Sdtrk: ‘Capsules’ by Cabaret Voltaire

D’ye hear that? That reverberating grey-black-and-neon-green sound of ‘apocalypse porn’, as the blog American Stranger amusingly has ‘Shouting etc etc’ categorised under? That is the sound of me being back online full-time. Woo! Woo.
The Missus, Tsukihime and I still aren’t entirely settled, and now that, thanks to the combined efforts of Comcast and SafeTinspector, The Series of Tubes is finally attached directly to our computers, we’ll probably get less work done. Heh. Although I have to say, Shi-chan and I are about entering negotiations concerning another television interview, so we’ve got to get to work in tidying up Deafening silence Plus…

Speaking of apocalypse porn, a concerned reader by the name of Rehka writes:

Haha, so I’m living in a dorm right now and through their internet services, I actually can’t access your blog because it has been filed under a sexual category and I go to a baptist university, haaha. How do you feel about that?

Heh, both offended and amused, really. I mean, moreso than usual. Although it’s occurred maybe once or twice, I try not to post any pics of Dolls exposing their rubbery jubbelys, cos I know I have a couple of readers that check my site out from their local public library (zszsz, I’m looking in your direction), but I always make the distinction that there’s a difference between seeing breasts in a pornographic context, and seeing them in a non-pornographic context, just as there’s a difference between nudity (fine art) and bein’ nekkid (pr0n). As you well know, I don’t merely see Dolls as sex toys, and I do realise that there may be some people that are fearful of seeing tits, as they may dredge up the entirely valid fear of death by smothering, but at a facility of higher learning, the staff could stand to be a little less draconian about their website censorship. You’re at a grade school? Sure, block ‘Shouting etc etc’, that’s entirely understandable. But one would hope that a person of college age would be more mature about these things. I mean, despite the fact that they’re in college and all.
Blah blah blah censorship, blah blah blah Doll tits. Where was I going with this? I could wave it off with a typical flippant line, such as Well, if the baptists are censoring me, then I’m clearly doing something right, but attacking the baptists’ withered dogma would be like attacking a withered, err… dog. With a Liston knife. I’m sorry, I’ve no idea where that came from, but it’s really making me giggle.
Sorry, Rekha! Maybe they’ll allow you to subscribe to my RSS feed?* It doesn’t display any pictures, which is of course half the fun, but it’s better than nowt, right?

And damn it all, the esteemed Amber Hawk Swanson and her equally lovely Synthetik bride had invited me to catch a Chicago-area screening of ‘Lars and the Real Girl‘**, but scheduling prevented it. Actually, it’s on a Saturday, but my (distasteful adjective) job requires me to work mornings to afternoons that day. Grr. Now that I’ve moved, I need to really start looking for a job that doesn’t siphon off discrete amounts of my soul every day I’m there… Well, a job that doesn’t siphon off as much of my soul, at any rate.

So there you have it! We now return you to the usual passel of retro architecture, eclectic news items, and more-than-slightly-biased lust for Synthetiks that passes for posts round here. Heigh ho!

*N.B.: please ask a qualified Internet CyberTechnician about RSS and Atom feeds, cos I haven’t a clue as to how that shit works

**In all honesty, she didn’t just invite me; she invited everyone in her mailing list. The sentiment still applies, though

Technorati tags: American Stranger, Amber Hawk Swanson, Lars and the Real Girl, Liston knife

Sdtrk: ‘No more trains’ by Braille

When it comes to Things That Are Most Likely to Prevent Effective Moving, one of the top three things cited will be Getting the Flu. That’s right. For fuck’s sake. As of this writing, though, I’ve had it for three days, and with the help of copious draughts of Alka-seltzer and more sleep than the human body is meant to have in a 12-hour period, I’m fighting this thing. Surely there are better ways to spend one’s time?

A little while back, barstowmama forwarded me the honour of the Blogging Star Award! ‘This is for meritorious work in blogging and telling things as they are. Keep up the good work!’ she says, which leads me to believe that she’s confused ‘Shouting etc etc’ for some other blog entirely. Nevertheless, thanks very much!
So have you seen her YouTube channel yet? You should.

