Spark: A burning man story

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

One of the things that drives the knife in a little deeper into me is when some guy comes on the radio and says I've never directed a film before and here it is. My soul dies just a little bit more.

Unfortunately, he does a pretty good job. I don't know if that was his fault or the fact he had a really good director of photography. The film really does capture Burning Man, at least it does from the perspective of someone who has never been. The film starts from the end of Burning Man 2011 an concludes with the end of Burning Man 2012. They have clips from the formative years of Burning Man and the year it became organized because of the danger. It shows all the major players and follows three artists who will be exhibiting at Burning Man and their struggles. The film has some built in drama with the fact they instituted the lottery system for ordering tickets which pissed of a multitude of people. It also delves a little bit into the problem of people paying their way in to the 'Burning Man' experience like Mark Zuckerberg and Ellison.

I got to see a lot of building which amuses me. I love to hear foreman talk about sixteen hour days and changes on the fly. Ah, the good old days.

I liked this film. It had some beautiful images, taught me a lot about Burning Man, and there was a bit of nudity on the edges not all of it male.

[Drunk Monk]

I was at the last two BMs on Baker Beach. I was at the one when the cops shut us down so they took it out to the desert (I didn't follow). I have way too many burner friends. Many of them are there now.

This year, I was invited to go as part of the Zendo (I hate that named being used so, but am trying to remain unattached). This is a talkdown space, akin to Rock Med's Space Station or JAH Med's Dub Lounge. It is put on by MAPS, and I met with the leader of it in the spring. She invited me and I was toying with the idea as some part of my 50th midlife crisis, but I just couldn't swing it this year. So she sent me this pic of her on the playa.

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

I would love to go just to be the photographer. But I'm thinking that would be against the ethos of Burning Man.

Another thought I had about the subject of Burning Man was that it seemed to have such a mixed messaged. Let's take a lot of time and creativity and build something really fascinating and then let's burn it. On the one hand, fire is good. But I just don't like the idea of wasting all those materials and hard work.

[Drunk Monk]

i see a lot of pix. it seems very photogenic.

like i said, i have way too many burner friends. i was also invited to present at a rangers meeting this year by one of my kung fu brothers that is high up in that org. he often offers me a fast track ticket to get in through them. and there's a part of me that does want to go, to experience it, but it's not quite on the bucket list, mostly because most of the burners i know are way too self-absorbed, and i am trying not to go that direction any more than i already have. i know, i know, losing battle, but there you have it.

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

But I wouldn't get into the spirit of building a whole new community for the span of the festivities, letting my freak flag as it were. The impression I get is they don't want outsiders, they want everyone to be part of the whole. I'm too cranky to take part in that nonsense.

[Drunk Monk]

I'm too cranky to take part in that nonsense.

I totally feel ya on this. I just don't like burners that much. Which prolly sounds odd as like I said, I have a ton of burner friends. My biggest issue is that nothing comes back but a bunch of people saying they can't describe it.

One of my fav t-shirts (which I don't own but would totally wear) says "I don't care what the fuck you did on the Playa".

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

I saw a meme on Facebook that said 'Hey Hipsters, we know you have a camera-phone and went on a hike"

[Drunk Monk]

Just think. Dm could have been hanging in a zendo with the hottie above. In the rain. In the desert. So glad I gave it a miss.

Rain closes Burning Man on opening day
Posted on Monday, August 25 at 12:35pm | By Evan Sernoffsky

The gates at Burning Man, the week-long bacchanal art orgy held 110 miles north of Reno on a (usually) dry lake called the playa, were closed Monday and possibly Tuesday due to rain, according to a festival spokesman.

The event, which draws tens of thousands of festival-goers known as “burners” to the Black Rock Desert in Nevada, was slated to open at 10 a.m. Monday, but those who were not inside were being turned around at the entrance.

Tickets to Burning Man were hard to come by. Prices started at $380 but quickly shot up to well over $1,000 on third-party sites as the festival drew near.

“Black Rock City has shut down following rainstorms that left standing water on the playa, leaving it un-drivable,” Jim Graham, a festival spokesman, said in a statement Monday.

Law enforcement officials were denying vehicles at the event entrance on Highway 34 northeast of Gerlach, Nev.

“Organizers expect the rain to dissipate and the playa surface to dry out by midday Tuesday and participants will be allowed to enter the event again,” Graham said.

