Sdtrk: ‘Cavalcade’ by Extraperlo

This one was nicked from Veach, of s n a p p e r h e a d Estates. It’s interesting, meme research & development, as they have to try to put new (or at least, slightly new) spins on old ideas. I thought the one with the three-word answers was unique/difficult, but after one like this that requires single-word answers, where does one go? Numerical answers? Punctuation? Creative use of negative space?

1. Where is your cell phone?
There

2. Your significant other?
Silicone

3. Your hair?
Dry

4. Your mother?
Improving

5. Your father?
Repetitive

6. Your favorite thing?
Sleep

7. Your dream last night?
Brief!

8. Your favorite drink?
Dr pepper

9. Your dream/goal?
Wealth

10. What Room are you in?
Livingroom

11. Your hobby?
Retro-futurism

12. Your fear?
People?

13. Where do you want to be in 6 years?
Toronto

14. Where were you last night?
Workin’

15. Something you are not?
Prompt

16. Breakfast?
Pizza-based

17. Wish list item?
TARDIS

18. Where you grew up?
Detroit

19. Last thing you ate?
Breakfast

20. What are you wearing?
Jimjams

21. Your TV?
Adequate

22. Your pets?
Nonexistent

23. Friends?
Goofy

24. Your life?
Unfulfilled

25. Your mood?
Placid

26. Missing someone?
Yes

27. Your car?
Toyota

28. Something you’re not wearing?
Hoodie

29. Your favorite store?
Amazon.com

30. Your favorite color?
#333333

31. When is the last time you laughed?
Yesterday

32. Last time you cried?
Semi-recently

33. Who will resend this?
Hrmm…

34. One place that I go to over and over?
Home!

35. One person who emails me regularly:
Regularly?

36. Favorite place to eat:
Billy’s

37. One place I would like to go right now?
Manchester

38. One person I think will respond:
Laura

39. One TV show I watch all the time:
Doctor Who

If anyone wants to be tagged, do leave a comment in the appropriate area! People seem to hate these things, so come get it if you want it…

Sdtrk: ‘Telegram’ by The Brian Jonestown massacre

Upon waking up Wednesday afternoon, imagine my surprise when I received an Email with the Subject line ‘TV SHOW WANTS TO INTERVIEW YOU!’, from a Nicole Bader. Could it be a bold new forward-thinking magazine? Or perhaps some futurist-based television programme? Maybe she’s representing known robotics advocate David Levy? Nah; turns out she’s scouting out potential objects of ridicule for that chat show ringmaster, Maury Povich. Gah.

from: Nicole Bader
to: pulsedemon [at] gmail [dot] com
date: Wed, Feb 18, 2009 at 2:35 PM
subject: TV SHOW WANTS TO INTERVIEW YOU!

Hi Davecat,

My name is Nicole Bader and I work for a nationally syndicated television show in New York.

We are currently doing research for an upcoming program, and wanted to talk to you personally about your relationship with your Real Doll (s).

We simply are trying to gain insight and educate the public on these types of relationships.

Please contact me directly at [phone number] as soon as possible!

I look forward to hearing from you!

Nicole Bader
The Maury Povich Show
15 Penn Plaza, Grand Ballroom
New York, New York 10001

I’d also noticed that she’d sent a message to me via Myspace as well, which seemed a wee bit desperate, as I’m trying to ignore the fact that I have one and am advising all and sundry to do the same, but hey. So before my work shift ended for the day, I fired off a response:

from: Davecat
to: Nicole Bader
date: Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 10:57 PM
subject: Re: TV SHOW WANTS TO INTERVIEW YOU!

Hello Nicole –

Thanks for the offer to be on the Maury Povich show! Sadly though, I’m afraid I must turn it down. There’s a couple of factors that come into play:
+ I’ve no way to get to New York
+ carting Sidore round is more awkward than you’d think
+ some sort of monetary compensation would be needed, such as at least half the cost of a new body for Sidore — eight years is pretty up there in age for a Doll
+ studio audiences tend to put me off, and of course
+ a huge fear of misrepresentation, which is something that any true iDollator would empathise with.

