someone came into our shop today with "Francie", this barbie-doll look-alike. Francie (who is apparently some three-decades-old) had resin-skin that had turned blackish brown and the owner wanted to repaint her... as i was helping the customer, it occurred to me that life-like dolls like that are really spooky.. every moment i was holding her/it, i could imagine she would start blinking/winking/speaking/moving in whatever "chucky-like" way... it was really creepy... that's why i prefer roundish, cutey-style cartoon characters anytime.. i mean, seriously.. if buttercup (one of the powerpuff girls) were to come alive and tell me she wants to take over the world, i'll probably laugh and beat her to a pulp.. but if francie were to do the same, i would probably believe her and flee for my life...

anyhow, read "The Barbie Conspiracy" (please note that this does not reflect my view of barbie-dolls.. it is too extreme a view, even for me..).. seems like mattel really doesn't like people to tarnish barbie's reputation in any way.. they even made barbie a cousin who would get married and give birth so that barbie's figure would not be affected and they could still satisfy fans who want barbie to have a baby to take care of...anyhow, did you know that If barbie were a real person, she would have to be 7'2" tall, her chest would be 38-40", her waist 18-24" and her hips 33-35".. anatomically impossible so it seems...