Sdtrk: ‘Polichinelle’ by France Gall

Some startling (well, not all that startling) developments have cropped up regarding the abandoned Synthetik in Izu, Japan. Pink Tentacle reports:

According to investigators, the man had lived with the sophisticated doll for several years after his wife passed away, but decided to part with her after making plans to move in with one of his children. “It seems he grew attached to the doll over the years,” said the chief investigator. “He was confused about how to get rid of her. He thought it would be cruel to cut her up into pieces and throw her out with the trash, so he proceeded to dump her illegally.”
the entire article is here

Heh heh, ‘sophisticated’. ‘The Doll would spend most of her evenings unwinding with a glass or two of Clicquot, whilst listening to the strains of Mantovanni on her phonograph.’ It’s entirely possible.
Reading more about her former owner, we can see that he was ultimately well-meaning. A bit of a knucklehead, but well-meaning. He’s an example of one of hundreds of Doll owners who aren’t aware that there’s a global community for that sort of lifestyle. If he knew that, seeing as that the above quote implies that he was more of a Doll husband as opposed to a Doll fetishist, he probably would’ve arranged to have a fellow iDollator purchase her, instead of treating her to the indignity of a dump-and-dash in the middle of the woods.

Happily enough, however, today I’ve learned that Prof.Sakai, Japanese RealDoll collector extraordinaire, has given her a good home. Her name is Misaki (not sure if that was her name to begin with, but it’s what she’s got now), and she’ll be joining the ranks of Sakai-sensei’s 22+ Dolls. I don’t know who’s more fortunate — Misaki, for getting a new lease on ‘life’, or Prof.Sakai, for having 22+ feckin’ Dolls. Lucky bastard.
From his site, filtered through Babelfish:

Revival (wallpaper renewal)

So France which is reported to the entire world on this month first you think that it is perhaps understood even with the one where the conjecture is not good revived. When with process of investigation cooperation it becomes disposal after the investigation ending, to know, because then it is pitiful, it did to the thing which I receive. One day spending, to wash with the thinner, because it became a state where the photograph can take at last. Asking to the usual belonging exclusively stylist, it had preparing also the clothes in one for her, but as for that with future….

By the way, the parting line of the foot which has come out of the sleeping bag in first reporting (so it was visible but) terribly it is to think that it is not the empty real doll, but something hard ones, for example the door of the car, or the toe 轢 being with those like the winch, it collapsed, seems like truth.

Yep. He also adds:

In announcement of police as for her of 170 centimeters in height and 53 kilograms of weight of sleeping bag included body 8. There are no same ones, but as for the hand and foot when you saw commonness with body 6,7,9?, because it is the kind of size which is similar, taking type, if it duplicates with silicon, time is required, but sooner or later the finishing it heals.

Remember how I said Babelfish can do more harm than good at times? This is one of those times.
What I gleaned from that was
+ Sakai-sensei had to wash her down with thinner to make her presentable
+ the toes on one of her feet were smashed at some point, possibly in a car door, but he’ll be repairing them, and
+ she’s a Body 8, going by her stats.

‘She was the victim of “Realdoll Murder”, but she has come home,’ the good Professor says on his site. I think that’s a rather heartwarming end to the case, wouldn’t you agree?

Misaki the new girl (right), with Ryui

Technorati tags: Abyss Creations, RealDolls, iDollators, Japan

Sdtrk: ‘Did you expect the gods to tread lightly when they came among you’ by Caldera lakes

We have a metric ton of news to cover in this month’s instalment. A ton. Ready GO!

You’ve probably seen this already, but Kokoro Co. Ltd.’s winsome Actroid DER2-chan made her media debut recently; she was in an advert for an insect repellent/sunscreen spray for the Japanese manufacturer Kincho.

Titled “The Woman Who Doesn’t Rust,” the 15-second commercial spot shows Actroid outdoors at a campground, where she recommends using Preshower because, as a female, her skin is important. After a few squirts of the spray, she cheerily adds, “Surprisingly, I don’t rust.”
taken from Pink Tentacle

Her voice. It’s so cute.
Today, a 15-second telly advert; tomorrow, a major part in a feature film! Well done, babe!

Speaking of Gynoids, some bloke in Japan is trying his hand at building one himself. His project is called Maidroid, which immediately identifies two target markets he’s aiming for.

