black rock city
Haiku SpaceBalls by Rachel
October/16/2011
Rachel & Martha in Deep Playa
Playa reflection:
You are what you’re looking for
Strings of blue balloons
Mountain silhouette
Melts into the Magic Hour--
It’s going to get weird
Not Star Wars, Space Balls
Warp speed wobble whomp Jedis
Furry Chewbaccas
Pillows, teeth, and wires
Pod of laughing ladies lounge
In shark’s lucky mouth
Expand not escape
Mandala birthing itself
Neon rose blossoms
Tent turned up to broil
My heart is a crispy orb
Long past the sunrise
There are so many
Doors to open, Doors to close
I can’t stop laughing
Sweaty beer, string cheese
Here is the Triple Truth, Ruth:
Hops, dusty love, protein
Tabula Rasa
Big boat nets a little fish
By the Robot-Heart
Beauty of Release
Dances itself alive on
Prehistoric fish
|
Scenes from the Playa!
August/25/2011
more Building BRC 2010
August/24/2010
More phenomenal photos from John Curley on the Burning Blog, documenting the building of our Black Rock City over the past month and the kick-ass DPW folks who bust ass for us. We heart you! Thank you for creating the space for all of us....blood, sweat and beers fo'sho'!!!
click here for more...
Building BRC 2010
August/10/2010
John Curley is at it again, blogging from the Black Rock Desert on the building of Burning Man 2010. He just filed his first report today:
The first crews were out on the playa by 5:30 in the morning, hoping to avoid the worst of the midday heat. So if you showed up at Bruno’s restaurant for breakfast at 6:30, the normal time to start the day around here, feeling pretty good about yourself because you moved heaven and earth to make it, well, too bad, you were too late. You didn’t get to be one of the first people on the playa this year. Hell, if Porn Star had driven through the night for 10 hours straight to make it on time, what was your excuse?So that’s what’s going on here in the little town of Gerlach, and out on the Black Rock desert. The family is gathering again at the place they like to call home, and they’ve showed up, as they always do, very ready to work.
Raising the Man
July/16/2010
There's a fantastic post on the Burning Blog from Dan Miller, the man who helped build, raise and burn the Man from 1990-2000. It is historical in nature and shares many interesting stories about the evolution of this ritual:
In 1989, on Baker Beach with the Golden Gate Bridge looming to the east, we had a defining moment — due to the lack of engineering prowess and the shear underestimation of the dynamics of the growth of the Man vs. physics, when raising him, his legs, head and pulling rope snapped. I remember shuddering in horror at the mess amidst the penetrating, salty gales; first, that someone might have been skewered underneath (luckily not) and that there was no hope of repairing our broken Man in this desperate moment. Then it dawned on us that we could burn him right justly in his humiliating pile and slink back to the drawing board for our next year’s invocation.
As serendipity would have it, a couple of intrepid structural engineers stepped up and offered their services — anonymously (things were, cough, cough, guerrilla back then; begging forgiveness from the authorities was doable, permission, yeah, right, a three-storey wienie roast).
Read the rest, including the days of the hay bale pyramid and the solar source of the flame at http://blog.burningman.com/metropol/raising-the-man/
"Cruising at Burning Man"
June/08/2010
Yes, there are all sorts of cruising
styles going on in Black Rock City, but in this case, we're talking
about motorcyclists hitting the scene. A great Burning Man overview
article by J. Joshua Placa of motorcycle-usa.com, of all places. We
are everywhere!
"Next time you’re droning down the highway wishing some adventure would come your way, take a moment to imagine a place where you can be truly free and uninhibited, a biker’s paradise. Picture somewhere that is all you ever dreamt motorcycle rallies should be, but never were. This isn’t the latest 3D fantasy flick; the event is real, and you can ride there.
The road to Utopia is open but once a year. For a singular week in September, some 50,000 of the faithful make the pilgrimage to a naked playa somewhere in the sun-drenched Nevada desert. The destination is Burning Man, a galactic, raw romp of pure, dazzling, inconceivable fun. If you ride anywhere in your life, ride here.
This is not somewhere over the rainbow. You can find it off Nevada Route 447, near the parched town of Gerlach, 120 miles north of Reno, pretty much right in the middle of absolutely Nowhere. It kind of looks like hell, but it will feel like heaven.
The annual event is an alternative-culture, avant-garde happening that redefines the borders of bohemia. Those frontiers were last seen in the underbelly of cities like New York and San Francisco, circa 1960s. They haven’t vanished, they just moved to the desert. This interactive art-music-weirdness festival is a coronation of passion, creation, destruction and rebirth.
In 2009, Burning Man drew nearly 44,000 freedom seeking souls from around the planet to its bare, fertile bosom. They came by motorcycle, they came by scooter, they came by serpentine waves of RV caravans, cars, SUVs, trucks, bicycles, and vehicles of unknown origin. They come more each year.
"Black Rock City" is temporarily erected on a featureless alkaline clay playa of the Black Rock Desert, complete with streets, signs, radio stations, a daily newsletter, a town square and a volunteer civilian patrol, the Black Rock Rangers. Nothing can live on the salt flats—what better place for a party?
