Life Goes On

I didn't plan it. I didn't write a tearful goodbye. I didn't even check to see If I liked my outfit well enough to leave it there for 2 month. Of course that's because I had no idea I would be gone for so long. I just logged off one day and the real world caught up to me. I turned 18, I graduated high school, and I got my first real job. My thought process wasn't "OMG! I'm an adult so now I should say goodbye to Stardoll and make a big fuss about it!!!"  No. People who leave like that just want attention and to prove to themselves that people would care if they're gone.

So here I was in the real world. What an odd place. You mean you can't just rate people's outfits and get money? Nope, I had to work. To be honest my job is what kept me away the most. I remember when I used to not be able to go a week's vacation with out freaking out about what I'd missed on stardoll, but this time it was different. Before I knew it 2 months had gone by. Eventually I started to idly wonder if anyone had noticed that I had not logged in for quite some time. I wondered what outfit my doll was wearing, and what room she was in...I thought that maybe I'd just log in to fix my outfit...or maybe I'd just never ever log in again. Yea, sure. Eventually the thought of leaving my doll that I have spent so much time and money on without even seeing if I've left her looking decent got the best of me. I logged back in.

It was weird. Stardoll was stardoll, with some shiny new touches. I checked my notifications and found that I had new scenery comments. The scenery that had comments was my latest one:

To add irony to my life, this scenery had been titled "Free Yourself", and is all about breaking free (sorry to point out the obvious). When I realized that I hadn't been on Stardoll in 2 months I felt as if I'd broken free from this huge weight. But when I returned I realized that the weight had been inside of me. I was on stardoll because I enjoyed it, and all the pressure and stress I felt relating to stardoll was self inflicted.

So if you're out there and are thinking of leaving stardoll because it's "stupid", but there are still parts of it you enjoy, then stay. Do what you love, and just laugh at all the stupid things out there. However if every time you think about stardoll you feel anxious and stressed then you need to lighten your load. Do things for fun, not for fame. But I suppose if you feel stardoll no longer amuses you, then you should leave. Don't make a big fuss about it, just go. Life will go on.       
   

Is there an age limit on Stardoll?

I've always thought about if there was an age I "should," or "have to" quit Stardoll.

Is Stardoll a game for little girls? At first appearance- yes, it is. But those of us who have delved deeper into Stardoll: mainly the artistic scene such as magazines, blogs, and user made fashion lines, have realized it's a bit more complicated and more adult generated than the average 8 year old's site. After all, can an young child really create and manage the high tech and graphic complicated sites we present to each other?

If the answer to that is no, does that mean Stardoll has matured to a more adult friendly site, and if not adult, to a site where the minimum age should be moved to, atleast, 12? If so, does this mean, the so-called "termination age"- or, the age where an adult should be "too old for a paper doll site"? Does this mean somebody going to college or higher education of any sort, or perhaps, graduated and looking for a job, or even having a job (and children, maybe) should not be on Stardoll?

Before we argue this point: let me ask you, if you were browsing on Stardoll and you found a user with an amazing doll (all the rares, beautiful suite, accomplished blog),  but then found out they were a mother of 4 children and 40 years old, would you treat this user differently than if you knew this user was 16 years old?

I guess what I'm asking is: does age really make a difference? Comment and let us know! I'll be posting the best comments in a follow-up post.

A Question Worth Thinking About.

oh look, another personal one.
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As my soothing bliss of Summer sails away towards the horizon, the new boat I like to call 'School' starts floating into it's place in the harbor I call life.
It's a lazy and hot day where I live in southern California. The sun and heat of a true, blue, Summer is still over us. It feels weird as we're expecting the bipolar weather that usually comes around this time. "Bipolar?", you ask. Yes, where I live, the weather is infamous for it's sudden drops in temperature; As most of the population wears shorts 24/7, it is not very appreciated.
Anyhow, It's a lazy and hot day in 5th Period AP United States History. Second day of school. Our teacher calls up a few students, myself including, to sit in front of the classroom. He says that we're going to be talking to a "few important Americans." Well, by now we know that the 6 of us up front are going to be in for some kind of interrogation, but all goes well until we get to question number 6.
Mind you, this is not the part where I get up and start bawling because it's a question that affects me personally. Rather, it's a question that torments my insides, forces me to look into my future, and makes me answer the question on a whim.

