Skip to content

Dillon: built for comfort, rather than style

Dillon: built for comfort, rather than style published on No Comments on Dillon: built for comfort, rather than style

Dillon has gone through several permutations since his original conception. He was going to be the doll that ended up being Brandeis. As shown in various census pictures, he is now a Phicen Hindu head on a Takara Cy Girl AA body, wearing jeans, a white button-down shirt and a green vest with cartoon aliens on it.

I have decided that this is not actually what Dillon looks like. Dillon is moving to my incoming Hasbro AA GI Jane Vietnam Nurse [the cute one].  Jeans will stay, but top will be replaced by plaid shirt with hooded sweatshirt over it. He now strikes me as the sort of person who accidentally wears pajamas to work and has to be reminded by his loved ones that he’s already worn those pants 4 days in a row. ["What? Damn…these are my favorite jeans."] I’m not quite clear on what he’s thinking about instead, but it’s clearly not clothes.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1517779.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Where is the mystery package? Who knows?

Where is the mystery package? Who knows? published on No Comments on Where is the mystery package? Who knows?

Last Friday, May 24th, I ordered and paid for a 1:6 scale Grim Reaper to furnish the dead version of Isabel’s body. Later that day, I received notice that the seller had marked my order as shipped and provided tracking information.

Given that it can take up to 2 business days for tracking information to hit the USPS Web site and that there was a holiday Monday, the tracking information didn’t yield anything until May 28th. Fine.

Not fine, however, is that the tracking has been saying "Status of your item: shipping information received" since May 28th, when it first appeared on USPS’ radar.

What’s it doing? Taking a nap? Picking its nose? Enjoying a transcontinental tour? I wish that the tracking would actually tell me.

For some reason, I think the obtuse tracking information is a function of the shipping service used by the seller [toynk], which sends all their packages to a third party [OSM Worldwide] to take care of shipping. In contrast, another package that I ordered last Friday [Willy and some black T-shirts from Cotswold Collectibles!] went directly to UPS, so, even though it’s not scheduled to arrive until next Monday [June 3rd], I’ve been able to follow its progress. In further contrast, another package that I ordered yesterday [Carter’s driving cap, also a plaid shirt and a hooded sweatshirt for anyone who needs them from Black Ops Toys] shipped directly through USPS has also appeared on USPS’ Web site [also scheduled to arrive on June 3rd]. I blame the shipping company. Argh!

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1517550.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Continuing to work on the bookcase

Continuing to work on the bookcase published on No Comments on Continuing to work on the bookcase

I’ve gone off on a bookcase tangent. I’m trying to make its contents a little more interesting than just books, but generic enough so that the bookcase can be used as a general backdrop. I added three things today:Continue reading Continuing to work on the bookcase

Thoughts on filling a 1:6 scale bookcase

Thoughts on filling a 1:6 scale bookcase published on 1 Comment on Thoughts on filling a 1:6 scale bookcase

As I’ve mentioned before, bamboo drawer organizers make wonderful bookcases with little to no modification.

Make page blocks for dummy books by hot-gluing together "signatures" of balsa, foamcore or craft foam cut to size.

Don’t forget to vary the dimensions of the dummy books. No one’s library contains uniform volumes of all the same size.

Use scraps of paper sticking out from between "signatures" for bookmarks.

Create the impression of a diverse library by binding your dummy books in a variety of papers. Magazine pages and origami paper provide aesthetically pleasing patterns. Used cheap self-adhesive gift tags for trim, stripes and further differentiation.

While you’re at it, don’t forget to distribute colors and patterns randomly amongt the stacks. Very few people shelve according to the color spectrum. :p

For added realism, make it messy. [Tip for the lazy: Falling-over books take up more room than neatly stuffed shelves!] Have some books stick out further than others. A pile of books can act as a makeshift bookend. Try shelving some books on top of other books.

Use some sort of adhesive to keep the books on the shelves, particularly those that are falling over or leaning precariously.

See these principles in practice below.

Continue reading Thoughts on filling a 1:6 scale bookcase

1:6 scale BJC [ball-jointed cat]

1:6 scale BJC [ball-jointed cat] published on 1 Comment on 1:6 scale BJC [ball-jointed cat]

Here kitty kitty! These are amazing! I would love to get one just to see if it can do the same positions that Babycat does: loaf cat, extend-o-feets, retract-o-feets, circle and florb.

