Dave Ford Does Earth

Posted by Dave Ford

Its been exactly a week since the night the man burned. I have decided to write some free form ideas and facts about the festival and post a few great videos (from Time.com) instead of my normal posting style. Much of what happened for me this year at the burn was deeply personal and transformational. The overall feeling that I want to convey to anyone that reads this is that Burning Man is without a doubt one of the best things I have ever done in my entire life–on multiple levels. I am without a doubt still flying high on the post-burn cloud nine. This year I was very fortunate to be able to share this experience with 4 of my closest friends–that also happen to be my business partners.

The video below from Time.com should give you a really good feel for what Burning Man looks like–certainly better than any words could describe.

Click here to view the time.com Burning Man video

Some hard facts! and a few opinions thrown in….

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Massive preparation takes place pre-burn including painstaking trips to both Wal-Mart and Target to buy EVERYTHING we need for the entire week in the desert.

A 32 ft RV is secured that we duly christened,”The Space boat”.

The costumes that we bought in thrift shops are completely necessary as you pretty much wear them the entire time.

The “Space boat” embarked for “the Playa” by way of Los Angeles and San Francisco.

“The Playa” is a prehistoric lake bottom 3 hours north of Reno, Nevada in the desert and has been the site for Burning Man for a very long time.

The playa is a dust bowl. Goggles and breathing mask are required on your person at all times for protection if the wind whips up.

Burning Man has been going on for over 20 years, originating on the beaches of San Francisco in the 80’s.

The “Space boat” docked at “Disorient”- which is a longstanding Burning Man camp filled to the brim with very cool people from New York, LA, and San Fran.

Camp preparations are made including setting up the inside of our RV for maximum comfort—and laying out our outside sitting circle.

On day 1 we are put to work building Disorient’s Art Car Wash–which is not an actual car wash and more like a daytime dance club. Many tools were required.

Through this process we realize a true sense of just how much hard work goes into Burning Man. Being a part of a huge camp was such a different experience then last year when we were completely on our own and we really enjoyed it.

Cheap bikes were procured at Walmart during our preparation and we used them throughout the week to cover the 8 square mile large Playa. Bikes are completely necessary to correctly navigate Burning Man.

Black Rock City is in the shape of a clock with “The Man” in the center.

“The Man” is a giant art installation in the exact center of the Burning Man site (the center of the clock). It burns on Saturday Night to a massive party.

The Temple is located at 12:00 on the clock.

The Temple is a giant art installation made of wood. During the week people write messages in marker on the walls—and leave pictures of loved ones that they have lost during the previous year. The Temple burns on Sunday night to silence as past memories and problems literally go up in flames. The mood is incredibly somber and silent.

At 3:00 and 9:00 on the clock there are huge dance clubs. Armin Van Buren, DJ Dan, and Thievery Corporation played at the Burn. The music lineup consists of all DJ’s—and no bands.

Positioned at 6:00 on the clock grid is Center Camp which is a chill place full of hundreds of couches and a stage where people can “gift” their talents.

Center Camp is the only place you can buy anything on the entire site and you can only buy coffee and tea. Everything else has to be brought in including water and food.

Burning Man is based on gifting. Everyone brings gifts to share with others. Some people throw happy hours, while others build art cars and drive people around the playa.

Seriously, there is no buying or selling of anything in any shape or form.

We cooked dinner one of the nights for the 130 people at Disorient. The Chicken Curry went over well—the rice had much room for improvement.

There are many smart  and interesting people that lecture about various topics through the week. I saw author Daniel Pinchbeck give a talk about the “shift of consciousness”.

Firedancers own the nights.

The Moon was unbelievably full during the entire week—coming to its full prominence on Saturday Night.

A few of us did Yoga throughout the week. I did an acro-yoga class on Saturday morning that was amazing.

There are masseuses, reiki practitioners, acupuncturists, and other healers that gifted their healing ability throughout the week to complete strangers at the “Hee-Bee Gee-Bee camp”—one of my favorite camps.

