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Sorry we’re a bit late this month – July has really snuck up on me, as it seems to have done for a lot of people. Quite suddenly, we’re more than halfway through 2022.

Of course, as 2022 progresses, that means we’re moving closer to Furry Book Month in October, and that brings with it Oxfurred Comma. We’re not yet in a position to announce more details, but I can promise that everyone’s favourite furry online writing convention will be back for a third edition! Check out this blog and our social media feeds for all the information as it comes.

And speaking of Oxfurred Comma, the free ebook from the flash fiction contest in 2021 is coming soon. Details will be down in the upcoming releases section.

This week brings about a sorrowful anniversary to the furry writing community. This time last year we sadly lost Dwale, a former guild president and a shining light amongst the guild. Dwale was a mentor to many, and a friend to all. We sadly miss its presence.
Dwale’s final work will soon be coming out, after publication was agreed before its passing – we don’t yet have any details on the release, but we will be sure to share what will be a bittersweet event, as Dwale was most proud about this unreleased story as any other.

There are a few ongoing submission calls for short stories, though we have not seen many themed anthology calls at this stage. If you see something that you think can be highlighted by the FWG, then please contact us with information about it!

Isekai Me! – Deadline When Full
Children Of The Night – Deadline When Full
Furry/Lovecraftian/Erotic/University Themed Anthology – Deadline When Full
#ohmurr! – Deadline: Ongoing
Zooscape – Temporarily closed for submissions. Reoccurring submission windows.

Please also consider checking out some of the new and upcoming releases from our members.

Winter Without End, by Casimir Laski. Released Early June 2022.

Felis Futura: An Anthology of Future Cats. Released June 6th 2022. Featuring short stories from multiple FWG members.

Red Pandamonium, by Roan Rosser. Released June 13th 2022.

Jiao Tu’s Endeavour, by Donald Jacob Uitvlugt. Released June 16th 2022.

Roar Volume 11, Edited by Ian Madison Keller. Released at Anthrocon 2022.

Opinicus: Gryphon Insurrection 7, by K. Vale Nagle. Released July 1st 2022.

Unfinished Business, by Tim Susman. Available for pre-order. Released July 5th 2022.

Oxfurred Comma Flash Fiction Contest, edited by J.F.R. Coates. Released July 7th 2022.

A Drop In The Motion, by Dwale. Released July 16th.

Nevi’im, by Madison Scott-Clary. Available for pre-order. Released July 21st.

A Furry Faux Paw, by Jessica Kara. Available for pre-order. Released July 26th (Date changed from May 24th 2022.)

Royal Red, by K.C. Shaw. Released July 27th.

Pirating Pups, edited by Rhonda Parrish. Featuring a short story from FWG member Alice Dryden. Available for pre-order. Released August 9th

As always, if there is a story or anthology opening you feel should be shared, please get in contact with us and we can have them added to the list.

Please do check back on this blog and on our twitter feed for updates on Dwale’s final work, and on announcements for Oxfurred Comma.

Until next time, stay safe and keep writing.
J.F.R. Coates

What Are Furry Scales?

Xege Kheiru, Writer, Furry

04 July 2022

What Are Furry Scales?

If you’ve spent some time in the fandom, there’s a chance that you’ve stumbled across a furry scale without even knowing its a furry scale. Furry scales refer to illustrations of a human progressively becoming more and more animal-like until they fully become an animal. Each illustration is typically coupled with a strip of text that describes the phase of progression that the drawing is in like “not furry”, “semi-furry”, “furry”, etc. Furry scales are supposed to help furries find the cut-off point at which the viewer is no longer attracted to the illustration. However, they’re kind of a meme that swept the fandom, people beginning to satirize them as time went on and creating more and more nonsensical versions of them.

The 6 Stages Of The Furry Scale 

 

A lot of furry scales are broken down into six stages of progression ranging from completely human to just an animal and they go as follows.

Not Furry: This is the stage at which the character is still completely human. They do not bear any visible similarities to an animal at all. 

Semi Furry: Semi furry is the point that obscures the character between neko (cat girls) and furry. This is where the character has developed features like animal ears, whiskers or most often a tail 

Furry: This is the point of no return. The character is starting to resemble an animal with human features more than it is a human with animal features. This typically means a full coat of fur, paws, a pointy nose, but they are still bipedal. 

Very Furry: The character begins to fall into the uncanny valley, becoming an animal that if you looked closely you could see human traits in. They have all the same traits as a furry and are now comfortable walking on all fours. Also, they begin to lack a need for clothes as their fur slowly becomes their clothes.

What Are You Doing You Sick Bastard?: This stage is more popularly known by another name which you can find here but for the sake of keeping this appropriate we’ll go with this alternative. This stage describes the point where almost all human-like qualities are gone, the only similarity maybe being human eyes or an accessory like a bow. Apart from this, the character has become completely quadrupedal and has the posture and frame of an animal. 

Please Reconsider: Named this because it assumes the viewer wants to have sex with each progression of the scale, the “Please Reconsider” stage of the furry scale is no longer human in any way. It is literally just an animal, void of all human qualities.

The 6 Stages of The Furry Scale

Illustration Originally by かｂ via Pixiv

Where Did Furry Scales Start?

Furry scales actually date back as far as the 90s. On February 7th 1996, in a document known as The Code of Furries, a rating system which described where people “fall on the human-to-animal scale” was added. It described the following six stages which likely manifested into the illustrations that we know today. 

1 : Basically human, with minor furry features (perhaps eyes, nose, ears, claws, some fur, etc)

2 : Humanoid, with significant furry features (muzzle, tail, etc); this includes centaurs and mer-people

3 : Anthropomorphic animal (or taur)

4 : Equally comfortable on two or four legs (or, if you’re a taur, on four or six)

5 : Animal shape, with some unusual features (perhaps hands, speech, etc); this includes most dragons, griffins, etc

6 : Normal animal shape

After this, furry scales wouldn’t see much of a notable mention until June 16th 2010 when a user on the site pixiv, an art sharing site, uploaded an illustration of a girl progressively turning into a fox. It didn’t have any of the aforementioned text above each stage, instead reading This was likely the post that opened the floodgates for the several hundred more furry scales that came in the following years, many of them even satirizing this exact same post. 

Then, 2 years later on December 4th 2012, a DeviantArt user, Timscorpion, posted an illustration titled “Sliding Scale of Anthropomorphism” which depicted a moth-human hybrid slowly turning into a moth. It only took another 2 years, on March 3rd 2014, for Reddit user Psykun to post an illustration of Bastet from the video game SMITE, progressively turning into a cat. Several more would continue to be posted between and after these years and you can still find plenty on sites like DeviantArt to this day.

