Sdtrk: ‘Riverside’ by Sandy Simpson

Man o man. What happened to the May edition, you may or may not be asking? Well, Shi-chan’s new and incredibly distracting body happened, that’s what. *loosens collar* By the by, did either of us mention that she was featured in the Spring 2010 issue of The Doll Street Journal, found on the News page of the Abyss creations website? Sidore’s got a wee bit of cache, you see. It’s true!

+ Speaking of Abyss creations, now they’re in Japan! Well, moreso than usual. It appears that now Japanese iDollators have a licenced distributor from which to purchase RealDolls and Boy Toy Dolls from, located in a modest little storefront in the Nakano ward of metropolitan Tokyo. Interesting enough as that is — at first, I was like ‘well, that’s not really news; Abyss already has a Japanese distributor‘ — but what sent my eyebrows ascending was that apparently, some sort of deal was sealed with longtime silicone companion sculptor, Natori Saito. If you’re an iDollator, you’ll know him as the bloke who designed the Mai face, aka Face 9. If you’re an old-school iDollator, you’ll remember him from the days when he was making the Photogenic Dolls line. Yep, that Natori. He’s designed two faces for Boy Toy and one for RealDoll, so I suppose he’s been busy.

photo courtesy of ‘Ta-bo’s Kisekae Dataroom’

You can check out the site here, but 95% of it is in Japanese, and if you can’t read it, you more than likely won’t be buying a Doll through them. But those obstacles probably won’t stop you, won’t they? I didn’t think so.

+ So my tall mate Wolfgang hepped me to this: I-Fairy robot weds Japanese couple. I like where this is going!

I-Fairy robot weds Japanese couple
Jay Alabaster and agencies, Tokyo | guardian.co.uk, Sunday 16 May 2010 16.30 BST

Almost everyone stood when the bride walked down the aisle in her white gown, but not the wedding conductor, because she was bolted to her chair.

The nuptials at this ceremony were led by I-Fairy, a 4ft seated robot with flashing eyes and plastic pigtails. The wedding today was the first to be led by a robot, according to the manufacturer, Kokoro.

“Please lift the bride’s veil,” the robot said in a tinny voice, waving its arms in the air as the newlyweds kissed in front of about 50 guests.

The ceremony took place at a restaurant in Hibiya Park, central Tokyo. The I-Fairy wore a wreath of flowers, and wires led out from beneath it to a black curtain nearby where a man crouched and clicked commands into a computer.

Japan has one of the most advanced robotics industries in the world, with the government actively supporting the field for future growth. Industrial models in factories are now standard, and recently companies have been making a push to inject robots into everyday life.
the rest of the article is here

Hrrm… the Missus and I want to renew our vows for our ten year anniversary in July — could we possibly rent I-Fairy to do the honours, or would we have to fly out to her? Hrrm…

+ It looks like we may be losing not one, but two, Doll manufacturers. As of this writing, the website for Axis Japan, makers of the famous Honey Dolls series, has been down for several days. Which has happened before, but when you consider their news page hasn’t been updated since 2009, it’s cause for alarm. Honey Dolls were especially noteworthy, as they were the first to have embedded touch-sensors that played back .mp3 responses, but Odhinn only knows how their sales were, as I never saw a single owner pic of any of their four model types anywhere. And I can assure you that I check the Doll sites like a hawk…
And on the front page of the My Party Doll site, the phrase ‘OWNER RETIRING Interested parties, please inquire’ can be seen. As far as I’m concerned, the loss of any group that makes artificial companions is truly a shame. Technically, I’m still not over the fact that Chestnut co. Ltd., makers of the Rare-Borg line of silicone companions, has packed it in, and that was several years ago. With any luck, both groups will rise from the ashes, as it were, but who can say…
UPDATE (12 JUNE 2010): The Honey Dolls site is back up! Undoubtedly an extended server hiccup. It can happen to any one of us! Especially if you are a server.

+ Thanks to his long-standing work in the field of robotic humanoid developments, starting with the Repliee series, all the way to the sexier-with-each-new-version Actroid series, Hiroshi Ishiguro has been illuminating a path for mankind to follow out of the dark ages. But apart from the whole Android and Gynoid thing, he seems like the sort of bloke I can identify with, particularly after reading this article from IEEE Spectrum.

‘What’s that, me? What did you just say? I mean, what did I just say??
Shit, this is confusing’

Hiroshi Ishiguro stomps on the accelerator. The black Mazda RX-8 roars onto the highway, the heavy-metal Scorpions blasting from the speakers. We’re driving to Osaka University’s Toyonaka Campus. Ishiguro is wearing aviator sunglasses, black polyester pants, a black vest on top of a black shirt, along with a black belt, socks, and shoes.

”Give me question,” he says, his eyes fixed on the road.

I ask whether he always dresses in black.

”Why do you change your clothes?” he says. ”Do you change your name? So why do you change your clothes? Name is identity. Face is identity. But the majority of your [appearance] comes from your clothes. You should not change your clothes. Do you agree?”

I meekly suggest that all-black attire might get a bit hot in the summer.

”We have air conditioners,” he says. ”Next question.”
the entire article is here

The film ‘Surrogates‘ touched upon the whole concept of telepresence, and this man is making it a reality. Not to say that he’s the only person doing so, but Ishiguro is the only one making really bold strides as regards to building telepresence robots that resemble human beings. Clearly, we need more of this man. O wait — he’s already working on that!
There’s even a microsite with a wee bit of information on Geminoid HI-1 right here. Now if only they could do the same with that luscious Geminoid F…
That was a hint, by the way.

+ And as dreadfully hot as it’s been here in Michigan, I’m sure it’s not much better in Californiyay, where 85°F is considered ‘a good start’. However, being out of doors in the SoCal area gives a person the rare opportunity to catch KnightHorse out and about, taking pics of and showing off their stunning lasses. So it’s kind of a trade-off!…

Sayuri, being flirtatious/distracting

For years Matt has felt that dolls should be loved, appreciated and displayed proudly. One of his focuses in the business is to bring dolls out of the closet, demystify them, and have doll owners de-vilified! So many media outlets go for the “easy kill” and focus on the shock factor of these dolls. The only angle most journalists are interested in is the sexual function of the dolls. Well, to us, these dolls are much more than sex dolls. […] To date we have been to numerous public venues and never once had a negative encounter.

See, that’s the sort of thing I love to hear about — seeing a beautifully-sculpted work of art such as a Doll as a mere sex toy is incredibly narrow-minded. It’s ace that Matt K and crew are bringing their lovely ladies out for some fresh air and sightseeing, as well as spreading public awareness that Dolls aren’t creepy or unsettling; they are in fact wonderful and appealing. And depending on how imaginative a person you are, they can be even more than that…
Besides, did you see Sayuri’s arse up there? I mean, dayum!

Well, I do believe that’s covered the lot for now! Join us next time, for more of the same