"That picture is from Burning Man. I'm the one in the orange fur bikini."

So stated an acquaintance of mine who is now a mother of two.

A note on my passing mention of Burning Man in yesterday's post:

If you're from the Pacific Corridor, or the 6 major cities between Vancouver, Canada and San Diego, California, I'm sure you've heard all you'll ever want to hear about Burning Man.

I've never been myself, but Burning Man was a big adhesive element among my husband's Palo Alto high school friends. He last went in 2000. From what I understand the idea is to leave your resident PaCo urban area, go to the desert in Nevada, and spend labor day weekend doing something cathartic. I don't know if Extasy, nudity and pyrotechnics are actually required, but everyone's cathartic activity seems to have these things in common.

When I moved to California in 1997 I was told that while the previous year's Burning Man had indeed been "rad" (I was talking to someone from L.A., obviously) the current year's gathering would surely "suck." How is it that I've heard the same precise statement, with or without the use of the term "rad," each year for the past 9 years? Anyone?