Isiah had the chance to interview most of the contributors to annual adult anthology Heat 9, published by Sofawolf; some could not be reached. Related interviews: Whyte Yote & Alastair Wildfire – Kandrel & Scappo – Alopex – Huskyteer – Kyell Gold & Nimrais – Tempe O'kun

Isiah Jacobs: Good evening, Camron! Vantid! Thank you both so much for coming on the show!

Vantid: Good to be here.

Camron Cucce: Good evening, Isiah. Thanks for having us. Pleasure to be here in old Detroit.

Isiah Jacobs: I don't think it would really be a pleasure, but alright! Camron, for this year's edition of Heat you decided to write a poem and it was illustrated by Vantid here. Could you tell me what this poem is about, please?

Lagrange is one of Phil Geusz’s slighter pieces. The novella appeared in the Sofawolf Press magazine Anthrolations #8, November 2006, and was reprinted in the online Furry magazine Anthro #25, September-October 2009. Now here it is as a separate booklet from Legion Publishing in hardcover, trade paperback, or Kindle editions, your choice.

It may also be the only high-tech astronautical erotic comedy-drama that you ever encounter. Don’t miss it.

Legion Printing, January 2012, hardcover $5.99+$5 s&h (91 pages), trade paperback $3.99+$5 s&h, Kindle $2.99.

It’s been announced since August 3, but it just occurred to me that it hasn’t been announced on Flayrah yet. This coming Sunday, October 21, from 8:00 p.m. (EST) in the evening until 5:00 a.m. the next morning, Turner Classic Movies will feature “Rare Animation” including three features and eighteen shorts, hosted by TCM’s Robert Osborne and the Cartoon Brew’s Jerry Beck.

The three features will be the Fleischer Studios’ Gulliver Travels (1939) at 8:00 pm., Mr. Bug Goes to Town (1941) at 9:30 p.m., and Lotte Reiniger’s independent silent The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) at 1:15 a.m. the next morning. It is Mr. Bug Goes to Town, a.k.a. Hoppity Goes to Town, that makes this of interest to Furry fans.

The Cartoon Brew has posted Melbourne & Sydney animation studio Rubber House’s music video of musician Gotye’s (Wouter De Backer) piece “Seven Hours with a Backseat Driver”, directed by Rubber House’s Ivan Dixon and Greg Sharp, with character design by Dixon, Sharp, and Marlo Meekins, and additional animation by staffers Neil Sanders, Gavin Mouldey, Alex Grigg, Peter Lowey and Jérémy Pires.

Rubber House’s description of the video reveals that the elephant is a girl. Who would know? Lotsa more anthropomorphic animals, too.

Toronto-based furry convention Furnal Equinox has released its October 2012 newsletter.

Registration for the 2013 convention has begun, with a new Supersponsor tier on offer. Applications to the convention's Dealers Den and the inaugural Art Show are also open.

Unlike many of the other anthologies produced primarily for the furry fandom, Already Among Us draws on works by authors in the larger arena of science fiction, from the 1940s through the 2000s. The only "furry" author represented is Michael Payne--and with a story of his that appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction. While Already Among Us may have a little trouble getting beyond the furry audience, this isn't a problem with the story selection.

Already Among Us: An Anthropomorphic Anthology
Edited by Fred Patten. Cover art by Roz Gibson.
Legion Publishing, June 2012. Hardback $18.99+$5 s&h, trade paperback $9.99+$5 s&h (389 pages); Kindle $8.99.

Compare: dronon's review of Already Among Us.

Isiah offers his own thoughts and analysis on Roar as a part of a twelve-part review series.

See also: Reviews of Roar 4 by Roz Gibson and Fred Patten.

If this was a commercially published novel, it would probably be age-rated 8 and up. That’s all right; Brian Jacques’ Redwall books are age-rated 8 and up, too. Picayune is a similar rousing and fast-moving talking animal adventure that all ages can enjoy.

Chapter One is misleading. Picayune (Sir Picayune?) is a knight in the service of the king. When a black dragon destroys the capital city and lays the kingdom to waste, the king charges Picayune to, “Defeat that hideous monster at any cost.” Picayune and his noble horse slog through a dismal mire and undergo numerous hardships to find the dragon’s lair. Picayune and the dragon battle to their apparent mutual death …

Belleview, FL, self-published/CreateSpace, September 2011, trade paperback $7.99 (202 pages), Kindle 99¢.

The NPR-affiliated Colin McEnroe Show has posted a 50-minute segment on furry fandom.

