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They’re STILL going away! [And coming back cough cough]

They’re STILL going away! [And coming back cough cough] published on 1 Comment on They’re STILL going away! [And coming back cough cough]

18 of 26 dolls that I want to get rid of have been spoken for! This riddance is going much better than I expected!

I'm also…uh…acquiring a 1:6er. Watch this space. CURSE YOU, ANDREA! :p

OMG! Someone bought Thomas!

OMG! Someone bought Thomas! published on 1 Comment on OMG! Someone bought Thomas!

For those of you who may not know, Thomas is an ex-boyfriend of Anneka, star of Love Has Fangs, and he's a horrible individual. I warned people on my sales list that the fig of him came with "outfit, glasses and innate douchebaggery," but apparently that didn't put someone off! Woohoo!

Whose cat is that?

Whose cat is that? published on No Comments on Whose cat is that?

This perky little cat started hanging around our porch yesterday, rubbing all over the slats in the railing and rolling over so I could pet its belly. Its presence irritates both my landlord and her two indoor cats to no end; Leo and Zing, my landlord's cats, glare at the outdoor cat, while the outdoor cat lazes around on the landing. After hanging around for over 24 hours, it jumped up and bounded away shortly after I snapped this picture. We have no idea who owns it, but it looks well-fed, and it's known in the neighborhood as a friendly feline of unknown origin.

P.S. As a completely irrelevant aside, I just had one of these [Wicked Whoopies orange creamsicle whoopie pie!!!], and it was delicious. Fortunately I bought it from the local Shaw's without needing to order a dozen online. :d
Continue reading Whose cat is that?

No hair up there

No hair up there published on No Comments on No hair up there

As an invdividual whose hair regularly flirts with non-existence [i.e., I buzz my hair with a #1 blade down to 3.175 mm every month], I appreciate baldness.

I especially like women with no hair on their heads or else only a few millimeters. Hair provides protection and conformity to societal expectations, especially for women, whose hair is seen as their "crowning glory" [adapted from 1 Cor 11:14-15]. A purposeful lack thereof on women, therefore, indicates a certain boldness in flouting cultural expectations. At the same time, since it lays bare one's facial features and the shape of one's head — containing lumps, dips, curves, moles and scars that are secret for most people — baldness also denotes in my mind an appealing frankness and vulnerability, a willingness to confront the world plainly, with unadorned honesty. I find women's intentional baldness a strong aesthetic statement, perhaps even a philosophical one.

My attraction to bare-headed women appears in my doll population. The aesthetic appeal remains the same, while the philosophical underpinnings are more along the line of being lazy and cheap and not wanting to spring for an expensive, high-maintenance wig. :p

Continue reading No hair up there

Helloooooooooooo, Kinneret!

Helloooooooooooo, Kinneret! published on No Comments on Helloooooooooooo, Kinneret!

I have officially entered a split on DOA for a dark brown Soom Epidia fantasy head [pointy teefs!] with faceup and human body with "extra pose" joints. Her name is Kinneret. "Kinneret" is a word probably best known for being an alternative name for the Sea of Galilee, Israel's largest freshwater lake. However, I always have known it as a girls' name based on the Hebrew word for "harp," which I think is just beautiful.

Sci-fi dystopia by alarmist bigot!

Sci-fi dystopia by alarmist bigot! published on No Comments on Sci-fi dystopia by alarmist bigot!

Please read Patricia Weber's ["La Jolla resident since 1953!"] letter to the editor [?] of the La Jolla Light. Then read the skewering by Shakesville commentators.

I'm not even going to get into it here. I'm just going to say that, apparently, in 2065, there is absolutely no communication whatsoever between the Earth and the Moon.

????????????????????????????????????????

No! You can’t use that word!

No! You can’t use that word! published on 2 Comments on No! You can’t use that word!

Do you have body integrity identity disorder? Well, that’s neither here nor there, since I really don’t care about your BIID.

