The First-Timer’s Guide to Participating at Burning Man

As my fellow burner Merv Swankerton always says, trying to explain Burning Man to someone who has never been, is like trying to explain color to a blind person.

Burning Man is a gathering of the spicy, creative people who “come home” to Black Rock City, Nevada for one week a year to share wildly artistic creations and to play, dance and live in the moment dressed, or undressed, in whatever style suits them.

Burning Man was originally created on the beaches of San Francisco before moving to the Black Rock Desert, a dried up lake bed known as the playa. This is where some 48,000 people gather to create a bustling city that breaths art and interaction 24 hours a day for seven days each year.

photo by Lucia Stewart

Hardcore burners spend months, if not all year, planning, scheming, building and sewing for the Black Rock City’s art cars, art installations, and elaborate camps.

Daytime Activity

Whatever you desire, the city has to offer. It’s afternoon… Want to go Disco Roller Skating? Or how about learning to pole dance? There’s a 2,000-person meditation session over yonder? Or look, there’s someone serving popsicles out of a cooler on his lizard bike.

I heard there’s a phone booth where you can talk to God, or you might want to enjoy the Sweat Lodge Camp before playing the life-size Operator game that gives you quite a VOLT.

And of course, a stop at the Deep End for a few House DJ grooves with the 1,200 other afternoon revelers is definitely in order.

Nocturnal

Fire-dancing circuses and 3,000-person Light Saber wars last for hours.

Evenings and late nights are spent exploring the city that has transformed into a glowing, fiery, seemingly-endless landscape. DJ’s sound systems pulsate in every direction. Fire-dancing circuses and 3,000-person Light Saber wars last for hours.

A fireball-blowing elephant hosting 45 dancers rolls past with a groove that makes you jump on-board, where you find a full bar on the carpeted second-story. The elephant dance bar is one of hundreds of art cars rolling around the playa.

Morning

Mornings find you watching the sunrise in the deep playa, and slowly wandering home on your bike, exploring art installations of large hands reaching towards the sky or a series of smoke rings that greet the sun, shooting hundreds of feet in the air, high and wide.

Or how about one last dance at the giant golden dragon that is welcoming the day with smooth electronic grooves next to the intricately carved Temple.

Anytime of day or night, set-off into the city to discover whatever you desire — it will be found, plus more.

Essential things to bring

photo by Lucia Stewart

Bring what you would take to be a self-sufficient camping unit, complete with plenty of water and sunscreen.

In addition, your checklist should include: plenty of lively costumes, warm clothes, goggles, a dust mask, a method to light yourself up or your bike at night (very important!) and of course, a way to contribute to the community (OK, even more important!).

Burning Man is based on a society that thrives because of community contributions. Without this, the city would not function. There are over 2,000 volunteers for the event, along with tens of thousands of others who bring their contributions to the city.

Observers and Participants

See, there are the observers and there are participants at Burning Man. Those who are observers do not invigorate the society, and therefore really don’t experience Burning Man for what it truly is.

As a participant, you bring something to offer others — be it an art installation, an open conversation, or a hundred Bloody Marys. The most crucial and basic contribution is to respect and honor all that is around you.

Everything is free; everyone is welcome; just be a contributor to the community.

Myself, I am a member of Camp Hook-up – making sure you have what you need. As Hookers, we all carry portable brief cases and beauty kits filled with: toothpicks, glowing toys, chap-stick, finger lights, goggles, sunscreen, zip-ties, permission slips, bike repair kits, dinosaur flashcards, and so much more.

You name it, we will have something you need. Even if it’s just a drink. We carry portable bars, too.

photo by Lucia Stewart

We roam the city, meeting new people, exploring the depths of the sexy and spicy artistic energy in Black Rock City, and in every true burner you meet on the street.

Can you see a bit of color now?

Oh yeah, don’t forget to bring a fresh name. I’m Luscious.

Burning Man happens (August 25 – September 1st, 2008) the last week of August every year at Black Rock City, the third largest city in Nevada for one week a year. There is also a yearly theme, so be sure to visit the website before you go. Tickets are not sold at the door, so purchase them in advance. www.burningman.com.

