Sdtrk: ‘Long as the sun’ by Medicine

Ladies and gelatin, it has been a heady couple of weeks. Let me get you lot up to speed with things:

In the process of lifting my lazy affictitious Russian one Saturday evening in late September, I did something unpleasant to my back, to the point where I was in excruciating pain for about a week and a half. This is the thing that kills me: I’ve lifted Sidore (just under 100 lbs from 2000 to 2010, now down to 78 lbs) thousands of times over the course of 13+ years, with no ill effects, but the one time I have a go at lifting Elena (57 lbs), something goes wrong. Really, what are the odds?

Due to my injury, I took the week off work. I saw my GP… well actually, I had to see the other GP who shares the clinic with my GP, and after determining that I had a herniated disk, she gave me some cyclobenzaprine, which is a muscle relaxant, and some prescription-level ibuprofen, both of which did the business. When I went back to work after my week of cursing this ineffective meat body, my job laid me off on the 30th. It wasn’t to do with my injury, but work had been extraordinarily slow for a couple of months prior to me fucking up my back; when I returned, one of my coworkers was doing my job, but saying there was nothing for him to do. However, at the very least, I was laid off, not fired; my boss told me with his own mouth that as soon as things picked back up, he’d give me a call. So there’s that. Thankfully, I’m collecting unemployment, though…

You’d think it’d be nice to take advantage and get caught up on things in the absence of a day-to-day job, right? Get some reading in, start and finish building any model kits that need to be assembled, that sort of thing? Well, yes and no. Fellow iDollator Everhard summed it up pretty well in a recent Email to me:

Being unemployed really is a full time job that leaves no energy for the creative things. I have plenty of experience with that. You need proper freedom of time and effort to achieve worthwhile things. Even when you attain that state, or something approximating it, it seems to take a while to get acclimatised to it. Old habits die hard.

Instead of digitising all those pieces that I’d recorded as Wreath.VCA onto cassette tape years ago, or scanning all those print photographs I’d taken over the years, I’m spending my time seeking work online, or sleeping, or catching up on telly shows that I’ve been wanting to see for a while — the first two eps of The Owl Service are good, then it kinda gets bogged down in a Young Adult Fiction vibe, but the last episode is basically The Exorcist, and Children of the Stones is like The Prisoner crossed with ‘The Wicker Man’, and its last episode wouldn’t be out of place during Pertwee’s run on Doctor Who — or compulsively checking my websites. A large part of it, I think, is if I weren’t so concerned about trying to find ‘gainful’ employment, I could relax a lot more…

Apart from the idle distractions I’ve been engaged in, I’ve also been busy either accepting or deflecting loads of media appearances, brought on by Julie Beck’s article about me in the Atlantic! A few days after my back felt well enough for me to not spend 23 1/2 hours in bed per day, I’d received enquiries from two separate radio chat shows — one in Vancouver, the other in Australia, as well as some bloke working for Barcroft Media who mentioned eventually selling my segment to Dr Phil, and a writer who wanted to publish her article in Cosmopolitan, but had ties to the iDollator-hating feminazi site Jezebel. Obviously I’d said No to all of those, as if they didn’t look insubstantial or derisive, they seemed like too much of a risk.
What I’d said Yes to, though, was a fun and in-depth two-hour interview via Skype on 16th October with Maya Docha, a freelance reporter/writer, and a five and a half hour interview by Roc Morin, who entered Deafening silence Plus of his own free will on the 28th of this month. Maya struck me as funny and insightful, and the fact that she’d spoken with the Kinsey Institute means she was looking to do more than a puff piece, and when Roc and I weren’t discussing Dolls, Gynoids, and the past and future of artificial companions, he was telling me hilarious/unsettling anecdotes about his trip to North Korea a few years ago. Neither one of their pieces are published yet, so hold your horses; you’ll know when I know.
And to top it off, on the 26th and 27th of October, Shi-chan, Lenka, and I were filmed by a telly crew working for RTL Germany! We’re due to appear in a segment of a programme called Explosiv, which looks like… a show on telly. Most pop culture news shows look alike to me. It was an experience involving a bit of a drive out and about, digging for soundbites, and last-minute planning. Loads of last-minute planning. Every single one of us will have the final product to look forward to in the next couple of weeks, so hold your horses; you’ll know when I know.

