Podunk, Vermont and other places

"Podunk" exists in the U.S. imagination as a mythical town of such remoteness and emptiness that it epitomizes hillbilly rurality, but, interestingly enough, there are several places in the U.S. actually named Podunk. One, a subdivision of the extremely small town Wardsboro (population 854 as of 2000), exists in my home state, Vermont. A few years back, the Washington Post gave an interesting, if cursory, look at the place with the folklorically charged name.

Podunk, located in Windham County in the extremely southern part of the state, flourished during the mid-1800s, peaking at 1000+ residents, most of whom were subsistence hill farmers. The population dwindled as residents of Wardsboro moved to better land or more industrialized places to live. By 1916, Podunk's schoolhouse closed, and the forest began to overtake the once-cleared fields. Current residents sometimes happen upon abandoned foundations in the underbrush and, more poignantly, little cemeteries, mere family plots with a few markers. The population now numbers half a hundred full-timers, though that number may be increasing, at least on a seasonal basis. With the Mount Snow and Stratton Mountain ski areas nearby, Podunk now attracts vast vacation homes for skiers. Though Podunk is not an especially significant place, it is one with an interesting history, one that currently is being paved over by oblivious gentrification.

Scribbling on my dolls' faces makes everything better!

I deplore the divergent trends in male and female action figs. Basically, the male figs have craggy faces with a variety of ages, expressions and personalities [go to War Toys and look at the nudes if you need examples], while the female figs have stylized, generic faces with a tendency toward bland neoteny. I myself am not free from this bias, at least for female figs, but I actively fight it by scribbling on my dolls' faces!!  ( Scribble scribble!! )

Dolls for my dolls

Anneka and Will are each supposed to have some dolls of their own in 1:6 scale, but I've had a horrible time finding affordable figures in the 1:36ish range...until now. The Homies series of plastic figures, all 2" high or less, presents models of various urban characters, one set of which, the Micro Icon Punks, would be perfect for Anneka and Will's dolls. But I still need to make at least one mermaid for Anneka and a Bru for Will...maybe out of paper...

Barclay's O Gauge Corner sells O gauge [1:48] civilian figures for reasonable prices.

Here's a 1:12 scale girl doll [by Sophie Drummond?] that might work as Will's Bru.