EDIT: The artist also has an entry showing her 3-D digital models of the cats, as well as other headsculpts.

I was just thinking that it would be pretty funny to have a cat in one of my stories that talks, but only in phrases that are obviously translatable from the sounds cats make. I.e., the cat would never say, "I think it looks like rain" or "What’s the meaning of life?" Instead, you’d get a lot of "Is that food for me?", "Can I have some?", "I love you Mom!", "I’m bored," "I’m hungry," "Fuck off — I’m napping," "No, I don’t wanna move," "It hurts," "I’m scared," "Pet me," "Do not pet me," etc. ^_^ 

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1516603.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Gah! What is this shit?

Gah! What is this shit? published on No Comments on Gah! What is this shit?

"The abyss, with gulfy maw, / Thirsts on unsated…"

That’s Roy Campbell, trying to translate part of Baudelaire’s Horloge and, tripping on the hurdles of redundant froufrou, failing miserably. 

The sentence in question is, "Le gouffre a toujours soif." Literally, that’s, "The pit is always thirsty." But nah…let’s go with a "translation" that basically says, "The abyss, with an abyssal abyss, abysses abysmally."

Baudelaire tends not to fare well in translation…

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1516399.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

In case you didn’t suspect…

In case you didn’t suspect… published on No Comments on In case you didn’t suspect…

…Poorly Dressed is racist. Also classist and sexist. It’s a site on the Cheezburger network that mocks “seriously questionable style moments.” They derive a lot of their mockery from the fantastic things that women of color do with their hair.

In a textbook example, a WOC who sculpted an Easter basket out of her hair + weave got trashed. She [or her hairdresser] demonstrated amazing creativity and ingenuity to create an eye-catching work of art that then got shit on by the Intertubez, where commenters characterized her as a cheap, tacky, “ghetto” person with no sense of style. Basically she was vilified for being a WOC whose hairstyle [e.g., using a weave] is associated with poor and working class women.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1515995.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

New, improved Novella

New, improved Novella published on No Comments on New, improved Novella

When we last saw Novella, she looked like this. I made some changes today.

1. I wired from her neck down through her thighs to reduce her floppiness.

2. While I liked the flamboyance of her outfit, I never liked her bikini top, which seemed way too casual for her personal style and for her job as receptionist, bookkeeper and Webmaster at Champlain Valley Body Art. One of my improvements was therefore covering up her midsection with a red tank, a skull tank and then the nubby pink overshirt.

3. Her pale resin made her nose seem undefined, so I gave her some nasal shading.

I’m pleased with the results, which make her look more proportional. Uyoo’s headsculpt has eyes, nose and lips much too big for the small skull, so the temptation is to balance out the large face by adding a high-volume wig. I did that, and the results only accentuated that Uyoo’s head is way out of proportion to her narrow, flat body. By giving her a few layers of clothes up top, I gave her some bulk, which makes her look less cartoony and more realistic. Her proportions are much more stylized than the other regular issue Minigem girls, all because of her huge facial features on a small head.

Continue reading New, improved Novella

The new, improved Brandeis

The new, improved Brandeis published on No Comments on The new, improved Brandeis

When we last saw Brandeis, she had no faceup, a different wig and a different outfit. Now she has a faceup [all brown and a little pink for the lips], a black-based wig instead of a white-based one and a different outfit. I ditched her hat and changed her pants and shoes. She’s adorable! Love her little legwarmers with hearts. <3 <3 The simplicity of her faceup brings out the lively detail in her sculpt.

Continue reading The new, improved Brandeis

Yamarrah’s hands!

Yamarrah’s hands! published on No Comments on Yamarrah’s hands!

While not a fan of Soom’s 1:3 scale bodies, which I find rather stiff and unyielding, I love their fem hands [ref. Jareth’s]. I just scored a set of Soom Topaz’ translucent yellow hands off the DOA marketplace, for no other reason than the fact that they look really cool. They have the same sculpt as Jareth’s, only with shorter nails. I really like the expressive positioning of the fingers on Jareth’s hands, so I’m pleased to get a similar set for Yamarrah.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1514938.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Chthonic Jareth

Chthonic Jareth published on No Comments on Chthonic Jareth

I love this piece of fan art, Evil King 2, by MarylinFill on DeviantArt. She accurately captures the menacing underworldly power that emanates from him when he first appears. Reminds me of the Major Arcanum the Magician. Also the kind of air I was trying to evoke with Timonium.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1514116.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

I found Willy!

