I felt much less out of place at Sirius than I expected. People were not just warm & welcoming, but strikingly genuine and unpretentious.
It's interesting to compare the cultures of Sirius (pop: 600) and Burningman (pop: 30,000). Starwood, by all accounts, would be a closer match, but I didn't go to Starwood, so I'm gonna search for my keys over here by the streetlight.
The phrase I like best is that Sirius is warm instead of hot--in every sense--weather, emotions, art. Apparently, it's part of a whole pagan festival circuit, which the hardcore deadhead loyally. Perhaps as a consequence, Sirius is much less self-congratulatory about its specialness. Let me clarify--I think Burner culture has a lot to congratulate itself for. I think a lot of what I was picking up on may have been that a higher proportion of Sirians live their day-to-day lives similarly. Stuff like stationing oneself at the exit gate to wave departers goodbye is a very distinctively Burningman gesture.
The vending at Sirius bugged me a little less than I had feared--it was mostly a pleasant enough backdrop rather than an obtrusive element.
I'll have a few more notes later, but that's enough for our first real hiptop-posted installment.
Peace, out, --sebbo
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