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!
Wine Blogging Wednesday #60: Ridge is Positively Zin-full!
For this month’s Wine Blogging Wednesday #60, host Sonadora prompts us to Zin with BBQ and reminds us that Lenn of Lenndevours started this off five years ago this month. Happy 5th Birthday, WBW!
At my house, we love both zin and BBQ, and enjoy both often, so the only question around here was which zinfandel and what shall we BBQ?
Both questions were answered simply. For grilling, I found a beautiful, thick porterhouse steak on sale at Vons which we enjoyed with fire roasted CSA corn and new potatoes cooked with lots of garlic and rosemary. We also had a lively tomato/basil/garlic bruschetta with toasted sourdough.
When I think zin, I think Ridge.
Afterall, that’s where I cut my wine teeth when I worked the tasting room up on Monetbello Ridge back in my early 20s. I did consider opening something else–in the cellar up at my mom’s house I have a few zins to choose from including a Glaymond from Australia which I bought on Dan Phillips recommendation at a Grateful Palate warehouse sale that I’ve been looking forward to trying on the right occasion.
But I didn’t get a chance to peruse the wine cellar and so happily I went for the classic 2006 Ridge Lytton Spring Dry Creek Valley because I had a bottle here. I’m also thrilled that it’s organic even though they don’t brag about it.
I believe you should always have a bottle of Ridge zinfandel at home. No home should be without one!
Now before I get to talking about that bottle of Ridge wine and the grilling, I want to say something about zinfandel. And about Ridge:
Though born in the early sixties to the post-Prohibition world of modern California winemaking, Ridge relies on nature and tradition rather than technology. Our approach is straightforward: find intense, flavorful grapes; intrude upon the process only when necessary; draw the fruit’s distinctive character and richness into the wine.
Most people by now know the story of how some California wines showed strongly against the French thanks to the recent movie Bottleshock (and if you haven’t seen it yet, you should! It’s a really good which you can enjoy whether you’re into wine or not. If you are into wine, you might just want to buy a copy–it’s only $15. It’s cast really well with strong acting and the vineyard shots are gorgeous, too).
And that’s an impressive story–how Ridge’s Montebello Cab Sauv raised eyebrows and changed the wine world that day.
But the story about Ridge that moves me most is how a bunch of wine enthusiasts banded together to make wine and buy a winery. They figured since they were scientists and into experimenting, they’d buy a bunch of this grape juice that no one was interested in– a grape juice called “zinfandel.” And instead of blending it all together, why not make a bunch of small lots and see what they tasted like and how they might be different?
At least this is the version of the story I heard from the owners of Ridge Read more…
Last Friday, the Ventura ArtRiders Bicycle and Social Club went wild for the Animal Fair Ride. Some 30 people dressed in animal attire and met us along the route. W
e went as a family of snakes complete with masks.
Along the route. I passed out kazoos and we did the Animal Fair song as well as Old McDonald had a Farm and various other impromptu tunes. We started along the Promenade, rode aro
und the perimeter of the Ventura County Fair and Surfers Point, up the River Trail, the Main to Ventura Avenue to Bell Arts which is always a flurry of First Friday activity.
MB Hanrahan’s show at Vita fe
atured some of her panels which will next show at Burning Man, plus a closing for Richard Newsham’s fine show. Many studios were open and we stopped for awhile to visit with Bobbi Jo Free who made ears and a tail for a missing ArtRider. She also offered the best wine, Melville, since her daughter works there.
Next, on the recommendation of Russell Erickson from Art City, we ventured up Main and over to Buenaventura Art Association–with a quick, impromptu stop at the corner of California and Main to check out the CSUCI gallery. We had a blast in the large former bank space–we could still feel all the money in the vaul
t!
Next up the BAA, and our first time there since we weren’t sure where we’d park our bikes. Many of us (like me!) really appreciated Ines Marguelies show. I also really liked Robert Wassell’s two small oils which flanked a sweet sunflower print; all three were available for sale for under $200–a steal of a deal–and if you can’t afford that. you can rent much of the art shown at the BAA. Growing up, we always
had fresh, original art in our house because my mom rented it from the BAA.
