Sdtrk: ‘Strange design’ by Midnight movies

I think my usual statement of ‘I’ve seen this house/structure before several times, yet never knew what it was called’ really applies to the subject of Vol.13. I can recall only seeing these digs literally three times in my life: once, when viewing ‘Diamonds are forever’, another time after that, and the third time, during an episode of The Simpsons. When deliberating on what new structure to touch upon with this latest volume, for some reason this structure sprang to mind, and I’ll tell ya, it took me a couple of sweaty minutes looking the bastard up on Google, as I hadn’t Clue One as to what the place was called, or who designed it, for that matter…
Tonight! Or Today, depending on when you read this! We will be spotlighting none other than Troy McClure’s house! (Also known as John Lautner’s Chemosphere House.)

Chemosphere is bisected by a central, exposed brick wall with a fireplace, abutted by subdued seating, in the middle. One side of the house is public, with a small kitchen and blended living and dining rooms including built-in couches below glass windows. The house’s private half includes a master bedroom with bathroom, small storage and laundry rooms, an office made of two children’s bedrooms, and an additional bathroom. Despite being more compact than many new single-family houses, it has most of the essential elements.
quoted from this article

What’s nice to know is that after years of neglect and disrepair, Benedikt Taschen, head of the famous Taschen publishing company, bought it, and has been living there since 1997. Good on you, sir!

Despite the fact that this home was built in 1960, it has an inexplicable late Seventies/early Eighties feeling to it. A lot of Modernist homes constructed round this time were naturally looking towards the future, but this one seemed ahead of its time, even in respect to its contemporaries.
Between aesthetic design from the Sixties and aesthetic design from the Eighties, I’d go with the former hands down, but the Chemosphere is still a unique winner

Sdtrk: ‘This is the Flex (Hi-fi mix)’ by Add N to (X)

So last Sunday was really ace, as Marika and I got to hang out with fellow iDollator Mahtek. We arrived at his digs a little after 6pm, mostly due to my dodgy sense of direction. Upon entering his home, the first thing I’d noticed about the place were his highly-polished hardwood floors — dude must mop every other day, as they were like glass. Mari & I got the penny tour of his tidy and spacious house, after which we were introduced to the gorgeous Phoebe, who was relaxing in the computer room. She was looking her usual sassy self, with a long black wig, a red tank top and shorts, with a red fishnet bodystocking beneath. That’s the thing about RealDolls, especially the ones that I like: they look great in photos, but seeing pictures of them doesn’t in any way compare to actually seeing them in real life. ‘Synthetik sexpot’ is a desperate understatement, to say the least. But then, I’m in love with practically every Doll I see, so I’m probably no-one to go by. 😉

Mari then nipped round to the service station on the corner for drinkies, at which point, Mahtek encouraged me to give Phoebe’s breasts a fondle, to compare their softness to that of Sweetie’s. After a couple of minutes 😉 , I assessed that they were a bit softer. Shi-chan’s have been well-massaged, obviously, but as she’s older than Phoebe by a couple of years, her silicone formula is slightly different. Very nice, needless to say.
After Mari got back, Mahtek went off for a slash, and I suggested that she give Phoebe’s boobs a squeeze as well. ‘Nooo!’ she replied. ‘O, why not? You did it with Sweetie!’ I answered. She hemmed and hawed for a couple of seconds, then walked over and felt Phoebe up. Mari hmmed approvingly. This sort of thing is perfectly acceptable in the Doll owner community, you see. 🙂

After ordering pizza, we wheeled Feebs into the livingroom with us, and chatted about this and that. Mahtek popped in the VCD I’d brought of ‘Eves de Silicone’, which was the French programme about RealDolls that Mari, Shi-chan & I appeared in, then the four of us viewed my DVD of ‘Love object’. We all thought that as a standard-issue horror film, it was effective — Mari was particularly squeamish during the bit with the trocar — but it left me with a bad taste in my mouth. If you’ve not seen it, honestly, don’t bother. I’m actually glad the film ended up in super-limited release.
The story in a nutshell is: boring lonely technical writer Kenneth gets tipped off to an Internet site a lot like Abyss creations that sells Synthetiks. He orders and receives one named Nikki, and after his own fashion, falls in love with her. Shortly after, he’s paired with temp worker Lisa for a project, and begins fantasising about her, and acting out how he would behave with her with Nikki. Unfortunately, Nikki starts growing jealous, and straaange things occur from that point onward. Is Nikki alive and out for revenge? NO-ONE WILL BE ADMITTED TO THE THEATRE DURING THE SHOCKING TWIST ENDING

