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Iiiiiit's back! The sequel to last season's Video Games in the Fandom has finally arrived for you on your Super Listening Entertainment System! Now featuring our latest player, Damon Husky! The trio embark on a quest to save your ears from boredom as they encounter game based discussion, find items of note, and finally confront THE GAME to win the show! Will they survive? Play and find out! BONUS LENGTH EPISODE!



NOW LISTEN!

Show Notes

Music and Breaks

Opening theme: Fredrik Miller – Cloud Fields (Radio Mix). USA: Bandcamp, 2011. Used with permission.  (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)
Listener mail segment: Eskadet – Back To Kyoto ;  from the album “Solitudes” (Lemongrassmusic, 2010) - www.lemongrassmusic.de - Used under license.
Closing: Fredrik Miller – Cloud Fields (Chill Out Mix). USA: Bandcamp, 2011. Used with permission. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)

Special Thanks

Damon Husky
Fire Fox (for the ident!)
Naught0
Axel Thunderpaw
Mattsy
Yondas
Lumio Draco
Audio Freak
LittFox
Calebfox
Keyni Bluepaw
Kira the Fox

Next episode: Going to Rainfurrest? Check out FWIW LIVE! It's Friday at 7pm. Our next episode (not at RF) will be on Disney's Robin Hood! Did it get you into the fandom? Does it hold a special place in your heart? Let us know! S3 Episode 8 – Super Video Games in the Fandom! - Iiiiiit's back! The sequel to last season's Video Games in the Fandom has finally arrived for you on your Super Listening Entertainment System! Now featuring our latest player, Damon Husky! The trio embark

This week, Roland gets tired!

Stay thirsty, my friends.

Click below to listen:

http://www.unfurled.net/episodes/UnFurled_-_Episode_62.mp3

Click to download | Open Player in New Window

UnFurled Episode 62 – Of Ladies and Gentlebuhbuhs - This week, Roland gets tired! Stay thirsty, my friends.

Earlier this year I made my first yarn tail and it turned out great! I love it, but the top looks rough, reaally rough. I had no idea how to finish it so I just threw it together really quick. The base of it is literally tied around the clip.

Here's a picture.

How can I make the top look smoother like this one?

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Dear Papabear,

I was really on and off about writing you, but after reading your article about the EDM musician that is pressured by criticism, I though why not give it a shot. Another point of view never hurt anybody, right?

Before I joined the fandom I never really pursued any creative art form. I have written occasionally, but that’s all there ever was. Just a little bit before I joined. I started playing bass in a band, and music became one of the biggest factors in my personal life (so to speak; I do not pursue a professional career with it).

After I joined the fandom I started working big time on a lot of art forms. I started building fursuits, more music and to lesser extent Writing and lately Drawing a little.

Now what exactly is my problem now?

After this year’s Eurofurence, I have fallen into a pit of self-doubt, anger, and, I admit, a good portion of depression. (Just to say up front, I am on the way of getting better).

Caused has this been by a few incidents at the EF that I don’t want to delve in further, but mostly by one thing: Nobody gives a ****.

Excuse my language, but that’s just the best way to describe it.

Whenever I put in a good chunk of work into a song so that I am halfway satisfied with the results (I am never fully happy, but that’s the thing with practice :P) and I post it hoping in vain for some feedback, all I see is a blank page saying: No New Messages.

I can deal with negative feedback and criticism. Fine. Hell, I would love to have that kind of feedback, even!

What really hurts is that my work is either so mediocre, so bad or so flavorless that people don’t even bother with it.

I see that people are listening, viewing etc. but there is no: "Sounds good" or “part x:xx is weird/good"; not even a "You suck!" Nothing! And that by far concerns me way more.

I tried spreading my work through more than just one kind of social media, even ones dedicated to musicians—to no avail.

To see something that you care for, love, and, yes, I would call me passionate about it, getting absolutely no reaction, is just.... well, it hurts.

Again I am on the way of getting back on my feet, and I am nowhere near done with what I do so...

Thanks in advance and kind greetings,
Nahro

PS: Just to have some relation to how long I have been doing things: I work on and with music for about 5 years, so a pretty decent amount of time. Fursuit building I do for a little over 2 years now, not as much but as you can read I mostly refer to my music.

* * *

Hi, Nahro,

This is an interesting complement to my earlier response to the EDM composer. In his case, he was hurt by negative criticism; in your case, it’s the lack of any response at all. So, which is worse? Being criticized and told you suck or being completely ignored? In your opinion, anyway, being ignored is worse, and I would tend to agree. At least with negative criticism, you might learn something from audience reaction that improves your work. Without that, you are just in limbo.

