BOOMY's blog: "BURN BABY BURN"

Next years theme was released today... It is interesting to contemplate a tangled bank, clothed with many plants of many kinds, with birds singing on the bushes, with various insects flitting about, and with worms crawling through the damp earth, and to reflect that these elaborately constructed forms, so different from each other, and dependent upon each other in so complex a manner, have all been produced by laws acting around us. These laws, taken in the largest sense, being Growth with Reproduction; Inheritance which is almost implied by reproduction; Variability from the indirect and direct action of the conditions of life: a Ratio of Increase so high as to lead to a Struggle for Life, and as a consequence to Natural Selection… There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers… and that, while this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed laws of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and wonderful have been and are being evolved. -- Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species Nature never made a plan, nor does it seem to copy very well. No living thing is ever quite the same as others of its kind. Charles Darwin called this Natural Variation. There is a kind of subtle chaos, a supple element of chance and change, residing at the core of living things. We've learned that DNA, the code that programs life, is subject to continual mutation. This enables generations to evolve within a changing world. This year's art theme contemplates the power and the meaning of the process we call evolution. When at last I had disabused my mind of the enormous imposture of a design, an object, and an end, a purpose or a system, I began to see dimly how much more grandeur, beauty and hope there is in a divine chaos – not chaos in the sense of disorder or confusion but simply the absence of regular order – than there is in a universe made by pattern. This draught-board universe my mind had laid out: this machine-made world and piece of mechanism; what a petty, despicable, micro-cosmus I had substituted for reality. -- Richard Jefferies In 2009, the Burning Man will rise above a 'tangled bank' consisting of irregular wooden triangles. No two elements of this organic composition will be quite the same; together they’ll create what’s best described as a chaotic truss. At night the tangled bank will come alive with luminous life forms scratching, crawling and slithering their way through it. This space will also house a pond known as the Gene Pool. Strange Ur-creatures will peep outward from the surface of this primal soup. The central tree supporting Burning Man, beribboned with a double helix, will exist in flux: switching on and switching off, changing colors unexpectedly. At bottom every man knows well enough that he is a unique being, only once on this earth; and by no extraordinary chance will such a marvelously picturesque piece of diversity in unity as he is, ever be put together a second time. -- Frederick Nietzsche The human species, Homo sapiens, has existed for approximately 200,000 years. The genus known as homo has a lineage stretching back two million years. Homo erectus, the first human ancestor to walk upright, and Homo habilis, the toolmaker, are among our relatives. We are a bud belonging to a twig of this ancestral tree. The process of trial and error that has made this possible is called Natural Selection. Genetically encoded traits that aid survival tend to spread throughout entire populations. Living entities that bear these genes endure and reproduce, but maladaptive traits are not passed on. This causes species to evolve to better fit the world in which they live. However, this rigorous weeding out of 'unfit' individuals has gradually ceased to occur within our species. Medicine and mutual aid assure that nearly anyone is able to survive and reproduce. Now adrift in our own gene pool, we have encountered a new phase of evolution. We've become a conscious breed of culture-bearing animals. Black Rock City is a kind of Petrie dish, and Burning Man is an experiment in generating culture. We've learned that culture's a spontaneous phenomenon. It thrives as a result of numberless and unplanned interactions. All that's really needed is a fitting social vessel to sustain it. This happens best within communities that harbor many different modes of self-expression. We've also learned that cultures effloresce when human beings feel free to offer up their gifts. Our theme this year prompts three related questions: What are we as human beings, where have we come from, and how may we adapt to meet an ever-changing world?

