SPUN OUT BY THE SCOOP! Are we actually all mutually, collectively experiencing the deja vu that I spoke of a couple of days ago? Remember when last year, Burners.Me brought you the news that the permit was increased? Well, now we’re bringing it to you again – and it looks like we will be for the next 4 years.

Good news, more tickets! Even better, just as I’m about to post this one here, Whatsblem the Pro ducks and weaves and slips in a three pointer from the halfway line (ie midnight). I do feel scooped. And yet…

Are you ready for a trip? Did you see the trippy video? Did you read my throwing down of the gauntlet (via the powers of morphic resonance, Superdistribution/Cox and Supernature) to Whatsblem the Pro’s Rationalist view of the world? You know, the one where Newton is just some random dude under a tree and an apple falls on the head? And not a member of the Royal Society, an elite secret society based on the false world of clockwork mechanics? A chaining of irrational time to the human spirit, against natural time. This is what the prophecies speak of. A Golden Age, when truth and justice and peace and love and abundance and wellness and prosperity and living in tune with Nature prevail. Harmonic Convergence. AKA GOOD FUCKEN TIMES BABY!

Whatsblem and I’ve been having a jocular , well, not flame war, perhaps we’ll call it “mild stoush” both offline and in the comments, which to both of us is of course one conversation occuring via the Internet. We’ve never actually met, but we see eye to eye on almost everything so far. Not this one though. Magical thinking (c’est moi) versus _____________________ …I’ll leave it to him to respond with his position to clarify the starting point of our debate. Think of it as the grumpy old guy up the hill (aka The Shaman) not quite seeing eye to eye with the Town Crier. I’ll call him Town Crier because he is batting a pretty good average right now on the popularity of his posts with y’all. I think a more moderate and eloquent viewpoint than my own. Whatever, I’m the grumpy old guy up the hill. Who’s actually pretty cheery.

I would never try to convince anyone of anything. I don’t actually think that’s possible. However, I am a living example of the power of positive thinking, and so is every other person I know who believes in positive thinking. Which I have to say is almost all of my friends and most of my family.

That’s not to say I’m a believer in any old shit that comes my way. Although, they say you can always sell a sales guy. When I first encountered Nassim Haramein, I was intrigued…but wanted to check out for myself if the guy was for real. I went to the Institute of Noetic Sciences in Petaluma. Edgar Mitchell was one of the Apollo astronauts, and he had an experience with an angel/alien on his way back to Earth from the Moon. This experience moved him to set up the Institute, which is a real place. It’s based on science, you might remember having read about it in the Da Vinci Code. Experiments that prove telepathy exists. 3-star generals, the former head of the US Special Forces, investing heavily in this interdimensional consciousness technology as a military capability. Maybe they’re all wrong, and the people who haven’t reviewed the material but cling to what they know are right.
Or, maybe, just maybe, the classified US black ops and the 50 years of peer-reviewed Russian science that David Wilcock outlines in the Source Field Investigations, actually has something to it. Maybe it’s worth looking into before you dismiss it, even if at first it sounds like nonsense. I looked into the idea of “everything came from a single spec of dust in the big bang and we can’t explain consciousness so it doesn’t matter, there’s no maths for it”…and concluded that worldview could not appropriately explain my own experience of the Universe. If science couldn’t explain what I’ve seen with my own eyes, then it’s science that’s wrong, not my eyes.

The Institute of Noetic Sciences is trying to produce peer-reviewed, academically acceptable science in the areas that science can’t explain – magic, the paranormal, the power of prayer. It’s a Burner type of place, the kind of place where shamans from all around the world could fly in and dance unseen in a forest grove next to you, while you’re listening to a guy like Nassim share deeply personal experiences with incredible passion and authenticity, about quantum physics. And, you could camp, although I’m not sure about getting an RV up there…I stayed at the nearby Sheraton Petaluma, right on the 101 with it’s own Marina. I spent a weekend with the guy, he spoke non-stop with passion and without hesitation, he drew a great crowd of about 100 people all in for the full 3 days…and I came away convinced. So did the two angels that were with me. I don’t have the maths or physics to say if he’s right or wrong, he certainly has some detractors on the Internet – as does every good scientist. But he seemed like a genuine and positive person to me, someone trying to make the world a better place even if he had to make some waves to do so. I’ve put a lot of hours into watching his material now, look around YouTube pretty much everything is out there. You can get right into it. I recommend it all, to me part of this guy’s gift is he makes this stuff simple.

So, here we go. I’m gonna take it slow. Ease in with the flow. Coz it’s only one post, there could be many more, we could go in many directions with this stuff. To me this is the best half hour introduction I’ve ever seen, I just tried it on a guest audience new to the material. DeeM iT so.

On this blog we do not advocate taking any drugs, prescription or otherwise, without speaking openly about everything that’s going on with your wellness to a good medicine man first. Or woman. The shaman. Take medicine in the right context, as Timothy Leary said in the 60′s, set…and setting…make sure you know who’s really dosing you, even if your dose is just Starbucks. You know, there’s a star on the logo, they make buck$…that one…

This, though…this we advocate. You don’t need drugs for this. You don’t need rigid dogmatic scientifc beliefs for this, and you don’t need zealous absolutist religious views the other way either. Who’s to say, who’s right, who’s wrong? Most likely, we’re both a bit right, we’re both a bit wrong. My point is… EXPAND YOUR FREAKING CONSCIOUSNESS. You wanna be a golf ball, you wanna be a melon, you wanna be the whole Universe? BE ALL YOU CAN BE

We live in a holographic Universe, and life’s what you make it. But it isn’t what the official schoolbooks tell you. Miracles happen. The more you notice they happen, the more they happen. If you’re reading this but you haven’t been to Burning Man before, this is why people like us Burners care so passionately about it. Here we get to experiment. A Temporary. Autonomous. ZONE OF SEPARATION

Anyway I’m talking about solutions to Einstein’s field equations.

Over to you, WTP. You might lose me on the maths in your debunking, or indeed logic (!) however I think there is enough brainpower attached to this blog now that someone (eg my Knight in Shining Armor 5thfool) might step up to my “hippy intelligentsia” defense.

by Whatsblem the Pro

Bettie June (NOT BETTIE) — Photo: wdydwyd.ning.com/Tony Deifell

The Black Rock Arts Foundation has announced that Beth “Bettie June” Scarborough, Burning Man’s Associate Director of Art Management (read: she runs the ARTery and is on the committee that gives out honorarium grants to art projects), is about to give Reno a glimpse of what’s in store for us on the playa this year. Do not call Bettie June ‘Bettie.’

Reno’s Nevada Museum of Art will host the show, entitled DESERT ART PREVIEW: BETH SCARBOROUGH AKA BETTIE JUNE PREVIEWS PLAYA ART FOR BURNING MAN 2013. Yes, it’s a long stroll of a title, about a mouthful and a half, but for vicarious thrillseekers too civilized for the playa this show is a chance to get a handle on the rich and inventive tapestry of artistic endeavor that blooms under the hands of burners each year in the Black Rock Desert, without so much as leaving Reno. . . and who better to present a sneak preview of the Org’s hand-picked art installations than Bettie June (do not call her ‘Bettie’)?

Bettie June (do not call her ‘Bettie’) will be taking the podium at the museum on Thursday, August 8th, 2013, at 6:00 PM. Those who call her ‘Bettie’ will be ground into a fine paste and served to the rest of the attendees on a selection of artisan breads and free-range hors d’oeuvre crackers, accompanied by various wines imported from Atlantis and Brobdingnag.

Yes, but there’s art inside – PHOTO: Nevada Museum of Art

Tickets are $8.00 for NMA members, or $12.00 for non-members. Museum memberships start at $30 (for students) and go up to $10,000, although I’m sure they’d be happy to take more than ten grand if you’re willing to part with it.

Enjoy the show; do not call her ‘Bettie.’

Tickets are available online at the Nevada Museum of Art’s website.

Are you ready for the dust? Can you handle the blow?

Even if you think you’ve got it covered, these goggle and respirator sets look pretty Burning Man-friendly. Maybe Burning Man will get all upset that people are selling equipment to help Burners survive their event – and send law suits towards Wal-Mart, North Face, Camelbak, El Monte Rv Rentals, Chevron, the City of San Francisco, and all the other suppliers.

Or, just maybe – they’ll help promote this cool contest too! Yep, Existential Ella and Jaded Minx (with the help of Burners.Me) are gifting one lucky Burner with a free respirator and goggles. Not Google goggles. Dust-proof, wind-proof, laser-resistant, goo-proof goggles. Great for riding around on bikes and art cars. Click HERE to Enter, or here if you want to just buy this anyway – it’s sixty bucks.

One lucky Existential Ella reader will win a respirator & matching pair of goggles!! This is an absolute must-have for surviving the desert winds of Burning Man, clubbing til the suns comes up, or convincing your roommates aliens really do exist in the middle of the night.

Jaded Minx is offering one winner a respirator/goggle set from those pictured below. The winner will choose from 3 colors – silver, black, or distressed gold.

Here’s how to enter:

Be sure to indicate which items you have completed

in the comments section of this blog post.

This contest is open to residents of the United States only.

 1) “Like” Jaded Minx’s Facebook  AND share this post on YOUR Facebook page!

