ePlaya

by **melancholy harlot** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 4:38 pm

Fat SAM wrote on June 25, 2007:

"How many folks are going stag this year? My girlfriend and I had a tough time of it last year together because we had such different notions about what we wanted to do at the Burn that we decided to go seperately this year. I've never gone alone and I really enjoy camping with people, but I like the idea of being self-reliant, too, and not having to participate in anything formal. Sometimes it's just nice to know that you can go back to your camp and sit down with people that you've gotten familiar with rather than eating your corned beef hash and granola bar all alone.

Is there anyone out there who'd like to collaborate on a group camp of stag folks? Men, women, gay, straight, smokers, drinkers, tolerant nons, breakfast makers, dinner makers, artists...anybody whose camp fell through or who is just going alone but would still like company...It's not a registered theme camp, so much, as I figure that's all done with but maybe just a group of people who'd like to meet up and camp together."

Plowman responded, almost immediately:

"A loose knit camp? One where everyone just hangs out when they are not doing their own thing? One where everyone puts their shade together in the middle for communal comfort and socialization? A camp that is all togther and individual at the same time? A camp where you don't miss breakfast, lunch, or dinner because you were'nt back in time? A camp where you bring your own food and cook, or not, and eat, or not, when you want? A camp where everyone is welcome? A camp that will help and assist anyone in camp who needs it?A camp where you can meet new friends? A camp where, if you are straight, gay, lesbian, bi, or whatever, it doesn't matter? Because everyone has a right to be who they want to be?
If thats what you are looking for then I'm in!!!!!
But it doesn't sound like Stag camp to me..... more like "UPHORIA"!!"

And the rest was history.

Stag Camp 2.0 will be back in action on the playa in 2008, based on the same premises and the same three rules: no violence, no theft, and no moop. I've posted at the bottom of the 2007 Stag Camp thread the following message:

"Staggers--

I spoke to FAT SAM on Monday evening, and he's asked that I pass a message along to everyone. He is working seven days a week, as well as taking courses at the university in Reno. Things sound a bit hectic for him, but he's moving and shaking, as always. He does not have internet access at home and will not be able to join the discussion for some time. (Anyone who misses our fearless leader might try contacting him via text message.)

Along with passing on his incredible love for everyone, he noted: "I was the spark, but you guys are the flame." We have his full blessing to start 2008 discussions. I am sure he will weigh in if and when he gets the chance. He has mentioned that the thoughts and friendship of everyone means a great deal to him, even when he can't communicate often.

SAM is uncertain whether he'll be able to join us on the playa this year, but one Mr. Danny Lynch has already pledged to kidnap him in Reno if things look shaky. I've told him that we're not giving up on his return and that camp would not be the same without him.

All that being said, I'm going to start a 2008 Stag Camp thread with SAM's original message. I think it's important, however, than anyone interested in joining us next year read through the 2007 thread. It contains all our history and character."

So, that being said, here we are. Can't wait to burn '08.

by **Â¡Niers!** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 12:16 pm

Wow, I guess I'm the first stagger to post in here.
Seems so lonely.
So, it's a bit disheartening to hear that SAM might not make it this year, I was looking forward to meeting him. If it's the money, perhaps we can all pitch in and help him out. It would only seem right. After all, he IS the spark.

Welcome Dede! I think you have chosen a great camp to join! All these staggers seem to be really awesome and I myself can't wait to meet them all in the flesh.
I too am a virgin of the man, so it's nice to know I won't be the only one.
Unlike you, I will not be alone. There will be 3 of us (all virgins) hitting BRC.
It's gonna be alot of fun!

Welp, that's all I got for now.

ok

by **The stoker** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 1:27 pm

So how many people from last years stag will be there again? I may be staying in stag again as I will be doing some moving this summer and may not meet a local group. So I am hoping that we have some new faces to meet. Last year was a good time, this year will be even better.

by **melancholy harlot** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 2:47 pm

So far, off the top of my head and as I understand things now:

We will have myself, Stefanie, Opie, Danny, Jess, Red, T.J, Joe, Sheldon (wih maybe brother plus sister plus partner, if we're lucky), Jake LH, Colin & Gerald (plus family), Tony (if all goes well with work), Jim...