The Rise In Popularity of Furry Scales

Okay, so we understand a brief history of furry scales and how they work, but why are so many people searching for them. For one, this might be because of a video made September 9th 2021 by YouTuber and meme scholar: Professor Lando titled “The Reason Why You’re Actually A Furry” in which he takes a dive into furry culture and the furry scale. The video is definitely worth a watch, but apart from being a good video, more importantly, it caused several other furry YouTubers like BetaEtaDelota to add their own commentary, creating reaction videos and commentary videos on the topic. Although it’s just speculation, that could be why furry scales have seen such a surge in popularity recently. 

Furry Scale

Accessed via KnowYourMeme

Why Do People Make Furry Scales? 

 

People make furry scales for a load of reasons. For one, some people just like to make them as a cool art concept, as opposed to the standard headshot or portrait of their fursona, furry scales are a fun, creative way of depicting your fursona. 

However, some people make them for the more practical purpose of a guide to help understand how much of a furry someone is. The further on the scale you place yourself, the more of a furry you are. You place yourself on the scale based on your attraction to each character, so, the point at which you have zero attraction to the character is what you should place yourself before. Of course this isn’t indisputable evidence of how much of a furry you are but it’s more of a fun game you can play with friends. 

For the most part though, people just make these scales either as a joke or because they want something to draw. It’s even a way people can illustrate how they resemble their own fursona.

 

Po-Ju Furry Scale  

Probably one of the most memed and notorious furry scales is the Po-Ju Furry Scale. Po-Ju is a hentai artist who at some point decided to make a furry scale of his own with 5 levels ranging from 5% to 100%. At 5% and 10% he depicts a girl with blonde hair and cat ears that poke out the top and a collar, the only difference between the two being that in 10% her eyes and ears grow slightly bigger. The text underneath them reads “Not furry”. Then, at 50% the same girl has grown a full coat of fur and her eyes begin to resemble that of a cat and the text underneath her reads “Furry”. By 75% her nose begins to transform into a cat’s nose and the pattern in her fur develops further as the text reads “Dangerously Furry”. 100% is just a literal cat and below the cat it reads “You Sick Bastard”. To this day, the drawing stands as one of the most famous examples of a furry scale and likely will be for the years to come.

 

This isn’t the original meme obviously but I couldn’t find a good resolution image of it

For Original Meme Look Here

The post What Are Furry Scales? appeared first on Fursonafy.

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Moobarkfluff! Taebyn and Bearly take yet another visit to Lux's Transfurmation Station and we subject Taebyn to the ray! What will he become? We chat about a new Furry Event/Con called Get Out the Float in Seaside Oregon. We hear a story about three little wolves. We play some trivia and generally have a flufftacular time! Moobarkfluff!

Get Out the Float registration:  https://getoutthefloat.com/registration

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Thanks to all our listeners and to our staff: Bearly Normal, Rayne Raccoon, Taebyn, Cheetaro, TickTock, and Ziggy the Meme Weasel.

You can send us a message on Telegram at BFFT Chat, or via email at: bearlyfurcasting@gmail.com

Bearly Furcasting S3E10 - Transfurmation Station, Jokes, Upcoming events, Storytime

Creator Charles Brubaker has returned with a new installment of the Ursa Major Award nominated cartoon series Fuzzy Princess, called Oingo Bongo. “Wanting to win a new set of bongo drums, Chiro enters herself and Kuma in a poetry contest. Can Chiro keep the ever-hungry Kuma ‘inspired’?” The short is already up on YouTube, and there are links to lots of Fuzzy Princess books as well.

image c. 2022 Charles Brubaker

Papabear,

So, this is going to take a while to explain. I’m trans M2X and my parents are Christians. My dad is a LEAD PASTOR at a church that gets HUNDREDS of visitors each service. My mother knows that I was going by they/them pronouns for a while, and she went and had a chat with me. At the time, I thought I was also pansexual, so my mom now thinks I’m gay since she wouldn’t listen. I’m pretty sure I’m aroace now, though. I feel incredibly uncomfortable with getting called he/him pronouns. Some of my friends still use they/them pronouns, but Fred or whatever it was I called him previously and his sister (who I will now call Jo [fake name]) call me he/him. All of the people who know my mom call me he/him. Everyone except 3 people call me a boy.

I’m soon going to a private Christian middle school for the next two years (public school didn’t work out) where they split the kids into boy/girl groups every morning. I’m also not sure whether or not my dad knows. If my dad does know, he hasn’t acknowledged it, talked about it, or done anything about it. If he doesn’t, I really don’t want to be the one to tell him. He is incredibly protective of me, he banned all websites on my computer, so I have to ask for permission. I can’t watch YouTube, my phone doesn’t have the App Store or a web browser (I currently stole my sister’s phone, which has no restrictions at all.) He also monitors all my accounts, so I had to use my school account (it lets outside messages through, don’t worry) so that he wouldn’t track this.

I’m going to counseling, but the person I’m doing it with knows my mom in person, so I’m afraid to say too much. She also caught me off-guard at the start of counseling and asked if I thought I was trans, and I for some dumb reason blatantly lied and said no. I also would like to talk with her more about things like the fact that I think I might have social anxiety, be bipolar, etc., but she always will talk about that sort of thing for the last 10 minutes of the 45-minute sessions, and lately it’s only been about my sexuality (which I did share with her.) She is also Christian, I might add.

​I really don’t know how to get my parents to accept me for who I am, and it’s getting very annoying.

Thanks for the advice,
Xyphon (age 12)
* * *

Dear Xyphon,

There are many things going on here, but I will try and stay focused. To begin, at age 12 you are likely just starting puberty. This is a confusing time for anyone, which is grandly reflected in your letter. Here's the thing: you are not obligated to decide right here and now what your sexuality or gender identity are, and you shouldn't pressure yourself to try. For one thing, it's not like you're going to go on dates or have sex, so what does it matter? You yourself say you think you are aro-ace, and the reason for that is not that you actually are but because at 12 years old you should be asexual. You should not be thinking about sex yet, for Pete's sake!

A huge problem with American society is that we put so much pressure on children to decide who they are right now and where they are going to go for the next 50 years of their lives. No wonder Americans are so dang neurotic. You shouldn't be worried about what your job will be or what sex is going to be like or whether you'll marry or have children or live as a hermit in the Himalayas. And, for God's sake, you should not be going to a therapist. You're 12 friggin years old, dammit. You're not old enough to be traumatized (unless you've had a death in the family or were at a school shooting, of course).

Two words: RE. LAX.

Instead of getting all uptight on serious issues, you should be playing! You should be enjoying time with your friends at school, play soccer, play D&D, go camping, and at school, you should be learning about the wonders of the universe (sadly, American schools just make education about tests instead of learning, but do the best you can; sometimes, you might be lucky enough to have a teacher who actually knows how to instill a love of learning in their students).

When it comes to your parents, they are sadly making the same mistake many parents make: instead of spending time with their kids and monitoring what they do online, they just ban or restrict internet and phone use. This is not parenting; this is being a dictator. And the result of such a parental policy is predictable and already occurring: you're indulging in secretive behavior and doing what you were told not to do anyway. What next happens is that you will, eventually, be caught, and this will severely damage the trust between you and your mom and dad.

