Um, you forgot something...

Drug fueled orgy? That's just reductive.
I mean, there're also snow cones.

So one of the ten principles of Burning Man is-huh? Yeah, the ten principles. I'm going to spare you the pretentious capitalization, but suffice it to say that Burning Man, despite its reputation as a lawless week of drug-fueled orgies and setting things on fire, has rules, or at least guidlines. Inclusion, self-expression, de-commodification. It reads like a utopian manifesto but with EDM. Anyway, one of these rules is 'leave no trace.' As in pick up your shit. The event happens in a dry lake bed managed by the Bureau of Land Management whose stated mission is 'to sustain the health, diversity and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.'

And that's cool. I mean, I'm not sure how that includes using drug sniffing dogs when writing a fix-it ticket, but for the most part they're doing a bang up job. Which is why I'm kind of on their side on this one. What one? We're going to get to that but first lookit this:

'Wub, wub, wub, wub, wub."

-This plane

It's art that asks the question, 'hey, what
if we brought a 747 to Burning Man?'

That's most of a 747 cargo jet and it's also an art piece. Sort of. For the last couple of years a non-profit organization called Big Imagination has been bringing parts of it to Burning Man. Last year it was just the upper half, but it was converted into a lounge and dance space with music and lights. You know, Burning Man stuff. But this year it's on wheels and was towed around the event, technically making it an art car; one of the mobile LED-lit floats that wend their away around the streets of Black Rock City. It was pretty great, everyone loved it and that's super cool, except they forgot one thing.

Yeah, the plane. They left the plane in the Black Rock Desert, which you're, you know, not supposed to do. Ever.

Pictured: a trace.

No, seriously, weeks of sifting through
the dust looking for garbage. That's why
people who wear feathers and glitter at
Burning Man are the worst people.

Which, rude, right? Well, yes. According to the Reno Gazette Journal, Big Imagination didn't move it in time and now their permit has expired and they'll need to get a new one. Also, the owners already moved it once, about twelve miles deeper into the desert, I guess hoping to avoid getting the event's organizers in trouble. Volunteers spend weeks after the event making sure the desert is free of matter out of place-MOOP. Which is what burners call it. It's weird, but it's a weird event. Anyway, this plane is now the biggest piece of MOOP ever. And the BLM is not thrilled.

Do these come in plane?

Big Imagination's CEO Ken Feldman says they're totally going to move it, this time somewhere closer to the event so that they don't have to haul it hundreds of miles to and from southern California every year. But Feldman's a little vague on when whereas the BLM is a little specific on right goddamn now. If you've ever tried to talk your way out of a parking ticket, you can imagine how well this is going to go.

Step one: bring a plane to Burning Man.
Step two: throw kick-ass parties on it.
Step three: ...eh, it'll work itself out.

Anyway, according to Big Imagination's website, they are a group who think outside of boxes and shift the shit out of paradigms. Sure, sometimes they might forget a 747 in the desert, but hey, dream big.

"Our projects don't fit into boxes. They rely on radical collaboration and community support. They provide opportunities for education and participation. They are experiences open to everyone. If we dream big, we can make the impossible possible." 

Look, I'm not trying to be a jerk. I mean, these are people who managed to purchase, transport and then assemble an air plane in the middle of the desert which is an incredible feat of logistics and planning. I guess I'm just...I mean, did they think no one would notice?

"Anyone can haul a partially reassembled cargo jet out of a desert. But we're dreamers. We
dream outside the box, radically with community collaboration gifting creativity to the global
consciousness. This isn't three-hundred tons of parking violation, it's an experience that-"

-Ken Feldman of Big Imagination,

slowly backing out of the room