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BLFC BASH!: Saturday
A huddle, a parade, and a thief. You've never seen anything quite like this at a con. FACEBOOK: http://www.Facebook.com/TheRaccoonsDen TWITTER: http://www.Tw... From: TheRaccoonsDen Views: 420 26 ratings Time: 05:51 More in Entertainment

Strange dark night
a fox crawls on the ground
towards a beautiful melon
- Bashô, Summer 1681

 

“We often act as if our animal-person representation really exists” wrote JM in his article, Furries with Physical Disabilities, here on [adjective][species]. In this article, he notes that for “for many furries, there are big physical differences between their real-world bodies and their preferred avatar” and this can be “a liberating experience”. This would be particularly true for furries with physical disabilities. But more than liberation, I would say that the furry I met who had physical disabilities was overcoming his handicap, because his wished hybrid identity was not so far from him as you may think at first sight. Lukio is a young man living in Grenoble. He has discovered the fandom at the age of 16 and is now 20. His fursona is a hybrid human-fox that he drew on his own. Before speaking a bit more about his avatar, I should speak about a very common disorder called dyspraxia.

Christian Ballouard, psychologist and occupational therapist, explains praxia and dyspraxia in these terms (Ref Ballouard, Christian. Dyspraxie, les gestes incontrôlables in Les Grands Dossiers des Sciences Humaines. 2010/9 (N°20). – 27):

Praxia is the scientific word for the creation of gestures. Praxies, or actions, are not just any movements, but movements that are created to perform a specific result or intent (e.g. writing, or cutting meat).

 

The disability affects the planning of the action, and the translation of the intended action into the desired gesture. It is not a hand-eye coordination issue; rather a disruption in the processes that organize the movement.

 

To sum up, dyspraxia can be perceived as simple “clumsiness”. It is not as alarming in children as in adults, because children’s brain plasticity allows them to progress and overcome their difficulty. Dyspraxia for a child, particularly, involves his perception: perception of spaces, perception of his own body and gestures.

I would not have understood that Lukio had this kind of disability if he had not told me. I remember his manner was some combination of shyness, and something intangible, mysterious, that I couldn’t put my finger on. Long silences punctuated our conversation. First, I was a bit ill-at-ease but after a while I accepted the silences, as if moments in time were becoming elastic. Perception was starting to be different, even for me.

We had decided to meet in a café in Grenoble. But after an hour of text messages explaining where I was, giving the address, the tram stop, etc, Lukio was still not here. We decided to meet in the place he was at the moment, where I would easily reach him. Nobody was there when I arrived. That was a true game of hide-and-seek and I began to think: well, I guess foxes are really hard to catch.

My thoughts were to link furry to dyspraxia. I could understand that maybe Lukio was a bit lost because his perception of space was a little different. I am still fascinated how it made me change my own perception of the city. How walking became a game, how normally useless steps became alternative ways to spend my time. I had the feeling of following an animal, as if I was on a trail, as if the city was a jungle. Images came to my mind. He was not lost because he was dyspraxic but because he was a furry.

Let’s go further in this idea. Lukio has now nearly totally corrected his clumsiness, but keeps a sense of mysteriousness about his gestures. Is such clumsiness not comparable to animal moves or animal behaviours? A dog, a cat, or a fox may not be able to eat properly but they are excellent hunters. They will not find their way by reading street signs but by their own instinct, flair, and innate sense of orientation. They are potentially uncoordinated or clumsy, yet powerful and precise when it is needed.

I noticed that, contrary to these many furries who have big differences between their avatar and themselves, Lukio is closer to his than one might imagine. But the connection is subtle, it is in his behavior, in his way of moving, that maybe consciously or unconsciously he incorporated in the furry he became.

Neurology is not the only treatment for dyspraxia: psychology plays a big part in the process of recovery. Thus is it possible to suggest that Lukio has sublimated his disability. He celebrates a part of himself, he has transformed positively something that might be negatively perceived. Sublimation is not illusional, it is “a certain form of catharsis, that of the author and not the public, a difficult and necessary work, a conversion of the whole being into what is deeply true on the inside.” (Ref Saint Girons, Baldine. Sublimation in Encyclopédia universalis. 1985. – 310.)

