The 10th annual Burning Man Decompression 2009, Heat The Street Faire takes place this Sunday, October 11th on Indiana Street in San Francisco.

This is a blog post from Laughing Squid, subscribe via RSS, Twitter, Facebook & FriendFeed.

Usmagazine.com has just posted never-before-seen footage of Michael Jackson catching on fire while shooting the Pepsi commercial at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on January 27th, 1984, which quite possibly lead to his ultimate addiction to painkillers and obsession with plastic surgery.

On the sixth take, though, things went horribly wrong: The fireworks erupted too early, igniting Jackson’s head in flames. Jackson is at first unaware he’s on fire, and continues dancing.

Thanks to Jason Laskodi for the tip!

This is a blog post from Laughing Squid, subscribe via RSS, Twitter, Facebook & FriendFeed.

The Crucible presents the 9th Annual Fire Arts Festival July 15-18 in Oakland.

Each July The Crucibles Fire Arts Festival celebrates creativity through fire and light with a spectacular open-air exhibition of interactive fire art, performance and the largest collection of outdoor fire sculpture on the West Coast. The Fire Arts Festival is our major fundraising event, and proceeds benefit The Crucibles arts education programs for youth and adults. Youll be dwarfed by gigantic sculptures, get hands-on with interactive installations, and experience an eye-popping array of cutting edge fire sculpture and art from the all over the country. Each evening, fire performers will awe and amaze the most discerning pyrophile and you’ll be dazzled by incredible music and dance performances. It’s the must-see event of the summer.

This is a blog post from Laughing Squid, subscribe via RSS, Twitter, Facebook & FriendFeed.

photo by Scott Beale

BURNcast.TV is reporting that Paul Addis has been granted parole by unanimous vote from the Nevada State Parole Board. Paul was sentenced up to 4 years for attempting to burn down the Burning Man sculpture at the 2007 event and has been serving time in a Nevada State prison since June 27, 2008. A release date has not yet been set.

UPDATE: Amacker posted more information regarding Paul’s parole.

Paul stated his parole plan: he has work lined up as an auto-emissions inspector in Vegas, and only when his time is up, in February 2010, will he return to the Bay Area. And for how long, it’s unknown, but I think his heart is on traveling.

via Eddie Codel

This is a blog post from Laughing Squid, subscribe via RSS, Twitter, Facebook & FriendFeed.

The Loney Island made “Cool Guys Don’t Look At Explosions” for the 2009 MTV Movie Awards.

This is a blog post from Laughing Squid, subscribe via RSS, Twitter, Facebook & FriendFeed.

Here are a few short videos that I shot this year at Maker Faire 2009.

Calliope by Neverwas

Soma by Flaming Lotus Girls

Mark Frauenfelder of Boing Boing plays his cigar box guitar

kid vs. robot in a chess match

Cupcake CNC by MakerBot Industries

Geneva Wheel, part of 10,000 Year Clock Project by The Long Now Foundation

Hand of Man by Christian Ristow

R2-D2

Jacob’s Ladder by Omega Recoil

Skull by Alameda County Computer Resource Center (ACCRC)

Video Gallery: Maker Faire 2009

Here are my photos from Maker Faire 2009.

This is a blog post from Laughing Squid, subscribe via RSS, Twitter, Facebook & FriendFeed.

Here are my photos of Maker Faire 2009, which took place Saturday, May 30th and Sunday, May 31st at the San Mateo County Event Center.

Photo Gallery: Maker Faire 2009

Here are the videos that I shot at Maker Faire 2009.

photo by Scott Beale

This is a blog post from Laughing Squid, subscribe via RSS, Twitter, Facebook & FriendFeed.

A features Dance Dance Immolation by Interpretative Arson from last month’s How to Destroy the Universe: Part 6 event at NIMBY. DDI is a spoof of the arcade game Dance Dance Revolution, but with flamethrowers pointed at the participants.

The episode is hosted by Aaron Muszalski (SFSlim) with video by Eddie Codel.

This is a blog post from Laughing Squid, subscribe via RSS, Twitter, Facebook & FriendFeed.

guest post by Burstein!

Fiobles Mench was originally an event proposed for Burning Man 2007, but it was not funded and the space, “a muti-use performance area with elevated audience,” was not permitted. So, as is wont to happen, it was delayed, but has now found a home this Saturday, May 16th, at NIMBY.

The plot follows the evolution of humanity from primitive to modern and beyond. Early humans frolic in the forest, then develop and build machines first to improve and then to unwittingly destroy their environment, with the machines eventually taking over and destroying everything including themselves.

