Michael Sweater is a name that’s turned up more than once around here, both as a writer and and artist. Now he’s giving us a special one-shot fantasy adventure comic for young readers called Puppy Knight: Den of Deception, written by him and illustrated by Josue Cruz. “There’s no knight braver than Sparky Muttson! (Except maybe his enthusiastic and very cute apprentice, Pugsly.) They’re ready for their first adventure together, and luckily, a kind old farmer is conveniently ready to show them the way to a cathedral full of treasure. While this quest might not turn out exactly how they expected, Sparky and Pugsly have the chops to make it through—no bones about it!” Look for it now from Silver Sprocket. (We’ll see you folks after Further Confusion!)
A spot of furry wordwatching
Posted by The Chained Wolf on Mon 15 Mar 2010 - 06:39Last night I was in Darlington watching Alex Horne, who is most famous as co-host of the BBC Four comedy panel game We Need Answers. He was performing a show entitled "Wordwatching", which is about his attempts to introduce words that he and his friends have invented into the OED.
So far, while some progress has been made, none of his words (see below) have got in. However, I feel that if we can spread the word around we can get them in. I just hope I do not go on a mental safari during the attempt.
This show has resulted in me asking a question: how come so far no words relating to the furry fandom have got into the OED? After all, the fandom has been in existence for some time (at least since the 1980s).
If the term "furry" has been used to describe both the fandom and the type of characters in it, then I think it should be included. Also, it appears that I am not the only furry with such ideas. There is currently an online petition to get "yiff" in the OED as well, which has over 3,000 signatures.
As a result, I propose we start a campaign to get as many furry words into the OED as we can.
Upcoming furry comics for May 2010 (Previews only)
Posted by Treesong on Sun 14 Mar 2010 - 20:31This may be the biggest monthly pile of furry I've ever reported on. Can't say much of it grabs me, though. Have a look at Goats.
Russian WikiFur passes 1000-article mark
Posted by GreenReaper on Sun 14 Mar 2010 - 15:41The Russian WikiFur (???????; translation) today passed the 1000-article mark.
12,600 edits have been made by editors since it was founded in September 2008 by Wikipedia administrator OckhamTheFox. Other lead contributors include EvilCat, Leo Rex, Shnatsel, Dokatamaru, Zhuravlik and NightFox.
While most popular in English, WikiFur has editions in sixteen different languages plus two partner projects, totaling almost 15,000 articles. A fifth of visitors use non-English browsers.
Ursa Major Awards 2009: predictions and forlorn hopes
Posted by The Chained Wolf on Sat 13 Mar 2010 - 23:41Well, the final nominations of the Ursa Major Awards have been announced. Now all that is left to do is for people to vote and to speculate on who will win and on who they hope will win.
Alaskan wolves accused in teacher's death
Posted by GreenReaper on Fri 12 Mar 2010 - 19:42Wolves are suspected of killing a special-needs teacher in Chignik Lake, Alaska.
State trooper Col Audie Holloway said there were no other carnivores in the area:
There were wolf tracks all around the body, and drag marks associated with those tracks. [...] From the number of prints at the scene, we're thinking there probably were, possibly, two, three, maybe four [wolves].
If confirmed, the attack may be the first fatal mauling by U.S. wolves in 50 years.
2009 Ursa Major Awards voting now underway
Posted by PeterCat on Fri 12 Mar 2010 - 19:07Voting for the Ursa Major Awards for the Best Anthropomorphic Literature and Art of 2009 is now open, and takes place until April 18. Anyone may vote, and you are encouraged to ask your friends to vote also. Visit the Ursa Major Awards web site for details on how to vote.
There are five nominees in each of the ten categories, except where there was a tie for fifth place, or fewer than five eligible nominees. To be eligible, a work must have been released during the calendar year 2009; must include a non-human being given human attributes (anthropomorphic), which can be mental and/or physical (for example the intelligent dogs in Up for the former, and Fantastic Mr. Fox for the latter); and must receive more than one nomination.
And the nominees are...
FCN 2010 pre-registration closes today
Posted by GreenReaper on Fri 12 Mar 2010 - 11:10Online registration for Furry Connection North closes today. At-the-door pricing will be $5 more for sponsors and attending members.
