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Volume 19, Issue #7 | December 4, 2014 
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ROUND-UP OF BURNING MAN WRITINGS:
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GET ME OFF THIS CRAZY RIDE!
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Hoooo boy have we got big stuff in this JRS. Things many of you have been waiting for with bated breath, we know. Let's hop to it ...
We've got answers to questions about turnkey camping in Black Rock City, including a message on the topic from Burning Man founder Larry Harvey. We encourage you to read both of them, and take part in the conversation.
And after 10+ years of sharing our story on www.burningman.com (RIP), we're proud to announce the launch of our new website, www.burningman.org! We hope you enjoy it as much as we do ... we feel like it really shows off Burning Man, our community and culture in all its glory. (Bookmark it, yo!)
And – in case that's not enough – we've got the art theme for Burning Man 2015: Carnival of Mirrors! It'll be a hoot. Read all about it below.
Thanks for your patience while we pulled all this stuff together for you, folks – it's been a hella busy Fall at BMHQ!
The Man burns in 276 days! Says so right here.
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On Turnkey / Plug and Play Camping in Black Rock City
As soon as we packed up and left the playa this year, some disconcerting stories and questions began to emerge about camps reportedly engaging in behavior counter to what Burning Man is all about.
Questions range from the logistical – how do these camps operate in BRC? Does the organization provide them with resources? — to the more philosophical – is the event fundamentally changing as a result of Burners bringing their luxurious lifestyles to the playa? What does this mean for Black Rock City and Burning Man culture?
Here are answers questions about turnkey camping and a message from Larry Harvey, titled "Equality, Inequity, Iniquity: Concierge Culture".
(If for some reason those links don't work, visit the Voices of Burning Man, and you'll see them there at the top.)
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Presenting the New Burning Man Website!
It's about freakin' time, right? The first Burning Man website redesign since 2003 is now live at our new address, burningman.org. Please make yourselves at home. Make sure you check out the Timeline, which lets you explore Burning Man history like never before.
Please pardon our dust while we're moving in. If you find any holes or bugs in the site, let us know.
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Burning Man 2015 Art Theme: Carnival of Mirrors
This year’s theme is about mirrors and masks, mazes and merger. It will be a kind of magic show that takes the form of an old-fashioned carnival. This Carnival of Mirrors asks three essential questions: within our media-saturated world, where products and people, consumption and communion morph into an endlessly diverting spectacle, who is the trickster, who is being tricked, and how might we discover who we really are?
Read the whole theme text.
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Black Rock City Honoraria Art Grants
Every year Burning Man Arts issues a small number of Black Rock City Honoraria art grants for the purpose of partially funding specific art projects for display at Burning Man.
If you’re interested in applying, you must first submit a Letter of Intent, due December 19 at 12 noon PST.
Learn more.
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We're in the Home Stretch for 2014 Lost and Found
Thanks to everyone who turned items in to Lost & Found at Playa Info, and to the dedicated volunteers helping to return items on and off playa. Because of you, others are having happy reunions. A whopping 84% of IDs and 70% of phones have been returned!
So far just over 50% of cameras and backpacks have been reunited. We still need your help. Please look at the latest photos from lost cameras, of lost keys and backpacks, and from the remaining 2013 camera cards, by searching our Flickr site.
Look for items you lost at BRC or the SF Decompression* by emailing pictures and detailed descriptions to lostan...@burningman.com.
*Attention guy who left his pink leopard-skinned bike trailer full of nice stuff in the park: DUDE, WTF?! Please contact us ASAP to collect your big MOOP!
Just one email, please, as that keeps the reunions flowing. All emails are being answered. Increase your chances by also visiting the ePlaya Lost and Found threads for found items NOT turned in to Playa Info.
This message would not be complete without a friendly reminder to label your stuff before you hit the playa next year.
Here’s a last-chance, roll call of people whose stuff we still have... but not for long:
M. Album, M. Antonio, T. Abraham, J. Barron, C. Blanda, G. Brent, D. Brooksher, P. Buckly, W. Burns, R. Chaturvedl, B. Davis, D. Deniel, G. Duarte, M. Fisher, S. Higgins, J. Hogarth, C. Howe, P. Kelley, M. Legg, C. Lujat, K. Magill, E. Minor, J. Moller, B. Moreau, C. Morrell, L. Muller, J. Murphy, N. Krens, B. Oehlbeck, M. O'Grady, J. Orr, J. Paul, C. Perkins, M. Pernula, C. RheeM Rios, E. Roswell, O. Rozenberg, K. Rudisill, M. Sanchez, B. Schnierow, F. Taylor, O. Temitope, D. Thayer, D. Thibaut, P. Velasquez, T. Wambold, C. Williams.
