Still will be great.

[jcoffy]

I am a little upset at the whining going on....I understand that your camp didn't get 50 tickets. I get that you have gone to Burning Man like 80 times and that you bring the same old theme camp up there year after year. But is saying that "this year is the year of the spectator" really accurate? Because your big boring techno camp won't be there doesn't mean a bunch of "do nothing frat boys" are going to be the only on the playa. People rise to the occasion. We were all newbies who didn't contribute very much at one point. And is bringing the same camp over and over, year after year really offering anything? Haven't you ever had a moment at the event when you asked yourself...."Is this all there is? Fire, nakedness, trinkets, and booze.?"

I think this ticket trauma is good for some of us old crusty vets that need to shake things up again. The art, the camps, and the interaction need to have bumps in the road to make them interesting again. When that idiot burned the man in 2007 it was awful. Stupid and dangerous. But the man crew rebuilt it in 36 hours!!!!! That is insanity! They pulled together and made it happen! Yeah my little camp only needs about 10 people. I am the only one who got tickets....now that is forcing me to talk to more people and recruit......and make newer connections. Why is that a bad thing?

I am kind of sleepy. Sorry for the rant from left field. I just feel that some (not all) of the worry on the board is a little overblown. I am sure you are all going to tell me why I am a fucking idiot....and that's ok. I am mad too. I am struggling like we all are to make some sense of this. I am trying to find opportunity in this mess. And I think as veterans we all should be doing that. Burning Man deserves that respect.

It's a lot like being on playa. If you want to see something at Burning Man and it isn't there....Then it looks like you found your project! Let's come together and have MORE discussion about how we can change this. It is hard. But 'threatening' to take your camp and go home just seems silly. And I think that you are discounting the people that are going....and just haven't connected with the right camp, art, or project. Give them a chance. We are them. they are us.

[lemur]

is bringing the same camp over and over, year after year really offering anything?

LAMPLIGHTERS will be doing it again for the 19th year (and i guess 18 years as an official thing) in 2012.

it will still be great.

we will kick ass.. for the 19th time..

we will need some of those newcomers to help us light the city! and it is one of the most approachable volunteering opportunities out there... whether the event is sold out or not this is always true.


So.. why dont y'all come on down to Lamplighters, behind the Center Camp Cafe at 5pm every night at burning man and help us light the city!.. you know, offer something..

(also, we have a recruitment party every day starting at 3pm in lamplighters lounge, in center camp, behind the center camp cafe.. bar closes at 5pm when we start our daily work.. come by, have some drinks.. enjoy the fun.. then enjoy the work)

LAMPLIGHTERS: LIGHTING THE CITY WITHOUT FAIL FOR 19 YEARS


(and i think everyone else should adopt this "WITHOUT FAIL" thing... you can do it!! and it seems like the burning man LLC is gonna be trying their best to find a way to help you do it)

-
lemur - lamplighters management team/council member.. contact me: lemur [at] burningman [dot] com

[FeetOfClay]

i agree--this year will be great! different i am sure, but great!
(hope i can be there! we'll see as ticket situation develops).

also, i am very interested in volunteering as a lamp lighter:
4 years ago, when a fellow hoop dancer first told me about Burning Man, she said that if i were ever to go, i should be a lamp lighter.

when i got home and googled pics of the lamp lighters, i was struck by how beautiful, ancient, and mystical they looked in their robes with the lanterns--
seems almost sacred to carry the light and gift it to BRC.

definitely my first choice for volunteering if i get a ticket.

not camping with lamp lighters (i'm already affiliated with another camp), but i'll work filling lamps, or carrying them--it's all good!