Fun Friday: Unique and Bizarre Vacations

 

From US News

Feel like a giant

Disney World, SeaWorld, Six Flags… All great family getaways. There’s no doubt that, despite the chaotic atmosphere and the overpriced snack stands, a theme park vacation is a must-have experience for every child and thus, every parent. These days, there seems to be a park to suit every interest, from chocolate to construction, Jesus Christ to Dolly Parton. But just when we thought that every void had been filled, the Chinese pulled a fast one with the 2009 opening of Dwarf Empire, an amusement park catering to — and almost entirely staffed by — little people.

Perched on a hilltop in Kunming (about 1,758 miles southwest of Beijing), this small troupe (whose members all measure four feet or shorter) functions as a true kingdom, complete with an emperor and a parliamentary government. According to Travel and Leisure, “The park … gained worldwide media coverage for employing many of the country’s height-challenged, who traditionally have had a hard time finding work. Thanks to the park, many of China’s dwarves are now gainfully employed as everything from janitors to crown-wearing empresses.” The employees all live and dine together on-site in exchange for performing costumed expositions like break-dancing performances and gourd-instrument concerts for hundreds of curious tourists.

 

From Flavorwire

Island of the Dolls

Not far from Mexico City is an island that has become one of the southwestern country’s biggest and weirdest tourist attractions. Island of the Dolls (Isla de las Munecas) wasn’t originally intended for curious crowds, but the story of a drowned child and the man who found her and felt haunted by her death has drawn visitors in droves. The story goes that after a child died in a canal, Don Julian Santana saw a doll floating by and hung it from a tree as a way to honor her spirit. He also wanted to protect the island from further tragedy. Eventually it became an obsession, and he adorned the island with broken, creepy dolls. There are many urban legends surrounding his bizarre behavior, but one thing remains truly terrifying. In 2001, Santana apparently drowned in the same canal as the little girl. His family now runs the island as a tourist hot spot, but many are fearful of its haunted past.

 

 

From Winowseatblog

Go Zorbing at Pigeon Forge, TN

 

Visit a cargo cult on Tanna, Vanuatu

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6363843.stm

 

 

Go to Europe’s largest fire festival  Up Helly Aa

 

 

 

Fun Friday: A Dirty Joke in Willy Wonka

So apparently Road Dahl and the Gene Wilder laid down a very cute and very dirty little joke into Willy Wonka  http://www.cracked.com/quick-fixes/the-filthiest-joke-ever-hidden-in-childrens-movie/

And a visual take on Burning Man

Thanks to Teddy and Ozzy

Burning Man Photo Galleries 2012

Stolen from the Baltimore Sun

So tonight I decided to surf around on the web a bit and pull together a bunch of galleries from this year’s burn, enjoy:

First up Patrick Roddie,(150+) he shoots primarily faces and body parts and does a wonderful job, the link is to his set of galleries from each year and btw, in the 2012 gallery 12_57 is one the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen.    http://webbery.com/galleries/burningman/index.html

Rolling Stone magazine’s Burning Man photo gallery (11), on the cover Loadie Camp’s Shark Car  http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/pictures/more-photos-from-burning-man-2012-20120911/the-shark-car-0699596

11 photos by Eric Brown, the first pic is really special flaming Octopus car  http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/379903/20120902/burning-man-2012-pictures-photos-nevada.htm#page0

From Yahoo News starting with full flaming Burn Wall Street, some good photos (50) here but some repeats from other galleries  http://news.yahoo.com/photos/burning-man-festival-2012-slideshow/

Photos by Neil Girling (7)  http://laughingsquid.com/photos-of-burning-man-2012-fertility-2-0-by-the-blights-neil-girling/

Huffington Posts’ annual shameless grab for free content (210) photos  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/04/burning-man-photos_n_1853436.html

2012 BMORG Gallery  (a lot) http://galleries.burningman.com/browse?b=true&text=&year=2012&category=&mediatype=photo

6 great photos  http://www.stuckincustoms.com/category/travel/nevada/burning-man/

A set of really good photos (108) by someone named Christopher http://www.flickr.com/photos/cmichel67/sets/72157631376410550/with/7919047112/

Galleries from Tumblr with the Burning Man 2012 tag  http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/burning-man-2012

About 20 but some unique and really good shots  http://fuckyeahburningman.tumblr.com/

