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Man, I wish the whole "Dancing on ice" on ITV was just bears.
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Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.

Red is the Darkest Color, by Brett A. Brooks
Atlanta, GA, Pandahead Publishing, June 2016, trade paperback, $15.95 ([4 +] 280 [+ 2] pages), Kindle $2.99.

The Devil Was Green, by Brett A. Brooks
Atlanta, GA, Pandahead Publishing, January 2017, trade paperback, $15.95 ([3 +] 278 pages), Kindle $2.99.

Pussy Katnip owns and is the popular chanteuse at the Kit Kat Klub in Mutt Town. But she’s not reluctant to step outside her club to help someone in need – especially if this involves clashing with an old enemy:

“With more than a slight jag to his turn, Todd looked back at the stage, and then back to the bartender. ‘Does … well, that is to say, do you know if Miss Katnip ever sees any of the people who come to see her?’

Robby snorted softly. ‘Depends on who it is and what they want. You a fan?’

‘I … truthfully, I’ve never heard Miss Katnip sing before.’ He picked up the scotch and took a small sip. ‘I was hoping that I might …’ There was a moments [sic.] pause, followed by Todd taking a much larger sip and then looking Robby in the eye. ‘I’ve heard that Miss Katnip can help people. Sometimes at least. I was truly hoping that she might see me tonight.’

‘Oh.’ Robby nodded. ‘Well, y’see, Miss Katnip tries to keep a low profile, y’know? She’s not the type who goes out and gets in trouble herself.’ Casually, Robby scratched under his chin. ‘But, just for conversation purposes, what is it you was wanting to talk to Miss Katnip about? You got law troubles?’

‘What? No. No, nothing like that.’ Todd sat up straight. ‘The police and I … they haven’t been an issue. In fact, they haven’t been willing to talk to me much at all.’” (Red, pgs. 4-5)

When Todd Crocker comes into her club looking for help against a mob boss who is threatening him, he is told not to worry. Boss Dogg and his chief enforcer Mugsy are familiar adversaries. Pussy visits Boss’ rival night club, the Dogg House, during the day when it’s closed and persuades him and Mugsy to leave Todd alone:

“Faster than the eye could follow, Pussy grabbed the chair and raised it up, smashing it against the brute attacking her. Splinters of wood showered down as Mugsy flew up into the air, landing hard on the ground.

She was on him instantly. Grabbing him by the shirt, she spun around, flinging him over ten feet into the seating area. The table and chairs he met did not respond well, and the sound of cracking wood filled the space.

Pussy looked to Boss. ‘Don’t move.’ He didn’t.

[…]

‘Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to drop everything that Mr. Crocker owes you. You aren’t going to bother him, or even remember that he exists. Your dealings with him are through. Am I clear?’   She stopped inches away from him.

‘Yeah. Yeah, sure.’ He nodded rapidly.” (Red, pgs. 20-22)

Pussy seems to be the clear winner, until a mystery vixen, Foxy Kitt, offers to take care of Pussy for free. All that Boss Dogg needs to do is to get Foxy hired as a singer at the Kit Kat Klub.

Their plot involves getting rid of the Kit Kat’s other singer, Jenny Foal.   Foxy Kitt appears to be an innocent replacement when Jenny abruptly quits and leaves Mutt Town. Pussy, suspicious, goes after her, leaving Foxy free to work.

Pussy finds herself confronted in Big City by crooked Bulldog Baxter and more of his goons than she expects. She needs her super-strength potion.

“In the hours that she waited at the station for the noon train, Pussy swirled the bottle in front of her countless times. There was barely enough to even register. One dose. That’s all she had left. No way that she could handle all those goons with just one dose. She needed to get back to the club. To her supply.” (Red, p. 85)

But it’s not there. Foxy has been busy. She has the fizz now, and she knows how to use it.

• §         §         §         §         §         §         §         §         §         §

Pussy Katnip is not Brett A. Brooks’ creation. In a Foreword to Red is the Darkest Color, he explains how he found her in an old comic book of the 1940s. Pussy Katnip was probably the most obscure, most forgotten, most improbable, and ugliest funny-animal series ever created. Brooks considers it his one-man mission to rescue her from obscurity.

Brooks isn’t a cartoonist, so he has done this through a series of novels and short stories rather than comic books; the two novels reviewed here, and the Kindle short stories Under the Gray, A Hand of Gold, and The Hillside Murder Club. (The protagonist in the last is detective Lila Ringtail, a supporting character in The Devil Was Green.)

Brooks can do this because the comic books that Pussy Katnip appeared in have long been discontinued. Their publisher went bankrupt in 1950; nobody knows anything about the signed “Len Short” (it may be a pseudonym); the copyrights have all expired; and nobody cares, anyway. Look at the sample here from the original comics and decide: would you want to claim responsibility for this?

The combination of crime noir thriller and superheroes never worked well before, although Brooks does a much better than usual job of blending them here. He has made a couple of slight changes: he has turned Pussy’s Katnip Kafe into the Kit Kat Klub (“Kafe” was not convincing as the name of the night club shown in the comics). He has turned Robert the bartender from a pig into Robby, a bird (robin?), and Mugsy from a fox into a wolf. And he has lessened the funny-animal atmosphere by describing background characters as “men”: a hog-like man, the bull-like man, a cute little lamb of a girl, a wolfish man. But this works against the nature of the Pussy Katnip stories as funny-animal stories. If you are not familiar with the 1940s comic books, you’ll never know that the bartender was originally a pig or that Mugsy was a fox. And there is no way to know what new characters like Todd Crocker are supposed to be.

• §         §         §         §         §         §         §         §         §         §

Red is the Darkest Color (cover by Valentina Barmina) appears to be somewhat inspired by one of the original comic-book stories; the four-page “Eviction Enigma” in All Your Comics, a December 1944 132-page one-shot. Brooks has combined that with his own origin story of Pussy and of the Katnip clan’s ancestral fizz.

The Devil Was Green (cover by Toth “Darbaras” Dávid László) begins with an old friend of Pussy’s appearing in the Kit Kat Klub:

“The sixth row. Table eighteen, to be precise. She weaved her way to it without pause, and before she arrived the only person at the table was already standing.

Pussy stopped three feet away from her. The other woman stood shorter than Pussy. A delicate white covered her body. Long ears lopped down on either side of her face, peeking out from under a stylish coiffure of platinum blond hair. If you knew where to look, you could see a dark brown patch over her right eye, hidden by a good bit of makeup. Pussy knew exactly where to look.

‘Of all the clubs in all the world …’ Pussy shook her head. ‘I never expected to see you here.’

‘Sorry, Princess,’ the bunny’s voice was soft but clear. ‘I didn’t see a sign telling me to keep out.’

‘It’s been a long time, Spot.’ Pussy shook her head.” (Green, pgs. 2-3)

Pussy introduces Spot, Coney Hase, to Robby and tells him how they used to be old friends; that when Pussy came to Mutt Town, they shared a room in a cheap rooming house and were waitresses together in a diner. When Robby leaves, Coney gets more intimate:

“Her hand stayed wrapped around the drink in her hand, but Coney did look up at Pussy. ‘I’m sorry. I … I really am happy to see you, Pussy. I wanted to come here. Honest. It’s just …’

‘Just what?’ Pussy prodded.

‘It’s kinda difficult to come in here and see,’ Coney’s head turned as she took a quick look around, ‘all of this. It’s hard to know your friend is a big star when you’re as much a … a loser as I am.” (Green, p. 9)

Coney gets drunk, makes a big scene accusing Pussy of being a false friend, and storms out. Pussy goes to the apartment house where Coney is staying, just in time to find her being murdered:

“Pussy blinked and shook her head. A moment later she put her shoulder into the door a second time. The door exploded off its hinges, falling to the ground in three pieces.

