2015 was great!

[maladroit]

There was plenty of incredible art, both large and small scale. Great camps with good interactivity. Lots of stealth virgins who listened to all the advice and followed it. The big sound camps were smaller and fewer in number, and the crowds around them were far smaller than I remember in the past few years. More darkwad walkers but way fewer darkwad bikers. The nights were ice-cold (one was 35F), meaning that anyone who only brought skimpy clothes was trapped in camp while the well-prepared burners had crowd-free access to all the art, performances, activities, and cars. And if you bring a blanket, you're gonna get snuggled There was great live music found all over the city as well as unknown-but-fantastic DJs on the larger art cars and sound camps. The dust storms were another population filter, if you got all your dust gear and ventured out into the storm, you were guaranteed to find comrades to share great conversations and flasks of whiskey or simply a dusty high-five in passing.

The Man burn was absolutely perfect, in the past few years pyro seemed to be random but this year it was orchestrated perfectly. Great combinations of various types of fireworks, continuously building up excitement right up to the ignition and fireballs. And of course, the Man fell early enough that most people stuck around to see it

It was a cold, windy, dusty burn. I'm not saying that I want a certain segment of the population to get disillusioned and not come back, but it would be great if they traded in the thongs and headdresses for some dust goggles and water packs

Also, during burn night I saw giant plumes of PURPLE-WHITE FIRE shooting into the sky. I've never seen that before, it was amazing...what was that?

Edit: I also want to say that I left Sunday afternoon before the Temple burn. I was stopped at the front of the pulse marker. The entire time that BMIR was reporting that no cars were leaving the city "so don't even try to leave yet", with my own eyes I was watching cars actually leave the city and trundle down the highway If anything, it was perhaps a 2 hour pulse rather than a 1 hour pulse. Wasn't bad at all.

[FIGJAM]

I don't think this years weather will affect population for next year.

A year long media blackout of anything Burning Man might!!!

[Token]

I get the feeling there will be a big run on faux fur coats for next year.

And per usual, it will likely be a sweltering hot run around naked all night long year.

Playa at its bestest ever.

[maladroit]

I get the feeling there will be a big run on faux fur coats for next year.

And per usual, it will likely be a sweltering hot run around naked all night long year.

Playa at its bestest ever.

Just be ready for both

[BoyScoutGirl]

...

Also, during burn night I saw giant plumes of PURPLE-WHITE FIRE shooting into the sky. I've never seen that before, it was amazing...what was that?
...

Probably the Flaming Lotus Girls' piece, Serpent Mother, during one of the egg-opening performances. They injected the flames shot from the egg with different chemicals every performance, tinting the flames. Saturday night after Man burn, the performance had white-blue flames. This piece was located on inner playa between 3 and 6.

[maladroit]

I KNEW I should have gone to see one of those egg opening performances Serpent Mother was fantastic!

Here's another reason 2015 was great.



That is the world's shittiest baffle box, housing the world's loudest 5000 watt shitty cheapskate generator. They ran it 24/7 (only stopping when it ran out of gas) to power their RV air conditioners (during 40F nights?) until Wednesday or Thursday. What stopped the generator? A genius decided to refill it with gas while it was running. Predictably, this generated a rapidly growing fireball, with he and the other geniuses in his camp circling it waving hands around, one of the least scatterbrained tried to put it out with a flammable blanket. Our burgin saw the flames, she instantly grabbed a fire extinguisher we had in camp and put it out for them.

In the sweet silence that followed, I heard the highest-ranking member of MENSA over there explaining to the others that "there was no SIGN not to fill it while it's running" and such.

Now THAT was satisfying.

[skippy3k]

I am still muddling through some less than enthusiastic thoughts about this year's burn, but wanted to share one bright spot in this thread, since it was about 2015 being great. We have a fairly established neighborhood with the same people returning each year. (Which can make for a somewhat jaded bunch of old farts.) This year a U-haul pulled up with two 20-something kids in it and they asked if they could squeeze in next to us. We hesitantly agreed. It was their first year going. They had the music, they had the generator, they had the bikes, they had the outfits...but they also had "it". These kids just "got it". I felt they got Burning Man from the beginning.

