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Would it smell like wet dog everywhere when it starts to rain?

submitted by ZoruaboyRich
[link] [35 comments]

submitted by SyncR3d
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submitted by Ralanost
[link] [26 comments]

The first FWG anthology, Tales From the Guild, Music to Your Ears, is now available from Rabbit Valley!

There are few things in this world that can invoke the range of emotions that music can. It can bring its listeners close together; it can drive its listeners apart. It is a core mechanic in what makes us human, but what about in those that aren’t quite human? Tales From the Guild, Music to Your Ears features a collection of stories from veteran and newcomer authors alike that span several universes but show that no intelligent creature is immune to the power of music.

Featuring stories by Furry Writers’ Guild members:

• M.H. Payne
• Mary E. Lowd
• Huskyteer
• Sean Rivercritic
• Mark Neeley

And soon-to-be members:

• Mars
• Nathanael Gass
• Jess E. Owen

Cover by Ifus

Contents:

• Echoes From the Consort Box – Mark Neeley
• Deep Down Among the Dagger Dancers – M.H. Payne
• Sugar Pill – Mars
• Nocturne – Nathanael Gass
• Night of a Thousand Songs – by Jess E Owen
• Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out – Huskyteer
• Shreddy and the Silver Egg – Mary E Lowd
• Melody of a Street Corner – Sean Rivercritic

Available from Rabbit Valley.

 

submitted by rotdog
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submitted by howelllawson
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If anyone wants to get a hold of me, inbox me and I'll link you to my f-list!

submitted by NoNeedForEvolution
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submitted by howelllawson
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submitted by fenrirdarkwolf
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Dear Papabear,

I've been feeling a little disenfranchised with the Furry Community of late. 

I have long defended it, stating that the stereotypes aren't the majority. But recently I summoned up some guts to go to a local furmeet and each of the individuals there were so bizarre, so maladjusted, so stereotype-encompassing that I haven't gone back since.

But not because they freaked me out, mind you...

When I told the story of how I became a furry, it revolved around meeting my spirit animal in person on the bank of a river in Yosemite. Instead of accepting me, they seemed weirded out, saying that they got into it from watching cartoons or comics.

I don't make a habit of passing judgment, but they seemed in a hurry to pass it on me.

Any advice would be welcome...

Thank you.

Zucca (age 28)

* * *

Dear Zucca,

What a pretty part of the state you live in. Do you ever visit Morro Bay? But on to your question....

While I, like you, don’t like stereotypes, it is fair to say that the vast majority of furries are younger people—teens and twenties—who got into it through their love of cartoon characters. It might surprise some readers that Papabear does not watch cartoons, unless I catch an old (not new!) Bugs Bunny short, and I love feature films, and I also do not care for anime (I have blasphemed!) That doesn’t make me any less of a furry, however.

The modern fandom was actually started by a small group of science fiction fans, not cartoon addicts. The Skiltaire of Prancing Skiltaire fame that was created by Mark Merlino, one of the founders of the modern fandom, is a character who was featured in a series of science fiction stories.

Since the emergence of the modern fandom (and I call it that because furry anthro beings date back to ancient times) the definition of furries has been complicated by rampant growth and diversification. This, I only just discovered in the last couple of years, has made it pretty nigh impossible to place furries under one umbrella, as I tried unsuccessfully to do under the failed American Furry Association.

The other problem—as I see it—with the current fandom is that it has become very cliquish. I have run into the same thing you have in my attempts to socialize at the Prancing Skiltaire and Lake Murray Furry Anthro Outings. People tend to form their own little social groups and it is pretty impossible to join one that has already formed. In and of itself, there is nothing wrong with the cliques. It’s actually a good thing that these young furries, who have typically been ostracized by other parts of society—school, family—have found a home of like-minded people in the fandom. They form smaller, tight-knit groups because that falls into their comfort zones, and many of them create strong friendships. Super!

But I don’t go to PS parties any more for the same reason that younger furs do go, and I only go to LMFAO (great acronym) when I have the time and know some of my San Diego friends are attending.

At 28, you are already nearing what many would call the “greymuzzle” stage (or, as those who are insulted by the insinuation of old age, elderfur). You are becoming—or are already—mature, and you have also found deeper meaning about your animal connection than many younger furs, who often seem to see it as some kind of fashion statement or expression of rebellion.

