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Animals Real, Fantastic, and Odd
Devin Elle Kurtz is a professional illustrator and visual development artist. Her full-color paintings specialize in animals real and un-real with more than a splash of personality. She also brings the same touch of whimsy (and yes, at times weirdness) to her line of pet portrait commissions. She has released some of her work as prints, available at her web site, and we hope she brings out more soon.
image c. 2016 Devin Elle Kurtz
WE MOVED - we are hosted on iTunes through SoundCloud now! If you're subscribed to the rss feed, then you s...
WE MOVED - we are hosted on iTunes through SoundCloud now! If you're subscribed to the rss feed, then you s...
ep. 115 - Motor City FurCon LIVE!!! - Uncle Kage, Huscoon, Serathin, & Draggor join Xan…
Uncle Kage, Huscoon, Serathin, & Draggor join Xander & Alkali live at MCFC!! And guess what? There's going to be a lot more of us! Stay tuned for the annoncement at the end! Also, sorry for the "non-ending," Alkali kinda launched into the non-recorded charity story! ep. 115 - Motor City FurCon LIVE!!! - Uncle Kage, Huscoon, Serathin, & Draggor join Xan…
Best of FWIW – ©opyright and the Fandom (S5E9) - Due to a technical problem, we lost our FanX episode right before export! :( In place of the FanX episode, here is a Best of Fur What It's Worth. It has some fresh Space News, including a SPECIAL GUEST! and
NOW LISTEN!
For the original show notes page check: http://www.furwhatitsworth.com/?p=2493 Best of FWIW – ©opyright and the Fandom (S5E9) - Due to a technical problem, we lost our FanX episode right before export! :( In place of the FanX episode, here is a Best of Fur What It's Worth. It has some fresh Space News, including a SPECIAL GUEST! and
Magical Creatures: Collect Them All!
“I’m Lorelei Lee, the owner and proprietor of this odd little shop. I live here with my two daughters and together we care for all the lost faerie creatures that come our way. You see, the Menagerie appears to have been built upon a rather large tear in the ether that separates our universe from that of the Faerie Realm. We tend to get a lot of unusual visitors here.” That’s the story behind Lee’s Menagerie, created by Stefani Lee Scoggan. It takes several forms, including an on-line comic (illustrated by Jacob Saucedo and Erik Scoggan), an upcoming series of fantasy novels for young readers (coming later this year), and even a line of original 3-D sculptures of various fantastic creatures — crafted by Stefani herself. Find all this and more at the Lee’s Menagerie web site.
image c. 2016 by Stefani Lee Scoggan
Episode 309 - Bi Everything
Episode 310 - Kangawhats
The revenge of the furries
Here is an article in the Boston Globe, about the rise of the furry fandom:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/2016/04/07/the-revenge-furries/NbZLZBTgh3z39JtZziMp8M/story.html
Furries — those most maligned members of the geek tribe — are finally having their moment. Last month, when a fur convention was held at a Vancouver hotel that was also serving as a temporary shelter for Syrian refugees, the world beheld Syrian children giggling in delight at adults dressed as lynxes and ocelots. And of course there’s “Zootopia’’ — the hit animated film featuring an anthropomorphic fox, which Disney cannily marketed directly to the furry contingent.
What is a furry? They are, roughly speaking, people with an abiding interest in, identification with, or yen to dress up as, animals. For some, there’s an erotic component; for others the thrill is more spiritual. Either way, furries have been bashed ever since the Internet discovered their previously underground community. Humorist Lore Sjöberg famously placed them below “Trekkies Who Get Married In Klingon Garb” and “Pokemon Fans Over the Age of Six” in his Geek Hierarchy flowchart all the way back in 2002.