As you and I both know, getting noticed and becoming famous doesn’t mean your art is good. It just means it is getting attention.  Some examples of crappy songs that got people famous include “Achy Breaky Heart” by Billy Ray Cyrus, “Macarena” by Los del Rio, and, more recently, “Gangnam Style” by PSY. These songs prove that you don’t have to be talented, just catchy and simplistic and a lot of people will eat it up (hope I don’t get hate mail for this, but it is one bear’s opinion.) Meanwhile, really cutting edge stuff that is friggin awesome often gets little recognition. Why? Because it doesn’t have mass appeal. Another thing to note is that the large majority of people enjoy things that are familiar. So, if they enjoy Coheed and Cambria’s “The Suffering” (people seem to think it is Emo, but sounds like Metal to me; love the hook on it) they will try and find music similar to that.

So, two possible strategies there are: 1) be imitative (at least at first), or 2) be simplistic, cater to the bottom tier (“Awesome! It’s got a good beat and you can dance to it!”).

Other ideas (some more crazy than others):

1. Find a gimmick, like Elton John’s eyeglasses or Michael Jackson’s sequined glove and epaulettes. 
2. Make a music video, do something to draw attention to you visually.
   
3. Do something shocking (but not illegal). Why do we still hear about Lindsay Lohan? Because she’s a talented actress? OMG, no. Because she keeps getting arrested and acting like a douche. Paris Hilton? A brainless wonder, but she’s rich and acts like a fool at parties, so we know her name. Now, I’m not recommending you get arrested (and you obviously aren’t rich), but “stunts” get people noticed and talking about you. Remember: there’s no such thing as bad publicity. The goal here is to get exposure to your music.
4. Be more vocal: post opinions—the more outrageous the better—on forums and chat rooms about your music and music in general. Get people talking about you, even if they hate your guts.
5. Get somebody to recommend you, someone people know. You do this by approaching people who have names that have some weight behind them; present them with your work and see if you can get a quote out of them.
6. Website: if you don’t already have one and are just posting your stuff on other people’s sites, then get one. Give it an eye-catching design and post your music on it and photos, update it regularly. 
7. Social media: get your own Facebook and Twitter sites. Not for you personally, but for marketing your music. These pages will be solely used to upsell what you are composing. Yes, you said you tried social media, but you can't just post things like, "Please listen to my song." You have to be really out there: Tweet, "My latest song puts Bruno Mars to shame." Even if most people disagree with you, it will get a reaction.
8. Mailing lists: Solicit people to join your email list and send them regular newsletters (once or twice a month) about what you are doing with your music.
9. Advertise: many people confuse advertising with marketing. They aren’t the same thing. Most of the stuff on this list is marketing; advertising merely deals with placing ads on websites or printed material, or sometimes on tchotchkes like mugs, T-shirts, and pens. Invest in some ad placement.
10. Get involved: Don’t just focus on what you are doing; get involved in the music industry as a whole. Become a reporter or blogger about the music industry, get your name out there and refer often to your own website and music.
11. Take a marketing class. Sounds boring, yes? Yes. But you can learn a lot from a good marketing course.

It’s not enough to be an artist in this world. Even if you’re talented, you just can’t sit back and hope people will find your stuff and react to it. You have to market yourself. If you do it right, quite frankly even if you really DO suck, you can become famous.

That’s America.

Good luck!

Papabear

Have some free time before class, and need to practice different species, so doing a couple sketch requests.

Examples at http://www.furaffinity.net/user/rebelpup/ aaaand these are free so what do you have to lose? c:

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RedSilver: Nature’s Evolutions is a new anthropomorphic fantasy novel written by Steve Alford. It’s available now at Lulu.com. “When Red Sunset, an ordinary vixen from Devon, is chosen by Mother Gaia to defend the Heart Forest from attack, she can hardly believe what is happening to her. As one of the legendary Animentals, she can command powers she could only ever have dreamed of. But this is a far from idyllic situation. The Heart Forest is under attack by strange creatures unlike anything she has ever seen before. And if the Animentals fail, the consequences run far further than she could ever imagine…” The book is illustrated in black & white by the artist known as Silent Ravyn, who has also uploaded a collage of illustrations to their Fur Affinity page.

image c. 2013 by Silent Ravyn

I've seen a lot of fursuiters that will have like wolf or husky backpacks, some even of themselves! Where do you buy/commission these? I've been looking everywhere and have only found some really crappy ones on ebay.

Thanks!

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And by ready to join, I mean that I am more and more starting to identify with what I think is furry lifestyle (whatever that actually means).

I've been trying to give some thought to my fursona, but not sure how to come to that conclusion. I've looked at a few of the novelty quizzes out there, but wasn't really happy with the results (apparently I'm a skunk).

I'd love to hear advice on how to transition myself into this brave new world.

Thanks!