A female figure lay on the ground. She was bruised and beaten, but Pussy recognized her at first glance. Above her stood a man. At least Pussy thought it was a man.

He was tall. Well over seven feet. His skin was alabaster in color, with an obvious rough texture. At the end of his hands were long, curved claws. Similar claws were at the end of his long, three-toed feet. A thick, scaled tail slid back and forth over the floor behind him. Running from the tip of the tail, up his back, and onto his head were a series of raised black spines. These spines became hundreds of smaller quills, curling back off his head like jagged black hair. Two brilliant yellow eyes stared towards her above his snout. And it looked as though smoke rolled out of his nostrils.” (Green, pgs. 16-17)

Pussy is suspected of Coney’s murder. She escapes from Mutt Town’s police to find Coney’s fantastic killer and prove her own innocence, but she is closely pursued by relentless police detective Lila Ringtail (featured on László’s cover):

“She leaned out the window, looking at the glass. Clean shards of glass scattered all the way to the edge of the platform. She pulled herself back inside.

‘Anybody been down below?’ Lila asked.

‘I don’t know,’ the officer [a pig] answered.

‘Okay, well, then stop what you’re doing and go down to that alley. Let me know if you see any blood down there.’ She pointed out the window.

‘I’m supposed to look for prints,’ he responded.

‘Okay. Then go look for prints down in the alley. And while you’re down there, do me a favor and see if there’s any blood.’ She took the cigarette out of her mouth and tapped the ashes outside the window.

‘I’m not –’

‘Do it!’ Any hint of request was gone. This was an order.” (Green, pgs. 29-30)

Will Pussy be able to stay ahead of Lila long enough to find the real killer – whatever it is?

The Pussy Katnip novels and short stories are funny-animal crime noir/superhero fiction that you can’t find anywhere else. Brett A. Brooks has four other books out from his Pandahead Publishing, including Edible Complex featuring teenage zombies, and a set of seven art prints featuring the Pussy Katnip cast.

– Fred Patten

• Buy Red is the Darkest Color on Amazon
• Buy The Devil Was Green on Amazon

Like the article? It takes a lot of effort to share these. Please consider supporting Dogpatch Press on Patreon.  You can access exclusive stuff for just $1, or get Con*Tact Caffeine Soap as a reward.  They’re a popular furry business seen in dealer dens. Be an extra-perky patron – or just order direct from Con*Tact.

Benson Shum is an illustrator and animation artist at Walt Disney Feature Animation. (He worked on Moana, Zootopia, Big Hero 6, and other films.) As part of their Artist Showcase series, Disney-Hyperion published his illustrated children’s book, Holly’s Day at the Pool, which is available on Amazon. “Holly the hippo imagines the worst: Icebergs and icy water, penguins and seals! Her imagination bursts at every turn, making it harder and harder for her to step foot in the pool… Until she get the chance to be a hero. Holly may be scared, but she is a very brave girl.” Now on his web site Mr. Shum announced that he will be illustrating a new book, Go To Sheep, written by Jennifer Sattler. That one’s set to be published by Little Simon later this spring.

image c. 2018 Disney-Hyperion

Looks like I missed this one, video from Fall Out Boy. Thanks to Rodney for pointing this one out.
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Hello Everyone!

Welcome to our first episode of 2018! Thank you for your continued support this year and we hope that this is a year filled with love and laughter for you and yours.

We open this week's discussion with a review of 2018 so far. We briefly touch on Further Confusion and our panel and party there, and have a brief discussion of our respective vacations, cover bands, and how we use the support we get from our Patrons in order to grow our event schedule and make it out to more panel opportunities.

We then shift into our ninth all questions show! We've received a ton of email during our time away and we wanted to address some of the backlog. We go over questions ranging from long distance libido, sexual insecurity, and how to stop chafing your junk when you dry hump. It's a sexy question time this week on Feral Attraction!

For more information, including a list of topics, see our Show Notes for this episode.

Thanks and, as always, be well!

FA 098 All Questions Show Vol 9 - Vacations! Panels! Dick chafing! Questions of roleplay and libido. All this, and more, on this week's Feral Attraction!

Dear Papabear,

I've written to you a number of times, and I'm sure you know I've seen my fair amount of stress in my life thus far. There is someone I have mentioned before, one of my first friends in this fandom, and one of my closest friends to date. Basically, we both went through a lot together, and she was a breath of fresh air after the long time I spent isolated socially.

But the thing is, there is another person I'm gonna refer to as "Z" who a bunch of us met a while back. Z, no offense to him, just isn't the kind of person I really like. He is a little over the top when it comes to dirty jokes, and seems like he never could take something seriously, despite the fact half a year ago I saw him be serious. But then again, half a year is a long time.

Basically the thing is, when Z popped up, my old friend started spending more time with him. And yea this isn't bad, but it caught me off guard a little. He came out of what seemed like nowhere. This isn't something that bothered me, but eventually things like her drawing endless amounts of art for him, almost flat out ignoring if the three of us are all in the same room, and straight up acting more like Z than how she did before. And although I am severely angry at my brother for snooping Z's phone he promised he wouldn't, it turned out some NSFW things had happened with roleplay between them, as well as Z and almost everyone else I knew in that friend group. It didn't help my liking toward him, but I did realize that was private and isn't something I should be concerned about or really even know. Me and my old friend had actually dated in the past, and split over a matter of sexual orientation, so I couldn't decide if this was affecting it or not as well.

It’s no surprise to me what this is: jealousy. 

I have spoken to her a couple different times, and she has debunked a lot of worries I had. Like drawing a lot of art for him, his fursona is good as a template tester since it's not very complex. But for some reason it always keeps coming back to me, and I just don't know what to do.

I think part of it is she means a lot to me after everything that has happened, and I am just scared of being abandoned. I lost T.R. before (albeit in a much worse manner than this), and I still get scared of losing those close to me now.

Bottom line: what can I do to end this jealousy over my old friend and Z. It's been bothering me for months by this point.

Sincerely,
ScarTheFur
 
* * *
 
Hi, Scar,
 
Friendship jealousies in the fandom are quite common and are usually tied to one’s insecurities. The first thing to be done is to acknowledge that jealousy, recognizing it for what it is, and you have done just that—good for you. Next, you need to think about why you are jealous, and you have done that as well by noting that you are afraid you will lose you will lose her like you did T.R. and you will be abandoned. A third thing to do is to talk about your feelings and fears with your friend, and you have done that, too! My goodness, you are three for three so far. Excellent.
 
The only thing left is to figure out where to go from here. When we form friendships, we typically find that different friends fulfill different needs in our lives and enhance us and complement us in different ways. For example, Papabear has friends in the fandom with whom he can talk about furry stuff, but he also has friends who are not furry with whom he shares other interests, such as politics, religion, outdoor activities, movies, going out to eat. None of my friends fulfills all my interests, but all of them together do.
 
You talk about how Z is not like you in their sense of humor and, apparently, interest in furporn. These are things that your long-time friends seems to find interesting and so they have glomped on to Z pretty hard, spending a lot of time with them. This often occurs with new friendships but usually dies down a bit after a certain amount of time. Your old friend denies preferring Z to you, and I would take them at their word for it. It is just an early fascination.
 
What you need to do, then, is target the things that you and your old pal have in common that you can share and that have little or nothing to do with Z.  Say (just making this up) you are both into Pokémon Go and Z isn’t—then spend some time playing that together. Be the friend that fulfills interests that Z can’t or won’t.
 
The other thing is to diversify.  Like a stock portfolio, it is unwise to invest all your emotional cash into one or two friends. That way, if one of those friend’s stock crashes (i.e., they abandon you) you’re not left all alone. I’m not saying that will happen, but it’s just wise not to lean too heavily on just one person.
 
Hope this helps! Good Luck!
 
Papabear

Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.

