Talk about a massively concentrated terrorist target.
Posted on 08/26/2016 9:16:20 AM PDT by rktman
Burning Man, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, has grown from a tiny summer solstice bonfire gathering on the beach in 1986 near San Francisco to such a powerful cultural phenomenon that no less than President Barack Obama name-checked it at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in April. His 18-year-old daughter, Malia, he joked, isn't allowed to go. Running this year from Aug. 28 to Sept. 5, Burning Man — where attendees include Google's Sergey Brin and Larry Page, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, iHeartMedia chairman Bob Pittman, director Chris Weitz (who met and married his wife, Mercedes Martinez, there) and such celebrities as Anne Hathaway, Jared Leto and Michelle Rodriguez — might scare off some people, but not the 70,000 who now throng the countercultural festival. Celebrating boundary-pushing self-expression (from Socially Appropriate Boner Day to Rosario Dawson's 2011 vagina-tent installation) and community building (more than 300 individuals worked on one of this year's art projects: two enormous pyramids), it's a mix of participatory artworks with crazy costumes, aerialist troupes, shirtcockers (guys who, as it sounds, wear shirts and nothing else), the anonymous-sex-orgy dome (men can't go alone), fire dancers, yoga and meditation sessions, TEDx talks and, yes, a good many people tripping on a lot of drugs.
(Excerpt) Read more at hollywoodreporter.com ...
Forgot a couple of things. A lot of them will be back in town for the end of Best of the West Nugget Rib Cook Off at the end of the week and we’ll be exposed to the wafting odor of patchouli oil and skunk “weed” for days after.
I first read that as “evacuation of the soul”.
Burning man was fun the first couple of years in 91-95 while I was working in Gerlach but it soon got ridiculous, and I watched helplessly as tens of thousands of people a year turned the black rock region from a wild a desolate place to basically I5 in Los Angeles all year long. Now half the area is closed off. Hot springs like Frog Ponds have virtually been wrecked and always have at least 100 squatters at them at all times with the water containing so much coloform and ecoli that I am stunned that everybody doesn’t get urinary tract infections just for walking close to them. There are signs everywhere now. I have treasured areas nearby that are mostly unexplored by the masses yet, but as so many people crowd, and because of it, more and more areas get regulated and then closed, More and more explore further and further out.
I have thought of ways to stop the burning man for decades without actually hurting anyone, and I think I have come up with a winner. I want to have a 10000 burning koran camp. Of course I will have to tell the organizers that they are bibles so it will be ok. But then when it comes time to burn get as many video cameras as possible on it and announce to he representing burning man and set 10000 korans alight and vanish. They would never be able to have another burning man for fear of terrorist attack
I liked reading WIRED magazine. I stopped my subscription a few years back but might get a digital subscription so I can re-read the back copies.
I don't think I would like to go to Burning Man but I would like to read about people who do.
Talk about a massively concentrated terrorist target.
Where does the water come from? Where does the poop go?
I was at Frog Pond in June. Not a soul in sight. Today it is standing room only.
In and out on the same truck.
I like watching all the nutty vehicles heading up the 80 this week. You can spot a burner at 100 yards. Will avoid the playa til the patchouli stench has cleared, though.
“I was at Frog Pond in June. Not a soul in sight”
You may not have seen them, but that is actually a large area, and there are always people camped in those further back areas within the trees these days.
I don’t think I missed anyone. We were in a helo doing a survey.
This time of year for me is ‘watch all the crazy vehicles headed down 80’. I pass all sorts of nutty rigs on the way to and from work starting about a week and a half ago and going for the next couple weeks. They do these ‘art car’s and they can be pretty wacky and amusing. All the stores around here make serious bank selling water bottles and sun shades. Everyone with an old crappy camper gets it out to rent to people. It better be a crappy one though. Because you never know how trashed it will get.
The Portland and Seattle types come through here (Klamath Falls, OR) this weekend. It is fun to watch.
you in the air guard? I know someone in the Guard who was in a helo, cruised over blue wing, the lava beds frog ponds, then over an area we call rat $hit flats west of Flannigan right around June.
As a resident in Reno, seeing the folks travel to/from over the last couple years, all I can say is what a trashy crowd.
Roger that. Seems like GSR is ground zero fot pre and post event gathering. Gotta love the playa dust they bring back.
Nope. Just got asked to fly since the regular guy had an accident on his motorcycle and a rancher wanted his cattle counted and his bulls located and checked. Both bulls were standing in the larger pond at Frog. Reports of rustling in the area has many guys on edge.
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