http://vashonloop.com/article/valley-dolls

Let’s get right to it and start off with what is on everybody’s mind:  Tickets. Not being clairvoyant I hesitate to make a prediction on what the BMOrg will be allocating to our camp.  There were roughly 500 registered theme camps last year.  Of that number it’s unclear how many are vying for tickets, but if we were to say 75% of them need help that would equate to 26 tickets per camp, and that’s before taking into consideration what will be given to mutant vehicles and the actual muscle that puts the city together.  I would strongly urge you to try to get tickets through STEP, but if all else fails we have a time-tested back-up plan.  Come early summer the Tickets thread will open up on the ePlaya.  Last year, after the event sold out in mid-July, hundreds of tickets became available.  Many of our camp mates picked up their tickets that way.  Say what you will about burners but one nice thing about them not having their collective act together is that they are, in the aggregate, flaky people.  So when it comes to pass they can’t go due to lack of funds, being arrested, dying, getting too stoned to negotiate a ride to the playa, finally getting into college, general lethargy, their karma is has become out of sync with their celestial aura, or any combination of the above, trust me, they will become available particularly if you’re rather adroit with the computer.  Here is last year’s link so you can see what I mean:

http://eplaya.burningman.com/viewforum.php?f=190

I’m happy to announce that we have a piano tuner for our camp!  Freesponge, along with the lovely Fufa, hail from Edmonton, Canada and have stepped up and taken on the responsibility of making our wonderful piano playa-ready.  Considering how popular it was last year, and candidly from what I heard from other pianos on the playa ours was great and theirs pretty much sucked, this is indeed a good thing.  Thank you Freesponge and Fufa.

It has been suggested that our camp volunteer for a Greeter’s Shift. Having done this once before, it is fun though after about the twelfth beer things began to get rather fuzzy out there.  But I digress.  A shift lasts four hours.  We have lots of choices on which shift we choose to take.  Midnight to 4 a.m. isn’t too bad if you like being out late.  That might be a fun one to do as the gates open.  4 a.m. to 8 a.m.  Getting up that early (unless you never bothered going to bed) can be a real problem but you do get to see the sunrise over the playa.  8 a.m. to noon would be nice:  Not too hot and not too early.  Noon to 4 p.m. can be very hot and let’s face it, we really don’t want to kill ourselves.  4 p.m. to 8 p.m. is popular because it cools off yet there’s plenty of time left in the evening to party on the playa.  And lastly 8 p.m. to midnight.  Not hot and doesn’t destroy the day.  I will be coordinating with Tracy if we choose to do this.  You can ask any questions directly to Tracy at: tracy.scarborough@hp.com.  We will need at least 15 to 20 Barbiebarians and the more the merrier.  Also we could do this as a camp party and bring the art truck out during the 8 p.m. to midnight shift.  So if you have an interest in this, and it’s purely voluntary, please let me or Tracy know.

We have a new project for our Village this year:  The Barbie Foosball Project.  The idea is to have Barbies be the foosmen on the table.  Mel has arranged to have a used foosball table sent to Felony.  She will paint it pink, naturally, and we will then transport it to the playa where the real decorating will be done.  We can remove the metal rods and supplement them with our extra Barbies and if that doesn’t work, Ygmir said he’d make new metal rods.  It has been suggested we use Ken’s head as a foosball. Nothing ventured I suppose.

We have had several complaints about people responding to these newsletters by hitting the Reply To All button.  Please try and refrain from doing that.  Mailboxes get  full and people begin to ignore whatever is being sent.  Either ask your questions to me and Felony directly, ask on the website, or if you are a denizen of the ePlaya you can PM us directly.  This is just common consideration for your fellow camp mates.

It’s never too early to begin our planning for our major events.  There are two that I would like to touch upon.  First is the annual ePlaya/3playa Meet & Greet which will be on Thursday beginning at 6 p.m.  Most of you are not on either the ePlaya or 3playa, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to enjoy the party.  When 200 strangers invade our camp for three or four hours they’re pretty hard to ignore.  So what we’re asking is that if you choose to attend the party, please bring along something to share, preferably food. It doesn’t really matter what; my experience is that a bunch of stoned burners will eat almost anything, whether it was intended to be edible or not.  Now about the Pancake Porkout.  This is a Village-wide event which will be held Saturday morning beginning at 9:30 a.m.  We will be feeding between 200 and 300 burners, most of whom are our camp mates and friends.  We will need, in no particular order, 30 pounds of pancake batter mix; 3 gallons of syrup; 2 pounds of butter/margarine;  30+ pounds of bacon; two gallons of vodka and Bloody Mary mix; six gallons of OJ; four cases of champagne (cheaper the better for mimosas); coffee enough for 150 people; no fewer than eight propane or gas griddles; 250 paper plates; 250 paper cups for coffee and cocktails; six rolls of paper towels/napkins; and at least four tables to cook on.  We also need someone to be the head honcho for this event in order to herd the cats properly and handle logistics.  We realize it’s still early but never early enough to get the planning started.  Let either Felony or me know what you wish to donate.

Dues are now being collected.  We have already collected from many of you and for that we sincerely thank you. Dues are $60 until June 1st when they will increase to $85.  Foreign travelers from overseas can simply pay $60 cash on the playa.  No early arrival passes will be issued to anybody delinquent on their dues.

Speaking of early arrival passes, we have requested 117 of them.  There is no guarantee the BMOrg will give us what we want, so simply because you’ve requested an EA pass does not guarantee by any means you will actually get one.  But if you need a pass please let us know as soon as possible. 50 of the passes have already been requested.  And remember, everyone who is granted a pass must volunteer for an assignment on the playa.  Katie M’Lady will be overseeing that.

Our 2012 BRC oval bumper stickers have arrived!  For those of you who have already paid your dues (with the exception of anyone outside of the U.S.) they are being mailed out this morning.  As your dues checks arrive they will be sent out to you immediately.  If you, or any of your friends, would like one, just ask and we will try to accommodate.  They are a little different this year so we hope everyone enjoys them.

We are making an addition to our website www.barbiedeathcamp.com.  Hopefully by March 10th we will have up and running our PayPal account.  There will be three boxes to check if you wish to buy or donate.  One will be for shirts ($20) and hats ($15), and one to donate to the art cars we are buying and mutating.  Cap’n Joe’s new creation is now accepting donations and from Eden the CJ/Kara/Sarah axis of decadence will soon be looking for donations for their magical vehicle as well.  A third box will be for “other” with a data line so you can tell us what it’s for; i.e. “This donation is for such-and such’s propane cannon”.  Wow, look at Barbie Death Village, we’re being dragged kicking and screaming right into 2008. We do not intend to collect dues via PayPal!

What a surprise:  those stoned hippies from the Black Rock Yearbook still haven’t gotten the 2011yearbook up and running. Shocker.

Also some of us, for camp decorating purposes I would guess, are in need of some My Size Barbies; you know, the ones that stand about 3 feet tall.  We had one ceremoniously trashed last year when Brazildo and Vizoo took her skydiving only to have it plummet 4000 feet to the playa.  “As God as my witness, I thought Barbies could fly!”  At least we didn’t kill anybody, though Barbie had seen better days.  So if you have one or happen across one at a garage sale, grab it.  They normally retail for upwards to $200 which is why we have no money in the budget just to run out and buy one.

We are now accepting designs for the 2012 BDC&WB tee-shirt.  If any of you are artistic enough this is a fun project.  Our shirts have run the gamut from simply the Burning Man logo to the demented (Barbie being hung while drinking wine).  All we ask is that you keep the sexual connotations to a minimum because children also buy these shirts and frankly I’m tired of having to drive to Natomas to have my daughter change her shirt yet again.  Some people have no sense of humor.

