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submitted by xandertheblue
[link] [12 comments]

submitted by Crashodie
[link] [3 comments]

Since 2009, artist and writer Roger Langridge has been playing in Jim Henson’s world by creating various comic book series featuring the Muppets for Boom! Studios. Titles like The Muppets, The Muppet Show, and The Muppet Show: The Treasure of Peg-Leg Wilson. Now, over at Marvel Comics, they’ve announced that all of these titles have been brought together to be released in march in a new hardcover collection, The Muppets Omnibus.  The Comic Book Resources page has a more complete preview of this full-color collection, coming next year on the Disney Comics imprint.

image c. 2013 Disney Comics

submitted by popgoeskia
[link] [6 comments]

submitted by VentKazemaru
[link] [8 comments]

Dear Papa Bear,

It's hard for me to write this, but I just really need advice on something very important in my life. Someone very important, that is.

I'm only 13, but I'm going through something very hard. My best friend, let's call her Daisy, has moved away 600 miles from me in June.

Her Dad lost her job a while back and then found one in Florida, very far away from my home in North Carolina. 

To start out, she wasn't just my best friend, she was my rock. We had done everything together since we were 6 and we have been through so much. We have laughed together, cried together, and traveled all over our state. We would always be each other's first choice and we stuck by each other's side through everything. We would do the unthinkable and we had so much in common. She understood me like no one else, and I appreciated every little thing she did. I know that she hates eggs, that she has a weird birthmark on her lower back and I know all of her secrets. She lived right up the street from me and we would spend every weekend together. We would spend a lot of time together in school too, and we just had fun talking about how each other's day was and what we did. To make it short, this girl was and is my best friend, and no matter what we did, every day I spent with her was a new best day of my life. Her moving was the worst thing that has ever happened to me and I'm not taking it well.

I visited her in the Summer around August, and her house and where she lives is amazing. I'm so jealous, it's such an upgrade from the old, boring town that she used to and I still live in. Me visiting her was the best vacation ever and she wasn't a changed person at all, she was just how I remembered her.

I talked to her the first day she started school, and she was bawling and she missed me and her other friends so much. She said that she wanted to come back and that she didn't like it there.

Skip forward to now, which is November. She has about 5 friends, 2 of them being close ones, and she is liking school very much. She seems to be fine there now and I'm very happy for her! Even though I wish I could go to Florida and tell her knew friends how lucky they are to be able to spend every day with this amazing wonderful person that I would give up so much for just to spend one minute with. 

And, since the day she stepped out of my life, I can't stop thinking about her. I miss her so much. I really only have one true friend that is still here and we both miss Daisy like crazy. It's not the same. I need her in my life. I need to be able to see her everyday and hear her voice. I need to be able to see her walking down the hall at school and I can say to myself, "That's her. That's my best friend. That's the person that I live for."

Fast forward to this week, she visited me. We had so much fun going to our old places and spending time together. She is still the same exact person, the same person that has been with me from the start. When we were together it felt like she had never moved. When we said goodbye I felt like she was just going to go back up the street to her house. But no, this goodbye is for at least a year.

Saying goodbye to her was the hardest thing ever. It wasn't just that she was leaving, it's that it didn't feel ... right. She's not supposed to live in Florida. We were meant to be best friends. She's supposed to live here with me, in North Carolina. She's supposed to be here. She's supposed to be here to cheer me up when I feel sad, she's supposed to be here to come over to my house at 1 in the morning, she's supposed to be here. For me. 

Everyone says that God makes this happen for a reason, but I just wish I knew what that reason was. I know that God put her in my life for a reason, so why is she not with me anymore? There's going to come a time when she forgets me. Just like when I moved away from Virginia. I don't really think about my friends there anymore, even though I used to call them my best friends. I don't want that to happen to me and Daisy. 

She's my rock. And every day I spend without her, is another day I feel like curling up into a ball in crying. I need her here with me. I don't want to text her, or Skype her, I need to feel her presence. I need her to be with me. 

She's the only thing that is still keeping me going strong. Everything I do is for her, and until the day that we can be neighbors again I won't stop at anything. So, my question for you, Papa Bear, is not how can I forget her or how I can live without her. That's impossible. My question for you is how can I keep living as if she is still here? All I want to do is pack my bags and run to Florida. 

