INDIEblush September- October

Sept-Oct 2015

The Virgin Burns Musings of a First-time Burner

Broken Revolt Artist Pushes Boundaries By: Cliff Weimer

Back to School!

Adrielyn Christi:

“Giving Independents Independence since 2011” Support INDIE- Donate today

www.CapitolINDIEcollective.org

Inside INDIEblush Sept-Oct:

22

Cover Stories: The Virgin Burns By: Christina Marie

12

Broken Revolt...

By: Cliff Weimer

34

6 Thank you for your readership!

All stories and reprints used with permission.

All rights reserved.

Please direct any questions or comments to our website.

Editor-in-Chief/Founder: Christina Marie Staff photography: Quroscuro and CMYK Photography

PUNK KOUTURE An Editorial With Bob Kozma

Back 2 School!

By: Adrielyn Christi

About Our Contributors for this issue: Christina Marie, Founder, Editor-in-Chief:

Christina Marie is a Writer, Producer, Director, and Actress with over 30 years experience in the entertainment business. She obtained her Theater Arts degree from CSU Sacramento with a Minor in Music. After working on the stage for several professional theaters, she converted to film. She is driven by the INDEPENDENT spirit in film, fashion, wine & food, and the outdoors. When not working, Christina enjoys camping, crafting, regional wine tours, day spas, and spending time with her extended family.

Adrielyn Christi, Fashion Editor:

Adrielyn is an obsessed fashion, beauty and music lover. To her, fashion is art, expressed through each designer’s creation. She loves everything about the industry from the clothing to the shoes to the accessories -which is why she loves writing about it. She’s experienced some physical and emotional pain from a car accident several years ago, but has found that writing is now her therapy. This journey helps her meet the most amazing people in the publishing, blogging and photography world. Because of them, she has the opportunity to share her thoughts and experience a whole new different side of life.

Cliff Weimer, Film Historian

Clifford Weimer is a Sacramento-based writer and film historian; his website, inthebalcony. com, is celebrating its tenth year, and he also writes a regular column for ClassicFlix.com.

He’s contributed bios, documentaries, and other material for numerous DVD releases for various companies, including VCI Entertainment, AC Comics, and others. Some of his work can be found on such DVDs as The Green Hornet, The Phantom Empire, and Buck Rogers.

Arlene Barshinger, Media Outreach

Arlene Barshinger is a model, film producer, actress, and photographer. She is half German and half Korean, having been born in Fort Belvoir, VA. She’s been involved in such projects as Fruitvale Station, HBO’s Looking, HP commercials, and worked as an American Express Print Model. She also currently models for INDIEblush Magazine and Hopelessly Romantic.

April Potter, Sales and Marketing

April Pirl Potter has been involved in the Fashion, Arts & Entertainment industry for over 15 years working in film, television, music and fashion in various capacities. She is an Actress, MC, Stylist, Producer, Director, Writer, Videographer, Talent Booker and Promoter of the arts. She is fiercely dedicated to inspiring and connecting to others using media and entertainment as her medium, sharing it through Megatude Media. If she’s not on a production of sorts, April can be found playing out in nature with her two dogs Johnny Cash and Pirl.

Chris Kisela, Contributing Photographer (Owner of CMYK Photography.)

From my beginnings of shooting classic car shows to now, not much has changed. I still have a deep love for photography. When I’m not shooting, you can usually find me outdoors. I enjoy the thrills in life from scuba diving to going on bike rides. In my down time I can cozy up with a good book and a great cup of coffee and spend the day inside. I consider myself very lucky to be surrounded by such amazing people, my friends and family are truly a blessing. Often times while working, I get to collaborate with my talented partner and dance teacher, Christina Day. Some of my favorite moments to photograph are the small ones, the ones that are often times missed while the larger things are going on. I think these are the ones that are unquestionably the most beautiful and extraordinary. My goal as a photographer is to capture your unique moment.

From the Editor:

Thank you for reading our magazine! This Bi-month, we go “Back to School”. The Sacramento-Sierra Region becomes a university of exploration. While it is a short issue this bi-month, it is deeply personal. This is our tenth issue created over the last 18 months. The perseverance, patience, and dedication it takes to make a magazine is tremendous. I am also on a developmental journey this issue as I attend Burning Man for the first time. Think I’ll fit in??

I am so very grateful to my ENTIRE team for their contributions and support. Our readers are our “Masters” and we always “aim to please”. If there is something you would like to see more (or less) of, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I hope you enjoy!

Do you know of an INDIE who could use coverage? Our mission is to highlight the INDIE films, fashions, wine producers, and more in the Northern CA region and internationally. We have a passion to tell the untold small story and introduce the undiscovered product or talent.

