Feed aggregator

Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.

Victernus, by Baumarius.
Seattle, WA, CreateSpace, November 2015, hardcover $25.00, trade paperback $14.99 (301 pages), Kindle $1.00.

Here is another grabber beginning.

“Namara drew the hot cell phone away from his face slowly. Shifting his attention to the television across his bright, clean living room, he watched as a fresh feed streamed in on a live news channel. Soldiers under the new administration broke down the doors to his lab and were streaming into the lobby. He grumbled, ‘Lynn…’ as the reporter said that the research done there was going to be repurposed for the public. A familiar voice emerged from below, and he remembered that he was still talking to his friend. He lifted the phone back up, ‘Mahalia? I have to go. Lynn finally did it. No…meet me at the sanctuary. If all goes well, I’ll be there in a few days.’” (p. 1)

But it goes downhill from there. Namara Galvarros, a Puerto Rican, turns himself on page 7 into the anthropomorphic wolf shown on Whiluna’s cover. From there on, Victernus is a fairly typical s-f novel of a tiny group of freethinking scientific rebels vs. an oppressive reactionary government that wants to seize the scientists’ new technology to control the public and to stay in power. The important difference is that these scientific rebels are led by Namara, first as an intelligent wolf, and later as the wolf-man.

Victernus is appealing if you like comic-book superhero plotting, due to vivid descriptions and the furry goal. Here is the good guys’ hidden sanctuary in the Rocky Mountains in 2038:

“They came into another clearing; a glass, hexagonal platform surrounded by mahogany planks, where they could see the whole sanctuary from above. It was raised, and similar rooms were spread out in the forest below them, connected to each other by bridges and ladders. Each one had a blue light glowing beneath it, providing ample visibility. There were chairs and tables arranged neatly on each one. Silver railings were along the edges, and blue, transparent screens floated in the air just outside of them. All kinds of experimental equipment were lying around on the tables. But, most importantly, the whole structure was covered by dense trees, so very little sunlight came through.” (pgs. 34-35)

Here is Namara transformed from a wolf into a wolf-man:

“Namara held up one of his hands and examined it. Black pads rested on his palm and sharp claws extended from the end of his fingers. Once again, his body was covered in a mix of light and dark grey fur, some areas longer than others. The backs of his ears and his chest were stained crimson, like the wolf before.” (p. 66)

The story unexpectedly jumps a couple of centuries, to after civilization has collapsed:

“The tall skyscrapers that stood there had their windows smashed out and large trees grew into them, their long vines hanging down and twisting around the steel frames. A few beaten up hovercars were sprawled out on the road ahead. Namara picked up his pace, jogging past them to find his way into the city.” (p. 86)

As you can see on Whiluna’s cover, Namara loses his left hand and has it replaced with a robotic claw. He finds a gigantic cavern with palm trees under the ruins of Washington, D.C., and … well, it gets really weird. But vivid.

The Truth by Whiluna

The writing is simplistic. Victernus starts in 2038, twenty-two years in the future, with hoverbikes, stun guns, invisibility cloaks, high-speed pressure trains, both telepathy and transporter (teleportation) devices … Are we likely to have these in just twenty-two years? It reminds me of those flying cars that everyone is going to have Real Soon Now, that have been predicted since the late 1940s. And flying-car technology has actually existed for decades, whereas nobody has yet developed hoverbikes or tube trains that can travel from the East Coast to Colorado in a couple of hours. The U.S. has become an oppressive police state where the Army can kick down people’s doors and shoot them – by 2038?

“‘Everyone in this country has to be microchipped, supposedly to keep out terrorists and illegals. They’re putting up towers everywhere, and there will be few blind spots. They’ll send out drones to anyone who doesn’t have a chip.’” (p. 57)

Namara, as an intelligent wolf (not yet a wolf-man), easily passes as some kind of German Shepherd-like dog.

It’s sometimes confusing. (1) We’re told from the beginning that Namara is searching for a mysterious Koanthanatus, but he can’t describe what Koanthanatus is. A physical object? An abstraction, like a philosophy? Who knows; but it’s important! (2) “She nodded, ‘Ah. I am Mahalia Galvarros, Namara’s mate. We’ve been […]’”. (p. 34) Has ‘mate’ replaced ‘wife’ by 2038? Or are she & Namara non-wedded partners? But she’s using his last name. (3) Life in 2038 America seems futuristic but relatively normal up to page 46, when Mahalia says, “Yeah, and now most of the western states can’t be lived in, not to mention most of Europe, thanks to the war and the droughts.” Wait; what!? (4) “If you want, you guys can get chipped and go underground.” (p. 58) Isn’t it the people who aren’t chipped who can go underground? If you’re chipped, “they” can find you, to send out a drone. (5) What does “His [Namara’s] eyes changed from yellow to a glowing light blue, and they were filled with thin, mechanical rings.” (p. 123) mean?

Victernus can safely be described as amateurish, too, since the author’s online biography (http://www.baumarius.com/), says that, “Baumarius, also known as Luke Gonzalez, is an 18-year-old Puerto Rican artist who lives in Connecticut.” He’s only 18 years old, and he’s published this novel? How long has he been writing? In addition to the above, he consistently uses “lied” for “lay”. “Mahalia lied down beside beside him […]” “Namara lied back down […]” “[H]e could tell that it was Jordan by the pattern of their breathing.” Pattern of his breathing. (Hmmm. Baumarius is Puerto Rican and he lives in Connecticut. Namara Galvarros is Puerto Rican and his laboratory is in Connecticut. A bit of Mary Sue here?) He’s an author, artist, animator, and musician who has composed a CD full orchestral soundtrack to go along with this novel, available for $7.