Now on to the introduction of newbies.  This is a long list this month and I apologize in advance if I leave anybody off.  Let’s start with our newbs from overseas.  From Belgium please welcome Kevin and Jonathan.  We have several different groups from Australia.  Mel has invited Rob, also welcome Pip and Emma.  Closer to home, from Canada we have already mentioned Freesponge and Fufa.  JR invited a couple from Hawaii, please welcome Candace and David.  From Omaha please welcome Sheila and Amos and they are hoping to have another newbie from Australia in our mix as well!  Kelsey is bringing her friend whom, as I recall, she met at Burning Man last year, please welcome Paul.  The lovely Rellie is bringing a small army, some of whom are ex-pats from Sore Nipple Camp.  Please welcome Kelly and Travis, Dana and Jared.  Many of you haunt the ePlaya and may recognize Drawingablank and his son Water.  From the ashes of the ever imploding Apokiliptika Brian is bringing into our fold mostly from Seattle Josh, Chris and his fiancée, Lena, Dave, Heidi; Vaibhav, Kate, Erin, and Ricardo.  Also from Connecticut please welcome Diana and her sister Michelle.  And finally Felony is bringing in a second-year burner, please welcome Finn.

The Man burns in 184 days.  )’(

Doc Pyro, MOBDV

http://www.musicmarauders.com/2011/09/burning-man-saturday-sunday.html

The first order of business is to announce that our camp will have another art vehicle for TTITD.  Cap’n Joe bought a large van and once it’s mutated significantly he hopes that it will hold upwards to 30 revelers.  Since these things are expensive and it’s unrealistic to have a single individual pay the entire freight, he is asking his fellow Barbiebarians, if they choose, to help defray the cost.  He’s looking at raising at least $1500.  If you want to help the good Cap’n out, you can send a separate contribution to Felony.  This should enable us to have upwards to 60 Barbiebarians together on the open playa, especially come burn night.  Anything you can do to help would be appreciated.

Now a word or two about tickets.  As many of you know, yesterday and today are the days of the so-called “Ticket Lottery”.   I have heard conflicting reports.  The Jackrabbit Speaks said they are oversold by something like 70%.  I had a nice talk with a friend of mine who is with the BMOrg and he insists that the problem is nowheres near as bad as TJS makes it out to be.  I suppose only time will tell.  But here is where membership has its privileges.  If you happen to have an extra ticket because you and your campmates all ordered and received multiple tickets, do not put them on eBay or Craigs List or even the ePlaya Ticket page.  Let us sell them at cost to your fellow Barbiebarians.  There should be enough tickets, when the dust settles, for everyone to get a ticket who needs one. Mel will be the go-to person for this assignment.  She has volunteered to develop a spread-sheet and will as objectively as possible try to match any extra tickets with those in need.  If you have an extra ticket or need to be placed on the list, email Mel.  And FWIW, I got my ticket.

This is the time of year when we begin to outline activities that we have planned for the entire week.  Since our camp has been in existence now for 13 years there are certain traditions that we embrace.  It seems that what we did last year, with at least one planned event every day, was very well received.  Time was we would have two large events on the same day and we were burnt out by the time Friday rolled around.  So the tentative plan is to mirror somewhat what we did last year.  On Sunday before the event we will have our Village-wide pizza feed so those who helped set up our camp can be properly rewarded.  Come Monday we are looking at having our chili cook-off again.  If you would like to be a chef, and last year we had I believe 10 participants which worked out really well, please let Felony or Katie M’Lady know.  On Tuesday we will have an art car party on the open playa.  We will finalize those plans as the summer progresses.  Wednesday we have the traditional Annual Naked Bike Ride & Pub Crawl.  I will request once again to be the first stop after they leave the Man.  Last year we were told they had 450 cyclists and I don’t doubt that number for a second.  We will be asking for wine/champagne donations for that.  Thursday morning the Black Rock Yearbook will again drop by and take our camp’s picture for posterity, and that evening one of our biggest parties, the ePlaya/3playa Meet & Greet will begin at 6 p.m.  Friday will again be very popular as Black Rock City Body & Paint opens its doors to the lovely sirens of BRC for Critical Tits Day.  Last year we guesstimate we painted over 100 ladies and I would expect that number to increase again this year. Arguably our biggest event, the Annual Pancake Pork-Out will be Saturday morning.  We will be hitting you up for donations of champagne, Bloody Marys, pancake mix, OJ, coffee, and BACON!  And finally, Saturday after the burn will be our annual weenie roast on the open playa.  Last year we cooked over 300 hotdogs and that went really well.  We are looking for volunteers to head up some of these activities.  Rellie and Sharen are the go-to people for the Naked Bike Ride, but everything else is pretty wide open.  We need your input and contribution.

Oh, and since I mentioned the Black Rock Yearbook, no, those stoned hippie losers still haven’t gotten around to publishing 2011′s yet.

We are going to do something a bit different for shirts and hats this year.  Yes, there will be both and they will run $20 and $15 respectively.  Frank will be in charge and he is having everyone use PayPal for the payment.  Last year one of our people, who has since been expelled from our camp, actually bounced the check to me and never bothered to make it good.  That’s not going to happen again.  Frank has set up a PayPal account and all orders will be ran through that.  Mike will have PayPal set up on the Barbie Death Camp website www.barbiedeathcamp.com hopefully before Valentine’s Day.  You can have your shirts from S to XXXL, regular T or tank top, mens or womens cut, and in either pink or gray.  Hats will remain burgundy and tan.  We are also accepting designs for this year’s shirts.  If you think you can artistically draw a winning design, you too may live forever in Barbie Death Camp lore.  All submissions must be in by May 1st.

Felony and I have ordered the 2012 BRC/Barbie Death Camp & Wine Bistro oval bumper stickers.  They should be done sometime before March 1st.  Everybody who pays dues to BDV will receive one.  Heck, we’ll even give you two or three if you ask real nicely.

We have a new Barbiebarian-to-be.  Say a mighty mazal tov! to Grawg and Sarah.  They are the proud parents of a baby girl, Sophia Grace born January 20. No doubt they will be candidates for Parents of the Year someday in the near future.

Speaking of new Barbiebarians, Redstar from Australia and her husband Dondi are the proud parents of Sage Star.  Sage will be joining us on the playa and is three months old.  Again, mazal tov!

We are again collecting dues for 2012.  We will not have a dues increase this year!  We are keeping them at $60 if paid before June 1st and they go up to $85 thereafter.  International travelers from overseas can simply pay $60 on the playa.  Please send all dues checks to Doc.

Now is the time if you want an Early Arrival pass to begin requesting them.  We are asking for 117 from the BMOrg.  There is no guarantee we will be awarded that many, so simply because you are on the list does not guarantee you a pass.  And everyone who gets an EA pass will be required to contribute something tangible to our Village.  Either set up on Saturday or clean up the Monday-Tuesday after the event.  The only exceptions to this rule will be for those who haul out our infrastructure or those who have been delegated as heads of an individual project and their minions.  Everyone else can come in on Monday.

Now to the introduction of our newbies.  Please welcome from Florida Big Dane.  He will be camping with Dye With Dignity.  Tamara and Ken’s daughter Sarah Wylie will be gracing our little slice of paradise on the playa.  Also with Dye With Dignity, from the Bay Area please welcome Angela.  A gent who joined us late last year and is back, please welcome Brian Hur.  From Montana, please give a warm welcome to Brianna and her hubby.  Drew and Mindy have a couple whom they are bringing out, please welcome Emily and Dan.  And with the imploding of Apokoliptica, please welcome Ben Tang.

The Man burns in 213 days. )’(

Doc Pyro, MOBDV

http://www.themodernnomad.com/2011/the-burning-man-guide/

Now on to the business at hand.  Obviously the very first question we ask every year around this time is:  Who’s coming back in 2012?  Every year we add and subtract people.  Some people stupidly change camps, others take a year’s hiatus, and some even out grow TTITD.  So in order to make a budget, plan logistics, request space and early arrival passes,  we would like to get a handle on how many people will be gracing our modest Village.  The number is always larger than first anticipated because so many people invite friends as the summer progresses, which is fine and understandable.  So if you’re sure you will be making it, and furthermore if you need special assistance in the form of early arrival passes, we need to know well ahead of time.  We have a new procedure for handing out EA passes.  With the exception of those hauling out the Village infrastructure, everyone who is awarded early entry will be required to do a specific function: either set up the Village if you arrive before sundown on Saturday or, if you arrive after that, stay until Monday or Tuesday and help tear down and clean up BDV.  There also will be various other tasks which will need to be handled as well.   We have people heading up these committees which I will touch on later in this newsletter.