Also, part two of Violet Blue’s article for the SFGate, ‘The Rape of the Real Doll‘ is available for intense perusal. Oddly enough, a lot of the comments on it are blasting her for seemingly copying and pasting sizeable sections from the post I wrote on ‘Lars and the Real Girl‘ a while ago. Wow. Can you say ‘missing the point’? Personally, if I find that someone has said something that I either agree with or wholeheartedly back, I’d rather quote them first, as it just makes more sense to me. Besides, I’m really left with the impression that had she not been writing about RealDolls, people wouldn’t have been so critical. But you know how it is with these things…

Right, I’m going to try to cram more boxes full of books, then I intend on rewarding my good work with starting to watch my burned Cd-ROMs of either Turn A Gundam or Kamen rider 555. But… which one?? zOMG

Technorati tags: Violet Blue, RealDolls, Turn A Gundam, Kamen rider Faiz, flu

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: ‘Sister Ray’ by the Velvet Underground

I’m not entirely sure what to make of this.

Nice boots, missy

Lars and the Real Girl

Written by Six Feet Under scribe Nancy Oliver, Lars and the Real Girl is a heartfelt comedy starring Academy-Award nominated Ryan Gosling as Lars Lindstrom a loveable introvert whose emotional baggage has kept him from fully embracing life. After years of what is almost solitude, he invites Bianca, a friend he met on the internet to visit him. He introduces Bianca to his Brother Gus (Paul Schneider) and his wife Karen (Emily Mortimer) and they are stunned. They don’t know what to say to Lars or Bianca – because she is a life-size doll, not a real person and he is treating her as though she is alive. They consult the family doctor Dagmar (Patricia Clarkson) who explains this is a delusion he’s created – for what reason she doesn’t yet know but they should all go along with it. What follows is an emotional journey for Lars and the people around him.

Hm. Hrrrm. On the surface, it sounds like a cross between French black comedy ‘Monique‘, and Luis García Berlanga’s ‘Tamaño natural‘. Granted, though, there aren’t a lot of Doll-related feature films to really compare it to; ‘Love object’ doesn’t count, as it’s hardly sympathetic towards iDollators.

There are two main problems I might have with this film.
1) As I was lamenting to New Best Blogger Friend barstowmama (she’s linked, y’know), the trend in popular media ‘culture’ is that whenever a person is given a choice between a Synthetik partner and an Organik one, by the end of the film, the script will have him choose the Organik, having completely forsaken the Synthetik that he was completely happy with before (see ‘Cherry 2000‘ for a prime example, or this music video by Lim Jeong Hee). As professional photographer Elena Dorfman once commented, love can take many forms — just because someone’s partner is artificial doesn’t make the partnership less valid, which is what popular culture doesn’t seem to understand.
2) Society has a vibrating neurosis about people being happy introverts. Extroverts seem to believe that the only good experiences are shared amongst the company of others, which is patently false. Granted, it’s obvious that a person can have fun with others, just not all the time. They don’t understand that not everyone is a go-gettin’ Type-A personality — some people happen to like it quiet and calm. Extroverts are particularly nosey, and seem to be almost offended when introverts want to keep to themselves. ‘How can he be happy if he’s inside all the time by himself?’ Sure, there are people who actually want to reach out and just don’t know how to go about it, but there are others who have done that, didn’t particularly like what they saw, and decided to stick with what they know.

This film says to me we are going to drag you kicking and screaming into the outside world, whether you like it or not, cos that’s what we think is what’s best for you, which is reprehensible. Speaking for myself, I enjoy hanging around people I’m friends with, but large groups of people — especially ones I don’t really know — kinda freak me out, mainly cos I don’t know what they’re pondering. It’s not as if I dress, speak or act like the common herd, and in the back of my mind, I’m thinking that most people don’t really like what they see. Trying to ‘fit in’ isn’t an option any more than getting enormous crowds of people to switch over to my way of thinking, so I prefer to keep to myself or amongst those who I’m familiar with.
From the trailer, Lars alternately seems okay with being out and about, or fearful of leaving his house, but that’s like two different types of introverts rolled into one character. Some are shut-ins due to fear, but others simply don’t want to leave the house cos they know they don’t have to deal with people’s rampant shitwickery.

(I owe a debt, as always, to fellow iDollator and hard-working scribe PB Shelley, for recommending Anneli Rufus’ fantastic book, ‘Party of one: the Loner’s Manifesto‘, as reading and re-reading it has gotten me through some difficult periods…)

One thing’s for certain, however — Bianca is definitely a hottie. Anyone wanting to abandon someone like her would have to be delusional.

