Lego Genie Minifigure Series 6

Here is Lego's Genie from their Minifigure Series 6 (2012).

And a little about him from their website - http://www.lego.com/en-us/minifigures/characters/genie-d69d645d10b64e00bb35e948372af608

"“I’ll grant your wish…your wish for bricks!”

Rub the magic lamp and this friendly Genie will pop out to grant your wishes*…as long as they have to do with LEGO® bricks! Want a big enough pile of pieces to build a perfect full-scale model of the Great Wall of China? No problem! Looking for that long-lost LEGO Castle set you left in the playground when you were 5 and never saw again? Your wish is his command!

There’s only one limitation on the Genie’s incredible magical powers: he doesn’t do instruction booklets. He’ll give you all the bricks you could possibly want, but it’s up to you to figure out what to do with them. Ask him why, and he’ll just tell you that building steps are another genie’s department!
(*wish-granting requires use of imagination)"

1001 Nachts the ride, and Amy Wolfe the bride

The "1001 Nachts" is a common "county-fair" type of ride, which, according to its wikipedia site (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Baba_%28ride%29) is also called "Ali Baba," "1001 Nights," "Rainbow," and "Alladin."

Someone is actually married to the ride. Amy Wolfe, a church organist from Pennsylvania, garnered International attention for her obsession with the ride, going so far as to marry it and change her last name to Weber (after the ride's manufacturer). Her condition (that she has been diagnosed with as a medical condition), called objectum sexual (OS), is somehow also linked to her Asperger's Syndrome.

Though it's a serious illness that impairs "normal" functioning it's also a bit revealing about what makes people "normal" in the first place as well. As far as I can tell most all relationships, human/human and human/inanimate are imbued with several levels of fantasy and imagination on many different levels, many to a "religious" or even "obsessional" level.

Her blog post(includes lots of great pictures):

http://mockingwords.blogspot.com/2009/08/rollercoaster-relationship.html

Article from the Telegraph UK:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/5972632/Woman-getting-married-to-fairground-ride.html

Article from Starcasm: http://starcasm.net/archives/10223

and a video of her talking about the song for the ride:



and a mini-documentary about her (a section from the film Strange Love: Married To The Eiffel Tower):





here is a video of the ride in action at night:



and during the day (you can see more of the background in this video):



another decent night video:



from cummons scale amusement comes their HO scale version:

(http://webpages.charter.net/csai/models/1001.html)

Vintage Barbie Arabian Nights

These were some dolls made by Barbie in the mid-1960s as part of their Little Theater Series.

Vintage Barbie Arabian Nights #874 (1964-1965) Pink Satin Top
Long Skirt
Pink Chiffon Sari
Gold Slippers
Turquoise Bracelets (2)
Gold Bracelet
Gold & Turquoise Bead Necklace
Gold Filigree Drop Earrings
Gold Plastic Lamp
Theatre Program

Vintage Ken Arabian Knights #774 (1964-1965)

* Red velour coat with gold braided trim and tie belt
* Gold lame pants
* Matching turban with "emerald" surrounded by pearls
* Red velour slippers with gold braid trim
* Theater program

Here, also is the updated version of the Nights theme ala Ken and Barbie:

From the product description: "Barbie and Ken re-create the legend of how Scheherazade saved her own life by captivating the sultan with a story for 1,001 successive nights. Barbie, as Scheherazade, is absolutely ravishing in a spectacularly patterned skirt, with a matching top embellished with golden highlights. She wears pink and blue veils in her hair that spiral gracefully around her, adding an air of mystery. Ken, as the sultan, is Barbie's dashing companion. He wears a pink tunic with golden trim over billowy golden pants. A blue-and-purple sash ties at his waist and serves as a place to rest his trusty sword. His colorful turban shines with a faux ruby and is topped with a golden plume."






Here is an article on the dolls from the now defunct magazine Barbie Bazaar - click fullscreen to see it clearer:

Barbie 1001 Nights

Aladdin Magic Outfit

This is an old magic trick toy from 1919 passed on by JC recently featured in an online auction here:

http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/6286599

from the auction:

Petrie & Lewis Mfg. Co., New Haven, ca. 1919. Magic set with elaborately lithographed cover, containing six tricks (four made of wood, including a Marble Vase and Grandmother's Necklace). Box measures 11 x 7 ½ x ½". Worn as expected and base of marble vase chipped, otherwise good condition. Jay Marshall worked for P&L assembling magic sets in the company's factory during the Christmas season, as well as demonstrating the effects over the counter at Abercrombie & Fitch in New York City.