'Ere We Go!

July 26, 2010 1:33 PM

It is once again the time of year where 1.) someone (me) proposes a meetup at Burning Man 2.) numerous MeFites comment about how they won't be attending and anyone who does attend is stupid, and 3.) a small but dedicated core of MeFites get together on the playa and have a great time. Pick a side and wade in.

One year after being unable to attend my last proposed Burning Man meetup due to health and financial problems, I am making my return to BRC for 2010. This seems like a good opportunity for me to enjoy the company of some far-flung MeFites, so I'm posting to see who'll be out in the desert this year. Let's get together.

posted by Parasite Unseen to MetaFilter Gatherings at 1:33 PM (77 comments total)

I won't be attending and anyone who does attend is stupid.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 1:39 PM on July 26, 2010 [11 favorites]

I won't be attending and I am jealous of anyone who is attending.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 1:40 PM on July 26, 2010 [9 favorites]

I'm with stupid.
posted by mullacc at 1:44 PM on July 26, 2010 [5 favorites]

I'll take option 2) and 4b)
posted by slogger at 1:45 PM on July 26, 2010

I will not be attending and anyone who does attend is fabulous, suck it haters!
posted by new brand day at 1:59 PM on July 26, 2010

I won't be attending and anyone who does attend probably knows what the hell Burning Man is.
posted by shakespeherian at 2:01 PM on July 26, 2010 [4 favorites]

I'd go anywhere for s'mores.
posted by anniecat at 2:02 PM on July 26, 2010 [1 favorite]

I will be parked in a geostationary orbit overhead on my weaponized particle beam satellite picking off people who wear too much day glow fun fur or dropping moop on the playa.
posted by loquacious at 2:03 PM on July 26, 2010

Turns on Slayer - Raining Blood.

Goddamn hippies.
posted by qvantamon at 2:07 PM on July 26, 2010 [2 favorites]

I won't be attending and anyone who does attend is stupid and I am jealous of anyone who is attending.
posted by Confess, Fletch at 2:07 PM on July 26, 2010

mullacc took my joke.
posted by Mister_A at 2:08 PM on July 26, 2010

I won't be attending, but will admit to be somewhat interested in attending at some point in the future, while realistically being aware that I likely won't ever attend.
posted by Richat at 2:09 PM on July 26, 2010 [5 favorites]

I will be attending the Rainbow Family Gathering when it takes place in WA state (somewhere) in early July of 2011. I'll post a meetup thread about that event at an appropriate time.
posted by hippybear at 2:10 PM on July 26, 2010

I'm not going because I don't want to get burned.
posted by ardgedee at 2:11 PM on July 26, 2010

I am burning, man!
posted by not_on_display at 2:11 PM on July 26, 2010

I will not be commenting in this thread, and anyone who does so is stupid.
posted by Eideteker at 2:12 PM on July 26, 2010 [2 favorites]

Is this anything like it's raining men?
posted by found missing at 2:13 PM on July 26, 2010 [1 favorite]

I won't be going and am grateful to all those who are, since it means I won't have to wait in line at any of my favorite brunch places that weekend. Yay, Burning Man!
posted by rtha at 2:17 PM on July 26, 2010 [5 favorites]

Is this that Nicholas Cage movie? Will there be bees? I don't know that I want to go to a place where there are so many bees.
posted by turgid dahlia at 2:17 PM on July 26, 2010 [3 favorites]

This is all very Pavlovian.
posted by Burhanistan at 2:17 PM on July 26, 2010

Burning Man is for hipsters!
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 2:21 PM on July 26, 2010

I won't be attending and I feel stupid that I had to google "moop". But now I like it - "mooper" sounds much more evil than "litterbug".
posted by Quietgal at 2:22 PM on July 26, 2010

Why does it always have to be a burning man, you insensitive clod!
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 2:23 PM on July 26, 2010

Parasite Unseen, since the dates for Burning Man are already known, maybe you could just post this to IRL instead and stem most of the flow of the two cent snark?
posted by Burhanistan at 2:25 PM on July 26, 2010

Is this that Nicholas Cage movie? Will there be bees? I don't know that I want to go to a place where there are so many bees.

Killing me won't bring back your goddamn honey!
posted by shakespeherian at 2:26 PM on July 26, 2010

I've never been, nor do I hold a strong opinion either way. Still, someone somewhere has to be stupid and, make no mistake, I'm man enough to call them out on the internet. Should needs be.
posted by ob at 2:26 PM on July 26, 2010 [2 favorites]

I'd love to go. There's flush toilets and showers and central air conditioning, right?
posted by infinitywaltz at 2:29 PM on July 26, 2010 [2 favorites]

I am in favor of setting men on fire!
posted by naju at 2:31 PM on July 26, 2010

I hate the tundra and plains, but I'm OK with the playa.
posted by DU at 2:32 PM on July 26, 2010

Parasite Unseen, since the dates for Burning Man are already known, maybe you could just post this to IRL instead and stem most of the flow of the two cent snark?

