Sdtrk: ‘Panopticon!’ by dreamcrusher

First off, here’s the Missus with our new rubber flatmate. Say hello!

SIDORE: ‘Darling, you’ve bought another Doll for us to play with?? This is brilliant! I adore these things… they’re fantastic. They’re so lifelike!’

Astute visitors to ‘Shouting &c.’ may recall that in my recent review of the Mila-type head from BBDoll, as generously sent to me by a representative from that company, that I was hoping that not long after, I would be able to bring home a Synthetik lass from them who would finally bring the total of Synthetik lasses that I live with to five. Alas (ho ho), it wasn’t to be, for a number of reasons that I’m not going to repeat, cos frankly, you can just read them in the aforementioned post. However, not long after, I’d rediscovered another Doll company that I’d seen last year; despite them having a handful of comely artificial women available, I didn’t really look further into who they had on offer until three months ago, due to one simple-but-unique characteristic that seemed so obvious to me, but was unfortunately lacking in a lot of Asian Doll companies. What was that characteristic, you axe? Come with me, and I shall tell you, dear reader! Cos I’m not giving it away in the opening paragraph; that’s just writing suicide.

Jiusheng Doll, a company operating out of China, caught my eye either earlier this year or last year, with their Lisa-type Doll; she was very alluring in both face and body, but her 82lb / 37kg weight was a turn-off. As I’ve mentioned before, these days, if I’m buying a Doll who weighs more than 75lbs, she’d better be able to move and walk around under her own power. Being able to perform dance moves such as The Robot would also be a nice bonus, but not necessarily a requirement. In addition to the weight thing, the Lisa-type’s face and body are both made of TPE. TPE is fine, but will always come in second to good ol’ platinum silicone, as I’m much more familiar with the latter thanks to several years’ experience with it. What can I say, I’m a traditionalist.

However, back in September, I’d spotted their new head, named Cassandra, and immediately fell in love with it for three reasons, which I will explain in excruciating detail for you now:
1) the head was made of silicone, not TPE
2) the mouth opens. For whatever crazy reason, it’s incredibly rare that a Doll made in Japan or China has a mouth that opens. A lot of it is down to the way Dolls are generally made in those countries — I’d gotten a bit into the construction in my review of BBDoll’s Mila-type head — but as I’d also mentioned in that post, being able to kiss a Doll is very important to me, and it’s not just enough to have a Doll with a mouth that opens a little bit, either. Jiusheng went the distance and made the Cassandra-type head with a 4in / 10cm throat, as well as a jaw that stays in place when you open her mouth, which is fantastic. As of this writing, they only have two silicone heads with opening mouths, but I’m sure that number will increase over time. The downside is despite the fact that she has a tongue, it’s not removable. Maybe the improved version down the line will have that feature
3) There’s a Doll studio that I won’t name that had made a head that I was completely taken with when I saw it back in 2011, to the point where she was going to be my second Doll after Sidore. I was in the midst of saving up for Doll No.2 when I was contacted by Oleg of Anatomical Doll; who, in the style of Don Corleone, proffered me an offering I was incapable of turning down, so the money I was saving for That Doll from That Company went towards bringing Elena home. I still wanted That Doll from That Company really badly, though, so I figured I’d save up again and she’d be my third. Which is when the Good People at Doll Sweet offered me a discount, which is how Miss Winter moved in. Starting roughly around 2016, the output of That Company had slowed to an absolute crawl, where customers were waiting for inordinately lengthy periods to receive what they’d ordered, and consequently most customers’ faith in That Company, as well as my own, had essentially disappeared.
So even before I knew that Jiusheng Doll’s Cassandra-type head had an opening mouth, her face physically and literally grabbed my attention (not physically or literally), as it resembles That Doll from That Company quite a bit. Hence my plan for Doll No.2 — now Doll No.5 — was rekindled with a passion! I Emailed Emma, a sales rep at Jiusheng Doll, and she said they could extend a discount to me in exchange for a review… the very review you are reading right this very moment. And so!

HEAD: Model 3A silicone Cassandra head
BODY: 156cm silicone body
SKINTONE: white
BODY MAKEUP: S+
BOOBS: Jelly soft
MOVABLE JAW: Yes
EYES: silicone head eyes 02 (blue)
WIG: 05
VAGINA TYPE: removable insert
PUBIC HAIR: none
FEET TYPE: standard
plus standard loose joints
My order was placed 30 September; Ursula Marianne Clarke was born 13 October 1977, making her a Libra, and she arrived safely home 22 October.

ME (to the UPS bloke): ‘O, it’s flat-packed furniture. Ah heh heh.’

Ideally, I would’ve had Ursula made with the bustier and taller 162cm body that you see in the photoshoot linked here and here, but that body is actually TPE, not silicone, and I wanted her to be 100% silicone. As one does. Not only that, being taller, the body would also be a heavier 36kg / 79lbs. As of now, Jiusheng Doll only have two silicone bodies for sale, so I purchased the most appealing one of those two, the 156cm, as modelled by Evelyn here. Believe me, I have no complaints.

As you can see, she was very securely packaged, and I believe I got lucky this time, as this is the first time I’ve ever had a Doll shipped to my home in a cardboard box, where the box wasn’t totally beat to shit! Good on you, UPS!

