So you know what you’re looking at: the people in these photos have created everything you see with their own hands. They made their own bikes, costumes, hairdos, jackets, flamethrowers, circus rides and just about everything else they could think of. DIY, eat your heart out.

Big love to my friends pictured here, including Hollis, Eliza, Moses, Doyle, Big Daddy, Katy Bell, Cyclecide, Rat Patrol, Black Label, and oh Johnny Payphone do I see a bike or two of yours in there?

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2009. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: adventure, alternative, art, bicycle, biking, buy nothing, citizen science, community, counterculture, design, diy, fire, freegan, garbage, green living, outsider art, photography, radical, recycling, reuse, robots, starving artists, superhero, transportation

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh