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[Live] Satyr Hatyr
This week we’ve got a massive roundup, lots of news, and Fayroe getting out of control with blue product purchases.
Link Roundup:- RockDog on BluRay
- History of the entire world, follow up to history of japan
- New sub-species of snow leopard discovered
- Pence says something weird
- Gatorbox What’s Yiffin’?
- CFz Engineers tweet BTS of equipment management
- New 3D animated animal film SAHARA starring snakes!
- BoozyBadger goes further down the rabbit hole
- Mozilla sends Mascot to DC to promote Net Neutrality
- FurScience’s Prof. Sharon Roberts talks furries with Jenny McCarthy on Sirius XM Radio
- Sonic Forces: Custom Hero Trailer
- @ElektroFuzz – events in the Vancouver area
- Mascot Fur Life Final Trailer
- Culturally F’d tackles RMFC drama
- What We Do In The Shadows Trailer
- Someone at ACEN cosplayed the Hyatt lobby statue
- PETA protests outside Califur, LAPD on site
- Thousands of ‘Second Life’ Bunnies Are Going to Starve to Death This Saturday
- Man Accused Of Repeatedly Sending Sex Workers To Strip On Neighbor’s Porch
- Woman Spends 3 Weeks In Intensive Care After Eating Gas Station Nacho Cheese
- Hunter Sexually Assaulted by Sasquatch
- New Blue Pigment being made into a Crayola Crayon and Name Vote on the Color
- Psych Fur – “Cons, Questions, and Hellos (Long, >_< Sorry!)”
Redeeming Factors, by James R. Lane – book review by Fed Patten.
Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.
Redeeming Factors, by James R. Lane. Illustrated by Eugene Arenhaus.
Morrisville, NC, Lulu Press, August 2016, trade paperback $19.99 (356 pages), Kindle $2.99.
This should emphasize 2nd Edition or revised edition more. Redeeming Factors was first published by Xlibris Corp. in September 2000, one of both the original self-published books and of furry fandom’s novels. Lane has revised it for this edition. The cover and interior art by Eugene Arenhaus are from the first edition.
In the very near future, the jumperdrive is invented, giving Earth not only cheap and easy space flight but interstellar flight.
“[…] most people bought their own personal starships the way they bought RV motor homes, travel trailers and small pleasure boats. […] For less than five thousand New Millennium UN dollars a person could have his very own basic spaceship, taxes and local license fees extra, space suits and common sense not included. […] The resulting first contact discoveries with distant alien worlds, alien creatures – and above all, alien sentients, with all the biological hazards and culture shocks such events must entail – were quick to follow.” (pgs. 11-12)
“The H’kaah were just one of over two dozen more-or-less sociable non-human sentient species discovered in a loose cluster of stars a mere three hundred light years from Earth.” (p. 13)
Most of the aliens, even those that look like Earth animals such as the otter-like Mn’rii and the bear-like Ruug’h, much less the more aggressive carnivores –
“Humanity wasn’t just about to give ‘smart wolves’ and their ilk free access to entire planets full of defenseless, sentient ‘prey’.” (p. 20)
— are too independent to mix with humanity; but the rabbit-like H’kaah are docile and defer to humans as Big Brothers. And humanoid bunnies are popular with humans, both with children as nursemaids and with adults for NSFW reasons. So why shouldn’t they be brought to Earth?
(This is just a summary of a lengthy prologue that is necessary and interesting, but is quite an expository lump before the story starts.)
Jack Ross is a just-50 ex-US/UN government employee; a former US top-secret special ops agent until he inherited an automobile agency and retired to run it. His former government friends ask him to become one of the organizers of Patrons, a UN/H’kaah joint program to introduce the rabbitoids to Earth society “as personal companions to mostly middle-class families and individuals.” (p. 21) They would serve as, frankly, many third-world “resident alien” humans do in first-world countries, establishing themselves as gainfully employed, able to send money home, and introducing their nationality/species peacefully to the vast mass of humanity who aren’t interested in flying off into outer space. Jack becomes, secretly, one of the bureaucrats who sets up Patrons from the human end, and publicly he becomes the first human “customer” to hire one of the H’kaah.
“In his younger years Ross had seen photos of the world-famous Playboy Clubs before they became extinct, and he had been fascinated by [the] concept of ‘bunny girl’ waitresses, sexy young women wearing clip-on rabbit ears and powder-puff tails. Now, decades later, he was facing a roomful of the genuine article, and he found them to be undeniably feminine and sexy beyond the point of merely exotic, yet at the same time they were disturbingly alien. He noticed that he was beginning to sweat.” (p. 26)
Ross picks the honey-blonde furred S’leen. For the next few dozen pages, the story is about Ross’ introducing her to Florida society and to his home, and their getting acquainted. There are a few mentions of her rabbit-girl nature (he struggles to maintain a professional relationship despite her being “an incredibly sexy creature” with a shy personality), but it’s generally similar to what an average 50-year-old American living alone (he’s a divorcee) might go through upon hiring a young housemaid from a poorer third-world country experiencing America for the first time.