Photog: Kyrie Malik Moore MUAH: Jennifer Williams

Please contact us with your story! We also take photo submissions through our site. You may be highlighted on our blog, social media, or in the magazine itself.

Thanks again!

~Christina Marie

Kimberly Lucero, Proofing:

Kimberly likes reading, writing, and long walks on the beach. She enjoys candle lit dinners, piña colada’s, and getting caught in the rain. Art, music, and theatre are top of the list, but she also enjoys cooking, painting, and sensual massages. Snuggling by the fire under a warm blanket and watching old love movies (while proof-reading, of course), Kimberly is a true romantic! The fact that she is “Librarian Hot” is a side effect of proofing INDIEblush.

Do YOU have what it takes to make us INDIEblush?

Send us a sample of your writing, photography, video, or join the sales team! INDIEblush aims to be a competitive magazine in the INDIE market. We need writers who are PASSIONATE about writing and all that is INDIE; photographers who have a unique eye with a knowledge of commercial production; and videographers who get 1 minute journalism. Is that you? email us at indieblush@gmail.com.

B

k c a

I remember when I was in school, summer vacation always seemed to go by so fast and the first day of school was always the day after Labor Day. So what’s up with the first day of back to school being in the dead of summer? Granted I grew up in San Francisco and we never knew how the weather was going to be one day to the next, but one thing we did know for sure; the day after Labor Day was always the first day back to school after a long summer break. Here in the central valley, the school districts are moving the first day of back to school up further and further. But even though the times are changing, back to school items aren’t. I’ve done a little shopping to help ease the back to school stress for every age. ~Adrielyn Christi

2 *Items can be found at Mirror Mirror Boutique in Cameron Park, Ca www.mirrormirrorone.com

School!

Blue Denim Jumpsuit and shoes: zara.com Image Credit: Zara Official Instagram

Wildfox Couture “Hot Dog” Sweatshirt Joes Jeans Denim Short Converse High Tops www.nordstrom.com Image Credit: Nordstrom Instagram

www.shopbuttonup.com Casual Friday “Chic Happens” Tee Joe’s Jeans Denim Shorts Cleobellafashion Crossbody Button Up Palladio Folsom Image Credit: Shop Button Up Instagram

Converse Chuck Taylor All Star II Find at Nordstrom Roseville Women’s Shoes or www.nordstrom.com Image Credit: Nordstrom Roseville Instagram

Sam Edelman Glitter Flats Sheandlo Bag www.nordstrom.com Image Credit: Nordstrom Instagram

Leopard Girls: Find at Nordstrom Roseville Children’s Dept or www.nordstrom.com Image Credit: Nordstrom Roseville Instagram

#DYSPHORIA

A CMmedia/Quroscuro Collaboration

Winter Exhibitions: See #DYSPHORIA up close and personal!

Help us get to the GLOBAL STAGE at Burning Man: www.CapitolINDIEcollective.org www.dysphoriaproject.org www.quroscuro.com

Both Pages: Photography: James Flint James@5280hightech.com

Broken Revolt’s Artist Pushes Boundaries

By Clifford Weimer Cassandra Lourie is a young artist from California typical of the restless souls of her generation: a burning desire to create art, to travel, and to express herself and her personality. She’ would have settled in Denver, but it was a trip to Burning Man a few years ago that inspired her, she says, with its free spirit and “get after your dream” attitude. The result is Broken Revolt, a unique collection of Cassie-created art that’s a little bit steam-punk, a little bit hip hop, a little bit bad-ass, and a whole lot of fun.

Throwing herself into her art, Cassandra had one rule: be passionate about what she was creating and make certain every piece reflected that passion. Beginning with a line of feather-based ear art, her work began attracting a great deal of interest, and not just locally: within a year, for example, her jewelry was being carried in campus stores at all six locations of the University of Oregon.

Art is frequently designed to be admired but not worn, and her melding of aesthetics and style attracted

Both Pages: Photography: James Flint James@5280hightech.com

RAW, an organization dedicated to the promotion of underground artists. In 2012, she was awarded their coveted Accessory Artist of the Year award, and the promotion and attention not only fueled her success but also her passion to keep pushing the envelope and heading places jewelry hadn’t gone before.

Asked to describe Broken Revolt today, Cassie said, “It’s evolved into a brand that’s involved in the community by upcycling pieces into work that strives to be both bold and elegant.” Hand-forged copper and brass bracelets made from reclaimed pipe, glass vials filled with oddities and curiosities, and “statement” jewelry that reflects the

Both Pages: Photography: James Flint James@5280hightech.com wearer’s personality have become favorites across the western states and is reaching into foreign markets; popular Canadian band Walk Off the Earth loves Cassie’s jewelry and has made it part of their ensemble.

