Crickets Chirping

This year was my favorite burn so far. Not coincidentally it was the first time I stayed with a theme camp, Robosapiens. They were an amazing bunch of folks.

I used a hydraulic jackhammer. I helped make at least 100 crepes. I became desensitized to the sight of breasts. I tried magic berries with the camp across the street, Bat Country (that crew would have made Hunter S. Thomson proud :). I rode a giant birthday cake art car. I rode a double-decker bus. I slid down a six story astroturf ramp. I sat in a metal teardrop and experienced a brief moment of silence. I found Waldo. I jumped on glowing colored discs under a full moon. I got used to hugs instead of hand shakes. I did more bike riding that week than I did the rest of the year combined. I danced to techno music. I don’t even like techno music!

I saw and did things I couldn’t explain even if I wanted to.

I lost four or five pounds.

One thing I didn’t do was take a lot of photos. My still camera, it’s third trip to burning man, was jammed with dust. I do have video clips I shot with my Flip cam though!

The weather was pretty mild at night. I slept in a t-shirt. The dust during the day was insane though. Dustiest year for me so far.

On to the videos!

Here’s a shot of Sebastian (violin) and other members of EQLateral playing inside the Robosapiens dome:

More violin!

The Robosapiens robot sculpture in action, touch screen and all:

This year one of the camps brought a double-friggin-decker bus, like they have in England. The Nowhere Omnibus actually ran on time and had several stops around the Esplenade and the open playa. I shot this from the top of the bus while it was parked in front of center camp. You get a taste for how the dust storms interact with the art pieces out there, shrouding and then revealing.

More bus ride. You can see some of the larger pieces on the open playa, such as the Rocket (video of liftoff below).

I don’t think I can explain this. I think it was broadcasting DNA sequences or something.

This ramp was covered in astroturf. I heard from one of the safety inspectors (yeah, who knew BM even had those?) that it was the leading cause of injuries this year. It was basically the Rugburn Express. I rode down it on a trashcan lid, but this guy kept riding is bike down it over and over:

The rocket “launch” was a pretty bad-ass pyrotechnic display. Stick with it through the multi-colored mushroom clouds:

And finally the Man burning:

I didn’t stick around for the Temple burn sunday night so I have no video of that, unfortunately. I did spend a lot of time there while it still existed and it was quite beautiful. I’ve never been anywhere so soaked in emotion. Massive kudos to Adam and the rest of the Temple crew for such an amazing structure.

I had dreadlocks by the end of the week so when I got home I just got a mohawk instead of untangling them.

I feel compelled to keep the absurdity going.