Note: When the events were posted, the links
worked.
news Author of new Burning Man photography book at Capitola Book Café Aug. 3 [posted 7.17.06] Longtime burner Barb Traub will be at Capitola Book Café on Thursday, Aug. 3 to talk about her new book, “Desert to Dream: A Decade of Burning Man Photography”.
Celebrated photographer and multimedia artist Barbara Traub captures the sacred and profane, from inspired costumes to otherworldly artifacts that defy convention. Accompanying her work are contributions from filmmaker Les Blank, Burning Man founder Larry Harvey, and poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti.
Thursday, August 3 at 7:30pm Capitola Book Café 1475 41st Ave, Capitola 831.462.4415 or www.capitolabookcafe.com
~ FIRE DAMAGES BURNER HANGOUT POET & PATRIOT SANTA CRUZ SENTINEL, APRIL 21, 2006 Three days a year, publican Chris Matthews closed the Poet and Patriot Irish Pub: Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. "And I closed one afternoon at the start of the first Iraqi war," he said.
But an unattended hot plate sparked a two-alarm fire in the office above the pub early Thursday morning and now Matthews, who has run the pub on Cedar Street for 24 years, doesn't know when the popular bar will reopen. More...
~ BURNING MAN TICKETS GO ON SALE - GET 'EM BEFORE THE SERVERS CRASH [posted 1.18.06] Burning Man tickets go on sale in about an hour. You'll want to start hitting the ticket order form on the BM website at least five minutes before the official start time, to ensure the servers are running at max capacity when everyone else tries to buy them.
UPDATE 12:05 P.M.: Too late. The flood of motivated buyers has brought the system to its knees. Why not head over to the Burning Man Tribe on Tribe.net and let everyone know how you feel. Everyone else is.
UPDATE: 2:30 P.M. THURSDAY: $185 tickets? Gone! $200 tickets? Gone! 14,000 sold in about 24 hours. $225 tickets while they last. If you like living dangerously, you can always wait til the week before the event and get a good deal on one on Craigslist.
~
Looking for that special gift for the Burner in your life?
[posted 12.7.04] We've got some copies of Brian Doherty's
excellent history of Burning Man - "This
is Burning Man". The book has been getting great
reviews and offers fascinating insight into the early days
of the event. Copies are $20 each and all money goes directly
to Brian.
We've also got some copies of the very well
received "One
Minute to Burn". This DVD is one of my personal favorites
and is, essentially, 51 one-minute-long videos shot at the event
in 2000 by Mark Andresen and Moe Stoebe. Copies are $15 each and
all money goes directly to the filmmakers.
~
Burning Beach film festival a great success [posted 12.6.04] Thanks to everyone who attended and helped
make the third annual Burning
Beach Film Festival a great success. As a result of your support,
we donated to 265 cans of food to a local food bank; we made a
$500 donation to the Family
Shelter Project in the name of local burners, and we'll be
making the requisite donation to the Burning Man Project.
With the remaining funds, we're looking to
host one or two free film showings over the winter and make donations
to local burner art projects like we've done in past years.
We've shown pretty much every Burning Man film
in existence, so the winter showings, which we'll do at the Pacific
Cultural Center, will likely be reruns. If you have a preference
on what you'd like to see, shoot me a note at santacruz@burningbeach.com .
~ Burning Man in the news [posted 9.6.04] We've started tracking press coverage,
filtering out the duplicates that you might encounter doing a
web search. The latest coverage is always at the top. If you see
something we missed, shoot us a note at santacruz
(at) burningbeach (dot) com. Oh, and the links worked when
we posted them. The latest is below. Compleat
coverage is here.
September 17, 2004 CBC Radio Give
It Away Now - Burning Man's Gift Economy Out here in the lifeless dust of an
alkaline lakebed, there's nothing for the taking. But all that
changes during the annual Burning Man arts festival. People
bring stuff you'd never expect to see in the desert. Some of
it you might not see anywhere else. And they bring it to give
it all away.
~ Public Service Announcements [posted 8.16.04] Jo posted the Miss Black Rock City
public service announcement to the list and the Burning Man Media
Team just wrapped up a few as well. If you've done any others
and want them posted for all of posterity, shoot us a note at
santacruz@burningbeach.com .
~ Playa Tunes goes live [posted 8.18.04] Looking for some music to get you mood
or to keep you awake at 3 a.m. when you're climbing through the
Sierras with an overloaded car? Playa
Tunes has mixes from Space Virgins, Camp Cherry, Church of
Wow and more available for your listening pleasure.
~ Santa Cruz theme camps [posted 8.18.04] From the Santa Cruz area? Doing a camp?
Represent! Post the name, location and a really short description
to the Santa Cruz discussion list
or just shoot it to us at santacruz@burningbeach.com
and we'll post it post haste. (The name in parenthesis is the
person who emailed us). Bonus points if you shoot a photo of yourselves
at your camp and send it to Burning Beach so we can add it to
the photos at the top of the home page.
Burning Bells Hitchin’ Post
(Robin & Thor)
5:30 and Earth
You can test drive your main squeeze (or your newest squeeze)
and get married for a day! We are inside Kidsville. Come by
and get hitched! Complete with a mini marriage certificate,
photo and cheapy rings! All ages welcome!
