I'm 14 and I live in Australia, but am coming to Las Vegas.

lonelyplanetboy · Post by **lonelyplanetboy** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 5:44 pm

Hey my name is Adam. I live in Australia (And I know there are Australian Burning Man regions) but am coming to the Las Vegas desert for the real deal. Basically, I heard about/got interested in Burning Man through an episode of Malcolm In The Middle, and was just wondering if that's an accurate depiction of what I can expect. I'm super excited because not only will this be my first international flight, but of course my first Burning Man! Also, will people think I'm lame being a 14 year old at BM? I mean I know it's a expressionist festival, but there always seems to be [i]that[/i] person.
Thanks, Adam. xxxx

dragonfly Jafe · Post by **dragonfly Jafe** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 5:48 pm

...assuming you are not a Troll;

#1 Welcome home
#2 No, that "Malcom in the Middle" show has nothing even remotely close to Burningman
#3 do you realize that there is an age limit to Burningman? You cannot get in at 14 y.o. without a legal guardian to sign for you....

You should really look for local Australian Burners to give you some guidance...

lonelyplanetboy · Post by **lonelyplanetboy** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 5:50 pm

[quote="dragonfly Jafe"]...assuming you are not a Troll;

#1 Welcome home
#2 No, that "Malcom in the Middle" show has nothing even remotely close to Burningman
#3 do you realize that there is an age limit to Burningman? You cannot get in at 14 y.o. without a legal guardian to sign for you....

You should really look for local Australian Burners to give you some guidance...[/quote]

1.I'm not a troll, I really do hate them.
2.Thank you.
3.I didn't think so, just making sure.
4. Yes I do, and I'm coming with my parental guardian. We are going for our first vacation out of Australia.

Post by **Sham** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 5:52 pm

Hi Adam and welcome. Please let us know how the Las Vegas desert is. This is 10 hours south of the Black Rock Desert where the Burning Man festival is located. If you are making plane reservation, make them to the Reno airport. Will you be coming with family or are you planning on running away and joining this festival?
Unless you are actually lame, people will not think that you're lame. There are lots of people your age and even younger there.
The Malcolm episode was about as close as you can get to giving the feel of the festival. There were some inacuracies, but the basic sense was very good.
If you give details of your travel, we can help you with some good advice.

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 5:54 pm

then,
good on ya mate.......
I have friends near Melbourne..........fair dinkum!

and remember:

Burning Man is just like a vacation at the beach, only different.........

lonelyplanetboy · Post by **lonelyplanetboy** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 6:00 pm

[quote="Shambala"]Hi Adam and welcome. Please let us know how the Las Vegas desert is. This is 10 hours south of the Black Rock Desert where the Burning Man festival is located. If you are making plane reservation, make them to the Reno airport. Will you be coming with family or are you planning on running away and joining this festival?
Unless you are actually lame, people will not think that you're lame. There are lots of people your age and even younger there.
The Malcolm episode was about as close as you can get to giving the feel of the festival. There were some inacuracies, but the basic sense was very good.
If you give details of your travel, we can help you with some good advice.[/quote]

Thank you for your help. Well we are going next year, so 2010 Burning Man (I'm just burying myself in info now), and I'm coming with the relatives, but will be allowed to explore and all (Knowing my luck, I'd wind up in the desert you were telling me about and never find my way home if I ran away :P) We'll be flying to Las Vegas, getting ready for Burning man, and then after the festival we're doing a bit of travel, California, and then home. Reno airport? I'll make a note of it, thank you. And I asked about the Malcolm episode just cause I'm unsure cause often tv shows ruin everything hahaha. Thanks for all your help, I'm so excited!

lonelyplanetboy · Post by **lonelyplanetboy** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 6:03 pm

[quote="ygmir"]then,
good on ya mate.......
I have friends near Melbourne..........fair dinkum!

and remember:

Burning Man is just like a vacation at the beach, only different.........[/quote]

Hahaha, thank you, if I knew some Australian slang I'd give you some :P (I'm a terrible Australian hahaha.)

dragonfly Jafe · Post by **dragonfly Jafe** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 6:06 pm

...well then, super! We will look forward to meeting you in 2010....

