It's time for another weekend of fun with psychogeography brought to you by our friends from the Conflux Festival 2009. Every year Conflux gathers psychogeographers (translation = map geeks, urban explorers, NFT fans, etc) from around the world for interactive events, lectures, parties, and all around city chaotic entertainment. This year there's an added bonus--NFT:LES, a special event sponsored by Not For Tourists and Big Game Lab. It all starts on Sunday September 20 at 1 pm at the NFT headquarters in Chinatown. We don’t want to give too much away but here are a few clues: Bring your mobile devices, we’ll provide you with an NFT, and then you hunt around the Lower East Side for a few hours trying to decipher the clues you’re given to find the secret locations to reach your goal. Now that’s what we call psychogeographic fun. But that’s not even the best part. Final destination: A super secret location where drinks and treats will be served. Check out www.notfortourists.com/conflux09 for all the details.

Photo:  Courtesy of Big Game Lab

The first iPhone app from Not For Tourists (NFT) is now available. First stop is Manhattan, where NFT puts the most exciting island on the planet in the comfort of your own pocket. With beautiful custom maps and thousands of essential listings, NFT will help you accomplish any task in just a few seconds including: caffeinate, buy paint at 3 am, fix your bike, mail a late birthday card, chill out in a community garden, buy arugula from the nearest farmers market, or find a hotel by the hour (seriously, it's that comprehensive). And it's incredibly fast. Unlike most travel apps, NFT doesn't need to be online to work its magic. Whether you're on the subway at rush hour or in the middle of Central Park on a lazy Sunday, NFT will be there for you. It's like having a best friend in every neighborhood. Get it at the App Store.

Photo:  Robert Little

Well, look at that. One of our own has made a name for himself in the brave, outside world! Jonathan Elliot Levy, better known as the inconstant cartographer of the rapidly diminishing NFT workforce, has gone and got himself a full page profile in this month's edition of Time Out. When first it hit newsstands, NFT fans from all four corners of the globe gathered by burning trashcans to hear the success story of a much beloved mapmaker. The findings of the article truly are miraculous: Jonathan's unlikely upbringing, illustrious internships, scandalous discoveries and final vocational epiphany. But it's not all sober-minded relation; Jonathan's interests, intentions and venues of choice (did we mention he is acclaimed drummer/sometime vocalist of the Stumblebum Brass Band?) are lovingly listed, in addition. So please: If you love NFT, love our Makers.

Photo:  Courtesy of Jonathan's Dad

There are no bagels in the NFT office today. Would someone please come to the fourth floor and gift us, and so much more? There is no good cheer in the NFT office today. Would someone please clamber the rickety stairwell and wrap us into his or her arms, and more, but so much more? I'm bleeding. Could you bring me a bandage and a tubule of Neosporin, a bottle of ale and a long, shiny scythe emblazoned with my Christian name? My cohorts are lonely. They long for succor. Come to them. The day is long and our refrigerator is empty and our hearts are weak and our brains are encumbered with innumerable city-specific minutiae, geographical factoids and murderous phantasmagories turning and turning in the widening gyre of falcons and falconers lost forever to The Second Coming. Save us, and save yourself.

Photo:  Courtesy of Kapsi

Most work environments come with plenty of hazards: The bottles run out for the water cooler. The coffee machine breaks down. Fred forgets to bring snacks for the weekly meeting. But here at NFT we face a much greater threat—spitting and urination. My first time at NFT headquarters, I encountered this sign on the lobby wall. Maybe I should have turned and run right then and there. But finding myself in the corner of a Chinatown lobby where fresh air molecules haven’t touched the space since the ‘70s, I quickly jumped on the elevator to escape the putrid smell. And I learned fast that even a bright, shiny gold-colored sign could not stop vagrants (otherwise known as tenants) from parting with their bodily fluids in a public space. The sign was recently replaced with a tamer plastic version, but that doesn’t mean the problem has gone away. When using the stairs, we still have to be extremely vigilant for loogies hocked from the upper floors. Ahhhh, the romance of guidebook writing…

Photo:  Craig Nelson

Get a behind-the-scenes look at the Not For Tourists office in Chinatown: http://www.travelistic.com/video/show/3331

Photo:  Travelistic.com

Well, it’s that time of the year again. Time to kick back, relax, and enjoy a few egg nogs with friends and family. It’s also time to thank a whole bunch of people who make our little guidebooks and website possible. Without you and your support, NFT would still only be a little glimmer in Jane’s and Rob’s eyes, not the growing guidebook series that it is today. So, thanks to all of you who bought a book, bought 10,000 books, bought a custom map, bought a print ad, bought a website ad, worked for us, edited a page, edited 100 pages, wrote a radar, wrote a tract, proofread a book, surfed around the website, submitted positive feedback, submitted negative feedback, attended one of our parties, and everyone else in the NFT universe. We’ll be back in ’07 with tons of new Radars and Tracts, exciting new web content, fancy new design features, and anything else we can come up with. So keep checking back here to see what’s going on in the wonderful world of NFT. Best wishes for a great 2007!

Photo:  Chesley Andrews

Today's the big 2-5 for NFT VP of Drinking and Partying, Annie Holt. Normally, she'd be working hard filling book orders, dealing with customer feedbacks, reconciling invoices, or cursing Rob under her breath. But since it's her b-day, she's already had five beers and she's kickin' back enjoying her time in the office. When asked if she was staying all day, she responded, "Fuck no, dude!" Right on sister. Right on. Hooray for Annie!

Photo:  Party Photo Dude