Sdtrk: ‘The sound of music’ by Joy division

Finally, some topics worth writing about! Last month’s drought was pretty discouraging, wouldn’t you agree? Unless, of course, you had genuine concerns about custard.

+ REALDOLL2, ELECTRIC BOOGALOO: Abyss creations has very quietly announced that the models for the brand-new RealDoll2 line — both male and female — are now available for sale. What makes them different, apart from the number 2 after the brand name, you axe? Well, according to the site:

RD2 features advanced weight reduction without sacrificing the feel of the doll, a magnet-based face X (removable faces) with a 7″ deep mouth cavity, optional removable inserts for ease of hygiene and maintenance, and a new line of faces and bodies to be added to the RD2 collection throughout the coming years. Coupled with some engineering improvements in our skeleton system, including stainless steel parts and tooled aluminum fingertip guards, these new dolls are sure to develop a great reputation and set new standards in the doll industry.

Huh! They’re starting out with five models total — Michelle, Aimee, Michael, Nick, and Nate — but to date, they’ve only posted pictures for Michelle, Michael, and Nick. The female Body A stands 5’3″, is between 65-70 lbs, and has measurements of 33.24.35, and the male Body A is about 85-90 lbs and the Body B male is 75-80 lbs, and both are 5’9″. Wow, I weigh more than they do, and I’m a skinny bastard.
Needless to say, I approve! Apparently, not only are they going to be made with the new platinum silicone that seems to be the industry standard for all the major Doll manufacturers, but you’ll be able to switch and swap pre-existing RealDoll (or, as they say, ‘classic’) faces and bodies with the RealDoll2 ones. And that Michelle looks cute as a blonde, but I’m fairly certain she’ll be even tastier as a brunette! But I would say that.

If it’s warm in there, her thighs are gonna stick to that loveseat

+ AIR DOLL, NOT AIR JORDAN: In one of the entries for May in the Diary section of ‘Ta-bo’s Kisekae dataroom’, he’d mentioned a film was due out in Japan called ‘Kuuki Ningyo‘, or ‘Air Doll’. Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, it’s adapted from a twenty-page manga created by Yoshiie Gouda back in 2000. It was screened, to a reasonable amount of success, at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, and will be hitting Japanese cinemas this Autumn.

Heh, did you notice the seams on her neck and arm? Cute!

Hideo, who lives alone, owns a life-size “air doll”, which suddenly finds herself with a heart. Everything is new to her in the world outside Hideo’s house. She meets all kinds of people. The world is filled with so many beautiful things, but everyone seems to have some kind of hollowness, just as she has. In the morning, she pumps herself up, and takes a walk.

One afternoon, she meets Junichi who works at a rental video store, and instantly falls in love with him. A first date. New words she learns from him. She starts working with him at the store, enjoys talking and being with him. Everything seems to be going perfect, until something unexpected happens to the doll.
taken from this site

Although inflatables aren’t my thing, the concept of a sentient Doll definitely carries a certain appeal, and as I’ve read that rights have been secured for ‘Kuuki Ningyo’ to be released in the UK, Spain, and France, I’ll just have to hunt this ‘un down…

+ SHE’LL ONLY GET PAID SCALE: So according to the latest entry on 4woods‘ Information page, one of their lovely Yu-ki-types will be making an appearance in ‘Kibougaoka war‘, a new film which looks to be in the vein of the classic French sex farce films. If you enquire with SYSTRAN as to what 4woods has said about it, it’ll reply

June 13th (Saturday) it is screened at Shibuya EUROSPACE, the Akio Zitusiyouzi original, starring to “desire A.I.NEO superior possession season ([yuuki]) of this corporation performs hill married couple war” of the 珠 cord which is questioned. Because the Stowe [ri] – it is performance with the scene which becomes an important point above, the one which has the opportunity which you view does not flee by all means.
Even in Nagoya & Osaka consecutively it becomes screening.

and then, you’ll wish you hadn’t asked SYSTRAN anything. If you watch the trailer on the site proper, it should arguably make more sense to you. Err, ish.