Nectar Village–another camp–had a giant solar panel and gave away free electricity throughout the week for people to recharge whatever needed recharging.

The Hee-Bee Gee-Bee camp also gifted a giant steam bath—reminiscent of a Native American Sweat Lodge.

One of our guys bumped into Sergey Brin-co-founder of Google–during a yoga class.

Everyone is in costume(s) for the entire week. After two years we are all beginning to build up quite the BM costume collection.

The theme for 2009 was Evolution. The theme for 2010 is “Metropolis”

When the dust blows at its hardest, you only have about 3 ft of visibility.

Upon “Exodus” from Burning Man it is incredibly easy to identify burners–as everyone’s cars are completely white due to the dust.

Burning Man is very much about individual freedom and clothing is most definitely optional.

At the end of the week art of all forms is symbolically burned in big pits all over the place.

Burning Man is without a doubt a ritual—and I am very glad to have gone through it with 4 of the guys that I am building my business with.

The goal of Burning Man is to “leave no trace”. Meaning the playa is restored to the exact same condition as it is found every year.

Litter is referred to as “ MOOP”—and moop is not tolerated.

The port-o-potties are kept surprisingly clean.

The Party doesn’t stop from the time you arrive to the time you leave–its all about how much of the party you personally want.

Burning Man has been accurately described as “Mad Max” meets “Alice in Wonderland”.

You can truly find whatever they are looking for at Burning Man–and I mean “whatever” you are looking for.

I saw a talk led by a guy named Dr. Dream. And yes, he was a little bit out there.

On Thursday Night a giant rocket was supposed to be launched—but it turned out to only make a loud boom.

You can literally ride out miles away from the Burning Man site—into the actual middle of nowhere.

The sunrises are amazing—and routinely witnessed by thousands.

Hundreds of “Lamp-Lighters” parade each evening illuminating the Playa.

Skydivers routinely join the burn throughout the course of the week.

Art Cars are huge art projects that can cruise around the site at a maximum speed of 5 miles per hour. Many pump music and double as “moving dance parties”.

The Night of the “Man Burn” is without a doubt the biggest party I have ever experienced. The positive energy in the air was electric.

I could literally go on for days with facts like this. But, I think I will stop now and leave you with this second video from Time.com from the night the Man Burned..

Click here to view the video of the Man Burning…

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Posted by Dave Ford

————————————————————————————-When I originally decided to start blogging again I did not take into account the fact that I really can’t write about everything that is going on with my work (which is the current focus of my life). All in all, there is just way too much craziness involved and things tend to change week to week. 

So, instead I have found myself writing about things that I can write about–like the miserable existence of my next door neighbors. Who, by the way have been screaming ferociously again after a 3 day truce. I would like to believe that the Dalai Lama had some sort of effect on the temporary peace–but maybe we need an actual divine intervention to make things better over there. A divorce could also do the trick. On a positive note, at least I have not run into them in the elevator. On a negative note, I think I heard them having sex the other night. I do not want to explain what these people look like–but I will say the thought of them intimately involved does not do wonders for the stomach. 

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We have been working ridiculous hours. This much is for sure. After work today I had to get out into the city and found my myself being magnetically pulled toward Union Square–which my life has been in some way, shape, or form been centered around since I moved to NYC. 

In the square there was a young guy with a megaphone loudly informing everyone that “they will die in a burning inferno of flames as the lord returns”. He reminded me of a guy I ran into in Rurrenabaque, Bolivia.Apparently, Judgement day is not going to be good times for the sinners and Jesus is going to kick some serious ass. On a bright note he was getting jeered pretty loudly by the surprisingly big group surrounding him. I think it was mostly tourists snapping pictures. He was positioned right next to the 20 deep New York Roller Blading club (who are going to burn as well). There was a psychic reading tarot cards, a juggler, and a dude carrying around a sign that read “shaman healer”. Now, I have met a few shaman in my day (traveling in the Amazon), and I am pretty sure this guy was just a hippie with a clever marketing scheme.

