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Written by my sister:
Several months before we started uploading to this Flickr account at the end of 2014, we started writing "My Story" posts to serve as album covers and summary, since our "Personal Fun Facts" were originally intended to be much briefer. Shelly asked me if I wanted to write this particular "My Story" or not and I declined. I was afraid to put myself out there on this account too much and, while I agreed to write the "My Story" posts for both the Skipper and Stacie albums, I wanted to make it clear this was Shelly's project and I was just helping. However, while we both loved and treasured Ken dolls, I was the one who usually played with the guy dolls in the time we played most with dolls. Therefore, we agreed that, as we were revamping our "My Story" photos and written posts, I should be the one who wrote this "My Story" this time around.
Redoing these photos was not something we took lightly. I was afraid that replacing our original photos would detract from the expression of our identity and make it manufactured. However, after retaking the first few "My Story" posts--in most cases keeping the original concept but adding a backdrop and adding a few special dolls--I realized that it was completely the right decision. Retaking these photos has added character and better expressed our identities as doll collectors. Take this photo for example...It captures what I imagined Chandler (1992 My First Ken) and his friends to be doing and brought his world to life! Also, I made the mistake of not putting Rob (Hawaiian Fun) in the original picture! In my teens, I often had Chandler and his friends sitting around his living room, eating and watching TV.
Long before I met Chandler, I met Kevin. Our maternal grandparents used to work at a Salvation Army. One night, my grandmother brought me into their bedroom upstairs to show me an assortment of Barbies. She said that, since I was the oldest, I could pick the ones I wanted first. I took as many beautiful girl dolls as possible, leaving Shelly with this All American Ken, an androgynous looking Skipper, and Ice Capades Barbie--only because my grandmother said I had to leave Shelly at least one of the pretty ones. Due to my lack of generosity (ie. Selfishness), Shelly, about two years old at the time, got her first Ken at the same time as her first Barbie. This led Shelly to have an interest in guy dolls at a young age. I remember her winding up with a dapper brunette the day I got Coola (Dance Club Barbie) at a church fair with Memeré. Sadly, this fellow is no longer with us. His legs kept falling off and Mom got fed up and threw him out. I believe he was a Crystal Ken and, while he hasn't been in over a decade, his legacy moves on--we tend to rescue Kens with similar leg issues. She also purchased Kocoum most eagerly of the Sun Colors Pocahontas line. Even as an adult, Deuce Gorgon sparked her interest in Monster High.
As kids, while we loved Ken dolls, we didn't get many new. In fact, our first store bought Ken was Hollywood Hair Ken. I got him for my birthday in second grade! My earliest memories of him are of him dating Teacher Barbie. At the time, she was called "Teacher" or "Teach" and he was simply Ken. I used to make them have dates at this great clone doll gazebo I once owned (I could write sagas on "Toys My Mom Threw Away."). He would use the grill while Teacher waited at the table and Bathtime Kelly, Teacher's sister, splashed around the Jacuzzi. His name has been Jeffrey since 2002. In fact, All American Ken was named Kevin at the same time...but that is really Water Jewel Magic Aladdin's story. Jeffrey typically was cast as a bad guy during my early childhood (even when I called him Ken). I remember making him hit My Favorite Fairytale Pocahontas and trash the Fold 'n Fun House. My favorite memory of him is the day his head popped off when he was kissing Water Jewel Magic Jasmine. You can't tell from this photo, but she spent most of my childhood in need of Extreme Makeover...the joke was that she was so unattractive she made him lose his head! In my teens, Jeffrey was never one of Leroy (Water Jewel Magic Aladdin) or Chandler's closest friends. He still often played a jerk.
This is why I was surprised when I came across another Hollywood Hair Ken as an adult and felt incredibly compelled to purchase him. Little did I know it while making those crazy memories with Jeffrey, but I guess they resonated with me more than I thought! While I thought the handsomer, older Kevin was the one I found iconic, the one I thought defined and represented Ken to me, I was wrong. My gut reaction upon buying my second Hollywood Hair Ken made me realize that, all these years later, Jeffrey is still what Ken means to me!
When I first started playing the guy doll in our games, originally Kocuom then Leroy played the head of the family. However, when I met Chandler in 2003 or 2004, I began to find myself really interested in actual Ken dolls again. For the first time, I played with a guy doll as more than just the father figure/husband figure, but also as his own person with his own set of friends. I came up with some CRAZY stories. The most notable was the story line in which Chandler, a cooking fanatic, broke his favorite stove--named Stovula. Rob (Hawaiian Fun) dressed up as a witch doctor and chanted, trying to save the stove. Chandler did a lot of cooking, had his own wardrobe, and worked at a post office. Some of his friends made consistent appearances.