I do care, however, when you start calling yourselves “transabled” and organizing your whole identities around the supposition that your experiences are analogous to those of people who are trans or who have disabilities.

First of all, you don’t get to use the word “transabled.” By doing so, you appropriate the terminology of the trans rights movement and disability rights movement. You dismiss the lived experiences and struggles of trans and/or disabled people by using their vocabulary as your metaphor. You’re therefore objectifying and dehumanizing trans and/or disabled people. You’re perpetuating discrimination and prejudice against these populations. Go find your own terms.

Second of all, neither do you get to claim that your oppression is like that of trans and/or disabled people. When you are murdered for your state of being and society finds your killer[s] understandable, justifiable, sympathetic and symptomatic of an entire social program that dehumanizes people like you with the goal of eliminating them, then we might be able to talk. Otherwise, you need to understand that being different does not axiomatically entail being oppressed.

[Prompted by a similar takedown on Womanist Musings.]

Heteronormativity at the dentist

Heteronormativity at the dentist published on 8 Comments on Heteronormativity at the dentist

Following up on my entry earlier this year about sexism on a customer service line, I present the following conversation, which happened between me and the dental hygienist this morning. I was actually finding the poking, scraping and drilling much less annoying than usual, thanks to the hygienist's sense of humor and skills. Then we started talking about mouthwash.

I asked for recommendations of alcohol-free mouthwash. I mentioned that "my fiancee" used mouthwash with alcohol, which I did not like because of its strong odor.

Hygienist: "What kind does he use?"

Me: "I don't know what SHE uses."

Conversation continued with recommendations.

So she automatically assumed that I was engaged to a guy because a) I look like a woman and b) the majority of marriages are between a man and a woman. However, given that spouses are not always 1 man + 1 woman, people should know better than to make that assumption, especially in Vermont, which is on the vanguard of marriage equality in the US. The definition of marriage has changed yet again, people. Get with the program!

P.S. My FIANCE?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? What fiance?

P.P.S. Holy crap, the hygienist was not the only one behind the times. Just out of curiosity, I typed "define marriage" into Google.

Merriam Webster's online dictionary says:

"(1) the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law (2) : the state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like that of a traditional marriage"

FAILURE. Just say "the state of being united to a person as a husband or wife…blah blah blah."

reference.com/dictionary.com says something similar:

"1. a. the social institution under which a man and woman establish their decision to live as husband and wife by legal commitments, religious ceremonies, etc. Antonyms: separation.
b. a similar institution involving partners of the same gender: gay marriage. Antonyms: separation."

FAILURE. It's all the same institution.

Google's first dictionary result has the same problem:

"1. The formal union of a man and a woman, typically recognized by law, by which they become husband and wife
2. A similar long-term relationship between partners of the same sex"

THREE STRIKES AND YOU'RE OUT. It's not "a similar long-term relationship." It's the same thing!

Not until Wiktionary do we get a more accurate definition, talking about an exclusive union between two or more people. Subdefinitions clarify that, in some jurisdictions, marriage is defined as being between 1 man + 1 woman, while other jurisdictions allow 2 partners of any sex to marry. But the main thing is the exclusive union.

I actually like the Wikipedia entry the best, as it seems to capture the concept and purposes of marriage that have remained stable over time: "Marriage (also called matrimony or wedlock) is a social union or legal contract between people called spouses that creates kinship." Marriage is a grouping of people to create social units. Everything else varies. If you don't like that, you're on the losing side of history.

Getting rid of many custom figures, incl rarities and stuff by Andrea/DollsAhoy/an42!

Getting rid of many custom figures, incl rarities and stuff by Andrea/DollsAhoy/an42! published on No Comments on Getting rid of many custom figures, incl rarities and stuff by Andrea/DollsAhoy/an42!

Want dolls? Go here to see a list of what I'm selling, with details and links to pictures. 