All Pinterest images with a Burning Man 2012 tag  http://pinterest.com/search/?q=burning+man+2012

Great photo blog from the SF Chronicle, huge gallery and these aren’t professional photos but a really great perspective  http://blog.sfgate.com/morford/2012/09/04/burning-man-2012/#7170101-70

30 great instagram pics a little warning site is pretty slow  http://pulse.sfstation.com/2012/09/04/thirty-awesome-burning-man-instagram-photos/

David LeClair’s fairly comprehensive set of installation shots  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100659820541159.2601994.1804170&type=3

And finally the largest damn gallery I’ve ever seen from one person (1000) Dustin Kerschtein  https://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.10151200998012139.496010.577187138&type=1

30 Days of Burning Man, Day 30 Have a great burn!

This year there is a possibility that there will be a much higher percentage of newbies heading to the desert so I thought I’d spend the 30 days before the gates open throwing out some information, some images and a little bit of wisdom, advice and snark about the place I love so much. These posts will be generally directed at Burning Man virgins but hopefully some of you old dogs out there will contribute through comments or get some enjoyment out of them as well. So here we go.  .  I’ll include at least one photo from Burning Man each day and once a week I’ll do nothing but photos.  I hope the posts are sometimes helpful and also enjoyable, enjoy ~ ZD Blue

For Day 30, a simple wish that everyone has a safe and fabulous burn and all 30 links from the last 30 days, ~ ZD Blue

http://zdeaconblue.wordpress.com/2012/07/27/30-days-of-burning-man-day-1-the-basics/

http://zdeaconblue.wordpress.com/2012/07/29/30-days-of-burning-man-day-2-links/

http://zdeaconblue.wordpress.com/2012/07/29/30-days-of-burning-man-day-3-virgin-guide-part-1/

http://zdeaconblue.wordpress.com/2012/07/30/30-days-of-burning-man-virgin-guide-part-2/

http://zdeaconblue.wordpress.com/2012/07/31/30-days-of-burning-man-day-5-virgin-guide-part-iii/

http://zdeaconblue.wordpress.com/2012/08/01/30-days-of-burning-man-day-6-playa-magic/

http://zdeaconblue.wordpress.com/2012/08/02/30-days-of-burning-man-day-7-photographs/

http://zdeaconblue.wordpress.com/2012/08/02/30-days-of-burning-man-day-8-the-10-principles/

http://zdeaconblue.wordpress.com/2012/08/04/30-days-of-burning-man-day-9-costumes/

http://zdeaconblue.wordpress.com/2012/08/05/30-days-of-burning-man-day-10-art/

http://zdeaconblue.wordpress.com/2012/08/06/30-days-of-burning-man-day-11-the-heart-of-burning-man/

http://zdeaconblue.wordpress.com/2012/08/07/30-days-of-burning-man-day-12-should-i-bring-my-children/

http://zdeaconblue.wordpress.com/2012/08/08/30-days-of-burning-man-day-13-supporting-playa-art-projects/

http://zdeaconblue.wordpress.com/2012/08/09/30-days-of-burning-man-day-14-photographs-links/

http://zdeaconblue.wordpress.com/2012/08/10/30-days-of-burning-man-day-15-photography-guide/

http://zdeaconblue.wordpress.com/2012/08/11/30-days-of-burning-man-day-16-photography-guide-part-2/

http://zdeaconblue.wordpress.com/2012/08/12/30-days-of-burning-man-day-17-links-links-and-more-links/

http://zdeaconblue.wordpress.com/2012/08/13/30-days-of-burning-man-day-18-burning-man-in-the-news/

http://zdeaconblue.wordpress.com/2012/08/14/30-days-of-burning-man-day-19-get-involved/

http://zdeaconblue.wordpress.com/2012/08/15/30-days-day-1/

http://zdeaconblue.wordpress.com/2012/08/16/30-days-of-burning-man-day-20-theme-camps/

http://zdeaconblue.wordpress.com/2012/08/17/30-days-of-burning-man-day-21-the-faces-of-burning-man/

http://zdeaconblue.wordpress.com/2012/08/18/30-days-of-burning-man-day-22-fire/

http://zdeaconblue.wordpress.com/2012/08/19/30-days-of-burning-man-day-23-the-art/

