This was my last burn

[goathead]

On Tuesday four fighter/bombers flew three simulated bombing runs on Black Rock City, no one seemed to notice or care.

And you know they where simulated bombing runs how?
The Nevada Air Guard, and various squardons out of NAS Fallon have flown by and waved Hello for years. A couple of those who did the fly by where from VFC-13 out of Key West this year.

Also if you had the chance to fly a C-130 "Nevada Air Guard" or an F-5 VFC-13, or something of the sort wouldn't you want to take a fly by and say hello to us?

I sure as hell would.

I will seek a true alternative elsewhere, I know others before me have felt the way I do and are actively creating a new,real zeitgeist somewhere. I will search for them and perhaps I will find them. For me the party is over, I want to work and share awareness with others who will actively fight the evil that is destroying our country and our world.

For part of your rant it seems you brought your problems with you and just are really pissed no one else shared your outrage.

Good for them.

BM is the one week out of the year I refuse to talk politics, religion, blah blah, blah. The most heated discussion I was in this year ws about bikes on Hwy. 447. I loved it.

One thing I do wonder about is why those who choose to not attend anymore feel the need to come in a bitch about it?

[BastardSonOfRave]

"One thing I do wonder about is why those who choose to not attend anymore feel the need to come in a bitch about it?"

Maybe because something they once enjoyed now more closely resembles what it would look like if a Wal-Mart came along and vomited up its contents all over a desert filled with lost attendees of some Lake Havasu beer bong convention.

I don't understand why people like you must be such yes men for your beloved little blinkie toy filled bacchanal of pure MDMA and slack jawed tittie ogling.

Maybe some people like to have intelligent conversations out in the desert. Shocking, I know.

To many this year was definitely an odd one at best, but hell, at least the goatheads of the world enjoyed it, right?

[Hamandegger]

Well Goathead, you seem very in tune with the inner workings of our National Defense forces. Politics is just so much blah, blah, blah and you don't want to bother your buzz cut head with any "issues" while you enjoy the pleasures of the Playa. By all means, enjoy and keep using those emoticons they express your thoughts so well. I and others of my discontented ilk will leave the party to you, and yours.

[Glittering Clitoris]

I'm so sorry this is your last burn...



































































































































































































































































































































































































































Only 40,000 thousand more to go!

[scruffyboy]

I will be taking a sabbtical from BM next year for various reasons.

My first time going was at the insistence of a friend, one Crimson Rose. For about 3 years she kept telling me, "Jim you HAVE to go!" It's just too bad her duties keep her attached to a radio for most of the event nowadays.

I remember the directions the first time: "Watch yer oddometer and go 5 miles then turn right" O.K....? what then? "Just look fer it you'll see it"
Driving across that vast expanse of Playa the first time.....Memorable, dusty! And seeing that...that "city" sprung up in the middle of nowhere? Mind boggling! I was HOME! I was in sensory overload the entire time AND I LOVED IT! The art, the people, the location PERFECT!

I've had both good and bad years at BM. Usually expectations getting in my way is what led to the bad times.
I learned to cope with the conditions over the years and find that, for me, "surviving" at BM is an acomplishment in itself. Surviving well and comfortably a definite plus.

Friends at home live the event vicariously through me and my images. But I'm not quite sure what to tell them about it anymore.

I have to agree, the "idiot factor" seemed unusually high. I heard about a worker getting injured by some moron, I wanted to find the bastard and force him muck out all the porti-potties.
When I approached some offending idiot, I was usually rebuffed quite harshly. I attribute the rebuff(s) to altered states, and that's an entirely different subject...Can't imagine experiencing BM in any kind of altered state myself.

Seeing discarded trash by the side of the road and in the porti-potties made me sad (yes I picked it up and hauled it out!)

I existed quite comfortably for the entire week in a VW camper with a "playa tested" shade structure. I ate very well, had showers every day, left no trace behind, not even grey water.
I even "diapered" my van so no oil would hit the playa ( Not that Priscilla leaks! HEAVENS NO! VW's just like to "Mark" their spot)

It was all easy enough to do and I can't quite fathom why someone would leave trash in a porti-pottie, by the side of the road, or anywhere for that matter.

