What I did on my almost-summer vacation
I left town and returned with an ascot. Rusty's Electric Dreams :: Issue #369
Greetings from Camp Do Too Much, Write Too Little
Hi friends, I meant to send a letter weeks ago, but I got caught up in the fine art of actually living. 10/10, highly recommend… even as I sit here on a perfectly good, not-too-hot Saturday, indoors, typing this like a big hypocrite.
But, to be fair, since I last wrote, I’ve been:
• Helping SJ move out of her last dorm room (off-campus housing here she comes!)
• Uncovering a creepy surprise in a Portland flat (video proof)
• Time-traveling to weird Portland in the '90s with fellow adventurers
• Feeling glamping equipment envy at the Japanese lifestyle temple that is Snow Peak
• Seeing the actual Fight Club soap with my own eyeballs
• Road-tripping with SJ back to the Bay, stopping in Sacto for cute baby rats
• Unwinding in a friends’ beautiful, exposed brick-walled, soul-soothing loft
• Squeezing in meals/walks with friends (never enough time for everyone)
• Loving the little art at the OMCA’s Fairyland exhibit
• Nearly buying some haunted old Kaiser puppets at Creative Reuse (only $35!)
• Touring Pixar (makeshift ascot acquired from the employee free table) (Thx, Brianne!)
• Watching the delightfully unhinged results of a puppet-a-thon
• Boating around the Bay with two Elks-era pals + eating Japanese fried chicken later
• Playing hooky & tourist with SJ in SF: Bus to Salesforce Park → very short gondola ride → a $25 salad → soft serve at the Ferry Building → Fog City Flea → ferry back
• Taking the Coast Starlight back to LA in a roomette (read: a rolling fort for grownups with hot meals, alone time, and crazy views)
• Scheming ways to make enough money to travel like that in the air
• Having my phone blow up after Pee-wee as Himself drops
• Being alerted that my name is in the credits (that was a surprise!)
• Returning back to Willis Wonderland, and immediately getting swept up in its wild, creative energy (good gravy, it wasn’t a fever dream after all)
• Scoring last-minute tickets to the Savannah Bananas vs. the Firefighters (Thx, Michael!)
• High-fiving Jesse, the PT Barnum of this brand of baseball
• Sweating through 95 degrees of Banana Ball chaos and loving every second of it
• Watching my core philosophies—surprise and delight, and giving people what they actually want—play out in real time, on a ballfield, no less
Oh, and somewhere in there, I started ghostwriting as a house. Like, actually being the voice of a house. Which somehow is totally on brand for me.
Anyhoo, that’s the update from the bottom bunk. The bugle’s blowing, fun is calling me, and you’ve got full permission to get out there and do something that makes you feel alive (or at least a little feral).
More as adventures allow,
— Rusty Blazenhoff
P.S. What have you been up to?
Real thing you could actually buy: yes, way!
Featured Events
BAY AREA, CA+
[Bay Area :: ongoing] Go get lost in an Explorers Guild event. Make weird art with Raining Chainsaws or just show up for the spectacle. Ooo, head to the Aftel Archive, it’s open again. If it’s low tide, TEPCO Beach is calling. For a steady stream of fantastic and affordable happenings, Richie Rhombus’ Cool Happenings list is your go-to (beautifully described as an “in-the-know guide for intimate, quirky, thoughtful events as well as ridiculous parties and larger gatherings outside the mainstream”). Also worth keeping an eye on: Artists Television Access, City Arts & Events and The Marsh.
[Oakland :: 7/19 +7/20] Mosswood Meltdown 2025. DEVO/John Waters/etc.
LOS ANGELES, CA+
[L.A. :: ongoing] There’s always something happening in L.A., often steeped in pop culture and entertainment. Here are a few spots worth knowing: Vidiots, 1iota.com, Groundlings, Largo at the Coronet, Dynasty Typewriter, Cinespia, Puppet Up, Bob Baker Marionette Theater, The Elysian, Freak Nature, Lodge Room, Lucky Tiki Speakeasy, Magic Castle, Black Rabbit Rose, Stash House, “Unique and Unusual” museums, Davey B. Gravey’s Tiny Cinema, Hollywood Forever, New Beverly, “secret stairs” and Philosophical Research Society.
My personal favorite? The Los Angeles Breakfast Club (I’m going to the one with Robocop’s Peter Weller on June 18).
[Hollywood :: 6/15] See The World According to Allee Willis on the big screen for Pride LIVE! Hollywood. Q+A with Prudence Fenton, Julie Brown and others after the show. Want to go see it? I’ll put you on the guest list. HMU.
[San Diego :: Now] Ari Bird’s Flower shop at Burn All Books in San Diego
ELSEWHERE
[New York :: Ongoing but random] Shadow Traffic
[Several U.S. Cities :: Ongoing] Fou Fou Ha!
[Worldwide :: Now] Choir! Choir! Choir!
❤️🤞 [Multiple Cities :: Tour] Cake Picnic
[Worldwide :: 6/14] Game of Shrooms: “a once a year worldwide art-N-seek event created by Attaboy.”
[From Japan to L.A. :: June-Sept] Sparks is going on tour. Thx, @Fritinancy!
❤️= I plan on attending!
Proof the Internet still has a soul
You made it to the bottom. Here comes your present.
[Link Code: TT=TikTok, IG=Instagram, YT=YouTube, SS=Substack]
:: Obsessed with this (Thx, Aicha!)
:: No BS advice from Truman Capote’s aunt (TT)
:: TIL: this type of animation is called pixilation (IG)
:: “GIRLS!” (TT)
:: GOAT goats (IG) Thx, Polly!
:: The latest from No Gout (YT)
:: Maybe my favorite one of his (TT)
:: Yes, just yes (IG)
:: Wow, just wow. (IG)
:: One of us! One of us! (IG) Thx, Whitney!
:: Who knew they had such a tight community?! (IG)
:: Some of y’all will relate a little too much (IG) Thx, Sandwich!
Here lies my will to work
Now get out there and summer it up!
I've been obsessed with the idea of traveling by roomette. It looks so dignified and cozy.