Buongiorno! Fall Italian/French Style!

Hello MDM!

If the title of this post hasn't clued you in yet, I'm in Italy! Rome, to be more exact. I've been on vacation, if it helps explain why I've been AWOL off the Dollyworld. Italy is amazing and so different from America, and I've been seeing some awesome trends both here in Italy and in France (Paris, to be more exact, where I was several weeks ago). As always, I am impressed with European street styling as well as stores. I want to pass on some trends I seriously hope are going to stick this Fall. Be on the lookout for these trends both in real life (for some chic ahead of the trend style) and on Stardoll (for the always stylish medoll).

1. The Little Black Jacket 

Natalia Vodianova rocking the jacket.

So, back in Paris, I was shopping around at Chanel (Coco's very own 31 rue Cambon) and surprise surprise: none other than THE KATE MOSS walks in with a tres chic and body flattering jacket. This jacket happens to be Karl Lagerfeld's newest little iconic masterpiece: the little black jacket, if you will. Paired nicely with a tank dress, Kate looked every inch the supermodel and I realized I simply must buy that jacket. Watch out- every fashion brand under the sky will be recreating this one for this Fall/ Winter season. Pair this baby with a simple tee and jeans for the day, then swap it up at night with a pair of kitten Louboutins and a figure hugging mini dress.

2. Forget crossbody, big is in.

Longchamp Shopper Bag $125, Saks New York

Big totes are in, in, in this season. All over Paris and Rome (and don't forget Milan as well) I've seen women hauling around large carry-alls, and why not? In a crossbody you'll be lucky to fit a wallet, but in a carryall, you wallet, sunglasses, cell phone, camera, magazines, and reading book are all welcome! Heck, I've even seen men carrying around stylish Louis Vuitton carry-alls on the street. If that doesn't signal this trend is in, I don't know what! Several brands: notably Longchamp, Hermes, and Balenciaga have embraced this trend for a long time, but this fall, even brands famous for their teeny tiny bags will be carrying out whoppers.

3. Military Salutes

Zara camoflage shirt, $70

From Topshop to Zara, our favorite affordable brands are embracing military camoflage jackets. I think camo is so absolutely wearable because it matches with so many colors: green, blue, brown, black, grey, etc., that you can pair it with shorts as well as jeans when Winter rolls around. You can also snuggle up to it when its so chilly a glass of hot cocoa is needed. When vintage shopping in Milan, I found an awesome World War II military camo jacket that is shockingly similar to the one I saw in this collection from Zara, although I got my jacket for $10 compared to Zara's $70. Deal! I'm planning to add studs when I get home and wear this one for most of winter (it really is remarkably soft on the inside). Anyone else up for it?

Jeffery Campbell Lita's, $120-280

4. Spikes

I'm not saying you should go out looking like a living porcupine, but let's get aggressive this season and add some spikes to our wardrobe to match our tough looking camo jacket, shall we ladies? Jeffery Campbell is just one of the many brands (which include UNIF, Posh, Zara, H&M, John Galliano, etc.) who are churning out edgy shoes and accessories to sharpen- literally- our wardrobes. I love the idea of wearing studs! It's flashy but not overdone, and says "I'm not weak, and I'm strong and edgy enough to make a real fashion statement, and I'm not afraid of what you say." That's what we need in Fall/Winter fashion; save the soft shades for Spring and Summer, thank you very much.

So, there are my ideas for fashion this fall. What other trends do you see, at home or abroad? How are you planning to update your Fall/Winter/ back to school wardrobe? Comment!

Lifting the Veil

Right as I open up a draft to type something my contact starts squirreling around in my eye. Now, I'm typing this while my eye is a watery mess. An omen? Not very sure.
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It seems as fast as Anonymous blogs are made, they are going down just as quickly. 

Recently (it's not going to be a hard story to guess), An anonymous blog was made, but within a week or two the blog was deleted. What I am sad about is that this anonymous being was quite reasonable. So, what blog did they run?

'Reviews of Graphic Designers on Stardoll!'

Nevermind the wordy blog name, but the content on the blog was quite good. The blogger managed to get in  7 reviews before they shut down the blog. One of the reviews I enjoyed was the one of Lige07, a well known graphic designer who has made a heck of an improvement in a short time.

