Opulent Temple vs. Green Tortoise

7/29/2015

As most of you probably know, Opulent Temple was not given placement as a camp this year. The reason given was, quite reasonably, that they weren't going to be operating an interactive camp, as they had elected to take the year off from their normal giant stage setup, and operate parties based off other groups' mutant sound cars.

Whether it matters or not, they were indisputably popular, as always, in 2014:

Opulent Temple at Burning Man 2014. Photo: Duncan Rawlinson

They had hoped the BMORG might give them placement just out of respect for their fairly enormous past contributions (whether it's your thing or not, they spend an awful lot of effort entertaining a lot of us, and have for a decade+).

The org decided that wasn't worthy of placement and I agreed in a post on our Facebook page. You either contribute in the year you get placement, or you don't get it. Makes sense not to consider past contributions, as long as that's a universally-applied rule.

However, as the controversy has rattled on, I began thinking about it and realized - wait a second, that completely contradicts something the org said a few months ago when justifying not just permitting but actively supporting the Green Tortoise plug n' play camp, citing their past contributions as reason to continue to give them placement despite them literally selling $995 for-profit tour packages to Burning Man.

Here's what the BMORG had to say in a post about the Green Tortoise tour company:

"We’re continuing to make an exception to our approach to turnkey camping in the case of the adventure company Green Tortoise, with whom we forged a relationship in the year 2000."

"Beginning in 2000, Green Tortoise agreed to provide shuttle service to Gerlach."

"Over the years, we grew to know and trust the Burners running the company and their staff and customers made valuable contributions to Burning Man, so we allowed them to expand their presence by offering a trip to Black Rock City."

"The current contract provides Green Tortoise with infrastructure for their camp, and the option to purchase up to 185 tickets (at $390 each) for resale to their customers only."

"Green Tortoise campers have made significant contributions to BRC over the years. [They go on to list a bunch of categories of contribution over the years.]"

Now let's compare that to the reasoning the BMORG gave for denying Opulent Temple placement this year. They were very clear:

"What a camp has given the community in years past is not part of the consideration — it’s about what they’re offering this year. It’s that simple."

That sure sounds strange considering the org spent a lot of time justifying Green Tortoise's existence and placement by what they've done in the past.

So let's see here: When a for-profit, openly commodified camp wants placement it not only gets it, but it gets allocated blocks of tickets that aren't available to the rest of us. It even gets help with infrastructure from the org.

And then you tell Opulent Temple, one of the most popular camps of the last decade, that they don't get any consideration whatsoever for their enormous past contributions? Whatever you think of Opulent Temple itself, that seems pretty unfair to me by comparison. Yes, their initial proposal was reportedly mainly about the fact that they'd just be running parties on other groups' sound vehicles with interactive activities at their camp not deemed sufficient for placement, but they submitted a follow-up proposal that they say addressed the concerns about interactivity, adding a whole bunch of things.

Let's sum up so far.

Green Tortoise camp:

Gets blocks of tickets allocated to them by the Org to resell to their tour customers.
Gets infrastructure provided for them by the Org.
Is a for-profit tour company openly selling tours to Burning Man for $995+.
Gets an entire Burning Man blog post justifying its special treatment based on past contributions.

Opulent Temple camp:

Competes for tickets like everyone else, and like every other camp.
Gets no help whatsoever from the Org in building their camp.
Is a 100% gifted experience that has been so for a decade plus.
Gets about a section of a Burning Man blog post explaining why their past contributions mean nothing in the placement decision.

This all seemed so openly hypocritical to me that I wanted to get the Org a chance to comment before running this article and they kindly responded:

The Org wrote:

"Hey Matt, so we understand where you’re coming from on this. We just view it a little differently. We'd like to share our thinking with you a bit.

The difference is that Green Tortoise is providing the same service at their camp this year as they have in previous years, while OT isn't. If GT came to us this year and said they were just going to give people a place to crash and nothing else, they would not be placed as a theme camp. Their historical contributions were just used as evidence of why they're an acceptable type of camp at all, not as justification of why we're placing them this year. We see those as two different things."

