Feed aggregator

Okay, so how about this: A fur-suit maker who also creates a great deal of 2D art. Or, is that the other way ’round? We don’t know! But the artist known as Tsebresos has plenty of both to show. According to her web site she’s taking a year off from fur-suit making, but she has plenty of art she’s going to be working on — and plenty of furry fan conventions where she plans on putting in an appearance in the Dealers’ Den. Look her up!

image c. 2018 by tsebresos

Aboard the starship White Flower II, the dutiful geroo work, live, love, and die in the service of their immense, reptilian masters. Kanti works in the recycling center, driving the big dozers that turn the refuse and organics into the base substances that keep life on a starship possible. But Kanti has a secret that could mean his life. He was born without a birth token, an illegal child in a system where even one extra body could mean a cascade of failures that put the entire population at risk.Skeleton Crew is hands down one of the most engaging furry novels I've ever read. The characters are lovable, flawed, and deeply individual. The setting is thoroughly realized, exciting, and full of both secrets and tension. The plot is thrilling, fun, terrifying, and heartbreaking in turns. In short, I could not stop turning pages, and the second it was over I knew I had to have more.The writing is very professional, well-edited, and free of errors, which is a delight but far overshadowed by the story itself ... which is a gem of a tale.Skeleton Crew is a must read for furry readers as well as general sci-fi fans. The species involved are aliens but read enough like anthropomorphic animals to delight a furry audience.

Roo and Tugs talk about inflation furries and are joined by guest...Balloon....(surprised?) They take a deep dive into the world of inflation - why is this an interest for so many? What is role play like? Is popping a thing? What about cartoon inflation gags? What does it give players of inflatable furries emotionally? It's an interesting conversation, laden with insanity from Roo and more from Tugs, so get listening!





NOW LISTEN!
Show Notes
Special Thanks

Balloon, our guest
Cannon
Seiichi Raccoon
Mack
Anonymous
Rivet
Simone Parker

 

Music

Opening Theme: Husky In Denial – Cloud Fields (Century Mix). USA: Unpublished, 2015. ©2015 Fur What It’s Worth and Husky in Denial. Based on Fredrik Miller– Cloud Fields (Radio Mix). USA: Bandcamp, 2011. ©2011 Fur What It’s Worth. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)
Space News Music: Fredrik Miller – Orbit. USA: Bandcamp, 2013. Used with permission. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)
Mailbag: Eskadet – Back To Kyoto ; from the album “Solitudes” (Lemongrassmusic, 2010) – www.lemongrassmusic.de – Used under license.
Closing Theme: Husky In Denial – Cloud Fields (Headnodic Mix). USA: Unpublished, 2015. ©2015 Fur What It’s Worth and Husky in Denial. Based on Fredrik Miller – Cloud Fields (Chill Out Mix). USA: Bandcamp, 2011. ©2011 Fur What It’s Worth. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)

 

Patreon Love

The following people have decided this month’s Fur What It’s Worth is worth actual cash! THANK YOU!

Docos, the Doritos Locos Taco Tiger from your local Taco Bell!

                             
Rifka, the San Francisco Treat!                                                 Artorias Ichisake

Lokimutt and Guardian Lion and Cody


Plus Tier Supporters


Skylos
Snares
Swift
Booga
Simone Parker

McRib Tier Supporters


Ilya / EpicRive

Next episode: Tattoos and Body Modification in the Fandom. Do you have any tattoos or friends with tattoos or other body modifications related to the furry fandom? Tell us! S7E7 – Once You Pop the Fun Stops! - Roo and Tugs talk about inflation furries and are joined by guest...Balloon....(surprised?) They take a deep dive into the world of inflation - why is this an interest for so many? What is role play like? Is popping a

Great Patreon Rewards! www.patreon.com/thedraggetshow Telegram Chat: t.me/draggetshow YouTube video of the firestream: https://youtu.be/hjN-RRz3uD4 186 - Pre Dungeons & Draggets Announcement LIVESTREAM!! - Great Patreon Rewards! www.patreon.com/thedragget…

Dear Papabear,

This is the second time I have written to you. During my studies, and even before, when I grew bored of TV series, I turned to following world news, American news, and some conservative Internet commentators.