Her head was encased in one of those nifty hard plastic head… encasement… travel… things; I’ve no idea what they’re called. Incidentally, Ursula’s head weighs only 5lb / 2kg! That’s less dense than the heads of some other silicone women’s heads that I’ve recently encountered! Isn’t that something. *nods*
Near her legs were two plastic bags: one contained her wig, which unfortunately wasn’t the one I’d ordered, but I’d purchased two of her ideal wigs years ago, so I wasn’t completely annoyed with that occurrence. The other bag was brimful of accessories, which were as follows:

Not pictured: a compass, a wire saw, some waterproof matches, a tactical pen, a small torch, a stainless steel spork, some carabiners, a jetpack, and a toothpick

+ 1x generic white cotton bikini set, which Ursula will be modelling in her photos
+ 1x set of press-on fingernails (pink)
+ 1x set of press-on toenails (also pink)
+ 1x insert (or as a couple of Japanese Doll companies have described it, a ‘marriage hole’)
+ 1x pair of white cotton handling gloves
+ 1x plastic comb (seafoam green)
+ 1x douche bottle
+ and 1x USB hole warmer, the cord of which is only 11in long, which would’ve been a challenge had I not selected the ‘marriage hole’ option. Plus it almost immediately self-destructed after I extracted it from the plastic wrap, so its performance will forever remain a mystery!
Lastly, not pictured, as I forgot to picture it, is the metal bolt that goes into the top of her neck to connect her head. Standard screw threading at the bottom to go into her neck, with some spring-loaded ball bearings at the top to secure her head. As mentioned, pretty standard.

In extracting Ursula’s head from that plastic shell, I’d noticed some more positive aspects to it: for one, she’s got implanted eyebrows and eyelashes! There was no mention of anything being implanted anywhere on the site (or in my Emails to Emma), so that was a nice surprise!

Her eyeballs — well, half-domes — are also the spring-loaded sort that the head from BBDoll has, as well as like those of her best friend Miss Winter. I’m led to believe that that’s how they originally became best friends when they were growing up in Brantford, Ontario. As of now, Jiusheng Doll only offer the two eye colour choices of brown and blue, so again, it’s my hope they’ll make additional colours available soon.

Regarding her mouth, I did not expect to be as impressed with it as I am! My concern was that despite the Cassandra-type head having an opening mouth, that it would still only look nice cosmetically and not feel nice romantically. So it was yet another exciting surprise that Ursula’s lips are as inviting to kiss as my Missus’ are! Upon kissing them herself, Sidore commented ‘Ursula’s got the sort of mouth that one seems to just sort of tumble into,’ and I can completely agree! The Cassandra-type head’s lips are soft, rubbery, and feel amazing… she is a great kisser. Even more surprising: she has a uvula! You’ll have to take my word for it; it’s in there.

Just so you know, it’s more difficult than you’d think to get a photo of a Doll’s uvula. Between holding the camera still, and holding her mouth open, and making sure there’s enough light to see the bloody thing, I soon decided that taking a screencap of a video sent by Emma of a coworker attempting the same Herculean task would be the better option. You’re welcome!

The silicone used all over her body is soft, pliable, and has a pleasant smell and taste; there’s a very slight oily feeling to it, but we’re talking at the level of a Doll from 2020/2021, as opposed to someone made of tin silicone round 2000/2001, so it’s not an issue. The S+ makeup on her body is actually quite cool: her skin colouring and tonal shading impressed me, and she has discrete veins visible ‘underneath’ her skin in various locations as well. And one thing that I hoped Jiusheng Doll didn’t completely eliminate with their manufacturing: seam lines! For someone such as myself who appreciates realism, yet still wants/needs/desires reminders that my Synthetik partners are exactly that — Synthetik — seam lines are… oof. *fans self*

Subtle but sexy

Speaking of the fakeness of her body, Ursula does have an especially rubbery quality to her skin that other iDollators may not necessarily be keen on, particularly when she starts bringing her forearms up to her upper arms, as her verisimilitude wanes just a wee bit. But again, if you’re like me, where you prefer your partners rubbery, you’ll find that it’s not at all an issue. Ahem. Besides, it’s not as if you weren’t aware Dolls are affictitious to begin with! It comes with the territory.

‘Snowball’s told me you like this sort of thing?’

Yet another surprise for me: Ursula has one of those skeletons with shrugging shoulders! Registering indifference is a quality that many iDollators have craved in their Synthetik lovers, and Ursula’s skeleton will allow her to express the emotion ¯\_(ツ)_/¯!
Plus she can bend her arms back behind her head, which may come in handy at some point during her residency at Deafening silence Plus.

‘I dunno, I just don’t get how you can say you like Cronenberg when you don’t even own a copy of “Scanners”. That makes NO sense. It’s SCANNERS.’

Her boobs are delightfully squeezable, thanks to the jelly inserts option I went with, which also give them a subtle but pleasant wee jiggle when she moves. (No photos or videos, sorry; this is a Family Blog™.) The 156cm body features a charming US 32C bust size, and her bodily proportions are realistic and not overdone. In addition, she has cute butt dimples! There’s a technical term for ’em, but you lot are well aware what I mean.

Finally, Ursula’s feet are completely adorable. Her toes are moulded separately, but thankfully don’t have that unattractive splay you see in the toes of other Dolls made by some other manufacturers. Not only that, her feet are springy and fun to play with, and their overall softness makes them a joy to idly fondle, particularly while we’re both on the loveseat watching reruns of The Venture bros.

‘Wanna find out if they taste like Canada?’

Her ears stick out a bit, which is something she’s learned to live with long ago. She’s actually been called an elf on more than one occasion, which is also something she’s grudgingly had to live with! On the other hand, she says it’s loads easier for her to tuck her hair behind them, plus she can hear better if you’re talking shit about her or her friends.