I found Willy! published on No Comments on I found Willy!

My drag king, previously mentioned here and shown here. This is a pretty rare doll, so I’m quite excited. I love you, Willy! Come back to me!

Dammit…I have all these dolls I want to get RIGHT NOW: Soom Faery Legend Boehm, a 1:6 scale Grim Reaper action figure for the dead version of Isabel…and now Willy. Plus some black T-shirts to make gravestone designs on for Isabel and the dead version of Isabel. Whhhhaaaaaaa!

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1513908.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

While I’m on that subject…

While I’m on that subject… published on No Comments on While I’m on that subject…

…I will put this in a new entry, so as not to detract from Sarah’s triumph. After Sarah says, "You have no power over me!" I just love David Bowie’s final facial expression. He looks wrung out, worn down and deflated.  He’s not angry at all, just disappointed and hopeless. He knew it was coming; he knew it a long time ago, all the way back in the ballroom in a bubble when Sarah wrenched herself from his arms and escaped. He knew it when she ran after Toby in the stair maze, instead of him. It’s the ineluctable trajectory: dude is goin’ down.

Continue reading While I’m on that subject…

“You have no power over me!”

“You have no power over me!” published on 2 Comments on “You have no power over me!”

Though generally not a fan of Jennifer Connelly’s one-note performance as Sarah in Labyrinth [where that one note = HUH???], I do love the way she delivers that line. She starts off reciting the little climactic speech from the play that she was struggling with in the beginning.

As she begins, you can see her speaking pro forma, mouthing the words because that’s the function of the Protagonist during a Showdown with the Antagonist. Staring into middle distance, not really at Jareth, she goes through the motions necessary to achieve the Climax…

…And then she stalls on "kingdom as great." While she’s wracking her brains, Jareth takes the opportunity to butt in with a truly ridiculous show of groveling: the "Do as I say, and I will be your slave" speech that has launched a thousand kinky OTPs.

Sarah continues to try to remember the next Step in the Formulaic Process, but then you can actually see the moment where she stops. She looks up at Jareth and really perceives him for the first time in that scene. You can see her realizing that, for all his bluster, he’s terrified of her. You can see her deciding that he’s no longer worth it. You can see that weight of terror lifting from her shoulders. You can see her confidence blooming as she looks straight into his eyes, standing up a little taller, even smiling a bit.

At that moment, she’s finally full of herself and her own power. You can see her pride and her hope and her determination when she states with calm finality and some amazement, "You have no power over me." Those words happen to be the Next Words in the Spell of Confrontation, but, more importantly, they are the words with which Sarah seizes her own agency after an entire movie of being a whiny, reactive, powerless girl. HURRAY!!!!

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1513353.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Carter is coming together.

Carter is coming together. published on No Comments on Carter is coming together.

I did a rough draft of his faceup tonight. Not sure about the lips, but I definitely like his eyebrows and the way the bags under his eyes are looking. I have decided that he, as a voluntarily bald man, wears a hat all the time, either a racing cap or a fedora. That big ball of lint on his head is supposed to be a racing cap, but the heavy weight of its fabric ruins the execution.

Continue reading Carter is coming together.

Macro filter set

Macro filter set published on No Comments on Macro filter set

goldi was using a simple, inexpensive macro filter set on her Canon digicam at doll club. The lenses just screwed on top of her existing lens to provide +1, +4, up to +10 magnification. Coooool. Clearly I need some. 

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1512926.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Parents sue hospital over their son’s mutilation

Parents sue hospital over their son’s mutilation published on No Comments on Parents sue hospital over their son’s mutilation

A South Carolina couple is suing the state for performing unnecessary mutilative surgery on their son, who was born with ambiguous genitalia, operated on at the Medical University of South Carolina and assigned female. The Crawfords adopted him after this surgery and raised their son as a girl until last year, when he said he was actually a boy. 

NBC says:

The state lawsuit accuses the Medical University of South Carolina — where the surgery was performed — and Greenville Hospital — where the child was born — of negligence medical malpractice for not getting the patient’s informed consent before surgery and failing to warn of potential problems resulting from it. At 16 months old, the suit alleges, the child was too young to make such a decision, one that could have waited until years later.

That complaint accuses state Social Services officials of failing to protect the child from the consequences of the surgery. A federal lawsuit also accuses doctors and state officials of violating the child’s civil rights by performing the surgery without consent.

