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Open Knowledge Festival 2014. 15th to 17th of July at Kulturbrauerei in Berlin.
Attribution: Gregor Fischer, www.gfischer-photography.com/ 16.07.2014
Masonic Perfect Ashlar.
Rough and Perfect Ashlar
A rough and perfect ashlar are stones which symbolize Man's moral and spiritual life.
Cutting stone to uniform shapes and sizes requires the skill and experience of a true craftsman with many years of experience.
This is why, historically, only large edifices (buildings) were made of ashlars (rather than brick or wood), due to the necessity (and difficulty) of assembling the many skilled craftsman needed to complete the many subsets of knowledge such as how to build a stone archway, how to lay foundation stone, and how to lay stone, one atop another to great heights...not to mention the artisans who sculpted the stones into ornamental shapes.
In days of old, apprentice masons cut and raised the Rough Ashlars from the stone quarry under the supervision of more experienced craftsman, called Fellowcrafts.
The work was accomplished under the watchful eye of the Master masons of the craft...those who had proved their ability to make their Master's piece to the satisfaction of their superiors.
In Freemasonry, there are 2 forms of ashlars.
Rough Ashlar
In operative Freemasonry, the rough ashlar represents a rough, unprepared or undressed stone. In speculative Freemasonry, a rough ashlar is an allegory to the uninitiated Freemason prior to his discovering enlightenment.
Perfect Ashlar
Operatively, the Perfect ashlar represents the dressed stone (after it has been made uniform and smoothed) by use of the working tools, the common gavel, (mallet) and chisel. (The chisel may be found in English Freemasonry, but is not used in the United States as a Freemason symbol.)
Only after the stone has been dressed by an experienced stonemason, can it be suitable to be placed into the architectural structure or building.
Speculatively, a Perfect Ashlar is an allegory to a Freemason who, through Masonic education, works to achieve an upstanding life and diligently strives to obtain enlightenment.
Rough and Perfect Ashlars
In the Fellowcraft Degree, we see the use of the Rough and Perfect Ashlars. The lesson to be learned is that by means of education and the acquirement of knowledge, a man improves the state of his spiritual and moral being.
Like man, each Rough Ashlar begins as an imperfect stone. With education, cultivation and brotherly love, man is shaped into a being which has been tried by the square of virtue and encircled by the compasses of his boundaries, given to us by our Creator.
Rough and Perfect Ashlar: Fitted For The Builder's Use
In ancient times, quarried stone which could be easily shaped into desired configurations, was called "freestone". Typical freestones are limestone and sandstone.
Then, as now, only after refining and smoothing these rough stones into their desired shape, were the stonemasons able to "fit them for the builder's use".
In the Fellowcraft degree, the Rough Ashlar represents a man's unrefined state and his need for improvement. He learns that the goal of being a better man includes spirituality of thought and striving for perfection of conduct. Via duties, expectations and obligations, he is charged to work toward these goals of self improvement.
As the Freemason "smoothes" his rough edges, internally and externally; he becomes a better man and, therefore, a better Freemason.
Once a man has perfected his ashlar to the best of his ability,... as Brothers to all mankind, it is his duty to help others become better men and better Freemasons.
Rough and Perfect Ashlar - The Potential For Change
All rough ashlars must have within them the potential to be made into a perfect ashlar.
The stone must be made of sound material and have a minimum of character flaws which may cause it to weaken the edifice (building). It must be capable of being worked into a perfect stone. This is why candidates for the degrees are asked many questions as to their qualifications and character about why they wish to become Freemasons.
The candidate must have the potential to both serve and support the Fraternity. He must be carefully inspected, just as each Rough Ashlar is inspected for quality in order to be able to "fit" him into Freemasonry's tenets and goals, which are compatible to God's laws.
An imperfect stone may be made perfect, however major flaws are difficult to overcome and when assembled into a structure, the entire structure can be weakened from its improper use. This is as true of men as it is of stones.
Rough and Perfect Ashlar - States of Metamorphose
Freemasonry has a glorious history. Flawed ashlars can bring negative feelings and reproach upon the Fraternity from non-Freemasons in the outside world and therefore, can have no place within its walls.
...That said,...let us not forget that perfect ashlars are not found lying about the stone quarry without benefit of their having been hammered, chiseled and polished into such a state of being.
It also holds true that "perfect" men are also such an anomaly without the benefit of brotherly love, guidance and light. There are very few Freemasons who have not been in both the rough and perfect ashlar state-of-being at some point in their lives.
Freemason Duties For the Future of the Craft
1. Freemasons must give serious consideration to our personal responsibility to educate other Brothers toward their self improvement.
Like the Good Samaritan in the Holy Books; it is in the giving and assistance to others in which you will find the true "jewels" of enlightenment. True Master Masons not only exemplify the tenets of the craft, but they teach what they learn.
2. Lodges should carefully judge the potential of each candidate, weighing both their character and their potential for change. For more information as to how to properly perform this duty, see my page Masonic Investigation Committee.
3. Each Freemason is charged to extend the hand of brotherly love and affection to help new Freemasons become better men and strive to live on the square, stand upright with the plumb and take their true place as a man who would make his Creator (the Almighty), proud of him.
The lesson of the Rough and Perfect Ashlar applies to all men who are worthy,...who have a heartfelt wish to go from ignorance to knowledge,...from darkness to light...and from death to life.
The following poem, written by Mary Brooks Picken, entitled, "Thimblefuls of Friendliness" was written in 1924, and, perhaps says it, best.
"Thimblefuls of Friendliness"
"Isn't it strange that Princes and Kings
And clowns that caper in sawdust rings,
And just plain folks like you and me,
Are builders for Eternity?
To each is given a bag of tools,
A shapeless mass and a book of rules,
And each must make ere life is flown,
A stumbling block, or a stepping stone.
So,...it's up to you. What will YOU decide to build with YOUR working tools?
Knowledge Café: WSIS+10: From - Vision to Implementation
WSIS Action Lines Driving Development beyond 2015
© ITU/R.Farrell
Project : “gliSSSSSSSSSendo”
Location: Catharinaplein
With his technical knowledge, his creative forces and his inventive talent UliK developed a construction that allows musicians to glide through space. With his knowledge of stage- and costume-design, his musical choices and his feel for good entertainment he produced a magical show with the innovative brass band Fanfare Le SNOB.
Since the 1994 Fanfare Le SNOB (the abbreviation for “Service de Nettoyage des Oreilles Bouchées” (trans. cleaning service for blocked ears)) produces performances exploring the sound spectrum of brass instruments. Rooted in excellent musicianship their joy and enthusiasm for street performances is part of their magic.
The eye and ear opening performance of UliK and Le SNOB induces its subject from musical term “glissando”, which can be translated as “gliding”. In the case of the performance “gliSSSSSSSSendo” there are nine monk-like figures in long black robes and burning hats gliding through darkness in urban space, carried away by their music. The musical program comprises brass band traditionals as well as contemporary compositions by Philipp Glass or Michael Nyman.
Source: www.gloweindhoven.nl
Pumping applications of screw propellors.
Steel plate fold-out engraving from The National Encyclopedia 1884 - A Dictionary of Universal Knowledge.
Published by William Mackenzie, London; 18 Vols. Brown gilt cloth boards 20cm x 17cm.
Pulse Front: Relational Architecture 12 is the new searchlight piece by acclaimed Mexican-Canadian electronic artist, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer. The groundbreaking installation uses 20 robotic searchlights, 200,000 watts of power and includes displays up to 20 metal sculptures positioned along Toronto's harbour. Each piece is installed with a biometric sensor. When a participating spectator grabs the handles on the sculpture the sensors convert their pulse into beams of light in the sky, visible up to 15 kilometers away. The life force of honoured guests at the TELUS-hosted event will launch the beating matrix of searchlights.
Camera Nikon D7000
Exposure 1/125
Aperture f/2.8
Focal Length 50 mm
ISO Speed 1250
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash No Flash
Filters No Filter
President Mahinda Rajapaksa made an inspection tour of the construction site of the “Knowledge Park” (former Tripoli Market) in Pettah yesterday (Augsut 6) morning. The complete cost is estimated to be around 7 million US dollars where knowledge-based industries will be allowed to setup of their operations. The first stage construction work in the 25 acre land plot has now been completed. Mahinda Chinthana future vision envisages to make Sri Lanka a knowledge hub in Asia. The government expects to earn a revenue of one thousand million US dollars from the information sector by the year 2016. In order to achieve this target the knowledge park complex will also be developed as a city consisting business research institutions.
