I’ve never been to burning man. I know only what I’ve read, so I don’t know very much. Some things have to be experienced, and even from 2,300 miles away, I know this is one of those things.
Nor am I a wannabe. As cool as I may think it is, I know that some things are not a good fit. I felt like capoeira was amongst the coolest martial arts ever. After six months of practice, I stopped. It’s still cool. It’s just not for me.
Same for Burning Man. I don’t like being naked. I haven’t worn a costume in years. Drugs? Not so much. Dancing? Meh. Burning Man is cool…but you will never see me on the playa.
Still, I dig it. I like knowing that somewhere out there, there is a bunch of costumed people dancing in the desert in the name of art and radical expression.
You won’t see any of that in this video. No plumes, no pasties, no bodypaint or art cars. None of those things that Burning Man has become synonymous with. What you will see is the synapses of a city that, days previous, exited only as an idea.
Which is cool.