Mobile blogging

I just figured out how to post to The Daily Beat from my blog, so stay tuned all weekend for on-the-spot updates from Lowell Celebrates Kerouac!

Headed for Lowell Celebrates Kerouac

We are headed out for Lowell Celebrates Kerouac. If you're my Facebook friend, you'll get frequent updates, including pics. Updates here at The Daily Beat will depend on Internet capabilities at the hotel.

See you there!

Day 68 Kerouaction: On Gasoline for Free

The above passage from On The Road inspired Day 68 in The Beat Handbook. I'm too bummed out today to say anything more about it.

By the way, I'm headed to Lowell Celebrates Kerouac tomorrow and may not have a chance to blog until I get back. It depends on Internet service in the hotel. Stay tuned, though, for pictures and videos and stories!

Tomorrow is an auspicious day

Tomorrow is October 7. It is the second day of the annual Lowell Celebrates Kerouac festival, which I will be attending and have blogged about recently. It is also "Talk Like a Beat Day," which I have blogged about recently. It is also the 56th anniversary of Alan Ginsburg reading "Howl" for the first time.

And with all of that up stuff, I am bummed out because I just found out one of my biggest real-life heroes, mentors, and friends died of a heart attack today.

Jack would totally understand.

Day 67 Kerouaction: On Money for Gas

Day 67 in The Beat Handbook, titled "On Money for Gas," was inspired by the above passage from On The Road. Can you imagine in today's fiscal climate asking a hitchhiker for a quarter for gas? That's not a fair comparison, though, since a quarter in 1948 would be worth about $2.34 today.

Following Jack's lead, you could ask for a buck-and-a-half, and that would get you over half a gallon. In a fuel-efficient car, that would take you 15 miles or so, plenty of distance to find another hitchhiker and bum so more bread for gas. Of course, the famous big Hudson they rode in at least some of the way wouldn't have gotten nearly that many miles per gallon, so Jack et al. were definitely bumming lots of quarters in order to get very far.

Happy traveling....

Day 66 Kerouaction: On Moving

Day 66 in The Beat Handbook is titled, "On Moving," and is based on the above passage from On The Road.

You have a moving responsibility this coming weekend. Get yourself to Lowell, Massachusetts for the annual Lowell Celebrates Kerouac event.

When in doubt, move. It's your "one and only function of the time."

Day 65 Kerouaction: On Books

Day 65 in The Beat Handbook was inspired by the above passage in On The Road.

I'm feeling a bit lazy today, so here's the actual entry from my book:

Day 65
Today’s Kerouaction: On Books
You simply cannot have enough books. They are the one material possession that doesn’t count as a material possession. That is, they don’t count towards the earlier advice to be able to fit everything you own in your vehicle (see Day 10). And books are easily acquired these days. Libraries hold sales to clear room for the thousands of new books that assault them yearly. Sometimes you can buy a whole bag of books for a dollar (or some similarly cheap arrangement). And don’t forget to take advantage of buying used books from yard sales or old bookstores or even on-line! Why buy anything new if you don’t have to? [63] It’s cheaper and better for the environment. And if you do acquire thousands of books, you can always give them away as gifts. When your place is full of books, and birthdays or other gift-giving holidays approach, just look around for a suitable gift, wrap it in anything but gift wrap (i.e., spare the environment and re-use something, like an old newspaper or a paper grocery bag), write the obligatory To and From and something unique directly on the paper (gift tags are for Martha Stewart wanna-be’s), and honor the giftee with an original and meaningful present! A used Kerouac book, of course, would be best. A dog-eared, written-in tome of Edward Abbey’s would do, also, as would a beat-up copy of Fight Club. Or anything from the References at the end of this book. Or this book!


Suggested Kerouactivity:

Start planning this very minute to give the gift of a book the next time you will be giving someone a present. Write down the name of the person, the occasion, and the title of the book below. Then get busy acquiring the book.


[63] Stealing is always an option, too (see Day 41).