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“Confederate fursuiter” Magnus Diridian arrested at Midwest Furfest – what’s the story?
Midwest Furfest 2017 broke the attendance record of all furry cons by the margin of a small con itself. It raised an eye-popping $86,000 for an animal charity that was previously in the red and is now funded for years. Twitter was on fire about the smashing success for the fandom. Among many ecstatic posts by attendees, of course there had to be some kind of drama too. It came with a fursuiter being arrested. Here’s the story pieced together by claims on twitter:
Scene: a hotel lobby. A black, red and white wolf fursuiter with a German WW1 style Pickelhaube helmet is parading around. People taking photos are greeted by offensive behavior like saluting with a “Sieg Heil” and shouting racist things. It causes hotel and/or con security to pursue him, and he flees and gets cornered in some bushes until the police come. They make him take off his suit, and he’s taken away in underwear. He was previously banned from the con and hotel, and the charges involve trespassing and assaulting a staff member before his arrest.
Some of those claims may be disputed (especially the nazi part), so let’s look deeper for the truth. Here’s an arrest record. Associates confirm the fursuiter who matches it is Magnus Diridian, AKA Rob Shokawsky (real name Robert Sojkowski). What is Magnus known for in furry fandom?
- Fake Lemonade Coyote: At Anthrocon 2014, Magnus gained notoriety with a “bootleg” fursuit made to imitate a furry who died on duty as an EMT. People mourning his death were unhappy about exploitation of his image, which continues in 2017.
- Confederate flag fursuit: At Anthrocon 2017, Magnus caused more anger with a flag-design fursuit and a Trump sign. It was a protest of takedown of the flags around the USA due to their racist association, following national attention on hate crime murders by Dylann Roof. The story was covered in a Dogpatch Press article: The Confederate fursuit incident shows how you can’t be a troll and a victim at the same time.
- Grimace McWendy’s: Custom suits show that Magnus puts a lot of effort into these events. If it’s not just calculated to troll, isn’t that’s a loveable quality? The same is said by people close to him who are earnest about defending him as a nice guy. I have to admit that this fursuit makes me laugh and I have to admire the creative humor. (Suiting video).
Then there’s the crime record. Here’s an extensive record starting in 1990 when he was 18. It includes charges like: disorderly conduct, prowling at night, harassment, terroristic threats, “ethnic intimidation”, reckless endangerment, cruelty to animals, possessing instruments of crime with intent, numerous counts of theft and receiving stolen property, fighting, and most recently a battery charge (dismissed in 2016).
Such sensitive info could use care – people’s pasts can be their business, like bad credit shouldn’t be held against someone if they aren’t borrowing your money. Old shoplifting incidents may not add up to that much, and many people get into fights at some point in life. Everyone deserves credit for making mistakes as a kid or doing time and having a clean slate again… but things pile up when “benefit of the doubt” is in question. Magnus may be nice to friends and a great guy in many cases, but con staff worry about this stuff to do their jobs. When a con has a problem, every attendee has one too.
Let’s get back to MFF 2017. Below are tweets from when things came out – then we’ll compare a defense by Magnus himself with reports by witnesses.
Pic of fur arrested at MFF, was banned but made a scene anyways. More details withheld for now. pic.twitter.com/9Sx7Z6CTqU
— Dogpatch Press (@DogpatchPress) December 2, 2017Remember the Confederate flag fursuiter? It turns out that he got arrested at MFF for Wearing a World War I German Uniform while shouting out Nazi Expletives. pic.twitter.com/9QVpUjJWKG
— Biogodz | MFF2017 (@Biogodz) December 2, 2017First night of #MFF and Magnus Diridian gets kicked out a con... again! Apparently he was told in advanced by the hotel that he wasn't allowed due to his past actions there. He came anyway, disturbed the guests & got arrested when he didn't leave as told.
— The Great and Magical Coquito Pupper (@vappyflame) December 2, 2017Listen everyone, stop calling him “the confederate flag fursuiter” and call him by his name, Magnus Diridian, sole proprietor of Chirrfull Creations and maker of these fine works of art pic.twitter.com/DUMxmHVaU8
— reaux (@reauxpudu) December 3, 2017btw here's acid revelation. its low quality because i screencapped it from a youtube video. pic.twitter.com/6xQUmN8Gjq
— red panda with a name that shouldnt be this long (@SerrisV) December 3, 2017Can anyone explain to me how Magnus Diridian has a new offensive fursuit every six months? How much disposable income can one guy have?
— The Bird, the Truth, and the Light (@AQuivershaft) December 3, 2017Like, last night, I witnessed Magnus get arrested. He’s doing a Nazi salute, while wearing a WWI Kaiser helmet, with American Purple Heart ribbons. That’s two separate eras and two separate nations at war.
— Brutus THE Bernard (@BrutusDBernard) December 3, 2017About the MFF arrest drama, try not to be That Pedant about the suit not being related. Magnus designs suits to provoke like the bootleg Lemonade Coyote and Confederate fursuits. This nailed it. https://t.co/x7qFkvI1zf
— Dogpatch Press (@DogpatchPress) December 2, 2017They're playing "I'm not touching you" because they have this weird idea that private entities will play their game of technicalities.
— Socratic Method Acting (@ChaKatKimber) December 2, 2017Please note that the altfurries are trying to disavow Magnus because he disrupts their narrative of altfurries having done nothing wrong and having broken no law.