The dates are known, but the meetup date is not decided, and I'm under the impression that IRL is only for use when plans are somewhat solidified. Since this post has thus far not managed to find a single person (other than myself) who will be attending, IRL seems a bit premature. Also, two-cent snark is the nectar by which MetaTalk is nourished; I love this site too much to let it go hungry.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 2:35 PM on July 26, 2010 [1 favorite]

Oh, well in that case....you foul wanna be counterculture warrior chicken heart! Take your pseudo-liberation circle jerk and bury it in the hot sand!

Or, you know, have a good time!
posted by Burhanistan at 2:42 PM on July 26, 2010 [1 favorite]

What the fuck does this have to do with Edward Woodward?
posted by Pope Guilty at 2:42 PM on July 26, 2010 [1 favorite]

I hate the tundra and plains, but I'm OK with the playa.

Hate the game, not the playa.
posted by shakespeherian at 2:42 PM on July 26, 2010 [2 favorites]

I hate the tundra and plains, but I'm OK with the playa.

Tundra and plains both produce white mana, and that's good enough for me.

:: Taps tundra and plains, casts Circle of Protection: Snark ::
posted by Parasite Unseen at 2:53 PM on July 26, 2010 [4 favorites]

I am stupid and everyone else is attending.
posted by lampshade at 2:53 PM on July 26, 2010

I can't go so I'm just gonna light myself on fire Labor Day Weekend. I'm living vicariously through myself!
posted by mannequito at 2:56 PM on July 26, 2010

However, I will alter my plans and go if they promise to set Nic Cage on fire.
posted by mannequito at 2:57 PM on July 26, 2010

It's Raining Burning Men! The Musical! Starring Nic Cage!
posted by Mister_A at 3:16 PM on July 26, 2010

"I hate the tundra and plains, but I'm OK with the playa."

You'd best steppe correct.
posted by Eideteker at 3:16 PM on July 26, 2010 [2 favorites]

I cleverly chose my wedding date to coincide with burning man, ensuring that I will never, ever, be able to attend.
posted by jeffamaphone at 3:21 PM on July 26, 2010

Is this something you'd need to have a TV to understand?
posted by scalefree at 3:40 PM on July 26, 2010

This is one rite of passage I missed, though I'm please it's still going. I had friends who went like 10 years ago, and even then we're saying the MDMA expiration date had long since passed. In other words: get off my desert lawn you psychedelic freaks.
posted by HP LaserJet P10006 at 3:41 PM on July 26, 2010 [2 favorites]

Is this something you'd need NOT to have a TV to understand?
posted by m@f at 4:41 PM on July 26, 2010

Is this not something you'd not need a TV to not understand? YES IT IS.
posted by found missing at 4:44 PM on July 26, 2010

I went three years ago and promised to come to the meetup and totally failed. I haven't been since but now I'm going again and this time I promise to come to the meetup and maybe not fail.
posted by PercussivePaul at 5:44 PM on July 26, 2010

Is this that Nicholas Cage movie? Will there be bees? I don't know that I want to go to a place where there are so many bees.

How did he get burned? How did he get burned? HOW DID HE GET BURNED?!?!?
posted by tracicle at 5:51 PM on July 26, 2010 [1 favorite]

I'll be building a wooden figurine and having a bonfire on Baker Beach that weekend.
posted by asterix at 6:41 PM on July 26, 2010 [2 favorites]

I no longer have the excuse that I live too far away. My current excuse is it isn't 1995.
posted by birdherder at 7:20 PM on July 26, 2010 [3 favorites]

So, this is where we post barbecue recipes, right?
posted by desuetude at 7:48 PM on July 26, 2010

I'll be in the Black Rock Desert 2 weeks after Burning Man for XPRS and then the following weekend for BALLS.
posted by neuron at 8:03 PM on July 26, 2010 [1 favorite]

I'd do it, if someone can figure out how to get me there from Southern Ontario and then back home by the 8th at the latest, all while spending no more than $500 for the whole affair.
posted by Throw away your common sense and get an afro! at 9:16 PM on July 26, 2010

The Westy would never fit through the tunnel.
posted by buzzman at 9:34 PM on July 26, 2010

I'm not attending, and I'm super sad. Y'all have a good time. (next year!)
posted by nat at 10:29 PM on July 26, 2010

I'll meet you guys somewhere else.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 12:17 AM on July 27, 2010

and stem most of the flow of the two cent snark?

Is snark additive? I mean, if we get enough two-cent snark in one thread, does it compress under the weight of favorites and/or displeasure to form two-bit snark? Can that, in turn, compress to become sustainable humor?
posted by GenjiandProust at 6:58 AM on July 27, 2010

> Is snark additive? I mean, if we get enough two-cent snark in one thread, does it compress under the weight of favorites and/or displeasure to form two-bit snark?

