Temple burn and art cars - incongruous?

DrWindyPhd · Post by **DrWindyPhd** » Sun Sep 11, 2005 7:42 pm

First time burner here so feel free to flame if this has been covered before.

The temple burn. OK, the Man burning is one huge party and it's loud and a spectacle with yelling and dancing and that's a good thing. But the temple is different. From what I can see the temple is imbued with a lot of feeling over the week, as evidenced by the notes left and by the number of people I observed being overcome by emotion while there. So the feeling on the night of the temple burn is different, more reverential (at least in my eyes). It's a ritual.

So I'm sitting preparing to watch the burn, and thinking deep and profound thoughts (at least I thought they were) and along come several brightly lit art cars playing music at manic levels. They also managed to form a 'wagon-ring' so that anyone who was sitting further back couldn't see past them to the temple. Totally ruined the atmosphere for me, and I ended up watching the burn from by centre camp which was deserted and quiet. Now, I have nothing against art cars in general. I like them. But I think they have no place at the temple burn.

I'm wondering if not allowing art cars out there on Sunday night would show some respect for what many people see in the temple? Walking or biking quietly just seems more appropriate somehow.

Have the noisy party Saturday, contemplate quietly Sunday. My 2c, worth all you paid for it.

dj big E · Post by **dj big E** » Mon Sep 12, 2005 8:14 am

It's you're burn not the temple's. As soon as the org or the artists start controlling you're emotions then you might as well go to you're local musuem. Were you can look but don't ever touch and be quiet. If thats what you want go to the musuem. Every year the temple is used for a lot of people to remember friends or family passed away thats there choice when it burned this year i thought of my grandma and i allmost cried but i didn't the way to remember my grandma is through revalry and a drink not crying and weeping but thats just for me. BIG E

Mister Jellyfish Mister · Post by **Mister Jellyfish Mister** » Mon Sep 12, 2005 8:23 am

A friend of mine had a bus that he could never get approved by the DMV so he broke the rules and brought it to the Temple Burn anyway as it was the end of the event. I was secretly happy for him. For me, I like to be sober for the temple burn. Maybe that will catch on... not.

Kinetic IV · Post by **Kinetic IV** » Mon Sep 12, 2005 8:34 am

Enforcing an art car ban would be a pain in the rear for whatever group, mainly the Rangers who would have to enforce it. It would also add another set of rules to an event that literally thrives on chaos and our interactions with it.

Unless the rules have to do with portapotties, public safety, local law compliance or are there to keep the event alive, the introduction of any new rules or restrictions hould be heavily scrutinized and avoided. We all have our pet projects and it's easily to advocate new rules...I've done it. But when you step back and really look at how BM works, what keeps it alive, new rules are like a choker chain and with enough rules and enough time it will strangle the event we all love.

Off the soapbox for a second, I've grumbled about those art car circles. Yet when one of them last year fired up the Scottish bagpipe version of Amazing Grace I lost it out there, and it was one of the most intense moments I've had at the event...if they were banned I would have never experienced that magikal moment. That's my $0.02 on the subject.

DrWindyPhd · Post by **DrWindyPhd** » Mon Sep 12, 2005 11:27 am

Sure. I understand that, and I'm not really into adding extra rules either. It's just a shame that the people who hootle out there loudly and view from a platform don't consider those who may want to contemplate quietly.

I said goodbye to my Dad this year and I could almost hear him going "Damn noisy bastards playing that boom boom music mutter mutter mutter." (he was 81 and entitled to be a grumpy old fart).

I heard many people didn't like the pipes either. *shrug*

Fat SAM · Post by **Fat SAM** » Mon Sep 12, 2005 6:30 pm

The bagpipes people were complaining about were from this year. And they were being played by none other than...wait for it....

Orion "Lex" Luthor!

Kinetic IV · Post by **Kinetic IV** » Mon Sep 12, 2005 6:34 pm

Watch those Lex comments...if the rumors are true he might take those funds raised from selling stuff on the playa and get an attorney to sue you.

ibdave · Post by **ibdave** » Mon Sep 12, 2005 8:25 pm

Fat Sam, Your Killing Me..."Orion "Lex" Luthor!"

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Tue Sep 13, 2005 9:47 am

Kinetic IV wrote:Off the soapbox for a second, I've grumbled about those art car circles. Yet when one of them last year fired up the Scottish bagpipe version of Amazing Grace I lost it out there, and it was one of the most intense moments I've had at the event...if they were banned I would have never experienced that magikal moment. That's my $0.02 on the subject.

I wwatched this year's burn next to a black bus giving a submarine radar "ping" every few seconds. eeriely meaningfull.

horseradish · Post by **horseradish** » Tue Sep 13, 2005 9:58 am

I'm just opposed to the amount of cheese people feel the need to bring to the temple burn.

Yes, it's a potentially meaningful moment - and would be more so if we could all just hang out there in a vaguely thoughtful manner. Most participants do... it's a great time to soak up the sunset, reflect, talk quietly with your campmates, think about loved and lost ones, and generally bring a warm and peaceful end to the week.

A few crazies, however, think that the temple is the perfect opportunity to shove their religious/ethnic/artistic/rave/delete as appropriate sensibilities down our throats... whether that be opera, bagpipes, doves or some big sound system. To me they're all utterly superfluous and don't make the occasion more meaningful. I don't want to ban anything, but I would be really glad if people were happy just to _be_ together in that environment rather than using it as yet another time to make yet more random noise.

/rant over

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Tue Sep 13, 2005 10:07 am

Isn't The three hundred ft safty ring for art cars good for the Temple burn. Many things can go wrong at any burn. Wheel in the dark are a danger too.

Temple burn and art cars - incongruous?

Temple burn and art cars - incongruous?

lmao