Flipside Flame #2

TOWN HALL!

Gather ‘round, folks. It’s that time again! The spring kickoff to Flipside insanity is March 1st. Is it a meeting? Is it a party? A strange contraption with parts of both?

This semi-annual gathering has what you need to start your season, whether it’s information or an audience.

The official agenda is below, but come for the people. Catch up with old friends, make new ones or find fresh blood to feed your beastly machine (best to call them volunteers, friend).

There will be discussion about the the Sound Policy required for use of the land. If you want your two cents counted, you have to be there.

What: A chance to meet, greet and GSD.

When: Saturday, March 1st, 2:06 pm

Tailgating at noon. Try Sparky’s porn dogs!

Where: The Flipside community warehouse
1023 Springdale Rd.

Agenda: Area Facilitator and Lead Introductions

Theme Camp Information

Ticket Update

Effigy/DAFT Information

Art Garden and Art Submissions

Sound Policy

Q&A

Cambry Curry

Patience Grasshoppa

Hello Esteemed Peoples,

I’ve received a few notes from people saying “You sent me a note that my tickets have been mailed, but I have not received them”.

Just FYI: The confirmation notes that were sent out did not say that your tickets were being mailed. They just said we have received your order, and you will be getting tickets.

The hard working depts that handle Ticket, Sticker and Survival Guide printing are not done gathering content and printing everything, you want all that information you receive to be accurate right? Breathe. Practice some Zen meditation. Watched pots never boil. Before you know it, your tickets, stickers and Survival Guides will magically appear in your hands. We’re cool like that, just practice patience.

We will send big huge neon sign Announcements to the far reaches of the globe when the packages are assembled and in the Magic Mailman’s hands, promise (we’re not even crossing our fingers behind our backs).

Please disseminate to all your peeps,

The Ticket Team

What is Flipside?

Lots of people ask me “What is Flipside?” My specific answer usually depends on the person’s background, how long I think they’ll listen, and how accurate a portrayal I think they need. “An Art Festival” is a pretty typical answer.

A Participant-Created Event

When I ask myself that question, though, my most basic answer is “A Participant-Created Event.” I think most people in the community understand that, but from volunteering with the LLC, I’ve seen it from a different angle, and it really sets us apart from other events, even really cool ones.

Just Camping

One of the LLC tasks is to buy an insurance policy to cover the event. While filling out the forms, it’s striking the number of questions that are hard to answer.

What acts have we booked? What’s our plan if they don’t show up? What percentage of our income is coming from food and drink sales? What activities do we feature? A few yes/no questions are easy – we don’t allow firearms and we’re not a tax-exempt religious group, but even most of the yes/no questions are “not really.” Do we “serve” alcohol? Do we “feature” music?

The one thing these questions have in common is the assumption that the organizers are running the show. It’s the basic assumption of commodity entertainment: spectators purchase a ticket for a show from business people who have hired entertainers for the spectators to enjoy. It’s very rare for a large group of people to get together outside that paradigm, and when they do it’s usually religious, and still run basically the same way but ostensibly for less profit. I had so many “No” and “None of the above” boxes checked on the form last year that the agent called my cellphone and asked what the hell we’re doing out there.

“Camping,” I reply. “Just camping?” he asks as if it sounds boring. “Uh, yeah, just camping.” Does it sound like I’m hiding something? “What about food and water?” “Oh, people bring their own. Sometimes folks bring extra and share it with their neighbors. Lots of people bring beer.” “Oh, okay, that sounds neat.” “Oh yeah, it’s great fun. And people bring art, wild costumes, and music. But no one pays for anything.” By this time, he’s interested in attending.

From a purely commercial standpoint, the “Featured Activity” at Flipside is Camping. Just camping.

What’s the least we can do for you

When making decisions for how to organize Flipside, we ask ourselves some variation on “What’s the least we can do and still have the event happen?”

This year’s hot button issue is sound.

The LLC deals with people outside the event who assume that we basically have our fingers on the volume knob. They assume that we have rented sound gear, hired DJs, and even have control over the music choices. “Why not just turn it down?” they ask, as though we can just walk over to “our amplifier” and turn the knob down and be done with it.

In the case of the sound policy, the question is along the lines of “What’s the least we can do to restrict participants?” The sound policy really is as loose as we can make it and still hold the event this year. We feel it’s unfortunate that we need to do anything at all.

In most other decisions, the question is more like “What’s the least we can create or bring and still have the event happen?” Every artistic choice we make as organizers, every art project we could fund, every theme camp we could assist, would take us closer to an “Organizer-Created Event” and further from a “Participant-Created Event.”

