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Notes about lighting my photos

Notes about lighting my photos published on No Comments on Notes about lighting my photos

Now that I have a designated photo studio [= a corner of my desk], I also have designated photo lights. One is a pharmacy lamp with a regular fluorescent bulb in it. The other is a gooseneck lamp with a full-spectrum bulb in it. I have been taking pictures with various combinations of lights and backgrounds. Here are my results:
Continue reading Notes about lighting my photos

MORE Pirates of the Caribbean? And MORE Princess and the Frog dipshittery.

MORE Pirates of the Caribbean? And MORE Princess and the Frog dipshittery. published on No Comments on MORE Pirates of the Caribbean? And MORE Princess and the Frog dipshittery.

Johnny Depp signs on to do Pirates 4. Stop beating a dead horse to death, Disney.

Also, we get a preview of Disney’s horrid Princess and the Frog [previously discussed here], with a princess of color, and ohhhhhh…it’s sick. Why in the squackity squack is the firefly missing teeth and talking like Jiminy Cricket in blackface? Also, "Tiana’s" very stretchy face and wide mouth make her a knock-off of Ariel. It makes me want to PUKE kick my heels up and PUKE throw my hands up and PUKE throw my head back and PUKE… [Apologies to the Temptations.]

Fat doll

Fat doll published on No Comments on Fat doll

One thing that pisses me off about 1:6 dolls is the lack of variety in body shapes. In terms of easily available bodies for fems, you’ve got the Cy Girl shape [curvy, busty and hippy], the Barbie shape [scrawny and pointily boobular] and the Obitsu shape [slim and roundedly boobular]. However, the average woman is pear-shaped, therefore best approximated by a wider Cy Girl pulled down by gravity. Thus, I have no average-shaped women in my cast, though I do like to make them meaty and broad in the beam by using CG bodies as a base for most.

Not only do I have no really average-shaped women in my cast, but I have no fat women! I mean, God forbid that anyone make a doll with a double chin, wide neck, saggy tummy rolls, massive thighs and jiggly upper arms! I would totally get one.

Since no company I know makes fem dolls with realistic fats, I have to make one myself. She’s going to be a minor character, Absinthe’s sort-of foster mother, Margie, a mortal Native American hairdresser whose last name escapes me at the moment, but it’s something French-Canadian, I think.

I’m thinking that I will use a male body, probably a Dragon one, for the base, since that will provide some bulk across the chest, arms and legs. I’m also thinking that her breasts and her fats around the upper arms, upper legs and torso can be created by cotton batting. The cotton batting will create the appropriate girth, while also being compressible and thus poseable.

As for Margie’s head, I’m looking for a headsculpt that’s full and round already. CG02 [Jet/Kat/Sky] is a possibility. Mattel’s Rosie O’Donnell doll is also a possibility, but I really don’t like that stupid smile of hers. I’m sure there are some male sculpts that could work with a little carving. [I swear…so many of the male sculpts have HUGE schnozzes.]

LHF 2.8: “Deliver Me from Evil”

LHF 2.8: “Deliver Me from Evil” published on No Comments on LHF 2.8: “Deliver Me from Evil”

In which we learn how Will died. 

Comments: Previously, in LHF, Anneka and Will were up in Vermont, struggling in their own ways with Anneka’s grandmother’s death. Disturbed by flashbacks of the deaths of himself and his parents, Will finally reveals to Anneka what’s on his mind. We find out how Will was turned into a vampire and just how stupid his first clan was.

Again, both Anneka and Will are in distress and, again, they aren’t touching. This does not bode well.

 http://oddpla.net/lhf/?p=58

Lazy furniture: stool, end table, vanity

Lazy furniture: stool, end table, vanity published on 1 Comment on Lazy furniture: stool, end table, vanity

See photos of some of my lazy 1:6 furniture below, including a list of materials of those things I made myself. Tonight we’re looking at Will’s vanity, a generic end table and a stool from the Nightcrawler. Continue reading Lazy furniture: stool, end table, vanity

Things I Learned from British Ballads

Things I Learned from British Ballads published on No Comments on Things I Learned from British Ballads

The original post is a hilarious summation of depressing ballad plotlines, as sung in the British Isles. The comments, though, with their submissions of dry humor from hundreds of commenters, really elevate the original post to supernal heights. I’m giving this its own tag because I like to find this post periodically and laugh at it.