Through these, I learned about the Social Justice Warrior movement and its misguided ways. The extremist members of this movement propagate hate against white people. Is it really ok to hate based on ethnicity? Why did the term "people of color" come to existence with the meaning of non-white people? Is white not a color? If not, then why is black considered a color in this sense? For both white and black are considered shades, not true colors, in art. SJWs connect "whiteness" to the colonizers of the Americas and not only to them, they extend the meaning to all Europeans, a crude generalization and racism on their part. One might ask the question why is it that they only view white people as not belonging to America when, in fact, African slaves were brought there to replace "the Indians" (native Americans), because they couldn't handle the burden of slavery well. So, in this sense everyone except native Americans should get out of your continent, the thought of which is quite absurd. Even so, why do they think it is ok to blame the younger generation for the sins of the older?

When commentators speak about gender and race issues, they make it sound like that SJWs are everywhere and pose a big problem. Because I'm not living there, I have limited means of gathering information. So, I would like to ask you: how widespread is this belief in your society, especially in the furry fandom, since it's known to be one of the most accepting fandoms? Do people get hung up on chasing nonexistent offences, intolerantly preaching tolerance, or is it just a magnified issue which doesn't come up as often? What is your opinion about this in general?

Yours Truly,

Farkas Ürdüng (23, Hungary)

* * *
 
Dear Farkas,

I think it was comedian Eddie Murphy who did a humorous stand-up routine about color. Talking about white people, he noted, “When white people get cold, they turn blue; when they get angry, they turn red; when they get sick, they might get yellow or green, but when black people are cold or angry or sick, they’re still black. Seems to me white people are the ones who are colored” *snerk*.

Your letter seems to entangle two separate issues: social justice warriors and white guilt. They are not always the same. SJWs are objects of criticism because they are a form of troll, using insincere outrage over things they have heard are not politically correct and then having vitriolic fits about them online to score social justice points, so they will be seen as popular. Such people only do their “activism” online and do not do anything constructive in the real world to effect real change. In other words, they are frauds. Their use of politically correct mantras is just a tool for trolling; they don’t truly care about the issues they complain about.

Let’s move on to the politically correct movement in America and white guilt. Here is an extremely brief overview of the history behind it: As you are likely aware, the United States has a long history of oppressing other races, especially African Americans and Native Americans, but also other groups, including Chinese and Japanese immigrants, LGBT people, and, of course, women (who weren’t even allowed to vote until 1920, long after black men were “technically” permitted to vote, though many factors made this difficult, such as Jim Crow laws). Beginning with the 1960s Counterculture Movement, which centered in universities, especially those in New England and the West Coast (University of California, Berkeley, was the epicenter), and the Civil Rights Movement led by such figures as Martin Luther King Jr., there was a strong reaction against the injustices perpetrated against minority groups. A dissonance needed to be resolved between these injustices and the American image of being “land of the free and home of the brave.” Obviously, unless you were a white male, most Americans didn’t even start to experience real freedom until just the last few decades of our history.

[Side note: your statement that “African slaves were brought there to replace ‘the Indians’ (native Americans), because they couldn't handle the burden of slavery well” is untrue. Indians experienced slavery, it’s true, under the Europeans, but when it comes to Americans they were more often slaughtered, run off their lands, and put in re-education schools where they were forbidden to use their native languages. Africans were brought in to work the fields, primarily in the South, although a number of Northerners had slaves until those states started making it illegal. In other words, the Indians (who were perfectly capable of being slaves and often were [especially under Spain]) were mostly seen as a people to be exterminated (they posed a challenge to the white American concept of Manifest Destiny), while the Africans were considered a labor resource.]

After generations of work by civil rights leaders, America made progress in its laws to finally treat minorities better. As with any tidal change in society, there are reactionary forces led by about half of America (at least) that is still extremely prejudiced towards these groups. But because it was no longer legal (or at least ignored) in American society to be overtly prejudiced and abusive towards these groups, they kind of went underground. An example: before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriages, the state of Michigan passed a state constitution amendment banning such unions. Before it went to a vote, however, polls indicated that most Michiganders were against the amendment. You see, even though the polls were anonymous, people didn’t want to be seen as prejudiced, but when they entered the voting booths, they voted for what was really in their hearts: hate. The same is true with racism in many parts of this country. For example, local leaders in some southern states have removed voting centers in areas with black majorities to make it harder for them to vote, but they say the reason is because they need to cut election costs.