http://zdeaconblue.wordpress.com/2012/08/20/30-days-of-burning-man-day-24-sex-on-the-playa/

http://zdeaconblue.wordpress.com/2012/08/21/30-days-of-burning-man-day-25-dont-go/

http://zdeaconblue.wordpress.com/2012/08/22/30-days-of-burning-man-day-26-live-on-the-playa/

http://zdeaconblue.wordpress.com/2012/08/23/30-days-of-burning-man-day-27-three-questions/

http://zdeaconblue.wordpress.com/2012/08/24/30-days-of-burning-man-day-28-photos-photos-more-photos/

http://zdeaconblue.wordpress.com/2012/08/25/30-days-of-burning-man-day-29-the-thank-yous/

30 Days of Burning Man – Day 29, The Thank Yous!

This year there is a possibility that there will be a much higher percentage of newbies heading to the desert so I thought I’d spend the 30 days before the gates open throwing out some information, some images and a little bit of wisdom, advice and snark about the place I love so much. These posts will be generally directed at Burning Man virgins but hopefully some of you old dogs out there will contribute through comments or get some enjoyment out of them as well. So here we go.  .  I’ll include at least one photo from Burning Man each day and once a week I’ll do nothing but photos.  I hope the posts are sometimes helpful and also enjoyable, enjoy ~ ZD Blue

Tonight a simple post of a simple reminder and that is to give thanks to the people who make Burning Man happen.  I’m sure I’ll forget some people I shouldn’t so feel free to remind me in the comments section.  First, to the ORG, that’s right Burning Man LLC the organization that puts it all together, gets the permits, coordinates and organizes everything including suing local government when necessary.

To the men and women of the DPW, the people who build the infrastructure and stay after the burns are all done and make our presences as if it was never there, to make sure we keep our permits and can return to the desert next year.  When the DPW does their annual parade donate freely and heavily.

To all the artists and volunteers, the perimeter crew, ice camp, center camp a massive thank you to the people who work Exodus!!!  To all of you who create camps, activities and the insanity we revel in thank you.  To the makers of art cars and the department of mutant vehicles who make sure it all works out.

To the rangers who help out and the medical tent volunteers who save us and even the cops who occasionally actually protect us, the fire volunteers who keep the city safe, thank you.  To the builders of the man and the pyrotechnic maniacs who blow it up thank you.

Finally my biggest thank you to the builders of the Temple, the Temple Guardians and most of all to all of you who share your dreams, your pain and your wishes.

A thank you to anyone I’ve missed who participates and for all of you about to start driving, see you in the dust ~ ZD Blue

30 Days of Burning Man – Day 28 photos, photos & more photos

This year there is a possibility that there will be a much higher percentage of newbies heading to the desert so I thought I’d spend the 30 days before the gates open throwing out some information, some images and a little bit of wisdom, advice and snark about the place I love so much. These posts will be generally directed at Burning Man virgins but hopefully some of you old dogs out there will contribute through comments or get some enjoyment out of them as well. So here we go.  .  I’ll include at least one photo from Burning Man each day and once a week I’ll do nothing but photos.  I hope the posts are sometimes helpful and also enjoyable, enjoy ~ ZD Blue

The last pure photo day of the 30 days of Burning Man, enjoy ~ ZD Blue

30 Days of Burning Man – Day 27, Three questions

This year there is a possibility that there will be a much higher percentage of newbies heading to the desert so I thought I’d spend the 30 days before the gates open throwing out some information, some images and a little bit of wisdom, advice and snark about the place I love so much. These posts will be generally directed at Burning Man virgins but hopefully some of you old dogs out there will contribute through comments or get some enjoyment out of them as well. So here we go.  .  I’ll include at least one photo from Burning Man each day and once a week I’ll do nothing but photos.  I hope the posts are sometimes helpful and also enjoyable, enjoy ~ ZD Blue

It’s getting close to leaving time now for those who are dust bound this year, so for tonight’s post I asked a few “old timers”  and even one person who has only done regional burns.  I asked them the following questions:

One piece of advice

One reason to go

One reason to stay home

From a friend I camped with at 4^th and J:

mmmm…. 1. free your mind and your ass will follow. 2. being in a momentary city of 65,000 or so people who are all intentionally shaping reality will blow yer fucken mind. 3. because you are an utter chickenshit idiot.