Hookadome (Jim Beno)
3:50 and Esplanade
Hookahdome is an oasis of luxury in the desert, featuring a
climate-controlled Middle Eastern hookah lounge and a fire-lit
outdoor public performance area. Our exotic melodies and tasty
beats will bathe your senses as we set the mood for enchantment
through flavored tobacco smoking, belly dancing, Magic Flying
Carpet rides, and an extraordinary measure of personal service
and hospitality. We'll have yoga in the morning, fire spinning
at night, and belly dancing Wednesday and Thursday night.
Mohammed's Mini Martini and Erotica Camp
(Mohammed)
9:00 and Esplanade
We are a Bedouin style camp with a lot of rugs,pillows hookahs
and the finest mini martinis on the playa. Come by and write
an erotic story in our Book of 1001 nights and we just might
serve you a stiff cold one.
Plan C (Donna)
6:00 and Jupiter
Come buy for a lemonade slushee ( yes...ice and a blender!)
, please bring your own cup/mug and say hello. Hugs and kisses
all around from Chip, Robin, Samantha, Joshua, Rich, Eric, Hailey
and a bunch of southern California hooligans.
Sunset Samba Circus (Odwally)
About 3:15 and Mercury
Sunset Samba Circus provides a space to experience live drumming
that activates your root chakra and makes you dance without
thought. Music in its raw most invigorating form like fresh
squeezed juice every time. Our funky percussive beats and super
sassy dancers will fill you with creative inspiration to go
rock the playa.
Tokyo In Tune (Odwally)
9:00 Plaza behind Ranger Outpost Tokyo
Tokyo in Tune is a camp of Black Rock Rangers and friends of
Rangers. we will have a bar and a bbq and are always open for
business!
~ Heads up: Possible Craigslist BM
ticket scam [posted 8.17.04] We wanted to give folks a heads up about
a possible ticket scam some guy is running on Craigslist. The
guy posted a listing saying he was based in Las Vegas, had two
tickets for sale and would only accept a cashiers check that did
not have a name listed for the recipient. Several individuals
contacted this guy via email and after being questioned in depth
he would say the tickets were sold (though they were still available
when the next person contacted him).
We always recommend that if you buy a
ticket from a stranger that you pick it up in person and that
you bring a real ticket with you to compare. Sending someone a
blank cashiers check is just asking for trouble.
~ What to eat, what
to pack for the playa [posted 8.16.04] Wondering what to eat on the playa when
you run out of Pop Tarts and fruit rolls? Fretting that, you might
forget to pack that one thing that could spell the difference
between having a transformative experience or spending a week
in the desert sweating under a burning sun? Fear not, we've compiled
a page of the best packing lists
(Princess’s
Playa Tips for Girls (and Boys) are fabulous and a must read),
and a 50-page PDF cookbook
of playa-tested, burner-approved recipes (as well as five
pages of playa drinks). If you have a recipe or a drink we
can add, shoot us a
note.
~
BurnDir is back and badder than ever [posted 6.10.04] Just in time for the Playa, BurnDir is
back with a brand new database ready to be crammed full with the
yummy details of all you merry burners. BurnDir is a Web-based
directory service that lets people announce their walkie-talkie
channels to the community, and lets people search for Talkabout
channels, camps and addresses of people they want to find at Burning
Man. Burners can register their contact info and have BurnDir
automatically notify their friends by email. BurnDir can also
suggest unused channels for you to help avoid cross-channel interference.
~
The man with one left shoe [posted 2.29.04] We were gifted with a
man's running shoe at the end of the Valentine's
Day showing of "One Minute To Burn." We're pretty
sure it was from someone in the audience because he came up to
us saying he was missing one shoe but was late for his next appointment.
If this is your shoe, or you know someone missing said shoe, shoot
us a note at santacruz(at)burningbeach(dot)com
and we'll arrange to get it to you. Cat not included.
Update: This just in,
the owner of the shoe has been found. You can call off the hounds.
~ Valentine's Day film draws 100 [posted 2.27.04] Thank you to everyone who
turned out from as far as San Francisco and Monterey to see
"Without You" and "One Minute To Burn." We
put the turnout at about 100 and a nice group joined us at the
Crepe Place afterward. For anyone who wasn't able to pick up a
copy of OMTB, you can order one online from the creators' new
website.
~
Yet another government cover-up [posted 1.25.04] I have no idea where this came from or
whether it is an actual government conspiracy, but I wanted to
pass along this image apparently recorded by the Mars Spirit Rover.
For anyone who cares, a burner involved with
the ongoing Mar rover expeditions posted this image to a discussion
list frequented by members of Mars Rover Mission Control. I'm
waiting for feedback from them on its validity. Click on the image
for a larger view.
~ Pyrotribe - an
email list for local fire performers [posted 11.28.03] Santa Cruz area fire performers have created
an email discussion list and organized weekly spin jams. If you're
interested in learning more about fire performance or are looking
to hook up with other local spinners, this is the best place to
start. You can register for the email
list here.
