A Year Ago: Hollis Hawthorne

A year ago Hollis Hawthorne fell into a coma as a result of a motorcycle accident she suffered in India. Her progress has been slow but steady and both her friends and her family have been blogging about it and documenting every milestone. These blogs are very poignant reads, so be sure to check them out.

For instance, recently her friends blogged as of the beginning of this year, she's been singing and humming to songs she listens to on her iPod. 

BURNcast #52 - Get into B.E.D. with Gigi De L'Amour

Download mp3

The above episode of BURNcast is an oldie: it was first posted to iTunes in the summer of 2007. Here producer Quin speaks with Gigi De L’Amour from the Bureau of Erotic Discourse about sexual assault on the playa and what YOU can do about it.

If you're new to Burning Man, the Bureau of Erotic Discourse (aka B.E.D.) is not a theme camp. It is a team of volunteers dedicated to providing information and education regarding rape and sexual assault on the playa. Their goal is to assist individuals to safely navigate the sensual environment of Burning Man through a series of fun, interactive, sex-positive  workshops called Negotiating Sex 101: How to Get Laid at

Chuck Cirino's HELCO video - Burning Man 1996

OK folks! This is pretty awesome!

Here's a cut and paste description from WeirdTV:

Before Burning Man was a comfortable vacation in the desert there was a wilder element afoot. In 1996 the Burning Man theme was "HELL". In this spectacular tribute to the downfall of big business we witness what Burning Man used to be... RADICAL SELF EXPRESSION.

BURNcast Loves

Bacon for breakfast,
Bacon for lunch,
Comments and re-tweets,
We ♡ a bunch!

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Remembering Eric "Airaq" Johnson

Eric "Airaq" Johnson from Playa Love Camp unexpectedly passed away yesterday morning.

The details are sketchy but from what we could gather from Eric's friends posting on Facebook, Eric fell down the stairs of his apartment building and hit his head.

There is a Facebook group currently in place. Be sure to check back for announcements about his memorial/funeral services.

Have You Met Flat Smiley?

This is a video submission from Burning Man 2009 for the Flat Smiley Project, a collaborative new media project and community building activity for Burning Man using Web 2.0 and social media tools.

Flat Smiley invites participants to befriend him and take him along on their travels in Black Rock City as well as other regional burner events.  He is modeled after the "Flat Stanley Project", a literacy campaign for school children created by Dale Hubert.

Flat Smiley's message is: "No Burner left behind!" Using Flat Smiley is like sending a postcard from the playa for many burners who are not able to attend the event this year due to the nation's prevailing economic downturn.  It's also a really fun project to get kids involved with, too.

To play along simply download the Flat Smiley PDF file and then color and decorate it as a way to personalize him with their your creative flair. Then, very much like the "traveling gnome" prank in the movie Amelie, take Flat Smiley to the playa, parties and events and photograph and/or videotape him at interacting with the community (drink!). 

Please make friends with Flat Smiley via Facebook and Twitter and be sure to subscribe to Flat Smiley's blog updates.

As always, Flat Smiley loves pARTicipation more than he loves bacon!