 |
July 7, 2002 (reposted for renewal of work, June 2005)
We are sure that you will notice very quickly that our homepage looks very little like the other pages linked to from the Burningman site. There are few pictures on it, right now, and there would be very little reason to have many of them. Philosophical discussions don't lend themselves to visual illustration; how does one paint a picture of an idea?
Question : What, on this page, will be of interest to burners?
.. Answer : That depends.
Yes, I thought that one up all on my own.
The answer depends on what you mean when you say "burner". Lately, a lot of people seem to have a very narrow definition of that word. A burner, to them, has to use drugs; has to be anti-rational; has to be politically correct; has to have bad personal hygeine; has to ... make such a lengthy list of traits and beliefs his own in order to qualify, that one may wonder if any room for individuality will be left. Online, in many forums, the answer to that question is exactly what you would think it would be - no. The regulars speak with one voice on all things, and you'd better echo that voice if you want your stay to be a long and sort-of pleasant one.
If your idea of what a "burner" is, is that narrow, then no, there's nothing here for that kind of burner. But, if your idea of rebellion doesn't involve a willingness on your part to "non-conform" in the same way as everybody else (see if you can spot the hidden logical flaw), then, yes, there may be something here for you. One thing that we talk about on this site is how we make use of our older, pre-corporate era traditions to escape the effects of the social engineering and social control that have made life in much of the United States as stifling as it has tended to be for the last few decades. How do we build community? Our view is that one does so through a sort of tradition-respecting semi-anarchism; through values, not through the use of centralized power.
One aspect of Classical Traditionalism that might appeal to many burners is that it is a festive tradition. The Puritanical notion that piety and sensibility are somehow incompatible with having fun and enjoying things of beauty never took hold in Southern Europe, even after its people 'converted' to Christianity. The Saturnalia and Lupercalia festivals, aside from having religious significance for us, are also parties to which all are invited. That fact poses no crisis for us because the focus of Hellenism, as in Judaism, is on life in this world, and enjoying that life is a key part of living it. For this reason one may experience these and other Classical festivals as religious events, while one's neighbor experiences them as secular celebrations, and no conflict is involved - in our view, Aphrodite will smile on both, because both make themselves a part of something that makes the world we live in a little more pleasing to her.
What will you find here other than philosophy (and discussions of festivals) that you might make a part of your own burning events, should they be a natural part of your culture as they are of ours? Naturally, the culture that comes with them is a big part of what we do, here - plays, poems, recipes for food appropriate to the occasions, and a lot of interactivity of a sort that burners may find strangely familiar. More specific to burners, here on our Burningman page, one will find a discussion of food for the Playa and some mention of films to show people to get them interested in Burning Man.
Yes, recipes are being written; we had to set that effort aside for a while, while other projects were underway, but now we will be returning to it. Our first will be an adaptation of a Saudi Arabian dish called "Seleq"; lamb and rice in a scented sauce of milk and honey. One thing that we're going to make an effort to do, is get away from cliches. When people think of Middle Eastern food, they think of kebabs served with coffee; when they think of Greek food, they think of Gyros with a (very non-hellenic) can of pop on the side. But do they ever think of Pork dishes? The Middle East does have a Christian population, after all; Lebanon, until recently, had a slight Christian majority. Or, how about a delicate Greek stew of cuttlefish with olives and fennel, with no yogurt and cucumber sauce in sight? Some will firmly insist that alcohol is never consumed in the Middle East, North Africa included; news, no doubt to the Jews of Tunisia, who will often drink their ice cold glasses of boukha (a fig liqueur) to go along with a spiced wedding stew of beef shank and ribs with a sauce of greens. We're going to be trying to shake up some of your preconceptions, and if you decide to set up a Near Eastern food tent for your own burn, we'd urge you to do the same.
Question : When should we check back for recipes?
.. Answer : After December 1, 2004
Chicago does not have a lot of good weather, and we're having a truly beautiful summer here, right now. We aren't about to waste any more of it indoors than we have to, so we're not even thinking about beginning to work on those recipes until late November, at the very earliest. You may see recipes here before February 1, but I wouldn't count on it. After that, they'll be trickling in slowly.
Question : Will the Shrine be attending Burning Man?
.. Answer : Click here.
One other question that we've started hearing lately, as a result of some of the political silliness mentioned in the answer to the question above has been
Question : "I hear that Medius' real name is (fill in the blank). Is that really true?"
.. Answer : You tell me.
and you'll get the same answer if you ask about any other Shrine member. Guys, not to be mean about it, but this is really none of your business, and we've been astonished that anybody would feel otherwise. Take a good look at ePlaya, and count the pseudonyms. Call me skeptical, but somehow I doubt that "Moss Man" is really anybody's given name. When "Clove Buddy" and "Sunshine Grrrl", or whatever other names they've taken this week, go out on the Playa, their decision to keep their everyday names a private matter is one which people respect - unless they happen to be Pagan (or somebody at BMORG doesn't like them), in which case privacy rights seem to go out the window. That's not only a double standard, but a perverse one at that.
As Pagans (or Post-Pagan Polytheistic Traditionalists as the case may be), when we decline to give our real names, it's not because we're trying to be cute and mysterious. It's because we'd rather not have our children taken away from us, because some know-nothing judge has decided that we belong to a "cult". It's because we'd rather not be physically assaulted by some frat boy who's just discovered the joys of religious fanaticism, only to find that the police view the resulting hate crime as a joke. It's because we'd rather not be isolated from the community around us, after somebody's ignorant and fearful reaction has inspired her to begin a whispering campaign in our neighborhood. It is because of this, and a great number of other problems, great and small, that come when the wrong people learn about our convictions, that we are careful about who we let know about them, and our caution comes with good reason. To "out" a Pagan, or Polytheist is a violent act, and a despicable one, when anything less than violence provokes it.
Jim Graham of BMORG, in response to an argument with Medius, recently tried to do just that to us, with other members joining in. What he did was take a wild guess as to our names, and claim that the computer systems for ePlaya allowed the staff to establish this. Even if one were to take Mr. Graham at his word, how would one escape the conclusion that he had abused his position in a clear breach of professional ethics? What he would be disclosing would be privileged information, gained as a result of his position, and by his own account, he would be doing so for reasons of personal spite. He would be violating our privacy, and endangering our membership (or at least part of it), because he couldn't bring himself to handle a disagreement in anything other than a childish and vindictive fashion - and, again, that's his version of the facts!
Still want to know why I will neither confirm nor deny Mr. Graham's suspicions, which show every sign of being the product of nothing more than rumors that had been circulated on some of the lists? Having had our trust in the management of ePlaya betrayed in this fashion, how could anything other than an angry response be expected from us? We will neither confirm nor deny Graham's accusation, because given the gross impropriety that he would have engaged in, were he telling the truth, the very question is itself improper. Tell you who we are? H**l, we're not even going to tell you who our business manager is.
We hate to close this page on such an unpleasant note, but we have to work with the circumstances we have, and they haven't been positive ones, lately, where Black Rock has been involved. We've seen better things when we've met burners offline, so the hope remains that we'll find something better to close on soon (sort of), but until then, we deal, and that includes being direct, when what is going on isn't too cool. More, as it comes up.
Where to, next?
|
|
| |||||