One thing I do want to get to early on is something very positive.  Many of you have seen Barb Traub’s (she is a Barbiebarian for those of you who have never met her) book Desert to Dream: A Decade of Burning Man Photography.  She has updated the book to A Dozen Years of Burning Man Photography.  Not only is it an excellent visual history of TTITD, but on pages 86, 88, and 89 are pictures of our camp and campmates, and on page 131 is a nice shot of Crash’s Back To The Future BM DeLorean.  The book is for sale on the Burning Man website, but might I suggest you buy it through Amazon instead.  It will save you over $18 in both purchase cost and postage.  I know Barb would appreciate it and should you meet her, she would be happy to autograph it as well.

Next on the agenda is dues.  There will not be a dues increase this year!  They will remain the same as in 2011: $60 if paid prior to June 1st, $85 after that.  Anybody traveling in from overseas can simply pay $60 on the playa.  Every year we are asked: “Where does the money go?”  The biggest single bill we have is Barbie storage.  This includes storage of the decorations for the art vehicle, water barrels, piano, generators, paints, burn barrel, and everything else we can cram in.  Keep in mind most camps that have a dues structure begin around $120 and many are as high as $400.  That is a shameful rip-off.  Here is a list of many of the things that your dues provide for you:

1. Storage for 1400 Barbies and camp-related items
2. Access to our 5500-watt generator
3. No less than 1200 square feet of shade
4. Four sofas to lounge around on in comfort
5. Body paint for Black Rock City Body & Paint
6. 300 gallons of water
7. Access to our electric shower so you can actually get clean
8. Art truck insurance, registration, and decoration
9. Gasoline to power the generators to light up the camp
10. Lumpia every night
11. Glowstix for every night on the playa
12. Pizza for the pre-event feed for those who set up the camp
13. Use of our six-yard trash bin
14. Wine
15. Guaranteed location on a corner so you can find your way home after partying all night on the playa
16. Specified space, as much as you reasonably need, for your personal campsite
17. Access to the Early Entry passes
18. Piano repair and maintenance
19. Use of all tables, chairs, burn barrels, and trash receptacles
20. Automatic invite and participation in the Annual Naked Bike Ride and Pub Crawl
21. Ringside seat for the ePlaya/3playa Meet & Greet
22. Access to the art truck so you can tour around the playa in comfort
23. Constant (at least monthly) updates throughout the year up until TTITD
24. And finally, membership in one of the most revered and well-established camps/villages on the playa

We have already racked up several bills, not least of which was truck insurance, so you can feel free to pay your dues beginning now.

Another huge expense we have incurred is the purchase of a double-axel 16-foot trailer to haul out all of our water, the piano, carpeting, and anything else that will fit.  Several of you have helped defray the cost of the trailer and for that we deeply thank you.  Several others have made pledges as well.  We are coming up short however.  What we are asking is that if anyone would like to make a separate contribution, say $100, to the cost of the trailer it would be most appreciated.  You might recall that’s how we were able to buy the art truck four years ago.  I guess what I’m saying is that for those who would like to give back something to the Village, especially if you are unable due to geographical constraints to help during the spring and summer, this would be a terrific way to show your love for Burning Man and BDV.

One thing our camp could use, though this is a long-shot at best, is a piano tuner.  If you happen to know of somebody who tunes pianos, and if he or she has ever had a desire to go to Burning Man, might we suggest inviting them to join our camp!  Otherwise we’ll just have to make do with whatever the playa provides.

You might remember that we had our camp’s picture taken for the Black Rock Yearbook.  Hopefully this year they actually print it, but I digress.  The yearbook was due to be out by now, but since it’s put together by a bunch of stoned burners, naturally it’s woefully behind schedule.  Should it become available by the next newsletter I promise to link it to the newsletter.

Now something about tickets.  I don’t have an “in” with anybody on the BMOrg, but from what I can ascertain is if you get into the lottery sometime this month, you can be more than just reasonably assured of getting tickets.  Do not procrastinate starting or planning an art project in the unlikely event that your number won’t be called in the lottery.  No matter what happens, there will be tickets available.  Just don’t wait until March to try and buy them.  We warned you last year that they might sell out, and they did.  You can read about the procedures of buying tickets on the main Burning Man website.

We are welcoming three new camps to our Village.  One is a playa institution that had been part of Hushville for years:  AntiM’s Home For Wayward Art.  We are fortunate to have them become part of us.  Tamara and Ken, who were burgins last year with us, are forming a camp: Dye With Dignity.  You can check out their plans under Theme Camps on the BM website.  And finally, Ninzy from London who also was a burgin last year, hopes to have an Indian-themed camp (and not the woo-woo Indians either) called BollyVille.  I can almost taste the curry already.

Now about committee assignments.  We have several filled already.  Julia and Graidawg will be both arriving early and leaving late to coordinate shade structure set-up and break down, as well as staking out the Village after Tracy maps it.  This is one of those tasks that is thankless but extremely necessary.  We take so much for granted, and Julia, I cannot thank you enough for doing this for us.  Wildman is in charge of garbage clean up.  We are using our dues to rent a large trash bin that he will haul out on a flatbed trailer.  The Washoe County trash disposal people will then pick it up off playa.  Thank you Wildman for stepping up for us.  And finally, Katie M’Lady will be the assignment Nazi for our camp.  Everyone who is awarded an early-entry pass will have an assignment for a job to do.  If there is something that is right in your wheelhouse, you can make your request directly to Katie.

We plan on getting a head start on the decoration and planning for the art truck early this year.  Waiting until July sucks.  Laura will be heading up that detail and will be hosting a planning party on Saturday, January 21 at 4 p.m. to discuss what needs to be done.  Laura did move to the Pocket area of Sacramento, so that might be more convenient for many of you.   If you would like to help Laura, or just sit in on the meeting, contact her.

On a sad note, Texas Crash informed me that one of her friends, as well as Texas Joe’s, died over Thanksgiving in an automobile accident back east. Calvin “Kay” Wilson was a Barbiebarian who helped Texas Joe run Barbie’s Day Spa at Flipside in Austin.  It is a shame he never made it to the playa.  I am sure he would have loved us.  RIP Kay.

Now to the introduction of newbies for 2012.  Julia is bringing her four boys out.  Please welcome Archimedes, Copernicus, Alex and Patrick.  Tamara has extended an invitation to Katt (Danuslight on the ePlaya).  I would like to introduce Erin and her fiancée Jamie. Katie from Roseville has invited Greg.  I mentioned AntiM, with her will be her husband Larry, Ranger Genius, Lady D and Paul the Ancient Burner.

That should pretty much wrap it up for the initial 2011 edition of our fabulous Village newsletter.  You can also follow us on Facebook or check us out on our website www.barbiedeathcamp.com for previous updates and lots of pictures and articles about The Best Damn Theme Camp On The Playa.

The Man burns in 242 days. )’(

Doc Pyro, MOBDV

Last night a dozen of us got together in Folsom to reflect on 2011 and see how we can improve 2012.  It was one of the better meetings we’ve had, and not just because we met in a brew pub (though that certainly helped).  There will be some changes coming for next year, most of which are for the better.  First off, and most importantly, we will be sharing the responsibilities as far as logistical support and decision making.  We haven’t finalized who will be doing each item, but we have the basics.  There will be one person in charge of shade structure set up and tear down; one person in charge of exodus clean up; one person heading up art truck details; and one person heading up garbage hauling and carpet disposal.  None of these people will be me. I am happy to report Wildman will be the go-to person for garbage removal.  We are going to actually have a Village dumpster so hopefully little that you bring in will be hauled away by you.  That’s quite an advantage over any other camp on the playa.  Now that creates another situation:  Since the very large garbage bin (which will need to be locked when we are not using it) clearly costs money to rent and have hauled away, everybody in the Village regardless of camp affiliation will be required to pay dues in 2012.  We are not raising dues.  They will remain at $60 until June 1.