Instead of completely banning computer time (or just monitoring it after the fact), what should be done, at least as a first step, is to have family computing time. This is when, with you at the keyboard, you are allowed to explore the internet for school projects or even hobbies and socializing while your parents are there to see what you do. They don't have to be right there next to you, but they should be in the same room as the computer and be able to see the screen. You can start small with an hour of time a day and maybe add time later. One reason why this is important is that you are going to need to learn how to use computers, phones, and the Web in order to function in modern society, so their complete ban of such tech will be harmful to your education. But the other reason is that they need to learn to trust you at the same time you need to trust them that they are trying to protect you. Although you might be aware of the dangers in virtual reality, you don't really know how bad they can be until you actually go online and get exposed to them. There's a lot of bad stuff online, and your parents are not incorrect in their concern about your surfing behavior.

Talk to Mom and Dad. Explain that you will need to use computers in this life and tell them that you will agree to 100% adult supervision so you are able to surf freely but safely. Put the computer in the kitchen or living room or wherever you're parents hang out in plain view. Tell them you understand the internet can be dangerous and that you want them to supervise you and help you.

Pronouns. Okay. I guess I'm an old bear, but when I was in school, and then an office, and also in my house, people called me by my name, Kevin. They didn't say, "Hey, boy." They didn't refer to me in the third person. That's just weird. At school, when I was called on, the teacher was like, "Yes, Kevin. Can you solve the equation on the chalkboard?" When I'm at a party and people are chatting, I don't look at a guest and say in his face: "Does he want a beer?" I say, "Hey, Brian, ya wanna beer?" So, at school, just tell people to refer to you by your first name. 

Pronouns will still sometimes come up, of course. Here's a trick you can do. Whenever you find yourself using a pronoun for other people, always use They/Them. Use it all the time. When people around you use male/female pronouns, repeat what they say and substitute they/them. For example, a classmate asks, referring to a student named John: "Do you think we should ask him to join the team?" Then you say, "Yes, I think THEY would like to join the team."

It's my belief that in the future we might stop using he/him/she/her and just use they/them.  This is already happening in publishing, and professional grammarians have been converting to this philosophy of using They/Them as a singular pronoun. When I was first working in publishing back in Detroit in the late 1980s and early 1990s, writing text could sound awkward when, if we didn't know the sex or a subject in a text, we would write "he/she" and "him/her." This is very cumbersome. "They/Them," however, was supposed to only be used in the plural sense. Today, though, these pronouns are widely used in the singular sense. So, yeah, just refer to everyone as they/them and you will find that others will learn by osmosis (they will absorb your way of using pronouns) and begin using they/them pronouns all the time, too.

As for being grouped with boys at your new school, just go with it. You're ace anyway (and, even if not, you're not sexually mature yet), so don't worry about it. Schools do stupid crap like that all the time, busily trying to categorize students and fit everyone in neat little boxes. Religious schools are particularly good at this, but all schools do it. Just put up with it because you sure won't get anywhere by defying the rules, and doing so will just cause you a lot of grief. 

For the next 2 to 4 years, as you go through puberty, take time to learn about yourself. We are more than just our sexuality. Learn about what interests you in life. Take time to have some fun. Enjoy your childhood because, believe me, it is over sooner than you think and you will become bogged down by college, work, and family soon enough. Meanwhile, allow your sexuality to develop naturally, organically, without pressure. You might be surprised where you end up years from now. And if your parents ask you about it, just say, "I'm not worried about that right now; I'm too busy with school and having fun with my friends (or exploring your faith, if you wish)." It is this bear's opinion that the anxiety or "bipolar" feelings you have are the direct result of your overthinking your sexuality. You're stressing yourself out and need to stop.

And stop sneaking around on school accounts or your sister's phone.

Always remember this: your parents love you and want you to be safe. Be open and honest with them. You'll save them and yourself a lot of grief. Oh, and feel free to share this email with them.

Next time you wonder whether you are gay or bi or trans or ace or whatever, the answer is this: you're a kid. Focus on being a kid. It is a short and precious part of your life. Enjoy it.

Hugs,
Papabear

Welcome to Arrkay, a member of the Toronto furry scene (home of Furnal Equinox), and the bird who creates and produces Culturally F’d, a Youtube show that explores anthropomorphic artwork throughout history, culture and mass media. See Arrkay’s tag for previous stories. He’s sharing his story today by request of Patch who just marched with furries at San Francisco Pride. Here’s Arrkay’s on-the-scene report from Toronto Pride.

It was a terribly populated affair, with covid still ringing in the back of my head. Pride in Toronto was as busy as ever. Me and my partner just walked the street fair once, which was enough to satiate our curiosity and for me to buy some new sunglasses. It’s a strangely foreign feeling seeing this many unmasked people in one place.

Parade morning

My signs were made, and my flag was bundled up into my tricycle with water bottles, lunch, a vape pen of mint flavored cannabis and sunscreen. My outfit was a second-hand hyena agenda tank top, some compression shorts usually worn for fursuiting but with a complimentary jockstrap on top. I zip-tied a flag and protest signs to my trike. “Learn Queer History” and “Teach Queer History” with taglines “Always been here, always will be” and “No More Shit!” (a rallying cry from the 80’s bathhouse riots in Toronto).

A crowd of furries accumulated near the group check-in site. Unfortunately it was nowhere near where we were supposed to muster. Not that it ultimately mattered, we wouldn’t be marching for a couple more hours. Navigating the dense crowd with a large orange trike was difficult, but everyone was generally polite and made way for our slow moving group of animal headed queers.

One of the groups we shouldered our way past was the New Democratic Party, with leader Jagmeet Singh visible with his pink turban.

When we finally landed at our exact waiting spot, my partner had met up with me. We chatted about Jagmeet being mere meters away, and seemingly inching closer to the furries. My reaction was: “Fuck, of all the times to get a picture with Jagmeet, and I’m wearing this” – gesturing to my rabbit head, rainbow tank top, and jock-strap-over-underwear. “Aw fuck it!” We asked for a picture.

Rusty and Jagmeet

In the middle of Bloor street, there was no cover save for the overcast threatening to rain on us. As always happens on Pride, the forecast called for a 50% chance of rain. We maybe experienced a brief sprinkle. It was humid and a sweltering 30 degrees C. Our organizer Skylier reminded us that our group was the most at risk of heat exhaustion, and to hydrate. There was a reason most marchers were poodling. If it was just a few degrees cooler we might have had more full suits.

We waited forever for the parade to start. The organizers handed out the custom event badges and sponsored Kerfuffle pride flags. Someone barfed, which created a small crater in the overcrowded street (he was fine, just overheated). Then we had probably 2 hours of fake-out starts, with people rushing to put their fursuit heads on only to be disappointingly still in the same place. Slowly but surely the groups in front of us started to filter out into the parade. The clouds parted as we lined up near our newly arrived float: a truck painted in military camo, but decked out in rainbows and a DJ booth. The sun shined for the rest of the parade, and the only rain was the spray of water guns from a thrilled public.