“Bringing new life and honor to things that would ordinarily be discarded and thrown away,” Cassie adds, “not only helps the environment, but reflects my own belief that people, too, can re-purpose themselves as something beautiful from something others considered used up.”

(more next page)

“It’s my vision that people who wear my jewelry never settle for the status quo; wear it to push the boundaries, expand the definition of fashion, and most importantly, to expand the definition of YOU.” Cassie’s art can be ordered online at

Photography: James Flint James@5280hightech.com

www.brokenrevoltjewerly.com. instagram: broken revolt jewelry twitter: broken revolt

A state of unease

This is the CONTROVERSIAL IMAGE

that started it all.

Craig Fouts, celebrated photographer and master editor, made a bold decision in posing nude in order to empathize more with the subjects he shoots.

The story begins when he posted this image on Facebook, baring his soul to his “Friends�. The un-edited excerpt on the next page contains just a few statements made.

dys·pho·ri·a

Psychiatry noun: dysphoria a state of unease or generalized dissatisfaction with life.

Who has Dysphoria?

Every day we are marketed and advertised to in a fashion that makes us feel lesser about ourselves so that we will buy a product. These products include (but are not limited to)clothing, cosmetics, dietary supplements, prescription drugs, surgery, food, and beverages.

Brands depend on us having a “problem”, so that they can sell us a “solution”.

Quroscuro, CMmedia, and the community partners feel that we are happy just the way we are.

We celebrate our bodies. We defy myths. We stand up for change.

The participants in #DYSPHORIA are Euphoric.

We are ecstatic to have a platform for education on the 3 main genetic body types. We aim to spread awareness on Body Dysphoria and hope to cut off peer pressure and bullying tactics before any more people obtain Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD).

BDD sufferers are 49% Male and 51% Female. This affects us all.

Alex: Artist to artist. You need to drink more beer and eat!

David: THAT IS SICK AND NOT RIGHT. The idiot who posted this is obviously fucked up in the head. I’d rather CHUNKY DUNK any time than go skeleton shagging give me something I know I am cuddling Paula Belfon xxxx David: Nina yes you are right you don’t know me so don’t judge me. Like I haven’t judged you thank you. “FREE SPEECH” and all that fajizzle Ellen: I know everyone is entitled to their own opinions but that was harsh and unnecessary.

David: All I’m saying is that skinny female models get slagged off for portraying themselves like that so why is it acceptable for male models to do it?

Darren: David, for a man who immediately called my Business Partner “sick and not right” & name called him for posting this image, you’ve got a lot of nerve claiming we can’t respond to your ignorant commentary. Just as you have the “freedom of speech” Son, so do we...it’s a two way freeway. When people utter stupid sh!t like “you don’t know me, so don’t judge me” it is indicative of one of 3 things: 1. You have no valid argument 2 you are too lazy to argue further or 3 you know you are wrong. Funny how you judged the fuck out of Craig, yet you pull that super- hypocritical statement. As far as Neener is concerned, she is waking up on her beachside estate in Hawaii with a big fat grin on her face, lovin her life. I have a similar taste in women that you do David, I love curves on the female I am with....but I don’t rip those with other tastes.

David: I’m not hiding from the fact what my point is that there is to much of this wafer thin models showing on tv it gives the wrong impression Darren: True, yet Humans aren’t robots, self esteem is a great thing for individuals to have. Most people realize that not all people have the same taste and become happy with the package they’ve got. Craig eats 3 to 5 meals a day. His Dad didn’t “fill out” til age 40, it’s genetic. His metabolism is off the charts. I’m not a fan of waifs (Kate Moss, etc) I am more of a “baby got back, Sir Mix Alot video” variety. Peace.

Noah: Craig Fouts bro you need to eat more habit burger, carls jr, dickys BBQ, etc,etc...you look like an extra on a “Tool” video! Lol Christina Marie: Read through thread again (because it got me going) for those of you judging Craig Fouts, I have this for you: If you think skinny = bad or negative, STOP FUCKING BUYING IT. Turn off your TV, don’t buy the magazines, don’t buy ANY product that uses skinny images to market the product. PERIOD. Then write a letter to the Magazine/Advertiser and simply state I do not and will not purchase anything marketed this way. You can make a difference that way. BUT DON’T rest back on your laurels and judge individuals for simply having a different body type. It’s called being an Ectomorph. GET OVER IT

The Virgin Burns!!

PART 1:

Let the Frenzy Begin:

A Virgin Bound for Burning Man

Feb 18, 11:59:57 A.M.

First Blush: Last year, I finally worked up enough nerve to try and create an Art camp at Burning Man. Being a “Type A” personality, I thought I could prepare a $50k budget through grants and whip the troops into motion. Easy right?

