Monthly Archives: August 2015

Pre Burn

Posted on by
Reply

Burning man might be a week long social experiment/festival for some, but for other’s it’s a year-long hobby that increasingly takes over their life as the burn gets closer. Hanging out in San Francisco I got to meet some of the people who invest their time and money to create the magic that is Black Rock city.  Read on

Where dreams are built

Where dreams are built

The first time I walked into Nimby (not in my back yard), a massive warehouse in Oakland, the cynical bastard in me went to sleep for a few hours. It was at the back stage where dreams were being set up, like some scenes in Niel Gaiman’s Sandman. All around me people were working on projects that they chose to work on, investing their time and money on something that had no practical use. “We just like building stuff,” most people would tell me when I asked why they were doing this.

Even Dr. Brainlove can't escape bureaucracy of licencing and a license plate.

Even Dr. Brainlove can’t escape bureaucracy of licencing and a license plate.

I joined a group called Phage which exists for around 10 years trying to ‘infect the playa with science’, their art car called Dr. Brainlove models brain activity by using 400 meters of LED’s on a massive steel framework that can be climbed on.

After running around taking pictures and poking my nose around I asked to help and was put to work painting. I was delighted by the large percentage of women that were involved, many of them leading the project.

Build parties

Build parties

Nimby might be where all the heavy duty work took place, but cutting of the LEDs, soldering and the programing mostly happened at the crazy house of two amazing technical artists (check out their web site called sustainable magic and their workshops and events). I have always used the technique of calling something a party + ordering pizza and beers to get people to build my garden, paint my walls, help me move to a new apartment. These people have taken it one step further with their ‘build parties’.  I practiced being a Chinese factory worker for a few hours of cutting LEDs. My main contribution was probably finding a way to reduce the labor for that specific task by sliding the LEDs then cutting them just once instead of cutting them on both sides.

Chinese factory worker, just with music, friends and as many breaks as I want.

Chinese factory worker, just with music, friends and as many breaks as I want.

I also joined the sustainable magic crew in a last minute attempt to save the day by using their laser cutter to create thousands of plastic pieces that will hold in place the material used to defuse the LEDs light. The warehouse they work in was another small version of Nimby with amazing art created for burning man in previous years.

Another project I helped out with a little, mostly by giving massages, although I got to grind some of the rust away with this massive machine without killing myself, was the Tree of missed connections. A bunch of friends working in their back yard creating a LED-lit climbable tree, yes people like to climb on thing at burning man!

The Tree of missed connections

The Tree of missed connections

Both these projects were funded using crowd funding and let’s admit it, would probably not have come into being if the day jobs of a lot of the participants and their friends wasn’t the booming high tech industry in the area. This doesn’t lessen their accomplishment by one bit but shows that the freedom to create comes at a price that most people probably can’t afford.

Some amazing art from last year!

Some amazing art from last year!

These people and thousands of others creating the art for burning man will be working right up to the burn (and after). They will reach the playa even more exhausted than most but at least for some the added value of creating something together as a group is enough to keep them going and send them raving into the night… well, some chemical assistance might help as well.

See you on playa!

Let’s Play

Posted on by
Reply

San Francisco is known for its luscious sex scene. Visiting the city I took the opportunity to explore some of the play parties here and came back with mixed feelings… read on

The info

There seem to be two main venues catering to different sections of the population. “mission control” parties, catering to the fetish oriented, sex positive, queer friendly community that like to play dress up; and “club kiss”, for the hetro-normative swinger population which requires ‘pre-approval’ by the organizers. Behind the scenes both parties are actually organized by the same people and I was slightly disappointed to discover that both parties used the same venue, a two floor strange building, with two play rooms on the bottom floor and a dance floor on top.

80’s porn influences?

 The beginning

Both parties began with the thing I hate most in the world, small talk. There was a definite difference though. Mission control party was more like a community, there was a feeling that most people knew each other, while club kiss had more of an awkward feeling to it. Both parties did not serve alcohol due to licensing reasons but people were allowed to bring their own drinks to serve as a social lubricant.

The screaming clown- not sexy!!!

Mission control had half an hour of terrible amateurish performances. They showed non classic body types which was nice but the actual ‘stripping’ performances were terrible. At some point two half naked clowns began screaming and I actually had to leave the room because it was too awful. When I came back it didn’t get any better, they were in the middle of performing a cult-like ceremony. “Put you hand on somebody’s ass and repeat after me”, a woman on the stage was saying, “Ask first!” she reminded the crowd. I refused to take part and don’t even remember the words they were saying, something about a ‘sexual revolution’. If I wanted idiot brainwashing rituals I’d have stayed in my religious school.