2) “Like” Existential Ella on Facebook

Multiple entries are ENCOURAGED! For extra entries into this contest:

1) Leave a note for Jaded Minx on their Facebook

2) Follow Jaded Minx on Twitter

3) Tweet this giveaway! Include hashtags #BurningMan2013 #JadedMinx

3) Pin this post to your Pinterest

4) Favorite Jaded Minx on Etsy

5) For 2 extra entries – make a blog post about this giveaway!

That’s 9 possible entries into this giveaway!!  

The Jaded Minx Giveaway

ends Sunday, August 11th at 11:59 EST! 

Be sure to get your entries in before Midnight!

Good luck!

via Burning Man GIVEAWAY – Win a Goggle & Respirator Set from JADED MINX | Existential Ella.

by Whatsblem the Pro

You goddamn kids, dancing on my lawn in your underpants! Why, in my day. . .

We didn’t always have the Internet, you know, and the world was a lot less openly, deliciously freakish before you could go online and discover millions of people happily indulging in every fetish you’ve ever even thought of. . . like it’s normal! Because it is normal.

People didn’t necessarily know it was normal then, especially teenagers. As recently as the ’70s, the ho-hum trivialities of 21st Century non-vanilla sexuality – like mere transvestitism – were considered way beyond the pale; even something as ordinary and normal to us today as flamboyantly gay culture was seen as completely outrageous, in every sense of the word. . . unimaginable, even: there’s a scene in the film Behind the Candelabra in which one character points out to another that the audience in a Vegas nightclub watching Liberace perform in all his decadent sartorial excess on a stage dripping with gay pride weren’t being accepting of the star’s homosexuality; they were simply unaware of it, completely and totally. The Stonewall Riots didn’t take place until 1969, after all, and that shot heard ’round the world was still in the process of being heard.

If you were young then, you probably witnessed a lot of social horrors among your mates at school; kids seem to be significantly less vicious with each other now than they were in those days. The Internet, decades of integration, and the greying of the ’60s generation seem to have done a good job of getting kids to be nicer to and more comfortable with each other. In the ’70s, the peer pressure was intense. If you were a little unsure of yourself back then, possibly a little nerdy, maybe not too confident in your own sexuality or in expressing it, you didn’t have many avenues or outlets available to you for empowerment and camaraderie, or even for more information; you mostly had to wonder and fret about what kind of freak you really were.

There were touchstones of culture that helped, that allowed kids to identify each other as friendlies on the same fringe. Some of them were as simple as quotes from Monty Python skits. If you joined in on the first round of “spam, spam, spam, spam, lovely spam, wonderful spam” then you had communicated that yes, you too got bullied and beaten up and mockingly called Professor Einstein for your smartitude, and now were among your own people. If you were a punk rocker in 1978 and you saw another punk rocker, your clothes and hair told the tale and you were instant friends, because there were so few of you and you had so much in common. Being gay or lesbian or bi or what have you? That was mostly some kind of super-secret club that did a lot of hiding out. The unlucky kids never twigged to the signal, or lived in places where they really were truly alone.

Some touchstones were deeper than others; some were real lifesavers for a lot of kids.

In the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, midnight showings of the Rocky Horror Picture Show around the country gave a wide variety of people with certain unusual inclinations in common a way to meet each other and do a little acting out in a way that was terribly nerdy and terribly sexy. . . and tremendously liberating and empowering, often to a life-changing degree. Not just a film; a powerful message: don’t dream it, be it. Sound familiar? It should, ’cause in 1975, the Rocky Horror Picture Show was a lot like Burning Man.

If you haven’t seen the movie, don’t watch it at home until you’ve seen it in the theater with a good crowd. It’s a theatrical experience, an audience participation experience, not a sit-on-your-ass piece of passive entertainment. Hit the nearest city and find a theater that shows it, dress in your most outlandish duds, and go. . . or, you could get your very first Rocky on (and maybe your rocks off) with the 2013 lineup of the Six-Minute Players at Camp Videogasm, a Burning Man theme camp located in Snowflake Village.

I got in touch with El Smith, the Six-Minute Players’ Coordinator/Director, and she was kind enough to write up the following brief history of Rocky Horror on the Playa for me in answer to my questions:

“RHPS on the playa was started by Tiki Bob in 2005 at Videogasm in Snowflake Village. I played Columbia that year and accidentally started an orgy onstage during the pool scene. . . but that’s another story. Someone at Videogasm called us “the Six Minute Players” because we had no rehearsal and didn’t meet up until six minutes before the show. We liked the name so we kept it. We put on a shadow show complete with a devirginizing ceremony, which changes every year.

Tiki Bob retired from RHPS at the end of the 2007 season and I took it over. At that time, and up until 2011, we had pretty much a new cast every year. With a new annual cast and no rehearsals, we were pretty much just a trannie free-for-all. Some people knew their roles well but for most people it was just an excuse to show off onstage while fucked up. . . which I didn’t have a problem with.

The Six Minute Players had a one-year hiatus in 2010 while I was recovering from a neurological disease that had paralyzed me twice, and I dropped the ball on temporarily handing over the reins. Videogasm still put on a shadow show that year but it wasn’t my cast and I didn’t have a hand in it so in my selfishness I don’t consider it one of the Six Minute Player shows.

I picked the show back up in 2011 and we’ve steadily taken it more and more seriously. I have a core cast now that will be returning for their third year with me, the costumes have gotten better, we have actual props now and there’s even a rehearsal! Of course we drink pretty much the entire rehearsal but we still do manage to get things done.

The show has just gotten better and better since 2011. We did experience a setback with our audience attendance last year due to our placement in Bumfuck, Egypt. We usually have an audience of at least two hundred people, and last year it looks like we only had about a hundred at most. I don’t care so much about attendance for myself; I don’t really do anything besides coordinate/direct the show and manage props, but I care for my actors. They put in a lot of work every year to make sure we only get better and being pissed on like that by placement is not cool. I don’t know, maybe one of the placement people used to be in the show and I told them they sucked and I didn’t want them back. Sounds like a reasonable explanation to me. Complete speculation of course.

Once again in their infinite wisdom, placement has decided for 2013 to once again marginalize the hard-working cast and crew of the Six Minute Players (not to mention the incredible audience-driven Videogasm) and has put us even further into Bumfuck, Egypt. We’ll be at 8:30 and E this year, and the ‘E’ does NOT stand for Esplanade. We were back in the middle of nowhere last year, too, but before that we were on the Esplanade for nearly fifteen years. . . which explains how we went from an audience of at least two hundred to less than a hundred last year.

The future of the Six Minute Players could very possibly be in jeopardy due to the increasingly poor decisions of the placement team. While there will always be a Rocky Horror Picture Show showing at Videogasm, regardless of the camp location, the Six Minute Players could very likely decide that the show is far too much work for so small an audience. We love and appreciate our audience and do it all for them, and would hate to have to close the curtain on our troupe. . . that would mean the terrorists, aka BMOrg, win.

I would like to do an actual live stage production of the Rocky Horror Show but until I can afford the equipment for that to be possible it will remain a pipe dream. I’m not interested in doing a Kickstarter, Indiegogo, or other crowdfunding thing.

I have no plans to hand over the reins or end the show unless I’m paralyzed and stuck in the hospital again. Otherwise, we’ll keep on dancing in our fishnets and stilettos.”

This is the Six-Minute Players’ cast and crew list for 2013; core cast members are marked with an asterisk:

CAST

Frank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Alyssa Smith*

Janet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kristen Craig*

Brad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael Charles Douglas Reed

Riff. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sam Fish

Magenta. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MarZ Attack

Columbia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Heather Bewsee

Dr. Scott. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Hal Wrigley

Rocky. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . Geordie Van Der Bosch*

Eddie. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .Ranger Genius*

Crim. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .AntiM*

Trixie. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . . . . . Heather Tyler Harrell

Emcee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . . . . . Nick Fedoroff

CREW

Backstage/Prop/Lighting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Heather Tyler Harrell, Howard Clayton, Nick Fedoroff, Nathan Goulette

Photography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Wendi Corbin Goulette

Hosting Camp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Videogasm @ Snowflake Village

Coordinator/Direction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .El Smith

(Jan Dirk Roggenkamp is also a core member who plays Brad, but is not able to make it to the playa this year due to the birth of his sons last week)

Behind the scenes on the film’s set, with interviews

Filed under: Alternatives to Burning Man, Art, Burner Stories, Dark Path - Complaints Department, General, Light Path - Positive Thinking, Ideas Tagged: 2013, alternatives, art, arts, black, bmorg, burn, burning, cinema, city, complaints, curry, drugs, environment, event, fashion, festival, horror, man, movie, movies, music, news, Party, picture, plans, play, playa, RHPS, rock, rocky, rocky horror, rocky horror picture show, show, stories, tim, videos

by Whatsblem the Pro

1675 E. 4th St. Reno, NV (888) 323-5630

Every year, a mighty throng of burners congregating from all over the world passes through the Gateway to Burning Man: Reno, Nevada. In their wake they leave some fifteen to twenty-five million dollars in revenue for local stores that sell the supplies they need.

It’s a regrettable fact that Walmart takes such a huge slice of that pie; their stores in the Reno/Sparks area do a booming business just before and after the burn, at the expense of locally-owned retailers and wholesalers who rely on location and word-of-mouth to bring in customers, rather than million-dollar ad campaigns.