Here's a little taster:

(click to expand)

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For starters, the blogger seems to have quite a taste for 'custom poses' which leads me (forgive me for the tangent) to the thought that he/she may be running this not-very-publicized graphics competition in the blogosphere. 

(click to expand)

Meet Graphic Unmasked, another blog that seems to encourage making Stardoll Graphics, except...without the 'Stardoll'. Graphic designers who have a knack for not using any medoll faces or reference images could have a field day with this, but please remind me something; How much non-medoll, non-reference image people are there? Not a lot, I can tell you that.

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Returning to the point, GD-reviews, or the anonymous user who ran the Graphic Designer Review blog also managed to be neutral with his or her reviews. Though they seem to advice more than compliment, we can analyze through the post on Lige07 that he/she is fair and not too harsh. Many people nodded their heads with approval of the user and the reviews:

(click to expand)

So why did the sudden deletion? Turns out we've found an anonymous who has a heart (you know...because we usually portray them as heartless souls). After a few days of staying silent, GD-reviews put something up on their presentation that made me a bit surprised:

(you know what to do...)
GD-reviews was simply guilty because they thought they were unfairly rating each user. Well, that's quite considerate. We shall shower him/her in kudos because he/she feels so. I personally liked the reviews, as I mentioned before, they were honest and straightforward. It didn't seem like they were exaggerating points at all. I can see why some of the reviewed graphic designers may be unhappy (some really great ones got an 'F'), and why the user felt like they needed to take down the blog.
So, I shall applaud them for being one of the few with maturity in this virtual world.

Anyhoo, they have this whole tinychat thing planned on the 24th of August. I'm surprised they are really preparing themselves for the so-called 'revenges'. To be frank, I doubt that they'll get much hate.

so...
Do you have an opinion of who GD-reviews may be?
Do you think his/her reviews were too harsh or just right (if you read them)?
What do you think of his/her actions?
and also:
Opinions on that 'Graphics Unmasked' competition?
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The watery eye was an omen indeed, what a lousy post.

Fall of an empire

About not too long  ago, many blogs flourished with news, updates, avid readers, and avid writers putting together stories, gossip, and endless rants (such as this one) for the Stardoll audience to see. Words such as Dollywood, Hacker, Scammer, and many others, were overused to infinite and you couldn't hover over a Stardoll blog without seeing one pop up.

Blogs all around the world from America to Saudi Arabia to Poland to Russia would regularly update out of enjoyment. Stardoll blogging became a second world, an inspiration, and a haven for new faces. It allowed everyone to simply know the facts. People were discovered, graphic artists, designers, and "elites" (a dead term now).

If it wasn't for Stardoll blogging I would've left a long time ago. When I first joined Stardoll, I only had 1 friend and the closest thing to a conversation I ever had was "5/5!!"  &  "thnx u 2". I didn't find much enjoyment other than purchasing clothing and dressing up my doll. Entering chat rooms wasn't pleasurable either because everyone was just getting down and dirty. Who knew a bunch of pixelated abs could get a 12 year old girl excited in the pants? Sadly, even I didn't get a ''Ur hot'' or a ''bby get nekked 4 me".

Now I sound Taylor swift but blogging was a getaway for us, it allowed us to write about what we loved. Gave us a reason to continue on, and liberated our opinions. It was a universal empire!

Blogs begun deteriorating. It started collapsing like an old building. One by one, people disappeared. Less and less, like losing weight. Our roofs shifted and people fled along with their interest. Blogging lost its spark and some of us, lost our motivation.

Call me crazy, but I feel as if the posts that seemed to make Stardoll (a 12 year old's dressup site) into something more are now less valued. Friendships were harnessed, enemies were caught on..as well as a lot of history. 

Do you feel this way to? Is your passion becoming bleak? Maybe one day, one day; we will see a glimmer of light like we once did, the first time I saw these blogs.

What's in a name?

This is a rather personal post of sorts

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I've only seen 2 adults cry in front of me my whole life. First, when my father found out his brother died in the 2004 tsunamis. Second, when my mother was drastically insulted and was put in a state of sadness for days. In those two moments I was either crying, or seething at the reasons why those tears were produced.

However, these incidents happened in the comfort of home, where I could openly express how I felt and try to console my parents.

Yesterday, was completely different for me.

