Sdtrk: ‘Einstein-Rosen bridge’ by Venetian snares

It has to be said: Megan Fox has never done anything for me. I’m not altogether keen on her generic looks, as she looks like she tumbled out of the pages of Maxim / FHM / Stuff magazine. She’s not repellent — apart from that clubbed thumb of hers — but her style just doesn’t stand out enough for me. I’m led to believe other people like the way she looks, but she elicits a resounding shrug whenever I see her. That is, until now.

Left, Megan Fox; right, Megan Fox

Apparently the June issue of Interview magazine (it saddens me that you can’t really refer to it by its original title of ‘Andy Warhol’s Interview’ anymore) had featured a one-on-one with Ms Fox, and the accompanying pictorial where she poses with a mannequin Doppelgänger of herself stopped me in my tracks, for obvious reasons. If she were to rock that Louise Brooks-esque style all the time, she’d really stand out in a crowd! Unless she were to go back to the 1930s; in which case, she’d blend into the crowd.

Elsewhere — China, to be specific — a photographer and Photoshopper team have transformed a lass into a Gynoid, in a shoot entitled ‘Robot in Disguise’. No points for the title, but still.

Don’t those parts look like they belong in like a car or something?

I’ve no idea what the model’s name is, as it’s in Chinese, which might as well be Linear A as far as I’m concerned. But why trifle with unimportant details like that, when you can check out the entire pictorial right here?

And for those of you who prefer your Gynoids more steampunk in appearance, you might find designer Dave Lowe‘s ‘Spooky Robot Lady’ to be more your cup of tea. Your steampunk tea, it should go without saying, in an appropriately steampunk cup.

I hear the patinaed look is in this year

One October, years ago, my own cheap version of “False Maria” (the classic robot in [‘Metropolis’]) was made. My niece Devin calls her “spooky robot lady”…the name’s stuck. It’s one of the oldest customized Halloween props I still use. She’s displayed on the dining table every season as the guardian of the party food. She was once a used and broken mannequin. Her creation became a team effort.
the rest of the article is here

Very nice! Kinda makes me wish Mario’s Mannequins were still around, so I could have a go at making one of my own! Also, kinda makes me wish I knew how to effectively create and modify stuff like that, so she wouldn’t end up looking like total cack.

More news of a media nature coming soon! I’m still writing the bastard. You’re familiar with how that goes round here by now, I’m sure

ta very much to fellow iDollator Euchre, for the ‘Spooky Robot Lady’ link

Technorati tags: Android, Gynoid, robot, Megan Fox, Interview Magazine, Louise Brooks, Photoshop, Linear A, Dave Lowe, steampunk, Metropolis, Mario’s Mannequins

Sdtrk: ‘Holiday’ by the Bee Gees

Well, no. Well, yes? Not so much, but I’m merely bringing your attention to a few things:

+ That nutty cyber porn goddess person Violet Blue has an interesting two-part article on SFGate.com, entitled ‘The Rape of the RealDoll‘, which touches upon performance art duo Amber Hawk Swanson and Amber Doll, the upcoming Hollywood film ‘Lars and the Real Girl’, and looks at some of the sociopolitics behind the existence of everyone’s favourite artificial women.

+ Also, on her site tiny nibbles, she mentions a new photo series orchestrated by Low Tek Photography: much like the projects by Juergen Specht and Mario A., Organik photo models are made to look like Synthetiks.

The Doll series

Lovely to look at, no question…

+ And heh, ManneCamp.

The ManneCamp is the home of the free-range Mannequin, a place where they get introduced into a more natural habitat.
We adopt discarded or mistreated Mannequins and help them find a new life.
Every new arrival has plenty of time to decompress and to get used to their new feedom. They are given a complete physical exam and receive any medical treatment as well as plastic surgery they need and request. [..]
The ManneCamp Habitat covers an area of almost 5 acres and contains open fields, wooded areas and wetlands. Several buildings and improvements offer shelter and entertainment. A swiming pool and a tennis court are available for use during the warmer months of the year.

Their site has live video feeds as well. Man. *snickers* That pun was unintentional, by the way.
A question that springs to mind, though — as large as that refuge is, surely there’s enough room to build a skateboard park or two?

Sorry for the bare-bones quality of this post, but it’s like two hours past my bedtime, and as we all know, the news waits for no man

Technorati tags: Violet Blue, tiny nibbles, RealDoll, Amber Hawk Swanson, Lars and the Real Girl, Low Tek Photography, Juergen Specht, Mario A., Mannequins

Sdtrk: ‘Kenickie folks’ by Hideki Kaji

Right right; now I see why there’s been a metric ton of people over the course of the past few days, hitting ‘Shouting etc etc’ by looking for Ronald A. Dotson. I’m peering at my stats, going ‘WTF??’ Not ‘what the fuck??’, mind you, but making a perplexed sound that resembles ‘wittif’.

