Burning man is dead... no longer worth the time...

[Alchemy]

When you discover the magic of Santa ....you look forward each year with a sureity that remarkable incredible magic of a rather reliable fashion will occur...oooooooits December Santa is gonna come and bring me something....and oooo suprises and yumminess..

then as you mature you feel regret over what has changed about the event..

THEN you also notice that its a perfectly good reason to make mgick happen around you,revel in its history and the joy comes from BEING Santa,or at least in on the presentation to the wide eyed babes still wet behind the ears( probably brimming over from the quarters still un-discovered by the favored uncle..) You relive it all thru every starry eye as you Make the magick and find a deeper sense of why Burningman is growing..and what a gift it is . Santas school for hungry spirits....
Now drink some and jolly up, Be the Santa...Beeeee the Santa.....

[kilngod]

As my son and I were driving home last hear, early Sunday morning after a week of madness, our first burn, I could only think, shit, now I have to go back next year. No one warned me of that consequence.

But alas, as much as we're feeling the pull, we cannot return this season because of other familial commitments (you you pays yer money and you makes yer choice). I can barely stand to log on the this website these days I'm jonesing so bad. So you whiners with an option, git yer asses to BRC and enjoy it goddammit!

See u in 2007.

[munney]

So I was talking to RonJon (the X-Head of Media Mecca a couple years back), gazing out over the Playa, mid week, and he said "It's not fun any more!",

I quickly went into salespitch mode and told him all the wonderful things and reasons that it is still fun, to which he replied, "Yea, but 8 years ago it all changed, and now you can't throw live hand grenades or have feather boas."

It seems like it was a different scene in the first 10 years, and now we have a grown up beast, A beast with 80,000 legs, one with more organized horns and hoofs, a beast that might not to be of everyone's taste, it is large and dusty, and full of spectators, and techno-freaks, and it's still fun... and if one isn't happy then one should excuse themselves, as I once did....

When I knew it was time to Leave

I am an Artistic Glass Blower by training, and found myself getting angry and heck'ling the juinor leager glass blowing female in the middle of the night after the burn a couple years back, and I caught myself, Looked inward and realized that this poor girl does suck at blowig glass, but that is her deal, lots of people watching her don't realize that, and they think that taking 45 minutes to make a tiny leaf is AMAZING , So who am I to make fun of her, well, that is part of BRC too.

Yet the fact that I was AGRO, didn't sit well with me, so I had the epiphany that it was time for me to go, nine days was it, so the next day I took off, before the temple burn and the rest is herstory.

Amen

[theCryptofishist]

munney--but how are you going to develope the old cranky burner attitude that the entire event has been useless since 2002 if you try and be all reasonable?

[munney]

So to get the angry old attitude in full swing, ...

1st I think of all the peace and quite I can get at BRC, then I think of the thumping non-music generated by freakshows ,AKA DJ's that put soundds together and people say"Wow, he/she's such a great DJ, they are incredible", then I get my eyes to constantly Roll in a gyroscopic loop...

2nd I like to chill at my peaceful camp and philosophize about the profundities of Life, and what's better is when the juinor leager techie wanabe Hackers start talking tech, big time, saying the same things I hear all the live ling day back home in Sillycone Valley, Yea, I love to chill that way.

Grinning and bareley bearing it....

[ZaphodBurner]

As somebody who isn't going to the Burn this year, (first child due August 29, or, as my wife like to point out, "Tuesday of Burning Man"), I would like to extend a hearty, flying fuck-you to everybody who is going this year intending to whine about how bad it sucks.

-gatt
http://www.zaphodburns2005.org

[Cabanasprings]

Maybe you should have stuck to using the rootbeer bottles on her. Then you would still get to go.

[Kinetic IV]

As somebody who isn't going to the Burn this year, (first child due August 29, or, as my wife like to point out, "Tuesday of Burning Man"), I would like to extend a hearty, flying fuck-you to everybody who is going this year intending to whine about how bad it sucks.

-gatt
http://www.zaphodburns2005.org

No rootbeer? Damn the luck.
But that being said CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!

[ZaphodBurner]

As somebody who isn't going to the Burn this year, (first child due August 29, or, as my wife like to point out, "Tuesday of Burning Man"), I would like to extend a hearty, flying fuck-you to everybody who is going this year intending to whine about how bad it sucks.

No rootbeer? Damn the luck.
But that being said CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!

Thanks! *nervous laugh* My wife refuses to name her "Larry Harvey."

Two of our devirginized campers have talked of putting the saloon on wheels in the future.

