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Evan Dahm in an artist who has illustrated and published recent editions of classics like The Wizard of Oz and Moby Dick. In the meantime he keeps himself busy with a series of on-line comics and graphic novels. Among the most extensive is a fantasy comic called Vattu. According to him: “Vattu is a story following a member of a nomadic tribe caught in the midst of a massive clash of cultures. It was started in July 2010 and is updated on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.” Visit his web site to see more, including an extensive character guide to Vattu — There are lots of non-human characters of various species.

image c. 2017 by Evan Dahm

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I think I know of a therapist that can handle situations like this.
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Howwwwwwdy!

This year, August 25-27, Furry Migration will be taking place in Minneapolis, MN! The guests of honor include voice actor and comedian Malcom Ray, artist Talenshi, and *drumroll* The Furry Writers’ Guild! The Guild’s mission is to support, inform, elevate, and promote quality anthropomorphic fiction and its creators.

I’m posting this here for two and one third reasons.

The Guild is simply an excellent resource for writers of all sorts. Although their focus is primarily on fiction and ours is primarily on non-fiction, there is some crossover. Writing skills from one transfer from one to the other – [a][s] prides itself on creative non-fiction, which often includes the building up of characters and the worlds in which they live. World and character building are important in both fiction and creative non-fiction as a matter of course; just that in non-fiction, the characters and the world are real.

The Guild will be represented by several Guild members, myself as president, vice prez Chipotle, AKA Watts Martin:

Watts Martin, the 2016–17 FWG president, has been involved in furry fandom for over a quarter of a century. Watts’s published works include appearances in Heat, The Furry Future, Inhuman Acts, and Gods With Fur, as well as the “Cupcake” novella Indigo Rain, the short story collection Why Coyotes Howl, and in 2017, the science fiction novel Kismet. In the early days of the fandom, Watts was known for editing/publishing the magazine Mythagoras, which saw early works by Paul Kidd, M.C.A. Hogarth, and Nebula nominee Lawrence M. Schoen, as well as an original furry story by Hugo winner Lawrence Watt-Evans. Watts has been the writing track lead for Further Confusion for the past four years and was the writing guest of honor at the very first Anthrocon.

Seriously, check out Kismet. It’s a fantastic work of science fiction with some, to paraphrase another reviewer, next level McGuffining. It’s available from FurPlanet, Argyll Productions, Bad Dog Books, Amazon, and doubtless others.

We, as a Guild and as members, will be hosting several panels. See here for a list.

Secondly, I’ll be there at the con, primarily wearing my Guild hat, but also sharing some of our usual [a][s] panels:

• Healthy Relationships in Furry – Friday at 9PM
• The Love – Sex – Fur Guide to Safer Sex – Friday at 10:30PM
• Gender and Furry – Saturday at 7:30PM
• Exploring the Fandom Through data – Sunday at 3PM

I’m looking forward to yapping about gender, data, love, sex, and fur.

Oh, and the one-third of a reason is that, along with being an editor here, I’m president of the Guild, and it’s my duty and joy to promote both the Guild and the Guild’s activities such as the con where I’m able.

Plus, I can.

Because I’m dictatorpresident there and dictatoreditor here.

Anyway! Come say hi! We’ll have our panels, of course, but please do come to learn more about the guild. It truly is a fantastic resource for all writers. The Guild forums and Guild chat resources (there’s a snoutbox on the forums, a Slack team, and a Telegram chat) are open to all, members and non-members, readers and writers.

Wooo-oo! Now this is how you reboot a series. If you haven't caught the pilot for this show I highly recommend it. While I normally tend to post short-from stuff, if you have the time here is the full 40 minute pilot as well: https://youtu.be/gP0Neif7Y4E Note: Cape Suzette and Spoonerville are mentioned! Does this mean Tale Spin and Goofy Movie reboot? I swear that looks like Roxanne at 13:00 in.
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Ever wondered if you should attend a writing retreat? What happens there? What will I achieve by attending? Welcome to a part one of a two part special where we try to answer those questions and more!