Victernus’ cast is totally human except for Namara’s turning himself into a wolf-man. Why? “‘I made myself this way to find out what may be one of the most innocent things within all of humanity’s existence.’” (p. 188) Nobody understands him. Neither do I, except that it has something to do with Koanthanatus.

Victernus is Edge of Awareness, Book 1. Book 2, Ephemeron, “should be published by this fall (2016).”

“Koanthanatus is calling.”

– Fred Patten

• Buy on Amazon
• Learn more about Baumarius

A reminder to FWG members (writers and associates) that there’s just a week left to submit your nominations for the 2015 Cóyotl Awards.

The nomination form can be found at:

http://coyotlawards.org/nominate/

If you need a refresher on works published in 2015, see the 2015 Recommended Reading thread in the forums.

Nominations for the 2015 awards are open through Thursday, March 31.

 

Hello Everyone!

Online Relationships and Long Distance Relationships (LDRs) have become a staple of the fandom due to our massive presence online. Most furries will, at one point or another, enter into some kind of a relationship that is non-local. 

How do you begin such a relationship, or maintain it once it is underway? What is the difference between an Online Relationship and a Long Distance Relationship? How do you set reasonable expectations for the relationship? What is the best way to keep intimacy regular when you might be continents apart? 

We also answer the question of whether you need a primary partner in order to be polyamorous. 

For more information, including a list of topics by timestamp, see our Show Notes for this episode.

Thanks and, as always, be well!

FA 011 Online and Long Distance Relationships - How can you maintain a virtual relationship in a real world?

Hi there, Papa!

Before we'd begin, I'd like to apologize in advance if someone before me has already asked this question: as a furry, how do I go about making friends in a society that is presumably intolerable to my hobby?

I am about to go to high school, one that's religious and strict and uniformed. There's no way out of it. My parents have made up their minds. They figure that since my older sister (who attended there previously) took a liking to the school, that I would as well. But frankly, I'm the opposite of my sister. Analytical, logical, judging, academically intelligent? No. Think imaginative, idealistic, perceptive, emotionally in-tune. Ballet, AP classes, student leadership with friends? Nah. Try art, meditation, and hiking through nature alone. We have the super intelligent, friendly, and funny computer science nerd, and the overly-artistic and weirdly antisocial "hippie" furry girl. And this girl's being sent to a strict, dare I say it, posh Catholic school with high expectations and low tolerance for anything that is considered "weird."

I know that people aren't always going to be as accepting and open-minded as I am, but I am currently being plunged into a strict world with strict, uptight, unaccepting people. I remember once bringing up a conversation with one of my potential future classmates and sprinkling in some of my hobbies and interests (excluding furry). And just from that, they were appalled. As were the other students I tried to connect with. They didn't even have to speak necessarily; I could tell from their body language and facial expressions that they were very uncomfortable, maybe even freaked out that I do things like meditate instead of shop at the mall, and draw and write stories instead of doing sports or extra academic classes. Granted, these were not art students. But then even when I spoke with more artsy students like me, they thought my ideas were far too weird, and that my creative and pondering imagination had no off-switch. I suppose that's true, but I never really wanted to hit an off-switch. I like my imagination. And yes, I tried very hard to appeal to their better nature and to make a connection, but nothing really worked. Either I'm too weird for them, or they're too sophisticated for me. I don't know.

Needless to say, I didn't dare bring up furry.

So I was wondering if you had any tips or pointers to reaching out to these frankly intimidating people. Usually I'm able to connect with most people in an instant, whether or not they like me. I have this weird ability to tell what people are like when I meet them from the way they move, talk, behave, etc. I get vibes from them. I call it my "Spidey-Sense." But I am embarrassed to admit that I was unable to connect with any of these people. When I spoke to them, all I could see and hear and feel was pretty generic. I couldn't really detect much personality in these people, no offense to them. They just didn't seem to really care, you know?

I apologize. I sometimes have trouble describing what I mean. It would be so much easier for me to communicate if my heart and mind would speak for my mouth.

Anyways, I'm just not sure what to do. I'm already a weird person, with or without the furry hobby. I had so much trouble just speaking with these students and staff, I have no idea how I'm going to try to make friends. Please, if you have any tips or pointers or suggestions, they would be greatly appreciated. I'm open to any ideas.

Thank you.

Turquoise
 
* * *
 
Hi, Turquoise,
 
Let’s set aside the whole furry thing for a moment because what we are talking about here is bigger than just your interest in things furry: it is about the conflict between our need to be accepted by others and our need to be our true selves.
 
A wise man named Henry David Thoreau said, “Be yourself—not your idea of what you think somebody else's idea of yourself should be.” Human beings strive to assimilate because they are social creatures who find strength and comfort from being part of a group. Unfortunately, when that group’s standards differ from one’s own, an inner conflict arises—a dissonance in the soul that makes us deeply unhappy. This is what you are going through right now.
 
The problem starts because your parents are treating you like your sister, even though the two of you are very different individuals. A good place to start, then, would be to approach your parents and ask them if they would consider sending you to a different school. Explain to them that you feel your sister’s school, while it might be quite excellent academically, is more designed toward mathy, sciency types, but you are more artistic and would like to go to a school that is more geared toward the arts. I don’t know how open your parents are to talking to their children, but I’m wondering if you have even considered letting them know how you feel about this school? Perhaps, if they are open minded, they will listen and, not knowing before how you felt, will try and find something else for you. If so, then perhaps problem solved.
 
If not, and they make you go to this school anyway, then I suggest you look at the broad picture: it is more important to be who you are than it is to assimilate (unless you are a Borg, who are such charming people, yes?), even if that means you will be friendless. Going back to Thoreau, he once said he would rather sit alone on a pumpkin than sit with a lot of people on a velvet cushion. It’s better to reject the materialistic trappings of society and be an individual.
 