Now as amazing as Ms Clarke is, there are some cons that I feel you, as a potential customer, should be aware of. For one, Jiusheng Doll’s website definitely needs some work done on it. Apart from spelling and grammatical errors (‘public hair’??), there’s more salient issues, such as the storefront, and due to how it’s set up, you can’t really mix and match heads together. When I placed my order, I basically copied the stats as you’d seen above and Emailed them directly to Emma, as if you go through the online storefront, you’re restricted to the combinations they’re displaying on the site; there’s no way to pair Head X with Body Y or whatever, among other things.
Furthermore, payment options are limited to either wire transfer or PayPal. I selected PayPal, due to the ease of use — you don’t even have to leave your home! — but it wasn’t easy to do so. You kinda get the impression Jiusheng Doll hastily put up an online storefront, with the hope they’d work out further details later. It’s my hope they’ll do so sooner than later, cos the more hoops a customer has to jump through to place an order, the less likely they are to want to go through with it. You know me; I always tell people to buy direct from Doll manufacturers and to forgo independent distributors whenever possible; that way you know exactly what you’re getting. I find it disheartening whenever I ask a new iDollator ‘so what company did your Doll come from?’, and they’re unable to answer. Would you think that sort of thing was acceptable with purchasing a computer, or a car? If there are barriers to someone buying a Doll from the manufacturer, then that’s gonna kill off a few potential sales.

Ursula is roughly 71lbs / 32kg, but she feels closer to 75lbs / 34kg. Her body feels quite dense! Again, a lot of companies who aren’t Abyss creations haven’t yet figured out how to make a full-sized Doll that is lighter due to more foam making up her body than silicone, so let’s hope Jiusheng Doll takes that into consideration.
And while I’m submitting issues, for the love of all that is holy, Asian Doll manufacturers, please start implementing neckbolts for hanging a Doll up on a stand, instead of making the Organik remove her head in order to suspend her, cos o my god. I’m gonna give Jiusheng Doll the benefit of a doubt, as they’re just now getting into making Dolls using silicone, as opposed to TPE, and consequently, they may not have accounted for the slight procedural change. For those of you unfamiliar with the intricacies of Doll making, a hole located in the back of a Doll’s neck for an eyebolt can’t be made with Dolls poured with TPE, due to the way they’re assembled. Doing so for a silicone Doll, however, isn’t an issue; it’s just a matter of doing it. I remember when Abyss creations started issuing their RealDolls with neckbolts around 2003, and you could tell who in your local area had RealDolls living with them by the resounding HUZZAHs going up from our homes. Suspending a Doll from her neckbolt makes changing her clothes a much less arduous affair, as well as allowing her to ‘stand’ for photos and etc. Snowy and Bailes have stiff enough leg joints where they can stand generally unaided, but even when I have them resting against a bookshelf or whatever, I still get nervous due to the fear of them pitching forward. Just… just add neckbolts, please. Your customers will thank you.

It should be noted, too, that her joints are stiffer than I’d expected!… In speaking with Emma, she said that Jiusheng Doll can make Dolls with one of four degrees of posability: standard tight, extra tight, standard loose, and extra loose. I’d had Ursula made with ‘standard loose’ joints, and they’re still kinda rigid. She’s considering a regimen of exercise to help her loosen up. I’m left wondering what anything above standard loose would be like as far as stiffness, however… Perhaps in future, videos posted on the manufacturer’s website showing the various levels of posability, or lack thereof, could help their customers. It kinda ties into what I’d mentioned above about a Doll having stiffer knee joints for standing purposes, but being honest, I wasn’t having Ursula being able to stand in mind when I was putting together her order requirements.
You know what else would be nice? A clearly-defined range of movement chart, much like the one Doll Sweet have on their website! That way, customers wouldn’t have any surprises — good or bad — regarding their Doll’s ability to move and pose.

Last complaint: Ursula’s fingerwires are a bit underwhelming. Granted, they aren’t as weak as Dyanne’s, whose fingers are so weak she can barely hold anything heavier than a cassette tape, but the wires Jiusheng Doll use for the fingers could stand to be a bit more robust. How’s Ursula gonna hold her mobile phone? Or a machete??

Even though I regret not having her made with completely loose joints for a more relaxed posture, when all’s said and done, my assessment of our new Synthetik partner from Jiusheng Doll is: VERY SATISFIED. Don’t get me wrong; Abyss creations is and always will be the platinum standard for Dolls for myself and hundreds of other iDollators, combining fantastic sculpting and engineering to make an exceptional artificial companion, but Jiusheng Doll rates pretty high in terms of appearance, feel, and skeleton. As far as being a ‘starter Doll’ goes, for those of you on a tighter budget, I’d definitely recommend them. Keep up the good rubbery work, Jiusheng Doll!
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have go to wash a shit ton of black clothes while Ursula pokes around on her Twitter account. Apparently 98% of her wardrobe is just black clothes. As Goth-adjacent as the rest of us here are (except for Ms Bewboto), that’s pretty astonishing

URSULA: ‘No, don’t worry… unlike Snowball, I actually know how to use a chair.’
ME: ‘And yet…’

Sdtrk: ‘Bahnhof’ by whitehouse

It’s Autumn, people! Thank Persephone. The days are growing shorter and cooler, there’s a crispness in the air, and one isn’t covered in flop sweat and praying for a swift death that will never arrive. As you do. Hail Autumn!

