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Snug Luv. It's possible for a love bug to hug too much.

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A Beetle Tree

BB, one of my soft sculptures/spirit things, had a twilight-out-in-the-city. There, it met a firefly and saw the setting sun.

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a belonging, beheld in the garden.

She comes to the garden alone, as the dew settles on the myrtles. the one voice he hears, a melody so clear, the stones ceases their singing. He talks with me, he walks with me, she tells me I am her own. the joy they share. as they tarry there, No One has never known. "In The Garden," a revised hymn.

handler notes: he's made out of fear and longing. Fear of a floating, impossible thing following you home. A longing like going up 15 flights of stairs, and then woah ! - relief ! It was so easy. Being easy isn't supposed to feel good. Yet, I like it very much. We found each other in Malaysia and I miss it. Malaysia - the first country I felt good in. It's that simple. So, I made it so we could hold hands.

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So, I watched Nope and They Cloned Tyrone for the first time, in the same month. Both are Black-American surrealism, sci-fi film, surreal Twilight Zone-esque films, all that I love. They both make messages to/about Black-American cultural facets. As a Black-American I somewhat approve when it's done sharply. They Cloned Tyrone - This movie talked too much. Too heavy-handed. Way too 'on the nose' with the symbolism and message. Felt like I was being force-feed a ham-fisted sandwich. I felt like I was being preached at or patronized to with the hair relaxer, fried chicken, the church and club scene. I also didn't prefer the comedy. We get it *eye roll.* I also hate when I can put a story together or when a (Black) message film directly tells me how to interpret its message, leaving no room for mystery or other application. Got frustrated and bored by the pimp-on-the-car scene. Although I agree with the points made I prefer less direct pointing-things-out when making them. Could be the film was for a different audience and with a different style that's not me (Black isn't a monolith, so.) Overall, felt like a lesser Get Out or an M. Night Shyamalan film. Meh. Disappointed :/ Nope - A quieter film. Left me guessing and I enjoy figuring out, being psychologically conflicted, and mind games for entertainment. Better writing. "One monkey don't stop the show." = hahahaha. A classic~ Tighter story than Us (didn't enjoy that one. Clumsy storytelling.) The father-son dynamic was nice, as was the ending. Oddly, felt like a long TV show? More cerebral than TCT, but maybe too much so. My family liked Nope and kept asking "wtf is this supposed to be about?" I gave my interpretation about feral animals, entities forced to perform for (White) audiences, and forgotten Black influence in Hollywood? What did they think? They disliked Annihilation, another surreal sci-fi film, with a "theme," yet I found myself oddly drawn to it, like an ugly-handsome person. I liked how we could see different things and maybe liked this more than Get Out simply because it was tighter/simpler. Made me look at my own art and dolls/soft sculptures and ask myself "How would people see this?" Maybe Nope was more like a commercial art film than TCT. Pleasantly surprised :)

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this year, I completed a long, solo slow-travel in Nepal, Malaysia, and Thailand, spending several months in each country. I completed my last to-do: live in South and Southeast Asia. Understand and Observe non-Western, non-European folkisms and traditional religion. Stay in a non-Christian country. Wake up to calls-to-pray. Photograph the moon at twilight over and over and over and over. Be slow. Doodle. After Eastern and Western Europe. Eastern Asia. USA. Done. So, what do I do now?

No more theories....Somehow, I have to apply. Participate in humanity again. Oh well. Life is harder and not as engaging when I'm in my home country. It creates pressure to be a someone I'm not: I love moving, just not shaking. I love living, just not doing. I love being, just not actively. I love existing, but only passively.

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HIM. downstairs.

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Lavender and mint bunny ⛓️🐇⛓️

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DAHLIA

Ooak art doll by me

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Hi!! Im a big fan of your work and it recently got interested in making a doll myself, but since I've never done one before idk where to start, so I wanted to ask, what material do you use to make your dolls?? Is it wood, clay or something else?? And do you have any tips for beginners?? wish you lots of luck for the future :)!!

