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1:6 clothes I need

1:6 clothes I need published on No Comments on 1:6 clothes I need

Now that I’m at home and staring at everyone, here’s a list of who needs clothes:

1. Teodora needs jeans.
2. Gemini needs jeans.
3. Mark needs pants with longer legs.
4. Will needs jeans.
5. Anneka needs jeans.

Apparently a majority of the crew wants denim!

Looks like AJ Clothiers may be my best bet for getting all items from one place.

ZC Girls Janice

ZC Girls Janice published on No Comments on ZC Girls Janice

As much as I think that ZC Girls are cheaply made, overpriced, microcephalic Cy Girl knock-offs, I rather like their recent release Janice, who seems to be some combination of a magician, a witch and a Playboy bunny. She comes with a plethora of accessories and 2 complete [although skimpy] outfits INCLUDING BOOTFEET, which almost makes her worth her $90.00 price.

Hmmm, I see that Dark Figures is trying desperately to get rid of its less desirable BTVS figs at $20.00 a pop. Must resist the temptation to buy Liam/Angelus for historically approximate clothing…

I LOVE YOU IVAN DOROSCHUK!

I LOVE YOU IVAN DOROSCHUK! published on No Comments on I LOVE YOU IVAN DOROSCHUK!

Not only is Ivan Doroschuk hot, energetic and smirky, with a shuddersomely wonderful voice, but he’s also…GASP…a feminist! Hey Men kind of blows my mind, being as it is a song about respecting women and children and, for men, embracing a wider, more compassionate definition of masculinity. No wonder this song never made any hit lists.

EDIT: This just in. Ivan Doroschuk is also a great big geek. He has been known to jump around in circles singing ["Tell me tell me tell me where do the boys go?!"] regularly and play air guitar at his own shows.

EDIT EDIT: I’m gonna have to buy the Live Hats concert DVD and somehow get the music off it. Here’s another awesome tune — Security — about being haunted by one’s confidence. And here’s the creepy original, apparently not available on CD anywhere.

EDIT EDIT EDIT: If I made a 1:6 Ivan Doroschuk, it would fail to capture his appeal because much of his magnetism comes from the sheer abandon with which he flings himself about in spasmodic blitheness.

Travel back in time to 1996…

Travel back in time to 1996… published on 2 Comments on Travel back in time to 1996…

…a time when Web sites were characterized by multicolor walls of cheerfully misspelled text, uselessly animated buttons, blinking banner links, spasmodic mouseover animations and obscure Web rings! Case in point: Men Without Hats’ site. Despite the simplistic design, I actually love this site. It was clearly made without a designer [or any sense of design principles] by the hatless dudes themselves, who are just bubbling over with an infectious enthusiasm for the music. That’s one of the things I love best about this band: From their music videos and concert vids, it’s obvious that they’re having so much fun, grinning and singing and flailing wildly.

Anyway, from what I can unearth, Men Without Hats has a NEW ALBUM OUT, No Hats Beyond This Point, marking a return to their synth pop roots after a few decades away. I’m going to get it when I’m not hemorrhaging money in the direction of dolls and doll supplies.

Please excuse me. I need to drool over Ivan Doroschuk listen to more MWH music vids now.

EDIT: Okay, it’s not new. It came out in 2004. Well, it’s new to me.

My First Triad Thingy

My First Triad Thingy published on No Comments on My First Triad Thingy

Turns out that the $25.00 price on Triad’s site for Cadence is the after-Xmas sale price, while $37.00 is the regular non-sale price. Deciding that $37.00 was too much for one outfit, I sprang for the sale price, which means that Michaela’s clothes are in the mail, so I will indeed be remaking Michaela [YAY!], but will not be getting any Ladies’ Mission fetishwear [DAMMIT!].

Anyway, shipping from Triad was $2.99 for normal USPS first class. They must make their killing on shipping bulky items like dollies.

NOTE: Tonight I will post pictures of the apples I made this weekend and of the progress that I have made on gouging Ethan’s head.

Catholic schoolgirl outfits

Catholic schoolgirl outfits published on 1 Comment on Catholic schoolgirl outfits

Nouveau Toys, which specializes in Aoshima’s Ladies’ Mission dolls, has limited quantities of these Japanese imports, some with schoolgirl outfits! I like the ones without the scarves around the necks, Ai and Yui. I’m also very interested in the nun ["Street Corner Princess?!?!?!?!"] and the maid for fetishwear purposes, also because they are endlessly amusing. Anyone wanna split some LMs? :p

In other options, Triad has some possibilities. There is the New Skool outfit, but it has that stupid neck scarf which is more appropriate to Japanese school uniforms than U.S. ones. Cadence could work, as it is conservative and kinda girly.