If you’ll note on my blog, which I’m certain you’ve read, you’ll see that I’d turned down Tyra Banks, Geraldo Rivera, Dr Phil, Alan Colmes, and Jerry Springer for essentially the same reasons, so don’t take it personally! Again, thanks for the opportunity, though!

Cheers,
Davecat, with valued assistance from Sidore

Now, the funny (ha ha) thing was that at the same time I got Ms Bader’s request, I’d also received an Email from Meghan Laslocky, author of ‘Real Dolls: Love in the Age of Silicone‘, as we try to keep in touch periodically. She’d mentioned that Nicole had contacted her, asking after contact info from any Doll owners she knew; which, if you think about it, smacks a bit of lazy journalism. Instead of asking someone else, why not get your hands dirty and put out a request yourself? Apparently Nicole eventually did, as fellow Doll husband Mahtek told me that she’d made the same request round at that popular Internet forum that a lot of iDollators converge at, with predictable results (a lot of crossed arms, furrowed brows, and shaking heads).
So the very next day, I got another Email from her (bolding hers):

from: Nicole Bader
to: pulsedemon [at] gmail [dot] com
date: Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 10:06 AM
subject: RE: TV SHOW WANTS TO INTERVIEW YOU!

Hello Davecat!

I understand your concerns. We can provide certain solutions for all of your worries.

First and most importantly, many people I have spoken with have had certain hesitations, mainly because I’m asking for someone to possibly appear on camera to tell their story in front of an audience. As per my producing team, they will be fully respectful and briefed in every way, shape, and form. No guest will ever feel uncomfortable. My job is to ensure that.

Second, I assure you, the show is very well in tune with the needs and requests of ALL of our guests and we trulyare looking out for the best interest of the guest (s), while telling an interesting story and educating the American public so in fact this lifestyle will hopefully eventually be not SO taboo.

In the past, my staff and I have worked with different people in the transgender community, the porn industry, victims of peeping toms, victims of video voyeurism, and the list goes on. We treat each guest with enormous respect to how they want to be portrayed. We don’t talk for them, we let them tell what they want, to ultimately reach the American public to have them better understand their unique situation. To exploit or belittle anyone is not the way we focus our show. We simply provide the opportunity to get the word out on certain things.

In conclusion, if you are thinking about possibly working with us, compensation CAN be provided and travel and accommodations will also be all inclusive, including shipping Sidore, if that is the way you would prefer for her to arrive in New York.

Thank you for taking the time to respond and hopefully this better reaffirms my ultimate goal for this specific show.

The head producer of my team, Holly Mirabella, would very much like to talk to you about the exact details and reaffirm everything that I have gone over.

Please contact me directly at [phone number] to speak with us in detail about compensation, travel, or any other concerns you may have.

Thank you!

Nicole Bader
The Maury Povich Show
15 Penn Plaza, Grand Ballroom
New York, New York 10001

*sigh* As you’ll note, not once did she remark upon the whole ‘half the cost of a new Doll’ quote I’d thrown in there (that’s roughly $3250 USD, if you’re keeping score). With requestees that I’m not entirely keen on, I always make that one of my fulfilments, in order to sort the wheat from the chaff. If a potential interviewer, chat show host, or programme that I’m leery of honestly wants me to participate blindfolded in their Atrocity Exhibition, they’re gonna have to satisfy my demands. All told, an amount such as that would be a drop in the bucket for Murray Povich Industries.
And yes, I’m aware his name’s ‘Maury’, but that’s how Letterman always referred to him whenever he was hitting on Maury’s wife, Connie Chung, which brought me no end of amusement. And with good reason!
Anyway: my subsequent response?

from: Davecat
to: Nicole Bader
date: Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 7:35 PM
subject: Re: TV SHOW WANTS TO INTERVIEW YOU!

Hello Nicole –

If nothing else, you certainly drive a hard bargain! But I fear that I’m still going to have to refuse your offer.

I understand that your stated intent is to expose your show’s audience to the idea the concept of Dolls as companions, and that’s admirable. However, at this stage in the game, really, it’s the iDollator community who have to choose the fields of battle that we fight on whenever possible. Although the success of a film like ‘Lars and the Real Girl’ has opened a lot of people’s minds to the concept, unfortunately the majority of American society still can’t fathom the idea of a Doll being more than ‘just a sex toy’, and unfortunately, the majority of people that think that way are usually found watching afternoon television. Plus, the simple fact that you’d mentioned ‘the transgender community, the porn industry, victims of peeping toms, victims of video voyeurism’, indicates that the overall tone of the programme would undoubtedly be based on a sexual or a prurient slant, which obviously would not be a direction I’d want to be involved with.