Now, with a racist jackass inhabiting the White House and a majority of minority-hating Republicans in Congress, hateful Americans everywhere have felt empowered to once again spout their prejudices (currently, it is mostly aimed at Muslims from Arabic countries and at immigrants from Africa, the Middle East, and south of the border). Republican leaders justify their actions by labeling Muslim minorities as terrorists and immigrants from Mexico and Central America and other points south as moochers stealing money from American taxpayers. The words on the Statue of Liberty have no meaning to right-wing people.

To point out your correct observation that all Americans are either immigrants or descended from immigrants (except for Indians [and, by the way, it is okay to call them Indians], who got here first), conservative politicians and other Americans do acknowledge this, it is just that they would prefer our immigrants to come from places like—as Trump requested—Norway, which he considers to be not a “shithole country.”  The problem there is that people in Norway are generally much happier than Americans and have no compelling reason to flock here en masse.

Like a game of ping-pong, with the counter-revolution of white conservatives on the rise, you are now getting a counter-counter-revolution of left-wingers and those who are obsessed with political correctness, and part of this political correctness is a self-loathing (if you are white) for all the injustices of the past, even if you weren’t personally responsible for them. This is why Columbus Day is celebrated less and less and why there was a recent movement to destroy monuments to Confederate leaders.

As we bounce back and forth, the two extremes become more and more extreme, while moderates in the middle become scarce. Today, we have a deeply divided nation that is literally (judging by voting) a 50/50 split between liberals and conservatives. Add to this the fact that we have lost the ability to compromise in Congress, and that social media encourages people to express hostile opinions without having to hear counterarguments, and you have a real mess on your hands.

Social Justice Warriors are just one symptom of a much larger issue: a country that is as divided today as it was just before the U.S. Civil War and all that this implies. Some states, such as California and Texas, are even mulling over the possibilities of seceding from the union—something that is becoming a possibility because of the lack of true leadership in Washington, D.C.

As for the furry community, it is well established that its members tend toward the left, politically speaking, though there are some conservatives within the fandom, which would imply that there may be more SJW people in the fandom than in the general population (I have no statistics on this, however; it’s just a hunch). I believe that the SJW phenomenon is one restricted, for the most part, to the online world. Mostly, this is people raging against the wind to little or no effect. I find it an annoyance that is easily ignored and avoided.

​Much more important than the impotent SJW population is the very real fact that the United States is in serious trouble—politically, socially, economically. Indeed, this is coming to a head involving the Constitution and the power of the Executive Branch, which, at this point, could go one of two ways: 1) in the 2018 and 2020 elections Americans start to regain their senses and bring back some sanity to Washington, or 2) we go the way of Nazi Germany and descend into a dictatorship that would mark the end of the United States as we know it.

And how are things in Hungary?

Papabear

As usual with larger furry fan conventions, at Further Confusion there was a good selection of fur-suit makers showing off their works and looking for new commissions. Among them was an artist named Rachel Converse, who operates a shop called Dragon Soup. She puts it this way: “Dragon Soup is a California-based fur-suit studio owned and operated by Rachel Converse. Rachel earned a BFA in Craft from Virginia Commonwealth University with a focus in textiles. She has been making costumes for over 10 years and started making fur-suits in 2012.” And she works well in a variety of materials.  (Advice for fur-suit makers: Want to wind up advertised on sites like this one? Have your own web site!)

image c. 2018 by Rachel Converse

Audio from our very first session of Dungeons & Draggets!! Here is video of it w/ illustrations and more! --https://youtu.be/ePK572Ob3oY Our Patreon w/ great new rewards! www.patreon.com/thedraggetshow Telegram Chat: t.me/draggetshow Dungeons & Draggets #01 - Audio from our very first session of Dungeons & D…

Our friend WishStone joins us again for a packed show full of news & emails.

Download MP3

Watch Video Link Roundup:

• Colbert: People buying the wrong “Fire and Fury” book
• San Jose FurCon brings “Furries” and their animal costumes downtown
• @BarkingPoints
• Facerig mobile app
• SciShow: “Why don’t humans have penis bones?”
• Bedfellows creator looking for suggestions on future endeavors

News:

• Trains In Japan Will Bark Like Dogs And Grunt Like Deer To Deter Animals From The Tracks
• A Deadly Fungal Disease Threatens Snakes Across The Globe
• Promising New Male Birth Control Is Based On A Toxin Used For Poison Arrows
• Take A Guess At How Many People Have Called A Poison Helpline After Eating “Delicious” Tide Pods In 2018
• Androids Take Up Exotic Dancing In Vegas, Of Course
• Man Pranks Police With DeLorean Made From Snow
• The man who’s lived in a SAND CASTLE on Brazil beach for 22 years
• Common Houseplants Are Somehow Perforating People’s Eardrums

Emails:

• Kodi – “Relationship Help!”
• Orayo – “Advice for moving”
• Mumbles the Blue Skunk – “Help a blue brother out?”

