The "Butter me up" Issue :: Rusty's Electric Dreams, Issue #111

:: :: including “NAILBITING ONLY WORKS SO WELL FOR ME” :: ::

Rusty’s Electric Dreams, an inbox zine by Rusty Blazenhoff
Issue #111 :: The “Butter me up” Edition :: 11:23:2016

comic by Gunshow

Butter me up…

There are a TON of links this week because, you know, “Thursday” is upon us again. And, what a Thursday it is. Folks, I do my best to not get too political here but things have really hit some fans in my country.

To address what’s going on and what *we* might be able to do, a friend who wishes to remain anonymous (self described as a “middle-age straight white male who organizes people for a living and for fun”) has written “NAILBITING ONLY WORKS SO WELL FOR ME.”

Here’s what he says about it:

“tl;dr: The way I deal with overwhelming problems is to break them down to smaller parts. I wrote down a list of what exactly is freaking me out about the Trump presidency. For each item on the list, I wrote down an actionable steps I want to take. Your list and actions will likely be different, but I provide my own as an example and you can adapt for yourself from there.

I also have two general guiding principles. First, I need to keep living to my principles and not let a “new normal” set in. Also, I am going to work hard to start conversations outside my silos.

I have faith we can work with what we have. We don’t have any other choice.”

You can read the whole thing HERE. It’s long. Pace yourself.

On a personal note, as per our annual tradition, you’ll find SJ and I dining on “jin deui” in Oakland’s Chinatown on “Thursday” morning (see photo below).

–Rusty Blazenhoff

p.s. I am grateful for you, dear readers. Thank you for being here!

This space intentionally left giving thanks

As seen on the Internets

Thanksgiving Masking

Thanksgiving masking: the nearly forgotten ritual of dressing up and begging

Things to watch…

:: Patton Oswalt on comedian Gary Gulman’s Conan set
:: https://www.facebook.com/pattonoswalt/posts/10154349657167655

:: “Gary CK” needs work, sees Tom Hanks’ brother
:: https://www.facebook.com/garyckneedswork

:: “A Stranger Things Christmas” Thanks, Andy!
:: https://youtu.be/5XPpm-igsRE

:: Underwater flatulence in 120 fps Thanks, Alexis!
:: https://vimeo.com/191443906

:: Soundbreaking
:: http://www.pbs.org/show/soundbreaking

Things to appreciate…

:: Hipster nativity set
:: http://dangerousminds.net/sweet_jesus_theres_a_hipster_nativity_scene_you_can_buy

:: Oldie but a goodie: Gluttony Pants
:: https://www.betabrand.com/gluttony-pants.html

:: Field trip: Because, there’s Fluff in Kurdistan Thanks, Carolyn!
:: https://www.instagram.com/p/BM4gPh_jwXY/?taken-by=phragments

:: Clickclickclick.click via
:: https://clickclickclick.click

Things to read…

:: Thanksgiving at Patti Smith’s house
:: http://www.bonappetit.com/people/celebrities/article/patti-smith-thanksgiving

:: Bear and his ultra-pure LSD (1960s)
:: http://www.vice.com/read/the-trippy-life-of-the-lsd-manufacturer-who-helped-create-the-60s

:: Bear: The Life and Times of Augustus Owsley Stanley III
:: http://amzn.to/2g2R6y6

:: A story about fear by Caveat Magister
:: http://journal.burningman.org/2016/11/philosophical-center/spirituality/a-story-about-fear

:: Richard Simmons announces he’s closing his exercise studio, Slimmons
:: https://www.facebook.com/TheWeightSaint/posts/10158049040135227

Things to do…

:: Hack a Billy Bass Fish
:: http://www.instructables.com/id/Animate-a-Billy-Bass-Mouth-With-Any-Audio-Source

:: Apply for an Awesome Foundation grant
:: http://www.awesomefoundation.org/en

:: Radical self care: “…questions to ask before giving up”
:: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6A2F5ky9SELU0Zfd05YMEpyNUk/view

While you’re at it…

:: Donate to the ACLU
:: https://action.aclu.org/secure/sem-become-freedom-fighter-join-aclu

Real things you can’t actually buy: yay!

