Bald Barbie

Bald Barbie, DO YOU THINK BARBIE SHOULD GO BALD?
Local residents answer via Facebook:
• “Sure! And maybe gain a few pounds not all in her breasts and behind.” — Maggie Skinner, Lafayette
• “Yes, she has represented many facets of society, why not cancer survivors and fighters? I think it would be great if Mattel would donate a portion of her purchase to cancer research. I can’t wait to see Barbie bald! I would consider purchasing her, in honor and memory of my family and friends who have fought the cancer battle.” — Michele White, West Lafayette
• “Seriously? I remember growing up, my sisters’ Barbie dolls were all in various stages of hair loss. Kids are quite capable of achieving this look (if they want) for their toys all by themselves.” — Gary Hall, Lafayette
• “Barbie is and has been an idol for girls. Only fitting they should be shown it’s beautiful to be what you are!” — Rachel Cripps, Lafayette
• “Some of us when we were little cut her hair off anyways. I think it’s a great idea. It will bring cancer knowledge to more people who don’t think about it every day unlike cancer patients do.” — Brenda Piatt, Rensselaer
• “Sure. It can help young girls to identify with something closer to what they look like and know that it is OK to be bald.” John Graves, Lafayette
• “Of course. Unfortunately, there are too many young girls suffering from cancer. They should be able to see the iconic Barbie look like them. I guess though it could be too close to home and make little girls not like it. They want to see what they should and will look like with hair. However, I think that should be the parent or child’s choice. So go for it!” — Jayna Best-Schenk, Lafayette

Seeing Aubrey Deno now, one would never suspect that she was diagnosed with leukemia in the summer of 2010. In remission from the cancer, the tiny tot is as rambunctious as they come, walking, running and climbing furniture even to the dismay of her parents.

“We are constantly laughing with her,” said her mother, Lacey Deno of Lafayette. “She’s definitely made up for lost time.”

At 2 years old, Aubrey is a fighter. She has received multiple rounds of chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant. Though the first round of chemotherapy didn’t affect her, the second round did. She became sick, lacked energy and slept continuously. She even lost her hair.

So it’s no surprise that her parents, Dustin and Lacey Deno, are in support of the Facebook campaign urging toy-maker Mattel to create a bald Barbie. Rebecca Sypin of California and friend Jane Bingham of New Jersey started the campaign in late December to help inspire those who have lost their hair to cancer treatment, alopecia or other illnesses. Sypin is the mother of a 12-year-old daughter who is battling leukemia and Bingham has lymphoma, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Mattel issued a response to the campaign: “We are honored that Jane Bingham and Beckie Sypin believe that Barbie could be the face of such an important cause. Mattel appreciates and respects the passion that has been built up for the request for a bald Barbie doll. We are constantly exploring new and different dolls to be added to our line; and as you might imagine, we receive hundreds of passionate requests for various dolls to be added to our collection.”

Whether the toy giant will create a Beautiful and Bald Barbie at the request of more than 100,000 fans who “like” the page remains to be seen.

Richard Feinberg, consumer psychologist at Purdue University, said creating a bald Barbie would be a positive move for Mattel.

“Companies are looking for a way to tie into prominent social campaigns or themes,” Feinberg said. “It doesn’t hurt Mattel’s image in any way.”

Seeing Aubrey Deno now, one would never suspect that she was diagnosed with leukemia in the summer of 2010. In remission from the cancer, the tiny tot is as rambunctious as they come, walking, running and climbing furniture even to the dismay of her parents.

“We are constantly laughing with her,” said her mother, Lacey Deno of Lafayette. “She’s definitely made up for lost time.”

At 2 years old, Aubrey is a fighter. She has received multiple rounds of chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant. Though the first round of chemotherapy didn’t affect her, the second round did. She became sick, lacked energy and slept continuously. She even lost her hair.