In addition to spending more time with Ken dolls as their own entity, I also started buying them a lot more. Most of my Ken dolls were still secondhand. I noticed I really liked finding ones from the 80s. Shelly and I gravitated toward 80s Kens because Kevin was our idea of handsome! For the first time, I saw Ken as a kind of collector's item. That is how I ended up with Photo Student Ken aka Dave, who I found boxed, Crystal Ken, two Heart Family Dads (whom I thought were Kens), Hawaiian Fun Ken, and Palm Beach Ken. I actually felt guilty including Palm Beach Ken in this photo! I felt guilty because Palm Beach Ken, alias Dennis, wasn't so much a friend of Chandler's as his replacement! Though Kevin and Chandler were both blondes, I tend to like darker hair and fell hard for Dennis. I named him after my dad because of his dark hair. Aside from switching which Ken was my main one, things didn't change much. The Ken doll gang was pretty much the same except Chandler was more background and Osten, Splash 'n Color Steven, typically starred as Dennis' best friend. (Chandler gravitated more to Kevin and Rob). Oh, and Dennis was a police officer instead of a postal worker!
Despite the later infatuation with Dennis, I will always feel stronger for Chandler. I think the reason Chandler managed to unlock my inner Ken collector is because I felt sorry for him. To this day, the dolls I form the strongest bond with are often those I felt sympathy for--whether because they were grubby, in need of repair, or trapped in a box without love for many years. In the case of Chandler, he was squalid and, if my memory is correct, only wearing a shirt. (Either that or he was completely nude, but I think he was covered up top.) There is, however, another memory with Chandler that no one else can quite compete with. My father, being rather immature, thought it would be amusing one morning to make Chandler dive off a high shelf as he said, "I can't take it anymore!" Aside from being a tacky, bad joke, it wasn't funny because, when he hit the floor, Chandler's head fell off! Unlike Jeffrey, whose head pops right back in, Chandler's head wouldn't go back on!
Dad was remorseful, "If I'd known he was your favorite, I wouldn't have done that." Then, before I could point out the obvious, he says, "Well, I shouldn't have done it anyways" while I'm thinking "YA THINK?". Well, Dad took me out to the store to get a Cali Guy doll with a similar skin tone to Chandler's and used him as a body donor. While now I don't condone this, because it may not have worked and poor Cali Guy shouldn't have had to die, I'm not terribly upset over it. For one thing, Chandler's new body still smells quite good. At any rate, I feel like many of my memories of guy dolls feature them headless.
Chandler, Kevin, and the brunette Ken we had when we were very young set another trend in Ken collecting too. Between the ones we did save--Kevin abandoned still so young and new, Chandler half naked, Leonardo (Crystal) an old warrior--and the ones we didn't such as our first childhood brunette, I always feel protective of Ken dolls without homes. I noticed while rewriting Ken fun facts that the phrase "I bought him so he wouldn't get thrown away" appears frequently. I remember rescuing Hawaii Ken, the lone survivor among a hoard of body donors. I remember buying a lot of duplicated Kens over the years because they had a leg problem like our childhood Kens and I feared some mom out there would chuck them out. The most notable of these was Jewel Secrets Ken. I already had a much nicer one but Shelly and I took pity on him because his legs weren't attached to his body. Shelly fixed him back up and he's my favorite of my trio of Jewel Secrets Kens, though my other two are nicer. We also bought other Kens like Busy Ken and Horse Lovin' Ken because they had similar body issues. And Pearl Beach Ken? We found him on the ground outside the Salvation Army. He was adorned only by purple tape wound around each of his legs. He reminded me of Chandler--a Ken that, in the moment, didn't mean anything to me (I didn't know until we got him home that he was Pearl Beach!), but that I couldn't leave behind. He wound up being thrust onto the back seat of our old jeep with the far more interesting Gem Stylin' Merida. Shelly and I have also been known to buy dupes in groups purely out of pity and fear that they'll be thrown away. I remember one group of dolls, the most special to me being Sunsational Malibu Skipper, being naked, in bad shape, and in cardboard boxes with junk. We didn't "need" the majority of them for our collection, but didn't want them left behind. Likewise, the previously mentioned Jewel Secrets Ken was rescued with a few other dolls in the same squalid charity store. Also, there was the "Ken Suitcase Lot." This lot had a staggering number of guy dolls. I could tell that right from the top. Normally, if I'm looking at an enormous selection of dolls, there are only a handful of guy dolls and it's easy to rescue all of them. However, while on a normal day, I never would have considered leaving behind Island Fun or Tropical Splash Steven, there were so many dolls and we couldn't afford to buy all individually, so I nearly had to leave Tropical Splash Steven behind. I was incredibly happy when the seller offered to sell us the entire container for a bargain price, mostly because of Tropical Splash Steven. Though we got about eighty dolls that day, my most poignant memory of it is looking at the two Steven dolls and deciding which one to leave behind and then, dashing back and informing someone else inspecting the dolls that I'd just purchased the lot, and making sure Steven was still right on top! These dolls were a mixture of decent and "trash worthy" when we rescued them. Doll rescue in general, is a big thing for us, but when looking at my Ken dolls, I am amazed by how many I bought mostly to save from the trash! (Actually, one of my Ken dolls WAS in somebody's trash!)