During Ross’ “explaining America”, he makes it clear that he – and Lane makes it clear that Ross is speaking for him – is politically conservative and has a large gun collection. This is pertinent when Ross takes S’leen to a firing range and teaches her to shoot. One of Lane’s more subtle touches is to refer to Jack Ross constantly as “Ross”, while everybody addresses him as “Jack”. This keeps him a more objective protagonist while making it clear that everyone who knows him considers him a good guy.
This is all pertinent because it’s obvious to the reader how this will all turn out, despite Ross’ and S’leen’s determination to keep everything on a detached, intellectual level. A healthy but sex-starved older but still active male and an equally abstemious 20-year-old bunny-girl, alone together?
An ongoing consideration is that S’leen is from a race of herbivores, while Ross is from a race of carnivores. (Okay, omnivores.) Despite the feelings that they develop for each other, S’leen can’t help cringing on an instinctual level:
“It finally sunk in that she was a long way from home, and completely at the mercy of creatures that EAT the flesh of other species.
She started trembling again.” (p. 69)
About halfway through the 356-page novel, old enemies from Ross’ past catch up with them. S’leen kills them thanks to Ross’ gun lessons, but he is left in a condition that:
“‘Don’t get your hopes up, son,’ Green [St. Augustine police Lieutenant Nolan Green, a friend] cautioned, his expression grim. ‘In all my years of military and police work I’ve never seen someone shot up that badly live more than a handful of minutes.’” (p. 151)
and:
“Each damaged or destroyed organ, by itself, would constitute a serious problem, Green explained, but he had saved the worst for last. ‘Besides all that, and besides losing his left eye and the hearing in his left ear, there’s one more thing: Jack is almost totally paralyzed. One of the bullets punched through his belly to lodge in his spine. They’re afraid to disturb it for fear of doing even more damage, but where it is, as well as what the neurological tests show, says that his entire lower body is effectively dead. And because of his breathing difficulty and unstable heartbeat, they’re certain the bullet is affecting the nerves that govern the upper body functions as well.’ Green took a long, deep breath, then added huskily, ‘Hell, if he’s lucky he might not wake up at all,’” (pgs. 194-195)
If Ross is in such a hopeless condition, how can there be a happy ending? With his human and H’kaah friends working together, there are unexpected surprises. Read Redeeming Factors and find out.
To support writing by furries, for furries, please visit Dogpatch Press on Patreon. You can access exclusive stuff for just $1, and support all of the team’s news and reviews.
Furry YouTubers You Might Not Have Seen
Furry Videomakers are an under appreciated section of the Furry Fandom. A lot of this falls under different factors like how all the Furry sites don’t offer a way to submit video. We covered this topic back when we covered The Raccoon’s Den. Recently; we had a surprise on YouTube when Rainy Chaos was featured as their Artist on the Rise, which exposed a lot of people, Furry or not, to a personality they never seen. Though Rainy being featured had it’s own series of ups and downs.
However, there are more Furry YouTubers then you might think. Many of which are part of a Slack group. Talking about making better content, contributing with other videos, and showing off their work for feedback from their peers. Talking with several members, we are happy to present to you a list of Furry YouTubers You Might Not Have Seen. A highlight of different creators talking about what their channel is about, featuring their most recent or favorite video they’ve produced. So sit back, relax, and enjoy your next possible Furry obsession.
FURRIES IN THE MEDIA by Aberguine
Furries in the Media is a series that reviews video clips that feature furries based on how accurately and fairly the clip represents the furry fandom. News broadcasts, tv shows, documentaries, movies, and even popular youtube videos are often covered in Furries in the Media.
The youtube channel was originally intended to host a vlog series. The idea for Furries in the Media came about during the planning stages of the vlog as a possible spin-off series, and it was quickly realized that the review series had much more potential than the vlog itself.
Many people are only familiar with the furry community through infrequent yet often misinformed representations of furries in mainstream media. This series strives to dispell misconceptions and to better inform the public about furries. Furries in the Media does this by countering the misconceptions and providing additional context and information so that the furry community may be better understood by all.
CLAWY VARIETY SHOW by Taijey
My channel is mainly about covering advice and opinions from the mind of a conniving Toon Cat through my series ‘The Clawy Variety Show’. I decided on that name because its Clawy’s take on a variety of things and common topics in the furry fandom that give information to young or new furs or to furs that are curious about said topic. I decided to dedicate my channel to this because I don’t see too many “Toons” doing videos. Now I have seen a handful do slapstick and whatnot, but I’d like to see more toons being toons, while still addressing things of importance from time to time. Plus its more fun when your character is a bit of a clown and it’s insanely fun to see that added into the mix.
HOW FURRY IS IT? by Greger Reindeer
“‘How Furry Is It?’ is a series that looks at various TV shows, movies, videogames, and other media, and analyzes their qualities of anthropomorphism. It’s like a furry review show, but better! Hosted by Greger Reindeer, this series takes a more in depth look in media with plenty of research and educated opinion to boot. Come for the anthro analysis, stay or the antler antics.”
