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The New York Philharmonic’s production of Leoš Janácek’s opera, The Cunning Little Vixen, which runs June 22-25, will be broadcast live on Thursday, June 23, on The New York Philharmonic This Week, the Orchestra’s national and international radio program. Doug Fitch will direct, with choreography by Karole Armitage. Alan Gilbert will conduct.

This June, be transported into a fantastical forest with talking frogs, singing mosquitos and badgers, and one very fetching little fox as the New York Philharmonic, director/designer Doug Fitch and Giants Are Small bring the fully stage production of Leos Janacek’s The Cunning Little Vixen to Avery Fisher Hall. http://nyphil.org/vixen

[Tip from @greatmanly]

Interesting note from @anubicdarque over at http://bloodboundcomic.com

While not “Furry” this can affect quite a number of Furries going to school in the state of Tennessee who happen to be LGBT.

A bill now pending in Tennessee would prohibit teachers in that state from using discussing homosexuality or even discussing homosexuality in the classroom. The so-called “don’t say gay” law is premised on the misguided belief that, by not talking about gay people, they can simply make gay people disappear.

George [Takei, Star Trek TOS actor and Gay Rights advocate]  is here to tell Tennessee, and all the LGBT youth and teachers who would be affected by this law, that he is here for you. In fact, he is lending his name to the cause. Any time you need to say the word “gay,” you can simply say “Takei.”

You can join the crusade against the Tennessee bill at the “It’s ok to be Takei” Facebook Page

The web site is: http://www.itsoktobetakei.com/

Follow the Twitter account here: https://twitter.com/#!/ItsOktoBeTakei

Via Annalee Newitz @IO9 — Futurist Kyle Munkittrick has an interesting essay about Pixar movies over at Discover’s Science Not Fiction blog, where he argues that most of the studio’s films are offering a message about how non-human creatures (like robots or rats) are just as sentient as humans are, and deserve to be treated like people. He sees this as a distinctly transhuman or posthuman perspective, a sensibility that everyone might share in a future with intelligent robots and uplifted animals.

It’s tempting to say, “well, all animated movies are about talking animals and toys,” but the difference is that in Pixar movies this is treated as a significant issue. We’re not in a101 Dalmations universe of fantasy, where we just take for granted that dogs talk because the movie is from the dogs’ point of view. Instead, we’re in a world of humans and non-human sentient creatures, and the non-humans often have to work hard to persuade the humans that they deserve what amount to human rights. Here’s what Munkittrick writes:

In each Pixar film, at least one member of the team is human and at least one member is not human but possesses human levels of intelligence.

You can see where I’m going here. Particularly in WALL•E, Ratatouille and Up!there is no ambiguity about the reality of intelligence in the non-human characters. Each Pixar film asks us to accept one deviation from our reality. While it seems like the deviation is different in every case (e.g. monsters are real, robots can fall in love, fish have a sense of family, Kevin is a girl, a rat can cook), the simple fact is that

Pixar only asks us to accept one idea over and over and over again: Non-humans are sentient beings. That is the central difference between Pixar’s universe and our current reality . . .

Taken together as a whole narrative, the Pixar canon diagrams what will likely this century’s main rights battle – the rights of personhood – in three stages.

First are the Humans as Villain stories, in which the non-humans discover and develop personhood. I mean, Buzz Lightyear’s character arc is about his becoming self-aware as a toy. These films represent nascent personhood among non-human entities. For the viewer, we begin to see how some animals and items we see as mindless may have inner lives of which we are unaware.

Second are the Humans as Partners stories, in which exceptional non-humans and exceptional humans share a moment of mutual recognition of personhood. The moment when Linguini realizes Remy is answering him is second only to the moment when Remy shows Ego around the kitchen – such beautiful transformations of the Other into the self. These films represent the first forays of non-human persons into seeking parity with human beings.

Third, and finally, there is The Incredibles, which turns the personhood equation on its head. Instead of portraying the struggle for non-humans to be accepted as human, The Incredibles shows how human enhancement, going beyond the human norm, will trigger equally strong reactions of revulsion and otherization. The message, however, is that the human traits we value have nothing to do with our physical powers but are instead based in our moral and emotional bonds. Beneficence and courage require far more humanity than raw might. The Incredibles teaches a striking lesson: human enhancement does not make you inhuman – the choices you make and the way you treat others determines how human you really are.