Surely, Burning Man would want a photo exhibition set in a “Circus of Mirrors” that was an interactive, self-reflection experience like none other they have seen. Then the rejection letter came. “Your grant proposal was excellently prepared, buuut......” (not an actual quote, just a summation).

Defeated, I decided (at the pleading of several “Burner” friends) that I must experience Burning Man first hand before I set out to create such a beast as an “ART CAMP.” A close friend even went so far as to say, “Don’t try to work at Disneyland before you visit it for the first time! It will ruin the Disneyland experience and you can never get that back” (again paraphrased).

So like the “Type A” that I am, I set out to be the BEST FREAKIN BURNING MAN VIRGIN I could be. The journey started in November of 2014 and now I am at the precipice looking over the edge with a gleam in my eye.

The Beginning of the End: In November of last year, I was UNSTOPPABLE in my own mind. My proposal was in, I had designed a costume line with the theme of “Burning Man Couture”, and I had already begun making lists of how to prepare and pack.

Jan 2: “On behalf of Burning Man Arts we would like to thank you for submitting a letter... We had an overwhelming response, with 510 Letters of Intent submitted. It was very challenging but we decided not to invite you to submit a full art grant application. We appreciate all the thought, creativity and passion that went into your concept, but with our guidelines and with our budget we believe your application would not receive a grant. We still invite you to bring art to Black Rock City. It’s the art that defines not only our event but our community, and it’s concepts like yours that help make Burning Man the best art experience in the world.. -Elizabeth Scarborough (Aka BettieJune)”

...and 3, 2, 1 ORDER BUTTON SLAMMED!!!! Using my cunning Internet ordering skills and my ninja fast fingers I am surely to be first in line to....what the ..??? Ok- I am 15th in line-damn the global sales community! As I coordinate with Veteran Burners to see who else has made it in the queue, I discover some have not been granted a place in line at all and one person is 50th in line. Then the “updates” start. NEVER LISTEN TO THE ROBOTS!!! Whether you are 5th in line or 100th in line, the “line” fluctuates.

The “estimated” wait times are to be ignored. Take the day off work to do this. My 10 minute wait turned into over an hour. I have heard tell of waiting for several hours under the guise of, “Estimated wait time 5 minutes”.

Disappointed, I had to go to work. I gave up my awesome place in line, but rested assured that my friend would grab my ticket and vehicle pass.

Feb 18 5:00 P.M. “I have good news and bad news”, he says. (SUPER.) I brace for impact. “You are now a BURNING MAN VIRGIN....on foot.” We were able to order our tickets, but he couldn’t get vehicle passes. My mind short circuits. How can Burning Man NOT sell Vehicle Passes at the same time as the tickets?? “There seemed to be a computer glitch”, was the answer I got. And what a glitch it was! Several people were left Vehicle Pass-less. But NOT TO WORRY! Where there is a will there is a way. I was assured by several people that I could try again later for the passes and/ or buy them from a theme camp....If I knew a guy, who knows a guy....

Feb 18 5:15 P.M. I purge my plan to DRIVE in to Burning Man and downsize to a backpack... and 15 gallons of water. SH!T. Even the most NOVICE of backpackers knows that is seriously not going to go over well. At 8.34 pounds per gallon, that’s 125.1 pounds. I think the MOST weight I have ever packed across the high desert was 75 pounds and I was getting water from creeks seasoned with purification tablets. NO BUENO. Feb 18 8:00 P.M. I start reaching out to camps to see who wants video production.

Jan 3:

FAST FORWARD TO JUNE:

I am so depressed. I call a few friends, regroup and develop a new strategy: Attend the Burning Man Event as a “Participant” the first year, then I will develop a plan and come back in 2016 wiser and stronger.

After several Blog reads & site stalks, studies of folklore & videos, and ENDLESS Pinterest pinning I lay in wait for the “green light”. After the many weeks of research and trying not to “stand out” as a BM Virgin (don’t take that out of context), I have now found myself in a strange place. It

Art car at Burning Man. Photo courtesy of Xpedition.TV starts and stops with the “10 Principles of Burning Man”.

The principles seem well constructed, but the closer I get, the more confused I have become with the people who claim to be inspired and live by these best practices.

Excerpts from The Burning Man Site (www.BurningMan. org) in Blue: Burning Man co-founder Larry Harvey wrote the Ten Principles in 2004 as guidelines for the newly-formed Regional Network. They were crafted not as a dictate of how people should be and act, but as a reflection of the community’s ethos and culture as it had organically developed since the event’s inception.

Radical Inclusion Anyone may be a part of Burning Man. We welcome and respect the stranger. No prerequisites exist for participation in our community.

