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Roo and Tugs made it into the studio to get you something new - don't worry! We're going to get back on schedule! We also emptied out the mailbag while discussing the furry news of the day. This episode is the sequel to our previous Lost Episode....so buckle up and hold on!



NOW LISTEN!

Music & Breaks

Opening theme: Fredrik Miller– Cloud Fields (Radio Mix). USA: Bandcamp, 2011. Used with permission.  (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)
Space News Music: Fredrik Miller – Orbit. USA: Bandcamp, 2013. Used with permission. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)
Closing: Fredrik Miller – Cloud Fields (Chill Out Mix). USA: Bandcamp, 2011. Used with permission. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)

Next episode: Public Service & Military Furs. Do you do good for others? Know someone who works in an ambulance, emergency room, or the military? Do you? Let us know! We want to recognize you! Send your emails by July 18, 2014! S3 – Episode 21: The Lost Episode II - Roo and Tugs made it into the studio to get you something new - don't worry! We're going to get back on schedule! We also emptied out the mailbag while discussing the furry news of the day. This episode is the sequel

submitted by Tettamanti
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submitted by Indycoone
[link] [3 comments]

Papabear,

I am gay & no one knows. I have not come out to anyone. I wish I was straight like a normal person every single day; it drives me crazy for being like this. I just want to be normal & love girls, enjoy the normal stuff in life. 

So my story is about this guy I first saw with one of my good friends 3 or 4 years back & I thought he was cute and that’s all. We didn’t talk much; slowly I got to know him more & I suddenly had this crush on him, which was normal, and I could handle it cause I knew he is straight. Few months down he left for his college.

But now he is back after 1 year and it still stayed normal with him; then he started calling me to hangout (not alone, with other friends, too) and texting me; more & more we hang out I noticed few things like he looks at me every time. If bunch of us go out to grab some drinks he would sit next to me or on the opposite side of me and I can see he looks at me from the corner of my eye & if I look at him he would look away, even if we are standing out he would come stand next to me. I have tried to sit so close to him that our hands or legs just touch little and he wouldn't move away. In all this he talks about hot girls and says “Look at that ass.” I know he has dated a few girls, which lasts only few months. I know he is very much straight & I also know he had sex recently. 

The problem is I text him now all the time. He does it, too, but his replies are like he is being safe and wont express much. He agrees to go watch movies, have dinner alone just the two of us. All this made me fall for him and its driving me crazy. When he speaks to girls or guys I get so jealous it gets me stressed. I if I didn’t know where he is I think he is with someone and I get stressed again. But I know there is no future in this, but just when I try to like move on I catch him staring at me. I look at him, he looks away. Sometimes he looks at me many times I even lose count. At times I look at him and he catches me. I just smile back and look away. If I get close to any other guy/girl jokingly he does react like he is irritated. Out of the blue he will just call me just to talk for long time not hours yet! Once he even kissed me on the cheeks when he was drunk, which we never spoke about it cause its normal I guess. Our friends say “You guys are always together,” but his reaction is nothing but a smile. 

So after all this I think about him every day when I wake up, when I sleep, when I eat, everything I do I think about him. So what do I do now from here? I am not gonna tell him I am gay; that’s just not possible. Where do I go from here? I have tried so much for some reaction but that kiss from him was the only happy part. Or am I just thinking too much and he is just being a very good friend?

Kevin B (26, United Arab Emirates)

* * *

Dear Kevin,

You likely know this, but for the benefit of my readers I will quickly state that in the United Arab Emirates it is against the law to have a same-sex relationship—not just marriage, but relationship, period. If you are caught having a homosexual relationship, the punishment can be 10 or more years in prison. Punishment can be as strict as deportation (applies mostly to gay foreigners) or, in the case of consensual sodomy, even the death penalty.

Given this, it is no wonder that gay people in the UAE would be extremely nervous to show their affections to one another, especially in public. Just the fact that your friends are beginning to notice that you two hang out together a lot might make both of you a bit anxious.

It is unfortunate that you live in such a hostile environment. The ideal solution would be for you to move to a country that is more accepting of you, such as the Netherlands. Chances are this is not a very feasible option for you, however; but, if it is, it would be recommended. Many cultures in the Middle East, Africa, and elsewhere make it damn near impossible for the LGBT community to be themselves. Even in the United States, you have to live in a more liberal area like I do (southern California) than in other areas like Michigan or Georgia (interestingly, Minneapolis, Minnesota, is actually a gay-friendly community).

Anyway, back to your crush. My instinct tells me that your instinct is probably correct. He probably does like you but is terrified to say so, just as you are terrified to come out of the closet. Who wouldn’t be? His bragging about his sexual exploits with women are done loudly because he wants to assure everyone that he is straight. 

