HIPSTER RUNOFF

Photos via design milk

One day, I will break free from my job in corporate America. Working in my cubicle all day, relying on a larger corporation to pay me every month so that I can survive. I work in a generic office building, one that you drive by every day, but you don't really understand what exactly has to happen for the business to survive. I work in one of many departments, feeling like a 'brick in the wall' with a bunch of other people who are in the same pay-bracket as me.

So many employers don't understand how architecture can change the way that they do business. Positive community space can enable workers to bond, work, thrive, and build peer-2-peer sharing networks of business information and intelligence.

H8 being stuck in my cubicle all day. Feel sad that all I can dream of is 'getting my own office' one day, but even that is just a bigger cubicle.

What I really want
is 2 break free
from a company employing me
and to break out of my cubicle

My dream is to be self-employed
living the American Dream
doing my work
in a progressive space
that enables me to make millions of dollars.

I want to be self-employed and work in a conceptual work space / modern cubicle that integrates itself into the space in my regional community.

I want a window that overlooks my backyard. Watch my children grow. Monitoring the dog, making sure he doesn't 'dig up the flowers.'

Might build a spherical pod that can roll around, move it into a public park on a beautiful day. If there is a flood, I will just 'float on' kinda like that Modest Mouse song.

Being self-employed is the American Dream
Having a portal where u can sit in front of a computer
and make money
may or may not be the modern version of the American Dream

Maybe I can start an mp3 music streaming service
a blog website
a music reviews zine
the next facebook
a microblogging community
a meme blog about hipster sea monkeys
The possibilities are endless
as long as I have
the right space to work in

A pod that represents 'the future'
like a space pod
that could feasibly exist in outerspace
looking out the window at Earth
floating above all
transcending all companies.

I want a Lincoln Log cabin. A modern take on an old ideal space. A place where 'shit can get done.'

I want a space that enables me to write a modern version of the Gettysburg Address
Perhaps a meme blog called 'The Williamsburg Address' that makes fun of hipsters
who live in the Williamsburg area of New York / Virginia

My company will be strong, progressive, small.
A tight nit family of workers who truly share ideas to create a better world.
Handling conference calls, browsing the internet, making deals, selling goods + one-of-a-kind services
on the internet.

Space can really change your workplace
Inspire your employers
Help you to stay connected with the world
in order to make positive changes in our ever-changing societal world

What is the American Dream?
What is ur work space like? Does it depress u?
Do u believe more companies should make 'kewler' spaces to inspire workers?
If you could build a work space, what would it look like?
Is life just a series of cubicles?

Photos by Ryan Barkan via BrooklynVegan

It's difficult to be a buzzband in the modern world. It seems like every1 is just trying to do stuff on the internet to 'go viral'/capture ur attention for 1-4 minutes, but they are forgetting about the spirit of music. The spirit of humanity. Music is here to lift us up, and help us enjoy life...sometimes even 2 help us escape from how much we h8 the trappings of modern society. My buzzband decided to do something new and original. We decided to go to the people. Instead of playing in a club or bar or church auditorium, we were going to find real people to play our real music. We went to a meaningful subway portal.

Playing our music to people who use public transportation will help us connect with real people, living real lives' in this real city of ours. First, we will succeed as a local band, playing rush hour every day for the next year. Then we will be signed and go 'national', and hopefully 'international.' It seems plausible that record label CEOs chill on this bus stop. In addition, this meaningful public space means provided us with some sweet acoustics that really helped our sound.

It was kinda inconvenient though, bc my female band mate has a really zany vintage piano thingy. Sucked 2 lug it down the stairs.

A lot of people didn't 'get' us and our music though. Maybe this is indicative of mainstream markets and their expectation of 'how music should sound.' So many bros were just like 'I want to get on my day without all of this hipster scum making my life hell.'

I think some of them confused us for 'beggars'. They didn't look at us or listen to us, as if we were less than human. Maybe they hated buskers (people who play music 4 money) because they don't have a solid track record.

We made $1. I wonder if it would be easier to maintain this business model, or to try to sell digital copies + exploit commercial licensing on the internet.

It was about more than just 'making money.' We used HD flip cams to cover the event, so we could get tons of internet media. Youtube, tweets, flickr fotos. We are social. We are social media.

Tons of people were twitpicing and dropping mad hashtags. Some people even used a tumblr app to live microblog that (Thank G-d for 3G wireless networks).

Wonder if the Bedford L Platform the altest place to play a meaningful live impromptu performance, or if we should have gone to a stop with a mainstream audience?

It seemed like we had invented something new. A new movement. The busker wave scene had been born, and we felt like we were the ones taking it to the mainstream.

Everything was going really chill. We had a lot of fans, and people were mad stoked to see us playing our cutesy indie music in a live zany context...

but then some ass hole African American came over and started banging on empty Home Depot buckets

Then some other African american came along and started banging on even more buckets, creating an ambient sound that sorta felt like Phil Spector recording Animal Collective.

