Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Reasons for my nom-de-plume on FB & other places
My given name, as stated in previous notes, is Marcel. My mother gave me that name as a response to my father naming my older sister with 3 Roman Catholic/Latin middle names, my younger sister still got one. In a manner of speaking, that was the 1st negative connotation to having my name. Much later in life, approximately 11 yrs. ago, a healer gave me the name "Max" - she stated that the name Marcel did not suit or reflect my personality. For instance, "Marcel" for one means a reference to Mars, the god of war; or in some name dictionaries - it means "the hammer" ( I & others can relate to that definition a bit!) -Regardless, she felt Max was more "appropriate" in regards to my giving, teaching and gentle (!) personality. I started using that name liberally at Burning Man 2000 as my "playa name". It started to be fun actually, the endless wordplay & pun possibilities where intriguing; "maxx fire" "maxxtoyz™, maxx music, maxx personality, maximum electronica, etc. etc. Thus, I'm using that name on FB, it has become not only my alter-ego, but it is what I feel a more applicable name for me - the 2nd "X" ads more emphasis if not definable metrics as does the all caps format. Now to the last name: "Resonant", in part a nod to string theory, in part a nod to sound itself; since I consider myself a synthesist - not merely someone who plays synthesizers, but someone who writes/programs/creates patches/sounds on analog or additive synthesis synthesizers (that was a mouthful!) I find the concept of resonance very intriguing, there are so many sub-definitions, theories and aspects! I am also working on a resonance-related theory of my own, I've written the premise/dissertation/theory on that & have actually a test ready to prove my theory - I just need some innocent human subjects (which will not be harmed -lol-) to test my assumptions on. Thus, I now - & have for several years - been introducing myself as "MAXX" - in a way, I like the anonymity, I like & embrace the alter-ego, MAXX being the fun one, the gregarious one, the ultra-extrovert, the thrill-seeking, the somewhat hyper one vs. the brooding, quiet (yes) - plagued by mood-changes, depression, amotivational behavior & isolating behavior one. Thus, I feel - that yes, you CAN have it both ways thus allowing for all possibilities to be integrated & not seem schizoid at the same time :-)
Monday, February 7, 2011
On the Nanny State
If one does not understand the concept of satire, wit, or sacrasm for that matter - stop reading.
I see & hear the label everywhere;thus my Q is: which USDept of the Nanny State should go 1st? DofEduction:a total failure, huge drop-out & non-graduation rates,we are so far behind in science, math, reading skills it's shameful.DOHS: let's see what part of the constitution we can redact; IRS=taxation w/o representation. FDA: owned by Monsanto,recalls, recalls,recalls. DEA:now a spy agency!Useless war on drugs.DOJ: as if! CDC: fake flu panics,DOT: cant seem to B able to fix roads, bridges,etc. State Dept: loves those dictators!DOL cant find a job, Immigration: where are all these ppl coming from? DOE:loves those coal lobbyist! Dofagriculture: see monsanto again. Commerce: eh, made in China; Veteran Affairs? What PTSD? Health: so what-we're fat! So I guess,, what's left -is anarchy - (but that didnt work well in Darfur, etc.etc.) Submit UR votes now!
I see & hear the label everywhere;thus my Q is: which USDept of the Nanny State should go 1st? DofEduction:a total failure, huge drop-out & non-graduation rates,we are so far behind in science, math, reading skills it's shameful.DOHS: let's see what part of the constitution we can redact; IRS=taxation w/o representation. FDA: owned by Monsanto,recalls, recalls,recalls. DEA:now a spy agency!Useless war on drugs.DOJ: as if! CDC: fake flu panics,DOT: cant seem to B able to fix roads, bridges,etc. State Dept: loves those dictators!DOL cant find a job, Immigration: where are all these ppl coming from? DOE:loves those coal lobbyist! Dofagriculture: see monsanto again. Commerce: eh, made in China; Veteran Affairs? What PTSD? Health: so what-we're fat! So I guess,, what's left -is anarchy - (but that didnt work well in Darfur, etc.etc.) Submit UR votes now!
Monday, November 29, 2010
Burning Man 2000: My Stories
BURNING MAN 2000
GOA GABBER TRANCE DOWN TEMPO
DRUM ‘N’ BASS +LARGE SCALE SOUND ART
What can I write about my Burning Man experience? – Guess I could do a semi-play to play & highlights of my experience.
On our map we were at 10 o’clock & gut. Our “satellite camp” (for people needing sleep) was at 9:05 & Knee – a 2 ½ hr. walk. That may give you a sense of the immensity of it all. The pictures in my album have a little explanation on them – just the tip of the pyramid.
About the headline: GOA: a style of music named after a beach in India where people meditate. The music itself is layers & layers of beats formed either by various synthesized drum kits, bass synthesizers & drum synths. It’s fast (160+ BPM!) & meant to be played loud (more on that later) & induces a trance-like state after about 30 hrs. of listening. Trance music is much like GOA & induces a hypnotic trance (more later). Gabber – sped up techno or drum & bass – like 180 – 220 BPM – really. Down tempo – any music with less than 160 BPM - like my music – most drum beats at 120 BPM) Drum & Bass – obvious, but you’ll be amazed how creative it is.
