Here's one experience I had:
I see a glory hole booth and think "why not?" I read the sign that says "ring bell for service" and ring the bell. The booth is set up so that I can see the other person from the neck down and they can only see me from the waist down.
Moments after ringing the bell, a large naked older man comes enters the booth. As I'm figuring out what's going on, he reaches through the hole and lightly strokes my penis.
I tell him "Uh...I think I've changed my mind" and flee.
I cannot disclose that information. This message will now self-distruct.
The symbols are the 10 principles. I spent an entire day going to all the food events happening. One was a pickle give away (duh) and I noticed all the pickle people were wearing these pendants. I asked where they got them, and they told me a person in their camp had designed and made them. I went around back of the pickle booth and snagged one up.
Yup. Started on the beach in SF. Then a couple years in the desert. (Before tickets, porta-potties, rules, etc.) Then the last decade+. Camped solo on my motorcycle. Joined a theme camp. Had my own theme camp. Ran regional events. Board member for regional org (Ignition Northwest). Became a Burning Man staff member (Arctica). And now have ... maybe ... kinda sorta ... retired. I have a brief cameo in the movie "Spark", when they show people raising the Man the first year in the desert. As they pan down the line of people on the rope, there's a surfer dude with long hair. That's me.
Damn dude. You're a badass. Another bass player performed, but a group from my camp The Saloon Ensemble (winners of the marching band competition), performed for Larry as they held a memorial for a friend that recently passed. I heard they were served a bomb ass three course meal.
Dude. What did you expect? Also... do you go sticking your dick in weird holes out in the world? What makes it OK to do at Burning Man? trick question That's the thing I like about Burning Man. It's a safe place to do just about anything. Try stuff out. Wear a dress. Stay up all night. Embrace a stranger. Whatever. In the end, it is a city of 70k people, and - just like any other city of 70k people - you can find whatever experience you are looking for, with the added benefit of it being a safe place to experiment.
This is an important message. It feels like a lot of younger don't necessary feel that way. A city of 70k can feel small or insignificant compared to the New Yorks or San Frans of the world, especially in your early-mid twenties. When the media and peers push the overwhelming nature of having everything to do with no work to find it, it can make a city of 70k feel like a ghost town. But there's always something there, it just means you have to work for it. And that might be the most rewarding part, right? /tangent.In the end, it is a city of 70k people, and - just like any other city of 70k people -
Besides the glory hole incident, what other memorable moments did you have?
I arrived Sunday at 4am and was way too excited to set up camp, so I biked into the open playa where all the art installations were located. I found an octopus sculpture which had a couch nearby. On the couch was a box with pendants engraved with an octopi. As I was sifting through the pendants, deciding which one I wanted, a woman biked by and I waved her down. She climbed on top of the octopus, and I followed her up. We chatted for a while, and I learned she was Australian (I later learned that a lot of Austrailians go to Burning Man). As we were chatting, the sun was starting to poke up over the mountains. Once the sun had just finished showing itself, the Austrailian and I looked at each other, and kissed. We sat in silence for a little while longer and then biked our separate ways.
They had a "Glory Glory Hole" at the local one I went to two months ago. Not my cup of tea, but I appreciate the "anything consensual goes" spirit. It's a pitty that the burns are largely white people, but I've found that's a common feature of most hippie-ish communities. It seems to be partially self-selecting and partially an active turn-off / inactive catering to POC in my (limited) experience.
I wonder how much of it is based on resource availability
You know, the heat really wasn't an issue. More than anything, the cold at night was rough. There was a night I had to wear both of my faux-fur coats. And I heard last year it got even colder at night. I did a lot of research before going and brought a solid amount of supplies. Most assumed it wasn't my first burn. Two things I brought that I was really glad about was a rice cooker (my camp had electricity) and a shade structure. Next time, I'm bringing lotion and a hand vacuum. It got really annoying to sleep in a dust filled tent every night. A strange gift I received was a glass bottle that only holds one drop of water. I'm still not sure what it's purpose is, but it sure is interesting.
I was on playa this year. Last year was my first. Camp Lead for People of Color Camp this year. We were on 6:30 btwn Esplanade and A.
Dude, we were so close to one another! I was a Center Camp @ 2:00 (next to the Info Booth) at The Dump. We had a piano, drum kit, and bass set up. Could you describe your camp in more detail? I'm Latino and was well aware of how few people of color there were at BM.
