Sandy

Every time I see pictures of the destruction of Far Rockaway and Rockaway Beach I feel stunned.  My grandparents had a summer house on Beach 29th at Seagirt and I spent the best part of my childhood there. That house was razed years ago but is in my heart forever. Going to the beach during the day and the boardwalk at night. It never got any better.

The boardwalk is gone. 

As an adult I taught in a public school on Beach 5st St and I could see the ocean 2 blocks away through my classroom window. I wonder if the mosaic mural my art students created survived in the lobby of the building.

Another hurricane I remember...I was less than 10 years old. My mother drove to Rockaway from Brooklyn where we lived to 'rescue' my grandparents because the bay and the ocean had met. I remember all the earth worms on the sidewalks. There's no reason or rhyme as to what is important to a young child. That was very long ago. The water was thigh high in front of the house. I don't remember where my mother parked the car.

The Rockaways are situated between the Atlantic Ocean on one side and Jamaica Bay on the other.  


Please donate something to the American Red Cross.  Anything. This is the United States and we need each other. It happened here.

Progress in the New Doll Room

Unpacking and organizing the dolls has been more difficult than packing them. I did not keep all the dolls dressed. Some were only partly dressed and some nude. Anyway, it was time to record more progress and I have done so with a bunch of quick snaps taken during the hurricane yesterday afternoon. We're halfway there.

Here are a few more shots I took this afternoon after unpacking the rest of my FR and many of my Silkstones.

 The large showcase for my Tonner 16" dolls is elsewhere in the house.

The Best and the Worst of the Rest - Tropicalia

Four weeks after the Tropicalia convention ended, people who pre-ordered the convention collection began receiving their dolls. It was supposed to take only two weeks but the slow boat from China was extra slow this time.

The most popular of all the dolls were Eugenia and Agnes but they were not part of the convention collection. I loved Elyse more than any doll from the entire event. I liked the Vanessa but not her awful gown. I agree that Eugenia was gorgeous but her gown was a terrible fit. In fact, most of the clothes that had that particular bodice style were manufactured very poorly.

For me, the best doll out of the convention collection was Dasha.

Once I took off her trashy blue dress with its crooked velvet bow, combed out her hair and redressed her, she took on a new personna.

In my photo she is wearing an outfit by V John (dress and head wrap) and carrying an IT purse.

Adele is a beauty. But, again, the sewing of the bodice insert is very bad.

It was the same on Kyori's top. They pucker and don't lay right.

I also think that Natalia is gorgeous. Her hair color, skin and makeup are a fabulous combination.

But her outfit is a nightmare of color and texture. In my opinion it is unsophisticated and garish.

Poppy is cute but her outfits are 'ho-hum-where- have-we-seen-that-before?'

Let's just skip to the worst of the bunch - Veronique. Gone is the beautiful Veronique that enticed so many original Fashion Royalty fans to begin collecting these dolls.

What we have in this version is a paranoid-looking doll wearing a lab coat with a beaded belt over an ill-fitting pink and blue dress. This has to be the worst Vero ever produced - tasteless and laughable. Even Vero isn't smiling anymore.

What the heck happened to good taste and design? I can't understand how Jason would even want to be associated with most of this.

Perhaps if I take the attitude I used to have towards a roll of film, I can accept the degradation of the Fashion Royalty line. If you get one or two good pictures out of a roll of 36, you're doing well.

Update on Violet Eyes That Weren't

Mattel/Barbie Collector came through on this one. They sent me a return label and I sent the wonky-eyed Miss Liz back to them. Today I received a new one with properly screened eyes. I am pleased. It did not cost me anything additional,  except time, to get a good doll.

Much better!

Her eyes are still not violet but neither are the promo's eyes.
So, the moral of the story is, don't settle for a messed up doll

Ghosts: Here Today; Gone Tomorrow

Photo Property of Barbie.Com

I was a little surprised that the Haunted Beauty Ghost Barbie sold out so quickly. She was released on 10/11/12 and is gone. The doll was a direct exclusive gold label and retailed for $100. So what was the big deal?
First of all, she's just in time for Halloween. Secondly, there's a cool video featuring Bill Greening discussing the design and creation of the doll. Thunder, lightning and wind along with eerie music punctuate the video. A great mock-up of a  haunted room shows the doll in all of her dead splendor. 
Good marketing. 
In reality, the doll is just another 11.5" semi-articulated piece of vinyl (what else is new?) that may or may not arrive looking like the promo sans haunted house and music. 

The minute I saw her she reminded me of Tonner's Galadriel doll.

She also resembled another Tonner doll that was a centerpiece at the 2010 Halloween Convention. This doll was called "Welcome to the Here-after."

Tonner's Ghost of Christmas Past was a unique rendition of a ghost. The fashion is fabulous, detailed and a huge cut above the stereotypical ghost outfits.

So if you are morose over missing out on the ho-hum Barbie Ghost and you wish to indulge your morbid tastes, have a look at these ghost dolls.

Ghost Art Doll – Annabel Lee
Handmade, OOAK art doll. 12 inches tall.
Mixed media including fabric and Paperclay.
Copyright © 2009, Shain Erin. All rights reserved.

Annabel Lee Ghost Doll - ravensbreath.com

Cojoined Ghost Doll Twins - kerrykate.etsy.com

Then there's always the good old standby Living Dead Dolls.

Isn't Evangeline Ghastly dead? They're not saying but if you read her back story,* she's must be. She doesn't know she's dead...
*(Inspired by Tim Burton’s The Corpse Bride, The Addams Family, and even Barbra Streisand, Evangeline comes to you straight from the attic of Barkley Manor located in Ipswich, England, across from the local cemetery.)

Graveside Flowers (resin) - A Wilde Weekend Exclusive

Price: $475.00

I don't see the Barbra Streisand connection at all. (Hello, Brooklyn!)