B u r n l o g

I was pleasantly surprised yesterday to receive an in-depth comment from an organizer named Paul Jorgensen of the Afrika Burns regional in South Africa.

After reading the comment and returning to browse the site, I’m impressed by the scale and enthusiastic participation of these dedicated fellow burners near Cape Town.

This got me to thinking about how fun it would be to make a world tour of the various burns there are now. We’ve seen the documentaries on Burning Man in Nevada, how about a comprehensive look at the variations of the event in other venues and countries!?

Just a few places of note besides South Africa are: New Zealand’s Kiwi Burn, Nowhere in Zargoza, Spain, many in Canada and Europe, as well as burner friendly places in Asia too. I recently posted a regionals long list I swiped from a Tribe user and of course there’s the master list at Burning Man Regionals site.

Then this sprawling worldwide regionals idea collided with the notion of bringing the Hennepin Crawler to these far-flung events. How amazing to bring something born and bread for the Playa to another burn far removed.

Or, better yet, RIDE the Crawler across the globe in one of those crazy projects to circumnavigate the earth in some jalopy of one’s own devising! Then, innocent peoples along the route are subjected to this ridiculous human-powered kinetic contraption on its slow and merry way to some distant Burning Man festival on other continents, all the while filming the process as a documentary (in matching oddball costumes of course).

It would surely bludgeon an unsuspecting world public with the ideas of strange ingenuity, rampant creative silliness running amuck for the sake of art, and the notion of community and giving beyond the commercial marketplace, spreading a certain dusty goodness of heady Playa fun throughout our fellow earthly denizens.

Alright then, who wants to fund Krank-Boom-Clank on our world Crawler tour of regional burns…?

This heartfelt music video just in from MC Yogi and Ursaminor, a group of new media Burners and all around good folks I’ve met in passing here and there around the North Bay.

Obama ‘08 - Vote For Hope

I cannot say I’ve got the highest of hopes (who could have predicted the “vote” in 2000 and then AGAIN in 2004!?), but I am at last hoping again for some real Hope this year in Obama’s election for President of the United States.

A close friend Eric “Buzzn” (and father to pretty much the cutest lit’l Burner around named Sophie) was a volunteer on the lovely Basura Sagrada project this year.

He’s a great photog too. Check out his excellent photoset: Basura Sagrada

Oh yeah, Eric was a major helper and all around do-it-all / sanity life preserver on our very own Ice-Flo art car project from 2007 too! See his photos in the Gallery Hop.

Zsu Zsu brings the princess out in me… sigh… I think I’m in love.

“Feelth” on the other hand fills me a mindless rage of jelousy. I’ll see that weasel BURN!

…Though, I must admit, Feelth is, like myself, a victim of the flighty charms and arduous enchantment that is Zsu Zsu…

The indelible master of the pedal-power madness that is Scotty C. has just completed yet another amazing kinetic sculpture on wheels known as the Duck Flambé. A local rag has a story on a night it hit the town: Fire it up.

What a gorgeous ride! Congratulations, Scotty and co-builder Ken Beidleman!

A large gallery of pictures of construction in progress is available to peruse.

The New York Times reports on a most inspirational slide show look at the art, preparation, and many artists and performers dedicating their time and energy to bring us “KKoney Island”:

Art Bound for the Black Rock Desert

I must admit that I’ve been remiss in my posts at CliffyPop lately.

However, my excuses are rich and plentiful as seen in the mushrooming popularity of The Great Handcar Regatta and Krank-Boom-Clank’s “Hennepin Crawler” construction that is coming along nicely (not to mention the many, many summer time events and parties to attend!).

Still there is one thing at least to post about B-Man, here’s a nice rundown of the 2008 Honorarium installations.

Yet more from reliable Laughing Squid today:

Paul Addis Pleads Guilty To Burning Man 2007 Arson Charges

Yesterday in a Lovelock, Nevada court Paul Addis plead guilty to felony arson charges for burning the Burning Man sculpture prematurely at last year’s Burning Man event. He was sentenced to 12-48 months in prison and ordered to pay $25,000 in restitution.

Read the comments at Laughing Squid. There’s a lively discussion largely from Chicken John concerning our penal system and responsibilities both he and society plays in this situation.

This via Laughing Squid concerning an upcoming doc centered around the history of Burning Man and the question of the effects of mainstream success: Dust And Illusions.

Once a year, on a vast Nevada lake bed surrounded by mountains, the Burning Man festival brings together tens of thousands of people who are attracted by the festival’s promise of seven days of “decommodification,” “community,” “artwork,” and “revelry.” But increasingly, many question whether Burning Man’s mainstream appeal threatens—or even upends—the festival’s utopian vision. Through a series of in-depth interviews of the festival’s founders, organizers, and participants, DUST AND ILLUSIONS traces the festival’s history, while examining whether the festival is a victim of its own success.

The latest project I’m part of is coming along nicely. What is it…? Well, think a 4-person pedal-power kinetic sculpture on handmade 4ft diameter wheels using cannibalized bikes and metal lawn furniture weighing in at over 13 ft long!

We call our crew Krank-Boom-Clank and the “kinetic conveyance of whimsey” we’re building is known as the “Hennepin Crawler“.

We’re well on schedule for both a Burning Man 2008 appearance and racing the rails at The Great Handcar Regatta on Sept. 28th, 2008 in Santa Rosa, CA.

See the picts on Flickr too.