Sdtrk: ‘Hard lovin’ man’ by Merzbow

A new year, bringing with it a handful of links concerning Synthetiks, for those of you with bated breath! Which is all of you, right?

+ It always blows peoples’ minds when they learn about contemporary Gynoids, Androids, and the like, but when I read about their predecessors, it explodes my own brain in slow-motion. Not necessarily ones as far back the 18th and 19th centuries, where automata such as the wonderful creations of Pierre and Henri-Louis Jaquet-Droz held sway — although those are very cool — but all the ones in between then and now. Like Courtenay Pollock’s little-known and ominously-named ‘She’, for instance, detailed here in a June 1934 issue of Modern Mechanix!

Definitely better-looking with skin. But you can say that about most people, really

Animated Statue Smiles and Displays Her Dimples

ALMOST human is “SHE,” work of Courtenay Pollock, well known sculptor of London. With the aid of a small electric motor, “SHE” is smiling, coy, demure, or scornful as her master wills. Rolling her eyes about in an enchanting manner, she even displays a lovely set of dimples.

This “living” model is on display in one of the leading department stores of London. A cordon of police are required to keep the crowd moving and traffic clear in the streets.

The skull is made up of hinged sections, each of which are controlled separately through levers and switches. Gears and levers connect each part to the driving motor.

When a tinted rubber covering is slipped over the “skull,” eyebrows and hair attached, and a bit of cosmetics applied, “SHE” is transformed into a beautiful, vivacious young lady.

This first animated statue may herald a new era in sculpturing. It is not too much to expect that in a few years the works of our sculptors will all take on life—will frolic about and speak, imitating in every way the persons who posed as models.

Despite the “fact” the “writer” went “crazy” with the “inverted commas”, that’s still a “hell” of a “thing” to have witnessed, either then or now. Shame that the prediction of animated statues being everywhere didn’t come true, though. Or is that sort of thing simply just now starting?
The whereabouts of ‘She’ are presently unknown, and I’m fairly certain her rubber flesh corroded long ago. Still! Now that you lot know what her uncovered bust looks like, keep an eye out for her, eh?

+ So in doing a wee bit more Synthetiks research — also known as ‘screwing round on the Innernets’ — I think I found the predecessor to ‘She’, in the form of a very curious machine known as the Euphonia, which would fall into the category of one of those wonderful creations from the 18th and 19th centuries…

An old photo, taken with a 1 megapixel camera

Joseph Faber’s “Euphonia” was both a response to the telegraph and a remediation of it. He imagined a telegraph that could speak, leading him to construct a model of the human speech organs. Faber studied language and human vocal anatomy in order to break them down into parts and then reorganize them mechanically. The Euphonia operated by “By pumping air with the bellows and using different combinations of 16 keys to manipulate a series of plates, chambers, and other apparatus including an artificial tongue (Levy 29).” The false head black boxes and masks the mechanics of the vocal process. Faber created an artificial organ through which artificial speech could be achieved. The artificial organ of speech is doubled by the machine as musical organ and an extension of the silent organ that is Faber’s own vocal tract.
taken from this site

Apparently it (she?) spoke in a slightly German accent, even when speaking in English — undoubtedly due to the fact that Faber was a German immigrant — with a voice that was described as ‘a weird, ghostly monotone’. That may have been true, but keep in mind, people were more easily-spooked back in the 19th century.
The Euphonia is quite fascinating, cos it’s not really a Gynoid, despite its feminine appearance, and it’s not so much a robot or an automata; it’s more like a webcam decades before webs or cams existed. One one hand, Faber succeeded in his attempt to put a human face to a voice; however, Euphonia would’ve had everyone that contacted you through it both look and sound like bodiless German Gynoids. *thinks* Maybe that wasn’t such a failed effort after all, then.
Something I’d found amusing on that linguistics site linked above was a bit that mentioned

The mastery of the machine is limited by the selections already built into the design as it was not for example, designed to scream. It’s possible that a screaming effect could have been achieved by hacking the machine and manipulating the pedals, which control pitch, but no such instance was ever recorded.