I applaud the Crawfords for resisting the medical industrial complex’s obsession with forcibly shoving everyone into M or F categories before the people being shoved into the categories can express any preference. It is indeed a violation of civil rights to alter people’s bodies like that without their consent. All parties being sued should indeed be held accountable for their assumptions that they can steamroll individual liberties for the sake of some stinkin’, rigid gender binary bullshit.

I’m also happy that the parents seem pretty cool with their son selecting a different gender presentation than the one assigned him at mutilation. They come across in the article as parents who really love their son and who want him to be happy. They want to protect him, but they know sadly that the world doesn’t see their son the way that he does and they do. i.e., the way he actually is.

Tagged "trans yay" for resistance to forcible gender reassignment, acceptance of personally chosen gender reassignment and generally cool kid and parents. Tagged "stupid cis people" for the medical establishment against which they are fighting.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1512570.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Carter in progress

Carter in progress published on No Comments on Carter in progress

I strung Carter and dressed him this evening. Here he is with Isabel, aspiring toward unobtrusive average normalcy. I love how he and Isabel are obviously identical twins, but his facial expression is so much more open and sincere than her perma-skepticism.

Carter, like Isabel, has a faceplate from Elfdoll Doona Ryung for a head and a 5StarDoll tiny girl body in NS with modded neck. Still need to add his lightning bolt sideburns, bags under his eyes and shading around his nose.

Continue reading Carter in progress

NBC brings Dracula back from the dead.

NBC brings Dracula back from the dead. published on No Comments on NBC brings Dracula back from the dead.

Apparently there’s a [mini?] series coming up this fall on NBC called Dracula.  Based on the sluggish, exceptionally uninteresting preview, this adaptation shares a lot in common with the movie Bram Stoker’s Dracula, including the concept of Dracula as a tragic, wronged individual, the characterization of Mina as the reincarnation of Dracula’s dead wife, reliance on expensive set dressing and costumes and casting of a sexy actor from across the pond as the titular vampire. Wow, looks like a snooze.

What is it with the idea of Mina as Dracula’s reincarnated wife? Where does it come from? To me, it appears to be a modern ploy to make Dracula less of a sicko rapist predator who just goes around collecting women and children and more of a Tragic Lover who has a flimsy pretext for stalking Mina. Whatever. The Reincarnated Lovers trope bores me to tears because it establishes intimacy between characters with no narrative work whatsoever; the author just claims, "Oh yeah, they knew each other in a past life!" and thinks that such an empty Insta-Relationship will actually be accepted by the audience.

It would truly be interesting to start off with a Fated/Reincarnated Lovers relationship that is eventually exposed as bullshit. The woman begins believing that her partner’s status as her Reincarnated Lover means that he is her One True Love. However, she slowly realizes that they end up getting together in life after life because the partner is a manipulative asshole who repeatedly engineers the protagonist’s dependence on him. He keeps her with him by using just enough niceness as intermittent reinforcement, but mostly by threatening and gaslighting her until she believes that their relationship represents True Romance As It Is Supposed To Be. The protagonist eventually figures out that just because things have happened this way before does not mean they must happen this way again and just because things have happened this way before does not mean that is the best way for them to go down. She goes off to live her own life, which of course the ex-partner can’t stand, so he begins stalking and harassing the protagonist. He breaks into the protagonist’s house and tries to rape her. She kills him, possibly with the help of her current partner. The story ends with the protagonist and her current partner watching out for the reincarnation of her ex so that they can insure intervention such that, this time, he doesn’t grow up to be a total waste of a human being. To be clear, this is not about the protagonist gentling the beast with her virtue, but declaring that somehow she would like to give her ex-partner the opportunity to break the cycle of violence.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1512081.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Thinking about Flower

Thinking about Flower published on No Comments on Thinking about Flower

Love his headsculpt, love his green/green eyes, love his purple and pink palette and delicate, translucent ears. I do not, however, dig his default pale grey faceup. I am currently thinking about redoing him with some nice bright pinks and purples, similar to Jareth’s colors. He just looks so blah right now.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1511736.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Fairy concept: dryad

Fairy concept: dryad published on No Comments on Fairy concept: dryad

The latest Soom Faery Legend’s pale green resin sparked the idea that such a color should belong to a vegetation sprite. I thus invented the following dryad concept, growing from greenish-brownish bark [possibly sculpted?] on calves and forearms, through general green across most of the body, crowned with a little forest for hair.

