My Blog

hooray

Mac — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 03:17:06 GMT

We have our tickets, were on our way, and when we get back we will be husband and wife,bloke and sheila. this is going to be the most amazing trip of my life. so to all who read, your welcome to attend our union at the Illusion/eyetrap instilation at sunset on Wednesday August 27th . we would love anyone and everyone to share this wicked and awsome time in our life.

BIG EFFORT

Mac — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 04:13:54 GMT

Not long now before we fly into the northan hemisphere and get back to the real world and dance in playa dust. Gabs an i have a lot to do, costumes travel details and all the rest. please contact me if you want anything bought from Australia to Black Rock. i will delver

slogging it out

Mac — Thu, 22 May 2008 22:46:55 GMT

I'm still alive and kicking.... i just dont have a computer. working hard to get to Black Rock City this year. 94 days till the man burns hoooray. I cant wait to stand on the playa and see all my wonderful fantastic friends i've met at Burningman over the last two years. And hopefully some tribe friends and i might be able to hook up and meet. tAKE IT EASY GUYS, SEE YOU ALL SOON, NOT SOON ENOUGH. Come and visit us at the 3'o'clock keyhole (or close to the Berlin Ranger Outpost at 3 o'clock) we may have a mini theme camp "DISCOVER DOWNUNDER" come and say g'day have some damper and billy tea for smoko. seeyalateron, Mac

a little different this year

Mac — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 03:18:45 GMT

WOW It's all go from here.Yesterday finalised the deal with the purchase of return tickets to the States(better late than never) The excitement is overwhelming,not only Burningman and the amazing adventure 4 weeks road tripping with Jen & Kel will bring, but all the stuff i have to do before Aug 16th,......shit I'd be typing the list out all day,lets just say i'd better pull my finger out..Better lite the fuse only 39 days till we take off and only 56 days till the man burns.

yes i'm a slacker

Mac — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 11:52:34 GMT

I know my last blog entry was months ago and i cut my world trip story's short, but thats the way it goes. got so much goin on at the mo,somedays its all a bit overwhelming but i manage to deal with it. Burningman yeeeee I am so very excited,is gunna be a great trip and cant wait to see Kel, Lulie and the Roosters and everyone i met last year. Not really in the mood to be typing out my thoughts and feelings,i have a few concerns about a friend.I'm wishing i could be closer to comfort them but thats impossible,i would like to ring them and make them laugh but they lost their phone,so i'll write it here in the hope they log on to tribe. may angels tread apon your sleeping lids may joy kiss your silent lips may strength spear your spine formidable may passion bubble your soul may your lightning blind their thunder may music play with your laughter

The Night Watchman

Mac — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 16:30:50 GMT

Rothenburg Germany is a fantastic town,I was blown away by the history of it all,a walled medievil city over 1000 years old. We found an excellent hotel in the old town called the Schranne,for 30 euro we got a nice room each and breakfast. After unpacking we hit the town and walk the old cobblestone streets exploring all the historical sites like the Franciscan church built in 1285 and the town hall built in 1250.I recomend paying the 1euro fee to climb up to the top of the tower in the town hall,the veiws of the city are fantastic. At 8pm we met the Night Watchman for a lantern lit tour of the city, This was one of the best tours Ive been on,not only was the guide informative he was also funny and had a real love for the history of the town,definatly worth the 8 euros. After the tour the Lads and I ended up at hell.When a local from Rothenburg tells you to go to hell its a very good recomondation. Hell or the devils inn is the oldest building in Rothenburg,its a quiet little bar/cafe/pub. Jon and I dont drink so we had coffee and Lee had a beer(beer is cheaper than coffee in Germany,crazy Germans)I was hungry and it was getting late and didnt want a big feed so i ordered the soup of the day,which to my surprise happened to be Grape soup,It took a bit of getting used to,but it was very tasty.The waiter later explained it was a reduction of Veer Juice,white wine and cream,i liked it and ate it all but would have pushed it aside for a spoonful of jon's apple strudel and icecream. That night after much persistance from me Jon and Lee taught me two games,circles and waaaaa. I was later to regret learning those games. After a hearty German breakfast we jumped in the Merc and headed south to Neuschwanstein Castle,were we joined the tourist crowds and bought our ticket for a tour of Mad King Ludwigs castle.It's a very impressive castle,very Gothic in style but never judge a book by its cover... The castle is only 160years old and i would have to say the worst tour ive ever been on,ever.The "english speaking guide" was bearly understandable,there were about fifty people in our group(some with winging,crying kids)and we were quickly led from one room to another and before we knew it the tour was over and we were told to follow the signs out of the castle.Not impressed at all. We got out of the castle at 3pm and with no plans hit the autobarn south and drove down to Austria thru the alps.The scenery and country side of Austria was beautiful,but unfortunatly that all went out the window as we drove into Innsbruck. Innsbruck or what I saw of it was very dirty and very industrialised,and it seemed to be living on the past glory of holding a winter olympics there. After driving around and around looking for a hotel we said stuff it and got on the Brenner Pass and drove to Italy. We made it to a small little village called Gossensass and found the Hotel Erna,where we got a room each and breakfast for 40 euro. That night we had dinner at the local restaurant(which was owned by the hotel owners brother...small town) Not much happens in a small Italian ski resort town during off season,we realised this when we stepped out of the restaurant and the town was empty,not a soul to be seen,we wandered around till we found the only place open a small cafe,Lee had a beer,jon and I coffees,then back to the hotel were we stayed up late talking crap. The next morning we drove back thru Austria then thru switzerland to lake Constance where we had lunch and a look around then a ferry ride across the lake to Freidrichshaffen to catch our flight home. It was a great three days