+ SYNTHETIKS ON STAGE, KINDA: Sidore and I have a new friend by the name of Anonymous Realdoll Owner; we call her Ardeaux, cos it’s classier as well as shorter. I mean, if we were out in the woods, and we wanted to warn her that a grizzly was sneaking up behind her, by the time we finished shouting ‘Look out, Anonymous Realdoll Owner, there’s a grizzly bear behind you!’, she’d be lunch and possibly dinner. But ursine dinner leftovers aside, Ardeaux had found a review for a new stage play at the Burton-Taylor Theatre in Oxford, England, entitled ‘A Real Doll‘, written by Theo Merz and directed by Sophie Duker:

‘A Real Doll’ is a play about a lonely middle aged man who orders a custom made sex doll to fulfil all his social and emotional needs, amongst others. With a premise like that the show could have got by on uncomfortable hahas and morbid curiosity alone. Yet, though there is sufficient squirming voyeurism, to keep you from making eye contact with the opposite sex for hours, underneath it all lurks a genuinely funny and interesting play.

Natasha Leigh, playing The Doll, does a fantastic job in both her animate and inanimate roles. A rigidity pervades her every move, through the long periods of stillness at the start, through giddy joy in the middle to the explosively angry climax. Complementing her was the nervous twitch and fidget of Richard O’Brien’s as he played Jeffry Hutchens. The excited tremor of his hands as he first touched his new acquisition’s skin made the whole audience, women especially, shudder and recoil. Both characters were awkward, but in completely different ways.
the rest of the article is here

Hrrm. Going by the above review, and the more explanatory one found here, it seemed that the overall tone of the play was leaning less away from the iDollator-positive ‘Lars and the Real Girl’ end of the media view, and more towards the regrettable ‘Love object’ end. It’ll be a grand day when iDollators are no longer portrayed in mainstream media as skulking, repellent perverts, and instead as decent and ‘normal’ (there’s a loaded word) individuals who simply have different preferences for their partners. Naturally, there’ll be other films and plays down the line (Emmet, I’m looking in your direction), and it’s my hope that people will let go of their baseless prejudices, and perceptions will shift towards the positive. It’s asking a lot, I know, but nevertheless.

+ KNEWS FROM KNIGHTHORSE. SORRY, THAT WAS AWFUL: The latest encouraging missive from KnightHorse, creators of Lovable Dolls, includes a reduction in price for their standard issue Lover Girls (down to $4800 USD, plus shipping), three new female heads in development (in Asian, Eurasian, and Caucasian flavours) as well as one new female body in development (5’5″ with DD breasts), and the finalisation of their first Lover Guy (due out in 12 – 16 weeks). O, and soon they’ll also be offering an accessory that directly addresses me: Lovable Feet.

Can also be used as sexy paperweights

Like the Lovable Dolls, the feet are made of platinum silicone, as platinum is the new gold standard, and are sculpted from an Organik model. They come in two styles (lengths?) — Short, which goes to the ankle, and Tall, which goes to the knee, and are available in a variety of skintones and nail colours. You can’t see me from there, but I’m nodding approvingly.
KnightHorse go on to say that the Lovable Feet, as well as the torso and Doll stands, will be sold through a sister site, which is currently in development. Fab! For now, however, if you’re in the know, you can see more photos of those gorgeous affictitious peds on the Lovable Dolls’ flickr page.

+ ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER FILM CREW: After another pleasant hour-long chat with Emily Potts of National Geographic last Sunday, despite either Skype or my microphone deciding to go tits up before the conversation began, it looks like shooting for our segment of ‘Taboo’ will indeed be this month. Indeed, it’ll be in two weeks! Indeed! Who’s more excitable, myself or Shi-chan? Who’s more nervous?
As stated before, it’ll be nice to finally show off our (not so) new digs to the viewing public, among other things. And as long as the crew isn’t as haphazard as the Swedes turned out to be, this should be another fun experience…

So there you have it! Surely that must make up for last month’s poor showing, wouldn’t you agree? Answer: yes

Technorati tags: Abyss Creations, RealDolls, Kuuki Ningyo, Air Doll, 空気人形, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Yoshiie Gouda, Kibougaoka War, 希望ケ丘夫婦戦争, 4woods, A.I.Dolls, Theo Merz, Sophie Duker, iDollators, KnightHorse, Lovable Dolls, National Geographic, Taboo, grizzly