Flat Creek photo: Ryan Hayes
Flipside Flame #1
Submitted by Ke on Sun, 02/24/2008 - 9:16pm.
First Flame of 2008!
Welcome
Currently, we stand a distant 2710 hours until the gates to Pyropolis open.
Alas! Time will run short and have us at a hectic pace too soon. So we must prepare ourselves for the wonders that will unfold when Doctor Tiki’s Combustible Medicine Show comes to town.
To light this rocky path at its beginning, I humbly give you this small candle, the Flipside Flame. In this handy leaflet you’ll find useful information and the doings of your friends and neighbors. But this is not just a gift from me to you, it’s a place for you to ask questions, announce grand plans, vent vitriole or just get people to come to your party.
Contributions are welcome, whether weighty thoughts or fanciful art. Send them to flipsideflame@gmail.com.
So, friend, don your goggles and grab a flaming rum drink. It’s time to begin.
Delia
Flipside Flame Editor
Sound thinking
As many of you might know, Flipside 07 was considered, by some, to be too loud.
Because of complaints from neighboring residents, permission for use of the land for 2008 comes with the condition of a detailed sound policy.
Since this is a completely new concept for us, it creates a need for someone to do two things: educate the community about the specifics of this policy and enforce the policy in an effective yet realistic manner.
As Burning Flipside’s first ever Chief Sound Marshall, these will be my jobs/challenges for the coming year.
Stay tuned to the Flame for information regarding the Burning Flipside 2008 Sound Policy.
Whatamelon
Chief Sound Marshall, Flipside 2008
The Secret of Volunteering
Nobodobodon Mystiek
LLC volunteer
I recently got an e-mail at work informing my office that there was an event coming up that we were hosting, and that everyone in the office would be required to volunteer at least 4 hours for the event. I jokingly asked “If it’s required, how can it be volunteering?” The reply was “Don’t worry, you’re getting paid for it.”
Some people in my office find this more amusing than others, but the point is that the word “volunteer” doesn’t always mean what you might think.
At Flipside, we talk a lot about volunteering, and I’d like to think we’re using the word right. When you volunteer at Flipside, it is something you freely choose to do. It’s also something you do without any expectation of compensation.
Flipside is an all-volunteer event, therefore it’s vital that we get enough volunteers for the show to run. Sometimes it’s difficult not to use scare tactics and pressure people to volunteer with the threat of the event falling apart without enough volunteers. While there may be some truth to that, when it becomes pressured, it’s no longer truly voluntary.
Fortunately, enough people have learned the secret of volunteering at Flipside: It’s fun! It’s also fulfilling and educational.
It’s a great way to meet people and learn more about yourself and the world and community. In short, it’s one of the best things you can do - for yourself - at Flipside.
This is also why we try to avoid giving official “perks” to our volunteers. Random participants frequently give treats and special treatment to volunteers, and that’s something we encourage. In rare instances, an official token of appreciation will be given to unsung volunteers that really make the event happen. No one, not even people who volunteer significant time during the year or during the event, gets free tickets. No one gets any special access beyond what is necessary for their duties.
That’s not to say it never feels like a perk. People involved in set-up come out before the gate opens, people involved in clean-up stay after the gate closes. Some volunteers cruise around in cushy golf carts or play with megaphones, radios, sound meters, or other gadgets. Some volunteers get special shirts or hats. These things are all necessary to make the event work. Although volunteers sometimes love the “non-perks” that come with their positions, I’ve never heard of anyone volunteering just for that.
Our approach to volunteering is one more thing that I think makes this event truly unique. You haven’t really been to Flipside until you’ve been a part of making it happen.
So how do I volunteer?
I’m so glad you asked.
While Pyropolis is a magical city that exists only during Flipside, just like any city there’s work going on to make it run. Yes, you can still enjoy the party every minute of every day, but it is MORE than a party. It’s our city. It’s our event. It’s our chance.
Flipside can’t happen without volunteers, so that means it can’t happen without YOU! With approximately 60 areas that need leads and volunteers, I promise there is a way you can help. Even if you’re coming from out of town or out of state there’s a way you can help make Flipside go. Even if this is your first time (especially if this is your first time!) there’s a place for you. You can help before, during, or even after the event. Email me and let’s see if there’s an area you think would be fun or that you’re good at. Think about your friends and if you know someone who should be on the team, tell them to volunteer!