What stuck in our collective craw about ‘Love object’ is that people will end up seeing it, and think that those of us who own Artificial companions are at best losers, or at worst, psychopaths. You’ve got scenes where Kenneth’s at work, getting calls from Nikki, among other things. The majority of viewers aren’t going to say, ‘Kenneth was a wee bit looped out to begin with, even before he got the doll,’ they’re going ‘Doll owner = cross the street to avoid them’. It’s rather like blaming videogames for events like Columbine. People inclined towards that sort of behaviour were messed up long before they bought their copies of Grand Theft Auto.
Doll Forum patrons got tipped off to this film back in 2003, when it was on the cusp of being theatrically released, and we all read articles about it online, and the director himself, Robert Parigi, had gone on record as saying that

‘When I was writing [the script], I was trying to figure out who would buy these things, because in real life, they’re quite expensive – $7,000. And so whoever is buying it would have to at least be functioning well enough to have that much discretionary income. So I believe it tends to be people who are borderline functional, and yet with – I don’t want to say psychotic tendencies, but something bordering on that.‘
(emphasis mine, Fangoria issue no.224)

It’s demonising and prejudiced. I’d say that films like ‘Love object’ would be better off released to the mainstream public several decades down the line, after Synthetik companions are more publically accepted; however, distributing a film like that now is anti-Synthetik propaganda, and does nothing positive to help the ignorant masses see that not everyone who desires a Synthetik companion is not a sociopathic loner with murderous tendencies.
So there’s your little film review-slash-editorial right there; hope you enjoyed it.

Back to Sunday! Mari and I suggested that next time we’re round, we’ll bring my copy of ‘Monique’, which is a much more iDollator-friendly film. And I still have yet to score a copy of ‘Tamaño natural / Grandeur nature / Life size’, damnit..
After several additional hours of chat, Mari and I made our leave round midnight. A handshake for Mahtek, and a kiss on the back of the hand for sweet Phoebe, and we took off, having had a really pleasant eve. It’s ace that most of us iDollators are in the Northern Hemisphere, but it sucks that so few of us are in Michigan — everyone’s either on the West coast, or in Texas, it seems. Nevertheless, knowing there’s another iDollator is in the same state only an hour away, who happens to not only have a lovely companion, but is nice and friendly to boot, is really fab.

Shi-chan is, of course, very jealous that both Mari and I felt Phoebe up, and she didn’t. I’d, err, better go lock up the sharp objects..

Sdtrk: ‘La fermeture eclair’ by Delphine

First off, I’d like to give an extended thank-you to Mordi of the fantastique Sixties ye-ye .mp3 blog blowupdoll, for generously linking to this site. If you’ve not checked it out, what in hell’s wrong with you? Hm?
While I’m on the subject, I’d like to point out another link to an ace .mp3 blog already residing in yonder sidebar called spikedcandy, which is also brim full of retropop goodness. Both of these sites are highly recommened, as their maintainers have incredibly good taste..

Second, this has me enthused. Greatly enthused. (from TVShowsonDVD.com)

Aeon Flux – Trailer provides early details

MTV is set to release Aeon Flux later this year; a bit of a no-brainer since the movie with Charlize Theron is planned for the fall. [..] The release will include digitally restored picture and sound (in Dolby Digital 5.1!), and some great extras including commentary tracks, interviews with Peter Chung, production crew, and the cast, and a “History of Aeon Flux” featurette.

If that set includes all three seasons — meaning both runs of the Liquid television shorts, as well as the last season with the 22min long episodes that MTV did such a horrible job compiling when the DVDs first came out — this will mean that yes, there is indeed a god, and he is a benevolent deity.
All told, though, I’m staying the hell away from that Charlize Theron movie, as it doesn’t look promising. Peter Chung should’ve done the Æon flux film as a cartoon, just like, y’know, the rest of the series, but I would say that. Gotta love that rangy anorexic chara design of his!