Which, as far as I’m concerned, was an opportunity wasted.

+ Speaking of affictitious heads, the fine people of Vladivostok’s Anatomical Doll have recently released another head sculpt, available for all three of their Doll bodies. This lovely young rubber lass is named Eco, which leads me to ask: is ‘Eco’ the Russian word for ‘fox’? Cos, I mean, hmmm.

ATTENTION PB SHELLEY: Start your Eco fund RIGHT NOW

Reproduce scenes from ‘Jennifer’s body’ in your very own home! Or, if you’re a true masochist, scenes from Michael Bay’s ‘Transformers’! Err, I take that last suggestion back; no-one, Organik or Synthetik, should have to put up with Bayformers. Please, don’t taint your Eco.

+ Let another diminutive silicone woman into your heart, life, and pants with the Wicked RealDoll version of Lupe Fuentes!

Photo by Stacy Leigh

Much like her Organik twin, she features a 30B cup, a 20in waist, and 31.5 hips, with an appealing size 5 shoe. Unlike her Organik twin, however, she clocks in at a dainty +/- 60lbs, which is remarkable. A Doll that light could ride you like a stallion! Ahem!

+ And finally, remember how I’d mentioned last November how Californian company Sinthetics was gearing up to release New Silicone Sexiness upon the world? Well, perhaps you should give their site a look now, if you haven’t already. Or would seeing more of this sort of thing convince you?

Tawny, looking like a much more attractive Tori Spelling

Celeste, about to say ‘No, Mr Bond, I expect you to die!’ again

If you answered More Of This Sort Of Thing, you answered correctly! I’d show you photos of their other two models, Alicia and Monique, but you’ve been spoilt enough as it is. Plus, they’re usually topless. JESUS COME BACK AND AT LEAST READ THE REST OF THE POST, YOU ANIMALS.
Interestingly enough, Sinthetics (man, gotta get used to typing it using that spelling) don’t call their affictitious ladies Dolls, but instead refer to them as manikins. As they explain on their site,

Often people like to pigeon-hole things like products or groups of people. We feel that our products reach much farther than the mainstream understanding of a “love doll” and therefore we recognize the art in our products and call them manikins.

Gotta say that I like the way they’re approaching things… Their incredibly delectable Female Body 1H weighs around 73lb, wears a sz 7 or 8 shoe, and boasts measurements of 32G (‘closest commercially available bra size, actual bra size 28H’, they say), a waist of 23in, and 31in hips. If you’re like me, your mind has come to a complete halt due to this knowledge. Not only that, but for an additional $300, they also offer a low-voltage built-in heating system situated in her abdomen, much like the ones found in some Anatomical Dolls. And did I mention their manikins feature a flexible spine for forward, backward, and side-to-side hip motion? Yes.
So if, later on in the year, you find yourself with a Sinthetic in your home and you can’t get anything done, don’t blame her; that’s the coward’s response.

You may now feel free, at this point, to unbate your breath. Until next month, of course!

Sdtrk: ‘586’ by New order

Thanks to the appearance that the Missus and I put in on the TLC programme ‘My Strange Addiction’ back on 26 January, I’d suggest that we’ve received a wee bit of attention. One of which was another Email enquiry from a chat show host! Can you guess who it was? Wrong! It was on behalf of Dr Phil! That’s right, again!

from: Mason, Keya
to: pulsedemon [at] gmail.com
date: Fri, Jan 28, 2011 at 3:25 PM
subject: Dr. Phil Show

Hi Davecat,

I’m writing you to express our interest in having you as a guest on the Dr. Phil Show. We would love to possibly tape an episode with you Mid-February. Please give me a call as soon as you can at [phone number]

Keya Mason
Dr. Phil – Associate Producer
Mae West Building
5555 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90038

I find it absolutely stunning the way these contemporary media-types work, and I mean ‘stunning’ in the sense that ‘they have brought my brain to a complete halt’. They are like sharks, or jackals. Something, some thing excites their senses, and they waste no time in springing into action. They may not know exactly what it is, but they act instinctively, without any deliberation. Any time wasted reduces the chances of gaining the coveted. And so they spring to the laptops; or rather, they have their associate producers do the springing. These are modernised jackals.
So I sprung into action myself, as we have no associate producer round here:

from: pulsedemon [at] gmail.com
to: “Mason, Keya”
date: Fri, Jan 28, 2011 at 7:37 PM
subject: Re: Dr. Phil Show

Hey Keya –

Thanks for your enquiry! I’ve no idea how closely your staff coordinates with each other, but one of your number had already asked me about making an appearance back in 2007. Observe: http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=547.
My answer hasn’t changed, but thanks for the opportunity!

