Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award


There are many images on the Internet for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award, which I was recently nominated for by Mommy's Doll Club (MDC).  Thank you Chrissie!  I chose the above image which links to the source page.

Here are the rules for the award:
“Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award recognizes the unique voices of women bloggers around the world.”
What you need to do:
  • Thank the blogger who nominated you, linking back to their site.
  • Put the award logo on your blog.
  • Answer the ten questions they have sent you.
  • Make up ten new questions for your nominees to answer.
  • Nominate ten people.


The questions I was asked and the answers follow in italicized text:

1) Besides blogging, what other things do you like to do on the Internet?  I enjoy communicating, often in real time, with others who collect black dolls.  As a result, I created a private doll group on Facebook in July 2014.  This group is a direct spin-off of a former private Yahoo email discussion group that I founded in 2001.  After the activity in the email discussion group fizzled (with social media being the culprit), I closed that group in January 2014 and went for months without the active, daily communication with my doll collecting comrades.  Because I missed our daily networking, I formed the Facebook doll group.  I am also a member of other doll groups on Facebook, but for obvious reasons am more active and enjoy mine the most.

2) Why did you start a doll blog?  Initially I began my doll blog to promote sales of my second black-doll reference book, Black Dolls a Comprehensive Guide to Celebrating, Collecting, and Experiencing the Passion.  My first post was written in 2008, the year the book was published; however, I did not become an active blogger until 2009 when I decided to share my experience as a happy black-doll collector on a consistent basis through blog posts.  The passion continues; therefore, the blog posts continue.


Leo Moss doll grouping
3) What doll don’t you have that you would most like to have?  I would love to own an original Leo Moss doll.  During the late 1800s through approximately 1932, Leo Moss, a black man from Macon, Georgia, made dolls in the likeness of family members, friends, on commission and/or in exchange for goods and services.  For the most part, Moss used existing white doll parts for the bodies and extremities and sculpted new faces (often over the existing heads) to create ethnically correct features using papier mache.  It is said he made black dolls in an attempt to provide them for his children as manufactured black dolls were either immediately unavailable or nonexistent for them.   At auction, his dolls now sell for multiple thousands of dollars, which is the main reason I do not own an original Leo Moss. 

4) Your favorite American Girl doll accessory?  As a collector and lover of dolls, period, I do not find myself fascinated with doll trinkets and paraphernalia other than their clothes and shoes.  Addy's black cloth doll Ida Bean and additional American Girl books are the only American Girl extras that I own. 

5) Your favorite Non-American Girl doll accessory? Fashions and shoe packs are my favorite non-American Girl doll accessories. 

6) Do you play any instruments and if so, what?  Currently, I do not play an instrument.  I was in the marching band in junior high school and in high school and also briefly in the high school concert band.  I began my band career attempting to play the flute in 6th grade.  I obviously did not have enough air in my lungs to successfully play that wind instrument.  I quickly exchanged my attempt at being a flutist with becoming a clarinetist, at which I excelled, winning at least one award in a competition against students from area high schools.  However, I put that instrument down and never picked it up again after graduating high school.  

7) Favorite type of music to listen to? My favorite type of music is traditional and smooth jazz.  I love it and am often lulled to sleep by smooth jazz.  

8) Tea or Coffee?  Coffee first (two huge cups in the morning) followed by afternoon tea is a Monday through Friday routine.  I can do without the tea on weekends, but my two cups of morning coffee are must-haves, seven days a week.

9) Favorite Movie?  I viewed the 1959 version of Imitation of Life (IoL) at a local movie theater for the first time at around age 7 or 8.  That event had a huge impact on my life for a couple of reasons.  The local movie theater was a few blocks away from our home.  I often walked to the theater with my older brother where we paid a dime or 15 cents each to see the most recent-to-us (but not necessarily the most recently released) movie.  IoL had probably been released several years before it became available at "our" theater.  

The death and funeral scene of the supporting actress (Juanita Moore) who played the role of Annie in the movie had a negative effect on my brother.  He cried for days afterward.  Initially he would not divulge what was bothering him but finally confessed to our parents that it was the funeral scene in the movie.  
Me, at 18 months old with my brother, age 5, (smiling as he often did).