I likes GOA the most & recently purchased several CD’s of that type of music – its also very exciting music, simply because of the complex sound & audio designs.
How did it fit in?
Epiphany #1: I discovered new styles of music & lots of new terms.
About the large-scale sound art: the city was shaped like a horseshoe with the sound art facing out into the Playa. Why? The sound was directed out onto the open Playa. Our camp only had a 500 Watt system in our dome. The people to the left of us (Illuminaughty) had 3000 W & so did the people to the right (Phoenix) - each a
half hr. distance away. But that was until “Tonka” came to Phoenix camp – Tonka is a 30,000 W system! It wasn’t horribly loud – its more for the bass (is 16 subwoofer bins the size of a VW enuf?) – just very bassey.
Day 1: we drive from Winnemucca, NE to a mining road. It takes about an hr. of driving with no road signs or any landmarks to get to the 1st thing on the topo map. Then a turn – another 20 mins. on a mining road (non-maintained – nice washboard, dry run-off rivulets, potholes big enuf for a major breakdown, no shoulders & a dip big enuf to swallow a truck) The dust rises as we drive, & even tho its not to warm, we use AC instead of windows down. You can taste the alkali dust – it creates an instant dry mouth condition & irritates the back of your throat – you start drinking water constantly to get rid of it. We meet a guy from BLM at an unmarked crossing & he tells us he’ll lead us to a shortcut that’ll save us 45 mins of driving. He also tells us the road conditions worsen – it was a jeep trail already . . .
He leads us to the edge of the Playa – he stops & tells us to drive as fast as we can & to avoid sand dunes. We drive 75 MPH for about 20 mins. We finally see the edge of a road & the edge of Black Rock City. After MM gets his BM ticket, we drive to the entrance & are met by a guy straight out of Mad Max (gotta see it if you haven’t)
Then we drive 5 MPH to out camp. About 4hrs. later we try to set up the tent in 30 – 40MPH gust.
After sunset & eating some, we rest & get up with Casey’s prompting around 10 or 11PM to go to a party at the Teardrop Dome. Its about 500 ft. in dia, has a 2 platform stage, a guy playing 2 synths. Its all good. We walk around afterwards; I go back to our camp about 2 or 3AM - Try to sleep –NOT – the bass is incredible, the tent zippers scream, the wind is punching against the tent. It’s like sleeping in a Doritos bag. And MM is snoring louder than the music. SO I go sit in my truck with earplugs, but it doesn’t help, I go sit, drink, smoke & eat.
Its another day – no watch – no clue about the time. I bike to the Man, see the huge art pieces – see pics in my album. They’re really large – the maze is probably 900 sq, ft., the windsock maybe 600 ft. long & 30 ft. high. The dragons: 120 ft & 60 ft. respectively. The big one is articulated, all metal – it blows 20 ft. sheets of fire & is ridden by Dragon Masters. It has a parade of fire dancers & “virgins”. -- Yeah right.
Too much to see & do, then another sandstorm comes up. They’re horrible & it also gets cold. Everyone ducks for cover. At night, the partying goes into high gear – did I mention partying is 24 hrs a day? The music gets faster, louder & its done by live DJ’s. No sleep. SO by Thursday morning I’m a little dazed & get a little chemical help (G) from the camp “nurse” (a guy in drag). I sleep like a rock through all of it for about 2 – 3 hrs. – but if feels like 10. I stay up for another 20. More freaky sights, sounds, people, art, huge neon fireflies zooming through the desert & neon fairies. We had sand storms & rainstorms that day, so didn’t get out much. It was really cold at night (around 40F).
---Lots of anejo tequila.
Losing track of time – slept on the Playa in the cold – in a sleeping bag with all my clothes on & a coonskin hat for my head. Very Nordic. Kinda like the shower I took at 6AM – about 45F out, windy & very cold water. That’ll get you going. The music never stops. IF one camp happens to stop, you hear the other ones better. Outrageous costumes, fire dancers at Phoenix, nude young women & girls dancing & visiting. You’re too lethargic to notice but you can’t help looking. Friday night I go see the sights – I had several folks form my camp – all high on Ecstasy or acid – they were showing me the sights. We didn’t end up where we were supposed to – we planned to go to the Electric Opera. – ended up at the Heart – watched it burn. It was so bright I wore 2 sets of sunglasses – they were using magnesium – the heart glowed red & pulsated. It was made out of metal.
More wandering & biking in utter darkness – saw sights that were amazing – again. Dropped into some camps – don’t remember which. More music, art & sights.
Epiphany #2: you can go without sleep for 4 days & not go insane.
It makes you very lethargic & your body is this big thing you have to drag around to get things done. Wish you could just fly around with your spirit – plenty of other people are. Also it takes really long to do anything & you lose everything. I had lighters in my pocket & in a fanny pack but it took 20 mins. to find one. It takes an hour to change out of your pants. Or to find the flashlight in your tent. Or do any simple task. Your whole body is buzzing like you’ve been drinking coffee continuously. Its strange & in a weird way, kinda cool – it’s a trance state.