(insert typical tongue-rolling sound here)

In fact, she looks like she’s a Leah-type RealDoll; at the very least, she definitely has the Face 4, and as short as she looks, she’s probably got the Body 2. Probably tweaked a bit for the film, but I’d recognise that face anywhere, as that’s what Shi-chan is. I’m not normally a betting man, but I think once the film comes out, there’ll be a handful of orders placed with Abyss to make a Doll that ‘looks just like the Doll in “Lars and the Real Girl”‘. And with good reason!
Like I said, I’ll pass proper judgement when I see it, but as it’s a Hollywood production, I’m visualising Bianca getting the shaft in the end. No, not like that — get your minds out of the gutter

Sdtrk: ‘Black ants in sound-dust’ by Stereolab

So it’s recently come to my attention (via an alert reader) that there’s a rare iDollator making a name for herself in the media. Yes, not only is she female — and female Doll owners are as scarce as good Michael Bay films — but her Doll has an extremely distinctive look, as you’ll see below.

left, Amber; right, Amber

The Organik twin’s name is Amber Hawk Swanson, a video and performance artist from Chicago, and her Synthetik twin is named Amber Doll, appropriately enough. Not only did Organik Amber pony up $6000 to have a Hollywood special effects company make a laser-scanned silicone replica of her face for her RealDoll — the date of the scanning process coinciding with her birthdate, making them true twins — but the two of them were married (in matching rented dresses) on 26 January, in a small ceremony in Las Vegas. Apparently they have matching tattoos on their inner wrists as well — Amber Hawk’s reads ‘Bully’, while Amber Doll’s is ‘Prey’.
In their working relationship, Synthetik Amber will be a kind of a stand-in for Organik Amber:

I was looking for a receptacle for the onslaught of attention and negative feedback—a stand-in for myself… it was just the right amount of crazy to order a $12,000 doll.

Sounds like the best kind of crazy, if you ask me!…

Of course, the first thing I thought when I heard of them was hot Synthetik/Organik twin lesbian action. Heh, sorry. So the second thing that came to mind was that the Amber twins remind me of English artist duo Jemima & Dolly Brown, only the Organik Amber seems to be the dominant partner, as opposed to Jemima taking a backseat to Dolly’s ‘personality’ take centre stage. Organik Amber’s compiled a video that details, among other things, Synthetik Amber at Abyss creations and their wedding, called ‘To Have, To Hold, To Violate: The Making of Amber Doll’, which is obviously something that I must see.
It also brings to mind the age-old question, ‘if you have sex with a clone of yourself, is it actually masturbation?’ That’s one for the philosophers…

Alert reader (and relative of Edie Sedgwick) Maisie Sedgwick Deely Emailed me with a link to a story in the New York Times, entitled ‘The Real Transformers‘:

Sociable robots come equipped with the very abilities that humans have evolved to ease our interactions with one another: eye contact, gaze direction, turn-taking, shared attention. They are programmed to learn the way humans learn, by starting with a core of basic drives and abilities and adding to them as their physical and social experiences accrue. People respond to the robots’ social cues almost without thinking, and as a result the robots give the impression of being somehow, improbably, alive.

At the moment, no single robot can do very much. The competencies have been cobbled together: one robot is able to grab a soup can when you tell it to put it on a shelf; another will look you in the eye and make babbling noises in keeping with the inflection of your voice. One robot might be able to learn some new words; another can take the perspective of a human collaborator; still another can recognize itself in a mirror. Taken together, each small accomplishment brings the field closer to a time when a robot with true intelligence — and with perhaps other human qualities, too, like emotions and autonomy — is at least a theoretical possibility. If that possibility comes to pass, what then? Will these new robots be capable of what we recognize as learning? Of what we recognize as consciousness? Will it know that it is a robot and that you are not?
the entire article is here. Since it’s on the money-grubbing New York Times, you’ll have to log in to see the whole thing; in which case, you can either use my login — hope_u_like_it, password 123456 — or get round to bugmenot.com and use another one

Quite an interesting read on the development and ramifications of sociable robots. One of my favourite bits in particular is

[Robot] Kismet’s responses to stimulation were so socially appropriate that some people found themselves thinking that the robot was actually feeling the emotions it was displaying. Breazeal realized how complicated it was to try to figure out what, or even whether, Kismet was feeling. “Robots are not human, but humans aren’t the only things that have emotions,” she said. “The question for robots is not, Will they ever have human emotions? Dogs don’t have human emotions, either, but we all agree they have genuine emotions. The question is, What are the emotions that are genuine for the robot?”