Artist-in-Residence: Michelle Bert

“The last three weeks I’ve been sharing my thoughts with you about the content of my paintings. This week I want to talk about paint and why it’s so frequently my medium of choice. The most intriguing thing about paint is that no matter how much time you’ve spent working with it, you’ll always have that fine line between control and surprise to seek out. When I find that line, I often strive to create complex interactions out of oddly assembled colors and textures. Paint has the ability to introduce an entire world of motion, shape and shadow, even on something as small as an 18″ x 24” rectangle that sticks an inch and a half off the wall, as shown here.

To give you a better idea of what I mean, I’ve included a detail image of a portion of this week’s painting. Were this piece a photograph, you might think of the detailed area as negative space, but I imagine it as another area to explore. The trouble with paint is, it’s so exciting that you have to be careful not to make people feel dizzy with excess.”

—Michelle Bert

Events of note

Rick Prelinger's Lost Landscapes of San Francisco

San Francisco [TWO nights this year!12/6 & 12/7] Highly recommended! Rick Prelinger’s –Lost Landscapes of San Francisco 11″ at Castro Theatre, 7:30 PM each night [Tickets]

“This year’s program features new scenes of San Franciscans working, playing, marching and partying during the Great Depression; unseen footage of Seals Stadium and the Cow Palace in the late 1930s; the reconstruction of Market Street and Embarcadero Plaza in the 1970s; rare footage of southeastern San Francisco and the Hunters Point drydock; the 1975 Gay Freedom Day parade; a 1940s-era ode to our fog; many more newly discovered gems; and greatest hits from past programs.

As always, the audience makes the soundtrack at the glorious Castro Theatre! Come prepared to identify places, people and events; to ask questions; and to engage in spirited real-time repartee with fellow audience members.”

(I’ll be at Wednesday’s performance! –Rusty.)

—-

All Cities
[11/25] Buy Nothing Day
“The rules are simple. For 24 hours you will detox from buying stuff–anyone take part provided they spend a day without spending…If you really need to shop on Buy Nothing Day, ignore the big retailers with their aisles of organized landfill and make a commitment to support local and independent shops and businesses.”

[12/5] International Volunteer Day

Various Cities
[Ongoing] Silent Book Club

[12/4 & 12/5] Spirited Away returns to theaters

[Through 12/24] SantaCon

[Until 2/2017] A Good Trip Tour with Shaune Mauss, comedy centered around psychedelics

[Until 2/9/2017] Mortified Live! “Witness a night of adults telling stories about their lives by sharing their most mortifying childhood artifacts (diaries, letters, lyrics, poems, home movies)â€¦ in front of total strangers”

[2017] Adam Ant goes on tour, playing his 1980 album, Kings of the Wild Frontier, live

Adelaide, Australia
[3/3-3/19/2017] Adelaide Festival Thanks, J James!

Alameda, California
[Until 1/8/2017] The Little Ice Rink at Alameda South Shore Center

[12/10] Accordion Babes Cabaret Revue at Rhythmix Cultural Works, 8 PM [Tickets]

[12/10] SOLD OUT! Mid-Century Supper Club Holiday Potluck Extravaganza! at the Eagles Hall, 6 PM to 11 PM

Austin, Texas
[4/20-4/23/2017] The Old Settler’s Music Festival at the Salt Lick Pavilion and Camp Ben McCulloch in Driftwood [Tickets]

Berkeley, California
[12/10-12/11] 4th Annual East Bay Print Sale at Max’s Garage Press

[1/6/2017] The Lookouting: A Celebration of Lookout! Records at 924 Gilman

Black Rock City, Nevada
[8/27-9/4/2017] Burning Man 2017

Boston, Massachusetts
[12/17] A John Waters Christmas at Berklee Performance Center, 8 PM [Tickets]

Cambridge, Massachusetts
[12/11 & 12/16] Club Drosselmeyer, a show created by “swing dancers, swing musicians, game designers and LARPers” at Club Oberon, 2 Arrow St., Howard Square

Chattanooga, Tennessee
[Until 10/31/2017] Wayne White‘s Wayne-o-Rama at 1800 Rossville Avenue, open Weds-Sun, 11 AM to 6 PM and by special appointment

Chicago, Illinois
[12/8] Bawdy Storytelling: “Didnâ€™t See It Comin” at Martyrs’, 8 PM[Tickets]

Denver, Colorado
[4/8-4/9/2017] DINK: Independent Comic Expo, “Urban art with literature, zines, small press publishers, underground comix and cocktails!” Thanks, Mike McDaniel!