But furries are unfairly scorned. An interest in other animals is nearly a defining trait of human beings — we’re far more likely than other predators to connect with nonhuman species, a trait that may have been a key part of our evolution as social beings. People have literally been dressing up like and identifying with animals for hundreds of thousands of years. The conservationist and children’s writer Thornton Burgess wrote in 1922 that “[t]his interest is instinctive,” going back to the “dawn man,” and modern science has backed him up. Vanessa LoBue, a researcher at Rutgers, found in a 2012 paper that children prefer live animals — even snakes and spiders — over inanimate toys.
In donning furry masks and creating fursonas, furries are just expressing the same urge of trans-species empathy that has powered countless iterations of human culture, from Stone-Age animism to the animal-headed gods of Egypt to the fables of Aesop and legends of kitsune and werewolves. It’s something those Syrian kids immediately recognized — inside those fursuits, the furries of Vancouver were simultaneously less, and a lot more, human.
The revenge of the furries
Here is an article in the Boston Globe, about the rise of the furry fandom:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/2016/04/07/the-revenge-furries/NbZLZBTgh3z39JtZziMp8M/story.html
Furries — those most maligned members of the geek tribe — are finally having their moment. Last month, when a fur convention was held at a Vancouver hotel that was also serving as a temporary shelter for Syrian refugees, the world beheld Syrian children giggling in delight at adults dressed as lynxes and ocelots. And of course there’s “Zootopia’’ — the hit animated film featuring an anthropomorphic fox, which Disney cannily marketed directly to the furry contingent.
What is a furry? They are, roughly speaking, people with an abiding interest in, identification with, or yen to dress up as, animals. For some, there’s an erotic component; for others the thrill is more spiritual. Either way, furries have been bashed ever since the Internet discovered their previously underground community. Humorist Lore Sjöberg famously placed them below “Trekkies Who Get Married In Klingon Garb” and “Pokemon Fans Over the Age of Six” in his Geek Hierarchy flowchart all the way back in 2002.
But furries are unfairly scorned. An interest in other animals is nearly a defining trait of human beings — we’re far more likely than other predators to connect with nonhuman species, a trait that may have been a key part of our evolution as social beings. People have literally been dressing up like and identifying with animals for hundreds of thousands of years. The conservationist and children’s writer Thornton Burgess wrote in 1922 that “[t]his interest is instinctive,” going back to the “dawn man,” and modern science has backed him up. Vanessa LoBue, a researcher at Rutgers, found in a 2012 paper that children prefer live animals — even snakes and spiders — over inanimate toys.
In donning furry masks and creating fursonas, furries are just expressing the same urge of trans-species empathy that has powered countless iterations of human culture, from Stone-Age animism to the animal-headed gods of Egypt to the fables of Aesop and legends of kitsune and werewolves. It’s something those Syrian kids immediately recognized — inside those fursuits, the furries of Vancouver were simultaneously less, and a lot more, human.
Explicit 'furry' podcast airs on US radio after 'hack'
Here is an article on the BBC News site, about the recent hacking of a repeater station used by Denver-area FM station KIFT 106.3:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-35995893
Several US radio stations played out an explicit podcast to listeners after an apparent hack.
The Furcast group says the 90-minute podcast went out without its knowledge and it is "deeply sorry".
Two Texas stations were among those which broadcast the material, aimed at "furries"- people interested in animals that are given human traits.
Broadcasters have been advised to change passwords on the hardware many of them use.
Barix streaming boxes are popular with broadcasters and PA professionals.
Furcast said that multiple server requests for its content during the incident were in the name of "Barix Streaming Client" and that many of the individual boxes involved were visible on Shodan, a search engine for devices connected via the Internet of Things.
The BBC has contacted Barix for comment but the problem appears to be with security settings not being updated by the box owners.
"Someone is attacking Barix Boxes," wrote a member of the Alabama Broadcast Association.
"Several radio stations and at least one radio network have been compromised. The Barix receiver is pointed to an obscene podcast and its password changed so it can only be reset manually."
Furries are people who have a fascination with anthropomorphism and often dress in animal costumes.