For me, the solution has been to give up trying to “recapture my youth” by connecting to young furs and, instead, connecting to people more like myself and, also, connecting to people on an individual basis who share my interests. For instance, I formed the Greymuzzle group on Facebook, which has grown to 700 happy older furry members. I also have a growing group of bear furry friends, who also tend to be older furs.

You need to do the same. Seek out furries who, like you, are into the spiritual aspect of our complex fandom. Some places you can start include:

• http://furry4life.org/group/spiritualfurries
• http://furry4life.org/group/power-animals-furs
• https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/furry-spirit/info

If you are interested in totems, I found this informative site http://discoveryourenergy.blogspot.com/ where you can search for your particular animal.

Anyway, to sum up this long-winded reply to your letter (I tend to get verbose when I get an interesting question to answer), you can still hang out with furries in the fandom, but you need to seek out those who are more like yourself. I can save you a lot of time (I wasted years) trying to connect to younger furs into cartoons and videogames by telling you that you are, indeed, wasting your time. Let them have their own world, which is fine for them, and find people (like me) who are more connected to the spiritual aspect of the fandom.

Hope that helps!

Papabear

submitted by VentKazemaru
[link] [4 comments]

An apparent contradiction for your consideration:

1. Furries care about animal welfare. Collectively we dedicate significant time, mental energy, and charitable donations to animal welfare causes (especially at conventions where total donations several hundreds of thousands of dollars per year). 83% of furries say they support animal rights (ref).
2. Only around 4% of furries are vegetarian (ref 2009 Furry Survey), about the same as the general population.

A group with a larger-than-normal proportion of animal welfare advocates, like furry, might be expected to have a larger-than-normal proportion of ethical vegetarians. This is not to say that all advocates of animal welfare can be expected to be vegetarian on grounds of animal welfare, simply that such a choice is more likely. So why are there so few?

(This answer is partly due to furry’s demographics. We are largely young and male, two groups that are less likely to be vegetarian than the general population. The difference isn’t particularly large, but it’s interesting: I wrote about it here.)

There are many reasons why furries might be more likely to be ethical vegetarians, at least on paper.

Research shows that humanizing animals leads to increased concern for animal welfare. Animal welfare advocacy groups know this (ref), and use it to help bolster their cause: furry mascots and cute animals abound.

As a convenient example, a furry friend of mine recently donated a couple of very hard-working, sweaty hours of time by suiting for the RSPCA. He stood outside a supermarket in his canine fursuit with a collection box, interacted with children and parents, and generally did his best to do a good deed. He was told that the money they collected that day was double what they might usually expect: the suiting did its job. (He eats meat and has never considered becoming vegetarian.)

It seems that it’s not just humanization of animals that leads to increased concern for animal welfare. There is evidence that animalization of humans has a similar effect.

(This is based on early research by a furry with a PhD, and sometime [adjective][species] contributor, Dr. Courtney Plante (aka Nuka). His work is based on several reaction-time experiments conducted on willing furries at Oklacon, Furry Fiesta, and Anthrocon. In this work, Dr. Plante compared the speed and accuracy with which furries and therians made decisions about whether a word or picture flashing on a screen referred to “me”, “not me”, “non-human animal” or “human”. Based on the pattern of mistakes and the speed of responding, it was possible to quantify how closely linked the concepts of “me” and “non-human animal” were tied in participants’ minds, a form of automatic “self-dehumanization”. This work has yet to be published, but it is promising, showing that the extent to which furries “self-dehumanized” predicted their endorsement of animal rights activism and concern for animal welfare.)

It is believed that humanization of animals—anthropomorphism—and animalization of humans—zoomorphism—help shape our attitudes towards non-human animals by helping us consider them to be part of our group. Like a lot of social animals, humans tend to treat those who are perceived to be part of a shared group differently. This is the reason why it feels more important if a countryman (who is a stranger) is, say, killed in an accident, compared with a non-countryman (who is also a stranger).

I should add that we are all susceptible to differing opinions based (partly) on whether someone is an insider or outsider. It’s not exactly logical to do so – it’s just the product of the evolutionary drive to protect our own DNA. We are, after all, just animals.

It’s probable that the furry propensity towards (1) anthropomorphics and (2) interest in animal welfare is linked. But that link doesn’t seem to take the apparently logical next step and collectively push us in the general direction of vegetarianism.