I'd have to say the event has "evolved" over the years:

Drive by shoothing range? nowadays? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING!

"Rave" camps set up AWAY from main camp? Sure! If you wanna see carnage going to and fro every night. (Hmmm now there's a thought)

All vehicles free to roam at will? you betcha! (MORE carnage Mmmmm!)

Some things needed to change. Some things STILL need to change.

I think the "Green Man" theme for the event was a total flop. And the very thinly veiled "corporate" presence was disturbing. (some of the solar and wind installations, the electric car @ the man)

What I saw was wretched excess EVERYWHERE! A VERY big VERY expensive Mercedes Unimog being used to haul a trailer and "toys."
More and larger RV'S in evidence, generators running CONSTANTLY.
Gas-powered scooters EVERYWHERE...Vehicles left idling when entering...

For some I suppose, BM will ALWAYS be nothing more than a big drunken debauch in the desert.
I guess it's up to us to inform them otherwise or....Get BMORG on the ball and clean up the act across the board. Get SOME kind of DIFFERENT mesage out there.

I say SHUT IT DOWN FOR A YEAR! NO BURNING MAN! GIVE IT A REST ALREADY! or...BOYCOTT BURNING MAN!

On the positive side: I was cruising the Playa one night and saw a glo stick and figured "dumb-ass little raver!" When I got to the glo stick it was attached to a silver gift box and inside were two pictures and some stones. Not quite sure what it was all about, a memorial? art? I was impressed and touched.
Sometimes it's the little things I see that impress me the most.

I did a shift @ Center Camp Cafe and had a blast, danced on the counter (WHAT! AGAIN!?)
Made myself and my resources/experience avaliable to my fellow burners. Managed to help a couple of people out. Tried my best to "educate" a couple of photographers about proper respect and ettiquite...

When I think about it all, it was STILL a mostly positive experience for me. I encountered several friends from burns past, made some new friends. I had conversations with total strangers, Snuggled and cuddled a couple of times. Got washed by, and got to wash my fellow burners, treated a case of "Playa Foot" Helped campmates with set-up... And the list goes on.

I am hoping that the "basics" of BM, like LNT, help out, take care of yourself and your campmates, are impressed a bit more.

Hey, if nothing else I was AWAY FROM WORK!

O.K. that's my 2 cents


Scruffyboy

[honeyfire]

Well, and how about we quit pampering all the dumbasses who show up unprepared and disrepectful?
Instead of "oh, poor little you, how could you have known?", how about "Nearest atm? In town, there's a bus that picks up and drops over there, hit that atm and buy yourself some supplies".
If i step on someone in the dark because they declined to light themself, i'm not going to feel sorry for them.

Something to understand here is that to cover someone else's ass instead of holding them responsible for themself and their actions is not doing them a favor.
Kids will never learn to read if we only read *to* them and never hand them the book and leave them to it.

My life mission overall is to be as compassionate, giving, caring, and fun as i can.
Sometimes the way to be caring is let someone learn their own lesson instead of protecting them from it.

[ZaphodBurner]

"One thing I do wonder about is why those who choose to not attend anymore feel the need to come in a bitch about it?"

Maybe because something they once enjoyed now more closely resembles what it would look like if a Wal-Mart came along and vomited up its contents all over a desert filled with lost attendees of some Lake Havasu beer bong convention.

Maybe he might not be such a "yes man" if the perspective to which he is responding is truthful and accurate. "Wal-Mart came along and vomited up..." What's YOUR idea? Go build it. "Lost attendees of some Lake Havasu..."? Hey, fuck you: You don't know jack shit about me, and I don't judge you unless you force me to defend myself.

If you don't like Disnelyand, don't go. It's fuckin' simple. What's the point of going to a Disney discussion group and telling everybody how much you hate it? "Man, I watched Cubby and Anette back in the day, yo, and it's, like, not even black and white anymore. You guys suck."

I don't understand why people like you must be such yes men

Because you're not telling the truth. You're exaggerating. Plus, it's a forum where people who presumably enjoy Burning Man come to talk about Burning Man. I don't crap in your pool, don't crap in mine.