Ok, so that is a bit of a different perspective on it, and not something I had considered. Essentially, they're drawing a distinction between the criteria used to justify camp existence and that used to place camps.

This gave me some pause, and I almost decided just not to make this post, but then I realized that I don't think that's really a valid distinction to draw. Here are the problems with that reasoning from my point of view:

Unplaced camps don't need their permission to exist. They can just show up. So, there is no such thing as needing to justify their existence as a camp. Unplaced camps simply don't have to do that.
It's only placed camps that receive any review from the Org ahead of time and so the idea that the Org made the post on Green Tortoise in order to explain why Green Tortoise is allowed to exist rather than why it gets placement (and special tickets, etc) doesn't make sense to me.

Go back and read their post on why Green Tortoise is allowed placement despite offering for-profit tours to the playa. Virtually the entire thing recounts what either Green Tortoise or its customers have done in the past as justification for its special treatment by the Org.

Most importantly though, I think, is this thought:

If what a camp has done in the past doesn't matter, does that mean the Org is willing to give placement to any other tour company that wants to sell the exact same set of services?

Under their stated logic it seems to me that they would. There's no difference between Green Tortoise in 2015 and Generic Adventure Tour Company's BRC Camp 2015 if both are selling the same services and what they have or haven't done in the past doesn't matter.

Except that I don't believe they actually would permit a new tour company to get away with this. The Org got stung so hard by the Caravansicle debacle that there is no way they'd start handing specially-reserved blocks of tickets to a new tour company, giving them placement, helping them build their infrastructure, etc.

And that leaves me casting about for the reason as to why they'd continue to grant placement AND special blocks of tickets (not DSG tix...these are tickets normal non-profit camps don't even have access to) to a for-profit company whose actions fly in the face of the rules that apply to everyone else. Meanwhile, Opulent Temple gets zero consideration.

Here's what Larry Harvey had to say about plug n' play camps and fariness earlier this year:

"I think the current controversy over Plug and Play camps is not so much about equality, but concerns a very different though related concept: inequity – a basic sense of unfairness. Whenever a select group is allowed special access to tickets, especially when these tickets are in short supply, this can inspire ill feeling. This is doubly so if such a camp is widely perceived to be flouting nearly all of Burning Man’s Ten Principles. This is what has stuck and rankled in the public mind. It is as if these camps have been allowed to parade past the Main Sale ticket queue and insert themselves at the head of the line."

I could not have said it better myself, Mr. Harvey.

Here's my thought process about all this:

Opulent Temple is awesome. They entertain huge numbers of people on the playa every year. Whether you like what they do or not, they are a community-supported crew that has been giving to the playa for many years in a big big way.
Green Tortoise is problematic. Yes, it's nice that it makes it easy for some foreign Burners to attend, but then, Caravansicle probably made it easy for some people to attend too. I don't see "making it easy to attend" as one of the criteria for placement anywhere. Ultimately, they are a for-profit company selling tours to the playa. And they get treated better than the gifted camps do.
Opulent Temple is not bringing their normal stage show to the playa this year. Their original proposal called for them mainly to be operating a mobile sound vehicle out on the playa and some interactive activities in camp that the Org deemed insufficient, and it's true that Burning Man will deny placement to camps that aren't offering enough. However, OT says they re-submitted their app with a bunch of activities and were still denied.

I don't believe that a war EDM by BMORG exists. I do believe they are trying to nudge the culture in particular directions, but I don't believe that actually has much or anything to do with this situation (as compared to creation of the level 3 sound vehicle zone in deep playa this year).

Screenshot from the game Ghosts n' DJs, where you try to hunt down talentless DJs. I don't believe the BMORG intends to round them up and put them in camps, contrary to rumors. Really going out on a limb there, I know.

I don't believe that "What a camp has given the community in years past is not part of the consideration." I just don't. It flies in the face of how they treat Green Tortoise, and I am essentially 100% positive they would not treat GT this way if was their first year out there, or if another adventure tour company wanted to sell package tours to Burning Man for profit.
So therefore I'm led to conclude that what a camp has done in the past does matter, or that there are other reasons as to why the owners of a for-profit camp are placed (AND granted special blocks of tickets to resell, even when ticket scarcity is such an issue) based on previous year's contributions but one of the biggest and most storied completely gifted camps at Burning Man gets no consideration, even after proposing a camp that does have interactivity in it. I don't know what those reasons are, but the reasons we're being don't make sense to me.