Intimate Little Secrets, by Rechan
Dallas, TX, FurPlanet Productions, March 2017, trade paperback $9.95 (163 pages), ebook $6.95.

Intimate Little Secrets is a collection of nine “sensual” short stories by Rechan, published for Furry Fiesta 2017. The book is publisher-rated NC-17, for adult readers.

Robert Baird describes the nine stories in his Introduction as “alternately touching and titillating; tantalizing and tender. They invite us to explore the inner lives of characters consistently defined firstly by their refreshing believability.” (p. 7) Some of these stories originally appeared online, on Rechan’s SoFurry and FurAffinity accounts.

Indeed. I have complained before about authors whose characters are only funny animals; animal-headed humans. Rechan never lets that happen. His characters are anthropomorphic animals; a blend of humans and the species that they are described as.

“Fanservice” features Robin and Dean, two shy young mink, office workers on their first evening date. Robin dresses as Veronica Tamas, a TV actress she knows Dean likes. “Part of the problem was Tamas, as a deer, had wonderful legs put on display by the mini-dress lab coat and the sleek knee high black boots. With the longer torso and shorter limbs of a mink, Robin wasn’t pulling it off.” (p. 9)

Robin tries to make it up in other ways:

“For a moment Dean only squeezed her shoulder, then his digits inched up to graze her throat. A faint chirr bubbled up as he stroked her so-soft fur, and she reached out to caress his wrist and forearm.

When his touch moved up to her cheek and muzzle, Robin closed her eyes and tilted into it, a soft breath escaping from her. The scent of him drew her in, her body easing closer to his until they bumped.

That caress lasted only a moment longer before he cupped her cheek, her whiskers brushed his, and she instinctively moved into the oncoming kiss.

Their teeth knocked together.” (p. 14)

They eventually get it right. They never get out of their office that evening. The most unrealistic aspect of “Fanservice” to me was that Robin would go all the way on a first date.

Marjani, a serval in “Strange on a Train” is having a very unpleasant ten-hour nighttime train trip. She can’t get to sleep.

“Well, if she wasn’t getting any sleep then she needed some distraction. Marjani leaned back and tried to get comfortable, sliding her tail through the hole in the seat’s back and into the tail-pouch. A perk of having a shorter tail meant she had more room to flick it. She popped in her headphones, started an audio book, and tried to relax. Of course breathing in to calm her nerves just reminded her again of this miserable train; whatever filters they used to clear the air of mixed-species smells must have been broken, as the collective scent of the passengers, both past and present, had become potent. At lease she wasn’t canine.” (p. 28)

The erotic audio book that she is listening to makes Marjani horny. Another discomfort – or is it? It’s 3 a.m.; most of the other passengers have retired to sleeping cars, and she’s alone except for a handsome skunk who is already eyeing her.

“Like that hunky skunk. How big was he? How would it feel with him on top of her? Dwelling on that, she decided there was no harm in letting him see a little bit more. She even gave him a name in her mind: Hunk.” (p. 31)

See Teagan Gavet’s cover. As they fuck, Marjani can’t help comparing Hunk with Amadi, her absent husband. They have an open relationship, so she has Hunk take their photo while in coitus with her phone to share with Amadi.

“Missed” features Miss Pendigrass, the border collie librarian, and

Beth, her mink assistant, in a BDSM lesbian relationship. The setting seems to be a military academy; “The click-clack of Miss Pendigrass’ riding boots echoed down the hall in her wake, the sound helping to transform her walk from a stately stroll to the confident, no-nonsense prowl more suited to an executive.” (p. 43) Miss Pendigrass is clearly the dominatrix in their meetings in a disused storeroom. All goes well until Beth admits she’s tempted to end their relationship because she’s just met Connor, a golden retriever youth. “He doesn’t make me feel like the way I feel around most males, but the way I am with you, and the girls before you.” (p. 51) Since Beth is undecided about what she wants, Miss Pendigrass determines to experiment with bringing Connor into their relationship; to turn it from a BDSM couple into a sex triangle.

In “Fireworks”, Desiree is a gazelle who works for an escort service. Jacob, a deer who is tired of his family nagging him to find a girlfriend and get married, hires her to pretend they’re dating at a family dinner. The dinner is not a success, but Desiree persuades Jacob to get therapeutic counseling about developing a higher self-esteem.

“Teeth” is a three-page mood piece between Carli, a lioness, and the unnamed narrator who can’t climax until he feels about to die:

“In that moment Carli’s muzzle closes enough to stop my breath. Realizing I can’t breathe, my stomach jumps and I fight. Even as I fight, I come, and muffled as I am I cannot wail my delight. I’m not finished before she lets me breathe, and I spend the last moments of the rush clinging and pushing against her, in echo of a fight and in approval.” (pgs. 76-77)

“When the Paint Dries” is the most complex story here. Luis Rojas is a cacomistle high-school teacher and a would-be artist. He was married to Angelita, a nurse, another cacomistle who divorced him three years earlier because of his refusal to have children. He feels likehislife has been on hold since then. She has since remarried Doug, a rat. Now Angelita has returned to Luis with a request. She and Doug want a family, but they cannot breed together because their species are incompatible. She asks if Luis would be the sperm donor of their child, scientifically or the old-fashioned way. Luis must consider this carefully. He still has artistic aspirations to paint Angelica’s portrait. Does he still have any romantic feelings for her? Would he still have any moral obligations to the child? Luis’ decision lets him get on with his life.

“Rickety V” is a sequel to “Missed”. Connor, the golden retriever, is introduced by Beth, the mink, to Janie Pendigrass, the border collie:

“Dipping his nose to her wrist and sniffing, he picked up the scents of books and tea. She didn’t smell him in return, crossing her arms when he was done.” (p. 98)

Janine is frigid toward Connor, but when the women explain their BDSM relationship to him, he’s willing to try it:

“‘What?’ they said together.

‘If that’s something Beth likes, then I want to at least given [sic.] it a try, so that maybe I can do it too.’” (p. 101)

The three are determined to be open and reasonable about whether Connor should join the two, or whether Beth should drop her feelings for Janine and go with Connor. The story is about what they work out.

“Three to Tango” is a sequel to “Strange on a Train” from Amadi’s viewpoint. Amadi and Marjani sure do like their sex games, the lewder the better, especially in a threesome with Kahlua the chipmunk.

In “TLC”, Margaret and Henry are an older fox couple. Henry is dying of ALS; he has already lost the use of his arms. Their children and grandchildren take him out in his wheelchair, but Margaret has learned to masturbate him to an erection at night so they can keep up a pretense of a sex life for the little time he has left.

The stories in Intimate Little Secrets all have sex in them, but it is consensual sex between adults. They are more about the intimate little secrets behind the eroticism. The sex is secondary; Rechan concentrates upon the minds and souls of his furred characters.

– Fred Patten

• Buy on Fur Planet
• Buy ebook on Bad Dog Books
• Follow Rechan on SoFurry
• Follow Rechan on FurAffinity

Like the article? It takes a lot of effort to share these. Please consider supporting Dogpatch Press on Patreon.  You can access exclusive stuff for just $1, or get Con*Tact Caffeine Soap as a reward.  They’re a popular furry business seen in dealer dens. Be an extra-perky patron – or just order direct from Con*Tact.

