Jun 2009
Burning Man iPhone app
Jun/30/09 | permalink
I found a very cool new iPhone app featuring sumptuous photos from the playa, plus a how-to playa photography guide, links collection and other swag, made by Seattle's own Matt Freedman and available at www.monkfishlabs.com. It'll costya $3.99, but then you'll have the playa in your pocket for any time you need a quick escape!
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Are you ready to Evolve?
Jun/23/09 | permalink
Thoughts on the forthcoming Burn from www.examiner.com:
"For this year's theme, Burners are asked to contemplate three questions: What are we as human beings? Where have we come from? And how may we adapt to meet an ever-changing world? There is perhaps no better moment in time to ask these. We stand at a unique epoch, amidst a world in turmoil that is transforming literally before our eyes. How will humans evolve to meet the challenges of a world besieged by war, overpopulation, economic depression, climate change, and over-consumption, yet one that has never been more consciously aware and interconnected? A world daunted by convergent crises, yet equipped with tools and ideas unimaginable to generations past? Will we find a collective pathway out of the morass, or will we end up our own worst enemies and seal our own fate?
For Burners and the vast culture they have spawned, the key to surfing the apocalypse (from the greek meaning "lifting of the veil" or "revelation") is creativity and community, and the endless ways that each are continuously reinvented...."
More here.
Adam Lambert : Bringing the Burn to
mainstream America
Jun/17/09 | back in the
default world |
permalink
On Jun 10, 2009, at 9:38 AM, moontroll wrote:
Subject: "I realized that we all have our own power, and that whatever I wanted to do, I had to make happen."
I don't know this guy, never even seen "American Idol" once, but can appreciate his awakening at the Burn: NY Daily News.
* * * * * * * * *
On Jun 10, 2009, at 10:09 AM, Edub wrote:
Subject: Re: "I realized that we all have our own power, and that whatever I wanted to do, I had to make happen."
"Drug fueled" Yeah, that's there, but we all know there is more to the Burn than that! Through portal we come face to face with the Pure Power of Potential. How we choose to harness it - on the playa and in the default world, is up to us. In the immortal words of Master Yoda, "Choose, but choose wisely."
Onward toward the Burn. May the Force (i.e. the Pure Power of Potential) be with us.
~ Master Doobsauce
* * * * * * * * *
On Jun 10, 2009, at 12:08 PM, moontroll wrote:
Subject: Re: "I realized that we all have our own power, and that whatever I wanted to do, I had to make happen."
Well said, Master Doobsauce (Wonder where Princess Ramona and Hekter Binks are these daze?). We are in no position to argue against the "drug fueled" label -- it is a clinical description of how we get through the week. But still, I think Big Media has to label it as such to try and take away the power of the gathering -- call it names and it is less threatening to the status quo. Belittle it as a "freak fest" and raise the fears that most desk-jobbers have about what might happen if they too stepped outside the boundaries of the Default World. Fine. But I note that it was the media that called it that, and not the kid who had a spiritual awakening on the playa.
(I'm getting really fired up kids - - the past couple of days I've just been getting sparkier and sparkier. I want to be working on a project. Maybe it is because I've been listening/watching to Burncast pod and vidcasts frequently, or maybe because I got the fun box out of my storage unit and have been sifting through its dusty treasures, making note of what I need to add to it....)
One Love,
Playaduster
ps. Read the "American Idol" kid's quote in the subject line again; isn't that another way of describing our ideas about the Pure Power of Potential??? Slightly different angle, I suppose, but in the same shooting range!
* * * * * * * * *
From: Edub
Date: June 10, 2009 12:12:57 PM PDT
Subject: Re: "I realized that we all have our own power, and that whatever I wanted to do, I had to make happen."
Yes. He is alluding to the Pure Power of Potential. That was the connection that I was trying to make.
(I'm getting fired up too. I'm actually online right now "shopping" for clothes (or ideas for my style this year). I'm finding lots of cool, tribal stuff - that is also pretty expensive. We'll see.)
Soon!
~ Dub
*** *** *** *** ***
*** ***
More on Adam Lambert's playa
transformation at www.idolator.com and an examination of androgynous
fashion and superstardom (with a bonus pic of Prince) at
www.nytimes.com (whut?).
I have no idea if Adam is a good singer/performer or not, but just
being a Burner makes me warm to him -- bringing the freaky-styley
philosophy of phreedom of frickin' Black Rock City in to something
as mainstream as "American Idol" is both bad-ass and
hilarious.
American Idol Adam
Lambert on the far left, rocking the net socks, platform boots,
juju beads and feathered undies. Looks pretty normal by Black Rock
City standards, eh?
Hekter's Field Report
Jun/15/09 | getting
ready | permalink
| Of the two DMV's I have been in contact
with this last week, BM's DMV Hotties win my award for "Fuck
Yeah!". California's DMV.... not so much! I will always
choose a name "Purple Koosh" over "Bonnie" and
BM's questionnaire is much more dynamic
and flirtatious. So.... the "Glacial Facial" has the green light to be built! This will be a completely solar powered electric iceberg.... really - no generator. And yes there will be loud music, led lighting, miscellaneous mojito materials and a giant trailer. Wolfie & I (my solar bear partner) will be putting in some late night hours in the upcoming month in order to get the rig ready for Reggae Rising in late July. The electric 4-wheeler has been bought by Reggae's land owner and fortunately, he is into our mission. We build this for him and in return we take it to the burn for the betterment of all. |
| Nightime Polar bear suit is in the
mail... daytime version will be handcrafted out of scraps. Just a
fuzzy banana hammock really... maybe some matching smittens?
