Wow, this is a shocker. At around 3 am Tuesday morning at Burning Man 2007, during a rare lunar eclipse, the Burning Man sculpture was set on fire prematurely (it is normally burned on Saturday). The Black Rock City Emergency Services Department was able to put out the fire in time and salvage the sculpture (it had not yet been loaded with fuel or explosives). It is still scheduled for its normal burn on Saturday and they will be working throughout the week to repair any burn damage and re-install the neon.
UPDATE: They plan on re-building the man, complete with neon within 72 hours.
The early burn is being investigated as arson (there are reports a man armed with a propane torch starting the fire). According to the Reno Gazette-Journal, authorities have already arrested one person. Another source says that the man was set ablaze early due to an electrical problem when they turned the neon early for the lunar eclipse. Burning Man organizers hope to have more information later today.
Here’s an announcement from Burning Man regarding the fire:
Black Rock City Emergency Services Department units responded from Stations Three, Five, and Nine and put the fire out within approximately 23 minutes. There were no reported injuries. The Man is still standing, and an assessment is underway to determine the structural integrity of The Man and the Green Man Pavilion. The event will continue as scheduled.
An arson investigation is currently under way, and is ongoing. There is no confirmed cause of ignition at this time.
No further information is available at this time. More information will be released tomorrow morning after the investigation can safely be concluded.
UPDATE: Paul David Addis, a San Francisco based artist and performer, was arrested in connection with the arson.
Daniel Garcia and Brad Templeton have some photos of the fire and the attempts to put it out.
Here’s some blog and media coverage of the premature burn:
“Burning Man set ablaze today; one arrested”
Carla Roccapriore, Reno Gazette-Journal“Burning Man statue burns — a bit too early”
Simone Davalos, Valleywag“Burning Man being rebuilt after damage from premature fire”
Leslie Griffy, San Jose Mercury News“The Man burned on Monday”
Daniel Terdiman, CNET News.com“Burning Man’s Premature Ignition”
Brock, SFist“The Man Preburns”
Kirk Kahn, Lime Wire“The Gonzo burner”
Tim Redmond, San Francisco Bay Guardian“Burning Man’s icon goes up in flames, 4 days prematurely”
Joe Garofoli, San Francisco Chronicle“Burning Man Comes Early This Year”
Mike Nizza, The Lede, New York Times“Burning Man arson suspect caught”
Simone Davalos, Valleywag“Burning Man will be rebuilt; arrest made”
Carla Roccapriore, Reno Gazette-Journal“The arsonist of Black Rock City”
Owen Thomas, Valleywag“Burning the Man With Hunter S. Thompson”
Lou Carbon, 10 Zen Monkeys“Arson of The Man at Burning Man!”
The Jaded Gay DJ, SFScene“Burning Man burns too soon, man charged with arson”
Reuters“Man arrested in torching of Burning Man effigy”
Associated Press“Burners Plan to Resurrect the Man After Arson Shocks the Playa”
Lewis Wallace, The Underwire, Wired“Arson!”
Summer Burkes“The Burn Will Go On (Again); Disgruntled Burner in Custody”
Brian Doherty, The Underwire, WiredAugust 29, 2007
Morgan Webb, WebbAlert“Burning Man is burned too soon – arson arrest”
Joe Garofoli, San Francisco Chronicle“Man Down”
Wanda Power, Building Black Rock City“I’M ON UR PLAYA BURNING UR MAN”
Metafilter“More on The Man who Burned The Man at Burning Man”
Xeni Jardin, Boing Boing“Do Stuff”
Summer Burkes“Thoughts on the Burning of the Man”
The Jaded Gay DJ, SFScene“Interview with the accused Burning Man arsonist”
Owen Thomas, Valleywag“A Heated Q&A With the Prankster Accused of Burning the Man”
Miyoko Ohtake, Wired“Burning Man festival loses its innocence”
Associated Press“Burning Man Suspect Merrily Faces Charges”
Mike Nizza, The Lede, New York Times“Paul Addis: We’ve Got the Closest Thing Yet to His Confession”
Miyoko Ohtake, The Underwire, Wired“The Neon Smiley Face at Burning Man 1996″
Scott Beale, Laughing Squid“Why I’ve Got No Sense of Humor about Arson in Black Rock City”
Brad Hicks, The Infamous Brad“a man burned early”
Charles Russell, asynchronology“Journalism is Burning Or How Breaking News is Broken”
Dale Dougherty, O’Reilly Radar“Suspect in Burning Man arson decries event’s loss of spontaneity”
Joe Garofoli, San Francisco Chronicle“Paul Addis — Hero or Pariah?”
Eli Milchman, The Underwire, Wired“Who’s My Burning Man Representative?”
Colin Fahrion, CatCubed“Addis on ‘American Dream’ on acid”
Steven T. Jones, SFBG Blog“Paul Addis, attention whore or terrorist?”
Eddie Codel, jibber jabber“[You Only Burn Twice]“
Ron Garmon, Los Angeles CityBeat“Burning Men, Part One: Chaosmos”
Erik Davis, Techgnosis“Burning Men, Part Two: The Order of Things”
Erik Davis, Techgnosis
An image of the burn from the live video stream of Burning Man at center camp.
UPDATE 1: Reports are coming in that the damages to the Burning Man sculpture are too extensive, so they are planning on building a new one within the next 72 hours which will be “officially” burned on Saturday. The Green Man Pavilion, the building below the Burning Man sculpture, was not seriously damaged in the fire and the demos of green technologies will still take place once the structure is repaired.
Here’s a image of the torched Burning Man sculpture captured from a zoom in on live video stream.
Danger Ranger has uploaded post burn photo and a photo from the Death Guild at Thuderdome who are denying any responsibility for the premature burn.
UPDATE 2: I have confirmed through several sources that it was in fact arson.
UPDATE 3: Joe Garofoli from the San Francisco Chronicle has reported that the person arrested in connection with the arson is Paul David Addis, a San Francisco based artist and performer. Paul is being held in the Pershing County Jail in Lovelock, Nevada on charges of arson, possession of fireworks, destruction of property and resisting a public officer.
Recently Paul played the role of Hunter S Thompson in his one man show “Gonzo, A Brutal Chrysalis”, which opened in San Francisco and is currently scheduled to tour the west coast starting next month.
Back in 2002, Paul wrote an letter to the editor of the SF Weekly in response to Lessley Anderson’s “Burning Spin” article on Burning Man.
UPDATE 4: Current TV has posted video segment on the premature burning of the man as part of their coverage of the event on TV Free Burning Man. The report includes footage of the fire and subsequent damage to the sculpture, interviews with Burning Man organizers Marian Goodell & Andie Grace and some eyewitness reports from the scene.
For the man, his number was up at 2:58 AM on August 28th, as “The Burning Man” met his maker early at the hands of an arsonist. His demise was met with heartfelt cries by onlookers exclaiming “Save the man…it’s not his time”. For the thousands that gather annually in Black Rock City, NV to take part in the “Burning Man” festival, this was a sad moment, but festival goers promised to carry on.
UPDATE 5: Carla Roccapriore of the Reno Gazette-Journal has a follow-up on the arrest of Paul Addis, complete with one of the most surreal mug shots of all time.
UPDATE 6: In the comments, John let us know about a new craigslist listing: “For sale. One Burning Man. Slightly charred”
UPDATE 7: I just spoke with Chris Radcliffe who is currently in Portland and he said that he has paid the $3200 required on a $25,632 bond for Paul’s release, but they have not let Paul out yet because he is refusing to give his name to authorities.
UPDATE 8: Chris Radcliffe has spoken with Paul who is now out on bail.
UPDATE 9: They are now removing the old, charred Burning Man effigy.
UPDATE 10: At Tuesday night’s Media Mecca Happy Hour, the featured cocktail was the “Hunter S . Thompson” and Mr. Clean informed the media that the new man will be up by Thursday night, complete with a new set of neon.
UPDATE 11: Lou Carbon at 10 Zen Monkeys has just posted their take on the situation: “Burning the Man With Hunter S. Thompson”
UPDATE 12: LOLburn, you knew it had to happen.
UPDATE 13: A fund has been setup for Paul Addis at freepauladdis.com to help recover the money spent to bail him out of jail as well as his ongoing legal expenses.
UPDATE 14: Reports are surfacing that during Burning Man 1997, Paul Addis hung a pair of giant silver testicles from Burning Man’s groin.
UPDATE 15: Wanda Power has posted about the early burning of the man on the Building Black Rock City blog.
UPDATE 16: Burning Man has posted a press release to their website, replacing the previous update that was up there.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tom LaPorte, Media MeccaMAN TO BE REBUILT AFTER FIRE
(Black Rock City – August 28, 2007) The Man at the center of Black Rock City will be rebuilt after an overnight fire which damaged the effigy at the center of the Burning Man event. Rebuilding is expected to take about two days.
Black Rock City officials say there was structural damage to the figure of the Man, but relatively little damage to the art and exhibits at the base of the Man. No injuries were reported.
An arson investigation is underway, and one arrest was made shortly after the fire was set. No charges have been announced, and the name of the suspect is being withheld. There has been no discussion of motive in the episode.
“We have the means and the will. The event continues on schedule, and the Man will burn on Saturday night,” said Andie Grace, Communications Manager for Burning Man LLC.
A perimeter has been established around the scene, but event organizers say it is likely that participants will be permitted to visit the pavilion while the rebuilding is underway.
This is not the first time the Man has required rebuilding. In 1990, the Man was accidentally cut up with a chain saw while in storage prior to the event. It was fully rebuilt in time to be transported to the desert.
Burning Man annually attracts as many as 40,000 participants in the last week of August. The climax of the event is the burning of the effigy on Saturday night.
UPDATE 17: DPW is currently in the process of installing the 2nd, newly constructed Burning Man sculpture.
UPDATE 18: Paul Addis, the man accused with torching the man, just sent us this statement from his safe house in Fernley, NV. He says that he had planned on doing this way in advance and tried to make sure that nobody would get hurt.
Hi, folks. This is the *alleged* arsonist/douchebag/attention whore himself, writing you from Fernley, NV, where I have been chilling out for a couple of days.
Having read your various comments, a few things should be addressed. First, this operation was extensively planned well in advance, and the number one thing to Black Rock Intelligence was that NO ONE be hurt. If you people actually knew us, you’d know that we have an extensive background in doing things exactly like this. In fact, we were on the ground for some thirty minutes before ascent, scoping the scene and clearing people in order to minimize any possiblity of injury to others. We were aided by several people who were recruited on the playa the night of this burn (BRI has no idea who they are, so don’t bother asking).