Also everything is a little more surreal, you don’t need to eat & smoke as much but drinking is fine – booze that is. Sometimes a handful of vitamins & a half gallon of OJ is your meal for the next 6 hrs. even tho plenty of food is available. It takes too long to make a sandwich, much less eat it! I passed up all the hallucinogenics – too bad, but
I was worried about panic attacks. Did the Herb quite a bit, drank more tequila than I ever had & water too! Piss Clear was the mantra & I always did – often! It helped a lot – the water that is – kept you clean in a weird way.
Epiphany #3: nothing is really yours. You share everything.
By day 2.5 or so, I stopped worrying about who was using my tent, the utensils, the bike, (& the microwave oven I brought!). I always got back what someone used it & it ended up in the place I left it – even when everyone was tripping!
Back stepping somewhat – day 2 I was biking around & I see “Drowning Man” – actually I think it was called Water Boy. It was a man suspended in a very big (prob. 300 gallons!) bag – naked. The whole contraption was on wheels & he was suspended in the water with a breathing apparatus. It was very surrealistic. Somewhere around day 3,
I went to the Thunderdome. Straight out of Mad Max 2: Beyond the Thunderdome. It’s a huge geodesic dome (over 600ft+ in dia.) with loudspeakers on top & lites – loud Swedish death metal surrounds you (don’t ask) Two guys challenge each other & get hooked up in bungee harnesses that are attached to the top of the dome – they get foam battle axes or swords & duke it out. The Dome Master is in the same costume as the one in Mad Max 2 – he pounds his staff on the ground – thunder & lightning erupt from the staff (how did he do that?) – anyway, quite cool & a surreal spectacle (what wasn’t?)
Somewhere around day 4, I see two young girls wearing small fuzzy pompoms on their breast & beavers, they were dancing at Tonka & came by. We get invited to a party starting at 4:20 AM at the end of the Burn.
Burn day. Still in a daze – chili with tequila blended in for breakfast. Losing more energy, so didn’t do much but try to stay warm. Music never stops – then all of a sudden it gets deathly quiet at around 6 or 7PM. I feel this moan – the Man is calling – later I see speakers the size of a house – that musta been the source of the sound or maybe the source of the awesome 420 acre laser lightshow after the Burn.
We all converge to the central area of the Man. All 30,000 of us - --
Epiphany #4: - it’s true we can all be one –.
It was a feeling I’ve never felt before – it was emotional, thorough & all –encompassing unity. PLUR – peace, love, unity & respect – not just rhetoric. Its also a little scary – thousands of people – you don’t know anyone, because its easy to get separated from familiar faces. There’s a large circle of people about 300 yards from the Man. The fire dancers start. After much drumming, the Fire Masters start a small bonfire, receives the first set of “virgins” & ritually cleanses them in fire – that’s right – they pour fire over them. They don’t seem hurt or affected by it. The fire dancers & drummers continue the procession & various rituals – it is dark & hard to see.
The Man raises his arms. Everyone kneels so others can see. The tension is incredible – then the lasers converge on the head of the Man. It burst into an incredible fire works show & starts burning. It is quiet except for the sound of fire. The fire is huge – there were lots of hay bales – so it was really big. I don’t need to use the flash on the camera. I realize it’s raining.
As the Man collapses, more fireworks, more dancers, more burning. You see fires everywhere in the camps.
All the art goes up in flames – that includes the metal sculptures. On the way out to the Man I saw men starting a statue of a women made of glass & metal on fire with acetylene torches – it took 4 hrs. to burn.
After the Burn people disperse, however there is an amazing laser show happening.
I’ve lost all sense of direction & it takes me an hr. or more to find any sort of landmark. I head back. Its all very quiet – some camps have music now – again. People converge at our camp about 2 or 3AM for multimedia projections on our stage. I musta missed it.
I try to sleep.
Next day was pack up -- time to leave– getting my first real shower & 7 hrs. of sleep in a real bed at a motel later. Its seems surreal. I smell like the Playa mud for 2 days. I still miss it. After all that excitement, everything else seems blasé.
Haiku:
the tent zipper scream
the sadistic wind teases
MAXX goes sleepless/
with bass in his bones
What I learned: sharing means truly that on the Playa.
30,000 people can get together, party like mad & still there is
no violence or serious problems
if I went back now to that Playa there would be no trace of
what happened there
Things I would do different:
bring more warm clothes
Stay in a satellite camp (even tho I may still not get as much sleep)
Won’t ride with MM ever again (he was extremely selfish & difficult on the ride – no need to go into detail – I’ll never do that again.)
bring art or an art piece
wear a watch to keep track of events
try Ecstasy – at least a little
go to more places in Black Rock City – weather, motivation, lack of energy got in the way all the time. (good reasons for Xstacy)
I AM going next year - & as often as possible after that.
During a 106 hr. day -- after a while – the music becomes part of you, you don’t notice it – you are the beat – this is truly a trance…
About our camp on 2000: it was called “Magic Fingers”, we had a geodesic dome, inside it were “magic finger” beds – the old massage beds that where in motels you plunked a quarter in & the bed would vibrate – we had 3 of them. Computer graphics were projected on the ceiling of the dome when possible & of course we had music, sometimes with live DJ’s. On the edge we had “hand chairs” – shaped like a hand, you could sit in the palm. We also had a hand made out of rebar on top of a fire barrel –
the fire sometimes came out & around of the fingers. We had several large flat bed trucks, one filed with 50 gallon water barrels, another truck full of food & booze, another with other equipment. There were about 15 of us or so. We all pretty much worked together when we had the energy... so that’s it, except it was a long ride back.