So there you go! Once again, thank you for your offer, but I’m afraid that’s my final decision. Take care!

Cheers,
Davecat, with valued assistance from Sidore

he said, dusting off his hands when he was done typing. And egad, was that a huge paragraph, or what? But hopefully my intent should be clear.

Getting back momentarily to the five-page post on that online iDollator community site I’d mentioned, there were one or two people who said they might be interested in appearing on Murray’s programme, as I suppose they believe that there’s no such thing as bad press on American telly. I was reminded of how Laura of ‘If I Was a Rich Girl‘ professed her love for trash tv, particularly Murray, and her post about how he tortured a girl with a long-standing fear of pickles by dragging her to a pickle factory. Bizarre, yes, but it just goes to show you how ‘sensitive’ the show is in handling that which is different or unusual.

Hopefully that’ll be the gamut of tabloid chat shows, and their inappropriate requests! O wait, Oprah’s not put in her bid. *shudders* She could pull one of her wealth-flaunting stunts: ‘Everyone in the audience gets a new Doll!’ Ahh, if only

Sdtrk: ‘Faith (RS home demo)’ by the Cure

Did everyone have an enjoyable Valentine’s day? Well done! As I’m usually out and about on Saturdays, and the Missus and I usually get together ahem on Sundays, we just looked at Saturday and Sunday as Valentine’s day and Valentine’s day (Observed)…
So while she’s momentarily resting up, here’s several exciting Doll news articles of Doll note:

Abyss creations have posted the Winter issue of the Doll Street Journal (it’s in the News section), which details quite a few new intriguing bits and bobs from the company, such as the two new MaleDolls, the still-in-development RealDoll 2, and more. Had I been able to attend the recent Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas, I’d be more privy to secret stuff from all the Doll manufacturers that happened to be there, and therefore, you lot would be more privy to stuff, but alas, no money = no Davecat flying out there. Grrr. But do give the latest DSJ a look-in; if nothing else, it’ll whet your appetite…

Also, 01 March will mark a dark day for those iDollators who prefer Synthetiks with jubbleys that require their own postal codes: Abyss have announced that they’ll no longer be making the Body 9, made initially famous by the Anna Mae-type, after that date. They’ll continue to accept orders up until 28 February, but after that, the Body 9 passes into RealDoll history. Tsk.

So not making the 2009 AVN means I missed quite a bit of unveilings! Yes, I’m still bitter. Abyss were there, obviously; 4woods put in their first appearance there, showing off the Mia- and Kurumi-types that were mentioned in my December article; and KnightHorse displayed their Lovable Dolls in an elaborate booth that resembled a storefront. It’s probably a good thing that I couldn’t make it, all told, as I would’ve been constantly licking the glass.
Matt K. & Bronwen had their first model, Yvette, there, along with the new Body 2 Head 2 type, Monique, and the Pixie-type Fantasy Lover head. As the highly-esteemed (and steamy) photographer Stacy Leigh was in attendance, she managed to get some photos in of the new girls. Yes, I’m still bitter.

Monique believes that walking up the steps takes less time,
but simply isn’t as erotic

‘Welcome to the Renaissance Festival, my good sir! Tra la la la la’

KnightHorse will also be releasing their first male Doll, as well as metal stands for any Doll that has a neck eyebolt, in the next couple of months, so you’d do well to keep an eye on them. But that goes without saying!

Phoenix Studios has just sent Miss Winter, of their Boy Toy Seasons line, out into the world, with photographs also by Stacy Leigh. Yummy results!

The sign says SEXY. I don’t argue with signs, as a rule

Like I’ve said, I think the closer-to-realistic styling of the Seasons series gives them a slighter edge over the standard-issue Boy Toy Dolls, but that’s rather like saying the MINI Cooper S is better than the regular MINI Cooper; it’s simply differing shades of desirability. Summation: it is all good.