The furry group Furcast describes itself as "an improv comedy-themed furry podcast with no censor" and denies that its main aim is to create sexual material.
"Our content is discovered by individuals who specifically seek what we produce, and they do not normally come into contact with it via public means," they wrote.
"We have no interest in being discovered by a mainstream audience."
'Unknown source'
Texas radio station KXAX found itself broadcasting Furcast's podcast on Tuesday.
"At about 9am we were notified that a programme was playing on the station that did not originate from this studio," the station wrote on Facebook.
"We found out that our equipment had been hacked and was broadcasting a podcast or a stream from an unknown source.
"We were able to eventually get the problem resolved. But still want to apologise to anyone who may have heard the programming."
KXAX general manager Jason Mclelland told Ars Technica there did not appear to have been a reason for the hack.
Another station affected, KIFT, said in a statement that it had only been able to regain control of its output when an engineer physically went to the site of the hacked remote transmitter.
"We are working with equipment manufacturers and auditing the security of our own systems to avoid any repeats of this incident," it said.
Explicit 'furry' podcast airs on US radio after 'hack'
Here is an article on the BBC News site, about the recent hacking of a repeater station used by Denver-area FM station KIFT 106.3:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-35995893
Several US radio stations played out an explicit podcast to listeners after an apparent hack.
The Furcast group says the 90-minute podcast went out without its knowledge and it is "deeply sorry".
Two Texas stations were among those which broadcast the material, aimed at "furries"- people interested in animals that are given human traits.
Broadcasters have been advised to change passwords on the hardware many of them use.
Barix streaming boxes are popular with broadcasters and PA professionals.
Furcast said that multiple server requests for its content during the incident were in the name of "Barix Streaming Client" and that many of the individual boxes involved were visible on Shodan, a search engine for devices connected via the Internet of Things.
The BBC has contacted Barix for comment but the problem appears to be with security settings not being updated by the box owners.
"Someone is attacking Barix Boxes," wrote a member of the Alabama Broadcast Association.
"Several radio stations and at least one radio network have been compromised. The Barix receiver is pointed to an obscene podcast and its password changed so it can only be reset manually."
Furries are people who have a fascination with anthropomorphism and often dress in animal costumes.
The furry group Furcast describes itself as "an improv comedy-themed furry podcast with no censor" and denies that its main aim is to create sexual material.
"Our content is discovered by individuals who specifically seek what we produce, and they do not normally come into contact with it via public means," they wrote.
"We have no interest in being discovered by a mainstream audience."
'Unknown source'
Texas radio station KXAX found itself broadcasting Furcast's podcast on Tuesday.
"At about 9am we were notified that a programme was playing on the station that did not originate from this studio," the station wrote on Facebook.
"We found out that our equipment had been hacked and was broadcasting a podcast or a stream from an unknown source.
"We were able to eventually get the problem resolved. But still want to apologise to anyone who may have heard the programming."
KXAX general manager Jason Mclelland told Ars Technica there did not appear to have been a reason for the hack.
Another station affected, KIFT, said in a statement that it had only been able to regain control of its output when an engineer physically went to the site of the hacked remote transmitter.
"We are working with equipment manufacturers and auditing the security of our own systems to avoid any repeats of this incident," it said.
“Furry Film Festival” idea expands with the [adjective][species] team.
Last year, I shared the fantasy concept of a “Furry Film Festival“. It was inspired by many potential reasons for why it could happen for real. Fred Patten recently shared a response article – and that brought even more response. It’s very encouraging to see the idea catch on for discussion with other super dedicated fan publishers. In time, hopefully it could lead to a festival for real.
Thanks to JM, editor of [adjective][species]:
“The [adjective][species] team think that the furry film festival idea is a fantastic one, and we would like to humbly submit the following suggestions (in screening order). This short list is a collective recommendation from several of our contributors.”