As much as I like the Aoshima fetishwear, I think buying just an outfit would be better than buying a whole damn doll + clothes + guns when I am only going to use the clothes. Now the question is…where to get Cadence? It’s $25.00 at Triad, but they’re known for their naaaaaaaaaaastry shipping costs. Alternatively, it’s $37.00 at Good Stuff to Go, but why the $12.00 markup?

Oh, the weighty questions that plague me….

I miss Michaela…

I miss Michaela… published on No Comments on I miss Michaela…

…My innocent vengeful Catholic schoolgirl vampire with a cross burning into her skin and a red ’50s flip. The best thing about her is her absolute seriousness about all matters of life, in contrast to her casual, chatty and very personal relationship with God, mediated by the Archangel Michael, who she firmly believes in, but who we never see. She has no designated role in any upcoming season, but I would like to bring her back. Here she is in (Un)Real Life, the previous incarnation of LHF, writing her column Dead and Devout for the vampire newspaper. The best joke of this whole episode is that I used a font called Catholic Schoolgirl for her handwriting! ^_^

Well, anyway, I have a Kisaragi Honey head that I could use for her; I just need to get that red flip and a schoolgirl outfit…something very demure.

Soom’s latest monthly doll: the Saggitarius unicorn Heliot

Soom’s latest monthly doll: the Saggitarius unicorn Heliot published on No Comments on Soom’s latest monthly doll: the Saggitarius unicorn Heliot

Since Soom’s earlier hooved/horned/winged dolls, Beryl [April, fem] and Sard [May, dude], attracted such universal squealing and wanking, the company wisely decided to release another highly desirable hooved/horned/winged doll for December and the sign of Saggitarius. Heliot has the added distinction of being a unicorn. Like almost all entries in the zodiac series, he has a petulant, androgynous face and a drapey, esoteric outfit.

I admire Heliot’s headsculpt greatly, as I do with so many of Soom’s mature sculpts. However, after my failed experiment with an 80 cm doll from Soom, I have realized that I do not have room for more than 3 1:3 dolls. Since Jareth, Frank and Sardonix aren’t going anywhere, I have no room in my life for another large doll, except as an unattainable object that I admire.

Notes to myself: Rement wants and Iwako interests

Notes to myself: Rement wants and Iwako interests published on 1 Comment on Notes to myself: Rement wants and Iwako interests

Flirty Pink Going to the Pink Market contains cleaning products and a spray bottle!

Flirty Pink Sundays are Pink contains tools that are probably the right size for light crafting, rather than minor carpentry.

While I’m poking around on the site, I notice these that I like as well, but may not be able to get, since they are older:

American Kitchen Mommy’s Breakfast has cereal and a milk jug.

Elegant Sweets Girls Like Tarts reminds me of the fruit tarts I love so much.

In Fun Meals, I like Waffles because of the waffle iron and Eggs Etc. because of the eggs and bacon!

In Mini Sweets, I like Happy Birthday Surprise because of the balloons and the blowers and All-American Apple Pie for the beautiful pie!

Iwako interests:
Continue reading Notes to myself: Rement wants and Iwako interests

LHF Meanwhile 14: “Party Poopers” [New Year’s party prep]

LHF Meanwhile 14: “Party Poopers” [New Year’s party prep] published on No Comments on LHF Meanwhile 14: “Party Poopers” [New Year’s party prep]

In which prep for Mark’s New Year’s party ain’t going so well. http://oddpla.net/lhf/?p=190

I won’t have everything set for an Xmas party, so all decorations and festivities you see below will be formally presented on for New Year’s Eve. I just wanted to show off my work early. I was able to find 1:6 balloons at a party store; they were called “balloon picks” and were sold as cake toppers. Garlands are from 1:1 garlands, snowflakes from copier paper and Post-Its, banner from wrapping paper, party hats from origami paper and pompoms, noisemakers from origami paper and slender dowels. Why yes, I do spend way too much time on these things…

Holiday cheer to all!

4.1: “My Evil Ex”

4.1: “My Evil Ex” published on No Comments on 4.1: “My Evil Ex”

Previously on LHF: Will pleads with Anneka to take some time to grieve in the wake of her grandmother’s death, but Anneka goes to work in the day, protected by the impenetrable leopard print coat. At work, she finds no respite from her sadness; instead, she uncovers a book by her grandmother Minerva and her father Max, with pictures by her grandmother’s partner Mamie. Mark tries to comfort her, pointing out that vampires’ long lives mean endless loss. He counsels her not to despair, saying she should remember who she has left.