She won’t be a very good maid with only one arm

Of course, everything on his site is in Japanese, and I don’t have the kind of patience to Babelfish the entire page, so just do what I do — visit it, scroll towards the bottom, click on some links, stare at the pics, watch the videos, and nod approvingly.

This one submitted by la Gina Banina: the Art of Alex Sandwell Kliszynski. He’s got a theme going, much in the style of Mario A., Juergen Specht, and Low Tek Photography, as you’ll soon note.

Five points of articulation. That’s four more than a McFarlane figure

There’s not a tremendous amount of photos in the gallery, so hopefully Mr Kliszynski has more out there that he’s just not displayed on his site yet…

Speaking of Doll art, you know (sexy) fellow iDollator Stacy Leigh‘s photos of her gorgeous silicone roomies have been shown in another publication, right? This time round, she was interviewed for the July/August issue of Park, a French magazine (scroll to the bottom for the article). They gave her eight pages! Rock on, missy!

Speaking of print magazines, on domestic shores, the August issue of Penthouse features a very even-handed four-page write-up on Real-Dolls (needed another hyphen there), which means you can actually say you’re reading it for the articles… Better hurry up and grab it, cos you know how it is with print — it’s always one month ahead, and since it’s August as we speak, all the August issues out will magickally turn into September issues in a couple of days.

Speaking of August, Phoenix Studios once again meets another deadline! I’ve always loathed August for its excessive heat and humidity; thankfully, Miss August doesn’t reflect those qualities at all. And good on her.

And why would I be attracted to her? She looks
nothing at all like the Missus!

For a couple of seconds, I was kinda confused as to what seasonal event she was supposed to represent, until I twigged it — she’s dressed as a schoolgirl. School (in the States) starts in late August. Ah haaah. Very clever, Phoenix Studios; very clevair.

Speaking of seasons, Boy Toys in and of themselves look fab enough, but Phoenix Studios are pulling another innovation out of their hat(s) with the Boy Toy Seasons line, featuring Summer, Autumn, and Winter, and Spring. These lasses are super-limited edition (only fifty of each will be made), but on top of that, their faces fall in between the stylised qualities of the regular Boy Toy line, and the realistic look of regular RealDolls. Huh!

It’s Summer time (not to be confused
with ‘Hammer time’)

Aaand finally, blindly groping my way through Google, I spotted a website for an indie film entitled ‘Rubberheart‘.

It’s Tuesday and Maggie (Rebecca Hall) is on the prowl at her local hunting ground, the video store. Hapless video nerd Ted (Jake Sandvig) tries, as always, to curry favor with Maggie, but she needs more intrigue. She needs more of a man. Enter Nick (Josh Cooke). Maggie courts Nick while browsing the Tinto Brass collection. They go to Maggie’s to watch Salon Kitty and make love on the couch.

The morning after, Maggie wakes without the usual sense of dread that comes with a hangover and making small talk with a stranger who you’ve had mediocre sex with. They agree to see each other again.

After a few weeks of renting films and watching them at Maggie’s place until carnal pleasure interrupts, Nick invites Maggie to dinner at his house. When Maggie arrives, Nick has something to share…something that takes Maggie completely by surprise.

SPOILERS: He’s got three lovely RealDolls. Well, it’s not much of a spoiler, really; I mean, why else would I be writing about it?
I’ve contacted the director, Brian Crano, in an attempt to procure a copy of the film for review. It’s actually making the film festival rounds — it’s due to be shown at the Canary Wharf Film Festival later this month. Full details are, of course, available on the film’s site, so if you catch it, let me know! Well, let Brian know too, as I’m sure he’d appreciate it.

Whoo! That… was a lot of news in one go. I think I need a Djarum

Technorati tags: Kokoro Co. Ltd., Actroid, Kincho, Maidroid, Android, Gynoid, robots, Alex Sandwell Kliszynski, Stacy Leigh, Park Mag, Penthouse Magazine, Phoenix Studios, Boy Toy, Rubberheart, Brian Crano, RealDolls

Sdtrk: ‘Do it! (live)’ by Death from above 1979

Noteworthy: it appears that the staffers at 4woods have announced the release of ‘Natural’ skintones for their Natsuki, Yu-ki, Kunika Reloaded and Sleeping Kunika models. I dunno; the previous versions looked pretty natural to me! In an unnatural way, naturally.
Not only that, but they now offer ‘nail chips’ for their lasses, which is just an awkward way of saying that you can now order your potential A.I.Doll with fake nails.