TWIN CITY SURPLUS has no advertising budget. They’re family-owned and have been since 1963, they have everything you could possibly need for camping in the desert, and their diverse staff of friendly employees has been working there happily for years or decades.

It’s not nearly as big as Walmart, but Twin City Surplus is familiar with the needs of burners and is well-stocked with everything you might need to hit the playa, aside from groceries. . . although they do have MREs (“Meal, Ready to Eat” – in other words, a soldier’s rations) and a small selection of camping/survival food if you happen to swing that way, cuisine-wise. If you just got off an airplane and have no camping gear, you can walk into Twin City and walk out ready to burn like a pro. They’ve also got gear that you won’t find at Walmart, like enormous Army tents, and military-grade shade materials on the roll, with modular pole-and-butterfly-nut structures for easy-peasy DIY shade of any size or configuration you like.

The building is comfortably crammed with gear, and the two outdoor yards (one in back of the building, one across the street) are marvelous troves of treasure for campers, artists, makers, tinkerers, handymen, and builders of all stripe. There’s a distinctly family vibe to the place, and expert help available with finding what you need. There’s some pretty exotic gear for sale there, along with all the essentials you’ll need, including clothing and footwear.

Sure, you could buy your gear and supplies at Walmart, or some other corporate chain store; you probably will have to buy something or other (like booze) from a Big Box retailer, regardless of how conscientious you are. If you spend more of your money at ethical family-owned local businesses, though, then the money tends to stay in the community, where it keeps on working to make burners welcome in the eyes of the townies. Burning Man has transformed Reno in many ways, and you’re more than just another tourist when you pass through the Arch on your way to the playa. The city and its business community have proven to be very accommodating to burners over the years, and have fostered a thriving arts community as well. . . so let’s show them that they’re doin’ it right and should keep on showing us the love.

Check out Twin City Surplus; you’ll be glad you did.

TWIN CITY SURPLUS
http://twincitysurplus.com/
1675 E. 4th St.
Reno, NV 89512
(888) 323-5630 toll-free
Se habla español

The Sonoma News reports on a rad, giant new sculpture of a coyote by artist Michael Tedrick – a neighbor of mine out in sunny Glen Ellen (94 today). Michael, if you’re reading this, let’s meet at the Lodge some time.

He received a 2013 Honorarium Grant, the fifth year in a row. The coyote’s head spins around in the slightest breeze, with a seat perched 20 feet in the air; and the sculpture makes music as well.

The cultural phenomenon of Burning Man continues to grow, as more than 50,000 prepare to camp out in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert for a week of art and music in an “anything goes” environment from Aug. 26 to Sept. 2. Once again, Valley artist Bryan Tedrick’s larger than life sculptural work will become an avant-garde jungle gym in the temporary city that emerges from the sand but once a year.

This year’s design includes seven-tons of steel forged into the shape of a howling coyote. Like much of Tedrick’s work, the coyote is kinetic – the 1,500-pound head is perfectly balanced so that it can spin a full 360-degrees propelled by a simple breeze. The mouth of the coyote includes a seat perched 20 feet in the air, allowing visitors to lounge as the structure swivels.

“This was intentionally designed for people to hang out on,” Tedrick said. Stairs encircle the front paw leading to an empty cavity in the animal’s stomach where a full-grown adult could easily recline. He said the “unlimited scale and intractability” was the best part of building for Burning Man.

“Nothing is too big or too crazy,” he said.

In the village that materializes at Burning Man, more than 400 pieces of artwork – some the size of buildings – are typically on display. Tedrick is one of only a handful of artists commissioned to create for Burning Man – he is the recipient of a grant to cover the cost of his materials and the transport of his mammoth creation. According to the Burning Man website, the festival awards about $700,000 each year to 30 to 40 artists, who submit their designs for approval in February.

This is the fifth year Tedrick has earned a Burning Man honorarium grant.

“For two years, I went on my own dime with work that would get me on the map,” Tedrick said. After first attending in 2005, he was hooked. “It was full of psychedelic builders, I fit right in,” he laughed.

His coyote design pays homage to the desert playa where the event takes place. Tedrick has spent more than 800 hours since he began in April crafting the colossal coyote, which can break down into six pieces for transport from his studio in Glen Ellen, after which a crane will be used to reassemble the creature in the Black Rock Dessert.

“It’s a musical instrument as well. We’re going to have rubber mallets and there’s empty chambers everywhere,” Tedrick said of the piece, which moans and echoes when struck, like an out-of-this-world organ.

Tedrick will arrive at Burning Man on Aug. 21 with a crew of family members and friends who help him arrange the installation, including lighting it so it will stand out at night.

As a requirement of the grant, Tedrick must stay through the entire festival and be available to discuss his work, both informally with passersby as well as during scheduled artists’ talks throughout the week-long festival.

What happens to the piece after it leaves the playground of Burning Man is yet to be seen. The Black Rock Desert is located near the Paiute Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation in Nixon, Nevada, and the local population has expressed its dissatisfaction at the litter left behind by the thousands of revelers who pass by their homes. As a peace offering, Tedrick was told officials at Burning Man planned to give the reservation his coyote sculpture to display for one year.

Finding a place for the goliath pieces of art once the desert festival wraps up has been problematic. His 50-foot “Minaret” tower from 2010 stands in the vacant field behind his studio, waiting to be climbed again.

“When you’re creating all of this incredible art, you need to be able to show it,” said Dan Peterson, Tedrick’s nephew and right-hand-man at Burning Man. Peterson said in recent years, the festival has gotten better about helping artists arrange installations to showcase the work after the festival. For now, Tedrick is focused on making it through another two weeks in the desert.

“You learn to live with less,” he said of the experience. “It’s all about shade.”

I think it would be wonderful for the BMOrg, BRAF, Burning Man Project, or whoever it is that is the decision maker of these things, to put this art in the Paiute Indian’s lands. They could have a year-round outdoor sculpture garden and recycling center, and make money from it.

The comment about the festival getting better at helping artists arrange installations to showcase the work after the festival, is news to me. And I write the blog with the news about Burning Man. As far as I know, most of the artists are out on their own, and it’s the larger festivals getting more profitable which are funding the transportation of pieces of Coachella, EDC and so on. Burning Man will send you nasty letters for pictures of Burning Man-style art at another festival.

Just found this amusing site on Tumblr, dedicated to the Playa problems all Burners face. Here are some highlights:

Counting down the work days until you leave for the Playa

When costume pieces arrive from Etsy

Pulling out a dust-free costume late in the week

Finding out your friend’s camp has a shower

Eating the whole brownie someone just gave you

Jumping on a moving art car

While riding an art car across the Playa

4th Day Playa hair

When you just can’t seem to get the dubstep out of your ears

Portapotties!

Seeing the Esplanade at night for the first time

When I tell people it’s not all about drugs

Virgins telling me about the Daft Punk show at the Trash fence

When the server crashes for the 57th time on ticket sale day

Thanks to Burner Skysquid, firstly for hosting and facilitating so many amazing Burning Man art projects like those from Peter Hudson and Marco Cochrane in his Treasure Island warehouses; and also for this excellent selection of tips for Burners. Some good stuff in here, even for veterans. Burgins should watch this video also:

I often get asked about tips and tricks how to make turn your burning man experience up to 11.  So here is my simple stream of conscious first pass of “Skysquid’s Tips and Tricks Guide to a more pleasurable Burning Man Experience”.  In essence, most of these tips and tricks are about reducing suffering to allow more space for pleasure.  This tip guide is aimed towards fresher faces on the scene.  But even if you are an old hat at this game, it wouldn’t hurt to give it a quick scan and add your favorite tips as part of the thread.  Collectively, we can make something that can have value for others.

Some top tips:

1) Bring ear plugs and a good eyeshade.
2) Try to go to bed clean.
3) Bring extra lip balm, and over use it.
4) Make your camelback you best buddy
6) Wear glow at night
7) Bring or arrange for a bike

1) Bring ear plugs and a good eyeshade (the kind that doesn’t touch your eyelids).  Self explanatory

2) Go to bed clean.  If you can shower inside, great.  If showering outside, shower before sunset (it gets much cooler without the sun on you) then sponge/wet towel off before going to bed.  One of the biggest pains at Burning Man is getting your RV’s waste tanks pumped.  It can be a very unexacting art to get it done in the timeframe that is ideal.  The number one reason for needing to be pumped is a full grey water tank because of non-efficient showering.   My recommendation is to shower while standing inside a dishpan (the small rectangular plastic tub that fits in your sink) and turning off the water between steps.  Here’s how you do it.

In the shower, stand in a dishpan (with a washcloth in it)
Fully rinse and have the water run off into the bucket. Turn off the water.  Saturate the wash cloth with the less-than-perfect run off water in the bottom of the dishpan, and wipe off the top layer of dust and grime from your entire body, often recharging the washcloth with the bucket water.  (It will seem gross but it gets better.) Then rinse off this layer with the run off from hair washing.  Make sure you turn off the water between each step.  Hit your pits now.  Give a final rinse.  If you do this right, the dishpan will be 1/2 to 3/4 full.  Let the water sit overnight if possible and the dusty dirt settles to the bottom.  Rather than letting this water own your drain and thus filling up your tank, you can distribute this water outside of your rv/trailer out on the playa by “broadcasting” the water around by  swinging water around in an arc.  It will evaporate quickly.  The goal is to never fill up the gray water tank before the black water tank.  (On that note, if easy, pee away the RV wherever possible—see peeing tips towards the bottom of this guide).   Bonus tip:  once you connect with the RV servicing guy, offer him food and sneak him an unopened cold beer; (I’ve never seen a woman do this yet).

