British author Garry Kilworth's 1997-1999 talking-animal trilogy "The Welkin Weasels" (v.1, Thunder Oak; v.2, Castle Storm; and v.3, Windjammer Run) has proven popular enough that Kilworth is adding a second trilogy to the series. It has just started with v.4, Gaslight Geezers. If the first trilogy can be summarized as "Robin Hood with weasel good-guy outlaws fighting stoat nobility", the new trilogy is "Sherlock Holmes with weasels". Very witty. This is a British series with no American edition, so those interested should look for it at Amazon.co.uk. The specific page with cover illustration is: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0552547042/.

COONTRAX
Official newsletter of ConiFur NorthWest
October 26th-28th
Fife, WA (15 miles south of SeaTac Airport)

In this issue:

FROM THE TOP - Conchair James "Tibo" Birdsall
FURSUIT MASQUERADE - Announcing plans and recruiting fursuits
CHARITY AUCTION - Help out local ferrets!
ART SHOW UPDATE - Artist Information Packets mailed
VOLUNTEER / STAFF MEETING / BBQ - Free food!
SPONSOR SUPPORT - Help fellow furries make it to ConiFur
HOTEL RESERVATIONS - Get your reservations in soon!
CARTOONS & CEREAL - Even more free food!
DAILY NEWSLETTER - The _Daily Howl_
PROGRAM BOOK ARTWORK - We need your illustrations for the 2001 Program Book

I've noticed the website has recieved a marked increase in traffic, post-Anthrocon, despite doing practically no advertising at the convention. To all you new readers: I hope you're enjoying the site! I plan to do more advertising at upcoming conventions with the hope of increasing readership further. To facilitate this, a few issues have to be taken care of. Read more to see what my plans for the next three months include.

Suggested by our own Toraneko, Kaisha.cx (run by two Florida Furs) is now collecting donations to apply toward the Performing Animal Welfare Society, or PAWS! This is really just to get the word out -- as noted in our FAQ, it doesn't matter if you donate money through Kaisha, through the PAWS website, buy a membership with PAWS, or Adopt one of the animals yourself... just do something!

ConiFur is looking for black and white art, cartoons, stories, and poems for this year's convention book. Deadline is September 15. They are also accepting advertisements. The full announcement appears when you click "Read more" below.

A man wearing only boxer shorts climbed into the Congo Gorilla Forest exhibit at the Bronx Zoo, claiming he wanted to be "at one with the monkeys". Zoo employees herded the gorillas away to their feeding cages while police arrested the man. Click here for the story.

(Aside: I'mot sure what category this story belongs in, but I'm beginning to think Micah was right - we need a Weirdos category.)

Boomer, a 17-year-old German Shepherd who woke his Florida family when their trailer was on fire in June, may have to be euthanized. The home was left uninhabitable and the family is staying with friends who couldn't take in their two dogs, so they were forced to place them at the local Humane Society, where they will be put down if they are not adopted within a few days (unusual for dogs that age).

Read the CNN article for more details.

Update: (2001/08/10) Since the story became national news, calls have been pouring into the Humane Society shelter from people all over the country interested in adopting the dogs, jamming phone lines. The dogs are no longer in danger of being eunthanized and the shelter hopes to place them with someone local (and, one would hope, willing to return them to their original owners when circumstances permit) by this weekend. Story here.

Update: (2001/08/11) The dogs were adopted by a 74-year-old woman from nearby Port St. Lucie.

Uncle Kage posted the following Anthrocon report to a.f.f.

Click "Read more" to see it.

Man has always had trouble understanding exactly what his best friend is trying to say, but a new gadget released in Japan is trying to reduce the lingual divide between dog and its owner.

Sardonic site Disenchanted has a suprisingly sensitive commentary on the furry convention: When wierdos get together. Of course, there's a reason a vixen adorns the site...

A mysterious brain disorder is affecting bald eagles and other birds. Scientists are still looking for clues as to what might be causing it.

Having just moved into my new home (a 2-story, 4 bedroom house in Lemon Grove, a few minutes East of downtown San Diego) and busily spending all my spare time unpacking and moving in, I am going to combine the August ConFurence meeting with my housewarming party.

Mike Yust posted the following to a.f.f:

Hello,

As the programming director for ConifurNW I am pleased to announce that the
clinic schedule is approximately 75% filled, but this means we still have 25% to
go. If you have an idea for a clinic, or would like to give a clinic, I would
love to hear from you.

If you have given a clinic at a previous ConifurNW and would like to do it again
contact me at Miertam@mindspring.com. If you believe you are giving a clinic at
this year's ConifurNW and would like updated schedule information or would like
to confirm that you are on the schedule, please don't hesitate to contact me at
Miertam@mindspring.com

Mike Yust

------------------------------------------

Mier'Tam

Do unto otters, as you would have done to you.

The Way of Mrs. Marietta Cosmopilite, 3 Quirm Street, Ankh-Morpork, Rooms to Rent Very Reasonable.

From Kagemushi on alt.fan.furry: "THIS, I repeat, is how one talks to a reporter: http://www.unclekage.com/waynesuburban.gif" This article was written pre-convention; copies of it were floating around the con all weekend.

The following news is snipped from Alan Dean Foster's home page :


"Many of you have written to ask if I'm ever going to write another Spellsinger novel. Among other things, that's up to the publisher. In the interim, I've done an 11,000 word Spellsinger novelette that's set immediately after TIME OF THE TRANSFERENCE, and returns (as you requested) to the days before Jon-Tom & Mudge became, well, domesticated. The story is titled SERENADE and will appear in a collection of original stories from famous fantasy series that is being edited by Brian Thomsen and William Fawcett. The publisher is Baen books. I won't reveal any details here, save to say that one scene deals with multiple requests I've received over the years from many of you who are particularly into what is jocularly called "furry" fandom. Mudge is the center piece (as it were) of this particular solicitation."

MASTERS OF FANTASY, edited by Brian Thomsen & William Fawcett, is announced as a Baen Books release sometime during 2002.