They immediately realized they brought the wrong kind of generator and worked to build a baffle box around it and kept checking with us to make sure we were ok with the noise. (We were.) They made eggs and bacon one morning and brought us some. One of them ran into an old girlfriend on the playa and was invited to her birthday party. He didn't really like her, but thought he should go anyway because "it was the right thing to do". He felt like he should bring a present so we gave him a bottle of sparkling wine. Our other new neighbors were going to renew their vows at the temple. Both of the kids asked if they could attend the ceremony too. Very classy move. I fixed one of their bikes a few times and they were extremely grateful. (After ripping the crank arm off a third time, I told him maybe he wasn't meant to ride a bike. I'm not sure if the name "Thunder Thighs" will stick, but that's what I called one of them.)

I cornered them one night in the street and, embolden by a few PBR's, waxed poetic about how they are the future of the event and how refreshing it was to see them get the more subtle parts of BM from day one. So to Boris and Casey, kudos. We all would be lucky to have you as neighbors again.

[Slaphappy]

I really enjoyed your recap, Maladroit. Those who were there can identify with all, first-timers can get a feel for how this year was unusual, and those who couldn't make it get a nice feel for how things went. Thank you!

[Simon of the Playa]

thats my story, and im sticking to it.

now get with the pogrom.

[Aurelia]

Yes !
I did survive

and I will again
xoA.

[Jackass]

first-timers can get a feel for how this year was unusual

This year wasn't unusual at all, it was the real deal, how it usually is. Those interweb videos featuring fair weather and all smiles, now those are unusual.

It was a great year indeed, in many different ways. And yes, fire extinguishers are good to have around, but usually get spent on the sketchy neighbor's carelessness, not your own.

[maladroit]

This year wasn't unusual at all, it was the real deal, how it usually is. Those interweb videos featuring fair weather and all smiles, now those are unusual.

It was a great year indeed, in many different ways. And yes, fire extinguishers are good to have around, but usually get spent on the sketchy neighbor's carelessness, not your own.

Yup....people who have fire extinguishers are not very likely to start fires. Or at least, unintended fires

[Molotov]

As an ESD firefighter, you don't know how happy it makes me when we get a call for a fire, but upon arrival, all that is left is a little smoke and 15 neighbor participants holding fire extinguishers. Self-reliance at its finest!

It takes us a while to get across the city to the scene of a fire-there's only two firefighting units for each side of 6:00, (2 each, based at Stations 3 and 9-but we roam around our district) backed up with the big guns stationed near the airport. This year's motor home fire is a good example of how quickly a fire can develop.

Thank goodness somebody from HEAT had the presence of mind to drag the flaming rig away into an area that would not spread to other items.

[motskyroonmatick]

2015 was great!!!! My best burn yet.

[Eric]

2015 was great!!!! My best burn yet.

Yup - just like every year, this was my best year ever. Loved the dust, loved the wind, loved the cold, loved the friends, loved the fact this was more of an "in camp" year. I even loved the shitty parts (once they passed).

In other words - Burning Man sucks, don't go.

[maladroit]

The suckiness of it was the great part. It was closer to what I thought I was getting into from my first year. Last year was pretty good (stuck in mud 24 hours on gate road) but otherwise a cakewalk. Maybe next year I'll experience the windstorm that I've been preparing for with huge pieces of rebar and lag screws. I've never seen the wind pull anything out of the ground! Can you imagine that? Maybe next year!

[Simon of the Playa]

embrace the suck.

the suck is good.

the suck is great.

it makes the not suck all that much better.

too much not suck and it sucks.

suck on that.

[lucky420]

suck it

[VultureChow]

I will face the suck
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the suck has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

[Captain Goddammit]

Am I the only one mildly aroused by that... ?

[maladroit]

Am I the only one mildly aroused by that... ?

Yes, the rest of us are extremely aroused.

[Simon of the Playa]

suck.jpg

[BBadger]

Crashed my car on the way into Burning Man, 25 miles north of Gerlach. Despite effectively rolling the vehicle with hundreds of pounds of burner gear, including a 5 gallon jug of water in the passenger seat, I walked away with only a few scratches and still no lingering soreness. Many burners and non-burners stopped and helped me gather stuff up, check if I was okay, and even transport some of my stuff to the playa for me. Good people.