Mannequin fetishist could get life
Associated Press | Mon Jan 1, 5:33 PM ET

FERNDALE, Mich. – A man who has a history of smashing windows to indulge his fetish for female mannequins could draw a long prison term for his latest arrest. Ronald A. Dotson, 39, of Detroit faces up to life in prison if convicted of a charge of attempted breaking and entering at a cleaning-supply company in the Detroit suburb of Ferndale.

The potential life sentence is because prosecutors charged him as a habitual offender. Authorities say he has at least six convictions for breaking and entering and a stint in state prison over the last 13 years.

Ferndale District Judge Joseph Longo ordered Dotson to stand trial following a preliminary examination on Thursday, The Daily Tribune of Royal Oak reported. The judge ordered him jailed unless he posts a $15,000 bond.

Dotson was arrested Oct. 9 after police say he smashed a window at a cleaning-supply company to get at a female mannequin dressed in a black and white French maid’s uniform. He had been out of prison for less than a week.

Dotson was arrested in Ferndale in July 2000 and later convicted for breaking and entering at a women’s clothing shop to get at a mannequin in a pink dress with bobbed hair.

Ferndale police also arrested Dotson in 1993 after finding him in an alley behind a woman’s store with three lingerie-clad mannequins. He also has similar convictions in Detroit and suburban Oak Park.
___

Information from: The Daily Tribune, http://www.dailytribune.com

Oddly enough, the Trib doesn’t actually have this story on its website. What does that say about the Tribune? *coughfishwrapcough*

Now, I know exactly where that shop that he broke into is — I pass by it at least once a week when I’m Out and About — and I’ve seen that Mannequin. She’s cute, but definitely not worth risking a prison sentence.
And I have to go even further by saying that yes, our Ronald certainly isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but I think a long-term conviction is quite literally a waste of taxpayer’s money. Don’t you think it’d just be cheaper to get that tosser a couple of Mannequins, and let him go crazy? Honestly, they’re not that expensive, especially if you buy used. Now if his problem isn’t based on wanting to have it off with a Mannequin, but is actually centred on simply breaking and entering/theft, then by all means, get him some psychiatric treatment. But throwing that silly tosser in prison simply cos he doesn’t have access to Mannequins is, well, silly. Sure, it’s not as if he couldn’t buy one, but it’s been proven that he’s just not that clever. He’s an idiot, but ultimately, he’s a harmless idiot — it’s not as if he’s knifing people in the streets or whatever. There are worse individuals out there that deserve harsher punishment.

You gotta love ‘Shouting to hear the echoes’. The execution of Saddam Hussein? Not a jot, not a single syllable. Some story about some local loony who attempted to make sexy time love explosion with a Mannequin? Well, he gets not one, but two posts written about him! Our priorities are different here

Sdtrk: ‘el graphic’ by Death by chocolate

Hells yeah! Err, I mean, Why yes, of course!
It seems that 4woods has gone crazy with the sculpting and releasing of not one, but five new models! Well, two of them aren’t really new, they’re resculpts of previous models, but their Sexiness Quotient has increased about 300%. Three hundred per cent! That’s three one hundred per cents!

First off, there’s the new lass, Natsuki, of the A.I.NEO series.

She seems… distracted

Personally, Natsuki is my new favourite. She just has a certain something that I can’t explain, but she’s my tip for the top these days. Not to say that Kunika, Yu-ki et al are no longer comely, but Natsuki is just seven shades of gorgeous. Maybe it’s because she looks a wee bit like my Sidore-chan? Who can say?
Then there’s Kunika Reloaded, a new twist on an old favourite:

‘Eyes up here, matey’

The most alluring features I’d have to say about Natsuki and Kunika Reloaded are their mouths — their lips have that slightly-parted quality to them which is very enticing. And evidently, they brush and floss often!
Then there’s Haruhi, the debut lass of 4woods’ new NEO-J line.

Barbarella! Good to see you could make it

Seems like the NEO-J (or NEO-Junior) is not as small-framed as the A.I.Sister line, but not as big as the A.I.Doll line, or as well-endowed as the A.I.NEO line. In fact, it also seems that the company is moving on from their A.I.Doll and A.I.Sister body types, and concentrating more on A.I.NEO and NEO-J. Good, cos all of this is confusing the living hell out of me.
Next up is the new version of Yurio. ‘Hello! I’m Yurio,’ she says on the site, ‘I changed my makeup because my body also got a littele bit of evolutions.’ I completely agree. (??)

Did no-one pay attention to my warning about Doppelgängers??

As you can see from the photo above, they’re also available in ‘Nature colour’ (the pale version) and ‘Asian colour’, which is more of the tanned mocha variation, and any of their Dolls can be poured in either skintone.
And finally we have Neu, their ’20th special’. She’s not their 20th Doll, nor have they been round for 20 years, but from what I can glean from the machine translations is that, basically, everytime 4woods makes Dolls available for purchase, they do it in batches, and Neu commemorates their 20th order batch. Okay, now that makes sense. So does this mean every time 4woods hits a certain batch order number, they’ll make a new special edition Doll? Sounds like a plan!