It is a lie. They specifically recruited him.
also worth adding: Magnus Diridian has an extensive criminal record including threatening to bomb a local bank about 10 years ago
trying to get access to the public court docs, just bc I wouldn’t blame y’all for thinking all this stuff was too wild to be true
guy is messed up https://t.co/GVpyAGWQWx
Bad Dragon didn’t make a “sit on a Pickelhaube” toy.
Digging into more details:
- Charges: Con staff told me that Magnus was approached, pursued and arrested because he was banned from the con space and hotel. A defender tells me no drugs or alcohol were involved, the charges aren’t too serious and Magnus got out on $100 bail, but he can’t go back to the con.
- Disputing Nazi labels: The same defender says that he made a German fursuit and spoke German, so people overhyped the issue. Others say a WWI German character (a Baron von Hindenberg type) isn’t a nazi, which is technically true. It’s also true that replacing a swastika with a paw print on a nazi armband is still a callback to nazi symbolism. “Dogwhistles” are a popular tactic. Magnus’s history of making fursuits to reference high profile fandom events says there’s little point in denying a reference to nazis in 2017. Not necessarily racist but indubitably a troll.
- Altfurry and the Furry Raiders say that Magnus isn’t a member of their groups, deflecting the way his Confederate suiting made him their cause célèbre for free speech. Which itself is manipulative because free speech involves public matters, but a private event can set its own rules to limit trolling. Inside sources that helped me to expose the Altfurry Discord chat logs confirmed that the group sought to meet Magnus at AC, and he is friendly with Foxler.
- Being arrested in underwear has to be a horrible experience that dehumanizes a furry no matter what came before. Events came out on Twitter on Friday 12/1 and the arrest record shows booking on 12/4, so if accurate, he may have spent a weekend in a cold, painful holding cell.
I have to ask: what was he thinking with all that preparation for a just few wasted minutes of negative attention? He’s almost 46 and it took a great deal of energy and money to get quickly arrested. He got to sit in a cell while everyone else enjoyed great times. How does someone find this a worthy use of energy? Magnus himself tried downplaying it on social media by hinting that there was no arrest and it was rumor. But of course that wasn’t going to work. His post about it aims to deflect blame for an event he built a suit for, like previous incidents. That’s hard to call an unexpected coincidence:
I went looking for witnesses. A con staffer on duty that night was told by others about nazi salutes (but told me he only saw the arrest). @Kellervo was also there and reacted to Magnus’ story:
“Yeah, that’s not at all what happened. I didn’t see any salutes, as I was outside, but I did see his run. Con staff didn’t appear to be blocking him at all. A con goer did try to stop him when he ran out the doors, but at no point did I see the con staff actually try to blockade him, much less form a “human wall”. He got into a shoving match with the con goer, and once he shoved them aside, he ran off with con staff trying to catch up to him. As for the bit about shouting Nazi slogans, Sieg Heil was about all I heard. Since I was outside I only really caught the aftermath. Can’t really say for sure it was 100% the suiter that shouted it.”
Another source saw him pushing against people in front of the doors, and sent photos. I see what looks like two staffers standing off to either side.
So what is the real story? Isn’t this just trivial trolling to ignore? Why so much attention on Magnus for one little incident? Well, with such an ongoing history of staging scenes at cons he’s been banned from, coming back again and again shows an obsession with getting attention. He has expressed anger at MFF staff now and in past years. One may ask when he’ll strike again. And let’s close with something to think about.
A reader commented on the July 2017 article about the Confederate fursuit, describing a crime that used chemicals:
“Robert Sojokowski did commit a terror attack against a bank in 2004.
Source: http://magnusdiridian.livejournal.com/22622.html
Mirror: http://archive.is/ZrtRn
And here in his own words are things he actually said in that post:
“So, back in I went, and set it off DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF THE TELLER after making another deposit.”
“I drove past the bank on my way home 5 minutes later and nothing seemed amiss. So I figured things were cool.”
“They illegally raised the terroristic threat charge to a felony”
“Hazmat team was sent to the scene as well as the fire department. A pregnant woman was rushed to the hospital.”
This is the kind of person we’re dealing with. A person whose actions put a pregnant woman in the hospital over $100 in bank fees and then complains that he was charged with a felony.
Posting this anonymously because I am worried for my safety.”
Then there’s this.
Facebook post about MFF 2014 / Archive
19 people were hospitalized, some with long lasting lung damage (one wrote about the experience). A furry with a troubled history falsely claimed responsibility, but was ruled out as a suspect. The story was revisited by Vice in CSI Fur Fest: The Unsolved Case of the Gas Attack at a Furry Convention.
Michael on Facebook doesn’t want to be contacted. I would hope there isn’t more to this, but I have a feeling it will come up again.
UPDATE 12/15/17 – Click through for threads of good content:
Today, in news of the WTF (What The Fur?): an alt-right furry provocateur dressed up as a WW1 (note the numeral) German wolf so when he ran around a convention sieg heiling, he could plausibly deny being a Nazi.
It did not work out well for him. https://t.co/ehWdyyO36d
Magnus put up a GoFundMe where he basically admits to unlawful trespassing and I'm losing my mind at how bad this post is, oh my god.https://t.co/sNZmq2SjIQ
— i'm drinking evian (@hotjesusmemes) December 15, 2017Like 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.
Remember: Food Over Fighting!
