Reeva Steenkamp, 29, is dead.

Steenkamp hailed from Cape Town, South Africa. She began work as a model in 2001 and graduated from Nelson Mandela Metro University in 2005 with a BA in law, then went on to work as a paralegal. She applied to the bar in 2011, hoping to be a legal advocate by the age of 30. She was murdered on Valentine's Day, 2013, two days before the fifth season of reality TV show Tropika Island of Pleasure, in which she appeared, began airing.

She was murdered by abusive, wretched excuse for a human being [and celebrity athlete] Oscar Pistorius, in yet another depressingly common case of intimate partner violence.

How much do you wanna bet he'll get away with it due to his super privileges as a white, rich, straight, cis, celebrity dude who can also play on the public assumption that people with disabilities are useless lumps who can't do anything, much less murder?

And how much do you wanna bet that Steenkamp will disappear in the media's narrative about how they're shocked -- shocked, I say! -- that the inspiringly heroic supercrip should have such a tragic downfall?

Cake in a pinch

I put some I Can't Can Easily Believe It's Not Butter on a slice of Anadama bread last night, then put Nutella on top of it. This was probably a waste of a perfectly good Great Harvest loaf, but it tasted like cake! The oil in the non-butter spread made the Nutella smoother and sweeter, like cake + frosting.

I promise to use this knowledge only for good. :p

Well, that escalated quickly.

Last week, I saw that someone was auctioning off her Soom Faery Legend Auber on Ebay. She bought him with outfit and wig, but no faceup or eyes, during Soom's lottery last month when they were getting rid of old unclaimed stock. [I put in for a grey Auber during that lottery, but did not get him.]

I watched this auction for a white one with interest...especially as the starting bid, $450.00, reflected exactly what the first owner had paid for him, including all options and shipping. Since Auber fullsets rarely appear on the secondary market for less than $600.00, I viewed this auction as a chance to acquire a doll I wanted, hopefully without the ridiculous markup.

In preparation for a bidding war on Auber, I dropped prices yesterday on a few dolls that I had lingering on the DOA marketplace. Hours later, someone purchased both my Soom Uyoo Quite Rabbit and my Limhwa Sara for $475.00 shipped. She paid immediately, thus financing a bid on Auber for which I did not have to do creative accounting with my checking and savings accounts. :p

I stalked the auction during its final hours, and it held steady with only a single bid. With a minute remaining before close, I placed my $750.00 high bid and went to run around the office to relieve some tension.

Won the auction at $465.00!! \o/ \o/

Hey there, Jareth Jr. What's up? :p

I can't stand Soom's male Mini Gem body sculpt with its ridiculously jacked proportions, so I'm going to put Jareth Jr.'s head and hands on a slim Lumedoll Lumelight body. Haven't decided what to do about the feet. I might try modding the faery feet into ridiculous stiletto heels or something. :p

Ageing an action figure: Doctor Z

Zenobia Greene, MD, PhD, known to almost everyone as Doctor Z, is a Zombieville denizen. She gives Isabel all the gory details about spondis after she has been diagnosed.

Doctor Z has gone through several possible permutations as I've tried to decide what doll to use for her. Most recently, she was going to be a Wanted Action Figure Judi Dench head, but I didn't want to spend more money on a head and then sit around waiting for it when I had perfectly good dolls already to be recycled!

Anyway, since I knew that Doctor Z was a woman of color, I decided to use my Hasbro African American GI Jane as the base. Previously used as LHFer Materyllis, this doll was barely customized, with the exception of some shading around her eyes and mouth to give her more realism and expressiveness.

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Cute, huh? I've always liked the GI Jane sculpts [except for that one with the weird, wavy, shoulder-length flip and the open mouth]. They look plain and average, but in a down-to-earth, appealing way: the sort of people you can easily imagine seeing on the street.

But I didn't want cute, plain or appealing for Doctor Z; I wanted to portray a weathered, haggard woman who looked much older than her 64 years. And she had to look unwell, the way that most PWS do when they have lived with the condition for a long time. So I erased her eyebrows, whipped out my Prismacolors [PC935 black and PC Beats Me, But It's Some Cool Bluish Purple] and began to scribble.

Several hours later, this resulted:

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Well, she's certainly not cute anymore! Instead she looks old, saggy and purple. Success!!

I'm now left with the challenge of matching any other exposed skin to her head. I might try covering her hands and  her neck area with a few coats of matte varnish, then scribbling on it in a similar manner. Everything else will hide under her clothes.

I also want to give her fiber hair, but the jury is out on whether it should be white mohair, white faux fur or short dreads made from my chunky black yarn.