Woo hoo! I found a 1:6 cafe table top!

Woo hoo! I found a 1:6 cafe table top! published on No Comments on Woo hoo! I found a 1:6 cafe table top!

I got a round plastic lid from an industrial-size jar of pretzels at work. The lid, besides being bright red and therefore fabulous, is just the right size for the cafe table I need for the Nightcrawler [or dining room scenes]. I can use some of my carpentry scraps to make a pedestal for it. It will then fit in beautifully with the rest of my furniture made out of cardboard boxes, wooden crates, music boxes, etc. I should take pictures of some of my "lazy furniture" and "lazy decor." While I have purchased some things, about 50% of my furniture and accessories are things that I have assembled myself.

Little Will’s little hair

Little Will’s little hair published on No Comments on Little Will’s little hair

Size 4-5 Erika wig from Monique looks about right. $13.50. [Also in the same general style are Andrea, Bernadette, Breanna and Clarissa.] Goddamn…at the rate Little Will is going, he is going to get his own storyline because I have sunk a lot of money into him trying to get him to look appropriately Victorian. >:

Experiments with desktop photo studio

Experiments with desktop photo studio published on 1 Comment on Experiments with desktop photo studio

Tonight I was filming an ep. I accidentally discovered that the colors as seen under my full-spectrum light were more realistic and much less yellow than those seen under fluorescents. Therefore I placed one full-spectrum in front of my subject as shown and then took some example shots.

Conclusions: Full-spectrum light obviates yellow correction in post-production. Full-spectrum also errs on the side of excess blue, but, since most of my characters are cold and dead, I welcome the increase in blue light, which seems thinner and crisper than the thick, yellow, sludgy light.

Also, the crisper the light, the better my photos. My wienie of a camera functions best in full-blown natural light, which is best approximated by full-spectrum bulbs. Ergo, under my full-spectrum experiments tonight, I achieved sharp levels of detail and color more accurate than that under fluorescents.

Also, Will looks incredibly sexy in black.Continue reading Experiments with desktop photo studio

Little Will has little Victorian clothes!

Little Will has little Victorian clothes! published on 1 Comment on Little Will has little Victorian clothes!

Andrea sold me the Antique Dreaming Momoko outfit for Little Will. Here’s a link to the doll displaying the outfit. Unfortunately, the doll is not included in my purchase. However, the outfit includes a long-sleeved, somber dress, a pinafore and BLOOMERS! [Also socks and shoes.] I’m very excited about the bloomers, which make the outfit that much more stupendous. I really should take a whack out of Little Will’s legs and make his hair more Victorian [e.g., ringlets].

LHF Tale of Two Sisters: “The Guiltbot”

LHF Tale of Two Sisters: “The Guiltbot” published on No Comments on LHF Tale of Two Sisters: “The Guiltbot”

In which Velvette and Viktor frolic in a cemetery…

Comments: In the last Tale of Two Sisters,  we watched as Viktor, a sexbot created by one of said sisters, Janet, fought with his owner, Sibley. Now we watch the fallout of Viktor’s fight with Sibley as Viktor takes his master’s commands to heart…

http://oddpla.net/lhf/?p=52

Photo studio on desk and results

Photo studio on desk and results published on 1 Comment on Photo studio on desk and results

I got some new lamps recently and made the following set-up… Below that is a picture of the results, slightly corrected for color and darkness. I’m pleased with the results. With proper lighting, my crappy camera takes crisp photos!
Continue reading Photo studio on desk and results

1:6ers I lust after

1:6ers I lust after published on 1 Comment on 1:6ers I lust after

I’ve found my cut-off point beyond which I think a 1:6 doll is not worth the price: $100. Even dolls that hit the $100 mark make me pause. Unfortunately, there are several dolls in the $100+ category that I’ve been coveting for years, but which I can’t really justify the cost of.

1. Momoko. Her neat little engaging face has always charmed me. I like the ones with dark hair and subdued makeup. I really like Mama Told Me [available at Junky Spot], but she’s $160, $100 of which seems to be for the doll itself and $60 for the outfit. I’m NOT paying that much for an outfit, no matter how attractive it is, if it can’t fit more than one of my dolls. Of all the dolls on this list, it is most probable that I will eventually get a Momoko, especially if I can find one nude <$70.