Yea, that's so cool! My partner was volunteering at Playa Info. But yea, I met the founder of POC Camp at the end of my 1st burn last year. At that moment, I decided to help build actual infrastructure for the camp (it was just 4 people or less for the past 4 years.) Basically, POC Camp is a lil sister/brother camp to Que Viva! Camp "Our camp is called Que Viva! camp, is dedicated to social change, both off and on the Playa, bringing artists, activists and issues like immigration and racial justice to the playa in a celebratory, magical, Burning Man way." The founder of POC Camp wanted a place for activist minded activities / workshops and play. I wanted to moreso build a space where POC on playa can gather and find each other in an obvious way. Our ideas don't really conflict each other and we had a camp of 16 people this year, which is 4x anything done before. We tested 2 workshops: Whine and Wine, a forum for non-poc to ask questions that'd be deemed inappropriate or insensitive over Wine (pretty successful.) and Soul Force: Why Black People are Magic, an exploration of black activists history in America (turned into an explanation session about why America cant give up guns to an Australian man.) Other than that, we were burning like everyone else and it was a great time. Half the camp were burgins and all want to come again next year. I also noticed this year that more people of color were at the burn than my 1st. Non-people of color response to the camp was interesting. Some sensitive people felt they were somehow excluded even though almost 1/3 of the camp was non-poc. One of our burgins, that was trying to bring more people in for Whine and Wine, was told to go home because of the topic. Interesting behavior. This year there was an incident where a long time (10+) and one few black Rangers was tackled by a Pershing County Officer while diffusing a situation started by a jackass in DPW.
Dude, this is incredible! Especially the Whine and Wine. What day(s) did you hold the event? I'm really happy to hear that the camp was so successful this year. What did you do to recruit and increase the numbers? Can you explain in more detail the conversation with the Australian man? I heard several stories about how DPW guys were being assholes. A guy in our camp was telling us about how a couple of them were harassing him as he was trying to set up camp. I wonder, was the population this year much greater than last? If so, perhaps the stress of setting up that much more got to them.
Sorry for the late reply, Whine and Wine was Thursday from 7PM, Soul Force was Wednesday 4PM. Actually, most of camp was 1 degree of separation from myself. I recruited others from NYC burner happy hours, others came from Que Viva! overflow, and the African singers were friends of Uncle Vern. We are developing an action plan to reach 25-30 person camp in 2017. Well, he genuinely couldn't understand why people of the African diaspora would want to retain their historical identity and culture developed in parallel to Western and "white" culture. He felt we should give up and just assimilate. DPW has kinda always had the "we're badass and hardcore" thing. Well, the population can't really increase anymore because of 447. Their workload doesn't really increase unless the city itself does. They're building the same things each year.
Congrats on the recruiting man. I think I'll stay at The Dump for a while, but if ever the opportunity arises to join POC, may I? What race was the Australian man? I recently watched an interview with trumpeter Christian Scott where he proposed an idea to create gun reform. He suggested that 10,000 black men in each major city rally together and sign up to carry guns. That'd light a fire under the scared white folk to create gun reform laws. Is using fear a morally correct tactic to create something necessary? I'm not sure, but it's certainly an idea. What's 447?
Hell yea! Just dont be a dick (Rule#2) White Guy Well, thats how gun legislation started in America. The Black Panthers would open carry and it scared the white people. Highway 447, the 2 lane highway we all use to get there.
Burning Man, to me, is a time and place to be reminded of the infinite possibilities available to us at any moment - where human potential is open and celebrated alongside 70,000 other humans.
everything is possible in your dreams. Making them a reality is not as simple as just building a fucking magic castle, unless you are living in a bubble. a magic bubble A family member of mine has gone there at least a half dozen times over the past 10 years. There was some real shit, long ago. I'm sure it's a lot of fun, but talk is cheap, know what I mean?
Word, I feel you. One of the greatest things I took away was the inspiration to put in the hard work to make creative endeavors come true. Can you imagine how much work went into this Medusa sculpture?
Definately... But where did the means to undertake such an endeavour come from? I've seen and experienced enough art personally to have my fill. There are much more real matters that are bringing about an end to this type of lifestyle. These will only get more flamboyant until the dsfunctional motives are exposed, or the reality distortion field pops and the nu-free lovers see what openness exposes. Openness is fantastic - but there's a difference between being open...and projecting an image
^^ this sounds quite dour But I am jaded with artistic expression in today's age. More of it is propped up with the tech bubble than people realize. Radical openness is running it's course in black rock city. But you can now get likes for it too so it's all cool.