We will have 100 early entry passes again this year.  We will have a protocol for them which we have not had in the past.  With the exceptions of those who haul out the camp infrastructure, here is what we are proposing:  If you arrive Saturday or earlier, you will be required to help set up the camp, shade, carpeting, and Barbies.  You will not be asked (though feel free to do so) to help with major clean-up on Sunday after the burn or MOOP control on Monday.  If you arrive Sunday morning you will be required to stay through Sunday and into Monday (or Tuesday if possible) and do the clean up and final tear down of the camp.  Our rational is as follows:  Since the “heavy lifting” was done prior to your arrival, but you still got to skate through the check-point and greeters in just a few minutes, then in order to justify your existence we need you to work after the event.

All members of our Village will be asked to help out with something during the week.  It could be pouring wine for the Naked Bike Ride, clean up after the Meet & Greet, making pancakes and bacon for the Pancake Pork Out, pouring me mimosas, and so on.  Katie M’Lady will be the go-to person for this assignment.

Another change this year is that all hat and shirt requests, along with payment, will be done through Frank.  We have had duplication of work and it just did not work out very well this year.  He will be in charge, or will assign someone, to order and pass out the shirts and hats.

Laura and Stu have the absolutely say-so on their vision of the camp’s infrastructure.  This includes the camp shower, water, and dust abatement.  What they say goes.

So you may be asking yourselves just what it is I’m going to do this year.  Let me try to summarize:  I am going to be more of a CEO than omnipotent ruler.   I will continue to write the newsletters, collect dues, and pay the expenses.  Felony and I will decide on new members or expulsion of members. We will decide on who gets the early arrival passes.  I will be in charge of ordering the minutia, such as BDC stickers, glowstix, and general Barbie crap.  I also will be the liaison between the heads of each camp.  What my duties will not entail include working on the art truck (I’ll be doing the Barbie art instead), restoring order on the playa (each camp head will do it themselves), and “be in charge” on the playa.  Nope, not me.  I will be “in charge” up until the time we hit the Black Rock Desert, but from that point forward each camp head will take on the responsibility.

A few house cleaning items.  We are going to purchase a double-axel open trailer.  They can be had at places like ironplanet.com for around $2000.  We will be using if need be some of our dues money for that, but what we’re asking (much like we did when we purchased the art truck) are donations from you to help defray the cost.  Consider it a gift to the camp.  If we can get a dozen or so people to commit as little as $100 then we will have enough in our treasury to make this a reality.  So if you’ve ever wondered what you can give back to the camp, now’s your chance.  Secondly, Laura will be hosting in late January a meeting to begin discussion on what we want the art truck to look like this year.  We are not going to wait until late July to get working on it.  That was a real bitch.  If you want to help with the art truck, please contact Laura.

And finally, we have already had several inquiries from newbies or envious burners who were forced to camp with an inferior camp (namely any other camp besides ours) to join our little slice of paradise on the playa.  We will introduce our newbies in our January newsletter.  Have a wonder fall everybody.

The man burns in 330 days.

Doc Pyro, MOBDV )’(

http://seekingalpha.com/article/46345-anti-corporate-satire-of-mattel-at-burning-man

We are now ready to begin allocating space requests. Some of you have already told us what you need. Keep in mind we are on approximately three acres, some 120,000+ square feet of prime playa real estate. We will be on a corner (in all likelihood several corners), stretching some two city blocks away from The Man and the better part of a city block long. If you want to be on the street, tucked away from the maddening crowds safely within the Village, on an access road, or wish to be camped next to someone in particular, you need to let us know. Tracy has said he will map out the Village again this year, and for that we thank you. We will begin putting the map together in the middle of July.

We have some good news for everyone in the sphere of influence of BDC&WB. We will have 300 gallons of water hauled out to the playa for use in our shower. John, a veteran local burner from Citrus Heights, will be hauling out our water and piano and they will be delivered on the playa on Saturday, August 27th. Also Stu and Laura have volunteered to haul out the trailer with the infrastructure in it, including but not limited to the shower, evaporation pond, sofas, ovens, burn barrel, and shade structures. Thank you John, Stu, and Laura for your help. We literally could not do it without you. But when one problem is solved, another one arises. Our art truck, which should be in sound running condition, will need to be driven out to the playa on that Saturday as well. If anyone would like to volunteer for that assignment, we will happily pay for your gas to and from the playa.

We just got in our glowsticks for this year. We have 300 of them, plus what was left over from last year. We also were given 100 small glow bracelets. So everyone who will be ambling out on the playa should be lit up. Safety third.

Every year we are a stop for the Annual Naked Bike Ride & Pub Crawl. We will be again this year. I have been in contact with the (and I use the term very loosely) gentleman in charge, and he has agreed to let Barbie Death Village be the first stop after they leave The Man. The 200 or so naked cyclists should come rolling in around 11:45 a.m. Wednesday. Some of you may recall what happened last year. Suffice it to say had the LEOs been by, some people would have been arrested for lewd and lascivious conduct. We hope to avoid such scandalous behavior this year. We will need drinks to be served. White wine (chilled), sangria, and champagne seem to be very popular. If any of you would like to donate that (this is in addition to the Pancake Pork Out) we would be obliged.

Texas Joe will be operating Barbie’s Day Spa again this year, complete with massage tables for the assembled denizens of Black Rock City. He is looking for another masseuse, preferably (though by no means only) a newbie. If any of you are adroit at handling the art of massage, please contact Texas Joe.

We have some good news on the DMV Hottie front. Many of you already knew that Cap’n Joe is a Hottie. One of our newbies, at least to our camp, has also thrown her hat in the ring and is a Hottie as well. I want to personally thank Amanda for volunteering. Speaking of the DMV, our art truck has been given the preliminary thumbs up to be brought out to the playa. Now we need to decorate it effectively so we can be driven around the playa in comfort. CJ is heading that up. We will be getting together at Felony Arson’s home in Placerville on Saturday, June 18th for a potluck and to begin planning the decoration of the truck. We may also work on the trailer while we’re at it. We will be having a pot luck, beer will be provided (your camp dues at work), and everyone who can possibly make it should certainly plan on it. Your input is vital. Let Felony know if you can make it.

There are a lot of newbies, either to Burning Man itself or veteran burners new to our camp this year, who may be unaware of the “improvements” we have made over just last year. People wonder what their dues go towards naturally and what they can expect by becoming a member of our Village. Just a few of the things that we have this year that we haven’t had, at least not for the entire week, in the past include our piano, the water situation, and the parties during the week. For the first time we have something organized, as close as cat herding comes to being organized, for each day of the week. On Monday we have our chili cook-off. (Please let me know if you’re bringing chili; someone told me and I must be getting old because I had a brain fart and forgot.) So far Steve from Boston and Laura are in. On Tuesday Katie is planning her art truck party. If you have any input on that, contact Katie. On Wednesday is the aforementioned Naked Bike Ride & Pub Crawl. Thursday is the Annual ePlaya/3playa Meet & Greet, this year with a gourmet pot luck being provided for our gastronomical pleasure. Friday Black Rock City Body & Paint breaks out the brushes and we paint the fair sirens of Black Rock City prior to Critical Tits. On Saturday after The Burn we have our huge weenie roast on the art truck on the open playa. We are bringing something like 400 hot dogs this year, so it’ll be a real hoot.