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
Wes Anderson takes the already great story from Roald Dahl and elevates it with his signature style. The stop-motion animation allows him to stage the action with whimsical precision and the voice-acting breathes a perfect blend of feral and logical life into these characters. Silly, sweet, weird, and enchanting.
An American Werewolf in London (1981)
Everyone remembers the transformation sequence (and rightfully so — it’s still the best werewolf scene in film history), but this movie has a lot more going for it: the beginning of the film builds suspense wonderfully, and adds a few great touches to werewolf mythology that have never been duplicated. Rightfully placed, for more reasons than you’d think, as the pinnacle of its genre.
Robin Hood (1973)
Probably the most critically-dismissed movie on our list, this 1973 cartoon comes right out of Disney’s “dark period”. The studio cut corners every chance it could, and it shows — entire sequences are lifted from other movies, character models shift between frames and the story is a thin string of episodic set-pieces. But there’s still an undeniable charm about the debonair fox and his salt-of-the-earth companions as they rescue Nottingham from the feeble clutches of the maneless lion, Prince John.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
When Roger is framed for the murder of Marvin Acme, there’s only one man in Hollywood who can help him: Eddie Valiant, private investigator with an alcohol problem and a grudge against ‘toons. A love letter to the Golden Age of American Animation and the noir genre, the movie takes us for a ride in a world where cartoons are real and follow their own set of rules of physics and morals. Wacky, grimy, and a cornerstone for the tooniest among us.
Labyrinth (1986)
A fifteen-year-old girl travels through a land populated by loveable monsters from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop to rescue her baby half-brother from the Goblin King (David Bowie). A film about growing up without leaving the important stuff behind.
Ladyhawke (1985)
A great example of how far fantasy movies were willing to go in the 1980s: Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer as a pair of lovers cursed to change into a wolf at night and a hawk by day, respectively. The movie maintains a dreamy, mythic feel throughout that ages superbly as a testament to the imagination and aesthetic of the genre films of the decade.
Never Cry Wolf (1983)
Carroll Ballard’s masterpiece about a biologist who accepts an arctic posting in the hope he can rediscover his true nature. Starts slowly but once our hero is marooned, he starts to discover his inner animal-person. Transcendent, especially if you have a touch of the wolf.
That concludes the submitted post by JM.
That’s a great movie list, for quality as much as fan appeal. The only one I think is a stretch is Labyrinth, since isn’t it known for non furry reasons (maybe another Henson movie could fit better?) The two following it may not be highly anthropomorphic in presentation, just more in theme. But they likely fit the theme of “stuff furries love” which could be curated for a great film festival. If it includes vintage 1980’s fantasy AND a nature themed movie like Never Cry Wolf, how about The Beastmaster?
Pragmatic limits for a real festival.
Leaving behind fantasy ideas and making it real would of course bring challenges like getting screening rights. (Good luck getting anywhere near the Disney movies.) As Fred’s response said:
Such a festival could easily be filled by excellent but obscure features (many foreign). That would have the advantages of probably being cheaper to rent than those by large American studios.
It would make sense to use part original fan-made stuff (likely not put on big screens before), and part underexposed, obscure or foreign content – including a small selection of “marquee worthy” choices with name recognition or other draw.
I originally suggested the Furry Force shorts (since the creators approve, and possibly even CollegeHumor could put their name on it). And Finsterworld – since the director approved my request to screen it for a festival, it had it’s brush with Oscar recognition, has very little exposure in North America, and was made with Real Furries.
You’ve read this far… so here’s a tasty treat.
Finsterworld seems almost completely unseen by the devoted niche of furries who could enjoy seeing themselves in a movie of really special quality. It seems sadly impossible to see without importing a German region coded DVD with no subtitles. In 2013 I was given private access to a streaming english-titled festival screener. It doesn’t take away business to share something that isn’t available anyways…
See Finsterworld here. The password is ‘Furries2013’ (case sensitive.)
