Burning Man Live Stream

[WOTR]

Could be, but I did notice that the fireworks were of one bright color and not multi colored as in the Fourth of July type fireworks. ...and it looks like Burning Man is a sponsor free enterprise so I doubt that we will see any Coke commercials for the foreseeable future.

I get that there are still artists who show up.  however, much as I do not like the gentrification of certain neighbourhoods- it feels like things have changed to appeal to those who are torn between a vacation to Las Vegas and BM.

2014 they had a budget of 30 million and spent over 7 million in wages (I would be interested to know the pay of the CEO.)  It has simply changed.  While I cast the change in a negative light (as it no longer appeals to me), there are others who would love the experience.  I used to go to a dive blues bar- my first night dropping in Sonny Rollins was on stage- no cover, the air thick with smoke and a hotel upstairs that cost under $30 a night (no, I did not stay.)  Now it is in the yuppie area, got rid of blues music, became a museum and charges around $30 to look at the guitar used by ____ on stage.

That area appeals to many with better "taste" and more $$$ than I have- so good for it.  I feel as though burning man is now the same thing with RV rental companies selling out early around that time... It is now for the people who can spend $500 / ticket including vehicle pass, another few thousand on air fare for two, and then rent an rv for thousands more.

I know they disallow vendors, do not take sponsorship and there is still an art community that is very active.  But to me it would now feel like touring the museum set up at my blues bar.  The majority of people are going to have paid a large premium to look at objects used by artists rather than producing art for themselves.

Cest le vie.  BM will continue on as a huge international success for the foreseeable future no matter what happens.

[starrmtn001]

This is very interesting.  The History And Future Of Burning Man.

International Downtown Association :: Stuart Mangrum, Burning Man


https://youtu.be/_a6ZRfAUcsk

[WOTR]

I take it back... BM claims no vendors (maybe the are correct that Coke can't set up a booth.)  But a look at this RV rental website (where they rent trailers for $7000 - $7500 for the event) says that they are a vendor with"outside services credentials" and call themselves a vendor.  Interesting.  Also, the cost to rent is interesting.

http://www.crosbysrvs.com/

It is also a good example of what I am saying.  I don't know many artists who are spending $7500 to rent an RV for a few weeks.  This is not targeted at anybody producing art- it's aimed and the spectator.

[Mind Flayer Monk]

I take it back... BM claims no vendors (maybe the are correct that Coke can't set up a booth.)  But a look at this RV rental website (where they rent trailers for $7000 - $7500 for the event) says that they are a vendor with"outside services credentials" and call themselves a vendor.  Interesting.  Also, the cost to rent is interesting.

http://www.crosbysrvs.com/

It is also a good example of what I am saying.  I don't know many artists who are spending $7500 to rent an RV for a few weeks.  This is not targeted at anybody producing art- it's aimed and the spectator.

Probably one of the vendors in the small town outside who all jack up prices considerably for BM. This keeps the local residents from complaining about all the crap and awful stuff people that don't care about a rural community do.

[Étouffée]

I used to go to a dive blues bar...

I had a bluegrass buddy "D" (a sort of vagabond lawyer and fiddle player), who I would see maybe once or twice a year at bluegrass festivals.  One such time, way back in 1991 or so,  D said he had just got back from a new thing out in the Nevada desert, called Burning Man. 

D said he knew the crazy guy (founder Larry Harvey) who, after breaking up with his girlfriend, held a kind of wake/party at Ocean Beach, where a "Man" figure was crafted out of wood, and then burned. A repeat performance drew a small crowd of arty/crazy friends who drank and smoked and danced around the burning Man. 

D continued that the guy had obtained some kind of non-profit arts grant to move the "party" to Black Rock Desert, in the middle of Nowhere, NV.  D said it was a lot of fun, with inventive art constructs plopped right there on the wide-open playa, creative people (many, if not most, stoned), music, no laws, no money, wind, and a ton of blowing sand.

I was kind of intrigued.  I distinctly remember asking what the hell Harvey put in the "Statement of Purpose" portion of the grant application, since he reportedly said this was an impossible-to-describe event; it was more or less the creation of a venue where people could "express themselves".