The tree hair would be either sculpted the way that my friend Erica does her 1:6 scale bonsai trees, or it would make use of moss, crinkle paper and plastic leaves, like my forest set. Knowing me, it would probably be the latter, as that is easier and more my style.

Clothing would ideally be a brown, lightweight, crinkly cotton, preferably ombre, like broomstick skirt material.

Bright green eyes [I like Flower’s green/green ones], faceup in green and brown, eyebrows and miscellaneous shading brown, lips and eyelashes green.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1511498.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Latest Faery Legend: Boehm the Smoke Sprite

Latest Faery Legend: Boehm the Smoke Sprite published on No Comments on Latest Faery Legend: Boehm the Smoke Sprite

He gets people high. Also happens to be green and pretty damn hot. Mmmmm, very nice. 

Fuck off, fairies! Stop invading my house!

EDIT: Are those fangs I see???

Continue reading Latest Faery Legend: Boehm the Smoke Sprite

Dollism entourage thoughts

Dollism entourage thoughts published on No Comments on Dollism entourage thoughts

Thinking again about who to bring to Dollism. Even though Sardonix has a slightly loose headcap, she may be the best 1:3er to bring. Since she’s bald and barefoot, she doesn’t have any wig or shoes to slip off and lose. She also has a nearly indestructible faceup. Her body is balanced and engineered well, so she poses easily, and she’s not particularly heavy. I could always temporarily hot glue her headcap for the trip.

Possible 1:6ers are Mellifer and Timonium at this point. Who knows if there will be others by then? Right now I’m leaning toward Timonium because I like him better.

Mellifer: 🙁

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1510285.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Chittenden County Doll Club, 05/18/13: everyone’s dolls!

Chittenden County Doll Club, 05/18/13: everyone’s dolls! published on No Comments on Chittenden County Doll Club, 05/18/13: everyone’s dolls!

Doll club time arrived again at last this afternoon, with me, vermont chick, goldi, Lyrajean and Megan attending. 5 whole people! Not to mention all the small populations…
Continue reading Chittenden County Doll Club, 05/18/13: everyone’s dolls!

Thinking about Carter

Thinking about Carter published on No Comments on Thinking about Carter

I really need to put him together. He’s a cool guy, and Isabel needs her twin brother/best friend.

In one of my trades that has yielded an extensive wardrobe designed for fat bodies such as Isabel’s [and Carter’s], I got a button-up, collared shirt with blue dictionary text on white background. This strikes me as very Carterish: formal, but also offbeat and nerdy. I wonder if I still have a tie?

I’m seeing Carter as more conservative [not politically!] and quiet than Isabel, which cracks me up because, when he went to college, he was a radical dyke with multiple piercings and various hair colors who went bare-breasted in marches. It also cracks me up because he works as a tattooist at Champlain Valley Body Art, and employees of tattoo/piercing parlors frequently have lots of tattoos, piercings and other body mods. However, Carter eschews these.

Now that I think about it, Carter values stability, routine and peace. In pursuit of these goals, he strives to be unremarkable. He just wants to be a normal guy with his normal girlfriend. He really wants to marry Novella and have kids and be a normal dad. Normal normal normal, which neither he nor anyone around him really is.

As I mentioned, he has a past of radical activism, which he has set aside. He characterizes his time in college as a "selfish period," during which he was "wrapped up in identity politics." His break from activism coincided with his graduation, move to Vermont, realization that he was trans and anti-trans experience with some former friends, fellow Smith alums, who started crabbing about "butch flight." He no longer wished to be part of an acrimonious community; to him, they seemed jejune and puerile in their attacks, so he removed himself from those particular people, as well as the activism associated with them.

Frankly, he also started caring less about "women power rah rah rah" [his words] when he was trying to figure out how to become the man he had always wanted to be. He thought of his and Isabel’s dad as a model for masculinity, a dude who was a stay-at-home father for the first 7 years’ of the twins’ lives and who always said that the measure of a man was not in his toughness or his strength, but in his respect, loyalty and love to those around him. He wanted to be like his dad, who thought that being a father was his most important job ever. He wanted to settle down with the right woman and have a family, which seemed to him incompatible with "running around and protesting shit all the time" [his words].

Carter’s desire to be a good man is also strongly affected by pop cultural conceptions of masculinity. This mostly manifests in his long-running preoccupation with exactly how to marry Novella. He is currently hung up on what type of engagement ring to get for her and how to propose to her.