Here's some faq:

Tbh Im always at a loss with suggesting beginner tips, as I've been working with my materials since I was a kid! But when looking for tutorials or other such tips, consider the materials separately, and look for things like sculpey tutorials, sewing tutorials, etc. Knowing your materials is the most important part

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So - There are many reasons why I stopped supporting The Sims Franchise and Electronic Arts. Their financial practices are one of them. I will always give kudos to the franchise as a Sims 1 simmer. I learned and explored with the game. And the community is lovely (when you find your folks and the CC creators.) CC creators who charged too much money never bothered me - I avoided them. People can be responsible for their own buying behaviors. When I touched into the TS4 I saw pay CC out the wazoo, like never before. Still, I just skipped over them or waited until it was free. I stopped feeling FOMO over cute CC I couldn't have by not looking at, aka avoiding the "commercials." CC is optional to gameplay - No one has to buy it. CC creators come from different backgrounds and countries, and reasons to charge for it. There are also more than enough Robin Hood simmers who freely shared content, even from the paid creators. There were and always are many free creators, too, that we love. I am against how CC creators have had fixed problems with their games that EA should have addressed - creators shouldn't have to do that :/ No judgement calls here or on anyone. I'm glad we have outspoken folks pointing out EA's targeting youth in this addictive gameplay model. Now, that could be dangerous. Kindly - I say we have more power when we decentralize our support, play, and gaming activities from people/businesses/etc. we do not like for whatever reason. People also bought the pricey CC when they didn't have to. People still buy TS4 and likely TS5. Why do we do this? I started creating my own dolls because EA will never have a monopoly over my creativity and ability to play with life. I deconstructed what fulfillment I got out The Sims and then, applied it outside my mind, and did somethings else. Kinda inspired by CC creators. in the future, I hope people do things that bring them joy and fulfillment, and support folks who match their way of life.

"player purchase journey"

"OPTIMIZING PLAYER SPENDING PATTERNS"

oh girls, it's worse than we thought. the bar could not GET lower.

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There's some truth to this. I don't think it's a new discovery or interpretation of human actions. (As someone who talks to toys and to myself.) (As someone who did conversation-based work for a time.) A lot of hobbies I loved have included lonely people doing lonely people things. I'm not sure if this article spins a positive/negative/neutral light on humans and combating loneliness behaviours because I couldn't find it. Appreciatively - the ways we as humans can instinctively pursue and meet our needs always amazes me. This reminded me of children and animals creating "creature comforts." Ironically - when all the lonely folks get together they meet up, connect, and break the loneliness. That's nice! So - no matter where we start we can end up somewhere we want to be. random S/N : The Maxwell song "Lonely's the Only Company" that hits too much. One of my relatives refuses to listen to it, jajajajajaja

Clicked on an article from the anthropology subreddit about loneliness and was immediately blasted into oblivion by this opening paragraph

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me and my minimi. cold hands, warm heart. Part 1. Many moons ago, (2022?) I made the doll and put her up. She felt like a riptide in a quiet ocean. But, she was very pretty. She actually gets nice compliments. Well, we never bonded. (until recently) Part 2. pretty girl rock. an Abenaki tale. (2023) first heard from joseph bruchac. Once upon a time a very pretty girl refused to marry anyone not as pretty as her. So, one day by the river she heard a turtle shell flute song played just for her. He - the player - was very pretty. When she took his hand, it was cold. "that's ok" she reasoned. "cold hands, warm heart." At his home, with his people, with his air. She felt the cold. Cold as stone. Well, he lived under a rock. Underwater. Literally. You see, he was actually Horned Snake. She fled from him with his mother's and grandfather thunderbird's help. Back at her home she finally married a human with warm hands and a warm heart. Part 5. do you love me. do you love me? do You love Me? love, minimi.

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"Oh Happy Day"

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"White Picket Fence"

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"My Mama Say I Run My Mouth Too Much" 2023 Courtesy of la Afua.