Now comes the bad news. Dues are due. We have collected from many of you, and for that we thank you. But for those of you in BDC&WB, Loose Nuts, Eden, Clan O’Crash, BRCB&P, and our newest camp, Shangri-Playa (more on them upcoming), dues are $60 if the envelope is postmarked on or before June 1. That is why this newsletter is going out today. They increase to $85 after that. Members of Boosh: The Canadian Splinter Squad and any camp not mentioned that have their own dues structure are exempt. Anybody flying in from overseas is also exempt and may simply pay $60 on the playa. And remember: No Early Arrival passes to anybody delinquent on their dues. Speaking of which, we have allocated all but eight of those which we have requested. If you really need one, now would be an excellent time to ask.

Also we are still accepting orders for shirts and hats. This is our only fundraiser to help defray the cost of the wine Frank supplies for us. Hats are $15 and shirts are $20. Let me know if you want one and I will put you on the list. Colors can be either gray or pink, men’s and women’s styles, from small to XXXL, and come in either tank top or regular T.

Most of you know we have a room deal with the Sands Regency for discounted rooms before, during, and after TTITD. One of our newbies from Australia, Mel, has reserved one of the rooms and she is offering the other bed (all rooms have two queen beds) to anyone in our camp in need of a place to stay on Friday, the 26th. She will be caravanning up with me and Blowfish. This is her gift to us, so if you would like the bed, let Mel know.

Another one of our newbies, Kelsey from Virginia, is in need of a ride from either the East Coast or from Reno on Monday.  Please try and help out our fellow Barbiebarians whenever possible.

Now to the introduction of newbies. This is a very long list! I have already introduced Kelsey. New this year is a friend of CJ’s David. Mike from San Francisco has two newbs as well, please welcome Pieter and Susan. Brooke has a new boyfriend and she’s bringing him along. Please welcome Cory. Cory also has a friend, Kanga. Drew has an East Coast newb as well, please welcome Todd.

I mentioned we had a new camp within the Village. They are part of the sphere of influence of BDC&WB with all the rights and privileges inherit therein. Please welcome the Shangri-Playans: Pa Kettle; Crudely Scrumptious; Wine Daddy; Kevin; King Cobra; Boop; Jewella DeVille & Sparky; Helen; Hold Me Closer Tiny Pancer; and Crespin. They are all with Wonder Dave, who we introduced last month.

Our next newsletter is due out around July 7th.

The Man burns in 99 days. )’(

Doc Pyro, MOBDV

http://vimeo.com/21819702

Some of you may recall several years back our Village had a chili cook-off. The only reason KJ didn’t win it is due to blatant favoritism on the part of the judges. But to right that alleged wrong, we are going to have another chili cook-off. This year it will be Monday evening. That way anybody in a tent doesn’t have to worry about how to keep their chili fresh for the duration. We will need no fewer than 6 chili chefs. If you are interested in being part of this event, which I am sure will turn into an annual extravagant, please let either me or Felony Arson know. We will have prizes for the top three chilis. Not great prizes mind you, but prizes nonetheless.

We are in need of no fewer than two more My Size Barbies, you know, the ones that stand about 3′ tall. We had two of them stolen, well, perhaps “liberated” is a better word, last year. If any of you happen to have one gathering dust in your attic perhaps, or see one at a garage sale, be sure to snatch it up. They retail for well over $100, which is why we don’t have room in our budget to just run out and buy a few of them.

We have the art truck registered. CJ and I did the application on Friday and Cap’n Joe has furnished us with the specs on the fire cannons he has built, so we should be good to go. My friend Jack approves all vehicles for the BMOrg DMV that have fire effects, and I am confident he will be kind to us again this year. We will need to disguise the truck better than we have in the past. We are looking at adding maybe another 100 feet of rope lights and covering the frame of the truck entirely with plywood (painted pink naturally) so it “doesn’t look like a truck”. We will then add the bunting around the bottom of the truck and we should be good to go. If any of you have suggestions on how we can improve the design of the truck, please let CJ know as she is in charge of everything truck art related.

If you read The Jack Rabbit Speaks, you may have drawn the same conclusion that I have in so much as Burning Man might sell out this year. That has never happened in the past, but with early ticket sales very brisk, I would not take for granted tickets will be available come August. I know some of you are looking for lower-tier tickets, and some of you have succeeded at actually getting some cheaper ducats. I would not count on that from this point forward. You can check out in the Burning Man website under 2011 Tickets on the ePlaya, but consider yourselves warned. I strongly suggest you do not procrastinate.

As anybody who has been part of our camp for at least one year knows, every Thursday evening at 6 p.m. BDC&WB hosts the Annual ePlaya Meet & Greet in which nearly 200 people descend like locusts on our modest little Village for several hours of decadence and bacchanalian excess. This year will be a little different. The ePlayans are planning a large “gourmet style” (at least by playa standards) pot-luck dinner, and we’re all invited. This means that this year we will not have to feed the unwashed masses and they’re going to feed us. We are welcome to contribute to the cause but that is strictly an individual call. So if you’re the type of person who becomes scarce every Thursday, you might want to rearrange your schedule this time around.

We have several newbies that are in need of some assistance. First off from Jacksonville, FL we have Bryan and Jessica, though he is known as Grasshopper. I had the pleasure of meeting Bryan in Boston as we both ran the marathon. They are going to get married on the playa, actually in our Village! If any of you are qualified to perform a legal marriage in the State of Nevada, they would like to get in touch with you. Another newbie, flying all of the way in from Australia, is Melanie. She will be arriving in Reno Friday afternoon and will be staying that night at the Sands Regency (more on that in a moment). If any of you can offer her a ride up on Saturday, especially if you will be part of the caravan from Sacramento-Auburn, she would be most appreciative.

Speaking of the Sands Regency, let me remind you we have taken down a floor of rooms for members of Barbie Death Village and our friends. If you need an inexpensive room before or after The Burn, call them at (866) 386-7829 and ask for BURN11. This is where membership has its privileges.

We are now accepting orders for the 2011 Barbie Death Camp & Wine Bistro shirts and hats fundraiser. This is the only fundraiser we have (dues notwithstanding) and all proceeds go to help Frank defray some of the cost of the wine we give away. If you’d like a shirt, they run $20 and can be either gray or pink, both men’s and women’s styles, and come in regular T or tank top, up to XXXL. Hats run $15 and will again be tan and burgundy. And remember, you can get your name/nickname/playa name on the shirt if you so choose. They can be either paid for ahead of time or on the playa, though ahead of time is better.

Speaking of dues, for everyone in Barbie Death Camp & Wine Bistro, Eden, Clan O’Crash, Black Rock City Body & Paint, or Loose Nutz, dues are due. They increase from the current charge of $60 to $85 come June 1, so don’t wait around unless you really like giving us more money. Every member of our camp is responsible for paying their dues. You can get them refunded if you are driving up the infrastructure of our camp, which includes hauling water, the piano, and trailer with the shade structure and shower. International travelers from Australia, Europe, South America, Asia, or Africa can simply pay $60 on the playa. They are the only exceptions.

We are still looking for a few items for the Saturday morning Pancake Pork-Out. Namely booze, a couple of tables, and several more propane-powered griddles. Come July we will see if we have enough food and drink and then will decide if we require anything else.

We have already allocated 81 of our 103 Early Arrival passes. We are setting aside five for last-minute emergencies, which means we have 17 not already claimed. Only members of Barbie Death Village or those who are aiding in the delivery of our infrastructure will be awarded a pass. We have not heard back from some of you (to name names: Grawg, Hottie, Luciano, Frank, Jewellee, Alice, and Don’s clan). If you want an EA pass, you must let me know, otherwise I have no choice but to assume you have either gotten one elsewhere (Greeter’s for example) or are not part of our Village this year.

We would like to welcome eight new members of our Village. I have already mentioned Grasshopper and Jessica, but along with them is Bruce, whose playa name is Pounce. If you saw him at the Boston Marathon around the ladies, you’d understand the nickname. Also from Jacksonville welcome Anjelica. A veteran burner gracing us this year is Danger Dave. And we are now represented by Brazil! Taking the better part of a year and driving all across the two continents (North and South America), please welcome Vizoo and Jack.  Please make all of our new Village mates feel welcome.

