September 14, 2003
Greetings Accumulators!
Foggy, rainy, and downright drippy today in The Apple. If the weather is
decent where you are, get out there and hit all the outdoor venues before
autumn hits. And if the weather is not decent where you are, hit the
antiques malls and the shops. We were supposed to go to the local
Rennaisance Festival today, but it's an outdoor thing, so....
FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF SERIOUS ETHNIC MISIDENTIFICATION
As you have probably heard by now, Saudi Arabia's religious police (The
Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice" have
declared Barbie to be a threat to morality and offensive to Islam. In
addition to that, they have declared her to be Jewish. I don't know - maybe
I was too wrapped up in homework to have been aware the year they issued
Bat Mitzvah Barbie. I missed Yeshiva Boy Ken as well. While I've always
thought the whole Barbie thing was silly and harmful to the self esteem of
young girls (angry emails from Barbie collectors may be sent to this
mailbox, thank you), how can anyone with no genitalia, who hasn't even
gotten to second base with her boyfriend in 40 years be considered immoral?
The Committee said, "Jewish Barbie dolls, with their revealing clothes and
shameful postures, accessories and tools are a symbol of decadence to the
perverted West. Let us beware of her dangers and be careful." Yup. It takes
a strong committee to subjugate a whole nation of women. Unfortunately,
this committe, which is an arm of the Saudi government, hasn't managed to
subjugate Barbie. She's been banned there for 10 years, and
under-the-counter sales are as brisk as ever, despite the committee's pesky
habit of confiscating dolls and imposing fines on the dealers. This is
probably because little Saudi girls, though they know they are headed for a
life shrouded in black from head to toe, in which they will be unable to
leave the house without a male relative; speak to shopkeepers (they aren't
allowed to speak to any male persons except relatives); or even drive,
still have dreams. The black market price for Barbie can be as high as $27,
so it seems that even Saudi parents can't resist making that little
munchkin happy, whatever the cost. A committe spokesman, speaking to the
Assocated Press, claimed that Barbie "was modeled after a real-life Jewish
woman." Zowie. How many Jewish men wish THAT were true? No word on whether
Mattel is planning to issue a Burkha Barbie anytime soon. It would, after
all, be cheap to produce. All you'd need would be a stick with a black sock
over it.
SITES TO SEE DEPARTMENT
Not much else new in the collecting world at the moment - at least not much
I can laugh at. So, I've been sort of hoarding these sites, saving them for
a day when I had the space, and I thought you'd be interested in them. Some
of them have only a tenuous connection to collecting. Heck, some of them
have none at all. But, they're all interesting sites, some of them really
quirky, and some of them funny. If you have a minute or two, go have a
look. Enjoy!
AmiRight - If you'e ever wondered how Jimi Hendrix could write or sing a
lyric like, "Scuse me while I kiss this guy", you'll love this site. It
lists all those songs with garbled lyrics transmitted to our ears
incorrectly by the poor diction of the singer, or the overly loud
orchestration. Here you can find the correct lyrics to the songs, compared
with what we've been "hearing" all these years. Hey, I used to think the
song "Poetry in Motion" was "Oh, a Tree in Motion". Come to think of it, if
you have any of these wacky old lyrics that make no sense, send them to me,
so we can share. LINK
Trekearth - A place for photographers to share photos as a way of showing
the world to each other. Some beautiful work here. And more coming in every
day. LINK
Toontracker, Home of The Lost Cartoons - If you're a cartoon freak (okay, I
am), you'll love this site, where cartoons live long after their demise.
Click on any long-gone cartoon, and bring up a complete biography, along
with the folks who did the voices, and the dates it aired on TV.
LINK
CookieRecipe - Who doesn't love cookies? Here you can find a recipe for
almost any type of cookie, from all sorts of sources, all different
ethnicities. Cookies are definitely worldwide phenomena.
LINK
Accumulators, it is now Sunday afternoon. He Who Is The Light Of My Life
and I are going to The Jewish Museum. No, we're not going to view a Barbie
exhibit. And it has stopped raining, which is good. Have a great day and a
great week, Accumulators. Happy hunting!
Best,
Judith
© 2003 Judith Katz-Schwartz. All rights reserved.
Antiques and Collectibles Newsletter #226
U.S. Library of Congress
ISSN 1520-4464
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