දැනුම පදනම් කරගත් කර්මාන්ත සිදු කිරීමේ මධ්යස්ථානයක් ලෙස ඉදිකෙරෙන පිටකොටුව, නොලේජ් පාර්ක් සංකීර්ණය ජනාධිපති මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතාගේ නිරීක්ෂණයට ඊයේ (06) ලක් කෙරිණි. මරදාන ආසන්නයේ පිහිටා ඇති අක්කර 25කින් සමන්විත ට්රිපෝලි මාර්කට් නැමැති පැරණි ගොඩනැඟිල්ල පිහිටි ස්ථානයේ මෙහි ඉදිකිරීම් කටයුතු සිදු කෙරෙන අතර එහි පළමු අදියර යටතේ මේ වන විට අක්කර 12ක ඉදිකිරීම් සිදු කර ඇත. මහින්ද චින්තන ඉදිරි දැක්මට අනුව ශ්රී ලංකාව ආසියාවේ දැනුමේ කේන්ද්රස්ථානය බවට පත් කිරීමට සැලසුම් කර තිබෙන අතර වර්ෂ 2016 වන විට තොරතුරු තාක්ෂණ කර්මාන්තයෙන් ඩොලර් බිලියනයක අපනයන ආදායමක් ලබාගැනීමට බලාපොරොත්තු වේ. ඒ යටතේ නවීන පන්නයේ අපනයන පහසුකම් සහිත ව්යාපාර පර්යේෂණ ආයතන සහිත නගරයක් ලෙස මෙය සංවර්ධනය කෙරේ. විෂයානුබද්ධ ඉහළ අධ්යාපනය ලැබූවන් සඳහා රැකියා අවස්ථා පුළුල් කිරීම ඉන් අපේක්ෂා කෙරේ. දැනුම පදනම් කරගත් ව්යාපාරික ස්ථාන පිහිටුවීම සඳහා ලාබ ලැබීමේ චේතනාවකින් තොරව සමාගම් කිහිපයක්ද එක්ව කටයුතු කරන අතර එම සමාගම් සන්ධානය ට්රේස් යන නමින් හඳුන්වයි.
அறிவைப் பயன்படுத்தும் தொழில் துறைகளின் மத்திய நிலையமாக உருவாகிவரும் புறக்கோட்டை நிர்மாணிக்கப்படும் கைத்தொழில் நிலையமான ‘நொலேஜ் பார்க்’ கட்டிடத் தொகுதியை ஜனாதிபதி மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ அவர்கள் நேற்று (ஆகஸ்ட் 6) பார்வையிட்டார். புறக்கோட்டைக்கு சமீபமாக 25 ஏக்கர் நிலப்பரப்பு கொண்ட திரிப்போலி மார்க்கட் என்றழைக்கப்படும் பிரதேசத்தில் இக்கட்டடத் தொகுதி உருவாக்கப்பட்டு வருகின்றது.
(Photos by: Nalin Hewapathirana)
On June 20, 2013 The White House recognized Champions of Change in Open Science.
Dan Gezelter, director of The OpenScience Project for open source scientific software, presented his poster during a reception hosted by the Mozilla Science Lab in the Indian Treaty Room.
Photo by Brian Glanz, founder of the Open Science Federation and co-founder of Open Knowledge United States.
Elena Douglas, Chief Executive Officer, Knowledge Society and Paul Kelly, Editor-at-Large, The Australian © Knowledge Society 2015. Photograph by Rick Stevens.
The Knowledge Nation 100 luncheon – on 10 December at Doltone House in Sydney – celebrated the Knowledge Nation 100. The Knowledge Nation 100 are the rock stars of Australia’s new economy – the visionaries, intellects, founders and game changers building the industries and institutions that will underwrite the nation’s future prosperity.
The luncheon was addressed by the Prime Minister of Australia, the Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP.
Open Knowledge Festival 2014. 15th to 17th of July at Kulturbrauerei in Berlin.
Attribution: Gregor Fischer, www.gfischer-photography.com/ 16.07.2014
5 May 2023 – A well-functioning logistics system is more important than ever, ensuring access to vital inputs and boosting productivity. Improving the logistics ecosystem will rebuild supply chains disrupted by the pandemic and make significant strides in the fight against climate change. In this session, High-level officials from South Asia shared valuable insights on initiatives for improving logistics, explore lessons learned, and identify emerging priorities.
The event was held on the sidelines of the 56th Annual Meeting of the ADB Board of Governors.
Damien Hirst installation:
Damien Hirst installation: "School: The Archeology of Lost Desires, Comprehending Infinity, and the Search for Knowledge."
It's up until Feb. 9, 2008. If you are in NYC, go see this (it's near the MOMA)
The Thirtieth Session of WIPO's Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC) took place in Geneva, Switzerland from May 30 to June 3, 2016.
Copyright: WIPO. Photo: Emmanuel Berrod. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 IGO License.
December 20, 2017 – February 25, 2018
The event series “Ars Electronica in the Knowledge Capital” in Osaka, Japan, invites business and creative people to be inspired by artistic perspectives with a mix of exhibition, lectures and workshops. In edition Vol. 8, from December 20, 2017, to February 25, 2018, the theme of this get-together is called “Artists as Catalysts”. The participating artists are Katia Vega who integrates technology into beauty products and Genta Kondo who produces a new type of robotic prosthetic arms. Ars Electronica is represented by Kyoko Kunoh, an artist and a researcher at Ars Electronica Futurelab.