~ Felix Kulpa looking for local artists
for upcoming show [posted 11.26.03] Yasmina Dedijer-Small of the
Felix Kulpa Gallery in Santa Cruz, is looking for new works
by artists working with light and illumination for the gallery's
winter show and she asked us to put the word out to local burners..
This includes, sculpture, 2-d, video, and installation for the
indoor and outdoor exhibit areas. If you're interested, contact
Yasima at staff (at) felixkulpa.com.
Be prepared to provide examples of your work in slides, prints,
a CD-ROM or DV format.
~ BRC passes first BLM clean up inspection [posted 10.14.03] A report from the field is that Burning
Man passed its first Bureau of Land Management clean up inspection
last week. Updates as they occur.|
~ A 3D Black Rock City for Microsoft
Flight Sim and designing your camp [posted 9.30.03] Burner
Andrew Johnstone has created a 3D version of Black Rock City
that is compatible with Microsoft Flight Sim but also has the
potential to be used to design 3D maps of individual camps that
include shade structures, tents, vehicles and art installations.
"My wish is for it to be the framework
for others to build their camps, add scenery or even serve as
an online multiplayer environment," Johnstone said. "There's
still a lot of to work to do and this is a good time to ask for
help from other burners who are interested in creating models,
organizing files and working on the website."
Johnstone has set up a
website that includes a flight sim model of Black Rock City,
all the raw 3D files and a copy of the shareware program GMAX,
which burners can use to build their own camps and virtual installations,
which can be added to the BRC 3D map. He has already created some
aircraft, including a microlite, the Beatles' Yellow Submarine,
the Burning Man aerobatic jet team, a driveable couch and a hot
air balloon piloted by Larry Harvey.
~ Thanks to everyone who attended
the Film Festival [updated 10.05.03] You
donatedenough cans of food to fill two barrels. We are also making
an $800 donation, in the name of local burners, to Second Harvest
Food Bank, which states on their website: "For each donated dollar
we receive we can distribute $10 worth of food." Thank you all
for your contributions. Thanks also to the artists who shared
their creations and their time.
~ We're back, and here's the news [updated 9.11.03] Some of the 300 media outlets who attended
Burning Man have already begun posting coverage
of the event. We'll keep updating this as we find new stories.
~ 2003 Black Rock Gazettes online [posted 9.11.03] On the odd chance you missed an issue,
you can relive the glory that was the Black Rock Gazette online.
The issues have been saved as PDFs and can be downloaded for your
reading pleasure here.
~ Jonesing for the playa already? Check
out Playasound.org [posted 9.2.03] Euroburner Yoms Ayeni headed up a team
of folks to record the sounds of the playa and he posted them
daily to Playasound.org.
Lots of fun stuff to listen to while you re-integrate to society.
~ Playa recipes are posted [7.3.03] We've opened a new section on the Burning
Beach website devoted to Playa
Recipes. Submissions range from Dashboard Stew to Playa Pad
Thai. We'll keep adding recipes as we receive them. Email your
favorite desert delight to
.
~ Burning Man looking
at alternate sites for 2004 [posted 7.8.03] The Reno
Gazette Journal reports that Burning Man organizers will meet
with representatives of the Pyramid Lake Paiute tribe to discuss
options for moving the event to their land in the event the current
Bureau of Land Management site is no longer viable.
~ Silicon Valley fire performer launches
discussion group [posted 6.25.03] Silicon Valley fire spinner Roger "Orbit"
Lai has started a discussion group for fire performers around
the Bay Area. "The idea is
to have a place where you go to tell all the other
Bay Area spinning tribes about events and open practices,"
he says. "I hope that this will make it easier for us to
all find out about each other's practices, shows, classes, and
parties so that we can all growas fire spinners/poi dancers/human
beings/whatever..."
~
The playa is largely dry [posted 6.14.03] A couple months back the playa looked
like the lake it once was, except without dinosaurs. It has since
dried out and is looking good for the event. The accompanying
photo, titled "Gringo vs. hat with dog," is courtesy
Ginger Petunia, who is already in Gerlach prepping for the event.
Click on the photo for a larger image.
~ It's a big pyramid [posted 5.12.03] One
of the cool things about Burning Man "back in the old days"
was that you could actually climb up on his platform and hang
out with him before he shuffles off this mortal coil. That concept
is reintroduced this year with the giant pyramid design for 2003.
~ We're looking for a few good playa
recipes [6.21.03] Man cannot live on Pop Tarts and Gatorade
alone, and we'd like collect and publish your favorite playa recipes
in a new section of Burning Beach. Last year we put a call out
for packing lists
and that section of the website is one of the most visited, particularly
as the event gets closer. Email your favorite desert delight to
santacruz@burningbeach.com
and we'll start compiling them
~ Burning Man sues Washoe County [posted 6.7.03] Burning Man organizers filed suit
against Washoe County on Friday in an effort to require the county
to allow the project to use land that it owns and leases as a
staging area for the event. The Reno Gazette Journal has
the story.
