July 2011
Movie review: 'Animals United'
Posted by dronon on Fri 1 Jul 2011 - 19:55Long story short – Animals United (trailer) is a crappily-written CGI movie. Avoid it.
Video: 'Out of Sight'
Posted by GreenReaper on Sat 2 Jul 2011 - 16:12The five-minute animation Out of Sight tells a touching story of Chico and her dog. [earthfur]
Read more: The making of Out of Sight
Anthrocon 2011 media coverage roundup
Posted by GreenReaper on Sat 2 Jul 2011 - 20:50
Another year has come and gone for Anthrocon's 4,400 attendees. But what did the media make of it all?
Local stations WTAE (video, slides) and WPXI (video) gave mostly superficial coverage, while the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (photos) went into a little more depth. [Higgs Raccoon, baracudaboy, Wild`Bill`TX]
The convention was also picked up by Reuters, who posted a short piece based on organizers' statements.
In a story likely to be repeated in 2012, furries were blamed for booking out local hotels. Conversely, Anthrocon's CEO complained of a lack of hotels, telling the Post-Gazette that "when downtown hotels became fully booked in mid-May, [registration] dropped off dramatically." This helps explain this year's growth rate of 3.8%, compared to double-digit increases in prior years. (Somehow the parade count rose over 19% to 854.)
Meanwhile, 10th St. sub mogul Cory Robinson reported two months of business in five days:
We love furries. They're just people having fun, and they don't hurt anybody.
Seattle filmmaker seeks funding for 'Bunny Rabbits'
Posted by Higgs Raccoon on Thu 7 Jul 2011 - 08:48
Seattle filmmaker Chris Diani is seeking funding for a project involving furries. His proposed film, Let's Pretend We're Bunny Rabbits, is envisioned as "a throwback to the classic screwball comedies of the 30s and 40s".
In the film, a gay couple (both broke artists) break up and go looking for sugar daddies. One artist succeeds, but upon meeting his sugar daddy at a hotel, discovers that he is a furry, and the hotel is hosting a furry convention.
Furries to get limelight on Canadian cable network
Posted by RingtailedFox on Thu 7 Jul 2011 - 13:27Lights! Cameras! FURRIES! Canadian cable television network Space has launched a new documentary mini-series, "Fanboy Confessional" (from Markham Street Films) exploring the various science-fiction fandoms, such as comic books, LARPers, and yes, even furries.
While the series premieres in Canada on July 13 at 10PM Eastern, there is no word yet as to whether it will be shown on other sci-fi channels, such as NBCUniversal's Syfy.
Read more: Fanboy Confessional on Facebook, Youtube, Vimeo and Twitter.
Update (1 Aug): See dronon's review of Fanboy Confessional: The Furry Edition
Review: 'Sooner Dead', by Mel Odom
Posted by Fred on Thu 7 Jul 2011 - 14:31
Sooner Dead: A D&D Gamma World Novel
Mel Odom (Wizards of the Coast, Feb 2011)
Paperback $7.99 (307 pages); Kindle $6.39
“Sooner Dead” is the first novel (of two so far) based on Dungeons & Dragons spinoff “Gamma World”.
The setting's premise is that a Hadron Collider accident in 2012 destroys civilization. 150 years later, “[survivors] must contend with radioactive wastes, ravaged cities, and rampant lawlessness. Against a nuclear backdrop, heroic scavengers search crumbled ruins for lost artifacts while battling mutants and other perils.”
Mel Odom is a veteran writer of authorized-series melodramatic paperback novels who, probably not coincidentally, lives in Oklahoma, “the Sooner State”.
Don’t look for any deep characterization or character development, just non-stop action. The mutants include many talking humanoid animals, which is how this novel qualifies as Furry.
Which wise monkey are you?
Posted by GreenReaper on Thu 7 Jul 2011 - 17:02Polar bears have Irish ancestors
Posted by Fred on Thu 7 Jul 2011 - 17:24Wired UK and BBC News report that the mitochondrial DNA in all polar bears today descends from a single Irish female brown bear who lived 20,000 to 50,000 years ago.
Read more: Ancient Hybridization and an Irish Origin for the Modern Polar Bear Matriline
'Inherit the Earth' webcomic returns
Posted by wyrmkeep on Thu 7 Jul 2011 - 23:41
After a nine-month hiatus, the Inherit the Earth webcomic has returned — in full-color, featuring a new story and new artist (Falkurneeze).
If you're not familiar with Inherit the Earth, visit Wyrmkeep Entertainment to learn about the computer game on which the strip is based.
Review: 'Red Sails in the Fallout', by Paul Kidd
Posted by Fred on Fri 8 Jul 2011 - 00:14
Red Sails in the Fallout: A D&D Gamma World Novel
Paul Kidd (Wizards of the Coast, July 2011)
Paperback $7.99 (307 pages); Kindle $6.39.
This second novel in Wizards of the Coast’s “Gamma World” series is considerably Furrier than the first. As before, the setting is 150 years after a Hadron Collider catastrophe has destroyed civilization, creating a world in which “the survivors of some mythical future disaster must contend with radioactive wastes, ravaged cities, and rampant lawlessness. Against a nuclear backdrop, heroic scavengers search crumbled ruins for lost artifacts while battling mutants and other perils.”
“Red Sails in the Fallout” is not just anthropomorphic, it is flamboyantly and bizarrely Furry.
'Fur'; a new French film student animated cartoon
Posted by Fred on Fri 8 Jul 2011 - 01:10Fur, a July 2011 4-minute French film student animated cartoon, has been posted on YouTube.
This has started to be talked about by Furry fans, but it hasn't been mentioned on Flayrah yet.
Review: 'Amazing Dogs', by Jan Bondeson
Posted by Fred on Sat 9 Jul 2011 - 00:56
Amazing Dogs: A Cabinet of Canine Curiosities
Illustrated with contemporary images.
Jan Bondeson (Cornell University Press, May 2011)
Hardcover $29.95 (286 pages)
Bondeson is a Cornell University lecturer who has written several books about historical oddities (“The Two-Headed Boy, And Other Medical Marvels”, 2000; “Buried Alive: the Terrifying History of Our Most Primal Fear”, 2001; etc.). Here he documents examples of headline-making dogs, emphasizing intelligent and “talking” dogs but also including notable meat-roasting dogs, rat-catching dogs, famous people’s dogs, martyred dogs, and more.
The intelligent and “talking” dogs will be of most interest to Furry fans. Bondeson notes that reports of these date back to antiquity, but these “true stories” contain so much obvious fantasy that none of them can be taken seriously. He cites the 18th century as about as far back as contemporary news reports and theatrical posters go.