Second, the operation was planned in conjunction with the lunar eclipse because Black Rock Intelligence knew that another event at the trash fence would draw the bulk of lunatics to it, rather than to the Man. In fact, one of our peripheral operatives aided in getting as many people to the fence event as possible to help BRI achieve its goal of zero injuries.
Third, word went out across the playa days in advance that Black Rock Intelligence was pulling this op. This word continued to go out right up to the moment that our chief operator began the arduous climb up the guide wire. As you can all see from the results, BRI performed flawlessly in this regard.
We could give a fuck less what you all think of us for doing this. Most of you are newbies who have been drawn in by the semi-religious nature of the event, or maybe just the easy drugs and easier sex. You have nothing to offer the event other than your fucking money and obedience. You spend the rest of your lives in mortal fear of everything that insurance companies tell you to fear, and pretend that you’re free and clear because you spend four days at a desert bacchanal where spinelessness is not only encouraged but genetically replicated for implementation in successive generations. In short, you are the swine of which Thompson spoke. Get over yourselves.
Some of us live quite well without fear. Doing so requires the ultimate in what Burning Man used to represent: personal responsibility and individual liberty. That’s all been lost in the last decade of Burning Man’s history. Consider this operation a history lesson that was desperately needed.
One final note: Black Rock Intelligence has been permanently disbanded. All other operatives have made the ultimate sacrifice by swallowing their L-pills to avoid being captured alive. I am the sole surviving member of BRI and ask that you respect my mourning period for those who gave their lives so that this operation was a complete success.
Paul D. Addis
Fernley, NV
UPDATE 19: Justin Berton over on SFGate is reporting on a suicide that took place this Thursday morning at Burning Man. On Friday Justin posted a follow-up on the suicide.
Kitten Calfee sent us a statement regarding the suicide at Burning Man on Thursday morning. He was part of the Comfort & Joy theme camp where a man decided to end his life by hanging himself.
UPDATE 20: Owen Thomas, editor of Valleywag, has posted an interview he did with Paul Addis and Miyoko Ohtake has published “A Heated Q&A With the Prankster Accused of Burning the Man” on Wired.
In both “exclusive” interviews, Paul talks about the Black Rock Intelligence organization that he referenced in the public statement he issued on Thursday.
UPDATE 21: Tuesday’s premature immolation of Burning Man has been awakening many of the event’s old-timers. Kevin Evans, who was part of the original crew who helped bring Burning Man to the Black Rock Desert in 1990, has uploaded a bunch of great photos from Burning Man 1990-1995.
UPDATE 22: Burning Man has a long history of prankster activity which is largely due to it’s association with the The Cacophony Society during the late 1980’s to mid 1990’s. One of the most infamous Burning Man pranks took place during the 1996 event when a giant neon smiley face was installed inside the head of the Burning Man sculpture.
UPDATE 23: Jimmy Kimmel mentioned the premature burn during his monlogue on Thursday night. They showed the mug shot which got a big laugh from the crowd. Upon seeing it, Jimmy comments “You never expect a guy that looks like that to do something stupid”.
UPDATE 24: Danger Ranger has uploaded a photo of “The Laminated Man” from the Playa. “Buy the ticket take the ride”. – Hunter S. Thompson
UPDATE 25: Some people have been asking if I’ve been doing all of this reporting from Burning Man. Actually, I am not out there this year (I attended the event from 1995-2002). Burning Man’s connection to the outside world via the internet is better than it has ever been. Throughout the week I have been receiving information directly from the event via email, IM, IRC, photos, video, blog posts, Twitter, the live webcam and the stream of Burning Man Information Radio. Earlier this week I did a write up on how to access Burning Man 2007 remotely through the internet.
UPDATE 26: On Friday Joe Garofoli of the San Francisco Chronicle conducted a phone interview with Paul Addis who is now back in San Francisco: “Suspect in Burning Man arson decries event’s loss of spontaneity”
Paul’s arraignment has been scheduled for September 25th at the Pershing County Courthouse in Nevada. He plans on pleading “not guilty”.
UPDATE 27: An image of a phoenix has been added to the head of the newly constructed Burning Man sculpture in honor of its rising from the ashes of the man that was burned early on Tuesday.
UPDATE 28: John Hell just let us know about an interview with Paul Addis on Pirate Cat Radio (the interview starts at around 1/3 way in on the mp3 archive).
UPDATE 29: Danger Ranger, who’s been posting great photos from Burning Man all week, has uploaded photos of a special DPW Rebirth Crew 2007 t-shirt and some wonderful Paul Addis stencil art, part of a growing Paul Addis meme in Black Rock City.
Steve Kisby took a photo of one of the Paul Addis posters that started showing up around the Playa on Friday.
UPDATE 30: The 2nd Burning Man of 2007 has successfully burned to completion.
UPDATE 31: “All Your Burning Man Are Belong To Us”, as seen being printed on t-shirts at a Sunday BBQ in San Francisco.
UPDATE 32: On Sunday our friends had a Labor Day Weekend BBQ at their home in San Francisco. They invited a special guest, Paul Addis. The last time I saw Paul was at our Laughing Squid Paradise Lost event in July. Needless to say a lot has changed in his life since then. I shot a few photos of Paul, the first photos of him taken since his infamous mug shot.
I also offered Paul the chance to say something on video. Up until now, he has only spoken about the “incident” in print and on the radio. I did not ask any questions, I just turned the camera on and let Paul speak his mind. In the video, Paul talks about what he wants to do with the last 30 seconds of his 15 minutes of fame.
UPDATE 33: The Cacophony Society page on Tribe.net has been renamed to Free Burning Man Society. People have been uploading a bunch of great photoshopped images related to the early burn and Paul Addis. It reminds me of some of the great parody art that emerged from the borg9 movement back in 2005.
UPDATE 34: It has been a week since the early burning of Burning Man and aside from a press release issued that same day, the organizers of the event have remained silent on the issue, while the media, blogs, mailing lists and online forums have been endlessly discussing it.
However Burning Man has announced their 2008 art theme: “American Dream”
UPDATE 35: A Wikipedia page has been created for Paul Addis. Of course there is a lively discussion going on about the notability of Paul and the page has already been deleted once, with the deletion being contested.
UPDATE 36: Kitten Calfee sent us a statement regarding the suicide at Burning Man on Thursday morning. He was part of the Comfort & Joy theme camp where a man decided to end his life by hanging himself.
UPDATE 37: “Burnt Out”, a wonderful online comic by Carol Way about the early burn, was published in Salon on September 11th.
UPDATE 38: While at Burning Man, Eddie Codel and Pava did an interview Ranger Sasquatch asking him what he thought about Paul Addis. Sasquatch was previously quoted in an article by the San Francisco Chronicle.
UPDATE 39: Steve Fritz, a photographer from Portland who has been shooting Burning Man since 2000, was taking some long exposure photos of Burning Man during the eclipse right before it caught on fire. Later when he looked at one of his photos, he noticed a man with face paint at the foot of the Burning Man sculpture.
Danger Ranger has posted about this as well over on Flickr.
UPDATE 40: Somebody has setup a Paul Addis Burning SuperPack auction on eBay.
Included Item in the Paul Addis Super Stockpile:
A Gonzo poster, signed by the artist. Show information: http://www.gonzoduke.com
Paul’s gas can. Covered in unmistakable playa dust, and sporting a sexy Squidlist sticker, this gas can will be emptied before shipped.
An unopened box of Ivory Snow. Napalm is so clean, really. No extra charge for playa dust.
A small piece of the burned man… signed.
A small piece of the Man – rebuilt with heroic effort and erected once again on Thursday morning.
Paul’s Black Rock city “Green Man” map.
The infamous mugshot… one of the shots actually distributed on the Playa in an effort to prevent Paul from returning after he was released on Tuesday… signed.
The receipt for Paul’s Bail.
Burning Man’a official posting regarding the alleged arson.
The jail I.D. from the September 11th arrest.
The jail I.D. from the September 12th arrest.
A personal effects envelope … sporting the hair-raising date of infamy. (9/11)
A smaller envelope for cash…empty.
Paul’s San Francisco Prisoner Orientation ManuaL … signed.
UPDATE 41: Can Superman Save Burning Man?
UPDATE 42: Burning Man has posted an update to their website: “‘07 Bman Arsonist To Be Arraigned In Pershing County”
On August 28, 2007, at approximately 2:58 AM, an arsonist set fire to the Burning Man figure in Black Rock City, Nevada, during the height of full lunar eclipse. The figure was extinguished, but not before it sustained significant damage, and it was deemed unsafe to keep it in place for the remainder of the event. The Burning Man event continued, and the figure was rebuilt in 3 days, to be burned again — at the appointed hour — on Saturday night, surrounded by Black Rock City’s more than 47,000 participants who had come to witness its immolation.
One man was arrested in conjunction with the unscheduled burning, Paul Addis, 35, of San Francisco, California. Addis was booked into the Pershing County, Nevada jail on suspicion of arson, illegal possession of fireworks, destruction of property and resisting a public officer, according to the sheriff’s department. He posted a $25,632 bond and was released.
Addis’ arraignment on these charges was scheduled for September 25, 2007, at the Pershing County courthouse. Burning Man has and will continue to cooperate fully with the authorities in this investigation in pursuit of justice for the perpetrator(s) of this act.
In the meantime, we are grateful to the entire community, including the hardworking Burning Man staff and volunteers, for their support and participation during the unscheduled fire and destruction, its aftermath, and later, the eventual rebuilding of our event’s namesake figure. Having weathered this unexpected experience together, the final sentence of our mission statement rings truer than ever in the afterglow of Burning Man 2007:
“We will always burn the Man.”
UPDATE 43: San Francisco author and journalist Erik Davis has written a two part, in-depth analysis of this year’s early burn:
“Burning Men, Part One: Chaosmos”
“Burning Men, Part Two: The Order of Things”
UPDATE 44: A preliminary hearing for the charges against Paul Addis has been set for October 4th.
UPDATE 45: Current did an interview with Paul: “Early Burner Man”
UPDATE 46: On Sunday, October 28th 2007 Paul Addis was arrested for allegedly planning to set fire to Grace Cathedral in San Francisco.
Here Are A Few Related Posts You Might Enjoy:
- Paul Addis, The Man Accused of Setting Fire to Burning Man
- Paul Addis Pleads Guilty To Damaging Property at Burning Man 2007
- Burning Man 1990-1991: Early Camp Life on the Playa in Black Rock City
- Paul Addis Arrested, Planned To Set Fire To Grace Cathedral
- Paul Addis Granted Parole After Serving Time Attempting To Burn Down Burning Man
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Accident, arson, or spontaneous self-parody? The world may never know.
