The “I did it (and I’d do it again)” Edition :: Issue #294, Rusty’s Electric Dreams





“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.”

— Happy (belated) birthday, Dolly Parton!


Rusty's Electric Dreams, an inbox zine by Rusty Blazenhoff

An inbox zine for positive deviants and the people who love them
Issue #294 :: The “I did it” Edition :: 1:20:2021

And I’d do it again…

There’s some big thing happening today, or at least that’s what I heard. [heart party face heart] 

For me personally, there’s something else big happening.

This week six years ago, I stood in front of an Alameda County judge and legally changed my name. Yeah. It’s my other birthday. My nameiversary.

For over 20 years I went by an alternate name. A name I picked. A name that separated me from my past. A name that gave me permission to be my best self and to live my best life

It was a therapist I was seeing — while I was deep in the pits of PTSD —  who asked why I had never formally changed my name. The question actually shocked me. I didn’t have an answer. But it got me thinking, “Why haven’t I changed it?”  It occurred to me that I had nothing to lose and nearly everything to gain. I started the paperwork and not long after, on January 23, 2015, I became “Rusty Blazenhoff.” (Just typing this out gives me some real feelings.)

Did everything miraculously get better overnight? Of course not. But things are A LOT better than they were. I have to remind myself almost every day that the road from “survive” to “thrive” is a long one. In a lot of ways, I feel like I’m just a few steps into my journey. Glad you’re here to be part of it. Thank you.

[For you folks out there who can’t imagine why someone would change their identity, I envy you. I really, really do.]

I will be accepting “Happy Nameiversary” wishes all this week. 🙂

Rusty Blazenhoff

P.S. Back to today’s big thing, did you see the Field of Flags? Wowsers.

As seen on the Internets

Hire a Mardi Gras Artist to build a float house for you
NOLA residents: Hire a Mardi Gras Artist to decorate your house like a parade float! Or just check out their super-cool handiwork

—–

 
:: Speaking of Mardi Gras: Look at these King of Bacchus‘ of yore — wow!
:: http://www.kreweofbacchus.org/kings

:: AI generated an album in the style of The Beatles, and it’s wild via
:: https://youtu.be/yZu24pddzwk

:: Holy macaroni, Ian Charnas has made an invisibility shield à la the Harry Potter cloak
:: https://www.instructables.com/Invisibility-Shield

:: Documentary must-see: Crip Camp
:: https://cripcamp.com Thanks, C.J.!

:: California sea lions have ALL THE FUN!
:: https://boingboing.net/2021/01/17/california-sea-lions-surfing-on-enormous-waves-is-the-video-you-need-today.html

:: In “Hoff” news: Here’s the Knight Rider intro in German and Japanese
:: https://boingboing.net/2021/01/19/here-is-the-knight-rider-intro-in-german-and-japanese.html

:: This incredible house was created by Muppet set designer, John Kahn
:: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3-Tower-Dr-Saugerties-NY-12477/2094195286_zpid

:: Recent college grads, if you want to drive around an oversized hot dog (you do), apply within:
:: https://hotdogger.pdf

:: RFP accepted until 1/26: Shadow Traffic’s Anticipate-A-Day looks amazing!
:: https://shadowtrafficproductions.com/news.html

—–
:: Sea shanties are all over TikTok, here’s a fun one
:: https://www.tiktok.com/@strong_promises/video/6916252199236521222  via

:: Mortician on TikTok: “Covid has crematories running non-stop just to keep up with the need and demand. Stay Home. Wear Masks. Don’t die.
:: https://www.tiktok.com/@mod_mortician/video/6912614324473187589

:: Lubalin has a new “random internet drama” song: “I’mout of butter”
:: https://www.tiktok.com/@lubalin/video/6919191846782569734

:: This guy makes funny videos of himself mimicking cats
:: https://www.tiktok.com/@nnamdingwe/video/6915558946640055557

:: The movie-set town from Tim Burton’s Big Fish still exists, even the shoes hung up high on a rope
:: https://www.tiktok.com/@bigbankz/video/6911088943115160838

:: Check out this crazy fog-free face mask for people who wear glasses
:: https://www.tiktok.com/@sleevzmask/video/6918458229269777669

Sur(real) estate you can actually buy: yay!



Cough up that extra $4.7M you’ve got lying around because Pea Soup Andersen’s is for sale. (The original Buellton location, not the Santa Nella one.)

Featured Event



[Cabazon, California] If I lived closer to the Cabazon Dinosaurs, I’d totally be going to their “Love One Another” celebration. They’ve decorated their dinos for Valentine’s Day and I’m into it. $13/adult, $11/kid.



Sculptor Claude K. Bell and his first steel-and-concrete dinosaur, Dinny the Brontosaurus (March 1970). He was inspired to create the Cabazon Dinosaurs by “Lucy,” an elephant-shaped building he saw in Atlantic City.
 
photo by John Malmin/Los Angeles Times 

Rusty’s Electric Dreams is a fortnightly inbox zine by Rusty Blazenhoff for positive deviants and the people who love them. If this was forwarded to you, please consider subscribing yourself.

Described as, “One of the most inspiring, weird and off-kilter collections of curated kitschy ephemera for the big-brained.” People like it.

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