It could’ve been worse — she could’ve been named Amon Düül

Neu is obviously going to cater to certain, more otaku customers by and large, but it’s neat that they offer her in the first place. Also, if you were to fit her with a sky-blue wig, she could convincingly cosplay as a member of the Abh race from ‘Crest of the Stars‘…
From what the site says, you can order her with regular ears, alternatively, or as they say, ‘a big ear and a usual ear.’ Huh! The better to hear you with, one would assume. Plus, more ear means more piercings, as far as I’m concerned. 🙂

Also, atsushi-san, MaRi-chan‘s boyfriend, mentioned recently in his blog that there’s a new issue of i-doloid Petie Maniax due out soon, that looks to have an article dealing with 4woods new lasses. Any way you slice it — delicious.

And to round off this particular entry, I’m sure everyone’s seen the ‘Skatebording girls‘ video. Why is it so funny? Because it contains Unrefined Humour Molecules, I’m guessing. I could watch it all day! Just… don’t tell Ronald Dotson about it; he might freak out and start crying

arigatou to Wolfgang for the ‘Skatebording girls’ link

Sdtrk: ‘Bob e Helen’ by Piero Umiliani

Back during the Nineties, I used to pay bi-monthly visits to a place in downtown Detroit called Mario’s Mannequins, which was a seller/refurbisher that had been around since the Twenties. I’d walk through the retail area on the ground floor, and take the lift to the third floor where the showroom was, and spend a couple of hours taking photos with my film camera, soaking up the peaceful ambience of being alone in a room filled with beautiful Mannequins. I did that for a couple of years, until Mario closed his shop shortly before the Nineties ended. Despite the ever-present smell of paint, it was a fine place.

For the record, although I’m less than two miles away from Ferndale, this bloke isn’t actually me, as I’m so over Mannequins now. Well, in my own fashion.

Man With Mannequin Fetish Arrested Again

FERNDALE, Mich. (AP) — A Detroit man with a history of smashing store windows to grab female mannequins has been accused of indulging his fetish again. Ronald A. Dotson, 39, was arrested and jailed Oct. 9 after breaking a window at a cleaning-supply company to get at a mannequin in a black and white French maid’s uniform, police said.

A judge Thursday ordered him to undergo a psychiatric examination to determine whether he is competent to stand trial on charges of attempted breaking and entering.

“Mr. Dotson went to prison and they haven’t helped him,” said his lawyer, Edward Cohn. “He got out of prison and he was right back out there. It’s pretty bizarre.”

Dotson had been out of prison for less than a week when he was caught. His erotic pursuit of mannequins over the past 13 years has led to at least six convictions for breaking and entering and a stint in prison, police said.

“He told his parole officer he was going to buy a mannequin so he didn’t have to do these break-ins anymore,” said Detective Brendan Moore said. “Apparently that didn’t work out.”

Arrested a second time, sir? Did it never occur to you to check eBay, sir? *shaking head*
Christ, what a knob end

Sdtrk: ‘Il doit faire beau La-bas’ by Noëlle Cordier

Wasting time, err, I mean, doing research on the InfoBahn yet again, I revisited the site for maniacs for the first time in quite a while. No no, it’s not an admission of my insanity — heh — maniacs is a Japanese model-making company whose biggest claim to fame is the ‘Fever Doll’ series of Mannequins. I’d had it bookmarked for a while, then deleted it cos I’m not as passionate about Mannequins as I used to be. But noting the maniacs site again recently, I see that they have a new limited edition item that’s relevant to my interests: Eternal Angel. A Doll masquerading as a Gynoid? How is that even possible??

She has a rather ‘centrefold from OMNI’ look about her

She doesn’t appear to be poseable at all, but no doubt she’d be one hell of a conversation piece. Plus, dig that transparent PVC wrap round her — it took me a couple of minutes to realise that’s a dress! Very nice..
One would suppose she’s the upgraded sister of Android Angel, also made by maniacs *snicker*, which made her debut in back in 2004. Whereas Android Angel is a heart-stopping ¥1,200,000 ($10,136 USD), the site doesn’t even list a price for Eternal Angel. And you know what they say about prices — if you have to ask, you’d best get a firm grip on something sturdy, and be prepared to bend over.

Both lasses remind me of P.A.S.S.-chan, from the never-seen-Stateside XBOX game, ‘N.U.D.E@‘, what with all the transparent bits and the blue highlights and etc. Although I’m sure the maniacs sculptors didn’t have her in mind in the slightest. They’re completely different, you see! Good Job maniacs, and Well Done

Sdtrk: ‘At amber’ by Morrissey

Mannequins? Wearing vintage air stewardess uniforms??

Left, Delta Air Lines, 1958; right, Allegheny Airlines Winter uniform 1969 – 1971

Not surprisingly, I’m all over it