Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Seasons Greetings and a Few Announcements
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Good Doll!!I would like to
let everyone know that I am writing fairly regularly for the R. John Wright
Design Blog and for Ruby Lane. I also am doing some small descriptions
for the dolls on Ruby Lane, and will soon be doing columns and more articles
for our beloved ADC magazines. My articles for Doll Collecting at
About.com, but my vertical was discontinued, so my content will appear on RJW's
amazing site or on my blogs, Ruby Lane, and ADC. You can find me on
Flickr,as etquest and Antique Doll Reader magazine, and this blog is being
translated through Word and Google into Greek, Spanish, and Japanese. I should
have one or two more doll books ready to go to the publisher, as well.
Also, look for me
or Antique Doll Collector Magazine on Twitter, Reddit, Delicious, Instagram,
StumbleUpon, Tumblr, and Snapchat [As soon as I can figure it out!!] I
have also done a post or to for Michele at Tonner.
I want to thank
with all my heart the folks at Antique Doll Collector Magazine, R. John Wright
and R. John Wright Dolls, Rachel Hoffman and Turn of the Century Antiques, Ruby
Lane, Michele at Tonner, Christie Donnelly my former general manager at
About.com, and my wonderful doll friends, Mikki Brantley, Mr. R. Lane Herron,
Stephanie Hammonds, Jo Smith, Caroline Johnson, Kirsten Anderson, and D.
Nelson. Thanks also to all our interviewees, especially Sandy
Bullock, and to my doll groups on Facebook, especially The Beauty of Dolls. Thanks
to Merna Throne who helped me to set up these blogs, and to Robin for her
inspiration.
Thanks to Bella
May Dolls, Dollighted to meet You, United Doll Sellers, Theriault's, and
Florence& George and to my wonderful Twitter family. I love the
"likes" and retweets. Thanks to our good friends at Terror at
Skellington Manor, to the National Museum of Play, to Morphy Auctions and Doll
Castle News.
Thanks and God
Bless to our wonderful followers on our blogs, over 200.000, and to the over 4
million folks who have viewed our work on Google+! Love to my LinkedIn
Friends, to my Goodreads fellow writers and bibliophiles, to my Pinterest and
Etsy family, to my Flickr fans, and to all who read my work. You humble
me, and I love you
Dedicated to all I
have loved, who have departed this life, and especially to my mother, Mrs.
Clara A. Tsagaris, and to Mary Hillier and Violet Page. Love to my muses,
Nan, Erzebet, Anne Rice, and J. Pagter Johl. Love to all good writers who
struggle with their craft, and love to my husband, Dino Milani, who has helped
me on this writers' journey, and to Dr. T and Margaret, to Rosemary, Pam,
Laurie, Lori, Sarah, and to all my friends, to Ms. Yoko Ono, who reminds
us each day on Twitter that life is beautiful! Also, to Nikki and Jordan, who read
my blogs :) And to Penny Plum!!
If I've left
anyone out, I apologize, but you live in my heart. Dolls are a huge part of our
lives, and are among the most important of cultural artifacts! If the
world could share dolls, and through them, our cultures, hopes, and dreams, we
would all live in a more peaceful world!
Merry Christmas,
Happy Hanukkah, and Peace in 2017!! Let's make it the Year of the Doll!!
Miss Charlotte Bronte meets Miss Barbara Pym: Happy Birthday Louisa May Alcott
Miss Charlotte Bronte meets Miss Barbara Pym: Happy Birthday Louisa May Alcott: Happy 184th Birthday to the beloved author of so many wonderful books, certainly a Muse of Mine!! Below is something I wrote on Alcot...
Monday, November 28, 2016
Caveat Emptor, Doll Buyers, Be Aware!!
From renowned expert Lynn Murray on NADDA site, and brought to my attention by my dear friend, talented artist Mikki Brantley! This is an article on antique doll reproduction introduced into the market place as antiques:
http://www.nadda.org/edpages.html
http://www.nadda.org/edpages.html
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
The Fashion Doll Chronicles: Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 2014 advertising c...
The Fashion Doll Chronicles: Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 2014 advertising c...: It seems fashion dolls keep fascinating more and more fashion people. The brand new advertising campaign of Alexander McQueen , shot by Ste...
Thursday, November 17, 2016
Doll Collecting, Small Business, and the Future of the Human Race
Today I caught an AOL headline that made me pause; the "heartbreaking" news was that Duck Dynasty was entering its last TV season. Call the grief counselors, I guess. I would think the other headline I caught on ABC would be more heartbreaking, and give us more pause; Stephen Hawking announced that the human race was disappear from the earth in another 1000 years. Granted, we probably won't be there to worry, mourn, or fuss, but that, to me, is a lot more heartbreaking than a cancelled TV show. Oh well, I guess we all live on in syndication.
Maybe like the artifacts in Wall-E, our dolls and collections will outlive us, mute future antiquities to whom we were. That's why they deserve museums to save them.