Even our decision to fund the central effigy is occasionally debated. In this case, we balance it with community participation in the design, construction, selection, and use of the effigy. We fund the central effigy because we’ve concluded that it is “the least we can do” and still have Flipside be Flipside.

Many of our decisions are from a standpoint of personal liability. We take reasonable precautions to protect ourselves legally so that we’re still able to put on the event the next year. We are very cautious making any kind of decision with the intent to shape the nature of the event. We leave the question “What is Flipside?” up to you.

Nobody Mystiek

LLC member

What is DaFT?

The Design and Fabrication Team (DaFT) is responsible for the epicenter of Flipside - the effigy! Working together as a team (sometimes even a well-oiled machine - but more often than not, a semi-chaotic organized mess of construction!) Building an effigy is no small task and involves great multitudes of committed, hard-working people. Everyone has a job to do, and everyone is here for each other. Together, we can create something much greater than the sum of our parts. A good portion of this year’s team will be returning from last year, bringing with them a year’s worth of experience, cooperation, and concepts. We welcome you to our team and hope to mutually benefit.

This year’s plan is to have individuals in ‘lead’ positions who can teach newcomers how to perform specific tasks. This would free up time for everyone and allow anyone who wants to help to immediately learn new skills and contribute. The effigy will be built in sections and has many parts; the goal is to enable anyone to make these parts and assemble them as needed. The complete project will be transported to the land and assembled on-site with the help of volunteers.

This year’s effigy: “Dr. Tiki, the Hula Girl”

The 2008 Flipside theme, “Dr. Tiki’s Combustible Medicine Show”, invokes visions of early modern science, steampunk, traveling snake oil acts, and the tiki culture of the pacific. Dr. Tiki, the Hula Girl explores these themes by combining the aesthetic of the tiki culture in its central anthropomorphic figure - the Hula Girl.

Does DaFT need volunteers?

This year’s effigy will involve massive amounts of wooden gears working in conjunction with each other to create a truly mind-blowing interactive experience, the likes of which no event has ever seen. A circle of ten totems and five medicine wagons will surround the effigy and represent various historical eras. This year we hope to up the bar set last year and surpass the expectations of Flipizens - in short, to have an effigy folks will be talking about for years to come. We need your help to accomplish this.

What Can I Hope to Gain from Helping?

To begin with, be prepared to develop a close and lasting bond with your fellow volunteers. This rag-tag group of strangers will quickly become treasured friends. By working with new media and ideas, your skill set will increase dramatically. A year ago, I could barely distinguish a hammer from a saw. Now I’m comfortable enough to plasma cut steel! And last but not least - the respect and loving admiration of your Flipizen peers - something you can’t put a price tag on.

How do I help?

Interested in helping? Feel free to come by the warehouse on Church Nights or on Sunday from noon to dusk. Ask anyone for a DaFT member to guide you to someone who needs assistance. We will require folks of all abilities and availabilities; our new working model ensures that there will be work for any and all who wish to help. Or contact our volunteer coordinator Sarah, at viszla@gmail.com

Twitch

What is Flipp’d OUT?

Well, you know those conversations that sometimes find you at a burn party, where you’ve just been introduced to someone and you proceed to spend the rest of the night talking, sharing ideas, discussing upcoming projects, and recounting tales of how this whole burn thing has changed you? The conversations where you feel that you’ve just had a chance to make a connection with someone absolutely fascinating, the kind of strange beautiful soul that doesn’t seem to exist in the real world?

Yea, it’s kind of like that, only online. I go out into the community and find the rock stars, mad prophets, and performers that make this whole thing happen. Then, I sit them down and we talk. What happens then? It’s different every time, but it’s always pretty damned cool.

On a more concrete level, Flipp’d OUT is a podcast. It gets updated any time I can get around to it. You can check it out at http://www.lancehunter.net/flip/

If you’re part of a theme camp, rock band, crazy Flipside project, or a crazy burner-type project of any sort, and want to talk about it, then you can contact Flipp’d OUT at flippdout@gmail.com.

Lance Hunter

Glam Rock

Glam...huah...
Good Gawd Yall,
What is it Good For?
Absolutely.....Everything!
(paraphrasing “War” by Edwin Starr )

BurninGlam believes in the transformative power of Glam.

We believe trying on a different outfit can be like trying on another persona.

We believe that within the Parallel Universe that is Dr. Tiki’s Combustible Medicine Show, everyone has an inner Flim-Flam Artist, Hootchy Cootchy Girl, SideShow Freak, Stong Man, or Queen of The Mysterious HuTus Waiting to Step Out and Take A Bow.

Come by Glam, hang out and experience the freedom and joy of shopping with none of the hassle.

Get your body painted, put the finishing touches on your outfit, or help someone else find their Alter-Ego’s outfit.

How can you contribute?

