Aug 2007
Going, going....
Aug/22/07 | permalink
The Boogie
Universal camp lowered, folded & packed the Boogie Pyramid
tonight -- it took 10 of us about an two hours.
We compacted the side panels like a quesadilla and loaded them in to a big rental truck.
As folks peeled off from our last gathering in the dank and green Pacific Northwest, we cheered "See you on the playa!"
Indeed.
The Boogie caravan is starting to pull out of Bellingham station....from Whitehorn to Black Rock...
Hope to see you in Black Rock City!
We compacted the side panels like a quesadilla and loaded them in to a big rental truck.
As folks peeled off from our last gathering in the dank and green Pacific Northwest, we cheered "See you on the playa!"
Indeed.
The Boogie caravan is starting to pull out of Bellingham station....from Whitehorn to Black Rock...
Hope to see you in Black Rock City!
Imminent Intersections
I am
superstoked to find out my long-lost soulbrother Eric "Hendy"
Henderson of Driggs, Idaho fame is making his virgin voyage to the
playa this year! Eric was one of my closet friends in Jackson Hole
-- we met the first week I moved there at a potluck on Saddle Butte
and were housemates out in lovely Kelly during the summer of '07 --
but we lost the commuication connection over the past few years and
I was wondering when I'd ever catch up with him again. With Burning
Man juju rolling thick and juicy in the planetary atmosphere, it is
no surprise that I received a spontaneous email from him last week
and the good word that he is bound for Black Rock City in a matter
of days. Damn, I can't wait to roll with you H! See you soon--and
get ready for the ride of your life!
I just now got a voicemail from Torsten, and though it was cryptic -- "I'm at Rim. I'm going in. OH MY GOD IT'S FULL OF STARS!" was all he said -- I believe the call was made just before he lost cell reception as he rolled on to the playa outside of Gerlach, Nevada...(here he is in full glory in '04)--
Torsten, Edub and I haven't hung out together since maybe 2001 or 2002, as seen in this photo from the archives. All of that will change in a few days....
And here's a photo from 2003 of the Jackson Hole man-crew, featuring the soon-to-be playa-reunited Torsten (middle), Scotty/Hekter (far right) and me/moontroll/DJ Playaduster (singing)--wish Andy & Ben were onboard the Black Rock City Express too--
I'm also giddy to get my dirty hands on Troy -- 40 spankings on his 40th birthday next Monday night in the Boogie Pyramid!-- he's traveling all the way from Thailand to be a part of the glorious madness. Here we are in Bellingham a few years back when we first met after he won a Tom Robbins contest at the newspaper I was editing --
But will there be also be a sighting of The Maestro and his magikal selection of bikes? Only the playa knows....
Travelers. Gatherings. Family. Playa. Magic!
I just now got a voicemail from Torsten, and though it was cryptic -- "I'm at Rim. I'm going in. OH MY GOD IT'S FULL OF STARS!" was all he said -- I believe the call was made just before he lost cell reception as he rolled on to the playa outside of Gerlach, Nevada...(here he is in full glory in '04)--
Torsten, Edub and I haven't hung out together since maybe 2001 or 2002, as seen in this photo from the archives. All of that will change in a few days....
And here's a photo from 2003 of the Jackson Hole man-crew, featuring the soon-to-be playa-reunited Torsten (middle), Scotty/Hekter (far right) and me/moontroll/DJ Playaduster (singing)--wish Andy & Ben were onboard the Black Rock City Express too--
I'm also giddy to get my dirty hands on Troy -- 40 spankings on his 40th birthday next Monday night in the Boogie Pyramid!-- he's traveling all the way from Thailand to be a part of the glorious madness. Here we are in Bellingham a few years back when we first met after he won a Tom Robbins contest at the newspaper I was editing --
But will there be also be a sighting of The Maestro and his magikal selection of bikes? Only the playa knows....
Travelers. Gatherings. Family. Playa. Magic!
Safety Third : A Public Service
Announcement
Aug/18/07 | getting
ready | permalink
Because we here
at Boogie Universal care about the personal safety and well-being
of all visitors to the Boogie Pyramid, we've done some intensive
safety tests to our structure to make sure it does not catch fire
and melt, which would result in massive casualties and a Superfund
toxic waste emergency. As you already know, our pyramid is
constructed from recycled billboard vinyl, the flammability of
which was untested.
