Have you bought your tickets yet for Burning Man 2012? Of course you haven’t, the event is more than three times oversold and the organisers are in crisis discussions with their regular supporters to ensure that as many as possible can attend (their website apology and explanation of this state of affairs, by the way, is a truly beautiful piece of corporate communication).

Burning Man, for those not in the loop, is an alternative arts festival that has been held annually in late August since 1990. I call it an arts festival, but before you envisage images of professional theatre companies, musical ensembles or curated exhibitions, I would point out that you would be heading down the wrong track.