3) Bring extra lip balm, use it.    Cracked lips with loads of dust don’t mix well.  Bring extra because you will most likely lose it or to to share.  For super extra style points, tape your cap stick on a string (or beads) around your neck—not only will it be harder to lose, you look like a pro.   Bonus tip:  Extend the lip balm slightly from the tube and stick it in your nose.  Yep, that’s right.  Then wipe off the stick. Alternatively, you can schemer some on your finger and then stick it up your nose.  As gross as it sounds, it really helps.

4) Use a camelback.  You drink far more fluids when wearing a camelback.  People theorize it is the oral fixation action.  I like it.  A squeeze of lime juice always makes it fresher.  Further, you can add a bit of tequila or pisco or even diluted mixed drinks (with ice) for that night out on the town.  (For you types that try to reduce the chances of picking up a bug from others’ contagious lips, I often carry a small bottle of water for those inevitable encounters when people ask for a sip from the nipple.)  When placing your camelback on the ground, make sure the nipple doesn’t hit the dirt.

Besides carrying precious fluids, the camelback is a great carrier for your dust mask, goggles, chap stick and glowy thing at night.   Bonus tip:  buy a camelback with a widemouth filling bladder for easier filling.  Bonus bonus tip:  Tag your camelback with your name and camp location.  People will return a lost bag if they know where to find you.

5) Wear glow at night.  Bring some sort of section of EL (electroluminescent) wire, glow stick/ rope or other blinky thing and wear it at night.  It’s best to be visible from the front and back.  This way people on bikes and in artcars can see your trajectory on the open playa and can avoid running into you.  This is especially helpful when the dust is up.  Also, having glow will prevent the never-ending chastisement from people yelling at you to “get some glow”.  Bonus tip, put your glow up high—get something lightweight like a plant supporting piece of bamboo and put your glow on top.  Also, think of a incorporating a distinctive pattern for your glow, like to bundling two reds and a blue glowsticks together—and buy accordingly.  That way your friends can easily find you in the throngs at night.  (All this might seem like overkill, but when you’ve lost your friend(s) or they’ve lost you—which is not hard to do) it makes finding each other easier.

6) Bring a bike.  Make sure to style it up.  Also tag and lock it.

Comfort Tips:

Read http://www.burningman.com/preparation/event_survival/relationships.html

Reread http://www.burningman.com/preparation/event_survival/relationships.html

Bring dust masks.

Force feed yourself (and others).  You won’t be hungry often.  Force yourself to eat regularly regardless of whether you are hungry.  Your body needs it.

Bring clear-lensed glasses for nighttime travel.  I always wear clearish glasses at night.  Keeps the dust out and looks pro.  http://tinyurl/nightglasses . Bonus tip:  Wear yellow lenses if being around blacklights (it cuts out the UV rays).

Bedding.  If you go to bed clean, your bedding lasts much longer.  Bedding gets dirtier on the playa much faster than at home.

Top sheet.  Bring a large top sheet and leave it on your bed during the day.   Remove the sure-to-get-dusty-during-the-day top sheet at night for a dust free bed.

(The following is usually only applicable if you are on the playa for more than 5 or 6 days).

Vinegar:  The playa (ancient fish poo) is massively alkaline.  Vinegar is very acid.  They cancel each other out.  Make a little foot bath with diluted vinegar at night, you will be amazed.  It’s an amazing quick fix for crusty dry hands.  Bring an extra small bottle and share the love.

Bring work gloves.  You are more inclined to participate when you can protect your hands.  Bonus tip:  I often overload up my hands with hand lotion before putting on my gloves.  Yum!

Latex gloves at night.  If you like pampered hands (or repair damaged hands) load up your hands with lotion and put on latex gloves.  (You will need help doing this).

Wear socks.  Cover your feet with boots or shoes.  Wear socks.  Cracky feet suck.

Resist FOMS.  (Fear Of Missing Something).  It is impossible to see everything.  You will always be missing something, and it is ok.  Make sure to leave room for randomness.

Fashion Tips:

Don’t wear stilettos.  Go chunky heels.

Pre plan outfits.  While I don’t do this, some pros even pre plan their outfits in day-coded zip lock bags.  Obsessively wonderful and makes getting ready easier, especially when distracted.

Pre-coordinate color-themed days with your friends.   (Wear all white on Thursday or red on Friday, etc.)  It’s fun and builds good group cohesion.

Avoid pimp-style and “french maid” costumes.  Screams newbie.

Avoid cheap quality fake fur, don’t bring feather boas.

If you wear bunny ears, you may be captured by BRC Animal Control.  Seriously.

Professional Party Tips:

Don’t peak early.  Many first timers start strong early in the week and are tuckered out right when the going gets good. Have discipline and subdue your desires earlier in the week so you can have some reserve for the big weekend crescendo.

Sleeping pills.  Bring a small stash of non-Ambien sleeping pills.  It can be a lifesaver.

Disco nap.  If you plan on staying up late or even be on dawn patrol, take a disco nap during the day.

Have a meet up plan in case you get separated.  Suggest to meet and a designated (which is easily findable and rememberable) spot on the top and bottom of the hour for example.  That way you can still have a good time and know that you can rejoin your peeps shortly.   tip: don’t make the meet up spot an object that might move away, like an art car.

A super pro move is to be fully ready to go out before heavily partaking (if you are into that sort of thing, which I’m not) in your camp/rv/text/hut/etc.  Resist the temptation to do so untill you are fully ready to roll.  It’s comical how much  l o n g e r  it takes to get out the door when even the least bit inebriated.  Seriously.  Otherwise, you risk the dreaded “RV suck”.

If high, MAKE NO LONG TERM PLANS…repeat….MAKE NO LONG TERM PLANS.—involving relationships / other people.  Seriously.

Watch out for the PoPo.  Do not consume anything illegal in public.  Never.  Not worth it.  Go inside a tent, RV or somewhere.   Do not give anything illegal to anyone.  And if you must do, not do so to anyone you do not know.  Read:  http://survival.burningman.com/rules-regulations/law-enforcement/  Remember, this is Federal Land.

Style Points:

Bring extra lighters.

Bring goggles.

Bring led xmas lights.  A couple of strings of xmas lights (leds are best)  and a staple gun can totally change the feel of an RV/yurt/hut at night.

Lock your bike, everywhere.  Seriously.  A favorite bike “losing” area is in front of the porta potties.  Most bikes aren’t really stolen but borrowed by people who are high.   Bonus tip:  get a lock with settable letter combination.  It’s easier to remember your code and share your bike that way.

Wander the side streets.

Reread: http://www.burningman.com/preparation/event_survival/relationships.html

Volunteer for a Greeter shift at the front gate or help art project.  You can ask people working on a project if the need help or go at the Artery.  (Be prepared with water, hat, sunscreen and work gloves.)

Take a playa name.  Some people think it’s stupid.  Some love them.  Having one helps anonymity if so desired.  (If you need one, let me know, I’ve got a great playa-naming trackrecord.)

The deep playa late night can be very cold.  Be very prepared.  If staying out late, you will most likely be on the open playa from time to time.  After 2 AM, it’s really easy to lose your body heat to the cold night sky when not well covered.  Warm coats / hats / scarves / wraps are winners.

Check out the trash fence at sunrise.  Besides seeing an often awe-inspiring sunrise, you can find all sorts of fun and strange and interesting things in the trash fence.  The wind blows all sorts of fun stuff into the fence during the night.  (For those who like to make out at sunrise, bring a small tent out to the fence).

Learn your landmarks *before* the burn.  Learn your landmarks *before* the burn.  Learn your landmarks *before* the burn.  Once the man burns people are often very disoriented.  Find big lit (non moving) objects to key off of days before the burn.  (The flags at Center Camp are a favorite.)   Bonus tip: remember the lamplighter lights run between 6-12 and 2-9.

No “spot erosion studies”.  When peeing or pouring out any water, don’t focus the beam in a single spot.  Spread it around since making spots makes mud.  For male folks, while peeing, try walking backwards while making big side to side sweeping motions.  For women folk, try hopping around one planted foot—it’s nearly impossible but fun to try once.

Gift, don’t barter.  Bring, carry and give gifts.  (Chapstick on a rope is da bomb)

Use the power of the fire ritual.  It’s different for many people and make it your own.   I usually bring something to burn that symbolizes something I want to banish from my life and toss it in the fire during the man burn.  I bring something the represents the attributes / things I am pulling towards myself (and myself towards) for burning in the more feminine energy temple burn.   (That’s just one way.  The Temple is a great way to say good by to your lost ones.)  Go to the Temple early in the week.

Many people have an intention for their experience. While not necessary, it is sometimes strangely helpful and enlightening.

Give without expectations.

Expect everything and nothing simultaneously.