Here you can see Moontroll, aka DJ Playaduster, subjecting the vinyl to serious fire testing with his Bic lighter. Luckily, the material did not combusticate, but only sort of melted and withered a bit, extinguishing itself after releasing small black puffs of nasty smoke. Our crew of Safety Third Inspectors approved the general soundness of the flammability thresholds, though it was decided that having a few extinguishers on hand wouldn't be a bad idea.
They also stressed the importance of keeping fire-breathing art cars that send out 80-foot columns of jet fuel fireballs into the air far away from our pyramid. Flaming hula hoopers could be a safety hazard too...
Here you can see Moontroll, aka DJ Playaduster, subjecting the vinyl to serious fire testing with his Bic lighter. Luckily, the material did not combusticate, but only sort of melted and withered a bit, extinguishing itself after releasing small black puffs of nasty smoke. Our crew of Safety Third Inspectors approved the general soundness of the flammability thresholds, though it was decided that having a few extinguishers on hand wouldn't be a bad idea.
They also stressed the importance of keeping fire-breathing art cars that send out 80-foot columns of jet fuel fireballs into the air far away from our pyramid. Flaming hula hoopers could be a safety hazard too...
I'm screwed
Aug/17/07 | bumps in the
road | permalink
Bad news on the
transportation front: with one week to go before the caravan crawls
out of the mossy sanctuary of the Pacific Northwest for the dusty,
desiccated void of the Black Rock Desert, my Toyota 4Runner sprung
a leak. I've had a series of problems with the coolant system since
the day I bought the rig -- the radiator gave out hours after I
sealed the deal. This time around, the water pump has given out. My
mechanic is replacing the water pump, valve cover gasket, timing
belt, cam seals, crank seal and coolant. The damage? $1000!
Do you have any idea what a grand could do right now as I scramble to prepare for Burning Man?!?! Do you know how much booze, blinky lights, food & water, wigs & masks, playatech furniture, bacon and gifts for the community I could round up with a budget of $1000? It is driving me totally insane getting hit with this right now. On top of the financial meltdown, I won't get the ride back until Monday, so my last weekend pre-departure will be spent without wheels -- just when I was planning on doing mad errands, shopping trips, last sorties to the thrift stores.....
Now more than ever, this One Broke Dude needs some outside financial assistance. This website and blog receives hundreds upon hundreds of visitors each month, but the donation flow has been meager at best. That's fine. We're pulling of our dream and our desire to burn anyways. But if you have been enjoying the photo galleries, the movies, following the dBM blog or grooving on the podcasts, maybe you'll feel inspired to pitch in $5, $10, $20 towards the mission. I'm going to be seriously scraping the bottom of the barrel to get my truck back on the road, and the random (financial) kindness of strangers will go a long way towards not only funding the dream but raising my spirits as well. This site has a link to the Destination Burning Man Paypal account, and with a few keystrokes, you can send some monetary relief our way and feel good about contributing to the Three Broke Dudes/Boogie Universal/Boogie Pyramid mission! Click here to contribute....and thanks in advance!
The only good thing about my water pump going out now? At least it is happening here in Bellingham and not in Bumfuck, Nevada en route to the Burn!!!
Do you have any idea what a grand could do right now as I scramble to prepare for Burning Man?!?! Do you know how much booze, blinky lights, food & water, wigs & masks, playatech furniture, bacon and gifts for the community I could round up with a budget of $1000? It is driving me totally insane getting hit with this right now. On top of the financial meltdown, I won't get the ride back until Monday, so my last weekend pre-departure will be spent without wheels -- just when I was planning on doing mad errands, shopping trips, last sorties to the thrift stores.....
