(whoa ... did it just get really bright in here?)

Wagner arrives at Burning Man with considerably more ease than previous years. And yet ... something seems a little different about Burning Man this year.

We're not saying anyone was hostile, exactly... ... it's just that things weren't quite right ... not quite consistent with "radical self-expression," as BM propaganda expresses it. Here's how semi-professional Burning Man critic Dr. Brody Culpepper expressed it to our mailing list:

Subject: Burning Man Uber Alles Hey Kiddies, Just to burn the point of BMs fascist evolution into your pale, supple foreheads, just look at their bumper sticker from a few years ago (you old-timers will get this) BURNING MAN granola, guns, & videotape Because the iron fist of 'community' is clenching tighter, this year the bumper stickers will read: BURNING MAN granola And I'm sure that granola will be banned this year as a way to lessen the amount of fecal waste that the Sani-Huts can hold. It's a cost-cutting measure - less crap, fewer huts, more prostitute money for Larry. And another thing, did you notice that the original founders of Burning Man have either A) left the organization in disgust, due primarily to the way the organization has controlled your freedom; or B) is getting paid full-time either as an employee of the Organization, or as a well-funded 'artist'. Phooey!, I pee on your little wooden man... Mr. Brody

Ahoy Sailors, There's nothing I like more than trash talkin' Burning Man. As for the discussion about registering cameras, here's the actual statement from the fascists themselves: "There will be NO videography or filming without permission. ALL cameras must register whether for personal or professional purposes. Different colored numbered tags will be used to differentiate. You have a right to protect your privacy at Burning Man. Should you encounter a person with an un-tagged camera, suggest they check in at Media Mecca before filming you, your art, or theme camp. Commercial media will receive a specific token indicating they've survived an initiation procedure and have agreed to the boundaries in our community. An early issue of the Black Rock Gazette will outline which tokens and color tags are being used. Should you encounter a problem you should report the person and tag number to a Ranger or Media Mecca volunteer." Sure, and a book burning will commence just after the Man is torched. As I predicted in the last several issues of BIGRIG'S BURNING MAN, the steamroller of social control is grinding farther ahead, and completely burying any vestige of freedom. What a crock of utter Sani-Hut crap they're pushing. Why not ban the meat-beating frat boys that are on a titty hunt rather than take the extreme measure of controlling how people chose to permanently remember the event. The kicker here is that Burning Man is actually trying to get participants to TURN IN OTHER PARTICIPANTS! A whole kingdom of narcs! Fuck, that's how the Nazis did it. "Hey, if you see any Jews, tell us and we'll take care of it" I know that's a low blow, because the Nazis were better dressers than Larry Harvey. It's no hidden agenda that the BM organization is using the guise of 'community' to foster strict social control, but the complete suffocation of actual 'self expression' is nauseating. Fuck it, don't go to the desert this year. Save a wad of dough and get drunk and stupid with other sensible people without being a lousy hippocrite. Look, you can't bitch about Burning Man while actually paying them to screw you over. Long Beach, WA is calling our name! I need another drink, Mr. Brody