~ Department of
Mutant Vehicles (DMV) registration goes live [posted 5.12.03] The Department of Mutant Vehicles is now
accepting applications for art cars on the playa. This one isn't
a joke. If you're thinking of driving any sort of motorized transport
out on the playa, it behooves you to read
the FAQ, plus all the background
information and maybe even join the art car discussion
list where you learn things like why it's a good idea to have
flamethrowers point up. Once you've done all this, you can register
your art car online
here.
~
Burners restore Dooby Avenue near Black Rock City entrance [posted 4.22.03] Driving out to Burning Man on Highway
34 (after you pass Gerlach), you might have seen some rocks piled
up on the left side of the road in a sort of natural sculpture.
Known to locals as Dooby Avenue, it's actually a series of installations
started back in the early 1970s by DeWayne "Dooby" Williams
and his son, Dwayne II. The site fell into disarray after some
time. Recently some burners, including Metric, who spends a good
part of the year (including the winter part) at the Work Ranch,
set out to restore it. Metric's
story is here.
"The
Making of a Center Cafe" documentary goes online [posted 3.24.03] Ever wonder what's involved behind the
scenes so you can order a Grande Mocha Coconut Frappaccino at
3 a.m. in a white out in the middle of the desert? The crew of
the Center Cafe Documentation Team has posted their annual still
photo, video and audio documentary of the rise and fall of Center
Camp Cafe. Check it out here.
You can even send
postcards.
~
New Burning Man film in the works - great trailers [posted 3.7.03] Gone
Off Deep Productions is in the midst of a year-long effort
to produce a "behind-the-scenes" documentary on how
Burning Man comes together every year. I'm reminded of the famous
New Yorker "then
a miracle happens" cartoon. Anyway, they've got a couple
of fantastic
trailers online and have started a production
journal. Definitely worth checking out. We give it two thumbs
up.
~ Burning Man consulting
with military on desert installations? Well...not exactly [posted 4.23.03] A rumor racing through Burner circles
a couple weeks back was that Burning Man was consulting with the
U.S. Air Force on the logistics of maintaining a large installation
in a desert environment. While there's a colonel of truth in the
story, burner Joyce Slayton sets the record straight in a
piece she wrote for SF Weekly..
~ Burning Beach pop quiz [posted 4.17.03] What do the words "ridiculous",
"authority", "sublime" and "dogma"
have in common with each other? We don't know, either. And we don't
know anything about pyramids.~ Commission OKs permits for BM Work
Ranch, appeal planned [posted 4.12.03] The Washoe County Planning Commission
approved a set of permits to allow Burning Man to operate a staging
area, better known as the Work Ranch, on property owned by the organization
a few miles from where the event is held. According to this
Associated Press story, some residents in the area planned to
appeal the decision.
~
No dogs allowed at Burning Man in 2003 [posted 3.14.03] If you were thinking of bringing your dog
to Burning Man this year, you might want to start making other arrangements.
From the BM website: "The weather conditions and 'alien' environment
that makes Burning Man the unique event that it is, is not viewed
the same as us by a one to three foot tall, four legged, non English
speaking, fur coat wearing canine. The alkaline soil is corrosive
to noses, paws and bellies. Dehydration and heatstroke happen very
quickly and there is no animal medical service at the event. Pets
are also prone to responding adversely to loud noises, huge sound
systems, explosions, fireworks and crazy costumed people. Many animals
have been lost each year and problem dogs have caused disputes between
camps. "
~ Theme camp questionnaire online [posted 3.3.02] If you're planning a theme camp for Burning
Man, it behooves you to register it with the org. This improves
your chances of getting some decent placement out on the playa.
The registration form is online
here.
~ Black Rock Arts Foundation offering
grants [posted 3.3.02] The Black
Rock Arts Foundation has opened its Letter of Inquiry application
for 2003, offering grants of $100 to $500 to fund interactive,
community-based art that would be displayed at venues other than
at Burning Man. Grants are available to artists with an idea for
a project, to complete a project or to get a completed piece to
a venue. Just to clarify, BRAF is not the funding source for art
at Burning Man. The grant application is
here. For more information, contact BRAF at info@blackrockarts.org.
~ Burning Man out
of $200 tickets [posted 2.23.03] It might be that burners are getting their
collective acts together earlier. It might be that Burning Man
is on track for record-breaking attendance. Whatever the reason,
organizers report that all $145, $165, $175, $185 and $200 tickets
- more than 15,000 - have been sold out. You can get more
info here.
~ It's truly 'Beyond Belief' - Burning
Man theme announced [posted 12.30.02] Let
the kvetching begin! In an unprecedented move, Burning Man organizers
have announced the theme for BM03 well in advance of the Spring
thaw. It is "Beyond Belief" and will be an examination
of spirituality. More info on it will be posted on the BM website
as soon as Director Larry Harvey finishes writing it. The Man
will be very interesting this year.
Here are the details. Burning Man 2003 will be held from Monday,
August 25 through Monday, September 1, 2003. Tickets for all of
the following price levels will go on sale on Jan. 27. Don't send
the office a letter postmarked prior to that. If you do, it gets
sent back to you. It must be postmarked Jan. 27 or later. If you
want a shot at the cheapest tickets, make sure it's postmarked
the 27th. And here are the prices:
$145 - 6,000 tickets - Available to previous
participants only, by mail order only and limited to two per
person. They will be sent out within 3-4 days of receiving the
order. I really recommend shelling out for the registered mail
return. Several people lost tickets last year with no proof
that they didn't receive them. They had to buy new tickets.