I'm not sure what to charge on these, since they range from high-quality custom paint/reroot/outfit jobs [like Tamsin], to barely used, out of print figures [like Bering], to modified rarities [Sophie], to experimental customs [Margie]. Prices will range from just covering postage [for certain cobbled-together figs] to me actually trying to recoup my purchasing cost [for the high-quality stuff]. PM me, and we'll work something out. Paypal accepted, no fees charged.

List in progress, eventually to be updated with pictures for all.

Eventually, if I can't sell or give these away, they will be THROWN OUT. I'd much rather that they go to people who will use them, whether as display objects, characters, parts, etc.

P.S. If we make a deal, please be patient, as I have to get the figs from storage, find packing material, then somehow make my way to the post office. This could take up to a week.

Too many dolls: the reckoning

Too many dolls: the reckoning published on 1 Comment on Too many dolls: the reckoning

I just took a first pass at sorting out all my 1:6ers who currently are not out; that is, they're in boxes in storage. I divided them into 3 categories: ones to keep, ones to get rid of and ones I wasn't sure about. Then I modified the categories into ones to have out, ones to store and ones to get rid of. [The ones I wasn't sure about mostly became ones to store.]

Final tallies:

Ones to keep: 34
      Ones to have out: 21
      Ones to store: 13

Ones to get rid of: 26

Following are the ones I'm getting rid of:

Continue reading Too many dolls: the reckoning

Too many dolls!

Too many dolls! published on 1 Comment on Too many dolls!

Yesterday I went to my parents' house to pick up some 1:6 BJDs I'm getting rid of. I decided that I have way too many 1:6 action figs, defined as plastic 1:6ers, as opposed to 1:6 BJDs, which are made out of resin.

Therefore, I must get rid of some. Figuring out who to keep is pretty easy. The ones with the most sentimental value stay. In practice, that's a bunch of LHFers, including Anneka and Will and then [alphabetically], Absinthe, Baozha, Caveat, Chow,  Dom, Gemini, Janet, Mark, Pippilotta, Rori, Sibley, Velvette and Viktor. That also includes Jareth, Frank and Jennifer.

But who leaves? What about minor LHFers like Andrew, Davry, Marabou, Materyllis and Qingting, who are all one-of-a-kind and awesome-looking, but to whom I'm not as attached? What about Anneka's grandmothers? They're integral to the story, but I don't feel as strongly for them as I do the characters listed in the second paragraph, who are, uncoincidentally, mostly characters that I created very early on in the life cycle of LHF.

And then what about the non-LHFers like Bering and Dasu, who just look cool?

Eurk.

Anyway, I have visual aids to work from. This entry captures the majority of my 1:6 action figs, with the exception of Bering, AJ and Lilith [shown on far left and far right].

Drastically reducing supplements taken

Drastically reducing supplements taken published on 1 Comment on Drastically reducing supplements taken

I've been taking some supplements for a while now: women's multivitamin, calcium, omega-3 fish oil, vitamin D. There's no definitive evidence that omega-3 fish oil supplements or vitamin D supplements have any health benefits, so I'm eliminating them. Time to save some money and rid my nightstand of smelly useless pills!  I'm sure that I get enough vitamins and minerals from my food to stop taking the multi, but I'm not confident enough in the calcium distribution of my diet to stop with the calcium, though. Hmmm…

Craaaaaaaaap.

Craaaaaaaaap. published on No Comments on Craaaaaaaaap.

I have developed a crush on a 60cm BJD, Volks Emma. At the latest Chittenden County Doll club meetup, Lyrajean brought her Volks Masha, who I thought was an Emma, so I looked online for Emmas and decided I liked her better than Masha.

So cute, so cute, so cute! I'm sick of Soom's pillowy, liquid, androgynous sculpts [gasp!] because they can be really bland, but Emma has character. She reminds me of a real kid. And that little smirk… ^_^

Chittenden County Doll Club, 06/09/12: vermont chick and Lyrajean’s dolls

Chittenden County Doll Club, 06/09/12: vermont chick and Lyrajean’s dolls published on No Comments on Chittenden County Doll Club, 06/09/12: vermont chick and Lyrajean’s dolls

Here are 2 more photos, courtesy of vermont chick, covering the dolls that I did not get pictures of because my battery ran out.

