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James Addison, aka extramatic, has posted some incredibly good pictures of Burning Man 2010, to his page on Flickr.  These are really worth a look: http://www.flickr.com/photos/extramatic/sets/72157622414285523/ Read Full Story

Wendy advised me to come back to reality slowly, and it was good advice, as usual. Thanks, honey, you're the bomb! First week back is pretty relaxing and uneventful, just what this classic chassis needs. Dreams are interesting. I don't think any of them are *about* Burning Man, but every one I can remember for the past week is set in the desert. Without exception. Monday afternoon. I get a call from my resource manager about a SharePoint engagement in Florida. Am I available? Well... Read Full Story

Burn Out. Burning the man was, true to form, indescribable. The fire dancers, fireworks, music, lasers; each was at a level I've never seen before (but then I don't get out much). Together, each element worked with and played off the others in a harmony most uplifting. Except there may have been too many fireworks. The burn went surprisingly quickly. Smoke and embers poured off the man and occasionally formed whirlwinds of glowing coals and playa dust... a big crowd favorite. I... Read Full Story

Party Burn There's a poster you can find on the web: "No matter what, you will never party this hard." I could't imagine the circumstances that would account for the guy on the poster. Until now. You could find him at Burning Man It is the party at the end of the universe. Dance clubs alternate with mini concerts and raves (and even movies), surrounded by stunning art, musicians and performance art. All under the biggest planetarium, ever!! And they keep building more each day, so... Read Full Story

Keep Burnin' Headed to center camp this mornin to see how crowded the Wi-Fi was. Arriving, someone was getting off their Yellow Bike--free for anyone to ride, but hard to score unless you spot someone leaving one, like now. Screw wireless, off we go! Must explore the outer streets; stayed inside the first six when walking. Now heading out to Kyoto, the 12th from center esplanade. Not Quite as dense out here, but people are still arriving and setting up large camps. On the way I pass... Read Full Story

Burn Art. Regarding the skeleton city that I mentioned in a previous post, the one so far away, out in the whipping sands. Some thoughts on its symbology. The only thing that still lives in this dead town is the church bell, fashioned from rusted scrap iron. And the only reason it lives is to sound the death of the city. These buildings are the first to burn, on Friday. The man burns on Saturday, and the temple on Sunday, releasing prayers to the wind. Well an obvious metaphor... Read Full Story

Burning Man is a constant assault of strange images and sounds, at the same time familiar and alien. Every thing, everybody, is different in some small creative way, or some mind-blowingly freakish way. Normal is just nowhere to be found. Vignettes Top-half: pinstripe suit jacket, shirt and tie. Bottom: pink tutu and ballet slippers. Very tall man in a blue prairie dress, uggs and a robot head. Kilts aplenty, far outnumbered by tutus. Tons of striped stockings; they seem to... Read Full Story

I found out something about Burning Man: the only thing you can really expect is that it will confound and exceed all your expectations. Certainly true for virgin burners but also long time veterans say it's new for them every year. All you can read, view or hear about it ahead of time can only cover a fraction of the experience. And that's no surprise. Vignette Walking barefoot in the desert at twilight, a mile north of the man, where there are no camps, but more structures appear... Read Full Story

Heading out to Burning Man. I've wanted to go ever since I heard about it in the mid '90s... Probably in Wired magazine, when everything was cool. But I was finally encouraged by the lovely and talented Wendy, because that's one of the things we do for each other, give each other courage to pursue our dreams amid the mundane administration of life. Besides, it's my 50th birthday. What better way to shake things up, connect with my inner freak and thumb my nose at mortality... a sports car... Read Full Story

Ok so I haven't blogged here in 18 months. Trying again... Read Full Story