$165 - 2,500 tickets - Available Jan 27-30
only via snail mail, Internet, and walk-up, limited to eight
per person. There are walk up outlets in San Francisco, Winnemucca
and Reno.
$175 - 2,500 tickets - while they last (til
6/30)
$185 - 2,500 tickets - while they last (til
6/30)
$200 - 2,500 tickets - while they last (til
6/30)
$225 - unlimited - through August
22
Tickets at the gate will start at $250 and
increase each day.
The hotline for recorded ticket information
is 415-TO FLAME.
~ Longtime burner publishes book on
the history of the playa - excerpt online [posted 12.8.02] William Fox, a longtime burner, has just
published "Playaworks,
the Myth of the Empty," a book on the history of the
playa. His publisher, University
of Nevada Press, has allowed us to excerpt
the final chapter and several Burning Man photographers have
contributed images to illustrate it. Fox has traveled the world
and during a recent trip to Antarctica he showed a Burning Man
film to about 100 researchers and staff at McMurdo Station near
the South Pole.
In "Playa Works" he examines what we do on dry lake
beds -- from the early earthworks of Michael Heizer to atomic
bomb tests, from breaking land speed records to advertising fashion.
He attended Burning Man in 2000 (he's been coming irregularly
since 1992) in order to write a chapter in the book about it.
He considers playas to be prime sites in which we constantly reinvent
the landscape, and Burning Man an event that exemplifies that
ability.
Burning Beach subscribers get first dibs
to read the chapter. It will also
be announced in the next Jack Rabbit Speaks. Fox is a great writer
and if you're ever interested in learning more about the playa,
this is definitely a book we'd recommend.
~ Burning Man in the Sentinel and on
KUSP's "Talk of the Bay" [posted 9.22.02] Santa Cruz Sentinel entertainment writer
Wallace Baine describes his experience as a first-time burner in
Sunday's paper. He saw a ton of stuff I never came across. You can
read
his piece online here.
Deanna Zachary of KUSP's "Talk of the Bay" hosts a discussion
about Burning Man and the upcoming Burning Man film festival 6:30
p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 24. Guests include Burning Man veteran Wes Modes
(aka Rico Thunder), who has managed an interactive theme camp at
the annual desert event for years, and Burning Man media coordinator
Jim Graham (aka RonJon), who is organizing the film festival. You
can listen
live here.
~
Relive the burn in fabulous Quicktime [posted 9.15.02] For those of you who missed it, or if you
just want to check it out again instead of doing work, or if you
just have an hour to kill, the folks who did the Burning Man webcast
this year have got it online.
I think the file is on a perpetual loop, so there's no telling where
you'll pick it up. If you haven't seen it before, this was shot
from a cherry picker, so you're looking down on the fire performers,
flame throwers and art cars parading around the inner circle. And
you get the ambient sound - no narration. Particularly good is the
DPW person telling folks not to climb on the lift. Repeatedly.
It works best if you plug it directly into your Quicktime viewer.
Total length is a tad over one hour. If this
link doesn't launch your viewer, cut and paste this URL into
Quicktime: rtsp://stream.burningman.com/burn.sdp
~
Art theft at Burning Man - keep an eye out, please [posted 9.12.02] Sometime Sunday night one or more individuals
removed
four of the seven dragonflies from the Lily
Pond art installation near the Promenade. The artist and his
friends are asking for anyone with information to contact
them. Sadly, several other art pieces were vandalized as well,
apparently by people wanting to take a piece of them home with them.
If you lost or found anything this year, you can email lostfound@burningman.com,
and the folks who monitor the email address will do their darndest
to reunite objects with their respective owners.
~
60+ turn out for Santa Cruz "Rapid Decompression" [posted 9.9.02] We had 60+ folks turn out for the inaugural
Santa Cruz "Rapid Decompression" Sunday evening. Music,
barbecuing and we burned not one, but two effigies.
Kudos go to King Rodent for getting the ball rolling and to Mick
(sp?) for staffing the barbecue grill and the sound system. Thanks,
too, to everyone who contributed food. I don't think anyone went
away hungry. What was particularly gratifying was the number of
kids in attendance and the lengths folks went to to help them feel
included.
I came home with a spare jacket and a backpack. If either are yours,
drop me a note at ronjon@burningman.com
with a description of either and we'll get 'em back to you.
Our goal is to have a beach burn the first Sunday of every month.
The beach is Seabright (not Twin Lakes, as mentioned in earlier
emails). Apparently Mapquest isn't infallible.
~
Miss an issue of Spock Science Monitor? Now there's no excuse [posted 9.7.02] Laboring upward of two hours a day to crank
out Black Rock City's only daily newspaper (usually after having
closed the bar at Media Mecca) the hard working editorial staff
of the Spock
Science Monitor now has all seven 2002 issues online for your
perusal.
This was a record year for news coverage
at Burning Man, with four papers in the mix: The Black Rock Gazette,
Spock Science Monitor, Piss
Clear and Off the Grid, which published using a 1950s era
mimeograph machine.