Combining two wonderful things. Well, three, if you’re observant

I miss the days when Abyss Creations made their RealDolls with hard nails. Everyone but me seemed to think they were a bad idea! I just thought they were easier to paint, for one…

In other news, Ms Banina tipped me off to this article: Is Having Sex with a Robot Hooker Cheating?

It’s not cheating: A robot hooker is just a machine, so having sex with one is like using a vibrator for women. Purchasing a little robot companionship is perfect because there’s no chance of STDs or emotional attachments. My girlfriend should be happy I’m just down at the robot brothel instead of hooking up with flesh-and-blood women at the bar.

It is cheating: With advanced technology, having sex with a robot hooker is too much like really cheating. For all intents and purposes, you’re having sex with another woman. Plus, what if you want to buy your own robot hooker and keep her in the closet at home? It’s a thin line between robot hooker and robot girlfriend.

Readers who have been paying attention should be able to suss what side of the fence I stand on this issue, but in case you’ve not been previously scarred by reading this blog, I’d say that yes, it would be cheating. Part of the reason that I constantly make reference to ‘Synthetiks’ is that I believe that when we have Androids and Gynoids that are advanced enough to be integrated in society, we should make a distinction between them and us Organiks, but one that still recognises them as people. I mean, you could also look at it this way — both Organiks and Synthetiks are machines; we’re just meat-based machines. I don’t romanticise in that aspect.
But yeah, I’d go with cheating, as I would view a Synthetik as a person, and not as an appliance or a toy, especially due to their humanoid appearance. Should the whole concept of robot escorts and prossies start up — which I’m sure it will — there will be people that employ their services that might possibly fall in love with them, and I’m referring to individuals that weren’t previously attracted to Synthetiks. And the more complex the AI becomes for artificial humans, the lines between ‘us’ and ‘them’ will get blurrier and blurrier. Apart from the whole meat thing, that is.

Also of note, this past Sunday I had a lengthy interview with the admin of His Little Slut, detailing my life with Sidore-chan — be ye warned, it veers into TMI-territory at times — but you can look at it right here. You’d think I would’ve kept my rambling down to a minimum! *shakes head ‘no’*

And it must be July. Like I said, you don’t need a calendar any more!

Clearly beats Abbie Hoffman’s take on wearing the flag

Thanks, Phoenix Studios, for providing me with at least one Doll-related thing to write about per month!

And finally, I can’t imagine why I find this recent instalment of Diesel Sweeties as high-larious as I do! R. Stevens, you so crazy

Technorati tags: 4woods, A.I.Dolls, Abyss creations, RealDolls, robots, Androids, Gynoids, Phoenix Studios, Boy Toy Dolls, Diesel Sweeties

Sdtrk: ‘Empire state human’ by the Human League

As no-one tells me anything anymore, I learned that BBC America aired Nick Holt’s ‘Guys and Dolls‘ yet again a week or so ago. That particular documentary is like the equivalent of Soft cell’s Tainted love for Sidore and I, or perhaps like Blue Monday by New order — it’s the vehicle that’s brought us to the most peoples’ attention, as most don’t know we’ve done other interviews previously. But I have to say, when we get round to putting in another appearance on telly or film, if nothing else, we can show that we’ve not been living at my parents since last year. Man.
So guess which media juggernaut contacted me recently?

from: Donnelly, Christine
to: pulsedemon [at] gmail [dot] com
date: Mon, Apr 21, 2008 at 4:17 PM
subject: Interview Request – from Alan Colmes

Hi Davecat,

I’m with Alan Colmes’ national radio show.

Last night, I happened to see the BBC America documentary featuring you and Sidore.

We’d love to have you on the show. Both Alan and our audience find this topic very interesting; we had David Levy on the show a few months ago.

What about a phone interview at midnight on Thursday night? Well, technically, that’s Friday, but you know what I mean, right?

It’d be about 20 minutes or so.

If so, at what landline (and backup – like a cell) can you be reached?

Look forward to hearing from you and hope we can arrange.

