iv_ever_dumbening_spqbm frAnk i heard a story yesterday, its origin from diverse indigenous peoples, about the reason why days are shorter in winter. it seems the sun at this time of year is held inside the womb of the earth longer than usual, feeding the impregnated darkness with its virile fire that will soon, after several moons of gestation, birth a diversity of life upon the surface of the earth. somehow, it made me think of the beast shouting within you that the earth is exactly what it wanted...and for it to happen, there had to be a willing transfer, an unselfish impulse to give. and in so doing, new life is produced, life that becomes the gift to give which keeps the revolution turning, the cycle moving, the earth spinning. ¨the gift of the hidden. the gift of discovery.¨ again, thank you for taking us along the path of your memory and allowing us to see into the world of burning man. please define SPQBM and the explosive reactions. i want to be the fourth person to get it. 020122 ... ever dumbening I won't let you off so easily. The clues are: -there are normally four letters in the acronym -my costume is very relevant Discovered with an ancient tongue, your certain success will be sweeter. Ask your armies, your people; they will need leadership into battle. 020122 ... frAnk SPQR (senatus populusque romanus) the senate and people of rome (latin) from: legions of the imperial roman empire (conscription or chosen) eagles carried on a standard, the glory that was in rome. explain how this related to your burning man experience. 020123 ... ever dumbening Foul. No fair. That was too fast. Either you were feigning ignorance (as any good inquisitor should), or you are an even greater researcher than I already suspected. Sin embargo, se mueve. -Galileo (except that he probably said it in Italian) As to how it related to my Burning Man experience, most of it is already there in the previous page. In other words there is no great significance to the costume or the sign. [We are simply the senate and people of Burning Man, marching into the world.] But in mulling over this question I had the thought that: Burning Man is an exclusive club where everyone is invited. The whole thing itself is an inside joke and within there are millions of little hidden references and trivialities. I knew going in that my SPQBM would only be understood by a few, but that was the little club I was creating that day. The club included people who took Latin (what am I ever going to use _this_ for?) or Classics. And I freely welcomed newcomers into the club--anyone who asked was given a brief explanation and thus walked away with a piece of world history and a small window into the person standing in a Roman tunic with Tevas. People attend Burning Man to be who they are, to push the limits of who they are, and to find out who they are. My seventh grade Latin class with Mrs. Klazura (the object at least one young boy's affections) was a tiny scrap of who I am, and it welled up to a time and place many years and miles later. And I created an intersection, knowing that at least one or two would pass my way and be glad to see me. It's much like the tenuous faith I have in finding my next soulmate (next? yeah, I blew it with the first one, I hope we get more than one). I know she is sitting somewhere right now, thinking, reading, laughing, teaching, learning, touching, loving; and some crazy rolling of bones will land us at some other, as yet unknown, intersection. We'll both look up at the street signs and proclaim, "I knew I'd meet you here." One other little significance is the preparation of the items. Attending Burning Man, one can be completely blown away by the passion, dedication, time, and effort that goes into almost every minute thing there. Though I'm not at artist, I am creative and Burning Man inspires me to explore that little blacksmith shop that resides deep. Both years I have worked for hours on end, late into the night, when it's hard to thread the needle, with my mother on several costumes. The only way I feel comfortable showing my appreciation for the incredible things that others allow me to see and feel and do, is to put _my_ whole being into the event in the ways that I am capable. Everything handmade: the SPQBM (the gold pole and crimson cloth below), the tunic, the toga, the laurel (with fresh bay leaves--so fragrant, I radiated good air); all these allow me to silently say: Namaste. . 020124 what's it to you? who go blather from