- About MM– on the drive in he insisted that he’d smoke pot -- a lot – I wouldn’t allow him to smoke in the truck so we stopped about every 4 hrs so he could smoke. He wanted to do that in our hotel room in Utah, but I wouldn’t let him, so he smoked in his own room – I really didn’t want to get busted in Utah for pot…..
GOA GABBER TRANCE DOWN TEMPO
DRUM ‘N’ BASS +LARGE SCALE SOUND ART
What can I write about my Burning Man experience? – Guess I could do a semi-play to play & highlights of my experience.
On our map we were at 10 o’clock & gut. Our “satellite camp” (for people needing sleep) was at 9:05 & Knee – a 2 ½ hr. walk. That may give you a sense of the immensity of it all. The pictures in my album have a little explanation on them – just the tip of the pyramid.
About the headline: GOA: a style of music named after a beach in India where people meditate. The music itself is layers & layers of beats formed either by various synthesized drum kits, bass synthesizers & drum synths. It’s fast (160+ BPM!) & meant to be played loud (more on that later) & induces a trance-like state after about 30 hrs. of listening. Trance music is much like GOA & induces a hypnotic trance (more later). Gabber – sped up techno or drum & bass – like 180 – 220 BPM – really. Down tempo – any music with less than 160 BPM - like my music – most drum beats at 120 BPM) Drum & Bass – obvious, but you’ll be amazed how creative it is.
I likes GOA the most & recently purchased several CD’s of that type of music – its also very exciting music, simply because of the complex sound & audio designs.
How did it fit in?
Epiphany #1: I discovered new styles of music & lots of new terms.
About the large-scale sound art: the city was shaped like a horseshoe with the sound art facing out into the Playa. Why? The sound was directed out onto the open Playa. Our camp only had a 500 Watt system in our dome. The people to the left of us (Illuminaughty) had 3000 W & so did the people to the right (Phoenix) - each a
half hr. distance away. But that was until “Tonka” came to Phoenix camp – Tonka is a 30,000 W system! It wasn’t horribly loud – its more for the bass (is 16 subwoofer bins the size of a VW enuf?) – just very bassey.
Day 1: we drive from Winnemucca, NE to a mining road. It takes about an hr. of driving with no road signs or any landmarks to get to the 1st thing on the topo map. Then a turn – another 20 mins. on a mining road (non-maintained – nice washboard, dry run-off rivulets, potholes big enuf for a major breakdown, no shoulders & a dip big enuf to swallow a truck) The dust rises as we drive, & even tho its not to warm, we use AC instead of windows down. You can taste the alkali dust – it creates an instant dry mouth condition & irritates the back of your throat – you start drinking water constantly to get rid of it. We meet a guy from BLM at an unmarked crossing & he tells us he’ll lead us to a shortcut that’ll save us 45 mins of driving. He also tells us the road conditions worsen – it was a jeep trail already . . .
He leads us to the edge of the Playa – he stops & tells us to drive as fast as we can & to avoid sand dunes. We drive 75 MPH for about 20 mins. We finally see the edge of a road & the edge of Black Rock City. After MM gets his BM ticket, we drive to the entrance & are met by a guy straight out of Mad Max (gotta see it if you haven’t)
Then we drive 5 MPH to out camp. About 4hrs. later we try to set up the tent in 30 – 40MPH gust.
After sunset & eating some, we rest & get up with Casey’s prompting around 10 or 11PM to go to a party at the Teardrop Dome. Its about 500 ft. in dia, has a 2 platform stage, a guy playing 2 synths. Its all good. We walk around afterwards; I go back to our camp about 2 or 3AM - Try to sleep –NOT – the bass is incredible, the tent zippers scream, the wind is punching against the tent. It’s like sleeping in a Doritos bag. And MM is snoring louder than the music. SO I go sit in my truck with earplugs, but it doesn’t help, I go sit, drink, smoke & eat.
Its another day – no watch – no clue about the time. I bike to the Man, see the huge art pieces – see pics in my album. They’re really large – the maze is probably 900 sq, ft., the windsock maybe 600 ft. long & 30 ft. high. The dragons: 120 ft & 60 ft. respectively. The big one is articulated, all metal – it blows 20 ft. sheets of fire & is ridden by Dragon Masters. It has a parade of fire dancers & “virgins”. -- Yeah right.
Too much to see & do, then another sandstorm comes up. They’re horrible & it also gets cold. Everyone ducks for cover. At night, the partying goes into high gear – did I mention partying is 24 hrs a day? The music gets faster, louder & its done by live DJ’s. No sleep. SO by Thursday morning I’m a little dazed & get a little chemical help (G) from the camp “nurse” (a guy in drag). I sleep like a rock through all of it for about 2 – 3 hrs. – but if feels like 10. I stay up for another 20. More freaky sights, sounds, people, art, huge neon fireflies zooming through the desert & neon fairies. We had sand storms & rainstorms that day, so didn’t get out much. It was really cold at night (around 40F).
---Lots of anejo tequila.