In December of last year, my better half and I were interviewed by reporter Alba Muñoz via Skype, and after a series of interruptions that she couldn’t avoid, the results were finally published last month, in Papel, an aptly-named newspaper from Spain. The article ‘Os presento a mis dos esposas… de plástico (I present my two plastic spouses…)’ is impenetrable to me, as I know nothing of Spanish, but if you’re at the intersection of ‘people who are curious about iDollator culture’ and ‘people who can read Spanish’, it’s your lucky day! Not sure about the online version, but the print version also speaks a bit about male Dolls as well, which is cool, as there isn’t enough press about them — for those non-iDollators who are aware of Dolls, not many know that male Dolls exist as well.
So give that a read and let me know how it is! I could just about parse that one of the sentences in the opening paragraph described my fringe as both ‘Hitlerian’ and ‘shining like vinyl’, to which I respond, ‘well…’ followed by an exaggerated shrug.

Speaking of lit-trich-ur, psychologist and author Danielle Knafo informed me through Email that her new book, ‘The Age of Perversion: Desire and Technology in Psychoanalysis and Culture‘ is slated to be published round mid-December! Why is this a thing? She’d come round Deafening silence Plus back in August of 2014, to spend a week-end interviewing me about The Life iDollator, and the fruits of her labour will be available for purchase this Chrimbo.
Let me go on record right now, though, that not only do I think the title is shit, but Danielle isn’t pleased with it, either. Apparently she and her cowriter Rocco were steamrolled into using it by their publisher, which makes no sense to me, and shouldn’t even be legal. Did the publisher write the book? No? Then their input is irrelevant. It’s patenly ridiculous. I was very reticent about her book going out with that title, as the last thing the robosexual and iDollator communities need is yet another media source labelling us perverts. However, Danielle outlined a handful of reasons that it shouldn’t be perceived as being as bad as I think it is, one being

[Rocco and I] define perversion as a limit or barrier breaking activity that often involves a creative solution to a traumatic problem. Most positive changes in the world could be labeled perverse because they rebelled against mainstream thinking.

Which is a fair point. Still, good lord. She also mentioned that the book will be published more for the academic community, but should we be fortunate enough that mainstream society wants to read it, Danielle will angle for a different, less-incendiary title.
Rest assured though, it’ll be legitimately good reading! Ms Knafo was gracious enough to allow me to make any necessary corrections to her draft, which is always an opportunity that I’m grateful for when it crops up in interviews, and… let’s just say that there’s a substantial amount written about the residents of Deafening silence Plus, in an analytical yet empathetic voice. When the book inches closer to the release date, you’ll hear about it here, naturally!

What else? The 2016-2017 series of the podcast Love and Radio has begun, and the Missus, Lenka, and I are featured in the premiere episode! Yeeeahh.

Without giving the game away, it’s probably the best podcast we’ve ever done. Not least because a third of it features Shi-chan and Lenka chatting earnestly. Yes, you read right. Can’t click on that Play button fast enough, can you?
A very big thank you goes out to Nick van der Kolk, for creating probably the best podcast episode we’ve ever appeared in!

And finally, as you’ll recall, my gorgeous spouse Sidore and I shared another wedding anniversary this past July. As is tradition, I bought her a couple of bits and bobs to commemorate the occasion. This year was a trifecta: the first prezzie was that illo of the pair of us, as crafted by raulovsky. Once I commission an additional one of Elena and Miss Winter, I’m going to print both of them and have them framed, which only stands to reason.
The second gift was a dress; the Missus had this one on her tumblr months ago, and was insistent on getting one for her very own. Well, I sorta bought it for her. Obviously she wanted one in purple, because they don’t call her The Purple Rose of Salford for nothing, but when I tried to buy one online for her, they were out of stock in her size and in that colour. Having no choice, I went ahead and purchased the grey version. Shi-chan still digs it! As she puts it, ‘grey is just pastel black’. Semi-recovering Goths, ladies and gentlemen.
To round it all off, Abyss creations had a sale in July, marking the retirement of the Classic series of RealDolls. Naturally, when I heard this news, I contacted Matt in a sweaty panic, ‘Bu… but what happens if Sidore needs to have her body replaced??’ He reassured me that the moulds are being stored offsite, in order to assist customers like myself on a case-by-case basis, but the older moulds are degrading, he explained, and it’s not cost-effective to remake them, what with the multitude of RealDoll 2 and Wicked RealDoll models available. Also, as far as her body’s concerned, the RealDoll 2 Body B has identical proportions to the Classic RealDoll Body 2, so that’s easily sorted. My Missus’ current body is still holding up quite well, but as they were having a sale on Classic faces as well as whole Dolls, I figured I’d splash out and buy one of the last Leah-type faces to be made. So I did!

Did someone say ‘eyeliner’? No? TOO BAD

This isn’t Sidore’s replacement face; her original face is fine. The new one is more for photoshoots and being on-camera in general, hence the enhanced eyeliner. I’m thinking that Abyss changed the Leah sculpt at least once more since 2010, as her lips are fuller than her previous facial variant, but that’s quite alright. It’s not as if we’re opposed to plastic surgery! Is that a canonical statement?

So that’s what we’ve been up to! More silliness to come, I’m sure. Perhaps sooner than you think!