The parade:

My big rig tricycle began its slow crawl alongside marchers into the streets of Toronto. The marchers finally were able to spread out a little and feel the cool breeze between us. I wish I could relay a more detailed account of what happened from here, but my rabbit head has pretty narrow tunnel-vision, so my focus was not bumping into other marchers.

Some things did become apparent to me, even though I was partially blinded.

1. There were a LOT of furries (200 registered with the event, and many came without registering, so as many as 250+ furries were in our group.)
2. There were NO barricades to keep parade watchers on the sidewalks like there usually are.

What would usually be a lot of space on a four lane road became a narrow strip, with throngs of onlookers on either side, eagerly holding out their hands for high-paws or pulling fursuiters aside to take selfies. At its best, it was open like there were barricades for 2 lanes of traffic. At its worst, we’re talking about a few feet between either side of the road, practically forcing us to walk single-file. All the better to snap clean pictures of the animal people.

This spread our group out a lot. There were several times when a volunteer would rush past, telling us to slow down to let the float catch up, and when I was far enough away that other noises of the festival drowned out our own DJ booth. It’s normal to stop during the parade to let the back end catch up. It’s not usual that we end up so spread out that we span the entire city block.

This squeezing of the parade route had some unintended effects. Furries were perceived as one of the largest marching groups of the entire parade (WOW). We were also one of the most engaging with the crowd. Someone was riling up groups of people, getting them to howl to become honorary furries. Many furs were stopping for high-paws and selfies. Our float blasted YMCA to the delight of everyone. Toddlers love to point at me when I fursuit in public, and it didn’t seem to matter that I was only wearing the head today. A couple of times I heard shouts about my protest signs, but with my tunnel vision and trike I couldn’t really interact beyond an occasional solidarity fist in the air.

The parade was easy on my trike. I had the luxury to have somewhere to sit and a basket for my belongings. We were also going downhill, so a lot of my march was leisurely letting my trike do the work. I’ve marched in the past so I know how hard it can be on your foot paws.

Photo by Ciardha Avali full gallery linked below

Despite the MASSIVE crowd coming down on us, it dawned on me after the parade that we were probably in the safest possible position in the line-up; smack dab between the political party marching groups (hence why Jagmeet was so close by to our waiting area). So security was likely pretty tight around this group of masked queeirdos interrupting the Green Party, the Liberals and the NDP.

Finally at the end, we turned the last corner at Yonge and Dundas Square, where we filtered out back into reality. It was now 5:30, so we were all marching for about 2 hours. I pulled over behind an events bus to de-head, and disassemble my trike. I was sitting there for a while making sure everything was zipped up for the trip home, and furries just kept coming behind us. When we were ready to leave, the float truck was at last crawling its way past the crowd.

After finding a porta-potty for the longest pee ever, I rode home with plenty of energy after an easy parade. No sore feet, but a sore butt. I showed up, I was myself, and I showed hundreds of thousands of people that we’re here, we’re not going anywhere, and we’re going to be weird, so just have fun.

Links and videos

• More from @CulturallyFd on Twitter
• Official Kerfuffle Livestream from the float
• Furtrack photo gallery for the Kerfluffle Pride event
• Good video from random Facebook poster
• Nice pics from random Facebook poster
• Mystic Solstice gallery on Google Drive
• Ciardha Avali gallery on Google Photos
• Komodokitty gallery on Flickr
• The_painted_ski on Instagram

Like the article? These take hard work. For more free furry news, follow on Twitter or support not-for-profit Dogpatch Press on Patreon.Want to get involved? Try these subreddits: r/furrydiscuss for news or r/waginheaven for the best of the community. Or send guest writing here. (Content Policy.)

Greetings Papa Bear!

You may not recall meeting me, but I was just one row away from you at The Good Furry Awards at BLFC 2022!

And the pansy who low-key sobbed at Mark's lifetime award. What a spectacular surprise that was!

Anyways...

In January of this year I unexpectedly lost my best friend and the love of my life, my husband. We've been together for all of my young adult and not-so-young adult life! Although most think it's the trauma of his passing that I struggle with most... I definitely find the hardest parts and times are the most innocuous ones. The time we used to spend eating dinner and talking about our day together, the absence in the bed, the lack of a passenger in the car, waking up with a dream to tell or thinking of something I'd like to share with him but I can't and all those other things we grow used to doing with company until suddenly it just isn't there anymore...

Or better yet, to quote the infamous Scout from Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird “With him, life was routine; without him, life was unbearable.”

Although I know the recommendations that are often given as standard fanfare... Keeping busy, finding new hobbies to engaged in, try not to fixate, consider counseling and all that jazz... What recommendations &/or advice might you personally have, for someone struggling with this complex type of life change and all those really difficult struggles that it brings?

Thank you, and hope to see you again soon!

~Lucky

* * *

Dear Lucky,

I grieve for your loss. As you might know, if you read my column much or have seen my FB posts, I lost my husband in 2015 quite unexpectedly to a pulmonary embolism. He was only 59. So, with nearly seven years gone since his death, I am the right person to ask when it comes to what happens years after a spouse's death.

I am going to give you some short-term and long-term advice here. First of all, it is important to note that there is no time limit on grief. People who tell you to "get over it" or "time to move on" either have not experienced what you have or, worse, they don't want to deal with your grief and are brushing you off. Don't listen to them. The absolutely WORST thing a (now former) friend ever told me while I was crying in his car: "Oh, stop your blubbering." That person is irrevocably stricken from my life now. Grieve in your own way and in your own time. Secondly, grief is not the same as depression. Depression is more generalized, while grief is more specific to a particular loss in your life. In a way, this makes grief a bit easier to manage because you know what caused it and can take steps to manage it. (Oh, and whoever told you "try not to fixate" is way wrong; that's just another way of saying "get over it.")

Okay, so, short-term. Cry. Scream. Sleep. Veg. Don't hold back your emotions and let them out. It is extremely painful to do this, but it is also cathartic. You need that release. Don't bury it inside you to try to "get back to normal." I did everything from literally collapsing and gushing tears to yelling at Jim's chair, "You promised me you wouldn't leave me!" I would do this for hours until I was utterly exhausted. You have to let all that stuff out.

I will forgo some advice you already know, though. But something you might have missed is trying to be kind to yourself. One of my friends back in Michigan said you should try to do something you like, even a little thing, each day. For example, buy yourself an ice cream cone. Go on a nice walk. Play with your pet (if you have one; if you don't, I recommend it; having my Ernie with me was one of the things that helped me through the worst years).

Next--very important! Maintain a healthy diet and do some exercise and try to get restful sleep. It is extremely important to try to stay healthy. Why? Well, for one thing, if you let your body slip into illness you'll feel worse, but for another thing, you need brain support and the function of healthy organs. Grief researchers (including neuroscientists) have learned that grief changes your brain chemically and physically. Grief can adversely affect your immune system and your heart. It is actually true that you can die of grief (though this is usually more of a risk for the elderly). Keeping up your immune system is important, especially in the Era of Covid and other nasty diseases. Speaking of the brain, though, some symptoms are similar to Long Covid: brain fog, memory impairment, word fluency, visuospatial function, and decision-making abilities. 

