I’m adding my share of twee to the universe. I like dark and edgy as much as anyone, but give me good doses of sweet and quaint too. Please.

I’ve been posting photos of Din and Bun with bits of conversation. It’s fun and takes a bit of stress out of the day. These two characters are different from my usual action figures, which, by the way, made the local paper. See here.

Do you collect anything? I’ve never collected anything to make money. For me, a collection isn’t an investment. It’s a toy. It’s for fun. I’m hard on my action figures. I cut them out of their boxes and throw the boxes away. I carry them around in my purse. I dunk them in coffee or pose them in dirt.

In any event, I’m seem addicted to giving inanimate objects life. At least there’s something I have control of in my life.

Some people do ask why. Why play with action figures? Why take their picture? Why post those pictures online? Why any of it? Some people saw the Austin Chronicle article (see link above) and were mystified. They’d never heard of anyone doing such a thing. (Though it is hardly unique. You can find plenty of people doing the same thing–and go watch Marwencol. Go watch it now! It’s terrific.)

It’s hard to answer the why question. I can say, “Why not?” Or I can ask why people are so flummoxed. I’m not sure why certain types of silliness are more accepted than others. Silliness around football is usually seen as okay. Other types less so. Although as things like ComicCon and the like grow, this is changing somewhat. (Should I thank Big Bang Theory? Star Wars?)

But even so, certain types of people are expected to participate, right? Single men, for example, are often seen as the demographic for action figures. Middle-aged, married women are not. But then again, being unexpected often adds another layer of fun to just about anything.

Anyway, why? Why do we ask? Why do we want reasons and explanations? Actually, I love asking why. I can tell a lot about the way a person asks. Can’t you? There is either the excited-I’m-curious-about-the-world why or the I-need-a-justification-for-everything-I-don’t-do why. Some “whys” connect and other “whys” judge.

In any case, I don’t know why I find joy in taking action figures out and about and photographing…other than it’s fun.

*

My novel is available as an e-book on Amazon. Thanks for reading.