It began with the first day of sales with “Ticket-tastrophy.”
And most recently we had “The Great Sell Out.” (If I’ve learned anything from “Carmageddon” it’s that inciting panic requires a catchy name.)

Yep, the rites of passage began long before we started packing this year. And just like a crazy dust storm, each of these challenges tests us and teaches us.

In these videos I address some of the fear and anger swirling around as well as highlight some of the lessons to be found in all this.

“Burning Man ‘News’” – Aug. 2, 2011

“Sellouts, Scalpers, & Surrender” July 26, 2011

As mentioned in the 1st video, it is important to resist the urge to focus on just the negative stories. The news wants to focus on the scalpers. But there are also amazing Burners who are selling their tickets at face value…even though the market value is much higher. Why? Because their values are more important than their wallets. THAT IS AWESOME. We will survive this social dust storm just fine.

These views are solely the views of Halcyon and do not represent the opinions of The Burning Man Organization or Major League Baseball.

Photo: mkgraph

A rite of passage is an act of growing up, and I don’t just mean maturing; I mean getting older. Time, at least from our ordinary, human perspective, only moves forward.

As rites of passage go, our week at Burning Man is pretty long. That’s a lot of time to reflect, a lot of days to fill with activity. Where should we go next? What should we do? For a ritual, this Burning Man thing seems kind of unstructured. Now that we’re here, are we just supposed to wander around?

Of course, the ritual does have a structure; it’s just more complex than the structure of, say, a Caribbean cruise, where some guy in shorts and a white sun visor tells you what to do all day.

There’s the burning of the Man on Saturday night, of course, and the Temple the next night. But those are all the way at the end.

What about this morning, now that we’ve finally got the tennis balls on our tent stakes and the pink fur zip-tied to our handlebars?

I guess we’ll look in the What-Where-When Guide… Read more »

WANTED: Participant Videos on Playa Preparation and Participation!
DEADLINE: JULY 15, 2011

Calling all filmmakers and benevolent Burners! We want YOUR video submissions to share as part of the 2nd Annual Burning Man Video Acculturation Series, designed to help new Burners prepare for their first playa experience!

The theme for 2011 is PREPARATION & PARTICIPATION! Read more »

I recently met a Reno local who is preparing for her first burn. “Do I really need to get an RV?” she asked me. “My friend told me you can’t do Burning Man without an RV. I just want to bring a tent.”

This hurts me on the inside. I haven’t been around that long — my first burn was 2003 — but I’ve spent many burns in a tent, and a couple of two-month work seasons besides. One of the things I hate to see is the rapidly increasing number of rental RVs on playa. They have their place, sure. If you’ve got small kids or a physical need for top-notch shelter, you might want to spend thousands renting an RV, plus hundreds in gas to drive it to Black Rock City and keep the A/C running. But that is a LOT of money (and a fair amount of pollution), and it’s not necessary to spend that much. You can be smarter about it, and I’m about to tell you how.

It is completely possible, and pretty easy, to build your own shelter and cooling system. You can have an airtight, windproof, shaded and cool place to sleep away the day, and you can build it yourself for a fraction of the cost of an RV rental.

THE INCREDIBLE HEXAYURT – $300

Holy wow! In 2007, Treehugger and Current TV hosted a contest for the best “eco-ideas” for Burning Man. The winner was a DIY shelter that costs under $300 to build, packs up flat into your truck, and can be reused year after year. Vinay Gupta’s Hexayurt is now being tested as disaster relief and refugee shelter. Why? Because it WORKS. This is far and away the best shelter idea I’ve heard of. Read more »

I learned to hold a hammer at Burning Man.

Hi folks, I’m The Hun and I’m excited to be blogging for you this year. Some of you already know me from past escapades, and some know me from my current blog, Love and Trash. And some of you are my new best friends.

Back in 2007 for the Green Man, Tom Price (among others) came up with a series of useful tips for Greening Your Burn: doing Burning Man in a more environmentally-responsible manner. Four years later, environmental pressures are still mounting. Financial pressures, too, for many of us.

So I’d like to revisit the Greening Your Burn series, but with a self-reliant twist. After all, Doing Things Yourself is generally more affordable and more eco-friendly than Buying Things From The Store. It’s also more fun, as long as you plan well, and you might actually pick up some new skills.

photo by Perfecto Insecto

I’ll be using this space to share ideas, inspiration and practical knowledge that’ll help you have the raddest Burning Man ever ever, but without having to spend thousands for your gear and accommodations.

Let’s call it DIY Your Burn.

Now, I know I’m not the only do-it-yourselfer around here. So I ask you: what are some of the things you do, great ideas you’ve seen, projects you can recommend? Please leave a comment with any and all suggestions. Let’s share the knowledge and DIY this burn.