Cheers,
Davecat

I guess I managed to stop Hitler at Munich, as Keya wrote back that if I ever decide to change my mind, I have her number. But of course. *nods slowly*

And thanks to the appearance that the Missus and I put in on the TLC programme ‘My Strange Addiction’ back on 26 January, I’d suggest that we’ve received a wee bit of attention. One of which was a lovely Email from one half of a couple who’d seen our ep several times. Which, I imagine, would be rather like Purgatory: you’ve got a television, but you can only watch the same episode of the same programme over and over, for the rest of eternity. Don’t rule it out, it could happen!
At any rate, the writer, who I’ll refer to as K-chan, said they enjoyed us enough that she fired off a beautiful illustration that she did of the Missus, as seen below.

Isn’t that awesome? Sidore fanart. K-chan’s managed to capture her curious-yet-sarky nature, we think. We’ve reached some sort of awesome plateau! Thanks, K-chan!
Shi-chan wants me to print it up on good quality paper, so we can hang it on a wall. I’d say that’s a pretty good idea

Sdtrk: ‘Reinforced Bio-drug use 72mm’ by Masonna vs Speedranch

Back in November, ‘Shouting etc etc’ had a spike in visits due to the piece on Sidore and I on Asylum’s website. Then it dropped off for a few days, but then it accelerated again, only I couldn’t suss where the second wave of referrals was coming from. That is, until I received a comment from a reader, who had explained that Cracked.com had linked to me, in a roundabout way. They had a story, which referenced the edited version of Meghan Laslocky’s article on Salon.com, which links to (what’s left of) my wife’s vanity site, ‘Kitten with a Whip!’, and that, obviously, is linked to me.
So what was Cracked going on about? ‘5 Creepy Ways Humans Are Plunging Into the Uncanny Valley’. Coming in at number five? RealDolls. Yeah, you can doubtless hear my eyes rolling from wherever you happen to be reading this.

Longtime readers are painfully aware that I have issues with the supposed issues that people have with the so-called uncanny valley. For one, noted roboticist David Hanson, who is the closest person the United states has to Japanese roboticist and creator of the Actroid series of Gynoids, Hiroshi Ishiguro, doesn’t take much stock in that school of thought, either. ‘The “uncanny valley” is a theory, but people treat it like science’, he’s quoted as saying, and I’m inclined to agree with him.
Just to remind you: basically, the whole ‘uncanny valley’ thing is a hypothesis developed by roboticist Masahiro Mori around 1970, which states that the closer the appearance of something approaches that of an Organik being, the more likely it is to drastically affect the emotions of those who see it, usually in a negative fashion. Here’s the oft-used visual aid:

The closer a robot gets in appearance, movement, and behaviour to Organik life, the more most people find it unsettling. Which I personally view as being contradictory and nonsensical, but hey.
That’s a brief summary of the uncanny valley hypothesis; you can check out the 12″ extended dance remix over on Wikipedia.

