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The Next Big Thing:
Holy Soul
For many teens coming of age in the 1970s, the Beat poets served as rebel heroes. Matt Power was no different. Then he met Allen Ginsberg. In the flesh. Power’s recollections first appeared in an essay in the new magazine Heeb. (June 2002)
Flying Pumpkins
Every year in Millsboro, Delaware, on the first Saturday after Halloween, a fierce competition gets underway, involving powerful instruments of propulsion and… some very hearty produce. Contributor Matt Power investigates this unusual ritual. (November 2002)
Dumpster Diving
Every day of the year, New York City generates 26-thousand tons of garbage. As your mother would say, the amount of food thrown away could feed an army. And come closing time every day, that's exactly what happens. Matt Power follows a band of urban hunter-gatherers into the dumpsters of lower Manhattan. (January 2003)
Indian Traffic
An audio postcard from Matt Power, who finds enlightenment in the chaotic choreography of New Delhi’s perpetual traffic jam. (February 2003)
City Pawns
Living in the city, one often feels like a pawn at the mercy of crowds, subway conductors, the noisy neighbors upstairs. Last weekend, on New York's Lower East Side, this metaphor took on new life when a few dozen people were pawns - and rooks, knights, and queens. They were pieces in a life-size game of urban chess conceived by artist Sharilyn Neidhard. Matt Power moved among them as they took orders by cell phone from two players at a remote site. (May 2003)
Train Hopping
The voices of modern day hobos collected while hopping the freight lines from Portland Oregon to Chicago. (May 2003)
Drive In, Drive Out
Ever wonder what it would be like to spend the whole night at the drive-in? Matt Power did. He went to the movies, and to bed, at the Fairlee Motel and Drive-In Theater in Fairlee, VT. (August 2003)
Paper Work
The order came from Deitch Projects: 125 flowers, each made from 48 individually folded pieces of paper, to be delivered to the SoHo gallery in less than a week. Making origami under deadline and for pay – is it art, zen, or hell? Matt Power offers his participatory observations. (February 2004)
A Free Ride
Over the tool shed, under the elm tree, and around the rose bushes - all in 30 seconds. It’s the “Blue Flash,” a homemade roller coaster John Ivers constructed in his backyard. Matt Power visits Ivers in rural Indiana to find out what kind of man builds his own roller coaster. (January 2006)