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The Tech of Burning Man
Marc Merlin wrote:"Some of you have probably heard of burning man, but most of those
who haven't gone probably don't know that saying that it's just a
bunch of naked hippies meeting in the desert to smoke pot, is a
very unfair description of the event. I have been writing reports of it for the last 4 years now (akin to
the linux show reports I used to do), and my 2005 report is the biggest one yet (1440 pictures, and a fairly complete overview page, showing the highlights) You can also look at the burning man index page (with pictures from the sky), and look at my first 2002 report for a view as a first timer."
Since when does a few pictures of naked hippies become news for nerds and stuff that matters?!?
Hippie: "You can't own property, man."
Farnsworth: "I can, but that's because I'm not a penniless hippie!"
Er, as far as I could see the tech constisted of a digital camera, a few bicycles and some large gears. Please someone tell me I missed something and link me to the cool stuff!
Uh. Ever consider that the whole Christmas season has its roots in paganism....
with naked hippies smoking pot in the desert? Sure beats working for a living...
"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free." -- Goethe
but Bay Area yuppies who load up on Burning Man supplies at Costco.
Meh, one could easily put
Acquaintance: "Hey I went to a Shuttle Launch last week!"
Me: "Why?"
Acquaintance: (stunned by my question) "It's A SHUTTLE LAUNCH!"
It's so clear now.
It is entirely possible that for some people it is of a sufficiently cool magnitude as to be self-evident as to why you'd go. Replace Shuttle Launch with Stone's Concert, Star Wars Movie, amusement park, or anything of your choice if it's not suitably attractive to you.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
The myth of the Hippies going whoreporate is a coping mechanism for cube dwellers. It makes them think that everyone eventually will adopt their lifestyle.
What did happen in the 60s was a large number of maleable individuals tried adopting the Hippie lifestyle. Then they became disco freaks in the 70s before putting on collars and dress shoes to work as cogs in the great mill of capitalism.
These were not the hippies. These were simply boomers. And if the ascetic lifestyle of Tibeten monks suddenly got popular you'd see a pile of 50 year olds on the street corner bumming rice.
"Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
--Dr.W.Edwards Deming
The most obvious example is graphics tech, much of which was envisioned and invented at Evans & Sutherland in the 1960s, where a lot more funny stuff than pot was consumed. And the whole modern paradigm was produced by people at SRI, then injected into the zeitgeist by the "Homebrew Computing Club" members Jobs and Wozniak, no strangers to the waterpipe. And don't tell me that screensavers are the product of mere coffee and tobacco. Quite a lot of the tech we take for granted is the product of the imaginations of pioneers of "virtual reality".
--
make install -not war
All types of subcultures are represented there. All types of drugs are too. Other than that, your comment is right on the money.
Apparently there is something fundamentally wrong with partying for a week.
Though I fail to see what it is.
Looks to me like a few tens of thousands of people had a great time for a week. And yet all we can find to do is criticise.
Me thinks you all need to take a freaking vacation.
No Comment.
A few points to make...
"if you take a photo on the playa, we own it, and get to tell you when and where and how it can be published. Even if you take that photo of yourself, inside your tent, surrounded by your own stuff."
That's a gross oversimplification of the rules governing photography. These rules primarily exist to prevent things like "Girls Gone Wild - Burning Man" from occuring. (Yes, that happened. And yes, they sued the people who did it and got the video retracted.)
Update: rzr_grl pointed out that I forgot the best part: they also demand a percentage of profit (10% or 20%) plus that you send them a copy of all photos, for them to use however they like.
Indeed. Seeing as their finances are relatively precarious, they have no intention of allowing someone who merely photographs the event to make a pile of money whilst they struggle to fund art projects.
But to have run the thing with a media strangle-hold that would make the White House proud, and then in the same breath claim "we're doing it to protect you"
I don't know that they've ever claimed they're trying to protect the media - except from being sued by Burning Man. Do they protect their brand? Yes. Why? Because otherwise there'd already be "Burning Man Hotel, Las Vegas, NV" with all sorts of lovely naked fire dancers.
P.S. I'm not a raver OR a hippie.
Way off topic, but unfortunately true. I am a true conservative - an independant libertarian (note the lack of a capital "l,") who tends to vote for Republicans. I'm afraid that George Bush has done damage to the Republican Party, the conservative ideal, and our country that may never be repaired.
Once we realized the WMDs weren't in Iraq, we should have left. It's not out right to change another country's political situation. Not to mention that it's nearly impossible AND incredibly expensive to even try. (However it is our right to "kick down the door" if we think that they have something that they would use to hurt us.)
We shouldn't be spending $200 billion dollars to rebuild New Orleans. Why should people in Kansas pay to rebuild a ghetto in another state, especially when that ghetto will probably be destroyed again sometime within the next 50 years or so?
Once this type of thing becomes the norm (which George Bush has effectively guaranteed,) it'll be impossible to escape from the spend billions, raise taxes, spend billions cycle. Eventually our taxes will be as high or higher than in other countries, our economy will stagnate, our power will diminish, and eventually someone (China?) will come over and kick our collective asses. It will truely be a dark day.
I've been on the playa 5 times now 1999-2004. The event is always a little different each year, always demanding and always worth it for me. We've taken people who dive into it like a fish to water and we've taken other people who got intimidated by all the wierd everywhere and just wouldn't leave camp.
I've met smoked up hippies out there, and more burn-outs that I've ever met anywhere else, but at the same time, i've camped with a criminal psycologist that works with violent criminals, a group of cirqeu du soleil clowns, seattle politicians and grade school teachers.
The event is not about what's there, but what you can add to what's there. It's a stone soup sort of gathering and when you have 35,000 people bringing out all of their cool stuff to show off, it's hard to describe. Do anything you want, be a rock star for a week, take on a new identity, exchange bad ideas with brilliant people, or simply spend an evening looking for someone with a high intensity laser to light a cigarette for you. Go be a barista, go play some live action pac-man, go be a bartender, a pole dancer, or a mystic.
Lots of drugs, lots of art, lots of cool tech, lots of sex, but lots and lots of enthusiasm and good will. Someone posted that they'd not seen people get along so well except during disasters - that's not a bad comparison. I think the phrase that's used over and over is orchestrated chaos.
If you don't see the point, don't go. If you're curious and have the cohones to make it out there with a few bad ideas of your own, you'll be welcome.
In both cases, there is nothing to prevent you from bringing your own supplies and making your own coffee or ice. In fact, this type of self-driven event preparation is highly encouraged.
When it comes to ice, however, the hardware to produce it in any quantity would get expensive rather quickly. Which is the pretty much the point of them charging for it (can't clean up the desert after the party if you're broke).
I do think that the burning man planners would like nothing less than to eliminate these two monetary transactions as well...
Regards,
Ross
Never having been to burning man but knowing many people who go every year, I would have to say that the first description , while by no means accurate is MUCH more accurate than the one you gave.
Specifically:
- They have a clue and are for the most part extroverts. Most are very responsible when they need to be yet are flexible enough to put that hat on the rack when appropriate.
- The people I know have a much higher than average cultural exposure. The same people who go to Burning Man are also the people I expect to see at the Fringe, Luminiares (sp?) and music and theater productions.
- I tried LCD once, it just polarized my worldview.
- The theory, as I understand it, is to have a great big F-ing party. The "vague agenda" you refer to is probably the theme. If you are not familiar with parties, a "theme" is a starting point for costumes, decorations, presentations etc. Since Burning Man is intended to be relatively free-form, these themes are intentionally vague and apparently picked from Enigma track titles (jk).