Burning Man is many things to many people, but one of the aspects of it that I personally enjoy quite a bit are things that challenge convention or are just unexpected. Of course, the beautiful and epic, like last year's Tree of Ténéré, or this year's Hexatron (the forest of 20' tall LED poles), are mind-blowing, but I really love the weird, personal shit out there.
Whether it's watching an inestimable gentleman suck his own dick at Eggs bar while we cheered him on, or watching two guys in a tricked-out golf cart dressed like law enforcement roll up to people with headdresses and write out a citation, or the even more innocuous like Camp Sharkcage, devoted to the decidedly excellent combination of Nicholas Cage and sharks ("You can cage the shark, but can you shark the Cage?"), I love it!
Sadly, although I have no measurement for it, or even a proxy by which to fake a measure, I feel like the weird factor at Burning Man has slowly been going down, while there's been a commensurate rise in folks for whom looking and feeling 'cool' is a primary drive. You know of whom I speak. You see them dressed in multi-thousand dollar miraculously clean outfits with a photographer with pro-level gear nearby, frequently stopping to preen and pose. Their natural watering holes are places like Robot Heart and Mayan Warrior (both of which are pretty amazing, don't get me wrong) or wherever Diplo (not at all amazing) is playing.
And, I get it - it's fun to dress up and look sexy, and Burning Man is an awesome background for photos, but goddam people, don't you just want to ditch the fashion show and let your freak flag fly? Black Rock City is a great place for it. Burning Man != Coachella or whatever. Let's get fucking weird!
Weirdout Wednesday
In that spirit, about a dozen of us in our camp Friendgasm declared Wednesday daytime would be Weirdout Wednesday going forward.
(You can follow the - as of this writing - brand new Weirdout Wednesday FB page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/weirdoutwednesday/ )
For Weirdout Wednesday this year, we did a thing one of my campmates - Ginger - has long dreamed about. We made signs saying things like Can't Stop, Won't Stop or Nvr Stop, got some of those dual beer-can helmet holders, put on adult diapers, wrote some stuff on them, and rolled out.
First stop, Duck Pond, where we took over the dance floor to lots of stares by pretty, clean people, and a lot of laughs from others. Excitingly, one guy we didn't know also showed up in diapers, saying he'd seen us, and went back to camp to change into diapers. (He happened to have adult diapers in camp? This guy prepares.)
He went even more hardcore than I did. I hadn't worn shoes, feeling that socks-only seemed even more ridiculous, but this guy eschewed even socks, rocking his diaper and only his diaper. I salute you, unknown diaper soldier. Other shenanigans ensued, including loudly encouraging people to stop supporting the USS corporate pooper monopoly. Stop using the portas, people! Shit where you dance - in your pants! Finally we headed over to Distrikt, where we rolled up onto the elevated stage and proceeded to irritate a group of women of the aforementioned Instagram type, trying to get a pristine picture of themselves in their pristine outfits without a bunch of idiots in diapers in the way. They kept asking us to move out of the way so they could get pics of just them, but I mean, can't stop won't stop, so obviously that wasn't happening. Nothing wrong with taking pics of yourselves, but if you can't handle a little Burning Man in your Burning Man, you're in the wrong place. Then, one of their ladies laid a hand on one of our ladies to kind of lightly shove her out of the way, which was a classic mistake. No photos were taken from then on that didn't have a diapered ass in it! The frustrated gnashing of their teeth was music to our ears.
That was the end of Weirdout Wednesday for us, as it was time to head back to camp for our Rum-Hamilton singalong, because as a camp we do a weird variety of things.
Other Instamodel Shenanigans
Because it makes me laugh, I have to relate another similar incident from our camp. A group was at Sharkey's - an excellent bar - when an Instamodel was spotted in the wild, out in the street, accompanied by a sole photog.
The prey was cleaning herself carefully of any dust, preparing to display her plumage, presumably in order to attract a mate, when Carmen spotted her. Carmen is a campmate whom I have compared favorably to my sort of fancy, cuddly, but also rip-your-face-off-fierce chihuahua, Chairman Mao. She hadn't eaten yet that day, and was hungry for prey.
In the distance, a ritual warning call was heard, "Hey, I haven't showered in a week!"
The prey was as of yet unaware of her danger, and continued to groom herself. Carmen swung into motion, suddenly dropping down to do frantic face-down dust angels in order to coat herself in playa. Up she sprung, making straight for the Instamodel, who was still oblivious to the doom rapidly descending upon her. "You're so pretty! Can I have a hug?!" said Carmen arriving and baiting the trap. "Yes," said the prey tentatively, sealing her fate. The prey leaned in for the barest possible hug, but Carmen was ready to feed, and went for the full koala (that's a bear hug where you wrap your legs around too). Then it was over, and the prey slumped to the ground, defeated while Carmen roared in triumph (ok, the roar didn't happen, but I like the image, so work with me here.) Thus, the circle of life was fulfilled. Dust to dust, forever unclean. There was cheering from Sharkeys, and disorder was returned to the streets of Black Rock City once more. Seriously, let's make Weirdout Wednesday a thing.