This was my sixth burn, and after so many years of going I was thinking of it as more of a vacation to get away and hang with people who are more like me. Instead the very foundation of my world was shaken and my entire faith and belief system was revitalized. I decided to camp with a chicago camp called Campo Alegre this year instead of the lamp lighters who I have been with for the past few years. It was a last minute decision and these guys were nice enough to take me in. When we arrived in Reno the team and I went to Atlantis resort for a buffett (our last hot meal) and then it was off to the playa. We spent all day sunday building our camp and working our butts off. Once everything was up we decided to hit the playa and start partying. It was a wonderful fantasitic time and I got to do what I do best which is interact with people. In the first two night I met so many people that my camp decided to make me the social chair of our camp. This was a really good year with lots of people and tons of great art. I decided to take wensday night off from all the festivities and just sleep in. On thursday I felt great and got up and decided to go work out at one of the camps that had a gym set. I walked in at the camp called "comfort and joy". The weight bench and dumbells were in the back corner and I noticed some one had hung a manaquin next to it. It was kind of gruesome but who am I to judge someone's view of art. There's plenty of things at burningman that aren't my cup of tea. I asked a guy that was sleeping on a couch in the corner if it was ok that I work out, and he said sure. So I lifted for about twenty minutes when a small gay man came in. He introduced himself as Alex and he went to check out the manaquin. After circling the art several times he said "guys I think this is a body". I stoped working out to talk to him. "Gay men can be so dramatic" I thought. It was annoying that the manaquin was so close that I could constantly see it in my perefrial vision while I lifted, but what evers. I told him look at the face it was all waxy and morbid, it didn't look human and it was hanging from a bungee. I told him you can't hang yourself from a bungee. Then I looked at the manaquin's arms and saw hair. Its kind of pricy to have a dummy with arm hair and then alex lifted his shirt and thouched his back and ribs. Yup it was a body! I had been working out next to a dead person for 25 minutes.. Next thing I remeber was that everyone freaked. Alex and Waterfall (sleeping guy on couch) blocked the doors and I hopped on my bike and got the Emergency Service people. They called the sherrif and the Rangers and everyone fallowed me to the camp. The next few hours were a blurr. I remember being next to the camp dry heaving and this beautiful woman came over and asked if I was ok. She thougt I had done too many drugs and when I told her, she just held me really close for a while. I was then taken back to the camp where counselors and cops where all waiting. We were taken to a private tent and asked questions. I was then placed in the sherriff's van where I had to give a statement. Everyone was so supporitve and caring. I rode back to my camp and told them something bad had happended and that I would be gone for a little bit and then returned to talk to more officials. When I was done with all that, I was still in a state of shock and I went to go find Nikki (the woman who found me getting sick) her camp was accross the street. When I went in I told her camp mates my name and everyone was so concerned and wanted me to sit and gave me water and food. I hung out with Nikki and her camp just talking for a couple of hours and felt much better. I rode back to my camp and they got everyone together and when I told them everybody was in shock. I cracked a few jokes and tried to put everyone at ease. I felt strange, violated in some way. Like being touched inappropiately by someone. Later that day a couple of us went and got a spiritual reading, I was worried that my trauma would block my reading but it didn't. I felt that talking about it would be good therapy for me, plus it was one hell of a story. That night we went out and my campmates stayed with me the whole time. After a few hours I felt uncomfotrable and wanted to go home and everyone insisted on coming with me to make sure I was ok. I was kind of affriad of sleeping alone and a few very nice girls offered for me to crash with them but I knew I would eventually have to deal with sleeping by myself. The next day I went to a healers camp and signed up for Reki. As I waited I talked to a few really nice people, and I looked over and saw this beautiful blond. She was hanging out and it looked like she was doing some healing. I don't have a lot of experience with Reki so I wasn't sure. She was putting on her shoes and leaving when I felt I had to approach her. We got to talking and turns out she was a reki master and I explained to her what had happened. So she started to do some work on me, and it was wierd at first. She sensed a lot of anger in me towards this person. He had violated my home and my happy place. I hadn't asked for any of this, it was forced upon me. After a while we stopped and she said in a few weeks once the ager has subsided I would have to find compassion and forgiveness for this person. Personally I didn't think I could, but I told her I wanted this to be over with. As I lay there she put her hand on my heart and one under my back and she took me to the moment when it was happening. I was terrified and shaking all over. I saw the guy climb the pole and wrap the bungee around his neck, I felt his loneliness and desperation. He had tunnel vision and couldn't see past his own pain to see how it would effect others. Tears started streaming through my eyes, it hurt my heart so much too see this person in pain. No living thing should ever feel so scared and alone. The healer covered me in light and had me talk to him. He kept saying he was sorry, he didn't mean for this to happen. I told him it was ok and that he was free to go. As I placed my hand on his back the light spred to him. He walked out of the tent as I stood there. When the healer brought me back, I was exhausted. I felt a burden had been lifted off my chest. I hung out and talked with Diana for a bit. She explained to me that I was meant to find the body becuase of who I was. She had a session to go to and I wanted to get some sleep so we said our good byes. When I got back to camp I passed out for a few hours. I woke up and went to the deep end (a wild open air dance club) and got on a podium and just danced, sober and happy. Some rain came down and people just partied and had a great time, then all of a sudden over on the horizon a double rainbow appeared. I hadn't seen one of those in a long time and the crowd went errupted. It was amazing. The rest of the week was stellar and people said I seemed like me again. My life has been changed in a profound way. I feel different, more connected and not so lost anymore. Strange thing is that I drew a tarot card right before I left for the burn called The tower and it says to "prepare yourself for the lightning blast coming your way" I remembered this on an art car saturday night of the burn. This was the most amazing burn ever. I feel recharged and know that my purpose in the world (not always so clear) is being served. I also want to thank all the wonderfull people who I met this year. My camp mates who for the first time in six burns made me feel like I found my home on the playa and who were so supportive when all this was happening, Nikki from slutt garden who is like my serrogate mom (thats hot) who found me and took care of me when I was a mess and Diana, the healer who like an angel on my shoulder pulled me through the darkness not to mention all the beautiful burners who were so generous with there compassion and love. I love you all very much.. (God I sound like a hippie!!!) ...

