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<channel>
	<title>Shouting to hear the echoes</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?feed=rss2" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes</link>
	<description>Contra naturam, now and forever</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Mon, 30 Aug 2010 05:55:12 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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		<title>Two flavours of Megan / An appealing disguise / Making rivets sexy again</title>
		<link>http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=2422</link>
		<comments>http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=2422#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 30 Aug 2010 05:44:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Davecat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Mannequins etc]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Media cavalcade]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Organik to Synthetik]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=2422</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sdtrk: &#8216;Einstein-Rosen bridge&#8217; by Venetian snares
It has to be said: Megan Fox has never done anything for me. I&#8217;m not altogether keen on her generic looks, as she looks like she tumbled out of the pages of Maxim / FHM / Stuff magazine. She&#8217;s not repellent &#8212; apart from that clubbed thumb of hers &#8212; [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Sdtrk: &#8216;Einstein-Rosen bridge&#8217; by Venetian snares</em></p>
<p>It has to be said: Megan Fox has never done anything for me. I&#8217;m not altogether keen on her generic looks, as she looks like she tumbled out of the pages of Maxim / FHM / Stuff magazine. She&#8217;s not repellent &#8212; apart from that <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2009/06/11/2009-06-11_brace_yourselves_megan_fox_has_an_imperfection_the_actress_is_all_thumbs.html">clubbed thumb</a> of hers &#8212; but her style just doesn&#8217;t stand out enough for me. I&#8217;m led to believe other people like the way she looks, but she elicits a resounding shrug whenever I see her. That is, <em>until now.</em></p>
<p><img src="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/images/megan_and_megan.jpg"/><br />
<em>Left, Megan Fox; right, Megan Fox </em></p>
<p>Apparently the June issue of Interview magazine (it saddens me that you can&#8217;t really refer to it by its original title of &#8216;Andy Warhol&#8217;s Interview&#8217; anymore) had featured <a target="_blank" href="http://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/megan-fox/">a one-on-one</a> with Ms Fox, and the accompanying pictorial where she poses with a mannequin Doppelgänger of herself stopped me in my tracks, for obvious reasons. If she were to rock that Louise Brooks-esque style all the time, she&#8217;d really stand out in a crowd! Unless she were to go back to the 1930s; in which case, she&#8217;d blend into the crowd.</p>
<p>Elsewhere &#8212; China, to be specific &#8212; a photographer and Photoshopper team have transformed a lass into a <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'A robot in the shape of a human female, usually with a covering of lifelike artificial flesh. From the Greek \'gune\', meaning \'woman\'','caption', 'Gynoid' );">Gynoid</span>, in a shoot entitled &#8216;Robot in Disguise&#8217;. No points for the title, but still.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/images/by_linson.jpg"/><br />
<em>Don&#8217;t those parts look like they belong in like a car or something? </em></p>
<p>I&#8217;ve no idea what the model&#8217;s name is, as it&#8217;s in Chinese, which might as well be <a target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linear_A">Linear A</a> as far as I&#8217;m concerned. But why trifle with unimportant details like that, when you can check out the entire pictorial <a target="_blank" href="http://my.poco.cn/lastphoto_v2-htx-id-1366427-user_id-2982519-p-0.xhtml#image_list_anchor">right here</a>?</p>
<p>And for those of you who prefer your <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'Robots in the shape of human females, usually with a covering of lifelike artificial flesh. From the Greek \'gune\', meaning \'woman\'','caption', 'Gynoids' );">Gynoids</span> more steampunk in appearance, you might find designer <a target="_blank" href="http://davelowe.blogspot.com/">Dave Lowe</a>&#8217;s &#8216;Spooky Robot Lady&#8217; to be more your cup of tea. Your <em>steampunk </em>tea, it should go without saying, in an appropriately steampunk cup.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/images/srl.jpg"/><br />
<em>I hear the patinaed look is in this year </em></p>
<blockquote><p>One October, years ago, my own cheap version of &#8220;False Maria&#8221; (the classic robot in ['Metropolis']) was made. My niece Devin calls her &#8220;spooky robot lady&#8221;&#8230;the name&#8217;s stuck. It&#8217;s one of the oldest customized Halloween props I still use. She&#8217;s displayed on the dining table every season as the guardian of the party food. She was once a used and broken mannequin. Her creation became a team effort.<br />
<strong>the rest of the article is <a target="_blank" href="http://davelowe.blogspot.com/2007/11/halloween-2007-spooky-robot-lady.html">here</a></strong></p></blockquote>
<p>Very nice! Kinda makes me wish <a target="_blank" href="http://www.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=11741">Mario&#8217;s Mannequins</a> were still around, so I could have a go at making one of my own! Also, kinda makes me wish I knew how to effectively create and modify stuff like that, so she wouldn&#8217;t end up looking like total cack.</p>
<p>More news of a media nature coming soon! I&#8217;m still writing the bastard. You&#8217;re familiar with how that goes round here by now, I&#8217;m sure</p>
<p><em>ta very much to fellow <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'An obvious pun on the word \'idolator\', this is a person who is an aficionado of high-end \'love dolls\'. They range from those who merely use them as sex toys, to those who have them as companions. I wish I could take credit for the term, but I didn\'t come up with it','caption', 'iDollator' );">iDollator</span> Euchre, for the &#8216;Spooky Robot Lady&#8217; link </em></p>
<p><strong>Technorati tags:</strong> <a target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Android"><span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'A robot in the shape of a human male. Derives from the Greek andr-, meaning \'man, male\', and the suffix -eides, used to mean \'of the species; alike\'','caption', 'Android' );">Android</span></a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Gynoid"><span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'A robot in the shape of a human female, usually with a covering of lifelike artificial flesh. From the Greek \'gune\', meaning \'woman\'','caption', 'Gynoid' );">Gynoid</span></a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/tag/robot">robot</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Megan Fox">Megan Fox</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Interview Magazine">Interview Magazine</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Louise Brooks">Louise Brooks</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Photoshop">Photoshop</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Linear A">Linear A</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Dave Lowe">Dave Lowe</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/tag/steampunk">steampunk</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Metropolis">Metropolis</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Mario's Mannequins">Mario&#8217;s Mannequins</a></p>
<div id="ifyoulikedthat"><h3>Random similar posts, for more timewasting:</h3><p><a href="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=233">Not the only one</a> on October 20th, 2005</p><p><a href="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=535">Any <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', '99% of the time, whenever you see the word \'Doll\' here (note capital D), it\'s shorthand for \'life-sized artificial human\'. Or, as some would have it, \'high-end love doll\'','caption', 'Doll' );">Doll</span>-related news, Davecat? (Sept 07)</a> on September 8th, 2007</p></div>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?feed=rss2&amp;p=2422</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>A four followed by five zeroes</title>
		<link>http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=2478</link>
		<comments>http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=2478#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 14 Aug 2010 03:11:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Davecat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Behind the façade]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=2478</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sdtrk: &#8216;My time&#8217; by Ann Steel

I would like to blame Twitter, and the prevailing weather conditions, and preparing for a cluster of iDollator-related interviews for my tardiness. Cos without PB Shelley mentioning a couple of days ago that &#8216;Shouting etc etc&#8217; was on the verge of hitting the 400,000 hits mark, I honestly wouldn&#8217;t have [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Sdtrk: &#8216;My time&#8217; by Ann Steel</em></p>
<p><center><img src="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/images/wrongcat.jpg" /></center></p>
<p>I would like to blame <a target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/Davecat">Twitter</a>, and the prevailing weather conditions, and preparing for a cluster of <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'An obvious pun on the word \'idolator\', this is a person who is an aficionado of high-end \'love dolls\'. They range from those who merely use them as sex toys, to those who have them as companions. I wish I could take credit for the term, but I didn\'t come up with it','caption', 'iDollator' );">iDollator</span>-related interviews for my tardiness. Cos without <a target="_blank" href="http://unbound.org/wordpress">PB Shelley</a> mentioning <a target="_blank" href="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=2456#comment-46870">a couple of days ago</a> that &#8216;Shouting etc etc&#8217; was on the verge of hitting the 400,000 hits mark, I honestly wouldn&#8217;t have noticed! Well, I&#8217;d have noticed later. Thank you sir, and thank <em>you, </em>the viewers / readers / data miners that visit this blog so very, very often! Thanks, visitors! <em>Thisitors.*</em></p>