2. Sakurana. It’s the side-glancing eyes and the little smirk that get me. She looks like she’s up to something devious. Deviousness does not come cheap, though, because her price ranges between $140 and $160 [available at Manika]. Sigh…I have a weakness for smirky dollies.

3. Misaki. Integrity Toys only releases these Fashion Royalty dolls in limited editions, which drives up the price even more. I like the Misaki headsculpt in general, with its strong jawline and overblown lips, but I’m particularly enamored of Posh Girl Misaki, with her smart tailored outfit, stylized freckles and dark lips. However, she’s north of $200 [also available at Manika at the same link as Sakurana].

Fringe — blah.

Fringe — blah. published on No Comments on Fringe — blah.

The much-vaunted Fringe is an X-Files knock-off concerning FBI agent Olivia Dunham, mad scientist Walter Something-or-Other and his annoying genius caretaker son Peter. They run around Boston and environs investigating things like synthetic diseases that dissolve your skin and murderous psychopaths who feed on the pituitary glands of dead prostitutes. They get regular help from a band called Massive Attack company called Massive Dynamic and regular encouragements from their director, who thinks that these "fringe science" events are all part of a weird Pattern.

All the characters neglect to notice the most sinister evidence of the Patten. Namely, it has messed up the very fabric of the Boston metro area! Suddenly, Harvard allows mad genius’ labs to a) take up the whole cellar of a building, b) remain untouched for 17 years and c) house Holsteins without special permits! Creepy ornate mental institutions appear on pastoral grounds in Essex County! The Fenway suddenly boasts an elevated highway! Stoughton apparently has a riverside or seaside warehouse section! And viewers across the state hurl their TVs or computers across the room in frustration!

Did I mention that I don’t care about any of the characters and I don’t know why they’re so interested in this Pattern?

Verdict: It’s a third-rate X-Files with no sense of place. May stave off boredom during really slow days at work, but don’t expect anything truly interesting.

Today’s topic sentence: Rements are awesome.

Today’s topic sentence: Rements are awesome. published on No Comments on Today’s topic sentence: Rements are awesome.

Rement’s a brand name for small, plastic, realistically colored, finely molded, hand-painted models of food, household goods, animals and other related stuff, made by a Japanese company called Rement. The stuff is ~1:6, usually a bit smaller, so it works well with fashion dolls and 12" action figs, a.k.a. the cast of LHF. It is made in themed sets, like "Princess Tea Party," "What’s For Dinner?,""Kawaii Kitchen," etc. Rement is the company name, and the stuff goes by Puchi Petites in the US, but most people I know call the models Rements. Because of their high levels of both quality and cuteness, Rements cause masturbation mass evacuation of wallets non-stop high-pitched squealing to those who are interested in these things.Continue reading Today’s topic sentence: Rements are awesome.

Better photography I: better lights!

Better photography I: better lights! published on 1 Comment on Better photography I: better lights!

Since the days are growing shorter up here in the North Pole Boston metro area, I cannot depend on natural sunlight to illuminate my photostories, especially if I want to take pictures after work. Therefore, I need artificial lights.Continue reading Better photography I: better lights!

Note to “values voters”: racism AIN’T political satire

Note to “values voters”: racism AIN’T political satire published on No Comments on Note to “values voters”: racism AIN’T political satire

At the recent Value Voters Summit, 2 grade A nimrods sold souvenir boxes of Obama Waffles, linking Obama with Aunt Jemima, Muslim myths ["Point box toward Mecca for better waffles!"], stereotypes about rap [bilge on side of box] and generations of pop-eyed African-American mascots with smiles bigger than their heads. See this video for details of Obama waffles packaging and the disingenuous justifications of the nimrods for spreading their hatred.

When confronted directly with this train wreck of sexism, racism, exoticism and general stupidity, said nimrods protested that they "didn't even think of" the Aunt Jemima comparisons. They insisted that their product was "political satire." No, it's not. They're just bigots trying to fit into satirists' clothing. What dipsticks!

