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 it’s synonymous with ‘giving’. But they’re not the same thing; certainly not in the Burning Man context.
Picture this: you have a friend who, say, makes wine and sells it for a living. You’re visiting their tasting room and decide to buy a bottle of wine. You tell your spouse you’re going to the bathroom and you’ll be back. When you get back, you reach for your wallet to pay and, at the same time, ask your spouse “Did we get the wine?” If your friend interjects by saying, “I just gave it to him/her,” then you know it’s time to pay. If your friend says, “I just gifted it to him/her,” then you know it’s time to say “no you shouldn’t have!”
The difference is that ‘gifting’ (and certainly the Principle of Gifting) is to give something without contemplation of getting something in return. Giving can mean this, but is often used in the context of a transaction. Of course, we do get something (non-material) in return for gifting. For one, it feels much better to gift than to merely give. That holds up even off-Playa. But there’s a special role that Gifting plays at Burning Man. The temporary nature of Burning Man means that we can all gift more generously than usual. Including Gifting in our city’s social contract enriches the experience for all – we all get to gift and accept gifts.
This is why a gift at Burning Man is different than, say, a Christmas gift. At Burning Man, one generally, truly does not contemplate reciprocity for gifting. At Christmas, most do. Few people would keep giving someone Christmas gifts, if they never get one in return.
I will leave it to you all as individuals to decide what you will gift at Black Rock City. But, as a camp, we gift weddings. If you’re new to the camp, here is a list of the typical roles we each play as part of that gift:
· We always need bartenders.
· We need at least a couple of people to really get to know the costumes dome and be able to help people pick out wedding outfits.
· Of course, we need a chaplain, but I also rely on Red to be the assistant chaplain, which he does well. In addition, he and Seamus are in charge of my alcohol consumption before and during wedding times to make sure it’s properly gauged for optimizing officiation.
· Peaches is our photographer and holy shit is she great!
· It’s always good to have greeters to orient (and sometimes lure) people to the chapel.
· Sometimes we also need a flower girl, ringbearer or usher.
That’s pretty much all that goes into it in the moment the weddings happen. Other than that, it’s just good to have an excited audience to help create joyful memories!
[Group News Redacted]
Camp Planning
Wedding Planning
I continue to work on the logistics of this. The French wedding of Elodie and Neil has been rescheduled to Tuesday at sunset. I’ve written down my “sermons” for all the pre-planned weddings. I still need to ready templates for impromptu weddings.
Other Camp Planning
Seamus and I have pulled out all the wooden chapel infrastructure. Mostly it needs a good washing. I sanded down the bar and put a light seal on it – it’s got, say, a weathered, vintage look, but it looks nice enough for one more year before a resurfacing. Curtis, please bring whatever paints we need to replace the podium’s religious symbol stickers and the address on our circular sign. Cassidy, health permit applications are due by Aug 9th.
Red Folder Video: Where to Get Help
Here’s your Red Folder assignment for the week (I’m putting them on YouTube now to save my own cloud space). If you want a podcast, download it here. This installment is long, but it’s important.
Black Rock City News and Acculturation
· I really liked this podcast from Burning Man Live, which discussed how Burning Man deals with controversial/political/offensive art.
· Cool discussion about the upcoming burn from the Burner Podcast, called Road Trip to Burning Man.
· Read or re-read the survival guide now!
· BORG updated their sound policy: Acceptable sound levels are now considered 75 decibels (dbA mid-range frequencies) at a camp’s border with a neighbor or the center of the street. Bass levels should continue to be negotiated with neighbors. Within the city, sound systems are no longer restricted to pointing internally within a camp. However, this can be a way to mitigate issues depending on your surroundings.
· BORG is also asking us to help fight for decommodification. Report anyone you hear offering:
All-inclusive packages such as housing, meals, and costumes for a flat fee
Concierge events and “services” that promise to plan a burn and come with tickets
Companies offering to deliver things on playa that are not approved OSS providers
Paying people/"staff" to do things on playa (i.e.: chefs, concierge, builders, clean-up crew)
Hosting non-fundraising ticketed events off-playa
Placement / Ticket News
Placement News
Port-a-Potties have been placed. We’ll have them at either end of our block, I think. Similar to last year. Close, but not too close. Placement calendar:
· Any day now: Placement announces neighbors.