Novella and Carter have known each other for about 5 years and been living together for about 3. They have cats together. They co-own their condo and their car. They have joint bank accounts, and they have set up their wills, health care proxies and powers of attorney to default to each other. Everyone who knows them treats them as a pair, and friends and extended family have been bugging them about the possibility of having kids. In other words, they’re pretty damn committed. They also obviously love each other and demonstrate it frequently, so they don’t have the "Does he/she even love me???" question.

The thing is that both Carter and Novella are pretty shy and kinda passive. I mean, they didn’t officially call themselves a couple until after their friends kept assuming that they were one, which led to the following conversation:

"Hey, Carter, are we dating?"

"I dunno."

"Everyone thinks we’re together."

"Well, we DO hang out a lot." [Understatement: At this point, Carter was spending 5 nights a week at Novella’s.]

"And like each other a lot."

"Yeah, and have lots of sex."

"Isn’t that dating?"

"Okay."

"Okay."

This is what happens when you have two socially awkward people who find it difficult to talk about their feelings. :p

Novella currently has the exact same obsession as Carter: how to marry him, starting with what kind of engagement ring to get him and how to propose to him. Carter and Novella do not know that they share preoccupations, but Isabel does, since she is close to both. This secrecy is integral to the subplot, its climax and its fallout.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1509309.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Fox’s new fall show, Sleepy Hollow

Fox’s new fall show, Sleepy Hollow published on No Comments on Fox’s new fall show, Sleepy Hollow

Fox just coughed up an extended trailer for one of its new fall shows, Sleepy Hollow, in which Ichabod Crane is a brooding hunk who sleeps into the present day and teams up with a police detective, who is a Sassy Woman of Color [TM]. Together the two of them track the murderous Headless Horseman, who is one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Wait a minute…they canceled Alcatraz, starring a tough-shit woman and a fat guy of color who kick ass and solve mysteries without having sexual tension, for some genre-confused mess that’s already manifesting racist and sexist stereotypes in its goddamned trailer?

Well, Sleepy Hollow certainly looks stupid. I can’t tell, though, whether it’s in the "so bad it’s bad" or "so bad it’s good" category yet.

P.S. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow actually concerns a slight, silly love triangle story, written by Washington Irving, in which local dipstick Brom freaks out schoolteacher Ichabod so badly that the latter leaves town, removing himself from the competition for the affections of rich Katrina Van Tassel, who naturally has no personality, agency or function besides that of walking plot point.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1508905.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Dollism Plus US 2014 WOOOOOO HOOOOOO!

Dollism Plus US 2014 WOOOOOO HOOOOOO! published on No Comments on Dollism Plus US 2014 WOOOOOO HOOOOOO!

So it looks like Dollism Plus, a gargantuan BJD convention usually held in Hong Kong, will occur in 2014 in the US, specifically Niagara Falls, New York! That’s just a 7-hour drive away! I’ve already buzzed to Janna about this, and we look forward to taking a DOLL ROAD TRIP WOOOOOOO HOOOOOO there and back.

I’m really excited to have a BJD con somewhere close by. In the past, many interesting BJD events have occurred in the South and on the West Coast, but very, very few in the Northeast. While I have been to shows for all types of dolls, as well as large BJD meetups, I’ve never been to a con dedicated to BJDs, so I look forward to meeting people, taking lots of pictures, playing with unfamiliar dolls and buying some stuff. Of course, I have to save up quite a lot of money for travel, lodging and, uh, doll stuff.

I’m already thinking about who to bring. Members of the Me and My Muses or Zombieville universes are not eligible, so that reduces the pool of available attendees to those dolls who pester me in my universe:

  • Araminthe
  • Flower
  • Ginevra
  • Janvier Jett
  • Jareth
  • Jujube
  • Mellifer
  • Sardonix
  • Submit
  • Timonium
  • Yamarrah

Jareth is out because I’ve decided that, while he may go out in public with me, he’s never going to any meets. I’m also leaning toward eliminating people with fragile or fiddly parts, like Flower with his hot-glued ears, Ginevra with her detachable wing and Janvier Jett with her articulated fingers. I won’t bring Jujube either because she is so small, likewise Submit.