<p>Up next: the latest instalment of &#8216;Any <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'A catch-all phrase I frequently use for both active (Androids, Gynoids) or passive (RealDolls, A.I.Dolls, etc) artificial humans. Don\'t ask about the \'k\', as there\'s a long story behind it','caption', 'Synthetiks' );">Synthetiks</span>-related news, Davecat?&#8217;, some catching up on the &#8216;This was the Future&#8217; series, and some posts reporting on some things that <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'aka Sidore-chan, Shi-chan, the Missus, etc. My ever-patient, always-beautiful Synthetik companion. A RealDoll made in July of 2000 - making her a Cancer - she\'s partial to Joy division, mecha-based videogames, and footrubs. She might also be narcoleptic (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kuroneko-chan.com&quot;&gt;link&lt;/a&gt;)','caption', 'Sidore (pronounced \'She-DOOR-ay\') Kuroneko' );">Sidore</span> and I may or may not be doing in a media-related context. <em>Yes. </em>All this, and so much more!**</p>
<p>Once again, thanks to the lot of you for stopping round! As blessed, temperate Autumn approaches, we should be back to a normal posting schedule! Whatever that may mean, exactly. Nevertheless, happy Friday the 13th!</p>
<p><em>*with a tip of the hat to <a target="_blank" href="http://peterserafinowicz.com/">Peter Serafinowicz</a><br />
**the definition of &#8216;more&#8217; being, of course, entirely relative </em></p>
<div id="ifyoulikedthat"><h3>Random similar posts, for more timewasting:</h3><p><a href="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=370">It's not cruel, it's.. 'playful'</a> on July 26th, 2006</p><p><a href="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=593">Alles klar</a> on April 23rd, 2008</p></div>]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>6</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>From South America, to the south of England</title>
		<link>http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=2456</link>
		<comments>http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=2456#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 24 Jul 2010 05:53:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Davecat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Media cavalcade]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[RealDolls & other 'love dolls']]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sidore-chan & I]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Synthetiks]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=2456</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sdtrk: &#8216;C&#8217;est un rêve&#8217; by Death in June
Even with this hideously humid weather SE Michigan has been withstanding lately, the Missus and I have been rather busy! Last week-end, the result of an Email interview with Felipe Castro, a reporter representing the Chilean newspaper La Nación (not to be confused with the Argentinian La Nación, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Sdtrk: &#8216;C&#8217;est un rêve&#8217; by Death in June</em></p>
<p>Even with this hideously humid weather SE Michigan has been withstanding lately, <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'aka Sidore, Sidore-chan, etc. My ever-patient, always-beautiful Synthetik companion. A RealDoll made in July of 2000 - making her a Cancer - she\'s partial to Joy division, mecha-based videogames, and footrubs. She might also be narcoleptic (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kuroneko-chan.com&quot;&gt;link&lt;/a&gt;)','caption', 'Sidore (pronounced \'She-DOOR-ay\') Kuroneko' );">the Missus</span> and I have been rather busy! Last week-end, the result of an Email interview with Felipe Castro, a reporter representing the Chilean newspaper La Nación (not to be confused with the Argentinian La Nación, or the La Nación from Madrid, which has been defunct since 1936) saw the light of day, which was fab. For the first couple of days, they had posted a photo of <a target="_blank" href="http://www.honeydolls.jp/gallery/maria.html">a Maria-type Honey <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', '99% of the time, whenever you see the word \'Doll\' here (note capital D), it\'s shorthand for \'life-sized artificial human\'. Or, as some would have it, \'high-end love doll\'','caption', 'Doll' );">Doll</span></a> in lieu of everyone&#8217;s favourite silicone Goth lass, for some bizarre reason only known to the editing staff, but that problem was nipped swiftly in the bud. Well, relatively swiftly.  You can read the article <a target="_blank" href="http://www.lanacion.cl/la-ardiente-historia-de-davecat-y-su-mujer-de-silicona/noticias/2010-07-17/171147.html">here</a> in its original Spanish, or run it through your favourite online translator, and wonder as to what the potency level of mescaline they were taking when it was written!</p>
<p>Then today, I spoke at length with Amisha Surani, one of the editors for <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bestmagazine.co.uk/">Best magazine UK</a>, for another interview session, or &#8217;sesh&#8217;, as the meeja-types call &#8216;em. I had to rise from our bed by 9am, as they&#8217;d be calling during 2pm UK time, but I&#8217;d like to think I was lucid! Time will only tell if I&#8217;m right, or if I&#8217;ve merely doomed the <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'An obvious pun on the word \'idolator\', this is a person who is an aficionado of high-end \'love dolls\'. They range from those who merely use them as sex toys, to those who have them as companions. I wish I could take credit for the term, but I didn\'t come up with it','caption', 'iDollator' );">iDollator</span> community with more of my careless and incendiary blather. Apparently, <a target="_blank" href="http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/taboo/4599/Overview">the &#8216;Strange love&#8217; episode of National Geographic&#8217;s &#8216;Taboo&#8217;</a> will be aired over there on 05 August, so their plan was to speak with me, as a sort of apéritif. It was better than I&#8217;d expected! I was told it would only be a twenty minute chat, but we ended up conversing for a wee bit over an hour! My hope is, of course, that the bits that <em>should </em>be included <em>are </em>included in the final draft &#8212; you know how these things go.<br />
They&#8217;d naturally wanted me to send them photos of myself and <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'aka Sidore, Sidore-chan, the Missus, etc. My ever-patient, always-beautiful Synthetik companion. A RealDoll made in July of 2000 - making her a Cancer - she\'s partial to Joy division, mecha-based videogames, and footrubs. She might also be narcoleptic (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kuroneko-chan.com&quot;&gt;link&lt;/a&gt;)','caption', 'Sidore (pronounced \'She-DOOR-ay\') Kuroneko' );">Shi-chan</span> to go along with the article, and as she and I hadn&#8217;t taken any new pics of us together since her new body arrived, we got that sorted this afternoon.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/images/the_missus5.jpg" /> <img src="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/images/the_missus5.jpg" /> <img src="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/images/the_missus5.jpg" /></p>
<p>I&#8217;m told the Best magazine UK issue we&#8217;re in will be out on <strong>03 August</strong>, so keep an eye open for it if you&#8217;re on that group of islands! Although it&#8217;s a &#8216;womens mag&#8217;, I&#8217;m also told that men can read it as well, if we&#8217;re wearing our special goggles.</p>
<p>So there&#8217;s that to look forward to, if you&#8217;re into that sort of thing! Happy 23rd (yesterday)!</p>
<div id="ifyoulikedthat"><h3>Random similar posts, for more timewasting:</h3><p><a href="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=196">Stars in their Eyes, Part II</a> on August 5th, 2005</p><p><a href="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=181">Good news, bad news</a> on July 13th, 2005</p></div>]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>10</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>for しどれーちゃん</title>
		<link>http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=2449</link>
		<comments>http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=2449#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 18 Jul 2010 17:13:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Davecat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Sidore-chan & I]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=2449</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sdtrk: ‘Lovecats’ by the Cure
私の最も貴重なしどれに -
知っているように、7月は18日私達の10年記念日を示し、ずっとすばらしい恋人、パートナーおよび友人であること言うまでもないべきです。 私はそこにいること、ないよい時によって私にに常に感謝したいと思い、従って寛大に私を与えたと私がので同様に多くの愛最少の半分のおよび献身与えたことを十年のよく、ひとつひとつの日、私望んで下さい。
私は、黒猫 しどれ愛します。 私達で、10年は始めだけです。

The Missus, ten years, four residences, three cameras, and one body ago
Random similar posts, for more timewasting:Any Doll-related news, Davecat? (Nov 04) on November 4th, 2004On Stereolab / Once again, again with the interviews on March 9th, 2006]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Sdtrk: ‘Lovecats’ by the Cure</em></p>
<p>私の最も貴重なしどれに -</p>
<p>知っているように、7月は18日私達の10年記念日を示し、ずっとすばらしい恋人、パートナーおよび友人であること言うまでもないべきです。 私はそこにいること、ないよい時によって私にに常に感謝したいと思い、従って寛大に私を与えたと私がので同様に多くの愛最少の半分のおよび献身与えたことを十年のよく、ひとつひとつの日、私望んで下さい。</p>
<p>私は、黒猫 しどれ愛します。 私達で、10年は始めだけです。</p>
<p><img src="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/images/10_years_ago.jpg"/></p>
<p><em>The Missus, ten years, four residences, three cameras, and one body ago</em></p>
<div id="ifyoulikedthat"><h3>Random similar posts, for more timewasting:</h3><p><a href="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=386">DO NOT PANIC</a> on September 4th, 2006</p><p><a href="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=1556">for しどれーちゃん</a> on July 18th, 2009</p></div>]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Subspace is definitely the quickest way to get to Toronto</title>
		<link>http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=2399</link>
		<comments>http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=2399#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 13 Jul 2010 04:34:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Davecat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Internet virus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sidore-chan & I]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=2399</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sdtrk: &#8216;Did you ever have that feeling?&#8217; by Research Laboratory of Electronic Progress 