~ We're back! And here's the news [posted 9.3.02] What can you say? Near perfect weather,
record attendance, an overall mellow vibe. Burning Man 2002 was
pretty good.
Here's a page of links to news coverage by media who attended
the event. Updated as of 9/17.
~ Driving to Burning Man - update
on Highway 80 [posted 8.19.02] [SACRAMENTO VALLEY & SIERRA NEVADA]
TRAFFIC IS REDUCED TO 1 LANE IN BOTH DIRECTIONS FROM TRUCKEE (NEVADA
CO) TO THE NEVADA STATE LINE 24 HRS A DAY FROM 2200 HRS SUNDAY
TO 1000 HRS FRIDAY THRU 10/31/02 - DUE TO CONSTRUCTION - MOTORISTS
ARE SUBJECT TO DELAYS OF UP TO 1 HOUR.]
What they're saying, in English, is
if you're driving on Highway 80 Sunday night through Friday morning,
expect as much as an hour's delay because they're down to one
lane each way from Truckee to the Nevada border. I think CalTrans
could use the services of a liberal arts major to rewrite these
traffic notices.
~ Santa Cruz Burners featured in
Good Times cover story [posted 8.14.02] Hopefully by the time you read this, this
here link will take you to the cover story by Good Times Feature
Editor Christa Martin on local Burners prepping for the event.
I believe the story includes interviews with Scottie from the
NautilusX project,
Wes Modes of Costco,
Kara Snider of Nocturnal Sunshine and others. Something tells
me there's more to come.
~ Obtanium.net opens for business
[posted 7.28.02] Got Stuff? Need Stuff? Working on a project
and need resources? Check out Obtainium.net.
a great place to post what you need for your art, structures,
furnishings, vehicles, robotics, and rocketry, as well as your
sound, lighting and weird-ass kinetic sculpture projects. Created
by burners Felix Baum and Camron Assadi, the site is a resource
for folks to discuss what, how, and where you got your gear for
less, and all about the gear you want to give away.
Obtainium.net is a free, easy-to-use site that enables you to
connect with other members of the community. In the obtainium.net
forums, members post things that they have to give away, describe
the projects they are working on and what they need to make them
happen, offer their services to the community, and describe and
find events where things can be found.
"We think that a crappy economy shouldn't be an impediment
to the fulfillment of creative visions, and we hope that obtainium.net
is a way for the gift economy to flourish in our community and
beyond," Baum says.
~ Where the streets now have names
[posted 7.25.02] Ok landlubbers, Larry Harvey earlier today
announced the street names for 2002. These are the names for the
concentric streets (the curving ones). Radial street names (the
straight ones) are degrees. Last year's 2:30 and Pantaloon this
year would be 85 and Fantail. Here you go:
Esplanade
Bowsprint (a spar projecting forward from
the bow of a ship from which the sails are set)
Forecastle (that part of the upper deck
forward from the first sail)
Mainmast (a ship's principal mast, second
from the bow)
Midships (the middle of the ship)
Mizzen (referring to the mizzenmast, the
mast aft of the mainmast)
Wheelhouse
Fantail
Abyss
The road formerly known as Ring Road has
been renamed Great Circle.
~ Missing: one set of expensive fire
fans [posted 7.21.02] Hey all, Kara Snider of Nocturnal Sunshine
lost a pair of $300 fire fans during their fire spinning practice
at the lighthouse last weekend. If you accidently picked them up
or saw someone who might have, drop us a note at santacruz@burningman.com
and we'll pass the info along.
~ Article on the Black Rock gift
economy in S.F. Chronicle [posted 7.21.02] San Francisco Chronicle writer Jason Thompson
wrote an article discussing the gift economy at Burning Man that
appears in the Sunday issue of the Chronicle. You can read
it here.
~ Register your camp on the playa
intranet [posted 7.19.02] Nick Donaldson of LiteBrite Camp has relaunched
BurnDir,
a camp directory that will be available via PlayaNet in the desert
at Playa Info. You can input your information now, including FRS
channel, and update it on the playa if you don't happen to end
up where you thought you might. This service is invaluable, particularly
if you're trying to hook up with friends any time after Wednesday.
~ Are you in the Santa Cruz area
and doing something interesting for Burning Man this year? [posted 7.13.02] If you're working on a theme camp, art
installation, art car, some sort of performance, sewing costumes
or anything more than planning to spend your time in the desert
planted in a lawn chair with a beer, drop us a note at santacruz@burningman.com
and we'll fill you in on something coming up. Do it quick, though.
~
Listen to Larry Harvey live (ok, taped, but it's still Larry) [posted 6.29.02] Burning Man executive director Larry Harvey
speaks with "Smart
City" host Carol Coletta about the nature of community
and what it takes to put on the Burning Man event in a radio interview
aired on June 23. Heck, the Jack
Rabbit Speaks hasn't even posted this yet.
The broadcast was recorded in RealAudio.
Click
here to listen. If you want to get right to the Larry part,
fast forward to 33 minutes into the broadcast. Coletta also interviews
representatives from the Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle and the
Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C.
