JRS Volume #5; Issue #27

JRS/v:5:17/06.28.01

Things to think about before we get to the playa.

We are striving to collect lots of odds and ends that make up our “Material Culture” at the event. This is anything you may have given or received as a gift including flyers, stickers, necklaces, toys, etc. The pieces will be used to enhance our archives which we utilize periodically for art shows. This “material culture” is a vital part of the history and “anthropology” of the event. Please consider sharing past and future samples of your playa gifts!

Looks like the Jack Rabbit’s Mom, Step-pop (from Michigan), Mom’s Sister (from N.O.), my sister Martha (Chicago), my Dad’s brother and his wife (El Paso) will be attending Burning Man this year!! AND, my dearest friend from college from Santa Cruz will be there for the first time! wow is all I can say! It’s gonna be better than Christmas or my Birthday combined!

And, my sweet father is feeling much better, thanks to all who sent such warm well wishes.

Onward

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FROM YOUR BURNING MAN ARCHIVE AND DOCUMENTATION TEAM

The Burning Man Archive and Documentation Team is organizing an archive of the gifts, theme camp affiliation items, and images participants have designed and/or made to share with others or your campmates (it¹s material culture don¹ cha know). Please bring two samples of your stickers, necklaces, cards, whatever you have to The Artery, located in Center Camp.

Sometimes this material is used for art exhibitions, so please fill out this form for our information. It is part of the cultural history of Burning Man, and we need contributions for our archive.

NAME____________________________________________
CITY OF
ORIGIN___________________________________________

CONTACT
INFO_____________________________________________

DESCRIPTION OF
ARTIFACT_________________________________________

STATEMENT OF PROCESS, IDEA OR MEANING BEHIND ARTIFACT__________________________

Your Black Rock City Camp Location

Please include any information you have of businesses that supplied (free or paid) products or services to you in the making of your gift. We want to gauge the positive impact Burning Man has on the larger society and economy. If you have business cards, that would be great.

Ignore the form above if you want, go here for a BEAUTIFUL .pdf instead.

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THEME CAMPs: TIME IS RUNNING OUT!

The deadline for registering your Theme Camp for placement is July 15th. Please go online and submit your questionnaire now.

Village registration deadline is July 1st.

If you are building a Theme Camp but NOT planning to be officially registered and mapped you may complete a Short Form so your camp description and contact information can be listed on the website and on PlayaNet at the event. The deadline for this is August 8th. The questionnaire is here,

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Theme Camps- Haven’t heard from us yet? Time to get concerned…

If the contact person for your Theme Camp hasn’t received a Theme Camp Announcement yet, your questionnaire may have been lost during the completion of the web form.

Please check with the person in your camp who completed the questionnaire. If they are not sure, or definitely did not receive an email from us, please contact themecamps(at)burningman(dot)com and we will check our database to make sure we have record of your camp. Be sure to include your camp name in your email inquiry.

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REMEMBRANCE PLAQUE

Every year we make a plaque remembering those in our community that have passed away. If you have a name you would like to add please email us at bex(at)burningman(dot)com (DO NOT HIT REPLY) Write the name as you would like to see it appear. Look for the plaque at the base of the Man from Monday through Friday. It will be raised to the right leg and burn with him on Saturday night.

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URLs worth visiting

http://www.burningman.com/preparation/newsletters/2001-summer/index.html

http://viamagazine.com/top_stories/articles/ burning_man01.htm

http://www.berkeleysurplus.com/

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RC Hobbyists Unite!

Attention all remote control hobbyists: We need to get organized for Burning Man 2001! If anyone is planning on bringing any sort of radio controlled model, vehicle, or art installation to BRC this year, please contact me (Ben Hirashima) at benhirashima@yahoo.com so that we can coordinate the use of radio channels. As you are surely aware, radio channel conflicts must be avoided at all costs to prevent the loss of control of any RC vehicles being operated in BRC. An out of control model airplane can cause serious damage to people or property, so it is important that we RC’ers be organized about our radio use. It would also be great if we could all get together and hob-nob a bit, so please email me if you’re going to be RC’ing this year! I will set up an RC channel pin board at the main bullentin board near Center Camp, so be sure to check that out and mark your radio channel and camp location when you arrive.