Indeed-y. You will also get music by Kerry Walsh and TradeMark G, along with the fire robots of Justin Grey. Classy and awesome. What else could you ever want?

This is a blog post from Laughing Squid, subscribe via RSS, Twitter, Facebook & FriendFeed.

guest post by Burstein!

photo by Audrey Penven

Last Saturday’s How to Destroy the Universe Part 6 at NIMBY was a smashing success. Rather than tell you all about it, here are some photos and video.

Chicken John flies and sings as he dodges bottle rockets! Who would have thunk it? In all seriousness, the dude was surprisingly nimble for his advanced age.

photo by Audrey Penven

Flame on (thank god for the proximity suits)!

photo by Ed Rabbit

And a lovely video of our very own Slim putting up a noble effort to not get toasted while on the raver level of Dance Dance Immolation.

video by Ed Rabbit

And of an interview with Qarly of Corpus Callosum fame as I am getting suited up to be the next hunk of toast contestant.

video by Ed Rabbit

And a beautiful shot of the Life Size Mousetrap.

photo by Audrey Penven

This is a blog post from Laughing Squid, subscribe via RSS, Twitter, Facebook & FriendFeed.

guest post by Burstein!

The How to Destroy the Universe party Saturday the 25th at NIMBY will have a very special installation – Dance Dance Immolation by Interpretative Arson.

Dance Dance Immolation combines video games, music, and propane. You play DDR. A good performance wins you acclaim from flamethrowers. A missed step gets you a face full of fire! Yes, the fire is real. Put on a fireproof suit and give it a try!

photo by Nick Winterhalter

Or as the tagline says: “Dance Dance Revolution. With Flamethrowers. Pointed At You.” Also, it is worth nothing that this may be the last time in 2009 that DDI will be set up in the states, so if you want a face full of fire while dancing… you know where to go and when.

This is a blog post from Laughing Squid, subscribe via RSS, Twitter, Facebook & FriendFeed.

Jon Sarriugarte has created a really cool Iron Fire Log for home fireplaces.

My newest creation are steel logs hand forged from iron that use natural gas for fuel. The colors of flame thoughout the fire are wonderful. This is my modern take on the ceramic log. I can build this as a match light system, or add a fully automated remote system with safeties. I use ANSI certified fire pans and safety valves. These logs could also be used in one of my outdoor fire pits as well.

See Previously: The Golden Mean: A Hot Rod Racing Snail

photo by Jon Sarriugarte

This is a blog post from Laughing Squid, subscribe via RSS, Twitter, Facebook & FriendFeed.

In these times of economic hardship, it’s important that we gather together our nearest and dearest and make a concerted effort to support the things that really matter.

This of course means robots that serve cocktails.

Austria’s RoboExotica made its maiden foray into US territory last spring, with their first annual RoboExotic-US, a screamingly successful conference and meditation on the human-machine interface in the form of the cocktail robot.

A good time was had by all, at least according to those who actually remember the event.

The plan is to bring the whole shebang back this year for a West Coast tour (Maker Faire, RoboGames, and of course another RoboExoticUS).

For this mission of mercy and philosophical understanding to come to fruition, RoboexoticUS needs YOUR HELP! They have set up a pledge page on Pledgie to gently entreat you to send in your pennies to aid the robots’ journey across the ocean.

Donate a buck or two, and reap the rewards when they arrive triumphant through the gates of SFO, slinging rum, insults, fire, beer and the satisfaction in knowing that if it’s done right, science can really hurt the next day.

See Previously: Roboexotica USA Photos & Video

Thanks Scott Beale for the photo of El Espanol Borracho!

This is a blog post from Laughing Squid, subscribe via RSS, Twitter, Facebook & FriendFeed.

The Flaming Lotus Girls’ amazing fire sculpture the Serpent Mother, a beautiful 168′ skeletal stainless steel snake will be on display this weekend on San Francisco’s Treasure Island. On Friday, March 6th it will be featured at the Opulent Temple Massive fundraiser for Burning Man 2009 and on Saturday, March 7th there will be special Serpent Mother art exhibition from 7pm to midnight.

There has never been a sculpture like the Serpent Mother. The warmth of her embrace and her coiling design create an atmospheric space in which over a thousand people can stand. Her 168′ long stainless steel spine coils around the massive space, while her 20′ long neck and head tower over her audience.

The audience takes control, however, by directing her movement, raising her hydraulically- actuated neck and opening her fanged mouth. Full audience participation makes each installation a singular experience – come make it happen.

