Ice halos and a new, slightly different Barbie

As y'all may have remembered (or forgotten), I like to take pictures of the sky.  Today was sunny with high ice clouds, perfect for ice halos, and ice halos are exactly what I got.  They're not the best pictures I've taken, but they'll definitely do.  And beware:  I'm about to use some big words.

This first image is one of my favorite photography subjects, a circumzenithal arc, or CZA.  CZAs form at the very top of the sky (the zenith) and they look like inverted rainbows.  Some folks like to call these the Smile of God.  Once in a blue moon the circumzenithal arc loops all the way around the zenith and becomes a Kern arc, but this is VERY rare.  Only one photo exists of a Kern arc so far, but that doesn't stop me from looking closely at every CZA I see!

Next picture!

This second picture is a little hard to explain since the halos aren't very well formed (they change as the clouds shift).  The CZA is visible at the top, and the white smile-shaped smudge in the center is...I think it's an upper tangent arc.  Upper tangent arcs are not rare, but they don't seem to last long.  Indeed, I've seen several, but they're always gone before I can get a decent picture.  Oh well, my chance will come!  Besides, the arc that is really special is more visible in the next picture.

It's hard to see, but there's a faint rainbow-colored arc touching the CZA.  Halos around the sun and moon are not uncommon, especially during winter, but usually they're 22-degree halos.  22-degree halos are very common and very beautiful, and in winter they can mean it's about to get colder (Kirsten Larson's papa called a ringed moon a "dog moon" in one of her short stories).  I did see part of a 22-degree halo today, but the one touching the circumzenithal arc is a bigger, rarer halo called a 46-degree halo.  Here's another picture of it.

Look hard, 'cause it's there!  I THINK it's a 46-degree halo, but it may also be a supralateral arc (both are fairly rare).  My vote is for the former since the arc is perfectly curved (supralateral arcs tend to have cusps), but then again the halo is touching the CZA (only supralateral arcs do that).  Either way I've NEVER seen one of these before, and even though my pictures aren't great they satisfy me.  More information on these halos and others can be found at Atmospheric Optics, one of my favorite websites.  No joke, I love that site, both for the pictures and for the description of the atmospheric phenomina in the pictures.  Even if the science behind it all is over your head (it's a bit over mine), the pictures are to die for.

Now that y'all have learned a bunch of useless trivia, let's move on to the new Barbie.  She's another Fashionista, one that I was shocked to see, especially considering that I've only seen one other blogger with her.  The new doll apparently is in the same wave that brought us "Leide" (Fashionista #121, left) and "Vera" (Fashionista #124)

I own both Leide and Vera, hence the pet names.  Some of my other favorite dolls from this wave are these four (one of them is a Ken, LOL).

I apologize for those crummy pictures; all I had were the images on the back of the box.  Anyway, I predict that this wave will be very hard on the ol' pocketbook, since all of those are must-haves (especially the Ken in the Woodstock garb).  By contrast, today's doll is one I would have overlooked had I not first seen her on Debbie Behan Garrett's blog.  She is Fashionista #135...

..and she's got vitiligo!  She's also got a petite body and the Carnaval head, a mold that I've never owned before, but that's beside the point.  Miss Debbie has shown a few other dolls with vitiligo, but she customized most of them herself.  The only mass-produced doll she had besides the Barbie is Ndanaka, from Sibhale Collection.  I love Ndanaka, by the way; her little face reminds me of my Paola Reina Abigail.

Alrighty, y'all might be asking, what is vitiligo?  Vitiligo is a disease that affects the cells in one's skin.  Specifically, it kills the cells that produce melanin, the pigment that makes one's skin dark.  Once those cells are killed off, no more melanin is produced, and subsequently large pale patches develop on the skin.  We all have some melanin in our skin, so we can all get vitiligo, but the darker one's skin is, the more the patches show.  Vitiligo is painless, does not threaten one's life, and is not contageous, but it can make a person feel very self-conscious.  Additionally, we all live in a world full of smart-a$$es who like to pick on one another, and folks with vitiligo often fall victim to bullying.  The already-self-conscious Michael Jackson was so embarrassed by his vitiligo patches that he resorted to bleaching his skin to hide them.  Yep, that's why the King of Pop looked white, even though he was really African-American.  Model Winnie Harlow also reported that her schoolmates treated her terribly, to the point that she considered suicide.  Winnie's beautifully symmetrical patches have made me wonder why Mattel has not made her into a Barbie, as she'd fit the bill perfectly.

Alas, we have no Winnie Harlow Barbie (yet), so I'll satisfy myself with the Barbie I now have in my hands.  Winnie's real name is "Chantelle," so Chantelle shall be my doll's name.  Chantelle does not have as many patches as Winnie or Ndanaka do; her pale spots are restricted to her face and left shoulder...

