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Resources towards this year's Burning Man
I ended up putting more energy towards Burning Man this year than I have before for a year I'm not there.
The weekend before Firefly I was escaping the heat of my apartment at the Asylum, and let myself get drafted for a couple of hours' work on an art project going there and to the playa, some huge programmable LED pendulums; I did some grunt work of drilling metal and assembly of putting the long moving poles into their holders (that let them swing freely in one plane). I don't know whether I've drilled metal before.
Later in July, I showed up for a couple of work nights at Artisan's Asylum for my usual home camp, Covered in Bees. The first night, I was grunt labor helping in getting the ends of already-cut metal struts squished flat, and the second night was about getting the now-flattened ends of the struts drilled for a new camp shade dome. I operated machines neither time, providing hands and strength in the machining shop (my first times in there, even so). As a result of going to the work nights, I met a new Bee, who's going to the playa for the first time. I ended up lending her my candy-caned rebar and a few fixed-lid boxes, figuring it's always better for them to be in use rather than just sitting around.
Some of my far-away campmates regretted my lack of attendance this year meaning a lack of my pickles (among all the other things they'd miss), so I managed to get one of the local Bees to put a pint of pickles in his stuff being shipped out.
I'd realized a while back that the Black Rock City Post Office gets the postcards I always ask for by people making them and gifting them. I figured this year I could get some postcards made and send them to the post office. I was lucky enough to find an online deal (same price for postcards whether 100, 250, or 500 to the batch), so I got 500 postcards of the 2009 temple Fire of Fires burning (around $31 including postage to me; so much better pricing than I found anywhere else; I got very lucky).
I posted asking if people wanted postcards either on or off playa. Once I had a list, I started writing. I also started baking, having decided that fruitcake would likely survive the trip reasonably well until whenever it arrived (or so I hope), though later than I'd planned, so the cake had fewer bastings in rum before being cut up and shipped off. In the end, I sent off three packages to the playa: one to each of the two camps in the Boston Hive I have some affiliation with (with similar contents: slices of fruitcake in Ziploc bags and a postcard to the camp), and a bigger one to the post office, which included an explanatory postcard, a huge stack of blank postcards to gift, a small stack of postcards to send on-playa (that I hope will arrive without putting postage on), a small stack of stamped postcards to send to friends here and there off-playa (this year's postcard stamps are Hawaiian shirts, which I found oddly appropriate), lots of fruitcake slices, and (as packing material to fill up space) a woolen slate-gray and purple scarf (figuring it's better to send something someone can use instead of bubble wrap). Postage ended up being around $25; I hope everything gets to the intended recipients!
It doesn't make up for not being able to go, but it gives me a sense of connection, even when I'm not there, knowing that I've helped just a little towards a better event.
And for those not on-playa, Burning Man Radio BMIR 94.5 is streaming online (a rather eclectic musical mix). I admit, hearing the announcements between the songs is reminding me that at least this morning, I'm glad not to be in a huge line of cars having been up all night waiting, slowly creeping forward towards the gate. Though they did open the gates earlier this year, so perhaps the crush wasn't as bad. (And lots of my camp got early passes; I might manage that sometime too, as long as it's not on Shabbat....)
edit 8/27 1615 There's also a web cam live from the playa for them's who want video (though my machine is having issues with the feed; I assume it's my outmoded technology, however). Which on the one hand is pleasing, being able to see stuff, but on the other hand is a bit creepy that it's available.
The weekend before Firefly I was escaping the heat of my apartment at the Asylum, and let myself get drafted for a couple of hours' work on an art project going there and to the playa, some huge programmable LED pendulums; I did some grunt work of drilling metal and assembly of putting the long moving poles into their holders (that let them swing freely in one plane). I don't know whether I've drilled metal before.
Later in July, I showed up for a couple of work nights at Artisan's Asylum for my usual home camp, Covered in Bees. The first night, I was grunt labor helping in getting the ends of already-cut metal struts squished flat, and the second night was about getting the now-flattened ends of the struts drilled for a new camp shade dome. I operated machines neither time, providing hands and strength in the machining shop (my first times in there, even so). As a result of going to the work nights, I met a new Bee, who's going to the playa for the first time. I ended up lending her my candy-caned rebar and a few fixed-lid boxes, figuring it's always better for them to be in use rather than just sitting around.
Some of my far-away campmates regretted my lack of attendance this year meaning a lack of my pickles (among all the other things they'd miss), so I managed to get one of the local Bees to put a pint of pickles in his stuff being shipped out.
I'd realized a while back that the Black Rock City Post Office gets the postcards I always ask for by people making them and gifting them. I figured this year I could get some postcards made and send them to the post office. I was lucky enough to find an online deal (same price for postcards whether 100, 250, or 500 to the batch), so I got 500 postcards of the 2009 temple Fire of Fires burning (around $31 including postage to me; so much better pricing than I found anywhere else; I got very lucky).
I posted asking if people wanted postcards either on or off playa. Once I had a list, I started writing. I also started baking, having decided that fruitcake would likely survive the trip reasonably well until whenever it arrived (or so I hope), though later than I'd planned, so the cake had fewer bastings in rum before being cut up and shipped off. In the end, I sent off three packages to the playa: one to each of the two camps in the Boston Hive I have some affiliation with (with similar contents: slices of fruitcake in Ziploc bags and a postcard to the camp), and a bigger one to the post office, which included an explanatory postcard, a huge stack of blank postcards to gift, a small stack of postcards to send on-playa (that I hope will arrive without putting postage on), a small stack of stamped postcards to send to friends here and there off-playa (this year's postcard stamps are Hawaiian shirts, which I found oddly appropriate), lots of fruitcake slices, and (as packing material to fill up space) a woolen slate-gray and purple scarf (figuring it's better to send something someone can use instead of bubble wrap). Postage ended up being around $25; I hope everything gets to the intended recipients!
It doesn't make up for not being able to go, but it gives me a sense of connection, even when I'm not there, knowing that I've helped just a little towards a better event.
And for those not on-playa, Burning Man Radio BMIR 94.5 is streaming online (a rather eclectic musical mix). I admit, hearing the announcements between the songs is reminding me that at least this morning, I'm glad not to be in a huge line of cars having been up all night waiting, slowly creeping forward towards the gate. Though they did open the gates earlier this year, so perhaps the crush wasn't as bad. (And lots of my camp got early passes; I might manage that sometime too, as long as it's not on Shabbat....)
edit 8/27 1615 There's also a web cam live from the playa for them's who want video (though my machine is having issues with the feed; I assume it's my outmoded technology, however). Which on the one hand is pleasing, being able to see stuff, but on the other hand is a bit creepy that it's available.