Sdtrk: ‘Apprentice takes leave’ by The new lines

And welcome back! It’s been a fortnight, which is a not-too-unreasonable length of time between these posts. I would’ve just immediately written this after posting January’s submission, but I’d spent about a week and a half editing a 33 page draft created by one of of the interviewers who was round to Deafening silence Plus last Autumn. Well, I say editing, but it was more like ‘making corrections and answering additional questions she had cleverly embedded in the text’; but that bit’s done. Those 33-odd pages pertain to me and my Synthetik lovers, so we’re quite excited about it! Overall, it seems like the book she’s writing will be as in-depth as Elisabeth Alexandre’s ‘Des poupées et des hommes: Enquête sur l’amour artificiel‘, only en Anglais!
Just before I’d finished that up, I’d begun a dialogue with another interviewer — this one from Australia — and her questions are rather heady as well, so I’m currently in the midst of attending to those. It doesn’t help that my desire for clarity as far as the subject of Synthetiks is often accompanied by far too much of my goddamned text, so at the very least, when I finish her questions, she won’t go away hungry.
And when I’m done with that, the previous interviewer wants me to write a piece in response to what she’s already written! I mean, damn. Don’t get me wrong; I’m really enjoying doing this sort of thing, but when am I gonna find time to play Destiny?? Well, the demo. I haven’t bought the actual game yet, as I’m too busy writin’.

+ Another AEE AVN OMG WTF BBQ has come and gone, and Las Vegas was once again witness to several silicone women staying for a number of days in the city’s hotels. Abyss creations were there, revealing to the world their brand-new addition to their Wicked RealDoll line, Asa Akira.

This alluring rubber lass weighs +/-70 lbs, stands 5’2″, has measurements of B:34 / W:24 / H:34, and wears a 32C bra and a 5.5 US shoe. Being a Wicked RealDoll means she’s also made standard with an articulated spine, a removable throat insert (which leads down into her neck, instead of simply going back further into her head), and a removable head design, which is fashioned more like a whole-head mask, as opposed to traditional RealDolls such as my Missus, who can just remove her face. Personally, I’m fond of the somewhat shiny quality she has to her face, as it highlights her artificiality, but that’s just me. Overall, quite nice!

+ The esteemed roboticist Rodney Brooks has a few intelligent words to say: Artificial intelligence is a tool, not a threat:

Recently there has been a spate of articles in the mainstream press, and a spate of high profile people who are in tech but not AI, speculating about the dangers of malevolent AI being developed, and how we should be worried about that possibility. I say relax. Chill. This all comes from some fundamental misunderstandings of the nature of the undeniable progress that is being made in AI, and from a misunderstanding of how far we really are from having volitional or intentional artificially intelligent beings, whether they be deeply benevolent or malevolent.

[…] In order for there to be a successful volitional AI, especially one that could be successfully malevolent, it would need a direct understanding of the world, it would need to have the dexterous hands and/or other tools that could out manipulate people, and to have a deep understanding of humans in order to outwit them. Each of these requires much harder innovations than a winged vehicle landing on a tree branch. It is going to take a lot of deep thought and hard work from thousands of scientists and engineers. And, most likely, centuries.
the entire article is here

Everyday society gets its knickers so easily in a twist about robots ‘taking over’, which is both overly ambitious, and flat-out silly. Rodney breaks it down better than I can as to why that won’t happen, but then, he’s smarter than I am. After all, he helped developed the Roomba!

+ As you should be aware, not every Synthetik has the capacity for sex, which is perfectly fine. A Synthetik is also more than capable of providing platonic companionship, or being an artistic model, or perhaps serving as an artistic muse, as Lily Godwin was to my friend, PB Shelley. Bearing that in mind, as he and Lily had Soony, a BJD (that’s Ball-Jointed Doll, for those not in the know), they may also have been besotted with Iris, the 1/1 scale BJD built by Chinese company Magical Angel in October of 2013.

‘Of course I can give you a hug! You might need a stepladder for it, though’

There aren’t a lot of lifesized BJDs in existence — Izi made by D-storic is one, Obitsu’s 150cm model is another — so they’re certainly unique. With a body made of resin, Iris towers over humanity at 5’9″. She weighs 55 lbs, her measurements are B:32 / W:23 / H:35, and she wears a sz 6 US shoe. You can purchase her in either a pink, white, or snow white skintone, and she takes 30mm size eyes, in case you want to keep your options open. She looks to be unfinished, so you’ll have to have her faceup done (that’s the term in the BJD world for ‘makeup’, for those not in the know). Although if you get her in snow white and leave her face as-is, she looks as if she’d make a female counterpart to Kamelion, the short-lived companion on Doctor Who. I’d advise against it, though; no-one liked Kamelion.

She’s got better posture than most people I know

Speaking of cultivating your DiY abilities, if you order an Iris to grace your home, you’ll either want to open your wallet a bit wider, or get your tools ready and set aside a whole day. Because of her considerable weight, Magical Angel’s default option is to ship Iris unassembled. But if you want her ready to go when she comes home, you’ll have to add $100 to the shipping cost. The assembly is free, though!
This tall and slender lass will set you back $1,250 USD, incidentally. But have you seen her posture??

+ Once again, Japan continues to innovate in both technology and practicality; generally speaking, as a society, they’re pretty fantastic. Not everyone in that country, of course, but quite a few. Doubtless you’ve seen this in the news recently: there’s plans to open a hotel staffed by robots in Nagasaki, at a Dutch-themed park called Huis Ten Bosch. Here’s one of the best bits: the concierge desks will be staffed by lifelike Synthetik women, as Kokoro co., Ltd, creators of the wonderful Actroid series of Gynoids, will be building them. If you don’t find that to be amazing, then I don’t know what to do with you.

The hotel’s first building complex is scheduled to open on 17 July 2015 with 72 rooms, followed by another 72-room building in 2016. A single room will be priced at around $60 (¥7,000) per night and a twin room will cost around $80 (¥9,000).