That being said, anyone I haven't mentioned just means I haven't talked to them lately or seen them post up. I am certain this list is far from complete... We'll have at least a dozen, but since last year we numbered nearly 50 staggers by week's end, I'm sure there'll end up being quite a few of us.

iNiers!, I'm sure there'll end up being plenty more virgins! Last year, out of our 50 or so, I think about 15 were virgins. One of the really nice things about Stag was we had people in their first, second, eighth, and like twelfth year. Which meant the veterans did a great job instilling burn values into the newbies and passing along the traditions of the community. Day number two, I was feeling really shy and still hadn't ventured into any camps that were hosting bars, chill spaces, etc. So SAM took me out on bikes and we rode around and he "showed me how its done", aka, demonstrated to me that everyone on the entire freaking playa is sweet as angels and you really can just go up to people and say hi and have a drink and a chat with them and no one is going to rebuff you or call you weird or bite your head off... Moral of the ramble: you'll be well taken care of.

Can't wait to meet up with everyone, new and old.

by **plowman** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 8:58 pm

Melancholy harlot!!!!!!
Thank you for starting this thread.
I wanted to but didn't know what to say but you said it all the way I couldn't. I have my ticket in hand so I will definately be there. I NEED TO COME HOME!!! The playa should be even better this year because we have had alot of moisture this year and that will make it a little more solid, not as many soft areas. I'm happy to hear that you have been in contact with Fat Sam. If he's taking classes at UNR then he has access to the Library doesn't he? All it takes is a library card to access the internet.
I understand that he is very busy, BUT , I'm sure that alot of people will agree with me when I say we miss his posts, not only from this thread but from everyone who has had contact with him on other threads.

P.S.
I hope everyone enjoys their V.D.!!!!!

___________________________________
Valentines Day! (what were you thinking?)

by **twinwitin** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 9:02 pm

Hello Staggers,
My first e-mail on the stag 08 site. I am in talks with the other two burners in my group, my sister and a vetran burner friend, and then I will know what is up, down all around!!!
s.y.o.t.p.

by **plowman** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 9:53 pm

Twinwitin,
Once again, welcome!
Our camp is unusual in the fact that we all met here, on eplaya,except for the few that drove by and asked,"where is a good place to camp" and the reply was "here, welcome home!"
The greatest thing is that we all get along like we have known each forever. If you choose to stay with us, that is what you will get as well.
We have brilliant college students from Chicago, a fantastic welder from Oregon, A nightclub bouncer from Mass. with a heart of gold, A nurse from Florida, A chiropractic DR. from Calif, A couple from England, And even a guy from Nevada who bakes bisquits on a BBQ. I hope I do not offend anyone by not mentioning them, But the point I want to get to is,
We are from all over the U.S. and the World, we all came together and had the time of our lives. And you can too!!
Looking forward to meeting you and your crew.
SYOTP

by **motskyroonmatick** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 10:24 pm

Mmmm. Biscuits with butter and Bacon!!! I'm salivating.

by **twinwitin** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 11:17 pm

To quote Red Foreman "Let's celebrate...with Bacon!!!"

I will bring the homemade strawberry and rasberry jam for the biscuits!!

by **chiefdanfox** » Fri Feb 15, 2008 1:16 am

Got room for a boy scout and his telescope?

by **plowman** » Fri Feb 15, 2008 5:07 pm

chiefdanfox,
Welcome to stagcamp

by **Funky Monkey Mech** » Fri Feb 15, 2008 11:22 pm

Wow now i know what our thread on tribe is so quiet see i need to check e-playa more.... It is I Joe Camel (AkA Glowing Man)... and i will be making a big come back as 2008 is the Year of Freedom for me... that is right fellow staggers i will be back and more free then last year because.... as of august 17th 2008 i will be discharged from the United States Marine Corps and put on Inactive Reserve Status.... SO.... I GET TO PARTY MY ASS OFF!!! WAHOOOOOO!!!!! GO ME GO ME! Can't wait to see you all out there to the camp mates from last year and to all the new staggers WELCOME!!! COME ON IN SIT DOWN AND SLAP THE WINE BAG!.... MWA!!! LOVE YOU ALL!!! Later days! )'( )'( )'(

