Words About Things

You’ve probably heard of the Burning Man festival that is held each year in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. The event is famous for the giant statue that is built and burned each year and for being an entirely cash-free event with participants encouraged to give gifts in order to increase the community spirit.  It is also well known for the art cars which feature each year like the amazing example below:

Now there is a new festival/ party for those who like to go a little crazy in the desert: The Wasteland Weekend. This event has a post-apocalyptic, Mad Max theme and this year will feature three replica Mad Max cars as well as hundreds of other customized vehicles. It takes place in Soggy Dry Lake not far from Lucerne Valley in California.

Join the hundreds of fans coming from all over the the United States (and beyond) to gather in the Southern California desert. Set up camp at our wasteland compound, surrounded by specially-built sets. Costumes are required and post-apocalyptic campsites and vehicles are encouraged. Live for three days in a world pulled straight out of the Mad Max movies, beyond the grip of so-called civilization. Top DJs from all over will provide the soundtrack, fire dancers and bonfires will light up the night, and modified vehicles will shake the earth with their engines. Don’t miss it!

As the quote mentions costumes are required for all participants so you can’t just turn up in jeans. You’ll need a modified car in order to fit in also, no point turning up in your pristine hire car. For more information visit the Wasteland Weekend website.

Whoever made this advert clearly had a big budget and a lot of time to think of an original concept. Unlike a lot of adverts for car hire it focuses more on creating a story than such trivial details such as price or locations. The result is slick and entertaining although it doesn’t really have a pay off in terms of plot. What would you do if you had the use of an Audi R8 and a Ferrari California for the night?

I almost spat out my coffee this morning, partly due to the taste but mostly because I had just seen a headline which read – ‘Swine Flu Parties Not A Good Idea’. Apparently having a party with people who already have a mild strain of Swine Flu in order to catch the disease is something people are actually doing. The theory is that you get the mild strain, get better and are thus immune to any stronger strains that may be floating about or may arrive this winter.

The fact that people would actually consider doing this amazed me. Perhaps seeing that a recent study showed that almost half of those asked could not locate their heart on a diagram I shouldn’t be so surprised by people’s lack of medical know-how.

My advice for those considering going to a Swine Flu party is to come to my recession party instead. For those of you who haven’t been to a recession party, don’t worry its quite simple. You just give me a months wages in order to be immune to the recession in case it gets any worse this winter. If any of you are feeling at all flu-ish please stay at home.