Broke-Ass Stuart.

For years, budget-bouncing impresario Broke-Ass Stuart has shared scores of secret power-ups and tips for stretching gold in the two poles of this country that matter most (if you’re the creative-pilgrim type) with guidebooks on San Francisco and New York City, and on his eponymous web log. Now Stuart (nee Schuffman) is aiming nationwide with a third book, Young, Broke & Beautiful, and a TV show of the same name on IFC that debuts tonight. Brokelyn had a chance to skim the book, preview a few episodes, and chat with our brokester-in-arms about the evolution of his hobo wisdom and hustler ingenuity. We’ve got a few copies to give away to Brokelyn readers too before it even hits the shelves. (more…)

Photo via Aloe Blacc Myspace

Our shtick is straight-up Brooklyn here, but we took a field trip to Manhattan on Friday to watch Aloe Blacc‘s sold-out show at the Highline Ballroom. Why? Aside from the expected soul revival groupies and suited high rollers, we knew there’d be a fair share of like-minded, free-loving down-but-not-out folks like us there to hear Blacc’s lyrics of working class woes and beats catchy enough to make you forget about them. So in keeping with the theme of Blacc’s signature hit (and unofficial Brokelyn anthem) “I Need A Dollar” we found our Brooklyn brothers and sisters and asked them how they would spend their last precious George Washington. (more…)

Author Laura Lee may have well written the Brokelyn manifesto, the recession-victims’ King James Bible and the brokester I Ching all wrapped into one. Her new book, Broke is Beautiful, is a vast, thoughtful and intensely researched tome on the value of living the cash-strapped life. We talked with Lee, a former pizza delivery-girl, fast-food worker and author of several books, about things like the distraction of plutolatry (the worship of wealth), our throw-away culture and how brokeness has always been cool. (more…)

Are you one of the people expected to line up at Trader Joe’s at Court Street and Atlantic Avenue today for a job application? Don’t wear a business suit, make sure you’ve got a brand-appropriate hobby like ice-kayaking and know your portobello ravioli from your dried mango with chili. So says a Trader Joe’s Mole, who supplied us with inside info on what the store will be looking for in new hires and how it’s all going to go down. All you, Mole:

The store will be accepting the first 70 applicants both today, from 5 to 7, and tomorrow, from 3 to 5. What they will probably do is take your completed application, bring the 70 people upstairs and briefly screen each one. Then they’ll review everyone and call certain people back for follow up interviews. No one at the store is sure how many people they’re looking to hire right now (one of the bosses said “it depends on how busy we are”) but there’s no one on the crew doubts that we could use lots of extra hands right now, what with a wave of departures recently and our new 10 p.m. closing time. None of the interview questions are stumpers: They’ll ask you about your past work experiences and what you favorite products are at Trader Joe’s, etc.  (more…)