The number one reason I hear from furries as to why they are unhappy is that they are not allowed to be themselves. Being a furry is just one facet of your unique personality. Ultimately, however, the only person who can make you be or not be yourself is … you. When you think of it, who are the people considered most admirable in our world? It’s people like Benjamin Franklin, Rosa Parks, Nikola Tesla, Allen Ginsburg, Jackson Pollock, people who went against the norm and fiercely, courageously insisted on themselves. And the people who epitomize what society supposedly wants? The rich and famous like movie, music, and sports stars? Have you ever noticed how much American society likes to trash these people? And when you ask them, they often say that they were at their most unhappy when they were the richest and most famous (great example is the Beatles).
 
We only have one life. How many of us lead lives of “quiet desperation” (Thoreau again). People frantically try to gain approval and worry about obtaining things that society deems valuable (houses, cars, money) and die having wasted their talent, their hearts, their souls.
 
Turquoise, thank you for writing ol’ Papabear and giving me this opportunity to address youngsters like yourself who are standing on that precipice in their teens years. You have a choice here of accepting what others say you should be and do, stepping forward, and falling into the abyss—OR! You can give yourself the power to grow wings and fly safely above the expanse.
 
Keep it in perspective, hon. We are here to find ourselves, to grow, and to love. All else is vanity. That is my advice to you.
 
Hugs,
Papabear

Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.

Cover by Louvelex

Rat’s Reputation, by Michael H. Payne. Illustrated by Louvelex.
St. Paul, MN, Sofawolf Press, July 2015, trade paperback $19.95 (viii + 359 pages).

To pat myself on the back, when I edited the first anthology of anthropomorphic short fiction from pioneering furry fanzines of the late 1980s and 1990s (2003), the earliest story that I chose was Michael H. Payne’s “Rat’s Reputation” from FurVersion #16, May 1989. Rat’s Reputation the novel is Payne’s fixup and expansion of his “Around About Ottersgate” short fiction featuring Rat and his neighbors of the animal community of Ottersgate and environs. It’s his second novel in the “Around About Ottersgate” world, following The Blood Jaguar (Tor Books, December 1998; reprinted Sofawolf Press, June 2012).

“The rustling grew louder, seemed to come closer, and Alphonse [a gypsy squirrel] stopped as the ground started to shake.

An earthquake? He’d been through a couple when the caravan traveled out west, but here?

The shaking grew more violent with each passing second, and he was huddling down, glad he was out in the woods where nothing could really fall on him, when with a crash like a landslide, something tore out of the ground ahead, molten rock fountaining all fire-red and ash-black up over his head to smash into the trees, cracking and falling in a perfect circle around the pit of lava that yawned open, a sudden sulfurous stink plastering Alphonse’s face.

Then everything froze, Alphonse blinking to clear his eyes, a lumpy mass of darkness rising from the pit, its vast golden eyes swinging around to fix on Alphonse. The silence went on and on until a voice spoke, soft and rough as a step into sandy soil: ‘I reckon you know who I am, son.’

Alphonse could only nod.” (p. 7)

When the High Ones call you, you come. When the High Ones give you a duty, you do that duty. Alphonse’s duty is to find the baby rat on the streambank and raise him up. Except that the rat isn’t a baby; he’s four years old.

The story skips to when Rat is an adolescent. He’s miserable. He doesn’t have a name; the gypsy squirrels consider him unique enough among them that Rat is sufficient. He can’t talk High Sciurid properly; his mouth is shaped wrong:

“He tried to say ‘beautiful,’ but as usual his tongue got in the way of his teeth, making him cringe with sudden pain.” (p. 17)

He gets blamed for everything. Mostly it’s prejudice due to the bad reputation that rats have always had:

“She gave a sniff. ‘Rats are nothing but pirates and thieves; my daddy and all my storybooks say so.’” (p. 33)

Illustrated by Louvelex

Rat’s Reputation covers most of Rat’s very confused growing up. Since he’s an orphan raised at different times by squirrels and mice, is he a squirrel, or a mouse, or a rat, or none of the above; in which case, what is he? Since nobody likes him. why did a High One save him? Those who have read The Blood Jaguar know that Rat does make three close friends – well, two friends and an acquaintance – Fisher, Skink, and Bobcat. This tells how he meets them.

Rat’s Reputation is variously a religious experience, a psychological exploration, a romance, a murder mystery, a tragicomedy, a coming of age narrative, and a travelogue. Payne’s writing is in the mystic tradition of Kenneth Grahame’ The Wind in the Willows. Is the animal cast wearing clothes or in their natural fur, feathers, and scales? Do they live in urban-style buildings or in burrows and nests? The combination comes across as less of an inconsistency than as a rich and exotic blend.

In one of the novel’s longer passages, “Roaming” (pages 131 to 239), Rat goes into a seven-year self-imposed exile from Ottersgate; a walkabout that takes him throughout the world.   This review is being written less than a month before the release of Disney’s Zootopia, and there is considerable speculation in furry fandom of what a large city designed for all species of animals will look like. Rat’s Reputation presents a whole WORLD designed for all species of animals.

“Rat thanked her, tied the pouch around his neck, and left by the back door. A block and a half brought him to a second-hand shop, and he spent most of the coins on two vests – one black and the other green plaid – three faded bandannas, and an oilskin backpack.

Cover by Louvelex

They helped him blend in, but … more than just these strange new rats, there were more different sorts of folks here than he had ever seen in one place before in his life. Skiffs and lighters sliding in and out of the docks; buildings of wood and brick and stone packed along the waterfront walk and every side street; fish and spices and the massed exhalations of so many lungs: it all made him a little dizzy. If he hadn’t been heading somewhere, he might’ve stopped, but …” (p. 195)

“Even at double speed it took two days to cross the place, but at last the pampas began to give way, sandy soil here and there, spreading, taking over, the wagons emerging into the desert. Cheering, the haulers let their chant fly, the ramparts of the Dyhari mountains growing from nubs to spikes to full-fledged peaks over the next few hours, the walls and towers of Kazirazif nestled against the foothills.