Ocean flew off to RAWR 2017 and recorded two podcasts while there. It’s the night before everything starts, everyone has arrived for the week long retreat and Ocean sits down to discuss the busy time ahead with the other attendees: Buni, NightEyes, Ryft, Otter and TJ. They talk about why they’re here and what they’re looking forward to gaining from this retreat.

Currently applications are open for RAWR 2017
If you are interested in RAWR, find out more and apply at: http://www.rawr.community/
Or follow them on twitter at: @RAWRWorkshop

Find the other attendees at:
Buni
@TJMinde 
@Ryft_Sarri
NightEyes
@runningotter

Stay tuned for next episode when we meet back up at the end of the retreat to talk about how it went and our experiences.

Ep 75 – Pre-RAWR - Ever wondered if you should attend a writing retreat? What happens there? What will I achieve by attending? Welcome to a part one of a two part special where we try to answer those questions and more! Ocean flew off to RAWR 2017 and recorded two podcas...

Wayward Raven is the name of a small press comic book publisher founded by Mark C. Frankel. More recently though, the company has branched out and published a new picture book for young readers. It’s called Percy, written by Mark and illustrated by Elke Reva Sudin. “Percy is a sirrush. Just what is a sirrush? In truth, even Percy himself doesn’t know, but he is determined to find out. Join the noble Percy as he goes on a quest across many lands and encounters interesting characters as he attempts to find others like himself.” Something to do with the gates of ancient Babylon. Read it, you’ll understand.

image c. 2017 Wayward Raven

www.thedraggetshow.com Patreons will get episodes first right after recording. Just a buck gets you early access and a downloadable mp3 file! www.patreon.com/thedraggetshow ALSO, we're not just on SoundCloud, you can also subscribe to this on most podcast services like iTunes! Ep 173 - Ifc2017 LIVE! - www.thedraggetshow.com Patreons will get episode…

We did another firecast stream on Youtube, but if you prefer the audio, here is that. The youtube vid is here: https://youtu.be/pGBMo-fKeXQ www.thedraggetshow.com Patreons will get episodes first right after recording. Just a buck gets you early access and a downloadable mp3 file! www.patreon.com/thedraggetshow ALSO, we're not just on SoundCloud, you can also subscribe to this on most podcast services like iTunes! Ep. 172 - Firecast! - We did another firecast stream on Youtube, but if…

I kissed a wolf and I liked it! Thanks to Ethan Staghorn for this tip.
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Altfurry is the term used by a tiny fringe of hateful bigots in the furry fandom.  (It’s accurate to replace “alt” with “anti”, as you can see below).  Last week they encouraged members to attend the “Unite the Right” rally where neo-nazis attacked and killed protesters. (archive)

One altfurry attendee was Nathan Gate / TheBigKK / KryptoKroenen – a college student from Arizona, and Hitler fan on Stormfront and Daily Stormer.

Here’s a gallery with some images of Nathan’s furry involvement. You may have already seen his involvement with Altfurry swatting Califur (below).

Nathan Gate was with the neo-nazis rallying in Charlottesville when a violent felony was caught on camera. Victim Deandre Harris spoke out, a crowdfund raised six figures for him and attackers were identified. Nathan watched and supported the attackers.

All hands on deck.

WHO IS THIS MAN with the red beard?

He committed a violent felony. pic.twitter.com/nbYhxAPAOO

— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) August 13, 2017

This "altright" writer was there and had a conversation with the attackers, he has a altright YouTube page too. pic.twitter.com/5HKDOCWpdZ

— Will (@Reaver229) August 14, 2017

Nathan posted online to harass people supporting the victim, saying “it was beautiful watching his ass get beat”. If there was any question about privacy when attending a neo-nazi rally, there’s another answer for why this is public. (archive)

I saw it first hand, it was beautiful watching his ass get beat.