Photo showing Katia Vega.
Credit: Knowledge Capital
The Thirty-Eighth Session of WIPO's Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC) took place in Geneva, Switzerland from December 10 to December 14, 2018.
Copyright: WIPO. Photo: Emmanuel Berrod. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 IGO License.
December 20, 2017 – February 25, 2018
The event series “Ars Electronica in the Knowledge Capital” in Osaka, Japan, invites business and creative people to be inspired by artistic perspectives with a mix of exhibition, lectures and workshops. In edition Vol. 8, from December 20, 2017, to February 25, 2018, the theme of this get-together is called “Artists as Catalysts”. The participating artists are Katia Vega who integrates technology into beauty products and Genta Kondo who produces a new type of robotic prosthetic arms. Ars Electronica is represented by Kyoko Kunoh, an artist and a researcher at Ars Electronica Futurelab.
Photo showing Genta Kondo (JP).
Credit: Knowledge Capital
Fondé en 1879 par un petit groupe de membres de la bourgeoisie locale, le Museo Canario abrite la plus grande collection des Canaries d’objets préhispaniques de la période de 500 av. J.-C. au XVe siècle.
A la tête de cet initiative privée, avec pour but de préserver, de rechercher et d'exposer les collections documentaires et archéologiques du musée, le docteur Gregorio Chil y Naranjo a laissé dans son testament le bâtiment et tous les documents scientifiques à la fondation privée qui gère ce musée.
Répartie dans onze pièces, vous trouverez une exposition permanente très éclectique, avec des statuettes de dieux, des bijoux, de la poterie, des outils, des momies, des squelettes et de nombreux autres artefacts associés à la vie des Guanches, les aborigènes des Canaries. Les présentations comprennent aussi des modèles réduits des habitats guanches et une réplique de la Cueva Pintada à Gáldar. Equipée d’une imposante bibliothèque et d'une bibliothèque de périodiques ainsi que d'archives spécialisées dans les sujets portant sur les Canaries, ce musée propose ses services aux chercheurs, aux étudiants et au grand public. Le Museo Canario abrite la plus grande collection au monde de crânes de Cro-Magnon et expose des outils guanches et une collection de poteries.
History of the Canarian Museum
On the initiative of a group of intellectuals led by Dr Gregorio Chil y Naranjo, the Canarian Museum was founded in 1879 with the aim of encouraging the cultural and scientific development of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, becoming in the process one of the city's earliest tourist attractions.
Two circumstances explain this initiative: on the one hand, the widespread interest in “Canarian antiquities” among the local bourgeoisie, who towards the midddle of the 19th century had grown keen on going on expeditions and informal explorations to gather vestiges of aboriginal life and culture; and on the other hand, the development of French anthropological research, since several of the founders of the Canarian Museum had close scientific links with some of the French pioneers in this discipline, such as Verneau, Broca, Quatrefages, Hamy or Berthelot. The Museum thus counted with a scientific endorsement of the first rank.
Additionally, the discovery of Cro-Magnon man in 1868 fuelled interest in the prehispanic population of the islands, since certain physical features led to the mistaken belief that there was a close relationship between the ancient Canarians and European paleolithic populations. Although this belief has long been superseded, it did at the time contribute to the social and cultural climate that eventually brought about the foundation of the Museum.
Prehistory and anthropology were not, however, the only interests to spur the Museum's founders: from its very foundation, it was conceived as a society for the advancement of sciences, letters and arts in general, but with a particular focus on the Canarian Archipelago. Its very first exhibition, set up on 24 May 1880, included, apart from prehispanic items, a wide-ranging display of geological, zoological and artistic collections, and thanks to contributions from the its members, the Museum's library was also at that time in the process of becoming the city's most important library. Over the years it has, in fact, become the most important documentary collection on Canarian matters anywhere.
The Museum's first premises were located on the top floor of the city hall of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, which had generously ceded a number of rooms, but the collections grew so rapidly that an alternative site soon became necessary. Dr Chil proved again instrumental in the development of the Museum; on his death he bequeathed his house to provide the Museum with larger premises, as well as other properties, his extremely valuable archeological and natural sciences collections and his 7,500-volume personal library, thus ensuring the future of the institution.
Although Dr Chil died in 1901, his legacy was not received by the Museum until 1913, when his widow passed away. The actual relocation of the Museum to its new premises in Vegueta, however, did not take place until 1923, partly due to the severe economic crisis that hit the islands after the First World War, and it did not finally reopen until 1930.