THE GRIFFCAST by Malwave
The Griffcast – in its basic form – is about 3 friends hanging out and watching bad movies. Or at least that’s the theme we try and bring across.
We don’t censor our thoughts and dig into all kinds of bad and obscure visual media; TV episodes of old cartoons nobody remembers, bad animated movies, etc. Really nothing is off limits…just tends to sway toward animated features most of the time.
The Youtube channel was born from a necessity to have some way for our viewers to see the content. The show started off as a podcast in 2013… more audio and with an entirely different crew aside from myself. That lasted for a good year until we dissolved and put the show on a permanent hiatus. Around 2016, I talked to my friends Sparx and Bootz and we made a few changes. The show you see now is the result.
BIOGODZ just Biogodz
My name is Bio and I’m usually known as Biogodz on Youtube & vine. In the furry community, I’m known for making short skits with Al the wolf and Friends. The best videos I’ve made in the past are Stranger in the room series and the cooking skits with Kale the deer.
Thank you to all the creators for featuring their work. Till next time Fluffer Nutters. Have a nice day.
-Matthias
To support writing by furries, for furries, please visit Dogpatch Press on Patreon. You can access exclusive stuff for just $1, and support all of the team’s news and reviews.
The Laputan Factor, by Tristan Black Wolf – book review by Fred Patten.
Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.
The Laputan Factor, by Tristan Black Wolf. Illustrated by Dream and Nightmare.
Bloomington, IN, AuthorHouse, June 2015, trade paperback $16.95 (viii + 193 pages), Kindle $3.99.
Chapters 1 and 2 feature “the large, muscular tiger” shown on Dream and Nightmare’s cover. He is Lieutenant Ambrose Bierce “Night” Kovach, a space soldier aboard the Heartwielder, a huge star cruiser sent to the region around Gorgonea Tertia.
“Gorgonea Tertia was not exactly one of the top stars in everyone’s constellation list, but there were some reports from that general region that might indicate some trouble for travelers going within a short distance of the place. A contingent of Starhawks was to check out the area and report back; orders were strictly recon, no contact and no engagement unless exclusively defensive.
[…]
Kovach was to be part of this team of six, designation Snake Lady, with the call code Medusa, in honor of the most famous of the gorgons. He was to be Medusa Six, covering everyone’s tail – a job he knew how to do very well indeed. He met up with his contingent at the SimCenter shortly after the briefing. It made sense to warm up a bit before going out in the deep cold of space.” (p. 5)
Medusas One through Five, his contingent, are Lentz, a black panther; Tolliver, a German shepherd; Perryman, a hard-looking lop-eared rabbit; Rains, another tiger; and Baptiste, a female Husky. They all answer to Sgt. Sumner, a grizzled bulldog who chomps on a conspicuously unlit cigar.
But in Chapter 3, Night wakes up relaxing on a beach next to his lover, Donovan, a hyena. He’s had a particularly realistic dream, the result of getting hit in the head by a volleyball, he says. He and Donovan are on vacation; two weeks he’s earned from Waveforce Biosystems Technology after being in a coma for two days after testing the experimental SimCenter at work. Donovan doesn’t want him to go back, but he’s okay …
Except in Chapter 4 he’s back to Lieut. Kovach on the Heartwielder, waking up in the sick bay because of a simulation glitch in the SimCenter. Sgt. Sumner tells him:
“‘Nothing bad, but the feedback seems to have knocked a few of you senseless. Tolliver and Perryman are in the next couple of beds. You’re the first one to wake up.’” (p. 19)
He, Tolliver, and Perryman have been caught while taking a routine SimCenter workout that apparently reacted somehow with the Heartwielder’s new Bradbury engines. Or maybe Tolliver had fired one of their equally new plasma shuriken into it:
“The four-five-one engine created a warp field that literally folded space. The ship inside the field was fine, but anything around the ship for a radius of about a half-dozen klicks was ‘folded’ – matter was taken out of three dimensional space and dropped into two or even one dimensional space.” (p. 19)
Etc. at considerable length, including mentioning the coincidence of a researcher named Bradbury inventing the four-five-one drive and his ancestor being a s-f author who wrote a novel titled Fahrenheit 451. The next several pages and Chapters keep with him as Lieut. Kovach on the Heartwielder, until he abruptly turns back into Night O’Connell working at Waveforce …
Night keeps alternating back and forth, unsure (as is the reader) which is the reality; the futuristic space soldier aboard the Heartwielder, or the present bioresearch genius working on a simulation device. References in his future scenario to Bradbury and Fahrenheit 451 are matched by references in his present scenario to his favorite TV program, The Prisoner, with its hero being Number 6 (Medusa Six?). Those are spelled out for the reader; other references (and The Laputan Factor is full of them) are just thrown out for the reader to catch.