Jason Chinn made a great time-lapse video of FLG setting up the Serpent Mother.

photo by John Curley

This is a blog post from Laughing Squid, subscribe via RSS, Twitter, Facebook & FriendFeed.

guest post by Aaron Muszalski

Forget all the hubbub about amputee sprinters and world-record breaking “space tech” prostheses. This photo of a man with an apparently home-made flame effect foot (taken at last year’s Burning Man) deserves a gold medal for DIY ass-kickery.

photo by Foxgrrl

This is a blog post from Laughing Squid, subscribe via RSS, Twitter, Facebook & FriendFeed.

guest post by Aaron Muszalski

NIMBY (the DIY art space that was recently shut down following a small fire) has secured a new location, but $22,000 $14,700 $12,900 is still needed for the deposit. The deposit is due by December 15th, and NIMBY is in urgent need of additional donations. Please consider giving them your support.
 

NIMBY NEEDS MONEY FOR DEPOSIT ON NEW LOCATION THIS WEEK!!

NIMBY – the Bay Areas largest DIY/ Industrial Art Space was shut down by a city inspection following a small fire. Community support has poured in and new location secured. NIMBY will move December 15th – but $22,000 is still needed for the deposit.

What is NIMBY?

For the past five years NIMBY has been a space where artists, craftsmen and tinkerers can create the new, the impossible, and the never seen before. Many of the pieces at Burning Man, Coachella, the Maker Fair and The Crucible’s Fire Arts Festival are created and stored at NIMBY.

NIMBY not only offers space to create, but supports its artists with resources, assistance in sourcing re-purposed material, as well as logistical and technical guidance. Snook, the founder of NIMBY, is known in the community as the guy to call when technical or logistical issues seem insurmountable. This supportive culture shared by all members of the NIMBY community is at the root of the amazing art that emerges from its doors.

NIMBY has been the birthplace of Dance Dance Immolation, the Steam Punk Tree House, Colossus, The Kinetic SteamWorks steam ship, Spike’s Vampire Bar and so much more. NIMBY has hosted such epic events as Lost Vegas, Eat Drink and Be Mary, Fight Night, Thunderdome, and the NIMBY Circus. At the new NIMBY we are working to create a 30,000 square foot event/ gallery space with permanent installations of Michael Christian’s IT, The Steam Punk Tree House, Colossus and the Big Rig Jig.

The City of Oakland has rolled out the red carpet to help. Trucking, architectural drawings, contractors, and materials are all lined-up to move in and build-out the new space. We also have 5 years of heart, gumption and making it work behind us – but we need your support of a donation.

Be a part of keeping NIMBY alive – DONATE.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

PayPal: NIMBYLLC@yahoo.com
website: nimbyspace.org
Contact Rachael at rachael@nimbyspace.org for info on tax-deductible or in-kind donations.

WHY DONATE?

NIMBY has served the community as Bay Areas largest DIY/ Industrial Art Space. Most Bay Area artists who create large-scale work depend on NIMBY for support.

Created at NIMBY:

Colossus - http://zacharycoffin.com/colossus/
Steam Punk Tree House - http://www.steamtreehouse.com/
Kinetic Steam Works - http://www.kineticsteamworks.org/
Dance Dance Immolation - http://www.interpretivearson.com/projects/ddi/
Cleavage in Space - http://images.burningman.com/index.cgi?image=12425
Swimming Cities of Switchback Sea - http://www.switchbacksea.org/

And the current home of:

Flaming Lotus Girls Serpent Mother - http://www.flaminglotus.com/serpent_mother/Serpent_image_gallery/
Michael Christians IT - http://www.michaelchristian.com/

Check out more of our photos:
http://www.nimbyspace.org/?page_id=46

And artists:
http://www.nimbyspace.org/?page_id=32NIMBY

For a more poetic account of the role NIMBY plays in the Bay Area arts community, here is a comment from noted showman (and former Mayoral Candidate) “Chicken” John Rinaldi:

The space that I use from time to time to build got closed. From [their email] you would think boy scouts ran the place or something. Well let me tell you that NIMBY has always been dirty rotten. Dangerous. Stupid. Filthy. Drunk. Stacked. Sharp edges. Broken truck. Shit everywhere. Flat tire. Tweeker going through the dumpster. Dog bite. Cute girl fucking nuts. Weighs too much. Mountain of bullshit. Can’t find a tape measure. Young  dudes sunglasses at night. Toilet from hell. Motorcycle. Cheap rent. Don’t block the fucking driveway. On fire. Closed down.

Wow.