Ah, I see what you're saying. One night I was out and about and noticed an art car that was absolutely incredible in terms of the craftsmanship involved. As I was looking at the details, I had this conversation with a woman who came up to look at it as well. You're right, there is a lot of extravagance in art and BM is no exception. The money that was spent to build the car could easily have fed hundreds, probably thousands, of people in underdeveloped nations. So where does the balance lay? Art is a wonderful thing. Sure, it doesn't require a shit load of money to create beautiful art, but do we demonize those with the money to create for creating? Probably, I don't know.
Well, playing the role of a developer - I'd smile, wave, and say that, "finding the ones to demonize is political jockeying; a waste of time." Burning Man is not a self-sustaining endeavour. Sure, there are most likely a higher percentage of eco-friendly individuals in play.... But, moving well into the 21st century now - the universal question will only grow - until it dominates all perception - is the action sustainable? The political advocate may be vested in posing the question: is the system sustainable? I see a tech bubble built on a fledgling social architecture, caught in limbo between the next era of social interaction and economic feasibility. With a profitable image - that finds a middle ground with contentment; an accepted norm: openness, you see the development of a real event in Burning Man. Now, is everyone currently attending Burning Man aware of its roots? Or in touch with the premise behind the flamboyant art? Again, who cares. Answering this question doesn't change the logistics behind 70,000 people needing to poop in the middle of a desert with zero permanent infastructure. an engineering feat, no doubt. The same species also tackled how to engineer a hunk of elements to safely bring a breathing organism to the surface of the moon and back. I'm a developing realist. What I can guarantee you is that the rate of consumption since the introduction of mobile social-technology (and the bubble) has (in theory) expanded the premise of burning man... But has the message scaled? How would you know, when you're just looking to send a snapchat of what you're experiencing? There's a bubble, that's all I'm saying. Burning man chose to join the bubble (willingly or not) years ago. But, those radically open board members are living in the pinnacle of an era of easy money. They don't understand the other side of life well enough to bring their message to a larger audience, imo. There's a difference between conveying a message, and projecting an image. Their message of radiclal openness has undoubdetly grown to all corners of the globe. Thanks to a tech bubble. Sorry, the social media feeding frenzy is not sustainable, and will be seen as a bubble 40 years from now. I will bet you.
Yup. We go so insulated in living our lives, we get stuck in a rut. Burning Man is one way to get out of that rut without adverse consequences to your stable life. Get out, try some shit out, be someone different, do whatever. Then come back to your life and improve it with what you learned out there in your desert experiment. a time and place to be reminded of the infinite possibilities available to us at any moment
In what ways have you been inspired? What have you created created after a Burn?
Oh wow... what a great question! And a hard one... I've been involved in Burning Man since 1988. So... really... my entire life is informed by those experiences. The very first year Burning Man was in the desert, my friend Michael drew a line in the desert and said, "Beyond this line, everything is different", and established the space in the spirit of a "Temporary Autonomous Zone". A place outside of law and social expectation and societal norms. A safe place where you could do whatever you want, without fear of judgment. I try to keep that idea alive in my life. Creating spaces in which people can explore and express parts of themselves or their personality, that they otherwise wouldn't feel safe with. Participation, is another key element I bring into everything I do. Every project I am involved with is something that invites participation and interaction. There are no spectators. Everyone is welcome to touch the art, literally and figuratively. For years I dedicated myself to the business operations of a circus, as a volunteer. I have served on multiple Boards of Directors for arts organizations, in the interest of helping create spaces in which artists can thrive and produce. I have run my own theme camps. I have been a Burning Man staff member, and designed new processes and systems for the organization I worked for (Arctica), that improved our efficiency, safety, and lowered our negative impact on the event and the environment. I have worked with friends to create public art and events for the benefit of the communities in which the events take place. (And did it again on Saturday.) I've also been deeply involved in innumerable Newbie Picnics, which help first-time Burners get ready for the unique conditions on the playa, and also created Radical Orientation, which is targeted at helping people get involved in the local (Pacific Northwest) Burner community. (We started this the first year Burning Man tickets sold out, because we wanted to help all the new people get acclimated and in tune with the Burner vibe before they went to the event.) So yeah. That's just a small sampling of the things I have done outside of the Gerlach event, that are inspired by my experiences at Burning Man...
Exhilarating. To not now what the next turn held was fantastic.