For the past 8 weeks of my summer I have been taking a summer SAT boot camp. If you don't know what the SAT is, it's a test that is taken by several Americans and beyond for a better chance of getting into a college. Yesterday was my last day of the 45 days of continuous learning that was barely any different than school. After having some potlucks and games between each 'class' transition, it was time to leave. However, some of us had to stay for a tutorial of sorts. "Extra help" for any subject or problems we had trouble with. 

My scores for the three subjects (Math, Writing, & Critical Reading) are pretty good, even though math is probably the hardest for me. I decided to join my friend in the critical reading tutorial where we waited for the teacher to make their appearance while we all chattered amongst ourselves.

Our teacher was coming up the ramp, bearing onto a pair of crutches while slowly making it to the door. She was an energetic, fun-loving teacher. We'd seen her use the crutches before, but never knew exactly why she used them as we never asked her. We spotted her through the window, and that was when a guy (A mutual friend of mine) decided to yell the word "Cripple!"

The obvious thought would be that the teacher wouldn't have heard him, but then she shows up in the doorway, an unreadable expression on your face.

"Did you really just call me a 'cripple'?" were the words that came out of her mouth. The rest of us tried not to gasp or make any other word as the guy stuttered a bit, and then admitted he did, though he was just joking.

The teacher looked down a bit, and said "I Have chronic back back disorder. I'm sure I'd love to be called a 'cripple' all the time"

Since the teacher was sarcastic all the time, we thought that she'd gotten over the rude name the guy called her. But as she made her way up to the front, my friend and I saw a weird change of emotion in her. I could already predict, 'she is going to cry' and for some reason I was terrified. What would I do to help if she did? I didn't just want to sit there staring at her.

Then, slowly, tears started spilling out of her eyes, and the guy looked completely shocked (just like the rest of us), repeating his apologies and whatnot. The teacher never replied to him, and asked my friend and me to pass out the papers she'd brought in. After, she rushes out of the room, sobbing.

The part that makes me feel the worst is that I'll probably never see her again. Most of us wanted to run after her, but it seemed likewise myself, none of us had been in such a position. Most of us were still battling with ourselves in what we should do. 

The guy who'd called her the word was obviously joking, but I am not going to make that any sort of excuse. It was cruel to call a teacher that, even if he didn't know she had the disease. But it was just a simple word, something that she could have scolded him for and continued. Why cry?

I then put myself in her shoes, trying to identify how I'd feel if I was called a cripple and had the same back issues. Was she called such a name as a kid? Something that stirred her within?

I just don't know.

But I can say that we all have a word or two that we may not even know about yet. Those words bring out the weirdest feelings in us, making us feel weak and vulnerable. Just like the teacher that was called a name. Branching out from there, people are called so many things in this virtual society. We label people with names just because it rhymes with something or because they are a kind of person. I see that being used so effortlessly in insults, do they even think about the effect it may have on the person?

Anyway, Thank you for reading this if you did, I needed to get this happening out of my head as it's been bothering me for a long time now.

Is there a word that you are sensitive to?

Oh, for crying out loud.

Recently, we've seen a turn of events when 'Stardoll's Mommy Police' were first shown to dollywood at the beginning of the month. Ashley_Doggett presented us MadRockaFox and Madmadeleine, two grown ladies who have rampaged across Stardoll, reporting those who have things deemed 'impure' and not appropriate. 

Many Stardollians have already summarized what these two users have done, I wish to reflect upon that, but if you don't know what's going on, I recommend you read these posts first:

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Due to Stardoll's ban on creating Madmadeleine/MadRockaFox posts I was asked to take this part out of the post.

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Much of the points I had prepared before for this original post were stated by the person who I will mention below, so to refrain from repetition I will just show you the post.

Another who had snooped around the two interesting characters was the newest anonymous: AnonymousByName (quite catchy...joking.) Though he/she seems to have a rather bland name, they had gotten down to analyzing MadMadeleine and her blog:

'Madmadeleine gone Mad?' by AnonymousByName on Anonymous By Name

Due to utter laziness I will screenprint the post...

(read all of it HERE)

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AnonymousByName does a good job of analyzing MadMadeleine's blog, Valley Of The Stardolls, which is pretty much the blog where the lady shows off all the people she's reported with no shame. A post she had made, dubbed 'The Tempest' was made and then deleted, luckily, thanks to a cache version I was able to...mark it up.