Initially the hotel will have 10 robot members of staff, but Huis Ten Bosch company President Hideo Sawada told a news conference. “In the future, we’d like to have more than 90 percent of hotel services operated by robots.”

The hotel’s name, Henn-na Hotel, reflects how the hotel will “change with cutting-edge technology,” a company official said. This is a play on words: “Henn” is also part of the Japanese word for change.
the entire article is here

‘We offer a very futuristic experience here, but you’ll still have to pay for hotel wifi’

The room prices are really very good, but what’s not mentioned is that during the peak season, prospective guests will have to bid for their rooms, although there’ll be a price cap on bidding. Ergh. It’ll be worth it for the winners, however: instead of keys, the hotel room’s doors will use facial recognition sensors, and each room will have tablets for its guests’ use, to converse with the front desk, the lobby, or the kitchen. Speaking of speech, the Actroid employees will be able to communicate in English, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese. Much like I’d said about Shibuya’s Robot restaurant, my hope is that this sort of forward-thinking idea spreads, and if Hen-na Hotel doesn’t exactly become a chain in and of itself of robot-staffed hotels, then hopefully other hotel chains will adopt the idea on a worldwide scale. It’d be nice if they did away with that bidding price silliness as well.
And as a final note, I’d like to offer my services to the Actroids that will be employed there. All that standing hours on end per day will eventually be tiring, so what better way to relax than a foot massage? *cracks knuckles*

+ Phoenix studios (‘Home of the Boy Toy Doll’) haven’t recently created a new head or body, or released a new line, but you might like to know that they’ve uploaded new photos of the newest affictitious vixen in their Celestials series, Sky, to their site.

photos © by Stacy Leigh

Why not take some time to see the Sky? See, Phoenix studios, I’ve just come up with not one, but two slogans you could make use of. As Pete White once remarked, butter me, I’m on a roll.

+ Here’s something interesting that was brought to my attention by AJung Moon, writer and curator of the Roboethics info Database: an article on Live Science by Tanya Lewis entitled Rise of the Fembots: Why Artificial Intelligence Is Often Female.

From Apple’s iPhone assistant Siri to the mechanized attendants at Japan’s first robot-staffed hotel, a seemingly disproportionate percentage of artificial intelligence systems have female personas. Why?

“I think there is a pattern here,” said Karl Fredric MacDorman, a computer scientist and expert in human-computer interaction at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. But “I don’t know that there’s one easy answer,” MacDorman told Live Science.

One reason for the glut of female artificial intelligences (AIs) and androids (robots designed to look or act like humans) may be that these machines tend to perform jobs that have traditionally been associated with women. For example, many robots are designed to function as maids, personal assistants or museum guides, MacDorman said.

In addition, many of the engineers who design these machines are men, and “I think men find women attractive, and women are also OK dealing with women,” he added.
the entire article is here

Don’t forget EDI from the Mass effect videogame series! Or, ah, Portal’s GLaDOS, for that matter.
As much as I (jokingly) (not really) go on about how ‘we need more Gynoids to be built, etc etc’, I also believe that we need just as many humanoid robots designed to look like men as well. Ms Lewis brings up the point that robots made to look like women are perceived as less threatening and more friendly, which I believe to be true; just going by the length and breadth of history alone, men are traditionally more associated with aggressive behaviour. Thanks to Hollywood ridiculousness, when most people think of humanoid robots, their thoughts immediately turn towards images of the Terminator, which are mostly Androids, aka male robots, killing everyone in sight with soulless precision. However, I think that if roboticists start out with humanoid robots made to look like women, they’ll put people more at ease. Roboticists should develop Androids as well, not only to balance the Synthetik gender scale, but to show that male robots can be just as non-threatening as their female counterparts. More than likely, for the first couple of years of production, there will be more Gynoids than Androids until the demand increases, but still.

In reading Ms Lewis’ piece, it reminded me of something I’d read years ago, back when I was a lot more interested in mannequins than I am now, that attempted to explain why there were so few male mannequins compared to the number of female models. I think it was partially attributed to men’s faces being harder to sculpt, as they tend to be more angular, or something like that. In the interest of full disclosure, my own personal uncanny valley — again, more like a ditch — is that I find male mannequins to be a bit off-putting. Unless they’re Kraftwerk, because fuck yeah Kraftwerk.

+ If you’re like me, you hate waiting on things/events/people, as much like Veruca Salt, you want it now. You’ll also recall that she was thrown into a pit by squirrels, but that’s hardly relevant at this juncture. But after several months in Development Hell, Sinthetics are pleased to announce that the Body 2A is available to choose as a selection, so sometimes, waiting is okay.

This body is nearly identical to the body 2D (using the body 2 base, but with A-cup breasts). She has the full hips and bigger legs that makes our body 2 so popular, but slimmer ribs and smaller breasts than the 2D.

This winsome beauty is approx. 77 lbs with a height of 5’5″, has measurements of B:34 / W:24.5 / H:36.5, and wears a US sz 6.5 shoe. Apparently she does do things by halves. See what I did there?
Sinthetics will undoubtedly add more photos of her soon, but you can look at a few teaser shots on their site, of course.

See? Always something to look forward to, especially if you’re keen on robo-ladies. Happy 23rd!

