My extremely dear friend, Gretchen, had always introduced me to everyone as “My most jaded friend, Ori!” Why? Because I take everything in within a minute or two, and then it’s no longer a big deal. We went to this Fetish Party, everyone was all excited about what to wear.. it was all of our 1st… I was living in South Beach at the time, we partied even harder back then… anyways… we walk in, my friend Jessica and I punched each other a few times, got tied up, watched some alien on stilts, and then Jessica got run over by a car— the bouncers kicked some drunk guy out, and he tried to run them over… drove right through the wall, and hit Jessica’s leg (coincidentally, I had just been standing in that same spot, but had recognized the DJ as my friend Jaysen). It was a crazy night, but since then, it hasn’t been a big deal for me… “yeah.. it’s like any other club… except that people get tied up, wear latex/leather, and tie each other up.” Maybe that’s why I travel… ’cause I get bored easily. I had thought I had seen it all (give or take). Then there was Burning Man…

When I was visiting my older bro (later to become Couch 16), he took me his friend’s mansion, while sitting in the Jacuzzi, one of his friends had told me about Burning Man… a friend of mine had told me about it just 2 weeks prior. This guy not only told me I’d like it, but just happened to have a photo/video DVD with him from the year prior… wow! I stated right there and then that I am going to Burning Man 2007 (and I did!). That gentleman is now Couch 54. I crashed at their place in Tahoe, hung out with their camp at Burning Man, and am now in their home in San Francisco. What is Burning Man? Well.. go to their website- It is this crazy event out in the desert, with lots of amazing people (and when I say lots…. this city, Black Rock City, despite only existing for one week out of the year, is now the 3rd largest city in Nevada… this year it had 50,000 people), and not many rules. People are naked, or dressed in costumes, or in regular clothes… they are in camps- tents, domes, RV’s…. lots of fire performers, musicians, jugglers, fortune tellers, masseuse, stilt walkers, artists, and much more… people do what they want. There is no money to be spent (except for on Coffee, Tea, or Ice)– everything else is Gift or Barter. There are tons of amazing art exhibits… most of them are interactive….. Little known fact, but Burning Man is the world’s largest museum… there are no other places that can hold exhibits that are as large. For example- there was an awesome exhibit made of 2 giant 18-wheelers… they have them somehow bent one over the other, hollowed, and turned into a giant jungle gym… going up into it, you have to interact with your fellow humans. Find me a museum that can hold 2 18-wheelers vertically.

Burning Man is also the largest Art Grants foundation in the San Francisco area! They will fund up to 50% of a project, so long as it is made of more than 1 person, and forces you to work together and learn. They sometimes sell or donate the pieces after the event. Certain art pieces get donated or sold. Others get burnt… for example, The Temple. The Temple used to be burnt for fun, like The Man, but David Best, who makes these intricate temples, had a friend or a son commit suicide. He then wrote some prayers inside the temple, and then burnt it… it has become a solemn occasion, the night after the man. People spend the whole week writing prayers, or attaching photos, posessions, poems, etc… in the Temple — mostly for friends, family, or pets that have passed away or need our help. This all goes up in flame. It was quite amazing…. Here’s a photo.

The people who make all the exhibits are not just hippies, as many people think when they hear of Burning Man… but rather engineers, or enginners as a hobby. There are Mutant Vehicles — strange looking vehicles that travel the Playa. You can catch a ride on them, get a ride, often a drink… you may ride a ducky, the Cheshire Cat, a pirate ship, a turtle, a magic carpet, or anything else…

There’s tons to tell of my adventures there…. for example, the 1st night, some dude had climbed up the man, and burnt it! The Burning Man team had built a new man in only 2.5 days — that’s a new record, just to make sure that everyone can enjoy a proper burn… I was lost in the desert, so I saw the fire, and got some great photos of this historical event.

Keep checking back, as I’ll be adding many pics and stories from Burning Man 2007

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