Mellowest Year Ever

Post by **mdmf007** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 9:32 pm

Mellowest year ever -

semes to be the asiest going year in a long time. Temple burn was reverant and peaceful.

BitterDan · Post by **BitterDan** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 9:58 pm

I don't know about mellow but it was certainly different. The larger center ring seemed way too big IMHO. I mean, it was nearly a mile from 9 plaza to 3 plaza. I really hope we go back to the smaller center ring next year.

The art seemed very sparse as well. I assumed that since the center ring was bigger that more art would be placed in that area; it was not the case. Don't get me wrong, there were some fantastic pieces out there but compared to previous years, it seemed lacking.

Was it the theme? Are we reaching the bitter end? Have the candy kids finally taken over and forgone the whole art thing for rave camps?

poisenloaf · Post by **poisenloaf** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 10:09 pm

This was my first year so I cannot really compare but a few people in my camp who have been several burns commented that the art was sparse as well. Plenty of great sound camps though and we danced most nights away with Robot Heart, the rubber duck, Opulent, Green Gorilla, etc. I don't know about energy levels but by Wednesday night it seemed to really pick up and by Friday it was insane on the Esplanade..too crowded IMO. The burn for me was perfect (glad the all day whiteout finally ended too)..very emotional for me to spend with all of my remaining friends that had not left early.

EB · Post by EB » Tue Sep 02, 2008 10:26 pm

The all-day windstorm on Monday seemed to take a lot of starch out of the city. We were next to a couple and their parents who simply threw up their hands and bailed.

The weather turned beautiful for the next four days and the energy seemed to come back but then the nightly playa "spinning class" was another ball buster. So it goes. What was interesting was how the choppy playa forced bikes, art cars and peds alike to take certain "highways" across the playa, creating traffic tie-ups and detours.

It was like being back in LA!

poisenloaf · Post by **poisenloaf** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 10:31 pm

Yeah, so my first year right? and Monday was an all-day whiteout. I remember thinking to myself if this is what it is like every day, I'm not coming back no matter how cool it is. but then the sun goes down forcing the wind to calm and things improve dramatically.. weather was perfect Tue-Fri with another whiteout on Saturday.. Boy, those really sap your will to live and I was even in an air conditioned RV on those days. We just drank and played board games, socialized with campmates, etc to pass the time.

also bikes were practically useless.. if it was not the dunes, it was the ruts that started forming on most of the roads towards the latter half of the week. I just prefered walking everywhere even though it took longer.

BitterDan · Post by **BitterDan** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 10:44 pm

EB wrote:The all-day windstorm on Monday seemed to take a lot of starch out of the city. We were next to a couple and their parents who simply threw up their hands and bailed.

The weather turned beautiful for the next four days and the energy seemed to come back but then the nightly playa "spinning class" was another ball buster. So it goes. What was interesting was how the choppy playa forced bikes, art cars and peds alike to take certain "highways" across the playa, creating traffic tie-ups and detours.

It was like being back in LA!

Yeah I totally agree that the early dust storms took some of the energy out of the city. Those things do indeed sap you of all you've got.

I noticed those highways too. It was actually kind of funny to watch everyone try to ride in the same truck track.

skibear · Post by **skibear** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 9:29 am

Perhaps DPW needs to think up a way to shovel/vacuum
up dust ridges on the main streets. A Zamboni machine for dust!

Then haul it downwind in dump trucks.

In 07 the 9:00 radial had large dust swales.

Post by **mdmf007** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 12:01 pm

skibear wrote:Perhaps DPW needs to think up a way to shovel/vacuum
up dust ridges on the main streets. A Zamboni machine for dust!

Then haul it downwind in dump trucks.

In 07 the 9:00 radial had large dust swales.

DPW has enough to do already -

chiefdanfox · Post by **chiefdanfox** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 12:12 pm

poisenloaf wrote: another whiteout on Saturday.. Boy, those really sap your will to live and I was even in an air conditioned RV on those days.

I danced like a maniac at the Deep End with this group of beautiful dusty folks (tell that beautiful girl that she had a good vibe too!), for hours, drank hot red wine from a giant man in a sarong, and never felt more alive. It was like we were all from Pompeii, dancing as Vesuvius buried us into the geologic record.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 12:21 pm

was a layed back year

Toolmaker · Post by **Toolmaker** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 2:01 pm

skibear wrote:Perhaps DPW needs to think up a way to shovel/vacuum
up dust ridges on the main streets. A Zamboni machine for dust!

Then haul it downwind in dump trucks.

In 07 the 9:00 radial had large dust swales.

change shovel/vacuum to large array of leaf blowers
change downwind to upwind

add large swales to every intersection and a 3 foot high dune surrounding the man

ZaphodBurner · Post by **ZaphodBurner** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:02 pm

chiefdanfox wrote: I danced like a maniac at the Deep End with this group of beautiful dusty folks (tell that beautiful girl that she had a good vibe too!), for hours, drank hot red wine from a giant man in a sarong, and never felt more alive. It was like we were all from Pompeii, dancing as Vesuvius buried us into the geologic record.

Yep. For me, the dust brings back a little of the ruggedness and toughness that is experienced earlier in the week, when everybody has been busting ass and building things. When it's too easy, the yahoos are out standing around taking pictures and getting in the way of everything.

The art was sparse this year, definitely, especially during the day. I kept thinking "this is it, the city has gotten too big." But even if it had been a smaller city, the dust drifts and the weather would have dampened things. I don't blame anybody in Black Rock; the playa conditions were tough. I only saw two or three real smacktards.

Other than a couple of wildly-annoying newbies (one guy interrupting a couples seminar at the Orgasmateria asking to take a picture got a pretty brutal response), it seemed like a really peaceful and asshat-free year. Maybe in that way the dust worked to our advantage.

-c

Post by **AntiM** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 5:06 pm

I saw plenty of the little whisker markers where art should have been, it likely was just too hard to get it up.

We got in a day early but didn't get anything done; Sunday was as bad as Monday. Two days straight of the dust and wind made us cranky and tense. Canceling the fire conclave was sad.

skygod · Post by **skygod** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 6:51 pm

Laid back and dusty.

But Opulent Temple and Syd Gris were outstanding as usual!