Now more than ever, this One Broke Dude needs some outside financial assistance. This website and blog receives hundreds upon hundreds of visitors each month, but the donation flow has been meager at best. That's fine. We're pulling of our dream and our desire to burn anyways. But if you have been enjoying the photo galleries, the movies, following the dBM blog or grooving on the podcasts, maybe you'll feel inspired to pitch in $5, $10, $20 towards the mission. I'm going to be seriously scraping the bottom of the barrel to get my truck back on the road, and the random (financial) kindness of strangers will go a long way towards not only funding the dream but raising my spirits as well. This site has a link to the Destination Burning Man Paypal account, and with a few keystrokes, you can send some monetary relief our way and feel good about contributing to the Three Broke Dudes/Boogie Universal/Boogie Pyramid mission! Click here to contribute....and thanks in advance!
The only good thing about my water pump going out now? At least it is happening here in Bellingham and not in Bumfuck, Nevada en route to the Burn!!!
Desaggulation
Aug/17/07 | getting
ready | permalink
So the Boogie
Universal crew was unanimous in our resolve to keep plugging away
on the Boogie Pyramid project and get it in shape so it is a worthy
addition to Black Rock City. We're gonna be on the Esplanade and
9:00, and we want to be proud of our contribution. The
first erection of the
Pyramid revealed
several structural flaws, which Erik, Chad, Robin and I got to
fixin' last night in a work party that went until dark. We added
some "bonus cables, restrung a few seams, incorporated more stakes
to pull out the bottom and other nips and tucks, and finally got to
raise it half-way to see how it looked in Version 2.0. It was
promising, and I feel less anxiety regarding the status of our
dream project.
We've got two more work parties scheduled and hope lots of fellow campers will be there to further the makeover work.
I think it is going to work out excellently, just like Erik predicted.
We've got two more work parties scheduled and hope lots of fellow campers will be there to further the makeover work.
I think it is going to work out excellently, just like Erik predicted.
Playa update from Torsten
"I'm out of
here in a couple days for the dusty of dusties..."
My good buddy
Torsten recently sent me this cautionary email:
"I'm out of here in a couple days for the dusty of dusties...Side note: it is super dusty this year -- several of my friends have already been out to the Black Rock Desert and back and all report the same, so prepare yourself mentally and gear wise with a really good dust mask and goggles you don't mind wearing all day. Seriously. With no rain this year, the play never turned back into a lake so there is only a small rain crust over all of last years dust. Crust on dust, if you will. Any wind at all and its all dustbowlling for ravers, worse than average.
I'll be at 5:00 and Esplanade in the Devil's Workshop and Day Spa. More to follow on that. I'll give you a pre-entry shout from Gerlach!
--Torsten"
ps. Here are some more pics from the project I've been working on for months in a warehouse in San Fran; it's called "Crude Awakenings." Enjoy.
"I'm out of here in a couple days for the dusty of dusties...Side note: it is super dusty this year -- several of my friends have already been out to the Black Rock Desert and back and all report the same, so prepare yourself mentally and gear wise with a really good dust mask and goggles you don't mind wearing all day. Seriously. With no rain this year, the play never turned back into a lake so there is only a small rain crust over all of last years dust. Crust on dust, if you will. Any wind at all and its all dustbowlling for ravers, worse than average.
I'll be at 5:00 and Esplanade in the Devil's Workshop and Day Spa. More to follow on that. I'll give you a pre-entry shout from Gerlach!
--Torsten"
ps. Here are some more pics from the project I've been working on for months in a warehouse in San Fran; it's called "Crude Awakenings." Enjoy.
Nappy Dugout
Aug/15/07 | bumps in the
road | permalink
The Boogie Pyramid has some issues with the sag....
Edubious and I
visited the pyramid work site with our families this weekend and
had some serious deflation upon viewing the flaccidity of our
temple. We weren't there for the first official erection and so
expected to see a thing of glory -- instead, there is a monument to
sag looking somewhat forlorn in a farm field outside of Ferndale.
It was a bit embarrassing to expose our ladies to the thing that
has been pulling us out of family time so much over the past few
months and have it be a saggy pile of nappy vinyl!
Edub emailed this feedback to our fellow Boogie campers:
"It is a bit awkward for me to comment on the work that NEEDS to be done on the pyramid since I am down in Seattle and can't be there on the regular to contribute my energy. But, I feel very compelled to send out a rallying cry to everyone to shift focus and energy toward getting the pyramid into shape for the Playa.