In the spirit of “How did this sneak up on us?”, it turns out that Condorito now has his own movie — called, appropriately enough, Condorito: The Movie. What, never heard of Condorito? The bird-with-a-beret was created in 1949 by Chilean doctor and political cartoonist René Ríos Boettiger. Since then, the bird has gone on to become practically the Mickey Mouse of Latin America… which is funny, given that he was created to make fun of Walt Disney’s over-sanitized version of Chile in the film Saludos Amigos. The Condorito gag strip (always ending with a lame joke or pun, and lots of characters fainting over backwards with a loud PLOP!) has become so well-known that someone was bound to make an animated movie out of it. And now Pajarraco Films (from Peru!) have brought Condorito to the screen in CGI. (It’s only been released in Spanish with subtitles, so far.) The plot? Condorito would desperately love to date his va-va-voom human girlfriend Yayita, but doing so means he has to get past her disapproving parents. Things get a bit more complicated when invading aliens capture and run off with Yayita’s mama — and who else but Condorito to try and rescue her? Admittedly the critics have not been kind to the film, some complaining that it smooths off the rough edges and adult content of the original strip. Though not very approving either, Lili Loofbourow’s review for The Week has some good background information on the strip. Oh, check out the official trailer too.

image c. 2018 Pajarraco Films

FC was a blast this year ... I wish I had gone to the dance now.
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Genetic modification? Check. A university for Furs only? Check. A nightly sex club with felines, canines, equines, reptiles, humans, and alien werewolves? Check, check, check, check, check, and check!In Joe Sherman’s novel The Student, Chris is a young human interested in the colony of Furs that human society seems to disdain perpetually. However, when he gets accepted at the University in the furry colony, he leaps at the chance to learn more about the strange creatures. What starts out as a geeky sci fi story quickly turns into an erotic novel when Chris’ roommate Marcus (occasionally spelled Markus) introduces him to the local sex club.Now, despite the interesting and perhaps unique premise of the book, I took several key issues with it. As a product itself, the cover is lacking in quality or intent, coming off as maybe a young adult horror with its Gothic font and focus on blood-red. In the print version, most of the image is just dark, so we get the sense of a dark force looming. Yet, nothing of the sort happens in the book. The editing is almost nonexistent. Characters’ names are spelled different ways throughout (even the main character gets a name change in the Introduction), and typos, grammar errors, and awkward formatting become consistent.In terms of overarching plot, there isn’t much of one. You could easily consider the volume a string of male sex fantasies with lots of head-hopping to go with it. Initially, I had the complaint that the book objectifies women to ridiculous levels, but the more I thought about it, the more I think every character exists for sexual gratification. This is about as far from realistic fiction as you can get.Also worth mentioning is the book has a very explicit gang-rape scene that becomes glorified and romanticized to the point where the MC’s general response was ecstasy near the end, publicly stating his annoyance at the gang, and having a mildly sore anus for the days following. This might have been less shocking had there been a trigger warning or any kind of sexual violence up to this point. As it stands though, it’s over-positive and really out of place.However, all these issues aside, the writing style itself is the selling point of the novel. I kept wanting to read more, and I hope to read the sequels when they come out. I think that with a lot of the episodic sex out of the way, the author will be able to explore some of the few plot threads (like the above-mentioned random alien-werewolf) he left open by the end of the book. And again, the writing style is very approachable, and that is hard to do with erotica. On one end of the spectrum is super clunky writing that has you rolling your eyes, and on the other end is super lofty writing that...also leaves you rolling your eyes. His style is wonderful, and I did find myself continuing to turn pages despite its flaws.The book is more porn than erotica, but, if that’s up your alley in a sci-fi setting, this is the book for you!

Furclub: “A repeat/regular nightclub event by furries for furries.” It’s a dance party independent from cons. The concept has been spreading since the late 2000’s. It’s a movement! See the list of parties at The Furclub Survey. Featured here is a new event in Alameda, CA. 

• SpaceCampParty.com
• Tickets on Eventbrite
• Twitter
• Meetup
• Facebook
• Faction Brewing – the venue

Space themed costumes, dancing, DJ’s, fursuiting, craft beer, and waterfront views on San Francisco and the Bay Bridge! This is happening at a massive 1200+ person hangar converted to a brewery.  There’s 10,000 sq. feet of indoor fursuit-friendly naturally cooled space, free secure parking, and a huge outdoor patio with food trucks. Space Camp joins Frolic party, Wild Things, and Party Animals as events for SF Bay Area furry night life.

For San Francisco Pride 2017, I organized with the Burning Man art car “Unaverz” to be our furry float in the parade. They’re coming to Space Camp as a mobile sound system with DJ and upper deck hang out space. Not just furries, but Burners and anyone who wants an amazing party should come check this out. Tell your friends!

@NachoHusky (contact on Telegram or Twitter) is the organizer. Roman Otter, the volunteer coordinator, wants to hear from anyone interested in volunteering. (A short shift gets free entry – sign up on the main site). Those interested in doing photos or videos should get in touch.

The pre-party fursuit photo shoot and volunteer meet:

Nacho Husky – photo by Pup Leo

Photo by Pup Leo

Photo by Pup Leo

At Faction brewing it was a clear Sunday afternoon on the bay. The breeze smelled like garlic fries from the food truck. 40-some furries including 30 fursuiters turned out for the pre-party meet. The place was packed with all ages, including dogs and kids on the patio. They loved running around and laughing at sight of the fursuiters. We had to shoo them away from the indoor fursuit lounge. When we came out, they challenged a 6-foot Dalmatian to a race (the kids won.)  A family waved me over to say hi to a baby who was probably 10 months old in a teddy bear outfit: “he’s in training to be one of you guys.”

Marbles and Cheesecake, a happy young woman with green hair and a guy wearing her patched jacket, were there to do videos. It was their first furmeet. Being new to the community and under 21, they had heard of how popular Frolic party was and were longing for a chance to go. They were extra excited to find out about local bowling meets for all ages.

Blue skies were more than just the mood for Toby, a pilot fur. He joked with me about wanting to fly over the party and buzz the shore – I told him to come do sky writing, or take us up for some fursuit skydiving to really turn up the space theme.

TopDawg, a raver fur I know as an event promoter, told me about planning to bring 3 loads of lighting for Space Camp. I asked if he had other parties going on in the last year. “There’s no parties after your friends die in a warehouse fire” he said sadly, talking about the Ghost Ship disaster that I wrote about in December 2016. He was almost going to be security for it. It was an exceptionally extreme case of mismanagement, but even so – “now they think all underground parties are like that”. Impossible costs were why they were underground in the first place and then crackdowns made things even harder. A new venue inviting us is a great thing for the community.

How does one get into such a great place when furry events don’t happen just anywhere? Nacho told me about helping to save the brewery business by upgrading their electrical system and getting owed a favor. The owner told me that any time they need computer help, she calls Nacho. Hopefully he has good success that leads to repeats (and more budget for ideas like bouncy castles outdoors.)

“This meet was a great idea”, Roman Otter told me. “The owner has been walking around and meeting us, and she gets to see who is coming. It’s really easing any tension.” In fact this isn’t just taking a chance on inviting furries – it’s Faction’s first after hours party for anyone.

A parade of fursuiters headed next door to Hangar One Vodka. While we got group photos by the equipment, we talked about their flavors. “One day collectors will search out this batch”, I told a friend – “It’s the recipe they can’t repeat, specially infused with wet dog”.

See you there on March 10, 8PM – 2AM.  Faction Brewing, 2501 Monarch Street, Alameda CA.

Like the article? It takes a lot of effort to share these. Please consider supporting Dogpatch Press on Patreon.  You can access exclusive stuff for just $1, or get Con*Tact Caffeine Soap as a reward.  They’re a popular furry business seen in dealer dens. Be an extra-perky patron – or just order direct from Con*Tact.

