NationStates Jolt Archive

I'm working on some (fan)fiction right now and I have two separate groups of characters I need to meet up. I decided to use Burning Man as a meeting point. But I don't want to use google because it always gives me Wikipedia as a source.

I want personal accounts, whether it's from a blog or even from here. Anything you can offer would be helpful.

EDIT - no, this is NOT homework, as I'm not in school. I write for fun but I post what I write so I like a little accuracy even if my stories are far-fetched and my characters are asinine.

Surely the Burning Man has it's own website?

Surely the Burning Man has it's own website?

Yep it does.

Yep it does.

http://www.burningman.com/


Yay, we helped!

Uhm... personal accounts? No blogs?

I've talked to a number of burners and, of course, before I moved to Japan I was about an hour south of the Black Rock and I have visited it often. What questions did you have?

I've talked to a number of burners and, of course, before I moved to Japan I was about an hour south of the Black Rock and I have visited it often. What questions did you have?

Basically...

What it was like for you...?

IE - standard generic personal experience questions.

Basically...

What it was like for you...?

IE - standard generic personal experience questions.
For the burners themselves, it was an awesome, demanding experience. My sister said that the effect was like being at the wildest party that somehow crashed into a circus, then careened into the local university's engineering department. People were all over the place in abandonment of cultural norms (meaning clothes, genders, and capitalism). She said that it amazed her about how easy it was to get what you wanted through the barter system and around the place just by hopping a ride. She was also impressed with the care that people took to keep the desert clean.

However, there was always the reminder that they were on the desert and that she saw a number of people with heat exhaustion, maybe even heat stroke. The sun on the playa is intense, and if you've ever seen Nevada, the sky is a brilliant blue that offers NO cover. The heat felt like a physical thing and many people didn't go out in mid-day, but preferred to cat nap and wake at night when the temp plunged (and then it was cold). Having to conserve water (you pack everything in and everything out) was a challenge as well as trying to avoid being swallowed by the ever present dust.

Does that help?

For the burners themselves, it was an awesome, demanding experience. My sister said that the effect was like being at the wildest party that somehow crashed into a circus, then careened into the local university's engineering department. People were all over the place in abandonment of cultural norms (meaning clothes, genders, and capitalism). She said that it amazed her about how easy it was to get what you wanted through the barter system and around the place just by hopping a ride. She was also impressed with the care that people took to keep the desert clean.

However, there was always the reminder that they were on the desert and that she saw a number of people with heat exhaustion, maybe even heat stroke. The sun on the playa is intense, and if you've ever seen Nevada, the sky is a brilliant blue that offers NO cover. The heat felt like a physical thing and many people didn't go out in mid-day, but preferred to cat nap and wake at night when the temp plunged (and then it was cold). Having to conserve water (you pack everything in and everything out) was a challenge as well as trying to avoid being swallowed by the ever present dust.

Does that help?

It's a start.

How exaclty where societal norms removed? How did it change the way people acted?

What was her and/you experience with the barter system?

It's a start.

How exaclty where societal norms removed? How did it change the way people acted?
She said that it felt more free. You were able to do what you would (within the limits of the system) without fear of being condemed. Wanna wander around dressed in nothing but a string bikini make of dried maccaroni? Ok, go for it. My sister and her friend spend a few days building this giant Buddha statue out next to their tent and no one said anything beyond encouragement for the project. She found a lot of people who normally wouldn't talk to each other, talking. There was no sense of social hiarchy (Meaning no sense of who was rich or poor, who was talented or not) she said, everyone was a burner and that was enough.

What was her and/you experience with the barter system?
Let me see here, my sister made some bead jewlery that she traded for a number of other artwork and coffee. She orginally wondered about how it would work, but she said it was amazing just how naturally it went, you made an offer and people accepted it or suggested something else. But there wasn't haggaling in the normal sense, it was more like two children who are friends trading toys.

Thanks, NERVUN. :fluffle: :) :D

Thanks, NERVUN. :fluffle: :) :D
You're welcome!