Recently at CTN Animation Expo in Burbank we came across an artist named Donna Vu. She is the lead artist and art director on Dragon Roll, an on-line game published by Sleepless Skink Productions in 2016. According to their web site, it goes like this: “Fun Guo and Shiu Mae [a pair of young dragon siblings] are on an adventure to get their uncles and aunt back from their homes. After a fight, while preparing their dad’s surprise birthday party, they all go their separate ways. Now they must find and remind them of the important roll that family plays in all our lives, all before their dad gets home.” Remember to visit Donna’s web site too, as she has lots of development sketches for the game.
image c. 2017 SSP
Hoof Shoes
International FurScience Survey
“You can only carry so much”- Kristyna Baczynski’s ‘Vessel’
Welcome to Bessie, of Marfedblog, a comics review and criticism site. There’s furry stuff there, and much more, with devoted curation by a fan doing exactly what they love. If you like this, give it a follow. And expect more syndicated content reposted here. (- Patch)
Being of modest means, in the past I have shamefully bought comics due to page count alone. Quantity counts when strapped for cash and I’d usually choose comics with a bit more meat on their bones. Although I’m slowly collecting Hellblazer trades they’d always be at the top of my list when they came out due to their huge wodge of pages and densely written style that would take me a few weeks to chew through. Recently being a little bit more financially relaxed and delving deeper into the small press and independent scene I’m discovering more often that the best comics can be both beautiful and brief. Vessel is an independent comic from Leeds artist Kristyna Baczynski. It stars an unnamed anthro protagonist who completes her education and finds herself immediately stuck in an all too familiar procession of banal and ultimately interchangeable jobs. Baczynski captures the feeling of quiet mundanity here perfectly in a series of repeated patterns, her character stood in the same pose and expression in each and every one, with only the hats name badges changing. She finally realises after what could be years of these jobs that her own inaction, that she has to make her life happen as she rushes out into the world. While the subject matter is as well travelled as her heroine by the end of the comic, Baczynski’s unique voice and artistic style ensures she still has something fresh to say on the matter. It’s powerful and deeply affecting, especially to someone like myself who might be realizing that life doesn’t happen on it’s own.
Baczynski’s artwork in general is stunning and he unique style and strong playful lines are used to great effect in Vessel. Her pages are both expansive and intricate when needed and filled with delightful little details and flourishes. One element in particular is her use of water to illustrate and express some of her themes. Referring to the title, our protagonist imagines herself as a vessel filling up with knowledge. Eventually the central character finds her own meaning, filling her life up with all the desperate pieces around her to make a whole.The second instance is drawing her character with waves moving around her, brilliantly expressing the idea of life happening and time moving around you, waiting for something to happen rather than living in the now.
Before her travels her life is restricted to single pages and panels before opening up to widescreen, cinematic double spreads. At the start of her escapades, on the first double page spread, our adventurer stands elated, poised and thrust forward at the edge of a cliff. As she leans forward your eye is deliberately drawn across the page to the wide open landscape. It gives the comic a strong feeling of action and forward momentum, conducive to a story about travel and adventure. It’s definitely worth noting the clever and effective colouring she employs in Vessel, using a limited palette throughout. The pages are all blue until her epiphany and setting off into the world, when colour is literally added to her life. Subsequent pages limit themselves to three colours per double spread until the very last one showing the traveller with her collection of trinkets which combines all of the colours from the previous pages. It perfectly illustrates the accumulation of her encounters.The physical objects show a patchwork of experiences made manifest in “a collage of passport stamps, trinkets and anecdotes”. Baczynski deftly condenses a sense of a lifetime of travel and experiences into such a short comic, with the last few pages showing objects from her travels, skilfully hinting about unseen adventures.Care has been taken to ensure that Vessel itself could join those prized possessions, being risograph printed on thick glossy card stock, and hand stapled.
Showing it to my partner he enjoyed it and liked the artwork but wasn’t quite as taken with the romanticism of travel or the thought of leaving it all behind as I was. While it’s extensively about travel, I think it prevented him from seeing the much larger point this story makes. The beautiful and touching message at the heart of this comic, of having a rich, full life well lived. I think, giving it another shot, he’d really appreciate what Baczynski depicts here, of being able to look back as this messy, cluttered life and feel content. While the travel and exotic locations give the comic it’s quick pace and momentum, as well as showing of the artists skills, allowing her to draw far flung vistas and even alien looking worlds, it also visually emphasises a point of encouraging us to get out there and open ourselves up to new and enriching experiences. As the protagonist tells us “This might be wisdom, I don’t quite know”.
More of Kristyana Baczynski’s work can be found on her website while Vessel and other comics can be purchased from her Etsy site.
Originally posted on marfedblog, where Bessie reviews and spotlights Furry and mainstream comics.
Fantasy From Reality
April Solomon is a second generation artist (her father, David Solomon, has had paintings displayed in the Smithsonian Institution) who specializes in fantasy works and fantasy creatures. In her case though, it’s fantasy creatures informed by a well-researched reality. According to her web site, “Studying both animal and human anatomy is a constant perseverance to help design a more believable fictional creature. Her inspiration and reference comes in all forms; such as bones and muscle tissue, colorful birds, ambient fish, flowering plantlife, skin tearing sharp toothed animals, and anything else that may find its way into her field of vision that well spark the glow of inspiration.” To that end, she sketches and paints plenty of real-life animals as well.
image c. 2017 by April Solomon
Might Premature Birth Be Linked to Her Infidelity as an Adult?
It is obvious to me that you write words yourself meaning they are in your own words from the heart. I find that so important and yet so rare.