Prepare, and enjoy!

Timothy “SkySquid” Childs

t@whqti.com

——————-

P.S.  A number of people said these where game changers and I will be trying them this year:  http://www.betterbreathers.com/commercials.html

_________________

[Update 8/19/13 4:05pm] This post has stirred up some controversy, see the comments, because it’s against the rules to piss on the Playa. If you’ve got to go, Burning Man rules state that you must piss your pants instead, thus saving the precious desert that is underwater for several months every year. Just make sure your wet pants don’t drip!

Presumably these anti-pissers are city dwellers. For those of us who grew up in the country, it’s quite natural to take a leak outside in Nature. Perhaps even more natural than holding your breath in a port-a-potty with no running water or toilet paper (because BMOrg’s budget somehow isn’t ever quite enough to ensure an adequate supply of those).

Burners.Me is not a piss promoter, so suck it up! Everywhere you go, bring pee funnels and spare jugs. Perhaps wear them on a bandolier, since you can’t place them down on the ground (that would be MOOP) Piss jugs, the new fashion of Cargo Cult…piss, but don’t miss!

This is a guest post from Burner Jill Marlene, picking up on some of our previous posts about the ever-growing divide between Burning Man (the Organization) and the artists who create the 1000+ theme camps, hundreds of art installations, and 600+ art cars every year. This year there were 326 applications for funding for Burning Man art grants. BMOrg distributed $850,000 to 63 projects. This was conveniently rounded up to $900,000 in the Chronicle with Burning Man’s own special style of accounting, but here at Burners.Me we like to call a spade a spade, and we like to call 850 grand, 850 grand. The official sales numbers are 61,000 tickets (out of a potential 68,000 population max), the remaining 7,000 are either handed out free to VIPs, sold in “off the books” transactions, or just not used at all. The official gate total this year is $23, 230, 000 – so the amount of your ticket dollars that go into supporting art at Burning Man is 3.6%, or about $13.68 of your $380 ticket.

Although this $850,000 of grants was a new record,  it means an average of $13,492 per chosen project – barely enough to get the artists, build crews and artworks out to the Playa. This year there are 372 registered art works, so 309 of them have nothing to do with BMOrg and are entirely Burner-funded – and even the 63 winning projects are still mostly funded by Burners, not BMOrg.

We’re all getting excited to go to Burning Man, we want it to be one big happy love fest of course. When you look around and see all this amazing art, and hear this amazing music, think about who’s paying for it – and before you hate on the people in the nice RVs, ask yourself how much have you yourself contributed to these art projects? Does the fact that someone gave more, somehow make their contribution worth less? That’s as nonsensical as “people in RVs aren’t self reliant”. Funding art projects is participation. And, quite often, self-expression.

Our position is that BMOrg should encourage artists as much as possible. Help them make money, rather than chase them down for “copyright violations” – while BMOrg exploits the art and cashes in (over and above their $23 million at the gate) with photo shoots,  movie royalties, and YouTube revenues. Sure, Burning Man is a successful event, they deserve to make money, they’re entitled to. Good for them. But do they really need to be the ONLY ones making money? Burning Man is made by we Burners, and the Burners should get help, not hatred. If a Burner artist makes money away from the Playa, this is not taking money out of BMOrg’s pocket. A rising tide lifts all boats, and a thriving sub-community of artists+musicians, fashion designers and makers is only going to be a good thing for the party going forward.

Art and bureaucracy don’t mix. But art and money can, and have since time immemorial.

Some of the comments to this post suggest that an artist was commissioned for a design, worked on it for 15 months, and didn’t get paid a cent, a Bitcoin, a peso, a free ticket, some chocolate, nothing. That is just wrong – lift your game BMOrg, or at least have the cojones to come here and defend your actions (rather than the usual “<crickets>” or ad hominem/straw man attacks that we cop from your anonymous Kool Aid-drinking cyber-drones).

_____________________________

Fuck your Function.  Erosion of Hard Art and the Disneyfication of Burning Man.

By;  Jill Marlene,  w/ Lewis Zaumeyer and Brian Smith In honor of the disenfranchised artists and contributors of ManBase.

Cargo Cult Man Base design, Lewis Zaumeyer

The principles of Burning Man vie for supremacy in a dialectic battle. This gives rise to conflict that is deeply philosophically rooted.  Radical expression, inclusiveness and self- reliance dance around and with one another- at any point juxtaposed so as to appear as incongruent or even ‘opposite  to’ one another:.  As is the case with all seemingly contradictory values, there is a tension.  When that tension is treated as a possible catalyst of evolution, the symbiosis of polarities is revealed and a new form is born.  That is hard art.

Burning Man’s explicit values have set it apart as festivals go.  These principles insinuate a way of life: A set of ideas, which can be transformative when applied.   As a result of the challenging nature of values that appear to be contradictory, people respond to them in different ways.  Some are more drawn to the radical inclusiveness, others to the expression and others are most drawn to decommodification and the way that encourages us to value things based on their meaning to us in the context rather than their dollar value.  Decommodification brings the exchange of gifts into the interaction. The impact of such a philosophy is that it attempts to liberate us and art from the lowest common denominator; it’s assessed monetary value.

Art at burning man has been inclusive of danger.  For many who have evolved with burning man, it is the element of ‘danger’ or pushing the envelope, socially, physically and philosophically that makes Burning Man the safest place for Hard art.  Architect Lew Zaumeyer has been an integral part of creating some of  the festival’s most iconic art .  He and Campmate and Co Creator Brian Smith have participated in the inception, design and erection of the Man base for several years.  According to what I have been able to gather in listening to conversations amongst the man base crew, the question, in creating a Man Base, appropriate to such a gathering, has not been  “what is easy?”  or “what is safe?” but, “What is POSSIBLE?”  This year, the organization has decided to choose the easy way.  Plans were submitted for a stunning, complex,  yet achievable design, but the powers that be- in their insulated circle- opted for the safe and politically expedient way.

At an organizational level, a participant such as myself may be thought to have no real understanding of the machinations of the behemoth that Burning Man as an organization has become.  In speaking with Lew and Brian, however, and with what I have witnessed in my short ten years as a member of the community, there is a growing concern for the erosion of the social and artistic function of burning man. This erosion represents a massive violation of the basic principles of BM.

Smith calls it “Disneyfication”.  He recalls it beginning about the time when Burning Man began to become a commodity itself.  He remembers a time when ‘copyright’ was not on the lips of folks at every organizational meeting and when friendship, history, artistic vision and participation were rewarded with influence and commitment to discovering a shared goal.  This community valued members who were pushing the envelope.  It is understandable that the rejection of basic and beloved, even “sacred” principles by those who are in control  at a bureaucratic level does not reflect the original intentions of Burning Man.

According to Mr. Zaumeyer, “The founders should realize that, as they hand over the reins of their legacy to some managers who have not endeavored to create Art as their vocation, those managers will not have the capacity to effectively manage those who are dedicated to artistic integrity.”  He continues,  “There are two focus areas of the event, infrastructure and the creation of Art. The infrastructure can be managed by a particular style that produces efficiency. But if the Artists become increasingly frustrated and demeaned by bureaucratic blocking they will stop participating. The result is the event will become little more than a KOA costume party, devoid of any important or exhilarating experiences. Fear based behavior never leads anyone to freedom and freedom of expression is the essential attraction to Burning Man.”

House of Cards, Lew Zaumeyer [click for more funny literal images]

Brian elucidated that the individuals who “started copyrighting things are now the ones running it”.  As a result, the kettle is tainted. The sense of risk and radical expression is being eroded by monied interest and bureaucracy.  Artistic voices are silenced when the bureaucracy determines the artistic direction of Burning Man.

When something beautiful becomes co-opted by something selfish and short sighted, and it is used, usurped and claimed, it is painful to watch for those who fought for the integrity of the vision. Its evolution as a pluralistic movement rather than a “show” put on by a few who have found a formula that festival goers seem to want to “buy” is key to its integrity.   While there are no direct corporate sponsors visible on the ground in BRC, the commodification is there.  Burning man has become its own brand.  It has fallen into the trap of becoming beholden to form and forgetting the function.  Art has the capacity to do many things for the human condition.  We are manipulated.  We are inspired. We are moved, our affect is changed and and we can see old things in new ways.  Without artists transcending the bureaucracy, this diminishes.  When the schema of burning man and its icons no longer challenge the observer, it is no longer functional as transformative, “dangerous” art… it is commodity.

Over at the official Burning Man blog, John “Halcyon” Styn has shared a post about radical inclusion. I haven’t always been a fan of his style in the past, Burning Man is not the Care Bears after all, but in this case I can put aside possible past pink hair prejudice because I like this message. He addresses the celebrity factor which has always been there, but strangely this year seems to be an issue for some Burnier-than-Thous.

Like me, Halcyon’s first burn started on the Thursday, 1998.

My first burn was in 1998. I showed up Thursday afternoon, late in the week. I avoided most responsibilities and did very little to help with the camp breakdown. I took much more than I gave. I bet a veteran would have considered me a tourist.

But it changed me. I started to learn more about the event. I started to learn more about myself.

I learned what my gifts were.
I learned to start listening for, and listening to that voice that steered me towards my Joy.

It changed my life. It changed my world. It changed my burn.