I now present you to how Manny sees 'the Tempest' (cue lame music):

(click to enlarge)

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I find it repulsive that someone will go out of their way to clean up the alleys of Stardoll. Sure, we do have some ghastly members who we'd rather not see, but clicking on their icon is pretty rare. And kids who are young enough wouldn't comprehend much of it, taking almost none of it into account. Players who are old enough should have enough common sense to understand if the things aren't for them. I'd once come upon a fairly inappropriate doll, I just exited out of the screen and continued minding my own business. Silly dolls, especially the fake pregnant ones annoy me, but other than releasing an angry post about them, I've never clicked on the 'report' button. If the girl has a need to tell us about her alleged pregnancy, let her be.

What Madmadeleine and MadRockaFox want to do is purge stardoll of everything bad. Okay, understandable. Who wants to see a doll that's too inappropriate for it's own good? Thing is though, we aren't sheltered from these things in real life. Being exposed to stuff like this in a virtual community is almost a boon we should be thankful for. 

I'm being raised in probably the most sheltered area possible. The suburbs are a place of studies and not any other care in the world. So, to be honest I'm thankful that these extremities on Stardoll exist. Thanks to those, I can distinguish right from wrong.

Madmadeleine and MadRockaFox find the things that they find as demeaning, but in reality those 'things' are nothing but a mere joke between people of the modern age. Hello? Haven't they seen Nicki Minaj recently? The 'ride me' necklace is just a fraction of the 'demeaning'-meter compared to the singer, yet while little girls pore over things 'Nicki Minaj', creative users are being reported for a fun loving necklace.

Fair?

You decide. 

I'm sure Madmadeleine and MadRockaFox are genuinely concerned for the environment on Stardoll, and I won't blame them for being so. But there is a limit to everything. Trying to cap off a creative outlet is going to make you the bad guy in this. 

Since I couldn't tell this to them directly on the post;

I'll tell them here:

Keep calm and carry on, literally. Maybe try to keep things sheltered from your kids. If we're smart enough we'll know to turn away from all real bad things. And if we're not...sucks for us.

I'm sure the kids who've been betrayed and bamboozled have their own parents and friends to warn them of those things.

Hopefully the ones who have been deleted from these ladies get their account back.

What is your opinion of the 'Mommy Police'?

Review(s): Liquorice & Spice

 Hey! What I decided to start back doing is writing reviews like I use to, so here I brought not only one thing to review but 2 for your guys!

Liquorice Fashion Pre-Fall 2012 and Spice Couture Ready-to-Wear Summer 2012

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My Review: Created and designed by Khol(hollyoaksrocks*), with a kind of sweet an tangy theme involved, it's very bubbly yet Alternative mixed into the batter. I really liked this line, however it has some faults. All together its nice, but I think I could see some of the items already in a Topshop or Forever 21, some type of shop which sells "it" items really. Which I am saying look very great but its something I've seen before. But I hope to see much much more from Khol!

My Top Favorites:

I really love both of these equally! I have not a bad thing to say about either! I love the hair choices, shoes, and the kitty coin purse is to-die-for!

My Least Favorites: Okay, I will explain why I choose these two looks, the first is because I LOVE the dress, but it really doesn't match the rest of this collection, I can see maybe if she included more cocktail dresses, I'd understand where this style came from, but since its the only one there, to me it stuck out like a sore thumb.

As for the second, I picked it merely because it just seemed so "mature" compared to the rest of the looks, though I can see a younger person wearing it, most girls our ages don't wear sun dresses that long anymore, not all, but most. But I don't hate the look, like stated above it just sticks out weirdly.

Ratings:

• Graphics: 8/10 (I love the style, but some of it is a bit choppy, like the strawberry.)
  
• Originality: 7/10 (I love the choice of dress, but it could of been more dynamic?)
  
• Appearance: 9/10 (Lovely color scheme! But, I personally have a pet peeve when people only use one model?)
  
• Total Rating: 24/30

 Good job on a great first line!

If you'd like to see the entire Liquorice Fashion Collection, click HERE.

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My Review: Though Spice Couture was founded by two people, only one brave Stardollian claims it as his own, Rafael(Rafi101). He shows use his fiery passion of burning designs, literally, where we are consumed with spicy hot clothing, again, literally. But also with a few added sweetheart feel. I don't necessarily enjoy this line, but its cute, very small, but really.. cute.

