Indy Digest: Sept. 4, 2023
As Labor Day weekend 2023 comes to a close, the question on the minds of people across the world is: OMG will the people make it out of Burning Man alive?!
The answer: (Eye roll.)
If you somehow have missed the news—and I am not sure how that is possible, seeing as the national media has gone bug-nuts bonkers over the plight of the folks stuck on the muddy playa—it rained a fair amount last week on Burning Man, the yearly gathering of some 70,000-plus folks in the Black Rock Desert, 100 or so miles north of Reno. As a result, things got wet and muddy; vehicles got stuck; and Burners were told not to enter or leave the area for a while, until things dried up.
When some news media caught word that Burners were told to “shelter in place” and “conserve food and water” for a while, and that a person had died, some of the resulting stories made things sound like we were looking at a potential modern-day Donner Party, just with a lot more people, mud replacing snow, and affluent people in costumes replacing pioneers.
Here, as of this writing, is a section of The New York Times homepage:
That second headline made laugh out loud. How did festivalgoers get trapped at Burning Man? IT RAINED. THAT’S HOW.
As for that death: It apparently was unrelated to the flooding. For the record, one person died last year at Burning Man as well. When you put 70,000 people at a big party in the desert, deaths, alas, happen sometimes.
Another truth: Despite these breathless news stories, 99 percent of the people at Burning Man are doing just fine.
I grew up in Reno, and I have spent a lot of time in and around the Black Rock Desert. The Independent’s sister paper did some of the first-ever newspaper stories about Burning Man, back when it was in its infancy in the 1990s. I have no desire to go to Burning Man—it’s just not my thing—but I am friends with a fair number of regular Burners, and trust me when I say that they prepare for things like this. They make sure to bring lots of food and water, and they ready themselves for bad weather, because that happens sometimes.
Others don’t prepare as well, either because they’re newbies, or they’re morons. But they tend to get taken care of by other attendees—and if all else fails, there are Burning Man organizers and law enforcement officers around, too.
I flew from Reno to Palm Springs yesterday (Sunday), and despite the breathless national news stories about people being stranded at Burning Man, there were a lot of Burners who had managed to make it to the airport. I overheard some of them talking about the trials they faced—mostly involving walking the five miles or so to the road where they could get a ride back to Reno. They weren’t traumatized by the whole thing; they were bemused.
The problem with all these news stories doesn’t involve facts. For the most part, what was reported was true: It rained. There was some flooding. A person died. Burners were told to shelter in place, and the road into/out of the event was closed. (However, there has not been ebola outbreak at Burning Man. Give me a break.)
What these stories lack is context. And the context is this: What’s been happening in the Black Rock Desert is interesting, and a little dramatic. But as of now, it’s far from a big deal.
—Jimmy Boegle
From the Independent
Control or Coercion? A Coalition of Disabled Persons’ Groups Sue to Overturn California’s End of Life Option Act
By Kevin Fitzgerald
September 1st, 2023
A coalition of disabled persons’ support groups and two individuals are suing to rescind the End of Life Option Act, which allows qualifying terminally ill Californians to use medication to end their lives.
Metal and Art for All: The Coachella Music and Ink Festival Melds Music and Tattoo Creations in an All-Ages Setting
By Matt King
September 4th, 2023
The Coachella Music and Ink Festival, on Friday, will feature live performances from In the Name of the Dead and four other bands, while local tattoo booths sell art, and more.
‘Equalizer’ Elevated: Denzel Washington Gives Depth to Routine Material in the Final (?) Film in the Franchise
By Bob Grimm
September 4th, 2023
The Equalizer 3 ends on a note that feels very much like a conclusion, but look out: The franchise has some life in it yet, performing admirably at the box office in its first weekend.
Dethklok Denouement: The Metalocalypse Saga Concludes With a Potent and Over-Packed Special
By Bob Grimm
September 4th, 2023
Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar is musically potent and full of “answers” to many of the questions that have been asked throughout four seasons of the Dethklok saga (and one movie).
Mama’s House’s New Anne Silverstein Campus Nears Completion (Nonprofit Submission)
By Madeline Zuckerman
September 4th, 2023
This new Mama’s House campus will quadruple the number of mothers with babies and/or small children this nonprofit can serve.
