So This Is Christmas….

No, I'm not a big fan of that old John Lennon song but I borrowed the title anyway!

I'm reposting a couple of photos I loaded to Instagram the other day and it's basically just Santa Joe from this month's photo blog entry in some "action" poses.

I hope all of my readers will have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. For those of you who pray, I hope you'll add your voice to those asking for relief and solace to the people who've lost property and loved ones, and those who've suffered injury in yesterday's (Dec. 23, 2015) horrific storms in Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi. This seems to have become a yearly event now, as exactly one year earlier (Dec. 23, 2014), a devestating tornado tore through several counties in southern MS, killing five people. (The Dec. 2015 storms were in the northern part of MS.)

Take care all!

What Next?

WARNING: Oh no, it's a think piece!

With 2015 staggering to a close, the question for me is...What Next? I tentatively plan to continue the monthly photoblog feature at least through the first quarter of 2016, mostly because I have a sufficient backlog of of subjects to post. However, let's face it; most of you are probably bored shiftless with it at this point. I enjoy photographing and posting them but I realize that it isn't very interesting or dynamic.

I've been dabbling in a sort of alternate mid-20th century scenario where most of the countries from WW II are played by thinly veiled versions of themselves, in the grand manga-anime tradition of countries like Gallia, Helvetia or all the countries in that series with the flying girls/mecha/furry/panty shot/gun porn fetish stuff. (Strike Witches?) Some major differences are that this is no "Nazi Alien Superweapons Win WW2" and that most of the technology is at least plausible for the era. In fact, the biggest change from the real world is that the Nazis never come to power as such. Yep, no Hitler, no Nazi party, no flying cyborg SS truppen with laser rifles and hover tanks (Fliegpanzer?) taking over the world.

However, nature and power abhor a vacuum, so you can expect somebody to step in and fill the space.

I'm thinking this guy may have a new mission----

But heck if I know! To be honest, after this past year, I'm not so sure I could pursue such a story line with much enthusiasm or give it the time it deserves. Trudging outdoors to take photos of little plastic people and posting them on a blog once a month doesn't require a huge amount of creative effort BUT that lack of creative effort can become apparent at times. And let's face it; real life, adult world problems and issues always crop up and complicate things. I won't bore you with the details but the last four months have been well, interesting.

Anyway, yeah…. It does make it a bit less of a priority to think about toys or making up fictional (or semi-fictional) worlds for them to inhabit. This does make me wonder though; am I just over it? Am I just too old and too invested in day-to-day real life to make this sort of creative "make believe" aspect of the hobby appealing to me anymore?

Here Comes Santa Cl…. Uh, JOE!?!?

Rounding out my year of torturing you, my dear readers, with boring shots of dolls and action figures (yeah, which are also dolls) here's Santa Claus… er, um, JOE!

Santa in this case is actually a Cotswold Elite Brigade "Jake" with white flocked hair and beard, wearing a Cotswold Santa outfit. LINK Cotswold Collectibles is a company based in the Seattle WA area that has produced a range of vintage GI Joe-style figures for the last 20 years or so. They also produce outfit and uniform sets and accessories that work with most vintage-style Joe bodies. Hopefully, I'll be able to showcase some more of these figures in 2016, although I haven't really decided what to do with this blog in the coming year.

Meanwhile, I hope you'll enjoy this month's Photoblog Thing and if I don't post again before the first of the year, Merry Christmas!

 Sorry, I just noticed that Santa Joe is giving the dreaded "chicken choker" hand sign in these shots.

 I think this guy will make a great Adventure Team commander after his Santa gig is over.

 This outfit comes with a vest that has belly padding for the proper Santa physique!

 The shot from behind. Not much to see here except the exhaust fan on my A/C unit! Wish I could've found him a sack full of gifts in time for this photo session.

 Last shot…. Yep, it's Santa!

A preview of my next entry; a "Fauxviet" paratrooper in fictional "Red Dawn" camo.

Slight delay

Just a quick notice to let you all know that the blog isn't dead but December's entry is a bit delayed. The items I need for the photo shoot have been ordered and should be arriving some time during the first week of the month. After that, it's a matter of getting outside to do the photo shoot. Given my home state's often wacky late Fall/ early Winter weather, this may present a bit of a challenge but I aim to persevere!