Feathers

[BBadger]

I do struggle (hmmm ... I seem to do a bit of "struggling" on ePlaya don't I???) with the suggestion that one ought not do, create, build or wear something simply because other less prepared or committed people might witness that something and attempt to replicate it without first performing their own due diligence in the research, design and build (of which much should take place right here on ePlaya), before showing up on the playa with their version in tow. There are a lot of fantastic pieces of art, structures, performances and outfits on the playa that scream creativity and ingenuity that would not be there if people were too afraid to try something new because in the past it was attempted but didn't work.

What happens with photo-ops like the one BMOrg authorized is that what we don't get to see is the 5-10 people with bags and trash pickers combing over the trail of ruin left behind these playa chickens clucking around, leaving their droppings (or hell, why bother, that's what those LNT dudes are for right?). No, that would detract from the "art" that this event is supposedly all about, not all the work, prep, RESPONSIBILITY, and cleanup that also goes with it.

Why show people what wearing feathers entails, the shit it leaves behind, or the effort needed to clean it up? Nah, who wants to see that? It's like the unglamorous depiction of a (responsible) dog owner picking up the warm shit that their dog left on someone's yard.

I think I might be more inclined to approach someone like tatonka who said:

You can make a feather not moopish , you take clr 2" wide packing tape , and you cover both sides. Then trim the edges and you have a feather concealed in clr plastic tape . Put mine together in 2013 and it went thru 3 burns , no problem.

At that point it's not even really a feather, it's practically a fossil under that tape. To that end, I'd be just fine with those playa chicken costumes being entombed in hard amber. They could even, you know, make them out of leather or something of that sort. I went out of my way to use responsible feather-looking stuff!

Of course nothing like that was advertised in those photos. All they advertise is: hey, not only are feathers okay now, but we're even overcompensating for lost time! Create the most outrageous feather costumes you can! Be like the woman in the first photo and make your costume look like you dumped a bunch of fluffy feathers on a bunch of sticky tape. Just Photoshop out all the wisps and fragments that trail behind (LNT right?). Maybe give it a good shake before you take it out of the car.

Yeah, everyone knows Chicken Lady couldn't handle the backlash, was connected within BMORG, and so they changed the rules to remove the most common "why are some chickens MORE EQUAL than others here" argument.

^-- I love this line.

[Eric]

I do struggle (hmmm ... I seem to do a bit of "struggling" on ePlaya don't I???) with the suggestion that one ought not do, create, build or wear something simply because other less prepared or committed people might witness that something and attempt to replicate it without first performing their own due diligence in the research, design and build (of which much should take place right here on ePlaya), before showing up on the playa with their version in tow..

Nah, fuck that. I would never suggest changing what you're doing because stupid people might get the wrong idea - I'm coming from the position that if you're intelligent enough to ask if feathers could be workable, then you're intelligent enough to listen to reasons why (most) people on ePlaya are opposed to them. Basically I take the approach that if you ask the question, I'm going to give you what I feel is the appropriate answer.

Also - you are honestly incredibly lucky if you only saw one beer can as moop on your virgin visit, because I've been getting more & more shocked at how much is already out there before Gate even opens (though it is mostly beer cans at that point). Lots of ePlayans even carry mooping bags to pick up other peoples trash. Granted, if you consider us compared to something like Coachella or Glastonbury we're amazingly litter-free, but if you compare us to the empty playa we're sitting on? Not so much.

[smilemore]

Also - you are honestly incredibly lucky if you only saw one beer can as moop on your virgin visit.

No ... we did see more ... but that beer can was the first bit!

I assume that our eyes were occupied by all the wonder and did miss lots of moop. In fact, despite my best efforts I know that at some point in the dark of night my "secured" stainless steel wine glass broke into two pieces after separating at the base and ended up on the playa floor for someone else to cleanup I figured stainless steel was a safe bet ... we still have the other one that we brought - loved that glass.

So, drinking vessels for this year will be different!

Cheers!

[Ratty]

i do love feathers. Just wet ones.