(there are Burningman videos available, any of them would give you a better idea about Burningman than any TV show)

pizzamancer · Post by **pizzamancer** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 6:43 pm

Kiwi-burn is in February. You might want to think about going there as a warm up.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 6:45 pm

I think it's exactly like malcolm, only different.
Sort of a melies version.

The Man Burns Tonight will give you the feel (by Donn Cortez).

Enable your bbcode on your profile.

lonelyplanetboy · Post by **lonelyplanetboy** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 6:49 pm

pizzamancer wrote:Kiwi-burn is in February. You might want to think about going there as a warm up.

There's a Kiwi Burn? I'm assuming that's in New Zealand? I actually have access to NZ, being half, is it as fantastic as BM?

lonelyplanetboy · Post by **lonelyplanetboy** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 6:52 pm

gyre wrote:I think it's exactly like malcolm, only different.
Sort of a melies version.

The Man Burns Tonight will give you the feel (by Donn Cortez).

Enable your bbcode on your profile.

I'll enable now, and thank you, I'll ring up my library or book store to see if they've got that book, thanks!

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 7:07 pm

It's fiction, but still.

I think malcolm nailed it.
Note that they all had different experiences.

You can fix the bbcode on your previous posts up to 1 hour.
Might want to enable smilies too.
Preview will check things.

lonelyplanetboy · Post by **lonelyplanetboy** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 7:16 pm

gyre wrote:It's fiction, but still.

I think malcolm nailed it.
Note that they all had different experiences.

You can fix the bbcode on your previous posts up to 1 hour.
Might want to enable smilies too.
Preview will check things.

An hour went fast! Could only fix the last two I think it was.
Yeah that's what I loved about the episode and the entire idea of Burning Man in general, everyone took something immensely different from it, and discovered new things. My heart almost exploded when I found out it was a REAL thing! One question though, even though it might have been a bit of a push, would you expect someone with their best friends ashes to be going around spraying people with them? :P Not that I have a problem with it, but just curiosity forces it upon me to ask.
Thanks for all your help by the way.

Post by **Sham** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 7:26 pm

lonelyplanetboy wrote:One question though, even though it might have been a bit of a push, would you expect someone with their best friends ashes to be going around spraying people with them? Not that I have a problem with it, but just curiosity forces it upon me to ask.
Thanks for all your help by the way.

Well, I have never seen anyone actually spray ashes on someone, but last year a dear friend brought the ashes of his wife to spread them at the temple of rememberance. You may actually get to meet Larry Harvey, the person portayed by the guy with the ashes gun.

lonelyplanetboy · Post by **lonelyplanetboy** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 7:33 pm

You may actually get to meet Larry Harvey, the person portayed by the guy with the ashes gun.

Woah! Really? I just did a quick search and it says he's the co-founder of BM. Just for tips, how would I go about meeting him, if there is such a way :P

Post by **Sham** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 7:39 pm

lonelyplanetboy wrote:
You may actually get to meet Larry Harvey, the person portayed by the guy with the ashes gun.
Woah! Really? I just did a quick search and it says he's the co-founder of BM. Just for tips, how would I go about meeting him, if there is such a way

Well grasshopper, look for a guy walking around dressed like a maintenance man and wearing a cowboy hat. He has a tooth missing and will be chain smoking.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 7:41 pm

Go to the press conferences.

Wander around burning man long enough and you'll meet him, even if you aren't aware of it.

Or watch some of the videos.

The ashes thing may have happened, but it is the kind of thing that might not be advertised.
I believe more than a few people's ashes are on the playa by this time.
It's a good example of something that might happen.

lonelyplanetboy · Post by **lonelyplanetboy** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 7:45 pm

Shambala wrote:
lonelyplanetboy wrote:
You may actually get to meet Larry Harvey, the person portayed by the guy with the ashes gun.
Woah! Really? I just did a quick search and it says he's the co-founder of BM. Just for tips, how would I go about meeting him, if there is such a way
Well grasshopper, look for a guy walking around dressed like a maintenance man and wearing a cowboy hat. He has a tooth missing and will be chain smoking.

Thank you VERY much, that picture is very comforting and I don't know why hahaha, I suppose anyone with the right hat tilting ability can do anything really. If you don't mind me bugging you one more time, do you think even if I'm with an adult, because I'm under 18 they won't let me in. That's my one and only fear about it all

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 7:47 pm

We might not let you in, but not for that.

lonelyplanetboy · Post by **lonelyplanetboy** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 7:49 pm

gyre wrote: Wander around burning man long enough and you'll meet him, even if you aren't aware of it.