So when I hear that Zuckerburg helicoptered in, or that P. Diddy was seen at Robot Heart, do I worry that “Burning Man is over?”

The opposite, actually.

Burning Man changes people. When it changes people who have control over significant resources, that bodes well for the planet. I want every CEO and Prince to experience the Playa. I want them to dance on an art car, be gifted pancakes and say what P. Diddy said upon returning from the dust: “#BurningMan Words cannot explain! I’ll never be the same”

This is not a silly idea. More and more I have been asked to speak to business people about the value of Burning Man ideals. They may not even know that they are BM ideals, but they know that being in alignment with integrity and purpose is important. After long careers where the bottom line was everything, they know, deep down, that it isn’t enough.

When I was recruited for my current job, it was based on videos I did about Burning man. The CEO told me, “We are are group of people who have had successful careers. We have built our empires…but now we want to build our legacy.”

So bring on the ravers, frat-boys, tourists & elitists. As each one of us gets in tune with who we truly are, it benefits us all. As each cell gets healthy, it advances the health of the entire body.

We’ve built an empire of dust…now we build our legacy.

The reason this is a big deal, is that Sean “P.Diddy” Combs is one of the world’s most powerful and prominent tastemakers. The richest person in Hip-Hop, he commands an audience of hundreds of millions of fans around the world, far more than little old Burning Man (or Burners.Me). Like, this guy is too big for Coachella. He’s probably one of the most famous people on the entire planet, who could do anything he wants at any time. For someone like that to express that he had a “life changing experience” at Burning Man, shows us there really is something very unique and special and precious here. Something that could be harmed if Burnier-than-Thous start hating too much on celebrities.

Everything we hear about Burner Sean is that he nailed it on his first burn, he was a consummate Burner helping out his neighbor’s flat tire with an air compressor, bringing Playa gifts for his camp mates, and rocking it hard at Robot Heart and Pink Mammoth. The Daily Mail has some positive coverage. I know where he camped and some more personal stories but this is not TMZ, we welcome Diddy to the Burner community and he should be able to get down as he sees fit without it being a big deal to anyone. He’s one of us, makes me want to buy his tracks even more than I already did. We do hear that he wants to bring a major sound system next year and as old skool ravers we welcome that. I predict a Diddy and Daft Punk track, he invented the remix after all.

all the information we have is that Diddy was a great Burner

there’s a story attached to this glove. Here’s Diddy’s actual tweet:

#BurningMan Words cannot explain! I’ll never be the same. Do u see the glove?

And here’s the story behind the glove (and Robot Heart medallion), from Melody at Instagram:

Other celebrities spotted this year? Oscar winner Susan Sarandon (rocking it with blinky lights), Stacey Keibler (famous for dating George Clooney), Seth Rogen (who said “now I’m off to Burning Man” to Andy Sandberg at the end of the roast of James Franco). I’m sure there are many, many more, and trust me – the harsh environment of Burning Man is a great leveller for celebrities. It’s still dusty. Their RV might be on the other side of the Playa, and they might have to use a portapotty. It might be gnarly and out of paper and water, maybe it’s really hot and they’re thirsty and there’s a dust storm. None of those things care who you are.

The Daily Swarm proclaimed this as the Death of Burning Man.

Diddy has confirmed what many critics have been saying for the past few years: Burning Man is dead. Ok, maybe that’s being a little dramatic for a psychonautic retreat for yuppies, but now that the revered gathering has officially become fashionable on a Coachella level it may be time for someone else to step up. Of course, Diddy claimed he had a life-changing experience like any virgin Burner would, but damn if this doesn’t just take the dusty wind out of our sails.

Also, it seems as though Burning Man attire has taken on a noticeably calculated level of “weirdness” in recent years. There was a time when Burner fashion was completely nerdy in aMad Max sort of way, but now it looks as though it’s more of a farce. And at the same time, there are still those out there rocking the goggles and raging at Robot Heart (though, Diddy is noticeably rocking a necklace featuring the installation’s logo) like it’s 2002. There’s still the hardcore contingent, but we predict some impending questions of identity in Burning Man’s future.

We disagree. It’s really nothing new. We’ve had plenty of celebs before, and we’ll have plenty more in the future. We’re all Burners together, and celebrities are people too. Bring it on! When else do they get to truly express themselves as people, away from their jobs and the machine they’re all a part of to get paid enough that they can afford Burning Man?

I like Halcyon’s question, about what legacy are we leaving – “our job is to be stewards of that magic, to keep re-aligning it with that integrity, to hold that integrity within ourselves as this magic starts to become part of popular culture“.

P.Diddy’s girlfriend Cassie poses in front of the couple’s Pilatus PC-12, a sweet ride to the Playa

Cassie riding on her phat bike

Stacy Keibler poses by Marco Cochrane’s Truth and Beauty

Kudos to whoever thought to create “Diddy Goes to Burning Man”, a new Tumblr site along the lines of Burning Man Problems.

Diddy arriving at Burning Man

Diddy finds out his camp is nearly out of water

Diddy rides in his first art car

Playa haters get away! It’s all about the Ben-J’s.

I just wanna hear good music…

So says a store called “Screaming Mimis” in New York, where Wall Street Executives have been slapping down their Black Amexes for $1500 purchases of kilts, goggles, head-dresses and vintage-looking clothing. From Paper Magazine:

Though money’s not allowed when you get to Burning Man, there aren’t any rules about how much change you drop before you head to the playa.

As is so often the case when festivals become popular, the original stash of artistic, perma-shrooming, ambiguously-employed “Burners” who flocked to the Nevada desert every August for the last decade or two has become cut with more and more corporate honchos looking for an excuse to become “unplugged” for a week. And, apparently, many of these 1%-ers are hitting up New York’s legendary Screaming Mimis vintage store for their costuming needs, spending the equivalent of four round-trip tickets to Reno, Nevada for furry headdresses, steampunk goggles and leather gear. Basically,Mystery-chic. 

“It used to be arty types [coming in the store],” Screaming Mimis owner Laura Wills says. “Now it’s everyone from financial consultants and Wall Street types to PR firm directors.” 

Wills says she and her team first started noticing people coming into the store in search of Burning Man outfits five years ago and, since then, she and her buyers will specifically search for Burner-appropriate looks during their buying trips. “It’s become an amazing phenomenon. It’s totally word-of-mouth. Somebody posted on Foursquare that ‘Burners’ should shop at Screaming Mimis and after we tweeted a ‘thank you,’ it just spread like wildfire,” Wills says.

The store’s staff research Burning Man’s theme up to a year in advance (this year’s theme is “Cargo Cult“) to better plan their merchandising and monitor announcements and news from the festival. “Feathers were banned from 2008-2012 because they were called M.O.O.P. — ‘Matter Out Of Place’ — but this year they lifted the feather ban,” Wills says. “So feathers — and leather — are definitely a theme. But we won’t sell them cheap-o [pieces] because they have to be well-constructed so the feathers don’t fly all over the playa.”

And her customers appreciate the store’s efforts to find quality, often one-of-a-kind pieces — and are more than happy to use their Black AmEx cards to spend as much on a Burning Man outfit as they might on a Tom Ford blazer or Céline dress.

“We had somebody yesterday spend $1500,” Wills says. “Another — a video director — spent $1000 and is planning to parachute into Burning Man.”

One CEO who’s giving a TED talk at the festival stopped in to buy a kilt, top hot and goggles to wear during his presentation. Another customer had his pseduo-personal assistant call the store to “vet them” for their inventory and whether they could give him personal assistance. Perhaps not surprisingly, a chauffeured car idled outside while he came in to scope out the headdresses and leather vests. “He was actually a really wonderful guy and was so excited and into it,” Wills remembers.

The best thing Will says she’s noticed is that her Burning Man customers — whether art students or hedge funders — are “the most fun people.”

“A completely conservative guy came in wearing chinos and an oxford shirt and bought a headdress, goggles and an astronaut jumpsuit and helmet we had. But when we were ringing everything up, he said, ‘One second,’ and ran over and grabbed a bright electric blue tutu,” Wills says. “he plunked it down and said, ‘Yeah, I’ll probably just end up wearing this the whole time.’”

Waste from the 2013 Reading Festival in the UK (Daily Mail)

This is what every other festival has to deal with (Daily Mail)

Thanks to Laughing Squid for posting this. Their rules are “don’t be a dick”, which is funny because I’m in New York City right now. The rules here are more like “be who you are meant to be”, more than “be a wussy who conforms to all the other hippies”, which is more of a San Francisco thing. And don’t even get me started on “you’re not a real Burner unless you obey our Ten Principles, and our hundred other rules, and anyone who came to Burning Man before there were Ten Principles doesn’t get it and isn’t a real Burner”. You know who you are, and if you don’t, just wait til your thirtieth birthday, maybe you’ll find yourself then.

While part of me agrees with the sentiments expressed here, there’s another part of me that thinks you’ll never make an omelette if you set out with a goal of avoiding egg-breaking…

It’s the place to be seen for celebrities these days

Also, Burners.Me made it to Peace News Now. Burning Man coverage starts at 1:50

Some Burnier-than-thous accuse us of having a negative attitude here at Burners.Me. Not true! We want to make the world a better place, and we want to make Burning Man a better place too. Sometimes, a squeaky wheel gets a-greasin’.