Losing track of time – slept on the Playa in the cold – in a sleeping bag with all my clothes on & a coonskin hat for my head. Very Nordic. Kinda like the shower I took at 6AM – about 45F out, windy & very cold water. That’ll get you going. The music never stops. IF one camp happens to stop, you hear the other ones better. Outrageous costumes, fire dancers at Phoenix, nude young women & girls dancing & visiting. You’re too lethargic to notice but you can’t help looking. Friday night I go see the sights – I had several folks form my camp – all high on Ecstasy or acid – they were showing me the sights. We didn’t end up where we were supposed to – we planned to go to the Electric Opera. – ended up at the Heart – watched it burn. It was so bright I wore 2 sets of sunglasses – they were using magnesium – the heart glowed red & pulsated. It was made out of metal.
More wandering & biking in utter darkness – saw sights that were amazing – again. Dropped into some camps – don’t remember which. More music, art & sights.
Epiphany #2: you can go without sleep for 4 days & not go insane.
It makes you very lethargic & your body is this big thing you have to drag around to get things done. Wish you could just fly around with your spirit – plenty of other people are. Also it takes really long to do anything & you lose everything. I had lighters in my pocket & in a fanny pack but it took 20 mins. to find one. It takes an hour to change out of your pants. Or to find the flashlight in your tent. Or do any simple task. Your whole body is buzzing like you’ve been drinking coffee continuously. Its strange & in a weird way, kinda cool – it’s a trance state.
Also everything is a little more surreal, you don’t need to eat & smoke as much but drinking is fine – booze that is. Sometimes a handful of vitamins & a half gallon of OJ is your meal for the next 6 hrs. even tho plenty of food is available. It takes too long to make a sandwich, much less eat it! I passed up all the hallucinogenics – too bad, but
I was worried about panic attacks. Did the Herb quite a bit, drank more tequila than I ever had & water too! Piss Clear was the mantra & I always did – often! It helped a lot – the water that is – kept you clean in a weird way.
Epiphany #3: nothing is really yours. You share everything.
By day 2.5 or so, I stopped worrying about who was using my tent, the utensils, the bike, (& the microwave oven I brought!). I always got back what someone used it & it ended up in the place I left it – even when everyone was tripping!
Back stepping somewhat – day 2 I was biking around & I see “Drowning Man” – actually I think it was called Water Boy. It was a man suspended in a very big (prob. 300 gallons!) bag – naked. The whole contraption was on wheels & he was suspended in the water with a breathing apparatus. It was very surrealistic. Somewhere around day 3,
I went to the Thunderdome. Straight out of Mad Max 2: Beyond the Thunderdome. It’s a huge geodesic dome (over 600ft+ in dia.) with loudspeakers on top & lites – loud Swedish death metal surrounds you (don’t ask) Two guys challenge each other & get hooked up in bungee harnesses that are attached to the top of the dome – they get foam battle axes or swords & duke it out. The Dome Master is in the same costume as the one in Mad Max 2 – he pounds his staff on the ground – thunder & lightning erupt from the staff (how did he do that?) – anyway, quite cool & a surreal spectacle (what wasn’t?)
Somewhere around day 4, I see two young girls wearing small fuzzy pompoms on their breast & beavers, they were dancing at Tonka & came by. We get invited to a party starting at 4:20 AM at the end of the Burn.
Burn day. Still in a daze – chili with tequila blended in for breakfast. Losing more energy, so didn’t do much but try to stay warm. Music never stops – then all of a sudden it gets deathly quiet at around 6 or 7PM. I feel this moan – the Man is calling – later I see speakers the size of a house – that musta been the source of the sound or maybe the source of the awesome 420 acre laser lightshow after the Burn.
We all converge to the central area of the Man. All 30,000 of us - --
Epiphany #4: - it’s true we can all be one –.
It was a feeling I’ve never felt before – it was emotional, thorough & all –encompassing unity. PLUR – peace, love, unity & respect – not just rhetoric. Its also a little scary – thousands of people – you don’t know anyone, because its easy to get separated from familiar faces. There’s a large circle of people about 300 yards from the Man. The fire dancers start. After much drumming, the Fire Masters start a small bonfire, receives the first set of “virgins” & ritually cleanses them in fire – that’s right – they pour fire over them. They don’t seem hurt or affected by it. The fire dancers & drummers continue the procession & various rituals – it is dark & hard to see.
The Man raises his arms. Everyone kneels so others can see. The tension is incredible – then the lasers converge on the head of the Man. It burst into an incredible fire works show & starts burning. It is quiet except for the sound of fire. The fire is huge – there were lots of hay bales – so it was really big. I don’t need to use the flash on the camera. I realize it’s raining.
As the Man collapses, more fireworks, more dancers, more burning. You see fires everywhere in the camps.
All the art goes up in flames – that includes the metal sculptures. On the way out to the Man I saw men starting a statue of a women made of glass & metal on fire with acetylene torches – it took 4 hrs. to burn.
After the Burn people disperse, however there is an amazing laser show happening.
I’ve lost all sense of direction & it takes me an hr. or more to find any sort of landmark. I head back. Its all very quiet – some camps have music now – again. People converge at our camp about 2 or 3AM for multimedia projections on our stage. I musta missed it.
I try to sleep.