Dirty old town

Mac — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 14:50:17 GMT

Ah.... Great Britain,London,Heathrow to be exact. I love the UK ,Its architecture and it's narrow streets with grand old buildings,the way they managed to cram everything into the city of london and still leave room for a few parks(unlike Paris),and great parks they are,I've had many a sunday in Regents park kicking a football, throwing frisbee. Yes i love London for many reasons but the one thing I loath is the tube,"mind the gap" mind the cancelled services mind no escelators,mind walking 2miles to change platforms,I know i'm having a good winge here and the tube's not so bad when you get used to it,but when you've just flown 16hours and you've got to drag your luggage thru the underground change trains three times to get to an address your not sure is the right place.The Tube can suck. I am very fortunate to have met four fantastic pommy's in Australia when they were travelling together back in 1999,and since than have become close mates,they all live in Maldon Essex and i was welcomed at Jon & Nats.And at Lee & Lara's but they have a baby boy Zac and I was informed that there's not many quiet nights at the Wisemans,so I was hanging out with my old mates again and staying in a beautiful and very old English town. Both Jon & Nat work, so I was left to my own devices during the day wich usually entailed walking and exploring the local area.Maldon is a town on the Blackwater estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon district and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater rivers.Maldon Crystal Sea Salt (a popular product in all supermarkets) is made using crystals harvested along the beds of the River Blackwater .http://www.itsaboutmaldon.co.uk/ I dont normaly put links in my blog but Maldon has more to see than i can type. After plenty of stupid suggestions and hours of looking on the net a weekend away for the boy's was planned,destination... Freidrichschafen Germany.Well why not? It only cost us 32pounds each for return flights,so Jon,Lee and myself hit Gatwick at 6.30am on a friday morning and jumped on a Ryan air flight to Germany,three hours later we were being told they didnt have the car we requested so they would upgrade us,we drove out of the airport in our black C-class Mercedes with a map and headed north to Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

To the Big Apple

Mac — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 14:24:04 GMT

Goodbyes to Lulie & Bella at LA International Airport where the big jet engines roar...... New York was amazing,i stayd on 101st and Broadway,it was a cheap hotel and right in the middle of everything. The room looked very clean but when i woke during my first night because the rats were rumaging thru my bag of butterfingers and rasperry twizzlers. The weather was beautiful,warm enough for a t-shirt & shorts,i hit the streets early every morning and explored by foot till i couldnt walk any more than I'd hit the subway.too easy really.you'd have to be a flaming drongo to want to drive a car thru New York. One of the things that blew me away about NY was the complete contrast to LA,in the people, the polution,NY has just as many fast food places as LA but NY has more green grocers more markets where fresh produce is obtainable.(from what i saw) I checked out some appartments at a real estate agent in NY, if you wanted a place with a kitchen the price went thru the roof.If you wanna make some dosh in NY buy a restuarantCheesy Pizza was one of my favourite places to eat,huge serving and the blokes there got a kick out of my accent.I did most of the touristy things ,rode the Statten island ferry passed the statue of liberty,Empire State Building,ate a nathans hot dog but only once,union square markets,$@nd st and broadway,Brooklyn,the bronx & queens.i even went to the museum of sex which i highly recomend Central Park was tops,i went there on sunday morning after Columbus st market,where i had my first taste of gumbo,very tasty it was.. As you can tell by my pics on tribe and the knockers site,I have a thing for wrought iron,well just across from central park i stopped infront of a building to take a photo of some iron work,dragons.A doorman was standing outside as doormen do,so i asked him the name of the building and when was it built he informed me that it was "The Dakota" and was built in the late 1800's.I thanked him and started to walk off and i heard him say "john Lennon got shot right where you standing". That stunned me,i wasnt expecting it,then i crossed the road into central park thinking about john lennon,there was strawberry fields,it was a pretty cool site,there were the usual picture takers who quickly scambled off to get another scenic shot,then there were the blanket bringers,set for the day with there lunches and guitars,hanging around enjoying a beautiful part of the park,watching the thousands that come and see that one word that imortalises a wonderful man with a wonderful mind.IMAGINE

