Messages

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.

1

General / Re: Ask me about BURNING MAN

« on: October 13, 2010, 12:49:52 PM »

I will reiterate again my belief that a lot of socially liberal liberty types would really enjoy an event like Burning Man.

All the same, getting people to spend almost $2000 to get to the Nevada desert because some guy on a radio show said it was cool is a tough sell.

I recommend that people who are interested but don't want to invest the resources into a big trek that they check out a regional burn a little closer to home.

Regional Burns are sort of a "Burning Man Lite."  Many of the same people go to regionals as go to Burning Man.  They follow the same 10 principles, the type of crowd you'll meet is similar and they do have a lot of freelance artists creating experiences for everyone to enjoy.  Regional burns typically attract between 500-2500 people depending on the size of the venue.  They also usually only last for a weekend so the time and money commitment is much smaller.

Furthermore there are many advantages to regionals over the "big burn" as we burners like to refer to Burning Man itself.  Some of those advantages:

• You can find one closer to you so travel expenses are cut down
• They only last a weekend usually so you can "dip your toe in the water" so to speak
• Tickets are far cheaper
• They are closer to civilization so you can run out and buy supplies if needed
• They offer a more intimate environment because they're smaller.  You'll see the same faces from day to day.  At Burning Man, if you meet a really cool person, you will probably never see them again
• The environment is typically not as harsh

Here are some cities that I know have regionals.  If you live near any of these and are curious, then speak up and I'll give the name of the Burn itself so you can find out more information:

• Asheville, NC
• Odessa, DE
• Columbus, OH
• Austin, TX
• Pittsburgh, PA
• Somewhere between Toronto and Ottawa, ON

There are more, but I live in the East so I'm not familiar with what's happening in the Midwest or West Coast.  More info can be found here: http://regionals.burningman.com/

2

General / Re: Ask me about BURNING MAN

« on: October 07, 2010, 04:27:11 AM »

Are the chicks easy there? Are there more guys than girls, or equal?

Aaaaand is it filled with nothing but leftists/socialists, or are there agorists there as well?

The gender breakdown is close to equal.  If you believe their census numbers, guys outnumber girls, but it's still close, something like a 55/45 split or something.

As far as are the chicks easy?  I've been going on about how uninhibited and non-judgmental people are.  I've talked about drug use, which is pretty common, and commented on the abundance of public nudity.  I talked about how all the girls like to prance around all sexy-like in their outfits, so when you add all that together and do the math, you have a lot of girls that are saving themselves for marriage.

Politics really doesn't come into play much.  If you start talking politics with someone (and why would you want to?) chances are good they will either be very libertarian, or very leftish.  About the only generalizations you can make there is that very few people have any sort of partisan (R vs. D) identity, and they are going to be socially liberal.  This most recent time, I spent the entire week there, met tons of new people every day and the closest I came to a political discussion was when some guy started railing against Wal Mart and sweatshops.  I argued with him for about 3 minutes, then left because really, who needs it?

Now that's personal politics.  The event as a whole is very libertarian.  Read the 10 principles here: http://www.burningman.com/whatisburningman/about_burningman/principles.html

Some of those principles may come off as socialistic, but as an anarcho-capitalist I have always felt right at home at these sorts of events.  In practice, lots of things, like receiving a gift, are a bonus to the experience.  You still need the "radical self reliance" which encourages empowerment of the individual.  In fact, most burners would have very little patience for someone who showed up expecting others to feed him and take care of his own basic needs.  And isn't the emphasis on community-building similar to what we say would happen in a voluntary society?  The whole event is pretty decentralized.  The idea is, if you think to yourself, "Damn, it would be cool if X were here right now for people to enjoy," then the proper response to that impulse is for YOU to create X, whether it be a work of art, or a social event or an educational class or whatever.  If YOU don't have the resources to make it happen, then you talk to people you know and work together to create it.  The spontaneous order that arises with just about zero top-down planning is really something to behold.  I think that's why the scene attracts a lot of libertarian types, even if those same people can't be bothered to find a political label for themselves.

3

General / Re: Ask me about BURNING MAN

« on: October 06, 2010, 10:27:12 PM »

Great insight dude, keep it up!