Thank you so much.

CJ

* * *

Dear CJ,

Papabear knows exactly what you are going through. I was 14 when my family picked up and moved from Van Nuys, California, to (omg) Wheaton, Illinois, or, as I liked to call it, Corn Fields, USA. I didn’t have a lot of friends back then, but my best friend since third grade, Todd, was there and I had to leave him behind. He was the friend that I used to play “Star Trek” with, and the first and only kid whose bar mitzvah I got to go to. My parents were close friends with his parents, as well, and it was really rough on me. Unlike your BFF Daisy, I wasn’t good at making new friends or handling living in a new part of the country. I really didn’t even start to get over the move until my junior year in high school, but I eventually did.

Over the years, through high school and college and such, I had some friends but didn’t get a new best friend until I met the woman who would be my wife. All the other people who were passing friends drifted away and I don’t talk to them anymore ... EXCEPT for, you guessed it, Todd. He is my oldest friend, even though we only see each other once a year or so because he lived in San Francisco when I was in Michigan and now he’s in New York while I’m in California. So, that friendship has lasted despite the trials. Another friendship that has lasted despite a divorce that would ruin most such relationships is the one with my now-ex wife. Why are we still friends? Because we want to be, and we both mean a lot to each other despite what happened that caused the divorce (namely, my figuring out that I was gay, which you can understand would cause a problem).

CJ, as you go through your life, you will discover that you will have two kinds of friends—well, actually, three kinds of friends. 1) your fair weather friends, who are the people who just hang around you when things are good and you are having fun, but who will flick you away like a gross booger on your finger if you actually need them for something; 2) good friends who will go an extra mile for you and help you with things like, oh, needing a ride when your car has broken down or chipping in a couple extra bucks when you realize you are short of money for a movie ticket; and, finally, 3) your BFFs like you and Daisy or me and Todd. These are the people who will accompany you throughout your life no matter where you end up. My mate, Yogi, has several of these, while I have what I call my primary three: Todd, my ex, and now Yogi. When you get to be older like Papabear, you will count yourself really blessed if you need two hands to have enough fingers in order to count all your BFFs.

I know it is so much better when your BFF is close by and you can actually see and touch her, but at least you can keep in touch with her in ways that were not possible when I was your age. Video chats like on Skype were things from science fiction when I was growing up in the 1970s, but you can see Daisy via Skype any time you wish (I know, I know, you don’t like it as much, but it’s still better than, say, letter writing and waiting for the Pony Express). Also, while 600 miles is kind of far, I’ll admit, it’s not so far that you can’t visit once in a while, as you have been doing. You know, many families move to different parts of the country and only see each other on holidays and they manage to survive and love each other.

Learning to cope with such separations is a part of life, CJ. You and Daisy will both make more friends as the years go by, and you will lose some of those friends, too, and make more friends. You may even make more amazing friends like Daisy.

Life is about change. It’s human nature—especially when we are young and we have not experienced much change—to want things to remain as they are. A life without change feels stable and reassuring, comforting and familiar.

But if I had never moved away from Van Nuys, I never would have met my wife and experienced some of the happiest years of my life, and I never would have met Yogi, who is the sweetest man I ever met and a blessing in this new chapter in my life.

CJ, the fact that Daisy has moved away is not the end of a friendship. If you want to keep Daisy in your life, then keep her in your life. That is within your power to do so. It will take a little more effort because of the distance, but a BFF is worth that, I’m sure you’ll agree. And, not to be grim, but at least your separation is merely one of distance. She has not passed away and is very much alive and well, so that is a blessing. 

In the meantime, keep looking ahead to the possibility of new friends in your life. You will definitely meet new ones as you change schools, go to college, find a job, and, very likely, move to new cities.

You don’t have to forget Daisy, nor do you have to live without her, especially thanks to the assistance of technology. Maybe she will someday move back closer to you, or you will move to Florida. In the meantime, the best thing you can do is keep your attention on where you are right now and what you are doing right now. You have very important things to do, such as school and figuring out what you want to do with your life because you will be surprised by how quickly you will suddenly be making plans for college and a career and maybe even your own family.

You are taking a very big step in growing up right now, CJ, by learning that the world was not designed to accommodate your needs. When you say, “She's supposed to be here to cheer me up when I feel sad, she's supposed to be here to come over to my house at 1 in the morning, she's supposed to be here. For me.” Well, no, that’s not how real life works. 

