Secrets of the City

How far will they get? Depends if they start above or below the falls.

What’s wrong with building a flotilla of rafts out of salvaged materials and floating down the East River?

If they come here, is there any way to arrange a “crazy fantastic floating-traveling orchestra-circus-freeschool-raucous-garbagepicking” beatdown by the MPLS Hipsters who dress up like zombies or organize pillow fights?

“Advance Ground Support in Minneapolis Needed!!”

Don’t drink the water…

In their blog they’ve noticed you called them ‘hipsters’, but don’t know that around MNspeak everyone from garbage men to senators count as hipsters, if only to give an excuse to use the word.

1) I hate wburg hipsters
2) didn’t someone drown trying this a few years back? I think it was just a few friends, but I swear I read a story somewhere about it

Together we float down the Mississippi river, as far as we canall the way to St. Louis

The Mississippi goes a lot further than St. Louis.

I remember a story on NPR last summer about 2 grad students taking a canoe down the Mississppi. I can’t remember if they started at Lake Itaska or in Minneapolis. I do remember that they started sometime in April and didn’t get to New Orleans until July or August (maybe that’s why this group is only going to St. Louis). The grad students complained about mosquitos a lot.

I have my doubts as to the long-term stability of those rafts they’re making. The last thing you would want is for your raft to disintigrate from under you in the middle of the river.

A couple of years ago, a bunch of guys built homemade boats and floated down the Mississippi, I think all the way to New Orleans (before New Orleans became a stinking heap). Here is the article from City Pages… http://citypages.com/databank/25/1236/article12372.asp
Are these the same guys?

members of the group have been down the mississippi before, all the way to new orleans. on other scrap rafts members of the group have made it to cuba and europe.

“If we make it right everything will run on sunshine and french fry grease”

I have no problem with the sunshine aspect of the plan, but I’d bet money that there’s a nasty grease spill before they clear Harriet Island.

miller, that’s ok, just move the state fair down there and I’m sure it will all magically get used somehow

Do you people realize who these artists are? These idividuals are the leading street artists of the world. So let’s show some respect.

Clark Eid and Kurt Zimmerman hold the current Mississippi paddling record at 26 days, 6 hours, and 41 minutes. Lots of people paddle the Ole’ Miss from Itaska to the Gulf. There is a great book by a young African-American who had never been in a canoe paddling it the entire length.

This whole raft thing is real popular with the um, I don’t know what to call them, let’s try the Hard Times Cafe crowd. Rafting groups like the Floating Neutrinos have been around for awhile now.

The person killed on the Mississippi wasn’t a rafter per se – it was a young girl who found a large piece of pink styrofoam and floated on it in St. Paul for a little bit until she got sucked under a barge and drowned. Call that a bad idea gone real wrong.

The more rafts the merrier. I spend a lot of time on the Miss in a kayak and welcome something not spewing oil, gas and huge waves.

Something about LudMasSon’s post really hit a nerve. I don’t believe anyone, even “leading street artists of the world” are above a bit of criticism or ridicule. Rafting down the Mississippi does sound kind of fun, at least in a romanticized sort of way (I don’t know if I’d want to deal with all the realities), but describing it as “crazy fantastic floating-traveling orchestra-circus-freeschool-raucous-garbagepicking-festival” just comes off as being overly pretensious. “Look at us, how free thinking and crazy we are. You in your white collar job could never be as cool as we are.”

And just because I think this way, I don’t think it makes me some sort of uncultured Philistine living in flyover land.

Maybe instead of making comments, you all could offer to help out?

It looks like they will be in town on the 24th.

Of course you can always make snarky comments after they leave, right?

Well, I mean … Williamsburg … pretention … they’re kinda like hipsters and coke.

not to dwell on specifics, but the group’s actually not from williamsburg.

They could check out:
1) River Travel Tips
http://www.caleuche.com/River/101Days.htm

2) Hip Tips
http://www.howtospeakhip.com/

3) Why Things Float
Ask A Scientist

4) Drinking Water
Mississippi River Water Quality Report

5) Beware of Flying Asian Carp

and how, praytell, woudl I help out? by throwing some garbage into the river on my walk home tonight so they can tie it to their ‘raft?’

or maybe if I kick some of the trees on nicollet island really hard I can knock one in! I bet that would make decent raftage … if it can make it over the apron without getting stuck like the rest of them

it appears they already have a wish list.

maybe you could look at it and get rid of some of the things you have just taking up extra space around your house/apt/condo.

wishlist is here

Wait, they’re using motors? Ah man, total wuss out. If you can’t move using your own power what’s the point. Might as well head down river on a frickin’ jet ski.

make another post when one or more of them drown, please.

You say snarky, I say snotty. Let’s call the whole thing off. Just the attitude that keeps me away from mnspeak lately.

I’m with 825tubs and LudMasSon.

I have a related question guys.

Since it is going to be 100 degrees this weekend, I need to find me a swimming hole. Not calhoun or anything urban—perhaps something on the outskirts of town that will be less crowed, and perhaps, cleaner?