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Personal Hygiene – **Deal With IT**

(from the Rabbit: this has been submitted by a participant, but I’ve not included the email address here as I can’t find it sorry. I’m including this information with some conditions attached please be responsible in how you approach these ideas. Do not cause a health problem or crisis when considering the disposal of the refuse Burning Man is not a position to be a sewage management company this is a do-it-yourself issue. Dumping refuse and large amounts of grey water on the playa is a BIG BAD NO NO.)

One of the most important and personally appealing aspects of Burning Man is complete self-sufficiency… yet how many people completely achieve the “pack-IT-in/pack-IT-out” mantra regarding all their personal waste products? Yup, I mean IT, the real nasty stuff that you instinctively turn your back on. This year I’d like to turn my back on the official porta-potties, the lines, the filthy seats, and the entire hassle in general. This means I have to face dealing with IT. If we deal with IT personally, Burning Man can spend less time/money worrying about IT and get us more ART.

From a systems engineering point of view, one obvious solution is to eliminate the waste source (check out http://www.breatharian.com/ …and if anyone figures this one out, please drop me a line). For the remaining people who insist on producing IT, all you need is a warm place to sit, a sealable container for IT, sanitary/smell control and privacy. New technologies now offer chemicals that cause the liquids to gel or solidify, greatly easing handling when you pack-IT-out. These now come in various blue liquid products to handle smell and sanitation (i.e. SBG-1 “Solidified Blue-ice Gel”).

Here are a mix of commercial solutions:

http://www.thethrone.com/ – this looks like a good setup, very promising, about $40. However, once you see how this is made, all you really need is an old toilet seat, a 5 gal paint bucket, plastic garbage bags and the chemicals.

http://www.outbackpack.com/ – very cool! a $15 folding cardboard toilet that doubles as a seat.

http://www.bumperdumper.com/ – Very entertaining, but overpriced and remains attached to your vehicle.

http://www.pintsize.com/onthego.html – OnTheGo is a $13 solution for female urination while standing. “Compared to learning to use a tampon, this is easy” (manufacturer’s quote, not Lono’s).

http://www.eco-safe.net/ – 2 different sized, heavy-duty toilets often used by LNT river expedition campers. The 20 use & 50 use models definitely make sense for group camps. (available at www.clavey.com/ce_toilet_complete.html – about $65 and $125 for each model.)

http://www.urinbiz.com/home.html – a folding privacy booth, but at $180, a bit too expensive!

http://www.whennaturecalls.com/ – a tall privacy tent for $100, looks like it could be a great shower booth too. Also check out the Restop 1 & 2, single use urine & solid bags at this website.

http://www.packinpotty.com/portable-toilet.html – “FROM A BRIEFCASE TO A FULL SIZE TOILET IN SECONDS!” (imagine taking this to your next venture capital meeting).

http://www.packinpotty.com/portable-toilet-privacy-tent.html – Also good for showering, specifically because this tent has a wastewater drain in one corner.

HTTP://www.thepett.com – “The Pett”, an excellent collapsible toilet, $90.

http://sturtevants.altrec.com/shop/detail/6191/9 – top of the line privacy tent, $200.

http://www.charton.co.nz/accessories.html – another shower tent.

Since a privacy tent should easily double as a shower tent, I’ve included these links for HOT showers:

http://www.hotcampshowers.com/index.html – yup, a site dedicated to wiping out baby wipes. Check out the Zodi propane shower heaters (www.zodi.com)! Retail outlet locally located:

Decker’s
5086 Lakeville Highway
Petaluma, Ca 94954 United States
Phone: (707) 778-6429
Fax: (707) 778-6409
info(at)hotcampshowers(dot)com

http://www.off-road.com/dunes/products/zodi/nov_2000/index.html – review of another Zodi hot shower system. Also extremely clever and low tech.

See you on the playa, but not waiting in line!

-lono-

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AOL USERS?

From a staff member:

It may not even get through to those who need to hear it, BUT a handful of AOL users have reported no-shows on the Jack Rabbit for at least the last issue, and possibly one or two before that. More research could be done, but I’m told on the webteam list that we should tell AOL users to write to AOL re: this possible spam-filtering mistake or whatever is causing it.