While it wasn't until I was seventeen or eighteen that I really embraced collecting Ken, Ken dolls have been part of our collection since it started in the early 90s. Ken dolls had roles as bad guys, boyfriends, fathers, and husbands. Some memories with guy dolls, like the day I named Leroy, Jeffrey, and Kevin, are ones you know are meaningful and important, even at the time. Others will seem unimportant but will suddenly come to year years later--like Jeffrey's special kiss with Water Jewel Magic Jasmine. While all these memories form my mental picture of my Ken collection, I chose what you see here because this is how I most often think of my Ken dolls. I remember the day I fully embraced my love for Ken because of a sad, half naked guy doll I rescued out of pity. This is how I played with Ken dolls after that--a group of guys chillin' out after work, watching TV and chowing down. I selected the guys I see here because, apart from being included in Chandler's gang, these are the Ken dolls I have the strongest connection with. I feel grateful that this picture was able to take a memory constructed from imagination and turn it into something I could share.
"Elson-Gray Basic Readers Primer" of the Curriculum Foundation Series. By William H. Elson, William S. Gray and Lura E. Runkel and illustrated by Miriam Story Hurford. Copyright 1930 and 1936 by Scott, Foresman and Company.
Golden, CO - We got to meet Jason, one of the owners of Cannonball Creek Brewing. He told of an interesting story of how he and his business partner drove two full size flatbed trucks from Golden, Colorado to Victorville, California (over 900 miles) and purchased the brewing equipment from Oggi's (coincidentally years ago we used to frequent Oggi's quite a bit).
Although I enjoyed the all the breweries we visited in town I must say my favorite by far was Cannonball Creek Brewing. Friendly staff, fantastic beers and a nice atmosphere.
Besides, blue towels on one's shoulder means "trust worthy and hard working" in my book damn it.
I was young when I fell in love. Man, I could barely spell love when He first touched my heart. It was a soft love. Like the wind, I felt it from time to time but if I wasn’t paying attention I might not notice it.
But was it ever powerful. Less like a breeze, more like a hurricane. It swallowed me whole and in my fear, kept me safe.
I danced in shoes of grace, a body suit of faith, a skirt of truth and a smile of joy. All of which my lover had bought for me.
He bought it that day He DIED on a cross for me.
To love someone is to care, to persevere, and to believe in what they are. But to die, TO DIE, that is another type of love.
Unconditional.
Uncompromising.
Incredible.
And that was just the beginning. You want to know about the greatest love story ever told?
Ha. It doesn’t exist because the story has not and never will end.
This love, His love, Jesus’ love is full of happily forever afters. Although the storms will come and I will fall down, I know that Lord’s love cannot be separated from me.
I get to dance with my lover forever. I get to be held by my lover forever. I get to sing to my lover forever. I get to be in love with the most satisfying, most beautiful, most honest, most wondrous, most loving, most merciful, most gracious, most powerful lover FOREVER.
And for that, I am blessed.
