O’er thee, like thine own sea birds
I’ll circle without rest
For me earth holds no corner
To build a lasting nest.
—Empress Elisabeth of Austria, on finding the right man and domestic life in general.
I wonder…
…have you ever been in a room full of people and been lonely as hell?
…is railfanning a hobby dominated by men? If so then I, a female, should be a breath of fresh air.
With regards to railfanning, I went on my first…mission, I’m gonna call it. I caught a Union Pacific train with mixed freight on film earlier this evening. It had a Chessie System boxcar on it. Unfortunately the film is way too dark for YouTube. Too bad, because the Chessie had excellent colors…it was heavily graffitied, but the “C” logo on the side was nice and bright, and I am very happy with that. If there’s one Chessie boxcar out there like that, then there will definitely be others. And that’s the third Chessie boxcar to come through my hometown in less than a month. That makes my odds of seeing another one very good compared to other types of railcar.
On Pinterest…
…I have an account there now. My mother and sister insist that I’ll love it, but I have no desire to become active there. If anyone wants to look at my blank board, my name is ChessieGirl1987.
If I do decide to become active (and hopefully I will not) the boards will consist of the same crap that’s on my Facebook page…tornadoes, dolls, Christian, Pro-Israel and right-wing stuff, and music. But instead of getting down to the nitty gritties, it’s just pictures. No getting to know the user, no making friends, no nothing. It’s just pictures of shit I’ll never own, see, or do. And none of ‘em are my pictures.
I hate trends.
Tokidoki Barbie and Katniss Everdeen
Don’t worry, the two will end up connecting. Trust me. <takes deep breath> Okay…prepare to read a long spiel about nothing in particular but the shallow-minded ramblings of CatScratchFever1987. If you want something deeper and more intellectually stimulating, I recommend my Twitter page, but beware…it crawls with right-wing ramblings and politically incorrect commentary. Hmm…better just stick with this.
Okay! I’m not a trend follower. I was able to resist the Pokemon craze (even though it’s still pretty cool), weather Harry Potter, and completely avoid anything that concerns the Twilight Saga (geez, I hate Twilight…except Taylor Lautner, and even then I was a fan of him before he became Jacob Whatever-his-last-name-is). But the Hunger Games books I like. My sister turned me onto them a year ago, before they became the hugely popular monster they’ve become. It saddens me to see the strong political and social messages that the story brings get dampened by every silly trend-following teenager screaming “TEEM PEETA!” or “TEAM GALE!” I myself have not seen the movie and have not chosen a boy to support (though I’m thankful Katniss Everdeen is not a slut like Bella Swan is). I have no intentions to buy any merchandise related to the books except the books themselves…and one other thing.
As you should well know by now, I’m a doll collector, and Mattel is (not surprisingly) itching to cash in on the popularity of the Hunger Games series, and create a doll in the likeness of the heroine, Katniss. I saw the press photo today, and I can’t WAIT for her to come out…she looks a lot like how I pictured Katniss when I read the books, and she comes with her silver arrows (so cute!). She is intended to be for collectors, but kids happen to like the Hunger Games (and Barbie) too. That is where the problem lies.
What I’m fearing in the case of a Katniss Everdeen Barbie is a situation like what happened with Tokidoki Barbie last October. I don’t know if I’ve blogged about Tokidoki Barbie and the controversy surrounding her or not. If I did, I apologize, but I’m gonna recap for my own feeble little mind’s sake. Tokidoki Barbie was a beautiful pink-haired, tattooed, Steffie-faced doll available to collectors last fall for fifty bucks. The press photos for her were released about a year ago, and I waited SIX MONTHS for her to be released. I had the fifty dollars plus shipping and handling set aside for her, had a spot cleared for her on my shelf, and two days before she’s scheduled to be released, BOOM!!! A bunch of silly parents saw Tokidoki’s tattoo (which covered her entire arm, part of her chest, and her back) and hit the roof, saying that Tokidoki set a bad example for little girls and encouraged them to get tattoos at too young an age. Never mind that the doll WASN’T A TOY!!! Thanks to the controversy the doll sold out in two lousy days and won’t be back in stock. And get this: most of the jack wagons that snapped up the doll bought her for the fifty dollar retail, and are now SELLING THEM ON EBAY FOR OVER FIVE HUNDRED BUCKS!!! Meanwhile, guess who never got her Tokidoki Barbie? Right…me.