Should you happen to be in New Yawk sometime between now and 15 March, you’ll want to stop round the hprgp gallery, as there’s a photo exhibit by Becky Yee entitled ‘More than a Woman‘, that sounds like it’s pretty much exclusively ta-bo-san‘s staggeringly huge Doll collection.

Photographed in a three-bedroom apartment in the outskirts of Tokyo. The single human occupant, a middle-aged computer engineer. He is the self-proclaimed world’s largest collector of “Dutch wives” (“Datchu-waifu”) also called sex dolls or love dolls. […] “More than a Woman” hopes to explore more than the Dutch wives’ obvious function of satisfying sexual and physical needs. Visually discovering the basic cravings for companionship, unconditional love, unwavering loyalty and the importance of trust, acceptance and intimacy. All of which he is unable to find in a human relationship, but is somehow satiated with his cast of Dutch wives.

The multitude of Dutch wives create his perfect world of women.

If anyone gets a chance to see it, let me know how it is. And let me know if there are programmes for sale! And send me one!

A new Doll maker from the US is making their way up the ranks: Private Island Toys. As the name implies, they specialise in erotic toys, but recently, they’ve branched out into the field of full-bodied Dolls, with their new Private Island Beauties line. O my goodness.

Does mademoiselle require another Zima?

Their lass is 80 lbs, 5’7″, with measurements of 33.21.36, and a size 5 shoe. She also features a ‘relaxed’ skeletal system, as well as the ability to swap with a number of other heads that the manufacturer offers. Currently, they’re now taking orders, and they offer a variety of customisation options, as it’s all about the detailing. Speaking of detailing, from the pics alone, their sculpting is Magically Delicious; the pic above hardly does her justice, but it was the only work-safe one I could use… Check out their site!

And finally, we have an amusing distraction: the quiz Pussycat or Real Doll? Amazingly enough, I got 100% correct. I know, I’m as surprised as you are!

So there you have it! With all these options to choose from, you might well have a gorgeous Synthetik companion of your own to spend the next Valentine’s day with! Just… don’t give her any chocolates, it’ll go straight to her hips

Sdtrk: ‘Unfavorable meanings’ by Teenage Panzerkorps

This Tuesday past was an interesting day at work: in SE Michigan, we were experiencing a sneak preview of Spring, as temperatures reached a high in the mid-fifties. The contrast between the mild climate and the piles of filthy snow everywhere was producing a huge amount of gorgeously thick fog. During my day shift, where I was going back and forth between being either sleepy or angry, my supervisor excitedly stopped by my cubicle, gesturing at the open windows in front of where I sat. As I was not only ‘listening’ to a client on the phone at the time, being in Drowsy mode, I couldn’t really make out what he was saying, but when I finally managed to get off the phone, I noticed that the sky had a polar cast of brightness through the fog. ‘You can actually look at the sun,’ my supervisor mentioned. ‘Check it out — it looks like the moon.’ I have to admit, it did look pretty ace.

This was round 10.15am EST, by the way

People in adjacent cubicles of course wanted to know what was going on, and a few took pics with their cameraphones as well. Apparently the volume of fog was so… voluminous… that it obscured the sun to the point that we could view it without microwaving our retinas, which is always a plus. Did anyone else manage to witness this?

In retrospect, one thing did cross my mind as a passel of us were looking indirectly-yet-directly at the sun — wasn’t this how The Day of the Triffids started out?

Sdtrk: ‘monk chant (live)’ by the monks

Saturday, as previously mentioned, found me in the company of A.Vial and S.Gladieu, round at Mahtek’s place. By the time I appeared over there, which was shortly before 3pm, Stephan was already getting photos in of him with the main love of his life, Phoebe. Everyone else had already been there for a bit — namely CJD, his wife, and Euchre — and I had showed up at pretty much the tail end of Stephan’s shoot with Mahtek. We still got a bit done, however! Post-shoot, we spent a number of hours discussing all things Doll, interspersed with Anne getting impromptu interviews with Euchre and CJD individually, as well as in a kind of a round-table context. Upon reflection, I really should’ve brought Clicky Mk III, but alas…

Classy Bethany, distracted Phoebe

Anne & Stephan had asked Euchre if they could get round to his, to photograph him with his lass Samantha. As none of us had really eaten anything of substance, someone suggested that we make a wagon trail over to Euchre’s, after which we’d get dinner at a nearby restaurant called Sila’s. Problem solved!