In general the club kiss crowd seemed older, mostly in their 40s, while mission control party  had a wider variety of ages. In both parties the participants ‘looks’ were probably slightly higher than average but again, there was a wide variety.

The negotiations

At mission control, most of the party was centered around the dance floor which was way too hot and crowded, people were catching up and some light ‘play’ was taking place. There was some action in the play rooms but they were never really packed. At club kiss at some point the dance floor was totally empty, people were there to have sex!

Well, how do you go about negotiating a ‘play date’? I guess things were mostly honest and open but also a little business like. The thing I disliked most was the fact that couples were dealt with as a single unit. Even though in mission control people didn’t have to come as couples, two guys could just come together, even if they weren’t gay (this somehow didn’t affect the men/women percentage too much) their playing was still totally couple oriented. The fact that I find most guys unattractive meant the partner I was there with was limited by the interactions he could have. I did feel very safe throughout the entire party, a lot more safe than normal dance parties.

The revolution is still couple oriented

The finish

The truth is I wasn’t horny at all in either of the playing situations I participated in. There was novelty and fun in them but it really was more like an ‘act’ for me. At the mission control we played a little with another experienced couple and I came up with ‘games’ style ‘who’s better at what?” The club kiss play room really looked like some massive porno movie site. And I found myself ‘fluffing’ some of the couple around me while one of them went to the bathroom or to get some lube. Towards the end the organizers kept walking in “10 minutes to lights on,” they shouted trying to get people to leave. “Honey, forget about your underwear just put your clothes on” someone said just before I left, and I cracked up trying to imagine if there was anywhere else I could ever hear that sentence.

Rail Meat

Posted on by
Reply

Boats have always been my nemesis. Last time, in Thailand, I threw up and swore I would never get on a boat again, the time before that, in Ireland, was even worse and my gastric fluids turned into fish bait! Somehow a sail boat competition I got invited to made me give boats another chance… read on for details…

It's crowded out there!

It’s crowded out there!

Don't worry, no one really let me drive

Don’t worry, no one really let me drive

I’ll start with the end, and get the suspense over with. I didn’t throw up! I’m not sure if it was the relatively calm bay or the fact that I had to be physically active, but I was mostly fine. The physical activity was what convinced me to come along. Every person on a sail boat has to help with the sailing, even if it’s just being ‘rail meat’ like I was, having to crawl under the sail and switch sides every time the boat turns to help keep its balance and speed.

But I’m getting ahead of myself, because before you actually start sailing there is a lot of prepping to do. I usually complain about the hassle of lead climbing, having to go through the rope and clip on all the quick draws. Well sailing is sort of like that, just 100 times worse. You have to unpack the sail, thread lots of ropes in the right places, tie them and then recoil them so it doesn’t get too messy. The knots were mostly figure 8 knots I use in climbing so I had that down but the rest was totally new with the pro lingo being total gibberish to me. The only word I still remember is ‘head’ for the top part of the sail. Oh, and grinders, can’t forget that, they are these handles that are used to turn the ropes that controls the sail.

All those ropes!

All those ropes!

Turns out sailing races are all about getting to the starting line on time and in the right position. These things are really hard to maneuver and never stand still. So if you accidently go over the start line ahead of time you disqualify. Also with so many boats so close together it was pretty hard to avoid crashing into others. Luckily, there were two pro sailors on board who directed the 5 others who didn’t know much of anything. I got the very important job of calling out the depth so we don’t get stuck in mud before the starting line. Then I was sent forward where my meager weight could be used as counter balance. It was pretty scary to duck under the sail and switch sides as the boat turned sometimes tilting sideways at crazy angles. It seemed very easy to slip and fall over board. I got a few bruises and screamed a few times but it was good fun.

Sailing races are also like judo, there are various categories based on length. In our category (over 30 ft) there was only one other boat, which we left in the dust! We even managed to catch up with some of the faster boats that started ahead of us, even without using the secret weapon of a spinnaker, an extra massive sail that is used to go upwind. The pros thought it would be too much for us to handle.

The most impressive part to watch was actually reversing the boat back into it’s docking place! Talk about some tight maneuvering. After that we had to fold all the gear, but it wasn’t as bad as expected. All I had to do was use my weight once more to keep the sail from flapping while others folded it. And we could do it while doing what sailing enthusiasts seem to like best, drinking beer!