The SS Serpent Queen

Realized this morning:

As a beautiful but unapologetically brilliant woman, the spot for me at Burning Man is, in every meaningful way, exactly the same as the spot for me in the Mormon Church

Signed, was a fixture in both, and left both for the same reasons

Now, as much as I dislike Burning Man, I love the "Playa Restoration crews". I watched this several years ago and was very impressed with their dedication to detail.

These folks have their work cut out for them this year.

The Temple is a community shared space that is an important part of Black Rock City. It is not a temple in recognition of any religion; it’s a neutral, non-denominational spiritual space where everyone can gather to share in the experience of remembering the past, honoring or cursing the present, and pondering the future to come. The Temple is not fixed around one concept, belief or theme. It is an inclusive safe space for all Burners. Some will gather in pairs or groups, others will sit alone in silence. And yet, in the Temple, no one is ever alone. [x]

[Photos by Alex Medina]

BURNING MAN MUSIC | The Wisdom Of The Sands by Saintsay | Oriental progr...

Got the layout done and amazing 😻. Expecting more from all of my tags 🏷️ please help the boy to grow 🙏

- Burning Man 2023 -

If you are quiet and sit very still, listen real closely you can hear the faint voice of George W Bush saying "Heckva job Brownie"

Burning Man: Waking Dreams. 2022

BOOGA :: Art car

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I lack the peace of simple things. I am never wholly in place. I find no peace or grace. We sell the world to buy fire, our way lighted by burning men. -Wendell Berry

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The only reason to do this stuff is for the relationships. My collaborators over the years on this project are among the core of my weird extended chosen family. There's no way to name names without leaving people out.  Everybody mattered.  The mark of family is that you still love each other after driving each other insane with unreasonable behavior because you are there to grow together. I believe that we all made something beautiful and highly improbably pop off this year at the burn better than we ever have before on any other project, after working together for years. I cherish all of these relationships deeply, and tending them was at the core of my burn this year.

This stuff is incredibly fun and incredibly hard and takes all day if you invest wholeheartedly in contributing to the event. As with most things in life, the bigger the investment, the more fun you have and the more you learn. My primary $$$ clients (I don't get paid for working on Thunder Gumbo) are also burners and producers who understand why I'm doing what I've done, and I'm very lucky to have them help make it possible. I lost five pounds, and have probably eaten about 200,000 calories since getting back to Reno six days ago. I gave a couple thousand dollars and a few months of my life and efforts to hard work on the project this year between helping produce on three major fundraiser parties (with two more to come this fall), a kickstarter campaign, a thirty five person camp (with kitchen / shower / shade / lounge / workshop / car parking), and an elaborate trucking, breakdown, and financial reconciliation process that is still going on. 

The event wouldn't have been the same without investing in it so heavily-- sometimes the object of devotion isn't as important as the devotion to seeing things through in general, no matter what it takes. Even if it means that I was tending to my responsibilities to the point that I brought out a record player and a stack of vinyl, three decks of tarot cards, and a six foot inflatable hamster ball without using any of them once. 

Like most difficult things, Burning Man is not for everybody. There's lots of goofy stuff about lots of the tribes that go, it's a pretty self indulgent event in a city that gentrifies steadily every year, some of the internal politics are extremely wack, it is expensive and dangerous and time consuming and classist and dusty. I acknowledge all these things and remain a fan regardless.  

Every critique of Burning Man is true, and I honor the festival for being able to contain everything-- it is a Tantra, not a Sutra. It has, love, hate, beauty, ugliness, skill and lack therof, computer programmers who call themselves spanky and dress up as gay aliens, impoverished mystics, kind older people, children, fire spinners, burnouts, prodigies, trolls, real danger, injury, sex, death, cops, life, freedom, an FAA sanctioned airport and a functioning post office, dubstep, waffles. I guess I like that there's a little something for everybody.

My experience at the burn this year was extremely life affirming, but I feel no need to fetishize the experience. I was there and now I am here. It was a great party. There is no way I can give as much of myself to this set of tribal forces next year, having joyous demands on my time in the temporary city of New York like professional development and yoga teacher training, but it has been an incredible ride and I regret nothing. I am completely energized by all that has transpired, and am ready to make my entire life the best it can possibly be every day that I am alive on this planet.

[Shalin Scupham 20 Sept, 2015]

I went to Burning Man a few weeks back. You haven’t seen any pics because I lost a backpack that contained, amongst other things, the memory cards I was shooting on. Well, that backpack has been found, mostly intact thanks to the kindness of strangers. So I’ll be posting some slightly dated Burning Man photos the next few days. I’ll start with this one ... which may explain how the backpack became lost in the first place.

Queen Cobra project form comic creator Yomi Ayeni and others set to wow this year's "Burning Man" gathering

Check out this stunning new project for this year's Burning Man gathering from Clockwork Watch creator Yomi Ayeni and friends

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Burning Man and it's Medical Emergencies

My Bride is a nurse and Burning Man always sends people to the ER, mostly with survivable injurers. Mostly heat related injuries, dehydration, alcohol poisoning and of course overdoses from all kinds of drugs. This year she had 2 that were new mixed in with all the normal BS. An elder woman, 72 yo, presented with a Esophageal perforation caused by a double dong. She is still in the hospital. The one that still hurts to think about is a 27yo male who presented with a degloved penis. If you don't know what a degloving injury is, like I didn't, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT HOLY DON'T LOOK IT UP. His injury occurred while trying to transport water on his head while riding a bike with no seat and he slipped off the pedals. He left the following day to head back to the Black Rock, that boys and girls is dedication to Burning Man.

(Robot Heart)

Burning Man 2022 🔥

Burning Man 2022 🔥

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Building the Temple in Black Rock City!

When you go to The Burning Man festival, the Temple is one place that you can go to be quiet. It's meant as a place for contemplation and grief and catharsis. I volunteer there every year I go to the festival. I am a Temple Guardian.

This year's design is an eight pointed star with a four-fold symmetry. We've had this design since 2020, the first of the two cancelled burns. 2021 there was a Black Rock City in VR, and that's the first place that I saw the temple. They did it in not only three dimensions but four. With a mirror Temple that went below the surface of the land. It was fascinating.