Glam gratefully accepts donations of clothing and accessories; think optic, sparkly, psychedelic, colorful, sexy, outrageous and Non-Mooping.

What would YOU like to see on a fellow participant????

BurninGlam: Upping the Eye-Candy since 2001

[graphic:]

Kingdom of Ice

ICE NEWS

Ice sales in TWO locations!

Ice will be available in two locations this year, the original central location and a satellite camp for those further away.

Ice will be sold from 12pm – 4pm daily at both locations.

Choice of 10 pound bags or 10 pound blocks of ice for $2.00 each.

Carnypocalypse Now, Flipside Later

Theme camps!

Looking for extra interaction with the Flipside populace?

Do you need smoke n’ mirrors for the medicine show?

Do you feel your carny blood race as you spot a good mark?

Well then, step right up!

Carnypocalypse (see below) is looking for post-apocalyptic versions of carnival games such as ring toss and balloon darts. I can help pay for materials and these are really simple games to make.

If you have a good idea for a game, and your crew can make it look Mad Maxian a bit BEFORE March 10th, we’d love to have you keep your creation for Flipside and make the upper field a little more interactive for the community.

Since large sound systems are likely to be limited up top, the field could use some simple, fun attractions that people can interact with.

Contact Doryan for more info: Doryan@hububashu.com

Sign Wave

Sign Making for Flipside 2008 can be a fun experience whether you’re an artist or not. For those that have artistic impulses & nowhere to direct them, here’s an opportunity to let your art passions flow. The sign making crew is in the formulation process now & if you’d like to contribute your art impulses or wood/paint for the project, then you’re more than welcome to participate. We’ll have some Church Nights devoted to crafting signs & we also will need some folks & a least one truck to get the signs out to Pyropolis and get them staked in the ground. Maybe you’ve got some thoughts about the artistic process or volunteering your time to make it all happen. If that’s the case, then please contact me at crispyburner@earthlink.net to make your presence known & it will certainly be appreciated in the end by all of the attendees. Much Gratis in advance for your considerations!

GIT EDJUMICATED!

Greetings Flipizens! Your friendly Edjumication Lead here. Now you may be thinking, “Edjumication Lead? WTF is that?” To tell you the truth, I’m not completely sure myself because it’s a completely new volunteer position this year and I’m making it up as I go along. Ha! Ha! Ha! Wheeee!

Now, many of Y’ALL (get used to it, NY’ers) have been to a burn or two or nine before, and you already know a thing or three about burn events and could most likely give me quite an edjumication. But check it out…according to the ticket submission forms our lovely ticket team received, there will be at least 300 Newbies running around, acting all silly (yes!) at Burning Flipside this year. By Newbie, I mean someone who has never been to Burning Man or any official Regional Burning Man events. Do you think Newbies could benefit from a good edjumication? I do.

I LOVE Newbies! I think they are deee-licious with a black olive and roasted red pepper tapanade! No, really – I do love newbies because I, too, was a newbie not so long ago and I’ll never forget my “freshman” year. Now it’s really fun for me to see the wide-eyed expressions of delight and wonder as Newbies journey through their first trip “home”. One of my objectives is to help Newbies learn about the principles behind our little experiment in temporary community building and to field their questions.

The Edjumication team is cooking up all kinds of entertaining ways to spread pearls of wisdom to our new and very welcome class of Flipizens. In future editions of The Flipside Flame and other Burning Media, you can expect to see articles on The 10 Principles of Burning Man, edjumicational films and more. After all, Edjumication is best when served up hot, via multi-media, don’tcha know? What!? You say you don’t know? Well then Git Edjumicated, I say.

If you are a Newbie and you have questions, please send them to Edjumication@BurningFlipside.com.

Steph

!Bob’s list coming soon

For those of you who did not get a ticket request in on time, there’s still a chance for you to experience the Combustible Medicine Show. After the tickets have been mailed out, the ever-helpful !Bob will host his yearly offering to the community: !Bob’s List.

This is where all things ticket trading goes on. Hopefuls can place requests for tickets. Those who bought an extra ticket can put it up for sale, gift or prize for whatever contest they devise. More information as it becomes available.

BeauXjames

The Way We Were

This will be the 10th year of Burning Flipside. The Flipside Flame will have a special history issue to commemorate this astounding feat. But I can’t do it without your help.

What was your favorite theme? What was your favorite effigy? Who made an impression on you in your first visit to Pyropolis? What was the best gift you’ve ever gotten.

If you have a great story to tell, I wanna hear it. If you have amazing photos posted, send me a link. Please make sure you state the year/theme in your submission.

Add some history to this mysterious brew we are concocting this year. Send stories, art and/or links to flipsideflame@gmail.com.