How it works is this: we meet the people in our lives when we are meant to meet them. Each important person I have met has helped guide me through a stage in my life, and there have been more than just the three I mentioned above who are the primary three. There are my parents, of course, and my sister, but also people who have come into my life more recently. For example, just as I was discovering my sexuality and, at the same time, connecting with the furry fandom, I became close friends with Cyberbear, who, it turned out, had gone through exactly the same thing in his life of being married and discovering he was gay. He was really pivotal in helping me get through that part of my life, and I met him exactly at the time when I needed to (this is one big reason why this bear believes in spirit guides.)

CJ, I’d like to recommend a book to you: Mitch Albom’s The Five People You Meet in Heaven. It’s a little heavy-handed and syrupy, but it’s a good story about life and the meaning of the people who become a part of it.

Keep Daisy in your life. But don’t think that she will be the only one you will ever meet who will mean this much to you. If you keep your heart open, you will meet others like Daisy whom you will treasure for many years to come. And that’s something you can look forward to!

Hugs,

Papabear

So I woke up in my bed this morning and felt as if something wasn't quite right with the world. I couldn't figure out what it was and the feeling eventually subsided, but it did get me thinking; what if some bizarre force of un-nature was moving us into different realities while we slept? Would we notice any differences? Would we even care?

That being said, I have a little question for all you potential philosofurs out there: What do you think about the possibility of parallel universes? Could they exist?

Super Bonus Question: If they do; what would your ideal world be?

Super Lucky Bonus Question: Assuming you had any number of resources; how would you try to get there?

submitted by IssacsoftheEEC
[link] [36 comments]

submitted by JontanD
[link] [17 comments]

Anyone have skype? I want to talk to more people and I've been comfortable with talking to new people, (but I hate the way my voice sounds sometimes). Anyway! My user is my skype name and if not just put in Blue Strike ane you should find it, hope to talk to some of you!

submitted by Blu35tr1k3
[link] [14 comments]

I'm just looking for other furs that know a lot about redstone, people to play minecraft with that are at my redstone knowledge level. Possibly build something that's centered around the idea of redstone.

Images of my work: http://i.imgur.com/jcRgMFe.png http://i.imgur.com/dtxt667.png http://i.imgur.com/BR4SUwH.png

submitted by DarkWolfKid
[link] [12 comments]

submitted by awesomeme99
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with few weeks for ETA to getting my own, how many of you have one?

submitted by fyrepony
[link] [78 comments]

submitted by VideoHusky
[link] [9 comments]

Furfunding Week in Review 11-10-13

Charmingly dumb, peaceful and pastoral, violent and far-future: Steam in the Willows, Black Paw: Return of the Dragon, and Lobodestroyo.

New Projects

For a “complete” list of furry/fur-friendly crowdfunding projects, check out the Project Page!

Art

Paint Splattered Pokemon Prints (Ends: 12/12/2013)
Prints preorder-style project of stylized, paint-splattered poke-posters, featuring the big three starter pokemon (Charizard, Bulbasaur, Squirtle)

Clothing/Costumes

Tail Lights (Ends: 1/2/2014)
Light up your mane–I’m sorry, your horse’s mane–with these breezy LED tail lights.
Hmm…Kickstarter goal and price point for the “get the thing!” level are really high. Not sure $160 for a set of strip LEDs is going to fly outside a narrow luxury market.

Comics/Graphic Novels

Darwin Carmichael is Going to Hell (Ends: 12/11/2013)
An afterlife stroll through mythicals and monsters in this web-to-print project.
Funded!

Red: A Cyberpunk Fairytale (Ends: 12/18/2013)
In a cyberpunk/anime future, Red teams up with a frighteningly massive robot wolf…

Film/Animation/Theater

Cats Vs Zombies: 9DKP Anime (Ends: 12/18/2013)
Large-headed magical anthro cats vs. a legion of the undead. There are transformation sequences, I’m sure of it.

Black Tusk (Ends: 1/21/2014)
Creature feature film in the “monsters hunt camping teens” genre, a strange avian/human monster stalks a group of hikers.