It’s been often argued that the reason why a lot of Organiks are averse to Synthetiks is because they’re either expressionless and emotionless, or the emotions they display are false. I’ve always maintained that if Organiks already understand that a Synthetik human is an artificial one, hence the distinction between ‘Organik’ and ‘Synthetik’ (more on that later), then there shouldn’t be an issue. If a person of reasonable intelligence — yes yes, the numbers are dwindling rapidly, I know — is already aware that the being they’ve encountered is affictitious, then their reaction should be at the most slightly startled, as opposed to the over-the-top feelings detractors claim to have of revulsion.
As regards to the lack of facial expression that a number of current Synthetiks possess, the respective R&D departments are working on it. Humanoid robotics admittedly still has a bit of a ways to go, but in the past decade, it’s come a long way. That’s what’s known as progress. General society seems to have this enormously unrealistic (ha ha) expectation that any Androids and Gynoids that emerge from a lab are going to be completely indistinguishable from Organik humans, and unless they are, society will loudly decry the in-between stages. Despite realism obviously being the goal, that’s simply not going to occur right out of the gate. That’s as if someone in the mid-Eighties, upon seeing those huge brick-style cellphones, decided they still weren’t good enough because they couldn’t watch MTV on the tiny LED screen. I know, I know, ‘what’s MTV’. But again, anyone with a modicum of intelligence would be able to overlook the aesthetic and mobile shortcomings that an artificial human may have, as long as those shortcomings aren’t entirely drastic.
And regarding the programmes that a Synthetik would eventually have that would resemble emotions; again, if you already know the person is a robot, then your suspension of disbelief should theoretically kick in and solve the problem. Besides, Organik humans lie all the time! Why don’t more people have issues with that fact?

Body language interpretation is another factor in the uncanny valley scenario. Those who subscribe to that ‘theory’ cite that their feelings of creepiness (I hate that word) stem from the way current Androids and Gynoids move — again, as the mechanical technology is still being developed, it’s somewhat stilted and jerky. It has been argued that biological humans find less-than-fluid movement to be unpleasant due to centuries of conditioning: if we encounter a person that moves in an unfamiliar manner, alarms go off in our brains saying SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH THIS PERSON AVOID AVOID. However, using that line of thought, why don’t most people recoil in horror when they see someone that has Parkinson’s disease? Or cerebral palsy? Or those prone to epileptic seizures? Well, in less-enlightened times, people did, and pronounced them possessed, or worse. Just as an intelligent society can interpret a person afflicted with a syndrome or disorder as not something to run in fear from, by that logic, someone observing a contemporary Android or Gynoid should be able to say to themselves, ‘ah, that’s more than likely a Synthetik’.
Organik humans can parse the body language of non-human beings, if they’re open-minded, and are given enough time to do so. We’ve discovered that if a cat purrs, and a dog wags his tail, they are more than likely content. We’ve also discovered that different species don’t necessarily display the same emotions in the same fashion — if you see a cat wagging his tail, chances are he ain’t exactly happy, as another example. Now if humans can read, with some degree of certainty, the body language of animals, then there should be no reason Organiks shouldn’t be able to learn the body language of Synthetiks. Especially when, technically speaking, the body language of a humanoid robot would be specifically designed to mimic that of an Organik, and be therefore easier to understand than that of an animal.

One fear that the uncanny valley elicits in a lot of people would be an existential one: for some observers, seeing an Android or a Gynoid — an affictitious person that behaves like and resembles a living Organik being — reminds them that unlike a Synthetik, their own lifespan is limited. Mass-produced Synthetiks also tap into the fear that biological humans are no longer ‘unique’, or ‘special’, or ‘the crown of creation’.
For one, these people are glossing over the fact that Entropy Prevails, no matter if you were born in a womb, or made in a factory. Presupposing that artificial people ‘can’t die’ is akin to thinking your car/microwave/computer will never break down. Granted, you can state that at least with a computer, if the hard drive’s undamaged, you can remove it and pop it into another tower, thereby extending its ‘lifespan’, and with more sophisticated robot technology. one would be able to do the same with an Android or Gynoid. I realise being able to perform that act alone kicks over a wastebin full of philosophical questions, but I’m doing my best to not visit Tangentburg, as I normally do. But I personally think the fact that someone could have a companion that would never become ill or die shouldn’t be a reminder of one’s mortality; instead, their longevity should be celebrated. You could perhaps view it like having children, or better yet, progeny, that go on to do things long after you’re gone, although I’m more than certain there would be some technosexuals that would prefer their afficititious partners go to the grave with them *cough cough*. The Synthetik creations of humankind would continue advancing our ideas and work when our own bodies have given up on us.

