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Volume 19, Issue #6 | November 19, 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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The last time the Burning Man website got an overhaul was 2003 — good lord, is that really true? Augh. More than 10 years ago!!
Well, now that the Burning Man organization has become a nonprofit, it's nigh time to share our new story with the world. As you'll see below, the Burning Man website (actually, a small handful of websites) is going through a long-time-comin' transformation to reflect the global, year-round reality that is now Burning Man.
Meanwhile, a team of folks from various departments and all levels of leadership across the organization has been hard at work on the turnkey camping issue that's rumbling through the community. We're working towards real reforms and effective solutions. We appreciate your patience, and will answer many of your questions as soon as we possibly can.
The Man burns in 290 days!
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Burning Man Website Undergoing Maaagical Transformation
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A hard working crew of writers and geeks at BMHQ have teamed up to build a brand spankin’ new website for Burning Man. This has been a long time coming and we’re soooo looking forward to sharing it with you.
As you know, earlier this year Burning Man became a non-profit. As part of our evolution from an organization dedicated solely to producing the annual event in the desert to a global network fostering Burning Man culture near and far, we are transitioning from burningman.com to burningman.org.
In order to make this grand leap, certain portions of the current site are going to be unavailable for short periods of time later this week. We know there are very important conversations happening in the community right now and we in no way want to stifle them.
We believe the blog will only need to be ‘pulled’ for several hours on Friday. If it were possible, we’d love to make the transition from burningman.com to burningman.org without disrupting current communication channels, but we’re working with a lot of moving bits and pieces and this is a necessary part of the process.
We also know there are lots of folks wondering about the theme for 2015 and the new process for applying for art grants. All of these details will be included on the new site, so we’re working fast and furiously to get it up and ready as soon as possible.
You can expect some parts of the current site to be unavailable at certain times later this week, and we look forward to sharing the new one with you very soon!
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Turnkey Camps: Moving Towards Effective Solutions
Many of you are waiting for a response to a number of questions concerning turnkey camps, placement of camps, access to tickets, decommodification and a potential erosion of our culture.
We assure you we are listening and discussing real reforms. Please stay tuned for additional related communications in the near future.
Read more on the Burning Blog.
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Gifts in the Desert: the Psychology of Burning Man
Neuroscientist Molly Crockett reflects on her first Burn, drawing from research on the psychology of human altruism:
"Many studies have shown a link between positive mood and generosity. When we are happy we are more likely to help others. Herein lies another explanation for the prevalence of altruism at Burning Man. The general mood there is positively giddy. You might think this is merely a side effect of euphoric drugs, but in fact at any given time most people at Burning Man are not high on drugs. Their high is entirely natural, and recent research can help explain why."
Read more at The Guardian.
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Made for Burning Man, Sugarcubes Sculpture Partners up with Cathedrals
What's better than combining beautiful music with stunning artwork? Leslie Horn writes:
"This is the video for the Cathedrals' song 'Unbound.' It's lovely! And the way the light cubes in the background pair up with the music is no accident—there's some really cool tech behind it.
I spoke with Alex Green, the guy who created the dancing light cubes, originally a project for Burning Man a few years ago. He built, designed, and programmed them in about four or five weeks—a feat everyone thought was impossible until he actually did it."
Read more on Gizmodo.
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13 Life Lessons From 13 Years at Burning Man
Maya Zuckerman has distilled 13 bite-sized insights from her 13 years on the playa. It's good for sharing with people who ask you what Burning Man is about:
"4. Service to Others - 'Burning Man is devoted to acts of gift giving that celebrates the philosophy of unconditional servitude. 'Gifting' does not contemplate a return or an exchange for something of equal value.' Essentially, being of service teaches and encourages us to be of service to community, friends, city and ultimately planet."
Read the other 12 on Huffington Post.
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Building the Virtual 2014 Man in Second Life
BURN2 is the only Regional Event that doesn't take place on Earth. It's in the Internet. But that doesn't mean it isn't hard work to make this thing happen. EmCee Widget writes:
"A builders' retrospective on the impact of building the 2014 Man – virtually in Second Life. Yes, there is a Virtual Burn and BURN2 is now wrapped for their Regional Event. Read about the Man and how he was made."
Read more on Pygar Builds the World with You.
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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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Moscow Decompression — Moscow, Russia— November 22
When: Nov 22, 9:00pm - Nov 23, 8:00am
Where: Secret Warehouse
Please join us for 2nd annual Moscow Decompression, starting on Saturday, November 22rd and finishing well into the day on the 23rd. We welcome all our beautiful Russian Burners as well as Burners from all over the world, and hope you join us to celebrate the Burn culture in Russia. This year the event is extra special as it takes place in a vacated Soviet trolley park, equipped with old trolleys converted into art cars, a huge warehouse space and tons of extra cultural flare. Already many artists, performers, DJs, fire lovers, gypsy travellers from all over Russia will be attending and performing, and we would love to see Burners from all over the world.
Details can be found on our Facebook group, and please reach out if you need help with travel visas or places to stay – we would love to help you come and host you in Moscow!
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We were listening to ...
The new — and presumably final — Pink Floyd record, which sounds like a new — and presumably final — Pink Floyd record.
And also, Trails and Ways and the wonderful Generationals.
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Burning Man • PO Box 884688 SF, CA 94188
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