It's my pleasure!  I'll keep posting as long as people still have questions.  Really I have lead a pretty wild life and done a ton of shit for my age (31) but nothing compares to the people and experiences I've had going to burns.  They're really inspirational, and freeing, for those with free spirits.

Here's a great video montage I have been showing my friends.  This is the more "sensational" side of Burning Man, but in addition to all the flashes and flames and destruction, there's a lot of people hosting events for spiritual exploration, meditation, yoga and the like.  But a yoga, reiki or meditation class just doesn't make for good video.   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpwcSjOMWUo&hd=1

4

General / Re: Ask me about BURNING MAN

« on: October 06, 2010, 10:16:14 PM »

Have you ever listened to any of the pirate radio that's said to be there?

What did you think about the guy who set the Burning Man on fire before he was supposed to be set on fire?

How many fugly naked women are there?

There are 2 or 3 radio stations there every year on the FM band.  We usually listen to them on the way into and out of Burning Man since the lines to get in and out are really long.

I personally thought the guy lighting the man on fire early was a pretty awesome prank.  Unfortunately, he did cause a lot of property damage (to the man, not to people's personal property) and what not so I can't endorse it.  The organization had to spend the money and time to rebuild the man so they could burn it again at the end of the week.  He wound up serving a hefty prison term and being fined many thousands in punitive damages.

Very few ugly women at all, IMO.  You have to try very hard to find one.  I have biked through crowds of hundreds of people and been completely taken aback by the number of super hot women there.  Keep in mind just going about my business I was cycling probably at least 5 miles/day.  So the couch potatoes generally don't go to Burning Man because it requires too much physical exertion just to get around.  So most people there are pretty fit.  The women also love to dress sexy as hell.

5

General / Re: Ask me about BURNING MAN

« on: October 06, 2010, 03:06:03 PM »

How many actual hippys show up and how many are just wannbe hippys that think the 60's were so coool? What does it smell like after a couple of days? Woodstock?

I'm not sure where you get the idea that Burning Man has anything to do with re-creating the 60's.  While some hippie types do go there, there is way too much variety in the attendees to say that it's a hippie festival.  In fact, you're more likely to have people mocking hippies good-naturedly than trying to identify with them.

One huge camp that is there every year is called the Death Guild.  Their trademark is the Thunderdome where they suspend bungee cords from the top of a huge dome, strap two people into harnesses so their feet barely touch the ground, and give them padded jousting sticks, American Gladiator style.  People can climb on the sides of the dome to watch the fight below them and cheer the people on.  Do a youtube search for "Burning Man Thunderdome" and see what I mean.  Does that seem very hippyish to you?

As for hygiene, it's really not that bad.  There are a variety of ways people keep themselves clean.  A small minority of attendees have any appreciable body odor.

6

General / Re: Ask me about BURNING MAN

« on: October 06, 2010, 02:18:16 AM »

How much gay sex is there?

Like my last reply may have indicated, I have not personally seen any gay sex.  There are definitely camps that are run by mostly gay people and if you want freaky gay sex you can find it, no problem.  There are a fair number of gays at the event, just judging by the way I see them dress and comport themselves, but they confine the sexual activity to their own camps.  If you see a bunch of rainbow flags outside a camp, chances are you just found a gay camp and can meet people that way.

Everyone more or less coexists peacefully.  People are free to wear their gayness on their sleeves, and no one will judge them or give them shit over it, but private activities still remain somewhat private.

7

General / Re: Ask me about BURNING MAN

« on: October 06, 2010, 02:11:23 AM »

I missed almost all of your call, so you may have already covered this stuff.

Are there kid friendly camps?

Is it true that there's an increasing police presence every year?

Hellbilly...

Believe it or not, Burning Man is very "kid friendly" in general.  Now, everyone's opinion of "kid friendly" is different.  For the rest of this response, I will assume that "kid friendly" means no open sexual activity.  If your criteria is more strict than that, then let me know and I will do my best to answer according to your definition.

Now, if I were to have a kid I wouldn't have a problem taking him to Burning Man.  Sexual activity and the fetishists keep their activities behind closed doors for the most part, so you don't ever wind up there without knowing what you're getting yourself into.  In other words, I have seen bondage demonstrations where they take volunteers from the audience and suspend them with a bunch of intricate knots up in the air.