As I see it, eventually humanoid robots that look and act sufficiently like biological humans will be treated very similarly to biological humans. There’ll be some provisions, of course, but as the technology continues to develop, the hope is that humanoid robots will be classed as human, albeit a Synthetik human, as opposed to the good ol’ fashioned Organik humans that you’ve doubtless encountered at one time or another. The exact spelling of the term will undoubtedly change; I hold no illusions in that regard. But intelligent members of future generations that are lucky enough to be able to interact with artificial humans on a day-to-day basis will come to regard them as human, but will still need to differentiate them from flesh-and-blood people for the sake of practicality.

Under normal circumstances, it could reasonably be argued that I have a cynical outlook on society; I don’t refer to myself as a pessimist, but the label’s not completely wide off the mark. The one thing that I’m definitely optimistic about, however, is the inevitable arrival of Synthetik people. ‘Uncanny valley’ or not, their presence will occupy some much-needed spaces in commerce, exploration, arts and sciences, and day-to-day living. Quite honestly, believing in the uncanny valley makes about as much sense as being afraid of one’s own shadow, and I think that the more often that Organiks are exposed to and interact with Synthetiks, then those immature phobias will gradually disappear.

Top, HRP-4C Miim; bottom, Actroid Sara. The future’s looking good

‘If a robot appears in every way to possess consciousness, then in my opinion, we should accept that it does’
— David Levy, author and futurist

Sdtrk: ‘New rose’ by the Damned

People! Peoplepeoplepeople. My sources tell me that the cable channel TLC will be airing the episode of ‘My Strange Addiction‘ that Sidore and I will be appearing in on Wednesday, 26 January, at 9 and 11pm EST (Earth Standard Time). Doubtless you’ve seen the trailer by now: it’ll be the one where my hair looks like shite, as it was hot in our flat, thanks to the film crew’s insistence on not having the noise of fans or an airconditioner unit be picked up by the lavalier. *grits teeth* Thankfully, Shi-chan was exceptionally gorgeous — this will be the television debut of her stunning new body, so there’s that to look forward to.

Also, it’s always fantastic when things like this occur:

[12:01:23 AM] MontiLee : Someone on my facebook thought Sidore was organic who made herself up as a Doll. She’s read about her but didn’t make the connection with you until after MSA aired previews of next week’s show.

You can’t see us from where you are — at least not until the 26th — but we’re smiling and nodding approvingly

Sdtrk: ‘Pieces’ by Blank dogs

Well will you ‘ark at that — another interview. It’s true!
Back in November, Don Recuero and Diana Sparx, of the podcast blog Mindcore, had asked if I’d like to speak at length about the usual blather I’m known for, I suppose. However, there are two interesting aspects that made this a noteworthy experience…

First, the session wasn’t simply centred round RealDolls, or my life with the Missus, but we also took a significant amount of time discussing the future of humanoid robotics in society, so as you’d suspect, it was fun talking about something beyond Dolls for a change. Sure, we spoke about the unique relationship Sidore and I have, both in a fictional and nonfictional context, but the fact that they didn’t just stop there was definitely appreciated.
Secondly, Don and Diana were not the typical interviewers that I’ve often encountered. For one, Mindcore’s previous slant was towards free-thinking and the discussion of atheist ideas, so clearly this was a venue that was more open toward nontraditional concepts. Upon reflection, Don and Diana kinda remind me of V.Vale and Andrea Juno, former collaborators of the counterculturalist press known as RE/Search.
Third, this would be the first podcast interview I’d done, and I have to say, I thought it was pretty neat! A good time was had by all.
Huh! Looks like that was three interesting aspects, then! Math was never my strong point, really.