Meerkats with capes, hats, and spears stopped them at the city’s south gate, checked their paperwork, and guided the wagons through the narrow streets to the marketplace in the square outside the caliph’s palace. ‘Right, then!’ AlTrent [the fox wagonmaster] yelled. ‘Tayo, the ropes!’” (pgs. 225-226)

Rat’s Reputation has a wraparound cover and ten full-page interior illustrations by Louvelex, who also did the art for the Sofawolf Press edition of Payne’s The Blood Jaguar. The two books make an attractive matched pair. Both are among the very best of anthropomorphic literature.

– Fred Patten

• Buy on Sofawolf

Panther is a new hardcover graphic novel from Drawn & Quarterly: “Brecht Evens, the award-winning author of The Wrong Place and The Making Of, returns with an unsettling graphic novel about a little girl and her imaginary feline companion. Iconoclastic in his cartooning and page layouts, subtle in his plotting, and deft in his capturing of the human experience, Evens has crafted a tangled, dark masterwork. Christine lives in a big house with her father and her cat, Lucy. When Lucy gets sick and dies, Christine is devastated. But alone in her room, something special happens: a panther pops out of her dresser drawer and begins to tell her stories of distant Pantherland, where he is the crown prince. A shape-shifter who tells Christine anything she wants to hear, Panther begins taking over Christine’s life, alienating her from her other toys and friends. As Christine’s world spirals out of control, so does the world Panther has created for her. Panther is a chilling voyage into the shadowy corners of the human psyche. The Drawn & Quarterly edition of Panther is an extended ‘director’s cut’, featuring additional material not included in the original book.” Take a look over at Drawn & Quarterly’s web site for a preview.

image c. 2016 Drawn & Quarterly

Headlines, links and little stories to make your tail wag.  Tips: patch.ofurr@gmail.com. 

Free speech victory led by Vermont Furs.

Burlington VT had an antiquated anti-mask law to regulate groups like the KKK.  In the 1960’s, the officials who made the law could never imagine the future-people hobby of fursuiting.  Imagine a fursuit parade colliding with the hooded creeps.  It would be like matter meeting antimatter, with an explosion of rainbows and a fallout of fluff for miles around.  To update the law to better serve it’s spirit, members of the Vermont Furs went in front of the city council, and got the law changed. Now it only bans hiding behind masks to commit crime.  Hugging isn’t a crime yet, so thanks guys for setting a great example nationwide.  Fursonas are free expression!

WE ARE VERMONT FURS! pic.twitter.com/V9jPucqYIe

— Vermont Furs (@VermontFurs) March 8, 2016

There’s video here, and from Vermont Public Radio:

Last year, two men were detained by Burlington Police for violating the ordinance by wearing masks to a political rally. The detention was controversial, and the head of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Vermont chapter questioned the constitutionality of the mask ban.

Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger said that incident, paired with pushback from a community of “furries” – people who like to dress up as furry, caricaturized animals – led the city to reexamine its mask ordinance.

The co-moderator of Vermont Furs got the media to call furries “a collection of artists, writers, animators, actors, and our passion is all things cartoon animals.”  (Notice what they don’t call it.)   On Furaffinity, Zander Stealthpaw noticed that the furs helped much more than their own small group:

You guys help contribute to a very good cause, and I’m sure Vermont Comic Con would be just as ecstatic over this change.

“Fursonas” documentary movie gets a national tour, a pile of press, and spirited discussion.

Fursonas has a big feature article here, and the movie director (Dominic, AKA Video the Wolf) told me he was waiting for the movie to catch notice like that.  It sure did!  It’s another one of those Furry Media Events that used to happen very rarely, until 2016 became The Year of Furry.

• Film notes: Documentary about Furries gets Pittsburgh premiere (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
• Pittsburgh filmmaker talks about his new documentary on furries (Pittsburgh City Paper)
• Documentary Dives Into Complexities Of ‘Furry’ Culture (10 minute interview – 90.5 WESA ‘Essential Pittsburgh’)
• Furries Documentary Premieres In Pittsburgh (90.5 WESA)
• Five things to know on Pi day, and Furries documentary premieres in Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh Business Times)
• Review: ‘Honey Buddies’ and ‘Fursonas,’ from Slamdance to ArcLight Chicago (Chicago Tribune)
• Fur Example: Director Dominic Rodriguez Confronts His Own Furry Fandom in Fursonas (MovieMaker magazine)

Thanks to Cassidy on Flayrah for noticing and sharing a response article.  “A movie about real furries should be shared with the entire fandom…”

This week, Dominic arrived in California for one of the movie’s limited tour showings.  (See upcoming shows if you’re in Chicago or at Furry Weekend Atlanta.)

Dominic wrote to me with “a crazy idea”… a detour to the SF Bay Area to share it with a few of the Bay Area Furries.  It was supposed to just be a day trip for a living room show, but something more ambitious came together with a few short days notice.

Dominic took a 13 hour bus ride, got hosted to nap for a few hours, and then we took over a San Francisco neighborhood art space and packed it with 40 furries to see the movie.  The fun continued in fursuits on the other side of the neighborhood with a Burning Man party until dawn.  Then Dominic caught a bus back to L.A. for his “real” show.  That’s dedication to spend so much effort on the road with barely a break!

The reception in San Francisco was tremendous. The venue loved the turnout and invited furries back for more events. Audience comments were divided among those critical of censorship, and some understanding about PR concern.