You say you prefer reading over listening?
Here's
a story, including quotes, on Larry's speech at the New York
regional event on April 25.
~
Gimme shelter [posted 6.15.02] Ok, so the Ozarks are a long way from
Santa Cruz, but the need for a good shelter is pretty much
universal. George from Ozark Domes sent us a
link to a section of his website where he has plans for
making fully-functional shelters for the playa that you can
make out of cardboard and some of those big paper clips you
can pick up for a couple of bucks at any office supply store.
The actual domes can be made in several sizes and all are
larger than the one pictured to the right.
~ Burning Man emphasizing gift economy,
growth of the regionals in 2002 [posted 5.11.02] The Burning Man project is emphasizing two
issues in 2002. The first is the growth and importance of regional
communities of burners (more than 60 organized groups around the
world). Santa Cruz is the first of the regionals to roll out Phase
II of the Project's Regional Web pages. The second issue is
a greater emphasis on the gift economy - in effect doing something
for someone with no expectation of something in return. A good number
of folks confuse this with barter. Watch for an article from Larry
Harvey and more information in a future Jack Rabbit Speaks. You
do subscribe
to the JRS, don't you?
~
Need a dry dock crane for your art project? [posted 6.09.02] The Mare Island Naval Shipyard is
auctioning off a ton (ok, several hundred tons) of shipbuidling
materials, including machine tools, tooling, sheet metal
fabrication, welding, pipe bending, material handling, vehicles,
trailers, shipyard lumber, shipyard scaffolding, diesel
generators, dry dock cranes, dredge and work boats.
~
Nautilus arrives in Santa Cruz [posted 6.08.02] A 60-foot-long reticulated passenger
bus that will be turned into a recreation of Jules Vernes'
Nautilus from the book "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea"
has arrived in Santa Cruz. The brainchild of local burner
Scottie (aka PT Nemo), the Nautilus will be turned into
a playa transit vehicle. He has a
website with more information. He's on the lookout for
volunteers to help with the transformation. Eighty days
and counting....
~
Draka fire update [posted 6.01.02] The drive section of Draka
the Dragon was destroyed
in a fire at the Burning Man Work Ranch in May while being
worked on by creator Lisa Nigro. Draka was the first big public
transportation vehicle that hauled participants around the
playa and was featured in an MIT
Press article on art at Burning Man. Nigro reports that
she plans to rebuild Draka and have it ready in time for BM
2002.
~
Scottie gets his bus [posted 5.16.02] Local burner Scottie (aka PT Nemo)
has secured his "Nautilus," a just-retired, 1984,
60-foot-long, reticulated San Francisco city transit bus
that he plans to turn into playa transit vehicle. He has
a
website with more information. He's now on the lookout
for a local spot to park the bus while he, an a crew of
volunteers (he's looking for volunteers, too) prep it for
the playa. Three months and counting....
~ Los Angeles firespinners strive
for legitimacy [posted 4.16.02] A lengthy Los
Angeles Times story discusses the issues faced by fire spinners
looking to perform outdoors and at venues in Southern California.
A good number of the folks interviewed are burners.
~
80 clowns march on Santa Cruz [posted 3.17.02] While not exactly achieving it's
pre-event hype, more than 80 clowns marched for clown rights
in the Million Clown March on Saturay. Local burner Rico
Thunder, who heads up the Costco Soulmate Outlet Center
on the playa, was quoted
in the Santa Cruz Sentinel as saying "As long as
one clown is oppressed, no man is free."
~
Local burner looking for help with Nautilus [posted 3.12.02] Local burner Scottie (aka PT Nemo)
is looking for help with his project "Nautilus,"
a reticulated city transit bus that he plans to turn into
playa transit vehicle a la Draka
the Dragon, which he has worked on for the past two
years. Scottie expects to have a bus within the next few
weeks and is looking for folks who can help him turn this
dream into a reality. He has a
website with more information.
~
It'll dry out by August - really [posted 3.03.02] The playa, Spanish for "beach,"
as it looks for much of the winter. And spring. And the
first part of summer. A Bay Area burner makes a trip out
to Black Rock and posts
a Web page of his pictures.
~
Video captures the "real" Burning Man experience
(a lot of sitting around waiting for the heat to subside) [posted 2.17.02] This Web-based video was done by the
Hardin City, NV folks who build, live in and burn the
big red "pyromid" on the Esplanade every year.
Very cool soundtrack courtesy of Dick Dale and William S.
Burroughs. This is a big one, on the order of 25 meg, but
worth the wait. Watch
it here.
~
NYC burners donate fire barrels to Ground Zero workers [posted 2.12.02] New York City
burners donated two customized fire barrels for police
staffing Ground Zero Checkpoint. Fire barrels are a welcome
site on the playa, and the NYC burners saw this as an opportunity
to show their support for people helping with the cleanup
effort. The next stage of this project will be a fire barrel
art show along the river near Ground Zero, with about 40 artists
participating. The theme will be "Phoenix Rising." Be sure
to check
out the video by LadyMerv. (That's her dog.)
