Neon’s A Doll A Day… Again (2020)

[Alliecat]

Going insane on your own is much more fun than letting the world do it to you… Ha ha, that’s another idea I’d love to steal for something someday, somewhere
Fun photo too.

[davidd]

Well... today's post sent me off down a rabbit hole of reading about Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, and suddenly I am feeling colossally ignorant. Apparently the Alice stories and the characters there-in are satires of mid-19th century English current events and persons. Appreciating the word-play requires having not just an extensive understanding of both Latin and French but also of how Latin and French were taught in the mid-1800s. Looking-Glass is particularly complex as it involves a deeply embedded critique of mathematical concepts in a plot that can be illustrated as a series of chess moves.

I honestly had no idea!

Now I shall need to find a thoroughly annotated version of the stories that details and ex-plains all of the above elements. Even that, though, would be insufficient to overcome my newly realized colossal well of ignorance, as obviously I'm not even a fraction as well educated as a typical 19th century child, for every bit of this content has gone unrecognized by me until now.

[werepuppy]

I had no idea that today was Alice in Wonderland day.

Let's all dance the tea pot!

[Elfy]

It wasn’t just a satire, it also contained a number of mathematical puzzles, as that was another of Dodgson’s interests (he was a mathematical lecturer at Christ Church for many years).i love the books, and I think Jabberwocky is in of the great achievements in English literature, being an epic poem completely composed of nonsensical words.

[neon_jellyfish]

Thanks guys!

Now I shall need to find a thoroughly annotated version of the stories that details and ex-plains all of the above elements. Even that, though, would be insufficient to overcome my newly realized colossal well of ignorance, as obviously I'm not even a fraction as well educated as a typical 19th century child, for every bit of this content has gone unrecognized by me until now.

You see, I believe all this witty frosting isn't there for children, but for adults. I've noticed this with most of my favorite children's books, there's always an extra layer or two that offer some sort os social commentary, usually in humorous tone, that I didn't notice as a kid, but enjoy it now. They might be like easter eggs for parents who read these books to their kids. And even then, I don't think your average 19th century British adult was able to see through all that (or was fluent in French and Latin). I don't think you can really judge era's 'average' or 'typical' by the best that we have from that era, and that even nowadays stands out as excellent and exceptional. Well, you can, but then you'll make yourself feel stupid and uneducated, eventhough you aren't.


Day 187

Oddlidays!



Today is Stripey Socks Day in Oddwickshire, and it's a small one, but it's fun nevertheless, and you can easily celebrate it in our world, too. Everyone is wearing stripey socks (or stockings or pantyhose) on this day. There's quite a lot of stripey-socks die-hard fans, who will wear stripey socks in more ways than one. Aside from putting a pair on their feet, they make entire outfits out of stripey socks, wear them around their necks like scarfs or necklaces, ladies incorporate them into elaborate baroque-like hairstyles, and even match their make-up to their stripey treasures... There's also a purist faction of the fandom, they believe the best way to celebrate stripey socks is simply wearing them on your legs, dressed in black, so that the stripes have space to really shine. For some people, the one true way is to wear stripey socks that they knitted themselves.

A lot of households and even businesses hang whatever stripey socks they can find in their windows, so stripey socks are pretty much everywhere.

There are all sorts of color combinations to be seen, but the classic black&wite stripes are still the most popular by a large margin.

Fashion salons fill their shop windows with stripey socks laid out in fantasque arrangements and offer new collections and sales.

In addition to socks, there are a lot of other stripey things for you to enjoy. A lot of stripey candy, because candy makers and patisseries also wanted to join in on the fun. And profits. Stripey gloves of all kinds are getting popular lately, especially sets with matching socks. Arm- and legwarmers are also rather hip. And, of course, toys.

Most bars and pubs will hold stripes-themed dance parties, the ones at Grey Lady's in Oddwick's Graveyard district are especially extraordinary, they're pretty much indispensable part of Stripey Socks Day tradition at this point.

Have a stripespiffing, socksquisite day!

---

I didn't post June event due to migraines. It's basically something like Carnevale di Venezia, but it's held on summer solstice.

[werepuppy]

Woo, stripey sock day!

Oddwickshire has the best holidays!

[dargosmydaddy]

Hee! The shoes on the far right blend into the background so well that it looks like her legs just end in white bows. Which is rather stylishly creepy! Who needs feet?

[davidd]

This seems like a holiday... Oddliday... that could easily transfer over to the normal human world. Indeed, it should transfer over to the normal human world.

Record this date! It happened here at Dolly Market first!

I concur in wishing everyone a Stripespiffing, Socksquisite Day!

(Of course, the date conflicts with International Bikini Day; might be a challenge to compete with that! Altho' I suspect more people could effectively pull off the stripey socks look.)

[Alliecat]

Ha! Another holiday that makes Oddwickshire sound like a cool and fun place.  Now you have me wondering about the origin of this holiday; was it all totally whimsical or does it date back to the distant past and some great battle in which the warriors wore stripes, and over time the commemoration has become more offbeat than serious…?
(It’s bikini day?? Well poop… It’s only 13° today.   )

[Elfy]

What a wonderful Oddliday! If I’d known I would have worn a pair of stripey socks.

[Lejays17]

And you hav3 enough stripes socks to do an entire week of celebration!

That’s such a fun Thing to Celebrate, it can easily transfer to our world.

[neon_jellyfish]

Thanks guys! I'm glad you like it. I like to make some of Oddlidays so that they can be celebrated in this world, too.


Day 188



















Welcome, Lizzie.

---

My Azone Rukin is still stuck in the mail, and tracking hasn't updated since May 13, I'm afraid he might be lost...

[werepuppy]

Ahh, so awesome to see you have a Lizzie among your collection now! I hope she gets on well with Her Insane Majest, who does seem to be kindly imparting a good few words of wisdom

Can you contact the sellers and check with them?

[Alliecat]

Haha! Yes, the difference is clear. Congrats to you Her Insane Majesty on the new protege.

[davidd]

Impressive echo! And the other poor girls, collapsing in fright!

Now there are two chop-happy royals! I pity the poor subjects!