Next day was pack up -- time to leave– getting my first real shower & 7 hrs. of sleep in a real bed at a motel later. Its seems surreal. I smell like the Playa mud for 2 days. I still miss it. After all that excitement, everything else seems blasé.
Haiku:
the tent zipper scream
the sadistic wind teases
MAXX goes sleepless/
with bass in his bones
What I learned: sharing means truly that on the Playa.
30,000 people can get together, party like mad & still there is
no violence or serious problems
if I went back now to that Playa there would be no trace of
what happened there
Things I would do different:
bring more warm clothes
Stay in a satellite camp (even tho I may still not get as much sleep)
Won’t ride with MM ever again (he was extremely selfish & difficult on the ride – no need to go into detail – I’ll never do that again.)
bring art or an art piece
wear a watch to keep track of events
try Ecstasy – at least a little
go to more places in Black Rock City – weather, motivation, lack of energy got in the way all the time. (good reasons for Xstacy)
I AM going next year - & as often as possible after that.
During a 106 hr. day -- after a while – the music becomes part of you, you don’t notice it – you are the beat – this is truly a trance…
About our camp on 2000: it was called “Magic Fingers”, we had a geodesic dome, inside it were “magic finger” beds – the old massage beds that where in motels you plunked a quarter in & the bed would vibrate – we had 3 of them. Computer graphics were projected on the ceiling of the dome when possible & of course we had music, sometimes with live DJ’s. On the edge we had “hand chairs” – shaped like a hand, you could sit in the palm. We also had a hand made out of rebar on top of a fire barrel –
the fire sometimes came out & around of the fingers. We had several large flat bed trucks, one filed with 50 gallon water barrels, another truck full of food & booze, another with other equipment. There were about 15 of us or so. We all pretty much worked together when we had the energy... so that’s it, except it was a long ride back.
- About MM– on the drive in he insisted that he’d smoke pot -- a lot – I wouldn’t allow him to smoke in the truck so we stopped about every 4 hrs so he could smoke. He wanted to do that in our hotel room in Utah, but I wouldn’t let him, so he smoked in his own room – I really didn’t want to get busted in Utah for pot…..
BurningMan: 2 BIG!
BM '07 - 47K peeps & next yr 20% more they want to add more streets! How ridiculous - we waited in line to get in & out for 3 hrs - not including the terrible traffic jam on the highway. Yup, all those vehicles just sitting there & idling, pretty much negated the "green" theme in '07. As usual, I saw many RV's & RV type buses (mebbe they were just huge RV's) sitting there idling every nite, if not during the day - how "green". I sent a msg 2 the complaint dept. at BM, stating: it's time to limit ticket sales to a max of 35K (preferably less), make more lanes to the entry gate & have traffic management such as letting 25 vehicles or so in at a time to lessen wait time, also have volunteers go up the line & ask peeps to shut off their engines. Another idea was to find out how many peeps would have RV's ( they ask that in the polls) - but instead of doing a poll after the fact have that idea of limiting RV's in a type of lottery & having that part of which transport vehicle U use in the ticket buying phase. I suggested these ideas but got NO reply....
Another rant: do the tickets really need to be $250?? BM can have more fundraisers, apply for more grants or just for once, post a loss. Perhaps it's time for BM to end in the Playa.... make more of an effort to support local burns everywhere & have a foundation for those local burns. Well, the 2nd day on BM 07, my wife broke her leg - actually the end of the tibia by her ankle - I took apart a cardboard sign, wrapped it around the ankle, use duct tape (invention of the century!) & velcro to wrap it & it worked! The medics thought it was a great job & other than ice felt it would work! The art as usual, was fantastic but it seems like every yr it's become a competition to make it bigger & more intense - especially David Best's temples..... think about the carbon footprint of all those gigantic stuctures like the Big Rig Jig.... obviously I'm not going to BM this yr & if it keeps getting bigger I'll probably stick to the local burns in CO. Leave a comment if U want on this blog (it's my 1st one!) - 4 all those people who bitch about the law enforcement & tickets given: it says right in "rules" that local, state & federal laws will B enforced, so if U get a ticket for, lets say, pot possesion - it's the local law being enforced - damn I got a ticket for $250 for pot the 3rd yr - it was my own fault, not the law! Update: BM is moving!
burn me, MAXX
Another rant: do the tickets really need to be $250?? BM can have more fundraisers, apply for more grants or just for once, post a loss. Perhaps it's time for BM to end in the Playa.... make more of an effort to support local burns everywhere & have a foundation for those local burns. Well, the 2nd day on BM 07, my wife broke her leg - actually the end of the tibia by her ankle - I took apart a cardboard sign, wrapped it around the ankle, use duct tape (invention of the century!) & velcro to wrap it & it worked! The medics thought it was a great job & other than ice felt it would work! The art as usual, was fantastic but it seems like every yr it's become a competition to make it bigger & more intense - especially David Best's temples..... think about the carbon footprint of all those gigantic stuctures like the Big Rig Jig.... obviously I'm not going to BM this yr & if it keeps getting bigger I'll probably stick to the local burns in CO. Leave a comment if U want on this blog (it's my 1st one!) - 4 all those people who bitch about the law enforcement & tickets given: it says right in "rules" that local, state & federal laws will B enforced, so if U get a ticket for, lets say, pot possesion - it's the local law being enforced - damn I got a ticket for $250 for pot the 3rd yr - it was my own fault, not the law! Update: BM is moving!
burn me, MAXX
We Are Our Own Higher Power
We are our own Higher Power
Today we see a new horizon, today we hear a promise, today will be in every history book for centuries to come,
--- today we celebrate.