Joe Camel ( AkA Glowing Man)

by **noperks** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 2:41 am

I'm in What do I need to do/bring?

by **chiefdanfox** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 2:42 am

Thanks Plowman. I look forward to sharing some mojitos with y'all.

by **Leslie218** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 4:54 am

hey. I'd like to be a part of this. Let me know what I can do to help.

by **twinwitin** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 2:06 pm

Whoo hoo! Burnin' Burnin' Burnin' Keep those Staggers Burnin'

by **melancholy harlot** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 3:35 pm

noperks,

the idea is that everyone in camp is entirely self-sufficient. bring everyone you would need if you were camping alone: food, shelter, booze, shade, graywater disposal system (even if its just those huge gasoline container jugs you haul out), etc. last year we did have some communal meals--but they were always spontaneous, casual and impromptu. we also did bring all our chairs to the same central area, share shade, pool booze. but the benefit of everyone being independently self-sufficient is that a) it cuts the need for a lot of rules that many more formalized camps of the same size have to impose, like communal meal times and shower times, and b) it eliminates the need for any kind of community chest/buy-in fee.

so plan your packing according to what you need for a comfortable and responsible burn. then plan to find a community absolutely aching to share.

by **melancholy harlot** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 3:45 pm

I really encourage anyone new to stag camp to read the entire 2007 thread. I know it's like.. a solid ten pages, but it contains pretty much everything. (twinwitin, i believe you're right when you said we like each other enough to need two threads...)

I think plowman said it best in '07 when he said:

"You can stagger out in the morning
You can stagger in at night
You can stagger by yourself
You can stagger in a group
Lets all stagger to Stag camp..."

Leslie218, I hope my answer to noperks also answered your question??? help really ends up being a mindset on the playa, a readiness to jump up and pitch in, without really even thinking about it or asking if it's needed, when you see someone working. i'm sure you'll be fine. ;)

by **motskyroonmatick** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 3:49 pm

Ok. WE are getting a bunch of new people getting on board with Stag Camp 2.0 so I just want to convey a couple of things.
Read the survival guide until you can randomly recite parts of it at will. It will help you in all manner of preparation.
Read the Stag Camp thread in the 2007 theme camps section.
Come totally equipped so that you could camp off on your own if you had to. In the rare event that you could not find Stag Camp 2.0 your bases would be covered.
If you want to camp small and compact..go for it. If you want to camp big like me..bring it on and bring that extra stuff to help with community shade and so on. If you can bring some shade cloth or camo netting for the group shade(no moss or twigs and leaves--remember no moop). Bringing uprights for said shade will help immensely. Gaffers tape, rebar stakes and twine also can be very useful when setting up shade.
Bring solar powered stuf. Lights are the best.
Bring a chair and small table if you have one lying around.
Start visualizing carrying water with you everywhere and always..always carry a cup.
Bring extra pairs of sun glasses. Bring that big hat too no matter how bad it looks. There may be a morning where you could really use the shade.
Bring ROCKING music and some comfort music too that you can listen to by head phone.
Smile.

by **melancholy harlot** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 3:51 pm

for all our virgin burners, here are links to a few videos of home:

this is stag camp during our first dust storm. the banging at the end of the video is staggers hammering rebar stakes into the ground on loose tents.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=sk6Iruo7s7k

second, find an important announcement from david opie (motsky). he is the one with the megaphone. fat SAM is to his left, tony to his right. if SAM is founder of stag camp, opie ends up being something very much like mayor. listen to his proclamation. amen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2eYVy0Ur4s&NR=1

by **StevenGoodman** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 4:18 pm

motskyroonmatick wrote:Read the survival guide until you can randomly recite parts of it at will. It will help you in all manner of preparation.
Smile.

Best line I have seen on E-Playa in a long time!!! I will be stealing it in the future.

Read all your posts on E-PLaya last year, but never got a chance to track you down. Kind of busy.