Is it possible that one might be helped to manage or overcome dyspraxia via zoomorphic imagination, via mirror neurons:

The idea of mirror neurons is still new but is the subject of growing scientific investigation.  Mirror neurons are brain neurons that fire when an animal performs a certain action, when the animal observes the same action performed by another, or by simply imagining the action. Researchers think that mirror neurons are particularly important to human beings. (Ref)

 

Although this psychological theory is relatively new, it may be interesting to see how it could be understood in a furry context. If, by the way of his imagination, Lukio can activate some specific neurons linked to movement when thinking about his furry identity, it is possible that this would help to perfect his gestures, his praxia. In fact, all furries are potentially redefining their perceptions through their zoomorphic imagination. This is just a hypothesis but is especially relevant in light of a growing field: that of zootherapy . Zootherapy is starting to become common although is still controversial. Zootherapy attempts to heal people using an animal for psychological support, or to help build and strengthen psychomotor abilities.

In the end, what’s most important is maybe not that finding a deep identical link with a hybrid imaginary fox will heal somebody, but to consider that every furry—everyone exploring an zoomorphic connection—may be developing new perceptions of themselves and the outside world.

Finally, let’s come back to Bashô’s beautiful poem opening this text. This Haiku has been interpreted as having two main meanings. The first one would assert that the melon is a metaphor, a treasure that the fox wants to get, and he has to crawl—an uncomfortable but effective movement—to win his prize. Another possibility is that the image of the fox is linked with the melon and that he is crawling as the melon does, when it slowly grows across the ground. So, the relationship between the melon and the fox is the transfer of the ‘crawling’ characteristic from the second to the first. This is close to the ‘Becoming-Animal’ concept from Deleuze and Guatari’s seminal philosophical work ‘A Thousand Plateaux‘.

At the end of my reflections, I was left wondering what is most important for Lukio: is it the prize of having cured a disability, or is it the discovery of a new range of sensations and perceptions to explore. And are we exploring them too?

BLFC BASH!: Friday
Fursuit interviews, dances and more on such a glorious Friday night! FACEBOOK: http://www.Facebook.com/TheRaccoonsDen TWITTER: http://www.Twitter.com/Bandit_... From: TheRaccoonsDen Views: 689 27 ratings Time: 07:43 More in Entertainment

BLFC BASH!: Sunday
Nerf wars, sexy baby talks, dancing fursuits, and of course, Twerkaflop! FACEBOOK: http://www.Facebook.com/TheRaccoonsDen TWITTER: http://www.Twitter.com/Ban... From: TheRaccoonsDen Views: 247 21 ratings Time: 05:45 More in Entertainment

BLFC BASH!: Main Menu
Now in Reno, NV!!! Check out this amazing trip to BLFC 2013! Select where you want to start your adventure! FACEBOOK: http://www.Facebook.com/TheRaccoonsDen ... From: TheRaccoonsDen Views: 321 16 ratings Time: 00:28 More in Entertainment

submitted by ClayCRUSH
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submitted by RaizaMane
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I dug her art so much that I figured I'd do a shameless plug for her here.

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/10556128/#cid:69327674

She's pretty prompt! :3

submitted by Seebaren
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What is your favorite place to eat? It’s been a while since we talked about food for an entire episode, so we thought it was time. Today we talk about the numerous non-chain restaurants we have to choose from in our respective homes, or the lack thereof.

Please no salivating in the comment field.

Metadata and Credits WagzTail Podcast 2.0 Episode 74
Runtime: 30m
Cast: Levi, Soren, Wolfin
Editor: Levi
Format: 128kbps ABR split-stereo MP3
Copyright: © 2013 WagzTail.com. Some Rights Reserved. This podcast is released by WagzTail.com as CC BY-ND 3.0. If distributed with a facility that has an existing agreement in place with a Professional Rights Organisation (PRO), file a cue sheet for 26:00 to Fabien Renoult (BMI) 1.67%, Josquin des Pres (BMI) 1.67%, WagzTail.com 96.67%. Rights have been acquired to all content for national and international broadcast and web release with no royalties due. Podcast image belongs to Ariel da Silva Parreira, used with permission. Episode 74 – Favorite Restaurant - What is your favorite place to eat? It’s been a while since we talked about food for an entire episode, so we thought it was time. Today we talk about the numerous non-chain restaurants we have to choose from in our respective homes, or the lack thereof.

