July, 2010:

I love to say, “I have a lot of ideas. Most are bad.” No one seems to enjoy me saying that as much as I enjoy hearing myself say it but whatev :) It’s my way of brainstorming out-loud all the time. It relieves me of owning the ideas that I come up with. Some are great, some suck, but the more I put out there, the more likely I’ll come up with something brilliant.

Fundraising for Africa has been close to my heart for years. In college I felt like the only ethical path was to make as much money as possible here in the US and ship every penny to Africa. I lost that youthful idealism in the grind of my day-to-day desk job over the last five years. The job is gone now and I want a healthy dose of idealism back in my life. Hoop Technique is awesome! I love what I share with so many with the hoop but how can I make it mean something more on a global scale? How can I contribute to humanity as whole? How can I regain the optimism I had in college that I had the ability to end some amount of suffering in the world?

Four days ago at Floydfest I had an idea. Hoop Technique is going to start working with African aide organization. Lauren and I had worked with Asante Africa in the past so as soon as I returned to SF, I called a friend to find the phone number of Erna Grasz, President of the Asante Africa Organization.

Yesterday Erna and I met to brainstorm collaborative ideas. I’m excited to say we’ll be collaborating in the near future, Hoop Technique will be doing a West Coast Tour fundraiser for the organization. This is a trial run of something potentially larger but we have to see how it all works out. We’ll be raising funds for 2 main purposes: bringing hoops to Africa and contributing to the construction of wells.

I love the idea of bringing hoops to Africa, they have no toys and the experience of joy, accomplishment and flow is a powerfully transformative experience. So some of our fundraising will be going to that end but that rings a bit hollow for me without also contributing at the sustenance level in area of the world that severely needs help. Building wells in Africa is something I’ve wanted to do since college. The return on investment, through increased health, and increased opportunity, is huge. Asante is a perfect partner to help us make something like this happen. Though our financial model may change, the current idea is that 50% of our fundraising will go to hoops and 50% will be going to well construction.

To top this all off… through hearing my story a few years back… Erna is now a hooper and teaches classes to the elderly, inspiring them to get back in their bodies and exercise. She’s found and shares the joy and power of the hoop. Now we can spread that joy on a global level. We all can.

What is the ethos of our community? How can we direct it? We’re in an infantile state of a growing community that is wrapping the world. What impact will we as a whole have on the history of humanity? We get to decide that everyday. I’m excited.

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Find this year’s BRC map here.

For the last year I’ve been working with Burning Man assisting with their future move to a headquarters that they’ll own. My job has been primarily to consult with the potential complications with buildings that they’re considering purchasing but also to assist in providing preliminary floor plans.

One of the guys at my office said I had permission and encouraged me to pitch ideas to Larry Harvey, the founder of Burning Man. I took this opportunity on three ocassions. I wrote about one here.

One of the ideas started last year in a plane flying above the city with Julie Wentz. Her partner Mike and she skydive over the city every year. They very generously gifted us the opportunity to fly over the city. During our flight, Mike mentioned how the constant drone of dust came from the entry gate vehicles. Lauren and I were immediately thinking, move the damn gates! WTF?

So through my day job, I had the opportunity to pitch the idea to Larry, Mariom, and I think Harley too. No one bit on the idea during our talks but about a week ago this came out in Volume 14, Issue 19 of the Jack Rabbit Speaks. Maybe we played a small part in making BRC a little less dusty this year.

GATE ROAD 2010 REORIENTED TO REDUCE DUST IN BLACK ROCK CITY

One of the main causes of some persistent dust blowing through Black Rock City is that which is kicked up by cars traveling Gate Road (the road from Highway 34, through the Gate, and on to the Greeters’ Station). Since Gate Road is traditionally aligned such that it aims directly at the 6:00 radial arm of Black Rock City, the prevailing wind (from the southwest) usually carries all the dust right through the heart of the city.

In an experiment to reduce the amount of dust in BRC, the Black Rock City Planning Department has reoriented Gate Road such that the prevailing winds will carry the dust alongside, rather than through, Black Rock City.

It should be noted that Mother Nature has a long and storied history of being as unpredictable as all get-out there on the Black Rock Desert, and the concept of “prevailing winds” is dubious at best. It should also be noted that you shouldn’t expect a miraculous, dust-free year in Black Rock City, because that would be dreaming hard. Bring your all-weather gear; there’s dust at Burning Man.

And remember, no matter which way it’s oriented, always always ALWAYS observe the 10mph speed limit on Gate Road, and 5mph when approaching the Gate and Greeters’ Station. This, too, helps keep down the dust in BRC, and for a vehicle driven in a pedestrian city, it’s the safest practice all around.

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Movement Play! I moved. I played. I worked my ass off. It was amazing. This is the most unique event that I participate in all year. It’s also my favorite. I learned a lot about myself this weekend. I grew. I hurt. And it was exactly what I needed. All of it.

Alright the highlight of my weekend… well there were many but this is priceless:

Photo: Bryan Alberstat

The backstory? I was thinking about jumping in the pond. Some of my closer friends that were in at the time were Marta, Serena, Jasmine, and Luchiana. All talented goddesses. All strikingly gorgeous. All skinny dipping. I hooped in and swam in their direction thinking the beautifulness wouldn’t be an issue but as I approached I felt this feminine circle thing going on. Even to say hello would have felt like gawking despite my comfortableness with nudity, that I’m not hitting on them and I respect each as a friend and equal. I dunno. I think I just got intimidated. Doesn’t happen often. So I swam off. Hah :)

Well they knew the power of the hotness they held and started taking some shots with the on-sight pro photographer, Bryan. The shot was gorgeous and tasteful. Everyone was covered.

It was too tempting! And to rectify my little ego blow, I had to jump in. So I asked if I could get in on the shot. They said only if you’re naked too. So I ripped my clothes off, shorts tangled around my legs and awkwardly posed at their feet. This wasn’t flying. I just put my foot in my mouth again.

Eventually we got it right. When I finally get around to doing my hooping for doods workshop, this is going to be the flyer. Right?

I have many more posts to write about this magical weekend but I’m gonna get to work now. Can’t blog all the time :)

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