As Stephan, Euchre and Sam were prepping the livingroom for the shoot, Mahtek had made a call on his cellphone and handed it to me, saying it was Midiman, an iDollator putting together a documentary of his own. Shi-chan and I had actually missed the opportunity last year to be in his documentary, as the scheduling window was extremely last-minute, but we chatted for a good five minutes and exchanged contact information, so that was fab. For the remainder of the eve, the rest of us milled round in the kitchen, whilst Stephan did his thing.

Samantha, looking coy

It came to pass that round 6pm or so, Anne & Stephan had to get back to their hotel, as they’d be boarding a flight the next day and heading to Abyss creations, so after a warm exchange of handshakes and hugs (and Mahtek, Euchre and I utterly confusing them with directions), they made their leave.
What they’ll be doing is they’ll be shooting various pics of iDollators and luminaries in the Doll community over the course of a year; the photos are for Getty Images, and the interviews will be for whatever magazine that purchases the story. They said they’ll be sending us our pictures in a month’s time, so you might well see a couple pop up on ‘Shouting etc etc’, naturally. Once everything’s closer to finalisation, you’ll hear all about it. But that goes without saying!

Following that, CJD, Mrs CJD, Euchre, Mahtek and I got round to Sila for a well-deserved dinner. The parking lot was almost entirely filled, but we managed to find spaces, thankfully. And it was a good dinner! Great food (A+++ WOULD EAT AGAIN), great conversation with great people, and bizarrely enough, I learned that not only did Euchre and I attend the same highschool, but he graduated only a year before I did. That’s some serious out-of-left-field shit right there, right? iDollators: WE’RE EVERYWHERE.
Round 9pm, our wee gathering broke up, as Sila was closing for the eve, and Mr & Mrs CJD had a three-hour drive back to London, ON ahead of them. Handshakes, hugs, etc, and we’d made plans for the next meeting to be a Doll Parliament at CJD’s again in Spring. Looking forward to that! Maybe I should go ahead and apply for my passport now, and get that ball of paperwork rolling…

Aaand rounding out the evening, I spent an engaging three hours speaking with Midiman over Skype, discussing… well Doll-related topics, obviously. Gotta love that Skype: a three-hour call from the Bay of Fundy to near-Detroit, all for zero dollars and zero zero cents (plus anti-tax)!

All in all, a productive eve, I’d say! It’s all well and good to speak with colleagues over teh Internuts, but meeting face-to-face is always a pleasure. Now if only there were more iDollators within driving distance!

Sdtrk: ‘What did he say’ by Nite jewel

On my way to work today, I made my usual stops to grab the week’s issues of MetroTimes and Real Detroit, as well as Michigan CareerBuilder if their boxes aren’t completely emptied of their contents. As I was returning to my car with my reading material, I’d noticed a woman walking toward me, and this exchange took place:

MS MYOPIC (gesturing to the building behind me): ‘Ma’am, is this building the Post Office?’
ME (admittedly more rudely than I’d have liked): ‘What??’
MS MYOPIC: ‘Oh, excuse me, sir, is that the post office?’
ME: ‘Yeah.’
MS MYOPIC: ‘Sorry sir! Thank you and god bless.’

Now back in the day, I used to wear eyeliner and black nailvarnish on a habitual basis, but thanks to work and rampant chalazions, I can’t anymore. Man, I miss those days… But on a couple of occasions back then, I was mistaken for a lass, much to my mild amusement. Today, however, I was out in my Winter gear, which consists of exactly what you saw me in when I met Bibendum, only with shades on. Have you never seen a bloke with a ponytail before, madame?? Cos let’s face it, I would make the worst-looking lass in the history of humanity. Fact.

Also, while stopped at a red light, I spotted three robins hopping round! In 13°F weather, mind. Poor optimistic bastards.

Actual content is forthcoming! I’ve been lazy, as the weather’s gone back to being unspeakably cold. There’s an inverse proportion between the general temperature and my willingness to stay in bed where the majority of the heat is, but to fully explain it, there’d be charts and graphs involved, and I’m sure that’s not why you stop round ‘Shouting etc etc’. Or is it??