FC-291 Beach Monarch - Our friend WishStone joins us again for a packed show full of news & emails.

Our friend WishStone joins us again for a packed show full of news & emails.

Download MP3

Watch Video Link Roundup:

• Colbert: People buying the wrong “Fire and Fury” book
• San Jose FurCon brings “Furries” and their animal costumes downtown
• @BarkingPoints
• Facerig mobile app
• SciShow: “Why don’t humans have penis bones?”
• Bedfellows creator looking for suggestions on future endeavors

News:

• Trains In Japan Will Bark Like Dogs And Grunt Like Deer To Deter Animals From The Tracks
• A Deadly Fungal Disease Threatens Snakes Across The Globe
• Promising New Male Birth Control Is Based On A Toxin Used For Poison Arrows
• Take A Guess At How Many People Have Called A Poison Helpline After Eating “Delicious” Tide Pods In 2018
• Androids Take Up Exotic Dancing In Vegas, Of Course
• Man Pranks Police With DeLorean Made From Snow
• The man who’s lived in a SAND CASTLE on Brazil beach for 22 years
• Common Houseplants Are Somehow Perforating People’s Eardrums

Emails:

• Kodi – “Relationship Help!”
• Orayo – “Advice for moving”
• Mumbles the Blue Skunk – “Help a blue brother out?”

FC-291 Beach Monarch - Our friend WishStone joins us again for a packed show full of news & emails.

Our friend WishStone joins us again for a packed show full of news & emails.

Download MP3

Link Roundup:

• Colbert: People buying the wrong “Fire and Fury” book
• San Jose FurCon brings “Furries” and their animal costumes downtown
• @BarkingPoints
• Facerig mobile app
• SciShow: “Why don’t humans have penis bones?”
• Bedfellows creator looking for suggestions on future endeavors

News:

• Trains In Japan Will Bark Like Dogs And Grunt Like Deer To Deter Animals From The Tracks
• A Deadly Fungal Disease Threatens Snakes Across The Globe
• Promising New Male Birth Control Is Based On A Toxin Used For Poison Arrows
• Take A Guess At How Many People Have Called A Poison Helpline After Eating “Delicious” Tide Pods In 2018
• Androids Take Up Exotic Dancing In Vegas, Of Course
• Man Pranks Police With DeLorean Made From Snow
• The man who’s lived in a SAND CASTLE on Brazil beach for 22 years
• Common Houseplants Are Somehow Perforating People’s Eardrums

Emails:

• Kodi – “Relationship Help!”
• Orayo – “Advice for moving”
• Mumbles the Blue Skunk – “Help a blue brother out?”

[Live] Beach Monarch

Another artist we came across at Further Confusion is Gyl Kille, who uses polymer clays to create miniature sculptures which she molds and paints. As you can see on her web site she not only makes little animal sculptures, but also a line of shot glasses and the ever-popular cake-toppers.

image c. 2018 by Gyl Kille

Fursuit friday! So we have a new music video from Duke that Dancing Dog.
View Video

There seemed to be a tipping point when outsiders started looking deeper into furry fandom, more than tapping on the zoo window and making lazy jokes. They started writing things better than “those freaks” or “Furry 101”. Then there was a change beyond warmer media (whose approval isn’t needed, anyways). Members started standing for a growing and more grown-up community by ditching some excess baggage. It was the best of both worlds – people caring more and all the fun and freedom too. Of course failures tag along when you have more people getting involved. For example, at Midwest FurFest 2017, there was drama about one guy being arrested for trolling. But that was just one. The real story was about success of the con heading towards 10,000 happy attendees.

Making room for more and better things means caring in many ways. Here’s a look at one way. Thanks to Whiteclaw for the guest post. (- Patch)

Why furries should care about politics – by Whiteclaw.

