About Me

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No Fixed Abode, Home Counties, United Kingdom
I’m a 60-year-old Aspergic gardening CAD-Monkey. Sardonic, cynical and with the political leanings of a social reformer, I’m also a toy and model figure collector, particularly interested in the history of plastics and plastic toys. Other interests are history, current affairs, modern art, and architecture, gardening and natural history. I love plain chocolate, fireworks and trees, but I don’t hug them, I do hug kittens. I hate ignorance, when it can be avoided, so I hate the 'educational' establishment and pity the millions they’ve failed with teaching-to-test and rote 'learning' and I hate the short-sighted stupidity of the entire ruling/industrial elite, with their planet destroying fascism and added “buy-one-get-one-free”. Likewise, I also have no time for fools and little time for the false crap we're all supposed to pretend we haven't noticed, or the games we're supposed to play. I will 'bite the hand that feeds', to remind it why it feeds.

Thursday, October 27, 2022

News, Views Etc . . . Links, Silliness and Seriousness

Silliness first; Toys in the media . . .

A popular meme but not actually true for toy dinosaurs, as the real ones were still millions of years in the future during the carboniferous era, when fossil-fuels were laid down, but definitely true for plastic insects and invertebrates which are made from 'real' insects and invertebrates! I can't find the original post but I downloaded it a while ago and lost it in a dinosaur folder! Faceplant page is here; INRITH

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I found this (first link) a while ago, and now there's a follow-up (second link), lots of interesting snippets within the two, on Bergan-Beton and the early toy industry; not least how far Islyn Thomas's influence stretched!

https://www.plasticstoday.com/consumer-products/plant-manager-behind-modern-plastics-industry

https://www.plasticstoday.com/injection-molding/portrait-mid-century-plastics-pioneer

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Ken Osen, President of the W. Britain will be presenting the talk at Ross County Historical Society in Chillicothe, Ohio on the 16th of November, you may need to post the link directly into the top left-hand search bar of whatever page you've got open, I had trouble finding it again through a Google 'new page', but got the 'memory' URL to come up . . . and it may help to drop the final numerals? Or just Google it yourself from the above details?

https://eu.chillicothegazette.com/story/news/local/2022/10/17/ross-county-historical-society-announces-fall-speakers-series/69560279007/

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Staying in Ohio (lucky Ohioans this Autumnn/Fall!), the Dayton Art Institute has an exhibition of David Levinthal's photographs, running through to January, which involves the use of various toys including what look to be King & Country or Tamiya (?) Modern US Infantry. There's also a bit of a promo-video for a specific digital camera brand, but it's interesting none-the-less.

I can only post what I find, and I found Ohio twice!

This is on a Russian language anti-war article about the lack of democracy and the export of war (Putin's neo-Nazi Wagner Group are already active in Syria, Libya and Central Africa, as well as Ukraine and are now moving into the Sahel through Mali), which you can find here if you want to read it in it's entirety or translate it. Figures are Preiser.

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While a new game seems to have received several good reviews, as I've said before I don't have the time or inclination to game, but if you like a bit of X-Box action try Tin Hearts.

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Missed the event I'm afraid, but still well worth a read;

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/lifestyle/4609210/newtonmore-event-will-highlight-the-impact-of-the-indian-contingent-during-the-second-world-war/

While this shot, a commended photograph in this year's Drone Photography Awards seems to show women in Vietnam (I think) drying the dyed sedge straw from which I think my 'rope' dragon is made?

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The serious bit;

Obituaries

As well as sad news on David Pomeroy's slipping away earlier in the year and the recent passing of Eric Johns, We have also lost;

Ed Borris and Nick Versteeg - PlaysetMagazine Obituary

Britains Collector David Leigh - Legacy Obituary

Collector's Michael Fondren - JeffersonMemorial Funeral Home and Kenneth Backus -Kalas Funeral Home

And famous Spanish author Javiar Marias, of whom The Times said "Marías lived in an apartment in Madrid that was cluttered with toy soldiers, piles of dusty fan mail and . . . ", but as The Times (of London) is hidden behind a pay wall I wouldn't direct you to, I will post the New York Times Obituary, which doesn't mention the toy soldiers, if you have subscribed to the UK-title; the obituary's still there. 

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This rather staid image was on The Conversation's website, illustrating an article on wage growth, or the lack of it - foam-stampings or 3D-prints?

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