Print

Steam in the Willows (Ends: 12/12/2013)
A Wind in the Willows edition for makers and craftsmen. WITW text, but illustrations gently tweaked for a steampunk aesthetic.
I don’t know if the mole with little steampunk goggles is cuter than the badger generally. From the makers of The Steampunk Bible.

Toys

Dragon Ball Joint Doll Pets (Ends: 12/12/2013)
Cute dragon-head dolls by Bladespark, her third kickstarter for ball joint dolls projects

Video Games

Lobodestroyo (Ends: 12/11/2013)
90s collectathon-style VG. Mutt, the runt of the wolf litter, tries to find the parts of his pack’s championship belt and the escaped 10 members of the Liga de Los Villanos.
In the spirit of MegaMan and Metroid: Samus Aran

Web Projects

Get fLoRiDa off the ground! (Ends: 1/10/2014)
Fundraiser for the “fLoRiDa” webcomic
Frustratingly little information on this one. Link to original webpage? It’s hard to google ‘florida’ usefully…

…Coming Soon?

Fursuit Automation Project (Not yet launched): A suite of light sensors, LED automation and fan controls for tech fursuiting.
Ex Gender: A Wolf In Stilettos (Not yet launched): Started as pinups, ended up as a full narrative game, transgender tribulations and large-breasted wolves

…Just For Fun

Gamer’s WORLD Movie (Ends: 12/19/2013): I don’t normally stop to make fun of fail, but leading with the FurNation logo just invites it. A “gamers are people too” film project, and a complete trainwreck of a Kickstarter page. Read it. Love it. A part of me wants to see it. Don’t forget to read the bio.
Bring a Kaiju to Life (Ends: 12/30/2013): A personal project to bring a kaiju to bioluminescent, lumbering, cosplay life.

Author: Dear Papabear! Although I feel somewhat awkward penning this little letter, I’ve got to the point where I really think I could benefit from an outside perspective. First off, allow me to give you a bit of personal background which I feel may be important. I’m currently 21 years old, just about to graduate […]

Game #1 is in it's final stages, probably about another week left give or take. It's time that I open up a new game for everyone! Players who've been squashed in Game 1 can start anew here.

http://triton.ironhelmet.com/game/5931112102625280

Game is exactly the same as Game 1 except for 2 tweeks. The Fog of War will stay on, even once the game starts. Explore carefully! And I set everyone to start with 2 Science instead of 1. Slightly faster research, for less radical advantage for early tech.

Oh yeah, password is the same as before; furry

PS. Once Game 1 ends, I'll open Game 3. I want a vote from all interested parties. Do you want Game 3 to be Larger with More Players? or Faster with twice as frequent Cash income?

submitted by HappyWulf
[link] [7 comments]

submitted by Dandalily
[link] [3 comments]

submitted by CanineAmerican
[link] [1 comment]

Dear Papabear!

Although I feel somewhat awkward penning this little letter, I've got to the point where I really think I could benefit from an outside perspective. First off, allow me to give you a bit of personal background which I feel may be important. I'm currently 21 years old, just about to graduate university with a Japanese major, and looking for a job. Fairly standard stuff.

My problem, in a nutshell, lies in irrational emotional responses to certain rather specific triggers. This problem has been with me since at least the start of secondary school, although probably longer, before I learned to recognize it for what it is. The triggers I mentioned pretty much all seem to be connected to interpersonal relationships, how I relate to other people, and how I compare myself to them.

More specifically, the most serious issue seems to be placing myself on a sort of “intellectual ladder,” if you will. I harbor a chronic feeling that I am somehow of little value, or beneath others, so to speak. In other words, I feel that I lack special talents, skills, and intelligence. Moreover, I often get a creeping suspicion that other people view me the same way, even if it is completely irrational.

Now the trouble is, my relationships with other people often get off to a completely innocent and good start. However, eventually I start getting ideas that the other person actually sees very little in me, just barely tolerates me, or looks down on me. Of course, I don't think about this stuff constantly, but I still get the nagging feeling that I'm just not good enough, and I get hypersensitive to it. Now eventually the other person, completely accidentally and unintentionally, says something that somehow, even if it is completely illogical, seems to verify this belief, and that makes me explode at them, and get into pointless, hour-long arguments where I will twist well nigh every word being said like a demonic lawyer, to turn whatever the other person had to say into grave insults to my intellect, or unjust assertions of his/her superiority. The real nasty part here is that these feelings of inadequacy are most often triggered by the person in question trying to teach me something new, or tell me something I don't know; i.e., trying to help me, or give me something that they think will be of value and use to me. In other words, I end up attacking and hurting the ones closest to me, the ones who love me the most, and the ones I love and/or value the most in turn.

