Whatcha gonna do?

We're in the midst of a heatwave and I feel like I'm melting. It's nothing like Phoenix's 114 degree temperature but it's up there at 97. Makes one feel lethargic. Especially difficult since in mid April I've taken up exercise and a low carb diet! Yes, I let myself go these past few years. When I look back, I try to figure out why. Am I one of those people who use comfort food as a means to temporarily feel better? Perhaps! So since mid April, I haven't consumed one biscuit or cookie...or piece of cake...or donut...(although I did have a couple of slices of the Cheesecake Factory's 6 carb cheesecake and I have to say it was damn good!). Thank goodness we don't have a Cheesecake Factory in our area! Diets are tough because it is a life change...not a temporary one. You have to stick with it from day one...which is why I chose the low carb. I can give up potatoes and bread (OUCH!) and still have meats, cheeses, veggies (most of them), fruits and even some fatty foods, like bacon. One of the biggest challenges so far, has been finding DECENT food in the grocery stores. (Here comes the vent...and you thought I'd forgotten!). Is it just me or has the food (ie: fruits) become tasteless??? Can you even find a ripe tomato?? The food has gotten more expensive and more tasteless. Can't find any decent fish in this area...and the fish they have is expensive and tasteless. I'm practically living on cheese and salads...out of boredom for the other low carb foods. The grapes have sucked, the watermelon was powdery...the stores should have a return policy on their foods. And the price of cherries??? Yesterday $5.99 a lb! Who's going to buy them?? They'll only rot and then they'll lower the price. Of course, they may be tasteless too but for $5.99 a lb, I'm not going to find out.

Maybe things are different in your part of the country. I certainly hope so! Right now it's lunch time...oh joy.

OH, and for those of you who are wondering if the diet & exercise is working: so far almost 11 lbs. and 17.5 inches...gone!

Boycotting Evilbay

By now everyone is probably aware of the boycott on Ebay in protest of higher fees and feedback changes. What some people probably aren't aware of is their affiliation with Eachnet of China. I just recently found this information on one of my favorite doll boards. The doll community has been very active in this Ebay boycott. I am participating as well in this week long boycott but now I am rethinking EVER going back to Ebay, based on Eachnet alone. Apparently Eachnet sells live stock and that includes cats and dogs, people. Our furry little friends are being sold and dare I say it "slaughtered" on Eachnet. As a cat lover (I like other furries too), this outraged and sickened me. I realize all countries have their customs but it doesn't mean I have to be a part of it. Recently I sold one of my customized dolls on Etsy.com. The site is mainly for handmade goods and it's not an auction site, the prices are fixed. As soon as the doll community decides on what optional site they will be using for sales, I will stick with Etsy for a while longer. If anyone has a strong stomach they can view the article/video here in regards to Eachnet: http://www.google.com/base/a/3414735/D11203656584304871067 Everyone has the power to make their own choices (many obviously prefer to follow the herd). Ebay is a small issue compared to many others. We live in a country of complacency. Everyone is waiting for others to do the work for them. Well people, wake up. Things never change that way. I've read many blogs recently about the boycott and what makes me laugh are the responses by the public...they all sound so outraged and people make the claims that they'll NEVER use Ebay again...blah, blah, blah...but you KNOW they will. Human nature is weak. And if I offend anyone by these statements, then prove me wrong, damn it! I leave you with a recent photo of one of my mini dolls, a SoulDoll Miryu.

A word on the Writer's Strike...

Today's rant: The Writer's Strike.
I don't know about you but I am getting pretty fed up with television. There are more channels on TV to watch than ever before and yet there are less decent programs to watch than ever before. Month in and month out I pay for Dish Network, only to receive...well...not a heck of a lot. That's a whole other subject...don't let me get off track. Now there is a writer's strike, which brings back lots of memories of a Baseball strike years back...not that I like Baseball but they have something in common; FANS. TV has fans...fans of certain programs or even channels. I used to subscribe to HBO & Showtime because I liked their programs, even though the movies they were showing were sub-standard and repeated (over and over)....but you could watch without suffering through commercials. Over time, even some of the paid channel's programs began going downhill. Some of my favorites ended (a little too soon for my liking, like Deadwood) and were replaced by uninteresting shows like John In Cincinnati. Bad writing (and some bad acting too). One by one, my fave shows were disappearing, hence I have now canceled HBO. If it wasn't for Dexter, I'd cancel Showtime too. In fact, I'm still considering it. I can always rent the DVD's later. Why not cancel the entire Satellite service as well?? What the heck am I paying for??