This year come visit Booby Bar for some Booby Boarding...
Come visit the Kamp Apokiliptika Kantina for some DOOM...
Visit Camp Herring, when you get tired of naked people...
And the rest of Terminal City, to get, well, Terminal...

Martini Steve

by **kndherb** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 4:32 pm

I'm interested in getting involved with this camp. I'm a 35 married male prob going solo. I will not know until prob weeks before if the wife is going,so I may have an extra ticket. I have read the guide and have camped in the middle of nowhere baja mexico a couple of times as a chase and pit. I will more than likely be over prepared,but I could be wrong. Always willing and able to help out. I will not arrive until thur morning (gotta work)

by **melancholy harlot** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 5:00 pm

welcome, kndherb!

if there's anything you can do to get out of work for a few days, sunday through wednesday are very serious bonding time and the atmosphere really starts to change (louder, faster, bigger, most... party centric...) by thurs. it'd really be a shame to miss the first half of the week. that being said, i know it's really just not possible for a lot of people to make it earlier...

by **motskyroonmatick** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 6:14 pm

Steven Goodman,
Permission to use my text is granted. I prefer to grant permission than suffer the "treatment" at the hands of Apokiliptikans. I stopped by the booby bar last year and helped a little with dome set up while trying to run down Robbidobbs. I'll be back again. I didn't finish my mutant vehicle for last year but if I did it was going to have an oven mitt hanging off the mirror.
Long live oven mitt research!!! In SPACE!

by **Dede** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 7:39 pm

Melancholy harlot -

I just got finished reading the entire 2007 thread and now I really can't wait to meet up with everyone in Stag Camp!

Got my ticket today, too - some days are just perfect!

by **Funky Monkey Mech** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 1:48 am

I can't wait to return finaly i got all my pay problems sorted out so i can get my tickets WAHOOOO!!!!! see you all again soon! and Jess Feel Better still sending those healing thoughs so you can get over the flu

by **twinwitin** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 11:42 am

Mel-
I went on the you tube video of the dusty stag camp. Then I called sister and we went right down to the Dari Mart and bought them out of these really cool googles we have been looking at. Now we can accesorize, we have so many colors! ha ha :wink:

aaahhh girliness!
s.y.o.t.p.

by **Crappypants** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 9:23 pm

G'day!

I am very interested in joining the stagger that is Stag camp for this coming Burning Man. I am coming from Australia to attend the event and i would love to have a loose group of people to be able to hang out with, in an awesome laid back setting.

look forward to getting to know you all much more! :D

by **twinwitin** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 10:20 pm

Hey crappy pants

s.y.o.t.p.

by **melancholy harlot** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 11:58 pm

Dede -

Your message brought a drunken smile to my face (perhaps because I read it after a drunken evening of tapas...) So glad to hear you made it through the '07 thread. Isn't it great to see how everything came/comes together so organically? One of my favorite things about Staggers...

twinwitin -

Ahhhh! You've got the costuming bug already!!! You will be so glad once you get out in the dust to be fully equipped with colors never seen in the default world. Those goggles will be killer. I believe motksy made the same recommendation just a few posts earlier, but the more LED crap you can find, the better. I strongly recommend hitting up a wholesale novelties website. I was quite happy with my multi-setting flashing LED glasses, but Julia's solar-charged sound-responsive equalizer shirt took the cake...

Crappypants -

Welcome! You Aussies sure are intrepid travelers... We had a lovely early morning visit Monday last year from some Australian and Tasmanian burners. They were quite a joy, and I secretly wished they'd join our camp. (Something about the accents and the fact that one of them was incredibly goodlooking...) Either way, I digress. Your presence will make a lovely addition from overseas.

We are, once again, coming up with a seriously diverse group of Staggers, a divergent mix of cuts and colors, sexualities and localities, age ranges, preferred beverages, and propensities to shower or not to shower. Where in the world but the burn can a motley crew come together in such awesome unity??

Burning Man sucks. Don't go. :wink:

ePlaya

Stag Camp

Stag Camp

Welcome Home to the old and Welcome in to the new!

Thanks

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