According to an article on the American Brain Foundation website:

"In response to traumatic events, the brain creates connections between nerves and strengthens or weakens existing connections depending on the duration and degree of the emotional response. Neuroplasticity, or the ability to alter neural connections, allows the brain to compensate for injury, illness, loss, and other life-altering traumatic events by forming new neural connections based on these experiences. This helps an individual adapt to new situations or environments. Low to moderate stress increases nerve growth and improves memory while reducing fear. However, chronic stress causes a reduction in nerve growth and memory and increases fear to help an individual focus on survival. This stress response can have a negative effect and the more it happens, the more it becomes hardwired."

In other words, the changes to your brain can become permanent. The ABF article comments that the brain "can be healed" with such things as therapy, journaling, meditation, yoga, etc. In this bear's humble opinion, sure, those can help, but you will never be 100% the same again. 

This leads me to my long-term advice: you must learn to accept that you will be forever changed by your loss. Don't try to go back to "the way things were" and "the way I was before my loss" because you will not be successful.

You will not be the person you once were. Like the accident victim who loses a limb, you can learn to function again and have a life, but that limb will always be gone. You can get a prosthetic limb, but it won't be the same. You can be an athlete in the Paralympic Games and achieve wondrous things, but you will never be in the regular Olympics. The hole in your life that was once filled by your spouse will always be a hole in your heart.

When I write or say things like this, people sometimes think I am being insulting. I am not. Here's why.

First of all, your grief and my grief and the grief of others like us is an affirmation that Love is eternal. I will ALWAYS love Jim, and even Death cannot kill that love. That is extraordinary. Embrace it. Love conquers Death in a very real sense. That's powerful. That's beautiful.

Secondly, I have found that my loss has made me a more complex, more empathetic, and more appreciative person. I don't take things or people for granted (I didn't really before, but now even less so). I led a rather blessed life before Jim died in which things always seemed to work out for me. Now I can really understand as never before what it is like to have a setback. Oh, I did go through a divorce before this, which was very hard, but enduring the death of a loved one is much much worse.

In summary, in the short term, focus on taking care of your health. In the long term, learn to accept that you are a different person now. Not necessarily worse or better, but different. Get to know that new person. You are entering a new stage in your life. You will face new challenges, and experience success and failure. You will lose more people, but you will also meet new people. Leave yourself open to possibilities. 

You are only a few months into the grieving process. You should know that the average period of intense grief is 18 months to 2 years. That's the period where you really need to focus on your health. Now, it can last longer than that, of course, so, again, no rules on time. An analogy that was told to me that I find to be true is this: Suffering through the loss of a spouse or partner is like being a ship in a storm. During the storm, you will be battered by wave after wave of grief and it will be an extremely rough ride, but even after the storm has passed, the sea will still have waves. They become fewer and farther apart and usually much more moderate, but you may still get hit with a big wave of grief, even a rogue wave. Over six years after Jim's death, and there are still days I grieve hard, especially on his birthday or anniversary. But they occur less often.

I like that you still call yourself Lucky Fox and that you are still going to furcons (thanks for your comments about the GFA). Sounds like you're doing all the right things. Just remember that you can keep living without setting the past aside. The love you have in your heart will always be a part of you. 

You're beautiful.

Bear Hugs,
Papabear

Now we’re getting word on Illumination’s next animated feature project. We got this from Deadline: Migration is billed as a modern-day comedy following a family of ducks who convince their overprotective father to go on the vacation of a lifetime as they attempt to migrate from New England, through New York City, and ultimately down to the Bahamas. Oscar nominee Benjamin Renner (Ernest et Célestine) is directing the pic from an original screenplay by Mike White (School of Rock, The White Lotus).” They migrate this way in December of 2023.

image c. 2022 Illumination

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Taebyn and I chat with Spacebear Sparx the founder and host of Straight From the Muzzle Podcast!  Although Taebyn had some technical issues with resulted in some very funny moments!  Join us for an unedited chat!

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Thanks to all our listeners and to our staff: Bearly Normal, Rayne Raccoon, Taebyn, Cheetaro, TickTock, and Ziggy the Meme Weasel.

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BFFT Spotlight on Spacebear Sparx

中文：大型兽聚两年后在新加坡恢复举行

中文：Furality达到了 “世界最大兽展”的记录

中文：兽友们给今年端午节带更多色彩

Don’t blame us — that’s their joke. Here’s another phenomenon we somehow missed — brought back to us now by Acme Ink. “Here comes the first exciting issue of Charley & Humphrey — with cover art by Darick Robertson! When a motley crew of fleas stow away on Charley — it’s up to accident-prone Humphrey to save the day before the itchy interlopers ruin an important ceremony down at the Sea Horse Docks. Based upon the popular puppet characters created by Pat McCormick — which have delighted audiences for over 60 year! Get in on the adventures of America’s favorite Dog and Pony show!” Told you. It’s written by Justin Sane (!), with interior art by John Hageman.

image c. 2022 Acme Ink

The 10 Best Furry Anime You Need To Watch Now

Xege Kheiru, Writer, Furry

27 June 2022

What Is A Furry Anime? 

Just in case you’ve been living under a rock, anime are Japanese animations and in quite a lot of them you can find humanoid / anthropomorphic creatures working alongside the main character. Whether it be to beat some unimaginably powerful force of evil or to find the meaning within, you can find some furry friends along the way in a lot of anime like Pokemon. But we’re not interested in the anime where these animals get sidelined for the main character to steal the limelight, furry anime are anime where the protagonists are the animals.

1. Kuma Miko

Kuma Miko is a 2016 comedy that tells the story of Machi Amayadori, a 14 year old girl who has spent her entire life living in the mountains with her guardian Natsu, a talking bear. Natsu is, as you could imagine, opposed to leaving their home but, getting sick of life in the mountains she believes she is ready to pursue a life in the big city and attend a high school. Is she ready for the urban lifestyle? What does Natsu even know about high school after spending so many years in the mountains?

You can watch this show on Funimation or, like a lot of the entries on this list, Crunchyroll.

Natsu, The Talking Bear From Kuma Miko

Show Written by Masume Yoshimoto

2. Hyper Police

 

Hyper Police is a 1997 sci-fi comedy set in the distant future of the Tokyo ward of Shinjuku. It predominantly follows the lives of three characters: Natsuki Sasahara, Sakura Bokuseiinmonzeninari and Batanen Fujioka in a world where humanity is one the brink of extinction, the only thing holding it together being the work of rivaling private police organizations. Natsuki is a half human, half cat (more specifically nekomata) who works for Batanen’s police organization, Batanen is a werewolf and senior officer at said police company and Sakura is a kitsune and partner of Natsuki for some time. Can they stop the relentless crime of Shinjuku? 