That leaves me with Araminthe, Mellifer, Sardonix, Timonium and Yamarrah. [There may be some other options by next September, depending on who I acquire before then!] I’d like to bring a 1:6er, especially if people are selling sets and accessories in that scale; then I will have a basis for comparison. I’d also like to bring a "standard" 1:3 scale BJD because she could serve as a fit model for any clothing I’m interested in. Hmmm…

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1508766.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

The continuing adventures of Flower, Epona and others

The continuing adventures of Flower, Epona and others published on 1 Comment on The continuing adventures of Flower, Epona and others

After experiencing violent allergies, Flower tells Epona why he’s really hanging out in the fake forest. Jareth butts in.

Continue reading The continuing adventures of Flower, Epona and others

Stupid cis people strike again!

Stupid cis people strike again! published on No Comments on Stupid cis people strike again!

Reading a paper on operations that trans persons may choose to undergo as part of their bodily transitions…

Authors go on and on about "sex reassignment surgery." No, dipshits, it’s not "sex reassignment surgery." Frankly, I’m not entirely sure what the most accurate term is at this point, but it’s not that. I think the general term I’ve heard is "gender transition surgery," which encompasses a variety of procedures.

"Transexualism is a gender identification disorder…" A) Authors can’t even spell "transsexualism." B) Cissexism is a disorder in which people think that there are only two categories of people, "men" and "women," and that all people in each group must have bodies that look exactly the same.

Authors are obsessed with penetration, defining a neopenis as one that can successfully achieve penetration and a neovulva as one that can successfully be penetrated. They apparently think that the only type of sexual activity available is penis-into-vulva penetration.

ARRRGH!

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1508236.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Scanner juice

Scanner juice published on No Comments on Scanner juice

Just purchased a secondhand scanner from a person who said she was getting rid of it to "liquefy" unwanted possessions. Is it just me, or can English be an exceptionally confusing language, even for people who speak it as a first language? 

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1508040.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

I hate grain moths.

I hate grain moths. published on No Comments on I hate grain moths.

These little shits have been everywhere in our pantry recently. In our attempt to evict them, we jettisoned 25 lbs. of rice and 10 lbs. of pancake mix. This incredible waste of food seems to have removed their source, though several of them are still flying around, waiting for me to hit them flat with a blank book. We need airtight storage for our cereal-based foods.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1507088.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Dolls I want

Dolls I want published on No Comments on Dolls I want

My previous list of wants included Soom Auber, Soom Cylin and Lumedoll Koit in tan. I have now acquired Soom Auber [= Timonium] and a tan Lumedoll Koit elf head, so there’s two of three old wants satisfied. New list:

  • Soom Faery Legend Cylin. There are still quite a few of her available on the DOA marketplace for reasonable prices.
  • Soom Faery Legend Asis. Skijump nose!!! ^_^
  • Dollmore Kidult Melissa Hon. Been wanting her for years, but have never found her on the secondary market. Wah wah.
  • A mer-BJD. Either one of Asleep Eidolon’s 1:3 scale ones or a custom-made 1:6 scale one with parts from Soom Wave/Soda.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1506991.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Genius discovers basic DSLR functions!

Genius discovers basic DSLR functions! published on No Comments on Genius discovers basic DSLR functions!

No thanks to the Canon EOS 30D Digital Field Guide I bought to supplement my manual, I finally figured out how to adjust my camera’s shutter speed, which should take care of my long-time bane: washed-out photos.

The Digital Field Guide [an independently produced book] went off on a tangent about the philosophy of shutter speed and what every different mode does, until I eventually wanted to yell, "Just tell me which buttons to push dammit!"

Turns out it’s as easy as hitting the DRIVE ISO button, then turning the main dial on the camera to the left to increase or right to decrease the ISO.

With my new knowledge of autofocus points and ISO control, I’ll be unstoppable!

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1506522.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Arachne’s Daughter is finally coming out!

Arachne’s Daughter is finally coming out! published on No Comments on Arachne’s Daughter is finally coming out!

The Monster High character Arachne’s Daughter appeared as an option in a popularity contest during the 2011 San Diego Comic Con. Mattel showed prototypes of several MH dolls and asked voters to choose their favorite, which would then be commercially produced. Sadly, Arachne’s Daughter lost…but Elizabeth Jr. just sent me word that Arachne’s Daughter will be an exclusive at this year’s Comic Con! Nifty! She is the only MH doll I would consider getting, although she would definitely need a repaint…and possibly a rehair.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1505871.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Undersea population of the Tacky Quarter of Atlantis

Undersea population of the Tacky Quarter of Atlantis published on No Comments on Undersea population of the Tacky Quarter of Atlantis

December Diamonds makes painted, glitter-encrusted ornaments of resin, including a wide selection of mermaids and mermen. They would sell extremely well in Provincetown, especially since most of the merdudes look like they’re about to strip. I like how they’re clearly sculpted with a certain level of realism and a sense of humor. There’s a definite queer sensibility at work here. Simply faboo!