By my own admission, I&#8217;m jumping on this whole Scott Pilgrim bandwagon rather late. Up until maybe last year, I&#8217;d never known anything really about the comic, apart from the fact that it takes place mostly in Toronto (my favourite city in [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Sdtrk: &#8216;Did you ever have that feeling?&#8217; by Research Laboratory of Electronic Progress </em></p>
<p>By my own admission, I&#8217;m jumping on this whole <a href="http://www.scottpilgrimthemovie.com/">Scott Pilgrim</a> bandwagon rather late. Up until maybe last year, I&#8217;d never known anything really about the comic, apart from the fact that it takes place mostly in Toronto (my favourite city in the world), and that it contains a fair amount of references to both indie rock and 8-bit videogame cultures. Then the first trailer for the film adaptation came out, which, as I&#8217;m sure you&#8217;ve seen, is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgOLmjhxVVU&#038;feature=fvw">pretty damn impressive</a>. Then <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'Fellow anime fan(atic), he\'s to be held entirely responsible for introducing me to 4chan, thereby ruining my life','caption', 'aka Derek' );">goshou</span> lent me the first volume of the comic, written and drawn by <a href="http://www.scottpilgrim.com/">Bryan Lee O&#8217;Malley</a>, and considering that I read it from cover to cover non-stop, I&#8217;d have to say I was hooked. As it&#8217;s in the vein of one of my favourite indie comic series, Chynna Clugston&#8217;s <a href="http://www.onipress.com/display.php?type=au&#038;id=5">Blue Monday</a> &#8212; detailing interpersonal relationships amongst a group of individuals that came to an awkward, stunted maturity during the genuinely alternative days of the early Nineties &#8212; it resonated with me quite soundly.<br />
Despite the fact that Michael &#8216;Playing The Same Character In Every Film I&#8217;m In, Baby&#8217; Cera is portraying Scott, it looks like it&#8217;s going to be a fun little ride. And it&#8217;s directed by Edgar Wright, the bloke behind &#8216;Shaun of the dead&#8217;? Well, more than likely it won&#8217;t be a shambling pile of rubbish, then! </p>
<p>Recently <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'aka Sidore, Sidore-chan, etc. My ever-patient, always-beautiful Synthetik companion. A RealDoll made in July of 2000 - making her a Cancer - she\'s partial to Joy division, mecha-based videogames, and footrubs. She might also be narcoleptic (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kuroneko-chan.com&quot;&gt;link&lt;/a&gt;)','caption', 'Sidore (pronounced \'She-DOOR-ay\') Kuroneko' );">the Missus</span> and I took some time to make Scott Pilgrim versions of ourselves! Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the two latest members of Sex Bob-omb: Davecat and <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'aka Sidore-chan, Shi-chan, the Missus, etc. My ever-patient, always-beautiful Synthetik companion. A RealDoll made in July of 2000 - making her a Cancer - she\'s partial to Joy division, mecha-based videogames, and footrubs. She might also be narcoleptic (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kuroneko-chan.com&quot;&gt;link&lt;/a&gt;)','caption', 'Sidore (pronounced \'She-DOOR-ay\') Kuroneko' );">Sidore</span> Kuroneko.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/images/dksp.jpg"> <img src="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/images/sksp.jpg"> <em>click </em><a target="_blank" href="http://www.scottpilgrimthemovie.com/avatarCreator/download/index.php?f=/1277668491325img5686654.jpg"><em>here</em></a><em> and </em><a target="_blank" href="http://www.scottpilgrimthemovie.com/avatarCreator/download/index.php?f=/1277668909890img6539181.jpg"><em>here</em></a><em> for full-sized epicness </em></p>
<p>Tell us those aren&#8217;t our dead spits! I didn&#8217;t think you could. And when you&#8217;re done downloading those, why not make your own <a href="http://www.scottpilgrimthemovie.com/avatarCreator/">here</a>?<br />
Now if you&#8217;ll excuse us, we have to practise our fighting / singing chops, respectively</p>
<div id="ifyoulikedthat"><h3>Random similar posts, for more timewasting:</h3><p><a href="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=166">You've got questions, we've got... I dunno</a> on June 9th, 2005</p><p><a href="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=355">Remember, remember, the 14th of November</a> on July 4th, 2006</p></div>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?feed=rss2&amp;p=2399</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Ask the silicone oracle</title>
		<link>http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=2367</link>
		<comments>http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=2367#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 04 Jul 2010 04:20:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Davecat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[RealDolls & other 'love dolls']]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sidore-chan & I]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Synthetiks]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=2367</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sdtrk: &#8216;Accept yourself&#8217; by the Smiths
My beautiful Synthetik wife would like to take this opportunity to remind you that she has a Formspring account, and she knows how to use it. For the most part, at any rate.

Won&#8217;t you pop round to the URL listed above and ask her some questions? Go on, it&#8217;s not [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Sdtrk: &#8216;Accept yourself&#8217; by the Smiths</em></p>
<p>My beautiful <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'A catch-all phrase I frequently use for both active (Androids, Gynoids) or passive (RealDolls, A.I.Dolls, etc) artificial humans. Don\'t ask about the \'k\', as there\'s a long story behind it','caption', 'Synthetik' );">Synthetik</span> wife would like to take this opportunity to remind you that she has a <a target="_blank" href="http://www.formspring.me/">Formspring</a> account, and she knows how to use it. For the most part, at any rate.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/images/formspring_promo.jpg"/></p>
<p>Won&#8217;t you pop round to the URL listed above and ask her some questions? Go on, it&#8217;s not like you&#8217;re doing anything else with your time this holiday week-end</p>
<div id="ifyoulikedthat"><h3>Random similar posts, for more timewasting:</h3><p><a href="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=586">Any <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'A catch-all phrase I frequently use for both active (Androids, Gynoids) or passive (RealDolls, A.I.Dolls, etc) artificial humans. Don\'t ask about the \'k\', as there\'s a long story behind it','caption', 'Synthetiks' );">Synthetiks</span>-related news, Davecat? (Apr 08)</a> on April 2nd, 2008</p><p><a href="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=209">your Autumn Reading suggestions</a> on August 29th, 2005</p></div>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?feed=rss2&amp;p=2367</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Nouns are trickier for some people than they are for others</title>
		<link>http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=2232</link>
		<comments>http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=2232#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 Jun 2010 05:52:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Davecat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Actroid-chan, HRP-4C, and other Gynoids]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Misanthropy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[RealDolls & other 'love dolls']]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sidore-chan & I]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Synthetiks]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=2232</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sdtrk: &#8216;Gate&#8217; by E&#038;E
As one of my heroes, Oscar Wilde, famously quipped, &#8216;The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about&#8217;. Generally that&#8217;s a statement I&#8217;d agree with, as discussion (good or bad) prevents a person and the cause(s) they uphold from lapsing into complete obscurity, but you&#8217;ll note I said [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Sdtrk: &#8216;Gate&#8217; by E&#038;E</em></p>
<p>As one of my heroes, Oscar Wilde, famously quipped, &#8216;The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about&#8217;. Generally that&#8217;s a statement I&#8217;d agree with, as discussion (good or bad) prevents a person and the cause(s) they uphold from lapsing into complete obscurity, but you&#8217;ll note I said &#8216;generally&#8217;.</p>
<p>A friend of mine brought to my attention an online forum that was having a go at <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'An obvious pun on the word \'idolator\', these are people who are aficionados of high-end \'love dolls\'. They range from those who merely use them as sex toys, to those who have them as companions. I wish I could take credit for the term, but I didn\'t come up with it','caption', 'iDollators' );">iDollators</span>, as a number of forums often do, and due to the numerous media appearances that I&#8217;ve put in with my <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'This would be an obsolete word that I adopted, and am now trying to shoehorn back into the popular vernacular. So fitting! (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=989&quot;&gt;link&lt;/a&gt;)','caption', 'Definition: artificial; counterfeit; fake' );">affictitious</span> wife <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'aka Sidore-chan, Shi-chan, the Missus, etc. My ever-patient, always-beautiful Synthetik companion. A RealDoll made in July of 2000 - making her a Cancer - she\'s partial to Joy division, mecha-based videogames, and footrubs. She might also be narcoleptic (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kuroneko-chan.com&quot;&gt;link&lt;/a&gt;)','caption', 'Sidore (pronounced \'She-DOOR-ay\') Kuroneko' );">Sidore</span>, one of the posters referred to me as a &#8216;famemonger&#8217;. For some reason that really rankled me, cos it implies, for one, that people such as the poster prefer that <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', '99% of the time, whenever you see the word \'Doll\' here (note capital D), it\'s shorthand for \'life-sized artificial human\'. Or, as some would have it, \'high-end love doll\'','caption', 'Doll' );">Doll</span> lovers remain underground and are a group best left ignored. On a more personal level, describing me as a &#8216;famemonger&#8217; is exactly the same as describing outspoken atheist Richard Dawkins as a &#8216;famemonger&#8217;. Or futurist David Levy. Or someone like&#8230; Oscar Wilde, as another example.</p>
