family of choice

so i came across this clip while i was doing some tooling around ifilm. this is how i come across some of the best things i think. the most striking thing about this one is the desire to be alternative, and yet the relief that comes from not being alone. it's a paradox and a pretty common one. i know that i would prefer being a gay man, but not a clone. and i sometimes cringe when i'm the only gay in the village, and yet i sometimes shudder when there are so many queens around i can't get notices.

anyway, i love goth. it's so boutique. and i love the idea of death guild and this thunder dome thing they've created at burning man. it gives me hope that no matter how strange and discordant i am, i may indeed find a tribe that i fit in. this is especially encouraging to me as a gay man in recovery. it doesn't always seem like a great fit for me in my community.

there is a series of these clips about the death guild and i encourage flipping through them. they are fascinating to me and as i mentioned, fill me with hope.
i am in tune with the concept of alternative. it has vibrated with me since i understood its meaning. that remains true today.

Beyond Burning Man - Season 1 - Episode 1: The Beginning

Posted Aug 14, 2007

A city rises in the middle of the Nevada desert each year and over 40,000 people are called to participate, creating themed camps of every variety. This is the Burning Man Festival at Black Rock City. It is here that we meet the members of Death Guild, veterans of Burning Man and a family who share amongst ravers and free-loving hippies their vision of a post apocalyptic world. From the heavily armored fire breathing vehicles to the nightly battles in The Dome, it is the Death Guild who gives the masses wha

and i couldn't help but include this one. omg- what he does with trousers when he comes across naked people in the desert really makes me laugh out loud. additionally, this is a demonstration of how creative and ingenious this tribe is. i actually wouldn't mind having them on my team if i needed backup.

Beyond Burning Man - Season 1 - Episode 3: Road Warriors

Posted Aug 15, 2007

In keeping with the post-apocalyptic theme of the camp, the Death Guild creates a fleet of vehicles that some might say are "otherworldly". In this episode we are introduced to: "Flipper"- This turbo powered wheel barrel reaches speeds up to 70 mph! It also provides a community service by FIRING PANTS to those who desire to roam around naked from an air pressurized air cannon UP TO 400 FT. AWAY!!! "Arachnid Runner"- Cowboy shows us what to do with that old lawnmower rusting away in the tool shed, by weld

burning man

there is one event that has been going on about 10 years that i have always been curious about and that is burning man. when i was living in san francisco it was well attended and well thought of. i believe that it is a brainchild of the perry farrell (at least in the beginning) and it signals that we as a people have a innate desire and calling for self-expression and support of that. there is a site to learn more about this event which is happening now. here is just one site that has many photo memories of past events. now my question about this story is whether this is just a confirmation that premature ejaculation still is problem for some adults?

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - The 40-foot high wooden statue that becomes the flaming centerpiece of Nevada's annual Burning Man arts festival was given a baptism of fire ahead of schedule, police said Tuesday.

An arsonist set light to the figure early Tuesday as thousands of revelers at the festival in the Black Rock Desert, 90 miles (150 km) north of Reno, gazed at the lunar eclipse, police said.

Paul Addis, 35, of San Francisco, is being held in Pershing County jail, Nevada on charges of arson and illegal possession of fireworks, a spokesperson for the sheriff's department confirmed.

The damage to the statue, known as "The Man," is expected to take two days to repair but the festival will continue as planned this weekend, according to Burning Man organizers.

"We have the means and the will and the event continues on schedule," said Andie Grace, Burning Man spokeswoman. "The Man will burn on Saturday night."

The Burning Man festival began in 1986 on San Francisco's Baker Beach and is expected to attract 40,000 visitors to its remote desert location.

this story courtesy of yahoo news.

Mission Statement

Our mission is to produce the annual event known as "Burning Man" and to guide, nurture and protect the more permanent community created by its culture. Our intention is to generate society that connects each individual to his or her creative powers, to participation in community, to the larger realm of civic life, and to the even greater world of nature that exists beyond society. We believe that the experience of Burning Man can produce positive spiritual change in the world. To this end, it is equally important that we communicate with one another, with the citizens of Black Rock City and with the community of Burning Man wherever it may arise. Burning Man is radically inclusive, and its meaning is potentially accessible to anyone. The touchstone of value in our culture will always be immediacy: experience before theory, moral relationships before politics, survival before services, roles before jobs, embodied ritual before symbolism, work before vested interest, participant support before sponsorship. Finally, in order to accomplish these ends, Burning Man must endure as a self-supporting enterprise that is capable of sustaining the lives of those who dedicate themselves to its work. From this devotion spring those duties that we owe to one another. We will always burn the Man.

and now here is a little franz ferdindand.