In the present Night has a gay male lover, Donovan; in the future he has a girlfriend, his teammate Baptiste. In both scenarios he suspects that something unknown is going on, and that his life may be in danger. In both scenarios he is attacked? seduced? by “Gemini”, a handsome young wolf posing as a space cruiser sick bay’s nurse/a resort’s masseuse, who may be trying to help him or may be trying to trick classified information out of him – for who or what?
Night starts his own investigations at first:
“Kovach handed the pad back to him [Perryman]. ‘Erase that. And if you’re smart, you’ll erase it from your onboard chip too. You’ve got us as backup for your memory.’
‘Getting paranoid, tiger?’
‘Getting practical. Don’t leave any trails, and don’t talk about it out in the open. Whatever this is, I think we can agree that someone didn’t think that it was supposed to happen … and maybe it shouldn’t have.’
Perryman’s natural eye narrowed somewhat. ‘Meaning?’
‘Meaning we may have just stepped in something we weren’t meant to know about.’” (p. 33)
Later, when his investigations may attract attention, he’s brought into another layer of the mystery:
“‘What the bloody hell have you gotten me into?’ the tiger hissed angrily. ‘Is this a spy game or something?’
‘That would be a ‘something’ category,’ the old bulldog said, ‘but I have no idea how to explain it to you.’
‘Neither do I’ the wolf admitted. He glanced at Sumner, an unasked question in his eye.
‘Can open, worms everywhere.’ He retrieved a cigar from a waist-pouch, jammed the end of it into the corner of his mouth, and set his jaw. ‘Let’s do it.’
‘Do what?’ Kovach asked, his muscles tense.” (p. 67)
There are references within references, worlds within worlds, and if you think you know where this is going, you’re probably wrong – it’s more complex yet.
The Laputan Factor keeps up the mystery, and it’s a very clever one although it does include a lot of high-tech gobbledegook. There are double-references everywhere, but they are easy to ignore for those who do not want to bother with them. Dream and Nightmare (that’s a single artist; he says on FurAffinity that Night is his personal fursona) has ten full-page illustrations in addition to his cover. This is a novel that most furry fans will enjoy.
To support writing by furries, for furries, please visit Dogpatch Press on Patreon. You can access exclusive stuff for just $1, and support all of the team’s news and reviews.
Episode -2 - Shark indigestion
Episode -3 - Shark ate the goat
He’ll Just Have To Bear With It
Recently, Andrews McMeel Publishing brought us the new adventures of a young bear having a really bad time. Here’s what they say about Tucker Grizzwell’s Worst Week Ever: “The Berenstain Bears meets The Simpsons in this rollicking yarn about one really, really terrible week. Tucker Grizzwell is having the worst week ever. He is due to attend the annual Jaws & Claws weekend with his dad, where young grizzlies learn how to be terrifying predators. Problem is, Tucker doesn’t even like to eat meat, let alone have to kill it first! Plus, didn’t some kid get eaten last year during the dumpster-diving lesson?” Things only get more complicated in this full-color graphic novel for all ages, written by Bill Schorr and illustrated by Ralph Smith.
image c. 2017 Andrews McMeel
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FA 071 All-Questions Show Vol. 4 - Does negativity impact your overall health? How many emails will we get through this week? Should we advocate safe drug use? All this, and more, on this week's Feral Attraction!
Hello Everyone!
This week we open with a discussion on negative and positive thinking. We go through an article on how negativity can impact your overall health, and ways that medical professionals and researchers advise that you can make your overall health better.
Our main topic is our fourth All-Questions Show! We take a trip through our backlog of questions, ranging from telling a non-fur partner about being furry to how to handle getting possessions back from exes who do not feel they have to return them. Several of these questions are longer and, as always, we invite you to offer your feedback and offer your own take, especially if you think we missed the mark.
We close out the show with some feedback on our Drugs and Alcohol show and how to go about doing drugs in as safe a fashion as possible.
For more information, including a list of topics, see our Show Notes for this episode.
Thanks and, as always, be well!
FA 071 All-Questions Show Vol. 4 - Does negativity impact your overall health? How many emails will we get through this week? Should we advocate safe drug use? All this, and more, on this week's Feral Attraction!Tempe O’Kun was on CNN while protesting ‘on the side of justice.’
Tempe O’Kun is a popular author of Paranormal Furry Romance, anthropomorphic-animal Westerns, and even game design.
Tempe writes in to share his recent appearance in the news, plus Q&A with me.
“I helped boo my Republican rep whenever he defended Trump-Russia. Normally, I don’t like having my real life intersect with furry, but these are exceptional times.” See Tempe in cowboy hat on North Dakota’s KFYR-TV:
Things got physical at a town hall meeting this afternoon in Mandan with Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D. Two people were escorted from the Coffee with Cramer event by police officers. Things got heated, when Cramer was accused of supporting tax cuts for the wealthy.
Another view of the event from CNN video:
Two men were ejected from Rep. Kevin Cramer’s town hall in Mandan, ND, after tensions flared over the GOP health care bill.
