Chinitos

My 1st (left) and 2nd (right) World Peacekeepers dolls

I thought they share the same face mold with different hairstyle. I was even planning to make them as identical twins, hence the matching clothes. Apparently, each one is unique. I haven't seen these two together in the same store for me to compare, until yesterday.



This is probably the last (for now) World Peacekeepers doll I'll be buying, unless they have it on huge discount, (which I expect sometime next year). Redressing them is less fun as not a lot of Ken shoes fit them.



I still like the 1st one better. The second one (above) has a dated hairstyle. It's so last decade ago. The 1st one has a more timeless hairstyle although it's a bit dorky. I also like the sensual stare and pout on the first one. I just bought the second one simply because I just don't have enough chinito male dolls.

Peace Keeper

It could be China's claim on disputed territories causing tension in the region. It could be the rise of murder and extra-judicial killing victims in our country. It could be the diplomatically-challenged pronouncements of our president about going against the world while teaming up with Russia and China, even if we have territorial disputes with the latter (or, technically, as far UNCLOS is concerned, it's no longer a dispute because we've already won the case). Or it could be the U.S. (economic, military and political) forces in our country making us feel like a manipulated colony. These just call for peace keepers, not the United Nations kind. Not yet, anyways. (Things can still be handled with media spinning, trolling and misinformation.) I was thinking of peace keepers of the mind. Peace of mind is a luxury these days.



For me, toys helps with the peace keeping of the mind. What better way to do it than with the World Peacekeepers toy line? I, of course, picked up the Asian-looking doll. No matter how faithful I was to the American toy brands, they failed to address my need for a respectable male Asian doll. I have no choice but to patronize a Chinese toy brand even if I don't like everything I'm getting from the deal. Their male Asian doll looks respectable and not culturally misappropriated like some of those made by American brands. I just don't like the deadly weapons. They don't scream peace, right? And I'm not a fan of military fashion.



I saw at least three Asian-looking dolls. They seemed like they have the same face but with different hairstyles. I picked this one because of the ladder it came with. It also came with one pair of bare hands and another pair wearing gloves. The other variants only have gloved hands. It also has the least military-looking attire. He can even look like a meth cook. Our president will be pissed. He also has a balaclava, in case he wants to be a vigilante and support our president.



If there is such a thing as having too much chest, this doll has it. It is a little shorter than my other male dolls, providing at least some height variety. It has better articulation than your average Ken doll. The "best" part of this Chinese deal is the price, which is said to be a product of one-sided trade policies of China. That makes me wonder what one-sided deal our president recently got from China.



My patronizing this Chinese brand does not mean I will say goodbye to the American brand. It doesn't have be just one or the other. Making contradicting sides work together is key for world peace. I, thank you!

Due process

First dark-skinned doll in a while

If I remember correctly, the last dark-skinned doll I bought was the one wearing the ice cream romper. Dolls that looked like they have African roots are not sold locally, except for those that look like Latinos/Latinas. This doll looks like she's Latina to me and having not seen a dark-skinned doll on the local toy shelves lately, I grabbed this one.



She came with a petite body. It feels like I'm hating on the petite body when I rebodied her using an articulated body. I also can't help misread the rebodying of the curvy dolls to made-to-move bodies. It's like wish fulfillment for those hoping for weight reduction. I feel like I'm being manipulated to hate on the new bodies.

Can't help passively react

I overheard a couple of coworkers who are Lego collectors talking about buying bootlegos. One said that a lot of Lego collectors keep the original Lego's in their boxes and buy the bootlegos just to experience the joy of the build. 

I thought that their conversation was very enlightening and very reflective of our times. It really made me smile, like an inside joke.