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Law and Order: SVU hates people with disabilities, part II!

Law and Order: SVU hates people with disabilities, part II! published on No Comments on Law and Order: SVU hates people with disabilities, part II!

Law and Order: SVU season 7, episode 15, “Manipulated,” is the gift that keeps on giving. Every time I think about it, I discover more reasons to ferociously criticize its portrayal of people with disabilities. [Here’s my plot summary of the ep if you haven’t read it. http://blogofstench.livejournal.com/511983.html And here’s the first part of my discussion of the depiction of people with disabilities in the ep. http://blogofstench.livejournal.com/512150.html ] Here are some more wretched stereotypes that the show supports:

Continue reading Law and Order: SVU hates people with disabilities, part II!

Law and Order: SVU hates people with disabilities!

Law and Order: SVU hates people with disabilities! published on No Comments on Law and Order: SVU hates people with disabilities!

How many deleterious stereotypes does season 7, ep 15, “Manipulated,” perpetrate against people with disabilities in the character of Tessa McKellen? [Read the plot summary if you don’t know what I’m talking about.] Let me count the ways…

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Law and Order: SVU on the subject of “crazy” people with disabilities

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Oh boy, this ep is a treasure trove of stereotypes and virulent characterization of people with disabilities!

Law and Order: SVU, season 7, ep 15, “Manipulated,” plot summary:

Continue reading Law and Order: SVU on the subject of “crazy” people with disabilities

My vision of a cutely dressed vampire is complete.

My vision of a cutely dressed vampire is complete. published on No Comments on My vision of a cutely dressed vampire is complete.

Araminthe received her default wig yesterday, a pale pink one done up with roses. Here she is in all her glory.
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Just plain wrong science in Law and Order: SVU

Just plain wrong science in Law and Order: SVU published on No Comments on Just plain wrong science in Law and Order: SVU

Remember "Identity," that SVU episode that I’ve been harping on for several entries now?[ Here’s my plot summary. Here’s my analysis.] Not only is it ridiculous, melodramatic and bigoted, but it’s also scientifically wrong.

The identical twins in the ep commit a supposedly "perfect crime" at the end of the ep by murdering the doctor who molested them. Actually, only one of the twins murders the doctor, but no witnesses, including the security camera, can discern which twin it was, and the twins aren’t talking. Furthermore, there was DNA from one of the twins left in the form of spit on the doctor’s corpse, but DNA tests, according to the ep, will not point to one twin or the other, because, as Stabler says, "Identical twins, identical DNA."

WRONG! Identical twins have been long thought to have identical DNA, but recent research suggests that their genes are very very similar, but not the same. See the New York Times "Really?" column for details.

In all fairness, though, the SVU ep "Identity" did come out in 2005, three years before research about identical twins’ different genes was published, so it was still within a period during which identical twins were thought to have identical DNA. Granted, but I still fault SVU for sloppy, stereotypical thinking about the similarity of identical twins, making us seem like magical duplicate halves of a single entity, instead of two very similar, but separate, people. >:

General thoughts about Law and Order: SVU and its gross misrepresentations

General thoughts about Law and Order: SVU and its gross misrepresentations published on No Comments on General thoughts about Law and Order: SVU and its gross misrepresentations

The inaccuracies in SVU really both me, not just those about twins and trans people, but those regarding just about everyone in the known universe.

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Law and Order: SVU hates twins and trans people!

Law and Order: SVU hates twins and trans people! published on No Comments on Law and Order: SVU hates twins and trans people!

The Law and Order: SVU ep “Identity” [season 6, ep 12], summarized earlier, features a bitten penis, gangbanging, homeless women, ID theft, an anti-graffitti task force, a pair of unusually identical twins, a sex therapist, a secret language, possible incest, violent siblings, possible lesbianism, unethical investigation of medical records, non-consensual gender reassignment of a minor, molestation by therapist and, finally, “the perfect crime.” Now that I’ve summarized the plot for you, I’m exhausted. No, seriously, it’s time to examine some of the deleterious assumptions at work in your average SVU ep.

Thesis: SVU pathologizes everything in sight.

Continue reading Law and Order: SVU hates twins and trans people!