With that in mind, it occurs to me that most of us how deal in dolls/antiques, collect them, write about them, restore them, curate them, etc., are small business people. We buy from each other, and thereby support small business as naturally as breathing. We invented Small Business Saturday, recycling, and buy local, a long, long time ago.
We represent peoples' dreams, hopes, and passions. Those of us who write and craft carryon the tradition. We are resilient, and show that we can make things and take care of ourselves, even in the worst of times. Ben Franklin would be proud of us, and so should Martha Stewart.
I could write a book on this subject alone.
As for the human race disappearing, somehow, I don't think so. We are an optimistic lot. At our local astronomy club last Monday, I listened to a presentation on science v. science fiction, and the point was made that all aliens in sci fi are anthropomorphized in some way, either with human characteristics like speech, or as humanoid figures that walk, even if they look like monsters with big eyes and antennae. Is it arrogant that we assume if there are aliens, they will resemble us? Think back to Gulliver's Travels, and the strange worlds of his voyage, where even the intellectual horses talked, and thought, like men and women.
Dolls reflect these imaginary musings. We have alien dolls, and talking animal figures, and androids galore. Even Make magazine talked about marionettes, and robot-mixed drones, along with the usual topics involving animation and robotics.
The are some thoughts that swim in my head that I wanted to ponder. Forgive any misspellings and typos; it's been a hard week. But, Happy Thanksgiving, Seasons Greetings, and Peace to All!!
Maybe like the artifacts in Wall-E, our dolls and collections will outlive us, mute future antiquities to whom we were. That's why they deserve museums to save them.
With that in mind, it occurs to me that most of us how deal in dolls/antiques, collect them, write about them, restore them, curate them, etc., are small business people. We buy from each other, and thereby support small business as naturally as breathing. We invented Small Business Saturday, recycling, and buy local, a long, long time ago.
We represent peoples' dreams, hopes, and passions. Those of us who write and craft carryon the tradition. We are resilient, and show that we can make things and take care of ourselves, even in the worst of times. Ben Franklin would be proud of us, and so should Martha Stewart.
I could write a book on this subject alone.
As for the human race disappearing, somehow, I don't think so. We are an optimistic lot. At our local astronomy club last Monday, I listened to a presentation on science v. science fiction, and the point was made that all aliens in sci fi are anthropomorphized in some way, either with human characteristics like speech, or as humanoid figures that walk, even if they look like monsters with big eyes and antennae. Is it arrogant that we assume if there are aliens, they will resemble us? Think back to Gulliver's Travels, and the strange worlds of his voyage, where even the intellectual horses talked, and thought, like men and women.
Dolls reflect these imaginary musings. We have alien dolls, and talking animal figures, and androids galore. Even Make magazine talked about marionettes, and robot-mixed drones, along with the usual topics involving animation and robotics.
The are some thoughts that swim in my head that I wanted to ponder. Forgive any misspellings and typos; it's been a hard week. But, Happy Thanksgiving, Seasons Greetings, and Peace to All!!
Thursday, November 10, 2016
Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Prof is Doll Collector
Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Prof is Doll Collector: Below are excerpts from a very kind, and flattering article my school had written about me. I am an administrator and teacher in legal s...
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Holocaust Education Committee Programs
PROGRAMS OFFERED
BY
THE HOLOCAUST EDUCATION COMMITTEE
OF THE GREATER QUAD CITY AREA
SPEAKERS AND PRESENTERS
Authors, exhibits, Holocaust specialists and dramatic
presentations are provided to schools, libraries, churches and other community
venues through grants and collaboration with community groups.
INSTITUTES AND WORKSHOPS
Since 1993, Holocaust institutes and workshops have been
offered to Quad City educators, students and community members. Institutes are scheduled in the fall of
odd-numbered years.
TRUNKS AND OTHER EDUCATIONAL
MATERIALS
The Jeff Leibovitz Special Collection, housed at the Western
Illinois University Quad City Campus in Moline, provides access to over a
thousand resources, including sets of traveling curriculum cases focused on Making
a Difference, Rescuers and Resisters, and Diaries and Memoirs.
ESSAY AND ART CONTESTS
The Ida Kramer Children and the Holocaust Essay Contest and the
Meyer and Frances Shnurman Holocaust Visual Arts Contest are open to students
in grades 7-12. Submissions are due
annually on February 1.
TEACHER SCHOLARSHIPS
Applications
for the Rauch Foundation Teacher Scholarship, from $200 to $2,000, are due annually
on April 1 or October 1 to support professional development. The scholarship covers expenses for travel,
housing, and/or registration for conferences, workshops or tours.
A BOOK BY ME
Youth, 18 years old or younger, interview, research, write
and illustrate a 10-page book about a Holocaust survivor, liberator or rescuer.
Promoting a higher
awareness of the Holocaust as a unique historical event with universal
implications for today
WEBSITE: www.hecqc.org
Monday, November 7, 2016
Thursday, November 3, 2016
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