While my immediate circle of Burners seem to adhere to this principle, there is an overarching sense of, “Those who have Burned before you are better at Burning than you,” in almost all of the blogs and conversations. Then there are those who write blogs to convince new comers to stay away by highlighting the TERRIBLE heat and lack of water/services. I completely understand those wishing to mentor or advise the Virgin in the room-and greatly

appreciate all of the useful and conscientious tips, but the haughty phrases like, “You have no idea what you are up against” are really becoming old. I don’t blame the Burner so much, as the principle. There IS a prerequisite to get into the community. You must have tickets and you must have water. If you don’t have one or the other, they don’t let you in.

Gifting Burning Man is devoted to acts of gift giving. The value of a gift is unconditional. Gifting does not contemplate a return or an exchange for something of equal value.

This sounded super rad at first, but I am still undecided on what to think of this. I have scoured the net looking for what a “gift” may entail and just how MUCH gifting I am expected to do. The forums suggest anything from hugs to bottles of water, to batteries, to crystals, beanies, scarves, songs, and pieces of artwork. One person has even put a template online to print your own money.

“...for the past few years I’ve been designing “money” for the playa. $1,000,000.00 dollar bills that say ‘Gift to the bearer a MUTUALLY SATISFYING experience worth a million bucks.’ If you want, download the file and print them out on matte photo paper for best results. NO they don’t turn into MOOP [the Burning Man word for small bits of trash-or Matter Out Of Place]. My experience has been that folks treasure the gift and protect it as one of their mementos of BM. http://www.digitalartist.com/art/

burningman/money.html “.

This last one seems counter-intuitive to me. Especially after the many explanations online that they are an unconditional GIFTING economy that is serious about “Decommodification”-which brings us to the next one...

Decommodification In order to preserve the spirit of gifting, our community seeks to create social environments that are unmediated by commercial sponsorships, transactions, or advertising.

We stand ready to protect our culture from such exploitation. We resist the substitution of consumption for participatory experience.

So far I have seen many examples of advertising and branding “outside” of the Burn. When I went to a promotional product manufacturer for The #DYSPHORIA Project, he asked me if I was going to Burning Man this year. I said, “Yes, why do you ask?”

He then showed me his “Burner stuff”. It was a collection of imprint-able condoms, bandannas, booty shorts, shot glasses, glow sticks, sunscreen packets, and more. I was flabbergasted. “You mean businesses put their logo on this stuff and gift it at Burning Man??” He rolled his eyes at me told me it’s one of the biggest times of year for him.

My Burner mentors swear they don’t see a lot of branding and insist event cars aren’t allowed unless they are dramatically altered into “Art Cars”. So, again, I will reserve my opinion until after the Burn.

Radical Self-reliance Burning Man encourages the individual to discover, exercise and rely on his or her inner resources.

This is my favorite principle, but also the most misunderstood- or mis-exercised one from my “Virgin viewpoint”.

For months now I have been told HOW I must participate

by SEVERAL Burners... and not in a folksy “Oh! You should try the cheese” kind of way. When I suggested a tent trailer or RV, I was scolded. When I divulged that I was working on air conditioner design made from a Home Depot Bucket, I was chastised. When I asked others what they were wearing for Tutu Tuesday, I received dirty looks.

If Virgins are encouraged to “discover”, why is Internet

research or preparing for my own comfort so insulting? I have GREAT resources being a veteran camper/backpacker.

I want to GIVE a good experience back to my camp-mates and NOT be a burden. Are they upset because they would rather see me struggle? Maybe they are upset because they want me to have the same “near-religious”, “life altering” “TRANSFORMATIONAL” experience they had (after chasing a shade structure across the Playa, half-naked, dehydrated, malnourished, and blitzed out of their mind).

Or maybe they are not upset at all- they just don’t want me to be an over-prepared BM Virgin striving to “get it right” the first time. Only time will tell, but I am NOT sleeping directly on the Playa floor- I WILL have an air mattress. And my idea of a camp meal does NOT consist of scoops of organic peanut butter laced with THC and a Bud Light. I will let you know what they mean by “inner resources” when I truly figure that out.

Radical Self-expression Radical self-expression arises from the unique gifts of the individual. No one other than the individual or a collaborating group can determine its content. It is offered as a gift to others. In this spirit, the giver should respect the rights and liberties of the recipient.

This one makes me giggle due to the last line. I wonder if there was a bad apple one year who tried to gift sex. I am also vexed by this one as I want my gift to be unique, creative, and thoughtful....not a condom with my logo and phone number on it. I am also running out of time... So far I have come up with Playa dance lessons, face painting, and... (cough) sunscreen application (let the nearly burned sexxxy bodies come my way!). OK, one can dream a little, yes? If that doesn’t work out, I have purchased 500 glow accessories for gifting as well.