Given the fact that the Hunger Games Series is so violent, I’m waiting for a backlash against Katniss from goody-two-shoes parents who will be saying that “the doll encourages violence.” In addition to that, the market for this doll will probably be pretty hot since the movie and the books are hot as well. Controversy and high demand are gonna equal a tough doll to find! But there’s no way in hell that I’m gonna let Katniss Everdeen slip through my fingers. I’ll get her if I have to cut my hair and pole dance!
“Chill out, it’s just a doll!” one may say. Yes, but it annoys me that non-doll collectors turn out in droves to buy up these awesome collectors’ items and then either junk ‘em up or resell them later at jacked-up prices. All the while collectors like me suffer. And all that time the parents and the media are screaming at us what we should not buy, should not do, should not have because it’s bad for kids. Uh, I don’t have kids yet. And when I do, I’ll be the one who decides what’s good and what’s bad for ‘em. Being exposed to the Hunger Games series at a young age is no worse than watching Tom & Jerry (which I did, and I turned out fine). Parents really need to learn some common sense…if they don’t want their kids to be exposed to something, then it’s up to them to keep their kids from it instead of trying to spoil the fun for everyone.
Okay, I’m done. All apologies.
On Easter and trivial matters…
…Today, April 8th, 2012 is Easter. I wish all of my followers (all two of ‘em) a happy Easter and a happy week. I myself had a good one, though one of the children I mind in church had a meltdown…in my arms.
Tomorrow I go with my mother (who has half the week off) and my grandmother to get Grandma’s eyes checked. She had a cataract removed and it’s just a routine followup. What I am hoping for is the aftermath…my mother has mentioned an interest in hibiscus bushes for our yard. I am strongly in favor of this idea (though I know fully well that it will be I who has to plant them) and I hope that this will mean a trip to Wal-Mart. She also mentioned wanting a pair of shoes.
I have an ulterior motive, of course. Remember a few blogs back when I mentioned clothes for my Lalaloopsy doll? Well, I never got them. The swimsuit and the pajamas are still at the store, but I bought clothes for my Stardoll instead. At the time that was what I wanted, and since Barbie clothes that I desperately want tend to become hard to find, I went ahead and bought the Stardoll set. Raven (my Stardoll) subsequently came out looking like a little dominatrix. Now all she needs is a whip; I think an apple stem will fit the bill nicely, as it has a perfect little curve to it, and is thick at one end and thin at the other. But that’s WAY off the point that I’m trying to get at.
My Lalaloopsy Blossom’s birthday will be April 22nd, and I desperately want some cute little clothes to give her. I’m hoping that the Wal-Mart at the town we’re going to will have some new things. I’ll have to mooch a couple of bucks probably, but my mom is kind about such things. But all that depends on if there are any new Lalaloopsy clothes there. And if there are not, then no problem!
I can’t believe that I’m twenty-four and talking about buying clothes for a doll like she’s a real little person! LOL I don’t believe I’ll ever grow up!
Hmm…
…so it seems that folks have been lobbying and nagging Mattel to create a bald Barbie for kids with cancer, alopecia, and that mental disorder where kids pull their hair out (and occasionally eat it). MGA Entertainment took up the cause and are creating True Hope Bratz and Moxie Girlz which are bald and come with cute little caps, headscarves, and bravery beads. And I’m okay with that. I can’t wait for them to hit store shelves.
After the MGA’s announcement, I guess Mattel saw that they had no choice…it was either create a bald doll or allow their main business rival to make them look stupid (and Mattel has a history of caving into pressure anyway—I remind you of that infernal Greedypeace boycott which Mattel foolishly gave in to). Bald and Beautiful Barbie will be produced…but only to kids hospitalized with cancer! The kids with alopecia and that kooky mental disorder are either going to have to be hospitalized themselves or just do without, which isn’t fair. I think that if Mattel is going to make a bald doll, then it should be released to everyone, just like the True Hope Bratz and Moxie Girlz. But I’m still okay with the idea…I wasn’t in the beginning because I think it glamorizes a terrible disease and encourages little girls to focus more their looks instead of developing individuality and focusing on getting well. I still feel that a bald doll may do that, but that’s where the parents should be stepping in to encourage their kids. I just hope that Barbie doesn’t get the blame when some of those parents fall down on the job (and some will…it’s inevitable).