Pixar has given those who would fight for personhood the narratives necessary to convince the world that non-humans that display characteristics of a person deserve the rights of a person. For every category there is a character: uplifted animals (Dug), naturally intelligent species (Remy and Kevin), A.I robots (WALL-E, EVE), and alien/monsters (Sully & Mike). Then there is the Incredible family, transhumans with superpowers. Through the films, these otherwise strange entities become unmistakably familiar, so clearly akin to us.

The message hidden inside Pixar’s magnificent films is this: humanity does not have a monopoly on personhood. In whatever form non- or super-human intelligence takes, it will need brave souls on both sides to defend what is right. If we can live up to this burden, humanity and the world we live in will be better for it.

Read the full article over at Discover’s Science Not Fiction blog

 

"What is a Furry" by Phillip M. Jackson

Author: Rakuen Growlithe

Furry is nowadays often defined as containing anthropomorphic characters — a slight change from the earlier definition of “fictional mammalian anthropomorphic characters.”

Obviously we have gone beyond being exclusively mammalian, but even the current definition needs some expansion, and could more clearly distinguish between what is and is not furry.

Searching for a new definition

There are two things to keep in mind when attempting to define furry: first, what is considered furry, from which you must distill the common element; and second, not to pick the things you want to be furry, but to look for the underlying theme distinguishing furry from related interests.

Crossaffliction recently called for more criticism of furry. In it, he too tried to define furry and came up with a set of three rules:

1. The majority of the characters must be anthropomorphic animals. Humans are allowed, and a human character can even be the protagonist, but they must be a distinct minority. Animal characters must be presented on the same level as any human characters.
2. The level of anthropomorphisation should be both physical and mental. Bipedalism is a must.
3. The genre of funny animals is not science fiction, or at least not hard science fiction. Anthropomorphisation should not be explained — at most, it should be vaguely hand-waved, as with fantastic “magic” or the ever popular soft sci-fi catchall, a “virus.” That said, funny animals can be applied over a basic framework of soft sci-fi, like the space opera.”

These rules were near-unanimously rejected, either for missing the point or being too restrictive. The first is useless in judging a character. It would deny a work that, for example, followed a set of anthropomorphic characters in our world as they sought acceptance and integration. The second is mere personal opinion and runs counter to a huge amount of what is considered furry. Many furs do not insist on bipedalism, and I doubt any taur fans would grant that point, though a mental shift is usually present. The final rule is unnecessary; often there is no need to explain anthropomorphisation. It just is a feature of that world. I have not completely dismissed his essay, though, and offer this as a reply.

Furry is a mixture of human and animal traits

An obvious starting point for a new definition of furry is the old one. Anthropomorphic characters – the most important aspect – are automatically included. However, anthropomorphism is the application of human characteristics to a non-human entity. Creatures such as werewolves fall outside that definition; yet probably most would consider werewolves furry.

Transformation can be considered furry, and indeed a werewolf might be indistinguishable from an anthropomorphic wolf, but there is a difference in the path they took. A wolf with human traits attributed to it is an anthropomorphic wolf. A werewolf is a human with animal traits attributed to it, making it a bestial human. The result might be the same – but when you know the starting point, you see that they are different things altogether, and that their function in art or literature will likely be different.

The real-life aspects of furry, from fursuiting to mimicking animal actions such as purring and meowing, are also adding animal traits to a human starting point. This leads to the first change in the new definition; furry is not only about anthropomorphic animals, but also about bestial humans. It is the mixture of human and animal traits that is appealing, regardless of the starting point.

Furry requires a non-anthropomorphic starting point

Though the path to furry can start from human or animal, that there is a starting point is important. The idea of both bestial or anthropomorphic characters requires that you are adding traits which did not originally exist. A wolf walking upright is anthropomorphic because it is walking upright; a monkey doing the same thing is not, because walking in such a manner is normal for it – no new characteristic has been added.

This is only really important when considering fictional creatures. How to Train your Dragon won an Ursa Major award for 2010, but it should not have because there is no anthropomorphism. The dragons neither look like humans nor have human intelligence. At best they are more intelligent than most animals, but there is nothing to measure them against, as dragons are not real.