(Patch:) Was it a surprise to be on CNN?
(Tempe:) It was! North Dakota is a sparsely populated and polite state, usually forgotten by the media. Rep. Cramer (ND-R) scheduled his town halls for noon and 5pm, hoping only his supporters would show up. Boy, was he wrong. He’s been booed in every corner of this supposedly red state. I thought I was just going to do my part, so in 20 years I could say I was on the side of justice. I never thought I’d make it on the news, let alone nationally.
I wonder if there is an indirect furry dimension to this. Is it using a creative voice to speak up with experience you honed as a furry writer?
As a writer, I’ve spent most of my life learning to put my thoughts into words, exploring the human condition, and imagining worlds that differ from our own. If I can use those skills to explain how vital is is that people get involved, then I’m morally obligated to do so. If I can make an attention-grabbing protest sign and hold it, I’m bound to do that too. I can’t expect to inspire others to get out and object to authoritarian white nationalism if I just sit at my Twitter account.
Could the issues here affect furries as a type of person any more than the average person?
Most furries are LGBT. The Trump regime is targeting LGBT folks—from removing pro-LGBT statements and policies from government websites, to erasing LGBT folks from the Census, to giving a free pass for Putin to systematically torture and murder gay men in Chechnya – to helping the Republicans pervert the intended secular democracy of the United States into a twisted hellscape of intolerant religious law.
The furry fandom has always been a safe haven for folks to be themselves. For some, it’s the only place to safely do that. If we are silent, these attacks will only continue to escalate.
Even if you don’t care about LGBT rights, you probably want a free and open internet, right? The Republicans are attacking that too.
Furries live in the real world (much as we are loath to admit it). We benefit from clean air, freedom of speech, and a government that supports human rights instead of brutal dictators. Was the US government perfect before? Certainly not. But you don’t fix a system by embracing corruption and dishonor. It takes logical ideas and hard work.
If we dismiss the crisis that is the Trump regime as mere “drama,” if we complain about furry being “so political,” then we will look away until they grab us by the throats. Alt-right Nazifurs are shutting down our cons, threatening our artists, trampling our public image, and then playing the victim—the eternal hallmark of the bully. To justify making your fellow human beings suffer, you must convince yourself that you are the true victim. You hear this in every yowled rationalization: “I can do what I want! If you don’t like it, leave!”; “You mad, bro? Why can’t you take a joke?”; “They’re just words. Why are you censoring me?” None of these excuses are honest. Don’t engage. Don’t feed the trolls.
Furry is a wonderful escape from the harshness of reality. It’s an incredible kingdom of dreams we’ve built, a safe haven for everyone. That’s why it’s been a prime target for Alt-right Nazifurs. They want nowhere to be safe.
You mention you normally don’t like having real life intersect with furry, but these are exceptional times. Why, and what’s your message to other fans?
Being a furry teaches you to see beyond the easy and artificial categories we place others in. That “foreigner” might be your favorite fursuiter. That “lazy welfare queen” might be the struggling artist you cheer for in comments.
Even as Putin’s intelligence services handed our election to Trump, I know the Russian people want only freedom, safety, and peace—just like the rest of us. I know it because I know Russian furries. They’re my friends, fans, and illustrators. Many of them resist their government as it cracks down on free speech and LGBT rights. If they can speak up against a far more competent authoritarian regime, I can’t sit idle.
Our times are exceptional because tribalism – the ancient lie that those outside your little tribe are subhuman goblins – has been grievously wounded by the internet. The old boogeymen (non-whites, non-Christians, non-heterosexuals, socialists, women in pants) no longer scare us, so the old power structures are crumbling. Women, minorities, and the poor have rights and can vote. World peace is an existing trend, not some hippy dream. Terrible conflicts rage on, but wars on the scale of previous generations aren’t happening anymore. Why? Because we citizens of the world are now so interconnected and interdependent. (Wouldn’t you think twice about attacking a country if your friends lived there, or your next commission was coming from there?)
Respect’s not a zero-sum game. Empowering others and treating them with compassion has practical benefits, even for those who might’ve been at the top of the heap before. Altruism is practical. Look at an example in the fandom: most everybody supports artists—with commissions, purchases, donations, or encouragement. We have all these incredible artists producing really cool things for us, and if someone were abusing or cheating them out of money, you’d want to stop that, right? No matter who you are, you’d benefit. If you’re broke, you want to keep seeing cool art for free. If you’ve got money, you want to keep commissioning cool art. And you can bet artists want an altruistic environment since they don’t want to be the next one harassed or scammed. Everybody wins.
The only reason to fight that positive environment is if you’re hoping to scam people. So be wary of those who ask for your fear or hate. They want to use you. They want cannon fodder or cash cows or even just a chorus of trolls to drown out anything that upsets their delicate feelings. People who desire your cruelty want to turn back the clock to the old days, when they could be warlords grasping for blood-soaked gold instead of bitter losers trolling in a comments section. Their time is passing. Pity them. And then block them.