To travel the new and sometimes difficult road we are the ones responsible for affecting change, hope and solutions. Every time we reach out our hand to those less fortunate than us, every time we lift up the downtrodden, every time we feel compassion towards those who are "different" than us, every time we spend hours volunteering and giving to others without regard to ourselves, we create a ripple in the pond of the Universe which in turn affects everything knowable and unknowable. It is up to us, not our leaders, to do these things, it is up to us that when we present our credit card at a store counter or in cyberspace, to say to ourselves: "Do I really need this, do I have to have this"; to ask ourselves "can I wait - or do without it." We must know instinctively that when we buy that house that is many times more than we can afford, or buy that car or anything else that is beyond our means, we must say - no - And it is up to us to change the way we fuel our industries, the way we package our products, the ways we travel, the ways we power our homes, the ways in what we do with our trash, the ways in which we consume - and to honor our planet.
It is up to us to realize that when any one of us thinks or says, "I don't like that human being because that person is different from me in color, social status, race, creed, sexual orientation, faith, political orientation, language, ideology, music style, etc." - - that when we do this, we are spreading and watering the seeds of discontent, and the distrust and divisiveness that for too long has held us back from reaching our ultimate potential as the human race. The concepts of compassion and love has been handed to us by whoever we believe to be our creator and we must not forget that force is there. Even though we may think our lives are too complex - there is always a moment and time to bring it to the forefront of our minds. We may not forge peace in the world, but through our unselfish actions, our belief that it IS possible, our tireless work to achieve it, the sweat on our brows and the blood we have shed, we have seen what IS possible, we have seen that we have made a difference, all the while thinking that the promise of our dreams may not materialize - but they have -- it is obvious. All you have to do is ask, believe, use your hands, use your mind, use our innovations and technology and you will see those dreams turn into concrete reality.
It is the simplest actions of the individual that affects the change we have seen today - all it takes is the ideal, the idea, the willingness and wherewithal, the drive and knowledge that each and every one of us has within us. There is an Hawaiian proverb that states, "No one is hurt by doing the right thing", a Bedouin Proverb that says that "Truth may walk through the world unarmed" and many more. That knowledge has always been with us, the knowledge has been there before us and will remain long after we're gone, it is part of our genetic and racial memory and we cannot ignore it or escape it. So get up and make that choice, action and affect that change - simply because it is your right, it is your duty; the current and forthcoming generations will thank you for it. Every day is not only a new day, it is your day, and it's your turn too. We celebrate in our abilities as human beings to do the possible and impossible and we can do the hard things, the difficult things - we have proven it, it is undeniable. ;-)
Today we see a new horizon, today we hear a promise, today will be in every history book for centuries to come,
--- today we celebrate.
To travel the new and sometimes difficult road we are the ones responsible for affecting change, hope and solutions. Every time we reach out our hand to those less fortunate than us, every time we lift up the downtrodden, every time we feel compassion towards those who are "different" than us, every time we spend hours volunteering and giving to others without regard to ourselves, we create a ripple in the pond of the Universe which in turn affects everything knowable and unknowable. It is up to us, not our leaders, to do these things, it is up to us that when we present our credit card at a store counter or in cyberspace, to say to ourselves: "Do I really need this, do I have to have this"; to ask ourselves "can I wait - or do without it." We must know instinctively that when we buy that house that is many times more than we can afford, or buy that car or anything else that is beyond our means, we must say - no - And it is up to us to change the way we fuel our industries, the way we package our products, the ways we travel, the ways we power our homes, the ways in what we do with our trash, the ways in which we consume - and to honor our planet.
It is up to us to realize that when any one of us thinks or says, "I don't like that human being because that person is different from me in color, social status, race, creed, sexual orientation, faith, political orientation, language, ideology, music style, etc." - - that when we do this, we are spreading and watering the seeds of discontent, and the distrust and divisiveness that for too long has held us back from reaching our ultimate potential as the human race. The concepts of compassion and love has been handed to us by whoever we believe to be our creator and we must not forget that force is there. Even though we may think our lives are too complex - there is always a moment and time to bring it to the forefront of our minds. We may not forge peace in the world, but through our unselfish actions, our belief that it IS possible, our tireless work to achieve it, the sweat on our brows and the blood we have shed, we have seen what IS possible, we have seen that we have made a difference, all the while thinking that the promise of our dreams may not materialize - but they have -- it is obvious. All you have to do is ask, believe, use your hands, use your mind, use our innovations and technology and you will see those dreams turn into concrete reality.