Then things got weird when another busker band came along and started playing

Then some AZN bro came and started riffing on his acoustic

The vibe was texturous, and another African American busker came to riff on his sax.

We were fortunate enough to have a keyboard player there to really add some cute jingles. Her yamaha keyboard + amp + power generator really came in handy in the 3rd hour of our jam sesh.

Another AZN came out of nowhere and jammed hard on his sterling silver electro saxophone

Two of the founding members of the busker wave movement were sort of resentful of the new found popularity of our busker wave super group. They had been in the industry for 20 years, but didn't understand how our busker group had monetized so well.

Then a cello bro got off the subway, and we wrote a 'sad' song. Really mellowed out the whole subway platform.

Then wrote a dance anthem with the help of a zany guy + another accordion player

It seems like tons of foreign tourists really got into our band. They took pictures on their digital cameras, then uploaded them to their picasa accounts.

Overall, I think our experiment was successful. We made a lot of new fans, met some real people, and we felt like we reconnected with the spirit of music. Indie music no longer just lives on the internet. Indie music lives on the streets, in the subways, and in the sewers [via the Ninja Turtles].

Not sure if our next show should be in a city bus

or on an airplane?

Feel like city bus might 'reach real people', but people who are flying probably have tons of spending money that they are willing 2 spend on CDs + band merch.

1 indie band. 1 dream

Was it a 'good idea' for this indie band to play a show at a subway stop to create internet media?
Where would yall play to make the most amount of fans? The Super Bowl?
Do yall think buskers are annoying because they play shitty music?
How do u feel about black men who bang on buckets as if it is a 'real art form'?
Would yall rather give money to a busker, a beggar with a witty sign, or an indie band?

'There's no such thing as home.'
- Zacharias Braff, The Garden State of Friendship movie film

This is the story of how Carles gave up his prestigious position at a leading architecture firm and eventually ended up living in this temporary cardboard structure attached to a wall in the subway. A story about giving up everything 2 find urself.

Photo via Ivan Rodic

I went away to the city. After I finished the 5 year architecture program at Rhode Island Institute of Design, I got a job with one of the most prestigious architecture firms in the world. They were known for their innovation, 'kewl looking buildings' and sometimes downright zany/dangerous design decisions. I was the understudy to one of the most respected architects in the world, and he really taught me a lot--how to challenge norms and how 2 transcend society. How 2 value public space and how not 2 care about material things. He taught me about how to use the Adobe Creative Suite, as well as how to use 'actual Adobe' to create a shelter. The truth is, when u architectify a beautiful building, it doesn't need to stand out--it needs to be functional and cheap. This is the beauty behind architecture.

After I 'matured' into a true designer, I resigned from my position, and decided to go to a suburban construction company who designed 'shitty buildings' that people take for granted. I made a lot of structures that I was very proud of. I did not make as much money as I could of, nor did I design museums or investment banking facilities, but I was truly happie.

Here is a strip mall that I designed.

I redesigned the space within 24% of Subways in the USA

I designed a space in which Chicken and Tacos could be served.

Here is a concept Chinese restaurant that I embedded within a now defunct mall.

I even revolutionized the storage industry by inventing something called 'Portable On Demand Storage' (PODS), where people can put all of their shit in a huge box.

As you can see, I designed things that real people use on a daily basis. It was as if I had 'mastered' architecture, and there was nothing else to achieve. I felt like I was on top of the world, much like after most architects build their 'master building.' I was truly on top of my game.

This was when I decided to challenge norms for the rest of my own life.

I created a temporary structure within the local subway system. It was made out of cardboard and duct tape. The purpose of this structure is to promote 'sustainability' and 'portability.' One of the walls of my new home was 'already built' and I could theoretically live any where in the world, just as long as there was some sort of 'wall' where my home could be attached. I did not need multiple rooms, a restroom, or even many furnishings beyond a bundle of cloth to sleep upon.

No longer do I need to be 'connected to a world' so I no longer require television, internet, nor radio. I am truly free. I have formed a small bartering community with other 'underlings' and we trade essential goods and services.

I am finally home. This is my structure. It took me 20 years of being an architect to finally realize what it means to feel 'at home' within a structure. After years of searching for a place where I belong after the death of my mother, I finally felt 'free.' While many people within society would thing that I am 'a piece of shit', they don't realize that until you have learned what it takes to create+alter space, u don't truly understand how 'structures', 'buildings', and miscellaneous portals of space have changed U as a person.

U R Where U Live.
This Bro Is Me.