Having never lived in a country where I could be thrown in prison simply for loving someone, I honestly do not know how to advise you. If you were in a more liberal-minded nation, I would tell you to go ahead and tell the other guy that you have feelings for him and let the cards fall where they may. However, if you did so in the UAE, you might scare him off, or, worse, get the two of you into trouble.

For your own safety, I would have to advise you two to just behave as friends. It makes me sad to have to say that, but unless you can get your butts out of that country—or the UAE suddenly changes its homophobic laws (unlikely in any Islamic state, since the Qur’an is very clear that homosexuality is against God’s laws)—you are rather stuck. I would hate to see you go to prison. I shudder to think what might happen to you there.

I’m very sorry for your situation. My advice is to keep your relationship platonic or, if there is any chance at all, find a way to move to another country.

Hugs,

Papabear

submitted by Nesilwoof
[link] [9 comments]

I went to a convention recently, and i bought a fluffy red and black wolf ear headband, and a matching tail. I liked it a lot, but i'm wondering if it is weird for a boy to wear this stuff (not everyday, I mean at conventions or costume parties or something). Thanks for your help!

submitted by Typhlojian
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Author: Papabear, There is a furry called Sky who kind of defends fursuit sex or somewhat (which is, of course, fine), but the way he does it makes it sound entirely horse-s@!#. Here is a stupid phrase he made up (I hope it’s made up): “Fall in love with the fursuiter, never fall in love […]

submitted by 245001
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submitted by teh_bakedpotato
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submitted by deathsaurer
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So.. the other day my friend got me to join the fandom. the only parts that got me interested were my obsessive love/desire to be an espurr and doing art comissions for other furries. Am I still in the club?

submitted by RAinbOwMeOwstic
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submitted by Masterwallabee
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submitted by bear-wulf
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submitted by Badonkers
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submitted by mishapsmajor
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submitted by stylishg33k
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Yes yes delicate topic I know, but to be honest, I get off on these stories. I've heard of some crazy stuff happening before, but not a whole lot other than the 4chan protest of 2007 and some infamous furries whom got banned. Any contributions of either links or stories will be very much welcomed!

Thanks in advance!

submitted by CheckeredDots
[link] [98 comments]

Hey everyone! If we didn't get to you last time or haven't done your hand drawn art, now we can have some digital art! http://kota-the-wolf.deviantart.com

submitted by xargonoth
[link] [21 comments]

(I promise— it takes a while but this column eventually gets furry.)

About a month prior to this article’s release I suffered some serious heart troubles. Little permanent damage was done, and the timely high-tech treatment I received was so successful that I actually feel better now than I have for years. It wasn’t nearly as a big a deal as it sounds when spelled out here. But, I have to admit, such a life-event can get a man to thinking. Another major life event is also looming up close for me— in roughly twelve weeks I’ll retire at last from my much-disliked factory job and be able to write or do whatever else I please full-time. I’ve worked very hard for this for a very long time, and saved money when it would’ve been much easier to spend it. In fact, I’ve been counting down the weeks for almost two years. Between the two, well, for the last few days I’ve been downright philosophical.

As a result of my upcoming retirement, I’m also free for the first time ever to relocate anywhere I darned well please, so long as I can afford it. For months now I’ve been studying real estate sites and recalling my travels to various places. I’ve many good friends in Seattle and a couple other writers have offered to make me feel at home there artistically, but as beautiful as the place is it might as well be made of pure unaffordium so far as my budget is concerned. The same goes for the entire West Coast. I’ve actively driven around the St. Augustine, Florida area looking for a new home, and found the region in some ways enormously attractive. But I know very few people there and once again it’s far away from the center of everything. Tennessee River cabins with boat docks for frequent fishing trips—something else I enjoy— tend to be far too remote, and while I’m very fond of Texas on many levels and have good friends there I loathe the eternal flatness of the more populated regions and the shortage of really good angling opportunities.

Since my heart issues developed I’ve re-evaluated my priorities a little. While I for most part loathe even short visits in big cities, perhaps I ought to try to put up with annoying and costly urban life anyway in the interests of quick ambulance response times? A little web-searching revealed that most towns located on large rivers, nearby Nashville included, tend to have a very few small condominiums available downtown right on the water, with a beautiful view of the barge trains trooping by. They’re at least marginally affordable in towns that don’t carry outrageous real estate premiums like, say, Chicago. I found a promising example in Nashville that claimed to be a hundred and fifty feet from the water at a price I could afford. Well, I thought to myself. Perhaps this is worth looking at! The riverbank itself is a city park; I could fish from the bank there just as if I had a cabin on the shoreline out in the middle of nowhere— the Cumberland is one of the finest fishing waterways in the USA. Except during rush hour I’d have an incredible highway network at my disposal, and according to the sales materials I’d able to look practically right into the bridges of passing tugboats. What a deal, eh?