Okay, so that’s what’s been going on. Bald Barbie for cancer-stricken kids, bald Bratz and Moxie Girlz too. Fine. But now…NOW there’s a group lobbying for a Barbie stricken with diabetes, as well as an HIV-positive Barbie!!! Are you fucking KIDDING ME??? HIV BARBIE??? What will the parents say about that one? How did Barbie get HIV in the first place??? Parents didn’t like Tokidoki Barbie with her full-body tattoo (never mind the fact that she was for collectors like me), they don’t like the idea of a Katniss Everdeen Barbie (based off that Hunger Games series and also directed at collectors, IF the idea even comes to fruition). Do these lobbyists honestly think that parents will accept an HIV-infected doll? I can hear it now…”Barbie promotes risky lifestyles. Barbie promotes drug use. Barbie promotes unsafe sex.” No, I can’t see the idea of an HIV-positive doll EVER taking off. And frankly, I think the idea of a diabetic doll is pushing it too. Cancer victims end up deformed by the meds they take, which for a young girl can be traumatic. Diabetics don’t have to put up with deformity. And imagine if the doll came with an insulin kit with needles? I guarantee that there will be some kids who will pretend that it’s a heroin kit instead, and that will definitely get parents hot and bothered.
Whatever happened to the days when a child had to simply put up with being different, and had no doll, no toy, no NOTHING but themselves, their families, and God’s grace pulling them through? You see, this Bald Barbie campaign started because of one little girl who felt bad about how she looked and thought a bald Barbie might help her to fit in. Don’t get me wrong, I truly am sorry that she is sick and I hope she beats that cancer and goes on to live a healthy life. But where are her parents to tell her she’s beautiful no matter what, and that fitting in is NOT anywhere near as important as beating this bastard of a disease? She and all other sick kids need to understand that there were plenty of children before them who were sick or deformed and they made it through life without the aid of a doll, and subsequently went on to become productive members of society.
I don’t mean to sound uncaring about the plight of pediatric diabetics and young HIV victims. But for Pete’s sake, where did the common sense go? Just because one set of folks has a Barbie doesn’t mean that every set of folks can or should. It simply is not possible, nor is it reasonable. There are far too many diseases in this world, and far too many conditions. And if there were a Barbie for each one then she’d cease to serve the function she was intended for (that being to serve as a plaything and a source of fun and enjoyment for children and some adults). And we all know what happens to a toy when it ceases to be fun. It becomes discarded, and production ceases, and kids are left without a very vital plaything. That should not be allowed to happen.
Whew!!! I feel like I’m writing a term paper for college instead of blogging! But there are my feelings on the subject, and you may take them or leave them. And for the record, I think that the idea of a Katniss Everdeen doll is splendid. I hope they’ll do Effie Trinkett and the boys too. If the overly protective parents don’t like it then they can sit on a landmine.
For traitors on the block should die;
I am no traitor, no, not I!
My faithfulness stands fast and so,
Towards the block I shall not go!
Nor make one step, as you shall see;
Christ in Thy Mercy, save Thou me!
—Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, on the day of her death.
Long live Chessie System…you continue your reign as part of CSX. I await the day when I will meet you on my local railway. <hugs>
Another memo to MGA Entertainment:
Yesterday I obtained Bratz Style It! dolls (these would be my third and fourth from the Style It! line) and may I say that they are superb! I got Shania and Maci; Shania has beautiful coloring, with the golden eyes and auburn hair, and Maci is lovely too.
I have been purchasing your dolls since the first line of Bratz came out in 2001 and I will continue to do so. I do however, respectfully request more clothes (like I stated in a previous blog) and also some sort of different product for Bratz hair. My first wave Jade and Meygan, my old Cameron, and the Sasha I bought in 2005 all appear to have saran hair (or maybe even something nicer than that, since it feels softer than good ol’ Barbie’s hair). I like ‘em like that, too…easier to brush, easier to style. But I’m not in love with the Style It! girls’ hair. I have four of them (Shania and Maci from yesterday, and Nadine and Tessa from back last October) and all of them have this thick, course stuff that knots up and kinks when I try to brush it. This isn’t really a problem for Nadine; she has curls (which I LOVE, by the way) and all I have to do is shake her to make her hair fluff up again. Nor is it a problem for Maci, since her hair is in braids (which I also love). I haven’t really worked with Shania much; I don’t predict problems with her since her hair is short, but I have had problems with Tessa. I have to be very careful when I’m combing her hair, so I don’t form knots and rip her hair out. I think you’ve already addressed this problem, as your line of Bratz Catz seem to have a different type of hair from the Style It! dolls.