After being checked out by paramedics and having the life flight cancelled just in time, I went with the police to check the scene. After surveying the wreck, the officers had me write down what happened for their report (went too fast into a curve), but I received no ticket or any trouble. On the way down, I transferred to the tow truck that was on its way up, and we brought the wreckage back to Gerlach. I called up my insurance company about what to do on the surprisingly good cell phone coverage in that remote stretch (and for T-mobile of all carriers); they were nice enough to allow me to deal with everything after the burn.

Normally, in a situation like this I'd be apprehensive about the logistics of the immediate aftermath of an accident in the middle of nowhere, but this was the burn. I asked around and caught a ride with a burgin who had left BRC to go to the gas station to fill up gas canisters for the camp. He was willing to help me transport more goods, including stuff to work on a project on playa, with his pick-up from the wreck of the car at the sulfur plant across the street from the Gerlach gas station. (I had never been in Gerlach except for driving through, but the locals are nice folk and helpful too. The guy who operates the gates at the sulfur plant was very helpful with opening the gate at any time.) After grabbing what I needed (and forgetting some stuff, oh well) we got in line and waited some 3-4 hours to get to the playa. After making it into the city my new friend dropped my stuff and I at my camp, which was close to his and we bid farewell.

All of this occurred before the gates were even officially open. I only ended up losing half a day of early entry time, half of which was from the gate line.

Despite grabbing camping gear, my friend let me sleep in his RV for pretty much the entire week and fed and even clothed me for a night (a spare tuxedo for a social event we had). Another friend pulled some strings to get me a bike -- a legitimate bike from a camp mate who didn't end up attending -- which was actually a nicer ride than the one I brought that got smashed during the crash. Great week of burning. On the way back we picked up all the remaining stuff from the car and transported it home in my friend's RV and trailer. I called my office and they allowed me the rest of the week to work remotely so that I could fly back the following Monday, which allowed me to see the folks for a few days.

So yeah, it was a good burn. Not the best burn, but a good burn nonetheless. Okay, I'll even put it at "great," all things considered.

I have a lot to be thankful for. Pretty much everything turned out all right and I was helped out by a lot of good people.

[lucky420]

wow! That's a burn you'll not likely to forget. Glad you're ok and that you did enjoy your burn too...

[Simon of the Playa]

thats the stuff..

that's the "it".

adventure time!!!

so glad everything worked out and the silver linings kept you warm and fed.

"great" story that everyone needs to hear.

shit happens...so what...enjoy your life and the shit won't seem so terrible.

thanks for the reminder.

[Ratty]

Bbadger, Thanks for the tale. I'm glad it worked out ok so's not to ruin your vacation. I picture you right after the crash saying, "It's all over". Then remembering that it's Burning Man. Shit always happens. People always help. It sure put my little inconveniences in perspective. Thank you.

[Aurelia]

Oh B.B. I did not realize the extent of your journey !

Kudos to you for your intrepid good nature
It shows through

Yes the days before the burn began were a trial and achievement.

xoA.

[CyanEssence]

Bbadger, that is one wild story. I am glad you made it thru unscathed, and I'm impressed (though not at all surprised) that you stuck it out and still had fun.

I'm curious, did you tell the insurance company that you were just generally busy for the week, did you mention the burn by name, or are we still telling people about the wonderful pulled pork and ribs up in Sparks that week?

[some seeing eye]

For all the beauty and lack of congestion on 447 between Eagleville and the Playa Rd turnoff, the pass, curves and cattle in the road have claimed burners and vehicles.

Any year we go to Burning Man and don't die is a good year! Glad you made it!

[maladroit]

From another Portland burner, all the roads down to the playa have any number of sneaky turns, cows and other hazards, and long stretches of remote wilderness. It's nothing like the drive from SF, which I've also done a couple times. There's no place I'd want to roll a car (of course) but between Eagleville and Gerlach there are lots of places it would be REALLY REALLY BAD to go off the road. You could end up trapped in a ravine, out of sight from the road. Glad you made it to the playa safely and managed to get things taken care of enough so that you could put your worries on hold for the week!