The end of that sentence is fantastic, he seems like a king already!

gyre wrote: The ashes thing may have happened, but it is the kind of thing that might not be advertised.
I believe more than a few people's ashes are on the playa by this time.
It's a good example of something that might happen.

Yeah that's true, it would probably be a little off putting to some, okay many

.

lonelyplanetboy · Post by **lonelyplanetboy** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 7:50 pm

gyre wrote:We might not let you in, but not for that.

What are some reasons that I might be disallowed entry? If you don't mind me asking.

Post by **Sham** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 7:55 pm

If you're with a responsible adult, they will let you in. Just don't ask too many questions at the gate.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 7:58 pm

lonelyplanetboy wrote:
gyre wrote:We might not let you in, but not for that.
What are some reasons that I might be disallowed entry? If you don't mind me asking.

We'll decide that when you arrive.

lonelyplanetboy · Post by **lonelyplanetboy** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 8:02 pm

Shambala wrote:If you're with a responsible adult, they will let you in. Just don't ask too many questions at the gate.

I think that picture is damn fantastically hilarious and the timing is perfection!

lonelyplanetboy · Post by **lonelyplanetboy** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 8:04 pm

gyre wrote:We'll decide that when you arrive.

That scares me more than anything. Flying 22 hours to the US, only to be denied access to Burning Man, heart......broken.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 8:32 pm

With that enthusiasm, I wouldn't worry too much.

You might be asked to justify why you should get in.

Or maybe they'll just quiz you on australian slang.

lonelyplanetboy · Post by **lonelyplanetboy** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 8:42 pm

gyre wrote:With that enthusiasm, I wouldn't worry too much.

You might be asked to justify why you should get in.

Or maybe they'll just quiz you on australian slang.

Ohhh, right on

. I was worried there for a second, thanks for all your help, hell maybe I'll even see you at Burning Man 2010...I'll keep an eye out for a blank avatar, you can do the same.

Post by **Sham** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 12:29 am

Hey Adam, I was wondering what are the 4 main things that excite or interest someone like yourself to want to travel halfway around the globe to attend a festival like this. Amazing art, free expression, the uniqueness of the event, seeing things burn, etc. Please give some thought and as much detail as possible.

1)

2)

3)

4)

.

lonelyplanetboy · Post by **lonelyplanetboy** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 12:54 am

Shambala wrote:Hey Adam, I was wondering what are the 4 main things that excite or interest someone like yourself to want to travel halfway around the globe to attend a festival like this. Amazing art, free expression, the uniqueness of the event, seeing things burn, etc. Please give some thought and as much detail as possible.

1)

2)

3)

4)

.

Can do!

1) The community! It is so heavily inspired by the things I find valuable in the world, art, freedom, love, individuality, spontaneity, it's just the perfect community for a person like me. I'm a freak and proud of it, too many hide their inner freak and Burning Man is a place where not only all round freaks can feel comfortable, but closet freaks can be free, it's a Utopia.

2) The art! I've always loved art and more than the art, I love the passion that goes into it. Burning man seems like the perfect place to experience the passion and beauty of something being created, a feeling/emotion being freed from the mind and released into the energies that make up the community of Burning Man. The energy I imagine would come from such a beautiful festival would be so euphoric and epic, I get giddy thinking about it, honestly.

3) The location! Who could think that a festival full of life, love, energy and intelligence could be spawned in the middle of a desert, a place synonymous with lethargy, lifelessness, loss and, to a broad extent, sorrow. It's the perfect place to hold such a thing as Burning Man, and it's the last place people would think.

4) The people! Everyone, from what I've heard and seen, are so free and open! There is no embarrassment or awkwardness, hell people are in the middle of waves of crowds hugging themselves, it's beautiful! The society we are all slaves to are so closeted and introverted, because openness is seen as strange and weird and everyone is afraid of disappointing someone or embarrassing themselves. Burning Man's culture embodies everything I believe in, the ability to be intelligent, artistic and informed, but also being able to have a good time, have fun, let loose and be self reliant.

To be honest it was hard keeping it to four, but I think I covered the main reasons I love the idea of Burning Man. Also they are in no order, they're all equal.