Well, thank God it was just fire, and not a neon happy face!
holy shit. and this the one year i didn’t go. :(
The Man must be getting up there in years – or maybe it’s just insecurity – that has him suffering from Premature Ignition…
http://www.sfweekly.com/2002-09-11/news/letters-to-the-editor/
Hmmmmmmm….
looks like someone has had an axe to grind for a while now.
you call this a green festival? shouldn’t be burned at all
I think he’s gonna make the Smoking Gun Hall of Fame with that mugshot.
It’s about time. I look forward to the subsequent burns before Saturday.
Who’s starting the Paul Addis defense fund?
Aside from the fact that this is perfectly useless Spectacle spewage overflow news, like an ingrown toe-nail on a bare foot squishing squarely down on a steaming fresh dog turd… ( yum, all the medias gonna swarm on it for your consumption )
BUT Does anybody realize that quite possibly the most amazing LOCAL ART PROJECT in some years is happening with Chicken John’s campaign for mayor…
URGENT REAL NEWS: he only needs less than $2000 to reach the goal he needs to receive matching funds from the California State Assembly.
That means a WARCHEST OF $100,000 to push for an Art and Innovation platform for arts and culture in a CITY THAT PEOPLE ACTUALLY LIVE IN YEAR ROUND and has impact on the entire country !
But Chicken Needs Your Help NOW, Today’s the Deadline !
Back Up and Read More Here:
http://laughingsquid.com/matching-funds-for-chicken-johns-mayoral-campaign/
Btw, it looks like voteforchicken site is currently being hacked, so maybe he’s already got some people very worried about some sort of authentic and innovative election debates occurring???
Both Chicken’s real blog voteforchicken.com and the fake one that you created voteforchicken.org look fine to me. What exactly was “hacked”?
Mr. Mumbley Peg, you sir about about to be blocked for spamming. I let the whole anonymous thing slide so far, but now you’re spamming this blog as well with your fake website.
For sale. One Burning Man. Slightly charred.
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/for/408433875.html
Well Jake, he IS an attorney, so he’s probably his own defense fund. The Diox list also has a bail fund called the “Pointy Stick Fund” after Santa Snack Cake was arrested for felony posession of a club… a 1 inch diameter stick used as a torch for blowing fire.
I called the Pershing County jail to see if he could be bailed, and was told that a bondsman was already there. They were also very surprised to hear he was an attorney :)
When counterculture becomes commodity, it’s time to burn it down. I support the liberation of “Earnimg Man”!!!!!!
Anyone else think it’s odd how many people have a hate-on for Larry and Marian but still show up to their party?
That’s the Burning Man book or DVD yet to be made. Not the peace and love and fire and art of Burning Man, but all the creepy stalker types that hate Larry and Marian but are obsessed with the event and still show up to ruin their party.
Personally, I hope once the arson case is settled they sue this creep in a civil case for damages to the man and to the event itself
Mr Addis has been released from jail by my people. Over anxious black rock rangers were bitterly disappointed that they were not allowed to avenge their idol. The Pershing County Sheriff leveled automatic weapons at the hysterical floppy hatted minions of the idol as they led the SUSPECT to safety.
Only a “suspect” until he’s a “convict.”
I gotta loves the balls of his grin but he certainly wasn’t given his impression of someone wrongfully arrested.
Hopefully, some nice reporter goes and reports on why he was nabbed in the first place as the would-be arsonist and some first person accounts come forward.
Hey somebody had to be the first:
http://www.cafepress.com/bm_martyr
Please note that NO proceeds from the sale of this shirt will go to his defense fund! It will all go to my beer fund.
I love that smug shot. I don’t think he could look any happier. In protest thousands of people are organizing a sitdown protest and are refusing to dance.
heh – nice one. Nothing like running counter to a “counter culture”.
As for Mike Tattoo’s belief that they should: “sue this creep in a civil case for damages to the man and to the event itself”
Damages to the man? He’s going to be filled with explosives and set on fire in a few days!
Damages to the event? Has it really damaged the event? Shitload of publicity, and a great throwback to the chaotic traditions.
I think Larry should buy him a beer! :-)
Rev. Littlejohn,
You ought to be able to buy a bunch of PBR with my $20. Thanks. Can’t wait to wear it on the playa next year (if my wife succeeds in dragging me back).
perfect. brilliant. stupid. just what the good doctor would have ordered. i sit back, comfy at home and laugh. hell, i can even watch it all on TV now.
Does anyone else catch the subtle irony that Chris Radcliff bailed him out?
I love it, I think it’s hilarious.
“Don’t be anarchistic and burn things until we say it’s OK.”
Someone needs to adjust the “The Man Burns in “x” days” timer on the BM website…
“heh – nice one. Nothing like running counter to a “counter cultureâ€.
I disagree. I don’t think there’s anything to be glamorized about destroying or stealing other people’s art. Like when the snowball sundial was torched by someone else in ’97 (I believe) or when the neon tadpoles were stolen the night of the burn in 2002. Vandals and thieves are nothing new at Burning Man. They are just vandals and thieves.
“As for Mike Tattoo’s belief that they should: “sue this creep in a civil case for damages to the man and to the event itself†Damages to the man? He’s going to be filled with explosives and set on fire in a few days!â€
And how much will it cost to replace him? What about damages to the tent? If the guy wants to destroy other people’s property I think he should be held responsible for it and have to pay the bill
“Damages to the event? Has it really damaged the event?â€
Let’s see, we’re going to have 2, maybe 3 days and nights without the Man, correct? And the Man at night is a huge part of the night time Burning Man experience. He’s pretty essential in navigating around at the very least. How much is BORG paying in rent to the BLM for those 2-3 days? Imagine if someone sabotaged a crucial part of the Olympics and as a result the broadcasting networks lost revenue. Yeah, I think they have grounds for a lawsuit.
A lawsuit against Paul?
You present a great example of the bullshit that asked for the man to be burned in this manner in the first place.
I’m hoping for a Saturday water party on the man.
Support community based direct action. Save the man from corporate arson!
radical self-expression indeed.
and larry, et al, buying him a drink would be the true “no spectators” thing to do, one could argue.
p.s.:
i’d like to retain cris radcliffe as my lawyer or at least my smokes model.
Does anyone else catch the subtle irony that Chris Radcliff bailed him out?
~~~
subtle irony ? cris radcliff? hmmm? i never thought of him quite like that.
for those that dont know c. rad here’s an interesting read:
http://flickr.com/photos/mateoptmd/295570806/in/set-72157594372011408?#comment72157594372188133
Paul Addis. Wasn’t his Ranger handle “Papa Satan”? (This was in 1997 when I was running the BRRangers—Big Bear’s first year and Joe Pred’s 1st “official” BORG year. Addis, on his application listed his occupation as “Lawyer.” He told me in person he was an actor. I thought the Man was torched, maybe, by a batch of sad DPW junkies.
And, Radcliff’s people! = John Law, Michael Michel aka Danger Ranger and hosts of in and outsiders … right. Dramatic timing w/the full lunar eclipse, and all. Would have been more of a travesty if you’d waited til Thurs or Fri.
“A lawsuit against Paul?”
Hell Yeah.
At the very least I would sue him for the cost of rebuilding the man. How much do those neon lights cost? I saw a budget report ages ago that broke down the cost of the man himself. If someone has a recent copy of that please post.
Outside of that there’s a strong argument to be made for billing him for rent paid to BLM on days that the man was out of commission. You take the kids to Disney Land for a week vacation and the most popular ride has been sabotaged for 2-3 days. That’s grounds for a lawsuit.
I agree with John Law with this one. Black Rock City LLC is a corporation. I don’t know what 1994, driving gun range, “anarchist” fantasy world everyone one else is living in, but BRCLLC is a corporation and like any corporation I think they are entitled to sue when someone fucks with them.
Good on ya, Chris, for bailing out Paul. I’m very proud of both of you! Let me know if I can contribute in even a small way to the fund — xoxo jennconspiracy
I cannot believe that people here are actually arguing that vandalism is some sort of radical self-expression. Tell that to the people in DPW, some of whom are friends, who get to spend the next three days rebuilding what one person destroyed for what? Revenge for some slight? To prove how cool he is?
As to lawsuits, all of this will cost a bunch of money. Assuming Paul is convicted, I certainly expect that he’ll be sued to recoup the costs. Do you really think that the BMorg is such a load of rich fatcats that they’ll just empty a money mattress, no hard feelings, to pay for someone’s ARSON of the main art piece at a national event?
Paul Addis? Surprise me not! We used to always conspire to burn the man early. Larry has said time and again that the man isn’t needed at all. It’s about the community, not some damn effigy.
I love a good party. So I am gonna bring the dip. http://www.freepauladdis.com should be available as a ground for any kind of defense fund some time tomorrow. Someone else want to set up the PayPal account?
I love it! who would of thought a crazy gun totting American loving like Hunter S Thompson would try ( did) to burn the man. Anyone see the irony. However, this is not arson but close to terrorism. Next year, what festival goers have too be searched for nail clippers and propane torches. Whatever comes of this, it makes for rethinking everything and how things unfold. Is it radical expressionism or just another crazy hippy in the desert taking way to many drugs. And this is why I love BM.
Thanks
I’m now going to go give what little money I can muster up for the Chicken campaign, since I can’t really afford to muster up money for a BM ticket.
Scott Many thanks for this forum of expression
“I love it! who would of thought a crazy gun totting American loving like Hunter S Thompson would try ( did) to burn the man.”
But it’s not Hunter S Thompson. It’s a creepy Hunter S Thompson groupie, like an Elvis impersonator at Vegas or a James T Kirk impersonator at a Star Trek convention. And he did that for the exact same reasons that Hunter S Thompson choose to commit suicide the same weekend that his Son, Daughter In Law, and Grandson happened to be visiting.
Because Hunter S Thompson is a fucking coward.
ATTENTION BURNERS! Take this as a sign to NOT BURN the MAN. Lets move past this toxic act and useless habit of “Burning” The Man. Why not make it WaterMan or SnowMan or SleepingMan. I mean come on already, aren’t the burners supposed to be “conscious” and yet here they go waisting time and resources to burn natural resources for no real beneficial outcome. Get over it and create something sustainable that doesn’t vanish.
STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT LEVEL = BUILDING MAN
If you can’t tell the difference between performance art and selfish bullshit, I don’t want to see your art. I’m not surprised that some folks are rushing to Addis’ defense as more-anarchist-than-thou; there are always people who think breaking somebody else’s windows is a revolutionary act.
The costs of building the man, the transportation as well as set up of the man takes a lot of money. It is not fair to the artists nor it’s fans that didn’t have a say in rather they wanted the man burnt on Monday, Wednesday or Saturday. In addition, what if someone had been hurt? It’s not self-expression or art when someone unintentionally gets hurt by anther’s action. The man is burnt in strict consideration of safety… safety that no one is hurt and no property is damaged. With that in mind, yes he should be sued for the destruction of the man and the rebuilding of a new one.