In the furry fandom, we’re at the forefront of this trend toward embracing peace. Ironic, perhaps, that we had to embrace animal personas to see each other as fully human, but I can’t argue with the fact that the furry fandom is one of the nicest places in the world. Everyone who can treat each other kindly is welcome to join in our tomfoolery. We’re united by shared interest and a sense of community, which is certainly the direction we want the world to go. If we try, we can make the world more like the fandom: safe, fun, and free. Together, we can make the future furry.
Do you want others to follow your example, and how?
Absolutely! First of all, be a smart internet user. The internet is a furry’s native habitat. You know how to search for good info, verify rumors, and sniff out a lie. Don’t let people fool you with self-serving memes and propaganda. Share important news stories from good sources, not just ones with wild headlines. Beyond that, anything you can do is something we wouldn’t have without you.
Can you…
…continue your life without going insane? Great! Be kind to yourself. Do things you love. Fill your time with activities that keep you from obsessing over the negative. Disengage from toxic people. This is the foundation all other resistance is built on.
…be good to your friends? They might be as freaked out as you are. Spend time with people who make you smile and be excellent to each other.
…discourage trolling? Fighting with idiots is a waste of energy. You’re not obligated to correct every fool on the internet. Use your energy in more productive ways. Block trolls, report them, and move on. And don’t let your friends troll people.
…call your representatives? Here’s the number: 202-224-3121. I call almost every day. It takes about 5 minutes to call your two Senators and Representative. Just like ordering a pizza: tell them what you like and what you don’t. Don’t bother calling outside your district, since only constituents count.
…go to a protest? Check out your local Indivisible group on Facebook. Or just bring friends to your Congress member’s next town hall, hold up signs, and boo or cheer as needed.
…donate to the ACLU to fight the regime in court? Here’s the link.
…vote? Most states let you register here. The next local election in your area might be sooner than you think. Plan ahead and vote early, if you can.
…volunteer for a local election? There’s tons of options for how you can help out, from calling people and knocking on doors to organizing your friends to go vote. Even better, you could run for office.
…help out a local cause? With basic services threatened by tax breaks for the wealthy, you’d be more welcome than ever at your local animal shelter, food pantry, blood drive, or any other group that helps improve life on this planet.
…do something I haven’t even thought of? You can read more about resisting at the Indivisible guide.
Do you…
…live outside the US? Stand up for civil rights and democracy in your own country. Be so successful that you shame us into being better.
…own a fursuit? It’s tough for the propaganda machine to spin peaceful protests into “riots” if cartoon animals are squeaking at the cameras.
…have a furry or social media account? Follow people who work to improve the world. Don’t follow people who tear others down or support cruelty.
…have friends/family members who “aren’t political” or even support the Trump regime? Be as open as you feel okay with. Use your time and energy where you think it will be most productive. I’ve found that the best way to win people over is to live the best life I can and be honest about my beliefs while trying to understand others’.
Apart from being on CNN, what’s new with you and your work?
I am almost done with a new Windfall book! Slate is back and illustrating it, inside and out. Expect to see it this summer or fall. I’m also working on a new card game that’s compatible with the Nordguard one—and that uses a property the fandom is also pretty familiar with… ; )
My Sixes Wild and Windfall ebooks are available on Amazon. Physical copies are at: FurPlanet.com and Sofawolf.com.
For my previews and fanfiction, check out my main galleries on Furaffinity or Sofurry. (I know people go to FA and SF as an escape, so I tend to keep any activism limited to my Twitter.)
To support writing by furries, for furries, please visit Dogpatch Press on Patreon. You can access exclusive stuff for just $1, and support all of the team’s news and reviews.
Sue Ryder Mascot Gold Cup 2017 with Foxy Bingo
Sue Ryder Mascot Gold Cup 2017 with Foxy Bingo
Trailer: Sonic Forces
Now you get to mod your character in the new Sonic Game? This game hits sometime by the end of the year.
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The ConFurence Archive: a new resource for fandom history, with Q&A by Mark Merlino.
Dogpatch Press is honored to host guest writer Mark Merlino. He’s a fandom founder who helped found the first furry convention (ConFurence Zero in 1989). Mark maintains the Prancing Skiltaire house in So Cal, with fellow fans Rod O’Riley and Changa Lion. Below is his submission, followed by a part 2 with additional questions I sent.
Mark is announcing a treasure trove of pre-internet furry lore. Now you can see stuff like the ConFurence Zero conbook. You may love this if you got involved in the days of trading ‘zines by mail (like me), or if you just want to compare what cons do now to how they did it decades ago. Now we have a thriving subculture on top of the 1980’s fan ways, with unique features like a cottage industry for fursuiting, dance events beyond compare, and cons every weekend around the world. But some things never change – this blog is basically my ideal 90’s ‘zine, except I’d love to add more art as it grows. ( – Patch)
Mark in 1989 – and check out the ConFurence Zero Aftermath Report.