I love Burning Man. I think the Org does an overall good job running it, especially given that the people at the top largely just fell into it and had to grow as the event has grown. That is a hard thing to do.

But this pair of decisions is just a bit rotten to me. There is no way I can look at Green Tortoise getting not just placement but access to special tickets and even infrastructure built by the org, while Opulent Temple, which has given so many people so much joy (even if it's not your thing, you have to acknowledge that) over the years, totally for free, doesn't even get this small bit of help this year and think something is wrong with the decision-making process that led them to these twin decisions.

My conclusion: If the Org can outright break its own rules and support for-profit Green Tortoise above and beyond other theme camps, there is no reason it couldn't bend the rules and give a camp that has done as much as Opulent Temple has the placement they deserve.

It's not about one camp being placed to me. It's about exactly what Larry said: Fairness. But beyond that, it's about common sense. Why not do such a relatively small thing to help a camp that has given so much to Burning Man over the years? Why not reward people who do so much for Burners with just a little extra consideration? Seriously, what's the harm? What's going to happen if Opulent Temple got placed without the same level of interactivity in the past, for one year?

What do you think? Should Opulent Temple have gotten placement this year?

Dave Keller

7/30/2015 04:01:53 am

Thanks for pushing this issue. Our camp "Camp Make Good Choices" got treated unfairly as well this year. I think we also fell under "what you have done in the past does not matter for this years placement"
we got placed but as an art car camp rather than a theme camp with no early passes and way back from our normal placement. We are a theme camp with interactivity that happened to have an art car, Same reasons were given, not interactive enough. We are grateful we got placed but with no early passes we had to beg the DMV for 2 and this will effect our ability to build our camp. We never asked to be an art car camp.

Dave Staley link

7/30/2015 04:13:15 am

Well said, I totally agree on all points, especially "Opulent Temple is awesome". I still have yet read or hear of 1 complaint about the OT group anywhere, they have no doubt added so much to past burns for me over the years and will be greatly missed.

Brad

7/31/2015 03:07:59 am

Agreed Dave. They inspired many camps to become what they are. To us, OT is an integral part of the burn whether we dance there or not.

dAVE Klaus

7/30/2015 04:32:50 am

thanks for the article. I completely agree with what I hear as your major point. There should be a Burner version of Due Process in these sorts of decisions. This process should be fair and transparent, and should be subject to an appeal process. A public Ombudsman should be appointed: a neutral arbiter. Like it or not, BRC IS a city, and there are certain rights that have developed. Fairness and Due Process are necessary to a healthy society, especially one run by a non-profit!

Frank

7/30/2015 06:15:22 am

For an event that touts 'radical civic responsibility,' its too bad that the community has absolutely 0 say in this matter.

Wheelzies

7/30/2015 06:30:06 am

It is true that OT rocks the house, no argument.
And the placement process is byzantine.
It is unlikely that the real estate that OT would occupy is going to be taken by a more capable camp. But,
Green Tortoise is an organization that has been very magic for 40 years, & no doubt influenced many at the org before there was Burning Man. For older heads like myself they really are off limits, like your grandma.
Pick yet fights with concierge/turnkey whatever camps, but plz do check yourself about GT, they are OG in every way.

7/30/2015 08:15:08 am

I think GT does seem much more burner-y than, say, Caravansicle, but in the end they are not only turning a profit off taking people to Burning Man, but the Org is giving them special treatment to allow them to do so.

When a non-profit that specifically disallows 3rd parties from profiting off their event sets aside resources specially for a company to make money off of (tickets, infrastructure, etc) that seems like a pretty big breach of their own rules, no?

Maybe there is a good reason why GT is set apart from other camps, but the explanations for their special treatment set forth by the Org sounds like "we like these guys, so they're okay" and then trying to justify it after the fact. It's all well and good (since they probably are actually good group who enrich everyone's experience), but if there are supposedly hard-and-fast rules that everyone follows except GT, that sounds like the very definition of nepotism to me.