BRC’s response to this will set the tone for next year’s event.
When Woodstock becomes Woodstock 1999, it defeats the purpose of the event and becomes self parody. Is Paul Addis a douchebag? Yeah, it seems like it. But does that invalidate everything he’s saying about the event? That’s the puzzler.
If BRCLLC sues him, then a group sees direct evidence of “look how corporate Burning Man is now, this is lame”. If they don’t, then this reinforces the “rich folks with a mattress full of money” conspiracists.
I’d guess that the most effective response would be basically “This is the kind of thing that happens at Burning Man, it’s part of the unpredictability that makes this relevant. It’d be lame for someone to do it again, but there will always be attention whores, so who knows? Hopefully the next ‘big message’ is creative and original, but nobody’ll know until it happens.”
Mike Tattoo:
“… You take the kids to Disney Land for a week vacation and the most popular ride has been sabotaged for 2-3 days. That’s grounds for a lawsuit.”
Oh, the wicked irony. Next you’ll be complaining to some ranger that the rave camp next door is preventing you from sleeping.
It seems, at last, that Burning Man really is Disney Land.
great reporting, Scott!
This is the best thing to happen at burning man in years!
and NOW you’re all whining about the money? forget about a pathetic attempt to rebuild the man (and somehow try to “save” this “national event”)… just continue to do exactly what it is you went out there to do, party on!
the way I see it coming down is the old time burners are all ‘fuck yeah!’ and all the glow stick and fuzzy pants folk are all you burnt my man, you fucker…
unfortunately BM belongs to the latter and has for a long while.
and if I was there I’d be yelling ‘fuck yeah’ and then helping to rebuild…
and to those who want paul to be sued, well all I can say it is in fact something that happens at burningman and can really only happen at burning man, and in some respect paul’s actions, rightly or wrongly, reinvigorates the original ethos of the event, that is ‘to fuck shit up.’ it is funny and if you really don’t think it is you are taking this way too seriously. every person who witnessed it , either on the playa or not, gets to take something away from this, a unique experience which in itself is all too rare at this event any more. this isn’t arson or terrorism or a plea for attention, it’s a dialectic: the man gets built, the man gets burned. just this time it happened faster than usual.
if you see the man in the road, burn him…
oh, and to the concept of lost revenue of the man being dark for a few days…what are you smoking, I mean, the direct value of the festival are the participants who are there not some wooden sculpture in the center of the town, simply the idea that the festival loses value due to the lack of the sculpture is intellectually bereft, in fact the opposite is true, the festival gains due to the increase of discussion about it’s meaning and should result in increased attendance. I wouldn’t be surprised if larry actually put paul up to this. oh BTW the guy who happened to torch the globe of ice (jim mason’s ‘temporal decomposition) happened to be …. jim mason. so perhaps you might want to check your sources before you spout…
over and out,
vordo.
“Oh, the wicked irony. Next you’ll be complaining to some ranger that the rave camp next door is preventing you from sleeping.â€
Hell, I remember back in ’95 when the Wicked Turbo Sound System made it’s first appearance at Burning Man and not everyone was happy with House music, which is kind of odd considering how ubiquitous obnoxious Goa trance is on the playa these days. Dude came over and flipped the decks on DJ Garth and the crowd pulled him away screamed “you killed the vibe!†Yeah. Not everyone likes the rave.
“It seems, at last, that Burning Man really is Disney Land.â€
I’ve never fooled myself into think that it was anything but.
I think there’s a lot of covert aggression and hostility against Larry Harvey. I can at least respect John Law because he is straight up on where he stands and why he feels that way, but for the majority of other people that harbor this covert hate-on for Larry, I call bullshit on that for being cowardly and also bleeding into very creepy celebrity stalker types. I think a lot of people project onto Larry what they want his party to be, and then get disgruntled and upset when that fantasy world doesn’t jive with the real world. Like that guy who keeps thinking he’s married to Madonna. Like that guy with the duct tape and rope that wanted to rape Steven Spielberg. Like that lady that keeps breaking into David Letterman’s house thinking he’s his wife. Paul wrote a huge hate piece on Burning Man FIVE YEARS AGO and is still showing up to Larry’s party and sabotaging it. That gives me the creeps.
Everyone wants to complain about how corporate Burning Man is.
Fine. Start acting like a corporation.
See you in court.
There are some interesting quotes in Brian Doherty’s article http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2007/08/the-burn-will-g.html
Also of note, http://freepauladdis.com/ is live. Head on over and make a donation, if Chicken John hasn’t tapped you out already. Chris Radcliffe dug deep into his own pockets to post the bail bond. He is probably jeopardizing a house payment or something to pull this off. Just think of all the times you have thought of torching the man early and multiply that by a dollar amount. It will be like a plenary indulgence for your sins.
Hey somebody had to be the second…
http://www.cafepress.com/arse_o_nist
Please note that NO proceeds from the sale of these items will go to his defense fund! It will all go to my beer fund.
Maybe we can start a fund for prosecuting him too.
And, again, why did Paul do this? Am I missing something? I’m sure everyone will think I’m pretty dense, but, huh?
Chris Radcliff, dude, if you want your bail money back, why don’t you ask Paul for it?
Re: The Man is going to burn anyways
Xmas trees are just thrown out after Xmas, so is it ok to go from house to house and throw them away early?
Go and ply stupid arguments elsewhere, people put days of work into BM (and days of work to be able to afford to go to BM), and for some immature wannabe anarchist to make reduce that experience for no reason but his own amusement is unacceptable.
He’s lucky that as a society, there aren’t legal lynchings, and instead the worst he’ll face is time in prison and a hefty fine.
“Maybe we can start a fund for prosecuting him too.”
Why even question it? Just get your busy little butt out there and do the work. Perhaps there could be a contest too.
Although we should remember that the freepauladdis.com site is really just an effort to recoup Chris’s outlay for bail. This is just a friendly gesture because I doubt Chris has that kind of money to spare. And it appears that the shirts sales are purely for profit. But I wouldn’t expect anyone to go to the effort to read completely or check the facts.
Laziness is the rot at the core of all failure.
I believe Vordo’s comment is bang on.
Assuming that the “arsonist” considered the reasonable safety of others, I’d say that his actions are hardly treasonable.
If Burning Man needs a piece of shit stick figure to maintain its soul, I mourn for the passing of this event’s elemental values.
Two burns for the price of one!
I like the photos of the waterjets shooting up to put out the Burning Man. It seems to me that any image stripped of its context will contain a meaning of its own, and for me, in this case, the meaning is revelatory of Burning Man’s genuine status as a cultural phenomenon: It’s all washed up.
Hat’s off to Mr. Addis and any co-conspirators for the lively prank! A healthy injection of the original Burning Man spirit into the predictable festival proceedings!
Man…sounds like all you haters are just pissed you couldn’t scrape together the cash to go. Just a little schadenfreude to fuel you I guess. I for one enjoy the event and enjoy the burning of the Man…and I’ve been going for years. Wow, imagine that – a non-bitter veteran burner! It’s never cool to take from people unwillingly, even if your a super-hip underground SF artist. Okay, let endless cheap insults begin…
I hope this starts a trend.
“…there are always people who think breaking somebody else’s windows is a revolutionary act.”
Sometimes, it is.
“You take the kids to Disney Land for a week vacation and the most popular ride has been sabotaged for 2-3 days. That’s grounds for a lawsuit.”
That’s hysterical! This HAS to be troll, because if it’s not, then my response to that is:
You just equated BM with Disneyland, and that’s sad.
Thanks, Vordo.
OK, so the man was built and then trucked up to the middle of nowhere with 40,000 other folks and a mess of porta-pottys, and it gets burned early so that now the fire department has to come and waste a bunch of water during a drought season in the middle of a harsh desert to put it out, and then in the end to not disappoint the 40,000 people the folks who organized it figure they better build an entirely new man, using labor that’s getting paid less then minimum wage, out of more wood, and again truck it out there and set it back up again just so that 40,000 people can cheer three days later when it’s ’supposed’ to burn so then everyone knowns when to drive home and haul everything back the hundreds of miles to home…
For a ‘green’ festival I gotta say that’s a really, really silly thing to do. What a ‘message’ to send loud and clear that it’s really about making 40,000 people feel like they got their money’s worth and not much more.
Geekboy,
Chris doesn’t need a “legal defense fund” to get his bail money back. He just has to make sure that Paul doesn’t skip town, leaving Chris stuck footing the bill.
Why should anyone contribute to a fund to give legal help to a LAWYER? He’s clearly an idiot so shouldn’t he just represent himself. If Chris didn’t have the money to spend, he should have left Paul in his anonymous jail.
“Hat’s off to Mr. Addis and any co-conspirators for the lively prank! A healthy injection of the original Burning Man spirit into the predictable festival proceedings!”
Hell, why stop there? How about hat’s off to the other disgruntled guy who torched the La Contessa? Can I get an amen? I mean, as long as we are congratulating each other and setting up trust funds for vandals that destroy other people’s art why stop there. Fuck, anyone want to burn down the David Best temple? Or someone can go napalm his Detroit Temple. That would we wicked counter against this whole counter culture scene.
Hey Tattoo, I would be the first one to be pissed if it were an art piece that someone had poured their heart, soul, sweat and proceeds from ticket sales into, but the only thing torched was the same damn stick figure that shows up on the playa every year.
Get over your sanctimonious self. I mean, really, your comparisons of Burning Man to Disneyland and the Olympics are the ultimate in irony… Oh, wait, I get it now, you have to be in on the whole thing. Nobody could be that stupid and narrow minded that they think the whole “Burning Man Experience” revolves around torching the man at 9:37 PM on Saturday. Even Larry thought it was funny.
Thanks for the laugh. You had me going there.
And for those of you who think it was a dangerous stunt, read the back of your ticket. If you are too stupid or unaware to get out from under a flaming tower of wood, maybe you should cut back on the X or just stay in your RV.
Surely there’s an evangelical group that’ll donate to the Paul Addis bail fund, since he tried to destroy a false idol.
I refer to myself as a doctor sometimes. In the sense that HST claims the same. I also refer to my self (and sometimes other people do to) as Reverend. But those things aren’t true. I have no idea if he really is a lawyer. I would be really surprised. Would you want him representing you for any kind of legal situation? I will do some research in to how this bail thing works. I don’t really understand it because I have only been behind bars once and it was only for one night and then the charge didn’t stick.
So I have some learning to do.
“I would be the first one to be pissed if it were an art piece that someone had poured their heart, soul, sweat and proceeds from ticket sales into, but the only thing torched was the same damn stick figure that shows up on the playa every year.”
So, by your logic it’s OK for vandals, strangers, whomever, to destroy someone else’s art just so long as it is the same art that has been on the playa before and was going to be destroyed by the artist anyway at a later date.