After the BAA, we headed toward Seabreeze on Laurel and at Kalorama and Front, some of us crossed the bridge and went to the Fair while others visited Seabreeze and then went to Sylvia White to see 5×5–five minutes of performance art by five in
dividuals. Last month this was a highlight of First Friday for several ArtRiders; November will feature comedy writer, performance artist and Uncabaret workshop leader Beth Lapides.
Personally, we went to the Fair and gorged on Fair food and Sierra Nevada beer then danced to Huey Lewis and the News. They had a number of familiar hits
which were fun to dance to under the twilight ski even though they sounded very 80s.
The small boy hit a few rides then we made it out the gate to park our bikes directly under the fireworks which went off over our heads and rained debris down.
Too soon the alarm went off and I wrote at 315am and then again and it was time for me to get all snaked out. This time I put on my silver python boots, dress, gloves and hot pink wig and beat it over to check in for the Ventura County Pa
rade. Off I rode through town garnering a number of stares.
According to organizers, our spot was in the middle of the street, but the person in charge our section suggested we wait out the parade start by the fence in the share lest I start an accident in my short skirt…
It was a long wait–I was there from 830am until 11am before
we started moving west on Main following close behind an inspiring Dixie land band. It took us almost an hour to travel just over a mile from Ventura High School to Palm Street downtown: we did a lot of sharp ‘s’ turns and circled and circled–we must have ridden 10 mile in circles!
It was worth it, for sure: we spread the message of bike love far and wide on the ride.
Want to see the parade yourself? it’s on cable! Replays of the parade will be shown on Channel 6 on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday for two weeks, beginning Tuesday. Time Warner cable customers throughout Ventura County can view the parade on Channel 36 at 5:30 p.m. daily from Sunday through Aug. 13. Most of the parade is on YouTube but not our part or else I’d post it…
Join us! We meet on the First Friday of every month at 5:30pm on the Promenade at the end of California Street; we ride at 6pm. Upcoming themes: September–Full Moon Critical Manners Bike Ride, October–Mustache Ride, November Superheroes Ride, December Santacon Ride.
BTW, in case you didn’t guess already, most of us in the wildest costumes are Burners…
PS This is my summer subscription drive–please subscribe to my blog by clicking on the link in the upper right hand corner! I’ll take your pledge of support also: wine? money? books? undying love and adoration?
For All You Zinners, Wine Blogging Wednesday Celebrates Its 5th Birthday & Local Green Drinks Celebrates its First!
Sonadora announces Wine Blogging Wednesday #60: I Have Zinned
Host Sonadora points out that this month Wine Blogging Wednesday celebrates its Fifth Birthday! Amazing in that most wine blogs haven’t even been around that long. It’s truly a testimony to the vision of Lenn of Lenndevours –as well as to the legion of wine bloggers who keep it going every month.
The deadline to submit is this Wednesday, August 12th. If you want to participate, leave a comment on her blog or email her at ctsonadora@gmail.com with a link to your blog post. And let me know too, with a comment here so I will be sure to go see your post.
As a big zin fan who cut her teeth on Ridge zins and who found more zins to love at last month’s Wine Bloggers conference, I’m not sure which zin I’ll write about–guess I better decide on something before the deadline! (Want to know more about Ridge? I’ve written several times about the winery on the blog or check out their blog, 4488, on my blogroll).
BTW, for local readers of this blog, as usual Wine Blogging Wednesday lands on the same night as Green Drinks Ventura County which celebrates its first anniversary Weds from 530-730pm at PURE Life & Home 576 E. Main Street Ventura. The goal of Green Drinks? Good times shared among people working in, or interested in, environmental and sustainability issues.
Although this Green Drinks gathering is close enough to home that I could ride my bike, I think that’s the day we’re going back to the Ventura County Fair where my son won first place blue ribbons for all four of his artworks we entered!
PS It’s my summer subscription drive–won’t you please subscribe by clicking on the link in the upper right hand corner? Thank you!
3:15am 12/5
Lord Ganesha woke me up
earlier this evening
told me among other things
that he was Lord Ganesha
and not just plain Ganesh.
Most of what he had
to say I seem to have forgotten.
He told me not to worry
that everything he said
I already knew.
I was surprised when I saw him
by how he looked:
not as pretty as in the pictures.
He does not have cartoon large eyes.