I also learned from a plaque on the ground that Union Square became a national landmark in 1997 because it had an influential role in our nations first “Labor Day” in 1882. And this my friends, is my fun fact for the day. 

“Larry and his Flask”, an 8 piece unplugged bluegrass band–complete with stand up bass, banjo, mandolin, two guitars, and a snare drum made a surprise appearance and I watched a few songs. These guys stole the freak show as well as most of the crowd from the “You’ll burn in eternal hell” character–which I was happy to see. The band is on tour from Oregon and Mike and l are going to see them later on tonight at “Otto’s Shrunken Head Bar” down the street. They were just awesome. 

 Sometimes, in the hustle of day to day life here,  I forget where I live. New York is a crazy, wonderful place. I am fairly certain Jesus would agree. 

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Posted by Dave Ford

Over the past week or so I have revamped my personal blogging efforts. Somehow, much of what I have ended up writing about involves the very miserable, highly volatile existence of the people that share the wall with us in our building in the East Village. It came to a bit of a head last week when after enduring hours of screaming–I banged on the wall in response–and ended up face to face with the source of the endless shrieking. She (I have no idea what her name is) politely reminded me of how late we were up late on weekends and how she had not called security “yet” in response. I in turn, agreed to stop banging on the wall and to let them “scream at each other in peace”.

Well, for the last week since then, it has been WW3 over there. We are at the point where it has become intolerable. And, the walls are not “that thin”. They certainly could be thicker–but the decibel level they are putting out can probably be heard in Central Park (which is 65 blocks away).

So, I have had enough. I cannot sit back and do nothing. Bold steps have become necessary. 

On Friday, in the midst of what might have been the most violent (verbally at least) argument I have ever heard in my life, I decided to make a trip to the Barnes and Noble in Union Square. I bought the Art of Happiness: “A Handbook for Living” by the Dalai Lama. It is a great book that I read a long, long time ago–that gives some very practical knowledge about living presently, coming to terms with suffering, and pursuing happiness.

On the back cover of the book, the following is quoted by the Dalai Lama:

“I believe the very purpose of our life is to seek happiness. That is clear. Whether one believes in religion or not, whether one believes in this religion or that religion, we are all seeking something better in life, so I think the very motion of our life is towards happiness.”

So, this morning I put the book in a gift bag w/ some tissue paper, leaned it against their door, and ran like hell. The note I put  on the front cover read:

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Dear Friends,

Life is way too short.

Love,

Your Neighbors

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I think it was best to leave it anonymously. After a few hours it has been verified that the package was received (or at least had been taken inside). 

I am not a Buddhist, but have studied meditation and Buddhism (albeit to a limited extent) over the last ten years. I like the Buddhists as they do not push their religion on anyone. You can be other faiths and also be Buddhists. As a people, they are very chill. The Dalai Lama’s writings are also in this fashion–and are very accessible for people of all belief systems (or no belief systems) and all walks of life. And if you think about it, this guy has lead a global, 98% peaceful assault on the Chinese government for the last 5 decades (from his place of exile in Northern India), won a Nobel Peace Prize, and has inspired millions. It is not too much of a stretch to think he could have a positive effect on two miserable, middle aged New Yorkers.

I do not have any real reason to believe that they will even crack the book. Although, it has been quiet over there today and I know they are over there. So for now,  I will chalk this up as a 1 day victory and cross my fingers.

At least I can sleep better at night knowing I tried to do “something”. The book cost me $23 bucks. I think it is a bit on the optimistic side to think that this one effort could work to it achieve its desired effect. But, crazier things have happened. And on a selfish note, maybe they will just stop screaming as much. This would be a huge win for all involved (namely them) if they just screamed half as much.

I will be sure to update the situation. 

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Notes:

> I know I skipped a few days of writing out of my 31 posts in 31 days. I have no real reason or excuse except that not much (that I can write about) happened. Lots of good things are shaking on the business front.  I think I might change the “31 posts in 31 days” into “31 posts in 31 non-sequential days”.