Wow. That’s a really fucked up and self centered attitude.
Sorry David Best, the message board has spoken. Your temple and any future work you put on the playa is now fair game.
“I mean, really, your comparisons of Burning Man to Disneyland and the Olympics are the ultimate in irony… Even Larry thought it was funny.”
Larry’s got a great sense of humor, kind of an essential work related skill for his position. I think that he is also a big defender of the arts. This will set a precedent and he will do what he has to do ensure that no one else’s art will be vandalized at his party in the future. Everyone is on the honor system to obey the rules and not fuck with other people’s stuff at Burning Man. You want to break the rules? Fine. See you in court.
I stand by the Disneyland analogy. There are rides. There are rules. And, OMG! It’s not run by Mickey Mouse, it’s run by a corporation. Again, I think that’s why people are so bent on Larry and by extension BM. They go in with some 1994 fantasy “anarchist” paradigm of what they want the event to be and then get upset when, OMG ! They are rules! The organizers like to have control over their event. And it’s run by a corporation! Duh.
> Tad Overdue says:
A Miracle…St Patrick lives. the Reverend Hunter Thompon lives. LORD ADDIS LIVES!!
One of the Druids’ great feasts was the spring festival, celebrated the same night as the Easter Vigil. The day before the feast, people all over the land were ordered to put out their fires. No fire could be lit until the sacred fire blazed up on the Hill of Tara, where all the pagan leaders met to honor their gods.
Patrick had heard the order, but that evening, as soon as it was dark enough, and before the Druids could light their fires, Patrick and his companions began the great Easter Vigil celebration. They had gathered on the Hill of Slane, directly opposite the Hill of Tara. Patrick knew that the Druids would be angry when they saw the Easter fire. He was right! When the Druids saw the fire, they told their king, “Unless we put out that fire at once, this very night, it will blaze forever in this land.†The pagans rushed toward Patrick’s Easter fire and tried to put it out and to kill Patrick. But nothing they did could extinguish the flame, and Patrick was kept from harm.
Paul Addis may have made a statement, but it was the destructive statement of a jerk.
My. God. Didn’t we learn in kindergarten?
If you take it out, put it back;
If you make a mess, clean it up;
If it’s not yours, don’t set it on fire.
This guy is obviously a narcissist, and cares little, if any about his community. Unfortunately, we are giving him the attention he craves. I hope his law practice suffers, but in the end, may he get the lobotomizing medications he so richly deserves.
From what I hear from a longtime Burner friend (and author of a book on Burning Man) is that Paul Addis is, yes, a lawyer. He really is. This person had no idea if he is a current bar member or if he practices anymore but there it is…
wow. this is fucking HIGH-LARIOUS. high comedy from the inestimable mike tattoo. your impression, whether you know it as an impression or not, of a sanctimonious douchenozzle is top ‘o the pops. bravo.
now, i’ve never been to burning man. so take this with a grain of salt.
however, i am kinda familiar with its traditions and founding. and it’s certainly gotten this veneer of “art” only in the last decade or so, as far as i can tell.
but, you know, even if you make it, art is not yours. the only way to control your “art” is to keep it in your basement and never show it to anyone, ever. once you make it in any way public, it belongs to the world, to reinterpret, to malign, to praise, and to destroy. art is a collective thing, we as a culture are constatnly reevaluating “art” in new contexts and forms, and yes, sometimes breaking someones windows, or destroying the work of an Old Master, or burning a million quid in a houseboat, or burning the man early, is art.
what you’re talking about, mr. tattoo, is not art, but a commodity.
This whole subject burns me up! Is there no flare to creative art anymore? Someone pick up the torch and end this nonsense.
wha? people still go to bm, thought this had become some kind of disney event by now.
“We could give a fuck less what you all think of us for doing this. Most of you are newbies … blah blah …. Get over yourselves.”
Wow this guy is quite the self righteous dick isen’t he?
Paul David Addis is an inactive member of the California State Bar. He graduated from the Golden Gate School of Law, was admitted to the Bar in 1996, and became inactive in 2000. He is now ineligible to practice law in CA–but he can still represent himself, as any non-lawyer could do.
Wait, so petty vandalism is now an accepted form of radical self-expression? Sweet. All those teens who smash windows, throw eggs at cars and spraypaint the frontside of businesses will be thrilled to hear that they are actually the leaders of a new revolution in art and culture.
And thank goodness for that. I mean, I wanted to become a leader of art and culture myself, but creating art the old fashioned way is so time consuming. Now that I know I can burn other people’s art for acceptance in the community, it will be so much easier! Thanks, Paul!
Paul Addis did complete law school and pass the California Bar Exam. However, he stopped practicing law and is no longer a member of the state bar. (You can look up lawyers on the state bar website at
http://members.calbar.ca.gov/search/member_detail.aspx?x=184757). So while technically you could say that he is “a lawyer” or “an attorney,” he is not a PRACTICING lawyer. His current profession is “actor.”
Having met Paul socially on several occasions I can give my opinion that he is a narcissistic, angry, selfish jerk who is also a big-time substance abuser, a nasty drunk, and not nearly as clever as he thinks he is.
I just came home from the playa and most people I talked to on monday (late late), tuesday and wednesday thought it was fantastic.
The main people who were upset seemed to be folks with art or work on or under the man (corporate displays got wet and some damaged). Please note that this year, BMORG decided to put -corporate displays- in a pavilion under the man.
However, the man is not a piece of personal artwork, it is a corporate trademark and logo, it is a group icon bought and paid for by ticket fees. The event is no longer about ‘radical participation’, it is about money. When you go into the event, your cars are searched by scruffies putatively looking for stowaways but opening coolers, occasionally accusing people of trying to sneak folks in. The organizers have opted for an ‘us versus them’ aesthetic over the last few years in order to try to make sure they don’t lose some ticket fees.
BMORG, a group I have supported for a long time, is now on record as a bunch of liars, with their official spokesperson quoted by the news folks as saying that people were really disappointed, etc. That was very much NOT the vibe at the man burn during the eclipse. People were overjoyed.
The firefighters had a great time (that’s who we hung out with), the general folks had a great time, the mood was euphoric and surprised. No one was hurt. Hard work ensued. Some of our camp worked on art around the man and their work got harder because of this. Hard work and stress at burning man? Say it isn’t so. What is the world coming to?
Yes, it made some more work for the central team and some corporate displays got ruined, and a couple of artists had their projects fucked.. but it is Burning Man. It used to be that if you did not guard your art yourself, it was somewhat likely someone would come by and set it on fire. Yes, it was lame and I was pretty irritated by the assholes who burned my shit or set piles of PVC on fire, but get over it.
This was clearly an act of participation, not of ‘arson’.
yrt
What a prick. “…minimize any possiblity of injury to others” bullshit. I’ve seen the burn many times, and see how much it takes to keep it marginally safe. The structure is huge now a days, no more piles of straw bales, people end up all over it. Before it is torched they clear it out long before and have armies around to keep it that way. It was only luck that no one was hurt.
build something, perform, do something, burning down someone else’s work is the work of a self centered asshole who, is exactly the sort of fucker that is wrong with burningman. “radical self expression” is not setting fire to others work.
And now he is asking for donations for his defence fund? what about the money and time to clean up his mess in BRC? How about taking some personal responsibility? If he really believed in what he was doing he wouldn’t be asking others to bail him out. Grow some balls. wouldn’t give his name to the cops? WTF.
oh, by the way, I’ve been going for over a decade (mostly), so not “newbie”
gunter: try reading.
mr addis did not set up a “defense fund”.
someone else set one up to try and mitigate the financial damage to the guy who put up his bail. if you pay bail, you do not get it back, and they can put a lien against your property if the person in question does not show up for court.
Love him or hate him…….Paul had the balls to pull off a prank that has been tossed around for the past 10 years.
YRT…thanks for a reliable playa side report. Glad to hear that there was amusement out there.
Thanks for the LOL of Paul, I’m laughing every time I see it and loving the reactions I’m getting from co-workers when they see it on my desktop.
This poster summed up my feelings quite well…….
“Hat’s off to Mr. Addis and any co-conspirators for the lively prank! A healthy injection of the original Burning Man spirit into the predictable festival proceedings!â€
your right, he didn’t set it up, but from the website set up to raise money
“If response is overwhelming then the rest could go to a legal fund.”
one might make the leap that they are interested in helping with the legal fees.
These guys paid the bail bondman fee, and they are asking for others to pitch in so they can get their money back. Why not ask Paul? he had enough money to buy tickets and get to the playa, granted he isn’t asking directly Chris and Jim (or those helping them)
fucking hippies
Thanks rageahol for stepping in there to assist the skimmers.
Before folks go and get all puffed up and spout their beliefs (beliefs aren’t facts) as a “non-newbie” authority/expert or whatever overblown ego child they are stroking, they should read the frigging content of people’s posts. I made it clear when I set up the freepauladdis.com site that this was to recoup Chris Radcliffe’s outlay for the bail bond (which it is pretty clear he would not get back). I have the keys, and I can watch how much money is raised. Once he is flush I can pull the plug so that there isn’t any exploitation of the generosity of others. Thanks to those who have expressed this generosity so far.
Good to know Paul really isn’t a practicing lawyer. I was pretty convinced I was right about this, but you never know.
You armchair burners need to find a new hobby. It has been almost 10 years since I last went (ok, only 8, but it seems like forever) and I gotta say that the main reason for not going anymore is that about 98 percent of the people there suck (my opinion, not necessarily a fact). You prove I made the right decision by getting all huffy about something that isn’t yours.
I think back to several incidents post-burn of frenzied idiots burning other people stuff. Not just their art, but their camps. People getting all their gear stolen. The DPW raiding camps and stealing people’s booze . I gotta say, people are showing very limited memories and scope on this whole situation. But then my perspective is also skewed by years of blissful absence. I assume you want to do the right thing, but mostly it sounds like flame bait.
Honestly, I am surprised it hadn’t happened sooner. Why it didn’t go down like this in ‘96 I can’t fathom.
Praise the Lard and pass the Flavor Aid…
So the man burns early… great, now there is no reason to leave the playa early (except to avoid the Monday morning rush hour). For me – and many burners i know – the burn has evolved into the most disturbing and uninteresting aspect of BM. The combining of mob mentality and NFL halftime production values should make anyone that still thinks think, “what the fuck is really going on here?â€
Which exact person, real or corporate, owned the effigy? In other words, how was it legally possible to commit arson at a lawless location like Burning Man?
I find the whole fiasco to be rather refreshing. Finally, something to talk about! :)
With any luck this will become a yearly tradition, and we can place over/under bets on which day the man will be burnt. Who knows? More people might even show up early. Personally, I hope someone brings a fire truck and puts the man out for at least one official burn. Now *that* would be some fine “petty vandalism.” No wait, that would be called making a statement. Just like Paul did.