What I don't understand is why people like you must be such "no" men. If you don't like it, bye. The world is full of people who don't like Burning Man. Most of them have figured out how not to hang out here.

Hope that helps.
-zb

[Isotopia]

I think the "Green Man" theme for the event was a total flop. And the very thinly veiled "corporate" presence was disturbing. (some of the solar and wind installations, the electric car @ the man)

[goathead]

Well Goathead, you seem very in tune with the inner workings of our National Defense forces.

I know people from both NAS Fallon, and Nevada Air Guard from Reno.
And yes it is a thrill to see the city even for them.
Ohhhh a few of them are, shhhh don't tell anyone but, they are even
burners

Politics is just so much blah, blah, blah and you don't want to bother your buzz cut head with any "issues"

Yep, one week out of the year politics is just so much CRAP.
Just like I don't take time off from work, to SNIVEL the entire time about WORK.
Your making the right choice if you want to deal with the default crap 52 weeks out of the year. So what the fuck you wasting your time here for?
Buzz cut head???
LMAO
So we should only allow in people who think??
LIKE YOU???
What a week in hell that would be.

By all means, enjoy and keep using those emoticons they express your thoughts so well.

I just hope when or if the time comes when I no longer wish to attend, that I will not feel the need to come back and piss and MOANNNNN.
WAAAAAAAAA

I and others of my discontented ilk will leave the party to you, and yours.

Promise?

[diane o'thirst]

The Green Man would have been my eighth Burn. I missed Psyche ('05) because I had cancer, and came last year because I was...not cured, but physically up to it. I missed this year because of a detached retina. And I'm not coming back to the desert event, either. I'm 45.

The Green Man would have been my last Burn, I planned for awhile. I'd proven to myself that I could Burn again back in '06, and was jazzed about the Green Man theme. I got an instant inspiration and a million ideas as soon as I heard the theme. I said, "I CANNOT miss this one!" and decided to do one more Burn and then go on walkabout. I was planning to devote myself to working with my horse, showing, and getting my dressage chops up, and maybe come back in 2011 when we're well away from the Bush years and the World Equestrian Games were over.

But with Paul Addis burning the Man on Tuesday morning, I've decided not to come back to the desert Burn at all. He set a very ugly precedent where anyone's art, camps and rides can be vandalized or destroyed, whether you like it or not, by any passing, pissed-off asshole for no better reason than they felt like it, or because they didn't like it — and they'd be called heroes. I won't go into it more because I've spoken my piece on the matter in other threads.

Sorry, I know I'm still fairly young, but I'm too old for that bullshit. Why go to the trouble of designing, creating, transporting and setting up a beautiful camp and/or art just to have someone wreck it on a whim? True, Burning Man was never completely safe, it was a chaotic place, but the chaos was Dionysian, chaos that can rejuvenate and solve troubles as well as get you in trouble. Now, it's made a turn towards Arioch, pure malevolent chaos.

I acknowledge that I could be indulging in alarmism, or bitterness, and we'll see if I'm right or wrong. Take into account that I'm picking a road that is potentially as dangerous; my horse is young and touchy and he loves me six ways to Sunday but he could kill me without even intending to. Most states have a law warning that equestrian activities are inherently risky and equestrian facilities are non-spectator locales. Sound familiar?

[goathead]

Maybe because something they once enjoyed now more closely resembles what it would look like if a Wal-Mart came along and vomited up its contents all over a desert filled with lost attendees of some Lake Havasu beer bong convention.

Hmmm never seen anything like the Monkeys, the Big Rig Jig, Thunder Dome, at Wal-Mart. What isle are they on?

I don't understand why people like you must be such yes men for your beloved little blinkie toy filled bacchanal of pure MDMA and slack jawed tittie ogling.

LMAO, if I was a yes man, I doubt I would be a goathead.
As far as blinky toy, MDMA, tittie ogling, maybe that is your experience, I know mine is so much more, as it has been for many years.

Maybe some people like to have intelligent conversations out in the desert. Shocking, I know.