Death of others that we know, as unpleasant as it is for most, was even more unpleasant for my brother, even when he did not know the person personally.  Annie's death in IoL did not have an initial impact on me, but I still cry every time I watch the movie, even though I know the outcome.  My brother is no longer with us, so viewing it now makes me reflect on the times he and I spent walking to and from that movie theater to see it and the other movies we went there to see.  Some of the tears evoked now when I watch the ending scene of IoL are for Annie but most are definitely over the loss of my brother.  

10) If money were no object, where would you most like to travel to?  I would also have to overcome my current flying phobia in order to travel anywhere by plane, but if I were to overcome this and money were no object, I would love to travel to the continent of Africa at least once in my lifetime to plant my feet on Motherland soil.    

Questions for My Nominees

1) When did you publish your first blog?
2) What inspires you to write a new post?
3) Other than your blog, what else do you write?
4) Has any of your other writing been published?
5) How long have you been a collector?
6) List everything you enjoy collecting?
7) How do others feel about your collection?
8) If you could purchase anything you enjoy collecting, what would it be and why?
9) Please share anything about yourself that you would like your readers to know?
10) Share one thing about yourself that would surprise most people?

My Nominees for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award are (drum roll please) and a brief reason why I chose to nominate them:

1) atelierniSHASHA because I love the playscale fashions she sews.
2) Auction Finds because she finds the most interesting eclectic items at auction.
3) Dazzle Dolls because her doll photos are awesome.
4) Desperately Seeking Dolls because I enjoy her narratives about the dolls she chooses.
5) Dollightful because she is a good storyteller.
6) Fabricholic Doll Maker because I'd love to own one of her dolls one day, too.
7) Male Doll World because I love her male doll musings and her Black History Month quizzes.
8) Pink Obsession because of her loyalty (through comments) to my blog posts.
9) Sarah Plays Dolls because she is thoughtful and creative.
10) Thammie TheDollMaker because I enjoy seeing her dolls and scenic photography.


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28 comments:

  1. Hi Debbie, thank you so much for nominating me. I'm sincerely touched.
    I know how it feels to lose a brother. I lost mine almost 2 years ago now. That photo is really sweet. Thanks for sharing with us.
    Take good care of yourself.
    Arlette

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    1. You are welcome, Arlette! I look forward to reading your answers should you decide to follow through and accept the nomination in blog-post form.

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  2. So excited to be nominated by you, Debbie... Thanks so so much!

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    1. My post is now up! I had really fun with this activity, Debbie... Thanks so much!

      http://ateliernishasha.blogspot.com/2015/08/nomination-and-nominees-for-sisterhood.html

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    2. Wonderful. I will stop by your cite now and read your answers, Shasha! Thanks for following through!

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  3. Thanks for popping over to tell me about the nomination as I hadn't seen this post yet. I'm a little behind on my reading due to the first week of school. And thanks for your kind words and nomination. I will add my answers to your questions onto my other post before the week is over.

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    1. You are welcome, Jewell. It took several days for me to take the time to write this post, so by all means, take your time writing yours.

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  4. Aww thanks Debbie! I am blushing. :-). I will post something by the weekend. Thanks for the nomination!

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    1. You are welcome, GG! I look forward to reading your answers.

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  5. I really enjoyed reading your answers, Debbie. It's so nice to get to know fellow bloggers a little better through these Q and As. :)

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    1. Thank you for taking the time to read my answers, Farrah Lily. Sometimes I can be too wordy in my attempt to paint a picture using words. :-)

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  6. I learned so much more about you in this post. That picture of you and your brother is priceless.

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    1. I love that picture, too. It is actually the only one I have been able to find of us together, as children or adults, so I treasure it. He must have too because he had a larger copy of it in an acrylic frame hanging along with his own artwork.

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  7. I always enjoy finding out more about the people behind the doll collections, so I loved reading this and seeing a different peek at who you are. Thanks for sharing your answers (and your childhood photo) with us!

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    1. Thank you for reading this post, jSarie. I enjoyed sharing!

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  8. I was about 15 the first time I saw Imitation of Life and it was a powerful movie. Admittedly, the initial draw for me was Lana Turner because I was a fan of hers. However, as the movie progressed, my total focus was on Sarah Jane and her journey. Her character wrung every bit of emotion out of me. Even though it reminds you of a loss, it's wonderful that you can reflect on the good times you had with your brother.