Meanwhile, at home, Will fights with asinine lesbovamps.com freelancers and wonders what to do in Anneka’s absence. He reads some Baudelaire, but this just reminds him that his relationship with Anneka is in the shitter.

Determined not to wallow in sadness, Anneka goes out for karaoke with Pippilotta, Rori and two new members of the crowd, introverted carnivore Andrew and obnoxiously eco-friendly Davry.

On location in Janet’s lab for a lesbovamps.com shoot, Will tries to work with Velvette and Gemini, member of the Provincetown clan the End of the World, but Gemini keeps falling asleep. Despite Will’s warnings that Gemini is a dangerous ladykiller, Velvette and Gemini flirt outrageously, leaving Will pissed off about getting no satisfaction.

Then Will initiates a late-night conversation with Anneka about her avoiding him; she agrees to pay more attention to him, then suddenly falls asleep unreassuringly.

Home alone yet again, Will tries to mope, but Velvette, Gemini and Janet, all garishly and scantily clad, accost him. Velvette tells him to dress up and cheer up; he somewhat reluctantly accompanies them to a midnight showing of Rocky Horror.

Later, Will takes Anneka to the Nightcrawler, in the hope that she will get slightly drunk and reminisce therapeutically about her grandmother. She does so, but her catharsis is interrupted by Thomas Fell, her ex who’s back in town. He puts moves on Anneka, while Will calls the police. Meanwhile, Zinnia Pascale gallantly steps in to physically subdue Thomas. The evening is derailed.

In which Anneka tells more about Will and his cheese weaselly behavior. http://oddpla.net/lhf/?p=176

Comments: We know things are bad between our fair protagonists; they’re not even sitting on the same piece of furniture. Incidentally, Anneka’s chair is one of my favorite recent acquisitions; it’s actually a pin cushion in the shape of an overstuffed chair. Will’s cosmetics and Anneka’s computer both come from Rement. Accessories make the scene, baby!

Speaking of accessories, they sure have a lot of sex toys, don’t they?

Labyrinth is my favoritest movie ever, and David Bowie as Jareth is my favoritest movie character ever. That said, Will’s right — the movie is rather creepy.

Another source of beautiful, accurate likenesses: Chris Howes

Another source of beautiful, accurate likenesses: Chris Howes published on 1 Comment on Another source of beautiful, accurate likenesses: Chris Howes

Professional toy sculptor turned freelance Chris Howes does beautiful 1:6 work. I’ve seen commission threads for him on various 1:6 boards full of members testifying to his greatness. He doesn’t have a storefront of completed sculpts the way that Wanted Action Figure does; instead, he works on commission, producing at least 10 of each likeness at a time. Therefore, his likenesses require more of an outlay; however, from what I’ve seen of his work, he has greater accuracy and more suppleness of curve and musculature than Wanted Action Figure.

Fashion Royalty Homme dolls: Better than you.

Fashion Royalty Homme dolls: Better than you. published on No Comments on Fashion Royalty Homme dolls: Better than you.

If I was ever going to have some rich, obnoxious, vain, preppy characters in LHF, they would be enplasticated by Fashion Royalty Homme dolls, assuming that I could get one nude for <$100.00. I really like the body sculpt, but I don’t think that any of the headsculpts are attractive; because all their lines are sharp and stylized, the FR dudes look as if all their features have been squinched to the middle of their faces. They are, however, hilarious, perfect for bombastic characters, but too expensive for me to indulge them merely as tertiaries.

I take it back: Moonlight is a crashing bore.

I take it back: Moonlight is a crashing bore. published on No Comments on I take it back: Moonlight is a crashing bore.

I rescind my earlier guarded compliments in favor of Moonlight, the canceled CBS  weepy vampire detective drama. In case you missed it, this show concerns Mick St. John, an undead PI who stalks and romances Beth, an Internet reporter that he rescued from his nutso [also undead] ex-wife 20 years ago. In every episode, Beth starts to cover a crime for her news organization; Mick pokes around and discovers vampires behind the scenes. Beth gets herself in distress; Mick saves the day, and the viewer’s skull becomes dented with the falling anvils that are driving home the parallels between the murder du jour and Mick and Beth’s relationship.

The tedium is lightened only by the moments in which Josef, Mick’s slick, rich, mischievous friend, slides on scene and smirks around. As Josef, Jason Dohring, with his curling lips and casual air, seems to be the only person in all of Moonlight having fun with the hammy proceedings. He’s like a dignified comic relief character. I found myself fast-forwarding to scenes in which Dohring was on screen.