With out a doubt. Just as some of us can have intelligent conversations about many other subjects besides politics.

To many this year was definitely an odd one at best, but hell, at least the goatheads of the world enjoyed it, right?

Most years have their own little dramas going on, whats new about that?
Yep, this goathead has enjoyed it for many, many, years.
The one thing I do understand is that the event will continue to change and evolve. Some changes I will agree with, some I won't.

[/quote]

[goathead]

Maybe because something they once enjoyed now more closely resembles what it would look like if a Wal-Mart came along and vomited up its contents all over a desert filled with lost attendees of some Lake Havasu beer bong convention.

Hmmm never seen anything like the Monkeys, the Big Rig Jig, Thunder Dome, at Wal-Mart. What isle are they on?

I don't understand why people like you must be such yes men for your beloved little blinkie toy filled bacchanal of pure MDMA and slack jawed tittie ogling.

LMAO, if I was a yes man, I doubt I would be a goathead.
As far as blinky toy, MDMA, tittie ogling, maybe that is your experience, I know mine is so much more, as it has been for many years.

Maybe some people like to have intelligent conversations out in the desert. Shocking, I know.

With out a doubt. Just as some of us can have intelligent conversations about many other subjects besides politics.

To many this year was definitely an odd one at best, but hell, at least the goatheads of the world enjoyed it, right?

Most years have their own little dramas going on, whats new about that?
Yep, this goathead has enjoyed it for many, many, years.
The one thing I do understand is that the event will continue to change and evolve. Some changes I will agree with, some I won't.

[/quote]

[scruffyboy]

Some great comments!
I'll put myself into the "Burnier Than Thou" gang. The event has changed FOR ME over the years. And yes, some/most of it has been for the better.
Trying to deny anyone admission just won't work, you pay, you go. I think it's up to US and BMORG to educate people about the event..

[dr.placebo]

I've been to the past 9 burns and I hope that the universe allows me to get to the next one. I'm not starry-eyed, I'm just bloodshot from the recent dust storms.

If you've been disappointed enough by the flaws to give up on the event then I do understand and wish you well. I hope that you understand that I'm not going to join you.

There are a lot of fools and jerks and even destroyers out there. And there are wonderful, generous, happy, caring people as well. I refuse to let the former keep me from the latter.

[scruffyboy]

Oh, I'm not giving up on BM entirely. I'm doing a one year sabbatical for some practical/personal reasons. Plus, I just need a break. I'm still in transit to Florida. LONG DRIVE! Look for me in 09.

I agree, when I CHOOSE to LOOK for it, there's a LOT of good things going on at BM. I made some very special connections this year, hooked up with some old friends...Overall, I had a pretty good time and I WILL be back.

My "gripe" if you will, is that BMORG doesn't do enough to really educate people about the event. What you need to do to prepare, what's expected of you as a participant etc. I woud like to see them make a more concerted effort.

[skygod]

Why go to the trouble of designing, creating, transporting and setting up a beautiful camp and/or art just to have someone wreck it on a whim? ?

Everything you ever set up will be destroyed in the end. The best you can hope for is that someone will see your idea and have an insight.

Good or bad, BM has a lot of people looking for that insight, and we have an opportunity to give it to them. I won't turn my back to them as long as I have the strength.

[Hamandegger]

Hey Goathead and others, I'm sorry if my personal observations about the Man are a source of such irritation. I'm sure we all share much in common, much more than separates us. I will admit to being a crybaby, horny, male chauvinist. I don't begrudge anyone their pleasures, they are hard to come by these days. Peace be with you brothers and sisters.
Here is what I do believe:
The Neocons are deliberately crashing the dollar, a well thought out theft of our savings and the defacto destruction of Social Security.
9/11 was an inside job
The major media is 100% controlled by corporate interests.
Preparations are afoot to bomb/invade Iran
We now live under virtual martial law
The use of "depleted" uranium munitions is causing a massive increase in all cancers, diabetes and birth defects, the half life of DP is 5 billion years.
Ron Paul is the only viable candidate for president and deserves our support
None of us deserves this, none of us should tolerate it

[Oblique]

Sorry to hear that it will be your last Burn, but if you are unhappy then it's best to stay home! THis was my 6th Burn as well and I loved the Burn. Sure, with more people there will of course be loss of connection with certain individuals, but I felt connected with just as many participants as every other year. There are plenty of loving, respectful people out there and if "prickteases" are an issue, then so be it. Teasing is a wonderful part of human nature and it's very seductive and fun, but it's harmless and has nothing to do with the "vibe" of an event. I personally prefer to be teased by people more than having them jump on my lap for a quickie! LOL Sexuality and sexual teasing is a great aspect of human nature and is of course welcome at the Burn.