Best,
Christine

Christine Donnelly
Booker, The Alan Colmes Show

Durr — what? Colmes, of the FAUX News pseudo-pundits Colmes and Hannity? What??
I’d mentioned this invite to New Internet Bestest Friend Forevar, the lovely Gina Banina, during an IM conversation, and she thought it was pretty ace. At that point, I’d asked her if Colmes wasn’t a berserk frothing neo-con, and she replied she didn’t know. I don’t keep up with politics, and I’d only heard tell of Colmes’ and Hannity’s television programme: one representing the left wing agenda, the other plumping for right-wingers, dancing round each other for an hour in an enclosed ring and slicing at the other with homemade prison shanks, their left wrists bound together with a length of rough twine. I hadn’t a clue as to which one was which; however, a quick spin on the Wikipedia wheel set us straight — Colmes was the liberal one. With that news, I began to think that perhaps 20 minutes over the phone wouldn’t be altogether bad… after all, David Levy was once a guest…
I was beginning to consider saying yes, when a crucial factor came to my attention. So I wrote Christine back:

from: Dave Kuroneko
to: “Donnelly, Christine”
date: Tue, Apr 22, 2008 at 6:01 PM

Hello there –
Thanks for posing an enquiry, however, I’m afraid I’ll have to respectfully decline. Basically, I work a staggered shift, which has me getting off at midnight Wednesday through Friday, so I probably won’t be able to do the phone interview. Thanks very much for the opportunity, though!

Cheers,
Davecat, with valued assistance from Sidore

That’s that affair put to bed, right? Wrong. She wrote back almost immediately — literally, like almost half an hour later:

from: Donnelly, Christine
to: Dave Kuroneko
date: Tue, Apr 22, 2008 at 6:25 PM

Dave,

Thanks so much for replying.

Not trying to be a pain here but…we would love to have you on the show! If 12:30am on Thursday (after you get out of work) would work, that’d be great. Or midnight next Monday or Tuesday?

Best,

Christine

One half of my mind’s going ‘well, what’s the harm in it?’ and the other half is shouting ‘your segments in “Guys and Dolls” were misrepresented on Jay Leno and Talk Soup, for fuck’s sake’. Sometimes, bad press is better than no press at all, but that’s only sometimes. With a subject such as being an iDollator, caution when dealing with the media is extremely important. Plus, all told, FAUX News equals high-RPM spin doctoring in my mind.
So days later — which I kinda feel guilty about, as leaving any booking agent hanging is pretty unprofessional — I finally responded:

from: Dave Kuroneko
to: “Donnelly, Christine”
date: Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 1:17 PM

Hey Christine –

Sorry it’s taken so long to get back to you; both my work and my personal life have been in a state of flux over the past few days…

Unfortunately, I think I’ll have to respectfully decline your invite to be on Alan Colmes chat show. To be completely honest, I’m rather distrustful of the way that media, American media in particular, has a habit of spinning topics to serve their own ends, especially in the instance of something as ‘out there’ as being an iDollator. I wanted to have a listen to the interview you say he’d conducted with David Levy, to see how that went, but I was unable to locate it. Besides, the past couple of days at work have been rubbish, and I’m sure that would inadvertently affect my demeanour and circumspection on-air. I’m sure you understand.

Once again, sorry for the delay, and thanks for the opportunity!

Cheers,
Davecat

And that seems to have done it. Sigh.
It’s crazy: the venues that I’d want to be interviewed by don’t seem to have any interest in the topic, and the venues I wouldn’t touch with a barge pole are all over me! This, then, is Irony

EDIT (03 May): So I went ahead and made a ‘Circus Minimus’ category, cos this sort of thing is happening more often than I would’ve ever thought possible. Who knew?

Technorati tags: Guys and Dolls, Nick Holt, Alan Colmes, RealDolls, iDollators, David Levy

I’m confused about who the news belongs to. I always have it in my head that if your name’s in the news, then the news should be paying you. Because it’s your news and they’re taking it and selling it as their product. But then they always say that they’re helping you, and that’s true too, but still, if people didn’t give the news their news, and if everybody kept their news to themselves, the news wouldn’t have any news. So I guess you should pay each other. But I haven’t figured it out fully yet.
– Andy Warhol, ‘The Philosophy of Andy Warhol’, page 78

+ + + + + + + + + + + + +

+ Eves de silicones; programme by Elisabeth Alexandre for France 3 public television. Aired June 2002.

+ ‘Living with Dolls’; segment by Matt Hanson for CHUM television programme SexTV, Canada. Aired October 2003.

+ Still Lovers; photo monograph by Elena Dorfman. Published by Channel Photographics, 2005.

+ Des poupées et des hommes: Enquête sur l’amour artificiel (Dolls and Men: Investigation into Artificial Love); book written by Elisabeth Alexandre. Published by La Musardine, France, 2005.

