The Anthropomorphic Literature & Arts of the Year (Ursa Major) Awards

Final Ballot

This ballot will be given or mailed to all preregistering members of ConFurence 2002 between now and March 10, 2002 (the end of the PawPet MegaPlex con). While nominations were accepted from all fans, only this year's ConFurence members may vote on this final ballot. All ballots must be received by March 18, 2002, so that they may be tallied and the winners' names engraved on the trophies in time for presentation at ConFurence 2002, April 26 - 28, 2002.

For memberships in ConFurence 2002, see http://www.confurence.com/, or write to: ConFurence Group, P. O. Box 84721, San Diego, California 92138-4721.

Many readers of AFF will have read the strange case of lizards feeding themselves after their owner suddenly died, where typically large and carnivorous reptiles helped themselves to the dead owner after not being fed for a few days, but also this week was the case of a normally vegetarian iguana accidentally biting off the finger tip of it's 14 year old owner. Unlike the seven scavanging monitors, the 5 foot iguana was shot by the police.

From cartoonresearch.com/Hollywood Reporter:
Move over Scooby-Doo! Zorianna Kit reports in Hollywood Reporter (Jan. 17): "America's favorite rotund cat Garfield, his dull-witted canine cohort Odie and their perpetually single owner Jon Arbuckle are making their way to the big screen as a live-action/CGI feature. 20th Century Fox has optioned feature rights to "Garfield," the long-running comic strip that John Davis will produce through his Davis Entertainment.
"Toy Story" scribes Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow will write the script, which will focus on the sibling rivalry between Garfield and Odie. The feature will be live action, with a computer-generated Garfield. "Garfield," created by Jim Davis (no relation to John Davis), was first published in 1978. Over the years, the 27-pound orange- and black-striped cat became known for his laziness, wry remarks and love of lasagna."
No word yet on who will replace the distinctive voice of Lorenzo Music.

Furry fan Ch'marr has provided scans of an article in the London Financial times that features fursuiter Rapid T. Rabbit. Reviews of the article would be welcome, as I haven't read it.

The robotic pet has finally gotten... fuzzy. Necoro is the first robotic pet (a cat) with fur. Designed to resemble a real cat, it has moving ears, tail, eyes, mouth and limbs. It makes cat sounds. It has a cat like look. Essentially, it looks like someone brought a taxidermied cat to life. Oh well. Maybe model 2 will be an improvement in the realism department.

I have been threatening this for some time, and I finally did it. Flayrah.com is now running on PostNuke version .0.7. This is a fork of the previous software package we have been using, and there is quite a bit of difference, though a lot of it is not immediately obvious. You'll probably notice the slightly different look, and that the story editors are no longer attributed in story postings--we're still here, and all the stories submitted still have to go through us before they make it to the front page.

There are still quite a few rough edges left to be polished, but as I won't be able to work on them until Monday night, I felt it was important to get this out the door for some user testing. The site will be in flux for probably the next week. Please post any problems you find in the comments section. I'll have a couple more things to point out on Monday!

The FC 2002 artshow is sold out. You can check the details on the artshow page as well as find out how to get on a waiting list.

http://www.furtherconfusion.org/artshow.html

...tooth, that is. The six year old clouded leopard broke her tooth while chewing on a log, thus requiring a gold crown. Perhaps she's part beaver? Story from Reuters.

No, not that sort of stuffed animal. We're talking real stuffed animals. A New Zealand couple has 300 stuffed animals in their collection. They claim that their collection promotes conservation and a greater appreciation for animals.

Sure. Nothing says "conservation" like a stuffed polar bear in your living room...

When I saw Dreamworks had the new Spirit: Stallion of Cimarron was available for viewing on the Internet, I was thrilled. I had heard wonderful reviews of this stunning piece of film. But when I saw the OFFICIAL DREAMWORKS LINK lead not to part of their site, but to a FURRY site, I was stunned.
Can it be that Dreamworks is not only encouraging their fans, but embracing their desire to spead things about this film on their own sites?

Whoo hoo!

(Well, Gromit is furry, so I guess this fits under Furry News)



CNN reports that Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park has made a series of one-minute shorts centered on Gromit demonstrating Wallace's wacky inventions.

Today's SinFest by the ever mack-daddy Tatsuya Ishida seems to show that Tasu has done more than huddle over his drawing table, trying to get syndicated. Furs might be interested in the strip, not just for today's but for the recurring appearances of the dog and cat.

Two recent announcements from Anthrocon 2002:

• Anthrocon 2002 Charity Auction Sign-Up (1/02)
• Anthrocon 2002 Masquerade Sign-Up (1/02)

Click Read More... to see them both.

In the effort to fight terrorism, Punxsutawney Phil, the groundhog of Groundhog's Day, is getting

bomb-sniffing dogs, state police, and National Guard troops

to protect him. All bags will be searched; all visitors will be inspected; and no cars may approach Gobbler's Knob (the site) on that day.

From Zap2it.com (via cartoonresearch.com):
It's called the "13th Annual Cartoon Network Fancy Anvils Award Show Program Special." Never mind that it's actually the first such show, and that Cartoon Network isn't even 13 years old.

On March 23, the night before the Oscars, the network will present its own version of an awards show, with Cartoon Network stars like Johnny Bravo (the evening's host) mingling with the likes of Robin Williams, Debbie Allen and Sandy Duncan, the New York Post reports.

Viewers will be able to vote online for their favorites in several categories, including "Best Vehicle" and "Best Gratuitous Hiney Shot." Williams will present the award for "Best Cartoon," and Allen -- the choreographer for several Academy Awards broadcasts -- will present a retrospective on "Dance in Cartoons."

Scooby Doo will receive a lifetime achievement award, to be presented by Duncan, once his co-star. A number of other real-life stars who appeared in cartoon form in "The New Scooby-Doo Movies" of the 1970s will be on hand as well, including Tim Conway, Phyllis Diller and Jonathan Winters.

The "13th Annual Cartoon Network Fancy Anvils Award Show Program Special" will air at 7 p.m. ET Saturday, March 23 on Cartoon Network.