The “Realer life” Edition :: Issue #297, Rusty’s Electric Dreams


“Your real life is with us, your family.”

Toni Morrison 

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

An inbox zine for positive deviants and the people who love them
Issue #297 :: The “Realer life” Edition :: 3:03:2021

Realer life…

A few years back, I got a virtual reality demo at a conference. They put the headset on me and then I played briefly with an art tool called Tilt Brush. I was totally hooked and wanted more. Then a bunch of time went by and I sort of figured it was still too expensive for me.

Well, just recently, I decided to check in on the latest VR headsets and learned that the Oculus Quest 2 starts at $299. So, ahem, I bought the base model (64gb).

Um. HFS. It’s awesome! Like, really really awesome. My only regret is that I didn’t buy one sooner.

In about a week’s time, I’ve jumped out of a plane in a wingsuit, got up close and personal with the Great Pyramid of Giza (what!?!), worked out on the surface of Mars, sliced up blue and red cubes to the beat of Panic at the Disco songs, figured out clues as a detective in a super-cool immersive “escape room,” flew around in butterfly wings in a Tuscany-inspired world, and more.


My friend Rebecca invited me to be a background actor in an AltspaceVR movie she’s filming!

Most importantly for me, they’ve gamified exercising and I’M HERE FOR IT. Beat Saber, in particular, is good for breaking a satisfying sweat fast (is it still exercise if you enjoy it?). Plus, you don’t have to leave the house. I can literally take a 10-minute break from my desk and start moving. Again, my only regret is not buying one sooner.

Two downsides:

1. The big one? You have to have a Facebook account. They want more of your data which is why the headsets are more affordable now. Sigh.

2. In certain worlds (AltspaceVR, I’m looking at you!), I got nauseous from motion sickness and had to stop playing. I hear you get accustomed to it eventually though. It only really happened to me when I was flying around or “walking” fast.

Who else here has one? What game/experience do you recommend I try next?

Rusty Blazenhoff

P.S. Deep Nostalgia, that MyHeritage AI tool that brings dead people to “life,” is a trip. I’ve been fooling around with it a little.

As seen on the Internets


Bitz at Robin Frohardt's The Plastic Bag Store



A box of Bitz, from Robin Frohardt’s “The Plastic Bag Store”
:: ICYMI: A timelapse of a two-story 139-year-old Victorian being moved down the streets of San Francisco
:: https://youtu.be/EPt0I6uPpBY

:: “Focus on the positive in the situation.” Thanks, Bub!
:: https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/this-is-what-your-unsolicited-advice-sounds-like

:: Pop culture wabi-sabi? Thanks, Bub!
:: https://twitter.com/ddoniolvalcroze/status/1364248090870312964

:: What a cool idea
:: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-japan-theatre-idUSKBN2AU0B2

:: After 29 years, the very first Real World cast moved back in together!
:: https://www.cbs.com/shows/paramount-plus/video

:: Coincidence?! (haha): Just last year, I guested on the TV Show Show podcast where we went through the entire first episode of the Real World
:: https://boingboing.net/2020/06/19/podcast-listen-to-me-dissect.html

::  “Ghost signs of San Francisco: Forgotten treasures hiding in plain sight”
:: https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Ghost-signs-of-SF-Forgotten-treasures-hiding-in-7955787.php

:: Small Scale LA
:: https://www.smallscalela.com

:: Surreal estate: “I always feel like somebody’s watching me”
:: https://boingboing.net/2021/02/22/this-house-for-sale-looks-inconspicuous-until-you-see-all-the-creepy-mannequins-inside.html

:: Amazing free resource: MetPublications Thanks, jrb!
:: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/metpublications

:: Someone sent a mariachi band to Ted Cruz’s Houston home. Someone brilliant!
:: https://boingboing.net/2021/02/22/mariachi-band-brings-mexico-to-ted-cruzs-home.html

:: The Scream “could only have been painted by a madman
:: https://hyperallergic.com/624180/edvard-munch-the-scream-madman-message

:: Completely and utterly ruined: Queen’s “We Will Rock You”
:: https://youtu.be/O-l9yOzPS1I

:: NFTs are completely fascinating to me, even if I don’t 100% “get” them
:: https://boingboing.net/2021/03/01/what-are-nfts.html

Real things you can actually buy: yes way!

Chipped Beef Aspic (not): I could not love these more. At first glance, these look like revolting midcentury Jell-O molds. But, upon further examination, you’ll see that they’re actually resin lamps! LAMPS! The artist’s name is Elrod, her collection is called Mexakitsch, and, yes, there are more.

Events IRL



[Fort Myers, Florida: 5/17 – 8/8/21] Remember a while ago I told you about Postcards for Democracy, the postcard-art demonstration headed by Mark Mothersbaugh and Beatie Wolfe? Well, the postcards will soon have a temporary home. From May 17 to August 8, they’ll be exhibited at the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery at Florida SouthWestern College. There’s still time to participate. Send your mail-art postcard to: 8760 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90069. (Does anyone here live in/near Ft. Myers?)

Speaking of mail art: Thanks to everyone who sent mail art to Tess Stevens! I put that call out a couple of issues ago and she pinged me on Twitter to say she got a postcard from one of you and that she’s subscribing. Hi, Tess. Welcome! It’s not too late to drop her some mail art too: P.O. Box 2815, Walnut Creek, CA 94595

Me too, me too: Mail art is my love language, so feel free to send some my way too. I promise to respond (though, be patient!): 3104 Fernside Boulevard, Alameda, CA 94501

Vintage disguise kit

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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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