Dr. Yes

7/30/2015 09:34:33 am

For all the shit that went down with Caravansicle, at least it wasn't a for-profit business running tours to the playa. It makes no difference to me that they've been doing it a long time - they are being treated BETTER than gifted theme camps when they're running a for-profit business on the playa.

Nik

7/31/2015 10:08:48 am

I remember GT when I first came to the playa in the year 2000. They've been around, man. But times they're a-changin' and frankly if all they offer is tours to the playa then they should be considered a turnkey camp.

They shouldn't be banned - no turnkey camp should. But giving them preferential treatment seems equally wrong. I think an amicable solution would be to *tell* GT that they'll have to be more interactive, from now on.

This is based on my experience with them in the early days. They were an assembly of green buses plus some infrastructure and they certainly were not inviting outsiders in - they gave off a "members only" vibe all the way.

As an overseas burner for now 6 years I also have to say coming from overseas is no excuse to "need" GT. There's the burner express if you have no money for a rental car, et cetera. Where's radical self reliance when you need it?

Also about overseas burners - one of our camp mates is coming in from overseas bringing with them an interactive LED dome! Some years back I saw an amazing art piece that was a tiny camera obscura you could walk into - the entire thing was flown in by two japanese burners, direct from Japan!

Certainly *giving* GT tickets when tickets are scarce, so GT can make a profit, and giving them placement and EA tickets - all this makes no sense.

Salvage

8/4/2015 01:48:50 pm

A small allowance for friends and family is hard to bicker with - everyone does it. However, they apepar to be granted 185 tickets, at $995 per experience where that $995 does not include the ticket price. That's about a $185,000 gift to Green Tortoise (minus operating expenses, which will NOT be $185,000).

That doesn't seem like a small allowance - that seems like a chunk of favoritism massive enough to call corruption. I haven't met the Green Tortoise guys, but I'd be in favor of them getting a small placement in return for their service. This isn't a small placement, and kinda' makes me puke a little bit. Yech.

Marty

7/30/2015 07:19:30 am

- OT has consistently received very bad scores on mooping.

- If they are not planning on doing what they did previously (which is why they were given such great placement), then they don't need such placement. Or, if they are just doing an art car, then they can camp farther out.

Freng

7/30/2015 08:29:13 am

Those are very valid reasons why they might not deserve great placement this year, but I don't think that's the point the author of this article was trying to make.

I felt like the point was intended to be that the decision process is fickle to say the least, and that the explanations the Org presents are inconsistent

Opulent Temple link

7/30/2015 10:11:03 am

Our placement situation had nothing to do with MOOP. The majority of our camp MOOP rating last year was green. We go above and beyond our due diligence every year for MOOPing the open playa around the camp as well. Multiple daily line sweeps, magnetic rakes, etc etc. Of course we acknowledge MOOP on dance floors are a problem, but that is hardly unique to us.

7/30/2015 08:46:41 am

This part of Burning Man's blog post was edited out of the article above, but I feel it is relevant to this discussion.

"Art Projects: Green Tortoise campers have played an integral part in the conception, design, building and implementation of various playa art projects, including a wall of light (multi-colored technology-driven LED display), The Rolling Light Balls project, and pieces for CORE (The Circle of Regional Effigies), including two from Victoria, B.C.: PsychoPhilia (the big head) in 2012 from and Fleur pour les Morts in 2013.

Art Cars: Green Tortoise campers have created three art cars: The Tiki bar (a VW van chopped up and re-fabricated into a tropical-themed, roaming bar), The Cloud (the same chopped-up VW van fabricated to resemble a fluffy, mobile thunderstorm), and the Galapagos Tortoise. All art cars were hop-on, hop-off style and were built with accessibility in mind to encourage any and everyone to ride them.

Regional Contacts: Two Green Tortoise campers have gone on to become Regional Contacts (from New York and Georgia).