Blaaaaaah.

Seller of Berry Hunter no longer registered user, listing removed

Seller of Berry Hunter no longer registered user, listing removed published on 1 Comment on Seller of Berry Hunter no longer registered user, listing removed

Ebay says:

We’re writing to let you know that the listing for the following item you bid on has been removed:
220328898257 – Sekiguchi Momoko Berry Hunter NRFB 27cm fashion doll

 

What does that mean? Does that mean I’m not getting my dolly?? 🙁

Berry Hunter Momoko official picture

Berry Hunter Momoko official picture published on No Comments on Berry Hunter Momoko official picture

Here’s a photo of Berry Hunter Momoko, the one that I bought. Of all the Momokos I’ve seen, her outfit and hairstyle seem the most practical. Her appearance communicates to me that she is a slouchy, carefree nerd concerned more with comfort than with stylishness. She is recycling her dad’s old hat, her mom’s old eyeglass frames and her younger brother’s rugby shirt. I bet she likes music and books that were popular 25 to 50 years ago, not because she’s a vampire from that period, but because she is not in tune with modern pop culture. She did not grow up with a TV or a computer. She likes big band music! ^_^ Her name is Parker Stanley. People who meet her often think she is a hipster, but she has only a vague idea of what a hipster is. She is a shy, smiley person with a great fascination for the physical artifacts of modern technology. You can often find her staring at cell phones, mice, remote controls and calculators with a dissective, curious eye. Continue reading Berry Hunter Momoko official picture

Incoming dolls: Ethan and Momoko

Incoming dolls: Ethan and Momoko published on 1 Comment on Incoming dolls: Ethan and Momoko

I ordered a Wanted Action Figures Hugh Laurie head for Ethan. Woo hoo!

I also ordered a Momoko, after weeks of shopping around to discover the lowest price at which I could get a complete doll + outfit that I actually wanted [as opposed to the cheapest possible doll + outfit that I wasn’t necessarily interested in]. Answer: I found a complete Berry Hunter on Ebay for $82.00, $20.00 of which is shipping from Japan.

Unlike Ethan, the Momoko does not have a name or a personality, but, given her shorter size, she is either a mortal teenager or someone who died <21. She might be a member of Cory’s very new clan of displaced, mixed-race vampires, the Half-and-Halfs. She may also be a member of the Chinese vampire clan, the Hun. She may be one of those "hot Irma girls" that Pippilotta flirts with. Or she may be a character whose role I have not thought up yet.

Don’t let a misogynist homophobe give Obama’s inaugural invocation!!

Don’t let a misogynist homophobe give Obama’s inaugural invocation!! published on 1 Comment on Don’t let a misogynist homophobe give Obama’s inaugural invocation!!

Use this information collected here at Shakesville to let the organizers of the inaugural ball know that you too disapprove of misogynist homophobe Rev. Rick Warren’s selection to do the invocation at Obama’s inauguration. Pass along to your friends!

Here’s what I sent to Emmett Beliveau, emmett@pic2009.org, the CEO of the inaugural committee:

Dear Mr. Beliveau:

I am writing to express my strong displeasure with the choice of Rev. Rick Warren as the one to perform the invocation at President-Elect Obama’s inauguration.

As a woman, I find Warren’s anti-choice views misogynist. Warren’s inclusion in a prominent position at the inauguration represents hypocrisy on the part of the Obama-Biden team, who ran on a platform advocating women’s reproductive freedom.

As a queer person, I also find Warren’s homophobic behavior despicable as well. His anti-marriage “slippery slope” argument equates gay marriage with incest and rape. How can Obama, who has said on record that he supports gay civil unions, condone Warren’s bigotry by letting him give the inaugural invocation?

Warren’s narrow-minded intolerance should have no place at an event supposedly heralding positive change. Choose another speaker for the invocation, one who truly represents the liberalism, hope and open-mindedness to which the Obama/Biden team has so frequently appealed.

Riddances

Riddances published on 2 Comments on Riddances

I got rid of so many things recently. Then an equivalent number of things came into my life, mostly Rements and books. Paperback Swap, while great for getting rid of books, also tempts one to acquire more. Thus I have a huge pile of new-to-me books on my desk about vampires, New England and vampires in New England.

Also I got a Bratz doll, primarily for its shoes, which are appropriately fabulous and correctly sized for my 1:6ers. It also came with a useful microphone and keyboard and some useful pink and black hair. Tragically, none of the clothes fit ANY of my dolls, and the doll itself is hideous, made of vile-smelling plastic.

I need to retire from Paperback Swap and just donate unwanted books. Then I won’t be tempted to get more.

