I have been prowling all over the internet to find the best, most useful info about this year’s Black Rock Arts Festival aka Burning Man to share with you. my readers, and possibly my new neighbors in Black Rock City. There’s a lot of info out there, so once I find it, I try to distill it down to the most important points.
Now I admit: useful and important points to me and my burn! That’s right, I’m putting on this blog what I find that I want to remember and keep track of for ME!
And I figure if it’s useful to ME, a person who has been going to Burning Man since 1992, and who’s been out there 12 times now, that it might be helpful to YOU.
Because, secondarily, I am trying to help YOUR burn be better! Honestly, the better YOUR burn and YOURS, the better everybody’s burn will be! The more prepared and happy we are as individual, the better for all of us!
Now I am about to share with you something that so far may be the best piece of Burning Man information I’ve presented–This amazing map with the theme camps laid out which you can find here: http://jes5199.com/burningman2009/ You can click on points on the map and find out what camp is there, read a blurb about it and often there’s a link to learn more! Get to know your neighbors now!
Why Burning Man doesn’t do this for us now so we can prepare, I don’t know. But fortunately, we have Jess.
All hail Jess!
So now you can reference the map pictured above but in greater detail here as you’re trying to plan ahead and figure out where you’re going to camp or what you want to do when and where.
There are also 130 theme camps that DID NOT get placed in the “What Where When Guide” (printed) and that Jess will likely not have a chance to add. If you’re one of those camps, here’s what to do: Read more…
On Weds. August 5, 2009, Radiohead released the song “Harry Patch (In Memory Of).” I love Radiohead, so I immediately stopped what I was doing when I heard on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic that they’d just received a new song. It took my breath away.
The video above offers a slideshow of images, mostly from Harry Patch’s life, interspersed with his words which inspired the song and which Thom Yorke sings. The video below uses paintings to illustrate the song.
August 11, 2009 3:15am
a poem from the 3:15 experiment
I’ve been reading up about
Lord Ganesha especially since he
came for a visit last week.
No wonder he showed up
somewhere–everywhere
people were praying to him
to protect them on the
eve of the third lunar
eclipse of the lunar cycle.
An eclipse signals momentous change
and not always good change.
Three eclipses indicates massive
changes afoot –terrible ones.
Best to pray to Lord Ganesh–
one of the most powerful
deities around possibly the one
most prayed to on the planet.
Not only do Hindus pray to
Lord Ganesh but so do
Tibetan Buddhists and
other orders.
In two weeks it will be
time again Read more…
Honestly, it’s not the heat that’s going to get to you: it’s the wind. And the dust storms. If you’ve never been out there, you can’t even imagine the wind. The dust storms. The heat is nothing.
Because really, it’s not that hot. Seeing art like this Gee-Gnome, shown here at the Fire Arts Festival, is what’s REALLY hot. Fire will come out of Gnome’s head, not yours. Go here to learn more about The Gee-Gnome Project or to donate.
Yes, it is hot out there. But it’s really and truly not that hot for that long.
During the heat of the day, there’s lots to do in lots of shady places all over Black Rock City. Learn about the thousands of events you can chose from day and night here: https://artpredator.wordpress.com/2009/08/15/to-do-at-burning-man-get-a-diy-tattoo-yoga-pimp-your-bike-and-more/.
The heat is no excuse. Here are some wonderfully easy ways to handle it:
ONE: Hang out in camp–yours, your neighbors, your new friends, center camp. Make friends.
TWO: Make drinks. Nice cold icy refreshing drinks. Have another one. Make drinks for other people Piss clear.
THREE: Take a nap so you can take advantage of when it’s less hot/windy/dusty.
FOUR: Spray your bandana, your head, your friends with cooler water. These are bandanas we tie dyed over the weekend; next we’ll silk screen them with an image of Ganesh on a bicycle! See if you can bring a small easy craft to do in camp to gift.
FIVE: Take it easy and watch the freaks go by. Soon, the day will cool, and you will too.
PS It’s the last day of KCRW’s summer subscription drive–and my subscription drive also! So please pledge (I’ll take just about anything!) and please subscribe by clicking the subscribe button on the top right hard column! Thanks!! And tell a friend!
Simpsons Family Burning Man from Aung T on Vimeo.
Funny for non-Burners, hilarious to Burners.
Aung also did last year’s Hitler Plans Burning Man. Here it is again, just in case you missed it.
Here it is the last few weeks before Burning Man and you really want to go, but you know everybody there is doing some way-cool art project, and well, you don’t have a tuba, you think you don’t have anything to contribute and no time to make that Art Car aka Mutant Vehicle, that special gift, that 10′ high flaming water thingie, etc etc etc.
B.S.