+ ‘Real Dolls: Love in the Age of Silicone‘; article written by Meghan Laslocky. Originally published as ‘Just Like a Woman’ for Salon.com, October 2005.

+ ‘Vom Suchen und Finden der Liebe (On the Seeking and Finding of Love)’; article written by Annett Heide, Maxi magazine, Germany. Published January 2006.

+ ‘Täydelliset naiset’; article written by Anu Partanen, Image Magazine, Finland. Published March 2006.

+ ‘Love Dolls’; article written by Brittany Douziech, Scene Magazine, California State University Northridge, United states. Published June 2006.

+ Guys and Dolls, aka ‘Love me, Love my Doll’, aka ‘Min konstgjorda flickvän’; television documentary by Nick Holt for Channel Five, England. Aired September 2006.

+ ‘Annorlunda sex – om sexuella böjelser‘; segment by Anna Jillhed for Titan Television programme Outsiders, Sweden. Aired October 2006.

+ ‘In a Barbie world: BBC America reveals strange U.S. culture’; article written by Jennifer Christie Haughton, Daily Trojan, University of Southern California, United states. Published June 2007.

+ ‘Heart to part’; article written by John Wilkens, San Diego Union-Tribune, United states. Published October 2007.

+ ‘The reality is outside the box’; article written by Josephine Tovey, The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia. Published April 2008.

+ ‘Guys and dolls: A revealing look at men’s sex toys’; article written by Tanya Gold, The Independent, England. Published September 2008.

+ ‘Davecat, Doll Husband (Part I / Part II)’; article written by Sabrina Scott, ULTRAKILLBOT, Canada. Published April 2009.

+ ‘Real Dolls and iDollators‘; photo-essay by Anne Vial and Stephan Gladieu, Reportage by Getty Images, United States. Published November 2009.

+ ‘iDollitor: The synthetic companion and her owner‘; article written by Deanna Rilling, Las Vegas Weekly, United states. Published January 2010.

+ ‘Strange Love‘; segment by J.Siberry for National Geographic programme Taboo, United states. Aired February 2010.

+ ‘La ardiente historia de Davecat y su mujer de silicona (The ardent history of Davecat and his silicone wife)’; article written by Felipe Castro, La Nación Domingo, Chile. Published July 2010.

+ ‘Meet the iDollators (Part I / Part II)’; article written by Amisha Surani, Best magazine, England. Published August 2010.

+ ‘Man Has $6,500 Love Doll “Reincarnated”’; article written by Natalie O’Neill, Asylum, United states. Published October 2010.

+ ‘Een Realdoll kan niet vreemdgaan (A Realdoll can’t cheat)’; article written by Rebecca Have, VrouwOnline, The Netherlands. Published November 2010.

+ ‘Davecat: Man Marries Robot’; podcast hosted by Don Recuero and Diana Sparx, Mindcore, United states. Published January 2011.

+ ‘Married To A Doll‘; segment by Adam Pray for The Learning Channel television programme My Strange Addiction, United states. Aired January 2011.

+ ‘Synthetic Family‘; segment by Becky Hoey for The Learning Channel television programme My Strange Addiction: Still Addicted?, United states. Aired June 2011.

+ ‘Synthetik Love: A Modern Love Story‘; documentary by Ashley Miller, United states. Published April 2012.

+ ‘The Mechanical Bride‘; documentary by Allison de Fren, United states. Released April 2012.

+ ‘In Praise of iDollatry: An Interview with Davecat and Sidore’; article written by Dan Oudshoorn, On Journeying with those in Exile, Canada. Published September 2012.

+ ‘Fetish Study: Dolls, Mannequins, and Statues‘; article written by greatapethoughts, Great Ape Thoughts, United states. Published January 2013.

+ ‘Going inside the mind of Davecat, the man in love with his RealDoll ‘; article written by Britta Bowles, Selected writings, United states. Published May 2013.

+ ‘Tea Time with Davecat: Shouting to Hear the Echoes (Part One)‘; article written by Danielle Boachie, Womancipation Proclamation, United states. Published June 2013.

+ ‘Married to a Doll: Why One Man Advocates Synthetic Love‘; article written by Julie Beck, The Atlantic, United states. Published August 2013.

+ ‘Davecat tells how he married a RealDoll named Sidore Kuroneko‘; article written by Rebecca Sullivan, news.com.au, Australia. Published October 2013.