How much plot can YOU cram into 42 minutes? Or, Law and Order: SVU’s tale of the psycho twins

How much plot can YOU cram into 42 minutes? Or, Law and Order: SVU’s tale of the psycho twins published on 1 Comment on How much plot can YOU cram into 42 minutes? Or, Law and Order: SVU’s tale of the psycho twins

I've been watching a lot of Law and Order: SVU lately [enough to realize that the script writers have an unhealthy obsession with prison rape jokes, which they are apparently contractually obligated to shoehorn in once per episode]. Among the many eps that I've watched is "Identity," ep 12 from season 6. I remember enjoying this ep especially because it features a pair of identical twins, of which I am one, as you no doubt know. I also remember this ep for its particularly exploitative and melodramatic plot twists. Heck, this thing has enough melodrama and occurrences for an entire season of a show! Let me summarize for you…

A corpse drops off the top of a building right through the windshield of some guys with blue balls. Stabler, Benson and the ME wonder who the dead chump is. His bling labeled "SCA" seems to be a clue. Also someone bit his penis real hard. DUNT DUNT! Continue reading How much plot can YOU cram into 42 minutes? Or, Law and Order: SVU’s tale of the psycho twins

Meta-narrative: My dolls play with their dolls.

Meta-narrative: My dolls play with their dolls. published on 3 Comments on Meta-narrative: My dolls play with their dolls.

Now that my BJDs all have their own BJDs, they can play dolls together. Given the differences in personalities, this can lead to conflict.Continue reading Meta-narrative: My dolls play with their dolls.

Petula, Seed Dolls Inkling, painted, wigged and dressed

Petula, Seed Dolls Inkling, painted, wigged and dressed published on 1 Comment on Petula, Seed Dolls Inkling, painted, wigged and dressed

I got my Seed Dolls Inkling late last week and finally had the time to work on her today. I painted her in my usual messy style, gave her a dress by Spampy Stuff and glued pink yarn on her head for hair. Then I gave her some pancakes [Rement], which I think puzzled her.
Continue reading Petula, Seed Dolls Inkling, painted, wigged and dressed

No one else but him: Jareth, the only human in the Labyrinth

No one else but him: Jareth, the only human in the Labyrinth published on No Comments on No one else but him: Jareth, the only human in the Labyrinth

So I was reading reviews of Return to Labyrinth, volume 4, a shitty manga predicated on Jareth naming Toby as heir to the maze. As I did so, I said to myself, “Some movies just shouldn’t have sequels.” And Labyrinth is one such. It creates a convincing and immersive world that wraps up conclusively at the end of its time frame and needs no embellishment in the form of further adventures. [That said, I will not censure fanfic writers for doing their damnedest to prove me otherwise. :p ]

As I scanned the reviews, a thought occurred to me: the sequels to Labyrinth stink for many reasons, one of the major ones being that they expand on the human population of the Labyrinth. The Return to Labyrinth series, for example, brings in Mizumi, Queen of Moraine [what?!], her two daughters, a mysterious girl named Moppet, etc., etc., etc. These additions negatively affect the original, true population of Labyrinth, i.e., just Jareth.

In order to prove that more humans in the Labyrinth is a bad idea, I should probably tell you why having only one is a good idea, no? As the sole human in the Labyrinth, Jareth provides a 1:1 correspondence to Sarah. He matches her. He becomes her complement in a way that clearly identifies him as a central figure of fantasy fulfillment, undistracted by other people. His symbolic appearance as the flip side of Sarah [hello there, Jareth, walking on the underside of the Escher maze while Sarah runs along the top!] is obviously telegraphed in his solitude. Jareth as sole human makes his symbolic role and his connection to Sarah crystal-ball-clear [nyuk nyuk].

Jareth’s aloneness also highlights another important aspect of his and Sarah’s character: their loneliness. Just in case you weren’t convinced by his pre-Magic-Dance boredom that Jareth feels lonely, his sad isolation also comes through in the sheer numbers. That is to say that he’s outnumbered by Muppets. He sits in his castle, spinning idle fantasies, in the same way that Sarah roams the park alone, practicing her lines with no one. Jareth’s singleness underscores the dangerous estrangement that Sarah suffers when she’s too immersed in her daydreams.

Having more people than Jareth in the Labyrinth depersonalizes the whole adventure for Sarah by diffusing Jareth’s symbolic heft and downplaying his twinship with her.

Lumedoll issues 2 more 30cm mature male BJDs.

Lumedoll issues 2 more 30cm mature male BJDs. published on 1 Comment on Lumedoll issues 2 more 30cm mature male BJDs.