Politics + anthropomorphism = great art

“Keep politics out of furry.”

You’ve probably seen this type of comment. Maybe you’ve made it yourself. Given its polarizing nature, talking about politics is a fast way to lose friends and make enemies. And that’s just with regular people. So why bring it into the fandom?

Furries are a group of people that love anthromorphic animals. But the key word there is “people.” Because behind every fox/wolf/cat/badger/dragon/etc. is a person. And that person is affected by politics. The fact that we roleplay as animals online doesn’t change this.

“Furry is an escape. I shouldn’t have to talk about politics here.”

There’s a valid point here in that we can’t and shouldn’t be focused on politics every second of every day. Yes we sometimes need to take a break from the awfulness of the world and furry is a great way to do that.

But an escape in this sense implies a break or a time-out. It suggests that we’re involved in dealing with these issues at some point. And if we never do, if we’re always “escaping” politics, then furry isn’t an escape, it’s an excuse.

More than that, furry doesn’t have to be just something you do, it can be something you are. In the 1990’s there was a split between fans who only looked up to professional artists, and ones they looked down on as “lifestylers” for acting like their own community. Now it is one. Politics affects our community the same way it does any other. The sheer diversity of the fandom means that, in some ways, it affects us more.

“I don’t care about politics, and I don’t see the point in talking about it.”

Well that, my friend, brings us to that very pesky word we all know and hate: Privilege. Yes, I know you’ve all heard it. White privilege. Straight privilege. Male privilege. Cis privilege. Privilege, privilege, privilege. Sick of hearing about it yet?

But the sad reality is that it exists. And the most insidious thing about it is this: Not having to think about privilege is the greatest privilege of all.

If you’re not a minority, or more importantly if you aren’t treated as one, it’s a lot easier to sweep all this talk about rights and status under the rug. You can say, “I’m just a big, dumb, fun-loving dog on the internet,” and ignore things like systemic racism and double standards. But the further down the totem pole you are, the more it affects your every-day life, furry or otherwise.

So before you declare politics a non-issue, consider that not everyone else in our community has that luxury. And when you say, “All I care about is furry,” what you’re also saying is, “I don’t care about problems that don’t directly affect me.”

It also means you don’t care about what happens to your fellow furs who don’t share all the same privileges as you.

“Okay, but I deal with politics outside of furry. Can’t furry be a safe space?”

The worry that came true

Well, yes and no. First, let’s talk about the big problem we have in the fandom: The Furry Raiders.

Once upon a time, if you had someone in the fandom that was problematic, we could pretty easily blacklist them. But the furry community has grown. The reason con attendances go up every year is because the size of the fandom has also increased. While that’s largely a good thing, it comes with its own set of problems.

If for every 100 furs, there’s 1 problematic person, then having 1,000 furries means we only have to deal with 10 people who are a problem. Up that number to 10,000 furs and suddenly we have 100 toxic people to deal with.

On their own, these people aren’t that big an issue, but with changes in the current political climate, these people have banded together, and branded themselves AltFurry (a play on the term AltRight) as well as creating a group called The Furry Raiders.

Put simply, this is a hate group that calls itself furry. In reality, many of these people aren’t actually furries. The fandom’s open and inclusive nature and the fact that we’re often looked down on, even by other subcultures, makes us an easy target for hate groups to infiltrate and recruit.

But it’s not just AltFurry we have a problem with. More and more, furry has started to develop its own form of celebrities, popufurs as they’re often called. While some of these people use their platform for good, others regularly and casually spout hateful rhetoric and bigoted views against minorities.

A furry might be popular because they’re an artist, have a cute fursuit, or regularly organize events for furries into other activities like sports, camping, or crafts. But when that same furry uses their platform to spread hate and bigotry, we can’t just ignore these statements because we enjoy the other content they provide.

In short, politics has come to furry whether we want it to or not. And ignoring it doesn’t make it go away. If anything, supporting someone who has a hateful stance, just because you like the content they put out, only helps to spread their messages of hate.

But let’s say you’re just here to look at cute animals and have a good time. Maybe furry truly is an escape or safe space for you. And there’s nothing wrong with that, per se. But if that’s the case…then the furry fandom doesn’t mean that much to you.

WAIT! Put down your torches and pitchforks! Or at least give me a chance to address that comment you’re already composing. I’m not acting as the furry gatekeeper here. I’m not saying you can’t be furry or that you somehow aren’t a “true furry.” There’s not a lot in the way of strict definitions for what even makes someone a furry.