~ Six degrees of street names [posted 2.09.02] In keeping with the nautical theme, Black
Rock City's radial streets drop their time designations ("Meet
me at 2:30 and Pantaloon") in favor of degrees ("Meet
me at 130 and Flounder.") Ok, Flounder might not be one of
the official street names, but it's always good for a laugh.
~
Afterburn report goes live [posted 2.3.02] The Afterburn
Report, a comprehensive overview of what the heck all
those volunteers do throughout the year, should be live
by the time you read this. If not, it should be live shortly.
Ok, it's live now. Whew.
~ Freezing Man set for March 1-3 [posted 2.2.02] Freezing
Man, a regional burn event held in Colorado's Rocky Mountains,
is scheduled for March 1-3. Reaching the event site involves a
half-mile hike through the snow. The Survival
Guide discusses frostbite, hypothermia and altitude sickness.
No mention of grizzlies or avalanches, though.
~ New ticket design unveiled [posted 1.30.02] The ticket design for 2002 hearkens back
to earlier days (when Burning Man was still cool), dumping the
boring TicketWeb look in favor of a playa-flavored ukiyo
motif. The front includes an image of the Man on the left and
an image of a person seated on a raft on the right. The ticket
incorporates multiple anti-counterfeiting measures that organizers
say will make them extremely difficult to duplicate. The ticket
was designed by Dave
Waldorf.
~ Theme announced – The
Floating World [posted 1.18.02] Burning Man organizers announced
the 2002 theme – The
Floating World – also known as ukiyo, a Buddhist
concept referring to the transitory, illusory quality of
secular life, through which one could discover the essence,
or spiritual reality, of existence. The theme also takes
a nautical tack, incorporating voyages, the unknown and
the like.
This description courtesy of Lee A. Makela, whose illustrated
lecture offers a historical
and cultural
overview of ukiyo:"The
cultural ukiyo style, epitomized by these elaborately costumed
courtesans, stressed the escapist entertainment value of
the public bath and teahouse, the theater and brothel and
represented a world of fugitive pleasures peopled by a 'permanent
population of actors, dancers, singers, storytellers, jesters,
courtesans, bath girls and itinerant purveyors, among whom
mingled the profligate sons of rich merchants, dissolute
samurai and naughty apprentices.
Social rank and its attendant restrictive demands did not
pertain in the floating world In fact, a fundamental condition
underlying much of this bourgeois cultural style was the
freedom from constraint marking life in the entertainment
quarters."
~ Pyro Boy on PBS NOVA documentary
tonight [posted 1.29.02] Burning Man artist Pyro
Boy (aka Wally Glenn) will be featured on the NOVA special
"The
History of Fireworks" that will air tonight on KQED at 8 p.m.
~
Burners prank MacWorld [posted 1.10.02] Members of the Bay Area Porn Klown
Posse assaulted MacWorld today, according
to this story on the Salon website. In between hassling
conference attendees and passing out buttons that said "I
came, I saw, iKlown," one pranker told a reporter, "It's tough
to be a clown in this economy."
(Photo by Glenn Campbell)
~ Pyro Boy on PBS NOVA documentary
Jan. 29 [posted 1.09.02] Burning Man artist Pyro
Boy (aka Wally Glenn) will be featured on the NOVA special
"The
History of Fireworks" that will air on January 29. We'll update
this when the channel and time are announced.
~ Playachicken.com offering scholarship
to BM 2002 [posted 1.06.02] PlayaChicken.com
is sending one poor, deserving soul to Burning Man 2002 by way of
the First Annual PlayaChicken.com Scholarship Award! All
the details are here.
~ Burning Man on "Buffy" [posted 12.23.01] The following dialog took place on a re-run
episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer that aired earlier today:
Stuffy librarian: How was you summer?
Young teacher: Stirring, I did Burning Man in Black Rock City. Uh,
such a great festival, you should have been there. They had drum
rituals, mobile sculptures, raves, naked mud dances; you would have
just...hated it with a fiery passion.
Librarian: I can't imagine finding any redeeming, uh...naked?
~
BM looking for ticket designs for 2002 [posted 12.18.01] FROM THE DESK OF ANDIE "ACTIONGRL"
KOPP:
We are pleased to announce that Burning Man will be working
with a new vendor for our ticket process this year. As a result,
we have more creative options for the ticket design. We would
like to give the opportunity to all interested Burning designers
to submit a ticket design idea. For more information, contact
Andie Kopp at 415.550.3080, ext. 108.
~ Feeling Burned:
SFGate article on BLM fees charged to Burning Man [posted 12.16.01] Burning Man organizers grow hot under
the collar over rising federal fees to use Black Rock Desert for
festival.
"The organizers of the counterculture extravaganza contend
they are being fleeced by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management...
'Burning Man can't exist without the playa,' Larry Harvey said.
'We just need to make BLM understand we can't sustain these fees.
They're crippling us.' "
Author of new Burning Man photography book at Capitola Book Café Aug. 3
~
Looking for that special gift for the Burner in your life?
~
Burning Beach film festival a great success
~
BurnDir is back and badder than ever
~
The man with one left shoe
~
Burners restore Dooby Avenue near Black Rock City entrance
"The
Making of a Center Cafe" documentary goes online