(Mark:) Here is my article about fan publication history, the Prancing Skiltaire house library/archive, and the recent creation of the on-line ConFurence Archive made by my partner Changa. It also mentions Rodney’s and my blog Two Old Furry Fans, and InFurNation (Rod’s labor of love for 25 years of so). There is a real interest in the history of fandoms, and finally a way to research early records.
The ConFurence Archive (at confurence.com)
You can find anything on the Internet! At least that’s the popular perception due to the rise and eventual acceptance of search engines like Google, information aggregation web sites like Wikipedia, and archival collections like archive.org. Where did people find things out before the Internet? Well, libraries! Growing up, I learned all about the libraries in my schools, and the local public libraries and how to use all of them. Card catalogs for finding books by subject or author, and the Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature, which indexed hundreds of magazines; these were my Google on dead trees. My first real job (for pay) was a “page” at our neighborhood branch. The job required putting books back on the shelves, in order. I expanded my responsibilities by keeping the record players in the listening rooms and the copy machine all working (always was a nerd…) In high school I was a library assistant for 2 years, sorting shipping and receiving, and even rebinding. I spent many hours, from grade school to my time in the university devouring entire libraries. I collected my own books: science fiction and fantasy paperbacks; comic collections (Walt Kelly’s “Pogo” was my favorite); art and reference books, magazines like National Geographic, Natural History, Science, and Zoobooks; and illustrated books for young readers.
ConFurence 4, 1993 – I’m guessing this show-stopper bunny was Shawn Kellers’. – Patch
When I met my partners and we moved in together with friends, all of our collections combined. We ended up living in a library. (Twilight Sparkle would approve!) In 1970, I discovered science fiction and comic fandom and fan conventions. I began collecting convention souvenir program books, convention reports, and daily newsletters. In the dealer’s room I found fan published magazines (zines) with reviews, non-fiction articles, art and fan fiction. Joining the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society (LASFS, founded in 1934) I became familiar with Amateur Publishing Associations (APAs), the compiled magazines made of participants pre-printed articles and GenZines, fan published collections of articles, fiction and art. My partner Rodney was also active in various fandoms. He had his own collection of fan publications (he even edited an APA for a writers’ group). His and other household members’ collections joined mine in our house, The Prancing Skiltaire.
Eventually our shared interest in all things anthropomorphic caused us to take leave of our senses completely, and we organized the first furry fan conventions. I negotiated with venues, signed contracts, and took care of registration, while Rodney handled programming and publications. Convention flyers, advertisements, progress reports, newsletters and convention souvenir program books were produced. Eventually the convention progress reports became the newsletter InFurNation, mailed to members and other subscribers 4 times a year. (It’s still being published on-line at infurnation.com). Copies of everything we produced, along with business documents and correspondence were filed away. Sounds organized, doesn’t it? It wasn’t.
The important thing to understand is that fandoms, even our furry kind, were chronicled in print and on paper (much of it distributed by the US mail) before the Internet happened. Everything you can find on-line, using the wonder of search technology, had to be put there by somebody. A lot of somebodies who must be willing to work hard, for little or no compensation, to make all of this material available to all of us.
After years of depending on publishing, printing, address lists and bulk mailings, it became obvious that ConFurence needed a web presence. A site was created and maintained intermittently by volunteers (who actually did computer stuff, unlike me) until ConFurence itself became a part of history.
That was the extent of things until a few years ago, my partner Changa began posting scans and digitized video of fannish ephemera he found around our house and shop, on his Google+ and YouTube channels. Some of it (the ConFurence 0 video, for example) attracted considerable attention. Rodney and I were guests at FurCon in 2014, and our panel on “25 Years of Furry Conventions” (25 years, can you believe it?) was a hit at the convention and on-line, thanks to Changa’s efforts. Surprised by the interest in furry history, Rodney was inspired to start a blog “Two Old Furry Fans” (twooldfurryfans.com), with audio net-casts where Rodney and I talk about our fury interests and experiences (Eventually we’ll be talking with some famous guests, we hope!).
It was this year (2017) that Changa (with a bit of help from us) realized that all the pieces were in place, and it was time for the Next Big Thing. A furry (and related fandoms) public access information archive.
The long abandoned ConFurence.com site, revitalized with nearly 2000 images and files to search (so far) is now the Confurence Archive. Anyone and everyone can now access documents from the early (pre-Internet) years of science fiction and comic conventions, the Cartoon/Fantasy Organization (C/FO, the first US animation fan club with emphasis on the animation of Japan), and of course, ConFurence and the furry community. The site is still growing, but it’s open now. Go to confurence.com, and study the extensive material excavated and prepared for you by Changa. Take notes. There will be a test at the end of the semester.
– Mark AKA Sylys Sable
Further Q&A by Patch.
Is there any physical part like an actual room where visitors can check out zines and stuff?
Here at the PS, people are welcome to look at stuff anywhere in the common areas, and some do during the parties. We have let some people who were working on projects visit at other times to dig through the shelves and boxes.