— TheBigKK (@TheBigKK_) August 13, 2017

Altfurry Discord, run by Casey Hoerth AKA Len Gilbert – (finance writer for Motley Fool and The Street, and erotic nazifur fiction The Furred Reich) – posted more jokes about violence and murder done by neo-nazis. (archive)

#AltFurry cracking jokes about a terrorist attack.https://t.co/rRSIXHJlEL pic.twitter.com/p0Fri7ZcAl

— John Atyxyt (@JohnAtyxyt) August 12, 2017

Nazi Furs are celebrating the murder of Heather Heyer & injury of other peaceful antiracist protesters by Nazi terrorist in #Charlotesville pic.twitter.com/em2nwYlM4c

— Deo (@DeoTasDevil) August 13, 2017

Read more about how Altfurry targets kids for hate with Casey Hoerth (“Len”), Nathan Gate, and Stormfront members.  Altfurry also attempts to cancel furry cons.  Here’s screenshots from their chat to plan “swatting” against Califur, and one of Nathan Gate’s phone calls to help.

Who fucked over Califur?
Oh yeah it was those assholes organizing threatening calls inside their AltFurry Discord.

Evidence: pic.twitter.com/nFUa07q7ZE

— Deo (@DeoTasDevil) June 27, 2017

Nathan / TheBigKK is joined by a partner known as Vomitb0yy / Birb / KKKutie, who does furry art commissions while saying “the furry fandom are a bunch of degenerate pussies and it sucks getting grouped in with the tards.” (Chat screens below.) Nathan’s own message to furries says that he hopes “your nasty fandom is torn apart.”

Just got this on a comment section from an alt righter arguing for #furryraiders This is what they think of us #furry #furryfandom pic.twitter.com/YInH8GQokn

— Feyd (@BluFawx) April 20, 2017

The attempt to get Califur shut down by Casey Hoerth, altfurry and Nathan Gate cost $24,000 to the con. Here’s the con’s statement about threats they received.

https://t.co/7qxUDS807B@CaliFur lost $24,000 because people made threats over a baby-fur panel which they already hosted the year before. pic.twitter.com/361RclepwY

— ChipFox ???? (@chipfoxx) June 26, 2017

Before Nathan’s phone call and the chat screens were posted, Altfurry and Casey Hoerth lied that they didn’t organize the calls to Califur. (archive 1, 2.)

When the denial stopped working, those tweets were deleted.  Then altfurry members began lying that Nathan Gate / TheBigKK was never a member, isn’t a furry, or used to be a member but isn’t any more.  The story changes depending on which one is lying to deflect blame. (1, 2, 3, 4)

big kk never was part of alt furry and isnt even a furry himself.

— That Pesky Pooch (@IAmARealRealist) July 21, 2017

No, revisionism is people trying to say the BigKK person who said "anthrocon is next" & called @Califur is Altfurry. He's not even a furry

— #BroniesForTrump (@GWSSDelta) July 21, 2017

No one in the discord server posed as a news team no one we publicly acknowledge to be part of the discord server @AltFurryDiscord can.....

— Husky Jack (@JackLaMothe) June 27, 2017

Yes the BigKK has not been a member of our discord for several weeks. He left on his own Accord after this reaction. Our discord disavows...

— Husky Jack (@JackLaMothe) June 27, 2017

Altfurry also lies about their neo-nazi ties. It’s part of a very old strategy.  The first step is to try to present themselves as a legitimate and non-violent political or ideological movement. The second is to provoke a violent or visceral response in a supposedly non-violent manner. The third is to point to that response to claim the other side is unreasonable. They’ve fallen back to starting over with the first step now.

This is Alt-furries strategy every time they attack a convention. https://t.co/oBufIeXnhw

— ChipFox ???? (@chipfoxx) August 12, 2017

Nazis on 4chan don't know what to do now that one of their own has been found out. Trying to find out how to spin narrative. #DefendCville pic.twitter.com/XFsN9EU8mw

— It's Going Down (@IGD_News) August 13, 2017

Nazi strategy: "Leftists will recognize dog whistles and know we're crypto, but normies won't listen to them." pic.twitter.com/YSkLp1J95C

— Contra (@ContraPoints) August 13, 2017

Watch out for /pol/ & nazi groups desperately trying to "flip the narrative" (bury the facts of their murderous rampage)

Don't fall for it.

