Dogpatch Press

Fluff Pieces Every Week

Category: On the scene

Fox cartoons that make you tingly. Furry Newsdump (10-3-14)

by Patch O'Furr

Here’s links, headlines and little bites of news to make your tail wag.  Story tips are always welcome.

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In the Media and around Furry Fandom…

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berionWhen people become stuffed animals (Wenn Menschen zu Plüschtieren werden)

Furrymedia has the German news article.  It covers Eurofurence, gives a very nice description of what Furries are – and interviews some really cute ones.

Furries! Hack takes you inside the furry community…

“… to find out why people love dressing up as furry animals. Is it a sex thing? A creative outlet? Or, just a way to belong?”  This radio/podcast for young Australians covers their con, FurJam.

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Facebook’s “real name” controversy, Drag queens, and furries

by Patch O'Furr

hug-in-303

Facebook closed my account. There’s a wave of furry victims of this ill-planned policy. Did it happen to you too?

Behind the fursona, there’s deeper issues, like the way internet trolls enjoy gay-bashing and compromising safety for participants of certain live club events. These names are positive statements. Forcing you not to use yours is a negative statement.

When I organized a “hug-in” coinciding with a protest threat from Westboro Baptist Church (of “God Hates Fags” infamy), it was meant to be a positive thing of it’s own… but also to answer them with positivity.  (They didn’t show- all we did was hug.)  Facebook’s policy jeopardizes people’s safety to speak that way.

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A slightly naughty Furry News Dump (9-17-14)

by Patch O'Furr

Here’s links, headlines and little bites of news to make your tail wag.  Tips are always welcome.

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In the Media…

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What Is a Furry? Beyond the Masks at Furry Migration 2014.

A refreshingly positive article in the Minneapolis Citypages has a three minute video. It has heavy focus on fursuiters, but quotes literary-furries too.

Symbicort’s cartoon wolves.
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A :60 commercial spot for the pharma company was made to air nationally, using drawn 2D animation to beautiful effect you don’t see enough these days. (I’m interested to know what agency/studio made it… it looks like illustrator/animator Barry Bruner helped pitch it.

Road Raging Russian Beaten By Furries.

(Really, it’s non-furry mascots – but it makes a good headline.)

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VNV Nation, Skinny Puppy, industrial music and furries: an inexplicable multi-nerd connection

by Patch O'Furr

vnv-e1399510320391

UPDATE: VNV dropped out of the tour and got replaced by Frontline.

One of these things is not like the others… But I want to share, OK? If you make a Venn diagram of the way nerdy interests overlap, it will be plaid.  Furries are nerdy.  Many nerds love cool music. Some furries like industrial music.

Industrial music is aggressive, exciting and ominous, with futuristic themes of dystopia and urban decay. As art, you might call it the cold, metal shadow to the light side of nature, animals and furry things. It’s a big contrast to the sunny electronic pop that furry con-goers may expect. (Does music have anything to do with animals, anyways? Well, heavy metal gets associated with Wolves…)

Pictured: Ronan Harris from VNV Nation, giving no fucks with furry friends outside a 2013 show at Slim’s in San Francisco.

Smash Wolf reported:

All the furries from last night’s VNV show pose for a moment with Ronan Harris. After he got a change of clothes and got off the bus, he dodged past a LONG line of waiting fans just to seek us out. Seems pretty surreal when the star of the show seeks you, the fan, out. Turns out his wife still has pictures of us in costume from the last tour. Thanks, Agnieszka!

VNV Nation is on tour again with 3 more top bands, and some furry music fans are excited! Tickets are here for the December 19 show in San Francisco.

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Gay Life TV’s “Nomi Darling Show” features fabulous furries, and my very special date with Nomi.

by Patch O'Furr

 

still2In July, I flew to Anthrocon in a rather poopy mood. Getting burdened with bad work on a fun trip will do that. I couldn’t even find a dog bowl of booze to drown my sorrows, because the stupid liquor stores had stupid closing hours. I walked back to the con hotel with a black cloud blocking the sparkles that usually follow my fursuit.

Then a stunning vision in a white fur coat grabbed me by my rainbow suspenders. She asked, “will you be my furry boyfriend?”  The cloud flew away, and we turned into TV stars!

The Nomi Darling Show, episode #2, has our date.  (It’s in “Love and the Fursuit of Happiness”, at the 26:00 mark.)

Sketch comedy/variety is the style of the show.  It highlights “Short films, parodies, topical satire, and original music videos from underground musicians”.   It reaches up to 80,000 viewers on Pittsburgh-based Gay Life Television – “the first LGBTQ-dedicated IPTV station in America that is both LGBTQ owned and operated.”

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The news is full of fursuiters and animation: Furry news dump (8-31-14)

by Patch O'Furr

Here’s some news curated from a Furry view.  Enjoy a big sloppy bowl of news bites, scoops, and Snausage links.  Tips welcome- I’d love to post yours!