The convention attracted 372 and 727 in previous years, raising the possibility that it might break 1,000 this year. Seattle's Rainfurrest brought in 911 in its third year; a 52% increase.
Werewolf: How a parlour game became a tech phenomenon
Posted by GreenReaper on Thu 11 Mar 2010 - 15:25A recent feature in Wired looks at party game Werewolf/Mafia, and covers a session with Chicago Googler Brian Fitzpatrick, O'Reilly author Rich Gibson, and Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales:
"I was sure of only three things," Wales remembers. "One, I was not a werewolf. Two, one of these bastards was an amazing liar. And three, the other guy was a total moron. I just couldn't figure out which was which."
The piece includes interviews with game inventors Dimma Davidoff and Andrew Plotkin.
Toumal offers balls to writers for endangered species erotica
Posted by GreenReaper on Wed 10 Mar 2010 - 23:31SoFurry is running an adult short story contest. The topic is endangered animals — specifically, tigers, rhinos and giant pandas.
Entries must prominently feature at least one of the selected species in a sexual situation, and preferably all three.
One story of roughly 2500 to 10,000 words may be entered per person; it must be submitted to the site with the keyword EnSpContest by March 20. The winner will receive a box of Austrian "Mirabell Mozardkugel" (chocolate and marzipan balls) from site admin Toumal.
The site previously ran a Valentine's Day competition, accepting tame and adult artwork in black, white, and red. The winning work was by Cyran.
Video: One dog's review of 'Avatar'
Posted by GreenReaper on Wed 10 Mar 2010 - 02:11[source: Farry/alt.fan.furry]
Furnal Equinox brings thaw to Canadian event schedule
Posted by GreenReaper on Tue 9 Mar 2010 - 23:54Canadian convention Furnal Equinox has begun in style, attracting 330 attendees to Toronto in its first year.
The event is the first hotel-based furry con in the Eastern provinces since 2007. After the closure of C-ACE and the failure of Anthrofest to find a suitable venue, only long-running camping con Feral! and British Columbia's one-night Howloween remained.
The two-day, non-stop schedule included 24-hour gaming, reflections on the history of the fandom, and dancing until 6AM. At least 36 fursuiters participated in the parade, and a variety of dealers and foreign observers were present.
See more: Photos, videos and con reports
Fursuit Fracas 2010 nominations open
Posted by GreenReaper on Tue 9 Mar 2010 - 00:31The Fandom's Favorite Fursuit Fracas has opened this year's nominations.
Fandom members are invited to submit both full-body fursuits and partial fursuits which cover the wearer completely when clothes are included. Fursuits should be owned by other furry fans; corporate and sports mascots are not eligible, and copyrighted characters may be removed on request.
Up to eight fursuits owned by any one person will be considered. Self-nominations must be balanced by nominations for the suits of others. Owners wishing to exclude individual suits or opt out completely must do so before April 3. Nominations must be in before March 30.
The Fracas grew to 326 suits last year, resulting in plans to change the knockout format.
Spider hair inspires water-repellent surface
Posted by GreenReaper on Sun 7 Mar 2010 - 21:17ScienceDaily reports on recently-published research at the University of Florida to create a hydrophobic surface that resembles spider hair.
The key, according to UF professor Wolfgang Sigmund, is the material's chaotic structure, which mixes long/short and curved/straight hairs.
The effect relies entirely on the material's structure. An oil-repellent version is also possible, though the relevant research is yet to be published.
Video: A day in the life of a Sparkle Dog
Posted by GreenReaper on Sun 7 Mar 2010 - 14:08Tricky Pomeranian features as a sparkledog in this thinly-veiled ad for Don't Hug Cacti:
[credit: kebdraggie/furry reddit — music: Crazy Loop - Johanna (Shut Up)]
California legislators propose animal abuse registry
Posted by GreenReaper on Sun 7 Mar 2010 - 13:35A link-sprinkled news post in TIME discusses the possibility for a state-wide animal-abuser registry in California. [credit: Doodles/furryne.ws]
The proposed registry is estimated to cost anywhere from half-a-million to a million dollars to setup, plus another $300,000-$400,000 annually.
While nobody really wants to support animal abuse, an editorial from the Fresno Bee notes the current proposal does not have the backing of pet food vendors, whose products would be taxed to fund it, and suggests it duplicates the work of private anti-abuse organizations.
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