Amazing Stories / Magazin-Reihe
- Frank Herbert / The Heaven Makers
- William Tenn / The Last Bounce
- David H. Keller, M.D. / A Biological Experiment
- Richard Matheson / Little Girl Lost
- Philip K. Dick / Small Town
- Jerome Bixby / Angels in the Jets
cover: Frank R. Paul
(Cover titled "Stories of the Stars")
Editor: Joseph Ross
Ultimate Publishing Company / USA 1967
Reprint: Comic-Club NK 2010
ex libris MTP
Letterpress coaster series we produced for Anthem! www.anthemww.com Besides turning out beautifully (mainly due to good appropriate design work) the piece is also a good example of using 2-color printing and other letterpress learning.
From wikiepedia: The Story Bridge is a steel cantilever bridge spanning the Brisbane River that carries vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic between the northern and the southern suburbs of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is the longest cantilever bridge in Australia.
The bridge is part of Bradfield Highway (15) and connects Fortitude Valley to Kangaroo Point. It is named for John Douglas Story.
Taken on a fairly dull day, hence the mono treatment. The reflection in a large puddle seemed like a gift. The Story Bridge is iconic to Brisbane and I enjoyed walking the full length of the bridge and seeing Brisbane in all its glory.
I know the way, but before I tell you, you must sing to me all the songs that you have sung to your child.
Oppps, That's priced at $75 each! Better check your wallet first before you touch one! LOL
I just learned these are Italian silk ties, so there!
(Christie, Steven & Hayden)
Hayden : Hi Baby !
Steven : Hi !... Oh you met..
Hayden : Christie is so my new best friend !
Christie : We are like sisters !
Hayden : Yeah like so twin sisters !
Steven : This is awkward !
Hayden : No it’s not… maybe if you want.. We could end up this party ...with one more player !
Christie : I would so like it ! I’m so hot right now !
Steven : I didnt know you were into these kind of things..
Hayden : You see I’m full of surprise !
Steven : Well then let’s go upstair !
Hayden : Hhaha ! Did you see yourselve!
Christie : This was the funniest things ever !
Steven : What !
Hayden : Don’t worry.. I will never talk to you about it !.... Well only If I really need to !
Faith, Hope, Love | Praise God for His Great Love | Musical Drama "Xiaozhen's Story"
Introduction
Xiaozhen used to be a pure, kind-hearted Christian, who always treated her friends sincerely. However, when it was to their benefit, her former friends became her enemies. After suffering this tragedy, Xiaozhen was forced to abandon her true heart and her former principles. She began to betray her own good conscience and good spirit, and wallowed in the mire of the evil world. … As she fell from grace and walked a path of depravity, she was trampled by the world and became riddled with scars and bruises. She had reached a dead end, and at her point of despair when she had given up all hope, Almighty God‘s
sincere call finally awakened Xiaozhen's heart and spirit …
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
on a crappy monitor [like the one I have at work] this image will appear too dark
I saved her from collecting dust at a second hand shop down the street from here.
She set me back by $12. It could have been $120 for all I care because it's what she awoke in me that is of value that is beyond monetary.
My mother used to have a pair of dolls that were very much like this one. They were from of what was once Czechoslovakia. The doll I acquired down the street is of the same origin.
I used to play with my mom's dolls as a kid, much to the dismay of my grandmother who kept them in a glass case as if to protect them from childish hands who didn't know yet how to appreciate such aesthetic.
I saw those dolls at my grandmother's house again not too long ago. She had brought them with her half-way across the world.
When I think of all that, I can't help but wonder what's the story behind my find. Who would give her up? Does anyone miss her?
I still miss my dolls that I have had to leave behind. It's a bit silly considering I'm an adult but you can't help but wonder the destiny of your once treasured possessions -- the articles fashioned from plastic and cloth designed to encourage and aid in creating your own little universe when you were a child...
ولی چون بار کج به منزل نمیرسد و رسوایی به بار میآورد یکبار یکی از طلبکارها شکایت کرد و حاکم شهر او را گرفت و به زندان انداخت و از هر گوشه طلبکاری پیدا شد و چون سابقه بدش معلوم شد هیچکس به او مهلت و فرصت و امان نداد و مرد کلاهبردارِ مفلس مدتها در زندان ماند.
But because the wrong load does not reach the house and causes disgrace, one of the creditors once complained and the ruler of the city arrested him and imprisoned him, and creditors were found from every corner. And the poor swindler remained in prison for a long time.
چون در شهر برای مرد مفلس آبرویی و اعتباری نمانده بود دل به زندان خوش کرد و با خود گفت: «من که دیگر چیزی ندارم. یک بدن دارم که لباس زندان آن را میپوشاند و یک شکم دارم که خوراک زندان آن را سیر میکند.»