(There is some speculation the issue could be length-related, so the next long JRS will be sent in sections)

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Toxic Fumes Where You May Not Expect Them

Spending 9 years as a volunteer firefighter I saw many dangerous situations, close calls, and the results of poor judgment. One incident that caught my attention was a very small fire in a residence. Kids playing with matches had started a mattress on fire that was stored against the wall of a basement. The fire was very localized (only about a square foot of burned area), but the mattress was against a plastic (ABS) sewer line that ran from upstairs.

The fire burned a hole about 3 inches in diameter in the plastic pipe. The fire was extinguished quickly using water and everyone was wearing self-contained breathing apparatus (air packs) during the fire. After the fire was out, several firefighters removed their air packs since the smoke was becoming minimal. After about 10 -15 minutes, one of the firefighters collapsed and had to be taken to the hospital due to exposure to the toxic products of combustion of plastic found in the minimal smoke remaining.

How I will avoid a similar situation in the future

I do not burn anything that contains “plastic” (see below)

I wear appropriate respirators, or breathing air, as the situation demands

I stay out of the smoke of campfires

I educate others when I see them burning inappropriate items.

What I’d like friends to learn from my experience:

Plastic can be very toxic when burned. “Plastic” is a component of many items such as plywood glue, package wrappers, Styrofoam cups, clothing, etc. Do not burn anything but wood (no plywood) in your fireplace, woodstove, or campfire.

– Submitted by Tobin Mollenkopf/SFO

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KIKI’S CHALLENGE

I’ve been a Burner only since 1998, but it seems to me that every year there’s some “issue”.

In 1998, the “issue” was hay. Hay bales were used in installations and mixed with the mud and were a clean-up mess! But the word got out, and hay was no longer used.

In 1999, the “issue” was burn scars. Fires directly on the playa left a dark mark that didn’t go away. But the word got out, and public pyres were set up and people kept their fires off the playa surface.

In 2000, the “issue” was trash in the potties. People kept their mess off the playa, but put it in the potties. But the word is getting out, and hopefully [almost certainly] this will be solved this year.

I’ve heard of previous “issues” from years before, like when people would burn the Lamp Stands down. Word got out and that got solved too.

What will the “issue” be for 2001?? There almost certainly will be one.

My challenge to the Community is for the “issue” of *issues* be solved!

Last year, I certainly saw trash going into the potties, and, though I knew it was a bad idea and didn’t do it myself, I didn’t do anything to stop it from happening — like put a sign up in the potties close to our camp, or spread the word by mouth.

Let us *think* a little bit about our actions this year. Let’s see if we can have no serious “issues” as a community. Let’s make sure each thing we do out there is the right thing to do. Let’s make the BLM happy, the police happy, the Burning Man Organization happy, and the people happy.

Think before you spray paint markers on the playa.
Think before you put on tons of glitter.
Think before you throw down that cigarette butt.
Think before you bring feathers in any form.

Whatever it is, just stop a moment and think if it’s a good idea or a dumb idea. And *actively* help your fellow citizens think things through too. Don’t just walk by, thinking it’s “somebody else’s problem.”

It’d be great to have a Town Meeting next year that had no big Topic to discuss…

Kiki

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GLOW STICKS

Your pal with the glow toys…

I thought I’d write and see how you were doing? It’ s LarryGlows LarryGlows(at)liquidlight4glow(dot)com. We wanted you to know that for this year Liquid Light is pleased to extend to all “Burners” special pricing on all of our Glow & Light up novelties. Please visit our website or call for a free catalog and check us out! You can email me at anytime as well just title your email Burning Man…Please just mention “Burning Man 2001″ and ask for me LarryGlows for great pricing/service on any of our product line. We are offering many new products in the Glow line this year..More colors, styles and variety than ever! We have 1 1/2” to 15 in Lightsticks available as well as a new line of Crazy Glow products to keep you glowing all night., New Wild Wafers to light up your mouth, Glow drinking straws for any of your beverages, plus all kinds of new Battery light ups!

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ADMIN ON AND OFF

bman-announce-subscribe(at)burningman(dot)com
bman-announce-unsubscribe(at)burningman(dot)com

meow meow.

I’m off to work for a week in Gerlach!

m

Maid Marian
Burning Man
jackrabbitspeaks(at)burningman(dot)com (for questions and post requests)

The JRS: guaranteed to be interesting every now and then.