Chris-
Agreed, it is fun, and in the scheme of things, health fun---
But Suburban man has become institutionalized from it's own early success---
With the resulting thin and shallow character it has come a long way from it's anarchist roots at Baker Beach.
I'm sure most attendees at this point do not know who Bookchin is, let alone differences between Bakunin and Kropotkin--
At Baker Beach they did.
But friends look forward, and attend satellite gatherings year around--
It is better than hanging out at the Mall.

hightrekker - No doubt it's a very different event now than it was 20 years ago. I noticed some very prominent differences between this year and the last one I attended in 2000.

But isn't that just how the world works? Can you name any event that is today just like it was 20 years ago?

And I have a limited patience with those who moan that it ain't like it used to be. (And this year, the line of signs stretching between the highway and BRC mocked that sentiment most hilariously.) Many of them have stopped going to Burning Man at all. So, they're not going to participate, but they're going to complain about how others participate? That fails to move me. Ninety percent of life is just showing up--Burning Man is no exception.

--C
Energy consultant, writer, blogger www.getreallist.com

Chris-
I agree, show up. In this bland global culture of sameness and cultural pabulum, what have we to lose?
But, let's be honest, we are playing in the shallow end of the pool. At least it is better than listening to techno at one of those clubs that could be in Bangkok or Orange County, you would never know the difference, unless you asked.

hightrekker: So true! Or Amsterdam...

But of course, it's always what you make it! This year I made a point of seeking out something I liked, and I was pleased to find several oases of non-techno music, including one art car done up like a Western saloon that was cranking old timey music (like the Squirrel Nut Zippers) and another two-story wonder that was running a continuous loop of Johnny Cash, full of nice heads from Ashland, OR. Each of them made my night...

--C

Energy consultant, writer, blogger www.getreallist.com

Chris-
Great! I have been listing to mostly singer-songwriter things lately. Techno has it's place, to to me it reinforces the cultural blandness of this collapsing planet.
Of course, I better not say that on MySpace.