Harry Partch’s Zymo-Xyl

We've posted before about "hobo composer" Harry Partch. (Specifically, about his composition 'Barstow' inspired by hitchhiker graffiti he found on the outskirts of Barstow, CA).

Another of his oddities was his zymo xyl — a musical instrument he made out of 17 upside-down liquor bottles, 14 oak blocks, hubcaps from 1952 and '52 Fords, and an aluminum kettle top. It was said to sound a bit like a xylophone. He specified that the liquor bottles should include two Old Heaven Hill bourbon bottles, two Gordon's gin, and two Barclay's whiskeys.

You can hear him play the zymo xyl at the end of the clip below.

Los Angeles Times - June 30, 1996

image source: wiktionary

Posted By: Alex - Sat May 16, 2020 - Comments (2)
Category: Bums, Hobos, Tramps, Beggars, Panhandlers and Other Streetpeople, Music

Edmund Love and His Restaurant Quest

In 1964, THE SATURDAY EVENING POST profiled Edmund G. Love, who intended to eat his way through approximately 5000 NYC restaurants.





By 1973, when THE NEW YORK TIMES took notice, his quest had ballooned to 6000.





His 1990 obituary in the NYT says he managed to hit 1750 of them.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Nov 07, 2019 - Comments (4)
Category: Addictions, Bums, Hobos, Tramps, Beggars, Panhandlers and Other Streetpeople, Eccentrics, Food, Restaurants, World Records, Twentieth Century

The Garbage Pail Kids Movie

The Wikipedia page.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Feb 08, 2019 - Comments (2)
Category: Anthropomorphism, Antisocial Activities, Bums, Hobos, Tramps, Beggars, Panhandlers and Other Streetpeople, Disasters, Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Movies, 1980s, Fictional Monsters

Lived in a box

Joseph Porcos of Chicago lived in a box. In hindsight, perhaps he could be seen as a pioneer of the tiny home movement.

The Columbus Republic - Jan 24, 1957

Posted By: Alex - Fri Jun 10, 2016 - Comments (4)
Category: Buildings and Other Structures, Bums, Hobos, Tramps, Beggars, Panhandlers and Other Streetpeople, 1950s

Robbed no one but beggars

From The Washington Post - Oct 29, 1905: The Parisian thief Everard thought he had figured out the perfect crime. He only robbed beggars, and only those who were secretly wealthy — knowing they would be reluctant to report the crime since to do so they'd have to reveal their own fraud.

His strategy went wrong when during one of his robberies he ended up killing two men, thereby making himself wanted for murder.

Sounds like it could be the plot for a movie. Though it makes me wonder how many beggars are there really who are secretly wealthy. Beggars who are working scams by faking injuries, disabilities, etc? Definitely. But ones who are squirreling away millions? I always assumed that was a bit of an urban legend. Not that I'm an expert on beggars, however.

Posted By: Alex - Wed Nov 13, 2013 - Comments (3)
Category: Bums, Hobos, Tramps, Beggars, Panhandlers and Other Streetpeople, 1900s

Johnson Smith Catalog Item #11

[Click to enlarge]

Do you know why jokes and pranks like these don't fly any more? Because nobody gives a damn about playing their proper role these days. I'm not even going to mention the old lady with impossible neck and sadistic habits. But just look at that hobo! His hat has the classic open-can-lid top. He's wearing a Victoria Cross medal, cravat and vest. Note how carefully he cradles his cane on his arm. Note how delicately he takes the fake biscuit, with pinky finger upraised. The magnificent scowl when he bites the rubber biscuit! You'd consider your twelve cents well spent!

Now imagine giving a "surprise biscuit" to the modern incoherent and sloppily dressed drug addict sitting on the sidewalk outside your local liquor store. He'd be too out-of-it to even register the prank. If he did, he'd just grunt and toss the surprise biscuit one side, frustrating your enjoyment of your purchase.

We live in a sad age of decline.

From the 1930s catalogue.

Posted By: Paul - Sat Oct 22, 2011 - Comments (3)
Category: Bums, Hobos, Tramps, Beggars, Panhandlers and Other Streetpeople, Food, Johnson Smith Catalog, 1930s, Pranks

Outside His Comfort Zone

Carl Hoffman has done a few things that most of us would never dream of doing. He has flown on airlines said to have the worst safety records in the world and ridden in old buses in South America as they crawled along cliff-top dirt roads. He also packed himself into already crowded ferries on the Amazon and trains crossing Africa. Why? To experience travel not as we might while on vacation, but as an ordinary person trying to get from point A to point B as cheaply as possible. Hoffman talks about his adventures here, and in his new book, "The Lunatic Express."

Posted By: Nethie - Fri Apr 23, 2010 - Comments (6)
Category: Bums, Hobos, Tramps, Beggars, Panhandlers and Other Streetpeople, Eccentrics, Mass Transit, Travel

Carts of Darkness

"In the picture-postcard community of North Vancouver, local bottle pickers have created a thriving subculture of shopping-cart racing. Murray Siple, a former snowboarder and sport film director injured in a serious car accident ten years ago, captures the thrill of a high-speed race of one of the men and compares it to extreme sports."

Posted By: Paul - Mon Feb 01, 2010 - Comments (2)
Category: Bums, Hobos, Tramps, Beggars, Panhandlers and Other Streetpeople, Daredevils, Stuntpeople and Thrillseekers, Human Marvels, Movies, Documentaries, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers

Psych-Out

Once you have experienced the 1968 film PSYCH-OUT, you will be unable to return to your square, plastic, uptight lifestyle. Just the sight of Jack Nicholson's fake ponytail alone will trip you out!

Posted By: Paul - Fri Jan 16, 2009 - Comments (9)
Category: Bums, Hobos, Tramps, Beggars, Panhandlers and Other Streetpeople, Costumes and Masks, Drugs, Fads, Fashion, Hair Styling, History, Hollywood, Inebriation and Intoxicants, Movies, Music, Regionalism, Sexuality, Stereotypes and Cliches, Surrealism, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1960s, Posters, Dance, Body Painting, Facial Hair

Jesus Freak Documentary

A fascinating time capsule from 1971. Thirty minutes long, but watch at least the first five or so.

Posted By: Paul - Sat Dec 27, 2008 - Comments (1)
Category: Bums, Hobos, Tramps, Beggars, Panhandlers and Other Streetpeople, Drugs, Eccentrics, Family, Children, Parents, Hygiene, Nature, New Age, Pop Culture, Religion, 1970s, Facial Hair, Yesterday’s Tomorrows