May 2024
Newsbytes archive for April 2024
Posted by Anon on Wed 1 May 2024 - 01:32Contributors this month include 2cross2affliction, dronon, earthfurst, GreenReaper, and Rakuen Growlithe.
'Fur & Loathing' podcast covers MFF 2014 chlorine incident
Posted by GreenReaper on Wed 8 May 2024 - 06:00
A new to-be-six-part podcast has adopted the name of an infamous CSI episode to cover the release of chlorine at Midwest FurFest 2014.
According to Variety, the series - by "ultimate destination for fearless journalism, immersive podcasting, and on the ground documentaries" Brazen - is hosted by Nicky Woolf, aided by Patch O'Furr.
Per studio co-founder Bradley Hope, "at first it’s like 'Who would want to hurt the furries?', but it turns out [there’s] darkness in [their world]".
Initial reviews were…not entirely positive, Camstone Fox citing "horrible, overly dramatic reporting" for
The series is on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and Overcast.
Weather warning for Afton, Oklahoma and nearby regions
Posted by Fexe Wolf on Wed 8 May 2024 - 14:55
Afton, Oklahoma is currently under tornado watch, so please be safe out there.
Miami, Oklahoma is currently being hit and is getting hit hard.
'Furry Planet' Kindle edition on sale for 99¢ on May 11
Posted by GreenReaper on Sat 11 May 2024 - 04:59
Kindle editions of 2023 Ursa Major Award runner-up Furry Planet are on sale, this Saturday only, for 99¢ or the same in Canada - alas, no deal in the UK or EU.
Want a hardback? That's available too, for $23.99 (or £16.50 / €24.95 / CA$31.99). Released last August,
Furry Planet reveals how anthropomorphism—the desire to imagine non-human animals on an equal footing with the human world—is an instinct hard-wired into our minds since the dawn of civilization. It expresses itself in indigenous traditions and among local cultures who adopt animal identities […] especially in the furry community whose members feel the same visceral connection with the non-human animal world as did their ancient counterparts.
The book is the successor to the 2017 UMA-winning Furry Nation (review), both by Joe Strike. An audiobook version read by Kevin T. Collins is available for $2.66.
Furry Weekend Atlanta has record-shattering year-to-year growth for 2024
Posted by Sonious on Thu 16 May 2024 - 20:28
Furry Weekend Atlanta continues its monstrous growth, smashing its prior record with a total of 15,021 attendees and raising $100,000 for their charity of Lost-n-Found Youth. This has solidified its position in the top three, and for the time being surpasses Anthrocon – that had a 2023 attendance of 13,641 – making FWA, for the next few months, the world's second-largest in-person furry convention.
The increase this year from last was 4,693 attendees. For perspective, the total attendance of Anthro New England this year was 4,482. So staff at the Atlanta convention this year had to take care of the total they handled in 2023, plus an Anthro New England-sized convention at the same time in 2024. The gathering has never desired further volunteers more.
It was also my first year in attendance, so I wanted to go over my experiences, the challenges, and the strengths of the convention.
Movie review: 'Robot Dreams' (2023)
Posted by dronon on Tue 21 May 2024 - 07:39
Robot Dreams (trailer) is a 102-minute animated film released in December 2023, made by Arcadia, Lokiz and other studios. Based on a 2007 graphic novel (Amazon US - UK - Spanish edition) by Sara Varon, this Spanish-French production was written and directed by Pablo Berger, who had never worked in animation before, so he collaborated closely with art director José Luis Ágreda and storyboard artist Maca Gil for a year and a half to plan the project. It worked out really well!
Two neat things: it's a 2D film in an overbearingly 3D market, and there's no dialog. It takes place in a slightly alternative version of New York City in 1984, a funny-animal one. The main character, "Dog", lives in a Manhattan apartment. He's extremely lonely. One day he sees a TV ad for robot friends, so he orders one; after putting it together - he's not lonely anymore! Aside from this modern leap in artificial intelligence and robotics, the film is as early-80s as it gets: boomboxes, cassettes, VCRs, and Walkmen.