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    1. Sarah Jane was a piece of work! In the end, she ultimately got her wish to pass for white, after she literally killed her mother (which she admits through sobbing tears at Annie's coffin). After Annie, died of a broken heart, there was no one else who would track her down to her places of escape from blackdom. Poor Annie just wanted to know that her child was safe. So in the end, Sarah Jane rides off into the sunset with the white family, passing.

      As you can tell, Annie was my favorite character in the movie. She obviously was my brother's favorite character, too.

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    2. That's a fascinating take on Sarah Jane's end, I took it for granted that by being so public with her grief at the funeral that she was announcing her background so that there was no way back to her passing again. I think I believed Sarah Jane would then take ownership of her history and while she may have lived with Lora and Suzie she would identify as a black woman (even if out of guilt to begin with).

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    3. Yes, she did refer to Annie as her mother at the end, which was probably overheard by many of the funeral goers, but not all. She could have also very well moved away afterward and continued her imitation of life.

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  9. czarno-biaΕ‚e fotki zawsze przyciΔ…gnΔ… mΓ³j wzrok!

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    1. It's so rare to see black and white photos that I understand why they are attention catchers.

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  10. I love "imitation of Life" one of my favorite films as a huge Lana Turner fan! It's amazing to see the evolution of its reputation in cinema grow from a dismissed "women's picuture" or soap opera to a classic. I'm always moved by Mahalia Jackson at the end which as a choice of performer shows how seriously Douglas Sirk took the subject matter. It's lovely to learn more about you Debbie! The musical instrument question is a little random though?! :)

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    1. I was just thinking about you... (haven't read a comment from JM lately). Thank you for letting me know you read this post by commenting.

      I definitely consider IoL a classic. That funeral scene with Mahalia Jackson singing "Troubles of the World" gets me every time. Heck, I can just listen to the song and all I think about is Annie's death and the tears will flow.

      Another classic starring Lana Turner and John Gavin is Back Street, which is also one of my favorites. They just don't make movies like they used to.

      Including a non-doll-related and/or non-writing question in helped paint a better picture of the nominee, don't you agree?

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    2. That's lovely to think you thought of me, I do always read your posts, and have your blog on my to do list to respond, I've been traveling for work so finally this morning was the moment to write!

      I LOVE "Backstreet" I think it might be Susan Hayward As the leading lady. and I LOVE that movie too.

      Another is Lana Turner in "Madame X" (with Constance Bennett as the evil matriarch, that turns the much too old Turner (playing a newly wed ingenue) out of her house forcing her to leave her son behind). They REALLY don't make them like that anymore, it was Sirk's opportunity to give those actresses a new lease on life, usually beautifully turned out by Jean Louis as costume designer.

      Yes it was nice to get an opportunity to learn more, I was just amused by the left of field form the query took, rather than enquiring about any other interests, to ask specifically about a musical instrument made me smile.

      On Sarah Jane, I guess I will keep hoping that she learnt from her mistakes and as the movie was made in the late 50s imagine that she found her self & joined the civil rights movement marching towards freedom. :)

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    3. Oh, you are so right! Susan Hayward was the leading lady in "Back Street." (John Gavin was my focus. 😍)

      I haven't seen "Madame X," but will make an effort to do so soon if I can locate a free viewing on one of my subscription services.

      I need to exercise more optimism for human behavior as opposed to basing my opinions on present actions. Everyone has the potential for redemption. I need to remember that instead of believing bad behavior patterns will forever remain the same.

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  11. One more to add to your viewing pleasure is Ross Hunter's "Portrait in Black" which basically reunited Lana & Sandra Dee in 1960 as warring Mother & daughter. Very much Sirk-lite but worth a look, and again lovely costumes!

    I'm never sure who was prettier John Gavin or any of his leading ladies, have you seen him in "Psycho" or "Thoroughly Modern Millie"...talk about disparate taste in movies! ;)

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    1. Thanks for the "Portrait in Black" suggestion. The plot sounds interesting.

      I can easily answer your "who was prettier question": John Gavin.

      I had to Google "Psycho John Gavin" to find images and there he is comforting Janet Leigh.

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