Stardust ~ Saturday, June 5, 2010

Mel opened the door tonight when he said if someone comes up with a new way to present Gene, he's open. If that wasn't an invitation I don't know what is.
Today was a busy and fun day beginning with the Trent luncheon. As Alain had told us the day before, the room was originally the bank part of this historic building. It's walls are marble and the windows appeared to be at least three stories high . One of the original bank vault doors was on display and looked like a Louise Nevelson sculpture. There was a bright, airy feeling to the room which was very pleasant.
The centerpiece doll was, of course, Trent, dressed in a business suit and wearing the most fabulous black patent leather tassled loafers. Mel spoke briefly and introduced a good friend of his, Steven Hayes. Steven's presentation was a riot. He spoke lines from many different movies which were originally spoken by leading men of Gene Marshall's era. Taken out of context, these lines were hilarious. I thoroughly enjoyed his talk.
The food was served buffet style and consisted of assorted hoagies and miniature cheesecakes for dessert. After lunch a few of us went with George/Angelic Dreamz to see Deneuve, the new Jamieshow doll. I was very impressed. The resin is absolutely fabulous; the dolls joints are attractive; she poses very well and looks great without clothes! The resin feels like a baby's skin. I will be photographing her in the future. I've been told that she can wear Avantguard, Gene, Alex, Cami and Antoinette clothing lines .
While many attended the movie screening, some of us went off for a sweaty, hot walk to the historic district. We gazed upon the Liberty Bell but none of us knew for sure if it was the real one or a substitute. It is worth noting that there is a huge amount of security at these historic sites and every purse and backpack is searched by gloved security guards. There are guards at the entries and exits and I assume they are armed. On the perimeter sidewalks surrounding the historic buildings are spaced concrete pillars to keep vehicles from driving onto the sidewalks. It's like living in a prison these days. Ugh. That's why I don't think it's the real Liberty Bell. It's too exposed. I remember when it was just in an open park setting and not even in a building. Of course I was just a tiny child then. LOL.
On the way back to the hotel we walked through Chinatown which is similar to Mott St. in Manhattan in that there are many restaurants and the smells are a mixture of soy sauce and garbage.
It was hot and humid but we pressed on as our goal was to get some icy refreshment at the Market.
My reward was mango/something sherbert. It was delicious. I wanted to rub it on my forehead and neck because it was so cold and I was still hot. I did refrain from that behavior, however, as I did not want to attract flies.
At the cocktail party I was impressed by the few women who were dressed up glamorously in sequins and beads. Everyone looked great!
My tablemates were very generous and gave all sorts of swag. There was a Kio wig on our seats along with the Gene doll for the giftset. The table centerpiece was a lovely Zita. During dinner the lottery winners were announced and the drawing for the Grey Gene doll was held. Our hostess won! I was really happy for April.
Back in my room, I opened the gorgeous Stardust Gene, the convention souvenir doll, to photograph her. To my dismay I discovered that her eye screening is defective. One lid is much lower than the other. I took several closeup pictures and immediately sent them to Alain with an email expressing the desire to exchange her, before I go home, for a good one. I do hope he checks at least one of his email addresses by tomorrow morning. I don't want to take home the most special doll of the convention with a noticeable defect and go through the process of waiting for a replacement. This is what she looks like:
I have several hundred photographs to upload and edit. I may even have a video or two to upload depending on the quality. Keep an eye out for future posts.
I can't wait to go home and spread out all the stuff I got. I will be selling some of the convention collection and a few other convention items but I need time to decide what stays and what goes. I can't keep it all! There's no room at the inn.