Hello. I'm writing to express my gratitude again for funding my art project, Ein Hammer at last year's Burning Man event through Kickstarter. Thanks to you, the crew and I were able to deliver an interactive experience well beyond our hopes and promises, and for that we are all entirely grateful to you. Yes, YOU made it happen and it touched many people from all over the world in sometimes profoundly moving ways!

I am therefore compelled to come to you first to tell you about our new project for Burning Man 2011 entitled "Georgie Boy, Fallen Queen of Broadway". This one, we hope, is even higher on the ridiculous humor scale than last year, and it is my fondest hope that Burners like yourself walk away from it shaking their heads and muttering "Dude, that was some f****d up s**t."

Here's a link to the new Kickstarter fundraiser for the project including a proof-of-concept video and an outrageous message from the animatronic star, Georgie Boy himself:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/misterjellyfish/georgie-boy-fallen-queen-of-broadway-at-burning-ma

If you like the project and want to interact with it at Burning Man this year, please make a pledge of any amount, and be sure to check out some of the creative new rewards Georgie Boy is offering to thank you for your support of the art.

Be well and do strange things,

-Mister Jellyfish.

Dearest Burners:

Thank you, thank you, and thank you yet again for making my sick dream and that of our crew come to life at Burning Man 2010. Over a week of nights at the event, we burned 1900 gallons of liquid propane fuel-- that's enough to refill your BBQ tank 380 times. Clearly, we had an absolute... ahem... blast! I can't think of any place in the world other than Burning Man where we could have gotten away with what we pulled off-- and Burners far and wide have shared with me that it was one of their most treasured moments at the event.

The video below was compiled from footage by many a fine Burner to whom I am grateful. It was made with the hope that you might forward it to your friends who want a quick snapshot of the kind of art and interactive experiences they might see at Burning Man. Details are on the project website at www.mutantvehicle.com/ein_hammer.htm . Information on our project for Burning Man 2011 "Georgie Boy: Fallen Queen of Broadway" is at www.mutantvehicle.com/georgie_boy.htm . Special thanks to The Pawn for his patient rendering.

Be well and do strange things,

-Mister Jellyfish

To get the full enjoyment of the video, be sure and crank up the volume on your computer speakers. Enjoy:

Yesterday was the most delightful work party yet, thanks to your donations, a delicious meal of German sausages and sauerkraut prepared by Klaus himself at our local Bavarian World restaurant was served and we washed it down with good German beer and campy schlager music. I gave a thank you speech to our esteemed volunteer Wërkers which my wife said was "the perfect length" and that's all you can hope for from a blabber-mouth like myself.

Work got done from our dwindling to-do list, yet we still found time to dance, laugh and pack ourselves into Mr. Fixit's party bus for one last lungful of air conditioning on a hot summer day as we recounted funny stories from playa's past. The "tag-n-bag" area is packing up very well indeed as we prepare for our load-out and caravan to Black Rock City on Monday, August 23rd.

Now that we're down to the final few hours of this Kickstarter fundraiser and I've seen just how much these fine Wërkers can eat, please consider doing whatever you can to put us that much more over the top. Your previous contribution is HIGHLY appreciated and you could indeed stop there and you've already got a special place in our hearts. If you want to do more, however small, the additional funds for food to serve to the set-up crew would be most appreciated indeed! Before it all times out you could:

* Increase your pledge amount and upgrade to more or bigger swag rewards
* Forward a link to this webpage to other Burners you know
* Forward this link to non-burners that simply like the idea of Burning Man
* Copy this link to a Facebook post and share why you think it is worthy
* Use this as an excuse to reconnect with your rich uncle

I'm so very honored and humbled by your generosity, and I can't WAIT to gift it all back to our Burner community in the form of what I hope will be a breathtaking art installation at Burning Man 2010.

Be well and do strange things,

-Mister Jellyfish.

Woot Woot! Thanks to YOU, The Ein Hammer Kickstarter has met its goal and will be funded! After we send out the rewards it will net the approximate $1440 we need to rent that huge generator and all of us are breathing a sigh of relief. Think of it, you, the Burner community far and wide, decided to dig down deep and make manifest this lovely, fire spewing thing in the desert! I am humbled, grateful, and blown away by your support.

This means the project is now fully-funded, and here's more good news: With seven days of the Kickstarter remaining, there's still time to gather even more donations from which the net proceeds (after sending the contributors their rewards of t-shirts and such) will go toward food for the Ein Hammer crew during our final work days both before and during the installation on the playa. $10 = about three deli sandwiches. $25 = a big pot of spaghetti. Heck, maybe somebody will through in some big bucks and we'll fly in some sushi to the playa! Ein Hammer super-swag rewards can still be won until this fundraiser times out in just a few days.

If you kindly would, please promote the living hell out of this noble fundraising effort one last time during its last few days by sending a link to this web page to every Burner you know or simply copy and paste this link:

http://kck.st/bL29wZ

into your email or Facebook posts. As always, you have my undying gratitude.

When this Kickstarter ends, I'll be contacting you to send you the reward you requested and won, if any, and inquiring about your t-shirt size etc., if it applies. If you won a copy of "The Secrets Of Ein Hammer- A Guide to Winning and Spinning The Flaming Hammerhead at Burning Man 2010", you will receive that via electronic delivery prior to Burning Man. The physical rewards will likely not be custom printed and shipped until after we return from The Burn. You didn't really want to get that lovely reward all playa-caked anyway, did you? :-)

Be well and do strange things,

-Mister Jellyfish.

Is there a sizzle in the air at your place too? The ramp-up for Burning Man has us all excited, and as we can now actually see white space on our task lists, everybody on the Ein Hammer crew is thrilled and thrashing away so that we can be as "plug and play" as possible on the playa, having accomplished so very much in the pre-fabrication.

Yesterday, when the crew was starting to wane in the summer afternoon heat, the clouds rolled in, cooling the air until the thunderstorms came. All of us were in a mad dash to shelter and tarp the wooden standoffs attached to the giant gas pipe as squeels of laughter erupted. Then, the rain turned to hail that pelted the quonset hut roof of Mr. Fixit's workshop, and we all cackled as he stood out in the hailstorm with arms outstretched like a popsicle messiah. Tom Waits was playing on the sound system, galvanizing the moment into a treasured memory for many.

Tim and Bob drove their element of the project up from the Bay Area this weekend, known affectionately as the "Infinity Power Tunnels". This "golden spike" event was a meeting of their technology with that of our own, connected by a single serial port. The lights were lovely in the Nevada dusk, and as darkness fell, we were captivated by their amazing brilliance and dancing tubes of light that seemed to penetrate the very ground. Great job, and kudos to the Mad Scientist Collective who completely embraced this important division of the target areas and enhanced the "underground" image of the project. Their moto says it all: "Better Living Through Reckless Experimentation".

Thank you and congratulations to Bram P. for becoming our 50th backer with his pledge this week! As you can see, we've got just a little time left to reach our goal so if you feel inclined to forward this Kickstarter link to all your Burner friends far and wide, we'd be most thankful. It's a way to show them what you are excited about, so perhaps you can meet up with them on the playa and experience Ein Hammer together. Once again, much gratitude to you as together we countdown to Burning Man 2010.

Be well and do strange things,

-Mister Jellyfish.