Mingle Freely

I have mixed feelings about the announced unmasking of Ssyle Wyndz at today's March Madness Marching Band practice. (If you don't know Ssyle has been our Zentai member for sometime, and in that time, the vast majority of us have not known his "true identity." Today we find out.)

I've been thinking about secret identities in the comics of my youth. Rarely, if ever, did a hero keep one just for kicks. It was always for necessity and it pretty much always seemed to cause problems and pain in their lives.

So — I want to take a minute to THANK Ssyle for providing the band with unique mystery and delight. You are most welcome in MMMB in any persona you choose — and thanks for being our superhero these many months.

Got quoted in the New York Times! That's kinda fun!

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Associated Press

Organizers of the Burning Man festival, which traditionally culminates with an effigy bonfire, began using a lottery system this year.

“This is a Burning Man cataclysm,” said Mick Jeffries, 46, a ticketless graphic designer from Lexington, Ky. “The people who did not get tickets are the people who make Burning Man captivating.”

For several years Mr. Jeffries has been a lead organizer of the Kentucky Fried Camp, a group of several dozen Burners who serve up a daily breakfast of fried baloney and shots of bourbon (free, of course, since Burning Man operates on a “gift economy”).

The camp had big plans to add deep-fried Twix bars to the menu this year, but only two people who entered the lottery got tickets — not the quorum needed to run the kitchen.

FULL ARTICLE — Burning Man Ticket Lottery Problems Anger Regulars - NYTimes.com