Single White Polar Bear Male seeks HWP penguins & arctic foxes! Looking for a place to chill. Maybe I'll get online dating going with this shit? Portable assault unit, silent but friendly, misting machines, commercial spray gun... I'm getting all wet just thinking about it. Hope UR2 ;) |
| ~ Hekter McElliott |
Distracted by Details
Jun/09/09 | getting
ready | permalink
The fuse it lit and the fires grow
brighter as we drop into a double digit count-down to the Burn.
Fundi still has a job after his alter-ego stepped beyond the bounds
of (default world) convention and pushed a simple office party into
the realm of free expression. While I have not yet cracked the
shell of default world acumen I can feel the cracks forming as my
Inner Self undermines the foundation of convention and begins to
build a spiritual pyre for the Burn to come. Mentally and
spiritually, I'm ready to light it up, but I find myself distracted
by the details of getting ready for the playa.
While we have discussed many plans and possibilities, we have not locked anything down yet. RV?; dBM Dome? Sound system? Camp location & crew? Front row on Esplanade, or back street Black Rock City? There is much to be finalized, but that hasn't slowed down the creative muse as we prepare for the Evolution.
While we have discussed many plans and possibilities, we have not locked anything down yet. RV?; dBM Dome? Sound system? Camp location & crew? Front row on Esplanade, or back street Black Rock City? There is much to be finalized, but that hasn't slowed down the creative muse as we prepare for the Evolution.
I am putting the finishing touches on a new mix for Destination Burning Man podcasts. Stay tuned for Darwin's Furrowed Brow - a take of from DJ Playaduster's mix Darwin's Weird Beard. We throwing out some of the music that we'll be sharing on the playa this year. I also just picked up a new dj controller and a loop pedal to expand the possibilities for live sets on the playa and beyond. I'm also mining for new tracks to add to the digital library and new styles to rock on the playa.
The pieces are coming together slowly, but with 90 days until the Burn, the details need to get locked down. How you doin'? Have you got your shit together yet? Have you cracked open your fun box to inventory the contents? If not, it's time to dust off your fuzzy chaps, comb out your wigs and tune up your playa bike because all roads lead to the portal opening. There is still time and like us, I'm sure you'll need every minute to get it together. But remember, in BRC give it if you've got it to give and know that you'll receive all that you need to live.
Toward the Burn,
~ Edubious
The Fuse is Lit
Jun/05/09 | getting
ready | permalink
With less than 100 days until the Burn
-- 92 days, 1 hour and 43 minutes to be exact -- I wonder to myself
how I am preparing myself for that explosion of madness, creativity
and life-loving fun that awaits me.
Last weekend, one of my alter-egos was called upon to DJ a party up in the mountains, following up a concert that was the world-wide debut of a husband-wife musical duo known as The Raven and the Hawk (and they each performed solo too, as Violet Modestly and Alexander Beetroot). Since I was pretty tired from the work week, I couldn't make it, but my alter-ego showed up in fine form, even though DJ he had to borrow a wig.
More after the jump!
Last weekend, one of my alter-egos was called upon to DJ a party up in the mountains, following up a concert that was the world-wide debut of a husband-wife musical duo known as The Raven and the Hawk (and they each performed solo too, as Violet Modestly and Alexander Beetroot). Since I was pretty tired from the work week, I couldn't make it, but my alter-ego showed up in fine form, even though DJ he had to borrow a wig.
More after the jump!
The scene was a staff party of sorts,
definitely after hours, in an outdoor learning shelter in the North
Cascades that is usually full of rambunctious 4th graders. The
freaks took it over for one night of music and revelry. We were
deep in the mountains, miles away from the nearest settlement,
surrounded by deep trees and next to a creek loud with late spring
snowmelt. After the aforementioned live musical acts, DJ Fundi took
to the "stage" and plugged his macbook in to the soundsystem.
Volume up to 11. Twinkly christmas lights, creeksong, crisp night
air, a nearly-full moon and a deep selection of funk.
About 20 people were in attendance for the aftershow, accompanied by several ice-filled coolers of beer. And then the Jaegermeister bottle appeared (how many stories hinge on that plot twist???). Things get blurry pretty fast in a kaleidoscope of Jaeger shots, Beastie Boys, the dance moves my boss pulled off, James Brown, Bassnectar, live drumming accompaniment, The Commodores, a smoking instrument, Hall & Oates, candles, the Glitch Mob, Herbie Hancock, freeform space-singing and other sparkly sensations.