I drove up to look the neighborhood over last Friday night, and that was all it took to put the kibosh on the whole thing. It was difficult to get within blocks of my potential new home, and would continue to be difficult practically every Friday and Saturday night from then until eternity. For, not being at all a country and western fan, I’d forgotten entirely that the famous Second Avenue North, home to the very finest country-western themed music and bars in the universe, was just a block away from my would-be abode. The crowds were happy, peaceful and content as I steered my convertible between the horse-drawn taxis on a deliciously warm weekend evening. A large passenger-carrying riverboat— the Delta Queen, perhaps?— was anchored in the river’s channel busily shuttling her revelers back and forth to have a good time ashore. It was a great night— a perfect night, even. The stars shone and there were no visible drunks, just tourists half of whom smiled and waved at me as I eased slowly through the masses with the top down. They were nice people; well-dressed, well-mannered, massed humanity at its absolute best. And yet, even though I of course smiled and waved back and genuinely wished them all a pleasant evening I knew that I was forever an outsider here, someone who in ten thousand years would never fit in. So even before I located the condo I’d come to see I turned around and enjoyed a nice, peaceful drive home in the dark.

Why would I never fit in? Because no matter how hard I try, I’ll never, ever be able to socialize and enjoy the company of “ordinary” people who like to chat about the local sports teams and what happened at church last Sunday. I like them well enough and mean them no harm, but have almost nothing in common with them on so many levels that at times it’s frightening. Nor, to make things worse, will I ever come to to either love or even understand country music. I mean no disrespect for those who enjoy what I recognize as a vibrant, relevant and deeply-rooted art form— far from it! It’s just… Not for me. In fact, even though I find some bluegrass to be downright listenable I have to struggle to even remain in the room when modern-style country is played. It’s my anathema. Were I superhero, it’d be my kryptonite. And that makes Second Avenue North the central node of all kryptonite for me, the very last place on earth I’d ever want to go for pleasure or joy. Why pay premium prices for a home whose prime virtue is to be near that?

So, I got to thinking as I drove home— it’s about a forty minute drive there from downtown. Maybe the urban living concept could still be made to work, but in a different city? I fired up my trusty desktop and used another real estate program to search the affordable South’s navigable waterways for condos for sale along the shorelines. And I hit paydirt almost right away, too, in nearby Memphis on the banks of the Mississippi! Happily I began to click about…

…only to almost immediately note the presence of something else I’d forgotten— Beale Street, the Rhythm and Blues equivalent of Second Avenue North. Immediately I abandoned my search there. I’ve actually been to Beale Street at least once or perhaps twice— I forget which. It was an amazing spectacle, and the music was far more to my taste than in Nashville. But again, the very idea of trying to fit in there, of spending my time in the little cafes and blues clubs, even though they’re among the world’s finest, made my skin crawl. Who, after all, would I talk to there?

That’s when the truth of it all finally came crashing through. The place I really want to live doesn’t even come close to existing today, and probably never will. It’s a place where people talk about genetic engineering and make elaborate puns over breakfast and discuss interesting new strategy games over lunch. It’s where people are bright and creative in their own rights, as opposed to merely basking in the reflected glow of a handful of star performers, and people accept each other as they are instead of demanding mindless conformity. I want to live among furs, in short— to spend as many of the rest of my days as possible among my own kind, and the shorter those days grow the more important this becomes. I want to buy a riverfront condo in a furry neighborhood full of good humor and lighthearted art, with a riverboat out in the channel disgorging tourists come to see our little Mecca where we put our best and brightest on display.

I wouldn’t even mind the traffic jams!

But we as yet have no Mecca, of course. No neighborhood or even block to call our own. If anyone anywhere is operating a furry night club or selling furry art out of a brick-and-mortar storefront, it’s news to me. We’re too few, too scattered, too lacking in vision and commercial appeal (though in my mind we haven’t really tried very hard yet) to make something like Beale Street or Second Avenue North happen for ourselves yet. Perhaps we never shall; perhaps the internet will provide enough “furry immersion” to make most of us entirely happy. The science fiction fandom never generated a geographic center, at least so far as I know, and they’re much further along culturally than we are.

And yet… And yet…

I’m fifty-three, and though I’ve saved well and have a reasonable amount to spend I have no homeland to join in any meaningful sense of the word. I live as part of a fragmentary underculture, among but not one with a sea of smilingsports fans who don’t understand why I’m not as happy as they are. My life is gray, gray, gray save for the hours in which I write and those rare days when I’m able to attend a con and be among my own kind.

Surely others share my yearning for home?

submitted by ThePiachu
[link] [15 comments]