It was reported that posts announcing the show to the PA-Furry  events calendar were taken down as “spam”.  (Not everything was deleted – here’s good discussion about Fursonas on the site.) The movie is critical of Uncle Kage’s role as dominant “furry spokesperson” while excluding “undesirables” like Boomer The Dog.

Boomer brings a sweet presence to the movie that has gotten positive remarks from many (non-furry) reviewers. He reminds me of a beloved figure of San Francisco history – Norton I, Emperor of the United States.  Norton wasn’t mocked for living the title.  They issued money in his name (and honored it when he spent it at local establishments), and named many landmarks after him.

I support Boomer to be what he wants to be- a real dog.  While Zootopia brings a corporate spectre hovering around the edges of what we love, I think he brings good spirit. In other words, Keep Furry Weird. Give the movie a chance before you make up your mind.

“No sex in suits and other facts about Furries.”

The previous topic is celebration, but this is defensiveness.  It involves Debra Soh, a sex researcher who wrote a nice short piece for Dogpatch Press a while ago.  The Toronto Sun has a short report about her research that seems totally unnecessary.  Let her share interesting stories, but the title seems like an answer to an unfairly loaded question (like “did you stop beating your wife yet?”)  A suitable answer is “it’s none of your business what others do in bed, unless you’re into that.” If you do want to yiff, try partial suiting. Taking off the head breaks the magic, but if you get in a furry’s pants, that’s where magic comes from.

“In Defense of Furries.” Defensiveness about Zootopia on Gizmodo.

Furry on @midnight. (Tip: Torrle.) Mockery about zootopia porn, from Monday, March 7.

Tonight's FTW gets furrylicious. We're both sorry we said that word and think you'll enjoy the nightmarish results. Check it out...

We're back again and today on this glorious St Patrick's day to talk about more microsoft shenanigans, a guy on tinder dressing up like a lady, and hulk hogan! Episode -44 - Gwaaaaaaaaaaaar!

This article is an updated version of a piece published on [adjective][species] in March 2012.

Animal Farm is George Orwell’s 1945 classic novel.

Orwell is considered to be one of the great authors and Animal Farm, along with Nineteen Eighty-Four, is considered to be one of his masterpieces. Animal Farm follows the story of anthropomorphic animals that overthrow their human farmer master and run the farm on their own terms.

I re-read Animal Farm with the idea that I would review it for [adjective][species]. I was planning to conclude that it’s a great book, and a great furry book, that all furries should read it, and it’s an easy book to recommend to the [adjective][species] Furry Canon.

I have re-read Animal Farm, but I’m not recommending to the Furry Canon. Read something else.

I simply don’t think that Animal Farm is a furry book. Which got me thinking about what constitutes a furry book.

I’ll try to define what a furry book is later, but let’s look at Animal Farm first. It has many qualities that might make it attractive to a furry audience:

• Animal Farm is not complex or difficult to read. Its full title is “Animal Farm: A Fairy Story“, and it’s written in a very deliberate children’s storybook style. The writing is magical in its clarity, akin to Dr Seuss, J.K. Rowling or Philip K. Dick.
• Animal Farm is short: you can start and finish it in a single sitting. It took me a couple of hours.
• The animal characters are fully realized and easy to empathize with.
• Many furry readers will appreciate that the only romance in the book is homosexual, between Benjamin the donkey and Boxer the horse. In line with the writing style, the relationship is chaste and friendly, and would perhaps be better described as homosocial, a bit like Bert and Ernie of Sesame Street. Still, Benjamin and Boxer are devoted to one another and are inseparable to the point that they plan to retire together.

And yet I don’t think it’s a furry book.

Why? For starters, I think that furry is escapist by nature.

Furry books tend to embrace an alternate universe. Makyo touched on this is some detail in her Layers of Fantasy post. She pointed out that furry art tends to exist in this context:

It is a sort of stacking of different layers of fantasy, with our focus on anthropomorphic animals being layered atop science fiction or fantasy elements.

Makyo goes on to point out that this isn’t a rule that applies to all furry art, and that the alternate-universe concept falls over when we furries socialize in the real world. But I think that furry does necessarily involve some disconnection from the real world, if only to accommodate our self-images as animal people. I understand that this point is arguable (and please do comment away).

I think that a real-life furry gathering is always different from a non-furry group. The alternate names; the blasé acceptance of ears and tails and fursuits; the non-traditional treatment of sexuality, and;- most importantly – the implicit acceptance that each of us are the being that we feel we are on the inside. I’m an anthropomorphic horse; RandomWolf is in a funny mood because there is a full moon; Bob is just a friendly human who likes Thundercats.

I think that furry books reflect the furry community, in that the community is disconnected from the real world. As furries, we want to escape—however marginally—from the real world. We create our own reality.

Animal Farm, despite its talking animals, exists firmly within the real world. It is allegorical, not fantastical. I wouldn’t recommend Bulgakov’s The Master & Margarita as a furry book either.

Animal Farm is an allegory of the Russian Revolution. It retells the story of Russia and the USSR from around World War I through to the last years of World War II. The primary porcine protagonists—Major, Napoleon and Snowball—are respective literal analogs for Marx, Stalin and Trotsky. Animal Farm is no fairytale: there is no redemption, no success. The farm, following revolutionary overthrow of the despotic Farmer Jones, charts a course back to corrupt dictatorship as straight as an arrow.

The children’s storybook language is key to the book’s power and testament to Orwell’s genius. The language primes us to expect and hope that our farm animals will earn themselves a better life through hope and struggle: we’ve read storybooks before. We expect conflict and dark times, but we also expect redemption or at least an engaging Brothers-Grimm-style grotesque coda. But there is no hope for our animals. They are as doomed under the pigs as they were under Farmer Jones.

