Burning man

[RuneT]

http://www.todomundo.com/denofsyn/burningman98/folks/index.html

can someone explain what the **** this festival is?

http://www.todomundo.com/denofsyn/burningman98/imagesbm98/sopi1.jpg

[bealeblues]

i have heard of this, actually, but do not know enough to speak intelligently about it (like lack of knowledge has ever stopped me before)

but, truth be told, if this guy walked down bourbon street in new orleans (or most likely even baton rouge) at any given moment of the day or night, he would look perfectly acceptable and normal....

[RuneT]

Beale! my man, I have missed you!

So is the "burning man" a satanist thing or just a big exuse to shag like rabbits?

[bealeblues]

and rune, my favorite viking, i've missed you too....

i don't think burning man is satanic in origin (although someone else will probably know tons more about this than i do) but i'm not quite sure what the overall motivation is...

now as for mardi gras, where this guy would fit in perfectly, IS an excuse to drink to complete oblivion and shag relentlessly (that is, if the alcoholic impotence hasn't set in)

[noxxville]

What once was a simple and fairly cool idea has become yet another commercial showcase. For info on burning man click here (http://www.burningman.com)

[RuneT]

Ahhh, right under my nose. thanks for pointing it out.

--------------------------------
What is Burning Man?
By Molly Steenson

Hurtling down the road to the Black Rock Desert, the colors paint themselves like a spice cabinet -- sage, dust, slate gray. Maybe you're in your trusty car, the one that takes you to and from work every day. Perhaps you've got a spacious RV, your Motel 6 on wheels for the next days in the desert. Or you're driving your glittering art car, complete with poker chips and mirroring to do a disco ball proud.

The two-lane highway turns off onto a new road. You drive slowly onto the playa, the 400 square mile expanse known as the Black Rock Desert. And there you’ve touched the terrain of what feels like another planet. You’re at the end -- and the beginning -- of your journey to Burning Man.


You belong here and you participate. You're not the weirdest kid in the classroom -- there's always somebody there who’s thought up something you never even considered. You're there to breathe art. Imagine an ice sculpture emitting glacial music -- in the desert. Imagine the man, greeting you, neon and benevolence, watching over the community. You're here to build a community that needs you and relies on you.
You're here to survive. What happens to your brain and body when exposed to 107 degree heat, moisture wicking off your body and dehydrating you within minutes? You know and watch yourself. You drink water constantly and piss clear. You'll want to reconsider drinking that alcohol (or taking those other substances) you brought with you -- the mind-altering experience of Burning Man is its own drug. You slather yourself in sunblock before the sun's rays turn up full blast. You bring enough food, water, and shelter because the elements of the new planet are harsh, and you will find no vending.

You're here to create. Since nobody at Burning Man is a spectator, you're here to build your own new world. You've built an egg for shelter, a suit made of light sticks, a car that looks like a shark's fin. You've covered yourself in silver, you're wearing a straw hat and a string of pearls, or maybe a skirt for the first time. You're broadcasting Radio Free Burning Man -- or another radio station.

You're here to experience. Ride your bike in the expanse of nothingness with your eyes closed. Meet the theme camp -- enjoy Irrational Geographic, relax at Bianca’s Smut Shack and eat a grilled cheese sandwich. Find your love and understand each other as you walk slowly under a parasol. Wander under the veils of dust at night on the playa.

You're here to celebrate. On Saturday night, we'll burn the Man. As the procession starts, the circle forms, and the man ignites, you experience something personal, something new to yourself, something you’ve never felt before. It's an epiphany, it's primal, it's newborn. And it's completely individual.

You'll leave as you came. When you depart from Burning Man, you leave no trace. Everything you built, you dismantle. The waste you make and the objects you consume leave with you. Volunteers will stay for weeks to return the Black Rock Desert to its pristine condition.


But you'll take the world you built with you. When you drive back down the dusty roads toward home, you slowly reintegrate to the world you came from. You feel in tune with the other dust-covered vehicles that shared the same community. Over time, vivid images still dance in your brain, floating back to you when the weather changes. The Burning Man community, whether your friends, your new acquaintances, or the Burning Man project, embraces you. At the end, though your journey to and from Burning Man are finished, you embark on a different journey -- forever.

ref: above link

[noxxville]

See but that's deceiving....the last burning man was the biggest corporate monster. And that leave no trace crap.....right. Big ass cleanup project was required. Just like most other good things....once big business gets involved, it's all downhill from there.

[Red Princess]

i think they are all from california, all this sunshine burns up the part of the brain that controls rational thought and well, you can see the result, get them out in the desert and it just gets worse. think "woodstock"

[noxxville]

Think: the last woodstock, where they set everything aflame. This is 20% hippie stoner crowd, 20% corporate types under cover, 10% techie kids, 50% college spring break crowd.

[rmr]

Two friends of mine go every year. We all call them "Freedom and America", so that helps give you a visual. She has told me that it gives her what she needs "spiritually" to get through the rest of the year. I've seen the pics, everyone get there trying to look as "granola" as possible and then by the end of the week, we've got costumes, nudity, swapping partners, etc.

It's amazing what drugs can do, but hell, at the risk of sounding high maintenance, I'd rather refresh my "spirituality" in an urban setting, something tells me that those people get damn stinky.

[Red Princess]

yeah, i can't get that earthy, must refresh in the shower with hot water and soap

[Deviate]

and don't forget: theorhetically it's all about art and human expression. i was on my way to go a few years back, but instead taught up in Wyoming.

i'd still like to go, but not until they got their heads out of their asses.

-st.