I have also let a few people borrow some magazines (anime related) for a month or so, and maybe I will do more of that. We have to be careful of a lot of the old stuff because it is on high-acid paper, often mimeograph, which fades with age, held together with rusty staples. Luckily Changa is scanning such materials while they can still be read.
What’s the rarest/coolest material in the collection… like do you have any unpublished fan works from people who went on to be famous names? (I think there were at least a few in the early 80’s APA days.)
Interesting rare stuff? Well, we have some art by Peter Chung in various C/FO publications. He was a long-time member of the club and went on to create Aeon Flux the post-apocalyptic bad-ass female assassin. Quite a few animation students, including those attending Cal Arts (Disney) got their first taste of anime at the club. Dave Kune, an artist and animator was involved in the local furry community, and an early fursuit maker/performer. He is a professor/administrator for an art school in Laguna. Many of his students display their work at the Orange County Fair, and some of it shows furry influence. Shawn Keller, a Disney animator and character designer for WB (Space Jam) used to have private art shows at furry conventions and also made fursuits and presented them at cons. We have art from them and others who have gone on to become professionals, as well as art from “lost” artists like Jerry Collins (though he does have an FA account now, under a different name). One of the interesting finds of recent excavations were newsletters and correspondence for C/FO New York by and about Jerry Beck, an animation fan that came to California and got involved with the studios, and is now the head of the Hollywood chapter of the International Animation Society (ASIFA), the group that has the Annie Awards, the Oscars of the animation industry.
There is likely a lot more, but I can’t think of any right now…
I wonder if there could be some discussion of collecting some of this info into a retrospective? (I have roughly outlined a “furry coffee table book”.)
We have has some early interest in contributions to the archive, and certainly welcome any. I would enjoy doing more articles and being involved in discussions about fandoms, particularly furry. A few people are working on books about furry. Fred Patten’s “Furry Conventions” book is mainly an index of all the conventions with basic information, until 1999. He rejected any input from us and chose to create his “facts” from the recycled rumors and statements made by people who were trying to do character assassination of me, Rod and other ConFurence staff form the first 11 years of the con. Joe Strike is working on a furry book, likely from his perspective of comics/science fiction and the early artists, which considered themselves “funny animal” artists. He has been around a long time, as a fan and as a writer, producer and production assistant in the film industry, and no one currently in the furry fandom has ever heard of him :(. One of the founders of the Graymuzzle Facebook community is also working on a book (Grubbs Grizzly). Rodney suggested (years ago) doing a “Furry for Dummies” book, which would be easier for us, since those books are usually a series of topical essays, with lots of illustrations. We could even have content from other contributors. Will it actually happen? I can’t say…
The coffee table book sounds interesting. One of my dreams was to have a (or perhaps several) real furry art gallery shows, in legitimate galleries/museums. I did arrange and curate a large animation art show at the university I attended in 1975. It was one of the largest shows of it’s kind, with more studios and artist represented then ever before. Rod also arranged some gallery shows with an art association in the Santa Ana artist village, with opening planned for the monthly Art Walk. The shows were small, as it was very difficult to get artists to contribute, but the events were well received and got a lot of local press. I think furry art as a genre includes some of the most beautiful illustrative art produced today. A show in a museum environment (not a sales situation) could include some incredible pieces from several personal collections (like ours).
Thanks again to Mark and be sure to check out confurence.com.
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The Monster at the Back of This Barn
A new reprint of something we seem to have missed the first time around: A coloring book adventure comic called The Unlikley Trio — Last Barn On The Left. Here’s what we found in Previews: “Lil’Bit the mouse, Mrs. Butters the cat, and Abby the Collie dog join together to confront a scary monster that lives in the barn of their small town. Can the three friends overcome their fears and get through this adventure? Kids can be the colorist in this black and white adventure that features fun activities in the back of the book. Alterna will be donating all proceeds to the ASPCA foundation to help protect animals in need!” It’s written and illustrated by Scott West, with writing help from Callie West. On-line there’s all kinds of contradictory information about when this was published, but hopefully Alterna Comics should have it back in stores soon.
image c. 2017 Alterna Comics
Trailer: Nova Seed
Here is a rather cool furry independent animated film that is a bit like a mix of Heavy Metal and Rock & Rule. https://youtu.be/flaUHJhU_gY While they are selling it on iTunes and Google play it is also available DRM free on their own website: http://www.gorgonpictures.com/ [1] [1] http://www.gorgonpictures.com/
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Participants needed for a new survey!
As in the past, we’ve worked with the International Anthropomorphic Research Project, and we occasionally receive news of a survey or study they or related researchers are conducting.
The following comes from Moses Simpson
I’m a Masters student from the University of Waikato and I’m doing research into the mental health and protective factors of the furry community.
This research draws from work done by the IARP and adds an investigation into how being within the furry community can be a predictor factor for or protective factor against mental health issues.
The survey is well-designed and understanding of the basics of the furry subculture and of mental health. And, hey, you could win an Amazon voucher for taking the survey! Sweet.