— Deo (@DeoTasDevil) August 14, 2017

Let your local meets know if any member of Altfurry attends. Don’t fall for the fake story that “both sides” are responsible for the aggression you can see here. Urge them to respond like The Furst State did:

Our announcement regarding hate speech at our events and in our online communities: https://t.co/UnqLvIE8U7 pic.twitter.com/FfH3RbFzt8

— The Furst State (@TheFurstState) August 13, 2017

So what are you going to do about #AltFurry nazis in the fandom?

Talk to your local meet or con organizer and urge them to ban hate imagery

— ThatFabulousBastard (@Silvermoonwolf5) August 12, 2017

Altfurs aren’t just trolls, they’re neo-nazis hiding behind animal avatars.  They intend to exploit and attack this little fandom because it’s supportive for many kinds of people, who built something happy, creative, and thriving on it’s own terms. Keep it that way by ditching them until they ditch the hate.

Like the article? It takes a lot of effort to share these. Please consider supporting Dogpatch Press on Patreon, where you can access exclusive stuff for just $1.

We mentioned before about an upcoming animated film called Duck Duck Goose, one of several films being financed the Chinese firm Original Force with the intention of releasing in North America. Well now, according to an article at Cartoon Brew, Duck Duck Goose has a release date — April 20th, 2018 — and a teaser trailer up on YouTube. “Chris Jenkins, a veteran Disney effects animator who more recently shifted to the producing side (Dreamworks’ Home, Sony’s Surf’s Up), makes his feature directorial debut on Duck Duck Goose. Jenkins co-wrote the film with Rob Muir… The film follows the adventures of a ‘high-flying bachelor goose’ named Peng (voiced by Jim Gaffigan) who finds himself in charge of two ducklings (voiced by Zendaya and Lance Lim) that he must take along on a long journey south. Other voices are provided by Greg Proops, Natasha Leggero, Reggie Watts, Diedrich Bader, Jennifer Grey, Rick Overton, Craig Ferguson, Stephen Fry, and Carl Reiner.” Distribution is being handled by Open Road Films, the same outfit that released The Nut Job and its recent sequel here in the States.

image c. 2017 Original Force

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Our first Sunday morning show! Quite a packed & fun episode.

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Watch Video Roundup:

• First Chinese Furry Con Experience
• Infurnty:2017 Hotel Walk-through video
• New Data Shows Furries Are Growing In Number
• PizzaShep gets video from fur supplier in China
• You must include gay venue on site of Joiners Arms, planners tell developers
• Butt that can be slapped on and off
• Helicopter sex film officer Adrian Pogmore jailed
• Culturally F’d Responds to Copyright Video comments
• NosHyena talks about his first fursuit scam
• Old Spice: Rad Talkin’ Wolftorn
• Old Spice: Alpha Dawg
• Funny Jingles
• @Furahi talks about their late fursuit

News:

• German Man Avoids Traffic Jams By Swimming To Work
• Man Hosts His Own Late-Night Talk Show On NYC Subway
• Man Brings Suspiciously Chill Peacock On NYC Subway
• Outback Steakhouse At The Center Of Bizarre Conspiracy Theory
• Teenager Paddles At The Beach, Has Feet “Eaten Alive” By Flesh-Eating Bugs

Email:

• Ardrix – “Hello!”
• Hachi – “Smol World I Guess”
• Jake – “Take Two”
• Shawn – “an explanation of the “can haz” paradox (not the wolf)”
• Link Vanguard – “Furcast Rap”

FC-274 Mow’d Down - Our first Sunday morning show! Quite a packed & fun episode.

Our first Sunday morning show! Quite a packed & fun episode.