While an anthro wolf will be measured against a real wolf, a dragon appears in a story in their normal form. Even the dragons of Eragon are not furry because they have gained no human characteristics. They have human intelligence but that has not been added to a non-intelligent dragon; it is what dragons are in that world, in the same way that a real-life monkey is not anthropomorphic.

Further examples come from Pokémon. Pokémon is closely tied to furry, but in canon it is not furry. A pokémon such as Lucario might physically appear as an anthro jackal, but that is just is an aspect of Lucario itself. If you gave a Pikachu a human-like body it would be furry because that adds to the characteristics of a Pikachu, measured against its canon appearance.

Why are pokémon, digimon, dragons and other creatures associated with furry fandom when they are not furry? Simply put, there is enough of an overlap of interest that they have a noticeable impact on each other. Most pokémon used in fan fiction are anthropomorphised. Dragons may not be, but the idea of an intelligent non-human creature has the same appeal, whether in its canon condition or due to anthropomorphising a real creature.

This further expands our definition of furry to characters with a mixture of human and animal characteristics – some of which are not present in the ‘real’ (canon) version of such a creature or character. Without such a requirement, anything with some human character overlap will become furry, regardless of whether there is anthropomorphism.

Anthropomorphism must be a significant feature

We now have the basic framework to define furry, but it is not complete. How much new characterisation is required? Most furs would accept human intelligence as sufficient, but this is only one trait. Crossaffliction cited a human-like body, but having a tail is not enough to make something furry.

To qualify, the characteristics must have a significant impact. Human intelligence has such an impact on an animal; adding a tail to a human does not. This is obviously a personal judgement as there is no definitive measure of importance; however, I am confident most people can accept this principle. This point also serves when deciding if a specific work is furry or not: are the furry characters a significant part of that work?

Conclusion

I have tried to argue for a new definition of furry: as describing a character who is possessed of a combination of animal and human characteristics in such a way that the new character is significantly different from the character’s real or canon form.

I hope this improved definition, drawing from what is currently considered furry, will help distinguish the topic from related interests.

CC:BY-SA

 

With the help of a hacksaw rat (foozzzball), we go through two pieces sent in by users to edit. Unsheathed #79 - Editing Challenge 2!

Author: Rakuen Growlithe

Though first published in 1979, The Animals of Farthing Wood played a fairly substantial part in my childhood. I didn’t read the book, but I eagerly awaited the animated series to follow the animals’ journey, supplemented by the episodic magazine released in tandem. In my early teens, I picked up an abridged version of some of the sequels, but it was only recently that I managed to obtain the original novel by Colin Dann.

The book chronicles the journey of the animals of Farthing Wood – driven from their home by its destruction to make space for human development – to the fabled White Deer Park, a nature reserve across the country. The animals realise that they need to stick together to make the trip, and take an oath to help and protect each other; vital when your party consists of such varied woodland critters as voles and mice, through an adder, to foxes and birds of prey. The party is led by Toad, who was captured by humans, escaped and made his way through White Deer Park back to Farthing Wood.

read more

Find the full article here: flayrah – furry food for thought

Creative Commons: Full post may be available under a free license.

This is the story of is the story about a little girl named Cassandra, the ruler of the jungle Mwumba and all of the animals who live there. Everything in Cassandra’s world centers on her and that’s just the way she likes it! For the first time, a mysterious monster has come into her jungle and is not only breaking sacred Mwumban law by eating vegetables, but worse yet, is taking all of the attention that rightfully belongs to her! It’s all there in Mwumba, a new short graphic novel coming our way in full-color from Aracana Studio this July. It’s written by Bruce and Lizzy Brown, and illustrated by Eduardo Savid and Zoran Cvetkovic. Mr. Brown has a MySpace page where you can find out more about this and other projects.

Author: Fred

Wired reports that the red-crested tree rat, last seen in 1898, has reappeared in The El Dorado Nature Conservancy in Colombia. The Guinea pig-sized animal just walked up to startled environmentalists and let itself be photographed in closeups.

Park volunteer Lizzie Noble marveled at the rat’s placid nature:

He just shuffled up the handrail near where we were sitting and seemed totally unperturbed by all the excitement he was causing.