And here we go again… Another cool animated funny animal series that has picked distribution around the world but somehow skipped North America… well, at least not the US of A. Here’s what Animation World Network has to say about Animanimals: “Each of the 26 non-dialogue episodes features a different animal facing an absurd adventure with a surprise ending. The series has already won 20 prizes across the world, including the Audience Award at the New York Children’s Film Festival for two consecutive years — for the films Zebra and Octopus — and the award for the Best Film for Young Children at the Chicago Children’s Film Festival for Zebra… The family entertainment series Animanimals is produced by highly experienced and creatively driven Studio Film Bilder in Stuttgart, which also has garnered many awards over its 28-year history… “All stories are driven by director Julia Ocker’s engaging sense of humor,” says Thomas Meyer-Hermann, founder of Studio Film Bilder. “There is laughter and empathy throughout the story, and then excitement at the clever and creative solution.“” Now it’s ready to be shown in much of Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, New Zealand, and Canada. We’ll let you know if it gets closer to us here!

image c. 2018 Studio Film Bilder

Are we ready for a cute spider? https://youtu.be/ieIeBWulAiQ https://youtu.be/_50sPyfgVA4 https://youtu.be/VrS6akzR3sk
View Video

An unresolved issue

You may know Magnus Diridian (AKA Rob Shokawsky) as “The Confederate fursuiter” who’s banned from furry conventions. What happens after being arrested for trespassing at Midwest FurFest 2017, and featuring in a news article about troll activity? How about a challenge to clear the air and explain things. That is, if a simple case of people being bothered by unwanted behavior needs any further explanation at all.

There don’t seem to be many people asking for it. But long story short, Magnus got in trouble and wanted to explain. I took the opportunity to talk, but not in the way he hoped. Honestly I’m not interested in rehashing what everyone already read about the 2017 arrest. He’ll have his day in court.  Something else was an open and bothersome issue, and I focused on that instead.  The previous article only hinted about it. Now I’m going to be really direct.

A crime suspect

Magnus was a suspect in the unsolved Midwest Furfest 2014 chemical attack, where chlorine gas hospitalized 19 people and made national news. In public discussion, it was called attempted murder. I spent most of a two hour live chat asking probing questions about it. (A screencast was recorded for proof, but only the text is here to protect names in it). The interview isn’t super conclusive, but it did confirm from the main source most everything I already knew. Some of it is sure to make your whiskers twitch. Some might raise new, unanswered questions.

It’s interesting that Magnus was convicted and jailed for a terroristic chemical attack on a bank in 2004. (There was a reader tip about it.) As requested, we didn’t discuss his past record, but it’s relevant to at least link it.

For someone with this history, wouldn’t it be sensible not to come back and act out in 2017? That was a choice leading to the story now.

Digging up background info

Before doing direct questions, I researched and chatted with sources close to the events at MFF in 2014. Three sources, including a con staffer, independently confirmed he was a suspect. An FBI agent from Chicago manages the case.

This came up again in 2017 because of a tangential issue on the FBI radar: the Altfurry/Furry Raiders groups, and FR founder Foxler. Magnus isn’t a member, but has known Foxler for a while.  According to ex-Raiders members, Foxler bragged that he knew who did the chemical attack before it happened, and told a fanciful tale of being blackmailed into silence by “anti furry terrorists”. I took that with a huge amount of skepticism and said nothing, because Raiders troll their own members (some of them left the group when I showed them proof). But it got out from ex-Raiders, and the FBI went to Foxler’s house for a knock and talk. Furry Raiders activity is under surveillance. Foxler tweeted the FBI agent’s business card with a fake excuse about the reason.

(Much more info showing the FBI were tipped by an ex Raider)

Meanwhile, I found and chatted with Magnus’s roommates from the MFF hotel in 2014. They had never been interviewed about the night of the attack and hadn’t talked to him since 2014. I learned that shortly before the incident, Magnus ran out into a busy road while fursuiting. A staffer yelled at him and his spotter and almost took their badges. Magnus was mad at staff for ruining the fun. I asked if they had ever suspected Magnus of involvement in the attack (perhaps for revenge?), and it was a thought at some point but no more than briefly, and there was no chlorine in the room anywhere. However Magnus drove from Wisconsin to Chicago, so there must have been a vehicle besides what was in the hotel room.

Livejournal posts by Magnus from 2014

First post about the attack at MFF. (They’ll think about murder?)

Second post about the attack at MFF.

More sources

• MFF statement about the chemical attack
• Victim statement about the attack
• VICE: CSI Fur Fest: The Unsolved Case of the Gas Attack at a Furry Convention
• Post from MFF roommate of Magnus
• Frost Cat questioned by authorities about the attack

When the 2017 MFF arrest happened, Magnus’ boyfriend contacted me to defend him. They immediately anticipated that I might post about him because of the previous Dogpatch Press article about his Confederate fursuit (“Arkansas”), which involved a ban from Anthrocon. I won’t share that chat to keep relationship stuff private, but on Facebook, they tried downplaying the arrest like it didn’t happen. That became impossible after I posted about it.

Magnus followed up with a GoFundMe for his legal defense that was deleted, and the Facebook response that challenged me to interview him. So I did. It’s important to emphasize that I think what turned up in the research is circumstantial at worst, and doesn’t remove presumed innocence.

 

The interview

[Names redacted only, army discharge info came from a source.]

Magnus 

Heyos, are you Dogpatch?

Patch

Hi yes, this is my account
Left you a note
Interested in an interview?

Magnus

I’d like that. I thought maybe we could do it as far as you sending me a list of questions, and I answer them. I wanted to do a video like that, actually.

Patch

We could just chat right now if it’s ok!

Magnus

well, this is all I have at the moment, just this IM
I think you guys have the wrong impression of me, so I’d like to clear the air

Patch

That’s perfectly fine, I like how IM is a good way to think about things, it’s a little nicer than video
I do have some questions, mind if I go ahead?

Magnus

You didn’t want to do a whole interview format?
Believe me, I know that pretty much everything I say has a fine chance of getting twisted around

Patch

This is just great – I usually do it this way, it does go into a written article – I’m not a video maker
And don’t worry, I would not be taking anything out of context or altering any words – all 100% verbatim

Magnus

mmm, for the readers to disseminate, but I digress

Patch

I can actually provide a live screencast of the chat showing no editing

Magnus

That’d work for the viewers, but this is media, so I’m buying no insurance on the outcome.
But, yes, I get that there are things that need to be said

Patch

Well, that is an interview right… no editing, just what you choose to say. I do have questions if you feel like going ahead

Magnus 

Do it.

Patch

OK, your facebook post mentioned you don’t want to be asked about a crime record that happened in 1991-2004, I think those were the dates. Can I ask, have you been clean of any crime since then?

Magnus

There was that one incident in 2015, but the charges were dropped. The person known as [Redacted name J.], who has left a comment on that one story you posted, was the plaintiff. His real name is [Redacted name R.], but he goes by Oru in the fandom.
Also, his Boyfriend, Chanur, real name [Redacted name C.], is on the board of directors of Anthrocon.
But as to the question, yes, I have been free of all crimes since then.

Patch

Huh, sounds like some interesting drama… we don’t have to get into it at all though.
Can you talk about what you did in the army, and what was the dishonorable discharge about?

Magnus

There was no dishonorable discharge.
I went in, did my time, and got out.

Patch

OK, thanks for saying. Moving on… You have been employed at the same job for 5 years, is that true?

Magnus

Let’s just say I’m living a stable life outside of of the fandom.

Patch

Good, everyone likes one of those! [Redacted name M.M.] your boyfriend did chat me and volunteer some stuff in your defense… I actually did try to keep his side in some stuff that was written before… in case you’re curious
Anyways, can I ask, ever get in trouble at the current job for anything?

Magnus

Just curious, who is everyone?

Patch

Just speaking for myself actually… a very general comment. Stable life is good
I’m chatting at home hanging out with a beer, caught me at a good time.

Magnus

but no, never had any troubles at the job.

Patch

What was your experience like when you went to Midwest Furfest in 2014?

Magnus

I enjoyed it until that incident.

Patch

Can you explain more?

Magnus

When I was in Macleod’s room and the sirens went off
[Redacted name M.]

Patch

Scary time… Did you talk about it after you went, and do you remember what you said?

Magnus

We left the room and went our separate ways, much as I can remember about that night 3.5 years ago.