Instead they are very small
like a real elephant
and his skin is not smooth
but very wrinkly, like a warthog
or a rhino. Forgive me, Lord Ganesha.
Don’t get me wrong: Lord Ganesha
is very beautiful, very striking
in his physical presence. He is
adorned with jewels and his tusks
they are for real, sharp, and he is
proud of them though he didn’t
say so I could still tell.
Lord Ganesha came to me in the moonlight
on the eve of the lunar eclipse.
He took shape in my mind.
I didn’t recognize him at first
but then I knew it was Ganesha
and then I was corrected: Lord Ganesha.
This seemingly small point had never
bothered me before but will
from now on I am sure.
I do remember more of what
he made known to me.
But I won’t tell you now;
for it belongs to the future
and remains to be seen.
I will say that he said he’d be present
two more times which I took to mean
the next two nights but now
I realize that the next two nights
for him could be anytime.
I would have willingly drowned in the depths
of moon in his eyes, but the waters of his mouth
are wicked and dangerous and scared me.
Even though the header date says 12/5, this was written on August 5, 2009 as part of the 3:15 experiment 2009. I don’t know why I wrote 12/5 but I did. What’s the 3:15 experiment, you ask? Here’s HOW TO DO THE 3:15 EXPERIMENT:
Register here. We also have a facebook page.
* Begin at 3:15 AM on August 1st (so set your alarms on JULY 31) . Continue each day until August 31.
* You may write any length, style, form, content, voice, rhythm, etc.
* DO NOT EDIT your work. This is raw stuff, baby. That’s part of the experiment. You are welcome to edit, collage, break apart the poems later for whatever purpose you choose, but please SHARE THE RAW STUFF with the rest of the group here or on the website once the experiment is over.
* (Optional) Do not read what you have written until the month is over, except to skim the work to make sure everything is legible.
TIPS: Do not use a felt tip pen unless you don’t care about ink stains on your bed. Many a poet has fallen asleep in the middle of writing. If you can help it, don’t even get out of bed! The point is to ride that dream state, that precarious point between sleeping and waking and sleeping.
I’m obviously breaking the optional rule by posting about Lord Ganesh here now. But it was such exciting news I couldn’t wait! Plus I have another post about him coming up related to this art show in Pasadena. Here’s another 3:15 experiment poem which features Ganesh and here are more tips and examples about doing the 3:15 Experiment:
How To Write at 3:15 (a YouTube video)
Jasmine and Jaguar (a 3:15 poem made into a YouTube)
For more poetry, jump on the train!
PS This is my summer subscription drive. If you’re not already a subscriber, please do so by clicking the link in the upper right that says “subscribe”! Right now is a very auspicious time to subscribe as I have 108,000 plus page views and 108 is a very auspicious number. So be auspicious and subscribe now!
“The Flight” by W.S. Merwin: some poetry for why we burn
The Flight
At times in the day
I thought of a fire to watch
not that my hands were cold
but to have that doorway to see through
into the first thingeven our names are made of fire
and we feed on night
walking I thought of a fire
turning around I caught sight of it
in an opening in the wall
in another house and another
before and after
in house after house that was mine to see
the same fire the perpetual bird—W. S. Merwin
from his poetry collection,
The Compass Flower (1977)
Maybe it’s just that it’s that time of year where we Burners are obsessed with thoughts of Burning Man.
But when I read this poem recently, the opening lines about wanting a fire “to have that door to see through” clicked: this is one of the huge reasons why I at least go to Burning Man: it provides me with a tool, a prism, a door way in and a door way out.
Maybe I’m reading this poem all wrong. It wouldn’t be the first time! But this is what it brings up for me, what it makes me think about–that:
Going to Burning Man connects and reconnects that fire which is in me with that fire which is in everyone. Black Rock City opens the walls, lets us in to see the fire within, a fire which seems to burn especially bright in those folks who call Black Rock City “Home.”
What does Merwin’s poem bring up for you–Burners, non-Burners, and wannabe Burners alike?
Watch this space for more Burning Man news! Coming up soon: theme camps! What are they? How do I Join one? How do I igure out where to camp at Burning Man?
P.S. This is Day 4 of my summer subscription drive–please subscribe by clicking the button in the upper right side! It’s free–but I’ll take any donations you wish to send (wine? books? positive energy? a great job?)
art predator 