Lenka, still unsure about the whole ‘being on telly’ thing; Shi-chan, showing off a prezzie from Mr Morin purchased in Pyongyang, North Korea

At the very least, our appearance on Explosiv will have a number of firsts: it’ll be the first time an Anatomical Doll has been on non-Russian television, as it’ll also be Elena’s first foray into being on telly, and the segment will possibly show her first trip with me out of doors! We went to a cemetery, which should surprise absolutely no-one. Lenka found the cemetery thing to be wonderful — any time you can be outside without being harassed by people is always fantastic — but she’s still shy when it comes to being displayed on other peoples’ telly screens. ‘It’s not all that bad,’ Shi-chan had reassured her. Onwards and outwards!

A number of weeks ago, one of the Missus’ tumblr friends left this in her Ask box:

Sidore agreed that, were it not for the fact that I’m currently on the dole, it’d be a hell of an idea. Maybe since we can’t actually dress the part for this year’s Hallowe’en, perhaps some keen and generous artist could draw us as the aforementioned Blade runner characters, hint hint?
Just so you know, I nearly typed ‘Blade rubber’ there. Really, what are the odds?

Sdtrk: ‘Prototype pop’ by Severed heads

As we can all agree, seeing numerous photographs of Dolls is all well and good, but it’s better to see video footage of them doing all manner of things as well. That’s beginning to change! New York music artist Hot Sugar teamed up with famed Doll photographer Stacy Leigh, and she directed a video for his song Erica. Observe:

Apart from the fact that it features several alluring RealDolls, I was really impressed with the concept; the ‘Video Intimates’ DVD idea is way too clever. Well done to all involved!

Before we move on to the other video, I’ll take this opportunity to mention that Phoenix studios have just released yet another make of Boy Toy. This series is called ‘Celestial Bodies’, the first lass in the stable would be named Star, and this is what she looks like:

Finally! A 100% artificial version of Pamela Anderson! Well, one you can take home

She’s 4’10” (I once knew a lass who was that height), weighs less than 60lbs, has measurements of B:32 / W:22 / H:32, and wears a sz 5 shoe. According to Phoenix studios, she currently has a full head design with a deep mouth insert, although they’re working on a version that’ll sport closing eyelids as well. Also she features a new design for her pelvic insert. I’m sorry, I have to side with the Japanese Doll makers on this: they refer to a pelvic insert as a ‘marriage hole’. There is no way that term isn’t amazing.
Check out the rest of Star’s photos here, and see what you think…

There’s a cluster of new photosets posted on Sinthetics as well; now available are new shoots detailing an Alicia head on a Body 1B, and two shoots of an Eliza head on a Body 1B, one of which has her getting to know a Gabriel-type. Well well. *raises eyebrow*

Of course it’s drafty, Eliza; you’ve just taken off your blouse

The good folk at Sinthetics are due to release another male manikin named William, so some of you have that to look out for…

Now the other video we’ve got coming up… good lord, for a moment there, I felt like a VJ. So! The other video we’ve got would be by DCUP (I rather like their name) featuring Mereki on vocals, and starring model Kozue Akimoto hanging out with her Gabriel-type lover by Sinthetics. Let’s take a look:

I’d have to say that video’s pretty adorable, too. And did you notice the part where they went to Shinjuku’s famous Robot Restaurant? Society needs more iDollator couples! But you’d expect me to say that.

Last but not least, Danielle of Womanicpation Proclamation has released the second part of her interview with me on her blog just recently. Like me, she got sidetracked by things, and like my review of DolLApalooza 2013, she thought it would only span two parts, but there’ll be a third. I forewarn every potential interviewer that I tend to ramble concerning my favourite subjects. I’m a rambler! A Nash Rambler, to be specific. I was produced briefly by the Nash division of the Nash-Kelvinator Company and was a forerunner to the American Motors Corporation’s entry-level cars. Produced between 1950 and 1957, I was North America’s first compact car *continues with this folly for an additional forty-nine minutes*