Find the full article here: flayrah – furry food for thought

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Author: Kyell Gold

Find the full article here: Unsheathed: K.M. Hirosaki and Kyell Gold

The contents of this Podcast may have adult language and adult themes. The content is not produced by Furry News Network, but is posted for your convenience.

Fur Affinity user Xaevo was suspended from the main site and banned from #furaffinity after being accused of password harvesting and insulting Summercat, a support administrator.

Xaevo posted a link in the chatroom to a site that he claimed would allow people to see their FA stats regardless of who they were logged in as. Summercat criticised the site asking for users' FA passwords and requested that the site be taken down as it was phishing.

The original furry eco-warriors from Wimbledon Common are back with an abundance of album releases and their debut appearance at Glastonbury. All four of their gold-achieving albums plus the soundtrack to the 1977 film Wombling Free will be released by Dramatico Records on June 20th prior to their performance on the Avalon Stage at Glastonbury on June 26th.
prepared to (re)capture the innocence of youth with this unparalleled collection of immaculate pop on which The Wombles’ perform an eclectic range of music including blues, country, folk, barbershop harmonies, glam rock, military brass and classical.

Starting from a single song, The Wombling Song written by Mike Batt for the TV series, The Wombles pop group became a phenomenon in pop history. In 1975 The Wombles received the Music Week magazine award for the “best selling singles group” beating Slade, The Bay City Rollers and many other chart favourites of the time. In total, The Wombles have had 8 Top 30 hits in the UK and 1 top 50 hit in the USA.

The band, who regularly appeared on Top of the Pops wearing costumes made by Batt’s mother Elaine, now reunite for what promises to be a highlight of this year’s Glastonbury Festival.

Via  AltSounds

So what is a Womble? Wombles are fictional pointy-nosed, mole like, furry creatures that live in burrows, where they help the environment by collecting and recycling rubbish in useful and ingenious ways. Wombles were created by author Elisabeth Beresford, originally appearing in a series of children’s novels from 1968. Although Wombles supposedly live in every country in the world, the stories are concerned with the life of the inhabitants of the burrow on Wimbledon Common in London, England.

Author: Rakuen Growlithe

Fur Affinity user Xaevo was suspended from the main site and banned from #furaffinity after being accused of password harvesting and insulting Summercat, a support administrator.

Xaevo posted a link in the chatroom to a site that he claimed would allow people to see their FA stats regardless of who they were logged in as. Summercat criticised the site asking for users’ FA passwords and requested that the site be taken down as it was phishing.

[14:18:14] <Summercat> Xaevo, please take it down.
[14:18:23] <Xaevo> no, i see no reason to take it down

Xaevo continued to protest the accusations of phishing, saying that phishing only applied when you were masquerading as a trustworthy entity. He maintained that his source code was public and did not save any passwords. When Summercat called it password harvesting, Xaevo called him a ‘noob’, and was banned from the chat room and suspended from the main site.

Update: 45 minutes later, Xaevo’s suspension was lifted.

read more

Find the full article here: flayrah – furry food for thought

Creative Commons: Full post may be available under a free license.

Hello fellow redditors, I come seeking answers to some questions I have regarding being a furry.

Today a family member confided in me that they are a furry. Not being too familiar with the lifestyle or idea, I wasn't quiet sure what that exactly meant. In the past I've met people that associated with furry communities, but the extent of what they shared was minimal. I was offered a costume of sorts and a chance to attend a meeting, but I did not feel it was for me.

However, I love this family member very deeply and want to be supportive. It's possible I'll be the only one in our family that accepts his choice, so I want to be there for him. I live my own crazy life and respect all walks of life.

What should I know? He wants a furry outfit, but they seem quiet expensive. He also tells me that the state we live in, Arizona, doesn't have a very big community.

Please educate me furry redditors!

Edit: Thank you to all those who took the time to answer my question. My apologies for offending anyone with my ignorance, but this is why I asked. There is an obvious misconception about the community and you've cleared it up for me. Have fun, friends!

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Author: Furryne.ws
Dorobo men cut and butcher an already dead wildebeest before taking it away.

Vote for this video here: furryne.ws | Published News

Author: Furryne.ws
The Pennsylvania woman who alleged that she was fondled by Donald Duck during a visit to Epcot Center in Florida has settled her lawsuit against Disney, federal court records show.