Continue reading Chittenden County Doll Club, 06/09/12: vermont chick and Lyrajean’s dolls

What the hell?

What the hell? published on 1 Comment on What the hell?

Today I learned that $20.00 of each of my paychecks has been going to a flex spending account. What the hell? I have never ever in my life signed up for one of those!!! HR is investigating.

This would have been good to know when I was paying for expensive surgery at the end of May. >_>

Needless to say, I'm NOT paying into an FSA this fiscal year.

Chittenden County Doll Club, 06/09/12: some of Lyrajean’s dolls

Chittenden County Doll Club, 06/09/12: some of Lyrajean’s dolls published on No Comments on Chittenden County Doll Club, 06/09/12: some of Lyrajean’s dolls

My camera battery crapped out [after 9 months on a single charge!!!] in the middle of shooting vermont chick's RealPukis, so I didn't get any photos of Lyrajean's dolls. Fortunately, vermont chick generously supplied those below.

Lyrajean's Volks F36 holds vermont chick's Pupu.
Continue reading Chittenden County Doll Club, 06/09/12: some of Lyrajean’s dolls

Chittenden County Doll Club, 06/09/12: vermont chick’s RealPukis

Chittenden County Doll Club, 06/09/12: vermont chick’s RealPukis published on 1 Comment on Chittenden County Doll Club, 06/09/12: vermont chick’s RealPukis

vermont chick brought an Iplehouse YID Harin [not shown] and her 3 Fairyland RealPukis! From left to right, Kaka, Soso and Pupu. Personally I think there should be a Wiwi to complete the scatological triumvirate. :p :p

Anyway, now that I've seen these in person, I really like Pupu more than I did when I saw the pictures. It's a very cute smile!

vermont chick got her RealPukis because she saw Noodge, my Soso, and thought she was so cute! She touched up her Soso's teeth so they can be better seen. Somehow this makes her Soso look even MORE devious!
Continue reading Chittenden County Doll Club, 06/09/12: vermont chick’s RealPukis

Chittenden County Doll Club, 06/09/12: Flower and Ginevra

Chittenden County Doll Club, 06/09/12: Flower and Ginevra published on No Comments on Chittenden County Doll Club, 06/09/12: Flower and Ginevra

Lyrajean, vermont chick and I attended a meetup yesterday at the Brownell Library in Essex Junction. I brought Flower and Ginevra. Flower's stupid ear fell off in transit, so that's why you're only seeing him from his good side. :p

Continue reading Chittenden County Doll Club, 06/09/12: Flower and Ginevra

“Very special,” indeed!: Maxine Aston and authority in discussing Asperger’s syndrome

“Very special,” indeed!: Maxine Aston and authority in discussing Asperger’s syndrome published on 2 Comments on “Very special,” indeed!: Maxine Aston and authority in discussing Asperger’s syndrome

I was justing listening to Dan Savage's Savage Love podcast 289, in which a teenaged boy called up about expressing romantic interest in another teenaged boy, who happened to have Asperger's. This was the occasion to bring in British counselor Maxine Aston to discuss challenges and special considerations when communicating with people with Asperger's.

I immediately hopped over to Aston's Web site to investigate her credentials. She has a Master's of Science in health psychology. She specializes in counseling people with Asperger's and people who love people with Asperger's. She's also written a bunch of articles and books about people with Asperger's in relationships with non-Asperger's people. Sounds pretty qualified, right?

WRONG! The About Maxine section tells all: She writes, "I was once married to a very special man who was affected by Asperger syndrome…"

Pardon me while I barf! As far as I can tell, Aston does not have Asperger's. However, she presumes to be an expert on people with Asperger's because she's objectified them for years and years by studying them.