And there’s nothing wrong with furry not being that important to you. If you’re younger, there’s probably a lot more going on in your life as you try to decide who you are and the directions you want to go. If you’re older, you probably just have higher priorities.

But if you’re someone that could take or leave furry, who doesn’t find it a dominating factor in your life, then consider that others do. And we care about making this fandom a safe, inclusive environment.

So if you care about this fandom, beyond simply enjoying the content it produces, then understand that we have to address these issues within furry. Politics isn’t something we can just ignore. It affects all of us, whether we like it or not.

– Whiteclaw

More thoughts:

Hey so I don't remember if my old thread about fandom complacency and "leaving politics at the door" was caught in my tweet purge but here's a reminder: politics affect everyone, everywhere and for some of us the effect is detrimental as hell. THREAD:

— SOY JIGOKU (@edgedestroys) January 17, 2018

I hate that talking about real world issues is considered "drama" to most furries. Not all of us can pretend that the real world doesn't exist when we log on to twitter, stop patronizing people for talking about shit that matters for the sake of your fuzzy wuzzy escapism.

— Betting Over It With Genet Foddy (@CMYKGenet) January 18, 2018

check it out guys, I found a living example of why @DogpatchPress's article about "apolitical furry" is so accurate! https://t.co/9fiHrgBtIg pic.twitter.com/pANWFjXfRO

— obligate aerobe @ ANE (@JUNIUS_64) October 17, 2017

Imagine being the kind of person who is racist "for fun."

Like you have a choice to be _anything_ you want, and you decide to be racist to try to upset people who don't like racism.

This is why "ironic" racism isn't "just a joke." It's actually just racism. pic.twitter.com/xvPSSLvjU5

— Be Good Have Fun Launch Nazis Into The Sun (@XydexxUnicorn) January 17, 2018

Happy Holidays!

In this time of giving, we think there's no better gift to give than peace. As such, we're happy to present to you with an updated list, downloadable as a CSV file here: https://t.co/w7wYcgmhzV

Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and enjoy the quiet!

— AltFurryBlocker (@AltFurryBlocker) December 23, 2017

Like the article? It takes a lot of effort to share these. Please consider supporting Dogpatch Press on Patreon.  You can access exclusive stuff for just $1, or get Con*Tact Caffeine Soap as a reward.  They’re a popular furry business seen in dealer dens. Be an extra-perky patron – or just order direct from Con*Tact.

Coming at Furry Fandom from many angles you find Warhorse Workshop, also known as Desert Horse Design. According to them they sell t-shirts, “nylon harnesses and accessories”, kigurumi (costumes that look like plush toys), vinyl decals, and more. Taking a look at their Etsy Store, that seems to cover it pretty well! (The “Insert your species here Inside” stickers are especially popular.)

image c. 2018 Desert Horse Design

@JibKodi made this wonderful promo for Vancoufur. How cool is that?
View Video

RUKUS at the 20th annual SF Indie Fest

February 2, 7:00 PM / February 5, 9:15 PM

Roxie theater, 3117 16th Street, San Francisco

RSVP at Meetup to join the furmeet – 2nd show – fest info

Rukus – a fiction/documentary hybrid by Brett Hanover

Birth of an indie furry movie scene

Videowolf’s documentary Fursonas [2016] was a landmark, even if it split watchers between love and hate. (Wag your tail if good movie making comes before “does it make the fandom look good?”) It wasn’t the first feature-length indie production by furries – that was the only-fandom-seen Bitter Lake [2011].  It wasn’t the first high quality movie that had them in it – that was the German arthouse gem Finsterworld [2013].  But it was a movie that broke through to more than only a “furry movie” by aiming for a thoughtful, critical look at subculture and identity. It just happened to be directed by and about furries. Now they don’t just follow behind mass media that many claim not to depend on. They also make it and play on bigger screens.

At roughly the same time, Zootopia [2016] was a huge event. Animation may be the holy grail for furriness on screen, but a behemoth budget from Disney is light years from the cottage industry where fandom gets its strength. Zootopia was merely a “furry” movie, as in, one whose directors won’t let you call it that. Journalist Joe Strike had a story about that in his book Furry Nation (another first for publishing in 2017.)