And finally, for those of you who have been wanting to see Nicholas Rucka of Maboroshii Production’s short film ‘RealDoll Doctor’ ever since I mentioned it nigh on two months ago, he says on his blog that it’s apparently been on IFC.com since July. So get round there and see for yourself! It’s definitely worth viewing, so you have no excuse

Technorati tags: Amber Hawk Swanson, Jemima and Dolly Brown, performance art, Abyss creations, RealDoll, sociable robots, documentary

Sdtrk: ‘The headmaster ritual’ by the Smiths

For a while, I thought July was going to be a month without news, but after checking 4woods‘ site, I found I was wrong. Never has being wrong been so encouraging!

Her cheekbones kinda make her resemble one of my old supervisors

Not only did they add a spiffy new look to their site, but they’ve revealed another Synthetik sexpot in the A.I.NEO line, Naomi. And coincidentally enough, they’ve done so on the Missus’ birthday, no less!
Now, if only I could get a Naomi-type as a present — for, ah, Shi-chan, of course… A job well done, 4woods!

Speaking of the Japanese Synthetik companion industry, I just located this story on Reuters.com: Japan’s lonely hearts turn to dolls for sex, company

TOKYO, July 18 (Reuters Life!) – Real love is hard to find for one Japanese man, who has transferred his affection and desires to dozens of plastic sex dolls.

When the 45-year-old, who uses a pseudonym of Ta-Bo, returns home, it’s not a wife or girlfriend who await him, but a row of dolls lined up neatly on his sofa.

Each has a name. Ta-Bo often watches television with his toys before bathing them, powdering them so that their skin feels more human, dressing them in lingerie and then taking them to bed.

“A human girl can cheat on you or betray you sometimes, but these dolls never do those thing. They belong to me 100 percent,” says the engineer who has spent more than 2 million yen ($16,000) over the past decade on the dolls.

“Sometimes it takes too much time before I can have sex with the person I meet. But with these dolls, it’s just a matter of a click of the mouse. With one click, they are delivered to you.”
the rest of the article is here

ta-bo-san’s not a bad bloke, all told; we’ve corresponded a couple of times, and saying he’s a pretty hardcore iDollator is a fair assesment. I don’t know if I’d go to that level of extremity — my goal is perhaps just six to eight Dolls — but you have to admire his bloodymindedness.
Plus, he certainly has a point: despite Radiohead’s obvious sarcasm, meeting people isn’t easy. Or rather, meeting people you actually want to spend your time with isn’t easy. You have to be discriminate when spending time with individuals, cos more often than not, a lot of people take up your time and energy, and don’t give much in return. Unfortunately, if you’re picky about who you hang about with, you’re seen as cold or aloof. The theory that ‘man is a social animal’ doesn’t necessarily apply to everyone — it’s one thing to have mates to hang out with, but some individuals can’t be around people all the time, as it can be such a drain. Dolls, on the other hand, don’t judge, nor do they require constant attention and validation. Plus, with them in one’s life, you can be alone yet never lonely, which is an ideal situation, really

Technorati tags: 4woods, A.I.NEO, iDollator

Sdtrk: ‘Anamorphose’ by Stereolab

I am referring to ‘Shouting etc etc’, you tossers. For some reason, it simply becomes inaccessible at various points of time — not for very long, but long enough. Yeah, cos “Bob” knows there’s just too much loose and unfettered excitement going on here, especially lately, that you absolutely MUST NOT MISS.

Anyway! You lot get a consolation prize pic of the Missus. Sidore-spotters will recognise that as the outfit she wore during our interview segment on Canada’s SexTV, from 2003. Limebarb is the online seamstress who I’d ordered it from, by the way. Quality clothes!

It takes her an hour to buckle those boots — having rubber fingers
helps less than you’d think

More later! Well, soon enough. Besides trying to focus past the pain my recent dentistry has brought me, I’m working on a post or two. I’m sure ‘Shouting etc etc’ will be back to ‘normal’ before the post’s complete, so there ya go