Burning Man

All posts related to Burning Man on Guest of a Guest for Burning Man.

[All photos via] It's really important that we be extra kind and sensitive to all the L.A. Burners this week as they return from the Playa and reenter society. They've spent up to an entire week on various psychotropic drugs so their serotonin is tapped out and they have to wear things like pants again. Coming back to planet earth is a rough adjustment, what with shirtcocking being illegal and all. Those of us who haven't done Burning Man may never understand what it's like or the essence of the experience. But we can still look at these photos of the Bernie Mac shrine, acid-fueled weddings, blow-up dolls and more to gain some insight on what went down last week in the middle of Black Rock Desert. [WARNING: Lots of naked stuff, so NSFW!]

Burning Man, a once authentic festival of lights, sounds, and yes, drugs, has spiraled into a whole other dimension with higher prices, stricter rules, and, worst of all, the attendance of Julia Allison. Are we the ones on drugs here or has this festival turned into some kind of twilight zone of a bogus ravey fashion show for the NonSociety internet Fameball? Want the proof? Please take caution when looking at these photos (don't say I didn't warn you-there's video too).

The beginning of the end. As we reported last week, Burning Man is becoming burnt out. The WSJ covers the millionaires who do burning man. [WSJ]
Our US Postal Service is at a near default as the organization struggles to stay afloat. Could this really mean the end to snail mail? [NYT] More»

The annual Burning Man Festival kicked off its 25th year on August 29, selling out tickets for the first time with an expected 50,000 attendees. Along with the veterans and run-othe-mill hippie types searching for drugs and utopia deep in the Nevada desert, a number of high profile names are heading to Black Rock City and the fanfare is bigger than ever. Like all great things that suddenly become overwhelmingly popular, could this hearken the end of an era? Here's three reasons we think so... More»

[All images by CuriousJosh for LA Weekly] This past Saturday, Red Lightning hosted "Ceremony"- their Burning Man fundraiser at Area 33. Last year, the non-profit organization presented their 'Sacred Sanctuary' at Burning Man. They plan on topping that appearance at this year's festival. More»

Burning Man 2009 wrapped up another year of "community, art, self-expression and self-reliance" in Nevada's Black Rock City Desert. More»

Each year, tens of thousands of people gather in Nevada's Black Rock City desert for Burning Man, a week of "community, art, self-expression and self-reliance," or in other words, ab-so-lute insanity. Between the festival's ten principles and its mission of burning the Man, it's easy to see how mixing in a sandstorm or two, plenty of alcohol and what could be the most elaborate prop stages makes for this unforgettable experience, which long ago cemented a true cult following. More»

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How do I even begin to describe Burning Man? It's ironic because my friends who went there last year had the same problem. You really can't describe all of it; you must experience it. But on your first day, you feel as if you were blasted into space and you landed on the moon, to only come across the biggest intergalactic party ever. If you don't dress up in crazy outfits or don't dress up at all (naked) you simply do not fit in.

People go all out and spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on Art Cars that drive around the Playa keeping the party going strong. I was in the Robot Heart camp and we had a London double-decker bus outfitted with a 20,000-watt stereo system and TV, it was the loudest Art Car on the Playa. There was another Art Car designed as a rubber ducky which had a platform to hold over 200 Burners while it drove around, which was pretty impressive too.