Heads up for BM

King’s Royal Robes

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Hello I am called King. The King of faux fur! I make custom, made to order Royal Robes and Light Up Coats. This will be my 8th burn this year and after my experience last year as the Nookie Monster (Cookies older brother). I decided the playa needs more Monster/ Animals. So I have come up with my new line “Scary Monsters & Super Freaks” . Available at www.lightupcoats.etsy.com and my website is:
Proceeds from lightupcoats go to funding  my Mutant Vehicle , Theme Camp and every thing it takes to get the King back to the desert he calls home. Thank You King

Burning Man Leadership Summit

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Next week starting April 1st will be the annual Leadership Summit and Regional Conference in San Francisco. Many issues will be discussed as well as tools provided that will help some of us with the things we do with our communities. I discovered this last year while it was underway and was determined to go the next time it was on!

Stephen RaspaWhy was I invited? Well, at first you might say I impressed myself because I wanted to meet and learn from Stephen Raspa. If you do not know who he is then… well, then you don’t know Burning Man. It is not unlike saying who is Marian Goodell and who is Larry Harvey.

Well, another reason I was invited is because I am a candidate for a Regional Contact position in Vegas which has been a process for a few months now following an extensive interview process. That is a story for another day.

The Question

So I ask you; Do we as the queer burners have any special needs/considerations/positions that needs addressing? I would love to bring anything from OUR sub-community… is that even the right word? Are we really integrated with the Burner community as a whole or are we that politely acknowledged presence of the would be super-liberals…? HA HA HA… not so much a serious question as cankerous nudge in the ribs of anyone wondering about social dilemmas. (No, I don’t really know either).

We the People

There is a full schedule of classes ranging from event setup to dealing with social and political issues in the community. Some classes I would take are layered on top of each other which means I had to choose one or the other.  For example, Fridays classes are “Mailman Training” v. “CORE Project Leaders” which was a simple choice in my case with the CORE project off my grid at the moment (Mailman refers to keepers of community lists and how much should be throttled and moderated).

Classes range from Public Relations, Event Planning, and Ranger resources… a lot of arms to this thing we call Burning Man and how to hopefully strengthen the community and the resources of same. The community is Black Rock City, all the Regions beyond that, then the pods/cells/fractures within. I know one question being asked is how do we deal with the fractures within communities and should we?

Conclusion

So, I will be posting about this as I go and be on my cell at all times. Feel free to text me or email.

Getting Mail @ Burning Man

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When mailing to the playa please address your playa-bound mail as completely as possible in this format to increase the odds of your mail being received:

CAMPER’S PLAYA NAME or REAL NAME …or better, both.

CAMP NAME (and any helpful descriptions of street facade, tents, or large features that might be at this location to help the postie find the addressee)
CAMP ADDRESS: as close as you can get (example: 9:35 and Hummer) &/or nearest cross-street, and even Man-side or mountain-side (if you know)
C/O BRCPO
Burning Man
Gerlach, NV 89412

PLEASE be sure to put a return address on all incoming mail. Should we not find the addressee we will return all undelivered mail to sender.

Buis. Side of Burning Man

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So, I was posting the new page Decompression Digest today when I realized that just recently I remember reading an article in The Examiner how Burning Man, LLC sued someone for using the word “decompression” in their advertising. I always hear haw fervently BMorg protected their name, been warned a few times be people who were excessively nervous, but never really saw much enforcement before.

Larry Harvey and Marian Goodell - The Business Side of Burning ManThis writer definitely believes in protecting the brand and the principles of an organization like this, which is why following Burning Man, LLC letter about coyright that went out to the general community I wrote the BM legal office describing both web sites managed by StudioSK (me) because of the use of the name “burner” in both titles (LVBurners.Com and GayBurners.Com). Each site contains a disclaimer about how this site is not a product of Burning Man, LLC or has any affiliation.

I find when writing anything on these site, legal words roll through my head, even before the idea of protecting the brand; which is a very close second.

It is what it is. I am writing this because when I started the previously mentioned page my mind reflected back to that article and how many times I have to carefully pluck my words to honor the unwritten contract I have with Burning Man. (pause) Wait, I guess I signed an agreement last time I went to Burning Man.

Wait, when I registered on ePlaya.

Er, uhm, my paperwork for my 2010 art project for Burning Man, LLC.

Basically, it’s everywhere. They are a corporation and at the same time is promoting the principle of Radical Self-Expression. If I were to ever become a Regional the contract would become official and binding on a new level, but I still honor all that.

This article is not a smooch the the legal ass of Burning Man, LLC and it’s registered Trademarks (sorry Dan), but something I felt like writing because of the wheels turning in my head with each of these creations. I have to make sure I do not cross the line. Anyone does, when it comes to playing with other peoples business.

Believe it or not, and only a few people know this, I actually was told by Marian Goodell in a very pleasant conversation that one of my previous posts really came close or stood on top of that line. Provocative was not a word I would use on that article from last year, but Marian said is was not as benign as I felt it was; especially since it dealt with a sensitive issue in the BM world.

The plus side is, some people at BMorg got to know me a little. The drawback… I can’t think of one. Hopefully the drawback won’t be people at BMorg getting to know me better because I would jump into that pool in a heart beat.

Bottom line is that myself and anyone posting on my sites, or anyone on their endeavors, have to be careful about the things we are representing. It leads us to respecting the bigger picture as well. So when I go into a long circle to get to a point sometimes with carefully worded phrases please understand.   🙂

Read more on the Business Side of Burning Man on LaughingSquid.Com

Being Prepared for Burning Man

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What does it take to be ready for your journey to Burning Man? Ask yourself ‘are you ready?’ Will you ever be ready? So many people blindly wander into this journey thinking it is some hippy, feel-good, love fest where people will share and give endlessly.

Burner: Tales from the Playa – Part One from Tony Edwards on Vimeo.

The gifting economy of Burning Man is a generous thing, but the mundanes gliding into this world on glitter shitting unicorns might be surprised. Gifting is not asked for or expected. Gifting is not necessarily for the exchange of goods. That’s called bartering, which works too, but go to Burning Man prepared.

10 Principles of Burning Man say it all! However, the most important is Redical Self-Reliance. Toaster says “Take care of your own shit”. Do not rely on the generous nature of others to fill your void. So even if it is painful resist burdening others for your lack of planning.

Are you Playa Primed?

Packing List
Tales of the Playa Vid
The Tales video series that can be found on burncast.tv was one of the best resources for preparing yourself for the playa that I found. -Toaster



The absolutely best resources are all located on the Burning Man home page, without a doubt. However, use all the resources at your disposal. The best advice is to get to know people in your community or join another and become part of the do-acracy. Burning Man is a participatory entity.