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BURNING_ROVER


                                    February  14, 2007                 
                                                                       
  Our concept for Burning Man 2006                                     
  was to get together with a                                           
  smaller, more informal group of                                      
  folks and just set-up shop                                           
  wherever, out in the boonies of                                      
  the back streets.                                                    
                                                                       
     A lot of the people we were                                       
     gathering with, decided to        One woman going along           
     do an RV rental for various       was there for the first         
     reasons.                          time, and it was thought        
                                       that she'd need some sort       
     I've always been down on RV's     of gentle introduction.         
     at Burning Man... they seem                                       
     like cheating, and they have a                                    
     reputation for being isolating...                                 
                                                                       
        It turns out having an RV around                               
        is far worse than I'd imagined.                                
        The people we were camping with                                
        were essentially invisible to us,                              
        sealed up in the big white box.                                
                                                                       
        Even when we made an effort to get                             
        together for dinner, the RV created                            
        huge barriers.  Okay, so they have                       
        this nice porta-kitchen... but you                             
        can't talk to the people cooking,       You'll even be in the  
        because there's no room to go in        way if you try to stand  
        there and help.                         in that narrow doorway     
                                                to talk to them...          
           So a few people *have*                                           
           to do all the work.                                              
                                                                            
             But at least they're                                           
             comfortable in the RV,                                        
             right?                    
                                       
             Well no, actually they weren't.
                                                  
             When a dust storm kicks up, we would just     
             put on our goggles and respirators and go     
             out bicycling around... they would seal       
             themselves up inside this hot, airless        
             and increasingly smelly RV...                 
                                                          
                You do get a porta-shower            
                out of having an RV...     
                but we'd get by washing     
                with a little water from        And none of us were even
                plastic bottles, and            up there for much
                crowding in behind the          longer than the weekened.
                water truck when it hoses     
                down the streets.                 (If we'd been in our
                                                  old camp doing a longer
                                                  stay, there would be
                                                  some simple shower
                                                  facilities rigged up...
                                                  this is the kind of
                                                  thing you can manage in
                                                  a larger group.)
                
     A controlled environment is
     not even necessarily a
     a comfortable environment.


     That American drive
     towards Isolation...
     it it supposed to be
     a pursuit of happiness?



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