Expect “arthouse” ensemble drama, on the other end of the spectrum from explosion-based movies. It’s a movie of many moods – absurd, perverse, hilarious, thoughtful, cynical, satirical and magical. It’s incredibly German. The furry subplot is only a piece of the whole, but it’s key to the message. The director worked with some Eurofurence furs to research and shoot their fursuiting scene. Watch with the lights out and brain engaged for a really excellent experience.
– Patch
Thanks to Pup Mathias for the hard work of formatting Fred’s previous response article.
Nerdy Parents: Pass It Along!
This is just too cute, so we’ll let the creator Charles Thurston explain it: “I have two small wonderful little girls and the problem I had was trying to find ways to entertain them and at the same time introduce them to the nerdy pop culture things that mommy and daddy love. There’s plenty of stuff out for small kids 6 and up but not for children under 4. So I decided to write and draw parody books for them that gave them a friendly introduction into the world of pop culture and sci-fi while paying tribute to the creative geniuses of George Lucas, J. R. R. Tolkien, Laura Joffe Numeroff, Joss Whedon, Rod Serling, Robert Zemeckis, Russell T. Davies, and Steven Moffat all of which that helped shape my childhood/adulthood and imagination.” Charles’ original hand-made books include titles like Go, Smaug, Go!, Taylor in Ape Land, and The Dire Wolf At The End Of This Book. All those and more are available as a package deal at his Etsy Store. You can also find out more at his web site, as well as look through his extensive collection of original prints for sale.
Papabear Recommends ... Rainbow Ark
Guess this is just one of those times when ol' Papabear is a little slow to discover something so cool. Check 'em out!
27. 666 Satan Subscribes
Managing Anti-Social Behavior at Conventions: A Better Approach
Guest article by Flip. Flip has been involved with furry and other fandoms since the late 1980s, running conventions since the mid 90s, and generally being an uberfan. He helps organize Furry Migration, which is held in Minneapolis.
This article is a companion and counterpoint to JM’s recent article, Ideas on Anti-Social Behaviour at Furry Events.
It’s odd when I find myself in such contrasting agreement and disagreement with an article at the same time. For the most part, I AGREE with JM’s article in his goals and even parts of his methodology. However, I do not believe the use of “nudge” dynamics is the best approach. Nudge assumes a sort of passive aggressive control from the staff. Control should not the final goal; responsibility of membership should be the final goal. I am going to suggest a reframing of the argument to better meet this goal.
Let me start with this: I’m a long time convention attendee, event organizer, contract negotiator, and alternative lifestyle aficionado. I have been going to and running conventions ranging from anime, gaming, science fiction, furry, and alternate lifestyles—including LGBT, BDSM, and polyamory—for over 25 years. I have seen the spectrum, from what works well to utter collapse. I speak from experience.
I’m not here to be an expert on how people should enjoy their convention. I’m not here to say what is a correct furry experience; that is subjective. I’m not even here to suggest what is culturally appropriate; I respect the importance of art and free expression too much to try to restrain it unnecessarily. What I can speak to is a culmination of rules and lessons learned on how hotels and events run here in the Midwest United States, and some of the contract law/assumptions that govern them. I understand that staff at a convention feel obliged to manage their membership so as not to disrupt these sometimes delicate contacts and legal requirements. I also sympathize with members of the furry fandom, which if being true to a furry aesthetic, are more concerned with expressing themselves than second guessing whether their actions are always “socially acceptable”.
This approach already seems to cause an issue with many furries. To some, I’m being too permissive, and actually encouraging “anti-social” behavior. To others, I’m being an “elite” fur because I’m defining do’s and don’ts. Both of these accusations assume that I am trying to assert control, which is not my interest at all. If you feel that being furry means you are free to do whatever you like, I would answer; you ARE free to do what you want. But I, as convention organizer and an agent of a legal non-profit, WILL not support or defend your actions. I will distance your behavior from what has been established by the convention. The trick is knowing not IF you allowed something, but WHERE and HOW you are allowed to do things.