LHF 2.7: “Lonely Hour”

LHF 2.7: “Lonely Hour” published on No Comments on LHF 2.7: “Lonely Hour”

In which Anneka discusses with Pippilotta the difficulties of death. http://oddpla.net/lhf/?p=51
Comments: When we last checked in with our undead protagonists, Anneka and Will were up in Vermont with Anneka’s dying grandmother. While Will has flashbacks to his own death, Anneka also takes her grandma’s illness hard and tries to console herself with help from her best friend.

LHF books to get

LHF books to get published on No Comments on LHF books to get

Preachers, Patriots and Plain Folks, sold by the Association for Gravestone Studies, covers the Granary, King’s Chapel and Central cemeteries in Boston. Chow is buried in Central.

The Log of the Union
is a log of a global circumnavigation by Chow’s employer, Captain John Boit Jr., in 1794-1796.

Tituba, Reluctant Witch of Salem Village is an educated reconstruction of Tituba’s life before, during and after the Salem witch trials.

Food for the Dead is about rural New Englanders’ folk medicine against the threat of tuberculosis. Absinthe’s corpse was burned in this tradition.

My putative Halloween costume

My putative Halloween costume published on No Comments on My putative Halloween costume

We might be going to a Halloween party this year. If I go, I think I’ll be a vampire, you know, like an LHF vampire, only slightly more conspicuous, with…

Black outfit, including T-shirt with a headstone on it
Plastic fangs
IV bag with blood in it attached to pants [vampiric equivalent of a water bottle]
Button with a garlic bulb on it and a line through it [NO GARLIC]
Button with VAMPIRES DO IT IN COLD BLOOD
Coffin purse to carry things in
Sunglasses [or flip-down sunglasses attached to my glasses]
Something to protect myself from vampire killers

The good news is that all of this is easily procurable, except for the IV / blood bag.

I found a blood bag!

Also beautiful gravestone T-shirts with Massachusetts stone designs on them. Or I could design my own.

Charlie Gibson interviewing a highly unqualified Sarah Palin

Charlie Gibson interviewing a highly unqualified Sarah Palin published on 1 Comment on Charlie Gibson interviewing a highly unqualified Sarah Palin

As far as I can tell, the entire interview went something like this:

Gibson: [Incisive question seeking specifics about Palin’s policies and qualifications.]

Palin: [Irrelevant canned blather full of generalities and evasion.]

Here’s the part that really highlighted her evasion:
Continue reading Charlie Gibson interviewing a highly unqualified Sarah Palin

Karito Kids dolls

Karito Kids dolls published on 2 Comments on Karito Kids dolls

Every time I’m in Arlington Center, I stop by Henry Bear’s Park, an independent toy store that stocks a pleasing array of Japanese food erasers. Besides the erasers, I also like to admire the dolls, especially the Only Hearts Club and the Groovy Girls. Recently, I’ve been ogling the Karito Kids.

These newcomers to the doll scene are about 22" high, their minimal articulation compensated for by their friendly, engaging faces [they all have slight half-smirks] and high-quality clothes. In another bonus, they span different ethnicities, with slightly different sculpts for each doll. I’ve only seen Gia up close, but I can attest that all the dolls are cute and very huggable, with a pleasing heft.

There’s some painfully hipsterish charity option attached to the purchase of each Karito Kid, but I don’t really care because they are awesome, and I want one. They are about $100 each, which is cheaper than your average high-end 1:6 action figure [I’m looking at YOU, Hot Toys Young Indiana Jones] and much cheaper than anything in resin.

Halogen work lights!

Halogen work lights! published on 2 Comments on Halogen work lights!

A bike photographer, Ray Dobbins, describes his simple, inexpensive set-up for taking clear photos with realistic color balance. His secret weapon is HALOGEN WORK LIGHTS. He uses 2, pointed at the ceiling, and apparently this sheds enough white ambient light all around to provide sharp, detailed pictures with relatively accurate color. Obviously I need some of these before I get so frustrated with all my yellow fluorescents that I launch them out the window.

The comments about this page on BoingBoing add some alternatives to the main set-up.

I want an Anus.

I want an Anus. published on No Comments on I want an Anus.

I’ll name her Asshole! That’s pronounced ah-SHOW-lee, philistines.