I caught myself desiging the art car in our childbirthing class last week. 2007, 2008, not sure, but it'll happen. I'm just glad I got that excruciating, obsessive all-thought-consuming period between First Burn and Second Burn out of the way first!

-Chris (zb)

[ZaphodBurner]

Maybe you should have stuck to using the rootbeer bottles on her. Then you would still get to go.

Speaking from experience, I'm sure.

[HughMungus]

Does anybody else out there feel like 'burning man' is no longer 'burning man'! It's simply just gotten too big for its own britches. Too many people, too much structure, too much waste, too much bullshit! I've been attending the event on and off for almost ten years now, and I almost feel like it's no longer worth my time. Am I the only one that feels this way? Does anybody understand where I'm coming from? Help me through this... please reply...

Me and most of my local burner friends are focusing more on regionals nowdays. I love the big burn, but the drive from here is hell and we just get a lot more out of regionals than we do in Nevada. (The funny part in all this is that I used to scoff at regionals.)

[Ugly Dougly]

Hurray, regionals!

[AntiM]

Regionals rock... the Utah one is getting fair-sized. And we drive down to Primm for the Vegas one, but that's just as far for us as it is to BRC. Eh.

[nocturnal_steve]

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I agree, I miss the good old days, BM was better back in 2006.
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[nocturnal_steve]

Oh, and it really started to suck when nocturnal_steve decided to stop
going.

[Marscrumbs]

I remember my first time, decades ago, when there was four thousand people, they were saying the same thing. Somethings never change.

[bayani]

an over-populated and environmentally unsavy burgoise society that many refer to as burning man is not conducive to ones artistic inspiration. we must work in harmony with mother earth, the supreme artist. when you are consciously destroying our planet, YOU ARE NOT CREATING ART, YOU ARE CAUSING SELF-DESTRUCTION!!! the belgian waffle burn is just one example and was about as artistic as the civil war in my opinion. every single "art car" i saw at burning man appeared to be a gas guzzling monstrosity from hell with beligerent passengers that would occasionally yell at me "no hippies allowed on board!"

this was my first, and probably last burn. i will leave you with one more word:

sustainability

[Kinetic IV]

I give you one more word. Uninformed.

It's not the "Belgian Waffle", it's called Uchronia. And it might be a good idea to read up on it before firing off misguided diatribes.

http://www.uchronians.org/


Quote: It consists of 150 km of timber with a floor span of 60 by 30 meters in the center, and a height of 15 meters. Part of Uchronia involves the reforestoration of an equivalent surface.

I do agree with you on the art cars though. As much as I love the things there's got to be a better way of building them that doesn't use so much damn fuel. And if the ones that are out there are using Biodiesel, then it's time to prominently let the participants know it by putting something on the side of the vehicle to indicate that it's eco-friendly.

Now that you've been and see the problems is the rant all you're going to do about it? Are you going to run off like a scalded dog or will you engage this board and possibly others in debate and discussion that could help bring about positive change? Burning Man really does thrive because it's a do-ocracy. You see a problem you get off your ass and try to fix it. Rants are fine, we all do them but you've hit on some good points....it's a shame you're going to bail out and not try to help fix things. Hmmm....come to think of it....that would make you a true spectator and not a participant....and just as much a destructive consumer as anyone else if you take the twisted logic further out.

[Ugly Dougly]

Please do not think of me when you touch yourself. That is all.

[dragonfly Jafe]

Burningman will never be dead as an event, only for individuals...I can only speak for myself, but before I return to Burningman, I am going to have to do some serious inward reflecting and re-invent myself (and start working out!). I no longer am reinvigorated by attending, but drained instead. I seriously wish I had heeded that inner voice this year and turned away when I was denied early entry (due to our Mayor's screw-up with the list). I wouldn't be injured now, I would be $1600 richer, and all my stuff would be clean (I no longer revel in playafied stuff, I just want it all clean again). I spent most of the week yelling at drunks who were about to hurt/kill themselves on our camp's dangerous art (until I went hoarse), dealing with their injuries until the medical staff showed up, or cleaning up thousands (yes, thousands) of cigarrette butts and vomit stains. In the end, no one cared (except some nameless future person who otherwise would have had to clean them up, but will never know). I know my campmates didn't.

I sincerely hope next year many others can experience the sense of wonder and enrichment I felt from 2001-2005, but for me 2006 was just awful. The only good memories were visiting my friends at Apokiliptika and Hushville and seeing that wonderful 8 legged walking creation. Oh yeah, and trying to talk with some Japanese in their language and getting a nice fan and bracelet with "peace" on it (I stopped being agro after that). I didn't even get to see a single thing burn due to self-inflicted injuries (I'm not as young as I used to be). This year was just a camping trip in the desert with 39,000+ others for me, nothing more. And it makes me sad. So sad... (I am crying now)

Hope to see my family again soon, but I don't know when that will be.