BRC Departmental Support: Green Tortoise campers often sign up to volunteer for various departments prior to arriving on playa. Others have become more engaged upon arrival or in subsequent years. Green Tortoise campers have become Black Rock Rangers, BRC nurses, Lamplighters, Center Camp Cafe staff, Earth Guardians, Temple Guardians, and more.

In 2014 alone, Green Tortoise campers:

Built and performed on a stage at Green Tortoise camp. This included acoustic guitars and a flute player ensemble, as well as DJs with ambient lounge chill-out music, providing a relaxed atmosphere for anyone to drop in on.
Built a sultan-like tent for the Caravansary theme and held meditation sessions.
Held free massage sessions by licensed massage therapists.
Hung a slew of hand-made birdhouses in random locations.
Performed for the public: sang at center camp, drummed at the pre-Burn ceremony and other events, hula danced, fire danced during the Burn ceremony and in other performances using batons, poi and other various flaming crazy-fun props, stilt-danced, and sang sea shanties on several of the pirate-themed ships.
Created a BRC Junior Ranger Program (not affiliated with the real BRC Rangers); over 300 participants received booklets describing participation-based tasks. Upon completion of the tasks in the booklet, each of the applicants were awarded patches.
Formed the French Fashion Police, complete with aviator glasses, tight shorts, whistles and ticket books, and held “Fashion Friday – a Costume Giveaway” and offered face and/or body painting to whoever passed by.
In short, this is no frou-frou, chichi turnkey camp. It makes significant contributions to BRC that have flourished for many years.

Going Forward
While we appreciate the long relationship we’ve had with Green Tortoise and are continuing to support their efforts in 2015, we’re also working with them to make some changes to how they operate to bring them more in line with Burning Man’s principles. The owners of the company understand and are working with us to address our community’s concerns around turnkey camping, and we may make further changes to this arrangement in the future."

7/30/2015 09:32:04 am

Those are all things they had done in the past. As per the org's statement, what a camp has done in the past does not matter when considering placement this year.

Paul

7/30/2015 09:03:58 pm

Hi there.

I stayed with this camp last year and did not see any of the above happening?We were also told not to bring anyone back to camp who was not with us,giving us wristbands, as the food,which cost 500 dollars for the week,was only for camp members and if we saw anyone we felt was not part of camp to report to a member of staff.I didn't find this very Burning Man,AT ALL.

7/31/2015 01:08:44 am

Interesting...Thanks for the comment Paul.

Seana

7/31/2015 10:26:34 am

I have stayed at the GT camp of double digit years. Paul, you are VERY misinformed. Everyone has always been invited into GT camp to share the shade and nap area, to chill out with music, etc. The wristbands were to identify what bus you are on (each bus has it's own color and name to distinguish it from others. What we were asked was to let staff know if people were helping themselves to the food as most would not know to wash their hands or use sanitary methods of serving themselves. Do less drugs, Paul. Way less drugs. By the way, what did YOU contribute?? I was part of the DJ scene. You were probably one of the people that are just using the GT to make it easy on yourself. Figures.

Gary

7/31/2015 04:21:17 am

Your telling us that a group of people, most from overseas, whom have never met before playa fabricated an art car multiple years in a row? Taking credit for what your campers went on the become in future years sure does not get your future placement.

7/31/2015 10:12:30 am

That's interesting - wonder why that was left out. The event has gotten so big that I haven't even seen GT in years - good to hear that they improved, and are continuing to improve. In that light, placement makes sense.

I still don't think they should be allotted tickets for resale though. Get in line, GT ;)

8/4/2015 01:55:34 pm

At 185 tickets, and $995 per ticket, I certainly hope they spent at least some of that $185,000 windfall on participatory experiences.

..but that's a really big windfall.

burnersxxx link

7/30/2015 08:49:57 am

Great post Dr Yes. You forced BMOrg to respond:

http://blog.burningman.com/2015/07/tenprinciples/heres-what-burning-man-is-doing-to-end-turnkey-culture/

As far as I can tell, nothing has actually changed. Turnkeys are still completely allowed because "it's a continuum". To get placement, they need an interactive component; the standards of what is "interactive enough" or "cool enough" to get approved by placement are unclear. It seems pretty subjective to me.