Remember how, a while back, I said that Lumedoll was coming out with a 30cm [action figure-sized] mature male BJD, Koit? Of course you don’t. Anyway, as the headline suggests, Lumedoll is now issuing two more headsculpts, Lucas and Blaze. Here’s Lucas’ page: http://www.lumedoll.com/Lucas.htm Also in good news, Lumedoll appears to be updating their 30cm mature male body. They have a slim type and a regular type, although I can’t really tell the difference. I hope that Lumedoll continues to expand their 30cm mature line, just so there can be more beautiful, unusual 1:6 sculpts available.

Papercraft laptop for BJDs

Papercraft laptop for BJDs published on No Comments on Papercraft laptop for BJDs

I made a papercraft laptop for my dolls tonight. I’m sure it would have looked better if I had printed it out on cardstock [which I didn’t have] and used some adhesive other than clear tape, but it’s close enough for my purposes. Modeled by a chronically unimpressed Araminthe.Continue reading Papercraft laptop for BJDs

Approximately 1:3 scale laptops for BJDs: papercraft to the rescue

Approximately 1:3 scale laptops for BJDs: papercraft to the rescue published on No Comments on Approximately 1:3 scale laptops for BJDs: papercraft to the rescue

Last night I decided that Sarah, Sardonix, Junebug and Araminthe should be able to write stories and surf the Web if they want to. To that end, I searched this morning for a 1:3 scale laptop. I couldn’t find any except for an overpriced American Girl accessory set for last year’s Girl of the Year. http://www.amazon.com/American-Girl-G0734-BF1C-Lanies-Accessories/dp/B0042R5KBQ

Then I decided that I didn’t really need a plastic laptop, only a convincing replica of one, material negotiable. Thus I searching under "papercraft laptop," and I found a PC World article about geeky papercraft. http://www.pcworld.com/article/191751/the_webs_geekiest_papercraft_projects.html The associated slideshow linked to many PDFed papercrafts, including various IBM ThinkPads with instructions in Japanese. I selected one http://www-06.ibm.com/jp/pc/tplife/pc/t60.pdf , eyeballed it for scale [=good enough for me!] and printed it out. Hopefully I’ll be able to generate a passable 1:3 scale laptop with this project. Stay tuned.

Thoughts upon seeing Michael Williams’ Flickr set of the Mattel/Barbie booth at Toy Fair 2011

Thoughts upon seeing Michael Williams’ Flickr set of the Mattel/Barbie booth at Toy Fair 2011 published on 1 Comment on Thoughts upon seeing Michael Williams’ Flickr set of the Mattel/Barbie booth at Toy Fair 2011

It’s Toy Fair time again, folks. Time for all 3 of you to listen to me hold forth on Mattel’s upcoming offerings.

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Araminthe, Junebug and the camera

Araminthe, Junebug and the camera published on 2 Comments on Araminthe, Junebug and the camera

I got a little Hello Kitty camera yesterday. When you look in the viewfinder, you see scenes of Hello Kitty that change when you click the shutter. Araminthe apparently has other plans for the camera.
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Araminthe’s arrival! [Or, Bad-tempered vampire is bad-tempered.]

Araminthe’s arrival! [Or, Bad-tempered vampire is bad-tempered.] published on 2 Comments on Araminthe’s arrival! [Or, Bad-tempered vampire is bad-tempered.]

Araminthe arrived today! She’s the first representative of B&G Doll [Boy &Girl Doll] that I’ve encountered, and I really like her. She has smooth even resin without mold lines, well-hidden double joints and perfect stringing. She stands and holds a multitude of poses right out of the box. I’m not going to even have to wire her arms!

Araminthe’s headsculpt, the snarling Burrysa head, came with the bloody faceup, not the non-bloody one, so I guess she’s a messy eater. Her default smoldering red eyes go well with the red and black tones used in her faceup, and the drips of blood outside her lips seem more stylized than realistic. As for Araminthe’s head itself, it’s very small compared to other 60cm heads, with fine, pointy features and harsh, flat planes. I think her expression is hilarious.Continue reading Araminthe’s arrival! [Or, Bad-tempered vampire is bad-tempered.]

Araminthe’s outfit of awesomeness!

Araminthe’s outfit of awesomeness! published on 1 Comment on Araminthe’s outfit of awesomeness!

I got Araminthe a frilly and obnoxiously colored dress set, Watermelon Idol, from Tenshi on DoA. Isn’t it fabulous? Also please note that Noodge apparently likes Araminthe’s shoes too.Continue reading Araminthe’s outfit of awesomeness!

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