The man burns in 125 days. )’(

Doc Pyro, MOBDV

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/barbiedeathcamp/interesting/show/

The first order of business is tickets. We have three friends and campmates who are looking for First- and Second-tier tickets. Should you happen to have an extra ticket, please let me know. Jewellee, Lucy, and Jake all need tickets. Thank you in advance if you can help our fellow Barbiebarians.

For any of you in the Pacific Northwest, Sharen will be driving down from Portland in her RV. She is looking for riders and, perhaps, one or two people to stay in her RV (sharing the cab-over bed). If you are coming from the land of rain and evergreens and could use a lift, let Sharen know. Share the cost of gas and the cost of the RV rental fee would be negotiable. On a related subject, from Sacramento Alice, who stayed with us last year, will also have RV space available. She is looking for female burners who might share the RV cost. She would like to meet you ahead of time.

I would like to thank Cap’n Joe for stepping up and volunteering to be a DMV Hottie. We could certainly use a few more. What that entails is to have you, as volunteers, work with the BMOrg DMV with the idea being Barbie’s Mobile Wh0reh0use getting approved for day and night time use on the playa. If anybody is interested you can go to the main Burning Man website and sign up.

One of our newbies Katie has taken on the challenge of putting together a party night on the art truck, complete with music and theme. It is still in the early planning stages and come summertime we should be able to give you a clearer picture on what will be happening. We’re probably looking at sometime earlier in the week for the party; likely on Tuesday night. Afterwards we will almost certainly head back to camp and feast on lumpia. There’s something we always need more of: lumpia. And absinthe. And champagne. And decadence.

We have had a good number of you come forward and volunteer your services and expertise to our annual Pancake Pork Out. We have the cups, plates, and paper towels taken care of (thank you Pauli), pancake mix, butter, and syrup (thank you Tamara, Ken, Amanda, and Jake), champagne (gracias Dr. Joe and Michelle), and several griddles. We still need a few things: four more gas-powered griddles (at least), bacon, Bloody Mary fixins, and coffee. If any of you wish to donate those, and anything else for that matter, to the breakfast, just let me know. Experience has shown that we will consume almost anything. The Pancake Pork Out will be held on Saturday morning so everyone can participate.

Early Arrival passes. We have requested 103 of them and as of right now 75 have been assigned. We are keeping five set aside for emergencies, so we have 23 to go out to those who are interested. There is a pecking order on who gets the passes: 1) Those arriving on Thursday to actually set up the logistical layout of the Village; 2) Those hauling out the infrastructure for the various camps who arrive on Saturday if not earlier; 3) Seniority. 4) Those who are driving the furthest. If you live in Reno-Carson City-Tahoe you will have a longer shot than those driving in from Florida, Texas, and New York. 5) Whether or not I like you; 6) Lottery. It will never get to number six. Should we get fewer than we have asked for Felony Arson, CJ, and myself will decide who gets the passes. If you would like an EA pass, and promise to work your tails off setting up the Village, putting together the art vehicles, constructing the shade area, building the shower (thank you Dan and Michelle), and laying the groundwork so the rest of you can have fun in the desert, let me know and I will put you on the list.

We have negotiated a deal with the Sands Regency in Reno for those of you traveling from afar who need a good night’s sleep before heading out to the playa. From Sunday night August 28 until Thursday September 1st, it’s only $25 a night for a room with up to four people. Saturday August 27 and from Friday September 2 through Sunday September 4 it’s $65 a night. The Sands has a free sauna-steam bath on the 17th floor, Jacuzzi, and ice machines on all floors. Their parking lot can also accommodate RVs and trailers and parking is free. If you want to take advantage of this offer (this is where membership has its privileges comes in) you will need to call (866) FUNSTAY [(866) 386-7829] and ask for BURN11. I personally negotiated this deal because, damn it, I care.

For those of you in Barbie Death Camp & Wine Bistro, Eden, Clan O’Crash, Black Rock City Body & Paint, and Loose Nutz, dues are due. They remain $60 until June 1st, then increase to $85 if paid prior to August 15th. All international travelers coming in from Europe, Asia, Australia, or Africa can simply pay $60 on the playa. No Early Arrival passes will be given to anyone delinquent on their dues.

We will have shirts and hats for sale again this year. And for the first time, you now have a choice in colors: gray or pink. The lettering and logo will remain burgundy. You can have either regular T or tank top, in either men’s or women’s style, and you can have if you’d like your name-nickname-playa name on the front as well. Shirts will be $20 and the 2011 BDC&WB hats will run $15. Yes, this is a fundraiser and all profits go to help offset the cost of the wine we give out. You may order your shirts and hats today but they don’t need to be paid for until they arrive. But prepaying for them is awfully nice as well.

On April 18th I will be running in the Boston Marathon. I know some of us plan on getting together marathon weekend, and I welcome everyone who can make it. My bib number is 26463 which puts me squarely in the “he’s slower than crap” category. I intend to start off slow, then taper off.

Finally, introduction of our new campmates. From Ohio, please welcome Captain BLW who will be camping with Reece and his gang. From Ithaca, New York please welcome Veronica and Steve. We have expanded our international presence, and from England we have four newbies. Please welcome Ninzy, Abid, and Esther along with Graidawg. I will be meeting up with the limeys in late June in London just to make sure they buy me some beers, uh, I mean, fit in to our camp. Yeah, that’s what I meant.

The Man burns in 155 days.

Doc Pyro, MOBDV

http://lookinround.bp2e.net/Living-Working-Burning-Man/by-Year/LWBM/13801522_rpUHW/8/1012054501_TTiQX#1012054501_TTiQX

Now on to the news.  There is a lot to report this month, so settle back with a nice warm cup of Irish coffee and enjoy.  I had a long chat with Felony Arson and we both agree that we need somebody (the more the better) to be a DMV Hottie.  What that means is that for all of you who are anxious to volunteer your services to give something back to the Burning Man community, what we would like is to have you ask to work for the BMOrg Department of Mutant Vehicles.  Why?  Because we could use an “in” within the DMV to see to it (read: rubber stamp) that Barbie’s Mobile Wh0reh0use and any other mutant vehicles our Village might have get approved.  There is nothing like pure nepotism to get done what needs to be done.  It’s worked in Chicago for the past 100 years so why not Black Rock City?  Go to the main Burning Man website and you can volunteer from there.  We really could use your help.

Speaking of the art vehicle, we are in the planning stage for 2011.  We do not plan on reinventing the wheel and keep last year’s design nearly the same.  We could always use more bells and whistles and we will need to replace the “curtains” around the bottom of the truck to hide the tires and general truck design.  What we do need this year is anyone who is familiar and has worked with Aluminet.  We are thinking about getting the 30% pink design to cover the front of the truck, but we are unsure on how much to get and whether or not that will impede visibility for the driver.  If any of you have experience with that, please let CJ, Felony Arson or me know so we can use your expertise for our mutual benefit.  CJ is the main go-to person for all art vehicle artistic endeavors.

About our Village photograph for the Black Rock Yearbook 2010.  I heard back from the people and it turns out that the camera with all of Thursday’s photographs was stolen from the yearbook office near Center Camp.  That’s why we were left out of the yearbook.  So it turns out it wasn’t stoned hippies after all but theft.  At least that’s their story and they’re sticking to it.

Happy news!  We have a piano!  Steve from Davis, who was a newbie last year and hung with Kara and CJ’s crowd, was able to secure an up-right in very good condition and it will remain in storage until late July, which is perfect.  Grawg has volunteered to haul it to the playa as long as he gets the trailer he anticipates to acquire.  And the news gets better:  even though we said we would pay to have it tuned, one of the denizens of Terminal Village has volunteered to tune it for free as long as we can secure him an early entry pass and he will come by mid-week for a check up.  So this is about as good as the news could get on the piano front.