As well as escapism, a furry book will often employ a literary device where species is shorthand for behaviour. (Cheetahs are fast; foxes are vain; bulls are strong.) This does occur in Animal Farm to an extent—for example we have a strong horse, a lazy cat, and a grumpy donkey—however like the characterization of the pigs, this is meant allegorically. That is, Orwell explores the fates of the Russian people against their (respectively for my three examples) loyalty, work ethic, and cynicism.

To put it more directly: Animal Farm doesn’t explore speciation as a philosophical idea in the way that a furry book does.

I wrote about Gulliver’s Travels (in an article which will also be adapted in the context of the [a][s] Furry Canon project), using this as the key “furry” idea. Swift’s rational horses and animalistic humans and are intended to disconnect our rational nature from our atavistic selves. In doing so, he asks us to consider what it means to be human, a question close to the heart of many furries (and, of course, [adjective][species]). I’d recommend Gulliver’s Travels to any furry interested in exploring the idea of identity.

Another example: The First Book of Lapism by [a][s] contributor Phil Geusz deals with the philosophical aspects of identity and species. Geusz imagines a world where people voluntarily transform themselves into bunny-people in the hope of creating a pacifist and highly-socialized race. Guesz’s books explore the consequences of this new race in an accessible alternate-universe manner. Speculative fiction isn’t personally my cup of furry tea, but Guesz’s works are well written and beloved by many.

Animal Farm is a work of genius and was a very important book when it was published in 1945. History is important, but the Russian Revolution is less relevant in our post cold-war world. And if a version of Animal Farm were published today as an allegory for conflict between the Western and Islamic worlds, I still wouldn’t recommend it as a furry book.

Follow this link to explore everything we have published on the [adjective][species] Furry Canon project.

The Furry Canon, recommended, at the time of publication:
Redwall

Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.

Hunters Unlucky, by Abigail Hilton. Illustrated by Sarah Cloutier. Maps by Jeff McDowall.
Winter Park, FL, Pavonine Books, July 2014, trade paperback $19.99 ([9 +] 672 pages), Kindle $9.99.

“He walked in darkness. How long he’d been there, he could not say. Occasionally, he distinguished the silhouettes of rocks or faint light reflecting off pools of water. He stayed well away from the water. Sometimes he heard noises – rustling, the rattle of pebbles, a soft sigh like fur over stone.

I will not run.

But he walked faster. He was looking for something … something he did not think he would find. He heard dripping, and that was normal, but then he heard a sharp patter, like an animal shaking water from its fur. Another swish, closer this time.

I will not break. I will not run.

Somewhere in the darkness, something began to laugh. ‘Hello, Arcove.’

Then he ran.” (p. 112)

Hunters Unlucky is a collection of Hilton’s five separate novels in that series; Storm, Arcove, Keesha, Teek, and Treace. They were also broadcast on her podcast beginning on November 10, 2014 and serialized two episodes per week through July 2, 2015. But they flow together smoothly into a single novel. Arcove, for instance, ends with a real cliffhanger. Get them all together in one handy book.

Hunters Unlucky has been compared favorably by many reviewers with Watership Down, The Jungle Book, the Warrior Cats series by “Erin Hunter”, and practically every dramatic natural talking-animal fantasy. It is different in being devoted (at first) to two groups of fictitious animals on the large island of Lidian; the ferryshaft, basically intelligent omnivorous furry deer or llamas, and the lion-like creasia cats. Other intelligent animals include the large foxlike curb, the eaglelike fly-ary, the telshee and the lishty, both sea mammals roughly analogous to furry sea lions. There are also many dumb prey animals such as sheep, rabbits, frogs, and turtles, which are sometimes eaten as well as grass by the omnivorous ferryshaft.

The story is an excellent example of the term “action-packed”. The first chapter of Storm is a battle to the death between several ferryshaft and creasia. Storm, the ferryshaft protagonist, is born in Chapter 2, twelve years later, on the same night his father is killed; licking blood rather than suckling milk as his first drink. Storm is the tale of his youth. He grows up as a runt whom his herd expects to die. Only his mother So-fet and a wise elder, Pathar, pay any attention to him. Storm gets his own first associates when he joins a small clique of other youngsters who are all outcasts together; a few other males and one female. Their relationship is a combination of intelligence and instinct:

“However, he [Storm] did speak more frequently to Tollee. As the summer wound down, they developed a genuine friendship.

This provoked a certain amount of teasing from Tracer and Leep, especially as the fall season brought mating to the front of everyone’s minds. ‘Better watch out,’ said Tracer. ‘You’ll be fighting Mylo for her.’

Mylo did, indeed, fight off three male foals who challenged him over Tollee’s status, and the entire clique helped fight off two adults. Storm knew that, had she been alone, she would have dealt with constant harassment. Mylo’s status as clique leader entitled her not only to his protection, but to the protection of his entire clique. […]” (p. 73)

Storm is not only the story of Storm’s growing up. It introduces the reader to the social dynamics of ferryshaft herd life, and to the fatal subservience of the ferryshaft to the creasia cats. It concludes with Storm’s first act of what can be called leadership.

Arcove is both the title of the second part, and the name of the leader of the creasia cats; the ferryshaft’s enemies. Treace, the title of part five, appears here as another creasia cat; Arcove’s rival. Arcove is a “noble adversary”; Treace is ruthless. (The cover by Sarah Cloutier shows Storm being circled by Arcove and Arcove’s second-in-command, Roup. Pay attention to the round blue stone around Storm’s neck. It’s important.) Storm can respect and work with Arcove; Treace can’t be trusted. Arcove introduces the reader to the creasia cats’ social structure. It also brings another of Lidian’s species into the story; the curbs, in particular the young curb warrior Eyal.