Interestingly enough, DOA does not seem to have picked up on the awesomeness of Anus, either in news or discussion threads.

No, seriously, I kind of do want one for shits and giggles [but mostly shits :p]. She’s like Lishe’s hot older sister. Plus, she has a hilarious name. It’s the kind of $600+ joke that keeps on giving.

EDIT: It’s the $250 joke that keeps on giving. That’s a pretty high price for some head…

2.5 minutes of pure, super-saturated fun: Oktapodi

2.5 minutes of pure, super-saturated fun: Oktapodi published on 2 Comments on 2.5 minutes of pure, super-saturated fun: Oktapodi

Watch two octopi try to escape obsessed sushi truck driver in this brilliant animated short. Best parts: The squeaking sound effects for the octopi…also the exasperated look that the pink one gets on its face right before the very end. This is almost making up for the crappy week I’m having.

Immortality of Soul’s Anus

Immortality of Soul’s Anus published on 2 Comments on Immortality of Soul’s Anus

Korean BJD company Immortality of Soul has a new girl doll out. She’s actually quite beautiful, except for her name. Her name is Anus. Insert your own sexual and scatalogical jokes here. All I have to say is this: Anus is a doll born to wear Pubis Club.Continue reading Immortality of Soul’s Anus

Third-rate superhero of the day: Pierce, Master of Tunnels

Third-rate superhero of the day: Pierce, Master of Tunnels published on 1 Comment on Third-rate superhero of the day: Pierce, Master of Tunnels

Pierce is a young woman whose talent is making tunnels in inanimate objects. She discovered her power when she was shoveling the driveway of her childhood home and she got trapped under an avalanche of April Vermont snowbanks. She dug herself out and discovered that her talent for piercing things extended to materials beyond snow.

Pierce is, of course, heavily pierced, as are her clothes. Her interests incude confetti-making and needlepoint. For extreme thrills, she practices self-suspension. She makes her best holes when she is really angry, excited or turned on. For this reason, she keeps a cordless drill on her at all times. There are lots of holes in her crafting table and her bedstead.

Pierce lives in the Boston area, where she moved because she is the only person in the region who thinks that the Big Dig is fucking awesome. She works as a document technician for Boring Investments Transnational, located in the Financial District, which means that she prints and binds documents. She likes her job because she gets to punch holes in things.

And I am really really not, no never, going to make a doll of her, despite the fact that she could have all these little piercings and beads dangling from her clothes, and her accessories could be a little cordless drill and a bag of 1:6 confetti, and I could take pictures of her next to various parts of the Callahan Tunnel and other parts of the former Big Dig, and she could be saying, "Wow!" and everyone else would be rolling their eyes….

Oh, who am I kidding?

Tonner, yum yum, and Medicom, sigh sigh.

Tonner, yum yum, and Medicom, sigh sigh. published on 1 Comment on Tonner, yum yum, and Medicom, sigh sigh.

I've always enjoyed looking at Tonner's 1:4 offerings, though I've never had sufficient incentive to branch out into YET ANOTHER scale. Tonner used to be all dull, baby-faced fashion dolls with ridiculously foreshortened skulls, but they've really grown up and improved over the past 10 years. They now boast a wide variety of desirable licenses and original characters. DeeAnna Denton, with a figure reminiscent of a voluptuous 1950s pinup, caught my eye just now. Both her facial features and her physique remind me of Bettie Page. I think someone could use a DeeAnna as a perfect base for Page.

In other news, I still have a crush on Hot Toys' Medicom's forthcoming 1:6 Young Indiana Jones doll, in part because it looks like Will and also because all their celebrity sculpts are so detailed and realistic. Damn $150 1:6ers. 🙁

Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia

Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia published on No Comments on Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia

This Web site contains overviews of stereotypes working against black men and women. It will help me whenever I write that illustrated essay about Aunt Jemima ads, which the site puts into context with the essay about the Mammy stereotype. For modern pertinence, I particularly recommend the essay about the Sapphire stereotype [rude, bossy, critical black woman] and current attempts to squish Michelle Obama into said little box.