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Whiney Pilots Complain That Stingy Airlines Are Forcing Them To Fly "Uncomfortably Low On Fuel"

Ugh, those selfish pilots can't be bothered to help their airlines return to profitability. No, instead they're whining to NASA that they're being forced to fly "uncomfortably low on fuel" and that "safety for passengers and crews could be compromised."

These flight simulator jockeys want more fuel, but that isn't likely to happen anytime soon even with oil at $117 a barrel and crashing fast. The FAA finds the situation perfectly acceptable.

"We can't dabble in the business policies or the personnel policies of an airline," said FAA spokesman Les Dorr. He said there was no indication safety regulations were being violated.

The September 2005 safety alert was issued by NASA's confidential Aviation Safety Reporting System, which allows air crews to report safety problems without fear their names will be disclosed.

With fuel prices now their biggest cost, airlines are aggressively enforcing new policies designed to reduce consumption.

Just look at the complaints flooding into NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System:

"I know our program manager is ranking captains on landing with less fuel. I don't care to be ranked. I think this is a safety problem and I believe fuel is your friend," the captain said. "Looking back, I would have liked more gas yesterday, and I was already carrying tanker fuel. If I wouldn't have had this extra there would have been real problems."

The captain of a Boeing 747 said he began to run low on fuel after meeting strong headwinds over the Atlantic en route to JFK in New York in February. After contacting his company to discuss a refueling stop, the captain said he was told by his operations manager that the flight actually needed less fuel than had been loaded on board and would have enough to get to JFK without stopping.

But by the time he reached JFK, his fuel was "far below my comfort zone and probably less than the minimum fuel required by the FARs (federal aviation regulations)," the captain said. "Our fuel situation had not become critical yet, but had we had any delay, I would have had to declare a fuel emergency."

"I am not sure if the 'flight plan' as given to me by my company was a real flight plan, or if they were just telling me it was so that I would continue to JFK ... thus saving them time and expense. ... In the future, if such a situation presents itself again, I will divert to my initial destination regardless of what my company says I can do. The safety of my crew far outweighs any financial burden to the company."

The captain of a Boeing 737 en route to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in February said he was forced to divert in bad weather to Palm Beach International Airport to refuel because less than the normal amount of fuel for the flight was loaded before takeoff.

"This was probably the new fuel-saving initiative by the company management to save money," the captain said. "North-South operation is very unpredictable along the East Coast. I don't think this is a place where we should skimp on fuel."

The captain said he had a "lengthy discussion" with his company's dispatcher "relaying my opinion on the reduced fuel load and my suggestion not to compromise fuel loads in and out of Florida." But the captain said he received the same reduced amount on his next flight.

"So much for my professional input!" he said.

The airlines have made it clear that pilots who don't stop whining and start flying will be fired.

American notified dispatchers July 7 that their records on fuel approved for flights would be monitored, and dispatchers not abiding by company guidelines could ultimately be fired.

Union officials responded that "it appears safety has become a second thought" for the company. American and US Airways blame the complaints on labor negotiations - both are in contract talks with the complaining unions.

Look people, it's been 18 years since a plane crashed because it ran out of fuel. That means there isn't a problem anymore. Besides, 85 people survived.

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FOXSexpert: The Health Benefits of Masturbation

Yvonne K. Fulbright

Perhaps the joke’s on us. While people love to make wisecracks about it, few will actually admit to doing “it.”

Yet, according to Martha Cornog, of "The Big Book of Masturbation", self-pleasuring is surely the second most common human sex act. And, despite its torrid history, that’s proving to be a good thing. Turns out this once taboo behavior has plenty of health benefits and can do wonders for your sex life.

While the shackles of masturbation have been loosening around our loins, it is only recently that society has started to let go of its guilt around solo sex. This is in part thanks to sex researchers affirming that most of us do it, as well as the embracing of it by television sitcoms. Who can forget the bet made by Jerry, Elaine, George and Kramer as to who could remain the “master of their domain” the longest?