Download MP3

Watch Video Roundup:

• First Chinese Furry Con Experience
• Infurnty:2017 Hotel Walk-through video
• New Data Shows Furries Are Growing In Number
• PizzaShep gets video from fur supplier in China
• You must include gay venue on site of Joiners Arms, planners tell developers
• Butt that can be slapped on and off
• Helicopter sex film officer Adrian Pogmore jailed
• Culturally F’d Responds to Copyright Video comments
• NosHyena talks about his first fursuit scam
• Old Spice: Rad Talkin’ Wolftorn
• Old Spice: Alpha Dawg
• Funny Jingles
• @Furahi talks about their late fursuit

News:

• German Man Avoids Traffic Jams By Swimming To Work
• Man Hosts His Own Late-Night Talk Show On NYC Subway
• Man Brings Suspiciously Chill Peacock On NYC Subway
• Outback Steakhouse At The Center Of Bizarre Conspiracy Theory
• Teenager Paddles At The Beach, Has Feet “Eaten Alive” By Flesh-Eating Bugs

Email:

• Ardrix – “Hello!”
• Hachi – “Smol World I Guess”
• Jake – “Take Two”
• Shawn – “an explanation of the “can haz” paradox (not the wolf)”
• Link Vanguard – “Furcast Rap”

FC-274 Mow’d Down - Our first Sunday morning show! Quite a packed & fun episode.

Our first Sunday morning show! Quite a packed & fun episode.

Download MP3

Roundup:

• First Chinese Furry Con Experience
• Infurnty:2017 Hotel Walk-through video
• New Data Shows Furries Are Growing In Number
• PizzaShep gets video from fur supplier in China
• You must include gay venue on site of Joiners Arms, planners tell developers
• Butt that can be slapped on and off
• Helicopter sex film officer Adrian Pogmore jailed
• Culturally F’d Responds to Copyright Video comments
• NosHyena talks about his first fursuit scam
• Old Spice: Rad Talkin’ Wolftorn
• Old Spice: Alpha Dawg
• Funny Jingles
• @Furahi talks about their late fursuit

News:

• German Man Avoids Traffic Jams By Swimming To Work
• Man Hosts His Own Late-Night Talk Show On NYC Subway
• Man Brings Suspiciously Chill Peacock On NYC Subway
• Outback Steakhouse At The Center Of Bizarre Conspiracy Theory
• Teenager Paddles At The Beach, Has Feet “Eaten Alive” By Flesh-Eating Bugs

Email:

• Ardrix – “Hello!”
• Hachi – “Smol World I Guess”
• Jake – “Take Two”
• Shawn – “an explanation of the “can haz” paradox (not the wolf)”
• Link Vanguard – “Furcast Rap”

[Live] Mow’d Down

Hello, Papa Bear.

Before I begin, I would like to give a trigger warning for anyone reading. I will be talking about depression, self-harm, and suicide.

I have been depressed for two to three years. Recently, I was placed in a mental hospital for attempting suicide. I still struggle with self-harm and self-loathing, however the happiness within the furry fandom relieves that somewhat.

What I wanted to talk about is in regards to my recovery plan. My doctor has assigned me a therapist and prescribed antidepressants, but they also tell me that I need to work on my social dynamic. One of the main reasons why I became suicidal was a lack of connection with other people. I was always a reserved and introverted person, keeping to myself and not often sharing my emotions. But when my depression lapsed, this turned into an unhealthy type of isolation. Instead of simply enjoying being alone, I ended up cutting off all contact with everyone in my life, including my family, because I did not want to be emotionally close to anyone (or physically for that matter). I realize now that this was incredibly detrimental.

However, now my doctor is saying that I need to let people into my life and start developing friendships again. This is the very last thing that I want. I'm sixteen years old and in high school, and I have never been able to relate to the other people my age. While I want to discuss philosophy, politics, and art, they only seem to be interested in clothing, popularity, drugs, and superficial relationships. In every conversation, I'm at least three topics behind everyone else. It feels like I'm surrounded by toddlers. I know not to expect to get along with everyone, but so far I've only met one other person my age that I can actually trust. And they live halfway across the world. Anyone else ended up leaving for somewhat ignorant reasons ("You're asexual? Isn't that one of those made-up things people use to get attention?"). I'm not exactly the nicest person in the universe, but I thought I would be able to have a meaningful friendship with more than just one person. It's discouraging.