I have some books on my shelf from which I only like one or two stories. For example, The Penguin Book of Witches and Warlocks stays in my collection solely because of the perfervid, perverse and gloriously overwrought "Sanguinarius." A recent acquisition, Whisper of Blood, only has one story to recommend it to me: the learned tale of archaeological horror "The Ragthorn." I need to just copy the single stories that I like and get rid of the whole volumes.

People like LHF!

People like LHF! published on No Comments on People like LHF!

In a sea of dispiriting news, there remains a minuscule atoll of good tidings. LHF is publicized every ep on Men With Dolls, Fantasy Net, this here blog and, when I remember, my Facebook page. Some of them I put on Pukey’s too. From what I can tell, people like it. Right now I have 45 eps up with 207 comments, which averages to 4.6 per ep. This is not counting the anonymous kudos that the eps get on MWD. [Much to my frustration, I don’t know WHO leaves the kudos.] I should count pageviews on MWD and FN and get some rough stats.

Dolls I lust after: Sideshow, Hot Toys, Medicom, Sekiguchi, etc.

Dolls I lust after: Sideshow, Hot Toys, Medicom, Sekiguchi, etc. published on 2 Comments on Dolls I lust after: Sideshow, Hot Toys, Medicom, Sekiguchi, etc.

Sideshow’s upcoming entry in the Dead line is a zombie priest entitled The Harbinger. I must say that, while Sideshow’s record for 1:6 likenesses stinks, they do a great job on The Dead. I love my Dead Babysitter [who became Zinnia Pascale], and I really like the Harbinger too. His hand sculpts look arthritic and bony, and his drawn face and rolling eyes accurately reflect a despair that I think much more pertinent to zombies than slavering rage. Sideshow really has to start making their zombies lose ears, though. I don’t understand how this guy’s brain became exposed without him getting an ear or two torn off.

I’m tempted to get this guy for Ethan [the poor man is having such a problem being immortalized in plastic!], but I’d rather not wait an untold number of months before he comes out. His release date is Q1 2009, but toymakers are never on time.

I’ve been contemplating the creation of my own Ethan, but my current materials always daunt me. I don’t have an appropriate sculpting medium, just the remnants of some peach Sculpey and some rotten air-dry clay that won’t adhere to existing heads. I have a resin skull that could conceivably be the base for Ethan’s cadaverous visage, but that involves building up features, and I’m much better at scraping out features by using an Xacto knife or sandpaper.

Maybe I should just get an unpainted resin sculpt and shave it down. The prominent brows, sunken eyes, dour mouth and narrow cheeks of Hugh Laurie could work, as seen in this sculpt by Wanted Action Figure.

On the subject of Wanted Action Figure, maybe I should get a Johnny Depp head too. I’ve been toying with the idea of remaking Will with an appropriately scrawny body, but that would require getting him a new head, since his current one is already way too fragile. The Depp sculpt approximates his features best. Now if I could just find a body that’s as etoliated as the Obitsu Slim Male, but with slightly broader shoulders… Jesus Christ, it’d probably be best just to modify a PB or a CG 2.0!

I STILL have a hard-on for Medicom’s Young Indiana Jones because my mind thinks River Phoenix=Will. I wish I weren’t so interested in it, because I’m sure that there’s something disappointing about the sculpt that the prototype photos don’t show.

Hot Toys is issuing a beautiful 1:6 Edward Scissorhands soon. I want its clothes. The fact that I could probably get a likeness of Will out of the head doesn’t hurt either.

Sekiguchi’s Momokos continue to tantalize me. I draw very close to purchasing one, but then I always cheap out because I don’t have a designated character for such a doll, who costs a lot, even on sale. That said, I have found Miracle Party Girl, Wild and Sexy Tune, Dash After School, Sweet Poodle, Lovely Folklore and Berry Hunter for <$100 with s/h. Too bad I want Sea Maze/Blue Labyrinth/whatever the hell she’s called.

3.9: “The Revenant”

3.9: “The Revenant” published on No Comments on 3.9: “The Revenant”

In which a psycho ex returns, and Zinnia Pascale kicks some butt.

Comments: Just in case you weren’t convinced from his rendezvous with Zinnia Pascale, we now see blatant evidence that Thomas has no redeeming characteristics. What did Anneka ever see in this dastardly dude? Find out next season….

Also please note that Will has changed. In the past, he would have acted like Zinnia Pascale, kicking Thomas’ ass across The Nightcrawler. But, as he said to Anneka in 1.1, “Domestic Vampires,” he’s learned that stomping people into the ground ain’t that effective, despite how good it makes one feel.