However, anytime I have seen something of this nature, it has been in a dome that's close off and to get into it you have to walk past a few signs that give you a few ideas of what you're walking into and their expected code of conduct.  Generally if you see a sign saying, "Adults only, no single males" then you and your child should turn around.  Truth be told, there is a ton of stuff there that kids will love and enjoy.  The one thing I can say is if you do bring a child, try to bring someone you trust to help watch after your kid for when you want some adult time to yourself.  There is also a neighborhood marked off for people who bring children and chances are good that if you were to camp in a place like that, you would find plenty of other people in your same situation and you may take turns watching the kiddies.

Having a child at the burn though just requires that someone supervises them all the time, because there's lots of stuff you probably don't want them to see.  That said, any child who happened upon a bondage demonstration, or into the orgy camp or whatever would probably get attention right away as someone intercepted the kid and tried to figure out where he's camped and who he belongs to.

There is lots of non-sexual nudity and girls wearing skimpy clothes.  If this is a problem, there's no way to avoid it, supervision or not.

As for drug use, it's usually done in people's private camps, away from the view of the streets due to the police presence.  So there is little chance that your child would walk up on someone doing a line or smoking a joint or whatever.

Finally, I'll point out that in this post I concentrated on sexual activity, and honestly, I'm a bit of an open minded guy (politically correct term for "pervert") and I do have to put effort into finding the weird sex scenes.  So relatively speaking the crazy sexual stuff happens behind closed doors and it's not likely your kid would find it unless looking for it.

As for the police presence, from what I have seen the cops were either undercover trying to get people to buy/trade drugs and then bust someone, or they were in their car looking for an easy score.

Example, if someone you don't know comes up to you and says, "Hey, I have some weed, do you want to trade for some acid?"  Your best bet is to say you have no idea where to find any acid.  The cops in their cars cruise the streets looking for easy prey: i.e. people smoking weed.  But if you're in the back part of your camp smoking a joint no one will know.  The cops really don't want to go through the trouble of actually walking around on foot to find drug users.  They go for people smoking joints out in the open and jack them up that way.

As for real crimes like thefts and assaults, most burners are pretty tough mofos and can handle themselves well.  Someone caught stealing would probably get beat down if found in a tougher crowd, and in a more gentle crowd would be shamed, berated and kicked out of the area.  Any sorts of fights that may break out would be immediately broken up by people in the area and the combatants separated.

Does that answer your questions?

8

General / Ask me about BURNING MAN

« on: October 05, 2010, 08:34:38 PM »

I called the show tonight to share some of my experiences and thoughts on Burning Man.  Download it here: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ftl/FTL2010-10-05.mp3 .  My call starts at 42:00.

I really think a lot of the libertarian types would find the experience incredible.

I've gone to Burning Man 3 times now, once with a small group of 12 people and twice with a large theme camp.  I've camped in my tent and in RVs.  I've also been active in the "scene" for much longer, going to 2-3 regional burns of 1500 people or less every year for the past 7 years or so.

So go ahead and ask any questions you want, whether they be about logistics of getting all your shit out there, or about the culture, the people you'll find, the artwork, or the ethos that underpins the whole event.

I'll write up some general stuff later since I have to meet someone right now, but feel free to jump in with any questions or comments before that.

9

The Show / Re: Incoherent Commercial

« on: July 03, 2009, 04:20:34 PM »

If you play the commercial backwards you hear pro-Obama chanting.

10

The Show / Re: Got Questions for the Jaded Police Trainer?

« on: July 03, 2009, 02:08:45 PM »

Do you train cops to intentionally make people incriminate themselves by the way they ask questions?   

I think this is a good question.  I second it.

As for my own question: When I as a citizen run into one of these "hard ass" bully cops, what is the best tact to take with them to minimize the damage they do to my life?  I know this is a broad question and will vary from person to person, but are there any common psychological patterns you notice in the hard asses that someone on the receiving end of their wrath can take advantage of to mitigate any consequences?

As an aside, I'd like to submit a new word into liberty lexicon.  When someone gets drunk and gets belligerant, we say he has "beer muscles."  (Trying to start fights with bigger people over little things, etc.)

How about when a cop is abusing his authority we refer to it as "Flexing his badge muscles?"

Ian/Mark, feel free to cop the term and use it on the show.