I have also had several negative experiences in the past, which may be a contributing factor for why I am not interested in having any friendships. Possibly the worst was with someone whom I trusted enough to admit to them that I was depressed. When I explained my feelings to them, they reacted by calling me selfish and several other terms I would rather not list here. Needless to say, I was somewhat disappointed. They continued to harass me over text and in person for about a week after the fact. Later, they gave a sorry excuse for an apology ("I'm sorry, but you really ought to consider how you make other people feel when you say stuff like that"). I honestly did not care enough to get mad or upset, so I told them they were right. They think we're still friends. But I don't.

I've had many other experiences similar to this, not necessarily always related to depression. I've sort of lost the ability to trust other people. Don't get me wrong, I have tried again and again to open up to people, but it's only ever worked out positively once. I know not to expect perfect fantasy-style relationships, but everything I've been through so far has crossed the line for what I consider to be mature and acceptable behavior. My family is this way as well.

Maybe the problem is me. I can't really imagine how or why, but it's the only explanation I can think of at this point.

I would like your opinion on this situation. What should I do?
I'm not close with my family and I really don't want to make friends. But without some sort of way to get my feelings out, I fear I may fall back into unhealthy habits.

Any help is much appreciated.

Sincerely,
Cobalt (age 16)

* * *

Dear Cobalt,

You are experiencing the complications of what I call "Old Soul Syndrome." Whether or not you believe what I'm about to explain is up to you, but one old soul to another, I feel for you.

To believe in the old soul concept, you have to believe in reincarnation. An old soul is someone who has lived before--the more times you have lived, the older your soul. Older souls tend to be more serious, wiser, and more intelligent than younger souls because they have experienced more. This does not necessitate your remembering what happened to you in your earlier lives. Those experiences are ingrained in you, so even if you don't recall earlier lives they remain in your soul.

Young or new souls are still figuring out what is important in life. They tend to be still wide-eyed and bushy-tailed about it, overly impressed with the material and sensual and less so by the spiritual and intellectual. Thus, they appear to older souls as shallow and overly self-involved.

The good news is that old souls are less prone to making foolish mistakes about their lives; also, the wisdom they have, if shared with others, can be a positive force in society. Old souls tend to be more sensitive, more emotional, more empathic, more sympathetic, more creative, more willing to look at the big picture about life and existence.

The bad news is that there are many more new than old souls in the world, so it is harder to find people with whom you can relate, which can lead to social isolation. Depression is also possible--usually as a leftover from tragedies you experienced in previous lives, but also as a result of feeling disconnected from most of humanity. Again, you don't recall past hurts, but the emotional scars carry through to your current life and future lives.

Yes, you need to socialize, but you need to socialize with other old souls because those are people you can see eye-to-eye with. Here is an interesting site run by Lonewolf that might help you: https://lonerwolf.com/old-souls/. And there is also a Facebook group run by Lonewolf here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/imanoldsoul/.

Check them out and let me know if those sites help you. I have a feeling they might.

Hugs,
Papabear

Yet another Comic Con discovery. The creators themselves explain this one best: “Thimblestump Hollow looks like any normal slice of the natural world – in fact, it may be in your own yard, at the end of your street, or in that forgotten corner by the grocery store where that patch of weeds is growing. The creatures of Thimblestump Hollow inhabit these places, asking us to pause for a second and consider what worlds could be just beyond our notice, if we would only stop and look. The Thimblestump Hollow vinyl blindboxed toy line is based on characters created by artists Chris Ryniak and Amanda Louise Spayd, and produced by Cardboard Spaceship Toys.  Initially developed in 2014, it debuted at the 2015 San Diego Comic Con, and has since sold tens of thousands of pieces worldwide online, as well as through brick and mortar retailer outlets such as Hot Topic.” You can visit their web site to see the full line they’ have so far.

image c. 2017 Cardboard Spaceship Toys

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Bonus Friday video. ... So .... old spice is trying to court furries now? Ok, I want a wolfthorn now dammit.
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