More News
• On this Labor Day, we’ll start off with a few pieces related to the holiday’s intent. First, a piece from our partners from Calmatters, with the headline “As more Californians allege on-the-job violations, labor groups say bosses retaliate.” An excerpt: “Amid an upswing in labor activism, claims of retaliation are rising across the state, CalMatters has found. California workers last year filed an average of 706 claims of workplace retaliation per month with the state’s Labor Commissioner’s Office, which enforces many labor laws including those banning wage theft. That’s a 50% increase over the pre-pandemic monthly average in 2019, according to a CalMatters analysis of data obtained through a public records request. In the first three months of this year, workers averaged more claims per month than the monthly average last year. Workers’ advocates and the state say the increase is driven in part by workers’ increasing awareness of their own labor protections.”
• Meanwhile, in The Conversation, a pair of sociologists put the current increase in the labor movement in context: “More than 323,000 workers—including nurses, actors, screenwriters, hotel cleaners and restaurant servers—walked off their jobs during the first eight months of 2023. Hundreds of thousands of the employees of delivery giant UPS would have gone on strike, too, had they not reached a last-minute agreement. … This crescendo of labor actions follows a relative lull in U.S. strikes and a decline in union membership that began in the 1970s. Today’s strikes may seem unprecedented, especially if you’re under 50. While this wave constitutes a significant change following decades of unions’ losing ground, it’s far from unprecedented. … We see the rising number of strikes today as a sign that the balance of power between workers and employers, which has been tilted toward employers for nearly a half-century, is beginning to shift.”
• And now, for more news about serious rain in the desert, we turn to the Los Angeles Times, which examines the landscape-changing effects Tropical Storm Hilary had on Death Valley. “On Aug. 20, Tropical Storm Hilary tore through the park near the border of Nevada, dropping more than a year’s worth of rain—2.2 inches—in one day, forever transforming one of the hottest and driest places on Earth. … As Hilary bore down, torrents of water rushed through Death Valley, forging new gullies, displacing heavy rocks and undercutting roadways, including State Route 190, one of the park’s main thoroughfares. Chunks of the highway, including entire lanes, now lay in crumbles, and officials say it could be months before the park reopens.”
• We have not been posting the results of Palm Springs’ wastewater testing for SARS-CoV-2 in recent months, for several reasons. One: The levels remained low. Two: The city’s reports started getting … well, strange, and I did not feel comfortable reporting on them anymore. Three: They stopped posting them entirely after July 24. However, the Valley Sanitary District in Indio is doing them, and here’s the latest graph, from June through August:
• This leads us to a CNN story titled, “It seems like everyone has COVID-19. Here’s why this wave is probably worse than official data suggests“: “Virus levels in the U.S. have been on the rise for weeks, but it’s hard to know exactly how widely it’s spreading. Federal data suggests that the current increases have stayed far below earlier peaks and notable surges. But judging by word of mouth among family, friends and coworkers, it can seem like everyone knows someone who’s sick with COVID-19 right now. … Rates of severe disease may be staying at relatively low levels, but experts agree that there are probably more infections than the current surveillance systems can capture. ‘There is more transmission out there than what the surveillance data indicates,’ said Janet Hamilton, executive director of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists. ‘And we should be paying attention to it, because we are starting to see an increase.’”
• And finally … it’s been a while since the Digest has covered important nose hair news, but the time has come. To sum it up, HuffPost recommends you leave your nose hairs alone, dammit: “Choosing to go hair-free on areas like your legs, arms and pubic area is your prerogative, but when it comes to the hairs living inside your nose, they’re better left untouched. ‘The nose is a delicate area with numerous blood vessels and mucous membranes,’ said Dr. Don J. Beasley, an Idaho-based board-certified otolaryngologist (also known as an ear, nose and throat specialist). Whether you’re DIYing it or getting serviced at a salon, yanking out your nose hairs—especially if it’s done improperly or without proper hygiene practices in place—may increase the risk of infection, leading to complications such as folliculitis or nasal cellulitis.” So now you know!
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