[BlisteredWhippet]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PenultimateManStanding', 'A')nybody but me see "blistered whippet" as a self righteous doofus? What is it with these corn-ball intellectual farts?

[PenultimateManStanding]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('smallpoxgirl', '
')Actually I was thinking that's the most insightful post I've read in a long time.

[PenultimateManStanding]

I'll come back to all of this later and offer my considered opinion.

[TWilliam]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BlisteredWhippet', 'S')ome bizarre sexual palsy overcame the flower children's kids

[PenultimateManStanding]

How am I going to do this? My son who is graduating from high school and has his 18th birthday coming up is offered a trip to Germany and hiking in the Alps but he needs money. I have been offered 6 thousand dollars to teach a bunch of cretins who have opted out of learning anything for summer school. I will do it. Maybe I can inspire some kids to learn, but if nothing else, I'll get the money for my son.

[I_Like_Plants]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PenultimateManStanding', 'A')nybody but me see "blistered whippet" as a self righteous doofus? What is it with these corn-ball intellectual farts?

[PenultimateManStanding]

Yeah! Blistered Whippet is the boss! Meanwhile, of the 6 grand, 4 go to my bills, 1 goes my son and 1 goes to the Mormon project of stocking up on food.

[I_Like_Plants]

So PMS you're a Mormon now?

[PenultimateManStanding]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('I_Like_Plants', 'S')o PMS you're a Mormon now?

[I_Like_Plants]

Cool that you'll get to help your son. My parents could not afford to help us at all. Some good times still do remain.......

[BlisteredWhippet]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('I_Like_Plants', '
')He attributed the "green man" quote to me, that was someone else, easy mistake, I'm not that "up" on green man actually, I think that was from someone who's been there.

Keep up the good work Whippet.

[gw]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BlisteredWhippet', 'T')he "Green Man" Schtick is heresay. I only heard it from my ostensibly well-informed Burner friends.

[NWMossBack]

All these opinions, yet not a single one from anyone who has actually been to the fucking thing!

Blistered Whippet totally nailed one aspect of it: it's a "Its a bacchanalian, neo-pagan festival/orgy". It's the largest party on the planet. But that is only the most visible, photogenic, and surreal aspect. It started as a small arts festival, and retains some tiny vestiges of that original purpose. Forget the supposed "Green Man" theme, nobody pays attention to that crap. There are practically as many themes as there are attendees. It is about "radical self expression." If it's not your bag, stay away. If you do go, I can't stress this enough: you must participate in some way. How you choose to participate is entirely up to you. BW could set up a little booth for instance, with a sign that reads "The Philosopher is In", and he could dispense sage advice to the lost children of a doomed culture or whatever.

You can break down burners into 5 major groups: ravers (20%), stoners & hardcore partyers (20%), hippies (10%), artists & miscellaneous weirdos (10%), tourists & spectators (40%). Some choose to insulate themselves from the stark realities of the desert in their massive RV's. Others build yurts, domes, lean-tos, pup tents, every conceivable shelter, decorated as imaginatively or as artlessly as you can imagine.

NOBODY can possibly wander around in need of shelter, water or food, unless they are a total dick. You can't walk 30 minutes without someone offering you water, alcohol, or ganja. The people around me shared everything. I had the best shade structure in the immediate area, plus the most beer. Someone else had way better food. Someone else brought costumes & face paint. Someone else brought a guitar. The best part for me was creating a little community out of a bunch of strangers. Our neighbors with the RV and the noisy little generator missed out on all that.

Are you afraid of people who don't think like you? Are you repulsed by nudity? Can't handle daily dust storms? Stay away. If you enjoy art, interesting and/or weird people, or just like to party and wish to experience the most bizarre nighttime display of neon & pyrotechnics I have ever witnessed, then you MUST go to this thing at least once in your life.

[I_Like_Plants]

Found it.

Read.

http://commonsense666atlast.tripod.com/ ... toise.html

[NWMossBack]

OMG! They expected him to help with cooking and cleaning in his camp? The horror!!!

If the dufus walked around with his aggrieved sense of entitlement pinned to his sleeve I guess he would have a rough time cadging a meal. Did the whiney overweight nincompoop have no skills or talents at all? He left this out of his sad tale of deprivation, but there is a barter economy of sorts there.

Here's how it could have worked: a Lebanese guy showed up near my camp with nothing but his car, some bottled water and snacks like jerky & nuts. We fed him some real food, gave him a few beers, and I let him sleep in my shade structure during the day while I explored. In exchange he brought his gregarious nature, his views on the Lebanese revolution, life in Beirut before it went to hell, and his perspectives on the US and the Iraq war. Also he would tell a few stories about his nocturnal exploits at Burning Man, but mostly I have no idea what he did all night, every night. "What happens on the playa, stays on the playa" as they say.

[I_Like_Plants]

Look people, just read the link. BM is not perfect. I find the writer of the article more believable than the odd starry-eyed Burner who probably flew in first class on his mom's mastercard.

I think BM CAN be a blast - a lot of things in our oil-rich society are a blast. Sustainable, no, but a blast.

[BlisteredWhippet]

But the environment is a shithole. I'm not attending, primarily because I don't want some sort of pulmonary disease later in life. Thats not my idea of funsies.

[I_Like_Plants]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BlisteredWhippet', 'B')ut the environment is a shithole. I'm not attending, primarily because I don't want some sort of pulmonary disease later in life. Thats not my idea of funsies.

[gw]

Some observations about the event this year:

Somebody torched the man early Monday morning, 5 days before the official burn event. The alleged arsonist claimed the event had lost an element of spontaneity.

Most people were on drugs, and in particular, hallucinogenics. I was told by several people that I would understand burning man better if I was on drugs too.

The theme was "green man" but only 20 people showed up to a talk on climate change by one of Al Gore's associates. This goes to the point that people don't give a shit about themes or "radical self-expression" at burning man and go mostly to party.

After a few days I had seen enough and left early. This thing is basically a drugged-out party scene with some false pretensions about art and environmental themes.

[jboogy]

I like to party and burn shit , I also like AC and soft beds , refrigerators , internet , TV , showering occassionally , stoves and microzapper , kissing booboo kitty and my kids , I don't like BO , people I don't know trying to hug me and/or tell me they love me , people asking me to feed them or spot them a beer , weird art that has to be explained to me , chicks with leg hair , all in all not my cup o' tea. But hey , as long as they dig it so what ? Party on !