Historical debates
Review: 'Norm of the North' isn't exactly 'Frozen'
Posted by CassidyTheCivet on Tue 19 Jan 2016 - 14:18So it seems the first animated movie of 2016 is upon us. And the entire world collectively went 'Oh'.
From the looks of it, everyone in the world hates this film. Critics, moviegoers, children, everyone. I'm pretty sure I hate it as well, but I can't be sure since I actually fell asleep in the theater for this thing. No joke. It's the second time I've fallen asleep in a theater ever, the first being ... Avengers 2.
Where did it go wrong? Perhaps it was Rob Schneider. Maybe it was the sweat shop CGI brought to you by Lionsgate. Or could it be the fact that a poorly written and animated film in 2016 with fart and other unfunny jokes was just doomed for failure? Who knows?
Well actually, we all know that it was all of those things. This film has collected the rare achievement of getting a 0% on Rotten Tomatoes, the first film of 2016 to do so. And only the second computer generated film of all time to do so (the first being Space Chimps 2) which is a feat worthy of applause.
Online security in furry fandom
Posted by Rakuen Growlithe on Sun 1 Sep 2013 - 03:05Hopefully, all Internet users have, by now, heard about the United State's widespread spying programme which has recorded huge volumes of data passing through America. Just as concerning is the looming, default porn block in the UK which will not only block porn by default but also violence, alcohol, smoking and Internet forums, among other things. These programmes should be of major concern to all Internet users. They are also a perfect opportunity to talk about online security.
Animation: Beer labels in motion
Posted by Fred on Thu 1 Aug 2013 - 19:52Some people have weird hobbies. Video editor Trevor Carmick’s is animating beer labels. The Cartoon Brew’s Chappell Ellison has an article on Carmick and his animated beer labels, including a link to them. Since the labels include anthropomorphic animals, real animals, and fantasy monsters, I am including it here.
Besides, I suspect that most Flayrah readers like beer, whether it is anthropomorphic or not.
Interview: Polish con-runner and forum admin Lemurr
Posted by hi-jera on Tue 11 Jun 2013 - 02:00WeFurries interviews furry convention-runner and administrator Pablo Lemurr. Transcription: Solovari.
Nickson: Soo, Lemurr, hi!
Lemurr: Hi-hi, hello.
Nickson: OK, so, who wants to start?
Pillgrim: Lemurr, please, introduce yourself to our listeners and tell us what you do in normal life. When did you become a furry, how did you get to know about this sub-culture and so on?
Lemurr: I am a professional web designer and a programmer. I've been furry for, like, five years. I came upon the fandom from browsing some YouTube channels; then I saw the keyword, googled it and came up with some Polish forums. Nothing really special, I guess.
Nickson: Can you tell us more about your fursona?
Lemurr: I don't think it will be a surprise. My fursona is an anthro lemur. Nothing special or fancy like colored fur, just a plain lemur.
Nickson: It's interesting that you are a lemur because sometimes people choose different species.
Hi-jera: What's more interesting is that he pronounces it like l'amour.
Lemurr: I am sorry about the pronunciation, I just pronounce it this way - lee-murr. What's pretty annoying is that everyone thinks I chose this fursona because of Madagascar, but it's not so. I just like the stripy tail and stuff.
Furry con surveyed on porn, fantasy, pets, politics & bronies
Posted by GreenReaper on Sun 26 May 2013 - 16:59Results have been released from an Anthropomorphic Research Project survey of 455 furs taken at Furry Fiesta 2013.
- 78% of females and 96% of males report viewing furry porn. Both groups underestimated both figures by 8-12%.
- Increasing furriness indicated a tendency to use fantasy for various purposes, including escapism, but didn't indicate blurring of reality, or an inability to have fun, self-motivate, fulfil needs, socialize, or cope with problems without fantasy.
- Female furs had less sexual roleplay, owned less pornography, viewed it less frequently, and felt it had less influence on their joining the fandom. They also saw pornography as more openly discussed within the fandom.
- Furries overestimated the positivity of both male and female furs towards furry porn: males tended to be positive or mixed, while over 20% of females had a negative view. 51% of furs preferred porn over general furry artwork; 17% had the opposite view. ~55% saw non-furry pornography in a negative light; some males only view furry porn.