So it is with Reallocate, who are always trying to find new ways to grease the squeak. I mean wheel.

Why do we have to persist with all of the world’s problems? Why can’t all the creative talent of the Bay Area, the Burner community, and beyond, team up to help people on the fringe of our culture – the poor, the underprivileged, the unconnected? There’s no reason, so let’s do it. This is the mission of Reallocate: world class talent solving world wide problems.

Want to find out more? Reallocate is celebrating Innovation Month with a fundraising event called POSI – Party On Social Innovation. Or is that: Party On, Social Innovation! Buy in the next couple of days and tickets are only $25. It’s a tax deductible donation, Reallocate is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization fully staffed by Burners. Some of the smartest and kindest Burners you’ll ever meet. People pay thousands to network with some of these folks in other environments, here you can connect with them around the things they’re most excited about. Making the world a better place, not talking about making the world a better place. Reallocate is about GSD, Getting Stuff Done.

Reallocate has some great projects coming up in 2014, better than the Burning Man Project from what I’ve heard…but I shouldn’t say any more, they just asked me to mention their fund-raiser. Come and check it out for yourself, I’ll be there. If you’re not in San Francisco please donate and help the cause.

October 12, 8pm-2am

Come to Party On! Social Innovation for a celebration of what can happen when you connect world class talent with real world problems. In partnership with InnovateSF, ReAllocate brings you a night of drinks, dancing, project showcases and opportunities to meet the people who are changing their communities and the world through social ventures and civic hacking.

• Bumpin’ beats in the basement by SF DJs
• Philanthropy motionpicture booth
• First drink free
• Beer, wine and cocktails
• Showcase of projects disrupting the world stage
• Mingle with like-minded world class talent 
• See oportunities to engage in addressing real world problems

POSI-2013 will be held at the Embassy Network at 399 Webster St on October 12th at 8:00 PM. Dress to impress in your cocktail attire and be inspired by the fine men and women giving their time to making the world a better place.

*All proceeds from the event will go to ReAllocate, a registered 501(c)3 non profit.

Map Data

Terms of Use

Report a map error

Map

Satellite

View Full-Size Map 

by Whatsblem the Pro

The internal workings of the Black Rock Arts Foundation are a little bit of a mystery to us here at Burners.me, and given that the BRAF’s Board of Directors includes most of the people from Black Rock City, LLC’s Board of Directors, it’s both tempting and appropriate to take a suspicious view of them as a default; it’s also true, however, that BRAF is non-profit, and that their Board of Directors is much larger than that of Black Rock City, LLC’s. The presence of high-profile artists like David Best and Peter Hudson on BRAF’s Advisory Board is also comforting. . . so in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, we have chosen to regard these points as ameliorating factors that neutralize the presence of people known to be thoroughly corrupt and/or thoroughly incompetent when left to their own devices. At BRAF, the gangsters who run Burning Man — aka “the Naughtiest Children in the World” — seem to have plenty of adult supervision to keep them in check.

So. . . if you’re a glass-half-full person, you have the scratch to pay big bucks to fund permanent art in permanent communities, and you’ll be anywhere near San Francisco (a sleepy little hamlet in Northern California) in the last week of November, this event is for you:

The Black Rock Arts Foundation presents The Artumnal Gathering: Metamorphosis

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Dinner 6:00 PM, Main Event 9:45 PM

The Bently Reserve
400 Sansome St.
San Francisco, CA 94111

For the last twelve years, BRAF has enjoyed the privilege of working with artists who are breaking the mold of public art, and who prioritize community benefit and involvement in their work. We believe in their vision and are honored to offer them our support.

BRAF is nearing a pivotal moment in our evolution. We recognize that there are more avenues of growth to be explored, more communities in need of art, and more connections and collaborations to be nurtured.

Now is the perfect time to recognize our community’s extraordinary artists! Join us in celebration of our past work and collaborators, and support BRAF’s future initiatives!

BRAF’s seventh annual gala event includes epicurean delights, sophisticated libations, tantalizing treats, wondrous pleasures, captivating featured and roaming live performances, DJ’s, original artwork by BRAF’s favorite artists, dancing, raffle, gallery art sale, live and silent auction featuring exclusive experiences and items, and abundant expressions of creativity!

To buy tickets visit http://blackrockarts.org/events/artumnal-gathering-2013

Artumnal Ticket Packages

All tickets are 21 and over.
Black Rock Arts is a 501(c)3 non-profit. A portion of your ticket price is tax-deductible.

The Artumnal Celebration – 9:45 pm – Late

- $40 1st tier – Sold out!

- $50 2nd tier – Sold out!

- $60 3rd tier

Includes an evening of featured and roaming performances, Djs, dancing, raffle, silent auction, art sale, and delightful surprises.

Feast of Imagination – 6:00 pm – Late

- $275 advance purchase only

Includes an individual seat for a sumptuous dinner, auction, performances, wine, dessert, and entry to the Artumnal Celebration.

Table of Plenty: A Table for 8 at Feast of Imagination – 6:00 pm – Late

- $3,000 advance purchase only

Includes a reserved table for eight guests for the Feast of Imagination dinner.

Table of Abundance: A Table for 8 with premium placement – 6:00 pm – Late

- $5,000 advance purchase only

Includes a reserved table for eight guests for the Feast of Imagination, with premium seating placement in the banquet hall, premium wine selection and other treats.

Table of Jubilation: A Table for 8 with premium placement – 6:00 pm – Late

- $10,000 advance purchase only

Includes a reserved table for eight guests for the Feast of Imagination, with premium seating placement in the banquet hall, premium wine selection and other treats.

Buy tickets at http://blackrockarts.org/events/artumnal-gathering-2013

Please feel free to contact us for more information

artumnal@blackrockarts.org

Thank you and see you there!

Josie Schimke
Program Development Associate
Black Rock Arts Foundation

Office hours:
9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Tuesday and Thursday.

Please note our new address, as of October 18, 2013:

Black Rock Arts Foundation
660 Alabama
San Francisco, Ca 94110
(415) 626-1248

Philippe Glade is the author of old-fashioned paper book “Black Rock City, NV – the Ephemeral Architecture of Burning Man“.

On his site, thisisblackrockcity.blogspot.com , he hands out “Golden Rebar” awards to the best structures at Burning Man. 2013 features some real doozies, incuding an igloo literally made of bread.

We’ve picked our favorite three. See the complete list of 2013 winners here at Philippe’s site. 

Golden Rebar Grand Prize: Metal Pods Village by Scott Parenteau

When last year Scott “Tin Man” Parenteau came for the first time to Burning Man, he became an instant celebrity on the playa with his walking pod that since brought him several awards at Maker Faire, and with his two patented metal pods used for shelter was a big draw for his neighbors.

 

For his second time at Black Rock City, Scott upped the ante and decided to build a village for his friends. He was able to finish his own shelter by adding the third pod, the bedroom on top of a fully operational stainless steel custom made shower and a complete kitchen. 

 

A bedroom with a view and bamboo flooring.

Golden Rebar for Only In Black Rock City and We Want to Keep it this Way: The Dome of Dough

This Shelter was entirely made of 850 Loaves of Bread with an insulation value of  R-5 and lasted the week.

Do we witness the start of a new building trend at Black Rock?

On the blackboard were some possible names: Rye Not? Flour Power, Dill Dough, Make loaves not War… 

It’s great to see the experimental architecture of Burning Man being celebrated and highlighted like this, and we appreciate Phillipe’s efforts. He must be favored by the BMOrg, since he is allowed to use their trademarked term “Black Rock City” to promote his book.

French Vogue, 2012

Earlier this year, the San Francisco Bay Guardian brought us a 5-page story about Burning Man, written by Burner Scribe. We covered the story in The Spark of Controversy . We also highlighted the apparent hypocrisy of the BMOrg profiting from a photo shoot featuring an art car while using legal threats to stop that same art car from even saying that they’re going to be at Burning Man on their Web site, and demanding that they take down photographs of the art car at Coachella – covered in The Fishy Smell of Corporate Excess.

Well, last night a pretty high-level BMOrg insider told me that the Guardian got it wrong. Way wrong. Here’s what the original story said:

When I asked Brown about whether he paid the LLC for access and the right to use footage they filmed on the playa — something I know it has demanded of other film and photo projects — Brown paused for almost a full minute before admitting he did.

“We saw it as location fees. We’re making an investment, they’re making an investment,” he said, refusing to provide details of the agreement. “The arrangement we had with Burning Man is similar to the arrangements anyone else has had out there.”

Goodell said the LLC’s standard agreement calls for all filmmakers to either pay a set site fee or a percentage of the profits. “It’s standard in all of the agreements to pay a site fee,” Goodell said, noting that the LLC recently charged Vogue Magazine $150,000 to do a photo shoot during the event.

According to our source, that story is not accurate. In fact, Vogue offered them this much money, and BMOrg turned it down. Or perhaps, BMOrg named their price, and Vogue turned them down. Anyway, the exchange of $150,000 for a photo shoot for Vogue, apparently never happened.

The source did not want to go on record with this , but gave me permission to publish. Read into that what you will. If this is true, then it’s surprising that BMOrg didn’t try to set the record straight with an official statement.