Also, who cares if people come out of RV's or tents or if they are yuppies or squaters in "regular life". I've been involved in both takes, intermittently through the years and there are advantages and disadvantages of both experiences. Also, cleaniness or dirtiness has nothing to do with how "Burning Man" someone really is. It's more about your Psyche and not your physical appearance. If a true Burner cannot embrace a "conformist-ie someone who doesn't look Burning Man), then it's the Burner who is the conformist-at the event at least. As a experienced Burner it's up to you to meet people and enjoy people and not expect people to treat you like a "Burner Virgin" each year.

That gets back to the point. If you aren't into Burning Man for the experience of sharing the art, the people, the wonderful attitude, and the spirituality of dance and music at the event, then it's best to end it on a good note; Good for you to end this on your 6th trip when you still had fun and while being on the brink of becoming uber jaded...

Good luck fellow Burner and I'm sure I'll see you out on the PLaya again. People say they "are never coming back" all the time, but rarely live up to this bold statement. If it's true, then have fun with your AMerican Dream while I and others live theirs' on the PLaya next year. See you in 2008!

[Captain Goddammit]

I can't fucking believe I took the time to read this whole thread.
I can't believe what a sour, conspiracy-theory freak the original poster sounds like.
I actually had a GREAT time this year, and met plenty of cool people.
I'll even go as far as to say I had LESS trouble with drunk and stoned partyers than in previous years.

The LAST thing I wanna talk about at Burning Man, my vacation, is politics.
That doesn't mean I'm ignorant or stupid.

THANK YOU for not coming back to sour the party.

[ibdave]

This years Burn was my sixth and I won't be going back.

Ok then.....

[barnz]

But with Paul Addis burning the Man on Tuesday morning, I've decided not to come back to the desert Burn at all. He set a very ugly precedent where anyone's art, camps and rides can be vandalized or destroyed, whether you like it or not, by any passing, pissed-off asshole for no better reason than they felt like it, or because they didn't like it — and they'd be called heroes.

I'm not speaking on Addis' behalf, but I respectfully disagree that he set any such precedent, not by a long shot.

The Man is not like "anyone's art, camps and rides" The event is BURNING MAN, not burn "anyone's art, camps and rides." The fact that he violated the schedule is not equatable to burning people's camps.

[Zulegoona]

But with Paul Addis burning the Man on Tuesday morning, I've decided not to come back to the desert Burn at all. He set a very ugly precedent where anyone's art, camps and rides can be vandalized or destroyed, whether you like it or not, by any passing, pissed-off asshole for no better reason than they felt like it, or because they didn't like it — and they'd be called heroes.

I'm not speaking on Addis' behalf, but I respectfully disagree that he set any such precedent, not by a long shot.

The Man is not like "anyone's art, camps and rides" The event is BURNING MAN, not burn "anyone's art, camps and rides." The fact that he violated the schedule is not equatable to burning people's camps.

The Man is an Iconic symbol of the burning man community, Its Burn on Saturday is a celebration of the coming together of that community. Addis attempting to destroy it was basically an assault on the Burning man community, It’s art its camps and its people. Time will tell if others fallow in his foot steps but I fear Dian o’thirst might be right about a precedent being set.

[barnz]

The Man is an Iconic symbol of the burning man community...

Yes, it absolutely is. In fact, it's not so much an icon as obviously the icon. I understand that people are upset, but burning the man early is just a different concept from torching somebody's camp.