Author: Patch Packrat Freak’s Amour, by Tom De Haven, is simply a masterpiece. This is some of the best weird literature that few seem to have heard of or remember. It’s been out of print for 27 years. I started it once, long ago when I was just getting into science fiction and weird genre stuff. It [...]

Author: Fred Animation Scoop’s Jerry Beck announces two new crowdfunded animation projects, both anthropomorphic. One is Ghost of a Tale – a video game featuring a mouse warrior-bard in a medieval world, by Lionel “Seith” Gallat, a former supervising animator or animation director at DreamWorks and Illumination. Gallat’s Indiegogo site shows he has raised €28,407 [...]

submitted by Riley_Coyote
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submitted by Neptunia360
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Hullo! So good to see you again! Yet another casting about of pods in the name of logic most fuzzy!

This week’s first half discussions include Smokey’s National Novel Writing Month project finally coming to a close. Kyo follows up with excitement over the conclusion of the latest season of Drag Race as well as his ex-mother stalker doing her stalkery thing before finishing off with his car blowing up. Halfwit commiserates with her car similarly failing, or nearly so, on her. Isty discusses a story that has been all over the news, the girls in Colorado who managed to escape their captors after roughly ten years.

Halfwit’s word of the week is a darn good one! And it sparks a bit of discussion as to examples of how everyone on the cast has engaged in it at some point!

When we move on to emails, there are nine! But most of them are short. You had some fantastic questions for us!

We were asked why Kyo hates My Little Pony, if someone can have Isty’s skin, what it’s like being a girl in the fandom (aimed at Halfwit), and even why there was the ‘rumor’ that furries and bronies hate one another. On top of this, we received an empassioned email from Legion Bunny regarding his mother. We wish you all the best dude, keep us aprised and we will help however we can.

Someone asked for us to share an awkward moment we each experienced. Halfwit and Smokey briefly mention where they think their #methodhell project is going. We also got a question from a first time fursuit handler wanting to know how to be a good handler. Sorry if we didn’t provide you with just a whole lot of advice, however our friends over at ‘Fur What It’s Worth’ have a great deal more for first-time fursuiters and their handlers to look into!

Next show’s topic will be about getting over it and moving on. How have you done this? Are you currently having trouble with it? Do you have a story you would like to share that could inspire others to keep their chins up? Write in! Next show will be May 22.

Until then… stay fuzzy, my friends!

Don’t forget to vote for us in the Ursa Majors!

If you’re interested in reading Smokey’s NaNoWriMo project, “The Legend of Zelda: Reclamation”, you can do so by clicking here: The Legend of Zelda: Reclamation on The Treetop Inn

Music Break: All Men Are Pigs – Studio Killers
Music provided by Kyo this week! Yay purple moozeek!

Episode Summary Music: Crash Test Dummy Man: Mega Man 2 – OC Remix

Episode 83 – Ask Us Anything! - Hullo! So good to see you again! Yet another casting about of pods in the name of logic most fuzzy! This week’s first half discussions include Smokey’s National Novel Writing Month project finally coming to a clos[...]

Author: Fred Voting for the 2012 Ursa Major Awards, for the best anthropomorphic literature and art of the calendar year 2012 in eleven categories, closes on May 15. If you have not voted yet, you have a week left to do so on the Ursa Major Awards website. In addition, the Anthropomorphic Literature and Arts [...]

submitted by Crono30067
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Just curious to who else here is playing defiance? My name on there is Mako Fox

I've created a clan named The Defiant Fur

submitted by CalistaF
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And another furry Kickstarter campaign of note: Fox Hollow Tales is the creation of Jennifer Carson (writer, designer) and Pat Ann Lewis (illustrator). It’s a series of full-color illustrated books for young readers, featuring the adventures of a multi-species cast of characters in late 19th Century New England. The first book in the series, Wojer and the Wizard of the Wood, is nearing completion — and the creators are seeking crowdfunding to get it there, as well as to get started on the second book in the series, Wojer and the Black Knight. Visit their Kickstarter page to find out more, and to see a video trailer for the series.

image c. 2013 by Pat Ann Lewis

submitted by CombatBombat
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