Seriously, that’s just an excuse. If you want to go to Burning Man, go. You don’t have to bring the coolest art project ever to justify going. Make a commitment to P-ART-ICIPATE! Give of yourself! You’ll think of something–if you don’t have a tuba, what do you have to offer? Here’s some ideas to get you going.
1. Fix up your ride and turn it into moveable art! Put fur on it or paint it. Light it up creatively. Test drive it around town and show it off.
2. Fix up your duds and turn it into wearable art! We like guys in skirts. Distress a ball gown. Do some tie-dying. Attach rhinestones and other sparkly fun. Paint your boots with silver spray paint. Use fabric paints on your clothes.
3. Fix up your camp to turn it into public art! Bring fun, stable materials to doll up your camp and make it a fun place to walk by and stop by and visit. Give your camp a “front porch” so it is inviting rather than “circling the wagons” to close the world out. Bring vegetable oil or spray oil to cover up logos for rental RVs, trucks, etc so that it gets covered in playa dust. You could do this to your car too! Paint your shade structure.
4. Help others who need help with their art projects now and on playa! Look over the list of art projects and find a few that you’d like to help with. Contact people in advance then follow through and show up to do what you’ve said you’ll do. Setting up is a big job but exciting; breaking down art projects is not so fun and disheartening sometimes, especially if objects get broken or don’t seem to ahve been respected.
5. Pitch in to help artists spontaneously! Don’t hold back–volunteer! Jump in! Join the parade! And if you see someone messing around with someone else’s art project, make sure they know that that’s not cool.
P.S. Did you notice all the people on bikes hanging around or cruising by in the video?
So once you get your camp set up
, what to do next? If you’re a long-time Burner like me, you know that’s a joke! Camp is only set up long enough for the wind to come blow it around and possibly down!
But once it’s set up enough to survive a dust storm, your bike is ready to roll, you’re sunscreened up in your playa best, you’ve got a mask and some goggles at the ready, what should you do? Where do you start?
The obvious place is to roam the playa and check out the art. But wait, there’s more! If you’re not a long time Burner, you’ll find there’s always more to do on Playa than you can imagine–planned events and spontaneous ones. All day and night–going on all at the same time!
Among other events this year, you can make a DIY tattoo. Here’s where and when: http://playaevents. burningman. com/brc/2009/ playa_event/ 740/
Not so interested in a permanent DIY tattoo? Find the Art Predator on Playa (yeah, that’s me–the dirty blond with pink and orange hair, cowboy hat, wearing lingerie and cowboy boots on a pink bike…oh, guess that could be any of dozens of women out there–so look for my pink and white bike with the kids seat on the back and the ganesh on a bicycle scarf!) Or
please look us up at DNA and 5:30 in Kisdville!
Anyway, I will be happy to give you a skin deep tat like the one pictured using a rubber stamp, India ink, and possibly methyl blue or beet juice! According to Wikipedia,
Aum (also Om, written in Devanagari as ॐ, in Chinese as 唵, in Tibetan as ༀ, in Sanskrit known as praṇava प्रणव lit. “to sound out loudly” or oṃkāra ओंकार lit. “oṃ syllable”) is a mystical or sacred syllable in the Indian religions, including Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism, and Buddhism.Aum–the English spelling for is said to be the primordial sound that was present at the creation of the universe. It is said to be the original sound that contains all other sounds, all words, all languages and all mantras.
Tattoos not your thing? 
In addition to riding around checking out the art or even taking a guided tour of it, there are literally thousands of events going on at Burning Man every day–adult oriented and family fun too!
Spanky’s Wine Bar
| Date/Time(s): | Monday, August 31st – All Day Tuesday, September 1st – All Day Wednesday, September 2nd – All Day Thursday, September 3rd – All Day Friday, September 4th – All Day Saturday, September 5th – All Day Sunday, September 6th – All Day |
| Hosted by Camp: | Spanky’s Village |
| URL: | http://www.jimhillas.org/spankyswinebar.html |
| Contact Email: | jimhillas_gc@yahoo.com |
Description
Fine wine & finer floggins. Care for some beaujolais & bondage? Enjoy the bondage wall, the rack&roll machine, spank-o-matic, the famous Orgasmatron!
Or for family-fun, how about adopting a GNOME? Read more…
Burning Man Evolutionary & Revolutionary Art 2009
Why go to Burning Man?
What’s the big deal? Isn’t it just a big rave? Isn’t just a bunch of naked high people? I am frequently asked these kinds of questions, and I answer:
I go for the mind-blowing art and the soul inspiring people who make it.
In the video above, a 5 minute time lapse of a day at BRC, you can see two examples of large scale playa art from last year’s Burning Man: a temple which burns and an art exhibit which does not.
This year, among a thousand or more, we can look forward to seeing these art installations:
The BikeOasis by Michael V. Yates where bicycles make their way across the playa and enter in to a circuit where their motion provides the energy to raise water into a central fountain. For more, contact phyxx (at) comcast (dot) net I can’t wait to try this one!