Go visit Mindcore right this damned minute, and have a listen to ‘Davecat: Man Marries Robot‘, s’il vous plaît. And be sure to let the hosts know how much you enjoyed it! There is no better conceivable way to spend ninety minutes. Fact

Sdtrk: ‘High speed flight’ by Daphne Oram

Now were it not for The Great ‘Shouting Etc Etc’ Blackhole that happened on the 30th of last December — I thought I could upgrade WordPress without the use of a clever plugin, but Fate had other plans in store — this would’ve been posted earlier. But I’m fairly sure no-one would have noticed, what with all the New Year’s Eve revelry taking place. So all according to plan, then! *strokes chin*

A week or so previous to My Personal Blogpocalypse, alert reader Azusa brought another artist to my attention recently: his name is Yoshitaka Hyodo, and he works almost exclusively with CandyGirls. You simply can’t go wrong with Dolls as your photo models!

‘Well, here’s another fine mess you’ve got us both into’

Contrary to all appearances, this place rated five stars in the Michelin guide

The above pics are from his series, ‘Haruna’s Room‘. And that’s about the extent of my knowledge of this bloke! There’s no English on his site, and it’s mostly text, so I wouldn’t even know which block of kanji to translate in order to find out more. I should point out that that link might be not safe for work, incidentally, but as I always say, it depends on where you work. Perhaps you work at Orient industry, which would be an eerie/amusing coincidence! If that’s the case, then… would you like to help me translate some text??

And continuing the Orient industry-related vibe of this post, you may not recall back during February of 2009, I’d mentioned an artist by the name of Becky Yee, who was exhibiting a photo-essay of hers entitled ‘More than a Woman’ at a New York gallery, which would be the results of having spent time with esteemed iDollator ta-bo-san, taking photos of his cadre of affictitious girls. I’d managed to locate an interview conducted by the website Bongoût, which is an interesting wee read.

Bongoût: How did you connect with this particular collector?

Yee: I frequented a fan website for Dutch wives. Writing undercover, I played the role of a connoisseur of dolls, and got an intimate glimpse inside the head of these men.
The site first originated as a place to go for advice, including maintenance, such as cleaning and repair for your doll. There are chat groups you can join where men will swap stories of how to fix a doll if you break her arm or leg since there is no shops to repair them.

I met many men through this site, but the most interesting to me was the one I decided to work with. He is educated, successful, and career driven. So why is there a need to have Dutch wives? And not just one, but 70 or 80!?

After speaking with him, I learned that he is a spokesman for his cause. He desired to see the flipping of his sub-culture, to have it become acceptable to the public. This is why he agreed with interviews, and was willing to share his story as long as I did not show his face.

Bongoût: At this point, who is it that he can speak with openly about his lifestyle?

Yee: He only speaks openly with the people he meets online. And of course, it takes time for him to build up trust before he would meet anyone in person. However, he has quite a network of men, and some evenings they all meet out at a restaurant and bring their Dutch wives along.
the entire article is here

Finally, surely you lot must know by now that Abyss creations will be unveiling their newest lass in the Wicked RealDoll line? That’s right, now you can have an artificial Kaylani Lei reclining on your furniture at home, small as life (she’s 4’11”), and twice as rubbery.

Being 70 lbs and only three apples high makes her easy to take anywhere

If we were to witness a Jell-O wrestling match between a CandyGirl and a Kaylani Lei RealDoll, who do you think would win? Apart from all of us, that is

Sdtrk: ‘I only said’ by My bloody valentine

Well, as I took December to pretty much its logical conclusion, it’s my sad duty to tell you that there’s neither any Synthetiks nor Doll-related news to report on for this month. Which I find surprising! I blame the loss of Japanese website Robot Watch, as it was my go-to site for robotics news straight from the source; that source usually being either Japan or South Korea. Tch. I mean sure, there’s Robo Times, but it just isn’t the same.
So no new Gynoid news for December! And the majority of Doll manufacturers are either concentrating on fulfilling existing orders or are just plain closed for the holidays. They’re not developing new stuff; that’s for when the holidays have ground to a halt.

So what have I got for you with this, the last ‘Shouting etc etc’ post of 2010? If you enjoy Andy Warhol, particularly Sixties-era Warhol (largely considered to be the Best Warhol), you will more than likely get a kick out of this:

In August 1962, Andy Warhol (American, 1928–1987) began making silkscreen paintings of popular icons, including a series of images of Marilyn Monroe that he began a month after her death. He went on to experiment in portrait making with public photo booth machines, which automatically take four exposures several seconds apart and print them in a strip, like a sequence of film frames.