Because he had no reputation in the city, he was happy in prison and said to himself, "I have nothing left. "I have a body that is covered by prison clothes and I have a belly that is filled with prison food."
در زندان ماند و چون بدتر از زندان جایی نمیشناخت در زندان هم به مال زندانیان دست درازی میکرد، ناهار این و شام آن را میخورد و و جز شکمچرانی چیزی نمیشناخت.
He remained in prison, and because he knew no place worse than prison, he would reach out to prisoners in the prison, eat their lunch and dinner, and know nothing but his stomach.
ناچار زندانیها از دست او به عذاب آمدند و به زندانبان شکایت کردند و قاضی خبر شد و به دیدار زندان آمد.
Inevitably, the prisoners were tortured by him and complained to the prison guard, and the judge was informed and came to visit the prison.
This is another one of my long stories (sorry!) but I have to admit, I'm very proud of myself and feel that Audra is one of my biggest accomplishments! Be sure to scroll down and see her latest photos - you won't believe it's the same dog!!
This is Audra – a Rottweiler I took home from the shelter back on 9/17/09. The Animal Control Officer had gotten a call from someone stating that they had a seen a dog dropped out of a truck – when the Animal Control Officer got to the site, he saw the dog lying right on the edge of the road… he thought she was dead. Luckily, she wasn’t dead – just skin and bones, with sores on her head & ears, and terribly weak from malnutrition. When I went to the shelter that day and saw her, the first thing to come out of my mouth was “Awww!” So she became “Awwdra” (Audra).
Despite her terrible condition and the saddest expression on her face, sweet Audra never stopped wagging her tail. I knew I had to take her home and give her a chance. She weighed 58 pounds at that point.
Over the next few weeks, I carefully fed her small, but frequent meals. Besides that, and some worming medication and a lot of TLC, she didn’t get any special medical treatment, but still she blossomed into a beautiful dog in no time. Within 3 weeks she had gained 30 pounds! It still amazes me how little it really takes to keep a dog healthy, and yet someone let poor Audra nearly starve to death!
Even though Audra was a super loving dog most of the time, I did find out that she would growl at me when there was food around. We cannot adopt out a food aggressive dog – especially one as big as Audra, so I was really getting afraid that she might have to be put down.
Since there is no one nearby to do this, I took her to the Kentucky Humane Society for a temperament test. First, the tester went to my car, where Audra was crated, and the tester stared her down - Audra growled, but did not bear her teeth. Then they took Audra to a small room and basically roughly handled her... they pulled open her mouth, rubbed her back and tail - all of which Audra did fine with, except her tail was tucked in. Then they squeezed her foot and Audra yelped. The tester claimed that this was a "fail" since Audra didn't like what she was doing. Finally, they did the food test with the fake hand. While eating, Audra allowed the tester to pet her with the hand, allowed the hand to be waved in front of the bowl, but when the hand was placed into the food bowl, Audra growled. She did not attack the hand, only growled. The tester informed me that if the dog was left with the Kentucky Humane Society, they would euthanize her since she had failed her test.
I wasn’t going to let Audra go that easily! So I started contacting various Rottweiler Rescue Groups. Most couldn’t take her because they were full, the rest would not take a dog with her issues, but the best excuse was that they couldn’t take her because her tail was not docked! Now I was panicked. Due to the liability, our Humane Society couldn’t adopt her to anyone, and I just don’t have the room to keep her myself.
Then I saw an episode of “Rescue Ink” (It’s on TLC -Friday nights) In this episode they rescued a starving Rott with pretty severe food aggression (much worse than my Audra). The Rescue Ink guys found a Rottweiler Rescue group that works with dogs with issues and retrains them. So... I actually called and spoke to one of the Rescue Ink guys, but quite honestly, he wasn’t very helpful – he just told me to keep calling and pleading with any Rottweiler Rescue group I could find. To be fair, he did say that if I found a group to take her on the east coast, he might be able to help find transportation to get her there.
Well, I was more discouraged, but I happened to watch the same episode of Rescue Ink again, and this time I noticed that they mentioned the name of the Rottweiler Rescue that took their dog. I did a search and found them, then sent them a long email about Audra. I was shocked, but that very night I received a call from them, and they have agreed to take Audra! I felt foolish, but I started to cry while the woman spoke to me. I was just so happy and relieved!! Audra will be heading to New York in December. I'm so thankful to Mountain Rottie Rescue for giving her this fantastic chance!