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Remembering William Robert Korthof – 1978 to 2014
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The Burning Man community has lost someone whose work honors us all. Matthew Fassberg writes:
"It is with great sadness that I inform the Burning Man community of the death of William Korthof, 'Will Power,' the solar lead for Snow Koan Solar over the last 9 years. Will died tragically on October 6th the day after his 36th Birthday, the passenger in a motorcycle crash in Pomona California.
Will came to Burning Man in 2006, offering to power 2 art projects and a single refrigerator. The following year Snow Koan became Snow Koan Solar and working with Will we collectively embarked on what was to be a 9-year mission to replace generator power with solar power as much as possible on the playa. Each year Will brought more panels, inverters and batteries and in coordination with his camp mates and the org he powered more art projects, camps and electric vehicles. At the peak of his involvement in 2013 Will brought enough technology to power the 24 C.O.R.E. projects, several additional art projects as well as 6 villages and camps.
Will established a solar charging station, where anyone could come and charge items ranging from cell phones to electric art cars. He would loan a solar array to one of Indian Taco trucks he passed on the way to he playa. All in all, it was a monumental effort on Will’s part each year; more and more people came to depend upon him.
It is worth noting that his work at Burning Man was just a small part of his life-long alternative energy crusade. He was a major advocate for electric vehicles, energy efficient construction, and healthy vegan living. He ran over 40 marathons and made new friends wherever he went to a race. You can learn more about this inspirational man from this post."
He will be missed.
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Tyler Durden Invented Burning Man
Summer Burkes is gonna learn ya a little history over on Voices of Burning Man:
"'But Larry Harvey invented Burning Man,' you may be saying to yourself. No, he and his homeys Jerry and Dan brought the statue to a 'Zone Trip' the Cacophony Society had already planned to the Black Rock Desert.
The rest of the event didn’t spring, Godlike, from one man’s mind, and materialize like so much ganja in Shiva’s dreadlocks. Cacophony built Black Rock City. It was a group whim — a hive-mind good time which snowballed and splintered, glittering, like breaking mirrorglass."
Read more on Voices of Burning Man.
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An Artist's Perspective
Trixie LaRue writes in with a detailed post about her experience as an Honorarium artist this year:
"When this year’s theme, Caravansary, was announced, I was inspired by the long textile history of the Silk Road and knew that this was the year for me to bring my art to the playa."
Read more on Surface Design.
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Burning Man, Into a 21st Century Utopia
Burning Man, Into a 21st Century Utopia, the latest book from award-winning photographer and writer Frank Spinelli, gives the reader more than a rich visual experience of the annual Burning Man event—the people, the environment, and what it's really like to be there. It also examines this unique, art-driven phenomenon within the context of a rich cultural tradition of American transitory Utopias that began in the 1920’s with Woodstock’s Maverick festivals.
The book will be available early December, 2014. More info on Frank Spinelli's website (requires Flash).
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Why I Love the Black Rock Scouts
Fun, loopy, kinda weird story about the founding of the Black Rock Scouts:
"Let’s just begin by saying that I never want to go to a burn again without my daughter. Now I’m working on my wife to go. That first year, we truly survived together. We had a chance to be authentic with each other, work out hard stuff that came between us along the way, and really got to play together. Burning Man is unique because it’s not just camping, it’s not just a festival, and it’s not Disneyland. For us it is the perfect combination of adversity and play that offers a very unique opportunity for connection. It literally levels the playing field where you get to be a kid with your kid."
Read more on the Black Rock Scouts site.
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AfrikaBurn: Finding New Species in the South African Desert
"Succulents, reptiles, spiders... Those all sound like things you'd find on a stroll through the desert in Tankwa, South Africa. But what about an armadillo motorbike? What about a giant gingerbread house? Stiltwalkers? A live band?
If these don't sound like native desert species to you, then you've clearly never been to AfrikaBurn. From the producer of Spark - A Burning Man Story comes this short tale of the Tankwa and how corporate interests threaten the livelihood of South Africa's fragile desert landscape."
Watch the video on Ignite.
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Camera Sharing Project on the Playa
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Cool idea! Hope the other cameras show up soon. Joren writes:
"The night before heading off to Burning Man I stayed up all night far too excited to sleep. I was going through my boxes of goodies to take out to the playa and found a box of disposable cameras I had bought the year before. I know myself enough to know that I am not someone who will stop to take photos during playa adventures.... so I decided to share my cameras and turn it into a game. I attached notes to the five cameras. The notes read as follows:
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Take a photo with your friends. Make it beautiful and sexy... just like you are!