My guess is that there is going to be a considerable amount of engineering and adjustment on the Playa, but I want to offer us some design suggestions for adjustments that should be made NOW. Those who work on it regularly may already have some of these in mind so pardon the redundancy.
(1) The panels need to be pulled up flush with the tarp truss. We may want to wrap some rebar into the ends of the panels to help hold some of the weight (I noticed that one grommet had already pulled out). I also strongly suggest using something more beefy (and aesthetic) than the blue cord that is currently being employed - perhaps some small gauge steel cable?
(2) The panels seams need to be stitched together WAY tighter. Again, I suggest something other than the blue cord. As they are now, we will have mad dust blowing into the pyramid.
(3) I seriously think we need to cut the panels down. If we take about 8-10 feet off the bottom of each panel and stake them down to the ground, we will have WAY less sag. I think that that the height of the mast makes this necessary. Can we add some larger grommets (1-2") along the bottom of each panel to accommodate rebar stakes?
Each panel should have at least three or four cables running down the inside for support.
(4) Can we support/hang the corner seams (between the panels)from the guy wires that are supporting the mast? This would help the pyramid hold its shape.
(5) The tension wires and turn buckles that are on each corner of the pyramid need to be shorter and staked down closer to the base of the pyramid.
This is my $20 worth. Whatever we end up doing we have to do it NOW. The clock is ticking and we have to tighten up our scene if we're going to represent on the Esplanade. "
At our most recent camp logistics meeting, Erik, who is the ultimate mastermind behind the project, assuaged our fears by reminding us that the pyramid we witnessed is not the pyramid that will go up on the playa -- the panels aren't raised all the way, the sides aren't staked out far enough, the panels can be woven together more tightly, etc. He projected his usual vibe of "everything's gonna work out just fine." I have a tendency to believe his prophecies...
Nonetheless, the group has scheduled three more work parties over the next five days to make adjustments and try to tighten things up. On Sunday, we're gonna lower this baby, fold her up and dismantle the mast. A few days later, she'll be loaded up in to a rental truck and the caravan to Black Rock City will begin...
Photos by Edub. More can be viewed on our Flickr Page.
Edub emailed this feedback to our fellow Boogie campers:
"It is a bit awkward for me to comment on the work that NEEDS to be done on the pyramid since I am down in Seattle and can't be there on the regular to contribute my energy. But, I feel very compelled to send out a rallying cry to everyone to shift focus and energy toward getting the pyramid into shape for the Playa.
My guess is that there is going to be a considerable amount of engineering and adjustment on the Playa, but I want to offer us some design suggestions for adjustments that should be made NOW. Those who work on it regularly may already have some of these in mind so pardon the redundancy.
(1) The panels need to be pulled up flush with the tarp truss. We may want to wrap some rebar into the ends of the panels to help hold some of the weight (I noticed that one grommet had already pulled out). I also strongly suggest using something more beefy (and aesthetic) than the blue cord that is currently being employed - perhaps some small gauge steel cable?
(2) The panels seams need to be stitched together WAY tighter. Again, I suggest something other than the blue cord. As they are now, we will have mad dust blowing into the pyramid.
(3) I seriously think we need to cut the panels down. If we take about 8-10 feet off the bottom of each panel and stake them down to the ground, we will have WAY less sag. I think that that the height of the mast makes this necessary. Can we add some larger grommets (1-2") along the bottom of each panel to accommodate rebar stakes?
Each panel should have at least three or four cables running down the inside for support.
(4) Can we support/hang the corner seams (between the panels)from the guy wires that are supporting the mast? This would help the pyramid hold its shape.
(5) The tension wires and turn buckles that are on each corner of the pyramid need to be shorter and staked down closer to the base of the pyramid.
This is my $20 worth. Whatever we end up doing we have to do it NOW. The clock is ticking and we have to tighten up our scene if we're going to represent on the Esplanade. "
At our most recent camp logistics meeting, Erik, who is the ultimate mastermind behind the project, assuaged our fears by reminding us that the pyramid we witnessed is not the pyramid that will go up on the playa -- the panels aren't raised all the way, the sides aren't staked out far enough, the panels can be woven together more tightly, etc. He projected his usual vibe of "everything's gonna work out just fine." I have a tendency to believe his prophecies...