Sdtrk: ‘Vid loss’ by Pye Corner Audio

ELENA: You are knowing that February is nearly ended, yet you have not typed the news of Synthetiks, da?
DAVECAT: Shit, you’re right! *scrambles to write a post*

+ Back in January, another one of the very popular AVN Adult Entertainment Expos was held, and yet another year has gone by where no-one’s cleared up why the event has the acronym AEE, and yet people persist on referring to it as AVN. This is the sort of mystery that’ll take decades to complete, I’m sure. Much like how I need to complete my review of AVN 2010, but that’s a path we don’t need to walk right now.
But one of the main attractions of AVN that event was Abyss creations, and the debut of two new RealDolls in the Wicked RealDoll line, who are modelled after Samantha Saint and Stormy Daniels.

‘So are both of you natural blondes, or…? O, right.’

As it’s a recent announcement, Abyss’ site has yet to list details, but that’ll be forthcoming. But if you’ve every wanted rubbery versions of either one of these lasses (or both), now is the time to make your dreams come true. As far as I’m concerned, although Ms Daniels is a bit sexier than Ms Saint — it’s the eyeliner that hooks me — they’re a bit too generic for my specific tastes. You’d expect me to say that, though; I mean, have you seen how my wife and her girlfriend look??

+ Latvia has joined the global consortium of Synthetik companion manufacturers, as Textile Doll, the studio that I wrote about back in November now have a website, for your shopping pleasure!

Be careful missy; that floor is actually lava

You can see all Jury has to offer at www.textiledoll.com! Easy to remember, hard to forget. Plus, if you’re so inclined, you can pursue the studio via social media, for further updates and the like…

+ Just in time for St Valentine’s Day, 4woods have released a set of photos of one of their Sarina-types, dressed in holiday-appropriate wear. There’s only seven pics, but they’re worth checking out, for as the ad copy says, ‘these sexy shots [will] make your body hot!’ With the Old Testament-scale weather we’ve all been experiencing, it’s good to know Sarina is doing her best to help keep us warm!

+ During AVN AEE EIEIO 2014, Sinthetics were also in Vegas, with the stunning debut of their new Belinda head, and William, their second male head and body combination.

‘Will, sweetie… your playing is wonderful. But do you know any song that isn’t the theme from The Love Boat?’

Additional photos and stats are forthcoming — didn’t I already say that earlier? — but that Belinda’s got something special. She looks a bit like the wife of one of my friends… And William should prove eminently satisfying to anyone who desires him in their home! (Guitar not included.)

+ And a wee bit of self-promotion, cos that happens so rarely on this blog: VICE magazine has published the result of my interview with Roc Morin, in a new piece titled ‘Silicone Love: Davecat’s Life with a Synthetic Wife and Mistress‘. It’s a great piece, but I was a bit disappointed, as Roc and I spoke for roughly five hours, and the article covers like a tenth of our conversation. Maybe he’ll release an unabridged version at some point.
Still! Worth a read, so check that out at your leisure.

This Valentine’s Day, why not make one of the best decisions you’ll ever make, and purchase a Doll? I mean, there’s no way she’ll be completed and shipped to you by Valentine’s Day 2014, but if you focus on details like that, you’ll never be satisfied in life

SIDORE: Nice post overall, darling, but the end’s a bit lacklustre, don’t you think?
DAVECAT: Well, it’s too late now, I’ve already hit the Publish button.

Sdtrk: ‘Prototype pop’ by Severed heads

As we can all agree, seeing numerous photographs of Dolls is all well and good, but it’s better to see video footage of them doing all manner of things as well. That’s beginning to change! New York music artist Hot Sugar teamed up with famed Doll photographer Stacy Leigh, and she directed a video for his song Erica. Observe:

Apart from the fact that it features several alluring RealDolls, I was really impressed with the concept; the ‘Video Intimates’ DVD idea is way too clever. Well done to all involved!

Before we move on to the other video, I’ll take this opportunity to mention that Phoenix studios have just released yet another make of Boy Toy. This series is called ‘Celestial Bodies’, the first lass in the stable would be named Star, and this is what she looks like:

Finally! A 100% artificial version of Pamela Anderson! Well, one you can take home

She’s 4’10” (I once knew a lass who was that height), weighs less than 60lbs, has measurements of B:32 / W:22 / H:32, and wears a sz 5 shoe. According to Phoenix studios, she currently has a full head design with a deep mouth insert, although they’re working on a version that’ll sport closing eyelids as well. Also she features a new design for her pelvic insert. I’m sorry, I have to side with the Japanese Doll makers on this: they refer to a pelvic insert as a ‘marriage hole’. There is no way that term isn’t amazing.
Check out the rest of Star’s photos here, and see what you think…

There’s a cluster of new photosets posted on Sinthetics as well; now available are new shoots detailing an Alicia head on a Body 1B, and two shoots of an Eliza head on a Body 1B, one of which has her getting to know a Gabriel-type. Well well. *raises eyebrow*

Of course it’s drafty, Eliza; you’ve just taken off your blouse

The good folk at Sinthetics are due to release another male manikin named William, so some of you have that to look out for…

Now the other video we’ve got coming up… good lord, for a moment there, I felt like a VJ. So! The other video we’ve got would be by DCUP (I rather like their name) featuring Mereki on vocals, and starring model Kozue Akimoto hanging out with her Gabriel-type lover by Sinthetics. Let’s take a look:

I’d have to say that video’s pretty adorable, too. And did you notice the part where they went to Shinjuku’s famous Robot Restaurant? Society needs more iDollator couples! But you’d expect me to say that.