Curiously, there is no evidence that the therian subset of furry—those that see themselves either spiritually or literally as a non-human animal—are more likely to be vegetarian. And self-identified furry zoophiles—those with a closer emotional bond with non-human animals—are only marginally more likely to be vegetarian (somewhere in the range of 6 to 8%, although note that we are dealing with small numbers so this value is subject to more uncertainty than usual.)

And yet there is no doubt that vegetarianism improves animal welfare. The reasoning is very simple:

If an animal is being raised for profit, there will sometimes be a conflict between what is best for its welfare, and what produces the highest profit. And, sometimes, the drive for profit will take priority.

If you are vegetarian, you will reduce demand for meat. Accordingly fewer animals will be raised for meat, and so fewer animals will suffer.

The harm being done to animals in the interests of profit can, and does, occur any time from birth to death. Examples include the suffering of intensively farmed cattle in the United States, battery hens in the United Kingdom, live sheep export in Australia, or a fish on a hook in Canada. Even lower creatures, like lobsters, suffer (as detailed in this terrific David Foster Wallace piece, Consider The Lobster).

I’ll add that the harm being done to animals that are being raised for profit is a natural and unavoidable side-effect of capitalism. There is a drive to produce the same product for the lowest cost, and so people and companies try to do just that. Sometimes low costs lead directly to poorer animal welfare—which is why a battery chicken costs £1.50 from Tesco compared with the £15 organic one from my local farmer’s market—and sometimes people cheat or look for loopholes—which is how horsemeat ends up in cheap “beef” burgers.

(The corollary is that animals raised for meat, but not profit, do not suffer at the hands of the profit motive. An ethical vegetarian may be happy to eat the chicken you raised in your backyard and named Alfred. But you should probably ask first.)

Ethical vegetarianism is a very simple and entirely uncontroversial use of logic. The counter-argument doesn’t challenge the reasoning, it simply states that the conclusion is unacceptable: that refusing to consume animals raised for profit is inconvenient.

The argument for ethical vegetarianism has been around for a long time. However it was only as recently as 1975 that it gained mainstream understanding, in Peter Singer’s classic Animal Liberation. Animal Liberation received a lot of publicity, positive and negative, and at the time was thought to be the first step in a seachange in human attitudes towards non-human animals.

But very little has changed since 1975. The proportion of people in Western countries calling themselves vegetarian hasn’t really changed, and the number of meat-eaters worldwide has grown significantly (partly due to population growth; partly due to higher affluence in countries like India and China). Why? I don’t know, and nor does Dr Singer. It may be that it’s the same reason why furries are disinterested in animal welfare when it comes to food.

Perhaps you are one of the scant furry vegetarians. Or perhaps you tried it for a while and stopped. Or maybe you’re thinking of making the change. Tell us your story in the comments below.

submitted by stylishg33k
[link] [3 comments]

I've been a closet furry for about ten years but never had any friends that are furry before. So I guess if you guys have any chatrooms that aren't pure and yiff? I also have a SO that is not a furry (yet) but, she is starting to gain an interest in yiff and furries. If you have any advise that I could use to maybe open hey to becoming a furry that would be great too!

I am a 22 Male Wolf straight (in case any of you were wondering.)

submitted by NevithTheWolf
[link] [6 comments]

Dancing meerkats trying to sell chocolate?

Well, why the hell not?

Hey, guess what? FANTASTIC episode!! Xander, Alkali, Pandez & Draggor wax on about storybook villains, more poptart sandwich goodness, weed babies, and even a special guest appearance from Uncle Kage! ep. 102 - IFC 2014 LIVE!! - Hey, guess what? FANTASTIC episode!! Xander, Alkali, Pandez & Draggor wax on about storybook vi...

submitted by lupic90
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Neonbunny is founding DJ and promoter of Frolic. The 90 minute interview has 4 parts, with one a week posting this month. 1) Counterculture to Furry – Neonbunny’s background in the SF Bay Area.    Intro: The most furry place in the universe?   Coming soon: Part 2)  Starting Frolic – Throwing parties, finding other furries. Coming […]

Playing Beyond Two souls & forgot about this little short that is played on the tv :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUvk38Lu3l8

submitted by Mootness
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submitted by DesignatedMacGyver
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