First timer from Minnesota

Tungstiny · Post by **Tungstiny** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 6:39 am

Hello, I'm Tiny from Minnesota and excited about my first burn. I've read the 'First Timers Guide' from stem to stern and am gleaning info daily from the eplaya posts. I am looking for any other burners from the twin cities area to meet before we go.

thirt33n · Post by **thirt33n** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 11:17 am

greetings tiny.
put on your party pants,....or take'em off...whatever.

racheltoba · Post by **racheltoba** » Sun Jun 22, 2008 3:29 pm

do you work at the nomad?????

Tungstiny · Post by **Tungstiny** » Sun Jun 22, 2008 6:16 pm

In fact, I do not work at the nomad, though I did ride in a 1956 Chevy Nomad this weekend.

StewartS · Post by **StewartS** » Tue Jun 24, 2008 2:59 pm

I'm also from Minnesota and this will be my first 'burn' as well. After talking to veteran burners I've concluded that there's no way to understand it without being there.

LeChatNoir · Post by **LeChatNoir** » Tue Jun 24, 2008 5:31 pm

StewartS wrote:I'm also from Minnesota and this will be my first 'burn' as well. After talking to veteran burners I've concluded that there's no way to understand it without being there.

Very much the truth.

Mister Jellyfish Mister · Post by **Mister Jellyfish Mister** » Tue Jun 24, 2008 6:14 pm

Hi Tungstiny and StewertS. My wife is from Duluth, but she does not attend the burn even though we live just south in Sparks, NV. Her and the kids are doing their burn right now in Disneyland which is A-OK with me! You'll have a great time. Prepare for the unexpected in both survival and fun.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Tue Jun 24, 2008 6:21 pm

I hope your daughters don't end up confusing Lincoln and Zsu Zsu.

Tungstiny · Post by **Tungstiny** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 11:58 am

Does anybody have suggestions for areas to visit after I first arrive on the Playa or should I just wander and let my bike and my senses lead the way?

Post by **AntiM** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 2:04 pm

Just wander. If you feel the need to plan, save it for the next day. Can't hurt to get your bearings around Center Camp or one of the plazas ... but wandering is good.

Teo del Fuego · Post by **Teo del Fuego** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 2:23 pm

Tungstiny wrote:Does anybody have suggestions for areas to visit after I first arrive on the Playa

I usually hit the portapotties coz Im bustin by the time I get there.

Seriously, though, hop on the bike, head to Center camp and check out the services on the ring road around Center Camp. There's Info Kiosque, the Artery, Post Office, Lamplighters, and other stuff you might want to check out or volunteer with during your stay.

Then head out to the Man and pay yer respects. Also head on out to the Temple. Then keep going and find Star Fuckers Cafe and sit a spell on one of the sofas under the umbrella. Thats a perfect oasis to relax in during the day. If you're lucky the guy who runs it will be there and will make a delicious "Crappacino" for you.

Each year I promise Im going to read through the Who What Where in advance or troll through the Theme Camp listings and make a list of shit I want to see or do, but I never do. Serendipity has been a pretty awesome guide thus far.

Also, if you do look through theme camp listings realize that, usually, those listings embody an ambition that is hardly ever realized on the playa. Also realize that burning Man is Mecca for the double entendre. So, if you see a camp called "Kick Ass Oral Sex" dont expect to roll up and see folks giving each other hummers. Instead, expect to see a real modest camp of five or six guys playing loud Aerosmith drinking beers with a sign that says: KAOS. That really cool game of lazer tag that's gonna be played on Wednsday by theme camp X? Yeah, maybe...if folks have their shit together and feel like it.

Having said all this, you will see incredible jaw-dropping stuff every 15 minutes. You will be amazed by ingenuity and creativity and kindness. It just aint usually scripted.

Tungstiny · Post by **Tungstiny** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 9:39 am

Thanks for the insight. I'm beginning to understand the endless nature of BM. I will follow the playa dust and see where it takes me.

Tungstiny · Post by **Tungstiny** » Tue Jul 01, 2008 9:36 pm

When I arrive on the Playa will I be directed to a certain area to set up camp or do I just wander until I find a vacant plot of dust? I imagine that 50,000 people wandering in cars and RVs does not work well so there must be some plan.

Zulegoona · Post by **Zulegoona** » Tue Jul 01, 2008 10:25 pm

Hello Robert,

For your first year there is no real way to know what part of the city you might prefer. The street layout map is already on the main site and you could look at the theme camp descriptions so when they are placed this year you could be nearer to things you might be interested in. But really you are better off just considering the distance from the port-o-pottys you want to be and the distance from the loud sound camps at the ends of the crescent you want to be.

Itâ€™s good to find a few landmarks that look like they will still be there at the end of the week and remember your location from them. In the middle of the night after the man has burned and the street signs have been taken finding your way home can be a challenge.

The map, and the what were and when can both be helpful in giving you direction, but flowing with what moves you is more fun, stopping and talking with people lending a hand if it looks like itâ€™s needed , fallow the pretty lights or big fire, or beat that interests you. Each year someone from the Twin Cities group tries to put together a map of where we all will be camping if we are in registered theme camps or a rough idea if weâ€™re not, cheek the Minnesota burners tribe when the time grows short and print it out if someone gets around to doing it again this year.

Tungstiny · Post by **Tungstiny** » Wed Jul 02, 2008 7:39 am

Thanks. That gives me some good ideas.

Kitty Dingo · Post by **Kitty Dingo** » Sat Jul 05, 2008 7:30 am

Hey Tiny and StewartS et al,

Thanks for the posts. I've invited a friend from North Branch, MN for her first burn, and she will love to knowing other Minn newbies are out there on the playa.