Peace.

[Zulegoona]

Dragonfly Jafe

Next year is a long way off, maybe you do need to move onto something else maybe just a different kind of experience, like camping alone or in a small group, taking on no projects or responsibilities. I of course think the problem you had this year was caused by your being on the wrong side of the city with the wrong people. I don’t think I could even pick you out of a crowd, But you are most certainly part of my tribe, I’m sure Apokiliptika, the Eplaya Bar Camp and probably many many others would welcome you with open arms. I am so sorry to hear you didn’t have a good time, What ever you decide to do regarding next year please know you your endeavors, and mere presents here and on the playa has enriched many of our lives, Thank you!

Zule

[chiefdanfox]

What's that? Better yet, since the idea is burning an effigy, perhaps knowing what a fake burner might be would be helpful.

I was my first year, and I was frankly blown away. Great job everyone.

[bayani]

[quote="Kinetic IV"]
[b][color=red]Part of Uchronia involves the reforestoration of an equivalent surface.[/color][/b]

you're going to bail out and not try to help fix things. Hmmm....come to think of it....that would make you a true spectator and not a participant....and just as much a destructive consumer as anyone else if you take the twisted logic further out.[/quote]

thanks kinetic, good points...you make me want to show up riding a wild camel or a veggie oil / solar/ wind powered flying art car made out of dumpster findings, that comes complete with an organic kitchen and beautiful topless pro chefs to cook you up something dank because you're gona have the munchies after we burn that stuff that really should be burned at around 4:20am/pm on burn day.

[Lassen Forge]

Dragonfly Jafe

.... I of course think the problem you had this year was caused by your being on the wrong side of the city with the wrong people....

I agree entirely. Mondo entirely. We need you and a few others from there to see the dark, and come to the doomed side of the city.

But you are most certainly part of my tribe, I’m sure Apokiliptika, the Eplaya Bar Camp and probably many many others would welcome you with open arms.

To this there is not even a question. You shall always be welcome whereever our tent is pitched.

I went through this with renfaire, and didn't change my experience enough to prevent burning out. Looking back I would have done exactly that - changed my environment, made it new, kicked back from the responsibility, and enjoyed it.

This year's burn was wierd anyway, and found that working for the man seemed a buzzkill - it was only when I threw out that responsibility I actually had fun. Hope I remember this 50 weeks from now!!!

bb

[Goodbye Horses]

I know I'm gonna get lambasted for this but I would have to yes/no this.

We drove all the way from Phoenix to participate in burning man, and I'm sure others drove much, much further. It was to be our first. But there was a problem with the tickets and we didn't get in.

We later were told that we did have tickets - but that it was a serious mistake and by then we had already driven to San Fransico.

Part of me was really excited to participate in a burning man. But as I stood out there conversing with some of the people that were attending, I began to realize that perhaps BM wasn't for me. I think that BM must get a large number of virgins who have all these expectations, then when they get there, are very disapointed that it's not what they expected it to be. I guess a lot of people expect it to be one big hippie love fest or perhaps they expect it to be a big druken/drug crazed fest. Maybe people are there to express their art. Or perhaps, it's just all of those things!

We thought we might attend next year, but gaging from some of the responses I've read, the reality is that you are going to have some jerks there and you are going to have people who truly embrace the idea of BM and truly enjoy themselves. The trick is to find the right group of people you can enjoy yourselves with.

I am a bit disapointed that we did not get to participate this year, but at the same time. I would have been just as bad as the other virgins who went and did nothing but compalin. But I also feel that I may have been one of those with expectations. Now that I am begining to have a clearer understanding of it, I may just be mature enough to attend and participate next year!

Life is truly what you make it and expectation can seriously hamper your mind set for a great time.

Live in Dharma - it is what it is - nothing less and nothing more.

[Killbuck]

There are plenty of us who will make sure you don't have that experience next time... should you decide there will be a next time.

Was it the counterfiet ticket thing, or did you arrange for tickets at will call? Get em early on line or by mail, then, nail them to a wall just out of reach.

[Goodbye Horses]

It was a screw up - I came to find out with PayPal and not BM themselves! I was really upset when we got there, but the girl at the window was really, really nice and she meant well.

I mean, I couldn't do anything at the time - I should have had my confirmaiton with me. But hey, you live and learn, right?

