The “Fungi-ble” Edition :: Issue #304, Rusty’s Electric Dreams





“How many years has it taken people to realize that we are all brothers and sisters and human beings in the human race?”

Marsha P. Johnson

An inbox zine for positive deviants and the people who love them
Issue #304 :: The “Fungi-ble” Edition :: 6:09:2021

Fungi-ble

I’ve been a guest on a few podcasts now and they’ve all been so fun. My recent spot on Cool Tools was no exception. I spent half an hour with its hosts Kevin Kelly and Mark Frauenfelder sharing my top four favorite tools. I took the assignment of choosing those four things seriously but not too seriously. I decided it was best not to overthink it. I talk about how researching my ancestry changed my life, the joy of consuming copious amounts of water from my glow-in-the-dark glass bottle, all the things I’ve been making with my new-ish Cricut (pronounced: cricket), and how I get off a Zoom call fast using electronic noisemakers. 

If you’re new here, after hearing me on the podcast, welcome! One of these days I’ll get around to doing a “what is this? and who put you in charge?” kind of thing for folks to read when they subscribe. For now, I’ll just say, “Howdy, and welcome.” 

Rusty Blazenhoff
P.S. After the podcast, Kevin and Mark gifted me “Four Favorite Tools,” a print-on-demand book they created with Claudia Dawson that is, well, super cool! It’s a fat compilation of all the cool tools from the best 150 episodes. It’s hard to not buy everything in it.

As seen on the Internets


Footsteps by Jeremy Benning

Footsteps is a fantastic short doc about Foley artists, the people who make the sounds we hear in movies. via
:: Swoon: Michael Wertz has his own Portland Stamp Company art stamps
:: theportlandstampcompany.com/artist-series/michael-wertz

:: $8 robot manicures
:: tiktok.com/@elissamaercklein/video/6967918446084443398
:: nytimes.com/2021/06/01/technology/robot-manicure-nails.html

:: Ian Charnas made a jetpack and then went roller skating!
:: boingboing.net/2021/06/02/real-life-jetpack-tested-out-on-roller-skates.html

:: There’s a store in Burbank that sells “screen-used” furniture/decor
:: previouslyonset.com

:: “Please sir, three of your finest cocaines.”
:: cardhouse.com/2021/2021.htm#20210521

:: The Abercrombie and Fitch catalogs of yore are surprisingly beautiful!
:: digitalcollections.powerlibrary.org/cdm/ref/collection/pcalo-amc/id/8079 Thanks, Alexander!

:: Coolors
:: coolors.co

:: Behold, the Peequal!
:: bbc.com/news/uk-england-bristol-57340739

:: Subscribe-worthy: Neko Case’s “The Lung” 
:: nekocase.substack.com/p/i-want-to-go-home

:: Who wants to go in on this amazing property with me?
:: mansionglobal.com/articles/love-shack-times-10-kate-pierson-of-the-b-52s-lists-her-catskills-compound-for-2-2-million

:: The Linda Lindas played on Kimmel!
:: youtu.be/nj7Xdwu50gs

:: Understanding “circles of friendship”
:: theatlantic.com/family/archive/2021/05/robin-dunbar-explains-circles-friendship-dunbars-number via

:: Typeys
:: clickamericana.com/topics/discoveries-inventions/vintage-ascii-art-from-the-1930s-typeys-made-with-old-manual-typewriters

:: Real California oases you can hike to: yay!
:: www.sfgate.com/california-parks/article/California-desert-oasis-hike-joshua-tree-national-16205997.php

:: Good historical read on how WeHo streets got named
:: westhollywoodhistory.org/where-wehos-streets-got-their-names

Real ‘shrooms you can actually find: yay!



Let’s talk Game of Shrooms, shall we?: For the most part, I wheel and deal in relationships over widgets. My primary currency is not the almighty dollar, it’s social currency. And, I’ve long thought about how to make the concept of social currency more tangible. It comes from a personal place, wanting to “feel” and “touch” my own unique worth. For a while, I thought about making Blazenhoff Industries-branded money that people could earn from doing kind deeds, that they could then spend in an online store (that I am yet to build) or gift to someone else. 

