FC2004 Newsletter - May 2003

In this issue:

* 2nd guest of honor announced
* Hotel reservations now available
* Media policy available on the website
* Staff wanted!FURTHER CONFUSION 2004 JANUARY 22-26, 2004
MAY NEWSLETTER

The tiger slowly opened his eyes to the sight of sunlight streaming in
through the small opening in the tent. "Oh, grr, what time is it," he
thought to himself, as he slowly peeked hit head out of the opening.
The sun was high in the sky and the cool of the night was fully burned
off, revealing a beautiful landscape, with another similar tent just East
of the tiger's own. The two tents were situated on a small plain
overlooking a large valley, and the general impression of the view was
that if they weren't on the top of the world, they could probably see it
from where they were. The tiger looked towards the view a moment, which
woke him up somewhat, but clearly not enough.

"Mrrgmrbl. Fox. Grmmmbl. up!" he called out, incomprehensibly.

From the other tent' a fox's head appeared. "Was that supposed to mean
something in particular, or are you just mumbling to hear your
own voice?"

Shaking his head, the tiger tried again. "I said, get your tails out of
bed, fox, before I come in there and drag you out by all five of your
tails."

The fox shook his head, stepping out of his tent, holding his pack. "I'm
all packed now. Just got to strike the tent, and we'll be ready to get on
our way. I doubt I can say the same for you."

"Fine," the tiger said, throwing things into his pack, "you should
have woken me."

"Sorry, my feline friend. I happen to be rather attached to my limbs, and
waking a sleeping tiger just doesn't seem like a particularly good way to
keep them."

The tiger grinned, showing perhaps a few too many teeth. "We've only got
eight months to get to San Jose.... Don't even think about starting to
sing THAT song again either; I do know the way! Oversleeping or not, I am
not going to make us late!"

The fox nodded, kicking a stake out of the ground, dropping his tent in a
heap. "So, let's go..."

--------------

Well, out here in the Bay area, the summer heat has come upon us, and with
the summer comes the start of the work to make Further Confusion 2004
happen. To those of you who made it over here for BayCon last weekend, it
was good seeing you there. For us, it was good being back in the
DoubleTree, even if it was just as attendees this time around. We'll be
back there in January, though, this time making things happen ourselves.
We certainly look forward to getting back for Further Confusion 2004.

Michael "Aetobatus" Sawyer
FC2004 Chaircritter

Jeremy "Frysco" Doran
FC2004 ViceChaircritter

SECOND GUEST OF HONOR ANNOUNCED

Along with Larry Niven, Heather Alexander will be joining us as a Guest of
Honor at Further Confusion 2004. She is a Celtic singer/songwriter,
popular on the Ren Faire circuit, who has no shortage of works which
appeal to the anthropomorphic community. She has long been popular with
the local furs, and even made reference to "some fae folk wearing fur" in
her latest album. Whether that is really a reference to fursuiters, we
don't know. I guess to find that answer out, you will just have to ask
her in person.

More information about Heather Alexander can be found at
www.heatherlands.com. More information about Larry Niven can be found at
www.larryniven.org.

HOTEL RESERVATIONS NOW AVAILABLE

Thanks to the wonderful people at the DoubleTree, hotel reservations are
now available to our attendees. This year, you can make your reservations
in a couple of different ways. If you are reserving a room using a credit
card (they won't bill it until you check in), we now offer online hotel
reservations directly through the DoubleTree. To use this new service, go
to our web page (http://www.furtherconfusion.org/) and follow the link for
online hotel reservations. This is almost certainly the easiest way to
make your reservations. We encourage people to give it a try, and to let
us know what you think of the system.

If you prefer the "old fashioned" way, we now have an in-house reservation
phone number which should reduce the problems we have had in the past with
the reservation system. Call the hotel at (408)453-4000, choose option 1
for reservations, and ask for the "Further Confusion" rate. Regular rooms
are $99/night for one to four occupants.

We will again be providing for party floor rooms, suites, and costume
floor rooms. If you want any of these, make a regular reservation, as
noted above, and contact hotel@furtherconfusion.org with your request,
including the name the reservation is under and the confirmation number.
Suites will cost $225/night, but there is no cost difference for party
floor or costume floor rooms from the regular rate of $99/night.

FURTHER CONFUSION MEDIA POLICY

We have posted our media policy on the Further Confusion WWW page at
http://www.furtherconfusion.org/. We have always strictly enforced this
policy, and intend to continue doing so.

STAFF WANTED!!!

At this point in the year, the biggest thing we're looking for is staff.
If you are interested in helping one of the best cons around actually
happen, drop a line to info@furtherconfusion.org, or, if you are in the
Bay Area, stop by our next staff meeting. These meetings are open to the
public, so feel free to stop by even if you just want to see how things
work at the con. We'll happily recruit you or sell you a membership at
the meetings, as well.

If you are not in the Bay Area, don't think this means you can't be on the
staff. We have many staff members that we don't see until the con
actually starts up.

Staff meetings are held at noon at the DoubleTree on June 14, July 12,
August 16, September 20, October 18, November 15, December 13, January 10,
and January 17.

We are looking to fill several positions in the Events department. They
require that you be able to find enough panelists to fill about fifteen
panels on a track's topic during the convention. If you're interested in
any of these positions, contact us at events@furtherconfusion.org.

Animation Track Lead
Do you really like animation? Do you make it yourself? We're looking
to build a new track dedicated to animation: what makes good
animation, and how to make it. If you can gather people who make good
animations, contact us!

Science Track Lead
Whether they're called xenomorphs, chimeras, or furries, they're real
and they're here. We're looking for someone who can find and organize
biologists, computer scientists, and other science people. Whether
it's on-line role-playing, animal behavior, or genetics, if you can
gather them, let us know!

Social Track Lead
Is throwing parties more your style? Do you like finding top deejays,
creating good events for charity, and -- in short -- letting people
have a good time? If this describes you, write us.

Spirituality Track Lead
Is spiritual therianthropy your strength? Do you love religions?
Whether it's Saint Francis of Assisi or women who run with the wolves,
we're looking for someone who can help organize our spiritual track.
Let us know if you want to help!

Writing Track
Do you like creating and populating worlds? Do you love conflict and
resolution, deep characters, and intriguing settings? Would you like
to help build a track devoted to these things? We're looking for
someone to build a writing track for our convention. If you know
writers, let us know!

We're also looking for a number of good people to fill positions in the
Business division. We are looking for someone to lead our advertising
position, which is mainly composed of making up and distributing flyers to
cons and other such venues before the start of our convention. Our
registration lead has moved up to fill the Assistant Business Director
position, so we're looking for a new lead of registration. We have a
wonderful registration system set up, and our IT department keeps improving
the software, which should make this position a breeze. The con store and
at-con newsletter positions both need filling, as well. Finally, general
staff in registration, dealers' room, con store, and the art show are all
needed.

--
Further Confusion
info@furtherconfusion.org
http://www.furtherconfusion.org/