I was invited to a Zootopia press junket the week before the film premiered and was granted one-on-one time with Byron and his directing partner, Rich Moore. I immediately — and perhaps not too wisely — asked if the teaser was a “dog whistle” to the furry community. Howard deftly dodged my questions, and not long after the interview I received an email from my upset editor, who’d been contacted by an upset Disney PR person. – (Joe Strike, Furry Nation, p. 333)

This is about capital-F Furry. The kind that feeds itself, knows itself and doesn’t hide it. I’ve always wanted to see DIY furry creativity have a scene with film and video, like it does with art and costuming. I wrote about how cool it would be to have a Furry Film Fest. Of course, dance vids and music vids (and even web series) have done relatively well. In 2017 furry Youtubers rose on their own merits to silver Creator Award level (100,000 subscribers and up). But fandom originals are more based on costuming and performing than refining a voice in storytelling and directing. That’s where I want to see furries come out with a roar.

In 2016, Fursonas set the stage for it. Then Eric Risher’s short documentary Furries won a regional Emmy. Recently there was a short mockumentary that went in festivals, Mascot Fur Life [2017], but there hasn’t yet been another feature movie that catches the spark. I’m sniffing around for it.

The premiere at SF Indie Fest 

Brett Hanover is coming to the Roxie to present his 86 minute movie. Brett will be at both shows and hopes furries will come out in support.  That happened in 2016 for Frameline Film Fest – the largest/oldest festival for LGBT cinema. The festival enthusiastically welcomed furries and fursuiters to showings of both Videowolf’s and Eric Risher’s documentaries. It even brought us to the stage and let us promote local cons. That was right down the street from the Roxie. We had a wonderful event host nearby at Relay Raccoon’s apartment, and a busy downtown street for a fursuit walk and dinner. Let’s do it again and make it a night to remember! (RSVP on Meetup.)

Brett’s site describes Rukus:

Frameline Film Fest furmeet

Furries, filmmakers, kinksters, survivors. A fictionalized personal account of coming of age in Memphis at the turn of the century. This feature-length video project is based on work begun in collaboration with furry artist Rukus, left unfinished after his death in 2008.

SF Indiefest says:

A hybrid of documentary and fiction, Rukus is a queer coming of age story set in the liminal spaces of furry conventions, southern punk houses, and virtual worlds. Rukus is a 20-year-old furry artist, living with his boyfriend Sable in the suburbs of Orlando, Florida. In his sketchbooks, Rukus is constructing an imaginary universe – a sprawling graphic novel in which painful childhood memories are restaged as an epic fantasy. Brett is a 16-year-old filmmaker with OCD, working on a documentary about kinky subcultures in spite of his own anxiety. After an interview leads to an online friendship, their lives entwine in ways that push them into strange, unexplored territories.

Brett tells me:

I should say, the movie can be heavy at times – it deals with trauma, mental health, and suicide – but it is ultimately, in my opinion, hopeful, optimistic, and encouraging – it’s about survival and friendship. And sometimes it’s even funny. But, I just want to make sure that people know that even though it’s the premiere, and I am excited to have a party, it’s not a light movie. It is really cool to see my film put in context with other furry films, and it’s great that you are pointing forward to other possibilities for unapologetic furry indie film. I am getting so excited!!!

I have access to a screener copy but haven’t watched yet (review coming soon).  However I have long believed that someone needs to do a hybrid approach… Disney budgets don’t fund bold weird queer subculture, so how do you make a convincing fantasy world without even people in it? You can frame it as story-within-story directed with gonzo, surreal or stylish personal expression.

There’s a wikifur page for Rukus, the furry who inspired the movie. And I’m proud to be a favorite link at Brett Hanover’s site. There you’ll see continuing fascination and dedication to this awesome fandom thing. His work in progress gives confidence about knowing it from within. Can’t wait to see it.

Like the article? It takes a lot of effort to share these. Please consider supporting Dogpatch Press on Patreon.  You can access exclusive stuff for just $1, or get Con*Tact Caffeine Soap as a reward.  They’re a popular furry business seen in dealer dens. Be an extra-perky patron – or just order direct from Con*Tact.