5th ANNUAL L.A. DECOMPRESSION STREET FESTIVAL NEW LOCATION: Sante Fe between 4th and 6th St Bridge, Artist District Downtown LA Main gate is located on MATEO STREET AND PALMETTO. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 13th, Noon until 11 PM $10 in Playa wear/$15 in non-Playa street wear Children under 12 are FREE www.LA-BURNINGMAN.com rain or shine, it's PLAYATIME! It's that time again! Time to grab those dusty boots you just don't have the heart to clean off and experience the art, the culture and the thrill of Burning Man, brought to life on the streets of downtown Los Angeles. This is an annual event to bring the spirit of Burning Man alive in our community. PARTICIPATE! Just like Burning Man, this event is put on through volunteer efforts. We are currently looking for volunteers the day of the event. If you are interested, please contact: monica@thedolab.com This is an art event. Come, immerse yourself in eleven hours of art and performance with theme camps, art cars, art installations, street performers and 2007 imagery. ARTISTS (in alphabetical order): ADAM MOSTOW APPELUSA ARMEN ZEITOUNIAN BILL GILMAN CHARLIE CURRY DAVID KNUDSON DAVID SHIELDS DON NORRIS JAMIE WEDOW JON JUSKIN LINKA ODOM MATTEO MEGAN DEAINZA MICHAEL ALLEN MICHAEL WISNIEUX MIGUEL CABALLERO NICK BOSWELL NICOLAS BAUTA RAY CIRINO RYAN JESENA SARAH SEAN SOBCZAK STEPHEN GARY STEPHEN NORRINGTON SUZETTE VAL THEME CAMPS (in alphabetical order): BLACK ROCK YEARBOOK BOUNCY BOUNCE CAMP CAMELTOPIA CLUB BABY SEAL PLUSH LOUNGE DISORIENT LOUNGE D'MAN'S LAIR FLATTERY CAMP GREEN TEAM ECO ZONE KRISHNA CAMP LA DREAM TEAM LA MUDPEOPLE ORAL MOISTENING CAMP PLAYA SURFERS PROMETHEATRICS SAGRADA BY DRAGON DEBRIS SPIRIT WIND CAFÉ SUN VALLEY CAMP TABULA RASA BEADING CAMP 8 stages featuring DJs, live bands, performance art, spoken word poetry, fire troupes, aerialists, workshops and lectures on sustainability, new green technology and the Earth friendly movement. STAGES (in alphabetical order): BBC CLOWNARCHY FIRE STAGE GREEN LECTURE STAGE GREEN SECTOR LIVE DUMPSTER DIVE RUFF AND RA VENICE VIBE TRIBE FEATURING THE MUSICAL TALENTS OF (in alphabetical order): 20 MEAT 6 FRY, 40 FT. JESUS, ALBINO, ANTON TUMAS, ARLAN'S ORGANISMS, AUDIO VOID, BONNIE DELIGHT DELIGHT, BRAIN GARDEN, BRASSWORK, BRIAN RAY, BROOKLYN, CARLY D/TAMO, CHAPLIN MXR, CHRIS RYAN, CONNIE JEAN, COOKIMON, COUSIN LOVERS, DAT GIRL (WITH HEAVENLY FATHER), DAVE SWEETEN, DAVID HUGHES, DIRT RYTHYMS, DISINTEGRATE, DJ ASTRAL, DJ CORY SAGE, DJ GUTI, DJ MYCHO PAN COCOA, DJ SEAMLESS, DMT, FANTUZI, FATFINGER, FLOW, FUXEDOS, THE GEOMETRIST, GODESS VIBE TRIBE, GOOFERMAN, HENRY STRANGE, HOWARD AMB, IMAGIKA, INTERACTIC GODDESS THEATER, JUSTIN PAUL, KIVA, LA MUD PEOPLE, LAZY SLAVE, LEE MAYJAHS, MANNY, MARQUES WYATT, MEE MU, MOJO W & VIBRATION ARMY, NICK THE NECK, NICOLA, NIELS MAYER, NIGEL RICHARDS, NOVATRON, ORIGINAL BOOTY BURGLARS, PETER JOBS, RENFEY, ROOTABREAKA, ROVER'S PINKY, RUFF HAUSER, RYANART, SAMANTHA GIRON DANCE PROJECT, SEDA/SQUARE ONE, SHADOW PORN THEATER, SPYROS, STEVE BOYETT, STILT CIRCUS, SUN BYTE, SWITCH MISTRESS, SYRENA, THE, LUMINARIES, THE MAGICAL HARP/HIGH PRIESTE SS, THOMAS LANN, TIKO DRUMS, TODD SPERO, TOSHI, TREVOR, UCLA BATU, ULKULADY, UNITED BY SOUND, VENICE VIBE TRIBE/SATCHI OM, VIDEO MONTAGE, WARDEN AND JUNE, WARLORDS, YEH-BE-DE Decompression is an opportunity to come together and share the art, performances, theme camps, photos, videos and stories from the playa; to re-connect with family and friends; and collaborate to create something new. It is, at its simplest, a reunion. But more significantly, it is a thoroughly participatory celebration of Burning Man art and community within our larger communities... Park on 1st, 2nd or 3rd and walk down to the main gate, located at MATEO and PALMETTO, downtown los angeles. FOR FULL LIST OF ARTISTS, THEME CAMPS, AND PERFORMERS, AND FOR TIME SLOTS, PLEASE VISIT: WWW.LA-BURNINGMAN.COM For info on the black rock arts foundation, please visit: WWW.BURNINGMAN.COM