After reading a few of your responses to other individuals' letters, I felt I would value your advice on the situation I'm about to explain to you that I'm currently in. You mentioned often talking about psychotropic drugs which I think your experience in that area gave you an open mind therefore you have unique perspectives that you wouldn't find elsewhere. Which is what I believe I need in order to help me make this important decision soon.
[(Real quick, I just ask that you remove my name from this letter. I included it for your knowledge in case you like to calculate numbers and astrology and what not. But I ask that if you post this on your site or elsewhere, kindly remove my name :) thanks so much. OH and just forewarning that I am completely frank in this letter to you. If you don't mind that meaning there is sexual situations I bring up. Just wanted to warn you so you I don't throw you off being so blunt ;) thanks ahead of time)]
... I was born on December 28, 1987 around 7:14pm (I don't trust the time on my birth certificate to be 100% accurate so I just say "roughly"). I was born at C.H.O.M.P. [Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula] in Monterey California, and according to my mom, the doctors thought she was late so they induced contractions to force her body to give birth to me. Though my mom totally disagreed with the doctors, explaining to them that she knew the exact day I was conceived and she still had a good month and a half to go. The doctors quickly won her over because of "paperwork." My mom decided to trust the doctors decision and the next day I was born. So it was always from day one that I was going to be pushed in directions against my will. I was born premature (go figure) as I came out of my mothers belly I was blue and covered in white powder. I wasn't ready to face the world but there I was.
Fast forward to the past few years. In 2011, I married the man of my dreams. We both had very promiscuous pasts, and so when we found each other and wanted to settle down was a miracle in and of itself. The past 6 years have been an incredible journey of soul searching with each other. We managed to peel away the layers of indoctrination and survived starting our lives from scratch to rebuild what we know to be true based on our own research and experience rather than trusting men just because they are experts or "we've just always known...". There were many times personally that were extremely emotional and hurtful to me but I fought through them. Now we come to my dilemma which I am needing some sage advice on.
The past year, I can't get my husband hard, the times that I do, he goes soft real quick and we never finish. I've always preferred the guy to cum fast as it was an indicator to me that I was doing my job. I could always take care of myself so when it came time to do the dirty, I wanted him to get his. That's my goal. It was never an issue until the past year or so. But I'm a fighter and don't give up easily. so I did some research and tried new things, old things, simple things, lots of things to see what would get him going again. Nothing seemed worked. So the sex just started to dwindle. Which was no real big deal as I prefer him to be satisfied and come quick as opposed to drawn out hours of sweaty itchy skin irritated attempts. So if he wasn't getting off then might as well not do it. No harm no foul. As the intimacy dwindled, our friendship doesn't seem to be affected. We work together from home and our work relationship is far better than our sex life. Which doesn't bother me that much lately since our sex isn't something to get excited over. Frankly, I have always had a connection with a close friend of both of ours. The past two years the sexual tension increased between this guy and I (he was born June 28 1979, a Cancer) and I finally did something I thought I'd never do. The night before thanksgiving, I stopped by his work and had the best quickie of all time. Since then we've done it 3 times. Every day I get more and more this feeling like I'm being held back from living and doing what I want and desire in life. Having tasted something I want more, someone I fit with more, someone who gets turned on by just being around me and vise versa, I'm feeling an urge to end something and move on, but which is it? Am I supposed to end the good feeling that makes me happy? Or end it with the one I promised 6 years ago never to leave?
My heart wants something different than my husband wants. But I don't want to make a huge deal out of it. Although I realize I did just commit adultery which makes it a big deal by default. If it's time for me to move on, which I strongly believe it is, which direction am I moving? Thanks for your help :) please don't think of me as a worthless selfish whore cuz I already feel like one and recognize what I did was not generally acceptable. I get it. But I did what I did and even if I hadn't slept with him, I had this feeling of disconnection from my life's desire long before that happened. This just jump started my and probably prematurely induced my decision time. But maybe prematurity is in my blood ;)
* * *
Dear Writer,
While the majority of letters I get here concerning infidelity are still from men, women going astray is on the rise in America, and, according to this article women "cheat" about as much as men do these days. I am not going to judge you--especially since, as a bear who is in an open relationship, I don't have a paw to stand on. Human beings are not as monogamous as some other species (e.g. bird species such as swans and bald eagles mate for life with no problem), and polygamy is a more natural state for us. Usually, the logic I hear is that since males can fertilize more than one woman at a time, it makes sense that they are "unfaithful" and want to have sex with many women, while women can only be pregnant in a linear fashion, so it makes sense they are more monogamous. In the article referenced above, however, women apparently are better at multiple pair bonds than men. So, go figure. Monogamy among Homo sapiens is really more a matter of culture (social pressures, religion) as a normative force than a matter of biology.
Don't beat yourself up about that.
That said, I'm wondering if you actually gave your husband a fair chance before you ran off for your fling? A couple things might explain his tumescence problem: 1) He might be experiencing health issues that make it difficult to get hard; you don't mention anything, but is it possible? Being flaccid can result from diseases (diabetes, heart trouble, depression, anxiety) and/or the medications used to treat them. 2) You say you want him to cum really fast and if he doesn't then you lose interest. Well, maybe he needs more time. Maybe he wants to enjoy a long time with foreplay to get aroused; maybe he can still get hard, but you're in such a hurry that he feels pressured, leading to anxiety and trouble performing. 3) He might not be getting aroused if you are doing the same things over and over in your attempt to stimulate him. To be blunt, your overtures might be getting boring for him. The solution to this problem is to try new things--new positions, new role playing, new fantasies--to bring back some excitement and novelty to sex.