Unfortunately Hyper Police is not available on Crunchyroll or any major streaming platforms for that matter. 

Natsuki Sasahara From Hyper Police

Show Written by Minoru Tachikawa

3. BNA: Brand New Animal

BNA: Brand New Animal is an 80s influenced 2020 action, sci-fi anime beaming with neon lights in its vaporwave aesthetic revolving around a world in which humans coexist with what are known as Beastmen. These Beastmen are discriminated against for a gene called Beast Factor which allows them to transform into animals. The show follows the life of a girl called Michiru Kagemori who suddenly became a tanuki beastman after a blood transfusion, as you do. Following her blood transfusion, her friend Nazuna Hiwatashi is abducted, so naturally, she runs away, seeking refuge in Anima City, a safe haven for beastmen where she meets an employee of the city mayor, Shirou Ogami. Together they investigate what caused Michiru’s random transformation. As their investigation continues, the conspiracy of Anima City thickens, uncovering the darkest secrets of their society. 

BNA: Brand New Animal is licensed by and available to watch on Netflix.

Michiru & Shirou BNA: Brand New Animal

Show Written by Kazuki Nakashima

4. African Salaryman

Also known as African Office Worker, African Salaryman is slapstick comedy following the monotonous 9-5 office life of  a lion, a toucan and a lizard as they get caught up in far from normal office life antics. Being animals from the Savannah, you could probably imagine that office life isn’t perfectly suited for them and they make this no secret at all as a lion struggles to commit to his diet, a lizard attempts to learn party tricks to impress his coworkers and a toucan can’t wait for his summer vacation away from the old ball and chain. Everything about this show doesn’t make sense and its perfect like that, because it’s not supposed to. 

You can watch African Salaryman on Funimation.

The Lion, The Toucan and The Lizard From African Salaryman

Show Directed by Tetsuya Tatamitani

5. Damekko Dōbutsu

This show is kinda like reverse Zootopia. This 2005 comedy, in its almost chibi art style, tells the story of the “useless” wolf Uruno, who, rather than being unable to repress his savage desires, is actually unable to hunt and kill and is told he does not have any of the traits of a wolf. As a result of his timid behaviour, he’s sent to live in the forest with other equally “useless” animals where he meets Ushara, a loud mouthed and borderline aggressive rabbit. On his travels, Uruno meets several other animals who just do not fit the behaviour that is expected of them, like a clumsy cheetah, a devilish unicorn and a near-sighted eagle. Together they must work to regain their animal instincts and live up to their names.

Damekko Dōbutsu, like Hyper Police, isn’t available on any major streaming platforms.

 

Uruno and Ushara From Damekko Dobutsu

Show Written by Noriko Kuwata

6. Gleipnir

Gleipnir is a 2015 action, horror anime that slightly blurs the line between furry anime and just any other anime. It tells the story of high school student Shuichi Kagaya who gains the ability to transform into a giant dog. This doesn’t just look like a normal dog though, it looks more like a massive dog fursuit with a zipper and a comically large smile stuck on its face. Shuichi finds a girl in his class, Claire Aoki, whose sister was responsible for killing her parents and as you could probably guess, it’s Shuichi’s duty to correct this injustice with his new-found powers. 

Gleipnir is available to stream on Netflix, Crunchyroll, Funimation, Prime Video and Apple TV. pretty much as long as you have some sort of streaming service you can watch it.

 

Suichi Kagaya From Gleipnir

Show Written by Sun Takeda

7. Spice and Wolf

Spice and Wolf is a 2008 romance, adventure anime, set in the medieval fantasy world of… I’m not really sure they never specify where they are. All you need to know is, this place is reminiscent of Runescape. Anyway, it’s a story about Kraft Lawrence, a traveling merchant who, upon his travels, meets Holo, a legendary wolf deity. They join forces and travel this vast and expansive world, going from town to town to do both business and solve the problems the locals are facing. This show is driven more by its characters and dialogue than its plot. Just watching the two wander from place to place, conversing oblivious to how ridiculous their circumstances are makes for a great watch.

Spice and Wolf is available to watch on Funimation, Netflix and Crunchyroll.

Holo From Spice & Wolf

Show Written by Isuna Hasekura

8. Inuyasha

It’s hard to pin Inuyasha down to a specific genre, it’s more just a light-hearted easy watch. It’s got action, it’s got romance, it’s got comedy, it’s got adventure, it’s a bit of a jack of all trades. It is a 2000 furry anime set in modern day Tokyo, following the life of Kagome Higurashi, a teenage girl. This is where things get a little crazy. On her 15th birthday, Kagome is dragged into an “enshrined Bone Eater’s well” by a centipede demon whilst looking for her cat. Still following? Okay, good. Instead of hitting the bottom of the well, Kagome is transported to a parallel universe in 16th century Japan. In this universe the centipede demon that dragged her into this place was killed 50 years ago by a warrior priestess Kikyo who she seems to be the reincarnation of. She joins forces with a fox demon, Shippo and several other characters to collect fragments of a jewel scattered across Japan. 

So, if you’re at all interested in finding out more about what the hell is even being described, it is available to stream on Hulu.

Kagome & Shippo From Inuyasha

Show Written by Rumiko Takahashi

9. Shirokuma Café

Shirokuma Café, directly translating to “White Bear” Café, is a cute 2012 slice of life anime that revolves around a cafe that is literally run by a polar bear. When the local animals finish their shifts at the zoo, they come down to Shiroku Café to unwind (as well as a few humans sometimes). These animals include a panda, a penguin, a llama, a grizzly bear and so many more animals. As for the plot, it kinda just follows the daily lives of these animals and the antics they get up to, yet it manages to remain entertaining through pure charm through its hilarious  dialogue and beautiful animation. Just watching the animals interact on a daily basis is enough to make for a great show.

Shirokuma Café is available to watch on Crunchyroll under the name “Polar Bear Café”

Shirokuma Cafe

Show Written by Aloha Higa

10. Beastars

If you’re at all into furry anime, then you might’ve seen this one coming, but the hype surrounding this Netflix original is just undeniable. With an over 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Beastars is a 2019 coming-of-age drama that tells the story of a world completely populated by anthropomorphic animals, however, a cultural tension lies between the herbivores and carnivores. The show mostly follows the life of Legoshi, a large but timid gray wolf who attends Cherryton Academy. Herbivores and carnivores alike can attend this school but there is a clear divide. However, tensions drastically rise after the brutal and mysterious murder of Alpaca, Tem. In searching for answers, Legoshi uncovers the turmoil of the herbivores and carnivores of Cherryton Academy. 

Given that it’s a Netflix original, Beastars is only available to watch on Netflix.

Beastars

Show Written by Paru Itagaki

The post The 10 Best Furry Anime You Need To Watch Now appeared first on Fursonafy.