What indeed? Think about it...most of the shows now go to DVD and I can catch them up via Netflix when they are released. Much cheaper per month than the satellite service. Even my local news stations are mostly fluff these days. You can't get any REAL news anymore...but I can always get news via the newspaper or even online now. The writer's strike is now impacting my television experience even more. Stations are piling on the horrendous reality shows because no one's writing scripts. Most shows that are starting this month, only have a few episodes completed...then we have to wait for the strike to be over, scripts to be written, shows to be produced...hmm....maybe we'll see something new in 2009?

I might have some sympathy for these writers, if only they did some decent writing! And besides, most people out there are slaving away at minimum wage and don't even have the opportunity to strike for more money. So, once again it's the fans that get caught in between. I wonder how fast the strike would end if people started to cancel their cable & satellite services? If people just STOPPED watching TV...if only for a week. After all, if they can stick it to the fans why can't the fans return the favor?

So Writers, I leave you with this pic of my beloved Jazzpurr. I think he says it all. And I ditto his message.

Johnny is in Da House!

Howdy everyone! Hope your Christmas was a happy & safe one. It was our first Christmas in AZ. We didn't get snow but it was a pleasant day none-the-less. Haven't been doing as much traveling around lately (trying to conserve funds)...but the doll business is rolling along. One in particular I would like to share with you is this Johnny Depp doll I just completed. The sculpt was created to look like Johnny but as with all the resin dolls, there were a couple of adjustments that had to be made. Plus, the doll only comes blank (with no face-up), not an issue for me but for many it is. Due to a lack of decent props (no eyeglasses in the right shape, no doll-size fedoras), I had to go for a specific look in JD's past. Since the outfit is not yet complete, I will only post a close-up of his new face. I'm very proud of this one. I wish I could have an entire collection of Johnny Depp dolls, all done in different JD characters. I also wish I had a million dollars.

I went to see Sweeney Todd on opening day. The good news is that it's a Tim Burton film and I love Tim Burton's work. It's always very visual and dark. The costumes were great and the acting was superb. The bad news is, it's a musical. Now, I knew this going in but it's a JD film and I had to see it. I'm not a lover of musicals and I had hoped that the singing would be at a minimum. Even though JD did a great job singing....there was indeed LOTS of it. And all the while I sat there watching this film, through the songs, and the blood and the meat pies....I couldn't help thinking what a GREAT movie this COULD have been, had it NOT been a musical. I realize that Burton probably wanted to try something he hasn't already done but MAN, it would have made a great thriller! I hope it at least gets JD an Oscar nod.

Today's Rant: Pet owners who should never own pets. Now that we are in AZ, we are in a neighborhood that LOVES dogs. Now before you get your undies ruffled, I love dogs too. I love cats more but I love all creatures (except certain bugs). I bring up dogs because we are surrounded by them, literally. In the fall we had issues with barking dogs ALL NIGHT. Let's start with this issue. How can you, as a dog owner, put up with your dog barking all night? Doesn't it irritate you? You're closer to it than I am and it irritates the heck out of me! I understand that you might be the type of person that has no concern for the surrounding neighbors but I'm shocked that you wouldn't want to stop the barking if only for your own sanity. Second issue: Why did you get a dog in the first place? Did you see a cute little puppy and think how darling it would be to have it around...then it grew up and you moved on to say...a new car or something? The dog (and in some cases "dogs", like next door who have 4 of them) now sits in the back yard dreaming of days past when it would get a hug or pat on the head from its owner. It sits in the cold, sometimes fighting with the others just so it can release energy because heaven forbid, it never gets taken for a walk....and in some cases, it can get hurt in those scuffles...does anyone take it to the vet? Oh...you can't afford to take it to the vet? Uh, I see...no money left after Christmas? Oh, times are hard and you can barely pay the bills? (Perhaps the money spent on pot can pay the vet bill???...uh-huh...how do I know? I CAN SMELL IT, dimwat! ). See, pets are a responsibility. If you don't want a responsibility, then don't get a pet. If you DO get a pet, then take care of it, damn it! All it wants is love, a roof over its head and some food. And think of all you can get in return.
OK, I'm done. Have a Happy New Year! Be safe! Hug your pets!

Ma-ma-ma-my Sedona!