Or maybe we’ll just have to stare at the man from behind a barricade lest he be burnt early, destroying everyone else’s experience.
As someone recently pointed out to me, at what point does the event become a bad reflection of everything it once stood against? We have a “city” with an unelected planning board, bad sewage system, bureaucratic DMV, ineffectual police force (huzzah!) and new for this year: a shifty power plant, and poorly zoned advertising.
Perhaps it was inevitable that it would become all these things over time, but to some of us it has been about more than showing up to “Larry’s Party”.
I was up on the playa for the ‘99 cleanup, and spent a long time in the hot sun digging through the ashes of that piano sculpture that was such a huge cleanup mess because some asshole set it on fire before the setup to burn it right had been finished.
If only for the extra work incurred by cleanup crews for art that gets burned by arsonists, Paul Addis has zero sympathy from me.
And the attention whore makes his appearance on the message board. How out of character for most attention whores…
Excellent speech. Keeping digging your hole, tough guy.
This creepy obsession that you have with what you hate just keeps reminding me of that stalker guy who shot the My Sister Sam chick in the 80’s. You have that same charm. And sucking on the dead dick of Hunter S Thompson, still, is good laughs but it also reinforces your crucial flaw. –
You have nothing original to offer.
Nothing original to create.
Nothing original to say.
Your artistic vision is based solely on either trashing other peoples art or riding the coattails of some one else’s image.
You are a parasite.
Without a host to feed off of, you have no soul.
Peace & love –
Mike
PS – Hunter S Thompson really was a fucking coward. Suicide is a selfish act and the ultimate fuck you to anyone close to you. But to intentionally do it at a time when your Son, Daughter in Law and Grandson are visiting you? That takes the term fucking coward to whole new level. It’s kind of appropriate that he’s your hero.
Who’s writing the “Mike Tattoo” stuff? It’s really good. [FX: eating popcorn]
This is all so amusing to me. As someone who went to the “early” Burning Mans while they were still held on the beaches of SF, but never to return after it cost money and was held in a far off location, I don’t have much immediate and present knowledge of what Burning Man has turned into…I sorta signed off many, many years ago. Maybe, its cause I’m cheap and rarely pay more for any “entertainment” that’s over $10 and I’d rather create my art on my own terms. Anyhow, in all fairness, Burning Man to me has always been about the art and community that derived from that art…utopically, a community that could be built from that art. Idealistic? Absolutely? I have revelled at the BMORG’s attempts at evolving the “concept” and practice of BM….that’s what its about…when BM becomes “safe” that’s the end of BM and it seems to me that, that is what has been happening over the last decade or so. I have to say that once my brother, a non art producing, football loving “dude”, usurper (love him nonetheless) started going to BM a few years ago…I put my personal stake in the heart that was BM…but that’s me, and like I said I haven’t experienced a BM since it became what it is. That being said I look forward to see if this plays out in court….if BM (and its “corporate” lawyers) want to debate what art is in a courthouse run by the man (the real man, who we should also be burning) then save me a seat in the courthouse, because this to me would be the trial of the century…what is art? what is arson (if the man is to be burned intentionally 5 days later, what is community? what is law?…OH BOY!!!)…I hope for the sake of what BM is(was) that they don’t press charges and deal with this in a creative non govermental fashion —truly expanding what BM is(was) to greater heights and exemplifiying dealing with things in a way that doesn’t mirror society as a whole…isn’t that what its all about anyway?
Early Burn Yeah!,
the captain
I’m here at Burning Man — volunteering at the medical tent (I’m a pre-med student). It’s been quite an eye-opening experience so far. Too bad the “man” burned early. Check my Buzznet journal all this week — through the weekend into next week: http://slim44.buzznet.com/user/journal/ My colleague will be posting photos to my profile too (within 24-hours).
I laughed and laughed when I heard this. It made my whole day. Seeing Paul’s make-up in his mugshot was just the icing on the cake.
Is it schadenfreude that so many oldtimers feel this way? Or just joy at seeing the staged pageantry upstaged? I always felt Burning Man was more about the art the participants did than the actual burning of the Man, photogenic as the man was. But in any event, since I haven’t been since 98, my opinions are out-of-date and don’t really count.
I hope you get your money back, Radcliffe.
i’ve tossed up a response here:
http://mindfucking.org/burningman/
~still laughing my ass off
Why would Chris not get his bail money back? The whole friggin’ point of bail is that it is a guarantee that the person being bailed out will show up in court. The money is security for it. The only reason Chris would be worried about not getting his money back was if he knew Paul was going to no-show at court.
I almost hope he does that as bail bondsmen are not terribly happy when that occurs and that’s when they hire bounty hunters so they aren’t out the $30,000 that Chris’ $3,000 bought…
count me in ‘fuk yah’ crowd. no time to read all the many comments, tho can smell the flames (not surprising and too predictable to be ironic given the subject). yeah & props to vordo, geek, mateo and others for perspectives above. and scott as always for giving great virtual venue.
my couple pennies: Burning Man needs to remember the cacophony from whence it came. like building a house on an indian burial ground, cultivating an anarcho-guns-drugs-word-of-mouth-freakout into a “city”-cum-tourist attraction-rentparty does come with potential perils to the order you (and the BLM) have decided needs to be enforced.
In the process, Burning Man has bought into the foibles of metropoli, which is what they (as a Cacophonist organ, ewww) initially were inspired to ridicule. The Alternative Reality and Temporary Autonomous Zone has been erected(!) in the framework of establishment society. Water wings, training wheels and a lock on the knife drawer & gun cabinet. That’s what you need once you let anyone in (and are taking their money).
It’s a compromise and a watering down of spirit they followed out to the playa. And it is also nonetheless still the closest thing that we have to “if we ran the world”; I want to acknowledge that, because I don’t think that just dumping on BM gives it its due.
I have lots of friends who are involved in the project, and I respect them and the endeavor in many ways. I think the style can get tacky and the rhetoric full of itself. And that’s all my opinion and I get to have it.
I give credit to Larry for still having some appreciation of the chaos:
http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2007/08/the-burn-will-g.html
“The early burn, he said, will help show that the Man itself is “nothing but a wooden doll,” and that the event is really about the joint effort of attendees to create it.” (like JohnHell said above)
But I haven’t seen that quote anywhere else. Interested to hear if the ‘official’ line will echo Larry or rather Crimson’s “I want that asshole arrested…And I want the first shot.”: http://www.10zenmonkeys.com/2007/08/28/burning-the-man-with-hunter-s-thompson/ .
Paul is family. You may not like your ancestors. But they knew you when. So I hope that they drop the charges. Maybe give him a good spanking.
that’s it. fuck yeah. mikl.em
Ah yes…. the conforming group of non-conformists. Let’s all go out to the desert and not conform together! BM has become to Nannyfied for my taste.
I think Mike Tattoo has it right. Addis reminds one of Mark David Chapman or any number of others in that vein.
The irony of a faux Hunter Thompson groupie/stalker destroying an effigy as a supposed protest against the perceived artificiality of what Burning Man ‘07 has become is incalculable.
Those people applauding Addis’s alleged re-injection of anarchy into burning man as some sort of artistic statement are mildly amusing . Anarchy is always acceptable to some until one meets up with another anarchist whose artistic expression involves murdering or maiming others. Using the logic of the pseudo-anarchists worshipping the faux Thompson Paul Addis, who is to say that a serial killer creating a collage of human ears nailed to a board in his garage is not an “artist”?
Al, the way a bail bonds man makes his money is that you pay him a percentage of the bail that he posts. He gets the bail money back, not you. It is basically paying interest on the loan up front. If Chris had paid the entire bail out of his pocket, he would then get it back. Since coming up with 25k ain’t all that easy for most of us, you go the other route.
That is how it works. Quit questioning it. Chris would never get this money back, regardless of what happens to Paul. So I expect to see your name on the donatoions list soon.
Seriously, the original spirit seems lost anyway, conforming non-conformists. boo hoo hoo.
it is called ‘burning man’ -folks are a little uptight when
something happens and ruins their prescripted fun time
Did anyone else catch this comment from the Wired article -
“You went to Burning Man in 1996, 1997 and 1998 and hadn’t been back until this year. Why did you stop going to Burning Man after 1998?”
Dude that has been throwing such a temper tantrum for attention and throwing the word “newbie” around left and right, has only been to Burning Man THREE TIMES before this week?
THREE FUCKING TIMES and now you are the self proclaimed authority on the scope of What Is and What Will Be of Burning Man? Are you fucking kidding me? I have socks that went to Burning Man more times than that.
Three fucking times. This guy came out of his decade retirement to give us all a “I love the 90’s” history lesson on what he learned from the three times he went to Burning Man. And he has the nerve to throw the word “newbie” around.
I once went to a party at the “A” wherehouse and on display there was a piece of art that consisted of a very large wall hanging covered with bloody (but fake) severed ears. Artist unknown.
Mike Tattoo… get over it. Where is your righteous indignation over the suicide that has just been reported?
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=3&entry_id=19890
http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2007/08/man-hangs-self-.html
You are all fired up about how much of a “coward” HST was for doing it. You easily project this cowardice on Mr Addis, even though he is still alive. Yet here is a nice ripe example of extreme selfish behavior and you have nothing to say. Anyone can be the big brave loudmouth behind a keyboard, and it is even easier to be a big fat hypocrite.
Perhaps you are sensitive to the family and friends of the person who took their own life in the middle of the big desert love fest. But I think not. I think you are afraid of tackling a real issue and your only relief is to act the authority and try to grab more attention than Mr Addis.
You add nothing to the discussion. You have nothing new to offer. Sit back take a deep breathe, and a refreshing swig of the Flavor Aid and see if you can come up with something new.
AAAAWWESSSOMMME!!!!
Paul is kicking down the moneychangers tables.
Burningman WAS. Disneyman IS. This is the first exciting thing from Black Rock in nearly a decade. I can’t wipe the grin off. Try doing Hellco another year if you want to see how much it’s changed.
If your only mad at Paul you should be banned from the BRC…fuckin hippie. Unfortunately as it is, the desert is yours now, you hold the glorious pile of ash we burned ages ago. Enjoy, I’ll be in Europe with my money, hopefully Extra Action, will be there when I am.
Salubrioustriton,
Mystik Krewe Of Satyrs
Damn lucky no-one was hurt.
This could easily have been a disaster.
http://www.youtube.com/v/t-uBu2m6eFA
The early burning of the man could have been a really refreshing and inspiring prank. Alas, now that Addis has opened his mouth it’s been revealed to be nothing more than the attention-getting stunt of an arrogant, pathetic, out-of-touch prick.