Ginga by Jiro Hirano which involves the Japanese summer “Obon” ritual welcoming our ancestors from the other world to share food and drink, a special event to say goodbye to the happiness and sadness of the past. Ginga consists of balloons filled with helium and battery-operated light bulbs. The helium lasts for about five hours while the battery dies in approximately seven. This natural occurrence is intentional as it represents the Shinto driven concept “Born to die”. Using traditional “Obon” methods, we welcome the dawn of the future in appreciation of the presence of this light as our guide. For more, contact: vince (at) lotyscalyx (dot) com I have to go to this one just to check it out for Ginga Tao the poet Paul Squires!
The Mudpire Strikes Back by Graham McLeod and Max Poyton which is “essentially a 15 foot tall metal daddy long legs spider being over taken by a wave of human sized mudmen. There are about 15 mudmen coming out of the playa in various places and in varying levels of submersion. They are climbing atop one another in an effort to overwhelm the metal monstrosity that attempts to defend itself using it’s superior size and lasers. The spider is lit using a series of LEDs along its joints and on the ground surrounding it. Some of the mudmen appear to move, but one can’t be sure. Perhaps there are people in suits or, more likely, the sculpture is coming alive!” For more, contact: Gcloudmax (at) gmail (dot) com
Zoetrope “Evolution of Man“ by Steve Roper, a replication of the early Phenakistoscope Cinema, invented in 1834. The Origins of ‘Persistence of Vision’ or ‘Retention of Image’ – the phenomena which, it is often noted can be used to explain how motion pictures work and can be traced back to experiments by Newton. This is art also traces the evolution of Cinema. For more, contact: sgr_1 (at) hotmail (dot) com
To prepare for Burning Man, take a look at the art beforehand to plan your visit. There is so much out there it’s easy to miss a lot of great art unless you plan ahead. Here’s more links to various art projects Read more…
Many Burning Man theme camps are homes to art cars, art projects, music, various events, and shenanigans–or home base for the same. In 2001, my friend Nila set up her teepee next to this lobster–what a great time that was riding around the playa with this attention getting art car! Gary and Rico are great guys, too. I couldn’t find any of my pictures of it, but thankfully I found this one here.
To see more wild and wacky art cars aka Mutant Vehicles by the same photographer, check out this gallery: http://pic.templetons.com/brad/photo/bm02/cars/
As a VW bus enthusiast, I have known about VW Bus Camp at Burning Man and been over to see the westies and other cool buses, and to check out how they’ve been fixed up for travel to Burning Man and other places.
This year, VW enthusiasts will want to be sure to visit VW Bus Camp at Hominid at 3 o’clock AND catch a ride in Buszilla, a mutant bus. According to their blog, Buszilla is
A self powered hybrid articulating Volkswagen transporter. Built from two
(2) buses, it is approximately 40ft long with accessory trailer and lizard costume. Drive train consists of both electric and gasoline motors. The gasoline engine is used on the highway, and the electric motor “PlayaDrive” is used on the Playa a more green form of transportation. BusZilla II has a total of 6 wheels, with 3 axels, 2 of which are powered at any one time.
The interior consists of faux fur lined walls; Read more…
The Golden Spike has been struck!
That means that where the Man will stand and burn and fall has been set and the circumference of Black Rock City as determined by the Golden Spike.
Due to complaints last year that the City was just too big to get around, even though there were complaints in 2007 that the City wasn’t big enough to hold all of its citizens, the Black Rock City will be about 10% smaller this year. That may not seem like much, but when you’re talking about a City which “houses” over 50,000 people, that’s a lot of real estate!
This year, in keeping with the Darwinian theme of Evolution, the streets are oriented along these lines:
Esplanade
Adapt
Biology
Chaos
DNA
Extinct
Fossil
Genome
Hominid
Inherit
Jurassic
Kinship
Lineage
Center Camp ring road: Evolution.
So how will people find you? Figure out now approximately where you want to camp and tell them. Most people simply give their address as 5:30 and D rather than DNA–that’s the address for the Kidsville theme camp, by the way, where you’ll find us. When you get on-playa, there are ways to register where you are so your friends can find your camp.
Here’s the link for the BLACK ROCK CITY MAP FOR 2009
http://www.burningman.com/preparation/maps/09_maps
Burning Man Theme Camps abound every year, and this year is no exception. What’s a theme camp, you wonder? Well, it’s a group of Burners who have planned for possibly as long as a year to make YOUR experience on the Playa even more fun by offering a cool visual, auditory, sensual experience! Often theme camps have their own art projects and host off-beat parties connected to the theme.
Here’s the map to find 2009 theme camps:
If you want to be in the thick of it, just camp near one of the theme camps that looks like your kind of party!
art predator 