+ ‘Tea Time with Davecat: Shouting to Hear the Echoes (Part Two)‘; article written by Danielle Boachie, Womancipation Proclamation, United states. Published October 2013.

+ ‘Sex-Puppe: Dave braucht keine echten Frauen‘; segment by Hans Huebner for RTL television programme Explosiv, Germany. Aired November 2013.

+ ‘Silicone Love: Davecat’s Life with a Synthetic Wife and Mistress‘; article written by Roc Morin, VICE, United states. Published January 2014.

+ ‘Love Dolls’; article written by Sofija Stefanovic, The Lifted Brow, Australia. Published March 2014.

+ ‘El matrimonio de Davecat y Sidore Kuroneko visto desde los ojos de la muñeca (The marriage of Davecat and Sidore Kuroneko seen through the eyes of the Doll)’; article written by Sam Schneider, ZoomNews, Spain. Published March 2014.

+ The Guide to the Future of Medicine: Technology AND The Human Touch; book written by Bertalan Meskó, MD, PhD. Published by Webicina Kft., Hungary, September 2014.

+ ‘Exclusive Interview With Davecat‘; article written by Miss Metaverse, Futurist Miss Metaverse, United states. Published January 2015.

+ ‘Sex, Love, and Robots‘; article written by Elizabeth Nolan Brown, Reason.com, United states. Published March 2015.

+ ‘Episode 20 – Robots In Our Beds‘; podcast interview by Ben Orlando, History Repeating Itself, United states. Aired April 2015.

+ ‘Episode #2 – Davecat‘; podcast interview by Dr Paul Salvatori and Jordan Randall, The Dark Room, Canada. Aired January 2016.

+ ‘Os presento a mis dos esposas… de plástico (I present my two plastic spouses…)’; article written by Alba Muñoz, Papel, Spain. Published August 2016.

+ ‘A Girl of Ivory‘; podcast interview by Nick van der Kolk, Love + Radio, United states. Aired September 2016.

+ ‘«Меня всегда привлекали искусственные вещи»: Интервью с человеком, женатым на своей секс-кукле (“I was always attracted to artificial things”: Interview with a man married to his sex doll)’; article written by Andrey Pisarev, FURFUR, Russia. Published December 2016.

+ The Age of Perversion: Desire and Technology in Psychoanalysis and Culture; book written by Dr Danielle Knafo and Rocco Lo Bosco. Published by Routledge, United states, 2016.

+ ‘Love Doll Buyer’s Guide: How to Find Your Ideal Synthetic Lover‘; article written by Jenna Owsianik, Future of Sex, United states. Published January 2017.

+ ‘Maschinen-Sex – Von Robo-Ehen und elektrischen Liebhabern‘ (Robot marriages and electric lovers – How will artificial intelligence change our relationships?); podcast interview by Jennifer Rieger, Deutschlandradio Kultur, Germany. Aired April 2017. Transcript in English is here.

+ ‘Rise of the sex robots‘; video segment by Jenny Kleeman and Tom Silverstone, The Guardian, United Kingdom. Published April 2017.

+ ‘Episode 2: Davecat‘; video segment by Julia Gorbach and Carla Tramullas for the interactive online series The Dig, United states. Released May 2017.

+ ‘One Cool Davecat: A Hard Left Turn‘; podcast interview by Dick Wound & minimus maximus, Off the Cuffs, United states. Aired August 2017.

+ ‘My Wife is a Real Doll. Literally!‘; podcast interview by Sunny Megatron & Ken Melvoin-Berg, American Sex, United states. Aired October 2017.

+ ‘Episode 53 – DaveCat‘; podcast interview by BakjiBen & Floss, #ProudToBeKinky Podcast, United states. Aired November 2017.

+ ‘Episode 4 – Relationships‘; segment by Jelle Brandt Corstius for VPRO television programme Robo sapiens, Netherlands. Aired November 2017.

+ ‘Si mi mujer se va, hago mi vida con un robot sexual’ (‘If my wife leaves, I make my life with a sex robot’); article written by Ana María Velásquez Durán, El Tiempo, Colombia. Published December 2017.

+ ‘Silicone Soul‘; documentary by Melody Gilbert, United states. Released January 2018.

+ ‘Silicone Selves: On The Aesthetics of Silicone Women‘; article written by Taylore Scarabelli, Vestoj, United states. Published February 2018.