I'll definitely write about this again next summer before the Burn, but I'd love any help anyone interested can lend in promoting this idea. I mean no presumption with this call to action - I just think it'd be cool if a bunch of people devoted Wednesday daytime to letting their freak roam free. Do the unexpected, the weird, especially in places people go to be 'cool'. Mess with people determined to 'be cool.' Set an example and help bring some Cacophony into burners' lives.
I've read of a couple going to Distrikt this year fully nude with markers to let people write stuff on them, just to keep it weird. I read of another few people that brought a propane grill to Distrikt and were grilling up food in the middle of the dance floor. I love it! (I don't mean to pick on Distrikt here - it's pure coincidence these all involved that camp.) What are you going to do for Weirdout Wednesday next year? This is an opportunity for a lot more creativity than the more narrowly-defined days out there, like Tutu Tuesday. I've got all sorts of ideas running around in my head, including taking the diaper shenanigans to a new level. Leave your ideas in the comments, and later I'll collate them and share them to help inspire others to weirdness as well. Feel free to use the Weirdout Wednesday graphic below I did up (I can copy and paste, mom!) to spread the word too, if you're so inclined. (You can join the Weirdout Wednesday FB group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/weirdoutwednesday/)
anon
9/10/2018 09:43:26 am
Bring it on!
Dr. Yes
9/10/2018 09:54:29 am
Yes!
Blue Coyote
9/26/2018 09:39:46 pm
An idea whose time has come! By all means let’s do this. We need to balance out the instamodel phenomenon with some serious counter culture moves. Random acts of weirdness are called for. Count me in, I’m already hatching ideas. By next Summer we should all be sharing ideas and strategies. It would be great to do a Weirdout meet up somewhere on BRC just to show that weirdness is alive and well (strength in numbers) at Burning Man. Thanks for this great idea— can’t wait for a wild Wednesday at Home!
Partycurl
9/10/2018 10:05:43 am
Love it!! You are awesome!! I am sharing this with my campmates!! I am sure we will be weird next year!
Dr. Yes
9/10/2018 10:07:05 am
Thank you! Yes, be weird with us!
Sparkle unicorn
9/10/2018 10:17:46 am
How about 50 or more participants mingle into distrikt fully clothed and then proceed to perform a strip tease.
Dr. Yes
9/10/2018 10:20:45 am
That would be hilarious and amazing!
Crash
9/10/2018 12:44:17 pm
In middle school my favorite prank was to put chocolate pudding in diapers and walk around town eating it. Do with this information as you please ;)
Dr. Yes
9/10/2018 12:55:58 pm
Great minds....we were contemplating doing exactly that with Nutella.
Wraith
9/14/2018 03:05:16 am
Take it one step further. Pastel yellow mini-marshmallows do a fair corn impression, after all, and chunkiness will really sell the illusion.
Amp
9/10/2018 02:14:29 pm
I am so in for this.
Shazam
9/10/2018 04:29:57 pm
My campmates and I were plotting setting up a "VIP only" section, complete with velvet rope and obnoxious clipboard girl/boy on the Playa - whenever someone walked up to investigate, said clipboard person would ask if they were "on the list" and then reject them. Either the VIP area would remain empty the whole time, or else at a randomly determined time, one person would be allowed in for fancy champagne and treats. For maximum impact, maybe do this shenanigan at Distrikt or other day dance camp...
WJ
9/10/2018 10:12:43 pm
Yes! We have totally done this. Roll up on random bars, put out the velvet rope and stanchions, become bouncers. The most amazing part is that people totally get in line and wait. We are all SHEEPLE!
BC
9/10/2018 11:21:10 pm
Our camp, Draft Punk by the Trash Fence, has a single VIP dusty red carpet, velvet rope, clipboard, etc and people do indeed stand in line for it when they can easily walk into the bar area from multiple directions. Its kinda crazy...
RaveLord
9/11/2018 12:57:56 am
Friends did this smack in the middle of a dance floor at a party once. The rope area could hold about 4 people and it was absolutely hilarious
Cat
9/10/2018 07:27:23 pm
Shark Cage loves you, my dude. Thanks for the Highlander challenge this year, I enjoyed smiting my campmates with picklebacks.
Dr. Yes
9/10/2018 07:32:34 pm
You're welcome! Though I can't take credit for the Highlander game. That was one of my campmates.