Hi everyone! Welcome to the next broadcast highlighting recent events in the furry community. With my recent visit to Furality Aqua, I recorded my newest broadcast in Luma this time. This world is public in VRChat and can be found if you search for FYNNS room Coastal Furry Events + Keep Tahoe Furry announcement https://twitter.com/Bluehasia/status/1539647115441295360?s=20&t=jtuIO-H8Elsh8abIBESaQQ Bewhiskered https://www.2022.bewhiskeredcon.org/registration SodaCityFurCon https://twitter.com/SodaCityFurCon/status/1536519894488997889?t=UNMkJhSiqasCjNdlvmSMmA&s=19 Fuzznet https://www.fuzznet.world/furrymusicians StratosFur announcement https://twitter.com/StratosFur/status/1537192728479649792?s=20&t=I_59XlqfvxU51fw8w4ATbg Furality Showcase https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZyXtt7S6G8 Wikifur attendance https://en.wikifur.com/wiki/List_of_conventions_by_attendance If you like the work I do please like/follow/share to support the channel I'm on multiple platforms https://twitter.com/GrovelHusky https://www.twitch.tv/grovelhusky https://t.me/grovelreports Subscribe to show support https://www.youtube.com/c/GrovelHusky/?sub_confirmation=1 Grovel Reports Studio made by Kydek https://twitter.com/FluffyKydek Banners used in the channel were made by Slushi https://twitter.com/Slushi3Brushi3?s=09 Music created for Grovel Husky by Whooshagg https://whooshagg.com/ Closure, New Venue, Attendance numbers - Grovel Reports June 27th 2022 #furality #furry #furryfandom

　　第十二屆「放視大賞」5/18至20在高雄展覽館舉行。本次共有79校、151系，多達3322件作品參賽，爭取平面、動畫、遊戲等各類組大獎，配合展覽、國際論壇、交流聚會、技術發表等活動，打造國內最佳的產學交流平台。

第十二屆放視大賞宣傳圖。圖／放視大賞官網

　　「放視大賞」由經濟部工業局與臺灣產學策進會共同主辦，為國內最具指標的學生創意競賽展覽，涵蓋了影音、動畫、遊戲、平面等領域。而本次展出的作品中，也不乏許多與獸文化相關的遊戲與動畫作品。雲林科技大學數位媒體設計系「Oz 製作委員會」，在《Oz：永恆搖籃計劃》視覺小說遊戲裡加入一位獸人角色；崑山科技大學第 111 級視覺傳達設計系創作的《撲通撲通我和你 DokiDoki》，則是一部獸人為主角的動畫，講述了一段 「不健康暈船關係」的愛情故事；臺北科技大學互動設計系製作的《基音實驗室》則是一款以獸人角色為主，包含了角色養成與視覺小說的音樂遊戲。不論是哪款作品，都吸引了不少獸迷們的目光。

　　《Oz：永恆搖籃計劃》 是一款結合了彈幕射擊元素的視覺小說遊戲，玩家將在遊戲中扮演身為時空管理局稽查員的女主角「赫拉」，與近距離作戰單位「白銀」、遠程支援單位「香草」組成「OZ 小隊」，一同前往未知的次元宇宙「童話仙境世界」中進行調查，找出創造這個次元宇宙的幕後黑手，並了解事件背後的成因。當中在 OZ 小隊裡，代號為「白銀」的近距離作戰單位是一位外表近似虎獸人、白底灰條紋的「科達塔」人，出生於西赫特世界的某個部族中。白銀自幼成長於狩獵活動與領地之爭中，在艱困的環境下被訓練成了一名優秀的戰士，也訓練出了他超乎常人的野性、觀察周遭環境的能力與對危險的感知能力。「Oz 製作委員會」提到，之所以會在《Oz》中加入白銀，單純是因為個人的喜好，再加上團隊成員打算將《Oz》的世界打造成一個多種族的世界，便設計出了「白銀」這位非人類的角色。

《Oz：永恆搖籃計劃》海報。圖／《Oz：永恆搖籃計劃》Facebook 粉絲專頁

　　《撲通撲通我和你 DokiDoki》則是一部以「不健康的暈船關係」為主軸的獸人短篇動畫，故事的女主角Dona是一位癡情、愛幻想、多愁善感且內心充滿「小劇場」的狗獸人，而男主角Kima則是一位狡猾、狂野且內心暴戾的狐狸獸人。故事的一開始，Dona 從房間中醒來，牆上貼滿了 Kima 的照片，而準備出門的 Dona 還不忘在出門前親了一下 Kima 的照片，表達對於男主角的愛慕之情。鏡頭接著來到了公車站，Dona一上車便巧遇了自己愛慕已久的 Kima，內心瞬間出現許多小劇場，無論是幫 Kima 綁鞋帶、不小心碰到 Kima 的手或是坐 在 Kima 身旁，都讓 Dona 幻想出了無數的小劇場。隨著故事接近尾聲， Kima 的狂野形象卻隨著他廝殺車上乘客的畫面慢慢的表現了出來。即便如此， Dona 卻仍對 Kima 的所作所為視而不見，仍然愛慕著 Kima，卻不知 Kima 已逐魔爪伸向了自己。作者希望透過男女主角間的反差，傳達一種「暈船者經常會對對方的缺點視而不見，最終連帶使自己也遭到這種價值觀反噬」的觀點。無論是 Dona、 Kima 或是乘客所扮演的角色與他們所展現出的行為都可以被以各種角度解釋， 被 Kima 殺害的乘客可以代表曾經受 Kima 所害的人，而見證 Kima 傷害他人後仍選擇相信他的 Dona，則讓觀眾反思了現實生活中是否也有類似的案例。

《撲通撲通我和你 DokiDoki》海報。圖／《Doki Doki》官方 Instagram @dona_dokidoki

　　《基因實驗室》是一款結合了角色養成、視覺小說的安卓平台手機音樂遊戲，玩家將扮演實驗室內的研究員，透過基音序列儀分析樣本得到關鍵資訊來研發科技、培養角色與觸發新事件，經營科學實驗室。遊戲目前仍處於開發階段，更多詳細的資訊有待製作團隊公布。

《基因實驗室》海報。圖／《基因實驗室》Facebook 粉絲專頁

　　本屆放視大賞與先前幾屆一樣令人驚豔，所有參展團隊紛紛拿出自己的心血結晶展示給觀眾，展現自己的創意與執行能力。無論是出於製作團隊的個人喜好或是因應人物設計而選擇加入獸人角色，都顯示了獸文化逐漸被創作者們所接受。在獸文化蓬勃發展下，想必未來能見到更多創作者在作品中融入獸文化，創作出更多相關作品。

Apparently this is a thing we missed — but now it’s available over here. Cat + Gamer is a black & white manga written and illustrated by Wataru Nadatani, now translated and distributed by Dark Horse. “Riko’s coworkers can’t quite figure her out — she never talks about her personal life, she never works overtime, and she never joins them for happy hour. Is she antisocial? Nope, she’s rushing home to play video games! One day, a stray cat is found in the office parking lot, and before Riko knows it, the cat has moved in with her! Having no experience with pets, Riko uses lessons drawn from video games to guide her in cat care, while her cute companion tries to understand her behavior through a cat’s worldview.”

image c. 2022 Dark Horse Press

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Moobarkfluff! Taebyn and Bearly are back at it again. This week we talk a lot about media, tell some cringy stories, and discuss our weekly watching programs.  We wish some furs happy birthday,Taebyn tells us all about his new smart phone, and explains how to duplicate things indefinitely with math! How did that pea get on the sun? Moobarkfluff!