Communal Effort Our community values creative cooperation and collaboration. We strive to produce, promote and protect social networks, public spaces, works of art, and methods of communication that support such interaction.

This is what attracted me to Burning Man in the first place.

I miss the sense of community and collaboration the default world used to have for me. I love the shared, “rightsfree” photos, videos, designs, plans, and advice that is gifted to the world via the Internet. I love discovering how

an English engineer modified designs by another Burner for an amazing shade structure, and so on. I am all about the gathering of minds to improve all of our lives. So far, my Burner Mentors have been mixed on exercising this one too, though. I don’t know if it’s just because they are really busy in their own preparations, or if they are just not interested in the “geek-speak”, but when chatting design features or the best wet-nap design, I am often referred to the Internet. So far the best sharing of information or design modification has been the promise to send photos of square bucket air cooler with louvers (still waiting).

Civic Responsibility We value civil society. Community members who organize events should assume responsibility for public welfare and endeavor to communicate civic responsibilities to participants. They must also assume responsibility for conducting events in accordance with local, state and federal laws.

Well that’s good. We’ll see how well executed that is at the Burn. From what I have seen so far, the majority of the camps succeed at this.

To Play the videos for the campaign, click here!

Leaving No Trace Our community respects the environment. We are committed to leaving no physical trace of our activities wherever we gather. We clean up after ourselves and endeavor, whenever possible, to leave such places in a better state than when we found them.

OK...sigh...here is where I have to go a bit dark here. Being a child of the 70’s and an AVID camper, I deeply know what this means. I grew up with the “Woodsy Owl- Give a HootDon’t Pollute” campaign. Hell, I could have starred in it as one of the overzealous kids picking up trash and throwing it into a receptacle. I have read blog, after blog, after blog about no feather boas, how to deal with cigarette butts and the absolute abhorrence of MOOP (Matter Out Of Place), yet as I Pinterest away for costumes, I see sequins, feathers, and other items that have potential for litter.

I’ve also heard Burners actually say they dump their Grey water at night when nobody is looking because evaporation pools take too long and neighbors are jerks a night because they abuse your evaporation pool to avoid a mess

Photo of “Crying Indian” courtesy of www.Adcouncil.org in their camp. There is also this concept of the “Trash Tent”, where you put all of your waste in a TENT, and throw away the WHOLE TENT in Gerlach or Reno, Nevada.

Can you see the “Crying Indian” commercial from 1977 running through your mind? I understand the High Desert is really rough to spend a week on, but you don’t need to spend a week filling up a WHOLE TENT full of trash. There are MANY simple things one can do to minimize waste. I wish burning Man would put out a SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES Principle. I have attended a couple of “pre-burn” type events already and I must say the two most polluting items were cigarette butts and half-empty plastic water bottles.

I am not condemning smokers and water drinkers. I just urge those of you who call yourselves Burners to dispose of your refuse where ever you are. The idea is take what you learn at Burning Man and make the world a better place....right? These rules were made for the “Regional Network”- all the events that happen in and around Burning Man globally, so maybe they should be globally exercised.

Participation Our community is committed to a radically participatory ethic. We believe that transformative change, whether in the individual or in society, can occur only through the medium of deeply personal participation. We achieve being through doing. Everyone is invited to work. Everyone is invited to play. We make the world real through actions that open the heart.

I love this. Sincerely. This must have been one of the favorite Principles for the team to write. I see this in MANY

BURNERS. This is good. I cannot wait to see if it is the same in practicum.

Immediacy Immediate experience is, in many ways, the most important touchstone of value in our culture. We seek to overcome barriers that stand between us and a recognition of our inner selves, the reality of those around us, participation in society, and contact with a natural world exceeding human powers. No idea can substitute for this experience.

I’m really trying to figure this one out: “...barriers that

stand between us and a recognition of our inner selves, the reality of those around us, participation in society, and contact with a natural world exceeding human powers.” I really hope

I don’t disappoint anyone when I say that. I think the biggest issue I have, is that those around me in the default world seem to insist I accept their “reality” so I participate “legitimately” in their “society”. Fuck Society, I’m going to Burning Man (the Virgin utters demurely)!

My Personal Pre-Burn- JULY: I thought I could wait for Burning Man, but like any over-excited Virgin, I can’t hold it in. I hit the eject button and head for the mountains and forest of Tahoe. No electricity (without a generator), no cell phone service, and no laptop staring me back in the face feels GOOD. This is an environment where if you “leave a trace”, a California black bear reminds you by rifling through your living quarters.