Chris Dane Owens’ orgasm of incoherent images

Chris Dane Owens’ orgasm of incoherent images published on No Comments on Chris Dane Owens’ orgasm of incoherent images

Some dude is singing a song while his hair blows violently, and fantasy cliches of the 1980s, all starring him, roll across the screen like a mash-up of several movie trailers. The music has nothing to do with the images, yet the mixture remains strangely compelling, if only because I’m trying to figure out who this guy is and what story, if any, he’s trying to tell. Also he’s kind of hot when he’s not wearing that stupid little goatee.

The dude’s IMDB page. The dude’s official site. An interview with the dude. Bonus: He explains the "plot" of the music video in the interview! Also he’s a complete nerd with a huge emotional investment in the music video characters, whom he wants to develop into a manga series. He seems like a nice guy, but why…why…WHY is his hair twitching like that? WHY?

Stupid word of the day: Webinar

Stupid word of the day: Webinar published on 4 Comments on Stupid word of the day: Webinar

A webinar is a specific type of web conferencing, like a seminar with a presenter and an audience, only online. I have nothing against the concept; I just think that the word sounds stupid. Unlike web + broadcast [=webcast], web + seminar do not easily create one word starting with web. What’s wrong with calling it a web seminar?

LHF Meanwhile 13: “Materyllis’ Pesky Pussy” [Rement cat]

LHF Meanwhile 13: “Materyllis’ Pesky Pussy” [Rement cat] published on No Comments on LHF Meanwhile 13: “Materyllis’ Pesky Pussy” [Rement cat]

In which Materyllis’ cat misbehaves.

Comments: Rement makes a set of figures called My Cats. Materyllis’ cat comes from the set called the Nomuras’ Kitchen Cat, which contains the sleeping cat, the soup pot as shown, a playful kitten [not shown] and its plastic bag that it is swatting at [also not shown]. I initially bought the set for the sleeping cat, which I thought was cute, but for which I had no use.

Then I thought that Materyllis, as a reclusive, shapeshifting, vampire healer and conjure woman, would be just the sort of person to have cats. Much to her annoyance, however, her cat is about as inert as she is hard-working.

Virtual Vampires of Vermont

Virtual Vampires of Vermont published on No Comments on Virtual Vampires of Vermont

No, seriously. It’s the title of a real book. Since they’re virtual, they aren’t tied to a particular location, so why are they in Vermont, aside from alliterative value? Furthermore, what do they feed on: pixelated gore from first-person shooters?

EDIT: A riveting preview, full of One-Sentence Paragraphs Of Emphasis and Italics Of Doom!! Apparently nothing Vermont-related was employed in the creation of this hackwork entry into a series. How disappointing.

LHF 3.9: “Living It Up”

LHF 3.9: “Living It Up” published on No Comments on LHF 3.9: “Living It Up”

In which Will tries to get Anneka drunk…in an entirely therapeutic manner, of course. 

Comments: Originally, Zinnia Pascale was not in this ep or the next one. However, given her animosity toward Thomas [see last frame], she horned her way in despite my authorial intentions.

You can tell that Thomas, first seen in Meanwhile 8: “Zombie in the Diner!!,” is an idiot because he walks around with his collar popped.

Vampire hierarchies in TV shows, with a close look at True Blood

Vampire hierarchies in TV shows, with a close look at True Blood published on 1 Comment on Vampire hierarchies in TV shows, with a close look at True Blood

I’ve always thought that, if there were any more than, say, 10 vampires in the world, that they would form some sort of para-society, parasitic to, but somewhat independent of, human society. Vamp society, in my mind, would include an organization of power and some set of rules. Let’s look at some vamp societies in recent TV shows: Continue reading Vampire hierarchies in TV shows, with a close look at True Blood

True Blood, a.k.a. The Sex & Vampires Show, or, Why Sex Scenes Bore Me

True Blood, a.k.a. The Sex & Vampires Show, or, Why Sex Scenes Bore Me published on 7 Comments on True Blood, a.k.a. The Sex & Vampires Show, or, Why Sex Scenes Bore Me

I watched season 1 of True Blood yesterday and found it engrossing, entertaining, mordant, frothy, sly and lightweight. I enjoy the twitchy, brave, perky performance by Anna Paquin as Sookie and the dry, subdued performance by Stephen Moyer as Bill Compton. I especially appreciate his concentrated stillness and the way in which he projects an absence of movement appropriate to a non-living creature. He makes a wonderful foil for Sookie, instilled by Paquin with an almost fidgety sense of movement, brightness and sensitivity. Even though I have the most investment in Sookie and Bill, I’m curious about the rest of the characters and will probably follow their storylines whenever I get the chance to watch season 2 in one fell swoop.