Guests and callers included fandom members Chiaroscuro, TabbieWolf, Ian, Camo Husky, and Grubbs Grizzly, along with law/psychiatry lecturer Dr. Leslie Lothstein. [tip: Fenris Lorsrai]

Colin writes for the Hartford Courant, which recently reported on fursuit-related library rules. Much of the conversation focused on the appeal and transformative power of fursuits, but ponies, FurFright, antipathy against furries and the Ursa Major Awards were also brought up.

An "ex-furry" caller, Reuben, raised the risks to minors from sexual predators at conventions, but the host and guests noted that non-furry events also had a degree of 'hooking-up', while Chiaroscuro brought up the age distribution and security presence at furry events.

Bound to Play is set in Bernard Doove’s Chakat Universe. It features those hermaphroditic centauroid felines, along with their national game of Chakker. Chakker is explained in Doove’s “The Great Game of Chakker”, in his Tales from the Chakat Universe or on his website.

Chakats Grill and Midsun are cubhood friends living in Melbourne on Earth in the 24th century, where there is a large Chakat community. They are also Chakker enthusiasts who are now in their late adolescence and on the same junior league team, the Blind Bight Cubs. Although they are hermaphrodites, Grill is more masculine and Sun is more feminine; something that they have always been aware of intellectually but now feel emotionally since they are going into heat. Being Chakats, they are less embarrassed about mating in public than being caught mating together since they are known to their families as just Best Pals.

CreateSpace, May 2012, trade paperback $12.99 (xv + 142 pages), Kindle $8.00. Illustrated.

Usagi Yojimbo, the comic-book series about a samurai rabbit, is to get an iOS game adaptation.

Created by six-time Ursa Major Award winner Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo is set during Japan's Edo period, and tells the story of ronin Miyamoto Usagi.

The game adaptation, a classic-style beat-em-up side-scroller, is being created by Happy Giant Media. Their CEO Michael Levine has said that the game will feature over 80 different enemy types, and 15 unique bosses. Usagi will fight solo, or with companions he picks up along his journey.

In order to preserve the graphic-novel feel of Usagi's original media, the game will also feature interactive comic book-style cutscenes.

Happy Giant is aiming to release Usagi Yojimbo (for iPhone and iPad) around Christmas. The game is expected to be "probably a dollar or free", with in-app purchases for special power-ups and costumes.

Isiah had the chance to interview most of the contributors to annual adult anthology Heat 9, published by Sofawolf; some could not be reached. Related interviews: Whyte Yote & Alastair Wildfire – Camron & Vantid – Alopex – Huskyteer – Kyell Gold & Nimrais – Tempe O'kun

Isiah Jacobs: Good evening, Kandrel, Scappo. Thank you both so much for coming on to the show. I really appreciate this! Kandrel, I understand you submitted a story to this year’s volume of Heat and Scappo, you provided the illustrations. Have you two heard of each before you were brought on to do Heat?

Kandrel: Yeah, I had definitely heard of Scappo before. I tend to try to keep my eye on good artists. Mainly because I like collecting art. Usually I recognize most of the artists that are up and coming by name, if not by their style.

Scappo: Well, I’m glad you like my art! Heh. I had never heard of Kandrel before, but that’s usually because I’ve got my head buried in commissions. So I don’t really have a whole lot of time to read. But I did read and enjoy “Better”. I think it’s one of the better stories that I’ve read.

This year’s 12th Waterloo Festival for Animated Cinema, on November 15–18, 2012 at The Crysalids Theatre, 137 Ontario Street North, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, will include Mamoru Hosoda’s The Wolf Children, along with more than eleven other animated features unreleased in North America.

The list includes the 2012 Danish Marco Macaco (trailer) by director Jan Rahbek, featuring a tropical island full of anthropomorphic monkeys, a monkey policeman, monkey pirates, and a monkey Giant Robot.

One of the newest furry conventions, Fangcon, opens its doors Oct. 26th to its awaiting audience. Located in Nashville, Tenn., the event's theme is: Musicals: Opening Night! This will really come out when Rhubarb the Bear performs as the con's Musical Guest of Honor. This bear has brought a few musicals to the fandom. He most recently premièred at Wild Nights to a standing ovation crowd performing Fosgate: Ferret Loan Officer. He will be bringing his musical skills in the form of several instruments to his own show and several panels. He's not to be missed!

I watched Hotel Transylvania because I have a weakness for Gothic archetypes, not because I was expecting it to be any good. It is a movie not only starring Adam Sandler, but even produced by him. Well, I can say this is the best thing Adam Sandler has done in years, but that still does not matter much on the good to bad scale.

I did not watch this movie because I intended to review it for Flayrah; about halfway through the climax, in which the movie’s protagonist takes the form of a talking bat and sticks that way until the denouement, I realized furries might want to know that. I mean, yeah, werewolf in the trailers and TV spots and all, but if you decide to see this movie, see it for the cute talking vampire bats.

Not much else reason.