Speaking of Terminal Village, we are still in the early planning stages of our 3-3-3 War, though I suspect Fizzball with a water fight thrown in for good measure probably will be on the front burner. In that regard we need several cases of very cheap and generally crappy beer.  So if any of you wish to donate that (Keystone Light seems to be very popular) it would be most appreciated.  Many of you may have been following the Clash Of The Titans thread on the ePlaya, and if any of you are artistic and can fight the good fight for dear old Barbie Death Village, we could use a counter-attack.  For those of you not in the know, here is the putrid and vile propaganda they have been spouting:

http://eplaya.burningman.com/viewtopic.php?t=38852

Next up we are trying to get a general census on who will be coming.  I know many of you assume, quite understandably, that “we know” that you’ll be coming.  But let’s just say for a moment Felony and I are too stupid to figure that out, please let us know.  We are in the process of submitting the Village Application and they need an approximate head count to allocate early arrival passes.  I am requesting 103 but I need to know if that is enough.  If you need an early entry pass please let me know as soon as you can!   We don’t want to request too much or, worse, too little space.  I did hear from Boosh: The Canadian Splinter Squad and they are looking at as many as 40 people, including 12 newbies.  None of them were there last year except for Luis, so you can understand our quandary.

Something new for 2011 has also come up.  Stu and Laura are working on our water conundrum.  Not only bringing more to the playa in workable amounts, but also gray water disposal.  We have Drew and Mindy’s wonderful evaporation pond from last year at the ready, but Stu is developing as only he can an, uh, “advanced dust abatement system” for excess gray water.  He is very excited about this project and it will make our shower-taking ability that much more pleasant.  And, like last year, I plan on donating for the camp shower our very own loufah.  Never can tell when you might need a nice back scrub.  Or something.

It’s never too early to start planning the all-Village Pancake Pork Out.  We are tentatively going to have it scheduled for Saturday morning so everybody can join in.  We are not going to open it up to the unwashed masses by advertising it in the What-When-Where Guide.  But we still need many things, and for those of you who are veterans you know the logistical hoops we must jump through.  We will need, in no particular order, 25 pounds of pancake batter mix, 20+ pounds of bacon, two gallons of vodka and Bloody Mary mix, four gallons of OJ, three cases of champagne, coffee enough for 100 people; also no fewer than 8 propane or gas griddles (preferably), 250 paper plates, 250 cups for coffee and cocktails, five rolls of paper towels/napkins, and several tables for people to not only eat on but to cook on as well.  So start thinking what you can contribute to the cause.  It is a fun event and we want to make sure there is enough for all of us and our friends.

Right now we believe we have four 10′ X 20″ shade structures.  We are looking for perhaps two more.  We may allocate some of our dues money to pay for one of them, but if you have one that isn’t being used and would like to donate it for the general welfare of our Village, let Felony know.

There has  been a suggestion that we have a theme night or even two on our art vehicle.  Something along the lines of The 70′s, Metal or Glam (whatever that may be), or even Beethoven; something that might require a costume and perhaps specific music.  This is, of course, in addition to our annual post-burn weenie roast, which happens to be my favorite annual event we have on the playa.  But I digress.  If you have any thoughts on this, and more importantly would like to be in charge of it, let either me or Felony know and we will announce it in a future newsletter.

Our camp stickers have arrived!  Boosh Camp did a wonderful job.  Everyone who pays dues to BDC&WB gets one, and if you ask me real nicely even if you are not a member of our camp or even part of our Village, I probably could see my way clear to send one off to you.  We need all the positive advertising we can get.

Should any of you happen to find yourselves with an extra ticket, maybe because you somehow ordered one too many or, heaven forbid, you simply cannot go this year, please do not just put it out on the ePlaya or Craig’s List.  Let me know because we have campmates who are in need of tickets.  Right now two veterans, but newbies to our Village, Jewellee and Lucy, are looking for first-or-second tier tickets.  Please help our friends if you can.  Membership has its privileges.

For those of you in Barbie Death Camp & Wine Bistro, Eden, Clan O’Crash, Black Rock City Body & Paint, and Loose Nutz, dues are due.  They will remain $60 until June 1st, when they increase to $75.  So please try and get them in sooner rather than later.  They can be mailed (personal check is fine) to:  Jim Jacoby (address redacted).  International travelers flying in from Asia, Europe, Australia, or Africa can simply pay $60 on the playa.

Time for the introduction of our newbies.  This seems to be the time of year that new requests to join our merry band of reprobates commences, and this month is no different.  First off from Jacksonville, Florida meet Fat Baby Jesus and Jenn.  Many of you remember Shorty, she has been a Barbiebarian since about 2005 though has missed a few years.  Anyway her cousin Travis and his fiancé Nicole will be joining us.  Travis goes by the appropriate handle Cradle Robber.  And finally, as we increase our international presence, we have three lady newbies from Sweden.  Please welcome Cemile, Pegah, and Nada.  Please make all of our new campmates feel at home.

And one last piece of gratuitous self-aggrandizement, my youngest daughter Joelle yesterday has been hired by Warner Brothers to have a speaking role in the television series Torchwood: Miracle Day.  Yeah, I had never heard of it either.  It will be on Starz! and BBC America and filming will take place later this spring.  She’ll be in Episode Five as Excited Teenager.  Isn’t that special?  Okay, so she didn’t get the role as Mattie Ross in True Grit, but this is better.  I suppose.

The Man burns in 186 days!

Doc Pyro, MOBDV

Before we get into the meat of this newsletter, we always like to have something special that shines a positive light on our camp.  Check out this video (safe for work).  No wonder we love Burning Man.  There is a nice shot of our camp at the 4:55 mark.  Seems to me I remember these guys coming by.

http://vimeo.com/7457440

We have ordered oval stickers again for our camp this year.  They will be slightly larger than 2010 with a more orderly font around the edge.  We ordered them through our friends at Boosh Camp and they should be here sometime mid-February.  All dues paying members will have one mailed to them.  If you are not a dues paying member of BDC&WB, send me a SASE and I will be happy to shoot you off one.  Or even two.  Our generosity knows no bounds.

Piano update.  Well, we still don’t have one.  But they are always available on Craig’s List, so I’m not going to worry about it until summer.  If anyone happens to have one they want to get trashed, uh, I mean one to donate to the Village, that would be great.  Also we still need to figure out how to get it to the playa.  I talked with my friend Bay Bridge Sue and she knew of a piano tuner out there last year, but that lead for 2011 looks like it has fallen through.  So if anyone knows of a piano tuner on the playa, let me know.  We will be happy to pay to have the piano tuned if need be.

It is time to start planning our annual activities on the playa.  There are four main ones:  Our Pancake Pork Out, the Black Rock City Naked Bike Ride & Pub Crawl, the ePlaya/3playa Meet & Greet, and of course Critical Titts day at Black Rock City Body & Paint.  Certain things are out of our control.  Critical Titts will be on Friday, the Meet & Greet will be at 6 p.m. on Thursday evening, and the Naked Bike Ride & Pub Crawl will be whenever they decide to have it.  We have to assume it will be on Wednesday around noon once again.  This year I am going to request that our camp be the first stop rather than the next-to-last stop.  The reason for that is simple:  Last year with so many drunken people, all naked and, well, let’s just say in an advanced state of amorous behavior, we really don’t want to be offended again in our own camp.  Obviously there is no guarantee our request will be granted, but I think they would heed our wishes.

Which brings us to the Pancake Pork Out.  This year I am not going to make the mistake and put it in the What-When-Where guide.  Having 450 hungry, stoned, and unsanitary hippies descend upon our camp was too much to bear.  This year it will be absolutely closed to our Villagemates and their friends.  The real question is which day do we want to have it?  Usually we have it on Wednesday, but if the naked cyclists are coming that day, having both events back-to-back is pretty taxing.  Clearly we cannot have it on Friday as we will start painting the lovely sirens of Black Rock City between 9 and 10 a.m.  My vote, I think, would be either Thursday or Saturday.  If we have it on Saturday that would be four fun events on four different, albeit consecutive, days.  If you have a strong opinion either way, let either me, Felony Arson, or CJ know and we will make a decision sometime this summer.