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1505656.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

More 1:6 scale mature BJDs, this time from Doll in Mind!

More 1:6 scale mature BJDs, this time from Doll in Mind! published on No Comments on More 1:6 scale mature BJDs, this time from Doll in Mind!

Doll in Mind recently came out with several new BJDs in their DIM Honey line. Adeleine, Alana, Angelica, Flavia, Freda and Ruiru are all female, double-jointed and 30cm.

I like the headsculpts, though they aren’t conventionally pretty. The plush lips and large, slightly droopy eyes cry out for stylized, experimental faceups. Adeleine and Freya, two of my favorites, remind me favorably of Soom Minigem Uyoo — the same big, wide-eyed, open-mouthed features on a small head.

I’m not a fan of the body, though. While I like the sleek and well-engineered shape of the double joints, I think that the abdomen is too narrow. And the feet look ridiculously small. I understand the the proportions represent an attempt to make these dolls fit into existing fashion doll clothing, but I think that the Soom Minigem female body does this much better.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1505373.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Sometimes the ideas come right out of my head…

Sometimes the ideas come right out of my head… published on No Comments on Sometimes the ideas come right out of my head…

…into whatever medium I’m working with. Timonium exemplifies these rare and welcome occurrences.

When I last photoed Timonium, I had glued up his final wig and then enjoyed how much he reminded me of Jareth from Labyrinth.

I’ve been laboring intently over him yesterday and today. I did his ears and his face in a limited palette of Prismacolor watercolor pencils [French grey 20%, French grey 50%, black and white] and some diluted snow white acrylic paint.

Comments:

Watercolor pencils make mouths so much easier, as I can wet my brush and push color into the creases between lips!

I’ve finally figured out my faceup style: sketchy and impressionistic, but also bold and stylized, in narrow palettes. I don’t do subtle!

Now painted, Timonium looks much different. At first, he seemed like a neutral alabaster statue. Originally I thought I would give him a relaxed mouth, but I decided to stick on a smirk, just to see what would happen. Suddenly he came alive with devilish attitude! in contrast to the smirk on my Jareth doll — a playful, devious one — Timonium’s smirk is dangerous and quite possibly malicious. The word that comes to mind when I look at him is chthonic.

Yes, he’s supposed to look like the Goblin King. I was trying to capture that threatening, powerful allure he evinces when he enters Sarah’s room, sneering, smirking and sparkling.

He was originally going to be avian and more grey [and possibly blue], but he obviously wanted to be grey/black/white instead. This starker palette accentuates his pallor, making him look kind of cadaverous.

I put the red choker [a string from Jareth’s shirt] on him because he needed a choker, and I couldn’t find a black one. I like the dark red accent enough that I’m contemplating doing his fairy feets in the same dried-blood color. Maybe splatters, as if he’s been walking through blood. He strikes me as that kind of person. Probably drinks it too.

Anyway, onto the pictures….

Continue reading Sometimes the ideas come right out of my head…

Zombie dolls for dolls

Zombie dolls for dolls published on No Comments on Zombie dolls for dolls

As you may know because I write about it all the time, my next series, Zombieville, is currently developing. Zombieville features people who eat brains and lose body parts, but they are not the mindless, undead creatures of pop culture lore. Rather, they are average, living people with a condition known as spontaneous disintegrative disorder ["spondis"] that causes physical and mental degeneration, which may only be arrested through a diet of at least 50% fresh human brains. Most people with spondis [PWS] see themselves as people with disabilities, while most of the public sees them as pop culture zombies. Conflict ensues.

In one planned episode, Isabel, protagonist and PWS, encounters a vending machine filled with zombie dolls. The manufacturers model the dolls after pop culture zombies [drooling blood, chewing severed limbs]. However, the dolls also have mobility aids that many PWS actually use. Isabel’s response to these toys forms an entire story arc.

The foregoing explains why the creation of these zombie dolls did not just entail slapping red paint on some miniature figures. I wanted to make zombie dolls with electric wheelchairs, walkers and canes of the type that PWS would use.

Continue reading Zombie dolls for dolls

Primary Sidebar