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Thanks to all our listeners and to our staff: Bearly Normal, Rayne Raccoon, Taebyn, Cheetaro, TickTock, and Ziggy the Meme Weasel.

You can send us a message on Telegram at BFFT Chat, or via email at: bearlyfurcasting@gmail.com

Bearly Furcasting S3E9 - Riddles, Media, Math

Coming Sunday June 26, 2022

The SF Bay Area has the world’s most dense population of furries, but back in 2012, SF Pride didn’t have activities for the love of anthropomorphic animals. They had a parade contingent in 2002-2005, but it needed help to start again. (See a 2002 video or the Pride tag for more history.) 

Whose job is it to make it happen? Everyone’s. In 2012-2019 I was one of the organizers for award-winning floats in the parade, with hundreds of supporters and members. In 2019 (the second year to get an award) we won “Absolutely Outrageous” out of more than 200 parade contingents. The parade was interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, but finally, it’s here again.

The Nor Cal Furries are going this weekend with a new trailer, built by @Zoren and @MrDisk0Dog and funded by community donations and volunteers to give everyone an experience to remember. (Funds still accepted, anything extra will pay forward.) Here’s how great it was in 2019:

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We're going to march again in the SF pride 2022 parade!!

Funding is now live for the NorCal Furries 2022 SF Pride contingent.. https://t.co/7FdpF0Hqev

— Zoren Manray (@Zoren) May 8, 2022

PARADE INFO FOR THE FURRY CONTINGENT:

For Sunday, June 26 the parade is on Market Street from Embarcadero to the Celebration area at Civic Center. General info is at SFpride.org. Spectators will be watching on Market Street from 10:30 a.m. until late afternoon. ABC7 will be broadcasting the parade to watch from home.

• Our Telegram info channel: Announcements only, no chat.
• Our Telegram chat group: The live connection to everyone.
• If you haven’t signed up to march, RSVP for standby and come anyway. If it hasn’t hit 100 people, more can march, but extras may be turned away over 100.

TRAVEL TO ASSEMBLY: See this map for the parade route.

• By car: No cars or dropoff at the assembly. Try the parking garage on 833 Mission St (middle of parade route, 15 minutes walk from each end) or 33 Mission St (near parade end at 8th and Mission.) Or park farther away and take rideshare as close as it gets. Beware of traffic for a huge event, earlier is better.
• BART riders, go to Embarcadero. The south central exit is closest to the assembly.
• Officially we are signed up as Bay Area Furries, in assembly location #124.

ASSEMBLE NO LATER THAN 12 PM: East side of Main Between Mission and Howard. (At the Rainbow paw on the map, near 111 Main.)

• Arrive to assembly by NOON. Allow time for costume change. (Float setup starts as early as 9 AM so we will be there).
• As with prior years, there could be hours to wait before Step-off. If you bring cooling packs to survive in fursuit they may not last.
• Be patient, bring snacks, but don’t be late or delay others. If there’s a signal to go, anyone who isn’t ready will be left behind!
• The trailer may fit 30 people and those with mobility issues have priority.
• If you walk, it’s a hot, high energy event. Water will be available but hydrate yourself too.
• At end of the parade near 8th and Mission, be ready for the float to sweep people and gear off and leave right away.
• From the dropoff, walk or consider pooling together for self-serve transport.

FURSUITER BASICS — No hard bins. No lounge.

• SOFT FOLDING BAGS ONLY. 100 people have to share the back of 1 car for storage. Minimize gear for a moving event.
• Don’t need change space? Change at your car before coming, or change on the street. We do it every year.
• Want change space? Start and end at Relay’s.

DINNER, and OPTIONAL BEFORE/AFTER FURSUIT CHANGING — Dinner is at 6:00 pm at Relay’s Den. Address by request.

• Notify @RelayRaccoon if you will come. Remember, street parking will be scarce.
• 8:00 am: Relay’s Den will open for fursuit changing. A continental breakfast will be provided (coffee, juice, bagels, bananas, etc.).
• 11:00 am: Relay’s Den will close and we will head to the assembly. Make your own arrangements to get to the assembly. Try MUNI (Church & 16th station is 2 blocks away; Church & Market station is 4 blocks away), BART (16th & Mission station is 4 blocks away) or LYFT/UBER.
• 4:00-5:00pm: After the parade, return promptly to change out of suit. Here’s a map with transit options to get there from the parade dropoff.
• 6:00pm: Dinner is 21+ and here’s the menu.
• To spend the night on Saturday, there’s limited crash space with priority for those from outside the bay area. (Ask @RelayRaccoon).

SAFETY AND MORE

• Big crowds always have potential risk… read this safety page!
• Parade attire: Members have family who want to watch on TV from home. If your costume may make TV cameras skip the group, please contact an organizer for case-by-case arrangements.
• The float won’t stop. It’s a mile and about an hour to march. Keep up the pace, avoid the wheels, and listen to the monitors.
• Contingent Monitors are VERY IMPORTANT to march. Please follow them and be on the job if you are one.
• Marchers, watch where the float is. Try not to bunch up, leave gaps or get too far away. The front-facing banner is where the crowds first see us, but going up to the street side barriers is good too. Use the whole street between the float and crowds on BOTH sides. Dance, pose, give hugs and high fives. Look for TV cameras after Fremont Street, a few blocks from the start.
• No glass bottles, no hard bins, and afterwards there’s an 18” x 18” size restriction on bags if you enter the festival at Civic Center.
• Please volunteer to share photos/videos! #Norcalfurries is the hashtag for social media. #Furrypride works too.

NEED HELP ON SITE? 

• Organizers will be hard-pressed, so please contact only for emergencies after using the net, the group and other members.
• General organizing: @Zorenmanray and @Patchmutt. Car, float, storage issues: @Mr_Disk0.

SEE YOU THERE! Art for banners by Kado Husky.

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You may have heard about the upcoming movie adaptation of Bernard Waber‘s bestselling and beloved book Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile. Well now Sony Pictures has dropped the first teaser trailer for the film, directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck (both of whom recently worked on Hit Monkey). Turns out that star Javier Bardem does not voice Lyle, the crocodile from New York — that honor goes to singer Shawn Mendes. Bardem instead plays the impresario who is trying to make Lyle into a star — if the big reptile can avoid New York Animal Control, that is. Lyle, Lyle comes to theaters this October.

image c. 2022 Sony Pictures