It is a surreal, sensual experience that will enrich you, change you and leave you wondering why the hell this can't happen everyday. The event's crescendo is the spectacular, ritualistic burn of The Man in an out-of-this-world pyrotechnic display that makes the Fourth of July look like a wet firecracker. Thousands defy the dark, dancing under a full moon in frenetic revelry. The Man never dies; it renews itself every year as the centerpiece of this experimental community........click here for more...
"Next time you’re droning down the highway wishing some adventure would come your way, take a moment to imagine a place where you can be truly free and uninhibited, a biker’s paradise. Picture somewhere that is all you ever dreamt motorcycle rallies should be, but never were. This isn’t the latest 3D fantasy flick; the event is real, and you can ride there.
The road to Utopia is open but once a year. For a singular week in September, some 50,000 of the faithful make the pilgrimage to a naked playa somewhere in the sun-drenched Nevada desert. The destination is Burning Man, a galactic, raw romp of pure, dazzling, inconceivable fun. If you ride anywhere in your life, ride here.
This is not somewhere over the rainbow. You can find it off Nevada Route 447, near the parched town of Gerlach, 120 miles north of Reno, pretty much right in the middle of absolutely Nowhere. It kind of looks like hell, but it will feel like heaven.
The annual event is an alternative-culture, avant-garde happening that redefines the borders of bohemia. Those frontiers were last seen in the underbelly of cities like New York and San Francisco, circa 1960s. They haven’t vanished, they just moved to the desert. This interactive art-music-weirdness festival is a coronation of passion, creation, destruction and rebirth.
In 2009, Burning Man drew nearly 44,000 freedom seeking souls from around the planet to its bare, fertile bosom. They came by motorcycle, they came by scooter, they came by serpentine waves of RV caravans, cars, SUVs, trucks, bicycles, and vehicles of unknown origin. They come more each year.
"Black Rock City" is temporarily erected on a featureless alkaline clay playa of the Black Rock Desert, complete with streets, signs, radio stations, a daily newsletter, a town square and a volunteer civilian patrol, the Black Rock Rangers. Nothing can live on the salt flats—what better place for a party?
It is a surreal, sensual experience that will enrich you, change you and leave you wondering why the hell this can't happen everyday. The event's crescendo is the spectacular, ritualistic burn of The Man in an out-of-this-world pyrotechnic display that makes the Fourth of July look like a wet firecracker. Thousands defy the dark, dancing under a full moon in frenetic revelry. The Man never dies; it renews itself every year as the centerpiece of this experimental community........click here for more...
Warming up...
April/15/2010
Pavilion of the Man 2010 - Rendering by Andrew Johnstone - Design by Rod Garrett and Larry Harvey
A sneak peak at some of the mindblowing installations that you can expect to see in Black Rock City 2010: Metropolis -- the art honorariums have been announced.
An interesting post by one of the builders of the 2010 temple for Metropolis, reflecting on how one gets involved with building the temple to begin with. (The crew also has a Facebook page under "temple2010" to track the progress of designing and building this year's temple and a website with some rough sketches and concepts.)
"This structure is not the temple at all. It is only wood turned into walls, an invitation to passersby who stand within them to search for the temple in their own heads. For only there is the temple to be found."
Lastly, an interview from the Public Radio Project with BM founder Larry Harvey on Black Rock City's gift economy.
Black Rock City rising, like a mirage in the desert
August/28/2009
Photos from John
Curley via
the Burning
Blog. I'm still
packing, streaming BMIR, trying to stay calm and collected (for a
few more hours at least)....
click here for
more...
click here for
more...
Hot Links for BRC '09
August/26/2009
Photo by John Curley; Center Camp 2009.
Required reading: The
2009 Survival Guide. The Evolution theme. First-time's Guide. FAQ. The Ten Principles. 2009 Honorarium Art Installations. An audio art tour of the playa.
Building Black
Rock City, including
Center Camp and Temple construction and the
landing of
the Raygun Gothic
Rocketship. An
awesome interactive map
to this year's theme camps.
The Arctic Monkey's Completely Unofficial Burning Man Guide &
Packing List. Matt's guide to photography at Burning
Man.
Stoke-enhancing playa videos. Downloadable soundtracks for playa explorations. Da'Bomb's Best of Burncast reports and BurncastTV
episodes on Vimeo, including an emotional tribute to Burners Who Have Passed
On. The
"Go
Bag."
Rideshare. Driving directions. Black Rock City weather forecast. 24-7 Live Gerlach webcam. And BMIR 94.5 FM should start broadcasting any day
now.
Fuckin' 3G cell phone service on the playa?
Bassnectar's on-playa WHOMP schedule. Disorient's
new Art Car Wash (and the
return of Dex!).
Unverified Sound Camp DJ programmes at Root Society and Opulent
Temple,
Simpler Times (The Do-Lab + Cirque
Bezerk=SICKNESS), Basscamp, Bootie, False Profit, Rock Bottom,
Space Cowboys, Shift Camp and Disorient. PleasureSean's Playa Party Guide.