Before we proceed, I want to give example of what CAN be achieved if executed properly. I can cite several examples of events at conventions that were far more risqué than the issues cited by JM which caused problems:
- “The 13th floor” of a local non furry convention, a responsible group established an area that was able to show a relatively full real life example of BDSM and polyamorous culture to those who wish to observe and even “sample” aspects of it. No significant legal or hotel issues were incurred, even though powers that be knew this event was occurring.
- At a recent furry convention, a showing of Fritz the Cat was challenged by both the night manager at the hotel and (some) attendees. Citations of contract law, legal law, and artistic obligation showed not only why we could do it, but why we should do it.
My point is that organizers should not focus on the specific behavior, but rather the context of the behavior.
So what are the cardinal terms to understand? The difference between public vs. private areas. The difference between convention staff, the hotel, and convention membership. Finally, the different between engagement and enforcement.
Let’s start with the first two terms. Conventions exist in that funny legal area where what is defined as public and what is defined as private is commonly blurred. I do not have space to show all the nuance here, but be aware what gets furs in trouble usually is doing things in a PUBLIC area instead of a PRIVATE area. Again, the issue is less the specific behavior but WHERE the behavior is conducted.
For example: you can be drunk, have sex, be nude, view adult material, etc, in a PRIVATE area, like a hotel room, but should be aware that such actions in a PUBLIC area (like a lobby), will be punished by the appropriate law. At a well run convention, the staff will know what areas are considered private and what areas are public. A convention attendee will often not know. But information like this is easy to access from staff: if in doubt, the membership must assume an area is PUBLIC unless they get clarification from authority.
With above being said, be aware of another often forgotten point: an illegal act performed in a “private” area is still illegal. (Yes, to acknowledge those libertarian legal scholars out there who love to cite castle laws, a private residence does have some discretion on enforcement law. But a hotel that rents a private space does not enjoy these protections.) Illegal drug use, underage sex or drinking, etc. is legally indefensible. A convention should not and will not defend you if there is a criminal act.
For example: there was a recent hoopla at a furry convention, where an incident that set of a safety alarm at a hotel required police attention. The convention was required, due to warrant and investigation, to disclose specific registration information. There was some outcry among furries that the convention should have withheld that information as “private”. Nope, sorry: an illegal act is an illegal act, and a fiduciary requirement of a group is to aid an investigation. Yes, organizers do not disclose full lists or other data outside of a such an investigation request, and instead disclose only what is legally required.
Next part is the relationship between staff, the hotel, and the membership. Put most simply, a convention is an event where a collective of members is renting a space for private use from a hotel, negotiated and managed by staff. Understand there IS, initially, an adversarial arrangement here. Ideally, the best conventions are where staff manage a partnership between the hotel and the membership, but that is usually the result of many years of trust and hard work, providing a consistent positive outcome and low drama events. Many furs forget that almost ANY negative impact to the hotel will possibly kill this arrangement and thereby potentially kill the convention. To a hotel, there is no “minor incident” unless they want it that way. They have the power, we don’t. They own the place, we don’t!
Any assertion along the lines of “they need our business” or “the convention can afford it” is simply wrong. Staff are there to best represent the interest of the membership for the convention, and request from the hotel the facilities necessary to make it happen. The only power is the power of the hotel, and legal authorities able to implement commerce and trespass law. Convention staff have very little authority.
This gets us to our last point: engagement vs enforcement. With a realistic understanding of how power flows, and who has final say on “anti-social” behavior, it seems easy to conclude that staff cannot enforce behavior. This statement is alien to most furry conventions, but is the basis of good relations for many conventions (including here in Minneapolis). Conventions do not run a security department, they run an operations department. The staff’s job is not to enforce rules, but to establish the areas of the convention, both private and public, to best serve their membership. They then “remind” the attendee where these areas are, and the rules established by hotel that govern them.