Despite the sociopolitical upheavals and economic difficulties of this time, the reopening of the Museum marked the beginning of a culturally fertile period, characterized by the holding of public events, scientific as much as artistic or literary, and by the Museum's growing contribution to the expansion of knowledge of the history of the Canary Islands. It is a period when the Museum made up for the absence in the whole of the archipelago of other institutions, public or private, that would support the promotion of scientific and cultural activity, a time when it became the meeting point of all kinds of intellectuals and researchers. This active role was acknowledged in 1944, when the Canarian Museum was incorporated to the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) -the Spanish National Research Council.
The fact is, however, that the Museum's financial situation worsened steadily over the following decades, and although both the city council and the cabildo (the island's local government) started to provide some funds during the 1950s, economic difficulties were not overcome until 1973, when the cabildo agreed to take control of the Museum's economic affairs and a governing board was set up made up of representatives of the cabildo itself and of other cultural institutions and bodies. As a consequence of this, a new stage in the history of the Museum started, in which it enjoyed both some tax advantages and the favour of civil society. In 1962 it was declared Historic Artistic Monument, and in 1980 it was distinguished with a Gold Medal for Merit in the Field of the Fine Arts.
In 1984, coinciding with the constitution of the Canary Islands as one of Spain's 17 autonomous communities and with a stable economic situation, the Canarian Museum undertook a programme of modernization and specialization, focusing mostly on the island's prehispanic archeological collections, which involved a series of reforms that rearranged the exhibition area and which brought about a spectacular increase in the number of visitors. It is in this context that, in 1987, the Canarian Museum was incorporated into the Spanish Museum System; in 1993 it was granted the Gold Medal of the City of Las Palmas; in 1995 it was declared an Institution of Public Utility and in 1996 it was awarded the Premio Canarias (Canary Islands National Award) in recognition of its importance to the Islands' historical and artistic heritage.
During this first decade of the 21st century the Canarian Museum has focused on meeting the needs of its three main groups of users: visitors to its permanent exhibition, prehistory specialists, who enjoy access to an unmatched collection of remains to help them understand our past; and researchers, students and other interested Museum visitors who make use of an extraordinary documentary collection that has not stopped growing for a single day since the Museum's foundation.
This has led to the need to extend the Museum's premises, a process that is already under way with the acquisition of adjacent properties which will in due time enable the institution to widen its range of exhibits and services. A hopeful future seems thus to lie ahead of the Canarian Museum, an institution determined to meet the demands of the society it was born to serve.
Islamabad, January 22, 2011 - USAID’s program office director, John Morgan, talking to students at the Pakistan Knowledge Festival about the U.S. support to Pakistan’s Education Sector. USAID’s $75 million Pre-STEP project is working to improve the basic education in Pakistan by strengthening teacher training.
Her mom is preparing herself for a wedding party. Zoha (my daughter) is observing closely -very soon she will be doing the same. Girls will be girls :)
The lower panels on this window (the second on the right aisle) includes Adam and Eve at the Tree of Good and Evil (bottom left) and God appearing to Moses in a burning bush (bottom right). Milan Duomo; March 2017
Olympus E-M1
Knowledge Economy Report launch "Transforming Arab Economies: Traveling the Knowledge and Innovation Road" at ISESCO headquarters in Rabat, Morocco. Photo: Ibrahim Ajaja / World Bank / CMI.
(First floor of the Des Moines Public Library.) On the perimeter, this library was bursting with readers, loungers, computer users, and people of all ages wanting a "literacy-rich" hangout on a bright sunny Sunday afternoon.
Participants of the Dspace technical training, from October 28 - 1 November 2013, (photo credit: ILRI/Apollo Habtamu).
Open Knowledge Festival 2014. 15th to 17th of July at Kulturbrauerei in Berlin.
Attribution: Gregor Fischer, www.gfischer-photography.com/ 16.07.2014
............ time ...... knowledge ... sadhus never look behind .... sadhus can't tell someone who they are , where are they coming from and what they know .. transmission to disciple is the only way to discover their world , and their world got 5000 years memories .....
While rereading what I originally wrote for this post back in 2014, I couldn't help but feel that I had left so much out. Only part of the story was told, so I feel it only makes sense to rewrite this, and give Barbie's friends the spotlight they deserve. It's also fitting since the original photograph was also redone, to better represent the vision we originally had, but couldn't execute. There are two parts to this tale--how it all began, and what it became when I started collecting dolls as an adult. Early on, I was enamored by the friends of Barbie. Teresa, Kira, Christie, Midge, and those random one off characters always captured my attention. It was these characters of various ethnic representations who stood out to me. As a blonde little girl, I wasn't interested in playing with a doll that looked like myself. No, instead I desired to live vicariously through my plastic companions. So it became a trend very early on in my life that I collected/hunted down Barbie's friends.