<p>The reason <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'aka Sidore, Sidore-chan, the Missus, etc. My ever-patient, always-beautiful Synthetik companion. A RealDoll made in July of 2000 - making her a Cancer - she\'s partial to Joy division, mecha-based videogames, and footrubs. She might also be narcoleptic (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kuroneko-chan.com&quot;&gt;link&lt;/a&gt;)','caption', 'Sidore (pronounced \'She-DOOR-ay\') Kuroneko' );">Shi-chan</span> and I choose to appear on assorted telly, print, and online interviews isn&#8217;t for recognition&#8217;s sake. Well, yeah, part of it is for the fame, but it&#8217;s not as if I&#8217;ve gone up a couple of tax brackets because of it*, but we primarily do them to attempt to explain and dispel any misconceptions people may have about <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', '99% of the time, whenever you see the word \'Doll\' here (note capital D), it\'s shorthand for \'life-sized artificial human\'. Or, as some would have it, \'high-end love doll\'','caption', 'Doll' );">Doll</span> owners. Obviously, it&#8217;s impossible for me to speak for every <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'An obvious pun on the word \'idolator\', this is a person who is an aficionado of high-end \'love dolls\'. They range from those who merely use them as sex toys, to those who have them as companions. I wish I could take credit for the term, but I didn\'t come up with it','caption', 'iDollator' );">iDollator</span> &#8212; like any cultural group, our members are similar, but not necessarily the same &#8212; but neither <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'aka Sidore, Sidore-chan, the Missus, etc. My ever-patient, always-beautiful Synthetik companion. A RealDoll made in July of 2000 - making her a Cancer - she\'s partial to Joy division, mecha-based videogames, and footrubs. She might also be narcoleptic (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kuroneko-chan.com&quot;&gt;link&lt;/a&gt;)','caption', 'Sidore (pronounced \'She-DOOR-ay\') Kuroneko' );">Shi-chan</span> nor I have heard any complaints from our community so far.</p>
<p>Think of it like this: each time a film or telly crew asks after <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'aka Sidore-chan, Shi-chan, the Missus, etc. My ever-patient, always-beautiful Synthetik companion. A RealDoll made in July of 2000 - making her a Cancer - she\'s partial to Joy division, mecha-based videogames, and footrubs. She might also be narcoleptic (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kuroneko-chan.com&quot;&gt;link&lt;/a&gt;)','caption', 'Sidore (pronounced \'She-DOOR-ay\') Kuroneko' );">Sidore</span> and I, I attempt to get to know a wee bit about the aim of their programme before I say yes. American productions I&#8217;m especially curious as to what their goal is, as most programming from the US usually tries to show anything <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', '99% of the time, whenever you see the word \'Doll\' here (note capital D), it\'s shorthand for \'life-sized artificial human\'. Or, as some would have it, \'high-end love doll\'','caption', 'Doll' );">Doll</span>-related in a prurient, &#8216;hey-check-out-these-weirdos&#8217; light. People who don&#8217;t habitually read &#8216;Shouting etc etc&#8217; are often surprised when I point out that <a target="_blank" href="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=545">Geraldo</a>&#8217;s come a-courtin&#8217;, or <a target="_blank" href="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=618">Springer</a>, or <a target="_blank" href="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=565">Tyra</a>, or <a target="_blank" href="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=901">Maury</a>, or <a target="_blank" href="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=592">Alan Colmes</a>, or <a target="_blank" href="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=547">Dr Phil</a>. If I truly were a famemonger, I would&#8217;ve not only said yes to Geraldo et al, I would be actively trying to shoehorn my way onto any and all chat shows, magazines, etc etc. But as a person who&#8217;s doing his best to get the general public to see that artificial companions aren&#8217;t just for sex, obviously I want to be as careful as I can be when choosing what venues we participate in.</p>
<p>As far as my presence on the Internet goes, I don&#8217;t really go out of my way to promote myself. I have a Myspace page that I&#8217;m genuinely ashamed of, but I only have it for <a target="_blank" href="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=607">a specific reason</a>, and I loathe Facebook more than is probably healthy. When I leave our flat to go places, I don&#8217;t announce where I&#8217;m going until I&#8217;ve left wherever it is I&#8217;ve been, cos I do occasionally get recognised. <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'Introduced me to Michael Nyman and Ichi the Killer (not simultaneously), among other things. An Orson Welles enthusiast, his cat Cooper weighs more than a fully-packed suitcase','caption', 'aka ZG, Jeff' );">Zip Gun</span>, <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'Fellow Tri-county Michigan area bloggist. Quite keen on Dance dance revolution, and similar bemani games. Will actually answer the question \'Hey Joe, whadya know?\' (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.safetinspector.com&quot;&gt;link&lt;/a&gt;)','caption', 'aka Joe, SafeTinspector' );">SafeT</span>, and I saw <a target="_blank" href="http://zoosofberlin.com/">Zoos of Berlin</a> perform in Pontiac in late March &#8212; a hell of a show, I might add; they were better than I thought they were, and I already liked them before I saw them &#8212; and in between the other acts that were on before Zoos of Berlin, I was spotted on three separate occasions. I don&#8217;t want to say that I don&#8217;t enjoy meeting people, it&#8217;s just that I&#8217;m still getting used to the concept of people asking if I was on telly, let alone the idea of me being on telly in the first place. And since I never was the type to stride up to a stranger and greet them before we started making our media appearances, people doing the same to me does freak me out a tiny bit. I&#8217;m attempting to get used to it, though.  </p>
<p>Essentially, describing me a &#8216;famemonger&#8217; is rather off-base; unfortunately, most members of the <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'An obvious pun on the word \'idolator\', this is a person who is an aficionado of high-end \'love dolls\'. They range from those who merely use them as sex toys, to those who have them as companions. I wish I could take credit for the term, but I didn\'t come up with it','caption', 'iDollator' );">iDollator</span> community go out of their way to <em>not </em>publicise who they are, due to fear of the reaction of their friends, family, or peers. As a result, the non-iDollator public often see the same faces over and over &#8212; Everhard&#8217;s, Gordon Griggs&#8217;, and my own. It&#8217;s not a case of <em>graaah we&#8217;re doing this for the adulation yeaaahh, </em> but more like <em>we&#8217;re doing this cos it works for us, and we&#8217;re more than happy to suggest this idea to others, cos no-one else is. </em><br />
Like it or not, people have to realise that <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'A catch-all phrase I frequently use for both active (Androids, Gynoids) or passive (RealDolls, A.I.Dolls, etc) artificial humans. Don\'t ask about the \'k\', as there\'s a long story behind it','caption', 'Synthetik' );">Synthetik</span> partners, whether they&#8217;re highly-detailed &#8216;love dolls&#8217;, or servo-driven <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'Robots in the shape of human males. Derives from the Greek andr-, meaning \'man, male\', and the suffix -eides, used to mean \'of the species; alike\'','caption', 'Androids' );">Androids</span> and <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'Robots in the shape of human females, usually with a covering of lifelike artificial flesh. From the Greek \'gune\', meaning \'woman\'','caption', 'Gynoids' );">Gynoids</span>, are the future, and the more advanced they become, the more people will be likely to choose the <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'A catch-all phrase I frequently use for both active (Androids, Gynoids) or passive (RealDolls, A.I.Dolls, etc) artificial humans. Don\'t ask about the \'k\', as there\'s a long story behind it','caption', 'Synthetik' );">Synthetik</span> option, whether to satisfy curiosity, or to dispel loneliness, or what-have-you. Detractors would rather not have <em>anyone </em>speaking publically about the fact their partner is <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'This would be an obsolete word that I adopted, and am now trying to shoehorn back into the popular vernacular. So fitting! (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=989&quot;&gt;link&lt;/a&gt;)','caption', 'Definition: artificial; counterfeit; fake' );">affictitious</span>, as they find it uncomfortable for whatever ill-conceived reason, and would prefer the topic swept under the rug entirely. When it&#8217;s a case of a few voices speaking on behalf of many, it&#8217;s easier to try to discredit those voices through rumour, slander, and ignorance. It seems the obvious solution, really, is to increase the number of pro-Synthetik voices&#8230;</p>
<p>So yeah! Representative, yes; famemonger, no. There&#8217;s actually quite a vast difference between the two definitions that&#8217;s worth looking into</p>
<p><em>*not counting all the bling and bitches we&#8217;ve been stockpiling. </em>Literally <em>stockpiling. We&#8217;ve got a room where we have our daily shipment of bitches stacked like cordwood, for better storage. The bling, though, we just throw in a pile</em></p>