Should one of the above be the problems be the issue, and should you be able to resolve it, would you go back to him? You know, there are more things in life than sex, and if this guy is a great husband and the only issue is sex, you might want to give the relationship more effort before abandoning it.
Another possible solution: You mention that you were both very active before you met. Have you talked about mixing it up with a threesome? Group sex? Even possibly a polyamorous relationship? There are many possibilities in this area.
I also find the paragraph about your premature birth an interesting, and telling, addition to your letter. I had to pause a moment and think why you included it. It is important how you write, "So it was always from day one that I was going to be pushed in directions against my will. I was born premature (go figure) as I came out of my mothers belly I was blue and covered in white powder. I wasn't ready to face the world but there I was." Then you go into how you were married, etc. I have to think that, for some reason, you felt pushed into getting married and now, in the interest of not feeling controlled by others, you are deliberately sabotaging your marriage by having an affair. Thoughts?
You might not want to "make a huge deal out of it," but, sorry, it IS a huge deal because you're talking about a break-up. You need to consider this long and hard (pun intended) before you take the next step. Is sex the only thing important to you, or do you want something more out of life? Is this problem with your husband ONLY about sex, or are other things going on that you're not telling me? Have you even TALKED to him about this problem, or are you just keeping quiet and having sex with this other person?
Look before you leap, hon. While you deserve to be happy, be considerate of your husband's feelings, too. If you truly love your husband, don't you think you should consider his feelings more? Doesn't he deserve to know what is going on with you, the woman he loves?
I hope this helps clarify some things for you.
Hugs,
Papabear
Wear That Fur (without guilt!)
Furescent (also known as Anastasia Wilson) is a very busy crafter who describes herself as a furry, a cosplayer, and an artist. Over on her Etsy page you can see her works — she not only makes fursuits but also fleece hats, hoodies, onesies, and kigurumis. (Don’t we live in wonderful times with wonderful words?)
image c. 2017 by Furescent
FC-287 Furmware - Loads of MFF review with stories, an awesome round of Patreon shoutouts produced live at the convention, some news and some emails. Thanks to all of you who met up with us at MFF! See you next con!
Loads of MFF review with stories, an awesome round of Patreon shoutouts produced live at the convention, some news and some emails. Thanks to all of you who met up with us at MFF! See you next con!
Watch Video Link Roundup:- Furry Stuff sells cute items for christmas
- Midwest FurFest usurps Anthrocon’s record and becomes the world’s largest furry convention
- Lifehacker: All hotel guests should behave like these furries
- Tealeaf Racoon’s MFF convention attendance graph tweet
- Why pets have surprisingly small brains
- UPB students, professor study furry community
- FurScience 2017 International Survey!
- Fur Affinity administrator resigns amid hate group policy controversy
- Fjord Frost’s “Furry Conventions have a Drug and Alcohol Problem”
- New XBN & FurCast studio update – Moving Vlog Episode 7
- Jesus Statue’s Butt Was Hiding A 240-Year-Old Secret Message
- French naked restaurant opens – and is going down a storm with diners
- Japanese ‘naked restaurant’ to ban overweight diners
- Krampus Day
- Oklahoma veterinarian removes 21 pacifiers from dog’s belly
- Lycus the Hyena – “Career conflicts? (Please read)”
- Janum – “Fan letter from a long time viewer – Preferred on air”
FC-287 Furmware - Loads of MFF review with stories, an awesome round of Patreon shoutouts produced live at the convention, some news and some emails. Thanks to all of you who met up with us at MFF! See you next con!
Loads of MFF review with stories, an awesome round of Patreon shoutouts produced live at the convention, some news and some emails. Thanks to all of you who met up with us at MFF! See you next con!
Watch Video Link Roundup:- Furry Stuff sells cute items for christmas
- Midwest FurFest usurps Anthrocon’s record and becomes the world’s largest furry convention
- Lifehacker: All hotel guests should behave like these furries
- Tealeaf Racoon’s MFF convention attendance graph tweet
- Why pets have surprisingly small brains
- UPB students, professor study furry community
- FurScience 2017 International Survey!
- Fur Affinity administrator resigns amid hate group policy controversy
- Fjord Frost’s “Furry Conventions have a Drug and Alcohol Problem”
- New XBN & FurCast studio update – Moving Vlog Episode 7
- Jesus Statue’s Butt Was Hiding A 240-Year-Old Secret Message
- French naked restaurant opens – and is going down a storm with diners
- Japanese ‘naked restaurant’ to ban overweight diners
- Krampus Day
- Oklahoma veterinarian removes 21 pacifiers from dog’s belly
- Lycus the Hyena – “Career conflicts? (Please read)”
- Janum – “Fan letter from a long time viewer – Preferred on air”
[Live] Furmware
Loads of MFF review with stories, an awesome round of Patreon shoutouts produced live at the convention, some news and some emails. Thanks to all of you who met up with us at MFF! See you next con!
Link Roundup:- Furry Stuff sells cute items for christmas
- Midwest FurFest usurps Anthrocon’s record and becomes the world’s largest furry convention
- Lifehacker: All hotel guests should behave like these furries
- Tealeaf Racoon’s MFF convention attendance graph tweet
- Why pets have surprisingly small brains
- UPB students, professor study furry community
- FurScience 2017 International Survey!