My “backyard” view each evening in Tahoe. Photo by Christina Marie I spend a couple of weeks maintaining trails, hauling rocks, and clearing dead brush between mountain bike rides and yoga. The days are punctuated with excellent camp meals, seeing old friends, and getting in “quality time” with my parents.

I dread the day I have to go back. Why can’t “Mountain Time” translate to Sacramento?

In examining that emotion I find that I just want to be needed... useful; an important cog in the machine of Sacramento-based life. Yet, in that same metaphor I don’t see myself as a cog that fits at all. Perhaps I am a metric part in a Western world where I simply cannot translate from millimeters to inches. I begin to fantasize about a Canadian work visa, as they are on the metric system... and stole California’s Film Industry.

My mind drifts to Burning Man almost daily. Is it a Mecca for Artists? A Bacchanal for Acid Lovers? An Orgy with a girl named Molly? Will I sit with a Shaman in a sweat lodge and discover my animal spirit; ensuring I come back to society with such a self-awareness that I rock the whole planet? I fear it is none of these things and all of these

things at the same time.

Am I falling into that Virginal trap of building up the experience too much in my mind? “Perhaps,” my jaded consciousness responds, “Who knows, maybe you will become ‘ENLIGHTENED’ in the Buddhist sense of the word.”

I continue to spread Decomposed Granite around the work site in the mountains with a grading rake. My work boots are already wearing thin and my shoulders have acquired a new bronzing.

August 2015- 25 Days to Departure I’ve been notified that I have an early entry pass and vehicle pass. I will be obtaining footage at the Burn and have a filming pass to be on the inner ring when they burn “THE MAN”. The stress is mounting. I have my packing list, my shopping list, and my “to do” list. I am driving to the store.

“Please don’t fuck up,” my inner voice says.

I find myself curious as to why I would say that to myself.

I merge lanes... the odd cars merge with the even cars...a sea of beige and silver...nobody has dared to purchase red

Photo Courtesy of www.TBO.com in this herd moving along the I-5. Then it comes flooding in:

“I said, ‘they should be calling us Freshmen’.... not Virgins... at Burning Man. It’s a beginning- not an end.”

A Virgin loses virginity. It is an end to an era. I am fearing the END. The Virginal thinking confirms this, “What if I don’t perform well?” Images of ruined sheets hanging from balconies in Italy confirming a marriage has been consummated with a Virgin flood my imagination. “I hope I am not an embarrassment,” the demure Virgin says.

“Oh.” Tween says, then returns to watching the cars go by.

It’s not the first time Tween has heard Mommy say something random.

FUCK THAT.

But what a difference a word makes! Freshmen are welcomed to a University. Universities spend great time, care and money to find the best candidates to participate in what they have to offer. Freshmen prepare as best they can; taking advice (and hazing) from loved ones and counselors-preparing for months for the journey ahead. Both the student and the teachers have expectations of what is to come. There is a hope of returning for many years to achieve something great TOGETHER.

That is NOT how I am going to Burn. I grip the steering wheel.

That is the way I am going to Burn. That is the way it all makes sense.

A new image pops into my head. “They should be calling us Freshmen.” I say aloud.

I begin to see my fellow Burners as various STUDENTS achieving different goals; all from different graduating classes working towards a degree in themselves. Some of the students attending for years without taking certain

I envision an Tarantino-esque scene of my Burner Mentors making an Aztecan sacrifice of multiple Burning Man Virgins to the giant flaming man; laughing maniacally and dance-drunk on EDM.

“What’s that, Mommy?” I glance into the rear view mirror.

My “tween” sits attentively in the back seat.

modules or classes... but they have an opportunity to take them this year if they wish. Now the behavior of my mentors begins to seem appropriate.....

BM 101: Radical Inclusion-No prerequisites (A graduation pre-req) BM 102: Gifting- value of a gift is unconditional. (May be taken repeatedly for unlimited credits) BM 103: Decommodification- resist the substitution of consumption for participatory experience.

BM 104: Radical Self-reliance- discover, exercise and rely on his or her inner resources. (You may retest annually) BM 105: Radical Self-expression- arises from the unique gifts of the individual. (Extra credit available) BM 106: Communal Effort- values creative cooperation and collaboration.

BM 107: Civic Responsibility- assume responsibility for public welfare BM 108: Leaving No Trace- leave such places in a better state than when we found them.

(See alternate class: SUSTAINABILITY) BM 109: Participation- We achieve being through doing. (Attendance MANDATORY) BM 110: Immediacy- overcome barriers that stand between us and a recognition of our inner selves.

(Pre-req for BM210: Self Renewal) I now see Burning Man as a prestigious school in the many available “Universities of Life.” Instead of fear of the unknown, I have a sense of wonder and adventure. My grip on the steering wheel relaxes. I am excited to be filled with new experiences and knowledge. I look forward to finalizing plans and leaving the default world behind. I hope that when I return I will gush like a new-grad; excited for Sophomore year.