Combining the seriality of these silkscreen and photo booth portraits with the ephemeral quality of the filmed image, between 1965 and 1966 Warhol shot approximately 500 rolls of film: several-minute silent portraits of acquaintances, friends, and celebrities, including many of the artists musicians, poets, actors, models, playwrights, curators, collectors, critics, and gallerists who composed New York City’s avant-garde scene. Some subjects were invited to the artist’s East 47th Street studio, known as The Factory or The Silver Factory, to sit for their portraits; others were captured spontaneously. At times Warhol left his subjects alone with the camera, creating a heightened sense of vulnerability that is perceptible in the films. His first subjects, seated before a sterile backdrop, were asked not to move or speak (later portraits were shot under more flexible conditions). These films, known as “stillies” around the Factory, were also referred to by Warhol as Living Portrait Boxes, and, later, as Screen Tests.
the entire article is here

Through 19 December 2010 up to 21 March 2011, the Museum of Modern Art will be screening several screen tests, as well as a handful of the early Silver Dream Factory silent films, and MoMA invite participants to make their own screen tests, to be displayed on the exhibition website. The Missus jumped at the chance, needless to say, so we made one, and submitted it, and a few days later, it made the cut! You can click here to see the screen tests. If you want to view Sidore’s straight away, you’ll want to click on the ‘View All’ link at the bottom of the screen, but watching the other participants’ entries is also The Nice Thing To Do. In any event, you can marvel at how well she manages to sit absolutely still for ninety seconds! It’s pretty remarkable.

And more than likely, quite a few of you have already seen adverts for this, but come late January/early February, if you’re in the Untied states, Shi-chan and I are going to be atop your overpriced flat-screen telly once again!

TLC TO PREMIERE NEW SERIES MY STRANGE ADDICTION

12-part series to debut December 29th at 9PM (ET/PT)

Los Angeles, CA – TLC is set to premiere new docu-series MY STRANGE ADDICTION on December 29th at 9PM (ET/PT). The 12-part series will document people who are struggling with unconventional addictions. Each half hour episode will feature two individuals who turn to atypical compulsions in order to deal with their emotional demons. The series will premiere the first two episodes back-to-back only on TLC.

Some people turn to chocolate when stressed, others will indulge with a little retail therapy and maybe schedule a massage, but the individuals featured on MY STRANGE ADDICTION resort to extreme and unusual things in an effort to emotionally regulate themselves. Some of the strange addictions explored in each episode are everything from an obsession with a blow dryer, to another eating toilet paper, to spending time with a silicone person, to eating detergent, to extreme body building, and to thumb sucking.

That’s from an actual promotional release, incidentally; I would be the individual that spends time with a silicone person, in case that wasn’t clear. How did this slip under my radar, you ask? Wouldn’t there have been a lengthy and protracted series of posts about your filming experience on ‘Shouting etc etc’, Davecat? Under normal circumstances, yes, but I got lazy. I know; it’s unbelievable, right? But thank Odhinn my longtime close friend and cohort Monti comes to the rescue, as usual, with a brilliant post she’d typed up concerning her perspective of the bits that she was involved in.
‘My Strange Addiction‘ should be an interesting programme, I’m certain. I’m hoping it’s more than the circus tent of freaks that modern television traffics in these days, but you never can tell… And I’ve really got to stop reading the title in my mind as ‘My Strange Addition‘.

So there you are! Sidore and I hope the lot of you had an enjoyable Chrimbo, and want to wish you Happy Boxing Day! Here’s hoping we all have a fantastic and safe 2011!
What do you mean you don’t celebrate Boxing Day? Get off my site.

Technorati tags: Synthetiks, iDollators, Android, Gynoid, robot, Robot Watch, Robo Times, Andy Warhol, Silver Dream Factory, MoMA, Museum of Modern Art, TLC, The Learning Channel, My Strange Addiction, MontiLee, Boxing Day