Power to the puppies! See NIGHT&DAY
31
Solid pub grub See DISH
33
Crickets, yum See COOLHUNTING
36
Words + guitars See MUSIC
Burning Man isn’t just about partying in the desert— its core principles also emphasize self-reliance, community participation and civic responsibility.
no dust storms,” Wiltshire says. “The dust storms always kept a certain amount of people away. Last year, they thought it was the greatest thing, and it is—but they didn’t realize how harsh it can be.” But members of BMOrg, as the Burning Man organization is nicknamed, suspected they were “in for a different kind of ride in 2012,” even before the weather proved too good to be true in 2011. “The moment in 2011 that we saw tickets were going to sell out, we knew it would have a major impact on 2012 ticket sales, and we started planning,” Grace wrote in a February 9 newsletter to the Burner community. In what has since come to be seen as an unsuccessful, if well-intentioned, attempt to address this growing interest, they created a new system for ticketing for this year’s event: a lottery in which 40,000 tickets were available in three tiers, priced from $240 to $390 (presale tickets were also available at
$420 a pop). The result: Three times as many people entered the lottery as there were tickets available, according to Grace— many of them new to the event. In a survey of lottery applicants, 40 percent of respondents reported that this would be their first year going to Burning Man. However, Grace says that the organizers “aren’t putting a lot of credence” in this figure. “My sense is that every year we have about one-third newbies,” she says. Still, this news added a fresh layer of indignation to the already fuming faction of Burners who didn’t get a ticket, the concern being that “newbies” tend to bring less to the table, or that, given the event’s catapult into the mainstream zeitgeist, more people were coming out to Black Rock City just to party (a notion that’s considered sacrilege in a participant-driven city). Recognizing this, the organization designated the remaining 10,000 tickets—which were meant to go up for open sale after the lottery—for key theme camps, artists, mutant-vehicle creators, musicians and other key contributors to the sensory playground that is Black Rock City. Following the BLM’s June approval
of Burning Man’s one-year Special Recreation Permit for the 2012 event, which caps attendance at a record 60,900, organizers were able to sell additional tickets in July and August. Now, BMOrg is already in talks about 2013, drawing on input from game theorists, statisticians, sociologists, ticketing companies, software folks and the Burner community. But the reality, says Grace, is that no matter how they go about selling tickets, there won’t be enough for everyone who wants one. Ticketing isn’t the only issue. There are several more existential matters to contemplate as well. Among them: Will Burning Man have to move? Where and what would that be like? How big can it get and still retain its flavor? Might it someday end altogether? In a February 15 newsletter, Goodell posited that the culture’s survival might someday be entrusted to the broader community, one embodied by regional chapters in 19 countries across the globe. “This moment is an inflection point,” says Grace. “We have hit through the capacity here, and it doesn’t mean nobody else will get to come in, but maybe it means we won’t all go to the same place together every year. It could be that Black Rock City is where we go every few years, or take turns going, but there will be manifold other ways to access what we mean when we say ‘Burning Man.’” Ω
43
Tequila, sunrise to sunset See 15 MINUTES
59
Tea party rules The barista at Insight Coffee Roasters meets my gaze evenly as I loudly declare that tea is neglected in this town, while coffee is worshipped. After the indignation of being asked if I wanted a second bag in my cup at a coffee chain known for the strength of its joe, I’ve vowed to expose the farce that is coffee shop tea—an exposé that’s been a long time coming. Second bag? No. No! Criminy, this is tea, there are rules! As the writer Douglas Adams once instructed, the water should be boiling, not boiled. Also: The leaves should be steeped three minutes (of course, this rule applies only to black tea). The water should be allowed to cool prior to pouring over green and white tea to avoid scalding the leaves, and the product should be hot enough to be a bit scary. Tea has no business in a paper cup. Tea is best made in small quantities and served from a teapot into a mug. It should be sipped while sitting and pondering a great problem or reading a difficult book. Once the cup has been consumed the world will look brighter. And, as with coffee, small changes in the preparation makes vast improvements to the flavor. As such, it’s hardly surprising that This water should Americans haven’t be boiling—not embraced tea when it’s boiled. commonly served in a bag next to a lukewarm mug of water. My search starts at the Fox & Goose and, as expected, it made a fine strong cup, served in a teapot with a strainer. Of course, it’s not a cafe, per se, and besides, it’s not surprising that a British pub makes nice tea. The coffee shops, I’m sure, won’t appreciate tea this way. Too poncy! Next, I head to Temple Coffee to see how it treats the leaves. The black tea choices are sparse, but I sit down with an iron teapot full of rich Yunnan golden needle. The server informs me how long the tea should steep and how many times. Hmm, my plan to bring down the coffee shops is not working out so well. They only make slight errors. The water is not boiling, nor is the cup preheated, but the tea is respected. My last hope is Old Soul Co., where I find no tea in sight. I ask if they even sell it and, by way of answer, the server reaches under the counter. As I braced myself for the inevitable basket filled with tea bags, she pulls out, instead a tea menu the size of a novella. Foiled! The brew is delivered properly prepared, hot and delicious. I don’t want to concede, but I have to admit that this town gives tea the attention it deserves, even though most still prefer bean juice. I can’t wait to see what cuppa Insight will serve when I am brave enough to show my face there again. —Guphy Gustafson
BEFORE
|
FRONTLINES
|
FEATURE
STORY
|
A RT S & C U LT U R E
|
AFTER
|
08. 23.12
|
SN&R
|
27