Storm’s exploits are so harrowing that it’s almost a spoiler to reveal that he keeps escaping and surviving. There are two phrases to remember here: the book’s blurb, “He’s not bigger. He’s not faster. He’s not meaner. So he’d better be smarter.” And the proverb, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”  But Storm needs to do more than trick the furryshafts’ enemies into fighting each other. He needs to win the ferryshafts some real allies.

These are the first two parts of five. Although Storm remains the main protagonist, important characters emerge among the other intelligent species of Lidian: Arcove, Roup, and Treace among the creasia cats; Keesha and Shaw among the telshee; still others. The story becomes complex, with major surprises for Storm and for the reader. Hunters Unlucky is well-enough written that, even at 672 pages, you’ll be reluctant to put it down until you’ve finished it. Definitely recommended!

– Fred Patten

• Buy on Amazon

Yes, still, it’s sometimes best to just let the creators explain their own work. So, here’s the tag for new graphic novel Little Dee and the Penguin: “When Little Dee meets a motley crew of animals deep in the forest, she knows she’s found the perfect set of new friends. Between the bossy vulture, the slightly dim dog, the nurturing bear, and the happy-go-lucky penguin, this mismatched group of big personalities doesn’t always get along—but they’re a family.  And they’re on the run. A pair of hungry polar bears are after the penguin, and the rest of the team are determined to protect her. They’re not interested in adopting a tiny human. But Dee loves them—especially Ted the bear—and she won’t let them go. Instead, she hops on their getaway plane and joins them on an around-the-world adventure.” Written and illustrated by Christopher Baldwin, it’s based on his continuing web comic of the same name. And now it’s available in full-color from Dial Books, coming this April in hardcover and trade paperback.

image c. 2016 Dial Press

Roo and Tugs are joined by Lyrick as they discuss everyone's favorite topic to avoid - grief, loss, and death. How do these huge changes affect us? What makes loss unique in the fandom? What do we have in common with society at large when it comes to grief? And why is Roo talking like Ira Glass? We answer these questions, and more, during this episode, which was inspired by our listener - Syd! We also play a THE GAME, bring you a new Get Psyched! with Dr. Nuka, Space News, and more!



NOW LISTEN!

Show Notes

Special Thanks

Lyrick, our guest!
Syd, for inspiring our episode topic!
Timid Grizzly, for today's ident!
Maverick Collie
Commander Wolfe
Spark the Dragon
Zeke Raccoon

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!)
Get Psyched Music: Fredrik Miller – Universe, USA: Bandcamp, 2013. Used with permission. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)
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!)

Next episode: We're going to Salt Lake Comic Con's FanXperience! Check out our mini site at fanx.furwhatitsworth.com. S5 Episode 12 – The Last Goodbye (Grief and Loss) - Roo and Tugs are joined by Lyrick as they discuss everyone's favorite topic to avoid - grief, loss, and death. How do these huge changes affect us? What makes loss unique in the fandom? What do we have i

Fuzz and Savrin fall out of a time portal from the future. It's grim, but hey it was the 20th anniversary of Furry Fiesta in their timeline! We talk about the con, Zootopia, read some con reports from Vancoufer, Zootopia, set aside the longest wall of text we've ever gotten, more Zootopia, grim advice for someone whose relationship is on the skids.. and some Zootopia. Zootopia. Like the show and want to toss some support our way? We have a Patreon - www.patreon.com/knotcast Episode 307 - TFF 2029

​Hey Papa Bear! I've written to you a couple times when I was younger and I've gotten good advice from you that has helped me get through some things in life. Thank you very much for what you've been doing in the community. 

It's been a good 5 years since I last wrote you, and I can gladly say that my life has been going in the direction I've always wanted it to and I'm pursuing a dream I've had since I was in 7th grade. I got admitted into my a college at the end of my senior year in high school and I've been a student at Purdue University since August so I can study to become a Materials (Science) Engineer. I also have a boyfriend who I met through a mutual friend of ours (we were actually set up by said friend, who is more than overjoyed that we're together. It was a funny realization that he went through all that trouble for us.) 

But just because my life is all and well doesn't mean it's that way for everyone. Before I met my current boyfriend, I was with a different guy. I'm going to call him "Jamie" for the sake of his privacy instead of his real name. When I was 16, I met him, we became friends and we started dating. I met him through the fandom and was kind, respectful and loving to me. At the time, it was like a dream come true since the last few boyfriends I've had weren't so great and I ended up with a broken heart and with more than a few tears being shed. So, back to Jamie. He fell as hard for me as I did for him. Everything seemed fine; we went about our lives in relative happiness despite the 5 year age gap between us and his social and economic situation in his life. Even though the guy went through hell and remained a stable, kind person, we weren't really right for each other. The first red flag came to me two months after we started dating. After only 2 months, he asked me to marry him. Being young and stupid as well as love drunk, I said yes. Jamie was happy at my answer and we stayed together. I didn't tell my parents, obviously. I did tell some friends o mine and they said that it was too early, and that the age gap was concerning and that my parents would flip their shit if they found out. I ignored them because I truly loved Jamie and I believed we could have a future together. When I was admitted into college and began to plan for my future career, I began to realize how difficult it would be for us to be together. His "history" would make it extremely hard for him to find a job, leaving all the pressure on me to pay bills and taxes and what not. Even though engineers get a pretty good pay and that I was going to be C-OP'ing later in college, I wasn't going to be rich and I'd have to work a lot. Also, I was having mental issues since I had depression and I knew it would strain us because of the pain it would cause me and Jamie would be powerless to help me significantly. 

Jamie and I sort of broke off while I was still in high school but the relationship never officially ended until my first semester in college. 