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Write your email address on the back of this card.
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Pass this camera to someone you don’t know.
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Look forward to seeing your pictures.
On the back of the card I left a space for people to write their email addresses and gave instructions for returning the camera to me back in the default world. About a month after returning from the playa a very kind Burner named Cordelia developed one of the cameras and sent me the results. The other four cameras are still floating around out there. Maybe they’ll make their way home eventually. Thanks to all the beautiful people who played with me! Enjoy!"
Check out the gallery on Joren's blog.
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What Are YOU Gonna Do About It?
'Tis the fallow season of the Burning year ... the Decompression wave is receding (but not completely washed asea), and the Burner world goes into a bit of hibernation.
Or does it?
The non-profit Burning Man Project is hard at work spreading Burning Man culture around the world, keeping the fires alive, and sharing the transformational power of this experience with more people in more places, year-round.
And YOU can be a part of it. Get involved! Find your local Regional Group, tap in, and get something going! Or, if you want to fly solo (sure, why not?) tap into your own playa experience, and share it with the folks around you. The holiday season is upon us, why not take the opportunity to affect some change in your corner of the Burnerverse?
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Create Inspiring Graphic Design for Burning Man!
Ever wondered how you might contribute your design chops to make a Burning Man project more incredible, but didn't know how? Itching to demonstrate your passion for typography and clean design while supporting the Burning Man community? Well, this is your opportunity to raise your hand.
If you're an experienced graphic designer or illustrator bursting with innovative, visually striking ideas, please get in touch with us by completing our intake form. We're specifically looking for folks with experience in the following areas: print design, illustration, web design and UI/UX, identity development, and strategic visual communications, to name a few. We have several projects throughout the year for which we have targeted calls for submissions, and we'd love to consider you for projects that are appropriate to your skill set and interests.
If you are interested in being a part of the Burning Man designer pool, please complete this online form.
Also, if you know talented designers who you think would be interested but may not see this post, please encourage them to fill out the form!
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Did You Love Embrace? Can You Help Us Fund It?
Listen here. If you were in Black Rock City on Friday morning this year, you know how wild the Embrace burn was. Unquestionably a highlight of the event, right? Well, its creators need a little help breaking even on it, so let's help 'em out. Matthew Schultz writes:
"We built it, we burnt it, we cried. Help us finish funding Embrace & support more giant art outside of Burning Man and around the world. Embrace inspired so many weddings and engagements, it offered all of us a place to reflect on love and life and relationships. Our team successfully raised over $200,000, however we are still short about $40,000!!! Please help us make this happen. Embrace was a project about passion with an all volunteer crew, and $40,000 is a lot for a big group of artists from Reno to cover! Did I mention we have lots of awesome Embrace schwag?
Help fund Embrace on Kickstarter.
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Bring Wheel of Fortune Home
Anne and Jill write:
"We are all traversing this desert of wonders, wandering a life that has delivered each of us to a specific point in the dust. Did your path lead you to that magnificent circle of 22 doors – each having their own unique character? What door did you choose, or, what door chose you?
Wheel of Fortune project and installation is an interactive divination tool inspired by a circle of women and created by Anne Staveley and Jill Sutherland of LIVINLARGE Photo, recipients of a 2014 Burning Man Honorarium grant.
Revisit Wheel of Fortune by visiting the new website. There you will find all the images and the description for each. You can learn more about the project, watch the amazing video by Smash Le Funk, and purchase prints of any of the multiple exposure images or purchase the Wheel of Fortune mini-deck."
Learn more at Wheel of Fortune Tarot.
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Vienna Burning Ball "Art Décadence" — Vienna, Austria — January 17
Gogo writes:
"Whirlwind up from your couches all over Europe and the overseas and summon in one place and one very special night! A club in the former red light area of Vienna will be our playground: The 'Drunken Sobriety Cabaret' (known from Nowhere 2014) will open its stage for you to perform on ground level. In the underground cellar, a great sound system is waiting to indulge your ears, the notorious 'Salon Leobard' will comfort stray travelers who long for a pillow. Bring your art, perform, shine!"
Learn more on the Vienna Burning Ball website.
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We were listening to ...
The new alt-J record, because you just kinda have to go hear what that's all about. Requires multiple listens to access, which is convenient when compiling a JRS.
And also chair-dancing to Tanlines.
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If this email is not as beautiful as it should be, view it in your browser.
Burning Man • PO Box 884688 SF, CA 94188
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