[12/7] A John Waters Christmas at Boulder Theater, 8 PM [Tickets]

Detroit
[April 2017] Allee Willis’ The “D” premieres at the Fisher Building, party to follow

Las Vegas
[Ongoing] Akhob, an immersive “Ganzfeld effect” experience by artist James Turrell at Louis Vuitton [by appt only: 702-730-3150] HIGHLY recommended!

Los Angeles
[Until 11/27] Guillermo del Toro exhibit at LACMA

[Until 12/10] Fireflight, an immersive experience that “takes the audience on a journey inside the mind and through myths, demons, and fairy tales” [Tickets]

[11/26] Krampus lecture with costumed characters, slides, and video at the Goethe Institut, 6 PM and 8 PM [Tickets]

[12/2] Fourth Annual Krampus Ball with Dâ€™Oberlandler Bavarian dance troupe and others TBA

[12/3] CHARLES PHOENIX APOLLO SPACE CAPSULE HOLIDAY LIGHTING at Columbia Memorial Space Center, Downey, CA, 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM

[12/4] CHARLES PHOENIX RETRO HOLIDAY SHOW & BREAKFAST FOR DINNER PARTY at Friendship Hall, 6 PM

[12/5-12/8] Henry Rollins at Largo

[12/8] Los Angeles Krampuslauf at Downtown Art Walk. After-party with Rosemaryâ€™s Billygoat at the Regent

[12/8] La Krampus Run and After Party at The Regent, 8 PM to 11 PM

[12/10] Silverlake Flea, 12 PM to 5 PM

[12/10] Santacon 2016

[12/10] TORRANCE: Krammpstein at Alpine Village

[12/11] St. Nicholas-Krampus Play, Austrian folk songs and stories by Michael Kaufmann, from Styria, Austria.

[12/17 & 12/18] Charles Phoenix’s Retro Slide Show, “Live Comedy Performance Celebrating 50s & 60s Holiday Life And Style!, Brea, CA

[1/27-1/29] stARTup Fair LA, “Los Angeles’s contemporary art fair for independent artists”

[Starts 10/2017] Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors at The Broad

[11/10-11/11/2017] National Beard and Mustache Championship

Malden, Massachusetts
[Ongoing] Boda Borg

Maxwell, California
[6/15-6/18/2017] Camp Tipsy 2017, “an annual rotten boat building contest and campout”

Minneapolis, Minnesota
[11/25] Annual anti-Black Friday open house at Minneapolis Institute of Art, 6 AM to 10 AM, Free

New Orleans
[7/18-7/23/2017] Tales of the Cocktail

New York City
Quirky NYC by Oriana Leckert:
:: “From Bumper Cars to Torah Taxidermy: A Guide to 25 of Brooklyn’s Most Unusual Museums”
:: “From Elevators to Outsider Art: A Guide to 16 Under-the-Radar Museums in Queens”

[Ongoing] Sleep No More at The McKittrick Hotel [Tickets]
[Ongoing] The Ferry Play on the Staten Island Ferry, $1.99
[Ongoing] More NYC events
[Ongoing] Madame Tussauds New York hyper-reality Ghostbusters Experience

[Through 1/8] Pip’s Island, an “indoor immersive experience lasting one hour for children between the ages of 4-10” [Tickets]

[Until 1/15/2017] Pipilotti Rist: Pixel Forest at New Museum, 235 Bowery, Manhattan, Free

[Until 1/29/2017] T he Strange Undoing of Prudence Hart at The McKittrick Hotel [Tickets]

[Through 2/2017] Refuge, an “immersive performance and gameplay experience set in a mirrored 2016 reality where coastal cities are going underwater, temperature increases have caused nearly all vegetation to disappear, and natural disasters are wreaking havoc across every continent,” Needs a team of 4 to play [Tickets]