From a friend who literally hypnotized me:

1. One piece of advice: Regionals 2: Reason to go: Acceptance by other Burners 3: Reason not to go: Your true friends will accept you anyway, even if they happen to be Burners.

From an old dog

1. pay attention to the direction of the sun.  2.  It’s a place to be more relaxed than any other place you’ll ever be.  3.  If you’re in a relationship with problems don’t go, the playa is a magnifier.

Veteran Burners, feel free to chime in with your own answers.  ~ ZD Blue

30 Days of Burning Man – Day 26, Live on the Playa

This year there is a possibility that there will be a much higher percentage of newbies heading to the desert so I thought I’d spend the 30 days before the gates open throwing out some information, some images and a little bit of wisdom, advice and snark about the place I love so much. These posts will be generally directed at Burning Man virgins but hopefully some of you old dogs out there will contribute through comments or get some enjoyment out of them as well. So here we go.  .  I’ll include at least one photo from Burning Man each day and once a week I’ll do nothing but photos.  I hope the posts are sometimes helpful and also enjoyable, enjoy ~ ZD Blue

The day the gate opens approaches and some of you who have decided not to go may be lamenting your decision.  Some of you will never go but are curious as hell as to what it’s really like on the Playa, and some unfortunately will have sudden changes in your life that will prevent you from going.  So tonight some links to help you experience what the Playa is like even if you can’t be there.

Radio BMIR/Shouting Fire – live radio from the Playa assuming all goes well
http://bmir.org/

Live Playa webcast from the BMORG
http://www.burningman.com/blackrockcity_yearround/special_events/playa_webcast.html

An additional link to the same site
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/burningman-live

 If anyone knows of any other live broadcasts this year please post in the comments, thanks ~ ZD Blue

30 Days of Burning Man – Day 25, Don’t Go!!!

This year there is a possibility that there will be a much higher percentage of newbies heading to the desert so I thought I’d spend the 30 days before the gates open throwing out some information, some images and a little bit of wisdom, advice and snark about the place I love so much. These posts will be generally directed at Burning Man virgins but hopefully some of you old dogs out there will contribute through comments or get some enjoyment out of them as well. So here we go.  .  I’ll include at least one photo from Burning Man each day and once a week I’ll do nothing but photos.  I hope the posts are sometimes helpful and also enjoyable, enjoy ~ ZD Blue

So I’ve spent 24 days telling you about Burning Man, all of the things I love about it and why you should go, but maybe you shouldn’t.  So tonight all the reasons real and imaginary why you shouldn’t go.  Let’s start with the experience a colleague had with Burning Man.  He had wanted to go for a long time, he’d heard and read about it and thought it would be great.  He did the 4 hour drive out to the Playa, sat in the entry line in the dust and the wind, and the longer he sat there the less excited he got, finally he did a U-turn and went home.  It was just too dusty he told me.

But there are plenty of reasons not to go, first of all it’s expensive, I tell newbies expect to drop a grand on your first venture to the Playa all-inclusive.  Second, if you’re not someone who easily handles being out of their comfort zone, this is NOT a good place for you.  Don’t like camping, dust, heat, cold, or nudity, really not going to like Black Rock City.  Need to be on your cellphone all day, can’t go three hours without texting, nope.   Need a week where you want to just get loaded everyday and sit around and watch other people do Burning Man, please stay home, we won’t miss you.

There are more than a few opinions about this topic on the web, some are serious, some snarky and some are just plain fucking nuts, enjoy ~ ZD Blue

1. It’s just sham cover for sex and drugs  http://www.jewishworldreview.com/weekly/standard092499.asp

2. Why Burning Man isn’t worth it from Cracked  http://www.cracked.com/blog/bad-acid-weird-boobs-why-burning-man-isnt-worth-it/

3. It’s an Occult revival meeting and you’ll burn in hell for going  http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/False%20Religions/Wicca%20&%20Witchcraft/burning_man_festivals.htm

4.  A take from the disgruntled  http://www.jwz.org/gruntle/burningman.html

5.  Burning Man was terrible  http://bm.tribe.net/thread/391c8bd8-fbbb-48b5-847a-afa1a0218c7d

6.  This guy, did NOT have a good time on the Playa  http://blog.hisnameistimmy.com/burning-man-our-review/12 

7. Ten things to hate about Burning Man  http://www.newsreview.com/reno/10-things-i-hate-about-burning-man/content?oid=481375