It reminds me of my childhood days where I sat around playing on the Diva Stars, Bratz, MyScene, and Barbie.com dress-ups and old dolls from the early 2000s. Most likely from the awesome platforms he made!

My Top Favorites:

I picked this one because I just love the flowers! Though fitted capri pants are waaaaaaaaaaaay out of style, its just something about it, though I think I wore something like this when I was 10, but I still love it.

This other look's make is just nice to look at to me, though personally I am not a fan of jumpsuits, this one is actually really good! Though the flames are a bit much, its really hot, no pun intended.

My Least Favorites: 

For the first look, I really don't enjoy it at all, the jacket is a bit plain but its on top of this over-the-top graphic tee with flames on it, and bright blue pants, its a be over-whelming.

 

 As for this second look I picked, its adorable, don't get me wrong but, I can see my 70 year old grandmother in this look. (Minus the radical platforms.)

Ratings: 

• Graphics: 6.5/10 (Its not that they are bad, but I really have a thing for harsh shading, meaning when there is TOO much shading [Note the legs of the first model listed under 'My Least Favorites'.])
  
• Originality: 7/10 (To be honest, some of the clothes are very original and cool, while others look like something a 12 year old would wear.)
  
• Appearance: 8/10 (LOVE the catwalk! My only real dislike is how their isn't really a theme linked with the outfits other than the shoes.)
  
• Total Rating: 21.5/30

For your first line, Spice, it wasn't half bad, I hope to see this grow and improve.

Curious for the rest of the line? Click HERE. 

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Well thats all for the reviews! Happy commenting.

Love, Dei 

The Art of Stardoll

The blogosphere. A word I like to use for this vast, pixelated, space that is used to show off creativity at is highest. With it's mix of writing along with the visual representations such as graphics, the blogosphere is daily accumulating with our talents that we cannot make renown in real life.
However, some people decide to rather, erm, beg to differ?

Click to have your heart filled with lovely words
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Meet Samantha.Stardoll, the girl who preached her heart and brain out over what she thought of constant creativity on Stardoll in the comments section of the MDM Exclusive: Victory & Klaus S/S 2013 collection.
Although she makes her points in a much more harsher fashion, it makes me think a bit. Like how 'every body' is treating Stardoll as if it's the real deal. Then I come to realize that in reality, we all don't. Do you think we could instantly pop in fashion lines and magazines in the regular fashion industry? I don't think so.
I feel like the Stardoll blogosphere holds something dear and unique to us all. Like I said before, it holds up a base for creativity when we don't feel like getting our 'ass[es] of[f] the computer' and 'exercising with real friends' (although I'm not sure what Samantha.Stardoll means by 'real' friends...are our Stardoll friends plastic?)

I think as long as we're not consumed whole by our Stardollian doings, having magazines and clothing lines are fine. But there is also another type of 'imagination' running around Stardoll. If you managed to pick out 'Fake Gossip' from your busy heads: You've nailed it.
Fake Gossip has always put me on the fence. I've always thought of it as rather uninteresting, or having no point. One day, however, I caught myself reading these fake gossip posts (Klaus Gossips). I felt like I'd wasted my time reading on 'Kasia going missing' or 'Deidra kidnapped!' but there was still a trace of a smile on my face. All of these composings reminded me of a collection of short stories, short yet quick to the point and amusing. I find this a sort of stimulus for our imagination, but not in the right place. Anyhoo, Klaus Gossips also has created a group of 'countries' that have their own little snappy names.
'Dolly Northica'
'Starwaii'
'Las Dollars'
Those are the modified names for Antarctica, Hawaii, and Las Vegas. They certainly bring a sort of amusement to us, seeing these 'countries' that are cleverly named. Then the looming cloud comes back over, asking us:
"What really IS the point?"
Well, according to me the answer is: There really is no point. Stardoll Projects like such are just ways to pass the time. Sounds a lot less grand than what most of you would have expected, but I guess that is how it goes. I respect every Magazine editor, every writer, every graphic designer. Pretty much everyone who is affiliated with the art of our blogosphere. Not only have they created something to pass time with, but they've created a whole new outlet for those who want to do something new.

To each their own, we can say.

