Uh-oh, now I'm in trouble.

[c9]

I've almost decided to go to Burning Man 2005. I've figured out a way to go really cheaply (yay Aeroplan!) and I know people (well, at least one person) going. I just have to talk it over with leapfish and see if he'll be OK for the seven days or so that I'll be away. I don't want him getting lonely!

What is Burning Man? Burning Man is many things, depending on the person you ask. For me, it's an art festival held out in the middle of the Black Rock Desert, north of Reno, Nevada. 35,000 people drive out into the desert with all the food, water and shelter they need to survive, and build a tent-and-RV city. For one week each year, Black Rock City is the third-largest city in Nevada. Everyone performs, displays, shares, or even is art for that week. Then they pack everything up their belongings, trash, and even cigarette butts, clean the desert, and leave no trace at all that they were ever there.

It takes place the week before Labour Day every year. It's called Burning Man because on the Saturday before Labout Day, a 40-foot-high wooden stick man is set on fire, and everybody watches it burn. Well, except for the criminals that buy tickets just so they can raid everybody's RVs and tents during the Burn. So that's why you lock stuff up.

Some people see it as an opportunity to avoid laws that they dislike, so there's lots of nudity there (perhaps as many as one-quarter of attendees get naked at some point, but I'm just guessing). Not as a sexual thing, just as a freedom thing. Many attendees (at least half? Again, just guessing) take the opportunity to ingest all sorts of narcotics, even though for years various police forces have attended undercover. Attendees ("Burners") tend to practice quite advanced tolerance for just about anything.

I have attended before, with petele, DaveO, Evan, Elyse, Justin, and Chris. It took me a bit to find my old trip reports about it, but I've posted them on LJ on the appropriate dates, so now you can read all about the last trip if you want:
1. http://www.livejournal.com/users/c9/155598.html
2. http://www.livejournal.com/users/c9/155758.html
3. http://www.livejournal.com/users/c9/155923.html

More about Burning Man: http://www.burningman.com

Fun reading:
http://www.burningman.com/first_timers/
http://www.burningman.com/preparation/event_survival/health_safety.html

I'm now amusing myself by reading the Google results of "Burning Man sucks."

Comments

[thespos]

I may be going myself this year, since I will be so much closer to the event and would really love to experience it. But since I am moving, I may put it off to 2006.

My friend Jill (xtingu) went this year (2004), and that got me all reading about it.

Why couldn't V go too? He might really enjoy it...

[c9.livejournal.com]

I am certain Vin would have a blast, but he does not share this opinion. Additionally, he is finicky and might lose interest quickly or react poorly to the beginning of the event, prejudicing toward the rest of it. I'm just as bad when we travel, truth be told.

If a large bunch of people we know (or know virtually) gathered there, I might be able to convince him to come. But just me and Pete? Not good enough. :-)

[thespos]

Well, you know, this might be a very cool LJ gathering idea... hmmm... cuz I don't think I would be much of a draw by myself, either. :-)

I had planned to go alone and just soak it all in... but would be great to see people I know there.

But yeah - the cost is just in getting there -- everything else is food, water, clothing, and basically camping or RVing... very cool.

[c9.livejournal.com]

Burning Man is one of those situations where you'll wish to spend a lot of time alone, but it's important to have some sort of safety net you can get back to if you decide it's necessary. Until you've been, it's almost impossible to grasp the way your brain will respond to the other participants and happenings. You might find, as I did the first few days, that being able to sit in the shade and talk about nothing with friends, even friends you only just met, is very comforting. I really liked having a "home" to go to when I needed it.

SOme people reading this are thinking "oh please, it's like a five-day camping trip, grow up." But it's totally not that, but I don't know how to describe it to really make sure you know. I'm getting goosebumps thinking about going back.

I really want to take Vinny because I think he'd love dancing in a nightclub that is literally under the stars. But I don't know how to convince him of that. :)

[c9.livejournal.com]

...by which I meant the clubgoers are under nothing but the sky, rather than a building being under the sky, which is fairly typical.

[jdhorner.livejournal.com]

i think he should go. i don't understand the hesitation... at all. then again, i'm never one to waver from trying new things.

speaking of which, now i want to go to this thing. ;-) but work and such, i feel, would just make it (nearly) impossible.

:: shrug ::

[thespos]

We need to go back to his List of Eight goals and see if Burning Man can be used applicably... :-)

I think he'll regret missing out... I know I am looking forward to it. But I am all artsy-fartsy like you. :-)

[nihilicious.livejournal.com]

Google should have a built-in feature to add "sucks" and "rocks" to every post. Reviewgle!

[c9.livejournal.com]

That's a cool idea. I'd create it, but then it would get posted to Slashdot, and my free webspace would be drowned so fast it would make my head spin.

But yes: Revioogle, with a single search pane, but two results panes side-by-side. Maybe with green and red backgrounds, just for good measure. What fun!

[nihilicious.livejournal.com]

Well, at least we have it documented here so if anyone steals the idea we can sue them for millions of dollars.

[c9.livejournal.com]

I keep all my most important information in LiveJournal comments. The ultimate filing system, I call it.