Nonetheless, the group has scheduled three more work parties over the next five days to make adjustments and try to tighten things up. On Sunday, we're gonna lower this baby, fold her up and dismantle the mast. A few days later, she'll be loaded up in to a rental truck and the caravan to Black Rock City will begin...
Photos by Edub. More can be viewed on our Flickr Page.
Edub speaks : 9 days til
departure
This is
Burning Man and
I have really enjoyed it so far. It began 6 months ago on the
Burnal Equinox mixing music with DJ Playaduster at Sunnyland.
Since that time the Three have brainstormed, dreamed,
conspired, built, crafted, changed direction, fallen apart and put
the pieces back together again. The puzzle looks nothing like
it did when we began, but that has been another part of the
creative journey. I have no doubt that it will continue to
transform until we ourselves no longer resemble the beings we were
in the beginning.
I am so looking forward to that transformation. I am anxious to be wrapped in my cocoon of dust, sunlight, sound, creativity and humanity on the edge. I anticipate uncomfortable friction as I try to fit into this wide open new space. How can I exist in a space with no boundaries? Who will emerge? These are but two questions among the myriad that churn through my mind touching on topics from personal health and safety, to camp community building, to mind altering substances. There are very few answers forthcoming. A voice in the back of my head says “you just have to be there.” Right now, that’s the problem. My mind is there, racing toward the Burn and exploring the empty streets of Black Rock City, at the expense of my present moment awareness.
I don’t recall how long it has been since I have experienced this kind of lack of presence. I value and actively practice being present to the moment – living in the Now. But with 18 days until the Burn and 9 days until we leave, I am totally fixated on the future. My work has become a nuisance to me; my schedule, a tether; my day-to-day responsibilities, inconveniences. It really is all about the Burn – now more than ever.
“I just have to…and I’ll be done.” I’ve hear myself say this a lot - so has my wife. Neither of us believes it anymore. Last time I said this she replied, “You won’t be done until September when it’s over.” I wonder if I’ll be done then. Somehow I doubt it.
Despite having worked diligently over the past few months building, gathering and preparing, I feel frantic in these final days as I try to pull all of the threads together. Mental, physical, spiritual and emotional preparation is coming together, but I feel as if I am watching an hour glass, sifting grain by grain counting down to my leap into the rabbit hole. I’m ready. There are still lots of details to finalize, but I’m ready. Soon come!
~Edub
I am so looking forward to that transformation. I am anxious to be wrapped in my cocoon of dust, sunlight, sound, creativity and humanity on the edge. I anticipate uncomfortable friction as I try to fit into this wide open new space. How can I exist in a space with no boundaries? Who will emerge? These are but two questions among the myriad that churn through my mind touching on topics from personal health and safety, to camp community building, to mind altering substances. There are very few answers forthcoming. A voice in the back of my head says “you just have to be there.” Right now, that’s the problem. My mind is there, racing toward the Burn and exploring the empty streets of Black Rock City, at the expense of my present moment awareness.
I don’t recall how long it has been since I have experienced this kind of lack of presence. I value and actively practice being present to the moment – living in the Now. But with 18 days until the Burn and 9 days until we leave, I am totally fixated on the future. My work has become a nuisance to me; my schedule, a tether; my day-to-day responsibilities, inconveniences. It really is all about the Burn – now more than ever.
“I just have to…and I’ll be done.” I’ve hear myself say this a lot - so has my wife. Neither of us believes it anymore. Last time I said this she replied, “You won’t be done until September when it’s over.” I wonder if I’ll be done then. Somehow I doubt it.
Despite having worked diligently over the past few months building, gathering and preparing, I feel frantic in these final days as I try to pull all of the threads together. Mental, physical, spiritual and emotional preparation is coming together, but I feel as if I am watching an hour glass, sifting grain by grain counting down to my leap into the rabbit hole. I’m ready. There are still lots of details to finalize, but I’m ready. Soon come!