Anyway, I didn't go (too far and too spartan of accommodations; I only barely put up with camping at the relatively comfortable bluegrass festival grounds), and the next time I saw D to talk about it--a couple of years later--he said Burning Man was becoming too big, and was attracting a bunch of assholes.

And THIS was in the mid 1990s!

So, I lost interest, and never went.

[=Schlyder=]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/04/revolution-against-rich-parasites-at-utopian-burning-man-festiva/

[starrmtn001]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/04/revolution-against-rich-parasites-at-utopian-burning-man-festiva/

And the circle of life just keeps turning.

[ItsOver]

Great.  A bunch of "Hey, this is the "in" thing!" crowd.  "Let's go blow some bucks in the desert, do drugs, and light some really big fires!"  Meanwhile, the same bunch of wackos would be outraged if I could burn a small pile of leaves, after raking my yard in the Autumn.

[WOTR]

From a very quick search.  In one way, there is a budget of 30 million involved- you need professionals.  In another, I cannot say that they are exactly doing this without more than fair compensation.  Many top officials at these types of events also run a side company (say security, web services or public relations) who they engage in order to earn substantially more (no, I have no proof that happens with BM funds...)  I just thought it was interesting.

Burning Man’s 86 pages of tax documents revealed salaries of its top paid employees, including the salaries of Burning Man CEO Marian Goodell, who made about $242,500 in 2014, and Burning Man president Larry Harvey, who made about $197,500.

***To be fair, I also found that the 6 founders "sold" their shares of burningman to the not for profit entity for under $50 000 each (valued at around a million.)  They probably got some tax advantage- but it does help balance my negative posts and feelings.

[ItsOver]

The Burning Man CEO.  Did Woodstock have a CEO?

http://www.tedxtokyo.com/en/talk/marian-goodell/

[ItsOver]

It's funny to read this and then see there's a CEO. 

http://burningman.org/culture/philosophical-center/10-principles/

Decommodification
In order to preserve the spirit of gifting, our community seeks to create social environments that are unmediated by commercial sponsorships, transactions, or advertising. We stand ready to protect our culture from such exploitation. We resist the substitution of consumption for participatory experience.

I wondered if they have a D.C. lobbyist and found this.

http://www.politico.com/story/2012/04/burning-man-looking-for-love-from-dc-075759

I hope soon to be able to purchase a Starbuck's Burning Man Spiced Latte and a special Nike edition of Burning Man shoes.

[WOTR]

It's funny to read this and then see there's a CEO. 

http://burningman.org/culture/philosophical-center/10-principles/

Decommodification
In order to preserve the spirit of gifting, our community seeks to create social environments that are unmediated by commercial sponsorships, transactions, or advertising. We stand ready to protect our culture from such exploitation. We resist the substitution of consumption for participatory experience.

Tehe.  The funny thing is that the "decommidification clause" was likely written by the man being paid $200 000 a year.  "Larry is currently Founding Board Member and Chief Philosophic Officer of Burning Man Project..." 

Oh, and to answer you question about lobbying DC- "Larry is also a political planner, supervising the organization's lobbying efforts..."

http://journal.burningman.org/author/larry/

[Rix Gins]

https://youtu.be/B6pcHpUeqOc

[Rix Gins]

I liked that fire breathing dragon.


https://youtu.be/bfPdFzkPqmU

[Rix Gins]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/music/celebrity/david-bowies-ashes-scattered-at-burning-man/ar-AAiLP0K?li=BBnbfcL

[Rix Gins]

https://youtu.be/C3f6UbDyrvQ

Starr, thanks again for starting this thread.  It was lots of fun.  See you at Burning Man 2017. 

[starrmtn001]

https://youtu.be/C3f6UbDyrvQ

Starr, thanks again for starting this thread.  It was lots of fun.  See you at Burning Man 2017.

It was fun because of you, Rix Gins.  See you next year at your Burning Man 2017 Thread.

[starrmtn001]

Burning Man Live Stream.  2017.  Almost forgot about it this year.


https://youtu.be/SLjNcXjPHfY