Ghost in A Jar and Other Stories

      Friday, on Artist Unlocked, people heard me talk about how I really found the hobby through ebay. I made an offhand comment about going to check ebay for Breyers because you can get anything on ebay, you can get a ghost in a jar. Over the weekend the link to the interview was posted here and there and people have commented that they remember ghost in a jar. I hadn't realized how long ago that was. 
     From Ghostinajar.com: On May 26, 2003, Teajay101 of Arkansas began his auction at $99 for "Ghost In A Jar! No Joke Serious Inquiry Only." The auction hawked a mysterious eerie glass cylinder with cryptic painted markings. Teajay101 claimed that he "would not be held responsible" if the "black thing" escaped the jar, and that "all sales are final."

     Over the years there have been a lot of weird auctions that went insanely high. Ghost in a jar was apparently the first, and there is even a book about it. You can get it on Amazon.  Sometimes things stick with us and we don't realize how old they are unless we go looking for them again. I still remember the Dunkin Donuts commercials with Fred the baker saying "time to make the donuts". Fred the baker started out in commercials in 1981 and was retired in 1997. He was around for most of my childhood, no wonder I remember him so well!

     For anyone that is curious, if you Google images of Ghost in a jar, mostly what you get is the cute little guy below. 

       It's funny how time can get away from you. I am really bad at remembering when things happened unless I have some sort of frame of reference. Recently I started watching The Fresh Prince of Bel Air again. That was always a favorite when I was young and HBO Max has it in their catalog now. I have not seen the show in years but I am definitely still enjoying it. I had forgotten how often they tackled racial inequality on the show. Right from the first few episodes, and in fact, in most episodes. I had to Google when the show aired originally and it was 1990! It makes me sad that in 30 years we don't seem to have come that far. There is a lot of homophobic content in the show, disgust and shock about an interracial couple (with eventual acceptance) and body shaming. I THINK we are finally moving past that. I hope 2020 is the year we also finally move past racial inequality. 
     I try not to work on the weekend too much, but it is supposed to be really nice weather for most of the week, which means Ethan and I are going to need to get a lot of work done on the house. I wanted to get a bit of a head start on dolling yesterday, because I need to try to get 2 or 3 dolls finished this week. Plus a bunch of chaps. In preparation for my planned work of the week I was working on remaking this youth doll. I actually really like this particular youth body and have found that with new arms, a bendy neck, and her feet removed and reattached in a way that allows them to turn and get her heels down, she makes a pretty good rider. I do also dremel out the inner thighs. I forgot to take off the boobs, but I will do that as well. Now that the body is prepped I will have that ready for fitting when I sew the clothes. Progress. I also got gloves painted on her and on the hunt seat guy that I have planned. I need to get the clothes cut out and sewn but any progress is good!  

     This little handheld rotary tool, that I got as a gift, has been pretty great. It is not super powerful and is probably only a step up from one of those manicure buffer tools. But I managed to use it, and the drill bit attachment, to drill holes in the doll arms and feet for adding wires. It will work to dremel down a bit of plastic on a doll, so if I have something quick, like taking off some boobs I forgot to remove, it will be perfect for that. For bigger jobs, or multiple dolls, I run the extension cord and bring the dremel outside. But I have found a lot of uses for this little tool, and it definitely saves me time when I just have one or two small things to do. 

      So this week is my last week of school. I have an appointment with a student today to hopefully finish up her math that she needs to pass. Then on Wednesday I have another appointment with a student, but I might not need to meet with him. He may be finished his work owed. I need to talk to all of the teachers and see. Then there is also a lot more house work, doll work and then maybe sleeping. I think after all that I will only be able to handle sleeping.