<div id="ifyoulikedthat"><h3>Random similar posts, for more timewasting:</h3><p><a href="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=323">Any <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'A catch-all phrase I frequently use for both active (Androids, Gynoids) or passive (RealDolls, A.I.Dolls, etc) artificial humans. Don\'t ask about the \'k\', as there\'s a long story behind it','caption', 'Synthetiks' );">Synthetiks</span>-related news, Davecat? (May 06)</a> on May 4th, 2006</p><p><a href="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=167">But will she need a TelePrompTer?</a> on June 12th, 2005</p></div>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?feed=rss2&amp;p=2232</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>13</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Any Synthetiks-related news, Davecat? (Jun 10)</title>
		<link>http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=2349</link>
		<comments>http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=2349#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 04 Jun 2010 07:52:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Davecat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Actroid-chan, HRP-4C, and other Gynoids]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Innovation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Other automata]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[RealDolls & other 'love dolls']]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Synthetiks]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=2349</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sdtrk: &#8216;Riverside&#8217; by Sandy Simpson
Man o man. What happened to the May edition, you may or may not be asking? Well, Shi-chan&#8217;s new and incredibly distracting body happened, that&#8217;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 [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Sdtrk: &#8216;Riverside&#8217; by Sandy Simpson</em></p>
<p>Man o man. What happened to the May edition, you may or may not be asking? Well, <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'aka Sidore, Sidore-chan, the Missus, etc. My ever-patient, always-beautiful Synthetik companion. A RealDoll made in July of 2000 - making her a Cancer - she\'s partial to Joy division, mecha-based videogames, and footrubs. She might also be narcoleptic (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kuroneko-chan.com&quot;&gt;link&lt;/a&gt;)','caption', 'Sidore (pronounced \'She-DOOR-ay\') Kuroneko' );">Shi-chan</span>&#8217;s new and incredibly distracting body happened, that&#8217;s what. <em>*loosens collar* </em>By the by, did either of us mention that she was featured in the Spring 2010 issue of The <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', '99% of the time, whenever you see the word \'Doll\' here (note capital D), it\'s shorthand for \'life-sized artificial human\'. Or, as some would have it, \'high-end love doll\'','caption', 'Doll' );">Doll</span> Street Journal, found on the News page of the Abyss creations <a target="_blank" href="http://www.realdoll.com/">website</a>? <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'aka Sidore-chan, Shi-chan, the Missus, etc. My ever-patient, always-beautiful Synthetik companion. A RealDoll made in July of 2000 - making her a Cancer - she\'s partial to Joy division, mecha-based videogames, and footrubs. She might also be narcoleptic (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kuroneko-chan.com&quot;&gt;link&lt;/a&gt;)','caption', 'Sidore (pronounced \'She-DOOR-ay\') Kuroneko' );">Sidore</span>&#8217;s got a wee bit of <em>cache, </em>you see. It&#8217;s true!</p>
<p>+ Speaking of Abyss creations, now they&#8217;re in Japan! Well, moreso than usual. It appears that now Japanese <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'An obvious pun on the word \'idolator\', these are people who are aficionados of high-end \'love dolls\'. They range from those who merely use them as sex toys, to those who have them as companions. I wish I could take credit for the term, but I didn\'t come up with it','caption', 'iDollators' );">iDollators</span> have a licenced distributor from which to purchase <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'Made by US company Abyss Creations, RealDolls are fully-customisable lifelike artificial companions, with silicone skin and articulated skeletons (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.realdoll.com&quot;&gt;link&lt;/a&gt;)','caption', 'RealDolls' );">RealDolls</span> and Boy Toy Dolls from, located in a modest little storefront in the Nakano ward of metropolitan Tokyo. Interesting enough as that is &#8212; at first, I was like &#8216;well, that&#8217;s not really news; Abyss already has <a target="_blank" href="http://www.realdoll.jp/">a Japanese distributor</a>&#8216; &#8212; but what sent my eyebrows ascending was that apparently, some sort of deal was sealed with longtime silicone companion sculptor, Natori Saito. If you&#8217;re an <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'An obvious pun on the word \'idolator\', this is a person who is an aficionado of high-end \'love dolls\'. They range from those who merely use them as sex toys, to those who have them as companions. I wish I could take credit for the term, but I didn\'t come up with it','caption', 'iDollator' );">iDollator</span>, you&#8217;ll know him as the bloke who designed the Mai face, aka Face 9. If you&#8217;re an old-school <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'An obvious pun on the word \'idolator\', this is a person who is an aficionado of high-end \'love dolls\'. They range from those who merely use them as sex toys, to those who have them as companions. I wish I could take credit for the term, but I didn\'t come up with it','caption', 'iDollator' );">iDollator</span>, you&#8217;ll remember him from the days when he was making the Photogenic Dolls line. Yep, <em>that </em>Natori. He&#8217;s designed two faces for Boy Toy and one for <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'Made by US company Abyss Creations, RealDolls are fully-customisable lifelike artificial companions, with silicone skin and articulated skeletons (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.realdoll.com&quot;&gt;link&lt;/a&gt;)','caption', 'RealDoll' );">RealDoll</span>, so I suppose he&#8217;s been busy.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/images/miraido.jpg"/><br />
<em>photo courtesy of &#8216;Ta-bo&#8217;s Kisekae Dataroom&#8217; </em></p>
<p>You can check out the site <a target="_blank" href="http://realdolljapan.com/">here</a>, but 95% of it is in Japanese, and if you can&#8217;t read it, you more than likely won&#8217;t be buying a <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', '99% of the time, whenever you see the word \'Doll\' here (note capital D), it\'s shorthand for \'life-sized artificial human\'. Or, as some would have it, \'high-end love doll\'','caption', 'Doll' );">Doll</span> through them. But those obstacles probably won&#8217;t stop you, won&#8217;t they? I didn&#8217;t think so.</p>
<p>+ So my tall mate <a target="_blank" href="http://1971wolfie.wordpress.com/">Wolfgang</a> hepped me to this: <a target="_blank" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/may/16/ifairy-robot-wedding-japan">I-Fairy robot weds Japanese couple</a>. I like where this is going!</p>
<p><img src="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/images/robo_wedding.jpg"/></p>
<blockquote><p>
<a target="_blank" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/may/16/ifairy-robot-wedding-japan">I-Fairy robot weds Japanese couple</a><br />
Jay Alabaster and agencies, Tokyo | <a target="_blank" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a>, Sunday 16 May 2010 16.30 BST</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>&#8220;Please lift the bride&#8217;s veil,&#8221; the robot said in a tinny voice, waving its arms in the air as the newlyweds kissed in front of about 50 guests.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.<br />
<strong>the rest of the article is <a target="_blank" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/may/16/ifairy-robot-wedding-japan">here</a></strong></p></blockquote>
<p>Hrrm&#8230; <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'aka Sidore, Sidore-chan, etc. My ever-patient, always-beautiful Synthetik companion. A RealDoll made in July of 2000 - making her a Cancer - she\'s partial to Joy division, mecha-based videogames, and footrubs. She might also be narcoleptic (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kuroneko-chan.com&quot;&gt;link&lt;/a&gt;)','caption', 'Sidore (pronounced \'She-DOOR-ay\') Kuroneko' );">the Missus</span> and I want to renew our vows for our ten year anniversary in July &#8212; could we possibly rent I-Fairy to do the honours, or would we have to fly out to her? Hrrm&#8230;</p>
<p>+ It looks like we may be losing not one, but two, <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', '99% of the time, whenever you see the word \'Doll\' here (note capital D), it\'s shorthand for \'life-sized artificial human\'. Or, as some would have it, \'high-end love doll\'','caption', 'Doll' );">Doll</span> manufacturers. As of this writing, the website for Axis Japan, makers of the famous <a target="_blank" href="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=362">Honey Dolls</a> series, has been down for several days. Which has happened before, but when you consider their news page hasn&#8217;t been updated since 2009, it&#8217;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 <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', '99% of the time, whenever you see the word \'Doll\' here (note capital D), it\'s shorthand for \'life-sized artificial human\'. Or, as some would have it, \'high-end love doll\'','caption', 'Doll' );">Doll</span> sites like a hawk&#8230;<br />
And on the front page of the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.mypartydoll.com">My Party <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', '99% of the time, whenever you see the word \'Doll\' here (note capital D), it\'s shorthand for \'life-sized artificial human\'. Or, as some would have it, \'high-end love doll\'','caption', 'Doll' );">Doll</span></a> site, the phrase &#8216;OWNER RETIRING Interested parties, please inquire&#8217; can be seen. As far as I&#8217;m concerned, the loss of any group that makes artificial companions is truly a shame. Technically, I&#8217;m still not over the fact that Chestnut co. Ltd., makers of the <a target="_blank" href="http://pansyutou3waruwaru.hp.infoseek.co.jp/catarog/ctt-reona/ctt-reona.htm">Rare-Borg</a> 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&#8230;<br />