So basically, he stopped attending Burning Man after 1998 and decided that those of us who did start going after that year weren’t as smart, innovative, creative or open-minded as he was. How he knows anything about us without actually attending for almost a decade remains a mystery.
So then he returns this year, stays for a couple of days and sets the man on fire not to add a bit of irreverent revelry to the event but instead to tear it down because Burning Man isn’t what HE thinks Burning Man should be. His interviews and comments make it clear, this wasn’t an inspired prank meant to make anyone think, this was a bitchy hissy fit thrown by someone who imagines himself to be edgier than everyone else.
I think these quotes really reveal what kind of man and “artist†Addis is:
“Burning Man in the period of 1996-1997 was the right place at the right time with the right minds. We had a great opportunity to put all of our hands on the wheel and really affect social evolution. We had a bunch of gifted people who had the chance to break the mold on a lot of things.”
(My god, talk about arrogant. So, Burning Man was OK during the two years you attended? And by the way, what did you do to “affect social evolution” and “break the mold” if you all were so incredibly “gifted” as compared to the rest of us? You set something on fire years later? Wow. Impressive. You burnt something at Burning Man. Way to “break the mold” you incredible genius you.)
“Most of you are newbies who have been drawn in by the semi-religious nature of the event, or maybe just the easy drugs and easier sex. You have nothing to offer the event other than your fucking money and obedience.â€
(He attended for THREE years and he dares tear down “newbies� He hasn’t been there in almost 10 years and yet he knows why most of us attend this event? What kind of an ugly ego does a person have to have to make these statements?)
“There’s no good music and only a precious few writers. These fourth and fifth generations of happy-go-lucky birds, what are they doing when they come back to the cities? Nothing. They go blow their wads for seven days at Burning Man and then go back to their jobs. They don’t do anything else for the rest of the year.”
He’s flat out wrong in claiming that the newer Burning Man generations haven’t done anything once coming back to town. Look at all the people who mobilized to help the Katrina victims, look at the regional burns that have sprouted up around the country, look at the local art projects that have been directly inspired by Burning Man. Also, he gets to decide what “good” music is? Who died and made him Lester Bangs?
On a really ugly level, Addis has revealed himself to be a fascist pig who believes he has the right to destroy that which he doesn’t agree with.
And on a lighter level, when you really step back and look at what Addis is saying, he sounds like the grandpa who likes to complain “things were better back in my day.” I say move over gramps, let the new generation take it from here.
And by the way…anyone who thinks they’re the second coming of Hunter S. Thompson like he does, most certainly is the exact opposite.
this has all the earmarks of hate crime, doesn’t it?
my two cents here:
http://www.mojodyne.com/~chasterus/blog.html#200709011413
Having just heard Paul being interviewed on Pirate Cat Radio, I have to say, he’s quite articulate. i agree with many of his ideas, and I wish to subscribe to his newsletter.
http://www.nerdnetworks.org/pcr/Stimulus-20070830.mp3
Have you all seen this?
http://www.cafepress.com/arse_o_nist
My Band wrote a song about him!
visit myspace.com/yourcuntingdaughterfucks
Just watched the live stream of the burn.
Yup, Addis did a better job of it.
all i got to say is HILARIOUS! it’s about time someone did it.
i feel that burning man is where the uncool go to be cool. i mean look at the guy who owns the Corporation, he looks like a dirty old man who created this party/rave for his own dirty old man reasons.
The early burn was thrilling and made the event more special. The timing was beautiful. Thank you Paul for your Discordian contribution. This is the type of Kick In The Ass that Burning Man needs.
My first thoughts were, “Why’d it take 10 years to finally have this happen?” Which I guess is pretty selfish because maybe it wouldd have happened sooner if I contributed. But now I see the timing is perfect. My experience with Paul Addis is, while he is an egomanial half-cocked loaded weapon, when the chips are down he will have my back. He always remembers me, says hello, treats me with respect and grace, and tries to find something to share that applies to me, my humor, and my personal sensibilities. So who says this isn’t him being that for someone else? Maybe he just agreed to take the fall for a plan that’s been in the deep-down-low (DDL) works for ten years? He’s a loyal friend. He’s comfortable in the limelight. And his one-man-show can certainly use the press. I am not at all surprised that I have to explain these things to you sheeple.
What’s YOUR twenty?
Hilarious, had me totally LOL. Good to see some old-skool BM anarchy and irreverance. I LOVE THIS GUY! He is the true spirit of this event. Hunter S. would be proud.
Keeping the dream alive Paul.
(BM attendee 1994-1999)
Good god. Hunter S. Thompson must be rolling in his grave. To have his name continually invoked alongside this second-rate, judgmental poser whose biggest contribution to the world is tearing down other people’s experiences…the horror! The insult!
And seriously, all of you sad-sack IT-WAS-BETTER-BACK-IN-MY-DAY hypocrites…can you hear yourselves? You sound like a bunch of wealthy country club members whining because the “undesirables†have dared join your elite club. You snobby bastards!
And here’s an idea…if you don’t like what Burning Man has become now that the riff raff has dared join the experience…move on and shut up. Better yet …go back out into the desert in a few months and try to recreate the past you’re so desperate to cling to. But be sure that all those who plan to attend bring identification that proves they’re cool, edgy, arty and extreme enough for you. You wouldn’t want the unwashed masses spoiling things again.
Geekboy,
Why would you expect to see my donation to the “Pay Chris back his bail money fund?” So, as you say, Chris won’t get his money back. Never having been arrested, I didn’t realize that the bail bondsman would keep the 10% handed to him.
My overall response is “So what?” If Chris knew that, then he paid up front for his buddy and that’s his problems. As far as I’m concerned, Paul should have rotted in jail until his arraignment. If his buddies wanted to bail him out, that’s great. It’s good to have friends who will get you out of jail. That surely isn’t my concern though as I’m:
a) Not Paul’s friend.
b) Think Paul is an arrogant putz.
c) See that he has effectively confessed to doing it (and for stupid reasons) while maintaining the official pretense otherwise.
I think he *should* be in jail. He’s committed a felony and not something fun like giving a few friends some E or Acid or somesuch but the kind of thing that could have KILLED people. For what reason did he do this? To show that Burning Man is a fake and has lost its way, in his wisdom as a three time burner?
Screw ‘em. I’m sure the jury will anyway.
Al, do you really want to suggest that drug dealing is better? Do you want to suggest that giving someone drugs, under the influence of which they could possibly come to some harm, is a good idea? You can’t possibly be that ignorant. Do have any idea what drug laws are like in Nevada? Probably not. It is a sad sad statement if this is the argument you want to make.
Also, get someone to explain sarcasm to you.
What a complex, sensitive guy. “Since I don’t approve of Burning Man anymore (based on hearsay, rather than actually attending for many years), I’m going to make sure no one else can enjoy it either.”
Yeah, yeah, Burning Man is about Art, wild expression, doing what you want, making a statement, etc., but I still think the guy is an asshole for purposely trying to destroy something that a lot of mostly cool people are enjoying. There’s something about not taking your “radical self expression” to the point of ruining other people’s good time.
But hey, he radically expressed his desire to disrupt the event and the Burning Man people radically expressed their anger and distaste by nailing his ass with heavy legal prosecution. Actions have consequences.
Apparently, the fuckworth hadn’t been to the event for a good ten years anyway, so he was trying to affect something he was no longer familiar with or a part of.
I’ve got mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I get one week a year when I don’t have to hear about Burning Man, and this guy ruined it. On the other hand, he upset all the people who drive me nuts the other 51 weeks.
Erik, who said he ruined other people’s good time? As I said earlier, the early burn was thrilling and the timing was perfect. It was the best thing about Burning Man this year! I praise Paul for bringing back some of the excitement to an event that has become a bit too predictable.
The event invited all to shed their expectations and have a brand new experience, just as it always does. It succeeded, just as it always does. Plus, it stirred up controversy and got lots of national coverage. To believe that anyone couldn’t just as easily get hurt during the expected burn is dangerous. To think there are ’sides’ within the Burning Man Culture always makes me laugh. Let’s face it, while Cacophony brought me here, Burning Man truly is how we all know each other. And now, with the new theme, we get to explore patriotism and the ideas behind unity. Coincidence?
Erik, Al, etc.
Drat, you almost didn’t get to see the tired shape burn once again, right on cue? You vent your rage (uh, hello?) by demanding that Paul be thrown in jail on arson charges?? Wow.
You guys might want to spend another week in the desert, it sounds like you’re still wound up pretty tight.
Al has always been wound up tighter than the bush daughters panties.
I was a bit disappointed to see addis on camera. I was hoping he wasn’t a complete nut-job but, alas, it seems he’s a few bricks short of a stack…
I just received this important message from borg9 headquarters.
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- 2006:- “Does My Ass Look Fat To You?”
- 2007 – “What? You’re Still Here??!?”
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“NOT GUILTY!”
Yes, minions, recognizing that while everyone is innocent until tried, the best you hope for from a jury pool of retired Chinese ladies, McDonalds employees, and postal workers is the moral ambiguity of “Not Guilty!”. So don’t click on that porn site, stop writing in your blog, and you dare don’t get involved, because ALL OF THIS WILL BE USED AGAINST YOU!
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In an effort to blow it for everyone and blow it early, former AG Alberto “Gonzo” Gonzales has Destroyed the American Dream 354 days before the event even starts. I sense a theme outside of the theme. http://alternet.org/story/61519/
That “Not Guitly” theme is really going to go gangbusters for the rebirth of the Borg9 now that a strong GOP contingent is planning a giant bathroom stall camp next to the BmOrg DayCare Center.
Playaing footsies with the Man…. that’s a night in the box.
Hey ya, to all the burners just gettin’ back from the playa and joining in here. Don’t miss out on your chance to express yourself beyond the internet. Don’t settle for just adding your two cents here, oh no, you can do better, you can wear you two cents with one of these:
http://www.cafepress.com/arse_o_nist
Tell the streets of San Francisco what you think of this guy. Please note that NO proceeds from the sale of this shirt will go to his defense fund! It will all go to my beer fund.
Fuck it. Next year to do my tribute to how bitching the class of 1996 was I’m going to shoot up some heroin, take someone else’s car, and start running over people as they sleep in their tents.
I mean, that’s about as brave and daring and 1996 as what just went down.
Meh. Addis is obviously an attention-seeking ass, but he doesn’t deserve default-world jail time for a burning man prank. Why not just kick him out of the event and be done with it?
OT re: Gonzo
“He may have left too much evidence of state-sanctioned torture and lying and malfeasance and corruption”
(gasp) When did these stop being part of the American Dream?! ;)
Mr. Dobbs o’ Slack,
His “prank” could have killed or seriously hurt people. Given the amount of damage that I’ve seen people do themselves accidentally through Burnng Man, setting a structure surrounded by people on fire that is held up by high tension cables on top of a *tent* is not exactly a harmless prank.
