Further Confusion is currently seeking artwork submissions for the 2002 membership badge inserts.

Artwork must be suitable for viewing by all ages.

A dog has been sentanced to death for barking too much, and annoying the neighbors.

His Owner has appealed to the British High Court, and the terrier been ordered to undergo therapy and possible retraining before his fate is decided. Ananova has the story here.

A Chinese zoo has sentenced a lion to life in a cage for attacking two tourists, who were throwing chickens at the animal. A similar charge against a tiger, who attacked a caretaker, is pending.

Just in time for Halloween! Donnie Darko, a sci-fi/suspense movie starring Noah Wyle and Drew Barrymore. Set in the Reagan Era, it's about a disturbed 16-year old and his imaginary friend, a 6' tall bloody rabbit who, uh, tells him to do things. Yikes.

It sounds like Harvey (1950) gone horribly awry...

In theaters October 26. See http://www.donniedarko.com for previews and info.

In an unprecedented arrangement, the organizers of ConiFur NorthWest have realized the need to increase the number of hours in a day to fully enjoy all the events and activities that go on during a busy convention weekend. They have arrived at an agreement with Father Time to extend Saturday, October 27th, by one full hour.

A stuffed leopard was stolen from the University of Missouri School of Natural Resources. The Leopard is valued at over $10,000. You can see the full story here.

MFM 2002 will be held August 30th – September 2nd, 2002 in Memphis Tennessee, at the Holiday Inn Select Memphis Airport.

Ruth and Rebecca Brown have 4,386 cats.

The identical twins from the Maple Glen section of Upper Dublin Township have fashioned thousands of tiny, detailed cats from clay.

They're not just ordinary kitties, either. They are cats in Confederate clothing. Union garb too, for that matter.

As Civil War buffs, the twins bring history to life by creating sweeping battle scenes and dioramas of dramatic moments, as interpreted with clay cats.

Full story and pictures at:
http://www.phillyburbs.com/intelligencerrecord/news/news_intell/1332513.htm

Jerry Beck's CARTOON RESEARCH website reports on "Ferretina", a theatrical animated musical feature in production from the A&A studio in Toronto. Beck says that it looks like it is designed to appeal to Furry fans, but that "this has the smell of impending doom about it". Read more about it on CARTOON RESEARCH.

The Seattle Times and our local NPR station report (scroll all the way to the bottom of the page), that a Pacific Ridley sea turtle is being treated with antibiotics at the Seattle Aquarium, after she washed ashore near the town of Ocean Shores. Ridley sea turtles normally don't venture this far north, and the cold water has exacerbated an injury. The turtle, which has been named "Arial," is expected to recover.

Aibo the robot dog now has a feline companion. Japan's Omron Corp., maker of Aibo, has added NeCoRo, a robotic cat, to their lineup. According to Omron officials, it can't walk, but "it does what is most important: purring contentedly when stroked, and otherwise giving cuddly emotional feedback to its owner with feline sounds and movements." There will be 5000 of the felines in the initial production run, which will cost 185,000 yen (about US$1530) and will only be available in Japan.

Click here for the story from Reuters/Yahoo!.

Greetings from the Faculty and Staff of Further Confusion University
(aka FC2002)!
We have some announcements and updates for you.

BBC Online reports on plans to create wilderness refuges for the Britain's red squirrel, whose numbers are threatened by deforestation and encroachment by the non-native grey squirrel. The article includes a couple of great photos of red squirrels.

There's still time for mail-in registration at Midwest Furfest.

"The Anime Encyclopedia: A Guide to Japanese Animation Since 1917", by Jonathan Clements & Helen McCarthy contains encyclopedia-type entries on almost all anime movies, TV series, and video titles. This includes all anime with talking animals, alien cat-girls, s-f with bioengineered intelligent animals, and funny animals.