Not Just for the Young The point is, Burning Man does something to people that is inexplicable, but inescapable.  For those of us in the so-called twilight of our lives, it has the potential to add quality if not quantity to your days on earth.  In fact, seniors probably have the most to gain from [...]

Self-Reliance and Rugged Individualism Going to Burning Man is like returning to the days when America was known for individualism, self-reliance and an antithesis to rules and regulations.  You prepare yourself as the pioneers did, packing all of your own food, water and supplies.  There are no landline services to the Playa, so power is [...]

It’s the Economy Stupid Not since Adam Smith has an economic model been turned on its head so thoroughly.  Burning Man is a “gifting” economy.  There are only two things for sale – ice and coffee (or tea if you so choose).  Otherwise, everything is free – or gifted in the parlance of Black Rock [...]

What Is Burning Man? Burning Man is a celebration of self-expression.  That makes descriptions of the Festival problematical since it leaves a unique impression on each of the 40,000 attendees (or citizens, as we were called).  For me, it first seemed mostly about the art.  But eventually it became an adventure in risk-taking and stepping [...]

A few hours after you arrive at Black Rock City, a new mood takes hold.  You pull on an outrageous outfit, set a propeller beanie cap on your head, and discard your inhibitions.  You’ve become one with Burning Man, the yearly anything-goes celebration of being whoever you want to be for one week in the [...]

It was just a few weeks ago that the Iranian green revolution was lead story in every newspaper, on all the TV newscasts, and throughout the web. But when you look at news sources today, you might think that Iran’s repressive regime had squashed the entire movement and that all was back to that nation’s version of normal. A closer examination of the back pages of newspapers and far reaches of web sites shows that the revolution is alive and well. We’ve just lost interest.

The fight against global warming takes on apocalyptic proportions as the Pentagon studies environmental problems as a threat against America.

Health care policy is a critical issue for this country. We all need to think about it more seriously, learn the facts for ourselves, and fight the tendency to buy into branding concepts (e.g., Republican, Democrat, Socialist, Libertarian) as if they are the real issues. The bottom line for me is that we have a health insurance problem in this country, and we can’t solve it by doing nothing, or by arguing that the government needs to keep out of the health care business. They’re already in it up to their eyeballs.