So if you’re interested in helping, please send an email to: volunteerinfo@burningflipside.com
I will send you a volunteer questionnaire, and we’ll find out what area needs your help!
If you mentioned you wanted to volunteer at the 1st town hall or on the ticket form you do not need to email me again.
-Help me help you,
XTC
Volunteer Coordinatrix
Burners without borders
In response to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, a group of burners went beyond donating their leftover Burning Man supplies and spent time along the Gulf Coast in Mississippi helping clear debris and begin the rebuilding efforts. (Some of you may have seen Burn on the Bayou, a documentary shown at Flipside last year.)
Austin Burners Without Borders is a network for local burners who want to take the creative energy, knowledge, and passion they put into things like Flipside and Burning Man and direct it towards making the world a better place.
Anyone interested in leading a volunteer project can call the group together and get them going. We have completed two volunteer projects since organizing after Burning Man this year.
Our largest project was the Cherrywood Green improvement project, which happened October 14, 2007. We got together and spent the day clearing brush, mowing, widening the trail, and cooking BBQ for the neighborhood. We installed a lamp post and built new picnic tables painted with fantastic designs.
To join or suggest a project, join the Google group:
austin-burners-without-borders
Dew-ocracy
This Year come sample water of favorable mineral balance.
THE POLYMERIC WATER-SOLUBLE COMPLEX.
Dr. DeFacto will heal your persistent nail fungus, topical warts, itchy skin, bug bites, scratches and the like.
Using nanoscopic suspension of known healing elementals like Zinc or Phosphorus in a water base, it electrodestabilizes fungus, bacteria and viruses on contact. This allows the healing process within to get a good start.
Used by medicine men in Costa Rica for a decade, now available in the area.
More info: http://www.maxhealcr.com/Technology.html
Available just outside the ART CAR CAMP.
Look for the REV_R_UP banner.
Ken Dew
Art Outside
Art Outside seeks creative humans who use their skill and imagination in the creation of aesthetic objects, environments, or experiences that can be shared with others. Those whose life is art, and everything they do is DIY. We seek those who are creating the Hand-Made Nation. We call ALL make-believers, dreamers and reality re-arrangers. We need masters of typography, sketchers, illustrators, satirical stencilers. Screen printing is way cool, and you too, graffiti fools.
Some of you think: What about Dadaists, though? What about the cubists? Conceptualists? Installationists? Postmodernist modernists not distracted by abstractionists? We say, Please! There’s impressionism, post-minimalism, pre-contemporaryism, and expressionism. Are you working in symbolism or surrealism or any of the other -isms not yet mentioned? Kinetic sculptors, fire sculptors, sound artists bending invisible waves, and video projectionists playing with light. We invite poets and their spoken slam voices, along with improv comedians who mimic the true history of time. Performers “performing” art, puppeteers with their puppets, musicians making sounds. Oh, and outsider artists wanting to be outside.
In short, we invite all Artisans of the world who wish to unite because the world needs ART, because the world ís not right. It is time, the window of opportunity is now. Our space is your blank canvas. Your dreams are our inspiration.
March 6-16, 2008
Church-going
Lucretia
Art Area Facilitator
Every Wednesday throughout the year from 7 pm–midnight we gather at the AAR Warehouse (1023 Springdale) to work together on projects, socialize, conduct discussions, exchange skills, and generally congregate to increase our sense of community.
Remember, the warehouse is a LEAVE NO TRACE area; please TAKE YOUR TRASH WITH YOU.
Church Night is also ground zero for DaFT construction - the effigy build will begin in a few short weeks!
Come visit tonight, Wednesday, January 30th - Have you ever wanted to cut metal using a whole other state of matter? Have you ever seen a steel barrel and thought “man, that could really use a cool design in it.” We’ll be busting out the plasma cutter, and giving anyone who wants a shot a chance to take a spin. We’ll have some scrap steel ready to be cut in any way you’d like, so don’t worry about skill level or experience. This is a chance for you to learn through experience.
Are you registered to vote? Have you been purged from the rolls? Our lovely voter registrar Clovis will be strutting his democratic stuff - registering you to vote in time for the primary election.
To schedule a Church Night event, contact Lucretia at photinus.photuris@gmail.com
See you there!