The very first friend of Barbie I owned was a Sun Jewel Kira. She wasn't a doll I picked out myself--instead she was chosen by my sister. It was Colleen's birthday, most likely in 1994, when Dad took her out to the store to choose a doll. Of course since I was so young, Dad and Mom wanted to make sure I wouldn't get jealous of Colleen's new dolly, so Dad had her get one for me too. Colleen was drawn to the sparkling Sun Jewel line--for herself she elected Barbie, and for me, she opted to choose Kira. Why Kira? Colleen knew of my deep obsession for princess Jasmine, and Kira's black hair was reminiscent in a very small way of my favorite Disney character (that and her huge earrings). Colleen picked well, because for a while, until I got a real Jasmine doll, Kira was my stand in. While I can no longer remember the specifics of those early days, Colleen recalls the times she caught me red handed with some of her Jasmine doll's things on my "hideous" Kira doll. Kira was notorious for stealing Jasmine's golden necklace...and probably dating Colleen's Aladdin doll who I also "borrowed" without permission (which is how his head came off). Kira took a beating, despite being my very first store bought doll. Unlike her comrades of the olden days, she is no longer here. Somehow my secondhand friends outlived her. Kira's earrings broke off, her face paint rubbed away, her body became so limp it couldn't hold a pose....and there was that dreaded mullet hairdo I gave her for some reason. Of course I can't forget to mention Kira's decapitation--that time I let a little girl at the beach borrow her, and she lost Kira's head in the water. Instead of helping us search, she promptly handed me Kira's body and walked away. Luckily, Colleen and I were able to retrieve Kira's head in the murky pond waters somehow. Even with all my current knowledge of doll restoration, there was no way I could have possibly breathed life into my dear old friend. But I'm grateful to have a reincarnation of her, shown in this photo--a lucky flea market boxed find from years ago! Kira will always be a pillar in my doll collection, and as I re-immersed myself in to the world of dollies, I was quick to add more of her to my growing hoard. Even though she's not always the doll I find the most aesthetically pleasing, I can't help but feel a great attachment to Kira. Like my WNBA girl, who I longed for as a kid since she reminded me of my favorite figure skater, Kristi Yamaguchi. There was also Ocean Friends Kira, who I found in 2013 still sealed in her box. She was another one of those childhood dreams, who I almost picked over Barbie. But Barbie, aka Deenie, won out simply because she was packaged with the Orca whale, my favorite animal.
Kira was the doll who started it all for me, but there were other friends of Barbie who strengthened this obsession. I'd say that Christie was one of the very first characters I ever went out of my way to collect. Although I would have denied being a collector back then, as it felt like a stuffy, money motivated word to my younger self, that's precisely what I was doing. My Bathtime Fun Kelly and my American Girl Addy sparked an interest in African American dolls within me at a very young age. I still recall my fantasies of owning a dark skinned Barbie to pair with little Kelly, aka Kelsey. I finally got my hands on my dream doll, Pearl Beach Christie, after I managed to save $8 of my allowance up for her. So she wasn't the fanciest Christie I could have picked, but the fact that she was from a beach collection just like Kira, was a major bonus. For a time, it was this Christie who reigned supreme....until a woe begone Dentist Barbie came into my life and stole the spotlight. But Christie did regain popularity in several waves over the years, which is how she ended up with this short bob haircut that you can see in the photo. I wanted her to have a "summer" inspired hairdo...it was a terrible idea, but I love her nonetheless. From there I built up a trio of Christie dolls, which included Glam 'n Groom, Pearl Beach, and Happenin' Hair (who I picked out for my eighth birthday). Only my original Pearl Beach Christie still survives...the other two were given away during a regretful doll purge in the early 2000s. By the age of eleven, it became routine for me to pick Christie dolls out on those Friday night pizza/doll runs with Dad. His way of handling the loss of Mom was to constantly be out of the house, and to make up for his rageful outbursts by buying each of us dolls on the weekends. During those first few years without Mom, I collected Sunsation, Rain or Sun, Chair Flair, Rio de Janeiro, Hollywood Nails, and Dance Flex Christie. Most are still part of my collection, although a few of them were sold off at a yard sale in 2011. There were also the African American dolls who I thought were Christie, who turned out to be just an ethnic variation of Barbie, like the infamous Bead Blast "Christie." Oh how I pined for that doll, ever since the day I got a McDonald's miniature of her with my Happy Meal. It wasn't until 2015, when one finally came my way. I know she's technically Barbie, but Bead Blast will always be Christie in my heart.
