Burning Life is the Second Life version of a real Art, Fire and Community festival called Burning Man. Both Burning Man and Second Life began in San Francisco, California, USA, on planet Earth.

History of Burning Man.

In 1986, Larry Harvey and Jerry James fashioned an 8-foot-tall human figure out of scrap wood, brought it to the beach and burned it. Spontaneously, a crowd formed to enjoy the spectacle. Larry and Jerry were both gratified by the attention it received, but more amazing was the creative response of the crowd. One stranger performed an act of kindness for the burning statue. Another made up a song about fire and played it on his guitar. A party began and strangers began to talk.

The next year, they did it again, building a much larger Man and attracting more people. But by 1990, several thousand people were involved, and the police arrived to stop the event. Burning Man had become too large and dangerous for a San Francisco beach.

That might have been the end of Burning Man, but Michael Michael and John Law from the San Francisco Cacophony Society rescued the statue and it moved to the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. That first year in the desert, when the travelers pulled off the road onto the dry lake bed of the Black Rock, Michael Michael scratched a line in the dirt. Then he asked everyone to line up along it. He told them that they were about to step over to the other side, and when they did, everything would be different. And so it was.

Today Burning Man attracts 50,000 people, and those people build an entire city around the Man-- for one week-- then they take every last spec of it away again.

History of Burning Life

In 1999, Philip Linden went to Burning Man, and came back with new ideas for the virtual world he was planning. Among them was the idea that humans abhor a blank canvas and will compulsively create form to fill void. They will provide their own content and entertainment and create a whole city (or world) when they are given permission and tools to do so. Humans will naturally form community when physical and emotional conditions are harsh and they are wrenched out of their usual comfort zone. Humans are resourceful. The fewer the tools that are available, the more creative and amusing are their solutions to problems of food, shelter, transportation, art, leisure and identity.

In 2003, Lindens and residents who had been to Burning Man build a replica of the Man in SL and held the first Burning Life festival. 2008 will be the 6th Burning Life.

Burning Life/Burning Man

Because Burning Life is a mirror of a Real Life event, we voluntarily accept many of the same restrictions that nature imposes on the real thing, to see how creative we can be in a similar situation. We use the same blank landscape. We pretend that we must bring everything we need in our car or in a truck. We don't build houses to live in, we build tents. If we don't drink enough water, we will die!

Going to Burning Man takes great preparation. The Black Rock Desert is 40 square miles of dry, flat mud pancake ringed by distant mountains. There is nothing there. Not a bug, a blade of grass, a rock or a drop of water. Practicing "radical self reliance", 50,000 people each bring everything they need to survive for a week. Water, shade, storm shelter, food, clothing for hot days and cold nights. Plus, if you can squeeze it in your car, you'd better bring your sequined cocktail dress, your propane canon, your generator, your couch, your latest sculpture, your two-storey nightclub shaped like a duck, your Santa Claus outfit, your... well, everything you need to entertain yourself and your neighbors for a week.

At Burning Man, no entertainment is provided. Nothing is for sale. You may not advertise business of any kind. You must clean up after yourself. The dust storms are terrifying. The altitude is high. The sun is relentless. The night can be freezing cold. If it rains, you will be stuck in the mud for days.

At Burning Man, you will be overwhelmed by the scope of what you see. You will confront your inner self. You will rely on strangers and become friends. You will be accepted at face value no matter who you claim to be. You will be engaged by community. You will interact with art that can kill you.

After more than 20 years, Burning Man has developed many traditions that we carry on at Burning Life. The "Greeters" will orient you at the edge of the city. The residential flights of fancy known as "Theme Camps" welcome anyone who walks by to participate in an activity organized around a theme. Art Cars and Mutant Vehicles are rolling extravaganzas of creativity and transportation. Costume is outrageous. Nudity is accepted. Fire and explosions are common. Art is interactive and built by large groups of volunteers. At at the end of the week, the Man is burned amidst a huge party. The last night, the Temple is burned with solumn reverence. Then everyone cleans up and goes back to their Default World, Leaving No Trace on the desert, of the city that was just there.

So, pretend that your car or truck is in the driveway waiting to be packed.

You are going to Burning Life.

What will you bring?

How will you build?

Who will you be?

Welcome to the other side....