USA Today has an exclusive trailer for the third movie of the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic spinoff series, My Little Pony: Equestria Girls. This one is entitled Friendship Games.

The article says the movie will debut September 26 on the Discovery Family channel. There is no mention of a theatrical, or even pseudo-theatrical, release at this point. The plotline revealed so far involves a contest, the titular Friendship Games, between the Canterlot High WonderColts and the Crystal Academy ShadowBolts. The trailer reveals that the Equestria Girls version of Twilight Sparkle will meet the other five main characters, plus Sunset Shimmer, who is, notably, the only character known to hail from Equestria to appear in the trailer.

This may finally actually be My Little Pony without the ponies.

Update (7/9): The DVD and Blu-Ray from Shout!Factory will be available October 13.

Racked, an online fashion magazine, has just published a particularly good illustrated article on fursuits; their history, the people who make them, and the furry fans who wear them.

It's the freakin’ weekend. A blessing of rainbow unicorns dance around you. Your heart bursts with joy at the sight of a dairy cow and an otter gingerly embracing. Sweat drips down your face. You remove your head and wipe the sparkling droplets away with the back of your cerulean paw. A rabbit wearing paisley suspenders invites you to hop with him in a circle. You radiate happiness inside and out. You are not dead. You are not on acid. You are at a furry convention.

Each year, dignified professionals from every major industry cast off their business casual, zip up their fursuits, and flock to furry events around the world. According to Furry Hall of Fame inductee and historian, Fred Patten, 74, the term "fursuit" was originally coined in 1993 by former Midwest Furfest chairman Robert C. King to describe full-body anthropomorphic animal costumes worn to conventions.

Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe, launched in January 1992 by a consortium of Seattle-area furry writers, artists, and editors, and the oldest on-paper furry fanzine still being published, released its fiftieth issue in September 2012. Despite its website’s continued online presence with its semi-annual schedule, the long delay since number fifty was published has resulted in a growing doubt that it is still in existence.

Now editor Gene Breshears has stated that issue number fifty-one is finally ready for the printer, and should be out by the end of this month, or August 2015 for sure. The delay has been partly due to the requirement that all stories in Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe must be consistent with that fictional universe’s 36th-century interstellar storyline. With over a hundred stories by different authors, making sure all details, references, and characterizations are consistent, and the need to get illustrations for those stories, all on a volunteer basis, means it is getting increasingly difficult to prepare an issue.

But Tai-Pan fans can relax with the expectation that issue number fifty-one is about to appear.

Update: Tales of the Tai-Pan #51 & #52 have been published as a double issue – its last.

When Anthrocon started in Albany in 1997, the humble gathering went by the name of “Albany Anthrocon”. Two years later the convention found itself moving out of New York State and into Pennsylvania. Through that was learned the first major mistake a fledgling convention could make. Naming your new convention after the city it is hosted in is like someone getting their lover’s name tattooed to their arm. Ironically, it’s a mistake that other conventions still make to this day.
 
But living through mistakes is what makes one stronger in the end. It has now been about one decade since the largest furry convention had made its home in Pittsburgh. At this point I think it’s a much safer bet to commit to being inked.
 
As there were 6,389 recorded attendees to this convention, there are just as many stories and perspectives on the convention. So this review will focus on three sections I focused my experiences around: fursuiting, performances, and writing. It is essential to note that reviewing a convention is unlike reviewing any other medium where you can experience a full package. Many panels run concurrently so one has to make a choice, usually based upon one’s preferences.