April Magolon’s complaint, filed last August against Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, was formally dismissed today by Judge John Padova in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia. The judicial order came a day after lawyers for the parties reported that the matter had been settled. Magolon’s attorney, Michael Pansini, sought dismissal of the lawsuit “with prejudice,” meaning that the action could not be refiled.

Find the full article here: furryne.ws | Published News

http://www.furryfilm.com/

This is the first time I've heard of this but it seems to be very new, the twitter updater indicates it was updated yesterday so I;'d say its an active project.

The winners of the 2011 Ursa Major Awards — for the best in anthropomorphic media, as decided by the fans — were announced on Friday, May 13th at Morphicon in Columbus, Ohio.  From the Ursa Major Awards web site: “More formally known as the Annual Anthropomorphic Literature and Arts Award, the Ursa Major Award is presented annually for excellence in the furry arts. It is intended as Anthropomorphic (a.k.a. Furry) Fandom’s equivalent of the Hugo Award ® presented by the World Science Fiction Society, mystery fandom’s Anthony Award, horror fandom’s Bram Stoker Award, and so forth. Anyone may nominate and vote for candidates for the Awards. These Awards are decided by the fans, not by a committee”. More than 1,300 fans from around the world took part in voting for their favorite furry and anthropomorphic media in ten categories. In reverse order, the winners for 2010 were:

 

Best Anthropomorphic Game: Disney Epic Mickey, Developed by Junction Point Studios.

 

Best Anthropomorphic Published Illustration: The cover for Shadow of the Father (by Kyell Gold), illustrated by Sara Palmer.

 

Best Anthropomorphic Magazine: Heat #7

 

Best Anthropomorphic Comic Strip: Housepets! by Rick Griffin

 

Best Anthropomorphic Graphic Story: Twokinds by Tom Fischbach

 

Best Anthropomorphic Other Literary Work: FurPiled #4 by Leo Magna

 

Best Anthropomorphic Short Fiction: Bridges by Kyell Gold (released as a novella by FurPlanet Books).

 

Best Anthropomorphic Novel: Shadow of the Father by Kyell Gold, published by Sofawolf Press

 

Best Anthropomorphic Dramatic Short Work or Series: Wallace & Gromit’s World of Invention, created by Aardman Animations.

 

Best Anthropomorphic Feature Film: How to Train Your Dragon, directed by Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders, released by Dreamworks Animation.

 

Visit the Ursa Major Awards web site to find out more about the nominees in each category, and also how to participate in the awards yourself.

 

Author: Fred

One of the most “furry” s-f novels was H. Beam Piper‘s 1962 “Little Fuzzy” (Project Gutenberg) followed by his two sequels, “Fuzzy Sapiens” and “Fuzzies and Other People“, about the small furry natives of the planet Zarathustra. The three were republished by Ace Books in a combined edition, “The Complete Fuzzy” (’98).

Now two new authorized Fuzzy novels have been published; “Fuzzy Ergo Sum” by Wolfgang Diehr, and “Fuzzy Nation” by John Scalzi.

read more

Find the full article here: flayrah – furry food for thought

Creative Commons: Full post may be available under a free license.

Author: toonces
John “The Gneech” Robey gives us a thrilling mystery to discuss for this week’s show. Squash and Stretch, a pair of private dicks low on their luck, find a juicy case when a mink comes into the office, followed close on the heels by a nosy rat. Murder is the question, and the only clue is a lone note referencing a Beatles song- which just so happens to be Skip’s favorite band.

We hope you enjoy!… Read more..

Find the full article here: The Bad Dog Book Club » Podcast

The contents of this Podcast may have adult language and adult themes. The content is not produced by Furry News Network, but is posted for your convenience.

Besides crime, the second-biggest concern for some Philadelphians, according to one City Council member, are raccoons, the furry thugs … that rummage through your trash and put entire neighborhoods on edge.

—Philadelphia Daily News



“The raccoons essentially clear the streets at night. They walk down the cats, the kids all run when they see the raccoons coming. … People shouldn’t have to be concerned about walking out their front door and being approached by a raccoon.”

—Councilman Darrell Clarke, as quoted on Newsworks.org