The "Winner winner" Edition :: Issue #199, Rusty's Electric Dreams

“If failure is not an option, then neither is success.”

An inbox zine for positive deviants and the people who love them
Issue #199 :: The “Winner Winner” Edition :: 12:05:2018

Winner winner…

A lot can happen in two weeks and a lot has happened in two weeks. There’s some news I can share and some I can’t. Not until later, that is.

First: Thanks to this shout-out on Boing Boing by Mark Frauenfelder, there are nearly 300 more of us reading today! Welcome one and all.

Second: A big thanks to Doc Pop for taking the reins while I was traveling!

Third, and lastly: Keep reading. I share some news below.

— Rusty Blazenhoff

P.S. If you celebrate, Chag Sameach!

As seen on the Internets

LAND YACHT

Ahoy: Now THIS is a land yacht!

——————-

:: How to be an artist in 33 easy steps via
:: https://www.vulture.com/2018/11/jerry-saltz-how-to-be-an-artist.html

:: For years, I topped my Christmas tree with a plastic lobster
:: https://hyperallergic.com/473537/how-to-decorate-a-christmas-tree-like-an-artist

:: My friend Doug makes a holiday music mix each December. This year’s playlist is a smooth jazz one called Hepcat Holiday
:: https://dougfuller.net/2018-holiday-music-mix

Real things you can actually buy: yes way!

Here’s me keeping the lights on: I have a new side hustle, folks. If you don’t already know, when I meet someone who impresses or inspires me in some way, I award them a special blue ribbon. It’s my way of saying, “I really see you.” Well, it’s been a long time coming but I wanted to start making ribbons that you could award. So, without any further ado, introducing… Chicken Dinner Prize Co!

Psst… Shipping is FREE and if you order by December 12th, I’ll have the ribbons in your hands well before Christmas. (Also, omg, it feels weird — but good — to write about my own project! If you have a suggestion for a ribbon, write me!)

Permission granted: Positive deviant extraordinaire Gareth Branwyn has made Artistic Licenses. He writes that they “sport ‘self-issuing technology.’ By breaking the wax seal, you are committing to act genuinely, think uniquely, express creatively, and to invoke your muses often.” Yes! If you’d like one (or more), email Gareth directly They are $5 each or five for $20 (postage paid).

When you want to gift experiences, and things: Get thee to Odyssey Works to buy a membership for their Library of Experiences ($100), a “curated online catalog with sets of instructions for creating experiences of wonder and beauty for yourself or others.”

Real things you can actually buy: nay!

Explanation denied: The Digging Dog Butt tissue holder ($28) via

What are you looking at?

A game for us big kids: When I was little, there was this kids’ magazine I read that showed photos of magnified items. Our job as kids was to figure out what we were looking at. This is my version of that. What are you looking at in the photo above?

[Take a guess and then go here to see if you’re right.]

Featured Events

Television [Saturday mornings in December] Watch every single episode of Pee-wee’s Playhouse on IFC (or catch it any ol’ time on Netflix)

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Worldwide
[Starting 12/16 in NYC] Phil Kline’s Unsilent Night, a “luminous soundscape played by the audience on boomboxes carried through city streets”

USA and Canada
“Weird Al” Yankovic’s Strings Attached tour (full symphony orchestra at each venue), Tickets are now on sale

[various dates] Immersive listings

Alameda, CA

[12/8] Go to JoAnne Yada’s Mid-Century Craft Night at the Sewing Room to make Winter Putz Houses, 6 PM to 9 PM, Bring a glue gun and $20

[12/11] Forbidden Island’s Annual Holiday Tiki Mug Swap, 6 PM to 9 PM (arrive before 7 PM), Bring a tiki mug in a bag to exchange

[12/13] Meshugga Beach Party (Jewish surf) at Forbidden Island, 8 PM

[12/14] Mini Masterpieces art show at Rhythmix

Austin, TX
[Until12/24] Blue Genie Art Bazaar (always great!)

Berkeley, CA [8 nights starting Nov. 29] Lisa Rothman’s Dragon in the Drop-off Lane (I’ll be at the December 13th show)

Los Angeles, CA
[12/8] Los Angeles Santacon (this is the one that hasn’t been taken over by jerks), 11 AM to 10 PM

[12/13] Los Angeles Krampuslauf (Krampus Run), 8 PM to 9 PM

[12/15] Cinespia is hosting a holiday party featuring Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas at the Palace Theatre, Tickets

New York City
Oriana Leckert always knows what’s going on in the Big Apple

Oakland, CA
[Open until 12/9] Hi-Fructose presents: The Art of the Mushroom at the Compound Gallery

[1/27] Oakland White Elephant PREVIEW Sale, Tickets go on sale 12/8
[3/2-3/3] Oakland White Elephant Sale

Phoenix, AZ
[until 5/12] Electric Desert by Klip Collective at the Desert Botanical Garden, after dark only

San Francisco, CA
[12/8] The Confessional featuring Bootlocker, a fully-improvised comedy show based on the audience’s anonymously-provided secrets, Endgames Improv, 7 PM to 9 PM

[12/11] Odd Salon ODDMENTS 2018 at Public Works, 6:30 PM to 10 PM

[Through 12/12] SF IndieFest presents the 15th Annual Another Hole in the Head fantastic film festival

[12/19] El Vez, the Mexican Elvis performs his Merry Mex-mas show at Elbo Room, 7:30 PM, Tickets (Look for him in other cities too!)

[1/10-1/27] SF Sketchfest, schedule and tickets

[1/20] Julia Morgan’s San Francisco: a free two-mile walking tour by I Spy Tours, 1 PM

[1/22] Puddles Pity Party at Palace of Fine Arts, 8 PM, Tickets

Scottsdale, AZ
[4/12-14] Arizona Tiki Oasis, a cool new weekender by Baby Doe and Otto, at the Valley Ho

Know about a cool event? Send me the info and I’ll share it with the class!

John Waters once put this photo of Steve Buscemi dressed as him on his holiday card, because he’s awesome like that.

Rusty’s Electric Dreams is a (mostly) weekly inbox zine by Rusty Blazenhoff for positive deviants and the people who love them.

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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Publisher & Editor-in-Chief: Rusty Blazenhoff
Co-editors Carolyn Anhalt & Joyce Slaton had another week off

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