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Howdy PapaBear,

I'd like to know how to perform damage control in the (extremely) likely event that my identity as a furry leaks out into my extended family's grasp.

The Long-Winded Explanation:

I've always been seen as a "good" kid by my family and extended family. It's mainly because I haven't crossed any of those Conservative Texan family boundaries (drugs, getting girlfriend pregnant, etc.)

It is extremely likely that my extended family members are looking for dirty laundry on us good kids in order to drag my parents through the dirt.

My mom considered a girl wearing one of the cat-eared hairbands in public a "bizarre" sight, and I can't say my dad would like the idea of his son being a bisexual furry in a world most known for its relatively small content of yiff art. I probably should tell them that I have feelings for men, but I haven't yet.

Anyhoo.....

My sister recently discovered me writing a fairly detailed (but clean) letter to a new contact on a furry forum, and I think she'll tell mom. Although mom has been understanding of my privacy needs, and she probably knows I am "up to something", I think the humiliation will commence once she confronts me. I'm not so much worried about the hell she'll put me through, but I am worried that my sister will use this new discovery as blackmail (e.g. threaten to tell the extended family). 

It feels like I've loaded five out of six cartridges into a revolver, and I'm watching the cylinder spin. I've been as lucky as a coyote can be, but I'm anticipating a "bang" at the end of this game of Russian/Sixgun Roulette.

Thanks for Listening,
Skyote (age 25)

(I'm writing this at night so hopefully I have made sense.)

* * *

Dear Skyote,

Pardon my saying so, but your family sounds awfully nasty. If they are as you say they are, you’ve got an extended family that can’t wait to find dirty laundry so they can “drag your parents through the dirt”; then you have a sister who seems to be more than willing to help these nasty people, or, barring that, to blackmail you; and then you have a mother who will put you through hell once you’re discovered to be a furry. I’m sure all these people consider themselves to be “good Christians.” Small wonder you fear them.

I’m guessing that your fear may be based on your still living with your parents? If you’re doing so because of a financial issue or physical disability, I can understand how uncomfortable this can be. Once your furry side (or your bisexual side) is outed, you face the real possibility of your family trying to control your behavior or, worse, “cure” you by sending you to some camp. So you feel trapped.

One good solution would be for you to get out of the house, if possible. At 25, I hope it would be possible. If not, the other option is to downplay the importance of your being a furry. You say you are a “good kid” who never gets involved in drugs and sex and you keep your nose clean. Do you go to church with your family? Are you involved in sports or other hobbies? If so, that’s good. If your sister “outs” you as a furry, just shrug your shoulders and nonchalantly say, “Oh, yeah, I’ve talked to some furries and stuff. No big deal. I do lots of things and that’s just one of them.” If you don’t act like it is a live-or-die situation, your parents will also sense that it’s not a big deal and may just shrug it off as well.

Eventually, though, Skyote, although you can play this game for a while, you will have to come out as yourself, both as a furry and as a bisexual man. You’re in your twenties, and at some point you’re going to need to stand up for yourself, and that means facing your family. They will, of course, try and take the high ground and say you’re not a good Christian. Let them spout off. Both you and I know already that you are a better person than any of them will ever be.

You are who you are because God made you that way. Sounds to me He did a pretty good job in your case. Sounds like the mold might have been damaged in your family’s case by (imitating The Church Lady from SNL), oh, I don’t know..... SATAN? No offense :-P

Rather than worry about what your small-minded family thinks, what you should be working on is a way to improve your own living situation so you can live independently of them. That’s the best course for you.

And, if you do at some point have to face that “big bang” when your mother or some other holier-than-thou person tells you what an awful person you are for liking furries, turn the other cheek and say, “Well, I know I’m not perfect, but nobody is perfect, right, Mom [or Whoever]? Anyway, I don’t recall any passage in the Bible saying ‘Thou shalt not be a furry.’ I think Jesus will understand if I think anthropomorphic cartoons are kinda cool.”

When you’re not embarrassed or ashamed of who you are, derps like your sister have no weapons to harm you. It’s like with me. If one of my relatives or even a stranger pointed at me and accused me of being gay or a furry, I’d be like, “Pfft! So? Big deal. That and five bucks gets you a cup of coffee at Starbucks.” It’s all in the attitude.

Hugs,

Papabear

So, I'm writing a story about furry culture for my school's lgtbq magazine at syracuse university. I need to interview someone who is a furry and who is immersed in the culture and knowledgeable about it. There is a lot of misunderstanding about the culture and I seek to write a truthful story, educating people about what it is and what it is not. This interview would need to be done by phone. So, if you want to help me out that would be sooooo great!

EDIT: You CAN be anonymous!! And this is to put furries in a good light. I take my subject matter very sensitively so anything you tell me won't be judged or turned around and be used negatively. I can even send you a draft before it is published.

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