[11/27] A John Waters Christmas at City Winery New York, 8 PM

[12/3] Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, a costumed Holiday Dance Party at the McKittrick Hotel, 10:15 PM [Tickets]

[12/19] Mark Ryden and Marion Peck sign copies of Pinxit, 2 PM to 4 PM

Oakland
[Until 12/11] Root Collection: 20 Years of the Patti Smith Collection at Mills College Art Museum
[12/7] Movie Night: Dream of Life

[Until 2/17/2017] All Power to the People: Black Panthers at 50 at OMCA

[11/28] Nerd Nite East Bay #48: Stoicism, Supernovae, and Health at Club 21 [Tickets]

[12/2] Jack London Square Lights Up For The Holidays, Jack London Square’s “annual tree lighting festivities,” 5 PM to 7 PM

[12/3] The 40th Annual Lighted Yacht Parade [Parade Route]

[12/4] KitLAB Maker Market at Gingerbread House, 1 PM to 5 PM

[12/6] Yarn 4 : Comedy Storytelling hosted by Heather Gold

[12/10] The Annual East Bay Alternative Book and Zine Fest at Venue Ballroom, 11 AM to 6 PM

[12/10] On The Rocks: A Black Rock Lighthouse Holiday Party at Deathtrap, 9 PM

[12/12] Snoop Dogg at Fox Theater, 8 PM [Tickets]

[12/13] Tig Notaro at Fox Theater, 8 PM [Tickets]

[12/14] FLAME: A Keshet LGBTQ Hanukkah Revue, a “big, queer Hanukkah party with live music, Jewish drag queens, comedians, and more” at Uptown [Tickets]

[12/17] M0XY Krampus Party and Bazaar, 2 PM

[12/18] Radical Self-Love at East Bay Meditation Center, 10 AM to 4 PM

[1/7] Tycho at Fox Theater, 8 PM to 11 PM

[1/29] Oakland Museum’s White Elephant PREVIEW Sale, 10 AM to 5 PM, $15-$20

[3/4-3/5] Oakland Museum’s White Elephant Sale

[4/19-4/24, 2017] Psychedelic Science 2017 at Oakland Marriott Center [Tickets]

Oregon
[8/17-8/23/2017] Oregon Eclipse 2017, a “total solar eclipse gathering”

Pasadena, California
[Until 1/28/2017] Enchanted: Forest of Light, an interactive, nighttime experience at Descanso Gardens [Tickets]

Plains, Georgia
[Sundays] (Former President) Jimmy Carter’s Sunday School Class

Tulare and Sacramento, California
[Weekends until 1/6/2017] Global Winter Wonderland

San Diego
[12/15] Presentation on The Krampus and the Old, Dark Christmas at San Diego Art Institute, Balboa Park

[3/4-3/11] JoCo Cruise 2017, “a whole cruise ship full of music, comedy, and general nerdery”

San Leandro, California
[11/17] Official launch for We Are From Dust, a new non-profit which aims to take nine large scale Black Rock City inspired installations to 2017 International Art Exhibition in Venice, at the Gate 510, 4:30 PM to 8:30 PM

San Francisco
:: “Best storytelling events in the Bay Area”
:: Upscale vs. Frugal SF
[Ongoing] Elsewhere Philatelic Society
[Ongoing] More SF events
[Ongoing] Prelinger Library events
{Gallery] Keane Eyes Gallery featuring the art of Margaret Keane, 3040 Larkin Street

[Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day] Illuminate SF, a citywide festival of light [The PDF guide]

[1/12-1/29/2017] SF Sketchfest
[1/14] Kids in the Hall: “Brain Candy” Live Staged Reading at Castro Theatre
[1/25] Bawdy Storytelling with Dixie de la Tour at Punchline Comedy Club [Tickets]

[Until 12/18] Home Land Security at Fort Winfield Scott and the Presidio, Wednesday through Sunday, 10 AM to 6 PM, Free

[Until 12/18] The Great Dickens Christmas Fair at the Cow Palace

[Until 12/31] Real Housewives of Macaroni, New portraits by Jason Mecier at Dog Eared Books Castro, 489 Castro Street