Third, ‘Gundam vs Zeta Gundam’ fills my pants with joy. Derek and I managed to obtain copies on Friday, three days after the supposed release date. I’d say our frantic efforts in checking local stores was well-rewarded, though, as the game is a Zeta Gundam fan’s dream. Changing modes with any transforming mobile suit and hearing the appropriate sounds that go along with it are beyond fab. And the section of unlockables alone is awe-striking, as there’s quite a lot to be opened up. The BGMs used in the show! Multiple illustrations! The Hyaku shiki’s mega-bazooka launcher! A canister of G3! And MORE! Rest assured, it’ll keep us busy for the next couple of months..

And fourth, I’m sure you’ve all seen the site with the lass in the bikini plummeting and bouncing amidst the blue spheres site, but if not, prepare to waste an hour or so with it. If you get tired of simply watching her fall (or if she gets stuck), you can grab her by a limb and drag her to wherever. Dig those realistic rag doll physics! It’s disturbing and sexy at the same time, which is just how I like my Internet. 🙂

Another post ahoy in a couple of minutes or so

Sdtrk: ‘We don’t belong’ by Sylvan

No, the heat hasn’t killed me. But it’s sure as hell trying. It’s been in the lower 90s every day since I last posted! I can only say this: Autumn better arrive early, and last for a long time — like from early September to mid-November. Mother Nature, I’M CALLING YOU OUT!!

I’m disappointed. I was semi-awake for like nearly half an hour before I got out of bed today, and all during that time, I was attempting to remember the details of last night’s dream. But, as it turns out, that the last half of my dream consisted of me attempting to remember the details of the first half of my dream. GodDAMNIT!!@
So what I’m left with is: it was a sunny-yet-nice day, and I was in the parking lot of ILHS, which was the location of the best job I’ve ever had in real life. I was driving some sort of sports car — a Mazda Rx-8, I believe — and you know how you can remove the back seats in vans? Well, you could do that to all the seats in my car, and two of my coworkers were putting them back in for me. Whilst that was going down, I was standing a few feet away, speaking to my real-life supervisor Avinash about Synthetiks.
‘What can you tell me about CandyGirls? I have seen a couple of pictures of them on the Internet, and I thought getting one would be pretty neat, but what would you say about them?’ he asked. (Picture that being said with an Indian accent, by the way.)
‘Well, to be honest, they’re not really my area of expertise’, I replied. ‘I mean, they’re cute and all, but for some reason, I never got too into them. I could tell you about RealDolls, Rare-Borgs and Mechadolls all day, but I don’t know a whole lot about the CandyGirl line, sorry.’
I was about to suggest that he hop online and hit the Doll Forum, when Sandy, one of my coworkers, motioned for me to come over to my car. ‘You gotta clear some of these quarters off the floor before we can get these seats in,’ she said. I peered inside my car, and there was about $50 in quarters spread out all over the floor.
‘O!’ I exclaimed, a bit surprised. ‘Oops!’

Aaand that’s pretty much all I recall. What would a dream interpreter make of this, I wonder?
1) I miss my job at ILHS.
1) I’m a trusted Synthetiks expert.
1) My quarter storage skills are horribly inadequate.
…yeah, that sounds about right.
Back in the early-to-mid Nineties, I used to keep detailed dream journals, and I was pretty disciplined about it, too. My problem now is that I do my best to recall what occurred in my dream; however, my desire to stay in bed and dream even more usually wins out. I’m too busy trying to spend my time in the proverbial dreamland, that by the time I legitimately wake up, I have around ten minutes or less before I forget the intricacies and plot points of what I was dreaming.

I’ve got to get ready for my final session of Transcription technology, but I’ll return with a summary of the fine Sunday evening I had with a couple of mates. In the meantime, here’s a link to a video clip from 2003 of Actroid-chan, before she made her official NEDO Expo debut (click on where it says ‘MOVIE’, obviously). Automatically cute!