+ ‘Davecat on ollut seksinuken kanssa 17 vuotta – “Hänessä on kaikki naisen hyvät puolet ilman huonoja”‘ (‘Davecat has been together with a sex doll for 17 years — “She has all the good aspects of a woman without the bad ones”‘); video segment by Jaro Asikainen and Turkka Korkiamäki, Yle, Finland. Published March 2018. YouTube link is here.

+ ‘Vive con su esposa, su novia y una amiga, todas muñecas sexuales’ (‘Life with his wife, his girlfriend and a friend, all sex dolls’); article written by Samuel Losada Iriarte, Infobae, Argentina. Published April 2018.

+ ‘Pensavo fosse un calesse‘ (‘It is love, and not a thing’); article written by Giuseppe Genna, Il Primo Amore, Italy. Published May 2018.

+ ‘デトロイトに住むラブドールのオーナー、その「日本オタク度」がすごかった‘ (‘The owner of Love Doll living in Detroit, his “Japanese otaku degree” was amazing’); article written by Yohtaro Hamada, The Asahi Shimbun Globe+, Japan. Published October 2018.

+ Turned On: Science, Sex and Robots; book written by Dr Kate Devlin. Published by Bloomsbury Sigma, United kingdom, October 2018.

+ ‘Where Do Our Sex Bots Go After We Die?‘; article written by Madison Medeiros, Medium, United states. Published November 2018.

+ ‘Sex Doll Brothels Expand The Market For Synthetic Partners‘; article written by Mark Hay, Forbes, United states. Published November 2018.

+ Humans and Robots: Ethics, Agency, and Anthropomorphism; book written by Sven Nyholm. Published by Rowman & Littlefield, United states, March 2020.

+ Sex Robots & Vegan Meat; book written by Jenny Kleeman. Published by Picador, United kingdom, July 2020.

+ ‘Je suis robosexuel depuis 30 ans‘ (‘I have been a robosexual for 30 years’); article written by Pauline Ferrari, Usbek & Rica, France. Published August 2020.

+ ‘Living With Sex Dolls feat. Davecat (Part 01)‘; podcast interview by Bryony Cole, Future of Sex, United states. Aired November 2020.

+ ‘When Sex Dolls Evolve feat. Davecat, Dr Marianne Brandon, and Dr Julie Carpenter (Part 02)‘; podcast interview by Bryony Cole, Future of Sex, United states. Aired December 2020.

+ ‘It’s not just a sex doll! What it’s like to be in a relationship with a synthetic partner‘; podcast interview by Chion Wolf, Audacious, United states. Aired October 2021.

+ ‘The deeply human love stories of people and their sex dolls‘; article written by Brit Dawson, British GQ, England. Published March 2023.

Sdtrk: ‘Les mains dans les poches’ by Les Roche Martin

Back in the spotlight! Yesterday, I spent a pleasant 40 minutes on the phone with Josephine Tovey, who was writing up an article about RealDolls for the Sydney Morning Herald, mostly due to the fact that Australia (and the UK) will finally be screening ‘Lars and the Real Girl‘ in the next couple of weeks. She wanted the views and opinions of an iDollator, in regards to the film and being a Doll husband and things of that nature. So she asked me, for reasons I cannot fathom. I know nothing of these ‘Dolls’! My silicone-based wife was shipped strapped securely into a wooden crate, after sixteen weeks of painstaking sculpture and assembly, just like anyone else’s.
It should be on their website as well as in print, but Josephine said it should be hitting the stands on 5 April. Now, I’m aware that that’s the same day the new series of Doctor Who starts up, but don’t let that distract you; you can always TiVo it.

Also, 4woods comes through again! They have a new model — well, a new head, really — due out very soon; a charming NEO-J-type named Ally.

Ally v. Ally IN THE STEEL CAGE MATCH OF THE CENTURY

She looks a bit like Neu, but even more elfin, if that’s even physically possible. You can get her in either ‘Natural’ or ‘Asian’ skintones (as seen above), and much like the Neu-types, you can swap out the pointy ears for regular ones. Rather nice!

So there you have it. New interview, new A.I.Doll. Two things for everyone to look forward to

Sdtrk: ‘Ash on the trees (The sudden ebb of a diatribe)’ by Sunn O))) meets Nurse with wound

That’s right, another one already. But there’s a sackful of stuff to mention! Plus, there’s a synchronistic reason I’m posting this so soon after last month’s, which you’ll see at the end…

First, do you know German? Do you know a German, who coincidentally knows German? Tell them they should get to work and subtitle this videoclip that aired recently on the German documentary show, Polylux. Not just for your best friends Davecat and Sidore, but for all iDollators and curious parties. Yeah, altruism.