So, where does the Minn camp usually live? Is it a registered camp? I'd like to connect my friend with other newbie-sotans, so she can orient from a familiar vantage point. When I'm volunteering at center camp, she's on her own.

Have a beautiful burn. My first burn changed my life in so many incredible ways that I will be grateful to B Man ever after.

Can't wait to breathe in some playa dust!

Zulegoona · Post by **Zulegoona** » Sat Jul 05, 2008 8:29 am

There is no strictly Minnesota camp that I know of, though some folks do camp together most of us are scattered through out Black Rock City in theme camps or in our own small camps.

Contacting people on Tribe net or the group on yahoo will give you the best leads
Minnesota Burners
http://tribes.tribe.net/mnburners?_clic ... 431ceb8%5D

oheric! · Post by **oheric!** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 1:36 pm

Woo woo, this is going to be fun!

NellieX · Post by **NellieX** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 11:59 pm

BUMP BUMP BUMP

Did everyone else from Minnesota die? Haha...ha?

I'm bound and determined to find you MN Burners, even if I have to camp out in front of Bob's Java Hut. I live less than a half-mile away, it's not an empty threat.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Tue Aug 10, 2010 4:54 am

StewartS wrote:I'm also from Minnesota and this will be my first 'burn' as well. After talking to veteran burners I've concluded that there's no way to understand it without being there.

I can easily explain it to you.

NellieX · Post by **NellieX** » Tue Aug 10, 2010 5:44 am

gyre wrote:
StewartS wrote:I'm also from Minnesota and this will be my first 'burn' as well. After talking to veteran burners I've concluded that there's no way to understand it without being there.
I can easily explain it to you.

I'm not the OP, but you've piqued my curiosity.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Tue Aug 10, 2010 8:51 am

It's a beach party that went off the rails in san francisco.

There is no simple explanation for everyone, but I will try to explain anything baffling.
The main thing to know is that most interaction is with theme camps, which is a confusing concept to most people.
They can be anything from shade, drinks and conversation, with a sign, to bars, games, conceptual art in the city, bike repair camps, public places offering tea, coffee, tuna, whatever anyone thinks is a good idea.

Marc Merlin has captured the city better than anyone I know of.

http://marc.merlins.org/perso/bm/

Lenny Jones has some great stuff too.

http://www.lennyjones.net/

NellieX · Post by **NellieX** » Tue Aug 10, 2010 9:09 am

Oh I knew all that.

I was hoping for wonderful snark, but a nice answer is...nice, too.

Thank you for the links

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Tue Aug 10, 2010 9:19 am

I used to look at pictures and wish I had been there.

Now I look at pictures and wish I had been there.
Then I realize I was.

Usually I was there five minutes earlier or later, or over here instead of over there.
It feels like too many choices, all the time.

NellieX · Post by **NellieX** » Tue Aug 10, 2010 9:26 am

gyre wrote:I used to look at pictures and wish I had been there.

Now I look at pictures and wish I had been there.
Then I realize I was.

Usually I was there five minutes earlier or later, or over here instead of over there.
It feels like too many choices, all the time.

Photographs, even shitty ones (not that these are shitty, by any means), have a way of idealizing and warping a place or instance. You could have been there and experienced it, but the camera shows an entirely different instance. It's strange, and often uncomfortable.

The experiences you have had and will have probably outweigh the ones you COULD have had, by far

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Tue Aug 10, 2010 9:44 am

The city is all wide angle, so theme camps tend to look forlorn in isolated shots.
There are some panoramas, which give a more accurate feel, but few of the camps.

The general style is jarring at first, like a new style of architecture or music.
Think modern luxury refugee camp.

Kitty Dingo · Post by **Kitty Dingo** » Wed Aug 11, 2010 10:25 am

Hi Minnesotans!

I'm visiting the Twin Cities this week. If anyone wants to meet up in an air-conditioned coffee place and talk burn-related suff--I"m there!

I'm so excited about my sixth burn and no one here knows what I'm talking about!

Post by **Savannah** » Wed Aug 11, 2010 10:51 am

When I arrive on the Playa will I be directed to a certain area to set up camp or do I just wander until I find a vacant plot of dust? I imagine that 50,000 people wandering in cars and RVs does not work well so there must be some plan.

Theme camps have designated areas; look at & print the map and know where-not-to-camp, especially if you arrive at night and no one is awake to shoo you away. Theme camp areas are typically marked on the map and on the playa itself, with tiny foot-high wire flags, but these can be difficult to spot in the dark.

http://www.burningman.com/preparation/m ... index.html

http://www.burningman.com/preparation/m ... 6_full.jpg

Excerpt: The light blue shaded areas approximate where you will find reserved-placement, interactive theme camps. (Weâ€™re holding some prime space for the general public there too). Once our event begins, all unclaimed camping space everywhere, is available to all.

After Gates open, anywhere no one has camped or otherwise blocked off is supposed to be available, but if they don't do a very good job of marking space, a theme camp may give you grief if you camp in a place they consider theirs but didn't block off very well. Best to 1) avoid theme camp areas & 2) ask, if there is any confusion.

NellieX · Post by **NellieX** » Wed Aug 11, 2010 11:14 am

Kitty Dingo wrote:Hi Minnesotans!

I'm visiting the Twin Cities this week. If anyone wants to meet up in an air-conditioned coffee place and talk burn-related suff--I"m there!

I'm so excited about my sixth burn and no one here knows what I'm talking about!

Is there a regular meet-up place for Burners in the TC?

I'd love to meet people, if you can tolerate a noob.

First timer from Minnesota

First timer from Minnesota

tiny

First timers from Minnesota

let's go!