A creek, a spring, anyhting…..

Anyone got advice? I’ll only tell a few of my close friends about it.

Baker,

get on over to the St. Croix. Rent a canoe, float downstream to one of the many sandbars and have a nice swim.

“hipster” I thought Jack Kerouac & such were dead.

Baker, try Fort Snelling State Park. It feels like the middle of nowhere, but you can bike there from Minnehaha Falls in 10 minutes.

Hey Baker,

My wife says they got one of them cement ponds over in Highland Park that no one uses. She says its never crowded

I think this group is fucked up. They dont even take the time to credit or acknowledge that the boat punks have been doing this for years. its great that they want to do this but, they dont acknowledge any of the predecessors that they got the idea from. and second of all why the hell should we donate $ which they are asking for (They have a link to paypal) when these “activist” “street artist” hipsters are selling artist proofs (ARTIST PROOFS!!!!) for 1000 dollars each! whats the money for i thought they were building everything from the dumpster fuck that. theyre a disgrace to the diy community and spirit. stay in greenwich or chelsea where ever the hell youre from. way to exploit an annual tradition that is now sure to be ruined by the media. thanks

Maxwell, I’m sure the Boat Punks weren’t the first ever either. All of you complaining really have to do something for yourselves instead of bitching about other people projects. If you don’t like it, leave it alone. No one need’s bad vibes.

I think it sounds fun, if a bit naive. I’ll probably be there to see them off, if only because it’ll be more interesting than a night spent watching whatever lame television show people watch these days. Lost? Is that still cool?

Now if only I was a pirate…

Hmm. Funny how much time people can spend tearing someone else’s idea apart and naysaying. This seems like a totally genuine, heart-felt project and it’s not being done for money. What’s wrong with things being done for the fun of it? Sounds more like folks on here are getting up in arms just because it started in NY. The participating artists are from all over the country, not just NY and I attended the auction recently and met with a few of the folks and there’s absolutely no pretension involved at all. They’re all super nice folks, so this all seems a bit hollow. They’re also not all all what I’d call “hipsters” by any means. I’m also part of the (non-corporate) media and yes I’ll be writing about it. I’d rather leave all this mess unmentioned. There’s already enough negativity in the world…

I think the entry was written slanted to make the conversation about whether a ‘hipster’ is someone who is threatening to the one authoring; In Other Words, you started off the discussion by saying they were too cool for school; and look at all the hating you’ve caused.

If some people decide to do something that a white-collar person wouldn’t; isn’t that better than the normalcy of white-collarism all the time? Go hate on someone else normal people; or talk about something useful like our shitty political situation. Let the people enjoying themselves enjoy themselves (and maybe it will catch on.

And … close parentheses.)

I am looking for a (forthcoming?) book called Boat Punks of the Mississippi.

Right on good brothers and sisters! I was a houseboater on the Chicago River.

Water will find a way!

While it sounds romantic, a raft is not very maneuverable and to make time, will have to stay in the main current. Behind the many dams, the is little current to carry you along. If there is a strong upstream wind, you just could travel upstream in such situations. Remember that the commercial tows need a mile or more to turn or stop. You need good power to be able to avoid such traffic. In 1973, we reenacted the 3000 mile journey of Louis Jolliet on the 300th anniversary, doing 600 miles of the Mississippi, downstream and back up. It is possible but potentially dangerous. Perhaps that is why the story of North America was written by the canoe and not rafts! Contact us for more information.
Ralph Frese

In July 1991 a friend and I built a 17 ft. long raft and launched it on the Missouri River. We didn’t have a motor. It was really hot that summer. After approx. 18 hours of floating (struggling against currents and wind and sand bars) we tied up 13 miles down stream from where we started. I gotta admit, the entire project, the building of the raft, the launching, the first and last hour of floating, were really fun. We met lots of really freindly folks just out in their john boats fishing, drinking beer. People came up and down the river from as far as twenty miles away to meet us as word spread about our raft. The times in between were unspeakably boring, tho. It’s a good thing they’ve got those motors and that zine library- they’ll need both.

2 years ago, I spent 5 months floating down the river with the group mentioned in the City Pages article “The Real Grand Excursion”. I became aware of this current group through the New York Times article someone sent me. I think these guys should go ahead and see how far they can make it. I do have a couple recommendations: Get a marine radio. Seriously. And buy the river charts. Looking at some of the photos in the article, i.e. the ferris wheel, try and keep the weight low. As you get further south, the current gets faster, so the up-river barges create bigger wake, sometimes 3-4 ft high. Those waves can really take you for a ride. Get life vests, and register all the boats, or the coast gaurd will kick you off the river. And watch out for wing dams.
As far as other complaints people seem to have on here… Yes, “boat punks” have been making the trip for years. And so have a lot of other people, they just never had a New York Times article written about them. Or had $50,000.

Good luck.
the photos from my trip:

Forgot to give the link…

http://www.photosig.com/go/users/viewportfolio?id=161574