Hello from the Denver Airport .. I’m on my way back oto this planet after 4 days at Burnign Man.  We didnt really have cell or wifi.. so i took a few dys off from blogging….. so this one will be a bit long.

 

This was my third time to the Playa..  each time it’s a completely differnt expereince. This trip was special since I was there with Max and Gabe !

 

it all started in the reno airport.. thre’s a big table of burnign man greeters trying to help foks find rides.. lots of Burning man bling all around

 

Max and becky had left me a car.. so I was able to take in three strangers who needed a ride. It was nice havign company on the four hour drive in. Here’s Sara from the Caymans ringing the bell tht is the welcoem to Buerning man..

 

i got to Max and Becky’s camp at around 1:30.. I dropped my stuff and took off with them to look around on the playa. There was so much amazing art.. here’s a piece of anamated scuplture that is made in the shape of a virus !

 

and here is helios.. the project that max and becky are workign on. Gabe and mason worked on this thing all week along with the brooklyn team.

 

the theme of the burn this year was divinci.. on helios, there were siz osd at the top of these staris.. at the top was a stand.. when you arringed your body liek the viturpian man.. (you knwo the guy in the circle).. lights came on.. when all six people did it.. there’e was an amazing display of bright light . 

 

here’s soem more samplign of art from that first wednesday night 

 

this was the inside of the light house.. really amgical 

 

this thing was about 100 meters long and it visualized sound into a cool tunnel .. this was my vaforite interactive peice. 

 

next morning I went for an explore in our neigborhood (8;15 and H.. the place is laid out liek a clock, each address is a time and a streat name from a-h)

here’s team helios discussing the final prep for the burn of the piece on friday

 

i ran into work frinds John and Brandan and their daughter Julia at their camp.. Wiener Zoo.. I’d worked witht hem quite a bit over the last couple of months.. but never met them in person !  That was one of the hilghts of the trip to me.. 

 

a piano. in the desert !

 

we stopped in to visit soem freinds of gabes from UVM 

 

lookign a bit wild here after almost a week in the desert !

 

ahhhh sunsets..

 

Gabe and I took a visit to the temple.. the big emmeorial thats built evry year to burn on Sunday (today) ..

It’s full of memories of people and animals who have died. It was very moving to me being there..

i put a bunch of samstoens there.. and later came back and put a little of sams ashes in there..

all of it will eb burned tonight. I wish I was there to see it.

 

from there we found one of our favorite and one of the simplesest things on theplaya.. the ball buss.. it was a ball pit in an old school bus. So Fun !

 

then back home .. aroudn 3:30 or 4 am.   THis sign across from us had a jacobs ladder in it !

 

 

spent the next day helping with the burn prep for helios

 

here’s our camp

 

amen !

 

I went with Max to help with the Pyro.. we had quite an arsenal.. max designed the burn sequence.. it was really, really spectacular.. all wirelessly controlled with the help of the black rock pyro team.. what great folks !!!!

 

 

MIT was there with agiant.. albiet subtle Tesal coil 

 

then gabe and I rode out to see the man .. it was designed to turn.. but they nver got it working..

it’s hard to make things work out there in the playa !

nearbuy was medusa.. also having soem operational problems

 

and the wart hog.. which broke down on thursday..

it’ a harsh place fore mechanical things and electronics !

 

tiem to rig helios with explosives and flame stuff

 

first we had to take out all of the electronics..a dn as much metal as we could.. here’s the central pole being pulled out

 

my freind John from San Fran came by to say hi 

 

twisters coming !!!

ouch.. my hands are so dry from al the dust and sun !

 

thse guys where our nearest negbors.. these ‘shrooms open and close as folks aproach.. very subtle and nice

 

argh.. more sand.. a white out !

 

my freind John B from VT came buy and helped us load up Helios with wood. 

 

max and john

 

gabe with one of the 6 pallets of wood we needed to stack.. didn’t plan to do THAT in the desert !

 

my freind Miranda came by camp to say hi.. like many other playa freinds.  miranda is soemone I’ve knwn and worked with for a couple of years.. but never actually met !

ok.. 11PM on Friday.. tiem to burn helios..   We had a good crowd

 

max started pushing buttons and the thing went up in a beutifully chorieographhed sequence of fire and ariels.. so beutiful !

in there was a small vile of Sam’s ashes that Max, Gabe and I placed in right before ignition.. It felt… good to me to watch it burn

 

as I watched, a small dust tornado started from the center.. and raved off into the desert.. maybe it was sam ? I felt him deeply all week out there. he would have loved this place !

 

next mrornign.. max, gabe and mason cook breakfast.

 

trash gets burned int he is cool burn bucket max made

 

here’s all thats left of helios !

 

ok.. fade forward to last night.. as sun set we were breakign camp and a huge sandstorm started..

 

for a while you couldnt see anything.. the amns burn wasdelayed by an hour while the wind died down. .. finally oyu could see agan!

 

Becky’s dad George, Gaba nd I had made plans to leave right after the man burnt.. .. we were all standing together

waiting for the burn.. if it didnt happen by 10, we were goign to have to leave without seeing it.. luckily.. they strated right at 10

\

 

here’s our crew by the lihght of the Pulpo Mechanicos huge flame throwers !

 

gerege (aka Mr. becky).. an amazing guy who holds the world record for buildign the most powerful coninuous energy tunable laser. I really enjoyed hanging out with him !

 

father and daughter !

 

there goes the Man !

 

we watched for a bit.. then made a mad dask to the car.. we wanted to get out before they shut the roads down.. they often insert 2 hour delays ebtween ‘pulses’ of cars to keep from clogging the road.

 

we ended up gettign stck for about 45 minuts during an ‘amber alert’  a child had gone missing.. he/she must have been found.. becaus after 45 minutes of bing stopped, we were allowed to begin our 3 hour trip back to Reno

 

we got there around 1:30 am  George had rented a hotel room which gave us all a chance to shower..a nd get soem sleep.. in my case.. 2 hours of sleep (I’m exhaisted).. Gabe and george got about 6..

 

i caught my 5:40 am flight to denver…

 

there i had lunch with my freind Jeremie.. again..a good freind I’d never met in person.. he let mefall asleep for another 2 hour nap in their offices.. then we went ou for coffee and a quick lunch in the ebutiful colaradao summer eather. It was so great hanging out with him

 

ok.. I have another 16 or so hours of travel before I get to sloveeni then zurich for meetings this week.

 

i better get soem more sleep.

and move slowly back into real life.

nite all, nite sam

-me