Month: March 2011

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Burning Nerds at the 5th Annual Regional Network Leadership Summit

I will be in San Francisco and co-representing Burning Nerds (aka Burning Academics) at the 5th Annual Regional Network Leadership Summit this Fri., April 1, 2011. This event is free but private – an advance RSVP is necessary. For more information, click here. If you’re attending, come over and say hi!

Flipit from Chicago was nice enough to design this image for Burning Nerds:

Don’t know what a regional is? Find out here.

For regional representatives on Sat. morning, April 2nd, I will be facilitating a workshop on “Charismatizing the Routine at Burning Man and Regional Events: Making the Mundane More
Meaningful through Storytelling, Rituals, and Other Activities.”

You can see Burning Man’s blog post about last year’s regional summit here.

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First paperback printing of Enabling Creative Chaos almost sold out!

Michael McQuarrie, a UCDavis colleague, assigned my book for his 2011 spring quarter class and was kind enough to let me know that the University of Chicago warehouse says that they are out (!!!) of the paperback version of my book. To follow-up, I spoke with my press’s marketing representative and was told that a second print run will be available by July 2011. Thank you to colleagues, including Gwen Dordick at The City College of New York and Tor Hernes at the Copenhagen Business School, who have assigned my book.

For those of you who need Enabling Creative Chaos: The Organization Behind the Burning Man Event for class or other deadlines, here are options for how to get my book:

If you have an iPad, Nook, Kindle, or other ereader, you can buy an electronic version of the book.

Major distributors like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, as well as independent bookstores, have new and used copies of the book.

If the above places are out of hard copies, you are welcome to contact me about whether I have any available.

If you prefer to borrow the book, your local library or university library may have a hard or electronic copy to loan. If your library does not have a copy, you may be able to request one using Interlibrary Loan (ILL) – search WorldCat for options.

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Get involved FIGMENT in Boston

Looking for Burning Manesque events in your community? Events like FIGMENT are looking for contributors and supporters. Please see the announcement below.

“FIGMENT Boston, the interactive, non-commercial arts event happening on June 4th & 5th on the Rose Kennedy Greenway in downtown Boston needs your help. FIGMENT relies entirely on donations and grants to put on its amazing events, with no sales or corporate sponsorships. You can help by donating to our IndieGoGo campaign or by participating in Finding FIGMENT, a public art scavenger hunt and party on April 3rd.

1. Support FIGMENT Boston on indiegogo.com.

Indiegogo is a crowd-sourced fundraiser that’s raised millions of dollars for creative projects of all kinds. Donations to FIGMENT Boston made through Indiegogo are tax deductible—and you can get some great gifts, including handwritten thank-you notes suitable for framing, entry into a drawing for a piece of art by a FIGMENT Boston artist, a private cocktail party with FIGMENT organizers, and even having the FIGMENT Boston team throw a party at your house!

Please help us spread the word by attaching the widget to your website, telling your friends about it, or sharing it on Facebook and Twitter. Also make sure to click on the Feature It link on the bottom right, to help FIGMENT Boston get promoted on the IndieGoGo homepage.

2. Finding FIGMENT: April 3, 2011

We’re bringing FIGMENT to some of Boston’s known (and lesser known) artistic treasures for an all-day journey into the creative mind. Join us for Finding FIGMENT on Sunday, April 3, 2011.

Starting at 1pm, Finding FIGMENT kicks off with an all-ages public art photo scavenger hunt throughout Boston. Teams will be judged on…imagination. (Make sure you bring a digital camera to take pictures.) Winning teams will receive cash and more when we…

Head to the Wonder Bar (134 Harvard Ave, Allston, 02134) at 7pm for an evening of auditory artistry with some of Boston’s most dynamic DJs and artists (21+). Check out the Finding FIGMENT page for the full line up.

Click Here for Scavenger Hunt Tickets: $25 per person. (Includes admission to the Wonder Bar after party)

Click Here for After Party Tickets: $15 in advance / $20 at door

For more about the event, visit the FIGMENT Boston website. For more information, please email BOSTON@figmentproject.org.

Be a part of FIGMENT Boston

Submit Art (deadline is April 15)

Volunteer

Explore More:
On the web: http://boston.figmentproject.org/
On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/FigmentBoston
On Twitter: @FIGMENTBoston”

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Fact-checking and researching Burning Man phenomena

Increasingly, I am contacted by the media or students to fact-check items or find information. Most recently, I was asked about the veracity of the claim that rap star dr. dre had started Burning Man. To my surprise, someone cited my book to refute the claim, which then lead to another report reproduced in the huffingtonpost and businessinsider blogs. My take on the dr. dre and Burning Man meme? Burners enjoy satirical pranks – for some, these are an art form.

Graduate and undergraduate students as well as practitioners are also interested in learning more about Burning Man and its organization for a course paper or setting up their own organizations. If you fall into that camp, I would highly recommend starting with the online AfterBurn reports, which are produced by the Burning Man organizers, staff, and volunteers. These are a treasure trove of information for those patient enough to read through the reports.