Ultimately, convention staff is there to mostly identify and inform, not enforce. Furry Migration in Minneapolis uses a “wandering host” model instead of a security model. This approach ultimately dictates policy, contract negotiation, and finally implementation.
Let me give this long example; some conventions have a “no drinking policy” or “no parties” policy to correct antisocial behavior. This is a mistake. To put it bluntly, this is about as responsible as an abstinence-and-no-education policy to curb teen pregnancy; it simply does not work and will drive truly antisocial drinking behavior below the ability to monitor. Instead, staff should establish rules and areas where drinking may occur. The rules should be concurrent with the hotel policy or local law enforcement that govern them.
During a convention, your wandering host can regularly go by to check ID’s, curtail public drunkenness, etc. If this is not happening, engagement and a rehearsed policy of escalation are essential:
- The host should identify the person(s) acting outside the rules, and remind them of the rules.
- The host should make it clear that they are not enforcing rules, but are obliged to report any future issues to the staff and ultimately the hotel. Usually that is enough. It also makes the staff look less like cops but rather the good friend who holds you back before you get involved in a fight they know you can’t win.
- Further escalation varies depending on belligerence of the person(s) in question. The key is to make them keenly aware that the rules of hotel are tantamount, and that staff will not defend them if they persist in violating the agreement with hotel.
- If the problematic person remains belligerent or irresponsible, your final recourse is to pull their badge and inform the hotel. This does two things. This highlights to the hotel that the organizers are self policing by identifying an individual membership violation of hotel agreement. And by pulling their badge, you are showing you do not agree or condone this behavior of said individual.
- The moment the fur in question is NOT part of the membership; the room block discount/room placing rules allowing them to stay in the hotel are no longer legally binding. The hotel is now free to enforce whatever legal and economic punishment they have at their disposal.
- In the end, the staff is not the bad guy (in the eyes of the convention membership) because they performed no enforcement function, just disclosure. The hotel may call actual law enforcement, knowing they have the support of their client, and knowing exactly what happened. They also know that responsible organizers reduce the risk of damage. This preserves the relationship between the hotel and the convention.
- The problematic fur may complain. But if an individual fur negotiated with a hotel on their own to host an independent room party, the same response would have happened. The only difference is that the individual would have no intermediary to remind them that hotel enforcement is much worse than a friendly nudge.
As a follow-up, this is why I have such an issue with ghosting. Ghosting is trespassing! A hotel normally would not tolerate a random person—who is not a guest—wandering their halls. The hotel also has power over all occupants of a room that includes a ghost. So if a room has five people in it, and one is ghosting, commerce law dictates that it IS legally possible for a hotel to charge for, or displace, the entire room. In this case, the convention has no real reason to defend the occupants of the room because, if they did, they would be highlighting to future hotel negotiations they intend to allow all sorts of “extra” non membership people not outlined in the contract. Furs who cannot afford the cost of registration and/or a room simply cannot attend.
This last critique I wish to address is all of this makes convention staff seem to have “too much” power because they are the monopolistic gatekeepers with the hotel. Any well-run convention or event is likely to be a volunteer organization and as such is always open to new staff. If you wish to be part of it, put in the work. If you want to be part of the show, then show up to the planning meetings. I will say this; my own experience has shown less than a 10% retention of convention volunteers specific to working with hotel because it is hard and thankless work. I have a rule that I use at local conventions: you want the “glamour and prestige” of this job, please learn how to replace me. I’m very happy this last year I finally got replaced as programming head at Furry Migration: now I’m back at the hotel, trying to find my new replacement.
I’m hoping this article does aid others in how they view and manage “anti-social” behavior. Back in the day, RPG’s, furry, homosexuality, etc were all considered anti-social – that hotels and other venues did not want to deal with. Over time, conventions showed they could be reliable and profitable clients. The issue is not always about behavior, but about how behavior is managed, and the relationship with the hotel in question. Convention staff and membership need to understand this balance if we are to go forward with larger, better, and maybe even more permissive events.
