Burning Man 2007

Working for The Man

I just returned from the annual art festival held in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada known as Burning Man (perhaps you've heard of it). A city of 40,000 + people springs up for a week of incomprehensible heat, cruel dust storms, and unbearably loud techno music booming through the night--in other words, the perfect summer vacation! There is also the most unbelievable art, beautiful, ingenious people, and a very palpable sense of community (I know it sounds cliché, but it's true I tell you). This was my 3rd BM in a row and, for me, the best yet.

It was Tutu Tuesday... I don't make the rules

I had the quintessential Burning Man day (or perhaps that is an oxymoron) on Saturday. I intend to write more about it later (in verse?) but it began with a beautiful woman grabbing my hand and guiding me quietly up behind a man in a short kilt where she bent down, looked under said kilt and then whispered to me in the most lovely, thick Scotch accent, "he's not really Scottish." She then slipped her hand from mine and disappeared into the dust. And that was just the beginning of my day...

Since I'm still recovering and still playing catch up, I won't even try to explain the experience now. As I may have mentioned, I will be writing more later (I am oh-so inspired) but for the moment here's a Burning Man Haiku I wrote and a few more pictures...

Searing Sun Beats Down
Saline Dripping From My Nose
A Guy Without Pants

Those trucks are real

Off to the Purple Rain party on Wednesday



All we are...

I won't even try to explain this


The night of "The Burn"


This is an art car--with ears that wiggled

Two burns for the price of one--the oil derrick explodes after an impressive fireworks display


Yawn... if you've seen one 30' tall sculpture with a beautiful, nearly-naked girl climbing it, you've seen 'em all...

The temple burns on Sunday--perhaps the most impressive fire of all