The official Southern California Decompression brought to you by the Burning Man communities of San Diego and Orange County. For three days, we will revel in creative expression, unleash our inner outrageous artist, and celebrate intentional community, all while having copious amounts of FUN! With inspired art displays and opportunities to join and and make your own interactive art; dazzling, raucous performances and relaxing spots for socializing; wild parties and meditative spaces for spirituality and contemplation, Fuego De Los Muertos will be the event you don't want to miss. Come join us for three days of Art, Music, Fire Performance and the celebration of life! It is that time of year again folks. For those of you that didn't get to join me at burningman this year have a chance to join the regional event happening Oct 19-21, 2007. This event will only cost $35 and is near the Pechanga Resort and Casino. Hit me up for details or visit one of the two sites listed below... Here is a couple things you need to know about this event... 1. It is hotter than hell during the day but ice cold at night. 2. Leave no trace. What this means is no trash is left behind even cigarette butts. 3. This is self reliance, there are not toilets or showers. 4. Respect, respect, respect!!!! There will be lots of public nudity so please be respectful and ask before taking ANY pictures. http://decom.alchemyunlimited.com/ http://www.thephotographymachine.com/thevillage.htm

It is that time of year again folks. For those of you that didn't get to join me at burningman this year have a chance to join the regional event happening Oct 19-21, 2007. This event will only cost $35 and is near the Pechanga Resort and Casino. Hit me up for details or visit one of the two sites listed below... Here is a couple things you need to know about this event... 1. It is hotter than hell during the day but ice cold at night. 2. Leave no trace. What this means is no trash is left behind even cigarette butts. 3. This is self reliance, there are not toilets or showers. 4. Respect, respect, respect!!!! There will be lots of public nudity so please be respectful and ask before taking ANY pictures. http://decom.alchemyunlimited.com/ http://www.thephotographymachine.com/thevillage.htm

Only a couple days left, hope you guys are ready!!! This year I'll be camping with "MICROTRIBE" at 330 and Habitat or Intertidal. Here are the street names for this year FYI Esplanade Arctic Boreal Coral Reef Desert Estuary Fresh Water Grassland Habitat Intertidal Jungle Kelp Forest Landfill