Bronson, I didn’t go to Burning Man this year so I didn’t see the Man burn in either instance. I had better ways to spend my time this year. That doesn’t change the fact that it is arson.
Please contribute your writing to Paul Addis’ wki entry before it is quickly deleted by their bots.
If enough cited content is added quickly it can be defended for inclusion.
Please quote and cite CNN, Reuters, AP, NPR, WIRED, etc.
Especially quote and cite his previous mentions in the press. His play, etc. etc.
Participate in wikihistory or those nerds with too much time on their hands will delete it.
oops heres the link to the page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Addis
Please add to the discussion too. Even if you are stating why it should be deleted and can do so critically.
Blech they deleted it and protected it.
If you want to comment on the “notability” of Paul Addis for inclusion in wikipedia please do so at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:John_Reaves
This is the admin who deleted all of my previous discussion and the article.
Okay that wiki admin has moved the discussion to here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Deletion_review/Log/2007_September_6#Paul_Addis
We need links to any and all articles about Paul Addis.
We need comments and support.
Toot your damn horn and post on that page.
Paul,
Hey, I just got off the phone with the Military Industrial Complex. Yeah, they got your request and sorry, the answer is no. They have no intention of stopping this war anytime soon. Or ever.
Yes, I know that this time you were asking. I think it’s great that you’re acting like a civilized person instead of a tweaked-out fratboy on a 3 day bender rioting in the streets because his hockey team won… but sadly, the answer remains no.
Dick Cheney wasn’t kidding when he called this “The War That Will Not End In Our Lifetimes.†The price of crude oil has now tripled since 9/11. That’s a clue. Iran may or may not be next within the next few weeks, there’s a lot of disinformation being thrown out about that, but West Africa is on out list. Venezuela is preparing it’s citizens for a US led invasion, China + the rest of the world is ready to dump the dollar in a heartbeat, the cold war with Russia is back on, and once the rest of the world figures out that Ghawar really peaked a few years ago and we have just been sneaking Iraq oil in to cover that up, then the entire world economic system will start to fall apart within 24- 48 hours of that news hitting the markets. Heavy Shit.
It’s OK though. We’re heavily committed to this long term Disaster Capitalism + Demand Destruction business model. You know that old joke “If you really love the environment so much than the best thing you could do is to kill yourself?†Well, we’re making that decision for you.
But thanks for your concern and keep up those crazy antics of yours. You’re a better flavor of the week distraction than any Cum Stain on a Blue Dress campaign that we could have thought up and you did it all pro bono! What a great lawyer you are.
See you when the Draft kicks in –
Mike
Hey a temp page is being setup to meet wiki standards.
I need blurbs!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Natevoodoo/Paul_Addis
Seeing as wiki are being a bit anal about a page for paul, I have created a small page on squidoo, feel free to make comments and offer improvements. – http://www.squidoo.com/pauladdis/
I can admire the taking of action against commercialism, though am not convinced this sort of thing isn’t just a load of retro-Back in our day it was better elitism. We have the same kinda arguments about Glastonbury Festival in the UK, great events do become victims of their own success, you either live with it or start something new more in line with your ethics yourself.
Anyway, that’s my 2cents, I’m hoping the squidoo article will remain impartial though but give space for debate too.
His labor day speech was kinda weak but he hit it on the head about the soldiers coming home.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070909/ap_on_he_me/coming_home_wounded_brain_injuries
I’m 35 year old burner who has been for the past five years and I have to say, BM keeps getting better every year! I had a few people who attended BM for the first time this year and described it as “the happiest place on earth”. I would have to agree. I spent over $5000 this year for the pure amusement of helping my friends build an art car so others can enjoy the hard work and creativity that BM inspires. Sure I can do without the plya dust and the scorchering heat, but they too make BM what it is. I’m sad to hear that there is an undertone of burnt out old burners this year. I asked around to get a feel of why the disgruntled feelings. The best explanation I got was “who cares and their loss. It actually makes more room for the newbies who keep pushing the creative envelope.” I would have to agree. I have no problem calling myself a newbie and proud of it. I hope to go for as long as i can, with the idea that a break from it all is also good, too. For all who think they’ve “been there, done that”, just remember there are those who are experiencing BM for the first time. It’s also our right to have the same experience as yourself. All this talk about Addis and the 2007 BM experience is like talking about Janet Jacksons and Justin Timberlake’s 2004 NFL Championship halftime show wardrobe malfunction. Ha Ha Ha Ha
Actually, I’ve changed my mind.
First I want to say that breaking with tradition and burning the man during a lunar eclipse is a great idea.
After details have started to come out — I realize that what he did really was dangerous and inconsiderate.
I have heard that there were about 100 people in that tent whose lives were in danger when the man started to burn. I have also heard that rangers had to keep folks away from the unstable structure (fear that it would fall down) for hours.
I also have heard from several sources that he had been soliciting volunteers to help him clear out that tent but went ahead with climbing up the man and setting off his incendiary device despite his failure to recruit accomplices to vacate the tent.
A ranger told me that Paul nearly got away, but that he got tangled up in sliding down the tent after setting off the device.
And, given recent news about Paul — all I can say is that Paul really does need some help. He’s thriving on all the attention and I don’t think he really knows when to stop.
How much of that were we expected to keep a straight fact through?
OK, let’s cut straight to the point. Let’s say that a large bonfire was being set up for an event. Let’s say that somebody torched it in advance. This would be punished as vandalism, at the very least, even though the wood was going to be burned eventually, because in triggering an early fire, the person burning it would deny the owner of the wood the full use and enjoyment of his own property. If we were to accept Addis’ argument, we would be left with the absurdity of having to legalize the act of sneaking into a restaurant kitchen and gulping food down on the sly, because what one ate would have been eaten and digested eventually, even were one to have not acted.
Yes, it would have been, but not by the intruder. The same concept applies here – a fire that is set off while one is away, and has no reason to expect that one shouldn’t be away, is a fire that one doesn’t get to enjoy, just as the meal our hypothetical restaurant thief gulped down is a meal that those who owned the food or those who would have purchased it wouldn’t get to eat. Property, in being ephermal, does not cease to be property.
As for the comments about the war, this is the most transparent attempt to change the subject imaginable. While I’m no fan of BMORG, on this I’d have to go along with them – throw the book at this creep. He has acted lawlessly and with something so far from remorse as to render forgiveness a bad joke.
“wow. this is fucking HIGH-LARIOUS. high comedy from the inestimable mike tattoo. your impression, whether you know it as an impression or not, of a sanctimonious douchenozzle is top ‘o the pops. bravo.”
Oh, yes, I’ve heard from our Mike Bolger before and he can be a very *ahem* interesting person. See the page linked to from this post. However, on this one he has you nailed dead to rights.
“but, you know, even if you make it, art is not yours. the only way to control your “art†is to keep it in your basement and never show it to anyone, ever. once you make it in any way public, it belongs to the world, to reinterpret, to malign, to praise, and to destroy. ”
Really. To destroy? Try walking into a gallery when security is on duty and acting on that belief and see what happens. This is bizarre, maybe even beyond satire.
Now let the panties get in a twist. This SFGate article touches on crime on the playa, but mostly focuses on the suicide. Funny, no mention of arson. Guess it wasn’t a crime.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/09/14/BARUS4SLF.DTL
Too bad to see that thefts and sexual assault are still prevalent and unpunished.
I am the other artist so disgraced at burning man along with the world’s most ready symbol of freedom (of course, that really does depend on, like Ranger Sasquatch said, “what side of the pistol u stand onâ€). To me the war on terror is really a war on freedom.
For that reason, I spent weeks and months carving a huge, futuristic statue of liberty out of a cedar log and i brought it to share…
Besides the man, the Liberty burn was the first arson since 1999, along with my trailer she stood on and my vital tools and equipment I was using sharing the “process of art†with grateful people who loved my version of liberty and theirs too.
Should we watch people do nasty things to get attention; then use it as a platform to blather; who attack a culture at its most passionate nexus and should we not call them terrorists?
Do they need to burn center-camp next to make their point?
The first defense against any cultural disorder, i think is community awareness so let’s call it what it is. The next is to catch the sick punk and see him fry in a federal penitentiary along with Addis. Let’s see if they like the flames in there.
Burning Man is in danger as long as people use terror to make political statements, especially in light of the ‘08, politically-charged Bman theme…
Watch for the article I’m just completing, soon to be published: Liberty Torched (The story of the other arson at Burning Man) By Matthew (Timeless) Welter, September, 2007
Any of your insights, images, footage or whiteness to the Liberty arson is needed; I’m preparing to call it terrorism when i hand it over to the F. ucking B.I.
Timeless
timeless.sculptures@gmail.com
Thanks to the remarkable photography and good will of Ryan Hayes, I have some stunning images to share: arson photos –> http://www.oneflameinthefire.com/timeless-arson/
Liberty was surrounded by a had-full of my finest works, which thankfully attracted Ryan’s camera:
http://www.oneflameinthefire.com/timeless-art/)
http://www.adultswim.com/video/?episodeID=8a25c39215224fdf01152362bf840054
when does the breakfast cereal come out?
RE: Burning Man Statement
After a month to think it over, the LLC comes up with this mealy mouth bit of nothingnesst? They had to have gone through 100 drafts to make certain their statement said nothing. Who in their right mind would give a penny to this bunch of self-centered pricks, so desperate to hang on to their meal ticket.
“Burning Man has and will continue to cooperate fully with the authorities in this investigation in pursuit of justice for the perpetrator(s) of this act.”
…because Burning Man has always been about, TRUTH, JUSTICE and THE AMERICAN DREAM!
Hey, all you alienated old-time burners! Why are you still obsessed with Burning Man anyway? You stopped going ten years ago, why are you still ranting about it? Why haven’t you started your own event so you can “fuck shit up” in your own way? NO ONE IS STOPPING YOU!! For goodness’ sakes, do something creative with yourselves instead of endlessly whining about something that , unlike you, has grown and evolved . You’re not doing anything as remotely interesting as some of the art and performance on the playa today. We are TIRED of your sentimental attachment to a past that’s been dead for a decade. Please move on and spare us this tiresome nostalgia.
I really think it’s no surprise that this happened. I mean a bunch of people standing around waiting for a HUGE bonfire to be started. You take a giant flammable statue and place it in the middle of thousands of people listening to rock music that are waiting for the fire to start, and it seems almost obvious that one of them is bound to be an arsonist.
Hello fellow burners I think they should take it easy on the guy who burned the man early. No harm no foul. Love You folks see yall this summer. cant hardly wait