August 22- 5 Days to Departure What a difference 20 days makes. All I have left to pack is my food. I have shared my revelations with my Burner Mentors and they agree: being a Freshman is a great way to look at it. However a new Burner friend, “Chris”, laments that there aren’t enough teachers on the Playa right now. It’s a problem I have noticed myself. The culture simply isn’t being passed on fast enough to keep up with the influx of participants. I look forward to seeing him “do his thing” as bartender at the Duck Pond (a bar camp featuring a HUGE rubber duckie and soooooooooo much more).

I am already exhausted from the preparation and the emotional stress of deeply wanting a profound experience.....and then the reports of the INFESTATION begin! It’s pretty freaky to see the reports. I begin stocking up on bug spray....ick.

Get your “University of Life” t shirt at www.threadless.com (Design Above)

Aug 23- 96 Hours and Counting And here is where I leave you.... I look forward to the “First Day of School” with my tribe. Whether am a “Virgin” or a “Freshman” it doesn’t really matter. I’m going to burn in the only way that I can: My way. I hope to wear myself out and learn new things as an adult that I only dreamed about as a child. I’ll see you all again in November for PART TWO.

Christina Marie with her “Schwing-o”

Completed “Schwing-o” ready for loading... ummm..

Maybe that goes on a bike hitch...

~CM

October Film Events:

How can we imagine the infinite possibilities of communication arts in our future? Everything - time, space, stuff, relationships - are in utter transformation. The hunger for creative, social, human stories, content, discoveries, models is insatiable! The need for digital media artists in every single career field and industry is imperative in our century.

Our first and hardest challenge is to build stable, inspiring and productive ways of keeping ourselves talking, thinking and working together. Without serious organization and creative “studio” partnership projects to test ourselves and speak in, and to, the world, we just float alone in a new school and career; chaos and uncertainty all around us.

That is the context for our annual North American call to all the youth movie school and community based origins in the US and Canada. With our annual event, we forge amazing friendships, invite the best creative works, produce our major showcase gatherings, build youth, educator and parent networks, to influence the business and governmental power structure to make a sustainable and caring world. YOUTH ARE THE SOLUTION. But, this demands really hard work and there is no familiar blueprint or map to any breakthroughs apart from our collective engagement, ingenuity, courage, dedication and fierce integrity. The most important lessons to be learned today are in looking carefully at the movie credits that tell the real story of what is on the screen. We have a historic and political future to forge on behalf of all the world’s peoples through our art form.

WE CAN DO THAT! ~Dr. William Bronston

The PCS Festival creates new product every year by facilitating a screenplay contest. The selected screenplays go on to be produced in Sacramento and all that finish post production by the deadline, screen.

Tower Roseville will bring it’s 4th Annual Festival in 2015 For more information, click above.

Founded by Allen Cole, the Film Festival in Sacramento started in 1992, based on the student run gay and lesbian film festival at Fresno State. Organizers joined forces with the students from the California State University, Sacramento Gay and Lesbian Alliance and the brothers of the Delta Lambda Phi Fraternity and received grant funds from CSUS Associated Students Inc. to use as seed money and get the Festival started.

Held on October 8, 1992, the first year was a big success, with a sold out, one evening event at the Crest Theater. We continue this tradition of presenting the Festival in early October to celebrate “National Coming Out Day.�

Each year brings growth and opportunities to show more films, give more money to beneficiaries, and support our newest program, providing completion grants to film makers.

2015

Bob Kozma Photography shoots

PUNK KOUTURE A pe ek at Exquisite Millinery All photos this Editorial: Photographer: Bob Kozma of Bob Kozma Photography Designer: Punk Kouture Coordinator: Adrielyn Christi of HerPassionForFashion.com Hair: Tony Elizondo MUA: Dee Valencia MUA: Ariel Rodriguez Model Next Page: Punk Couture

Model: Claudia Gutierrez

Model: Brandy Johnson Laird

Punk Kouture is a British Designer known for his creative Eighteenth Century meets Punk Lords, Ladies Counts, and Countesses style.

Model: Sabrina Piatt

This up and coming designer is making strides in the fashion world. See more of Punk Kouture as he takes New York Fashion Week by Storm. ~Adrielyn Christi

Model: Kenneth Steadman

Model: Chyna Smith

UPCOMING FESTIVALS

&

DEADLINES

www.sacfilm.com

Happy hour talk for both sides of the brain

Check Sac365.com for all of the ARTober events and attractions!

Interesting, engaging, informative Different topic each week Podcast for the easily bored

ConversationAccessories.com

www.TrashFilmOrgy.com