I completely agree with your call for an ombudsman and due process. It's time for them to show that they treat this as a community, not a business or a fiefdom. The community deserves a clear set of rules that are the same for everyone.

Cesar Becerra (the postmaster) link

7/30/2015 02:22:50 pm

i am a seven time Green Tortoise burner and a proud one. we are not your run of the mill turnkey/plug n play camp....we really do get involved and for all seven years i have brought a giant tent and 300 markers (this year spray paint) and have allowed/invited passerbys (many of which are not from my camp) to express and artistically (particularly for virgin burners) to take a baby step in participation at burning man and write and draw on my tent....many have commented that it was the only art work they participated in at the burn. I have also brought burning man back with me as i teach large art to inner city kids and my inspiration for new projects comes from the burn and my way of getting to and from the burn is with GT who have become a bit of an extended family unit. Lastly, this year i am contributing to the brc weekly with an article on love and lust at burning man....so i am a wee bit representative that im not just plugging and playing around. i as well as many of my GT camp mates contribute. Lastly, lastly, the GT staff work tirelessly, any profits they recieve are hard won....and i gladly support their efforts. Cesar

7/30/2015 03:10:37 pm

Hi Cesar. Thanks for commenting!

So I get it, I do. I mean, there's no question that Green Tortoise doesn't fit the profile of the Caravansicle-style camps. I've been to Green Tortoise multiple times. I've had friends that have camped there multiple times.

But the thing is, they're a for-profit, commodified camp, and whatever else they do, they can't escape that. Not one other theme camp at Burning Man is allowed to sell tours, and rightfully so.

So however much its members or the camp itself contributes, to me, respectfully, it can't escape the fact that it is helping to commodify the playa.

I don't judge you, at all, for camping there though, and I hope you have an awesome Burn if you're going this year!

The Postmaster link

8/2/2015 09:38:56 am

Dr Yes,

On thing to notice is that quite a bit of this pressure and unfair-ness....so you know im on your side (i do not believe yur camp should have been nixed as it did) ....comes from the cap in tickets sold which is tied into the cap of the permit process from BLM. If that one pressure point was worked on one side of this argument - and it is indeed multi angled - would help the issue of even having batches of tickets reserved...a moot point.

Sara

7/30/2015 02:43:20 pm

Had a weird feeling about this year and decided to skip. So glad I did. The energy is weird this year. BMO is all over the place, singling out some, not others. I'll return in a few years when they sort it out.

7/31/2015 03:04:59 am

Well written, thoughtful and good points all. BMORG has been offering excuses that dont match the reasons.

7/31/2015 08:10:29 am

There's gonna be some legacy cases left over from the old days. Green Tortoise has been going since long before Burning Man, and has a long history at Burning Man. DId you know there are a group of people who receive free tickets for life for having contributed money in 1997 to help clean up? The event started small and the core original group is still running it, for the most part. The effort spent here railing against the special treatment that Green Tortoise is getting can, in my opinion, be much better spent on actual problems with the event.

Robert Hill

7/31/2015 09:13:46 am

Heya Guys, Im camping with green tortoise this year, So you are aware its not a non contributing camp. While they havent seemingly worked out the scheduling yet there have been emails and comments about Hotdog Stands, Kissing Booths, a stage set up for performers among the people going, I myself will be doing Comedy there as well as Bullhorning and Volunteering around the camp.

As a Student in Australia this camp was a godsend, finding a camp that could help me get to and from the playa and help with food and water when i have very very limited carry limitations.
I was unable to come to the burn last year because i was unable to surmount these difficulties.

With what they offer and with how much they are charging the profit must be minimal, Transport from san fran, Bus's to and from Gerlach (to all) during the festival, art projects and performances, as well as food and water for those people camping with them.

They are not "out for the almighty dollar". That impression hasnt come across while i have been talking to them. they do seem to be in Burner spirit.