1:6 “sexy schoolgirl” Sarah Palin :(

1:6 “sexy schoolgirl” Sarah Palin :( published on 3 Comments on 1:6 “sexy schoolgirl” Sarah Palin :(

Herobuilders, home of right-wing wing-nut crappy action figures of political figures, offers a Sarah Palin doll in various outfits, such as a pantsuit, a sexy schoolgirl outfit and a leather superspy. It’s so offensively bad on all levels, from the virulent sexism and misogyny to the shoddy craftsmanship, cheap opportunism and associated ranting narrow-minded conservative bilge. I’m deeply offended as a woman, a liberal AND a doll dude.

Oh hey sexism against Palin! aka Salon is not progressive.

Oh hey sexism against Palin! aka Salon is not progressive. published on 2 Comments on Oh hey sexism against Palin! aka Salon is not progressive.

As illustration for a dipshitty article about "Mistress Palin," the dipshits at Salon added a dipshitty Photoshop of Palin dominating a moose, which is supposed to represent the country.Continue reading Oh hey sexism against Palin! aka Salon is not progressive.

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog: Mediocre.

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog: Mediocre. published on No Comments on Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog: Mediocre.

So I just checked out a 42-minute movie, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, on Hulu. It’s a love triangle story between aspiring evil mad scientist Dr. Horrible, macho doofus Captain Hammer and activist mushball Penny. It was truly tragic that such witty dialog, catchy songs and all-around solid performances were called into service for an UTTERLY UNORIGINAL AND SEXIST PLOT. I object to the purity, innocence, naivete and kindness of the mushball Penny because these qualities did not make her an effective foil character for the guys; they just objectified her and made her an unintelligent, unperceptive pawn. Her character was so unoriginal, boring and unattractive that I almost quit watching. Vomit vomit vomit. I’m especially annoyed by the putrid sexual politics of this movie because the creators, Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy, are known for slightly more complex, interesting and dynamic portrayals of important female characters. The songs, acting and script were all good, but the plot fucking sucked. Therefore, the film overall gets a mediocre rating, and I’m so deeply offended by the stale sexism that I can’t, in good conscience, recommend this to anyone.

P.S. Stalking is not cute, comedic or romantic.

Review of Sideshow’s The Dead Babysitter, aka ZINNIA PASCALE IS HERE!

Review of Sideshow’s The Dead Babysitter, aka ZINNIA PASCALE IS HERE! published on No Comments on Review of Sideshow’s The Dead Babysitter, aka ZINNIA PASCALE IS HERE!

Zinnia Pascale arrived Tuesday. I took pictures of her for a pictorial review, as no one on the Web has done so for this Sideshow fig. So, forthwith, a review of the Sideshow Toy The Dead Babysitter 1:6 action figure. 
Continue reading Review of Sideshow’s The Dead Babysitter, aka ZINNIA PASCALE IS HERE!

Spam + peaches + broiler = fiesta?

Spam + peaches + broiler = fiesta? published on 1 Comment on Spam + peaches + broiler = fiesta?

An ad for "Spam Fiesta Peach Cups" in Family Circle, April, 1956, would have you think so. Even given some of the gloriously flamboyant casseroles of this period, this recipe still sounds like the half-baked brain fart of a desperate, hung-over promotions board hopped up on Vivarin.Continue reading Spam + peaches + broiler = fiesta?

Wheelchairs keep you from EVER having fun.

Wheelchairs keep you from EVER having fun. published on No Comments on Wheelchairs keep you from EVER having fun.

So implies this ad for Goodyear Tires from the August 2, 1937 issue of Life. Everyone looks depressed about the fact that the boy’s in a wheelchair, from the boy himself to his sister and even the dog. I’d be kind of depressed too if I were teetering on the edge of a porch [notice that Sis has one leg up on a step] without a freakin’ guard rail.

Besides the equation of wheelchair use and complete cessation of enjoyable life, also note ad’s use to guilt to sell you tires: "Buy these tires or your son will end up CRIPPLED and MISERABLE because YOU didn’t by blow-out-proof tires."

Thank you, Gallery of Graphic Design, for this ad, along with an endless bounty of other 20th-century ads.
Continue reading Wheelchairs keep you from EVER having fun.