[Ugly Dougly]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbar%27s_number

Dunbar's number (also known as the Dunbar number or the Monkeysphere) is a value significant in sociology and anthropology. Proposed by British anthropologist Robin Dunbar, it measures the "cognitive limit to the number of individuals with whom any one person can maintain stable relationships". Dunbar theorizes that "this limit is a direct function of relative neocortex size, and that this in turn limits group size ... the limit imposed by neocortical processing capacity is simply on the number of individuals with whom a stable inter-personal relationship can be maintained."

Primatologists have noted that, due to their highly social nature, non-human primates have to maintain personal contact with the other members of their social group, usually through grooming. Such social groups function as protective cliques within the physical groups in which the primates live. The number of social group members a primate can track appears to be limited by the volume of the neocortex region of their brain. This suggests that there is a species-specific index of the social group size, computable from the species' mean neocortex volume.

In a 1993 article, Dunbar used the correlation observed for non-human primates to predict a social group size for humans. Using a regression equation on data for 36 primate genera, Dunbar predicted a human "mean group size" of 147.8 (casually represented as 150), a result he considered exploratory due to the large error measure (a 95% confidence interval of 100 to 230).

Dunbar then compared this prediction with observable group sizes for humans. Beginning with the assumption that the current mean size of the human neocortex had developed about 250,000 years BCE, i.e. during the Pleistocene, Dunbar searched the anthropological and ethnographical literature for census-like group size information for various hunter-gatherer societies, the closest existing approximations to how anthropology reconstructs the Pleistocene societies. Dunbar noted that the groups fell into three categories — small, medium and large, equivalent to bands, cultural lineage groups and tribes — with respective size ranges of 30-50, 100-200 and 500-2500 members each.

Dunbar's surveys of village and tribe sizes also appeared to approximate this predicted value, including 150 as the estimated size of a neolithic farming village; 150 as the splitting point of Hutterite settlements; 200 as the upper bound on the number of academics in a discipline's sub-specialization; 150 as the basic unit size of professional armies in Roman antiquity and in modern times since the 16th century; and notions of appropriate company size.

Dunbar has theorized that 150 would be the mean group size only for communities with a very high incentive to remain together. For a group of this size to remain cohesive, Dunbar speculated that as much as 42% of the group's time would have to be devoted to social grooming. Correspondingly, only groups under intense survival pressure, such as subsistence villages, nomadic tribes, and historical military groupings have, on average, achieved the 150-member mark. Moreover, Dunbar noted that such groups are almost always physically close: "... we might expect the upper limit on group size to depend on the degree of social dispersal. In dispersed societies, individuals will meet less often and will thus be less familiar with each, so group sizes should be smaller in consequence." Thus, the 150-member group would only occur because of absolute necessity, i.e. due to intense environmental and economic pressures.

Dunbar proposes furthermore that language may have arisen as a "cheap" means of social grooming, allowing early humans to efficiently maintain social cohesion. Without language, Dunbar speculates, humans would have to expend nearly half their time on social grooming, which would have made productive, cooperative effort nearly impossible. Language may have allowed societies to remain cohesive, while reducing the need for physical and social intimacy.

Dunbar's number has since become a major meme of interest in anthropology, sociology, statistics, and business management. As with many theoretical values, it has occasionally been abused and mistaken as a "magic number".

[EricMagic]

Keep coming back to the even to celebrate, or complain, or for more of what you like, or make your protests at the BMan event itself. Celebrate your right to disagree with the BMan scene, or the Govt, or a Cult, or a Mindless Confirmation, and anything else you like while you still can.

Personally, I would like to see another group of persons to out do the BMan event, or in another tact try a creative demonstration that is parallel or against something like the WTO, or the KKK, or Global Car Proliferation Conference, or any other event. This would be like setting up a spontaneous local Burn that does not necessary cuss and jeer the group, but creates a vast contrast and voice of opinions that is vastly different than the GTO, or the OPEC, or the Lawyers for Corporaton Greed Conference.

BMan is definately not perfect, but it has sparked some interesting new perspectives, and helped give a nice meeting place for highly creative and self sufficient persons. I like to see more highly creative events and self sufficient persons indirectly mocking the established status quo and making fun of oppression. Long live freedom of expression, free speech, and the right to complian.

Hey, Hey Rock and Roll should not die, and your continuing fanning of flames in passion for higher awareness can help keep you alive forever.

[mars]

Burning Man is alive and worth every minute of my time. Fourth year and each one has been the best so far...

Problems? yes.
Things I don't like? yes.
Seeing things that are just plain wrong? yes.

But, damn, there is so much that is good, right, better, phenomenol, hilarious, beautiful, fantabulous, wacktastic, playalicious...

Burniing man is not dead.
Not dead, yet.