Other than that, your dolls are fine. I love my new Bratzies and my Lalaloopsy doll and Tristen, my Moxie Teen. I look forward to adding a Moxie Girlz doll to my list…the local Dollar Store has Sophina and Avery and I love Sophina to bits. I also commend you on your decision to make bald dolls for children with cancer; this will be a good way to boost their confidence and give them a toy to associate with.
Very truly yours, CatScratchFever1987
Rush vs. Rush…
…I hear Rush and Peter Gabriel have demanded that Rush Limbaugh remove their music from his talk show “or else.” Uh…or else what? Aren’t those songs public domain? And aren’t Rush (the band) Canadian? And isn’t Peter Gabriel British? What business is it of theirs that an AMERICAN talk show host uses their music? This business with Limbaugh and the slut is an American matter and Gabriel and Geddy Lee’s crowd can butt their liberal noses out. They ought to be grateful that their music is getting airplay…I for one get a big thrill out of hearing their songs during Rush Limbaugh’s show. They are songs I actually like for a change, not the trendy shit that some other folks play.
So Rush (the man) loses out on a couple of uber-liberal acts that shouldn’t be poking their foreign noses in American politics in the first place. He can always turn to Ted Nugent and Kansas (Kerry Livgren is conservative and would probably like the idea).
On wedding colors…
…a local pair of young adults from my church is to be wed later on this month. The wedding’s colors are hot pink and purple-black. The bride undoubtedly chose them, and I’ll bet the groom is THRILLED (sarcasm). It’s not an ugly combo, oh no…but you talk about peculiar!!! Oh well, it’s not my wedding so I don’t have to worry about it. And it’s a helluva lot better than the camouflage that another local couple chose, or the hot pink and dayglow orange that yet another local couple chose. I mean, hot pink and orange looks fine on a bedspread (in fact, my bedspread happens to be those two colors) but for a WEDDING??? Get real. But like I said earlier, none of those color combos were for my wedding, so I’m grateful. And I should probably be thankful that some folks are being original! My prayers and best wishes to the happy couple!
Bill vs. Rush (and I’m on Rush’s side)
If Bill Maher can call Sarah Palin a cunt and get away with it, then Rush Limbaugh should be allowed to call a slut a slut without apology.
Furthermore, I find it amusing that my spelling auto-check says “Maher” is not a real word, but “Limbaugh” is! LOL
On trying to do things when the weather is bad…
My grandmother did eventually pass away, and visitation is tonight. Also tonight is the strong possibility of thunderstorms with lightning, wind, and hail. The wind and the lightning we can probably brave (my family is a pretty tough lot) but hail the size of baseballs does not sound kosher AT ALL. My aunt can’t afford to get a new windshield and hammer out a dozen huge hail dents, and for that matter, neither can we! It never fails…when something is set to go wrong, it goes wrong in about a thousand different ways.
On a slightly more positive note, the chance for tornadoes is pretty small. NOAA said that we can’t out-rule the possibility of an ISOLATED tornado, but this doesn’t look like it’s going to be a huge-ass problem like it was last April. The spotters around here were told to be on standby, but it’ll probably just be for hail and crap like that. Not that I want to see their cars getting smashed either, but better them than us.
Whatever goes down, I’ll keep you posted.
On dolls and dolly clothes and loneliness (not necessarily in that order)…
…so it seems my grandmother is in the process of checking out. As I’ve said in prior posts I have two grandmothers still; one’s nice, the other’s a bitch, and the bitchy one’s the one dying. My aunt from Kansas City is here and we haven’t seen or spoken to her in about three years. Nor have we really had anything positive to say about her. And now, all of a sudden my mother wants to spend all her time with the woman. She went to the nursing home yesterday around nine a.m. to drop off some earrings (a job that should take fifteen minutes at most) and she stayed the whole fucking day! My sister had to shell out her hard-earned money to buy food.