Hello Tappers, for you burners out there that like heading out to the playa early don't forget to sign up for greeters station. The schedule went up live and is filling up quick. http://greeters.burningman.com/schedule.html

Peering outward from behind a mottled screen of vines and leaves, the Green Man does not speak or sleep; he waits. His meaning and his origins are largely lost to time — the Green Man wasn't named till 1939. We know, however, that this type of enigmatic figure was the work of artists, anonymous craftsman whose unsigned work adorns the crevices and walls of medieval cathedrals. This year we will appropriate the Green Man and the primeval spell he casts on our imaginations for a modern purpose. Our theme concerns humanity's relationship to nature. Do we, as conscious beings, exist outside of nature's sway, or does its force impel us and inform the central root of who and what we are? Beginning with the advent of the modern age, we have regarded nature as a beast that we can tame. We have built levees to contain the rush of rivers and rebuff the ocean's swell; we have extracted oil from the earth to fuel the engines of our cars. We have constructed dams equipped with turbines that project electric power in a skein across the globe — our cities are cocooned in artificial light that rivals and occludes the stars. It's very easy to presume we hold the upper hand. Yet levees break, and glaciers melt. The power of the tide when roused comes up to meet us with a challenge and a message that we can't ignore. Some say it's our chief duty to preserve the natural world intact, protected from the ways of man. This is a worthy goal. And yet, if Burning Man has taught us anything, it's that we can collaborate with nature. Only from immediate experience, not ideologies that stand outside of the created world, may we regenerate a sense of nature as it moves within us and flows through us. Quietly and patiently, the Green Man waits. This year our art theme will express the immanence of nature in our lives in a variety of ways. The Burning Man will stand atop a structure that resembles green mountain peak. Nestled at its base, a forest will provide both shade and shelter for participants.; Artists are invited to contribute to this forest by creating simulated 'trees' fashioned from recycled industrial materials. These artificial trees will not be burned: they will survive to subdivide the blue of other skies. But we will do much more than this. In 2007, we will calculate the amount of climate changing gases that are released into the air by the construction and the burning of the Man and its pedestal. This is called a carbon footprint. Then we'll sponsor projects in the outside world that will efface this imprint. Such actions might include the planting of trees or the development of non-polluting energy resources. Having played with fire, we'll take care to cleanse its atmospheric playground. This represents a first symbolic step aimed at redressing nature's balance. In its sum, this maiden effort may seem small. Widespread cheatgrass and sagebrush fires annually sweep the Nevada landscape, releasing far more carbon dioxide than the entire infrastructure of Black Rock City. Yet our endeavor constitutes a kind of contemplation of our place within the natural world. Thousands of Burning Man participants, who carefully inspect their campsites for any lingering trace of litter, inevitably enhance their everyday awareness of the impact of their actions on the world. It's difficult, upon returning home, to thoughtlessly discard one's refuse in the street. In this spirit, we'll encourage everyone to calculate the carbon footprint of their campsite and make efforts to redress it. To learn how you may participate, see www.burnerswithoutborders.org. For more information concerning how one can calculate a carbon footprint, see the participant-created website, www.coolingman.org. Apart from and beyond such practical concerns, we encourage every artist to elicit nature's power from a much more personal and primal source of consciousness. Natural variation will ensure that each such vision is unique and unpredictable, producing artwork as diverse as all the different gifts that people bring to Burning Man. Hidden behind the masks of convention, there is surely a Green Woman or Green Man in every one of us. Burning Man's participants take pride in being individuals. They strive to radically express themselves. Yet we are also interdependent members of a complex and emergent culture. Our culture has the power to extend itself and to create — sans any conscious plan — completely unanticipated forms of human connection. As creators and as members of a culture, we are each a vital part of this phenomenal process. Already, its expansion is occurring at a rate of natural increase, sprouting up in niches and environments that Burning Man's society provides around the globe. The time has come to bring the Green Man home. As always, any work of art, regardless of our theme, is welcome at our event. If you are planning to do fire art or wish to install a work of art on the open playa, please see our Art Guidelines for more information.

If you are planning to go this year, the tickets just went on sale!!! $35 Per Person Info can be found at http://www.fuegodelosmuertos.org =)