That being said, the unrelenting amount of sex had me bouncing forward until such scenes were over. Every time anyone had sex, which was frequently, the story’s forward momentum halted to linger on the characters flailing away. Then I had an epiphany about the reason that almost all sex scenes in modern media are so incredibly dull. Continue reading True Blood, a.k.a. The Sex & Vampires Show, or, Why Sex Scenes Bore Me

My Kathlen-based dolls

My Kathlen-based dolls published on No Comments on My Kathlen-based dolls

Absinthe, Submit and the antique girl went to doll club today, but I didn’t take any pictures. The antique girl did, however, get some more appropriate hair, thanks to two members, Judy, who supplied the fuzzy fabric, and Anne Marie, who quickly sewed me a simple wig. I gave Absinthe a braided headband this evening to keep her hair out of her eyes. As for Submit, well, she still thinks she’s the awesomest thing ever! Continue reading My Kathlen-based dolls

Clueless the Cat: The Early Years

Clueless the Cat: The Early Years published on No Comments on Clueless the Cat: The Early Years

I got two sets from the Rement My Cats series: The Suzukis’ Blogger Cat and The Nomuras’ Kitchen Cat. The sitting cat, the computer and the mouse are from the Blogger Cat set. The kitten is from the Kitchen Cat set. The cartoon is from my imagination. If anyone wants the cats, let me know. I just want the computer and the mouse [and the cat in a pot, not shown]. 😀

Continue reading Clueless the Cat: The Early Years

Information about U.S. girlhood in the early 1800s

Information about U.S. girlhood in the early 1800s published on No Comments on Information about U.S. girlhood in the early 1800s

A New England Girlhood by Lucy Larcom http://books.google.com/books?id=nQgBAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover

Women in America 1820-1842 http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/DETOC/FEM/home.htm

Thoughts about TV shows: Bones, Fringe, Heroes, Pushing Daisies, Supernatural

Thoughts about TV shows: Bones, Fringe, Heroes, Pushing Daisies, Supernatural published on 1 Comment on Thoughts about TV shows: Bones, Fringe, Heroes, Pushing Daisies, Supernatural

Now that some shows I watch are on Christmas break [?!] apparently, I thought I'd update my opinions on them.Continue reading Thoughts about TV shows: Bones, Fringe, Heroes, Pushing Daisies, Supernatural

Caitlin Flanagan’s ego is bigger than 52% of the population.

Caitlin Flanagan’s ego is bigger than 52% of the population. published on 1 Comment on Caitlin Flanagan’s ego is bigger than 52% of the population.

In the most recent Atlantic, Caitlin Flanagan writes about "What Girls Want." Basically, she says that all girls want steadfast male devotion, like she did, which is why the Twilight series is so popular among teen female readers. She makes the horrible logical fallacy of assuming that her particular experience is universal; in doing so, she erases all possible variations of sexual maturation — due to race, class, gender, socioeconomic status, size, disability, etc. — that young girls experience. She especially erases variations in young girls’ sexual preferences, assuming that they’re all heteronormative. We ain’t no monolith, you dipstick, and we don’t all want slavishly adoring masculine suitors.

The Soggy Cult of Tuberculosis: The Davidson Poetical Trio, or Information for Absinthe

The Soggy Cult of Tuberculosis: The Davidson Poetical Trio, or Information for Absinthe published on 1 Comment on The Soggy Cult of Tuberculosis: The Davidson Poetical Trio, or Information for Absinthe

Here we go. Lucretia Maria Davidson (1808-1825) was one of the Beautiful, Virtuous, Dead Teen Poets I was talking about earlier. Margaret Miller Davidson (1823-1838), Lucretia’s younger sister, was another. Margaret Jr. was named after her mother, Margaret Sr. (1787-1844), who acted as teacher, agent and career manager for both daughters, who, depressingly enough, she outlived. All three of them exploited and were further elevated by the aforesaid Soggy Cult of Tuberculosis, which romanticized the disease that both LMD and MMD Jr. died from. Seriously, there was a whole strain of early Romantic thought linking death by tuberculosis with great sensitivity, poetic skill and tragic beauty.

Interesting information and commentary about these individuals can be found in the following places:

Robert Southey, then the British poet laureate, wrote a very laudatory article (1827) in The Quarterly Review that gave the Soggy Cult more gushing power, but I can’t find a copy of it online.