~Edub
"Burning Book"
Aug/13/07 | burner
culture | permalink
Photo by
Fabian Mohr
Found this new book "Burning Book: A Visual History of Burning Man"
browsing around Amazon and called up my local independent book
store to special order one -- excellent find! The book itself is a
piece of artwork, a shuffle-play of favorite Burning Man deliriums
and memories throughout the years, designed by the venerable
collagist and font master Martin Vensezky. It features photo
contributions from hundreds of playa snapshooters and loads of
playa ephemera, like reproductions of tickets and maps from past
Burns, stickers and buttons from different theme camps, postcards,
covers of past issues of Piss Clear and all the little trinkety
stuff that are gifted out to strangers and circulate throughout the
city.
Photo by
Stewart Harvey
The trajectory of the book is shaped to represent the journey to
and through Black Rock City, and thus early chapters include drives
through Reno and Gerlach and the first burns in San Francisco
before introducing you to Burning Man playa legends like
Thunderdome, Dr. Megavolt, the Contessa, Helco and the Belgian
Waffle. There are chapters on music, vehicles and costumes/identity
before the reader is brought face to face with the Man and his many
inflammations. The end of the ride lands softly with a
retrospective of David Best's temples (and temple burns) and winds
it all up with a look at the city's dissolution in the chapter
"Leave No Trace." It is all very well-choreographed by Jessican
Bruder, who has a day job as a reporter for The Oregonian in
Portland. The whole thing reads like a high school yearbook --
albeit this is a very, very weird high school.
Photo by
NK Guy
Very nice work
all the way around; a bejeweled treasure to behold. One can almost
taste the dust. After the Green Man, you might need to pick
yourself up a copy to keep your soul in alignment in the dark days
of the Default World.
Jessica's website is right here.
First Erection : Massive Mast
Aug/03/07 | getting
ready | permalink
So, the erection of the mast was a
smashing success today...
Gabe used his
screwdriver a lot and made faces that make it look he knew what he
was doing...
Brock held the mast aloft and smiled alot.
On top of all that, Erik took off his shirt and the work place was a place of great natural beauty, with Komo Kulshan looking over our shoulders...
The full Boogie Pyramid erection is just a matter of days away...
Brock held the mast aloft and smiled alot.
On top of all that, Erik took off his shirt and the work place was a place of great natural beauty, with Komo Kulshan looking over our shoulders...
The full Boogie Pyramid erection is just a matter of days away...
Universal Freek Delight & Pyramid
Parties
Aug/01/07 | art &
music | permalink
Here's the
rough outline of entertainment and general freekiness/geekiness
scheduled for the Boogie Pyramid -- come check out the Boogie
Universal vibe at 9:00 & Espanade!
DAYTIME
Universal Freak Delight: daily sessions in the pyramid from 3-4 through sunset/8-9 pm
(some planned events, lots of open space for random performers & workshops on the fly)
Monday: open
Tuesday: Sensual Day: massage, chocolate & strawberries, henna 7pm; The Party Formerly Known as Prince Party—wear purple 9pm
Wednesday: Body Art 3 pm; Sushi 6-9 pm
Thursday: Push Hands: A Tai Chi Game 1-3; Ms. Black Rock City Paegant 3-6; Twisted Twister 7pm
Friday: Boogie Pranksters noon-2; Circus Arts Meetup 2-4; Funk, Soul & Hula-Hoops with DJs Grape-nuts, Playaduster & Edubious 4-8
Sunday: Closing ceremony& drumming with Edubious
NIGHT
Monday: Welcome Home Party with Hekter's Huckleberry Mojito Surprise / Full Moon Eclipse celebration with Jackass, DJ Novatron, Adam Star (unconfirmed) and Rashaan
Tuesday: Folk Dancing Workshop
Wednesday: Rob the Wandering Accordion Player, DJ Hipp-e, Surgical Delivery System, Joe Lyon & Ruff Hauser
Thursday: Rashaan, Breakbeat Buddha, Vibesquad, LEe Combs & Dave Sweeten
Friday: Boogie Universal Pyramid Party/Ancient Civilizations costume theme/with DJ Grapenuts, Rootabreaka, Dave Levi & Novatron
Everything is, of course, subject to change once we hit the playa...WHOOOO!
(Now do you feel like supporting us with some spare change? As you can see, we'll spend it oh so wisely!)