- Fur Affinity administrator resigns amid hate group policy controversy
- Fjord Frost’s “Furry Conventions have a Drug and Alcohol Problem”
- New XBN & FurCast studio update – Moving Vlog Episode 7
- Jesus Statue’s Butt Was Hiding A 240-Year-Old Secret Message
- French naked restaurant opens – and is going down a storm with diners
- Japanese ‘naked restaurant’ to ban overweight diners
- Krampus Day
- Oklahoma veterinarian removes 21 pacifiers from dog’s belly
- Lycus the Hyena – “Career conflicts? (Please read)”
- Janum – “Fan letter from a long time viewer – Preferred on air”
Episode 18 - Shark is watching
Episode 17 - Sharks are everywhere!
Episode 16 - Another wild shark appears!
Episode 15 - A shark appears!
Welcome to the Imaginary Friend Society
A very sad topic but nice project. https://youtu.be/rMFbbsZOEv4 "The Imaginary Friend Society is a cast of characters who star in a series of animated films that help explain confusing cancer-related topics in a way that’s kid-friendly. The series speaks to kids about both the medical and emotional aspects of cancer in an effort to make them a little more comfortable during a very difficult experience."
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“You let your ghosties get the best of you”- Chatting with comics creator Mark Kalesniko
Welcome to Bessie, of Marfedblog, a comics review and criticism site. There’s furry stuff there, and much more, with devoted curation by a fan doing exactly what they love. If you like this, give it a follow. And expect more syndicated content reposted here. (- Patch)
“You can either stay and rot, or you can escape and burn. That’s OK; he’s a songwriter, after all, and he needs simple choices like that in his songs. But nobody ever writes about how it is possible to escape and rot, how escapes can go off at half-cock, how you can leave the suburbs for the city but end up living a limp suburban life anyway. That’s what happened to me; that’s what happens to most people”
High Fidelity- Nick Hornby
Years back, after heavily getting back into comics, I was gifted with the book 500 Essential Graphic Novels and surprised by the breadth and depth of the selection set about bookmarking and ordering a few dozen titles. Amongst them was Mark Kalesniko’s Alex, a character I instantly fell in love with and creator who’s work I quickly consumed. Having moved back to his home town of Bandini in Canada, with his tail between his legs, after abandoning his dream of animation at ‘Mickey Walt’, Alex wakes up on a park bench, groggy from another night of alcohol fuelled self destruction. Hungover, high school yearbook in his jacket and with an expressionistic painting of the town he has no memory of. The frustrated Alex fills his time wrestling with his past, struggling with artists’ block, hard drinking, and Gilligan’s Island whilst avoiding old school friends and facing up to the unthinkable. Having to be an artist, rather than a cartoonist. Freeway, drawn over ten years features a younger Alex in his animating career. Stuck in a seemingly never ending traffic jam he reminisces about his uncertain start in LA , whilst he imagines himself living an idyllic life, back in the golden days of animation.
Although optimistic now, I spent most of my teens and twenties as a shamefully stereotypically moody and sullen sod, even now I’m drawn to characters like Alex. Back then my favourite book was High Fidelity, which is the reason for the quote at the start of the review which pretty much sums up Alex’s story. Both books features a downtrodden lead character, stuck in their ways and unhappy with the way life turned out. Kalesinko’s work is great for wallowing in self pity and misery, in the same way that we’re drawn to sad songs, knowing full well they’ll bring us yet deeper into sadness. Tackling themes of depression, self destruction, inner peace and the death of a dream, they are both hugely moving and funny reads. Kalesinko can tease out the comedy of even the most disastrous and destructive events of Alex’s life, presented with his sparse fine line with the pacing and sense of movement that clearly comes from his own stint in animation.
Bessie: I found the short Alex story ‘OCD’ funny, but also touching, it’s odd that on every occasion in other media people who have it are presented as being unaware they are doing it, or at ease with it, whereas you presented Alex as getting annoyed even with himself. Does this come from personal experience, do you share any of these traits with Alex? Are there any other of your traits you’ve imbued him with?
Mark Kalesniko: Yes this does come from personal experience, I do suffer from OCD and find it very frustrating and exhausting especially when leaving the house. I did exaggerate some of the traits for comic effect and the last gag with the iron I have never done but wanted to.
I do draw from my own life experiences for my Alex stories but they are in no way autobiographical. First my own life is quite dull so I will incorporate events that have happened to other people just to make my story more entertaining. For example, in my book “Why Did Pete Duel Kill Himself?”, I have a bully who enters Alex’s house and beats him up right in his bedroom. That incident never happened to me but it did happen to a neighbour kid so I incorporated in to my story to show the horror of a bully out to get you. That is the beauty of fiction is to combine different ideas from different sources to make a more interesting story. Also in fiction, the story can wrap up to a conclusion that is both satisfying to both the author and the reader, while reality doesn’t always conclude so neatly.
B: With comics like this do you find it beneficial to tackle the more serious aspects of it with humour? Do you think it’s an important part of getting information across to an audience?
MK: OCD is exhausting and anxiety inducing malady and to show it with humour I believe breaks the stigma. I am not laughing at the person who suffers from it, I laugh with them. I am trying to make the OCD smaller, less brutal, give some one who suffers from it some distance, to see that there are others who are going through it and they are not alone. When we laugh, we can begin a conversation which in turn helps both those that suffer with OCD and those who know people who suffer a better understanding.
Humour and comedy has always been a good way to broach difficult subjects be it race, religion or illness. A recent example is the comedian Tig Nataro who created a whole comedy routine over a series of tragic events that happened to her. By using humour, it eases the pain and makes things more bearable especially for people who are suffering through their own personal problems.