Previous homelessness coverage
http://www.hipsterrunoff.com/2008/12/homelessness-big-in-2k9.html
http://www.hipsterrunoff.com/2009/06/my-parents-kicked-me-out-of-the-house.html

I think one concept that sets me apart from entry levels+ mainstreamers is my ability to value 'space.' Most mainstreamers don't even know what 'space' really means. They think it's what exists outside of the Earth's atmosphere. SPACE is everything.

You are in a space right now. Are you in an authentic space? More than likely not. Unless you live in an authentic apartment, are utilizing wifi at an authentic coffee house, or are in a public space in a major metropolitan area utilizing free city-wide wifi. SPACE means thinking about every compartment of Earth like it is an art gallery. Within this white walled art gallery, you are supposed to produce a meaningful experience by either creating a product or service, or interacting with people. Your meaningful experience will some how relate to humanity on a global scale.

SPACE is intended to bring us together.
SPACE is intended to unite communities.
SPACE is intended to bring the poors, coloureds, whites, and rich whites together.
SPACE is intended to make you more productive.
SPACE is intended to make your community look more 'real.'
SPACE makes you feel like your life is more meaningful.
SPACE makes small things like 'taking a poop' more meaningful if your experience is enhanced by your surroundings.
SPACE is everything.
SPACE may or may not be architecture.
SPACE may or may not be design.
SPACE is a concept--not a realization.
We will never find the perfect space in which to exist because there is no perfect society.
SPACE = rage against nature.
SPACE = merging our city's 'authentic vibe' with a sub-compartment's (apartment, park, coffee shop, etc.) spacial brand
SPACE = spacial branding.
SPACE has meaningful words on the walls in meaningful/authentic fonts.
SPACE is the host of 90% of the world's 'installations.'

I was watching this meaningful clip about building a community space. How many times can u count the word "SPACE" utilized?

Do you remember back before the internet existed, there was a demand for 'creating a positive space that was capable of operating community events'? In this space, any alternative event could take place. A concert, an art show, a local arts & crafts garage sale, a workshop to build u a bike from recycled parts, or even miscellaneous after-school programs to embed alternative values and goals in lil kids. This SPACE is flexible and can be called a 'multi-use space' because u can do just about n e thing in there. (This SPACE is B.Y.O.B.)

Less authentic synonyms for 'space':

• property
• room
• apartment
• place
• retail floor
• ballroom
• cheap property on the pre-gentrified part of town
• room with white walls/zany coloured walls
• four-walled area
• art gallery
• mega-churches
• aesthetic centres
• IKEA-filled compartment
• loft
• condo
• Frank Gehry/Frankie Lloyd Wright

This is a post about being worried about the future of SPACE as an alternative goal. The truth is, SPACE costs money--in order to . The tasks which you could perform inside of a meaningful space usually aren't profitable. The internet usually provides a more flexible, 24-7 forum in which goods can be created and sold, humans can interact, and meaningful relationships can be forged. Can alternative entrepreneurs and alt-non-profit organizations really pay rent for a community space?

SPACE = bar - liquor license ?

Here are quotes that are inspired by spaces which I occupy:

• "The concert was amazing. The club's acoustics really brought out the best in Ben Gibbard's voice. Even though there were a lot of people there, the space made it seem like a meaningful get-together."
• "I just want to move out of the dorms and be in my own space. I have a Container Store gift certificate."
• "We went to my friend's show at an art gallery. The people who ran the space were really uptight about under-aged drinking."
• "The space was owned by a wealthy guy who was trying to make friends within the local alternative community. He used to work for MTV News and now he is trying to start an authentic lil thing."
• "I hate work. It's just the vibe. Something about being at that desk all day makes me want to kill myself. I'd give anything to work at Google. The get to put anything they want in their offices. They get to create their own positive work space."
• "It was crowded, but it made the experience more meaningful. The speaker system failed, but we kept dancing. It was hot. We were sweaty. I'll never forget what it was like to be crammed in that space during the great Dance Revival of 2k7."
• "I want 2 create a space where I can communicate with ppl. I want all interactions 2 b authentic & meaningful. I am building a myspace profile."
• "I am thinking of throwing an event to launch my new web/print zine. Do u know who runs the local alternative community multi-use/multi-function retractable dome community space?"

What does SPACE mean 2 u?
Have u been in any positive/negative spaces lately?
When u r in a 'mainstream' space, does it make u feel less unique?
Should I use HRO ad money to 'buy a community space' where we could do arts & crafts/blog/hang out/'make' 'art'/etc.?

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I have a dream. That one day. Every parcel of land on God's green Earth. Will be positive community space. Which brings us together. Under one common goal. Of enhancing space. And doing things. Within this space. And meeting people. And returning to this space. Multiple times. To have meaningful interactions. With these people. Who I met in this space. Where we can all age together. And bring our children. To keep this space. Functional and alive for years to come.


/// SPACE: THE FINAL ALTERNATIVE FRONTIER