[asafox]

well....

just wanted to add to the general discussion that my experience wasn't as great this year as before.
I went in 2005 and this year, and I remember 2005 much much (much) for the better.

the people. the acceptance. the feeling of being part of a community, of belonging to something....

to me this year felt as if finally the 'real world' mentality took over the 'togetherness' mentality in burningman's own court. : (

a few small experiences:
I stroll around and see a crazy party happening in one of the camps. I come there and they tell me it's a PRIVATE PARTY (!!) yes my friends, the jokes that were posted on the signs at the entrance were real... it is 'us' and 'them' together with incorporating a mentality of "we don't care who they are at all, we just know we don't want them with us"

in other words, FEAR in it's most common form in our sad reality of America has entered burningman and won this year for the first time.
we look at another man walking in the street, and instead of inviting him over, asking him where he's from, getting to know the 'other', we fear him. we judge him. we put him in a box.

and by doing all this, we're doing the exact same for ourselves - self judging, self hating, suppressing ourselves into boxes....


also, I want to add the sad point of the crazy bureaucracy that seems to ooze from the BRC LLC organizers' side.
especially when innocently coming to ask about an art tour.
having to wait in line for half an hour just to write your alias name in a list to be on third priority to something you're not really planning on showing up on anyway....
I mean, I'll show up if I'll find myself there at that time - I don't plan my burn schedule, it just happens! isn't that what it's all about?!?!?

the gatestapo.
the ho-so-close outer perimeter orange FENCE (north of the temple) that made you understand this may seem like a desert, but if you run chasing the rainbow in the endless void - you'll get stopped by a BRC patrol unit that would ask you nicely but firmly to "head the fuck back because we can't have ppl running outside of the FENCE"
what is this territory marking all for anyway?? wasn't the burn about freedom? about being one with nature? about endless limits? opening up to the desert???? this fence maybe just some cheap orange plastic, but it symbolizes a lot more.


all this boils down to one single event that symbolized and incorporated it all.
one event all (or at least most) of the attendees were part of.
the burning of the temple.

mmmmm...
how different it was from two years ago... (a crooked smile)

I remember the power
the sacred power
of that silence.

thousands of people standing together. watching the temple burn, being completely in the moment.
all and one.
all are one.

the singing of that one lady still echoes in my ear.
my eyes begin to tear...
once again, as if I am there again.



and this year-

what did we have?
people clinging to their cameras.
afraid to miss the moment.
but missing it by doing exactly that.
huge cranes, huge art cars, so people could see better....
see better what??
the burning of the temple is the burning within our hearts.
don't you get it?
that was all I could think of....

and than, as if summoned just to prove this point, a wave of shouting started. a wave of excitement and exhilaration.... the primal forces have not been quenched.
the burning of the man the night before was not enough.
they want to consume more..

and I observe at this. and I am part of this. and I let myself scream and shout at the burning of the temple with everyone around me.
and I know..... this was the beginning of the end.
the setting of the rise.

[Zulegoona]

The Man is an Iconic symbol of the burning man community...

Yes, it absolutely is. In fact, it's not so much an icon as obviously the icon. I understand that people are upset, but burning the man early is just a different concept from torching somebody's camp.

I do hope your right, and all of the drug addled sleep deprived lunatics with something to prove that are likely to be wondering the playa next year also see it that way those of us that go could be gamboling our lives on it..
I do agree to have fear that effects the way you go about life empowers the idiots, but awareness of the potential hazards is only prudent.

[diane o'thirst]

Barnz, thanks for being respectful. And I'll chime in with Zulegoona, I do indeed hope you're right. Burning Man rose from Cacophony Society chaos and to that it will return...eventually...I hope not before the community is ready for it.

I wasn't going to come back to the Burn again until 2011. I won't say "Farewell forever," I'll keep watching from a distance and if things stay in the realms of Dionysos — might come back. Eventually. Hopefully it won't go the way I'm thinking is possible. Not every camper out there has the DPW and the resources at their disposal to rebuild their art if it gets sacrificed to Arioch...if only prematurely.

That aside...