B: Again in Overpass you write about a difficult subject, Suicide, and inject humour into it with Alex musing over the practicalities of the act. What was your intention with the comic? Similar to making OCD smaller in the other story?
MK: I have written about suicide before with “Uncle Bob” and “Why Did Pete Duel Kill Himself?”. Both stories dealt with the tragedy and confusion of such a desperate act. In “Overpass”, I started thinking of the act itself and how much effort and planning it would take and that Alex is so depressed that even the act is not worth the effort and in turn he actually saves his own life. It’s humour born out of the absurdity of the situation.
B: How did the idea of drawing Alex as a dog come about? Is it simply to make him stand out more visually amongst other characters or is there something else behind it?
MK: The dog headed character of Alex is based on a character I created as a child. Originally, Alex had a brother and they went on adventures alone the lines of Carl Barks “Donald Duck.” As I got older, I wanted to create stories with more complex themes and decided to haul out my childhood character and put him in adult situations.I found that using a dog to represent Alex could reflect alienation and loneliness. Although Alex doesn’t actually look like a dog to his family and peers, his seeing himself as a dog reveals the way he feels about himself, that he is different. For the reader, the dog evokes a sense of distance and perspective in seeing elements of the plot, just as animals were used in fairy tales centuries ago to represent ideas or character traits.
B: The shorts featured on your website, where do they fit into the ongoing story of Alex? Will the next book be set after the events of Alex or do you have another part of his life in mind for it?
MK: The Alex time line is confusing. Originally, “Freeway” was suppose to come before “Alex” and was the back story for why Alex moved back to Bandini but when I completed “Freeway”, I purposely ended it in the mid 90s a few years after Alex’s time period. The reason being, I had more stories to tell of Alex in L.A. but I couldn’t figure away to tell them if he was still in Canada. Also at the same time I got a germ of an idea for another Alex/Bandini story set after the events in “Alex.” So to solve the problem, I decided to free Alex of the time line. All the books and stories of Alex stand alone and do not need to be read in any particular order. And I wanted to explore different aspects of Alex’s character that both L.A. and Bandini bring out in him. So Alex is unstuck in time. As for “Overpass”, “Tarantula” and “OCD” they are all set in L.A. and take place after “Freeway” as does the new Alex story I’m currently working on. If I live to 100 I hope to also draw the Alex/Bandini story.
B: Freeway and Alex both tackle the subject of artists working within a strict system and how stifling that can be for creativity , has this been your general experience of certain industries and do you personally see this situation changing at all?
MK: “Alex” and “Freeway” were both written when I was a young man and express the views that an artist should be free of any constraints and working for himself. At the time, I felt that working in a corporate setting was stifling, political and no way to reach your artistic expression. Now that I’m older, I have a more nuanced view. Working in a corporate setting, an artist can exchange ideas, learn new things and be part of a bigger project that can be satisfying and rewarding. So I see the value in both and its the choice of the artist to balance the two to get the most reward from it.
B: Who were your inspirations when developing your own unique drawing style?
MK: Egon Schiele is probably my greatest inspiration for my drawing style. I love his lines, the expressionism of his paintings and drawings. The raw feelings he has for his subjects. It is very powerful. He inspired not only my graphic novels but also my personal paintings. In comic books, Guido Crepax has had a strong influence. His line work is very sensual and I love the way he lays out his pages. Also I love Carl Barks “Donald Duck” and Hank Ketcham’s “Dennis the Menace”, both drew with a strong draftsmanship that let me the reader go to different places and actually look around. As matter of fact it’s “Dennis the Menace in Hollywood” that was a huge inspiration for Freeway. When I was a kid I loved exploring the detail of each page and how he took me on a virtual tour of Los Angeles. It inspired me to draw my own tour of downtown L.A. in Freeway.
B: In Alex, he spends the book suffering from artists block, have you ever suffered from it yourself and why do you think it’s a subject that artists tend to go back to and explore in their works?
MK: I have never had a block that stopped me from finishing a book. I have had blocks in certain sequences of my books where I had to put that section away and hope when I get back to it I’d have a solution. One of the best examples of this was during the creation of Mail Order Bride, I had a scene where Monty and Kyung were arguing about her art school friends. I originally had a very weak argument that Monty was making and I knew it wasn’t working, so I put it aside. One evening , my wife and I were in Pasadena enjoying these Hurdy-Gurdy street performers who had as part of their act, dancing puppets of a maiden and devil. As Matter of fact, those puppets inspired the puppets in my book. Talking to the performers later, I said how much I like your maiden and devil but one of them corrected me and said that’s not a devil that’s a fool. That statement inspired me and I was able to rewrite the scene using the devil/fool puppet as a symbol of the foolishness of Monty’s argument with Kyung.
Why do artists explore the artist’s block in their work? I believe it’s every artist’s greatest fear. What if I can’t come up with a new idea? What if I never create again? For myself, it scares me to death.
B: In your research for Freeway and the buildings featured was there anything surprising that came up that made its way into the story? What was your favourite to draw and why?
MK: The route that Alex and Chloe take in present day Bunker Hill is the same route I take when my wife and I go downtown to explore. In researching and drawing the Bunker Hill of the past, I was quite surprised how well the two routes synced up. The Bunker hill of the past is completely gone, not only are the buildings demolished but even the topography of the hill was radically changed. When I did my research I was pleasantly surprised at how the present and the past would lead in and out of each other making the journey through time much more seamless. I could not have planned that.