- Non-brony furs rated bronies less positively (50) than furries (79) or non-furs (61).
- Furries are very liberal on social matters, but more moderate on economic topics.
- Therians anthropomorphise animals more than non-therian furs; those strongly identifying as furries gave human characteristics to both regular and stuffed animals.
Around half of those participating chose to join the group's three-year longitudinal study.
On [adjective][species]: JM revisits Dr. Gerbasi's original study – Nuka responds
Opinion: [adjective][species] on furry's 'HIV problem'
Posted by jm on Wed 10 Oct 2012 - 06:58I recently posted an article on [adjective][species], Furries & HIV, that I think deserves wide attention. The furry community hasn't has a significant outbreak of HIV, but we're being placed at risk by attitudes towards safe sex.
I chatted with a HIV-positive furry (who was happy to be publicly quoted) and a furry porn actor, who both feel that the reluctance of furries to use condoms is a real problem. We also look at ways in which condom usage can be normalized within the community.
The article has generated a fair bit of interest in the couple of days since its publication, and at least one furry convention - Toronto's Furnal Equinox - is looking at adding a safe sex panel to their schedule as a result.
Andrew W.K. to join panel at Brony convention; let's discuss furry con guests
Posted by Patch Packrat on Sat 8 Sep 2012 - 18:56Bronies: are they furry? Skipping that topic, let me just say this makes me like Andrew W.K.:
The unruly, boisterous rocker will be part of a panel answering the question, "What Would Pinkie Pie Do?"... The king of partying hard claims that he is the living embodiment of the positive, party pony.
In this interview, the rocker known for a bloody-nosed image discusses why he's a Brony, his love for cupcakes, and ponies with "nice, fragrant hair."
Review: ‘Brave’ illustrates my problem with Pixar
Posted by crossaffliction on Mon 2 Jul 2012 - 02:33Pixar’s newest movie, Brave, is about a princess who turns her mother into a bear. I have a problem with Pixar, and in reviewing Brave, I would like to get up on a soapbox for a bit and explain that problem.
Many people really like Pixar movies, and think they are the best thing to happen to animation since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, but I still have my problem.
That said, Brave deserves to be judged on its merits as a movie first, an animated movie second, and as a Pixar movie last of all.
Review: 'Allasso, Volume 1: Shame', edited by Brian Lee Cook
Posted by Fred on Thu 19 Apr 2012 - 06:14
Bringing together writers and artists from both within and outside the furry fandom, Allasso aims to discover humanity by embodying it in the familiar as well as the foreign. Through exploring our emotions in the wordless world around us, we may discover what truly makes us human.
The first volume of the series, Shame, probes past comfortable feelings in search of hidden actions and taboo desires. While people may wear masks of complacency, everyone has something they wish could never be discovered. (publisher’s blurb)
Allasso appears to be a cross between a book and a magazine. “A bi-annual [they mean semiannual; twice a year in May and November, not once every two years] online publication dedicated to finding new experiences within anthropomorphic writing and art. Publications will be released as an online journal” in the form of a trade paperback book through CreateSpace.
The title is a Greek word meaning “to change, to exchange one thing for another, to transform”; it appears in the King James version of the New Testament. This first volume presents seven short stories mixed with seven poems. There are also six illustrations.
Woods Cross, UT, Pink Fox Publications/North Charleston, SC, CreateSpace, November 2011, trade paperback $7.99 (110 pages). Illustrated.
UK researchers urge limits on human-animal research
Posted by GreenReaper on Fri 22 Jul 2011 - 10:17British medical researchers are calling for tighter regulation on research involving animals with human tissue or genes, while cautiously approving some experiments, the BBC reports.
Professor Christopher Shaw highlighted objectionable 'category three' experiments such as:
- the mixing of non-human primate and human cells to make an embryo
- the mixing of human and non-human gametes (reproductive cells)
- the replacement of monkey brain cells with human ones to gain human characteristics
Dr Robin Lovell-Badge suggested a gap between fantasy and reality:
Everyone laughs at talking meerkats and cats with opposable thumbs, but if we were actually doing that in the labs I don't think people would be so happy.
Read: Animals containing human material (synopsis) – Exploring the boundaries (evaluation)