Patch

Ever talk to anyone else about it?

Magnus

I’ve had the opportunity to talk to people about it at least four time over the last 3.5 years.

Patch

I’ll bet everyone there talked a lot, it was dramatic. Was this a certain four times, like with anyone in particular?

Magnus

Hmm.
What I’d like to know is that why I was ever a suspect in that incident in the first place.

Patch

I think a lot of people were

Magnus

But why am I the biggest?

Patch

Here’s a screenshot of something you posted to Livejournal – you said furries would be remembered for something besides sex. Can you explain?
It seems like kind of an interesting take to focus on what the media says.

Magnus

Was talking about politics

Patch

That was about something besides the chemical incident?

Magnus

oh, that context was talking about how big that incident hit the news
The gas attack was all over the news

Patch

Yeah – they weren’t all nice about it, there was that one lady who started laughing and ran off screen.

Magnus

Yeah, I saw that.

Patch

Were you raided and interviewed by the FBI?

Magnus

Oh…THAT
It happened three days later, after MFF 2015.

Patch

What did they ask you about?

Magnus

The gas attack at MFF 2015, and they searched the apt.

Patch

Did the FBI confiscate electronics or anything else from you?

Magnus

Found nothing, except a roll of red duct tape, which belonged to one of my roommates at the time, [Redacted name T.], also know as Frost Cat, who is Blazger’s mate, real name [Redacted name M.].

Patch

Why would they want red duct tape?

Magnus

It was believed that it was used in the construction of the gas bomb, and Frost Cat admitted to it being his.

Patch

Did the FBI ask about your job as a lifeguard at the waterpark?

Magnus

They asked me if I had any chemicals in the apartment.

Patch

Did the FBI ever ask you about taking chlorine from work?

Magnus

I told them that I’ve been working there so long, it has probably bonded to my DNA
This is a very strange interview.

Patch

Well, I guess there’s different ways of getting DNA mutated into a furry, ha

Magnus

It reminds me of a police interrogation.

Patch

Where were you between 11 and 12:30AM on Sunday, December 7, 2014 at Midwest Furfest?

Magnus

Well, I was on one of the higher floors, eating Chinese food with Syber fox. then I came back to the room and talked to macleod wolf, and then the sirens went off.

Patch

Do you think they interviewed people you were with, like Syber?

Magnus

probably. it’s been three/four years

Patch

Thanks… I’m getting down to a last few questions, maybe 6 or 7
Did you get in trouble for anything earlier during the con?

Magnus

at mff 2015? I recall doing a photoshoot outside near the Christmas lights
the variety show went off without a hitch
but other than that the con was quite good.

Patch

How long have you known Foxler?

Magnus

I knew him under a different name.

Patch

His real life name, or a screen name?
Still there? We could do some casual chat in a little bit and clear the air more… just had a few more questions. You did say ask whatever on Facebook

Magnus

ok back now

Patch

Cool… take your time

Magnus

I thought you were going to ask me about Lemonade Coyote, or Arkansas, or that suit I wore at MFF 2017

Patch

We can chat casually about all that, and even give you the mike pretty much. I do have just a few more questions, if we can pick up from the one about Foxler

Magnus

I’m not part of the furry raiders. I’m not even sure what their agenda is.

Patch

I was curious about time period… did you know Foxler in 2014?

Magnus

his name was known to me a different one
and we just had casual conversations

Patch

Did Foxler tell you that the FBI knocked on his door, and why?

Magnus

The FBI knocked on many people’s doors after mff 2014
skrat was one of them.
I mean, who really knows?

Patch

Did you ever tell Foxler that you were behind the chlorine attack at MFF?

Magnus

No, never told him that.

Patch

Do you think they’ll ever figure out who did it?

Magnus

I have no idea. Was it a prank? I can’t even say.

Patch

Do you remember MacWolf’s friend having a diabetic emergency during the incident?
Don’t know if you were there

Magnus

It was just me and him in the room at the time.

When the sirens started, we left the room, and I went out to find friends.

Patch

I was curious if you ever regretted anything about that whole experience?

Magnus

I regret not having enough energy to fursuit more, I regret the lost opportunities that were lost that night because of that.

Patch

After MFF 2017, in December, did you try to downplay your arrest or act like it might not have happened?

Magnus

Well, this situation is still ongoing…you understand.

Patch

Yeah it is reasonable not to say much
Do you ever tell anyone the police are crooks or liars?

Magnus

I believe they do what they have to do.

Patch

Any idea why [Redacted name M.M.- boyfriend] was saying that to me in chat?

Magnus

You’d have to ask him.

Patch

OK, sure. Lastly, feel like just saying what you think about all this?

Magnus

You never did ask me about the other drama. I really wish the interview had revolved more around that, instead of this. But, I understand what you’re trying to get at. And it wasn’t me.

Patch

Do you think it’s unfair to be a suspect?

Magnus

I think one questioning should be enough.
It’s now been five, counting you.

Patch

That’s quite a lot… I dunno, it seems like clearing things should be easy if there’s nothing to it. But we can drop that. Did you want to put anything out there about all the other drama?

Magnus

I’d prefer the interview format, if that’s ok.

Patch

OK. Honestly, I think the other stuff is … kind of drama-y and not as serious an issue… the only thing about it is, it seems to just keep happening. Do you think that’s going to change?

Magnus

After what happened at mff 2017, it made me realize
cons have gotten shut down because of this, I didn’t read about it till later
MFF is too serious of a con to do much at any more.

Patch

Is it less fun with the history of things happening there? Planning to make a change and go to different places?

Magnus

I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who got heat at mff 2017
One costumer had a WW1 outfit that they stopped him for wearing a gas mask, and there was another who was stopped at registration for dressing as a north korea military officer

Patch

Was it unexpected to get heat though?

Magnus

As long as I stayed in the non convention space, I believed there was nothing they could do.
I never once tried to enter convention space

Patch

Isn’t it kind of disrespectful to their wishes though, to go there at all, if it involves going right up to some line that’s supposed to be there?
Was there some reason that had to be done?

Magnus

I have always preferred to talk to people one on one
And I didn’t get that when they asked me about Arkansas at MFF 2015

Patch

It seems like they have to have some rules, and wishes that involve just expecting people to respect them without having to talk…

Magnus

That’s what this is all about
MFF 2015
The confederate flag fursuit

Patch

It’s their con… lot of people work hard to put it on… if they have some rules and wishes, why not just let them have those?
Isn’t it kind of obvious people aren’t happy about having lines pushed?
Is there something about it that’s not easy to understand?
Not trying to argue or anything, just honestly curious.

Magnus

It’s given me a lot to think about, this is for certain.

Patch

I have to say, I love cons. It’s a great way to meet people, make friends and just have a nice time with them. I’m wondering why push lines, or have people get mad… maybe it’s hard to get why they do? But anyways, if you think about changes, what about something like inviting people to you – like throwing an event just because it’s nice? Think that would be a good change? Like even, volunteering for another con.

Magnus

I used to do that years ago

Patch

On a whole other topic, Fur Con just happened… tell you a small story. I chatted [Redacted name R.H.] right before the con. I know he is a disabled guy who has a really hard time making friends, and his mom has to work hard to take care of him, and she takes him places. I tried asking him more than a few times if I could talk to his mom – was going to invite him and her to hang out or something and make it a better experience in case they were going to be by themselves or lonely. But he must have been too suspicious after having everyone hate him so he wouldn’t put me in touch. It’s really tough to get people out of having problems sometimes.

Magnus

He talks to me on a regular basis.

Patch

So anyways, I threw a bunch of tough questions at you. Thanks for taking them. It was a little frustrating that I’m not sure the answers were totally clear, but that’s stuff from the past and the future has all kinds of possibilities.

I think this is enough chatting for now, have to go to bed soon. No plans for what to do with the interview but it might go out with some light context but not too heavy writing, can just let it speak for itself.