So it’s no surprise that her parents, Dustin and Lacey Deno, are in support of the Facebook campaign urging toy-maker Mattel to create a bald Barbie. Rebecca Sypin of California and friend Jane Bingham of New Jersey started the campaign in late December to help inspire those who have lost their hair to cancer treatment, alopecia or other illnesses. Sypin is the mother of a 12-year-old daughter who is battling leukemia and Bingham has lymphoma, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Mattel issued a response to the campaign: “We are honored that Jane Bingham and Beckie Sypin believe that Barbie could be the face of such an important cause. Mattel appreciates and respects the passion that has been built up for the request for a bald Barbie doll. We are constantly exploring new and different dolls to be added to our line; and as you might imagine, we receive hundreds of passionate requests for various dolls to be added to our collection.”

Whether the toy giant will create a Beautiful and Bald Barbie at the request of more than 100,000 fans who “like” the page remains to be seen.

Richard Feinberg, consumer psychologist at Purdue University, said creating a bald Barbie would be a positive move for Mattel.

“Companies are looking for a way to tie into prominent social campaigns or themes,” Feinberg said. “It doesn’t hurt Mattel’s image in any way.”

Iran Barbie Dolls

Iran Barbie Dolls, Police have closed down dozens of toy shops for selling Barbie dolls in Iran, part of a decades-long crackdown against “manifestations of Western culture,” the semiofficial Mehr news agency reported Friday. A shopkeeper displays Barbie dolls at his shop in Tehran in 2008.

Barbie dolls are sold wearing swimsuits and miniskirts in a society where women must wear headscarves in public, and men and women are not allowed to swim together. A ban on the sale of the Barbies, designed to look like young Western women, was imposed in the mid-1990s. In its latest report, Mehr quoted an unidentified police official as saying authorities confiscated the dolls from Tehran stores in a “new phase” of the campaign.

In 1996, a government-backed children’s agency called Barbie a “Trojan horse,” sneaking in Western influences such as makeup and revealing clothes.

Authorities started confiscating the dolls from stores in 2002, denouncing what they called the toys’ un-Islamic characteristics. The campaign was eventually dropped.

Iran that year also introduced its own dolls – twins Dara and Sara, designed to promote traditional values with modest clothing and pro-family values – but those proved unable to stem the Barbie tide.

Despite bans on many Western books, movies, satellite TV channels, music, haircuts and fashion, young people maintain their interest in that culture.

Iran’s state TV channels broadcast several Western and Hollywood films every week. Islamists have repeatedly tried to fight what they see as a cultural “invasion” since 1979 Islamic Revolution that ousted a pro-Western monarchy.

Since then, importing Western toys has been discouraged by the regime.

In 2008, the Iranian judiciary warned against the “destructive” cultural and social consequences and “danger” of importing Barbie dolls and other Western toys. Even so, Iranian markets have been full of them. One-third of Iran’s population of 75 million is under 15.

Chinese Net, Fishing, Kerala, India

Chinese Net, Fishing, Kerala, India, The Chinese fishing nets (Cheena vala) are fixed land installations for an unusual form of fishing – shore operated lift nets. They are mostly found in the Indian state of Kerala. Huge mechanical contrivances hold out horizontal nets of 20 m or more across. Each structure is at least 10 m high and comprises a cantilever with an outstretched net suspended over the sea and large stones suspended from ropes as counterweights at the other end. Each installation is operated by a team of up to six fishermen.

The system is sufficiently balanced that the weight of a man walking along the main beam is sufficient to cause the net to descend into the sea. The net is left for a short time, possibly just a few minutes, before it is raised by pulling on ropes. The catch is usually modest: a few fish and crustaceans – these may be sold to passers by within minutes.

Rocks, each 30 cm or so in diameter are suspended from ropes of different lengths. As the net is raised, some of the rocks one-by-one come to rest on a platform thereby keeping everything in balance.

Each installation has a limited operating depth. Consequently, an individual net cannot be continually operated in tidal waters. Different installations will be operated depending on the state of the tide.

The nets may have been introduced by the Chinese explorer Zheng He.

The Chinese fishing nets have become a very popular tourist attraction, their size and elegant construction is photogenic and the slow rhythm of their operation is quite hypnotic. In addition, catches can be purchased individually and need be taken only a short distance to a street entrepreneur who will cook it.