Howdy everyone! I'm back. For those of you who don't know, I recently uprooted myself from Northern California to Northern Arizona. It's been a long and sometimes tough road but things are settling in now. I purchased my first REAL house (along with my sister who moved here with me). I'm absolutely thrilled! Most of the search was done on-line. We flew out at the end of July...arrived about 9am on a Friday, looked at about 4 homes...fell in love with one, put an offer in and by noon Saturday, the offer was accepted. WOW. I left my job of 6 years, packed my things (all those dolls...yikes!), the 5 cats and left in mid-September. The area is great! A smaller town with all the modern conveniences. Now, instead of being an hour's drive from San Francisco, we are now an hour's drive from Sedona. Which is where we spent the day today! I've never seen rocks and dirt so red! Blew my mind! The scenery was gorgeous. Here's the beef though...(OK, you knew you wouldn't escape this)...here's this gorgeous, almost serene place and what are they doing????? Construction!!!!!!!!!!! OMG. Who in their right minds could let this happen??? I'm not talking about the widening of the highway but who the hell let the mini-malls in??? It was nest to impossible to take a decent photo without having some building in the way. Even the amazing Church that is built into the red rock mountains can't escape the huge monstrosity that is being built across the street below. At first we thought it was a hotel going in but no, it's a HOUSE. A huge 4-car garage house...all gated in...complete with massive fountain in front. Yes, you're rich...we get it! Couldn't you flaunt it somewhere else? I just hope they're happy in the summer during the peak tourist season, when traffic is so heavy, they can't get out of their driveway. What am I saying?? They probably have a helicopter pad on the property somewhere. Most of the area around us is protected...there are forests after forests...and yet someone allowed Sedona to pass through the cracks. Anyway..I'm back to my dolls now and seeking employment. Hopefully, I will be back more often with updates (and gripes). Until then...I leave you with one of the attractive pics from Sedona. Adios!

Pepstar Almighty

Howdy y'all! Hope life is treating you well. My life is a bit of a rollercoaster ride at present. The up side includes being a vendor at the Dollectable BJD Expo in Millbrae, CA on June 2nd. I was joined by my friend Lady Morghayne from Forest of Avalon and my sister! We had a great time meeting everyone and it was nice to have the dolls be seen in person. The downside, was the hotel was playing tricks with their internet service, basically cutting off the service because the vendors didn't want to pay the extraordinary $200 a day for service. So on top of being greedy, the hotel was also being nasty. Because of this, I couldn't take payments. I'm hoping next year will be better in that respect.
This year is the year for many a sequel movie...and I've seen Spiderman 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean: World's End. I have to say for Spiderman, the effects were really cool but they overloaded the movie with too many villains, and the characters suffered. With Pirates, again, too many characters and too little Depp. The scene with Depp in Davy Jones Locker was a bit over the top and there was not as much comedy this time round. Still like the first movie best. Next will be Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. We'll see how that stands up against the first one. Maybe better????? One can only hope. And of course, this weekend Ocean's 13 starts. One other thing I want to mention about the movies in general....this new trend of showing commercials before the movie and charging MORE for the movie really...well...SUCKS. The reason we PAY to go to the movies is for great entertainment and to escape the commercials thrown at us on TV. It's like paying for HBO and having them show commercials before their movies and programs. Why would I then PAY for HBO???? It reminds me a lot of the Postal Service. They keep raising the rates because they claim they are losing money because everyone is using the internet to pay for bills and sending electronic mail, rather than snail mail. If they only realized that raising their rates is actually pushing MORE people to use electronic mail and electronic bill paying services! Let's see...pay a bill for $.39 or pay it online? Well, I paid some online and some via the USPS. Pay a bill for $.41 or pay on line? Uh...paying more online now! What is really criminal is the cost of the USPS rates for overseas shipments now! OUCH!!!!
It will be cheaper to call people soon. Seems like everything is taking a huge leap prices...except the paychecks. They don't cover the cost of living anymore. And don't even get me started on the gas prices!


Until next time.....

Spring has sprung and there's pollen in my lung...

It's allergy season! Sneezing is what I hear all day long...at work, in the stores...for some reason it hasn't affected me yet. It's beautiful and sunny in Northern California. Perfect weather to enjoy outdoor activities or indoor home improvement. The past couple of weeks I've been working on my spare room (with the help of family & friends). It's close to being completed and that is a good thing because the rest of the house is chaos and my doll painting is suffering. I think what I need to do is a good old fashioned Spring cleaning!
This past weekend was my birthday. I celebrated it in a town called Benicia. Those in Northern CA might know where that is...it's a quaint town on the coast. There is one Main street for shopping, restaurants and the like. My favorite spot is Camelia's Tea Room. Awesome! If you're ever in Benicia, check it out (but make sure you make reservations first as it gets crowded!). The best time to check out Benicia is during for the Peddler's Fair, usually around August.
Most of my TV shows have ended their current seasons, which is a real bummer. I have to wait until next year for Battlestar Galactica to return. Rome has ended its run, which will leave a large hole in my Sunday evenings. Thank goodness The Shield returns tomorrow! Yeah, Baby.
I leave you with a recent image of my doll Saint, playing the rock star in his cool shades.