This weekend was a wonderful wild ride.
First I was off on Friday because Mike and to have some tests done and I need to drive. It was nothing major just routine and all is well.
After spending a few hours working on my yard we decided to go to the Rib Cook Off at the Nugget. I found a new dress and a parasol for my up coming trip to Burning Man.
Saturday morning I met up with my mom and her rotary group for a ride out to Burning Man. It was great to see how many folks showed up for this trip. We had two buses full. We had lunch on the way and when we got there we had a great parking spot, C and 6:30. That was one block off of center and three block from the playa. (For more info on how Burning Man is layed out go here.) Some of us got on a double decker art bus for a tour of the playa. A large dust storm kicked up. It was good for everyone to see what the weather can be like. Pictures can be seen here. After dinner there was a lot of food left over so we fed anyone who wanted to eat. It was a great way to meet people. Everyone was so friendly. after the Man burned, mom and I headed back to the buses to wait til 1:00 am when the buses would leave. I wandered a bit around our neighborhood. We finally got home around 4:00am. I went straight for the shower.
Sunday I just hung out and played with my animals.
And Monday we had some of my family over for a BBQ. I got in a last swim for the season.
I would like to know where you got your discount ticket? I would like to do this next year.
ReplyDeleteBeing one of the theme camp people out there (we run a small pub and watering hole - not like the normal boom boom bars there) I noticed, for the most part, it was fun interacting with the Rotarians - great times were had, and mostly had a lot of fun. Really! We were convinced for a while that it was actually an art installation - people dressing up as "normies" and playing tourist, but found out later they were for real... even gave out a few playa names... and hope some of them come out for more of the event (maybe all week!) next year. Sure, it's not easy - but it's a blast! Some people who live there were a little sore... but all in all, I think it was a good thing!
ReplyDeleteOnly one really bad interaction - a VERY drunk and beligerant guy came in... fortunately, I'm a bit proficient in talking people down (used to do bridge rescues and crisis intervention), and he eventually left without incident... but a number of other folks were pretty intimidated by this gent's demeanor and, um, "unsocialability", and, as they related later, a little more than scared. But it could have turned REALLY ugly REALLY fast (I'm also proficient in dealing with "problems" out there)...
It's tough, in our no-commerce economy at BRC, to go hog-wild on the "free" booze (not free, as we have to pay for it, along with the other stuff in our camps) but I would ask to take it easy... and like I said earlier, please consider coming out for more than a day. I think - no I KNOW - you'd have an AMAZING time.
Have a wonderful rest of your year... and come out for real in 2011!!
BB Sue, Proprietor,
Kantina Apokiliptika 2010 (2:30 and Athens)
Lucky you with your nice easy shower less than 4 hours after your burn.You're not a burner!
ReplyDeleteFuck you tourist. I hope your bus crashes next year.
ReplyDeleteDon't fret over the hate ... but do understand where it comes from.
ReplyDeleteThat city you visited ... people build it. People pour their heart, soul and treasure into it. We build it for each other because we love to create and share.
Coming as a tourist dilutes that. If you gave nothing ... you weren't really there. All you saw was a surface. Come back. Bring art, love, sweat ... whatever it is you have to share and gift.
Be part of the energy ... not a dark spot that just absorbs photons. You 'll love it. Promise.
fuck you and fuck rotary you all just got a free fucking ride to burning man cause you suck and fuck maid marian for giving out favors just because she can you people will never be burners you are takers shame on mm for selling us out
ReplyDeleteI've been to the burn twice and will probably return some year when money and life conditions enable it. Some of the brightest, most creative and free spirited people that I've ever met I met at Burning Man. Unfortunately, the negative comments here seem indicative to me of the worst aspect of Burning Man. Amidst all the creativity, spectacle and good will there can be this self-righteous undertone. Too many people out there take themselves a little too seriously and are ticked off if you don't march to the beat of the same drum.
ReplyDeleteOne of the higher ups decided it would be OK or perhaps diplomatic if a few tour buses visited Black Rock City for a day? Well, get over it people. Don't spew hate at someone because they were curious but wanted to dip their feet in the water.
i think you're missing the point of why people are upset. its the easy and comfort these people come with while the rest of us work, sweat and bleed to make it what it is. then some of them are disrespectful and rude for them behave the way they do. burning man runs deep. just because burning man is in american doesnt mean that people can't act like bad american tourists there as well
ReplyDeleteMiss.. I say this with out most respect.
ReplyDeletePlease Fuck Off.
It's because of tourists like yourself that real impoverished (under the poverty line) artisans that work the event (somehow part of BRC infrastructure) get injured (physically).
Wow - a friend who is a Burner speaks highly of Burner lifestyle and its peaceful -and respectful- way of life. I don't see that in many of these posts. Maybe you guys should really try to be 'real burners.' Sorry that someone took away your toy. It's foolish that you let yourself be robbed of your special time.
ReplyDeletei really don't understand where all this anger is coming from. They came, they looked, they fed whoever was around at the end of their meal.