Magnus

I’m not worried about the future, pretty much. I’m just wishing we had kept to more relevant topics.

Patch

There might be future issues if the Lemonade or Arkansas suits come out, other than that, you have some talent making suits… lots of possibilities for stuff that will get taken more positively.

Magnus

We’ll see. You have a good night.

Patch

You too

(End)

 

(EDIT) TL;DR – Why would Magnus be suspected in the 2014 attack at MFF, raided by the FBI and questioned 4 times?

• Convicted of a previous chemical attack
• History of trolling and acting vengeful
• Had a dispute with MFF staff
• Was at the location on upper floors of the hotel at the time of the incident
• Wrote strange journals focusing on the attention, and barely mentioned people getting hurt
• Drove to the con & had access to large amounts of chlorine
• Had the same tape at his apartment
• His acquaintance said he knew something
• Less than forthcoming about some of the questions

New questions: At the time of the attack, what was the path back to his room after hanging out with Syber on the upper floors of the hotel? Why refuse to say how long he knew Foxler or his other screen name? Why the extra long pause when I asked?

Troublingly, I think none of this clears Magnus, but crucially, it’s so circumstantial that I can’t assume guilt. That leaves it open ended. He was already questioned 4 times by the authorities, and if they haven’t proceeded, there can’t be a case worthy for trial. Benefit of the doubt for something so serious shouldn’t be taken away. That’s what I can say about the 2014 incident so far.

The 2017 arrest, and the connection to Altfurry

Now let’s address his wish to explain the arrest at Midwest Furfest in 2017. It seems like that’s why he asked for an interview (but he did say to ask ANY questions.) The story is pretty clear, isn’t it, when someone is told not to come to a convention in the first place and they come anyways?

Well, that’s not how Magnus sees it. Cons were interfering with the freedom of his confederate flag fursuiting, so they needed to get confronted. He said in the interview: “That’s what this is all about”. That leads to explanations he has posted: his defense is “where is con space?”  Pushing right up to the supposed line, but not into it – (if being in the hotel and surrounded by con-goers isn’t “con space”) – in his mind, that’s a rightful grievance about what someone is free to do.

In this interpretation, “technically legal” makes a blanket license for any activity you can possibly do. But what about respecting wishes of the event organizers, or the intentions of a direct message not to come?  Those are pushed aside by lawyering about the legal technicalities of social protocol.  Of course there’s a huge gap between what’s legal, and what’s nice, good, or acceptable. It’s legal to refuse to take showers and smell like a truck stop toilet on a hot day… but it’s not nice. If you do that, you can’t call people too easily offended about the stench. It might get you hosed. It sure won’t win welcome (unless they’re into that).

This describes every controversy and trolling incident ever involving the Furry Raiders and Altfurry groups. The only defenders for Magnus I’ve seen (besides his boyfriend) happen to be Altfurry, the same people responsible for attacking cons like Califur and lying about it.

Added 2/1/18: leaked from the altfurry “Mead Hall” private staff chat, posted by “Len”/Casey Hoerth AKA @altfurrydiscord

It all makes a shining example of the contortionist logic behind their claims to represent free speech in any and every form. If it’s legal, it’s needed, all nuances thrown in the trash; racist hate speech is nice and good for these purposes (“this is why we need altfurry!”) Remember, these aren’t lawyers in courts – it’s pushing an agenda in your face socially. For them, it’s entirely congruent that the hero for freedom is simultaneously an FBI suspect in attempted mass murder.

The Dylan Maxwell of Furry Fandom?

One of the best TV shows I’ve seen is American Vandal on Netflix. It’s a mockumentary about a video producing geek who does a true crime investigation at his high school. The best thing about this show is how perfect the parody is, with style like Making a Murderer. It looks at a fellow student, Dylan Maxwell, who is expelled for doing graffiti dicks on cars. He says he didn’t do it. Each new clue makes him look like he’s lying, then telling the truth, then lying again. He’s a fuckup and a stoner, he’s known for playing pranks, and his defense is absurdly unsympathetic… but even if he lied about other things, could he be telling the truth about his innocence? Should he be punished just for being a bad student? Maybe Magnus is Dylan. I won’t spoil the scene where Dylan confronts a smarmy little tattletale for Ultimate Revenge of the most ridiculous kind.

Personally, I wouldn’t want to deserve a flaming bag of poo on my doorstep for pursuing the interview questions too far. No matter what happened in the past, let me repeat that what’s written here leaves presumed innocence about what happened in 2014.

UPDATE – click through for thread.

"It's legal" is not a good reason to harass convention staff and attendees every year. They work hard to make cons a good time for everyone.https://t.co/Hl4j1ZZO6F

— ChipFox (@chipfoxx) January 23, 2018

Like the article? It takes a lot of effort to share these. Please consider supporting Dogpatch Press on Patreon.  You can access exclusive stuff for just $1, or get Con*Tact Caffeine Soap as a reward.  They’re a popular furry business seen in dealer dens. Be an extra-perky patron – or just order direct from Con*Tact.

Okay, so how about this: A fur-suit maker who also creates a great deal of 2D art. Or, is that the other way ’round? We don’t know! But the artist known as Tsebresos has plenty of both to show. According to her web site she’s taking a year off from fur-suit making, but she has plenty of art she’s going to be working on — and plenty of furry fan conventions where she plans on putting in an appearance in the Dealers’ Den. Look her up!

image c. 2018 by tsebresos

Aboard the starship White Flower II, the dutiful geroo work, live, love, and die in the service of their immense, reptilian masters. Kanti works in the recycling center, driving the big dozers that turn the refuse and organics into the base substances that keep life on a starship possible. But Kanti has a secret that could mean his life. He was born without a birth token, an illegal child in a system where even one extra body could mean a cascade of failures that put the entire population at risk.Skeleton Crew is hands down one of the most engaging furry novels I've ever read. The characters are lovable, flawed, and deeply individual. The setting is thoroughly realized, exciting, and full of both secrets and tension. The plot is thrilling, fun, terrifying, and heartbreaking in turns. In short, I could not stop turning pages, and the second it was over I knew I had to have more.The writing is very professional, well-edited, and free of errors, which is a delight but far overshadowed by the story itself ... which is a gem of a tale.Skeleton Crew is a must read for furry readers as well as general sci-fi fans. The species involved are aliens but read enough like anthropomorphic animals to delight a furry audience.

Roo and Tugs talk about inflation furries and are joined by guest...Balloon....(surprised?) They take a deep dive into the world of inflation - why is this an interest for so many? What is role play like? Is popping a thing? What about cartoon inflation gags? What does it give players of inflatable furries emotionally? It's an interesting conversation, laden with insanity from Roo and more from Tugs, so get listening!





NOW LISTEN!
Show Notes
Special Thanks

Balloon, our guest
Cannon
Seiichi Raccoon
Mack
Anonymous
Rivet
Simone Parker

 

Music

Opening Theme: Husky In Denial – Cloud Fields (Century Mix). USA: Unpublished, 2015. ©2015 Fur What It’s Worth and Husky in Denial. Based on Fredrik Miller– Cloud Fields (Radio Mix). USA: Bandcamp, 2011. ©2011 Fur What It’s Worth. (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!)
Mailbag: Eskadet – Back To Kyoto ; from the album “Solitudes” (Lemongrassmusic, 2010) – www.lemongrassmusic.de – Used under license.
Closing Theme: Husky In Denial – Cloud Fields (Headnodic Mix). USA: Unpublished, 2015. ©2015 Fur What It’s Worth and Husky in Denial. Based on Fredrik Miller – Cloud Fields (Chill Out Mix). USA: Bandcamp, 2011. ©2011 Fur What It’s Worth. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)

 

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Dear Papabear,

This is the second time I have written to you. During my studies, and even before, when I grew bored of TV series, I turned to following world news, American news, and some conservative Internet commentators.