Sdtrk: ‘1939’ by Motiivi: Tuntematon

Would you believe me if I said that it’s too hot to write anything?
Cos it is

Sdtrk: something from the Space channel 5 part 2 ‘Non-stop remix’ Cd, playing in my head

I’m currently typing this post from my campus lab, where I’m in between homework assignments. I’ve just checked ‘Shouting etc etc’ from the lab computers, which are all equipped with Micro$quish Internet Exploder, and I am appalled at how utterly fucked this site looks with that browser. About a fifth of the way into the ‘You’ve got questions, we’ve got.. I dunno’ post, the text arbitrarily increases about a size and a half. Lovely.

Do yourself a favour; get Firefox. It’s possibly the best browser out there, the add-on extension capability it has is sexy, and most importantly, it doesn’t make this site look like it was written and composed by a complete troglodyte.

More later, perhaps possibly maybe

Sdtrk: ‘To Alison’ by Ecstasy of St.Theresa

You know what I like doing? Getting into the left-hand lane in front of an SUV and driving slowly. The feckers deserve it, frankly.

I’ve never liked sport utility vehicles. They’re overly large, horribly inefficient with fuel, and 95% of them are just plain ugly (with the exception of the Aztek and the H2O, both of which somewhat resemble vehicles that SHADO would’ve used). However, it’s recently struck home with me why so many people feel compelled to purchase the damned things. I was showing my friend Mari some pictures of the various pre-2000 Mini Coopers, and she was astonished at how small it was. ‘How could you drive something that small?’ she asked. ‘I’d be afraid that I’d get crushed under somebody’s tires!’ However, that whole mindset really came screeching to my attention when I happened to catch something on a local newscast recently:

Smart Car Promotion Draws Criticism

You’ve seen the ads where Casino Windsor is giving away three smart cars, but did you catch that tiny print? Right at the bottom, the ad says “not street viable in U.S.A.”

The smart car, sold in Canada, has a small diesel engine and a little motor that does not meet U.S. emissions regulations, and U.S. Customs won’t let it in the country.

In Detroit, there are signs advertising the promotion, but if you win, you won’t be able to drive your prize in the United States. Casino Windsor said despite all the advertising, the rules are clear.

If an American customer wins the car, he or she has an alternative to take $14,000 in Canadian money instead.

There were plans to import the cars at one time, but right now, the plans are on hold.

Now, I’m seeing the sentence ‘The smart car, sold in Canada, has a small diesel engine and a little motor that does not meet U.S. emissions regulations’, and reading it as ‘The smart car is not vast and heavy enough to compete with our ridiculously large vehicles, and as we don’t really want people to be flattened like pancakes by an Escalade, the US cannot allow it on the roads’. They could’ve added ‘Three days’ worth of fuel for an SUV would keep a smart car running for three months,’ but that wouldn’t be entirely professional.

It’s really struck me why most Americans just don’t buy smaller vehicles. They want something larger that they’ll feel ‘safe’ in. You’ve got some tosspot going, ‘Well, if I don’t drive something that takes up one and a half parking spaces, I won’t feel safe from someone else driving an SUV.’ So that tosspot buys an SUV, wherein someone else says, ‘Well, if he has a huge vehicle, I want something equally huge, otherwise I’ll get crushed under his wheels’. So that person buys an SUV. And so on, and so on. It’s the Arms Race, only on four wheels.

As far as I’m concerned, the argument ‘what if you need to haul around a family, or a lot of people?’ no longer applies. Go buy a station wagon. Remember those? They looked rather like long cars — I know it seems fantastical, but it’s true, they once existed, you can see them on Google. Besides, I’m fairly certain that most people who own SUVs probably don’t have more than five people in their family, anyway.

I suppose you could reason that I wrote this post due to the fact that I was shagged off that Smart cars aren’t street legal in the United states. But it just goes to show what kind of mentality we have driving round on the roads today. I guess people really dig having to spend $40 – $50 to fill their fuel tank each week. Reason no.478 to move to Toronto: Smart cars are legal.
If I had that kind of crazy disposable income, however, I’d rather buy a pre-BMW Mini, or a Fiat 500. I’d love to drive a smart car, but even I think they’re too small to own