five days at sweettarts

Mac — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 13:30:58 GMT

My last week on the West coast I hung out with Lulie,and a fun week it was.Plenty of sight seeing,a Wally World moment at Six Flags Magic mountain Amusment park.I had told Lulie i was keen to ride a few rollercoasters so she booked two tickets on line,as we excitedly drove into the park and realised there was no traffic ,no cars in the car park,just a lone security guard down by the ticket gates,we couldn't understand,where was everybody? The guard said "sorry folks parks closed" It was a funny moment even though i was dissapointed i wouldnt be haveing a wicked day on the rollercoasters. I enjoyed LA, I learned that you should always plan your jouney with plenty of time to spare,the traffic is unbelievable.And it cost heaps of bucks to throw anything away at the dump(refuse depot)Hollywoods a dive,Carne Ensada is tops,Cimi Vally is nice,Venice beach looks different on the television,and there's a really nice creek near the jet prepulsion laboratories somewhere out there in LA, some great memories at that creek. A fantastic week filled with great food and new friends,Dinner at the Spaghetti Factory at the mariners with Kaluha,Greg and Lulie was a good night,then someone had to press the alarm button in the park(blame the aussie) A fine day was spent at Brian's (whisper)cleaning our bikes of playa dust and emptying out his campervan which still had the rodent and a pile of dust filled crap inside it.The water jet pressure cleaner makes it easy work. And we were rewarded with a nice afternoon in the jaccuzzi mmmmm hot tub

after the dust settles

Mac — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 12:11:28 GMT

Exodus was fun,somehow Rooster saved us a few hours buy sneaking into the line of traffic somewhere near the entrance gates,after then it was a slow crawl across the playa towards Gerlach.Lulie was stocked up with plenty of turkey jerkey and good humour. Apart from the camper infront of us nearly doing a tripple somersault the trip was pretty uneventful,except for Roosters outburst of jerkyboy routines which kept me in stitches. I waved goodbye to Lulie and Rooster in Reno where i checked into Circus Circus for a few days to shake off the dust and organise myself for the next leg of my journey.After a few loads at the laundromat and a major repack i sent a backpack full of gear back home,mostly souveniers and some clothes. On a bit of a whim i decided to go to Las Vegas for a stickybeak.WOW Vegas would have to be the most in your face place on the planet.I loved it,mainly because i knew i was only staying three nights. My stay in Vegas was great,although I'm not a gambler i was given plenty of free promotional chances to win and that i did,Tickets to see the amazing Jonathan,poker machine vouchers,mugs,free buffets.Had heaps of fun and it was all free. From Las Vegas I went to Los Angeles to see the famous Venice Beach,I hadn't been on the beach more than two hours when i met a fellow burner,Doug,who lived right on the beach.With true burner style Doug invited me into his home and treated me like a true friend.(thanks mate) A call to Kaluha and we're of to a party on Sunset Blvd ,It was a very cool party with very cool,groovy people,a BIg thankyou to Alex Leahr and Kaluha who was bell of the ball.

it will never end

Mac — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 11:29:32 GMT

I left the Playa four and a half months ago,and not a day has passed since, that i haven't re-experienced or used "something" from my amazing time at Black Rock City. I have lots of story's from the burn that i will gladly share with you but i will just tell you this one for now.... GO..... BUY YOURSELF A TICKET..... GET THERE ANY WAY YOU CAN..... NO MATTER WHAT..... EXPERIENCE IT.....