The festival, which started in 1986 as a small gathering of friends burning a wooden man on San Francisco’s Baker Beach, ballooned over the years into a cult-like phenomenon, attracting wild crowds who practice “radical self-expression.”

More recently, the event, where money is supposedly not allowed, has lured Silicon Valley’s super-rich, many of whom treat the event as a mixer to network with other wealthy techies.

Those heading to the festival from Reno were asked to stay put until the rain let up. Hotels were using social media to lure stranded visitors Monday.

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[thatguy]

Gates closed!

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Burning Man Closed Temporarily Due to Heavy Rain

After torrential rains and thunderstorms, Burning Man has been shut down by organizers until at least midday Tuesday and no one is allowed into the festival.

Beginning this morning, event organizers Black Rock City, LLC (BRC) told drivers to stop their journey into the desert due to unsafe weather conditions. Cars have been told to turn back at Wadsworth, Nevada, which is approximately 30 minutes past Reno. Burners already inside the gates are asked to stay in place.

It has been a rocky start to Burning Man this year, which experienced wait times up to four hours last night to enter the festival grounds. Organizers attempted to resolve the problem with an earlier start this year to alleviate traffic congestion.

BRC is closed until midday Tuesday due to rain and standing water. Playa is un-drivable. Law enforcement is turning cars back.
— Burning Man (@burningman) August 25, 2014
“Playa out there is mucky, muddy stuff. With rain attached to it, people get stuck everywhere,” said Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Dan Lopez in an interview with the Reno Gazette-Journal. Nearly 70,000 people are expected to attend the event this week.

While rain is somewhat rare on the Playa, it is not unheard of—last year, rain halted some prep work before the event. The good news is that Burning Man should be dry for the rest of the week. However, there is a chance that high winds could kick up by Saturday.

A regular burning I know, who's finally done with it all says this is the best thing that could happen to BM. Newish burners need to remember that it's a week of living in a desert.

I went for 1/2 week in 2011 (I couldn't get the whole week off). Weather was awesome. No dust storms. Light rain at most. 2012/2013 were similar I've heard. New burners have it easy. Back in the old days, burners had to walk 2 miles in the snow just to get to the desert. Then, our fathers would slice us in two with a butter knife and we had to clean the entire playa with our tongues...



It's an amazing experience and I'd recommend everyone try it at least once. The creativity is pretty amazing, and it can be very photogenic.

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Outhouses are pretty rough after the 4th day. And it's better if your affiliated with a camp, rather than trying to run a camp all by yourself. The Trojan Horse/Man burn were ok, but I was really taken with the Temple burn. It was quite a site to see thousands sitting in focused, respectful silence.



That said, BM has a good share of fuck-tards. The weekend warriors that invade on Fri to get wasted and chase tail are pretty annoying. Bike theft (er "borrowing) is rampant, and nobody will do anything unless it doesn't show up after BM ends. I got the feeling that BM is summer camp for adults.

--tg

[Drunk Monk]

Woman at Burning Man struck and killed by bus
Henry K. Lee
Updated 12:17 pm, Thursday, August 28, 2014


In this Monday, Aug. 25, 2014 photo, Burning Man participants bike on the playa during the annual Burning Man event on the Black Rock Desert of Gerlach, Nev. Photo: Andy Barron, Associated Press


(08-28) 12:14 PDT BLACK ROCK DESERT, NEV. -- A Wyoming woman died at Burning Man in northern Nevada early Thursday after she was run over by a bus carrying participants, authorities said.

Alicia Louise Cipicchio, 29, of Jackson, Wyo., died after "falling under a large vehicle," organizers said in a statement.

Details of the crash were not immediately released, but Burning Man co-founder Marian Goodell described it as "a terrible accident."

"Our thoughts and prayers are with her family, friends and campmates," Goodell said. "Black Rock rangers and emergency services department staff are providing support to those affected."

The 500 rangers managed by organizer Black Rock City LLC are patrolling the art and entertainment event in addition to 95 federal and local law enforcement officers. Burning Man officials said they were working with the Pershing County sheriff's office in its investigation of the death.

In 2003, Katherine Lampman of Belmont died at the event when she fell from an "art car" and was run over by its wheels. Lampman, 21, was a student at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco and an aspiring photographer.

Some 68,000 people are arriving in the Black Rock Desert about 120 miles north of Reno for the annual weeklong event. The gates opened Tuesday after a rainstorm hit the region, closing the festival Monday on its opening day.

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