With Game of Shrooms approaching and the recent rise in popularity of NFT (non-fungible token) digital art, I started to rethink my idea of a tangible social currency a bit. After connecting some dots, I got a little punny by minting “Fungi-ble Tokens,” an eight-piece series of quirky mushroom-themed art coins. Their backs are covered in a layer of vintage paper ephemera, which makes each one unique and unreproducible. They have no cash value, or do they? Dunh dunh dunh! 

I didn’t stop there. Plot twist: The finder of each of these Fungi-ble Tokens will be given the option to claim the digital component of their art, i.e. the NFT (art is free, some ETH gas fees may apply). Two mints in one!

The first NFT I’ve minted (ever) is called “Tender Tinies” and you can see it now on Opensea.io. I’ll be minting the other seven non-fungible Fungi-ble tokens there throughout the week. Then, early on Saturday morning, I’ll be hiding their tangible counterparts individually in to-be-disclosed East Bay (Alameda and Oakland) spots. Want one? Keep an eye out on my Fluff-Insta @TheRealLynneWhite for further updates and game-day clues.

Let the experiment begin.

Real awesome thing you can actually buy: yay!



Kudos: LEGO’s Everyone is Awesome set ($35) seems less like a Pride cash grab and more like a genuine way to celebrate and honor the LGBTQIA+ community. From its designer Matthew Ashton, “This sends a signal to everyone that this is what we stand for at The LEGO Group and that we want to embrace all of you, because creativity is for everyone. We do truly feel that everyone is awesome. We all have the right to be accepted, to be loved and also to be creative. With this set, we hope to show that we care, no matter who you are.”

ALSO:
Real hand-painted hats you can actually buy: holy macaroni, yes!

Featured Events



[Oakland: now through 7/10] Tin artist Dave Yoas has a brand new Transmission Gallery exhibition, Individually Twisted. If  you’re in the are, this is a must-see! I went to the reception Saturday and the photos I took do not do Dave’s pieces justice. There are so many details and gags, many of which are delightfully subversive. Please, get down to the gallery. You’ve got until July 10. [Dave’s wife Rachel snapped this shot with my phone of her husband explaining some of the finer points of his “So Shoot Me” to a curious young fan.]

WORLDWIDE
[6/12/21] Attaboy’s once-a-year global art-n-seek event Game of Shrooms is this SATURDAY! Go back up and read what I wrote about this. There will be a test!


Just announced: Stern Grove’s summer lineup 

BAY AREA, CA+
[Alameda: 6/12An all-ages outdoor concert with Deke Dickerson and Aloha Screwdriver, Fireside Lounge, 4 p.m., Tickets

[Milpitas : open 6/8] LEGOLAND opens

LAS VEGAS
[OngoingOffice of Collecting & Design Thanks, Mel!

LOS ANGELES+
[Now until ?Madcap Motel looks like a fun immersive retro-romp.

[7/30Rental Car Rally, the “midnight competitive roadtrip where handsome people dress up in costumes and descend upon wondrous and strange locations in rental cars” is on.

[Buena Park, CA: Through 9/5] Bob Baker Marionettes return to Knott’s Berry Farm!

[10/29] Disney presents Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas” Live-to-film concert experience with Danny Elfman and TBA guests at Banc of California StadiumTickets on sale now.

FLORIDA
[Cypress Lake: until 8/8Mark Mothersbaugh & Beatie Wolfe: Postcards for Democracy at The Bob Rauschenberg Gallery

NEW YORK
[Now – 10/31/21] Kusama: Cosmic Nature, New York Botanical Garden


DJ Justin Credible

On Saturday I went to a huge block party in Oakland and my friend DJ Justin Credible had it hopping! You can catch her at the Ruby Room in Oakland where she’s the resident DJ, or at your event. Yeah, hire this silver fox!**
**Yes I checked, you can call a woman that.

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.

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