· August 19th: First WAP entries.
· October 24th: Post-Playa Report due (opens in September).
[Ticketing News Redacted]
Current Pre-Build, Build Week, Burn Week and Exodus Schedule
Here is our current schedule for pre-build, build week, burn week, Exodus and post-Exodus (keep in mind there will be many changes and additions):
You may have noticed that I added color-coding to show the expected brightness of the sky (assuming no clouds), based on the moon, for the period we might be on-Playa. Gray days are Build Week and red days are Burn Week.
Upcoming Tasks
To Do in the Next 10 Days
Everybody
Send me any updates on your plans to join us or bring friends.
Buy / sell your Burning Man tickets to one another! Then let me know.
Make sure you have whatever you need to deal with wastewater.
Send me your travel plans.
If you haven’t yet, please look through the spreadsheet, so you know where to find essential information.
Let me know if you have any news you want to share.
Let me know if you are not able to make the all-campers Zoom meeting on August 10th at 4p.
Let Mo know what you can do to help with Mojito Mondays.
Read / re-read the Survival Guide.
Here’s your Red Folder assignment for the week. If you prefer a podcast, download it here.
TAC
Schedule 2nd meeting with Jolanda and Marcel.
Allocate SAPs.
TAC and Stupid Seamus
Pull out altar and old signage and spruce up.
Add wheels to the Dusty Altar Bar.
Katie
Let me know if you want me to put the full court press on finding someone for Mona’s second ticket.
To Do in the Next 30 Days
TAC
Create new nighttime signage
Put up shade structures
Tune up truck.
Tune up bikes (replace chains.)
Print wedding certificates.
Cassidy
Get food permit by August 9th.
To Do in the Next 60 Days
TAC
Template for impromptu weddings and another for Deep Playa weddings.
Buy carbon offsets.
Buy a hanging work light
Peaches
Buy actual bubbles
Get champagne flutes
Curtis
Inventory EMT and shade cloth
Gather paints and materials needed for updating podium and hanging sign
TAC and Curtis
Get tarps for ground cover
Stupid Seamus
Build mirror for costume dome
Create sign from banner.
TAC and Stupid Seamus
Obtain and fix up bikes, as necessary
TAC, Stupid Seamus and Curtis
Get earth anchors and/or spreaders
Everybody
Buy booze and mixers for the bar
Make sure you have tickets, SAPs, VPs, wallet and IDs
Pack a backpack with toiletries, clothes, water, food, medications, phone and charger.
Get muck boots.
Get all your personal stuff squared away
Closing Thoughts
It is easy to think of our gifts as being the weddings we perform and the stuff we give people. But Burning Man presents us with many opportunities for gifting. This year, we’re camping with another camp, Burning My Crêpe. Just like bringing a pie to your new neighbors, this presents us with a terrific opportunity for gifting. I am currently assuming we will have a hot year, which will slow down build. Still, assuming we get in late Thursday night, I think our build schedule looks something like this:
· Friday (wake around 7a, build 8a to 6p):
o Put up all the shade cloth.
o Put up our own tents.
o Begin unpacking and organizing camp and individual gear.
o Begin putting up lighting and frontage items.
· Saturday (8a to noon):
o Build costume dome.
o Finish unpacking and organizing.
o Finish lighting and frontage.
· Saturday afternoon (half crew, noon to 4p):
o Finishing touches for aesthetic purposes.
o Organizing costume dome.
You’ll notice that we’ll have just a little bit of work left by Saturday afternoon: I’m guessing half a day for half the crew. This means that we can send our core builders to help our neighbors finish their build. This would be a great gift and leave both camps ready to burn on Sunday and, even better, ready to get down for Tatiana’s birthday that Saturday night!
“There's only one rule that I know of, babies - God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
-Kurt Vonnegut
The Man Burns in 47 days!
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