It is the simplest actions of the individual that affects the change we have seen today - all it takes is the ideal, the idea, the willingness and wherewithal, the drive and knowledge that each and every one of us has within us. There is an Hawaiian proverb that states, "No one is hurt by doing the right thing", a Bedouin Proverb that says that "Truth may walk through the world unarmed" and many more. That knowledge has always been with us, the knowledge has been there before us and will remain long after we're gone, it is part of our genetic and racial memory and we cannot ignore it or escape it. So get up and make that choice, action and affect that change - simply because it is your right, it is your duty; the current and forthcoming generations will thank you for it. Every day is not only a new day, it is your day, and it's your turn too. We celebrate in our abilities as human beings to do the possible and impossible and we can do the hard things, the difficult things - we have proven it, it is undeniable. ;-)
The 2-Party system & Free-Market Captalism Wont Work
I don't believe that (1) the two party system is working anymore (2) that US style free- market capitalism doesn't work anymore either.
(1) Its obvious with no Repubs voting for the "stimulus bill" & the divisions btwn the Repub & Democ parties are causing probs. in Congress & elsewhere throughout our system. I think its overdue that we need several political parties that are viable. By viable I mean a party with influence, the "Green Party" hasn't done it & almost doesn't count, Ralp Nader basically ruined it 'cause people blamed him for Al Gore loosing the election, so no one gives them credit. The Libertarian Party also has no influence, nor do the rest of the parties simply 'cause they don't get votes. I think that the Democratic party could split into smaller parties - there are plenty of Democrats that don't agree with Obama's policies, there's Democrats to the left, in the middle, to the right - so why can't they split into those groups and each of them have their own political party? The same goes for the Republicans, left, right, middle, centrist, right-wing, etc - they could split into parties too. Then we need a few more - there are plenty of countries/nations that have many parties & things work just fine. I wouldn't know how the two parties would go about it, but I'm sure they'll figure out a way - but what's stopping them? Geez, Rush Limbaugh, Shaun Hannity & Bill O'Reilly & Keith Olberman, etc, could form their own parties! Some may thing the Tea Partiers R somewhat "crazy" & too far to the right; however: it is at least another choice, whether we like that choice or not. Many European (&other) countries have MANY political parties & yet, they're governing works just fine -regardless of a socialist catholic party or a labor party - its still works!
(2) Free-market capitalism doesn't work either: it's obvious with bank failures, greedy venture capitalistic co's like AIG, etc - whose practices has negatively affected the entire world's economy. Just like pure Socialism & Communism didn't work & fell apart, pure free-market capitalism is falling apart & doesn't work. What would be a replacement? I don't really know, perhaps a more regulated form of free-market capitalism, stricter practices that will stop the inherent greediness... & now corporations can contribute enormous amounts of $$ 2 campaigns & candidates - this proves my point! any thought or suggestions welcome.
(1) Its obvious with no Repubs voting for the "stimulus bill" & the divisions btwn the Repub & Democ parties are causing probs. in Congress & elsewhere throughout our system. I think its overdue that we need several political parties that are viable. By viable I mean a party with influence, the "Green Party" hasn't done it & almost doesn't count, Ralp Nader basically ruined it 'cause people blamed him for Al Gore loosing the election, so no one gives them credit. The Libertarian Party also has no influence, nor do the rest of the parties simply 'cause they don't get votes. I think that the Democratic party could split into smaller parties - there are plenty of Democrats that don't agree with Obama's policies, there's Democrats to the left, in the middle, to the right - so why can't they split into those groups and each of them have their own political party? The same goes for the Republicans, left, right, middle, centrist, right-wing, etc - they could split into parties too. Then we need a few more - there are plenty of countries/nations that have many parties & things work just fine. I wouldn't know how the two parties would go about it, but I'm sure they'll figure out a way - but what's stopping them? Geez, Rush Limbaugh, Shaun Hannity & Bill O'Reilly & Keith Olberman, etc, could form their own parties! Some may thing the Tea Partiers R somewhat "crazy" & too far to the right; however: it is at least another choice, whether we like that choice or not. Many European (&other) countries have MANY political parties & yet, they're governing works just fine -regardless of a socialist catholic party or a labor party - its still works!
(2) Free-market capitalism doesn't work either: it's obvious with bank failures, greedy venture capitalistic co's like AIG, etc - whose practices has negatively affected the entire world's economy. Just like pure Socialism & Communism didn't work & fell apart, pure free-market capitalism is falling apart & doesn't work. What would be a replacement? I don't really know, perhaps a more regulated form of free-market capitalism, stricter practices that will stop the inherent greediness... & now corporations can contribute enormous amounts of $$ 2 campaigns & candidates - this proves my point! any thought or suggestions welcome.
On Terrorist & Terrorism
The "War on Terrorism" - lol - it must B obvious 2 every1 that we cannot win that war - Y you may ask? Because we/our troops/our gov't aren't heartless bastards with no empathy or remorse - but those suicide bombers,etc. are. These "terrorist" - suicide bombers. christmas day bombers,lighting ceremony bombers,etc. have no fear of dying, we know that. To effectively fight this, we need just such heartless bastards. I say we do the "Dirty Dozen": thing. Recruit hateful, remorseless,nothing-to-lose, death row inmates -or - gang members (gr8 @ urban warfare),other bombers,serial killers -now that would B an effective fighting force. Get a full battalion of them & let them loose in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan,or wherever we need to - Only thing is commanding them, but like the movie, it would be in instant execution of the full sentence - sometimes literally. Regardless of this outrageously opinion of mine - it just may work. Pentagon - RU listening? Beats paying off the Taliban, muhadjadeen,etc - who knows?
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