My favourite structures to draw were Angels Flight and the Bradbury Building because they both still exist. There is nothing like drawing something right in front of you. You can see how the building is built. How it fits in to space. How big or small it is. In a photograph, which in Freeway I needed because so many of the structures of the past are gone, I sometimes had difficulty making out how a building worked. A shadow could be too strong or an angle just a little off and I would have no idea how to draw it or what details were there. I’m grateful to have those photos but it’s easier if you can draw something right in front of you.
B: Do you have any plans for other graphic novels any time soon?
MK: Yes, I’m working on two books at the same time. One is a horror story and the other is another Alex story. They should be out in a year or two.
Mark Kalesinko’s books can be bought from amazon and most comic stores, his shorts and further information are available from his website.
Originally posted on marfedblog, where Bessie reviews and spotlights Furry and mainstream comics.
The Annie Award Nominations for 2017
Recently ASIFA-Hollywood announced the nominees for the 2017 Annie Awards — considered to be the Oscars of animation, and often predictors of other upcoming awards. 2017 was nowhere near as furry as 2016, but there are quite a few furry (and more generally anthropomorphic) items scattered throughout the nominees. Cars III is up for Best Feature, as well as Animated Effects. Despicable Me III is also nominated in those categories, as well as Character Design (everybody still loves the minions…). Big Bad Fox from Europe is nominated in the somewhat-new category of Best Independent Feature, as well as Character Animation and Best Directing. The “Special Production” category has several anthropomorphic nominees including the Imaginary Friend Society series, Olaf’s Frozen Adventure (also nominated for Animated Effects and Music) and Pig: The Dam Keeper Poems. Though they’re not up for Best Feature, Ferdinand and The Star are both up for Best Editing, plus Production Design (Ferdinand) and Storyboarding (The Star). The furriest Short Subject nominee is the stop motion film Hedgehog’s Home — unfortunately, in spite of its title, Son of Jaguar is not a furry thing at all. It’s interesting that the entire Animation In A Live Action Feature category is all entries with anthropomorphic interest: Game of Thrones, Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2, Kong: Skull Island, Valerean and the City of a Thousand Planets, and War for the Planet of the Apes. Likewise you’ll find a lot of anthropomorphic interest in the Best TV Series for Pre-School Children (Mickey and the Roadster Racers, Octonauts, Peg + Cat, The Stinky & Dirty Show, and Through The Woods) and Best TV Series for Children categories (Buddy Thunderstruck, Lost in Oz, Niko and the Sword of Light, Tangled the Series, and We Bare Bears). Buddy Thunderstruck is also up for Character Design, as is Danger & Eggs and Trollhunters. Of course Trollhunters is making a good show on its own, with nominations for Direction, Storyboarding, and Writing. Over in the Best TV Series for Adults the furriest thing is Bojack Horseman, which is also nominated for Voice Acting and Editing. The Disney Mickey Mouse series is quite popular, as shown by the nominations for Direction, Music, Production Design, Storyboarding, Voice Acting, and Writing! Finally, several shows we know and like are nominated in one category each, including Dragons: Race to the Edge (Best Direction), Tumble Leaf (Best Music), Pickle & Peanut (Best Editing), Amazing World of Gumball (Best Voice Acting), and Dinotrux (Best Editing). Whew! Got all that? The Annie Awards will be handed out at a gala ceremony on Saturday, February 3rd, 2018 at UCLA.
image c. 2017 Netflix
Patrick’s MFF 2017 Con Video
Furries invited to a charity livestream for the It’s Your Haven Foundation, December 8-9
@HavenFusky of @HavenCon has a 24+ hour livestream for his charitable foundation. Check out the schedule, and here’s @KalTorathen to tell you more, with hope to see our community come together to support a Very Good Boy!
Have you ever wondered where the money to host and support a convention comes from? In particular, how do smaller or startup cons get funded?
One might argue that larger, long-running cons can gather money for next year’s convention during this year’s convention. But that isn’t true for smaller and younger cons. They depend on generous individuals that donate their time, money, and expertise to make them a reality.
That’s a good reason to support HavenCon (www.havencontx.com) and the associated It’s Your Haven Foundation (www.itsyourhaven.org).
“But Kal,” you say, “There are many charitable causes, and is this one furry?”
HavenCon is an LGBTQ+ sci-fi convention that is partially run and organized by furries. It welcomes many furry attendees, and features some as special guests. There’s a litany of other talented participants and special guests as well, including game writers and designers, celebrities, actors, and a whole lot more! Of course it includes dances, panels, and other events – the same thing you’d expect to see at a furry con, but with fewer fursuits and a lot more cosplayers. Not only are furries loved here, but the whole fandom benefits from new allies in other fandoms.
That’s the convention; what about the foundation?
It’s Your Haven Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that supports running HavenCon. It’s currently seeking to expand the frequency and location of events, and also create the Haven Creators Fund to financially support projects which promote diversity and inclusivity.
“OK, Kal! How can furry readers support this?”
Now that you know of this wonderful convention and foundation, please consider joining an upcoming 24+ hour donation livestream, on December 8 – 9. The proceeds will go towards supporting the It’s Your Haven Foundation, and it will feature special guests, interviews, discussions, game play, and more!
For full details about the live stream, visit:
http://foundation.havencontx.com/building-a-foundation-live-stream-schedule/
For more information about the Foundation:
https://www.generosity.com/community-fundraising/building-a-foundation-for-diverse-geeks-and-gamers
And finally, HavenCon itself:
http://www.havencontx.com/