Even if you’re not a conformist, there’s something about safety in numbers when it comes to this topic. (And if it makes you feel even better, know that masturbation is common among other animals, like dogs, cats, horses, bulls, rats, hamsters, deer, and whales, too).

This more relaxed attitude is also due to the medical community challenging its own original claims that masturbation was a serious medical-ethical problem with dire results. According to works like Onania, circa 1712, male masturbation was said to lead to disease or disorder with the loss of semen.

Likewise, in losing vaginal fluid, a female who took matters into her own hands was supposedly at risk for hysteria, jaundice, epileptic fits, and other negative health conditions. Of equal concern, self-pleasuring was thought to send her down the road to sodomy as well.

Anybody with “solo sexploration” experience can tell you that, contrary to popular myths, masturbation does not result in any of the aforementioned, nor does it lead to acne, warts, hair on the palm, insanity, blindness...

What many may not know, however, is that stimulating yourself can ultimately boost your health in many ways.

Health Benefits for Men

Research summarized in a 2007 article in Sexual and Relationship Therapy found that masturbation may help men by:

— Improving his immune system’s functioning.

— Building his resistance to prostate gland infection.

— Making for a healthier prostate.

Australian researchers have reported that frequent masturbation may lower a man’s risk of developing prostate cancer. A survey of men found the more frequently a man masturbates between the ages of 20 and 50, the less likely they are to get prostate cancer. In fact, those who masturbated more than five times a week were one-third less likely to develop prostate cancer.

Health Benefits for Females

When it comes to a woman’s health, self-pleasuring serves her well by:

— Building her resistance to yeast infections.

— Combating pre-menstrual tension and other physical conditions associated with their menstrual cycles, like cramps.

— Relieving painful menstruation by increasing blood flow to the pelvic region. This will also reduce pelvic cramping and related backaches.

— Relieving chronic back pain and increasing her threshold for pain.

Health Benefits for Both Sexes

Masturbation rewards both men and women because it’s:

— The safest kind of sex, keeping you free of sexually transmitted infections.

— A great form of stress relief.

— A mood booster in releasing endorphins.

— A natural sleep sedative.

— A mechanism for building stronger pelvic floor muscles, which can lead to better sex.

— A natural energetic pick-me-up.

As Sigmund Freud once remarked at the Vienna Psycho-Analytical Society, “the subject of masturbation is quite inexhaustible.” While he wasn’t getting at the benefits (Freud saw self-pleasuring as harmful to the genitals and one’s psychosexual and moral development), the same can be said in how it can improve one’s sexual relationship.

For couples who masturbate on occasion or regularly, sex with yourself can:

— Be empowering, especially by helping you to feel better about your body, genitals and sexual response.

— Deliver some of your most intense orgasms ever, which you’ll now know how to recreate with that special someone!

— Increase your sexual awareness, giving you the opportunity to discover what turns you on – the sensations and movements that work best to give you the greatest of sexual gratification.

— Have the potential to enhance your sex life in general, boosting your sexual confidence and turning you into a better lover.

— Get you or your partner off the hook if neither is available or not in the mood.

In the Know Sex News …

Docs Missing Early Signs of HIV. According to Britain's National AIDS Trust, up to half of early-stage HIV cases are being missed by British physicians. With many symptoms flu-like in nature, such as sore throat and fever, patients are often told that they have a minor viral infection and that they should return if their condition does not improve.

Sexual Risk of Young Internet-Using Men Who Have Sex With Men Assessed. A University of Minnesota study, assessing the characteristics and risks associated with sex pursuits of men who have sex with men found that those who met sexual partners both online and offline reported unprotected intercourse more often than those who met their partners either online or offline, but not both. Those who met partners exclusively offline reported the fewest sexual partners. Being drunk or high were significant risks for unprotected sex regardless of how one met their partner.

Sex Taboos Thwarting HIV/AIDS Efforts in Pakistan. According to a study in the Lancet Infectious Diseases, the fight against HIV/AIDS is being hampered in Pakistan. The culprit: many believe that the infection is a non-issue for Muslim countries since Islamic law bans sex outside of marriage. UNAIDS, however, holds that at least 85,000 people in Pakistan are infected with HIV.

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