Happy News . . .
This is something of a follow-up to a letter I wrote to you some years ago, questioning my own attitude towards being single after the end of a bad relationship (http://www.askpapabear.com/letters/is-it-okay-to-be-single-and-happy-about-it).
About two years ago, the Universe decided to throw a Dragon at me. He's a local fur, sweet, intelligent, remarkably handsome, and we get on quite well together. We've been friends for over five years, dating steadily for two, and I can honestly say I've never been happier with anyone.
He exhibits none of the behaviors that made my prior relationship such a trial; he's open-minded, accepting of our differences, doesn't demand obedience or undivided attention at all times and generally isn't a judgemental twit.
I did my utmost to conceal the very existence of Furry from my ex, with a remarkable degree of success. If he'd found out about it, his first reaction would have been to accuse me of inappropriate behavior with the dogs, and things would have escalated quite unpleasantly from there.
My ex hated video games, and on one occasion after watching me dismember stormtroopers with a Lightsaber in one of the Jedi Knight series, was on the verge of banishing them from the house (the game is rated T, with violence and other content approximating a PG-13 movie). My Dragon stomps my face into the dirt three times out of five in Hearthstone (online card game similar to Magic) and he and I have linked our Steam accounts in order to give each other access to our game libraries.
Dragon is open to new things. My ex firmly believed that anything he did not enjoy, appreciate or understand (including, but not limited to: video games, anime, any music created after 1985, modern communications technology, mobile phones, modern medical research and space exploration) should be destroyed. Suffice it to say I greatly prefer my current circumstances.
We have not spoken of any sort of permanent arrangement yet, for a variety of reasons, and I don't foresee us doing so any time soon, but we enjoy one another's company greatly.
To those who feel unlovable and that you will never find anyone, I say this: Never say never. Things you need tend to find you when you are least expecting them - or didn't even know you needed them.
Stilghar
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Hi, Stilghar!
Thanks for writing and updating us on your happy news!
Hugs,
Papabear
Your art wanted for furry art gallery show in Santa Ana, California.
We got a note from Scale, the Italian furry artist. His lush paintings and gallery shows have been featured here: “Scale’s paintings push the limits of furry art, with surprising mainstream crossover.”
Hi! I hope you are doing well! Just a quick note for something you might be interested in promoting: historical fans Mark Merlino and Rod O’Riley are organizing for the third year in a row a furry art exhibit at the Avantgarden Art Gallery in Santa Ana (CA). There is not much time left – (the art needs to be there by the end of April) – but they still have space in the exhibit. They are looking for art from any furry artist or collector willing to join with either original art or limited edition prints.
Here are the relevant journal entires on FA:
Furry Art Gallery Show in Santa Ana
Still Seeking Framed Art!
Later,
Scale
Rod O’Riley runs InFurNation and can be contacted at rodso64@hotmail.com. His partner Mark Merlino runs the Prancing Skiltaire furry house. Both organized ConFurence, the first furry con, and are founders of furry fandom.
A third art show makes promising establishment of a new outlet for furry creativity. This kind doesn’t seem to have been done very much before. Shows are a staple of every con, but rubbing shoulders with more traditional gallery artists is a little different.
Read Rod’s own thoughts about the first show, covered for Flayrah back in 2013.
And here’s a great reason to pay attention – Scale’s art will be in it. Rod says:
We just received a beautiful furry art original from Italy (!) that is going to be part of this year’s Art of Furry Fandom display at the Avant Garden gallery in Santa Ana. Now, you know what we also want to have in our show? Your Art! If you have anthropomorphic framed originals or numbered prints that you’d like to have on display at the Santa Ana Art Walk (and afterwards for a month), get in touch with us! We want to have a good representation of what furry artists are up to — especially those from Southern California. Hurry! We’re hanging at the end of April.
It sounds super inspiring, and I want to share feedback and more about the show when it happens.