ReplyDeleteWe build the city for human beings. I don't see the point in getting so upset that some people who you wouldn't invite to your house for a late night party came to a public ticketed event.
How are people supposed to get exposed to other forms of culture if no one wants to let them through the door.
You may want to reexamine the values and culture you are trying to create.
first off... i apologize miss fiber floozie.
ReplyDeletesome of us burners are VERY sensitive about the integrity of the burn, black rock city, and our community.
i would like to resonate what Ducky said and add to it. yes you came... and thank you for coming. like most things...showing up is only the begining. just being there realy mostly robs YOU of the amazing experience that burningman has to offer.
yes- it is a freak show.. but only if you stand on the outside of it. image JOINING the freakshow. dont get me wrong.. this doesnt mean that you have to wear clothes you feel stupid in or do a shit ton of drugs and have sex with a stranger in the street. this can really mean ANYTHING. thats the point. you can be/do/try anything you want. if spectator is what you want to be... go for it. BUT and i wish that i could capitalize 'but' larger... BUT if you invest YOURSELF into the city,into a project, into a camp, into your own experience then you will recieve that much more. EXPONENTIALY more than you put in! investing clearly does not mean just in cash... but mind you.. often times it does.. try investing money indirectly. yes everything costs money and those amazing things you saw didnt just magically appear there. alot of ppl(me included) spent ALOT of there own money to build everything. but again money is just the begining. money is a crude tool that gets us the things we need to create awesomeness. investment makes the burn MEAN something to you. in addition $$ isn't the only way to invest-hell its one of the (dare i say) lowest forms of investment.your time. your sweat. your thoughts. your LOVE.your WONDER. THESE are what burning man really hungers for!that last one is probably what really brught you to us in the first place. your wonder. burning man may hunger for it but it also feeds it. make no mistake. you will leave with a full belly of wonder.
from your story i take it that you came in on sat. the way it sounded, you pictured it as a day trip..and i suppose it can be. but the question is.. why would you want it to be??? black rock city is a rare jewel that only exists for 7 or 8 days depending on how you look at it. each day is dramatically different. the city grows. it learns. we participants/builders/artists/freaks/and beautiful 'normal' people all learn and grow with it. you came on saturday. i drove in @1am mon. i didnt just see but experienced 5 days of burning man before you even woke up on sat. i would LOVE it if you could remember everything you did in those 5 days. i can't guaranty i had a better time as there is now way to scale experience between different ppl. BUT i am sure that i did things that are IMPOSSIBLE outside of BRC.i did things that i can't do any other time of the year anywhere else. more importantly you MISSED all of it. all 5 days that honestly are the best days at burning man.. you missed :( for this i don't shake my finger at you or tell you to 'fuck off'... for this i want to give you a hug. for this i want to impress upon you to take the full week off next year. clear your calender and come to the burn on monday. my wife Panda(who posted directly above) and i were not planning on coming next year as we want to take the kids out west(we live in NH)for vacation out west somewhere. BUT if you consider coming for the whole week, i will come and you can camp with our camp.Stag Camp. we have a knack for finding people that are new to the burn. we burn as close to the 10 principles as possible. there are no dues or fees we just want your love and for you to take care of yourself while your with us and we'll all be sure to take care of each other.
what do you think?
ReplyDeleteyes burning man is full of crazies. yes we do some crazy things. yes we think YOU have something of yourself to offer. yes we want you to join our community. yes we love our community. yes some of us love it enough to swear at a complete stranger because we think you threaten it. yes there are many of us that want to meet you and get to know you OUTSIDE of your little blog post above.
there is so much i could tell you about what burning man is and what this community has to offer.
just give me the chance and i will.
shoot me an email if you are interested in camping WITH us next year.
jasonisabelle@hotmail.com
trust me. you wont regret it :)
my only request of you is that-even if you don't contact me and you think i'm a bit of a psycho- please and this is a very LARGE please- do not come back to burning man the same way you came this year. you SAW it. yeah next year will be very different.. but from the outside where you were standing...it will look the same.
please consider my offer for further contact about our community.(emailing me doesnt mean you HAVE to come)
and again i apologize for the abuse you are taking from some of us... we really do cut ourselves wide open out there.i hope you can understand.
hope you stay well-i'll be looking for your message,
jason isabelle
cookieman
be nice people
ReplyDeleteHmmm - maybe there's a middle ground here - doesn't the Rotary club have experience in setting up volunteer-types of events? May some of the people involved in arranging the bus could come out early and do a little ground work to get those who come out on the bus to PARTICIPATE in a short volunteer effort, maybe something like Arctica, the Center Camp cafe, or something else that lends well to the characteristics of the group? The 'tourists' would then become participants on a certain level, and gain that much more perspective!
ReplyDeleteI'm from Reno. The RUDE comments here are unjustified and WE appologize. Yes, participating for the enitre burning man event IS the best way to go. You and the Rotarians can learn EVERYTHING you need to comfortably participate for the entire event at eplaya which is located on burningman.com eplaya is a wonderful and humorous and smart board/forum...it is in the lower, middle right hand area of the buringman.com web site...come join us!
ReplyDelete