I just returned from my first ever trip to Las Vegas, the chosen destination for JK's final nights of craziness before his impending marriage. "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas," as they say; all 20 of us had a pretty amazing time, and sent J off in good style!

I missed out on the $44 Virgin America flights that most of my bay area friends seized upon, and ended up driving the 520 miles each way. The drive was surprisingly pleasant, but for a few hours on the I-5 (aka the "Slaughterhouse 5").

Driving through the Nevada dessert reminded me of Burning Man (further stoking me for this August!), and the analogy continued as I came upon Vegas. You see the glow of Vegas before you see the city, or even the strip, itself. The strip is a dazzling light show of glitter and glam, much like the Playa at night. Both Vegas and Black Rock City - oases in the desolation of the Nevada wilderness - require a certain suspension of disbelief, the voluntary adoption of a particular frame of mind, helped along by hedonistic consumption of substances.

Yet that seems to be where the parallels end. The Vegas frame of mind is 180-degrees opposite from the Burn frame of mind. In Vegas, you have to ignore the fact that the odds are stacked against you in every game; that you're literally handing over cash to build more billion dollar casinos; that you're being ripped off and hustled at every turn; that happiness can't be found in money and conspicuous consumption.

In BRC, you have to ignore the comfortable banality of everyday life; forget about money and find value in community; open your mind to different forms of art and expression; let go of the limitations of the status quo; and live simply.

Unfortunately, Vegas is the permanent presence, and the manifestation - even the epitome - of the modern American consumer culture. BRC remains but a fleeting memory in the desert, a mirage undulating in the hot sand, an ephemeral glimpse of an alternative world unrealized. Yet to me, BRC is the real, and Vegas the mirage. Keep Reading >>