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June 2011

RainFurrest 2011 newsletter, volume two

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This newsletter covers RainFurrest's first annual kickoff BBQ, an attempt to enter the Guinness Book of World Records with the largest collection of plushies, the selection of Beetlecat as a guest of honour and Love-A-Mutt as the convention's charity, announcement of an alternate hotel, requests for staff and conbook submissions and details of the artists alley and art show.

Reviews: 'Instinct Disorder', 'Dragon's Hoard' and 'Fast Boyz Delivery Service'

Your rating: None Average: 4 (4 votes)

Instinct Disorder, Issue #1
Instinct DisorderFunny and well drawn, but reads like a poorly translated manga and has a weak story.

You know how most anime is filled with a mix of stock characters? The fun-loving bimbo; the serious guy who wouldn't smile if he's inhaling laughing gas; the silly-but-tough guy who is usually the main character (Kenshin, Trigun)? They're all here in Instinct Disorder, a comedy/porn comic about an armadillo's quest to lose his virginity at a gym.

The plot is just an excuse to string up situations for slapstick comedy, and it's pretty hilarious. It's also quite well-drawn, though in a few cases the style veers – sometimes intentionally – towards unsettling.

Upcoming furry comics for July 2011 (Previews only)

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Another low-furry month, and the best items in my opinion are borderline, the last two in this post. An even later report than usual; sorry. But it may still be of historical value.

Jason the Squirrel teaches children about entrepreneurship

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JasonSquirrelStartsACompany.jpgAnthropomorphic animals will teach young children some basic entrepreneurial skills in a new book written by Eric F. Steimle and illustrated by Jason Burns. [tip: Harvard Heinous]

In Jason Squirrel Starts a Company (Amazon), the bushy-tailed protagonist grows tired of fetching heavy bags of nuts each day, and having no leisure time, and thus devises a plan to create a nut-collecting company.

After being denied a startup loan from Stan the Banking Turtle, Jason educates himself on the various aspects of running a business (from finance to marketing to staffing), and finds an investor in the form of Grandpa Crow. Overcoming various obstacles, Jason's dream is eventually realised and he expands his woodland business empire by hiring a group of raccoons.

Steiml, based the book on his own experiences in starting a business, saying "I thought there should be more books for younger children that talk about building your own company."

Nazi talking dogs

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Wikipedia has a new article about Nazi experiments to train dogs to talk. The trainers claimed that one dog, when asked who Adolf Hitler was, would answer, "Mein Fuhrer".

The article is based upon a May 2011 book, Amazing Dogs: A Cabinet of Canine Curiosities, by Jan Bondeson, which covers "talking dogs" back to the eighteenth century.

Review: 'Grandville' and 'Grandville Mon Amour'

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Grandville Mon AmourGrandvilleWhat do you get when you combine furry, steampunk, detective thrillers, alternative history, and a bit of Quentin Tarantino?

Bryan Talbot's Grandville series of graphic novels; two so far, Grandville (2009) and Grandville Mon Amour (2010). Both are about 100 pages and very sturdy hardcovers. Sounds like quite the hodge-podge of genres, no? Yet it works!

Further Confusion 2012 June newsletter

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Further Confusion 2012 – to be held at the SJCC – now has a theme (The Infurmary), first guest of honor (E. E. Knight) and featured musician (Travis Ratledge/Colson Grainger).

Pre-registration is open; the dealer room has sold out already. Accepted dealers must send in signature forms and make payment by June 15 or forfeit their place. Furry Market Place spaces will be available from August 1 for $75, including membership.

Hotel rooms are available at the San Jose Marriott and the Hilton San Jose. Each reservation will attract an immediate non-refundable deposit of one night plus tax.

Staff – new or otherwise – are encouraged to check their information on the private site. The next staff meeting is June 11; access to a conference call can be arranged.

Creators beware: Contesting to fail

Your rating: None Average: 2.4 (9 votes)

The new big thing in Furry Fandom is contests! Yes, now you can enter into a contest to win a paid commission. All you have to do is submit a piece of art, of the finest quality you can make, to specification and for free to the person running the contest… see the flaw yet?

To those of you who've not worked it out: yes, this is what we call a "scam".

Updated with some probability theory showing the scammy nature of these contests.

Review: 'Fuzzy Nation' by John Scalzi

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Fuzzy NationH. Beam Piper’s “Little Fuzzy” (1962) was about the discovery of a small, cute, furry mammal on the planet Zarathustra, and the battle against the Charatered Zarathustra Company to have the Fuzzies recognized as intelligent natives.

Now John Scalzi has rewritten the same story, but with plenty of big differences. Fans of Piper’s Hugo-nominated novel can debate whether the original needed a revision, but none can deny that Scalzi’s version is enjoyable in its own right.

Nintendo announces Super Smash Bros. 4

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Surprising no one, Nintendo announced at this year’s E3 that it will release a new Super Smash Bros. for its forthcoming Wii U console. The fighting series includes furry Nintendo characters such as Fox McCloud and Lucario, plus guest character Sonic the Hedgehog.

Series creator Masahiro Sakurai has not ruled out the possibility of a release on the 3DS, which would be the first installment of the series on a handheld video game system.

The game or games, though definitely coming to at least the Wii U, are not yet in production. Sakurai’s studio, Sora, is currently working on the 3DS game Kid Icarus: Uprising, and may defer Super Smash Bros. until its completion, giving furry gamers plenty of time to petition for inclusion of their favorite characters.

What furry character would you most like to see in a new Super Smash Bros. game?

Finnish furs prepare for summer camp

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For many furs, Anthrocon is approaching – but roughly 50 Finns are looking forward to the first FinnFur Summer Camp (website), held 1-3 July at Röskö in the forests of North Karelia. Planned activities include BBQ, lake swimming, rowing, motor-boating and dances, plus indoor games.

All cabin spaces have sold out (at 30-40€ + 10€ for sponsors); campers can still attend for 35€.

The event is led by SlvWolf, founder of Finnish-language Furboard and TurriWiki, and was mentioned in a letter to Knotcast #141 (AAC/MP3 - 10:43).

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