Why is it so GODDAMN hard for some people to wrap their heads around the concept of "Respect?!?" Didn't the ORG and the people of Black Rock City start with the "Don't burn other peoples' art!" litany back in '96, when we had a rash of art vandalism attacks? Remember those vicious assholes who used to shove people into the Man's flames when the crowd rushed the fallen Man? Isn't the heat, wind and dust dangerous enough for ya?!?

Edit:
Afterthought.

I was talking with a friend the other day. I told her about the Tuesday morning arson. She was shocked and angry, and she's not even a Burner. I related my "ugly precedent" theory to her and said that, atheistic cynicism aside, my perception of Burning Man is that it's a fantastically-intricate, incredibly massive, week-long ritual and the Man is the altar, the Man's Burn is the climax, and the Temple Burn is the "blessed be" and circle-be-open-but-not-broken. Incredible experiences and connections as powerful as the chains that bind Prometheus and Fenris Ulf are forged out there.

[goathead]

I'm sure we all share much in common, much more than separates us. I don't begrudge anyone their pleasures, they are hard to come by these days. Peace be with you brothers and sisters.

Hamandegger

With out a doubt we share a lot in common. Years ago I made a mistake and spent most of my week at BM doing just what you tried to do this year.
My wife chewed my ass, "if all you wanted to do was talk problems, we could have stayed HOME !!!!" LOL, except she wasn't quite that nice about it. She was, just as you are right, our pleasures are hard to come by these days, and I have become very protective of them. Not only at Burning Man, but else where as well.

Take care.

[goathead]

Why is it so GODDAMN hard for some people to wrap their heads around the concept of "Respect?!?" Didn't the ORG and the people of Black Rock City start with the "Don't burn other peoples' art!" litany back in '96, when we had a rash of art vandalism attacks?

diane o'thirst

diane you have to keep in mind where we are. The amounts of various things ingested. In nine years time now I have NEVER seen a fight, or even a shoving match. I know they happen, we have rangers in our camp. But I have never seen one.

Years ago there was a "performance artist" asshole, got his nose broke for trashing, "claimed it was performance art", a theme camp. He came in here whining and looking for witnesses to the incident so he could sue them.
From what I remember he didn't get even a single postitve reply.
LOL, wonder if that was Addis?
Its been enough years almost.

[dust devil]

None of us deserves this, none of us should tolerate it

As long ago as 1974 people said that the revolution will not be televised. Fuck knows why people in 2007 think they can start one by posting on a bulletin board.

[bungdan]

This year was my first burning man.

I have every intention of coming back next year.

I reconnected with some of the dearest friends of my youth, and had intense, perfect moments with complete strangers. A beautiful girl wandered into our camp looking for a ride to SF, turned out she was obsessing about some boyfriend or other that wasnt working out... shit, there's a whole universe of amazing stuff out there right now, set it aside. She did. We went to my friend Mohammed's for a martini, went dancing, talked openly without what either of us do for filthy lucre coming up once and then eventually lost site of each other.

Later that same day i was invited for a drink and a cigarrette into a camp by a middle-aged man, formerly a woman, who was happy to talk about being an FTM pioneer in the seventies.

I was in a new camp that was 70% virgins. We had very ambitious projects that didn't quite work out (wind put paid to a towering shade structure, imperfect mechanics left us without our art car until friday) but we worked through it. Already sketching ideas for next year...

I was welcomed just about everwhere I went. I drank enough water. The constrictions of work-a-day life dropped away like they haven't for years. I stumbled across a Balinese kecak dance at center camp with a friend; we'd both lived in Indonesia for a decade. Old habits reasserted themselves and i started to criticize. My mate told me to shut up and pay attention. I did, and was blown away: A large, committed group of people making one of my favorites from Bali come alive, making it their own with english narrative and getting a few hundred random folks around them to partipate fully, whole-heartedly.

My camp was right behind the death guild. They weren't scary hardly at all. I think they lent us power tools. Our camp had more than enough food. My pal chiefee cooked for all comers.

Was there an asshole or two lurking at the fringes? Too drunk, too high, too this, too that? Sure. Who cares? I sure didn't.

I'm sorry the magic's gone for some, perhaps many. But there's still a lot of joy to be had.