> I might be heading out west a bit early if a few things fall into place. I am definitely feeling the pull of the Pacific–more specifically Los Angeles.  I wouldn’t mind going out a week early or so if the stars line up. Currently I am scheduled to leave at the end of the month for L.A and San Fran. Oh, and Black Rock City. 

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Posted by Dave Ford

Coffee and I have had an interesting roller coaster ride of a relationship over the last 10 years. We’ve had highs and lows, ups and downs, and a fair amount of shakes. Last year I actually stopped drinking coffee (and soda) completely for an entire year. It definitely feels good from an energetic level to not wake up “needing” something to get you going. 

But on the other hand, I feel like I work 80 times harder when I drink coffee. And right now I need to be firing on all cylinders and producing maximum output. I do not think it is an exaggeration to say that the B.E team is working 60-70 hours a week right now. My business partner Warner easily drinks 8-10 cups of coffee a day. I wonder where the United States of America would be without coffee. I actually experimented with not drinking coffee the second half of July–just to see how I held up without it. It was good to get the caffeine out of the system, but I missed the daily coffee rituals (as well as the productivity) I have established surrounding my drinking habit.  Dunkin Donuts Iced coffee is the source of most of these rituals. On Saturday and Sunday mornings, I walk down to the D and D–then head off to drink it and hang out by the fountain in the Stuy-town Oval (where I live in the East Village). I pretty much love starting my days in this matter.

In addition, it would be helpful for the business if I could figure out how to perform on less levels of sleep. Yeah, that would be really nice. I guess on top of this I would also like to be able to fly, have x-ray vision, and the ability to breathe underwater. And time travel… Yes, time travel would be extremely helpful. 

But, I think for now I’ll wander down and get a cup of coffee. And then maybe go to a Yoga class… And then come back and do some more work and hope the neighbors are quiet. 

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Posted by Dave Ford

I can’t believe I committed to blogging for 31 straight days. I feel the chops coming back slowly but surely. I am definitely not writing as long (in post length) as I did when I was traveling. It is hard to believe that this is all I did for nearly two years. Some of the posts that I did when I was traveling took me days to write.  I sort feel like Doogie Howser writing his daily thoughts at the end of every show-except my daily thoughts involve my neighbors screaming at each other and bird shit (see posts 1-4). Or maybe I just wanted to throw in a somewhat obscure early 90’s sitcom reference. 

I had thoughts about writing about how I bought a new Macbook Pro today–but the amazing customer service at the Apple store is fairly boring. There was actually salsa dance lessons going on in the street in front of the Apple store on 9th Avenue. Or, I was thinking I could write about how hilarious it must be to watch my 6 ft 4 inflexible self attempt to do Yoga. There is some potential here–given that I also workout at a truly absurd gym (not the same one as last year with all the celebrities), I have 26 more posts to go. The law of probability dictates I am going to have to get creative at some point. I cannot really write about the business–which is a blessing and a curse. There is literally so much crazy shit going on everyday that its a nice escape to  write about normal things–like Money Frogs, Burning Man, and Mad Men. 

Maybe I should just write about how ridiculous it is to post everyday–everyday?

Anyway, instead I think I need to mention how overbearingly hot and stinky it is in NYC in the summertime. It can truly be a disgusting ordeal. Picture yourself walking along, minding your own business,  talking on the phone or doing your own thing when all of a sudden you are literally knocked over by the foulest stench you can every imagine. This happens a lot here. I would venture to say at least 5 times a day in July in August–maybe more depending what part of the city you are in. There are many causes including but not limited to dirty-smelly people, dirty-smelly trash, and dirty-smelly people laying in dirty-smelly trash. Oh, and don’t forget urine and subway stenches.   This city holds in stank like none other I have ever experienced–this includes many a third world destination I have visited.

Did I mention how much I love NYC? 

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