The Poetical Remains of the Late Lucretia Maria Davidson (1857) contains poems by LMD, but, more pertinent to our investigation into the Soggy Cult, a short dedication by MMD Sr. to Washington Irving, in which MMD Sr. reconstructs LMD’s life so that it might conform to the lineaments of the Soggy Myth. There is also a very long biographical sketch by Catharine Marie Sedgwick that appears to draw on familial reminiscences, unpublished poems and LMD’s letters. Amid the constant tendency to romanticize LMD, there appear many interesting details of her everyday life as a middle-class girl of the very early 1800s. These details are very important! Oh yeah, there’s also some poetry in there.

Biography and Poetical Remains of the Late Margaret Miller Davidson (1850) contains poems by LMD’s sister, MMD Jr. In service of the Soggy Cult, Washington Irving wrote a long biography, ostensibly of MMD Jr., but also encompassing much about MMD Sr., who provided the notes on which the biography is based, and also about LMD, who of necessity enters into any discussion about the MMDs.

"Margaret Miller and Lucretia Maria Davidson" (1850) represents Edgar Allan Poe’s critical response to the Soggy Cult’s libations of praise for LMD and the MMDs. He thinks Sedgwick and Irving too effusive in their evaluation of LMD and MMD Jr. Apparently, Poe will employ the tropes of the Soggy Cult for horrific effect in his fiction, but he has no use for it in real life.

I need books about Absinthe.

I need books about Absinthe. published on No Comments on I need books about Absinthe.

I need books about life in the Boston metro area in the early 1800s, which is when Absinthe was active. I find a plethora of material about Puritan Boston [when Ethan was active], witchcraft Boston [when Tituba was active], late Victorian Boston [when Will was active] and 20th century Boston [when Materyllis was active], but I have a huge gap in my historical knowledge, except for Fire and Roses, by Nancy Lusignan Schultz, which is the story of how Absinthe’s school, a convent school run by Ursuline nuns in Charlestown [now Somerville!], was burned by anti-Catholic rioters in 1834.

I think I need to find some of those soggy Romantic reports of the two young women who were poets in the early 1800s and who lived and died in Plattsburgh, NY. The lavish detail surrounding their portrayal, lives, deaths and poetry gives me a primary-source sense of the Romantic Cult of Tuberculosis, a disease that strongly affected Absinthe’s life. [She died of it.]

Juniper says, “NYAH!”

Juniper says, “NYAH!” published on No Comments on Juniper says, “NYAH!”

The next time I have $400.00+ just bonking around, begging to be spent, I’m going to commission DIM’s Minimee project to do a custom head of Juniper. She’s an original character that I created in Daz back in my electronic modeling phase. Of all the experimental 3-D renders I did, she captured my heart the most. I was going to release her as a character, meaning a custom morph and textures, with several custom poses, but I never got around to it. She reminds me of Sardonix, only much more feral.Continue reading Juniper says, “NYAH!”

Vampires: Myths and Metaphors of Enduring Evil, edited by Carla Kungl

Vampires: Myths and Metaphors of Enduring Evil, edited by Carla Kungl published on No Comments on Vampires: Myths and Metaphors of Enduring Evil, edited by Carla Kungl

Available online as an E-book. Looks like published conference proceedings covering Carmilla to BTVS. Super-chouette!

EDIT: This collection of rather short essays is at its best when covering modern vampires, although Hyun-Jung Lee’s analysis of LeFanu’s Carmilla as a threat to the very foundation of subjectivity is particularly good. In the section on vampires of today, one especially interesting essay by Elizabeth McCarthy addresses the importance of bodily mutilation inflicted by people on vampires to modern conceptions of the vampire legend. In another unusual essay, Pete Remington takes a look at Anne Rice’s vampires and their relation to the experience of the depressive self. Five essays treat BTVS and Angel, mostly the sexually problematic characters of Angel and Spike, who both embody and undermine tropes of magnetic, violent, brooding, Byronic heroism. This is a varied collection with essays of uniformly high quality, although I do wish most of the pieces were longer, with more in-depth analysis.

Also possibly of interest: Monsters: Myths and Metaphors of Enduring Evil, edited by Paul Yoder and Peter Kreuter, in the same series.

Also possibly of interest: The Monstrous Identity of Humanity, edited by Marlin Bates, by the same press.

I cannot indulge your multiverse.

I cannot indulge your multiverse. published on 1 Comment on I cannot indulge your multiverse.

So I’m poking around on Amazon, looking for comprehensive reference books about vampires, and I realize the sheer number of books devoted to critical analyses of BTVS. In no particular order, here are the ones I found, excluding those that focus primarily on shows other than BTVS:Continue reading I cannot indulge your multiverse.

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