Odds and Ends Pt. 2

A friend told me about this man she saw on TV who owned a life-size, realistic-looking doll. The man looked like a fairly normal guy, except for the fact that he treated this doll like his girlfriend. He would have a neighbor come over to put makeup on the doll. He would also dress “her” up in provocative outfits. He talked about how he was satisfied with the arrangement — although his girlfriend wasn’t real, she was quiet, and he always knew where she was.

I took a look at the Web site of the company that manufactures these dolls, appropriately called RealDolls. Standard female dolls cost $6,499 while standard male dolls cost $6,999. (Shipping and handling is a whopping $450.)

The dolls are fully customizable. Not only can the dolls be made in a number of body types (e.g., “supermodel,” “dancer,” “voluptuous,” with thoroughly listed measurements), one can choose from among a range of faces, skin tones, and umm, pubic hair colors and styles.

The company also offers “SheMale” RealDolls!

For amusement of a less provocative nature, check out this 2000 paper from the Annals of Improbable Research titled “Postal Experiments.” (The same people who publish “Annals” are responsible for the annual Ig Nobel awards.)

The New York City Transit Strike Cont.

On the Brooklyn Bridge during the evening commute, walking toward Brooklyn.
I’ve posted some pictures that I took yesterday during the transit strike. You can view them here.

The Wonder of Craigslist

So I’ve been bumming around Craigslist (an online bulletin board) lately, looking for sublets and rideshares and items wanted as I prepare to move yet again. I’d known there’s a lot of stuff on Craigslist, but I didn’t realize just how crazy some of that stuff is. It seems that there is a forum for everything and anything that people might want to purchase/sell/trade/give away.

For example, I saw the following post, titled “2 free* dave matthews band tickets…read for explanation,” in the “free” forum:

i found two dave matthews tickets in the park. i have something to do that night, plus i know there are some really hard core fans out there who would appreciate it more than me, so here’s what’s going on. because i found them i A) have no idea if they are real and B) they might be tickets that were lost and therefore reissued to whoever tried to buy them originally. in that case they may get you into the event, but then the original buyer might be sitting in the seats in which case you have to just move around during the show…it is also possible that at this point if the original buyer cancelled these then they might not even work to get into the show…in that case i would say avoid any hassles by saying “oh man somebody on craigs list sold me these oh my gosh!” since there is no way to prove that they’ll haveto just let you leave…so i guess these are perfect for someone who was going to try there luck with scalpers anyway…this way if you can’t get in you were already prepared to buy a ticket : ) i will post the free ticket exact location later tonight around 8pm…the pick up area will be hidden in the vicintiy of the broadway/houston street train station somewhere.

I like the fact that the person went to so much trouble to explain what happened and what might happen at the concert. And that the person was going to hide the tickets somewhere for someone to pick up.

The “wanted” forum is also a goldmine. For example, I learned something when someone replied to another post:

If people didn’t know, Cartoon Network was a recently busted marijuana delivery network. They used “cartoon” as a code word. Add it to the list of drug slang idiots use on craigslist because they think they’re slick and no one knows what they’re talking about.

Original:

Seeking replacement for Cartoon Network

I found the following post — titled “Are you (or do you know of) an old wooden door?” — particularly well-written:

I’m looking for an old wooden door to perform tasks not usually performed by a door. Ideal candidate should possess or be capable of possessing the following attributes:
1. 100% wood. The kind from living trees as opposed the the compressed paper-fiber-pressboard crap that comes from the genetically engineered square-trunked trees in New Jersey.
2. Solid core. Not a hollow interior door covered with veneer.
3. Character. Unpainted or very old paint, panels, small windows, heavy hardware, etc.
4. At least an 18″ width along its entire length (height) without rot or severe damage.
5. The door must be willing to be ripped (not on booze or like a phone book) to the above mentioned 18″ width and attached to my wall as a sort of counter/bar.

If you know of or have a door that you feel is highly qualified, please respond with the door’s relevant statistics and coordinates for consideration. As this is an internship of sorts, no significant payment is offered. A small finders fee may be negotiated for an extraordinary candidate and transportation is provided.

Another thing I’ve realized in my online browsing is that no one seems to know what to do with old futons.

I’ve seen listings for free futons and futons for sale, but I haven’t found many non-profits that specifically request futon donations. I tried to look for information online about deconstructing a futon, but that proved fruitless. There must be some way to reuse/recycle an old futon by taking out the cotton batting, and, I don’t know, turning the futon cover into pillow covers or something.

Anyone have any ideas, let me know.

Extreme Makeover: Christmas Tree Edition

Hardrock, Coco and Joe, only slightly less pitiful than the Charlie Brown tree.

If you think you’ve got those magic hands, and all you have to do is wave them around a few times to make a Christmas tree look special, you might want to enter the Chicago Tribune’s tree-decorating contest. The newspaper may no longer be accepting entries — the article states that the three entrants chosen to make over the trees will get them by Dec. 4 — but I’m nevertheless looking forward to the contest results. Who will prove more adept than the Peanuts Gang?

And I appear to be late by a few years in covering this product (I just noticed them for the first time the other day at an arts supply store), but at least I can catch up on all the latest slang with Knock Knock‘s Slang 2 Flashcards.

The flashcard reads, “I’m going to be up in your grill for just a second now.”

The Most Popular Sperm Donors

I had a thought when I was reading this article on the New York Times site. The article is about children conceived through donated sperm who find their half-siblings through the Donor Sibling Registry. Interesting idea that I’d never considered.

Illustrating the online version of the article, however, are two pictures of two different sets of half-siblings. The eight children in the pictures all happen to be blond. The article describes one sperm donor as being “6 feet tall, 163 pounds with blond hair and blue eyes” according to his sperm bank profile.

Given that fewer people in the population have blond hair than brown or black hair, I wonder why these pictures show only blond-haired children. Is it because these photographs were the best of all the ones the photographer took? Is it because of the newspaper’s preference for images of attractive, blond-haired children? (I realize the print edition of the article probably includes more photographs.) Or is it because the mothers interviewed deliberately looked for blond-haired, blue-eyed sperm donors? That would lead me to wonder about the most popular sperm donors — are they all men over 6 feet, for example, because our society values height? Just some thoughts.