Or, skip all the preceding
links and take it straight to Rockstar Librarian's essential
4-page
schedule of DJs and dance parties at Burning Man 2009.
The
Onion is
reporting that nobody
made it to Burning Man this year.
Love and dust, moontroll -- see you in a few
days!
PS. Apparently, some people take drugs at Burning Man. That
what some blogger claims anyway:
Building BRC
August/19/2009
Black Rock City is springing to life from the prehistoric sands of Lake Lahontan right now in anticipation of Burning Man 2009: Evolution!!! Here is a photograph of the Man's platform, constructed in a style similar to 2008's "Belgian Waffle." John Curley is on the scene, posting stories and photos about building BRC. Shit is blowing up!!!
click here for more...
Map of Black Rock City
July/31/2009
Transmissions to the Default World
August/25/2008
Well, the gates are open and Burning Man 2008 is officially "ON." Ramona Mayhem and Hekter McElliott, one-half of our glorious '07 posse, are on-playa right now and tens of thousands more are on the road, waiting in line, streaming in to the city. Edub and I are both in our cubicles this morning, logging in the Default World's mainframe. No comment. Where are you? Well, at least we only have 2 work days until we head off for 5 days deep in the mountains.
So I just start feeling really restless and homesick and happysad and nostalgic and excited this time of year. I'm reallyreallyreally excited for everybody who is down there in Nevada -- it is no easy feat to pull it off, just getting you and your shit and your dreams to the playa in one peace. And I'm just so thankful that Burning Man is happening, period. It's good for all of us -- on-playa, off-playa, other side of the planet, dark side of the moon.
I'm trolling around the internet, here in my cubicle, looking for sights and sounds and stories from BRC. Each year the city seems to get more and more wired to the outside world. I wouldn't want to be at the Burn and responsible for transmissions to the Default World, but am mighty grateful for those that do take the time and effort to broadcast. Here are a few outlets I've discovered, though word is slow as the gates have only been open for about 10 hours --
*Burning Man Information Radio: Live streaming radio programming -- interviews, music, commercials for theme camps and BRC news.
*Current TV: Short video reports from BRC and live Burn webcast on Saturday night. They do a great job, and are promising to post
*Burncast: Da'Bomb is branching out from her roots in audio to host short videos from Burners.
*Willamette Weekly's Burning Blog: Supposedly updating daily from BRC. So far, so good.
*Radio Electra: Live radio from BRC.
*Gerlach webcam: Crappy blurry images from downtown Gerlach, last town before the playa.
Also, I found a streaming webcam transmitting from somewhere in the city. In years past, it has been based at Center Camp, but right now it is hard to say what it is showing, or if it is working well -- some grainy images floating across my work computer screen, but the mountain/skyline tells me it is indeed the Black Rock Desert. I expect the view will get better as the week progresses. Instructions for tuning in to John Graham's "Burningman 2008 Live" stream: Launch Quicktime; click "File > Open URL"; plug in "rtsp://qtss.telascience.org/live.sdp." See what happens!
Send an email or leave a comment if you know of other ways to be a distant Burn-voyeur: destinationburningman@gmail.com.
BRC Rising!
August/21/2008
The Burning Blog has been mostly sleepy, with the
occasional interesting ponderings, but has in recent days finally
started picking up steam as the city is taking shape and empty
playa slowly filling up with peoples and structures. It really,
truly is underway, and several friends are dusting off their wigs from last
year, packing up
their cars and getting ready to roll.... Here are some scenes of
Black Rock City taking shape in the desert.
(More photos when you "Click here for more...")click here for more...
(More photos when you "Click here for more...")click here for more...
The Man, 2008
August/20/2008
Browsing through the official
Burning
Blog today, I
nearly choked on my chai when this image popped up on my screen at
work --
THE MAN HAS RISEN! LONG LIVE THE MAN! BURN THAT DUDE DOWN!
click here for more...
THE MAN HAS RISEN! LONG LIVE THE MAN! BURN THAT DUDE DOWN!
click here for more...
Playa Panoramas
February/25/2008
This video does a good job of capturing some of the inexplicable and disorienting playa vision I experienced during my 10 days in BRC. Thanks Zoyous!
--moontrollclick here for more...
dust storms & rainbows
September/19/2007
moontroll's short film celebrating the extreme weather events of
Burning Man 2007 now showing!
This is the movie I made from scraps of film footage and fotos and playa field recordings from the Green Man. I just got a new video editing program and this was my first time playing around with it. Right now it is being hosted at YouTube, though I plan on posting a higher resolution version over on the Films section of this site soon -- it is much more impressive and enjoyable to watch it at full screen with decent res & sound.
If you like it, please share your feedback in the dBm comments feed.
Enjoy!
This is the movie I made from scraps of film footage and fotos and playa field recordings from the Green Man. I just got a new video editing program and this was my first time playing around with it. Right now it is being hosted at YouTube, though I plan on posting a higher resolution version over on the Films section of this site soon -- it is much more impressive and enjoyable to watch it at full screen with decent res & sound.
If you like it, please share your feedback in the dBm comments feed.
Enjoy!