[Until 1/14/2017] Street Talk: Puerto Rico, MFA Thesis Show, at Desai | Matta Gallery

[Until 1/15/2017] LogJam Cafe, part of Tom Sachs’ Space Program: Europa exhibition

[Until 1/29/2017] Curious Contraptions featuring cabaret mechanical theatre at the Exploratorium [Tickets]

[11/25-12/31] Cynthia Yeeâ€™s San Francisco Chinatown Ghost Tour, 7:30 PM

[11/30] A John Waters Christmas at Great American Music Hall, 8 PM [Tickets]

[12/1-12/3] ClownCon, Clown Conservatory’s Winter Showcase, 7:30 PM each evening [Tickets]

[12/1] Wunderfaire 2016 at IDEO Pier 28 Annex The Embarcadero, 4:30 PM to 8 PM

[12/6 & 12/7] Rick Prelinger’s –Lost Landscapes of San Francisco 11″ at Castro Theatre, 7:30 PM each night [Tickets]

[12/7-12/9] Chronicle Books’ Biggest Warehouse Sale

[12/7 & 12/8] “Crispin Hellion Glover’s Big Slide Show Parts 1 & 2” at the Alamo Drafthouse

[12/8-12/13] Golden Gate Men’s Chorus holiday concerts

[12/9] Singin’ in the Rainâ€”Feature Film with Live Orchestra at San Francisco Symphony [Tickets]

[12/10] San Francisco Fetish Flea at SF Citadel, 11 AM to 5 PM

[12/14] Bawdy Storytelling: Happy Endings at Verdi Club, 8 PM

[12/14] Fireside Storytelling: “Hot!” at Chez Poulet, 8 PM

[12/15] Buzzed Bee, “drunken spelling bee with fabulous prizes” at Monument 140 9th St, 7 PM to 10 PM, Free to attend & $10 to play

[1/1/2017] The 17th Annual Breakfast of Champions, 6 AM to 6 PM [Tickets]

[1/21/2017] The Calling All Choir’s 2017 San Francisco Fall/Winter Finale at Mission Dolores Basilica, 8 PM to 10 PM

[3/12/2017] Breasts. An Art Exhibit of Form and Function. 6 PM

[10/2017] 50th Anniversary of the Summer of Love

Santa Fe, New Mexico
[Ongoing] Meow Wolf [Read this] [Tickets]

Scottsboro, Alabama
[Ongoing] Unclaimed Baggage Center Thanks, Farrah!

Seattle
“The Obscure, the Charming and the Odd: Mark Pahlow’s Guide to Seattle”

Stockbridge, Massachusetts
[Until 5/29/2017] Hanna-Barbera: The Architects of Saturday Morning at Norman Rockwell Museum via

Sun Valley, Idaho
[3/19/2017-3/22/2017] Dent 2017, a creative retreat for people who want to “put a dent in the universe,” as Steve Jobs once said. (Highly recommended!)

Vancouver, BC
[11/26] Personal PiÃ±ata: Craft and Artistry Workshop with Meaghan Kennedy, 12 PM to 4 PM

Vienna, Austria
[12/8-12/11] Roboexotica, a festival for cocktail robots

HEY YOU, YES YOU

Know about a cool happening, soiree, and/or event? I can’t be everywhere and know about everything, so s hare it with me! I’ll do my best to include it in the next issue.

“There’s no denying that it’s difficult for us to put stuff out into the world that may not be, as you say, as meticulous as we’d have it, but the 20-year time gap makes it easier. I’m also aware that I have always learned more from other artists’ imperfect works than from their masterpieces. The glimpse behind the curtain can be illuminating.”

—Gillian Welch on Boots No. 1: The Official Revival Bootleg

Rusty’s Electric Dreams is a weekly inbox zine by Rusty Blazenhoff.

Rusty has collaborated with some of the biggest names in the quirky-cool corner of pop culture, including Pee-wee Herman, Allee Willis, Laughing Squid, and Archie McPhee. Her offbeat zine is chock full of art, unusual products, worldwide event listings of note, and other fun surprises.

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