As a reminder to our newbies, we do not have a central kitchen in our camp.  Everyone is pretty much on their own when it comes to cooking and eating.  If you need some pointers on what to do, let me know and I will try to hook you up with some of our people who tent camped last year and you can ask them how they do it.

We have something else on our calendar for this year.  It seems Terminal Village has challenged Barbie Death Village to a 3-3-3 war.  What that means is on the third day (Wednesday) at 3 p.m. at the 3:00 Plaza some kind of a test of wills.  Either a nice game of Fizzball, a water fight, or some such nonsense will take place.  Pinemom over at the Booby Bar is heading up the logistics, and I will pass them along as they become clearer.  No matter what we do, I suspect heavy drinking will be involved with a smattering of nudity thrown in somehow.  Just call it a hunch.

I want to make a clarification on the dues structure.  Not all camps pay dues to BDC&WB.  Preserved In Time, Boosh: The Canadian Splinter Squad, Burning Man Button Camp, Camp Wet Dreams, and Alaska have their own dues structure which may be more or less than those charged by the camps within our sphere of influence:  Barbie Death Camp & Wine Bistro, Eden, Clan O’Crash, Black Rock City Body & Paint, and Loose Nutz.  For those of you in the latter group, dues are due.  We have received several already and for that we thank you.  The dues are $60 until June 1st.  They can be paid to:  Jim Jacoby.

We will have shirts and hats for sale this year.  The lovely and gracious Barb Traub made an update from her design from last year and unless somebody comes up with a better idea, we will run with that.  We won’t start taking orders for either shirts or hats until June.

And finally, time to welcome the newbies to our camp.  Some of these people are wily veterans while others are clueless sparkle ponies.  And there are a bunch of you! From Ohio, four veterans will be joining us: Endo, 255, Scorpion, and Butterfly.  Next two vets from Southern California: Jella and Doug.  Blowfish and I met a newbie on the train to Reno, Dani.  CJ has two newbies under her wing:  Hanna B. and Hen W.  Our old friend who busted up his ankle several years ago falling off the art truck, from New York welcome back.  Two vets and a newb are also gracing us with their presence:  Amanda and Jacob and their newb Katie. Laura and Stu have invited a veteran burner to join us:  Shawn N. and finally, on the international front from Toronto, welcome Cezanne.  Please make all of our new additions to our little slice of paradise on the playa feel welcome.

The Man burns in 214 days.

Doc Pyro, MOBDV

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54868340@N08/5175657739/

Now, on to the news.  Obviously the first question we always ask is who’s coming this year?  Last year in the Village we probably had upwards to 150 people, perhaps more.  And we certainly would welcome back both Camp Wet Dreams and Burning Man Button Camp should they be so inclined.  And we may have a new camp or two within our Village, but I will pass that info on as it becomes clearer to what their intentions are.  So in order to make a budget, allocate Early Arrival passes (we are requesting 103 this year), and plan logistics, if you think you are going to stay with us please let me or Felony Arson know.  If you are staying elsewhere on the playa, that too is wonderful.  Some of you will be taking a hiatus this year, which is understandable; I know a few of you plan on coming back after being gone for several years.  And if you have a newbie or two you want to introduce to the playa in style, as a member of our camp you have carte blanche to do so, but they are your responsibility.

Next on the agenda is dues.  We have not had a dues increase since 2004.  In order to meet budget we are having a modest increase this year.  If you pay your dues prior to June 1st, they are $60. (International travelers from Europe, Asia, or Australia may pay $60 when you arrive on the playa rather than in advance.)  They increase to $85 if paid prior to August 15th.  From August 16th to August 27th they are $100, and if you wait until the last minute and pay on the playa they increase to $125.  This is generally a $10 increase.  So where does that money go?  First off we increased our Barbie storage space by 50% so we could keep the decorations for the art truck safe.  This has been a very good investment and has made our storing of everything from generators and Barbies to trash bins and body paint so much easier.  Keep in mind most camps dues begin at $120 and many are as high as $400 per person.  That frankly is a rip-off.  Here is a list of many of the things your dues get you:

1. Storage for Barbie and camp related items
2. Access to the 5500-watt generator
3. No less than 800 square feet of shade
4. Four sofas, of which two should be new
5. Fresh body paint for Black Rock City Body & Paint
6. Art truck insurance, registration, and decoration
7. Access to the electric shower and water
8. Gasoline to power the generators to light up the camp
9. Glowsticks for every night on the playa
10. Pizza for the pre-event feed for those who set up the camp
11. Wine
12. Guaranteed location on a corner so you can find your way home after partying all night on the playa
13. Access to the Early Arrival passes
14. Use of all tables, chairs, and trash receptacles
15. Automatic invite and participation in the Annual Nude Bike Ride and Pub Crawl, as servers and as a cyclist if you are really into that sort of weirdness
16. Ringside seat for the ePlaya/3playa Meet & Greet
17. Access to the art truck so you can tour around the playa in comfort
18. Constant (at least monthly) updates throughout the year
19. And finally, membership in one of the most revered and well-established camps/villages on the playa

You may begin paying dues starting today.  We have already incurred some expenses (art truck insurance and maintenance).  They can be sent to:  Jim Jacoby/8577 Balmoral Drive/Newcastle, CA  95658  And even if you aren’t coming this year doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pay your dues!  It’s not like we’re exactly made of money.

Now we get into the area of what kind of creature comforts do we want for our camp (and the use of our dues).  It has been brought up to me every year as to why we don’t have camp JOTS (porta potties).  There is no guarantee they will be situated directly across the street from us as they have on some years.  I checked with a company called United and they charge $450 per JOTS for the week and that includes one cleaning.  $25 for additional cleanings.  The least-expensive company charged $325 but offered no cleaning services and from what I could ascertain from other burners, United is the only reliable service.  Do we want to spend either $450 or $900 for our own toilets or should that money be allocated elsewhere? (NOTE:  These were 2010 prices)

On our wish list for this year is a piano!  Obviously we would like to get one for free rather than paying for it.  I checked Craig’s List and in the local Sacramento area found pianos from free (people were moving and couldn’t take it) to $200.  Obviously if one of us has an old piano looking for a dusty home that would be preferable.  We also will need to allocate some money (generally around $100) to have it tuned unless one of you is a piano tuner and can do it on the playa.  The one that was delivered to us last year for the M&G seemed to get a lot of attention and people really enjoyed hammering on it, though it was so out-of-tune that deciphering what songs were being played was guesswork at best.  We do have space for it in our storage shed but will need to noodle through how to get it to the playa.  Obviously a baby grand piano is out of the question.

After four years of using the same body paint, Black Rock City Body & Paint is in dire need for new paints and to a lesser extent brushes.  We will be allocating probably $150+ to new body paint (none of this cheap water-color nonsense), which should make Luis very happy indeed.  We will also be adding new colors, including white and black, and if the budget allows, some glitter-based paints as well.  We are so popular come Critical Tits Day that for us not to have the proper equipment at hand would be a sad day indeed.

And now, tickets.  (This is mostly for the benefit of our newbies.)  They go on sale Wednesday, January 19th beginning at 10:00 a.m. PST.  You can access the Burning Man website to purchase tickets.  The first 9000 (which will sell out in under two hours) are $210, and then the next 9000 will sell for $240.  So if you want the least-expensive tickets, might I suggest you get in the queue early for your best shot.

Finally, introduction of camp newbies.  Even though it is only January we have already had many requests from burgins to join our little slice of paradise on the playa.  First let me introduce Tamara and Ken from Texas.  Texas Joe is assisting them with logistics and knowledge support.  From Livermore, California let me introduce Emily who just turned 21.  From Washington D.C. another burgin looking to join us is Julia.  Please make all of our new campmates feel welcome.

That should do it for this initial 2011 edition of our fabulous camp newsletter.

Doc Pyro, MOBDV