I had many other favorite friends of Barbie growing up. Teresa was the beauty queen in my young eyes. Although Christie was usually the one I bought from a line first, I played more with Barbie's Hispanic friend. I had quite the hoard of Teresa dolls back then, even after giving away several of my dolls. There was also my Generation Girl binge of the late 90s, which was ignited when I first laid eyes on Chelsie at Toys 'R' Us, the same day I picked out Happenin' Hair Christie for my birthday. I spent over a year, closer to two, tracking down all six original Generation Girls. To this day, the Generation Girl line is one of my absolute favorites to ever exist, and I still squeal with delight when I find a Gen Girl I don't already own. There was also my Happy Family bender of 2003/2004--I quickly became obsessed with Midge, Alan, and their little family. In a very short span of time, I managed to get my hands on quite a few dolls/playsets. Strangely though, I think of all the heavily played with Barbie friends of my childhood years, it was a random character who left the greatest impact. Becky was a doll that only appeared three times over the years---Paralympic, Share a Smile, and I'm the School Photographer (I have all three now). I was at a friend's house one afternoon when I spotted a unique redhead in her messy pile of dolls. This gal was extra exotic since she was marketed with a wheelchair. By the end of the afternoon, I knew it was my destiny to get my very own Becky. In the coming months, Becky finally came to fruition. I saved my allowance up for her, and picked her out at a local Toys 'R' Us, the day Colleen chose Awesome Skateboard Janet. In an ironic twist of fate, my very own Becky doll just didn't do it for me like my friend's had. I don't know if perhaps my doll was just less attractive, or maybe the novelty had worn off. But she was cast aside not long after acquiring her. Little did I know that Colleen was secretly green with envy over Becky. She was always one who had a morbid fascination with illnesses and handicaps. I recall being very young and forced to be the make believe character in a wheelchair, to suit Colleen's inner medical daydreams. Sometime in 2001, we started one of our most infamous doll games of all time--the "Refugee Game." It was during this role that Becky stole the show, and Colleen got to rewrite her script. It began innocently enough--my beloved Tarzan Jane doll was cast as the older sister to Colleen's AA Kid Kore Katie, Holly. She ran a salon from inside the house, and a host of odd personalities always showed up to have their hair done. Jane's crazy, ditzy friend Ariel worked at the salon with her. Colleen decided to make Becky one of the rude clients. While at the house, Becky revealed her dirty little secret...she could walk after all! She made herself pizza in the kitchen and took a long, relaxing bubble bath while chowing down on her snack. Somehow, Becky became a "good guy" when the dolls had to run away to escape the villain, Barbie (Holiday Singing Sister), who was out to imprison Kid Kore Katie for being a "Fakian." Instead of turning Jane in for having a clone sister, she joined Ariel, Jane, and Katie in the Golden Dream Motorhomes as they fled for safety. This is where the inspiration for this photo was derived from. In the coming years, Becky became a staple in our doll family--she was older sister to Leroy, aka Water Jewel Magic Aladdin. Of course Colleen decided to make Becky authentically disabled in later scenarios. She spent much of her time wearing our doll hospital gown, grousing in the makeshift french fry box bed, constantly complaining of her many ailments.