BC
9/10/2018 11:34:50 pm
I think the days of "needing to look fashionable on the playa" are here to stay, especially seeing all of those unoriginal, jewel-adorned admiral hats which seem to be part of the new playa uniform for way too many lemmings on the dance stages and large art cars. Almost as uninspiring as dragging a jet plane into the desert. C'est la vie.
RaveLord
9/11/2018 01:05:44 am
Walk around as a news anchor with a couple of fake camera crew and “interview” people. Make them think you’re actually the news and ask questions like, “so what do you think the principal of radical annihilation? How do you practice it here?” I.e. make up shit and see if they catch on.
Lei-Lani
9/27/2018 06:25:19 pm
Brilliant
Huggable
9/11/2018 07:49:17 am
A 22-year vet told me that in the early years, people in mundane clothing were set upon, stripped, and forced into weirder attire. A return to such cacaphony could force all the instamodels into their RVs on Weird Wednesday!
Dilbaby
10/1/2018 01:00:36 pm
Most of these target's RVs arrive on Thursday anyway .
Cumquat
9/11/2018 08:57:49 am
So wished I heard about this earlier..before the burn our camp talked about runnin around in adult Diapers too this year lol, we would have LOVED to join you!! )'(
Doug
9/11/2018 05:01:24 pm
I want to,party with you guys next year!
SparkleTits
9/11/2018 08:34:54 pm
My camp has been known to streak Distrikt on more than one occasion. We’ve also done police raids and gladiator fights in the street. We’ve been neighbors with them for years. I think they like us. )’(
weazie
9/12/2018 03:14:58 pm
"Streak Distrikt" should be in the WWWW!
Got it
9/11/2018 11:55:55 pm
Duck pond is seldomly pretty, and never clean. Still I loved seeing you on the dancefloor!
weazie
9/12/2018 01:26:27 pm
This is Gigsville, like, ALL THE TIME.
Asstrid
9/12/2018 03:26:04 pm
Yass!
Teach
9/14/2018 02:33:28 pm
School of Black Rock is all in on WeirdOutWednesdays. I was freaking out instamodels with my dunce cap and tutu but we clearly need to take it to the next level. love the dust-hug Carmen!
Ava
9/15/2018 08:34:22 am
Helllloooo, Just thought I would leave a comment while I am here. Your camp looks like a lot of fun! I have never been to burning man in this life but I would love to go. In the mean time I will just indulge in YouTube videos and fantasize about it. Thank you for sharing!
Anastasia
9/18/2018 08:19:53 am
My virgin sparklepony friend brought a fuck ton of stuff to the burn this year and didn't use half of it so after we came back on Friday, still in a daze of decompression, we all dawned overalls meant for the Playa and hit the bars in a similar rabble housing fashion as your crew. We had an overall gang dance and decided that anyone who arrived in overalls was getting a pickle back shot with us. They all did the dance and loved the weirdness. We ended up with a little entourage by the end of the shenanigans!
J
9/18/2018 02:05:15 pm
I agree with expression and creativity, but I think to deliberately go out of your way to disrupt and worsen someone else’s burn is inconsiderate and not what burning man is about. You can be weird and wonderful and wear whatever you want, without bullying people.
Guzzle
9/27/2018 08:30:41 am
This year was my 13th consecutive burn. I went through a sparkle pony phase in 2007- no Instagram at the time - I was trying to be alternative/weird to all the Mad Max, Steam Punk and New Age hippie uniforms at the time. There will always be the cattle mentality, but I wouldn’t be comfortable confronting them. We make and give our furry speedos for guys ( kind of look like furry diapers ). Been doing that for 12 years. So glad you’re bringing weird back!!!!
Lei-Lani Terrell
9/27/2018 06:23:01 pm
This is brilliant. I love everything about this article. Carmen is my super hero.
Leona Kashersky
9/29/2018 11:51:21 am
Going back to our roots...of cacophony!
Everett Alexander
1/4/2019 05:50:26 am
Such a wonderful idea! Will spread to my fellow campers at Duane's Whirld to join in the shenanigans...
Sparkle Bear
3/16/2019 05:26:27 pm
I love this idea.
Kismet
3/19/2019 06:56:20 pm
Thanks! I needed to read this and be reminded that BMan is alive and well. My 94-year-old dad just passed on and I was wondering where I might be able to donate all of the boxes of adult diapers. Now I have a mission.
Dr. Yes
3/19/2019 07:01:21 pm
So sorry to hear about your father. :( Comments are closed.
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AuthorI'm Dr. Yes. I run this site, lead a theme camp called Friendgasm, and make Burning Man videos. Just say yes, folks, and help keep Burning Man weird! Archives
September 2022
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