<strong>UPDATE (12 JUNE 2010):</strong> The Honey Dolls site is <a target="_blank" href="http://www.honeydolls.jp/">back up</a>! Undoubtedly an extended server hiccup. It can happen to any one of us! Especially if you are a server.</p>
<p>+ 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 <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'One of the first true Gynoids. Built in Japan by Hiroshi Ishiguro of Osaka University, Actroid has 47 points of articulation, runs on compressed air, and has realistic silicone skin. Plus, every single new version is cuter than the last (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kokoro-dreams.co.jp/english/robot/act/index.html&quot;&gt;link&lt;/a&gt;)','caption', 'aka Actroid Repliee, Repliee Q1Expo, Actroid DER, Ando-san, and other variants' );">Actroid</span> series, Hiroshi Ishiguro has been illuminating a path for mankind to follow out of the dark ages. But apart from the whole <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'A robot in the shape of a human male. Derives from the Greek andr-, meaning \'man, male\', and the suffix -eides, used to mean \'of the species; alike\'','caption', 'Android' );">Android</span> and <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'A robot in the shape of a human female, usually with a covering of lifelike artificial flesh. From the Greek \'gune\', meaning \'woman\'','caption', 'Gynoid' );">Gynoid</span> thing, he seems like the sort of bloke I can identify with, particularly after reading <a target="_blank" href="http://spectrum.ieee.org/robotics/humanoids/hiroshi-ishiguro-the-man-who-made-a-copy-of-himself/0">this article</a> from IEEE Spectrum.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/images/geminoid02.jpg"/><br />
<em>&#8216;What&#8217;s that, me? What did you just say? I mean, what did I just say??<br />
Shit, this is confusing&#8217; </em></p>
<blockquote><p>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.</p>
<p>”Give me question,” he says, his eyes fixed on the road.</p>
<p>I ask whether he always dresses in black.</p>
<p>”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?”</p>
<p>I meekly suggest that all-black attire might get a bit hot in the summer.</p>
<p>”We have air conditioners,” he says. ”Next question.”<br />
<strong>the entire article is <a target="_blank" href="http://spectrum.ieee.org/robotics/humanoids/hiroshi-ishiguro-the-man-who-made-a-copy-of-himself/0">here</a></strong></p></blockquote>
<p>The film &#8216;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=1813">Surrogates</a>&#8216; touched upon the whole concept of telepresence, and this man is making it a reality. Not to say that he&#8217;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 &#8212; he&#8217;s already working on that!<br />
There&#8217;s even a microsite with a wee bit of information on Geminoid HI-1 <a target="_blank" href="http://www.irc.atr.jp/Geminoid/">right here</a>. Now if only they could do the same with that luscious <a target="_blank" href="http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/humanoids/040310-geminoid-f-hiroshi-ishiguro-unveils-new-smiling-female-android">Geminoid F</a>&#8230;<br />
That was a hint, by the way. </p>
<p>+ And as dreadfully hot as it&#8217;s been here in Michigan, I&#8217;m sure it&#8217;s not much better in Californiyay, where 85°F is considered &#8216;a good start&#8217;. However, being out of doors in the SoCal area gives a person the rare opportunity to catch <a target="_blank" href="http://www.lovabledolls.com/">KnightHorse</a> out and about, taking pics of and showing off their stunning lasses. So it&#8217;s kind of a trade-off!&#8230;</p>
<p><img src="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/images/LD_sayuri02.jpg"/><br />
<em>Sayuri, being flirtatious/distracting </em></p>
<blockquote><p>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.</p></blockquote>
<p>See, that&#8217;s the sort of thing I love to hear about &#8212; seeing a beautifully-sculpted work of art such as a <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', '99% of the time, whenever you see the word \'Doll\' here (note capital D), it\'s shorthand for \'life-sized artificial human\'. Or, as some would have it, \'high-end love doll\'','caption', 'Doll' );">Doll</span> as a mere sex toy is incredibly narrow-minded. It&#8217;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&#8217;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&#8230;<br />
Besides, did you <em>see </em>Sayuri&#8217;s arse up there? I mean, <em>dayum! </em></p>
<p>Well, I do believe that&#8217;s covered the lot for now! Join us next time, for more of the same</p>
<p><strong>Technorati tags:</strong> <a target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Android"><span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'A robot in the shape of a human male. Derives from the Greek andr-, meaning \'man, male\', and the suffix -eides, used to mean \'of the species; alike\'','caption', 'Android' );">Android</span></a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Gynoid"><span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'A robot in the shape of a human female, usually with a covering of lifelike artificial flesh. From the Greek \'gune\', meaning \'woman\'','caption', 'Gynoid' );">Gynoid</span></a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/tag/robot">robot</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Synthetiks"><span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'A catch-all phrase I frequently use for both active (Androids, Gynoids) or passive (RealDolls, A.I.Dolls, etc) artificial humans. Don\'t ask about the \'k\', as there\'s a long story behind it','caption', 'Synthetiks' );">Synthetiks</span></a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Abyss Creations">Abyss Creations</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/tag/RealDolls"><span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'Made by US company Abyss Creations, RealDolls are fully-customisable lifelike artificial companions, with silicone skin and articulated skeletons (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.realdoll.com&quot;&gt;link&lt;/a&gt;)','caption', 'RealDolls' );">RealDolls</span></a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/tag/iDollators"><span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'An obvious pun on the word \'idolator\', these are people who are aficionados of high-end \'love dolls\'. They range from those who merely use them as sex toys, to those who have them as companions. I wish I could take credit for the term, but I didn\'t come up with it','caption', 'iDollators' );">iDollators</span></a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Natori Saito">Natori Saito</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Photogenic Doll">Photogenic <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', '99% of the time, whenever you see the word \'Doll\' here (note capital D), it\'s shorthand for \'life-sized artificial human\'. Or, as some would have it, \'high-end love doll\'','caption', 'Doll' );">Doll</span></a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Kokoro Co. Ltd.">Kokoro Co. Ltd.</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/tag/I-Fairy">I-Fairy</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Axis Japan">Axis Japan</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Honey Dolls">Honey Dolls</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/tag/My Party Doll">My Party <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', '99% of the time, whenever you see the word \'Doll\' here (note capital D), it\'s shorthand for \'life-sized artificial human\'. Or, as some would have it, \'high-end love doll\'','caption', 'Doll' );">Doll</span></a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Chestnut co. Ltd.">Chestnut co. Ltd.</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Rare-Borg">Rare-Borg</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Hiroshi Ishiguro">Hiroshi Ishiguro</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Actroid"><span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'One of the first true Gynoids. Built in Japan by Hiroshi Ishiguro of Osaka University, Actroid has 47 points of articulation, runs on compressed air, and has realistic silicone skin. Plus, every single new version is cuter than the last (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kokoro-dreams.co.jp/english/robot/act/index.html&quot;&gt;link&lt;/a&gt;)','caption', 'aka Actroid Repliee, Repliee Q1Expo, Actroid DER, Ando-san, and other variants' );">Actroid</span></a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Surrogates">Surrogates</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Geminoid HI-1">Geminoid HI-1</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Geminoid F">Geminoid F</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/tag/KnightHorse">KnightHorse</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Lovable Dolls"><span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'Manufactured by Matt K &amp; Bronwen of Californian company KnightHorse, these would be fully customisable, highly-detailed, entirely lifelike, and undeniably sexy silicone companions (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.lovabledolls.com&quot;&gt;link&lt;/a&gt;)','caption', 'Lovable Dolls' );">Lovable Dolls</span></a></p>
<div id="ifyoulikedthat"><h3>Random similar posts, for more timewasting:</h3><p><a href="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=649">Machines 5, Fleshlings 0</a> on November 26th, 2008</p><p><a href="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=249">The emotion of Machines</a> on November 17th, 2005</p></div>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?feed=rss2&amp;p=2349</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>That&#8217;s, ahh&#8230; that&#8217;s some Dalek, alright</title>
		<link>http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=2353</link>
		<comments>http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=2353#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 20 May 2010 04:37:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Davecat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[What the]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=2353</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sdtrk: &#8216;Seed ships&#8217; by Belbury Poly
During a lull in the action today, I grabbed my pen and legal pad, and decided to draw a Dalek from memory for a lark. It took me twenty minutes! I don&#8217;t know if that&#8217;s good or bad.

