Aussielicious

I know I said it was looking likely that I’d get to Burning Man last year which didn’t happen. This year is looking much more likely. I’ve just booked two weeks holiday for the trip and bought my ticket. The two groups I was trying to decide between to camp with, are now joining forces anyway. I can’t wait.

Ever since I saw the photo in the centre a couple of years ago, I have pretty much thought I will wear a very similar ensemble, weather permitting. Now I need to do some serious saving and planning. I was hoping to get to NYC after a few days in Vegas seeing the permanent Cirque Du Soleil shows, but that isn’t in my budget, so Burning Man and Vegas it will be.

Garet and Dusty, aka the Scenicboys have just posted their video from Burning Man and once again it looks like a fantastic time for them. Sadly they won’t be going next year so I won’t go burn with them but I am determined to get there in 2011. The savings plan starts now.

Scenic Boys: Burning Man 2010 from scenicboys on Vimeo.

Today is the last day of Burning Man 2010 and I so wish I’d been there. Sadly it wasn’t meant to be but I hope all those thousands of people who were there had an amazing time!

For now I’ve been satisfying myself with beautiful videos of the event like this one.

Burning Man 2008 from Jason Mongue on Vimeo.

To everyone heading to Burning Man, which starts today I think, have a fantastic, amazing and safe insane time and feel free to share your photos with us. It’s an experience I was hoping to have this year but that didn’t work out. Enjoy it for me.

ScenicBoys: Burning Man from scenicboys on Vimeo.

Firstly thank you so much to all the people that have said I can join their camps at burning man. As you can understand, the prospect of joining total strangers is a little odd but not out of the question at all as that’s what you do when you don’t know anyone.

My main issues with getting to and surviving BM are, how do I get into the middle of the desert without a vehicle? I will be travelling to other parts of the US if I make it over there so lugging a tent and other camping/survival items isn’t entirely plausible. I have not the first idea about what it will take to survive the week without starving. For seasoned Burners, I’d love to hear your advice, tips, tricks and if anyone has advice on transport etc, please leave your comments!

Any long time readers will know that getting to Burning Man is a big item on my list of things to do and I’m seriously hoping to tick that one off this year. What’s the problem you ask? The logistical magnitude of getting organised to go, getting in there, getting everything I’ll need in there and surviving, plus the cost of the endeavour is quite large. I am also probably going to be doing it alone. There are people I know going, like the ScenicBoys who I would love to spend time with, but I’ll essentially be going just me, if it happens this year.

Essentially that wipes out the possibility of an RV or campervan setup as I just don’t have the money to do that alone. So without a vehicle how do I get there? Lots of thinking to be done. I don’t want to put it off again, but logistically it might have to happen.

I knew they wouldn’t let me down. The Scenicboys have put together a video of their time at Burning Man. The email I got from the boys a week or two ago basically talked about burning man for a few paragraphs but the ultimate message was that it wasn’t something that could be described in words. How FUN!

ScenicBoys: Burning Man from scenicboys on Vimeo.

Every year, Patrick Roddie seems to make a pilgrimage to Burning Man in the Nevada Desert. A pilgrimage that I want to make next year. He takes beautiful photos every year of the people, the sights and somehow captures the atmosphere. Take these hot guys for instance, do any of them look stressed or worried to you? No, I don’t think so.

I found this video yesterday of Burning Man that uses time lapse photography. It’s beautiful to watch. I’m still waiting to hear back from the Scenic Boys about their time this year at Burning Man. If any readers went, I’d love to hear your stories!

Evolution (Burning Man time lapses) from Delrious on Vimeo.

Given that Burning Man is on right now or possibly just wrapped up, this issue is quite a relevant one. The organisers of Burning Man have claimed copyright ownership of any images taken at the Blackrock Desert festival. The move has been made to protect the participants from porn scandals after some photographers have sold their images to third parties who have then used them on completely unrelated and inappropriate websites.

On one hand I’m not fond of the Big Brother attitude of the organisers. What’s to say they aren’t going to find this website celebrating the festival, alongside gay content, inappropriate and demand the images be removed? Yet on the other hand I totally agree that the images taken of participants should not end up on sites that could cost them careers etc just because they’ve been out releasing their inner freak in the desert.

For the full article on the situation, click here.

The simple ideas are usually the best and this is a great example. When you see photos from burning man you often see people that have built up huge contraptions to get about in but apart from a bit of silver paint and a small motor, there isn’t much to this creation.

I’m still a bit disappointed that I won’t be going to Burning Man 09 but I’ll get there one day and I’ll be nude or not wearing much for most of the time I’m there!

The more I think about it and discuss it with my friends, it looks less and less likely that I’ll be hitting Burning Man 2009. I swear that one day I’ll be getting there and enjoying it. I’ve heard that there is something called ConFest here in Australia but quite some way from Sydney that could be a similar vibe but much much smaller.

If there are guys like these guys wandering around sharing the bohemian vibe, then it can’t be a bad place at all! Most of these photos are from Patrick Roddie. Nice work mate!

I got these photos in my email yesterday and thought they were really cool. They did nothing to dampen my enthusiasm to get to Burning Man next year although it does look like the seat is doing unkind things to his bits which looks uncomfortable, but how cool does he look cruising around on one wheel? Love it.

With the global economy down the toilet and the Aussie dollar losing 28 cents to the US dollar in a matter of a few weeks, I’m getting nervous about our proposed trip to Burning Man next year. The plan was to hit Burning Man with a couple of mates then for me, and the friends if they want to, to go to Vegas and see a couple of the resident Cirque Du Soleil shows before heading off to experience the wonders of New York.

I really don’t know if I can save enough at this rate with the economy the way it is and with other plans and expenses… Any rich benefactors out there? Why wouldn’t you want to go to Burning Man? Granted these photos paint a misleading picture of a naked utopia but I’m sure there is a pretty free atmosphere. I can’t wait… if I get there.

We haven’t started making plans yet but a couple of friends and I are almost certainly going to Burning Man 09. Another friend has just been to this year’s event and said it’s just wild. SO I’ve just done a quick search for videos on youtube of this year’s event. This guy has taken some really cool photos and put them all together. Enjoy.