What, no tea for her?

RealDolls – wenn Männer Puppen lieben

The new dream women are called Melanie, Claudia or Annika. They are 1,65m largely, 50 Kilos heavily – and consist of silicone. Some men cannot live no more without it.
taken from this site

Someone ripped it to YouTube, but they only managed to get part of it, and YouTube pulled it a couple of hours later, due to copyright cockfighting. Not only does it feature Harald und Ramona above, who seem like a nice couple, but you get to see Deutsche iDollator Dollcaretaker spending time with his lovely ladies Annika and Melanie. Worth watching! But IT NEEDS ENGLISH SUBTITLES. I AM SERIOUS. Also, I need some way to get a copy of it. My demands are simple.

Now, for those of you who’ve been keeping up with Phoenix Studios Grande Masterplan, you’ll know that the March Boy Toy Doll is available. I can’t believe Miss Hyde scooped me on that. Clearly I’m losing my edge.

Does she taste minty, like a Shamrock shake? SOLD

Since the Dolls seem to be styled after what makes that particular month most memorable (December = Xmas, February = Valentine’s day, etc), I can’t wait to see Miss October. rrrRowr.

Also! According to a post by the good Technosexuals over at spurtBOT, they spotted an article from futurist and pro-Synthetik writer Richard Evans, wherein he interviews Hiroshi Ishiguro, the genius behind the Actroid series.

The professor is passionate about the duties of scientists and what they should achieve on behalf of the public, with public money – ‘we are here to continue research and to make a better world, not build and preserve our own small empires’. He is also a devoted father, and comes across as a complex character – pragmatic and direct. […] When questioned on funding, he explains that none of the lab’s money comes from the military, as Japan doesn’t have an army (only a self-defence force) – ‘so we are able to develop robots that help people, not hurt them’. It is perhaps telling that his favourite movie is Bicentennial Man, based on Isaac Asimov’s short story and starring Robin Williams. This tale of a robotic helper who wants to become human is key to Ishiguro’s vision of a future populated with robots that assist us and become useful members of society.
taken from this site

Also revealed in the interview is that David Hanson of Hanson Robotics will soon be joining forces with Ishiguro-san’s Osaka Labs, to work together on future projects. Pretty ace, I’d say…
While we’re on the topic of Synthetiks builders, whatever happened to Shunichi Mizuno? I remember seeing footage of his sexy Marilyn Monroe Gynoid on an episode of ‘Ripley’s Believe it or Not!’ ages ago, and the man seems to have disappeared entirely from existence. The way things are with contemporary artificial human development, he’s missing out on all the fun!

Japan has come forth with another new Doll manufacturer: Fivestars Laboratory Inc. To be honest, they’re not really new, as I recall seeing their name on teh Internuts before, but their new product, the Dollche series of 1/1 scale ball-joint Dolls, is rather attention-getting.

She’s got good guitar-playing fingers

Their Type 910 model boasts 55 movable joints, and stands at 147 cm, with measurements of B.33 / W.20 / H.30. Hrrm, tiny. And despite all those measurements listed, they don’t say how much they weigh…
Even though the site has a fair amount of English (heh, ‘Engrish’), they don’t seem to offer their product for sale outside Japan. At which point, I suppose you’d get on the horn to your favourite deputy service, and start working out some arrangements…

You can view a rather Hideaki Anno-esque promotional film on Dollche’s YouTube page. Personally, they’re too small, and I find their features are a bit too Doll-like — which may seem a strange epithet coming from me, but I can’t say I’m too keen on the eyes, as they’re a wee bit too stylised for my tastes. However, this isn’t to say that I don’t like the Dollche series as an idea. But that’s a given, really. 1/1 scale ball-joint Dolls? That sort of concept hasn’t been in use since Hans Bellmer made his lasses!

And speaking of Bellmer, today would’ve been his 106th birthday! (Yes, I still have to write an extended post about the man, don’t remind me.) Here’s to one of the more famous iDollators in history! Thanks to his unique and somewhat pervy Surrealist vision, he’s gained a certain immortality

ADDENDUM (16 March): Ask and ye shall receive: an alert reader in Germany wrote up a translation to the Harald und Ramona segment mentioned above. Check it out in the Comments section!