The Curious Mind of Xta

This guy was the first to make me think, "Gee, Dad would have fun here..." This was a self-propelled... something. I don't know what to call it, but it was driven by an offset axel on the back wheel (kinda like a spinning wheel!) which was moved by bouncing up and down on the middle platform between the wheels. I saw it when it was participating in a obstacle course race put on by Kamp Apocalyptika, across the 3:00 spoke from my camp. (I don't remember what the first entrant in the race was, but the last was someone driving a truck over all the pylons, to great cheering by all..)

The Man would be off to the right - this is a shot taken on Esplanade, probably around 2:00 or 3:00, facing towards Centre Camp at 6:00. Note the dust being stirred up as people go by, and all the bicycles... Black Rock City is HUGE, and a bike (or a Mutant Vehicle, more on those later) is the only way to get around.

Art Project, with two of my fellow ePlaya Bar Campers. Pick up a rock, picture all your negative thoughts, fears and energies being forced into the rock, let the rock slide... Simple, fun :)

Another art project - I think this was called the Mandala? Beautiful bamboo structure, and HIGH up.. there was a gap of about 10 feet before the spokes actually started, so the folks up there were climber/monkey types. I asked permission before I took her picture, 'cause that's what you're supposed to do.


Free popsicles! Yes, in the middle of a dried-out lake (there's a special term for it I can't remember), there were people gifting free popsicles. Damn tasty. Oh, and this was one of the first people to pose with metal Dave for a photo op. Note my oh-so-stylin' costume: tube top cut for fring, shorts, massive PodBelt to carry everything I need, a bandana and shades.. ooh.

The ice lineup (and another shot of CostoSoulMate Chris).. this was one of two places on the playa that was allowed to sell things. Camp Arctica sold ice in block and cube format, for people to haul off on their bikes or other forms (pity the fool who had to pack it back without wheels).. for the bar, we'd usually take a two-bike rickshaw build by Desert Duck (campmate also on the pre-event build committee), three giant coolers, and spend about $40 per day to keep the bar and campmates supplied with ice.

Buildbuildbuild... Called something in Flemish that translated to "A message from the future", this became commonly known as The Belgian Waffle... the artist shipped in a ton of Belgians to build a giagantic free-form shape that acted as a nightclub for most of the event, and then burned all $300,000 worth of 1x4s on the last night of the event. So hot, I moved back from the safety margin.. HUGE fire tornados wicking off that thing when it went up... and such an enormous singular example of waste that I think more people will be ready for next year's theme of Green Man...

A lovely example of gifting: I was admiring this man's necklaces in the lineup for Ice, and was given permission to shoot them. A common gift for craftspeople to make are Burning Man pendants, bracelets or keychains, so others can wear their Burniness year round.

Costumes! The photo gallery at www.burningman.com will have fantastic photos of all the amazing things people were wearing around, but I liked these two especially. The guy said that the blower that kept the horse inflated was wonderfully cooling! This photo was snapped as I was sitting/dozing in the Quonset hut put up by the Body Painters Guild.. I was waiting for the henna painter to arrive ("well.. he's supposed to be here.. but sometimes he doesn't come in, or he comes in later...")... and after waiting an hour, I left.. and my friends who were getting airbrushed said he showed up about 10 min after I left. Ah well :)