More anti-Palin sexism

More anti-Palin sexism published on No Comments on More anti-Palin sexism

Oh joy, there’s more misogynistic goodness added to my SocIm post about anti-Palin sexism, including more heinous examples contributed by commenters. There’s enough material to criticize her on, including her anti-choice, pro-guns, anti-sex-end, pro-abstinence, politically corrupt, nepotistic wheeling and dealing. One’s sex is not a point of criticism, mockery or contention. Grow up, you stupid bigots! Man, I get so exhausted at societal stupidity sometimes. 

I laughed; I cried; I horked. Therianthropes and abominations…

I laughed; I cried; I horked. Therianthropes and abominations… published on No Comments on I laughed; I cried; I horked. Therianthropes and abominations…

You know how I was talking about the Old Spice centaur recently? Well, apparently, the Web site for the Double Impact shower gel shows the male model in hybrids with other animals and things [YouTube video here].

1. Man/slug. [Why are his pecs heaving like that?]

2. Man/cannon [aimed right at you, ready to fire balls].

3. Man/"mighty redwood tree."

4. Man/cobra.

5. Man/octopus.

6. Man/fishstick.

7. Man/tap-dancing cowboy.

8. Man/tank [gun pointed directly at you].

Eurgh. That video made me want to throw up. I love therianthropes, even if they are people combined with tentacular things or snakes, so I’m certainly not puking at the combination of humans with non-human animals. I’m puking at the crappy artistic values of the hybridization and the undiscriminating stupidity of the philosophical concept behind the commercial. Not only are all the non-human parts obviously static and image-doctored, but they are also completely inconsistent, including living things, non-living things, other humans, non-human animals, plants, food and weapons. Pick a class of objects and stick with it, people. Seriously, watching that video gives me a stomach-turning case of thematic whiplash.

La Revolte des Mannequins: life-size, changing tableaux

La Revolte des Mannequins: life-size, changing tableaux published on No Comments on La Revolte des Mannequins: life-size, changing tableaux

Over a period of 10 days in February this year, mannequins were set up in successive poses in Nice, France to illustrate tableau-style various episodes of several running storylines. At the end of each day, workers removed the mannequins from their positions and posed them in new positions and outfits to reflect the progress of their associated storyline. There were 14 storylines to follow during this exhibition, all of them weird to begin with and made even eerier by the use of 1:1 dolls. Visit the blog, with photos of all stories, at La Revolte des Mannequins. I especially recommend L’Anniversaire de Grand-Pere [Grandpa’s Birthday], in which a little girl vampire wakes her granddad out of his coffin to celebrate his birthday.

“Here’s an F.Y.I. You’re all gonna die screaming”: the awesomeness of zombies part V

“Here’s an F.Y.I. You’re all gonna die screaming”: the awesomeness of zombies part V published on 1 Comment on “Here’s an F.Y.I. You’re all gonna die screaming”: the awesomeness of zombies part V

Okay, I know all zero of you were on tenterhooks, waiting for the final installment in my epic examination of the kick-assitude of modern pop zombies, so here it is. After reviewing several reasons for the pandemic of modern pop zombies in parts one, two and three, I gave my own explanation in part four. Zombies are extreme vampires. I explain what that means here in part five.

Zombies are more extreme than vampires in a few ways.

Continue reading “Here’s an F.Y.I. You’re all gonna die screaming”: the awesomeness of zombies part V

Now ranting about pop culture for a larger audience!

Now ranting about pop culture for a larger audience! published on 1 Comment on Now ranting about pop culture for a larger audience!

As of this weekend, I’m a member blogger at Sociological Images, a blog staffed mostly by people with advanced sociological degrees who collect pop culture images for sociological commentary and analysis. In my inaugural post, I discuss the sexist "McCain/MILF ’08" crap that’s already being marketed mere seconds after the news that Alaskan gov Sarah Palin is McCain’s VP pick. I’m looking forward to blogging there; I think it will be a lot of fun.

Tale of Two Sisters 3: “Metallic Man”

Tale of Two Sisters 3: “Metallic Man” published on No Comments on Tale of Two Sisters 3: “Metallic Man”

When we last left The Tale of Two Sisters, said sisters Velvette and Janet weren’t getting along. Janet’s creation, the cyborg Viktor, is also not getting along with his master Sibley [who has a potty mouth!]. They’re even taking their fights out in public, much to the distress of mild-mannered bookstore owner Mark.

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