The Chaplain’s Screed In The Shadow of the Man is a Burning Man podcast that focuses on how Burning Man affects people’s off-Playa lives.  I was interviewed for it (the interview should come out sometime around the Burnal Equinox.)  It’s a great podcast.  That Andy (the interviewer) has had some genuine Burning Man luminaries on the podcast. I really love the name and theme of the podcast.  Those of you who have been reading this newsletter for a long time know that the theme

The Chaplain’s Screed This year’s theme has been announced: Axis Mundi  which, apparently, is meant to be a reference to The World Tree.  This tree takes many forms, in many different cultures, as illuminated in Burning Man’s theme announcement.  Most connected to Burning Man’s conception are those versions where the tree serves as the center of the world, like the Norse yggradasil .  A bit arrogant, I’d say, but appropriate for what Black Rock City is for us burners.   The t

The Chaplain’s Screed So, you’ve been back in the quotidian milieu for a couple weeks now and are already missing Black Rock City?  Well,...

The Chaplain’s Screed Lots of news this month, my loves!  The French are coming, and BORG is ready to supply us with plenty of tickets to...

The Chaplain’s Screed BORG sent me a couple pictures from our MOOP sweep.  They found a wet wipe and, more Resto Team Showing Us the Wet...

The Chaplain’s Screed I remember the first time I made love.  A couple weeks prior, aged 17, I was about two weeks into my freshman year...

The Chaplain’s Screed The Participation ethos at Burning Man is inherited from the Cacophony Society and, before that, the Suicide Club. ...

The Chaplain’s Screed One of the Ten Principles is Gifting.  The word ‘gifting’ has been used as a verb for centuries and sounds as if...

The Chaplain’s Screed Those of you who are regular readers of this newsletter know that I distinguish Leave No Trace (LNT) from the other...

The Chaplain’s Screed Self-Reliance is the first of the Ten Principles and, relatedly, the one that seems to have the most tension with...

The Chaplain’s Screed Communal effort isn’t just one of the Ten Principles, it is, arguably, the main reason camps like ours are able to...

The Chaplain’s Screed Many people know the Burning Man history bit about how, after getting kicked off Baker Beach in San Francisco,...

The Chaplain’s Screed Decommodification is the one of the Ten Principles that most makes me feel free; even more than Radical...

The Chaplain’s Screed For those of you who have camped with me, you understand that Radical Self-Expression is one of the Ten Principles...

The Chaplain’s Screed I’m officially starting my yearly rotation of focusing on one of the Ten Principles with each and (nearly) every...

The Chaplain’s Screed In a week or two, I’ll send out a newsletter focused on tickets and in March I’ll start my cycle of Ten Principles...

The Chaplain’s Screed Burning Man preparation is like a wheel.  You’re always moving forward on your journey, but the mechanism that gets...

The Chaplain’s Screed Burning Man culture predates Burning Man itself.  It came from a rich cultural brew of avant garde absurdist...

The Chaplain’s Screed Well, everyone, it’s been a while since you’ve heard from me and I hope you’re all the better for that. Much has...

The Chaplain’s Screed Wow… I have still not come down from this amazing Burning Man. Thank you all for making it so special. And thanks...