8.24.11 Adam News & Info

Yeah, had Katy Perry's Last Friday Night (TGIF) song stuck in my head, and decided to check her out a live video of her singing in concert, and yeah barely compared .

And question, is something wrong with Gaga, like known largely health-wise or something? Was watching her BBC special concert, and she was largely out of breath almost throughout the whole concert, to the point that almost all you heard was her breathing hard in the mic and was barely singing. Heard that she was using cocaine or some abusive substance a lot, but thought it was just one of those rumours.

My feeling is that since no date has been announced, by RCA, whatever date it is can not be a delay! ;D I mean, Kelly's was announced with a Spring date, April I think, then completely changed. I'd actually like to see Adam's album come out the week after Nov 8th, closer to Black Friday week.

THUD.

FUCKING THUD.

Must contain myself. Must try to compose a lucid message while I'm SQUEALING!!!! Why does this 'rumor' make me so fucking happppppy????

Well, I'll tell ya. Adam is keeping it real. And Burning Man makes you feel the real. There is no choice in this environment. It is a test of grit - in your soul and in your teeth. It's a test of commitment - - there's alot to see, and try, and escape towards and escape from, and the only judge becomes you and the stars and the playa and the burn and your conscience and what you bring and what you leave behind to fade into the smoke and dust of the Universe. I have never been so dirty; yet felt so cleansed.

If - and I know it's a big iffff - Adam comes to Burning Man - - - he will not be stalked. Doesn't happen. Because no one is a star here. Or, I guess I should put it this way - - - everyone is a star here! Everyone is fabulous, beautiful, decorated, loving, kind, sharing, and, above all, respectful of the individual self-expression occurring around them and within them, day and night.

A few 'facts' about the Playa . . . some I've written about before, so once again, scroll through my long-windedness. I don't care. The Universe awaits.

A little past Sparks, Nevada, one turns off I-80 and heads north through Gerlach and past Pyramid Lake. It's kind of a moon landscape, following a narrow two-lane road that goes on and on. Once the entrance to the Playa is reached, every vehicle is inspected to ensure life-sustaining supplies are aboard. Each year, 'virgin' burners are encouraged to do a trick or ring the gong at the entrance. Once 'in', it's another three miles of potash lakebed playa before Black Rock City. So, my friends, if 'stalkers' try to access BRC, their corpses will provide kindling for next year's burn - - - no one, no one will crash this party!

I finished my tutu last nite. It's beautiful and I'll feel like a dancer when I wear it on 'Tutu Tuesday'! Soft pink tule; tiny satin roses . . . my DH's will just fit over his kilt! Upstairs, I've laid out what I'll take to the Playa . . . my goddess costume for the Trojan Horse (I'm Epione, goddess of 'relief of pain" - DH is the 'main man' - Dionysus!!!), lots of neon pink, green and basic black; my cowboy hat with a crimson 'A' on the front; my grandmother's leather coat with fur collar (perfect for cold desert mornings), sequined pink 'shrug'; the peignoir set I wore on my wedding nite in 1969 (for the 'defrocked debutante ball' on Thursday), and three headdresses I finished and put in Ziploc bags last evening - with fingers sore from the glue gun. The rest is regular stuff - levis, shorts, leggings . . and DocMartens to keep my feet happy!

When you think of it in these terms, Burning Man is not too crowded. 51+ thousand people. Black Rock City is about a mile wide. (Not ten! Boy - did we look impressive from the sky!) The Burning Man is in the center - like the center of a clock. A large expanse of playa lies between the Man (who is 40+ feet high; on a structure that is also 40+ feet high) -visible from everywhere; the center of the sundial; and the first 'avenue' that circles the playa from 2 o'clock to 10 o'clock. First avenue is called the Esplanade. Widening avenues circle from this point; each with a name befitting the theme of the Burn, from 'A' to 'K'. I will be staying at the emergency med camp 'station 9' - our camp is at 9th and 'D' - easy to find if you know a clockface and the alphabet!

And, about the 51+ thousand people mentioned - - if you think of it this way, it really isn't such a big deal. There is expanse galore - - - for art, for dance, for 24-7 music, for games, for parties, for mutant vehicles, for aloneness, for contemplation . . .
A stadium regularly holds many more than 50,000 for a football game. At Burning Man, we accommodate that number in an area that would hold dozens of stadiums. Hundreds of camps occupy the little blocks of land, laid out so carefully; engineered by artists with cosmic minds.

Most of Black Rock City remains desert. And, in this desert, unbelievable works-of-art are displayed starkly, in Nature's most revealing and unforgiving gallery. Many magnificent pieces will burn on Friday. Dust to dust. It's part of the message of who we are; how we translate into being the same. Dust will climb on me; dust will climb on Adam and Sauli. Playa dust is the great equalizer and the storms come from nowhere and are blinding and can last for hours. And the dust is like fine flour; not sand. It is, at once, gentle and choking.

I think, really think, when I am there. I think about what I eat. The results of what I eat will need to leave the playa when the festival ends. I think about what I drink. Juice and wine and G&Ts are great; but I've learned pure H20 is the best thirst-quencher on earth. I think about what I wear. Please tell me why we have bras. What is their function? Couldn't we just do with a little wrap? And hair. Well. I think there's a reason why heads used to be so adorned - back in the days before all the stuff at the drug store. (Well - I have a feeling AFL will bring 'product' to the Playa, nevertheless!) And, in the end, at Burning Man I think about love and relationships. Without a cell phone or an internet connection, I'm left to contemplate the man who is with me. Last year, as I watched him paint the 'welcome' sign on the building at the camp behind us, I knew. I knew that the love at first sight I felt when I was sixteen was right. So, I feel this bit of 'extra' connection to Adam and Sauli. Truly, you can caress the face and walk into the night without uttering a word - and it can last. Not that it will. But there's a chance. Mine's lasted 42 years.

We'll be on our way Saturday morning. For nine days I'll be without a phone, internet, ADAMTOPIA!! I leave Adam to you all, you dear ones who I come to every day. I'll be on the Playa for anyone needing medical care; I'll be treating playa foot; dressing wounds, soothing broken hearts and minds, rehydrating and rescuscitating a few.

And there will be time to play and adore the child in myself and those around me. This year, for the first time, my 28-year-old son and his precious mate will experience the burn. Another camp. He'll see the same mom he always does. In 'real life' I embarrass him regularly! Aloha - he is the Aspergers son. He is becoming and revealing; I will be close by. Full of joy!

This adventure is, selfishly, about me, my life, what is left, what is yet to be.
Oh, I hope Adam will be there - and, if he is he will be another glowing light in this sacred place.

Actually, I don't know if I'll be calling anything sacred a week from now, when I'll be without a shower, wishing for a hard-boiled egg or an apple, or a little silence, or a foot bath. That's the wonder of Burning Man - - or, the wonder of life experiences that shape and whittle and reveal. Sometimes we aren't aware of how we're carved until the dust settles. Literally.

Only the single, possibly, if it is released by Oct. 1st. The album, and subsequent singles will be eligible the following year. It's not a bad plan. That's how Lady A's single then album was in the nominations for 2 years!

ETA: Awww, momtomany, so jealous of you! Thanks for confiming that Adam can have a truly glorious time at Burning Man!