The Start with no finish

Mac — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 06:21:26 GMT

i dont know why but i just had to get to the burning man.Little did i know that this event would change my life forever(or untill next years event) I arrived in the states on the 20th of august,and i must admit ,i was,and still am, very nieve about the US.I had a few days in San Francisco doing the tourist thing,cable car,ball game,chowder,golden gate bridge the usuall. the off to Reno to buy eveything i needed for the burning man. I had decided to buy a pushy(bicycle) and one of those cool red wagons we always see American kids pull around on TV.I soon learnt they are called Radio Flyers. I bought a tent,sleeping bag cooking stove and all the other gear needed for camping. I left Reno at 4pm on friday 25th and started to peddle to the Black Rock Desert thru Sparks towards Lake Pyramid.....It was extremly hot & my fully laden wagon was about 80 to a 100 pounds. I arrived at a rest stop just before Pyramid lake at midnightand set up camp I awoke just before sunrise and was blown away as the new dawn revield the lake and the surrounding desert landscape. After breakfast and a quick photo shoot with a wonderful German couple (thanks for emailing the photo's John) i was off down hill towards the lake. It doesnt take long for the tempreture to rise back up and by 11am i had cycled to another rest site for a snack and a few litres of water to rehydrate,then a nap. When i woke 3guys were setting up a tent nearby, one of them waved and said hi and asked if i was going to the burning man and was there anything i needed,i replied with "a million bucks would be good" which is my standrd response if aked. he laughed and invited me over, His name is Paragon and is a Black Rocker Ranger his mates are jeff & Alex.After chatting for a few minutes Jeff said he had a gift for me & pulled a $1000,000.oo bill from his pocket(a novelty of course) it was from that momment i knew imy journey was going to be special. Paragon and the boys filled me in as much as the could about theman (thanks again fellas) and i was on my way along the lake towards the town of Nixon. just outside of Nixon i saw a teepee and a sign saying Tamalies i had never had a tamalie so i stopped to cool down and grab a feed,thays where i met Mervin and Elise, both natives of the Paiute Indians,Elise had a moko Tattoo and the conversation started there as I'm very keen on tatts.Mervin told me of the local history and the great battle that took place of 1820,he also filled me in about the natural history of Pyramid Lake.It was an amazing 2 hours chatting with them and the Tamalie was fantastic. Around 5pm i set back on the road,it was still very hot but Gerlach was only 80miles or so away.A few miles north i came to Marble Bluff,the biggist hill so far in my jouney, i stopped at the bottom contemplating how to climb it, i was about to dissconnect my wagon and push it and my bike seperatly when i heard a car coming when i turned to look i saw a small sedan with driver and passenger and not an inch of spare space inside.Then the passengers arm came out thru the window holding something,as they got closer i could see it was a bottle of drink,an ice cold mountain dew.The ladie said if they had any room they'd give me a ride,but the mountain dew should help me up the hill.and it did.I never got their names or saw them at the burningman,but i would like to say thanks and if you see my trbe site please drop me a line. From the top of the bluff it was pretty cruisy for the most part and i cycled on and off for most of the night.The flow of vehicles heading to the man was constant, By 10am sunday morning i was exhausted and decided to put my thumb out and get a ride' i could see most cars and trucks were full to the brim and everyone had a "sorry but...." look on their face,then the gods (whoever they may be)smiled, Boolane pulled over and asked me the same question "are you riding that thing to the burningman? he thought i was crazy but put my gear in his van and off we went. I dont know who was watching over me but what are the chances of getting a ride with a Ranger,a ranger from Berlin Camp who knows Paragon the Ranger i met the day before. This trip was blowing me out more & more every mile. Boolane filled me in on some more details about the man and gave me a small pouch of pennies that had been rolled and stamped with the Burningman logo so i now had something to gift to people that i met. we stopped at Gerlach for a few extra suplies then on to the man. I cant explain the feeling i had when i saw the playa it was like a mirage, i had finally made it, I was in the gate,I had been welcomed home and thats what it felt like,that all my life had been leading up to this momment...... I rang the virgin bell so hard I'm sure they heard it back home in australia. when i got to the ranger station at Berlin Boolane introduced me to a few people and gave them a quick rundown of my story and i was welcomed into their camp, i pitched my tiny tent next to two amazing guys Toecutter & willfixit,who gave me the playa name IRON MAX ,i thought he missheard my name as Max instead of Mac, but was later to learn I was like mad Max's little brother but way cooler(thanks