The "Festive AF" Edition :: Issue #315, Rusty's Electric Dreams

“Mail your packages early so the post office can lose them in time for Christmas.”

— Johnny Carson

An inbox zine for positive deviants and the people who love them
Issue #315 :: The “Festive AF” Edition :: 12:1:2021

Festive AF…

The holiday season. Somehow, some way, it’s already here. Since there’s no real way to avoid it without coming off like a Grinch, I’ve decided—once again—to embrace the hell out of it. To get through the yuck of yuletide, I look at December as an almost-month-long creative challenge. I can go a little crazy making stuff and then thrusting these artsy items on my friends and family as “cards” and “gifts.” Self-care is self-care, no matter what brand it is. Tis the season to bring the absurd (and overused holiday cliches). Join me! (I’ll start right after this post-booster nap I so desperately need right now.)

— Rusty Blazenhoff

P.S. To those who celebrate Hanukkah, Hanukah, and/or Chanukah… Chag sameach!

As seen on the Internets

Kyle Scheele is a gawddamn droplifting/prankster hero. Thanks, Andy!

:: Part 2: tiktok.com/@kylescheele/video/7031666509919341830
:: Scheele Meale becomes real: tiktok.com/@kylescheele/video/7032358670058966277
:: Now with merch: bonfire.com/store/kylescheele

:: Oldie but a goodie: Steve of Blue’s Clues on being “fame-ish”

:: youtu.be/CwmtkFPYXsg

:: Hand-y! Thanks, Marjorie!
:: hausofhands.us

:: A Blazenhoff family favorite: “Christmas in Hollis”
:: http://youtu.be/OR07r0ZMFb8

:: Huell Howser action figure
:: instagram.com/p/CW4Fdj0vEjV

:: This puzzle is like two mints in one
:: shitheadsteve.com/collections/prank-products/products/ricks-cabin-puzzle

:: “Extremely accurate birds”
:: tommysiegel.net/shop/2022-calendar-of-extremely-accurate-birds

:: Cryptoji
:: cryptoji.com Thanks, Greg!

:: On the heavier side of things
:: dyingkindness.com

Real regional you can actually buy: yay!

The packaging of regional foods are like familiar faces. In many ways, at least to me, it’s not even about the actual product inside. As a superfan of one, I’ve thought about this a lot. While my own obsession is focused on Fluff, I’m definitely nostalgically linked to other childhood products (and have been documenting them for a while). I don’t eat Brown Bread in a Can or Scotch Broth, for instance, but they are kind of like old friends. Old friends that I don’t eat, haha. Anyway, color me thrilled to find Jawnaments—a company that handcrafts ornaments of regional favorites (and not just of foods!). The company is based in Philly and but they carry all kinds of east coast familiars including Hoodsie Cups, Autocrat Coffee Syrup (did you know coffee milk is the Rhode Island state drink?), Carvel’s Santa cake and, yes, Fluff! They promise “Seattle, San Fran and LA” in the future. Now, what’s great is that I found them as I was buying some of Artist Sarah Dudek’s regional food ornaments for my own Christmas tree. Algorithm working!

Related: Check out this beanie from Hostess!
ALSO related: Look at this foodie vending machine! Thanks, Marcia!

Featured Events

[Alameda, CA :: now through 1/9] Side Effects May Occur, Victoria Heifner painted a can a day for 100 days and they are completely charming! Now on exhibit, and for sale, at Inkblot Gallery, 933B Central Ave (prints and cards available too)

WORLDWIDE
[Starting soon in a city near you] Phil Kline’s Unsilent Night, a “luminous soundscape played by the audience on boomboxes carried through city streets”

LOS ANGELES, CA+
[Los Angeles :: now through 1/22] The Obamas Portrait Tour at LACMA

BAY AREA, CA+
[Alameda :: soon] Christmas Tree Lane will soon be open, 3200 block of Thompson Avenue, evenings. It’s free and outside.

[Alameda :: now until ?] Krampus Korner: “get your photo taken with the keeper of naughty children!” 918 Central Avenue

[San Francisco :: 12/2 to 2/1] Charlie Gadeken’s Entwined returns to Golden Gate Park this winter! It’s free and outside. Peacock Meadow

[San Francisco :: 12/11] Krampus is coming to town VII, “More wandering guerilla theater than pub crawl” Union Square

[Oakland :: Through 12/12] Playhouse: Puppets by Bill Walker Compound Gallery, 1167 65th Street

[San Francisco :: 12/18] The El Vez MeXmas Show! at Bottom of the Hill

[Berkeley :: 1/21-1/26] Fran Lebowitz at Berkeley Rep, tickets on sale 11/12

[Oakland :: 4/9] Baba Yaga’s Forest Tea Party, “Baba Yaga invites all folklore and fairytale creatures from around the globe to join her for tea in her enchanted woods. Wear any fantasy or folk wear, and share your favorite dish.”

[San Francisco :: dates in Jan.] SF Sketchfest 2022

[Oakland :: early 2022] In-person White Elephant Sale returns!

NEW YORK, NY
[Brooklyn :: starts 11/12] Empire Circus

ONLINE
[12/12] The Krampus & The Old, Dark Christmas with Al Ridenour, a Zoom lecture

SCOTTSDALE, AZ
[Scottsdale :: 4/28 to 5/1] Arizona Tiki Oasis

SEATTLE, WA
[Seattle :: now through 12/27] The Word of the Future, “a playful examination of simulation and belief. Artists Fennell and Donovan present technology as a concept we collectively worship, represented in the guise of superstition and religion.” Museum of Museums, tickets

“High times,” indeed.

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. Well, most people do.

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Publisher & Baddie-in-Chief: Rusty Blazenhoff

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