The Pornj cone of Disorient – a beacon of high class debauchery

Vogue certainly seems to love Burning Man. They had a piece written by the lovely Disorient Burner Yvonne Force Villareal in 2009. There was a Burning Man photo shoot by David Mushegain in French Vogue in 2010. Burning Man was featured again in French Vogue in August 2012. There was also a Burning Man piece in British Vogue in 2010, and in Australian Vogue in 2011. A recent issue of Vogue has top designer Marc Jacobs naming Burning Man as his primary inspiration for his 2014 collection (fashion designer Manish Arora was also inspired by Burning Man for a collection he debuted at Paris Fashion Week in 2013).

Vogue has also just named Burning Man on it’s “New Social Calendar” of the places to be for the jet-set in 2014:

Their 767 has hammocks and California King beds in each of their bedrooms. Seats up to 50.

There are almost no jets landing at the Black Rock City airport, out of 1000+ aircraft this year. I know of one Citation CJ2 that was brought in once, and there’s usually one or two Pilatus PC-12 turboprops. Larry and Sergei’s main plane is a converted ex_Qantas Boeing 767, called “a party airplane” by their CEO Eric Schmidt. They get discounted fuel from the Pentagon and NASA, and they have their own private landing strip close to their office, at Moffett Field (at least, until their own private terminal at San Jose airport is completed!)

Google’s light attack jet – infrared detectors pick up Facebook grilled cheese sandwiches from miles away

The 3 top Google executives own 8 private jets and two helicopters between them, they also have a 757, two Gulfstream V’s, and a fighter jet. I’m pretty sure they didn’t take any of this fleet to Burning Man this year. But hey, nobody reads Vogue for the articles, do they?

let me know if you see bad boy landing at Burning Man. It would be quite the dust cloud

Personally I find Scribe to be a very credible journalist, and have difficulty believing that he could get something so important, so completely wrong. His book The Tribes of Burning Man is excellent. I know that he has recordings of the interviews he conducted for his story, and there is more that he did not yet publish.

Scribe this year wrote a piece from the Playa, saying that he was officially giving up his struggle to call for democratic leadership of Burning Man, or at least some form of representation of Burners in the decision making about our culture, as it relates to That Thing In The Desert.

this is the way it’s always going be, year after year, like a dusty Groundhog Day on acid. Only the numbers and faces of the citizens and the things we create for one another will change.

It’s perfect, right? No reason to change a thing. What God (or, rather, Larry Harvey) has created, let no burner presume to alter.

That’s an idea that most burners seem to embrace, despite the beloved pastime of veteran burners to kvetch and celebrate some storied golden age, whether it be 1986, 1996, or 2006. We all just appreciate the chance to build a city for ourselves each year and the leaders of Burning Man for giving us that opportunity, again and again.

And I’m now joining those who accept Burning Man as it is, hereby officially dropping my struggles against Larry, Maid Marian, and the rest of Black Rock City LLC board to create some form of representative or democratic leadership for the Burning Man and its culture.

It’s been a lonely and frustrating crusade anyway, so I’m happy to be done with it (as I’m sure they are). I’ve been regularly covering Burning Man for my newspaper, the San Francisco Bay Guardian, since 2004. My reportage formed the basis of my book, The Tribes of Burning Man, which came out in 2011 just as the LLC board was being torn apart by internal divisions that they resolved by deciding to turn control of Burning Man over to a new nonprofit they were creating, The Burning Man Project.

“Why not act to change the world, a world that you won’t be in? And that’s what we want to do,” Larry told a roomful of grateful burners when he announced the plan in April 2011. “We want to get out of running Burning Man. We want to move on.”

The prospects of that change in leadership seemed exciting, and I imagined a council of veteran burners representing our community’s constituent communities – artists, DPW, sound camps, volunteers, art car makers, regional leaders, maybe the biggest villages – gathering around a table to plan the future of Burning Man. It might get messy, but things worth doing usually are.  

First, I took issue with Larry’s announced plans to create secret payouts for the six board members, but nobody except Chicken John seemed to care about that. The predominant view seemed to be that they had done us all a great service and they deserved whatever it was they wanted to pay themselves.

Fine, so then I publicly questioned the hand-picked nonprofit board, which seemed chosen for their fundraising ability more than the communities they represented. Again, no resonance, so I accepted it and moved on. Maybe money was what was important in the early stages, and new leadership would come later.

And I was totally willing to just let it go and move on, until earlier this year when I watched the new documentary, “Spark: A Burning Man Story,” which concludes with the claim “the organization is transitioning into a nonprofit to ‘gift’ the event back to the community.”

So I decided to plug back into covering Burning Man to check on the status of this gift with just a year to go until Larry had said that control of the event would be transferred to the new nonprofit. But rather than relaxing their grip on the event and entrusting it to the community, I learned that they consider their leadership “more important than ever,” as Marian put it.

Not only are The Burning Man Project board members still not representative of the overall community, but they have no authority over the event, which Larry wants to continue as is “without being unduly interfered with by the nonprofit organization.”

Sure, the LLC and its various fiefdoms can unilaterally change its contracts with artists, its policy on what kinds and how many art cars to license, its ticket pricing structure, and size of the city (the max population this year jumped to 68,000 from 60,000 last year), all without any input from the community. It can cut lucrative side deals with corporations and propagandists. But we can’t have the new nonprofit board making these sorts of decisions, that would be unthinkable. 

also heard last night: General Wesley Clark did NOT arrive at Burning Man on this Black Hawk. So which bad boy was rolling with this? A Blackhawk is some serious shiznit. Last seen in the direction of Disorient

“The nonprofit is going well, and then we have to work out the terms of the relationship between the event and the nonprofit. We want the event to be protected from undue meddling and we want it to be a good fit,” Larry told me.

And when I wrote about these issues in the Guardian, where they were read by tens of thousands of people, few people seemed to care. Two articles I wrote on these issues this year got two online comments each, comparing to the 259 comments and vigorous public discussion that ensued after I wrote “Burning Man ticket fiasco creates uncertain future” in February of last year.

The lesson: as long as we can get to Black Rock City, we don’t really care who’s calling the shots. After all, it’s really all of us who create the city each year for our own enjoyment, and that’s what matters, not the six people who control the $23 million we all spent on tickets this year.

(from http://www.sfbg.com/politics/2013/08/23/how-i-learned-stop-worrying-and-just-trust-larry)

I think we’ll let Madonna have the last word on this one…

Barnorama has published a nice selection of the Art Cars of Burning Man 2013. It’s by no means definitive (no Mayan Warrior!), but there’s some great examples on display. See their whole collection here.

Just came across this video of Burning Man 2012, from Scenester TV. It’s got something in here for all the haters: Playa chickens, Segways, Playa chickens on Segways, tribal headdresses, glitter, plug-n-play camps, luxury RVs, Burgins who think they’re in a position to tell us everything about the event (like, there’s no Wi-Fi, when she’s standing in the middle of a free Wi-Fi zone).

Hey, we’ll give it a pass, because host Keir Alexa is ridiculously easy on the eye – and she sure knows how to shake that ass on a Segway! We’re also fans of DJ Isaiah Martin, and his gorgeous  art car with musical instrument engine. There’s a killer soundtrack too – quite literally, with Mr Brightside pumping out at one point.

Isaiah Martin’s amazing Electrolux art car

“Fashion Week is nothing after using a porta potty in the desert for a week”

DNA Info brings us this story about two young Burners whose clothing collection has made it all the way to New York for Fashion Week.

FLATIRON — They went from Burning Man to the tents of Fashion Week.

Nicole Vaunt and Najva Sol — the women behind fashion label Vaunt & Sol — are debuting their first runway-ready collection at Fashion Week Fall 2014, capping off more than a decade of collaborating on everything from designing costumes for the annual Nevada desert festival Burning Man, to cutting fabric together on their living room floor as high schoolers in Mississippi, to traveling across the globe to gather fashion inspiration from around the world.

“Fashion Week is nothing after using a porta potty in the desert for a week,” said Sol, 26, who lives in Crown Heights.

The duo’s line is dedicated to “urbane attire and shapes that are inspired by the old world, but created for the new,” she said.

“You should never have to choose between function and beauty,” Sol added, saying each look is created with a strict standard.

“You have to be able to do the splits in it,” she said.

Because of a pop-up runway provided by Manufacture New York — a support company for emerging designers — the young fashionistas have the opportunity to send their designs down a New York City runway during Fashion Week Fall 2014.

“This is an amazing opportunity for us,” Sol said. “This collection is high quality, dreamy, and luxurious. It is ready to be seen.”

Sol — who prides herself a “former nightlife maven” — worked as a bartender, hostess, event planner, go-go dancer and “basically anything that had to do with New York City nightlife” before dedicating herself to design. Her experiences — coupled with her Persian background — inspired the drapey, colorful, urban, oversized look of the collection.

While Sol dreams up big visions for Vaunt & Sol designs, Vaunt — a couture latex designer for her own company VAUNTD — makes them a reality.

“Nicole’s terminology in the world of textiles is immense,” Sol said. “She is amazing at taking my ideas, curating them, and making them happen.”

Vaunt & Sol will be showing their collection on Wednesday Feb. 5 at MNY 55 located at 55 West 17th St. at 2 p.m.