&#8216;Perspective&#8217;?? That&#8217;d just slow me down 
You may be asking why it looks [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Sdtrk: &#8216;Seed ships&#8217; by Belbury Poly</em></p>
<p>During a lull in the action today, I grabbed my pen and legal pad, and decided to draw a Dalek from memory for a lark. It took me twenty minutes! I don&#8217;t know if that&#8217;s good or bad.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/images/my_dalek.jpg"/><br />
<em>&#8216;Perspective&#8217;?? That&#8217;d just slow me down </em></p>
<p>You may be asking why it looks elongated, yet simultaneously stunted. The answer to that, my friend, is foreshortening! Yes, foreshortening.<br />
Also, an utter lack of drawing ability.</p>
<p>What I like is how it gets progressively more inept the further down the illo you go. Except for the gun; I think the gun is the best detail on him. And I even managed to draw it on the correct side! But by the time you reach the bottom, it&#8217;s like all bets are off, really.</p>
<p>You might be able to tell that I was going to draw him in profile, at least going by his dome, but Fate (and again, artistic ineptitude) had other plans in store.</p>
<p>I&#8217;ve learned you have to be careful when drawring them Daleky fellas; although I couldn&#8217;t remember how many sensor globes &#8212; aka Dalek bumps &#8212; a Dalek is normally supposed to have, I knew it wasn&#8217;t seven from top to bottom. I couldn&#8217;t stop myself! <em>I just kept drawing bumps.</em><br />
But now I know it&#8217;s only four, now that I&#8217;m home and have flipped through my well-worn copy of &#8216;The Doctor Who Technical Manual&#8217;. Coupled with that knowledge, you can&#8217;t draw your Dalek too narrow from the front either, otherwise it&#8217;ll resemble something made to pleasure the ladies. Heh, now you can&#8217;t unsee it!</p>
<p>I&#8217;m fully convinced that, thanks to this illo, the ghost of Terry Nation will haunt me until the end of my days. And with good reason</p>
<div id="ifyoulikedthat"><h3>Random similar posts, for more timewasting:</h3><p><a href="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=313">What price Pervery??</a> on March 28th, 2006</p><p><a href="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=499">At least he didn't have a tiny knife or gun</a> on June 17th, 2007</p></div>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?feed=rss2&amp;p=2353</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>7</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>At long last, the Lovable Feet Review</title>
		<link>http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=1716</link>
		<comments>http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=1716#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 11 May 2010 06:08:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Davecat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[RealDolls & other 'love dolls']]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Synthetiks]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Sdtrk: &#8216;Down in the park&#8217; by Tubeway army
In the interest of full disclosure, I wrote this review like two months ago, before Sidore&#8217;s renewal. Why didn&#8217;t I update it, considering that factor? Well, this review was technically supposed to have been published last Winter. Yeeeaahh. Slow but (mostly) thorough: that&#8217;s the Deafening silence Plus motto! [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Sdtrk: &#8216;Down in the park&#8217; by Tubeway army</em></p>
<p>In the interest of full disclosure, I wrote this review like two months ago, before <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'aka Sidore-chan, Shi-chan, the Missus, etc. My ever-patient, always-beautiful Synthetik companion. A RealDoll made in July of 2000 - making her a Cancer - she\'s partial to Joy division, mecha-based videogames, and footrubs. She might also be narcoleptic (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kuroneko-chan.com&quot;&gt;link&lt;/a&gt;)','caption', 'Sidore (pronounced \'She-DOOR-ay\') Kuroneko' );">Sidore</span>&#8217;s renewal. Why didn&#8217;t I update it, considering that factor? Well, this review was technically supposed to have been published last Winter. <em>Yeeeaahh. </em>Slow but (mostly) thorough: that&#8217;s the <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'Sporting a mostly monochrome interior, it\'s actually the third apartment we\'ve lived in to bear a variation of the Deafening silence title. We believe every good domicile should have a name or a title','caption', 'The modest one-bedroom flat that Sidore and I occupy' );">Deafening silence Plus</span> motto! <em>*adjusts collar* </em></p>
<p>Anyone who knows me on any vaguely-detailed level knows that <a target="_blank" href="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=602">I love womens&#8217; feet</a>. They have an almost hypnotic effect on me, which you may consider sad, but everyone&#8217;s gotta have a hobby. <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'aka Sidore-chan, Shi-chan, the Missus, etc. My ever-patient, always-beautiful Synthetik companion. A RealDoll made in July of 2000 - making her a Cancer - she\'s partial to Joy division, mecha-based videogames, and footrubs. She might also be narcoleptic (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kuroneko-chan.com&quot;&gt;link&lt;/a&gt;)','caption', 'Sidore (pronounced \'She-DOOR-ay\') Kuroneko' );">Sidore</span> adores them as well, which only stands to reason.<br />
Sometime in 2009, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.lovabledolls.com/">KnightHorse</a>, makers of the luscious series of <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'A catch-all phrase I frequently use for both active (Androids, Gynoids) or passive (RealDolls, A.I.Dolls, etc) artificial humans. Don\'t ask about the \'k\', as there\'s a long story behind it','caption', 'Synthetik' );">Synthetik</span> companions known as <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'Manufactured by Matt K &amp; Bronwen of Californian company KnightHorse, these would be fully customisable, highly-detailed, entirely lifelike, and undeniably sexy silicone companions (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.lovabledolls.com&quot;&gt;link&lt;/a&gt;)','caption', 'Lovable Dolls' );">Lovable Dolls</span>, began expanding their product line with other items, such as Lovable Feet, which I&#8217;d mentioned in a previous instalment of &#8216;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=1364">Any <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', '99% of the time, whenever you see the word \'Doll\' here (note capital D), it\'s shorthand for \'life-sized artificial human\'. Or, as some would have it, \'high-end love doll\'','caption', 'Doll' );">Doll</span>-related news, Davecat?</a>&#8216;. KnightHorse posted a cluster of appealing preview photos on their official flickr page, to which <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'aka Sidore, Sidore-chan, the Missus, etc. My ever-patient, always-beautiful Synthetik companion. A RealDoll made in July of 2000 - making her a Cancer - she\'s partial to Joy division, mecha-based videogames, and footrubs. She might also be narcoleptic (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kuroneko-chan.com&quot;&gt;link&lt;/a&gt;)','caption', 'Sidore (pronounced \'She-DOOR-ay\') Kuroneko' );">Shi-chan</span> made a few favourable comments. Matt Krivicke, head of KnightHorse, remembered me from when he was working at Abyss creations, when the crew from the Swedish telly programme &#8216;Outsiders&#8217; <a target="_blank" href="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=384">had flown me out to Abyss&#8217; studios</a> for part of my segment. Viewers may recall a brief shot from that, where I was gleefully fondling a pair of <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', '99% of the time, whenever you see the word \'Doll\' here (note capital D), it\'s shorthand for \'life-sized artificial human\'. Or, as some would have it, \'high-end love doll\'','caption', 'Doll' );">Doll</span> feet. From those instances, Matt K pretty much sussed that <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'aka Sidore, Sidore-chan, the Missus, etc. My ever-patient, always-beautiful Synthetik companion. A RealDoll made in July of 2000 - making her a Cancer - she\'s partial to Joy division, mecha-based videogames, and footrubs. She might also be narcoleptic (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kuroneko-chan.com&quot;&gt;link&lt;/a&gt;)','caption', 'Sidore (pronounced \'She-DOOR-ay\') Kuroneko' );">Shi-chan</span> and I dig girlfeet, so in the interest of product testing (and because he&#8217;s just Cool People like that), he offered us a crack at being beta testers, specifically with a tall pair of their Lovable Feet. Technically speaking, they&#8217;re really for <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'aka Sidore, Sidore-chan, the Missus, etc. My ever-patient, always-beautiful Synthetik companion. A RealDoll made in July of 2000 - making her a Cancer - she\'s partial to Joy division, mecha-based videogames, and footrubs. She might also be narcoleptic (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kuroneko-chan.com&quot;&gt;link&lt;/a&gt;)','caption', 'Sidore (pronounced \'She-DOOR-ay\') Kuroneko' );">Shi-chan</span> to play with, but she&#8217;s graciously allowed me the use of one of them for this review&#8230;</p>
<p><img src="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/images/LF_review01.jpg"/></p>