Pandora

8/2/2015 05:20:16 am

We've had people in our camp over the years from the UK, Germany, Austria, Greece, South Africa, Venezuela and Israel...they were all able to bring what they needed and thrive on the playa without paying top dollar to have some one else make it easy for them. The gap between "I can't possibly make this happen without professional help" and "I can't be bothered to put the effort into making this happen" seems a bit too thin in my opinion. I don't care how long they've been around or how well connected they are; GT should not be making a profit on tickets they get to skim off the top.

Incidentally, our 13+ year veteran camp did not get placed this year either...

8/2/2015 10:11:45 am

Pandora The tickets they sell they make no profit off at all and are not included in the Fees they charge .... People are expected to get their own or buy them from them, But they charge exactly what Borg does

8/4/2015 02:09:09 pm

erm, if they get access to 185 tickets at $995 fee each, before the face-value ticket itself, that's about $185,000 of revenue.

For reference, that would buy 3-4 school busses.

8/4/2015 07:47:34 pm

They Get tickets allocated to them, but they still pay for them ..... and then re-sell them at cost to people travelling with them ... they make $0 profit off of the tickets

Fabiola

8/2/2015 11:00:14 am

There must be another reason why OT didn't get placed . They are just hiding behind the fact that it would not be interactive this here . The fact that they don't judge a camp by their history is pure BS pardon my French ! And I also said that to their thread in BMorg . After I also read from the same page that they don't want big paid DJs because that goes against the BM principles but for sure they allow big paying customers to lodge in their expensive turnkey camps ... This is just ridiculous and they need to take measures to change all this non-sense .
MoonDust

Michael ghadieh

8/2/2015 01:59:57 pm

OT has offered the BM Community one of the best offering on the playa, Music for the soul. And have been doing it for over 10 years!
The BM organizers seen that they have gone nuts! Not to value this offering as an Amazing gift for thousands Of burners
Come on BM get your head out of the sand!

Poi Dog

8/3/2015 05:59:38 pm

Good discourse, well developed and well made points. You inspired me to go read the article, "Here’s What Burning Man Is Doing to End Turnkey Culture". Then I began to write a long winded response for what I feel about the deconstruction of my the only place I've ever felt at home on planet Earth. But then I thought, FUCK IT ! Seems to me when Larry handed the keys over to the BORG was the beginning of FUBAR for B-man. Done, Toast!! I am an accomplished drummer and have drummed in the Great Circle 3 times, I'm still on the D-list for drummers...it is now filled with rules and pre-req's which make experience and cultural familiarity worthless. Home is a hard thing to loose and I still have not unplugged from B-man, it's too emotional!! But, without sighting details. the BORG just keeps drilling holes right through the hull. Much like the Band continuing to play music on the Titanic while it was sinking (are you kidding with this 25K car pass thing and an increase in price for a what ??"car pass"??). But, no doubt the "show must go on", and go on it will. I heard that TED-X will have it's own broadcast from the playa this year, yippie (hiss)! Now everyone can go on a walkabout with their cell phones broadcasting to all their friend in what used to be known as the "default world" (am I dating myself??), raising "non-participatory" to ever higher levels than ever thought possible. Plug & Play...Turn-Key?? I would only go with one that has a plastic "Value Card" they issue that has punch outs for years attended with them to earn "value points" next years big block-buster event or toward purchases of P&P "Value B-Man Items" (can only be punched on the Playa next to the "I was There" print.). Our theme camp was denied placement last year by the BORG, after 15 years because ??? )

Somewhere, decomodification got lost in the co-modification of Home...I know the address, but the house ain't there...it's now a McMansion.

I have danced until the sun rose at OT and ALWAYS appreciated this as part of my Home, and I am sad to read this news. Sometimes ya just need some ecstatic dance ay 4:47 in the AM, right? Noise complaing??? F-'um...read your survival manual and bring ear plug, A-hole or better yet "GET UP AND DANCE M/F-R!!
It has been said to continue on with this you either have to be a Cop or a Bureaucrat, if you can't then maybe it's over for you, let the frat boy's and sorority sister's have it, perhaps this is their Home now? Again thank you and all the camp-mates that made Opulent Temple possible in the past. Those were the days my friend

Shiva Nanda

8/19/2015 02:35:40 pm

Billionaires Camp is on the "list". If you want to be a part they want to know what you're bringing

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