Ever since I broke off completely from him, he's been a wreck. I can see it in the way he talks to me and in the FA journals he posts. He's in a deep depression along with trying to find a job to support himself and his mother (who is handicapped, I'm not sure how, I just know that she is. I never asked about it.) It hurts me to see him suffering and I know I can't help him. I don't have a whole lot of money to my name that is truly mine. My parents have paid for my college fees and I've paid for text books and other necessary things myself. I can't send him money. I also can't get back together with him. I broke up with him already and I fear for unhappiness for both of us if I stayed with him and I'm very happy with my current boyfriend. I have no clue how I can help him, let alone talk to him without seeing his heart break right before my eyes. Seeing it threatens triggering a depression relapse for me, which has happened twice already and I really want my mental health to be stable, at least for a while. (I've always had a hard time dealing others' emotions because if I could perceive them, I felt them too.) 

I'm not sure how to help him or if I should. At this point I'm not sure what to even say to him. It also doesn't help that I'm in a different state currently because of college. I'm just struggling to decide if I should just cut off from him completely or if I should try harder to help him or make him happy. I still do love Jamie, just not in the same way that I did when I was 16. It's hard not to care for him still.

Dawnstar
 
* * *
 
Dear Dawnstar,
 
I’m so happy for you! Finding a great guy in your life and pursuing your education at a prestigious university! Kudos!
 
But Papabear understands your feelings and wanting to help Jamie, and although that is a noble sentiment, it is a misguided one.
 
We cannot help everyone on the planet who needs help. Imagine for a moment that you and Jamie didn’t have this history together and he was just a passing acquaintance. Would you contemplate giving him money and spending days or months or years emotionally supporting him? Probably not.
 
There are, literally, billions of people on this planet who are having some kind of struggle in their lives. While they can, and should, find people in their lives they can hold on to for support, ultimately the only person who is responsible for their lives and happiness is themselves. (You’re not too specific about his past, but I’m guessing he might have gotten into some trouble with the law?)
 
You and Jamie didn’t work out for logical reasons, and you’ve found that by leaving him you were able to find a new person in your life who was better for you, which really proves you made the right decision for you. There’s nothing stopping Jamie from doing something similar and finding a new girlfriend, which would certainly be a healthier pursuit than trying to get back together with you. He needs to move on and you need to stop looking backward and feeling guilty about his life when it’s not your responsibility.
 
Saying that, it doesn’t mean you have to be a jerk or cut him out completely. You can be friends and listen when he wants to talk, even offer advice (NOT money!) if you can, but just be sure that it’s clear that the two of you will never be a couple in a romantic sense. Again, his life, his choices, and his troubles are not your responsibility. You have enough on your plate with school and being a good girlfriend—oh! and don’t feel guilty that you are happy! That’s a good thing!
 
My mother always told me, “Guilt is the most worthless of emotions.” She’s wise.
 
Be happy. Live your life. Be kind, but don’t be a tool or someone’s rug to step on.
 
Hugs,
Papabear

We call this the "Age of Communication" and yet it seems to this bear that all of our emails, texts, blogs, etc. have made communicating to one another worse, not better. It has always been my intention to make this column a tool to help heal those who visit here, yet it seems that my recent column has hurt a furry named Toasty, and for that I apologize. 

When we communicate via text, we lose a good chunk of how humans communicate. One's tone of voice, facial, and body expressions convey much more than we give them credit for. When we remove those and leave only written words, we lose a lot. When I was studying English literature in college, especially schools of criticism, we see how this comes into play. Ten people can read the same novel and come up with ten different interpretations for it.

The same is true in emails and blogs. Apparently, I was not attentive enough about this and hurt poor Toasty's feelings. Guess it just proves that I'm certainly not perfect. I got a bit upset about some words used in emails toward me (I've become a bit oversensitive, I admit, because I have been attacked several times), but I recognize now that, in this case, no harm was meant.

Perhaps, if I can no longer write a column that is constructive (and this probably has a lot to do with the pain I'm still going through) it is time to stop.

Sincere apologies,
​Grubbs Grizzly

Huscoon and BCBreakaway join us again to discuss whether or not fursuits are becoming mainstream as well as the differences between fursuiting and performing as a mascot.

Metadata and Credits Fursuits and Mascots (w/ Huscoon and BCBreakaway)

Runtime: 32:44m

Cast: Wolfin, Levi, Huscoon, BCBreakaway

Editor: Levi

Format: 128kbps ABR split-stereo MP3 Copyright: © 2016 WagzTail.com. Some Rights Reserved. This podcast is released by WagzTail.com as CC BY-ND 3.0. Podcast thumbnail by @Exkhaniber, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Fursuits and Mascots (w/ Huscoon and BCBreakaway) - Huscoon and BCBreakaway join us again to discuss whether or not fursuits are becoming mainstream as well as the differences between fursuiting and performing as a mascot.

Rocket Raccoon (even with Groot in tow) might not seem the most likely candidate for a young readers’ novel. But that’s just what Tom Angleberger brings us in his new hardcover book, Rocket and Groot: Stranded on Planet Strip Mall. “After battling deadly space piranhas in Sector 7 of the Cosmos, Rocket and Groot crash-land on a planet made up of strip malls, maniacal robots bent on customer service, and killer toilets – yes, killer toilets! Told through the eyes of Rocket, Rocket and Groot will feature simple black-and-white drawing throughout, as Rocket uses a space stylus to express his adventures, visually, while Veronica, their space recording companion, lays out the adventure in text! Granted, the drawings are done by a space raccoon with a bad attitude, but what would happen if he gave Groot a shot to draw an adventure they had been on? What would we get? We’ll find out in the final chapter!” You have been warned. The book is available now from Marvel Press.

image c. 2016 Marvel Press