Besides furry art itself, among the things that many furry fans like to collect are wildlife art and other illustrations of “real animals”. Take the works of Denise Ballou, an artist from New Mexico who recently displayed at Further Confusion. Largely self-taught, she has become quite a prolific painter, creating pictures of animals wild and domestic in oil paint. Already her works have been seen in galleries around the American Southwest. Visit her web site to see some examples.

image c. 2018 by Denise Ballou

Birds and music.
View Video

Thanks to Rex and Flash for their reviews! Dogpatch Press welcomes community access writers – get in touch. – Patch

A review of Mascot Fur Life

I have just watched a film titled Mascot Fur Life (2016 German with English subtitles). To be honest I was a bit apprehensive to watch another “furry film/ documentary” – the last one I watched left me feeling betrayed and hollow inside. Anyway, on to this film.

The main character is a Lion named Willion Richards.  Willion’s dream is to be the mascot of a soccer team.  He trains very hard with the help of his coach Berk.  Life is difficult for Willion, who struggles as a greeter in a large hardware store.

The film is professionally made, with excellent editing, good camera angles, great sets, and most scenes being shot on location.  I’m sure none of us will argue that the costumes aren’t first rate!

Can Willion make the tryouts?  Will this lion be happy, or forever doomed to work at a hardware store?  Will he overcome despair and the prejudice against him? Can he even pay the rent for his flat?

I found this film to be most enjoyable; in fact, I highly recommend you see it!

It most assuredly receives a Five Paw rating from this old dog.

– Rex Masters

Hard Work Fur the passionate

A review of the YouTube mockumentary Mascot Fur Life

By Jeremiah “Flash Hound” Stanley

Ever since I entered the furry fandom in 2014, as I got further and further into it, I’ve seen content from a range of media and points of view such as musical furries – like NIIC and Pepper Coyote – along with sports furries, like Huscoon and myself.  I recently watched the newly released Mascot Fur Life from Willion. I think it’s one of the best furry films since Disney’s popular Zootopia (2016) made the mainstream take a little notice about the fandom. I’d like to go deeper into the film, and break it down from different aspects.

● Story

The meaning of the story is something everyone can relate to in their own special way. It’s a similar story to Rocky films from the last few decades, and features a variety of fursuiters such as Keenora, who is shown in the film at the mascot auditions. The meaning of the film is to never give up, and work hard for that one thing you’re passionate for and determined to get in your lifetime.

● Characters

Every character in the film, whether speaking or mute, plays their roles perfectly as directed. The one character I have many questions about is Berk. I’m certain that he’ll raise questions for other viewers too. Some questions I have about Berk would be: “How can he hear what Julia is telling him through his cell phone if he put his cell phone at his fursuit cheek instead of his fursuit ears which are obviously higher than his cheek?” and “How did Berk and Julia agree about settling a walk-in mascot audition for Willion so quickly?” The only way to get the answers would be to ask Willion directly.

● Music

The music in the film is well put together to fit every situation faced by Willion, the main character, in each scene. It’s created beautifully to capture the viewer’s attention. It nearly puts the viewer in the fur of the main character, Willion, to share his experiences in the storyline of the film.

● Overall rating

The film is well put together and all the fursuiters who took part in the film give it a family friendly feeling. I’m certain between most recording sessions that the fursuiters were treated to healthy food and drinks. The one thing I didn’t like was the drinks that were shown in the film – thankfully I don’t believe they were told to drink them. Despite that one complaint, I would give Mascot Fur Life a 9.5 out of 10 rating.

– Flash Hound

Follow the film on Facebook or Twitter – and watch for their next project, a web series called Wolfgang Doe that starts filming in summer 2018.  But first, here’s a notice about supporting the film makers:

You can help “Mascot Fur Life” to win a prize!!!

To be nominated for the Ursa Major Award, we need your vote by February 15th! Go to the linked page and register to vote for our film. We want to be nominated in the category “Best Anthropomorphic Dramatic Short Work or Series.”

The Ursa Major Awards are prizes awarded annually by the furry community for the best media / literary works dealing with Anthrophomorphism (Animal-human) content.

The Mascots are counting on you!

http://www.ursamajorawards.org/nominations.htm

[And we’re back from Further Confusion with lots to talk about…!] Kea Swartz is an artist who works under the name Talenshi, creating colorful works of fantasy that often feature anthropomorphic animals — and other just plain strange and interesting creatures. The front page of her web site shows you a lot of what we’re talking about. She also illustrated a children’s book called The Little Orange Man which you ought to check out.

image c. 2018 by Talenshi