...and her hands.

Chantelle's markings are molded into her vinyl, by the way.  This isn't just some cheap-o Made-in-China paint job.  Interestingly, Chantelle's arms and hands bend a little more than an average Fashionista's arms and hands would.  Normally there's no give at all in those stiff little arms, but Chantelle can bend just a little bit.  Just thought I'd throw that out there.

Regarding clothes, Chantelle is wearing a dress with bold vertical stripes and spaghetti straps, and that was another reason why I bought her.  Years back, I bought several old seventies-era Best Buy dresses (Best Buy #1354, to be exact), and they too have bold vertical stripes with spaghetti straps.  See?

Even the silhouette of the dress and the cut of the neckline are the same!  Chantelle's dress lacks the sash at the waist, but it still has an adornment there in the form of a...does that purse count as a fanny pack?  Either way I prefer it to the silly little clutch purses that a great many other Fashionistas carry.

I must say that I...well, I like the direction that Mattel is going with this diverse line of Barbies, but at the same time I'm starting to wonder...is she really BARBIE anymore?  The Barbie I know is blonde, blue-eyed, impossibly buxom, and impossibly perfect, while her friends were the ones who fooled around with hair colors and various styles and different abilities.  But then again, dolls like Chantelle and Leide may help some little kid feel more comfortable in her own skin.  I've said in the past that it's supposed to be the job of adults to build up a kid's self esteem, but here lately fewer adults are ADULTING!!!  So if a doll like Chantelle will prevent some little girl from going to the extremes that Michael Jackson went to, then the more power to her.  I personally like Chantelle a lot and I hope that Mattel will make more like her...only maybe with a few more pale patches so that she'll look more like a real person with vitiligo.  Regarding the doll itself, I warn y'all to pay close attention to their eyes; I saw two #135s today, and one of them had some pretty tragic eye wonk.  My Chantelle's eyes aren't perfect either, but it's not as obvious.

And with that, I send y'all warm Christmas and Hanukkah greetings.  May your holiday of choice be merry, bright, and SAFE.  Don't drink and drive, and be careful with candles.

Much love,
RagingMoon1987

Clockwork girls

Behold, winter is just around the corner...and I don't think I need to rehash my opinions on winter!  I love my trippy Christmas tree, though!

LOL, I couldn't resist sharing that!  It's the same little tree as last year, but I always get a kick out of putting it up.  Mama got that for me two years ago and I put it up at the library every year.  The library has a big tree that I could manhandle into position, but everyone seems to like my trippy little tree.

In dolly news I've had reason to get Ana Ming all gussied up in her steampunk garb, something I haven't done in quite some time.

Pardon my filthy box fan; this post was concocted on the spur of the moment, and thanks to the ending of Daylight Savings Time I haven't had any time after work to take outdoor pictures.  Anyway, Ana Ming now has a partner in crime.

That would be the new girl, Silver Bird, in her new clothes from Etsy.  Here's a better look at them both, without that blasted fan in the background.  The moon was full last night so stumbling around in my yard wasn't quite as hazardous.

Silver Bird's outfit was yet another gift from my mother, and it was arguably the cutest steampunk set Etsy had.  Oh sure, they've got other nice things, but Silver Bird's getup is the nicest.  The jacket is prohibitively tight, restricting her arms to either the down position or the slightly out but still down position, like so.  But she still looks cute!  As is fairly typical of the handmade items I receive from Etsy, Silver Bird's getup feels much nicer than Ana Ming's mass-produced set.  Don't get me wrong, I love Ana Ming's set, but (don't tell her this) I think I like Silver Bird's set better.  She's got BLOOMERS, for crying out loud, and they match her dress!

Ana Ming only has her little white skivvies underneath.  Both dolls wear bell-shaped skirts, and aficionados of lolita fashion can explain why bloomers are a must-have under bell-shaped skirts.

During my play sessions with Silver Bird, I've noticed that she has an ever-so-slightly gimpy left leg.  See?

It may look like I positioned her like that just for kicks, but in truth it's the only way I can get her to stand on her own.  It's not just in these boots, either; I first noticed this quirk when she was in her black flats.  I've never had an American Girl doll with a hiccup quite like that; my old Samantha doll is pigeon-toed, but she can still stand if I center her feet properly.  Silver Bird usually has to have her left leg off to the side a little before she'll stand.

No more posts from me until after Christmas, y'all!  I've got a post that's going to be very heavy on pictures, and it won't be ready until right around Boxing Day, so...hey, I just realized that Christmas is going to fall during Hanukkah this year!  It isn't every year that Christmas and Hanukkah coincide!  So if any of y'all celebrate either of those holidays, I wish y'all a happy and blessed one. 

Yours,
RagingMoon1987