That brings us to today, which is Sunday. My mother and my sister went to church (I stayed in). Church let out approximately forty-five minutes ago…and they’re STILL NOT HOME!!! Since my aunt went to church I’m willing to bet they went out to that stupid nursing home AGAIN to waste time there when they could be home enjoying their weekend!!! Add to that the fact that we don’t have a crumb of food in the joint and I’m starving, and I still haven’t got my license so I can’t go get something. Oh wait…there are bagels in the refrigerator…and just as soon as I toast one up they’ll come waltzing in with food and appologize for being late and expect me to say “that’s okay.” And yet if I’m the one appologizing it’s usually “sorry doesn’t feed the bulldogs.” But that’s off-topic.
On the other hand my prediction about Lalaloopsy clothes has been somewhat off the mark. We did take a trip out of town on Friday to a Super Wal-Mart, and they had two outfits there. They had a set of blue jammies and a swimsuit, and when my sister goes to Texas this week I’m gonna see if I can’t drag my mother away from that nursing home, and go and fetch them. The swimsuit didn’t get great reviews on Amazon, but then again people are able to review toys and gadgets based on stupid criteria such as their “eco-friendliness” or their “ability to teach female empowerment.” I can remember back during the Greedypeace boycott of Barbie dolls one silly person went to every Barbie doll gave them a one-star rating because she wasn’t eco-friendly. Uh, who gives a flying fuck if she’s eco-friendly? Does she make little girls happy? Is she durable? Is she fun? If the answer is yes then phooey on her ecological impact.
Same is true of any doll, it Barbie, Lalaloopsy, Bratz, or anything like that. If my child likes a toy and I can guarantee that s/he will play with it, then s/he gets it and to hell with Mother Earth. But I’m probably never having kids so no problem.
So my family decided to come in, and they’ve brought rotissarie chicken with them. I adore rotissarie chicken. We’ll see how long they stay home, heh-heh.
Dear MGA Entertainment:
In the time that the Moxie Teenz have been available I have found ONE (1) extra outfit for my Tristen. I found the nightie with the cute little pink booties and the huge-ass overnight bag which Tristen could use as a mace if she were my size. According to the Teenz’ website there are several other outfits, accessory packs, and extra wigs available, but I have yet to find any.
Now I have in my possession the Lalaloopsy Blossom Flowerpot (see prior entry). According to Amazon.com and Lalaloopsy’s Facebook page there are several extra outfits available for them as well. I’ve seen exactly one (1), that being a set of black pajamas with a skeleton printed on them. I did not have a Lalaloopsy at the time and thus did not buy the pajamas. In that time I have seen no other extra outfits, and if Lalaloopsies follow in the footsteps of the Moxie Teenz I may end up wishing I’d bought those pajamas.
On a side note, I’ve noticed that MGA’s other two lines of dolls (Bratz and Moxie Girls) have plenty of fashionable options to choose from. I’ll admit that the Bratz no longer have the extensive wardrobe that they had when I was a teenager (and when Bratz were in their heyday) but they still have a lot more than the Moxie Teenz and the Lalaloopsies. Perhaps I’m just jumping to conclusions; after all, Lalaloopsy dolls are EXTREMELY popular and it could just be that the fashion packs are being snapped up by kids who own the dolls. Which is fair, since these dolls are intended to by toys for children and not collectors’ items for greedy hogs like myself. In the case of the Moxie Teenz, perhaps MGA is not satisfied with their performance and is slowly phasing them out? If so then that’s a shame, because the Moxie Teenz are quite capable of being a poor woman’s ball-jointed doll. I’ll explain why in another blog entry…
To the folks at MGA Entertainment (if you should happen to read this), you have adorable products that I have been buying since I was sixteen years old (I’m twenty-four now, as I’ve specified before). I complement you on the detail of Lalaloopsy clothes and on the overall awesomeness of the Moxie Teenz, and I congratulate your success with both Lalaloopsy and Bratz. I hope that in the future outfits for both dolls will be easier to find in stores, since I cannot afford the prices on Amazon.com. I also hope that the Moxie Teenz are not being phased out, because they are getting harder and harder to find and they’re really super dolls. Sometimes they’re a little flimsy (mine has a defective elbow) but they’re cool nonetheless.
Sincerely yours, CatScratchFever1987
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