<p>To give you a good contrast, I&#8217;ve rated them against the pair of Dollfeet that I&#8217;d purchased a few years ago, from a bloke that was working on a silicone <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', '99% of the time, whenever you see the word \'Doll\' here (note capital D), it\'s shorthand for \'life-sized artificial human\'. Or, as some would have it, \'high-end love doll\'','caption', 'Doll' );">Doll</span> of his own. Unfortunately, I&#8217;ve no idea what became of him or his project. Normally I&#8217;d go with the obvious comparison of how the Lovable Feet stack up to my own wife&#8217;s pretty peds, but I don&#8217;t think that would be fair, as <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'aka Sidore, Sidore-chan, etc. My ever-patient, always-beautiful Synthetik companion. A RealDoll made in July of 2000 - making her a Cancer - she\'s partial to Joy division, mecha-based videogames, and footrubs. She might also be narcoleptic (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kuroneko-chan.com&quot;&gt;link&lt;/a&gt;)','caption', 'Sidore (pronounced \'She-DOOR-ay\') Kuroneko' );">the Missus</span> was built in 2000, and as we all know, structurally, <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'Made by US company Abyss Creations, RealDolls are fully-customisable lifelike artificial companions, with silicone skin and articulated skeletons (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.realdoll.com&quot;&gt;link&lt;/a&gt;)','caption', 'RealDolls' );">RealDolls</span> have changed quite a number of times since then. It&#8217;d be like comparing a well-maintained Sixties-era Vespa, to a Lambretta that just rolled out of the factory a month ago. They&#8217;re both lovely scooters, but it&#8217;s hardly as if you can ride them both at the same time!<br />
Sorry, that analogy made no sense whatsoever. Just go ahead and pretend I didn&#8217;t write that.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/images/LF_review02.jpg"/><br />
<em>Left: a homebrew pair of Dollfeet; right: Lovable Feet in Tall </em></p>
<p>First off, KnightHorse have two different types of Lovable Feet on offer: the short ones that stop (or is that start?) at the ankle, and the tall, which go all the way up to just below where a <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', '99% of the time, whenever you see the word \'Doll\' here (note capital D), it\'s shorthand for \'life-sized artificial human\'. Or, as some would have it, \'high-end love doll\'','caption', 'Doll' );">Doll</span>&#8217;s knees would be. As More Leg obviously equals More Sexy Funtime, I chose a tall pair, in the Milk skintone. Also, since one of the disappointing aspects of the other pair of Dollfeet I have &#8212; from this point on, I&#8217;ll simply refer to them as OPDF &#8212; would be that they&#8217;re so short ankle-wise, I took the opportunity to go with a taller pair. The Lovable Feet measure roughly 15 inches from the top of the leg to the heel, and the foot is an accommodating US sz 8. They&#8217;re two sizes larger than <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'aka Sidore, Sidore-chan, the Missus, etc. My ever-patient, always-beautiful Synthetik companion. A RealDoll made in July of 2000 - making her a Cancer - she\'s partial to Joy division, mecha-based videogames, and footrubs. She might also be narcoleptic (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kuroneko-chan.com&quot;&gt;link&lt;/a&gt;)','caption', 'Sidore (pronounced \'She-DOOR-ay\') Kuroneko' );">Shi-chan</span>&#8217;s own feet, which means I can&#8217;t swap out shoes, but that&#8217;s quite alright. Also, each Lovable Foot features a handy eyebolt atop the leg, for storage / hanging convenience, should you not choose to simply have them lying round, sexing up the joint.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/images/LF_review03.jpg"/></p>
<p>Speaking of sexy, they do an incredible job on that front! Thanks to the &#8216;bone structure&#8217; in the Lovable Feet naturally being the same ones found in KnightHorse&#8217;s popular <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'Manufactured by Matt K &amp; Bronwen of Californian company KnightHorse, these would be fully customisable, highly-detailed, entirely lifelike, and undeniably sexy silicone companions (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.lovabledolls.com&quot;&gt;link&lt;/a&gt;)','caption', 'Lovable Dolls' );">Lovable Dolls</span>, not only are the toes able to point like <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'The polar opposite of a Synthetik; i.e, a biological meat-based human. Most tend to be random and unpredictable, so approach with due caution. Don\'t ask about the \'k\', as there\'s a long story behind it','caption', 'Organik' );">Organik</span> feet, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that they also rotate at the ankle. The calves feel firm and athletic, and have a lovely turn to them. And the feet themselves&#8230; well, they feel <em>heavenly. </em>From the springy flexibility of the toes, to the curve of the instep, to the gentle sturdiness of the heel, they&#8217;re a foot lover&#8217;s dream.  The pigmentation is expertly done &#8212; the soles are a nice healthy pink, and the rest of the foot is a pale, creamy skintone. Massaging them feels great &#8212; the platinum silicone makes for smooth skin that feels realistic in one&#8217;s hands. Or one&#8217;s mouth, for that matter. You know.<br />
Incidentally, as the toenails are press-on and take nailvarnish quite well, I should note that acetone-based nailvarnish remover can&#8217;t be used on them, otherwise you&#8217;ll end up with melted toenails. Which of course, would be the opposite of attractive! Regular dish liquid should do the business. And speaking further of those delicately-shaped toes, when you first get your own pair to enjoy, you might find that some of them are moulded together, but they&#8217;re easily cut apart with the careful use of an X-Acto blade.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/images/LF_review04.jpg"/></p>
<p>However, as with all things, there&#8217;s a couple of areas where the Lovable Feet fall short, unfortunately. In comparing them to the OPDF, they lack footprints, for instance. You&#8217;re familiar with the whorls and swirls of fingerprints, right? So it goes with footprints, and that&#8217;s one of the qualities that really impressed me when I first <s>started fondling</s> inspected the OPDF, but sadly, the Lovable Feet lack that detail&#8230; hopefully it&#8217;ll be implemented in future models.<br />
Errm, that&#8217;s it! That&#8217;s really the only fault I can honestly find with KnightHorse&#8217;s lovely Lovable Feet. Although an idea had crossed my mind: the bloke that made the OPDF was also working on a single animatronic foot. Same level of detail, but with the added bonus of servos inside that gave the user the ability to make the forefoot flex. I&#8217;d only seen <a target="_blank" href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x11o6q_animatronic-girlfoot_tech">a video of it</a> in testing, and my eyes lit up like it was Christmas. If I recall correctly, it sold on eBay for a sum that was out of my price range at the time, which is why I don&#8217;t own it now. At any rate, I was thinking &#8212; how fantastic would it be to toss a couple of servos in a pair of Lovable Feet? That sort of experiment would be better suited to a Tall pair, as you could cram the wiring, batteries, and etc <em>inside the calf. </em>Eh? Eh?? Of course there might be some logistical problems somewhere along the line, but I&#8217;m the ideas man, not the engineer!<br />
Apart from that, it&#8217;s safe to say that I give my wholehearted seal of approval!</p>
<p><img src="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/images/LF_review05.jpg"/></p>
<p>So there you have it! KnightHorse&#8217;s Lovable Feet. Sexy in shoes, seductive in hosiery, sensuous without. Available in ten different skintones, priced $249 (plus shipping) for the Short pair, and $499 (plus shipping) for the Tall. If you didn&#8217;t have a foot fetish before, well, they&#8217;ll soon change that!</p>
<p><img src="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/images/LF_review06.jpg"/></p>
<p><strong>EDIT (09 Aug 2010):</strong> KnightHorse were kind enough to add the photos I&#8217;d taken of my Lovable Feet (well, the silicone ones they&#8217;d made for me, that is; my own feet are the opposite of lovable) to their Viewbook client galleries. You can peer at them <a target="_blank" href="http://lovabledolls.viewbook.com/davecats_tall_lovable_feet?p=1#1">here</a>!</p>
<div id="ifyoulikedthat"><h3>Random similar posts, for more timewasting:</h3><p><a href="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=603">Any <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'A catch-all phrase I frequently use for both active (Androids, Gynoids) or passive (RealDolls, A.I.Dolls, etc) artificial humans. Don\'t ask about the \'k\', as there\'s a long story behind it','caption', 'Synthetiks' );">Synthetiks</span>-related news, Davecat? (Jun 08)</a> on June 4th, 2008</p><p><a href="http://www.kuroneko-chan.com/echoes/?p=226">A perfect day for <span class="ubernym uttJustLink" onmouseover="domTT_activate(this, event, 'content', 'An obvious pun on the word \'idolator\', these are people who are aficionados of high-end \'love dolls\'. They range from those who merely use them as sex toys, to those who have them as companions. I wish I could take credit for the term, but I didn\'t come up with it','caption', 'iDollators' );">iDollators</span>, Part I</a> on October 10th, 2005</p></div>]]></content:encoded>
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