The dolls of my younger years are the foundation for my interest in Barbie's friends. However, surprisingly the one I feel the deepest fondness for was not one of these ladies. Interestingly enough, the friend of Barbie who tugs at my heart strings the most would have to be Francie. Francie came and left the Barbie world long before I was even born. I don't know that I had any prior knowledge of her existence, until that fateful day my 1996 reproduction joined the family. It must have been sometime in 2004 when I spotted a mint in box Francie repro at a huge indoor flea market we frequented back then. I can't really say what it was about this doll, but I was compelled by her. Dad offered to get me Francie, but I politely declined for whatever reason....I probably didn't know what I'd do with her. Fate had a different plan for me though, because several minutes later, I happened upon an authentic, vintage Francie house. Being an absolute sucker for Barbie playsets, especially very old ones, I HAD to get Francie's case style vinyl house. Before leaving the flea market, Dad insisted that we double back and buy the boxed Francie. His logic was, "Well you need the Francie doll to go with the house!" It's a moment in time that has been frozen, and just thinking about it brings me to tears. I'm not sure what it is about my repro Francie, but nobody can quite hold a candle to her, much like that random Jammin' in Jamaica Nolee doll Dad bought me in 2003, when I had to have teeth pulled for braces. In that minute, it didn't seem like a big deal, just another occasion in which Dad wanted to spoil me rotten with dolls. Francie didn't even get played with until I was a teenager. It was a secret affair--Colleen and I conspired to break out the dolls when Dad was sick a few years later, probably when I was eighteen. We hadn't touched our plastic friends in several years, but for whatever reason we were compelled to do so. Francie took on the role of "Sara" and dated Pet Pals Kevin, aka Charlie. Although I don't remember much about the given scenario anymore, Francie kept her Sara persona after that game. Of course it's not shocking that as an adult collector, my fondness for Francie has grown. In the early days, I found Malibu and "Baggy" Francie in the "70s Bin" which we acquired on New Year's Day 2012...most likely the last flea market dolls Dad ever bought us when he was alive. Every time I stumble upon a Francie doll, I can't help but feel a certain sense of nostalgia and magic. I have a tendency to save ones that probably aren't worth while...like one of my blonde bendable leg gals who has a pixie cut, split legs, and missing eyelashes (ironically, she's one of my faves). There was also the day I found my dream doll, the 1965 "Straight Leg" Francie. I had seen others of her before, but they were far too expensive. I found my gal tucked away in a stinky, vintage Barbie case with a handful of ancient, authentic clothes, for just $5/$6. The reason I was so drawn to this particular doll was because of her resemblance to my beloved repro. Despite her yellowing face and the fact that I don't own a stitch of her original outfit, she's one of my personal favorites in my collection.
Barbie's friend circle is absolutely massive, so it's impossible to give each character I've connected with her own stage time. So while this passage highlights some of the most memorable, many dolls weren't mentioned, and some have their very own separate "My Story" write ups (like My Scene). There was also Ballerina Cara, who wooed me from an eBay listing at the tender age of 12. Her arms fell off immediately upon arrival in the mail, and it wasn't until 2012 that she was fixed. I think of all the African American characters ever created, Cara is the most breathtaking. Let's not forget about Jazzie, Barbie's oddly sized cousin who first captured my attention when I found the Sun Sensation one in a scruffy container of dolls at the flea market. She took on the name of Leanne, and I was set on adding more of her kind to my collection as an adult. Likewise there is Shani and co., much like the S.I.S. line of more modern times. Reading about Shani in my doll books made me covet my own that much more--I'll never forget Father's Day 2012, when I found Sun Jewel Shani and "1st Edition" Asha while at a huge outdoor flea market with Dad's best friend. The Mystery Squad drew me in when the dolls first hit store shelves in 2002. Kenzie became a childhood favorite, even after I made the mistake of brushing out her kinky curls (luckily I figured out how to fix them as an adult). I still recall the day that Dad bought me Kenzie, and then I was stuck going to a sleepover at a friend's house. How I longed to be at home with Colleen and her favorite Katie, playing dolls instead (or going to see a movie in theaters with Dad and Colleen). In my adult years, P.J. wormed a special place in my heart. I was magnetically drawn to her gorgeous, closed lipped head mold and her bold, wide eyes. Words cannot describe how hard I fell for Malibu P.J., the day I found her entangled in the "70s Bin" with a bunch of re-bodied dolls. I can never resist buying P.J. dolls whenever we cross paths at flea markets. Summer and Raquelle were two of the few store bought Barbies I purchased since my resurgence back into dolls. Although initially disinterested in the Life in the Dreamhouse franchise, I soon found myself lusting for them....and when they went on sale, I just couldn't help myself! There were also the Fairytopia friends, who once upon a time I found ever so creepy. I recall tossing Crystal into the garbage bag when we found her stained with mold in the "Lagoona bin" of 2013. But something called me back to her, and after a bath and stain removal treatment, she became one of my most prized possessions. Monster High dolls made me see that the Fairytopia friends really weren't all that bizarre, and now I look forward to adding more of these colorful creatures to my collection whenever they turn up in lots. Whether it is a one time appearance friend, or a character that spanned the decades, they are all wonderful in their own ways. While I do feel a certain affection for the dolls that graced store shelves in my childhood, I also feel the same nostalgia for characters like Francie, Whitney, Miko, and Jazzie who all preceded my youth, but were part of my childhood too. While I don't purchase many Barbies brand new these days, that doesn't mean I don't love her new generation of friends just the same. While it is sad to not see familiar faces like Christie and Kira, I will say that the likes of Summer, Raquelle, and Nikki get me just as excited. My love and devotion to the friends of Barbie is as eclectic as the dolls themselves--each decade, each generation brought something new and refreshing to the table, and without them all, Barbie's world would be a lot less colorful!