It’s an art space run by a catastrophe, God bless it. We need things like this. We need things like this more than we need a sushi lunch. NIMBY and places like it are part of the infrastructure of our city of Art and Innovation. Without it and other places like it, possibility gives way to consumer culture. The very reason we have the ability to manufacture the culture that we do (and we do), is that people have stepped up and made dirty rotten art spaces.

Give NIMBY $43 today. There are thousands of people on this list. Give NIMBY some money, then go there and make a fucking mess someday. Park in the driveway. Step in dogshit. Or make some art. Help a project. Do a thing. Invest. Win. Gloat.

Or do nothing and complain that our city used to be cooler.

Our city is going to get better because of people who believe, invest and activate. Economic downturn my entire ass. Gavin will cut the budget for arts first to make up for all the cushy do-nothing jobs that he gives people who help him politically… so the “underground” is going to be where all the art is in the next 3 years. Our next mayor will run on an art platform and on and on… but for now, the arts are going to need some energy. And it’s NOT going to come from the DeYoung fuckers who control the SF Art Commission. It’s going to come from me and it’s going to come from you. And it’s going to come now or the window is going to close and we are going to lose more artists and more innovators and we are going to wonder what the fuck we are still doing here.

Get involved. Please be generous with your time or resources with places like NIMBY and other spaces and support cool happenings and people. And they will be supporting you.

Think of it as a bailout, if you’d like… just wind it up, and watch it go.

Also worth reading is Cecily Burt’s recent article for the Oakland Tribune, entitled “Fire arts devotees getting bigger Oakland warehouse“.

More Coverage:

- Inside Bay Area

- Make

See Previously: Save NIMBY! Help The DIY Art Space Relocate After Their Fire

image via Nimbyspace
photo by Scott Beale
photo by Jake Appelbaum
photo by Eddie Codel

This is a blog post from Laughing Squid, subscribe via RSS, Twitter, Facebook & FriendFeed.

The amazing Flamethrower Shooting Gallery, created by Matisse and Roxie for this year’s Burning Man 2008, recently debuted at The Crucible’s Fire Arts Festival in Oakland. It was fabricated by The Art Police, with support from the Mind Shaft Society.

Modeled after “County Fair” style shooting galleries the Flamethrower Shooting Gallery provides a new twist on a long-standing American tradition and pokes gentle fun at the American fascination with firearms and personal power, along with the Burning Man fascination with fire and “radical self expression” by allowing and encouraging participants to literaly play with fire and shoot things.

Here are some photos by Scott Ashkenaz and videos by Dr. Really? from the Fire Arts Festival, along with Dr. Really?’s gallery of photos documenting its fabrication.

Thanks to Are We Really? for the tip!

photo by Scott Ashkenaz

This is a blog post from Laughing Squid, subscribe via RSS, Twitter, Facebook & FriendFeed.

The Crucible is having their second annual Benefit Fire Ballet featuring Igor Stravinsky’s “Firebird: L’oiseau de feu”, designed and directed by Michael Sturtz. Performances take place April 9-12 and 16-19, with a special Firebird Gala on Friday, April 18th and advance tickets are now on sale.

This April, The Crucible will once again set the dance scene ablaze with our second benefit Fire Ballet, a funky and fiery reinterpretation of the Russian classic, Igor Stravinsky’s Firebird. A theatrical spectacle fusing ballet, break dancing, classical music, acrobatics and aerial performance with fire and industrial arts, this is truly ballet for today’s audiences. Conceived and directed by Michael Sturtz nearly one hundred years after the ballet debuted in Paris in 1910, Firebird will be performed in The Crucible’s 56,000 square-foot studio, with forges roaring and sparks flying. Like the Crucible’s previous Fire Operas and Fire Ballet, this production brings together an unlikely collection of performing and visual artists, costumers, and metal fabricators working together to create an unprecedented stage show.

This is a blog post from Laughing Squid, subscribe via RSS, Twitter, Facebook & FriendFeed.

photo by Scott Beale

Here are some photos I shot of the always amazing F-Space as they played at A Mighty Ruckus at Islais Creek last Saturday.

This is a blog post from Laughing Squid, subscribe via RSS, Twitter, Facebook & FriendFeed.

photo by Scott Beale

Xeni Jardin’s NPR report on the recent SRL show in Los Angeles is featured on today’s edition of “Day to Day”. Xeni has an excellent recap of the show on her Boing Boing post that features several of my photos, some of which are on the NPR website as well.

This is a blog post from Laughing Squid, subscribe via RSS, Twitter, Facebook & FriendFeed.