So, to Samantha.Stardoll: next time you feel like inflating your thoughts with excessive capitalizations and unnecessary language (*cough* retarded *cough*) try to seek multiple vantage points. Thanks.

What are your opinions on user-made 'Projects'?

Time to Face the Music

First off, I need to apologize. I realize I have not really written much and lately I have been kinda MIA. I started my sophomore year about a month ago and it has not been too friendly. Anyways, onto my topic for today. 

All throughout history, art has been a major part of expression and society. It was the way people communicated, progressed, and made statements. Today, we study and learn about art throughout history and the world. How it changed people and religion, how it mattered, and how heavily people depended on it. Artists not only demonstrate their ideals, they also would push society into new eras. They managed to be sarcastic, slap largely political figures in the face, and inspire revolutions.

Some styles of art (like Mannerism, for example) were heavily symbolic. They reflected the problems and world powers at that current time and revealed the issues and hypocrisy in religion and government.

(Tintoretto, Presentation of the Virgin, Right)

Baroque art was often a sarcastic slap in the face to society 

and the classes. It was a free-spirit kind of art and architecture. Each piece not only had different messages, they also were made with different techniques. 

(Fra Andrea Pozzo, The Entrance of St. Ignatius into Paradise, Above)

A style following Baroque art is Rococo, a very care-free art. It left behind the heavy meaning of Baroque and Mannerism and depicted the simple and luxurious life of the wealthy. Although it had the similar swift brush strokes and light color pallet of Baroque, its meaning was very different.  

(Jean-Honore Fragonard, The Swing, Right)

These arts are only a few among the countless styles of art in the past centuries. Today, people realize that art is not just in the painted form. Today, it is a very broad term covering from paintings to sculptures, literature to architecture, photography to music, dancing to fashion. Art is a form of self expression. What was so very influential a mere 200 years ago is near meaningless now to the vast crowd? What today has replaced the painted messages? Two things come to the top of my mind. What are those you may ask? Music and fashion. Years ago, fashion was a way to state your class and music was a lovely pass-time. Other than the welfare of your social standing, nothing relied heavily on those two things. Nowadays though, they are the easiest and most influential ways to reach society. What then floods our ears today when we turn on our radio?

Look at today's pop artists. Normal dinner-table topics, singers that everyone knows about. Who do you think of? Lady Gaga? Justin Beiber? Nicki Minaj? Taylor Swift? Kanye West? There are artists in each genre that have a different effect on its listeners. Different artists that are vastly know (not all liked, but known). Think now of the topics that are sung about 99.9% of the time. What do you think of? I know what I am always hearing then sing about is individuality, your girlfriend/boyfriend, your tragic break up, or sex. Each song is a different variation of the same old topics. Rather repetitive really. Now yes, each person is in a way talented, I will give them that. Today though we have no originality. Nothing new. Instead we have songs that promote sex, drugs, and alcohol.

Has music always been like this? Lord, no! Think back just in the last fifty years! Music has gone down at a drastic rate. Without annotating each and every meaningful song, let's sum it up and think of some individual artists or bands, ones that made an impact and in their own way inspired revolutions for the decade? Just a few that come to my mind are The Beatles, Queen, Elvis Presley. Now, I know you can probably think of dozens more, those are just three I can think of off the top of my head. Each decade is known for its fashion, the world at the time, and music. Music was a large influence and moved society to do great things. Today, what has our music pushed us to do? What will our decade be remembered for? Other than pregnant 13-year-old's, idiotic governmental debates, and the crime-and-violence rate rising each and every day, we don't have much to show for ourselves.

Now, I know this post may seem long and somewhat meaningless but it was a topic that has been on my mind. I am currently studying Art History (a subject I recommend to all High School and College students) and I have stayed up many nights, had countless debates with family and friends about this. Now, I decided to come here and pose the same questions to you all that have wondered many times.

What do you think influences society and individuals today? 

How have people been effected in the past by art and music? 

Has it affected you personally in any way? 

And finally, what do you think our current generation will be able to provide to future generations? What contributions have we made?

And now I draw this long post to a close and bid you all adieu.

Sara♥♥

Quote of the day

"Society exists only as a mental concept; in the real world there are only individuals."

- Oscar Wilde

Do you agree or disagree? Should we be more pro-society? Or should we assess situations based on our own individual benefit?

Love,

Maggie