When writers and artists–particularly ones who have a keen understanding of cities–venture into the world of maps, you can bet the results will be fascinating and illuminating. “Nonstop Metropolis,” a new atlas by Rebecca Solnit and Joshua Jelly-Schapiro (6sqft recently discovered the “City of Women” subway map from the book) offers 26 New York City maps that “cue us into understanding who is here” according to Solnit. As Wired puts it in their review, the result is “a diverse array of deeply particular maps” that combine imaginative and fanciful imagery with the colorful cultural history beneath the city’s diverse neighborhoods and landmarks and the people who live among them.

Check out some fabulous maps

• The East Village 30 Years Ago – Laughing Squid featured photographer Daniel Roots’s collection of photos comparing the ones he took in the 80s to the ones he took this year. See how much the nabe has changed in just 30 years.
• What It Means To Be “Local” – Mashable sent one of its writers to follow a peach from Freshkills farm to Union Square’s farmers market. Explore the journey local foods go through to get to your hands.
• Hail A Cab The Second You Raise Your Hand – We feel your pain. Watching every taxi drive by with its light off is a frustrating feat, especially when you’re in a rush (which is why you’re taking a cab in the first place right?!). Gothamist wrote about NYC Taxi Viz, an innovative website that maps out where taxi are most likely to be taken and empty at any given time and place in the city. Spoiler alert: you’ll never find an empty cab in Chelsea around 6pm on a weekday. Your best bet is to walk west and downtown to around 8th and 17th.
• A Self-Portrait Made From The Artist’s Blood – Well that’s pretty self-explanatory, but yes, Dezeen says the Brooklyn-based artist hooked up an IV to a CNC machine that used his blood to make a nude self-portrait. Pretty resourceful, we guess…

• A Detailed Map of Jewish Literature: Take an adventure through the city and schlep to these landmarks found in Jewish literatur. See the full map on Tablet.
• Google Street View With Sound: Because as if Google Street View isn’t creepy enough, one company decided to add sounds to certain scenes like pigeons flying overhead, street performers and babies crying. FastCo.Design spotlights how they were able to mimic the difference in sound when you got closer to or further away from a scene.
• Would You Pick Up A Hitchhiking Robot?: hitchBOT has his (her? its?) thumb up hoping for a caring stranger to stop and help him make his way across Canada. Daily Dot reports that the robot can only answer basic questions. So I guess it won’t be singing along to Journey with you.
• Derek Jeter Head Corn Maze: To commemorate #2’s final season, a New Jersey farm decided to make a corn maze in the shape of Jeter’s head.  Gothamist says you can make your way through the the Yankee’s face starting September 20th.

Images: Sample of the Jewish Literary Map by The Jewish Book Council (left); Jeter head corn maze courtesy of Gothamist (right)

• Channel Your Inner Beach Bum: If you’re thinking, “Where am I supposed to learn how to surf in the NYC area that doesn’t require me to go to Long Island?” That’s where Rockaway Beach and Locals Surf School come in. Cool Hunting features the year-round school founded by two former competitive surfers
• Support Girls’ Dreams To Be Leaders: Forget Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerburg and Steve Jobs; this new documentary, now accepting pledges on Kickstarter, celebrates the women entrepreneurs. Donate to the campaign to empower and encourage young girls to be lady bosses and to “Dream, Girl.”
• Tour A Museum After Hours: Gizmodo reported yesterday that Tate Britain After Dark, a project by The Workers, has finally launched. Watch four robots that have been let loose to roam the museum while it’s closed. The best part? You can sign up to control one of them! If you’re more of the observing type, be sure to tune in from now to Sunday to catch some live footage.
• A Seat For Your Tush To A Pot For Your Plant: Unmanned bikes, get stolen. Unmanned bikes that are locked up and left for 10 minutes, get stolen. Unlike NYC, abandoned bicycles go unnoticed in Tokyo, and are usually left to rot. Junk Culture spotlights a new campaign to upcycle old bike seats into mini green spaces.

Images: Dream, Girl website (left); Saddle Blossoms courtesy of Junk Culture (right)

• Artist Camouflages Her Human Canvases In NYC Scenescapes: You’ve never seen body art like this. Daily Mail features Trina Merry making people practically disappear in Central Park, in front of the Gugg, and on bridges.
• Domino Sugars Sign Will Be Relocated: NYDN reports that the iconic sign will be taken down this month, but then reinstalled in a different location with a retail space, residential building and school.
• Jewelry That Converts Kinetic Energy into Electricity: Why dig for renewable energy in some far away place when you’re a walking renewable resource? Dezeen covers industrial designer Naomi Kizhner’s line of jewelry that can store energy from your body and turn it into electricity. If you’re wondering how it works: think of a water wheel, but with your blood – eeek.
• A Spin-The-Bottle Bar In, Wait For It, Bushwick – Games that you usually see at a bar: Jenga, Scattegories, Guess Who?, Connect 4. Leave it up to the up-and-coming nabe of Bushwick to have a bar with a spin-the-bottle table. Gawker assures us they also have food; just don’t forget your mints and floss before you pucker up.

The NYC parks system gives artists a public canvas for their sculpture and design work, and there are so many great artworks on display this summer. From abstract sculptures to innovative park design, here are just a few of the interesting sculptures and design exhibits you can see in New York City parks this last month of summer.

Find the best public sculptures here