No, no, you can't distill or smelt good snark like that any more than you can make a crystal vase out of horse shit.
posted by Burhanistan at 8:05 AM on July 27, 2010

No, no, you can't distill or smelt good snark like that any more than you can make a crystal vase out of horse shit.

Well, poo. There goes my chance at being a productive member of this site.
posted by GenjiandProust at 8:13 AM on July 27, 2010 [1 favorite]

I once went to a Rainbow Gathering in Oregon, looking for a tattooed freak (who just happens to be my oldest friend) who was lost in a week-long orgy of psychedelics. I was accompanied by a one-legged hippie and a carpenter named Mother.

True story.
posted by norm at 8:16 AM on July 27, 2010 [4 favorites]

Ok, it's not a crystal vase, but you could make a shiny mud ball, or even a house.
posted by loquacious at 8:24 AM on July 27, 2010

> Ok, it's not a crystal vase, but you could make a shiny mud ball

MeFi's own!

(but it's still sheeeeeit)
posted by Burhanistan at 8:35 AM on July 27, 2010

Wish I could make it to the Gathering in the PNW, I don't do well with heat so Burning Man is just not enticing at all to me (it sounds really fun, but also really hot and dusty which means miserable for me.) On the other hand I haven't been to a gathering in 7 or 8 years.

*Le Sigh*
posted by schyler523 at 9:12 AM on July 27, 2010

I'm going this year for the first time, so I'd be interested.
posted by small_ruminant at 10:46 AM on July 27, 2010

I am fascinated that out of 63 responses, only two people seem to be going.

The snark is fabulous, however.
posted by micawber at 11:42 AM on July 27, 2010

I am fascinated that out of 63 responses, only two people seem to be going.

Judging by past experience, that's about the signal to noise ratio that I was expecting. A couple more MeFites will probably also announce that they're attending as the event approaches and the meetup is posted to IRL.

Interestingly, MeMail conversations suggest that all of the attendees who have spoken up thus far are (by pure chance) planning on camping in the same general area. That should make this a lot easier to manage.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 12:41 PM on July 27, 2010

planning on camping in the same general area

the 1990s?
posted by found missing at 3:47 PM on July 27, 2010 [3 favorites]

Heh, that ruled.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 4:12 PM on July 27, 2010

Well, I have no dog in this fight but if I did, it would be thirty feet high and made of Christmas lights.
posted by y2karl at 6:02 PM on July 27, 2010

1.) someone (me) proposes a meetup at Burning Man 2.) numerous MeFites comment about how they won't be attending and anyone who does attend is stupid, and 3.) a small but dedicated core of MeFites get together on the playa and have a great time. Pick a side and wade in.

4) would be "Organizing a meetup on the Playa is virtually pointless because who the hell keeps track of time once they actually get out there?"
posted by mykescipark at 10:20 PM on July 27, 2010

I'll be building a wooden figurine and having a bonfire on Baker Beach that weekend.

You'll have competition...
posted by whir at 1:53 AM on July 28, 2010

Is there room in here for folks who don't care much either way?
posted by fixedgear at 5:05 AM on July 28, 2010

OK, i'll throw my hat in! I will be in dusty heaven, and though playa time is a thing I fall prey to, it'd be wonderble for my first meetup in way too long to be out in BRC. Out of curiosity, where is this geographic epicenter of MeFidom?
posted by Sweetdefenestration at 7:16 AM on July 28, 2010

the 1990s?

Yes. Percusive Paul will be at Booming Economy Camp, small_ruminant will be camping next to General International Goodwill Towards America, and I will be staying with Not Knowing Who The Hell George W. Bush Is. We'll send you a postcard.

4) would be "Organizing a meetup on the Playa is virtually pointless because who the hell keeps track of time once they actually get out there?"

Photographic evidence that it can be managed.

Out of curiosity, where is this geographic epicenter of MeFidom?

We're all around 3:00 - 4:00 and E.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 8:16 AM on July 28, 2010

Don't hate the playa, hate the fame.
posted by the painkiller at 1:12 PM on July 28, 2010

Hey, is there anywhere in San Francisco that we've wanted to hold a meetup, but couldn't, because it was too loud & crowded?
posted by Pronoiac at 8:06 AM on July 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

I'm in. That is if I can remember, but I can write it on the palm of my hand. Where and when?
posted by Vaike at 11:34 PM on July 29, 2010

The meetup has been posted to IRL.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 9:17 AM on August 2, 2010

I'll be there for sure. 3:30 and Esplande in a little subdivision called funtown, stop by for an espresso.
posted by brinkzilla at 9:21 AM on August 27, 2010