Will) Exhausted as i was after my arduous jouney the excitment of finally being at the BurningMan took over an i went exploring.Every person i saw was smilling,gave a wave or ivited me for a cool drink & a chat.The vibe was amazing,I had never been anywhere in all my years of travelling where the climate was so extreme and everyone so happy. Apart from Boolane giving me a pouch of rolled Burningman pennies the first pressy i was gifted was by two guys who said i should stop and rehydrate,i was obviously showing the signs. I wish i could remember their names,but the best way to describe them was naked with painted cock's. One had a blue dick with a red knob the other had a yellow and black barbers pole dick(if you read this guys please contact me) it wasnt a problem for me sitting with two painted penis's it just confirmed what the Man is all about,Expression,art,and whatever you bloody well feel like. they gave me a fantastic stainless steel pendant that had the BurnigMan symbol laser cut out of it,I was stoked. I wanted to stay and chat all day but had to go and check out more amazing stuff.The rest of the day was spent meeting and greeting,watching,helping people set up camps. I didnt get much sleep that night as things really started to liven up after dark,the next couple of days are sort of a blur,i met so many people and saw so much of the theme camps it has all blended together in my mind. Not really knowing when or how it happened(just playa magic i guess) our small little camp became a community. Lulie,Rooster,Kaluha,Mischa,Rooster(yep two of them)and soplain who had to change her name because it just didnt suit her,so it became Savage. I was finally getting "IT" what the Man was about,half our group are Rangers,friends of Rangers or ring ins like myself.The fun and adventures we got up to are to numerous to tell,but i will try and fit them into my blog as i go. I really Must thank Lulie for supplying me with the most fantastic Playa Coat ever (lulievision.com)this is my most treasured gift from thePlaya(and my memories) And to Big Rooster for his sense of humor and taking the piss out of me Jerky Boys style,I can be the staight guy. I thought it was great that two leo's born so close together could get on so well(no alpha male crap) Kaluha was a babe,beautiful,intelligent,need i say more... Little Rooster(only say little as not to confuse you with Goth rooster) you are big in my eyes,a big heart,soul & spirit (and schlong,oh my god) i will alway remember our talks and the things i learnt from them,thanks rooster you are what i call a true friend.. I wish i could have got to know everyone a lot more closer, it's not a problem cause theres only ten and a bit months to go before i get back to Black Rock City.YEEHAA some of the things that blew my mind... The Belgian Waffle the effort people went to,not only on themselves but on thier camps gifting The Steam Bath dance dance emolation art cars naked rollerskating playa-Q (thanks nathan) the list goes on and on and on theres just too much for me to convey onto a screenso the rest isnt in any order but just as the memories come back to me. I had met a lady who was a ranger in berlin camp,she was quite spiritual i guess i just jot that feeling from her,i wish i could remember her name because she brought something quite amazing out of me,heres the story.We met early in the week around camp and intr duced ourselves,everytime we passed we would say hullo and asked how each others day went but never really talked in depth,then on the friday(i think) i was playing my didg and she came over and told me of her love for the instrument and would i do her a very big favour.She told me that her good friend had passed away and she was placing his ashes at the temple and asked if i would play him a song. I must admit i was a bit taken back because i'd never been asked to play at a funeral so to speak,i guess she sensed this and said it would just be her and myself . I felt so honoured to do it,not to show off my ability but that she knew her friend would love to be sent off this way. so we found a small open space and sat down on the dust,infront of us was a little glass bottle,inside were some of his ashes and some flowers,I asked her to tell me a little about him,i could see she loved him very much and that he was a kind and spiritual man like herself. we closed our eyes and i began to play,and i played like never before,it was very intense and calming at the same time,i was in the zone.I dont know how long i played for or what was going on in the world at the time,but it was the most amazing spiritual experience. As we sat there taking a few deep breathes i felt a calmness,she thanked me but i was speachless i couldn't do anything but give her a big hug... I want to thank you,where ever you are,not only did i play my didg the best i've ever played i felt I'd given something of myself to something that really mattered.Thankyou... the night the temple burned i watched the smoke and ashes fly off into the sky,i felt my own spirit rise up and mix with all those i've loved and known who have passed on.I dont know what happens or where you go when you die but after that night i realised people only die when you forget them.memories are precious.