Even though I'm fully aware of this horrible deficiency on my part, that awareness doesn't seem to help much when it comes to quelling it; it's almost like an evil reflex, much like when the doctor hits your knee with that certain hammer; I know I shouldn't say and do these things, I know I will feel horribly guilty just a couple of minutes after saying them, there is some terrible, self-destructive part in me that would rather destroy a relationship than have its imaginary fears proven true.

I'm fairly new to the furry community; even though I've known much about it for quite a few years, I've only joined the community proper about a year ago. However, this one year has been a wonderful experience in many ways; I've found a community with like-minded people, where I really feel I belong, and I've learned a lot about myself; in fact, I'd say any improvements on my psychological problems I've achieved are thanks to my experience with the furry community, and certain philosophies that resonated with me within it. Only two years ago I couldn't have even admitted I had a problem at all; I wouldn't have accepted something in myself needs improvement. Ever since discovering my, shall we say, animal side, I've acquired a bit of a different perspective within myself, which made me more self-aware and therefore better equipped to deal with my problems. However, it still hasn't made them go away, and even though I feel I am improving, although slowly and with gritted teeth (I couldn't agree more that your worst enemy and greatest opponent can be yourself, or certain parts of yourself, at the least), these problems still show up quite often, and I still risk losing people I've come to feel close to, and I don't want that. Doubly so since more than like-minded individuals, I have found love in the furry community; I have been with my mate for almost half a year now, and I love her dearly. She means the world to me, but even so, I fear these problems could come between us. I want and try my best to change, both for her sake and mine, but it is doubtless the hardest thing I've ever had to do. Do you believe there is any useful insight you could give me on this matter?

Sincerely, a troubled hyena

* * *

Dear Hyena,

What you’re experiencing is quite common for people suffering from low self-esteem. What you are doing is repressing your feelings of hurt and anger because you feel your opinions don’t matter and that you are not a worthwhile person. You can repress these feelings over time, but eventually they have to come out, and they come out when something triggers your repressed anger. In your case, that occurs when you feel someone is trying to correct you or teach you something. Even though you are aware they are trying to help you, you are so hypersensitized to criticism that all the bottled-up anger comes exploding out of you in one ugly outburst. Unfortunately for the person near you, they get the full-force of that explosion.

There are two strategies you need to take to fix this problem: 1) build your self-esteem, and 2) learn how to control your outbursts.

Let’s work on #2 first because building self-esteem takes a lot of time and you probably want to work on controlling your outbursts ASAP. Here are some strategies to work on:

1. When you feel yourself getting angry, before you start yelling, excuse yourself and go into another room or outdoors. Take a few deep breaths and try to calm yourself. After a few minutes, you should be calm enough to return, knowing you have just avoided hurting someone unnecessarily.
2. Instead of bottling up your feelings, when someone says something that triggers your bad mood, tell them how you are feeling right then and there. Such as, “I know you didn’t mean anything by what you just said, but it really makes me feel bad about myself when you act like I don’t know anything about this subject.” Or some similar comment that is appropriate to the situation.
3. Don’t overburden yourself with more obligations than you can handle. If you overwhelm yourself, you will become more stressed which will make it more likely you will get angry. Learn how to say “No” when someone asks you to do something you just don’t have time or energy to do.

As for improving self-esteem, that’s something you’ll need to work on over time. There is really not enough room in this column to guide you in this. Depending on your budget and how you feel about such things, you could try hiring a counselor or, to begin, you might try doing some reading, such as Melanie Fennell’s Overcoming Low Self-Esteem. You can also try joining a support group. There are several listed in the MeetUp site at http://self-esteem.meetup.com/ and you can do some searching on the Internet for a group nearest to you.

Many people, including yours truly, suffer from depression and low self-esteem, and it’s not something you get over in a day; it is a lifetime struggle that you improve on slowly.

Good luck! Bear Hugs!

Papabear

submitted by AshtonDaShibe
[link] [3 comments]