You can tell she has objectified people with Asperger's because she uses the dismissive and condescending term "very special" to refer to her ex with Asperger's. In my experience, the term "special" is frequently used by non-disabled people to place disabled people in a separate, subhuman category where they become silent, inspirational symbols instead of fully respected human beings. In fact, when I hear a non-disabled person describe a disabled person as "special," I interpret that word as a derisive insult. Aston does not respect people with Asperger's; instead, she feels pity and contempt for them.

Aston arrogates the authority to discuss Asperger's syndrome because of her neurotypical privilege. Paradoxically enough, she is assumed to be an expert in Asperger's syndrome precisely because she does not have Asperger's syndrome. She may be an authority on people without Asperger's in relationships with people with Asperger's, but that doesn't automatically make her an expert in Asperger's syndrome. The experts in Asperger's are the people who know what it's like to experience Asperger's day in and day out because they themselves have the condition. But they are frequently marginalized by the non-disabled majorities who participate in their objectification and suppression, therefore making it very difficult for people with Asperger's to communicate their experiences.

Man, now I have even more of a reason to loathe Dan Savage. Instead of having some people with Asperger's on to discuss their perceptions, communciation and advice, he perpetuated the dehumanization of people with disabilities by calling in a neurotypical "expert." Way to go, Dan Savage!

P.S. Is it pronounced "ass per gerrrrs" or "ass per jurrrrrrs?"

Crystallized while reading Postmortal

Crystallized while reading Postmortal published on No Comments on Crystallized while reading Postmortal

As much as I'm interested in the concept of the novel [a cure for aging and its effects on the world], I DO NOT CARE AT ALL about the adventures of the protagonist, a straight, cis, white, middle-class, able-bodied, US man with a societally acceptable body shape and a slag heap of unexamined privilege.

Seemingly THE ENTIRE WORLD revolves around the adventures of straight, cis, white, middle-class, able-bodied men with societally acceptable body shapes and slag heaps of unexamined privilege. They're tedious, boring, self-indulgent and overdone. Find a new narrative, people.

P.S. And if you're a straight etc. man whose protagonist happens to be a straight etc. man, you're suffering A FAILURE OF IMAGINATION. The world don't look like you no more. Get over yourself.

Jumpman on a modern compooper with joystick?!!!

Jumpman on a modern compooper with joystick?!!! published on No Comments on Jumpman on a modern compooper with joystick?!!!

It can be done!

http://www.1emulation.com/forums/topic/4678-new-at-commodore-64-emulation/

Goodbye, Eduard Khil.

Goodbye, Eduard Khil. published on No Comments on Goodbye, Eduard Khil.

Known online for being the Trololo Man, Russian singer Eduard Khil died yesterday. I didn't know about his iconic video until recently, which is too bad because, every time I see it, it makes me smile. Even though he's singing nonsense syllables instead of censored lyrics, Khil just looks so damn ebullient and joyful. How can you resist that?

OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD part 3!!

OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD part 3!! published on 2 Comments on OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD part 3!!

We also enjoyed Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?…except for the fact that time traveling somehow took up time, which made no sense to me. If you're in a time machine and can enter and exit any point in time that you wish, how could you spend time traveling through time? Stupid.

Anyway, I can download that for the Cow Manure 64 too!

Life is good.

EDIT: And Playful Professor Math Tutor!

EDIT 2: Bank Street Writer, anyone?

Hmmm, what was that program that we used where you could create illustrations from premade units, such as shapes, animals and people, and then add text??

OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD!

OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD! published on 1 Comment on OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD!

I just bought a copy of Jumpman, my favoritest compooper game ever, on floppy disk for the Commodore 64! It was just $24.00!! I thought my desire to play this game as it was meant to [i.e., with a joystick on the original system, as opposed to with arrow keys on a modern emulator] would disappear since the time in 2009 when I first played it on an emulator, but I guess not. Apparently I'm on my way to acquiring an entire original C64 CPU/keyboard, monitor, disk drive and joystick. Fortunately they're cheap and plentiful.

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