Through these, I learned about the Social Justice Warrior movement and its misguided ways. The extremist members of this movement propagate hate against white people. Is it really ok to hate based on ethnicity? Why did the term "people of color" come to existence with the meaning of non-white people? Is white not a color? If not, then why is black considered a color in this sense? For both white and black are considered shades, not true colors, in art. SJWs connect "whiteness" to the colonizers of the Americas and not only to them, they extend the meaning to all Europeans, a crude generalization and racism on their part. One might ask the question why is it that they only view white people as not belonging to America when, in fact, African slaves were brought there to replace "the Indians" (native Americans), because they couldn't handle the burden of slavery well. So, in this sense everyone except native Americans should get out of your continent, the thought of which is quite absurd. Even so, why do they think it is ok to blame the younger generation for the sins of the older?

When commentators speak about gender and race issues, they make it sound like that SJWs are everywhere and pose a big problem. Because I'm not living there, I have limited means of gathering information. So, I would like to ask you: how widespread is this belief in your society, especially in the furry fandom, since it's known to be one of the most accepting fandoms? Do people get hung up on chasing nonexistent offences, intolerantly preaching tolerance, or is it just a magnified issue which doesn't come up as often? What is your opinion about this in general?

Yours Truly,

Farkas Ürdüng (23, Hungary)

* * *
 
Dear Farkas,

I think it was comedian Eddie Murphy who did a humorous stand-up routine about color. Talking about white people, he noted, “When white people get cold, they turn blue; when they get angry, they turn red; when they get sick, they might get yellow or green, but when black people are cold or angry or sick, they’re still black. Seems to me white people are the ones who are colored” *snerk*.

Your letter seems to entangle two separate issues: social justice warriors and white guilt. They are not always the same. SJWs are objects of criticism because they are a form of troll, using insincere outrage over things they have heard are not politically correct and then having vitriolic fits about them online to score social justice points, so they will be seen as popular. Such people only do their “activism” online and do not do anything constructive in the real world to effect real change. In other words, they are frauds. Their use of politically correct mantras is just a tool for trolling; they don’t truly care about the issues they complain about.

Let’s move on to the politically correct movement in America and white guilt. Here is an extremely brief overview of the history behind it: As you are likely aware, the United States has a long history of oppressing other races, especially African Americans and Native Americans, but also other groups, including Chinese and Japanese immigrants, LGBT people, and, of course, women (who weren’t even allowed to vote until 1920, long after black men were “technically” permitted to vote, though many factors made this difficult, such as Jim Crow laws). Beginning with the 1960s Counterculture Movement, which centered in universities, especially those in New England and the West Coast (University of California, Berkeley, was the epicenter), and the Civil Rights Movement led by such figures as Martin Luther King Jr., there was a strong reaction against the injustices perpetrated against minority groups. A dissonance needed to be resolved between these injustices and the American image of being “land of the free and home of the brave.” Obviously, unless you were a white male, most Americans didn’t even start to experience real freedom until just the last few decades of our history.

[Side note: your statement that “African slaves were brought there to replace ‘the Indians’ (native Americans), because they couldn't handle the burden of slavery well” is untrue. Indians experienced slavery, it’s true, under the Europeans, but when it comes to Americans they were more often slaughtered, run off their lands, and put in re-education schools where they were forbidden to use their native languages. Africans were brought in to work the fields, primarily in the South, although a number of Northerners had slaves until those states started making it illegal. In other words, the Indians (who were perfectly capable of being slaves and often were [especially under Spain]) were mostly seen as a people to be exterminated (they posed a challenge to the white American concept of Manifest Destiny), while the Africans were considered a labor resource.]

After generations of work by civil rights leaders, America made progress in its laws to finally treat minorities better. As with any tidal change in society, there are reactionary forces led by about half of America (at least) that is still extremely prejudiced towards these groups. But because it was no longer legal (or at least ignored) in American society to be overtly prejudiced and abusive towards these groups, they kind of went underground. An example: before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriages, the state of Michigan passed a state constitution amendment banning such unions. Before it went to a vote, however, polls indicated that most Michiganders were against the amendment. You see, even though the polls were anonymous, people didn’t want to be seen as prejudiced, but when they entered the voting booths, they voted for what was really in their hearts: hate. The same is true with racism in many parts of this country. For example, local leaders in some southern states have removed voting centers in areas with black majorities to make it harder for them to vote, but they say the reason is because they need to cut election costs.

Now, with a racist jackass inhabiting the White House and a majority of minority-hating Republicans in Congress, hateful Americans everywhere have felt empowered to once again spout their prejudices (currently, it is mostly aimed at Muslims from Arabic countries and at immigrants from Africa, the Middle East, and south of the border). Republican leaders justify their actions by labeling Muslim minorities as terrorists and immigrants from Mexico and Central America and other points south as moochers stealing money from American taxpayers. The words on the Statue of Liberty have no meaning to right-wing people.

To point out your correct observation that all Americans are either immigrants or descended from immigrants (except for Indians [and, by the way, it is okay to call them Indians], who got here first), conservative politicians and other Americans do acknowledge this, it is just that they would prefer our immigrants to come from places like—as Trump requested—Norway, which he considers to be not a “shithole country.”  The problem there is that people in Norway are generally much happier than Americans and have no compelling reason to flock here en masse.

Like a game of ping-pong, with the counter-revolution of white conservatives on the rise, you are now getting a counter-counter-revolution of left-wingers and those who are obsessed with political correctness, and part of this political correctness is a self-loathing (if you are white) for all the injustices of the past, even if you weren’t personally responsible for them. This is why Columbus Day is celebrated less and less and why there was a recent movement to destroy monuments to Confederate leaders.

As we bounce back and forth, the two extremes become more and more extreme, while moderates in the middle become scarce. Today, we have a deeply divided nation that is literally (judging by voting) a 50/50 split between liberals and conservatives. Add to this the fact that we have lost the ability to compromise in Congress, and that social media encourages people to express hostile opinions without having to hear counterarguments, and you have a real mess on your hands.

Social Justice Warriors are just one symptom of a much larger issue: a country that is as divided today as it was just before the U.S. Civil War and all that this implies. Some states, such as California and Texas, are even mulling over the possibilities of seceding from the union—something that is becoming a possibility because of the lack of true leadership in Washington, D.C.

As for the furry community, it is well established that its members tend toward the left, politically speaking, though there are some conservatives within the fandom, which would imply that there may be more SJW people in the fandom than in the general population (I have no statistics on this, however; it’s just a hunch). I believe that the SJW phenomenon is one restricted, for the most part, to the online world. Mostly, this is people raging against the wind to little or no effect. I find it an annoyance that is easily ignored and avoided.

​Much more important than the impotent SJW population is the very real fact that the United States is in serious trouble—politically, socially, economically. Indeed, this is coming to a head involving the Constitution and the power of the Executive Branch, which, at this point, could go one of two ways: 1) in the 2018 and 2020 elections Americans start to regain their senses and bring back some sanity to Washington, or 2) we go the way of Nazi Germany and descend into a dictatorship that would mark the end of the United States as we know it.

And how are things in Hungary?

Papabear

As usual with larger furry fan conventions, at Further Confusion there was a good selection of fur-suit makers showing off their works and looking for new commissions. Among them was an artist named Rachel Converse, who operates a shop called Dragon Soup. She puts it this way: “Dragon Soup is a California-based fur-suit studio owned and operated by Rachel Converse. Rachel earned a BFA in Craft from Virginia Commonwealth University with a focus in textiles. She has been making costumes for over 10 years and started making fur-suits in 2012.” And she works well in a variety of materials.  (Advice for fur-suit makers: Want to wind up advertised on sites like this one? Have your own web site!)

image c. 2018 by Rachel Converse