Bewigged, Fundi snached the empty Jaeger bottle out of his bosses hands and piched it against a nearby Douglas fir. The shattering green glass explosion brought the party to a brief pause. Rumor has it he may have spanked some ass on the dancefloor too. He chased one fellow cubicle co-worker around the shelter for a while, lost the pack of nag champa he wanted to light, danced a funky jig or two, but always managed to get behind the computer in the exact instant before the next jam needed to be dropped.
I ain't saying it was pretty, no sir. But it was what this mountain party called for, it was the job that DJ Fundi was called there to do. Nobody got hurt. The party, having started fairly early, only lasted until 1 or 2 am. DJ Fundi closed the party down by being the sole groover on the dancefloor -- only the frogs witnessed his creative interpretive-dance to Bassnectar's "Murder Mashup" (a dub track he can't get enough of).
There was a moment in the midst of the party -- and this is the whole point of me telling you this story -- when what seemed to be your standard wedding-style funk dance began to turn in to something different, something out of the ordinary, bordering downright weird. The music got louder, those committed to the dancefloor got looser, the drumming and singing and chanting began and the lights got extra-twinkly. A sense of possibility filled the air.
In this moment, DJ Fundi paused and a voice in his head asked, "Things are getting pretty far out there Fundi -- do you think you ought to pull it on back a bit?" He looked around at his co-workers shaking it on the dancefloor, scatting on the mic, groove-stepping amongst the ferns, everybody having a good time under the stars, everybody realizing a moment of glorious freedom within the confines of a M-F 9-5 lifestyle (those that weren't up to the freedom-seeking had long gone to bed).
Something about being swervy and freaky amongst those he normally sits in morning staff meetings and strategic planning sessions with, his fellow prairie dogs of the cubicle warren, made him consider if this open-ended creative path of unrestrained celebration was the right route to be headed down.
"Hell. Yes," was Fundi's reply.
Soon, the bottle was smashed, asses were spanked and the low-end on the soundsystem was pushed to its very brink. The rest is history -- or, more accurately, the rest is a collection of shards collected from the group-memory, with lots of pieces missing and an unsteady chronology. And we're all the better for it.
About 20 people were in attendance for the aftershow, accompanied by several ice-filled coolers of beer. And then the Jaegermeister bottle appeared (how many stories hinge on that plot twist???). Things get blurry pretty fast in a kaleidoscope of Jaeger shots, Beastie Boys, the dance moves my boss pulled off, James Brown, Bassnectar, live drumming accompaniment, The Commodores, a smoking instrument, Hall & Oates, candles, the Glitch Mob, Herbie Hancock, freeform space-singing and other sparkly sensations.
Bewigged, Fundi snached the empty Jaeger bottle out of his bosses hands and piched it against a nearby Douglas fir. The shattering green glass explosion brought the party to a brief pause. Rumor has it he may have spanked some ass on the dancefloor too. He chased one fellow cubicle co-worker around the shelter for a while, lost the pack of nag champa he wanted to light, danced a funky jig or two, but always managed to get behind the computer in the exact instant before the next jam needed to be dropped.
I ain't saying it was pretty, no sir. But it was what this mountain party called for, it was the job that DJ Fundi was called there to do. Nobody got hurt. The party, having started fairly early, only lasted until 1 or 2 am. DJ Fundi closed the party down by being the sole groover on the dancefloor -- only the frogs witnessed his creative interpretive-dance to Bassnectar's "Murder Mashup" (a dub track he can't get enough of).
There was a moment in the midst of the party -- and this is the whole point of me telling you this story -- when what seemed to be your standard wedding-style funk dance began to turn in to something different, something out of the ordinary, bordering downright weird. The music got louder, those committed to the dancefloor got looser, the drumming and singing and chanting began and the lights got extra-twinkly. A sense of possibility filled the air.
In this moment, DJ Fundi paused and a voice in his head asked, "Things are getting pretty far out there Fundi -- do you think you ought to pull it on back a bit?" He looked around at his co-workers shaking it on the dancefloor, scatting on the mic, groove-stepping amongst the ferns, everybody having a good time under the stars, everybody realizing a moment of glorious freedom within the confines of a M-F 9-5 lifestyle (those that weren't up to the freedom-seeking had long gone to bed).
Something about being swervy and freaky amongst those he normally sits in morning staff meetings and strategic planning sessions with, his fellow prairie dogs of the cubicle warren, made him consider if this open-ended creative path of unrestrained celebration was the right route to be headed down.
"Hell. Yes," was Fundi's reply.
Soon, the bottle was smashed, asses were spanked and the low-end on the soundsystem was pushed to its very brink. The rest is history -- or, more accurately, the rest is a collection of shards collected from the group-memory, with lots of pieces missing and an unsteady chronology. And we're all the better for it.
* * * * * * * *
*
"That moment, my friend," DJ Fundi's brother-in-arms Hekter
McElliott said upon hearing of the night's festivities, "was the
moment your fuse
was lit. At
this point, it's all about getting ready for Black Rock City, and
by the sounds of it, you're Burn started in that moment you decided
to let go and seize the party at yer little hoe-down in the woods.
Damn. You're
burning right now -- good on ya!"
And so it is folks. That's one of the things about Burning Man: it
last much longer than the obvious week on the playa. Be
brave.
--moontroll