8.  The dark-side of Burning Man  http://funologist.org/2012/02/17/the-dark-side-of-burning-man/

30 Days of Burning Man – Day 24, Sex on the Playa

This year there is a possibility that there will be a much higher percentage of newbies heading to the desert so I thought I’d spend the 30 days before the gates open throwing out some information, some images and a little bit of wisdom, advice and snark about the place I love so much. These posts will be generally directed at Burning Man virgins but hopefully some of you old dogs out there will contribute through comments or get some enjoyment out of them as well. So here we go.  .  I’ll include at least one photo from Burning Man each day and once a week I’ll do nothing but photos.  I hope the posts are sometimes helpful and also enjoyable, enjoy ~ ZD Blue

Yes, I know, you’ve been told that Burning Man is a drunken Pagan orgy where people are running around stoned and naked looking for the smallest of reason to jump into the sack with you.  Well, much like the leprechaun at the end of the rainbow, the Playa orgy is a bit of a myth.  Now, does an environment where people are relaxed, kind, non-judgmental and uninhibited increase people’s libidos a bit, absolutely.  Does it turn everyone into wanton sluts, no.

First off folks and I’ve mentioned this before, there is a lot of law enforcement on the playa so public sex acts run a pretty high risk of getting you both observed and arrested.  So should you run into that leprechaun, be discreet.

Without a doubt some interesting things can happen on the Playa, on burn night, my first year on the Playa I was propositioned at the burn by a really friendly young lad, not my cup of tea so I passed on the offer.  I’ve been picked up on a bike ride by a lovely young lady and claimed by an incredibly sexy vampire at PUN camp’s Nowhere bar, the Playa is a magical place and a lot of lovely things happen there.

Like in the default world however, no still means no and someone too loaded to give consent is off-limits.  We don’t want the ugliness of the default world to creep in, unfortunately at times it does but we should all do our best to make sure it doesn’t.

A little tour around the web for a little more information about sex on the Playa.

First, the experts, the folks at the Bureau of Erotic Discourse (BED) are dedicated to making sure sex is an appropriate and good experience on the Playa, I would really advise anyone to check out their site if you’re even thinking about having sex on the Playa.

http://www.bureauoferoticdiscourse.org/

Sex and relationship advice from the org site:  http://www.burningman.com/preparation/event_survival/relationships.html

Sex and the Single Burner

Once upon a time, I did a stint as an advice columnist. Here is the answer to a question I received.

Q. I’m going out to Burning Man for the first time and I’m curious about the sexual energy involved. Could the Goddess of Love give me a survival guide to sex at Burning Man?

A. As you state, there is a lot of sexual energy swirling and whirling about, much like a little hippie chick at a Dead show. Anything and everything can and will happen when you stick a bunch of 20th century homo sapiens in an empty desert. Here’s the inside skinny that will make your journey through the sexual side of Black Rock City more pleasant.

• Figure out what you want. Love? Sex? Your wildest fantasies? It’s all there for the taking. And for goodness sake, make sure the person across from you wants the same thing. If she or he doesn’t, there are 500 others who do. Don’t go breakin’ no hearts.
• Be respectful. Just because people are walking around naked does not necessarily mean they wish *you* were naked in a small enclosed space with them. Learn to take no for an answer, and don’t be afraid to use the “n” word yourself.
• Pay attention to your body. The desert is a dangerous place, and the climate alone will push you to the limit physically. Get plenty of rest, monitor your substance intake and carry water with you at all times (you also have to drink the water).
• Always play safe. If your budget for supplies didn’t include condoms, stop by and see the fine folks at Safer Sex Camp. They’ll hook you up.
• Make love to the playa, and she will love you back. Become one with the sun, the stars, and the omnipresent dust. (Word up to Annie Sprinkle for that piece of advice.)
• Don’t be afraid to try new things. If there was ever a space for exploring, this is it! Who knows, you may even like it and want to do it again…and again and again….
• Take responsibility for your own pleasure. You can find anything your little heart desires, but you have to ask for it first! If you don’t get what you want, look in the mirror.

Here’s a great piece on the subject from Carnal Nation  http://carnalnation.com/content/58418/1476/playa-virgins-guide-sex-burning-man?page=0,1