Last but not least, Danielle of Womanicpation Proclamation has released the second part of her interview with me on her blog just recently. Like me, she got sidetracked by things, and like my review of DolLApalooza 2013, she thought it would only span two parts, but there’ll be a third. I forewarn every potential interviewer that I tend to ramble concerning my favourite subjects. I’m a rambler! A Nash Rambler, to be specific. I was produced briefly by the Nash division of the Nash-Kelvinator Company and was a forerunner to the American Motors Corporation’s entry-level cars. Produced between 1950 and 1957, I was North America’s first compact car *continues with this folly for an additional forty-nine minutes*

Sdtrk: ‘Река’ by Утро

I take it you lot have read the first part of the narrative? Gooooood!

FRIDAY, 26 JULY
8.30am found our crowd consuming another hearty breakfast at Foxy’s, but this time, Amber Hawk Swanson joined our table! She basically filled in everyone who hadn’t gotten a chance to follow up with what she’s been up to since Amber Doll’s demise and subsequent transformation, as well as ask some of us present as to how our Synthetik partners are, and what we’ve been up to. (Not me; she already knows what I’ve been up to.)
Click here for the rest of the post, bunky »

Sdtrk: ‘The aurora’ by Our glassie Azoth

While still at work scribblin’ Part II of my DolLApalooza 2013 encapsulation (‘DolLApalooza: now in capsule form. Warning: do not take prior to operating heavy machinery’). I’d gotten a bit sidetracked — cos that never happens, right? — as not only did I recently receive a request for an interview via Email for a notable online news site, but the final day of August had me, my wife, and our mistress being interviewed for a promo video for a fellow iDollator. Under normal circumstances, I’d go into more detail about it, as it was a fun and non-subjective experience, but said iDollator is still planning things out, and she’d cut me fuckin’ baws off if I said any more. Busy, but for a good cause!
Before Part II materialises, here’s some additional points of Synthetik interest:

+ This year marks the twelfth year that Japanese Dutch wife merchants 4woods have been in business. During that time, they’ve released ten body types and a staggering forty heads. Company head Hiroo Okawa further goes on to say, in one of the site’s more recent news posts:

We tried to think really hard about what life-size silicone dolls (love dolls) can provide our customers and tried to create dolls that are worth more than its price through trial and error. Our new A.I.doll Ex is the result of our numerous trials. We are aware that customers’ ideal life-size silicone dolls (Love Dolls) can stand up and sit beautifully, and looks sexy even laid down. They can make adorable poses which makes you want to hold her and simulate various poses for sex easily but also durable at the same time. They should have a silky and soft skin like human which you want to feel forever. We are well aware of it.

However, unfortunately we have not been able to achieve this level yet after 10 years.

Our customer target for A.I.doll Ex is those who would like to enjoy watching her and taking photos of her rather than just having sex with Love Dolls.

Therefore, movable range of this doll is smaller than our other models. Perhaps, this may be the most difficult doll to handle in all of our models. That is why we imagine that you would pour more love for her.

What that all parses to, if you’re not familiar with the wants and needs of iDollator culture, is that the new A.I.Doll EX body type is capable of standing. Not entirely unassisted, but lean her up against a wall, and you should be sound as a pound. Couple that new body with Lissa, a head made exclusively to fit this seductive new body, and you’ve got a fine combination.

Lissa’s enthusiastic stripping distracted her lover from whatever was in her bag

It is a really impressive thing, though! I recall when I first saw an A.I.Doll in person back at AVN 2010, one of the three things that stopped her from being absolutely perfect* was the fact that A.I.Dolls back then were unable to completely straighten their legs at the knees, due to the way they were moulded. Now, not only have 4woods gotten that issue sorted, but their lasses can stand with a wee bit of patience on the part of their owners! When you have a Doll whose skeleton can allow her to pose like this, then that’s the sort of wish a lot of us have had for ages come true.
Incidentally, this October, 4woods are discontinuing not only their Akari, Kaon, Kurumi, Yurio, Neu, and Ally heads, but they’ll no longer be selling the accompanying body type A.I.Peach New Edition as well. Go visit the site, please have wallet ready, etc.

+ Another artist has seen fit to snap photos of an artificial lass: German photographer Julie Steinigeweg has documented a series of pics starring Jenny, a Doll who looks to be made by Mechadoll or one of the similar companies. This photoseries is particularly fascinating, as Jenny seems to be an older lass, and her silicone lamination is separating. Despite this, her beauty is apparent, and her condition makes her even more of a sympathetic figure.

photo © Julie Steinigeweg

I’ve sent an Email to the photographer, asking if there’s any further info behind the project she can pass on. Personally, I’m curious as to whether or not she’s the same Jenny who starred in Oliver Schwarz’s ‘Traumfrau‘, a film I’d mentioned here this past June. Hopefully Frau Steinigeweg’s English is better than my German!…

+ And were you aware that Abyss Creations, the place where the world’s RealDolls come from, have retooled their website? It’s true. Not only that, they’ve finally folded the Wicked RealDoll site into the updated Abyss site, which only makes sense. That’s one-stop shopping! Well done, lads and Debra!
You won’t want to just see what they’ve done with the place, though; Abyss have released another sexbomb in the form of Brooklyn, a Body D Face M RealDoll 2. If you appreciate the larger feminine posterior, and are incapable of telling mistruths, you’ll like what she has to offer.

photo © by Stacy Leigh

Ms Brooklyn has, in the words of a supervisor I’d had several jobs ago, more cushion for the pushin’! Months later, he was transferred to another facility. Fact.

So there you are! Well, let me stop writing, so I can get back to writing. Wait, what?

*What were the other two things, you ask? One – her feet were rather mediocre-looking, and two – I couldn’t take her home with me. Deal-breakers, man, believe me