Welcome to my nightmare, folks. 

In 1982 yours truly took her one and only programming class, a class in Pascal, at Kalamazoo College.  A recurring nightmare (or should I say a recursive nightmare) at that time was that I would make some completely bone-headed art history major mistake with my punch cards and cause the computer to go into an infinite loop,  and the printer would begin spitting out that green and white striped paper forever. Standing to the side, the far smarter actual programming students would stand and laugh maniacally at my situation….

Fast forward to 1994, young(ish) mother of a toddler, in the throes of project managing one of the early interactive galleries at an U.S. art museum finds herself watching a children’s video horrified at a group of brightly dressed characters who recapture that nightmare singing:

There was an old man named Michael Finnegan
He had whiskers on his chinnegan
They fell out and then grew in again
Poor old Michael Finnegan
Begin again.  (….and then they start the verse all over again.  ohhh…shivers)

Further fast forward to 2007.   Many of you know I have Second Life terrors (http://musematic.net/?p=39)  and (http://musematic.net/?p=138) that have nothing to do with infinite loops but now, NOW, all of my nightmares have converged and here is how it happened.

I spent all last week in Chicago at MCN.   On Friday evening, a friend of mine and I headed off to have a cocktail at the top of Sears Tower (more on that anon), but on the way stopped at the American Girl store so he could pick up gifts for his daughters.  I shall not name him here but oh how I wished for a video of him holding his American Girl tote–but that would conflict with his gun-toting, cowboy-boot wearing image.  I was pleased to go with him because, with a 14 year old son, I’ve never really had a good reason to venture into this bastion of pre-pubescent–but morally correct–girliness (http://www.americangirl.com/stores/)

As they say in California — OH MY GAWD — I’m not even going to try to describe the pandemonium of a million girls between the ages of 3-13, carrying large dolls, and buying, buying, buying…..  So while “Chad” was looking for gifts for his girls I explored the store discovering the cafe, the hospital, and, the hair salon.  Where grown-ups stand at waist high tables and groom dolls.   Overheard during my wanders, “If it’s an American Doll Book it must have a good moral.”  And– the musing of one of three women minus children–”I don’t know where they keep the pet accessories for the American Girl doll pets.” 

I thought my head was going to explode. 

Luckily, we were on our way, as I said above, to Sears Tower.  Unfortunately, I am an idiot and did not remember that there are TWO big towers in Chicago–Sears Tower and Hancock Tower. Sears is the bigger tower, Hancock has the better location on the Magnificent Mile.  Sorry Chad.

Three cocktails later my head felt less likely to explode.  

But…here it is…less than a week later..and my nightmare has returned full force.  On the way to school this morning I was telling my son about the store and he turns to me and says, “What if there was an American Girl store in Second Life?  And what if your American Girl doll in Second Life had an avatar in Second Life?  And what if your American Girl doll avatar in Second Life made a Facebook account? And what if…..”

Poor old Michael Finnegan
Begin again.

Arrghhh!!!!!!  Can ‘t you just hear those programming students laughing?

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