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Media attention is very active recently…

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– Fursuiter in San Francisco magazine. 

This feature page about bronies has local furry “Quinnton Fox” in pony suit.

– Bronies in San Francisco’s The Bold Italic.  

A photo project documents Bronies, and what being one means.

– Wall Street Journal’s furry Photo of the Day.

A police officer halts traffic as delegates arrive to Eurofurence in Berlin.

– Meetup.com’s Furry group made the cover of San Diego Reader.

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Flock of furries in photo book – News of the week (8-21-14)

by Patch O'Furr

In this week’s news and links:
Anthrocon in photo book. Fursuiters in show for Gay Life TV, and French movie “Babysitting”. New con announcements.
And more… Tips welcome- I’d love to post yours!
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Courtesy Arthur Drooker / Coolhunting.com

Courtesy Arthur Drooker / Coolhunting.com

– Photography: “Conventional Wisdom” at Anthrocon

Flocks, pods of whales, conventions of humans… Arthur Drooker seeks unusual human behavior for his photo book. Design and documentary publisher, Coolhunting, posted his report from Anthrocon in July. Here’s the kind of conventions he’s covered, linked on his website : Furries, Santas, Clowns, Reenactors, Bronies, Ventriloquists, Taxidermists, and Lincolns. At a talk in May (at 1:38:00) Drooker described sensitivity of the Clown community to their images in pop culture (like in slasher movies.) Sound familiar?

– Meet the Furries of Rocky Mountain FurCon 2014

The Denver Westword was “the first magazine or newspaper worldwide to employ a medical marijuana critic.” Their staff emerged from the haze to get a slideshow of this con’s fursuiters.

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– French movie: “Babysitting” puts fursuiters on big screens

Commenting on my article about furries gaining respect in movies, Vector tells us:  Fursuiters are in party scenes of the movie “Babysitting”, a comedy that was popular in France, with good reviews and prizes.  It’s released on DVD this week in France. Here’s fursuiter photos from the movie premiere.

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The San Francisco Furry Film Festival

by Patch O'Furr

… only exists in my imagination. BOO…

BUT WAIT. This isn’t so far-fetched. Many festivals thrive on weirdly specific subjects. I submit:
The Internet Cat Video Festival, the International Moustache Film Festival, and 9 more of “the world’s weirdest.”

The idea perks up my ears. Now, I say with love, many furries will watch ANYTHING with furries in it… no matter how bad. There’s no harm in that! I love me some bad low budget movies. (By reputation, we could name Alpha and Omega.) Lovingly compiled programming dedicated to furries seems likely to attract a core audience. And for curiosity and weirdness sake, probably nerdy movie lovers too.

Start with fantasy programming. Obviously, screening rights to many fan favorites aren’t even in the same world as us. Disney would sooner let random furries screen the X-rated Mickey Mouse cartoon (that I just totally made up), before letting them charge admission to the Lion King. But after making a fantasy list, actual choices would be left for a practical, lets-do-this film festival, with deliciously one-of-a-kind flavor.

Imaginary programs (AND WHAT CAN YOU ADD?)

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News of the week: Furries and rare books (8-6-14)

by Patch O'Furr

In this week’s feature of news bites and links:
Furries and rare books – Pacific Anthropomorphics Weekend set for November – Rocket Raccoon – Furry music vids by Megan Lane, Sheppymomma
And more… Tips welcome- I’d love to post yours!
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spacecat

– Cats on Science Fiction Book Covers

Reddit furries enjoyed the topic. (A “Kzin” book cover led me to find furry on the 90’s internet!) It reminded me of a pleasing find: the 1950’s kid’s book series “SPACE CAT”. It’s full of vintage charm- see the book covers. Here’s a cool fact: author Ruthven Todd had serious credit in poetry, and was good buddies with the O.G. 1930’s Surrealist movement. Look out for this neat collectible, because used copies run for $50 and up online.

– Rare book dealers discuss “talking animal” fables from the Middle Ages

A question was recently raised in a rare books group on a social network: are fables featuring animals for kids? Yes, they are—but of course, not only.

Of Goupils and Men, or the Bestial Condition of Man” is an article in dealer journal Americana Exchange. Author Thibault Ehrengardt shares his find, a 1743 book about classical character Reynard the Fox:

Quite a disturbing reading… a vicious creature who never pays for his crimes; on the contrary, he is eventually appointed to the highest position of the kingdom — a bloody and immoral tale… For kids?

– Pacific Anthropomorphics Weekend announced: November 14-16, 2014.

The newly planned event intends to be at San Jose, CA’s Airport Garden Hotel – two months before Further Confusion, the second largest con by attendance. This follows internal controversy about organizing, possibly resolving a few private issues. Can it make San Jose the first city to have two cons a year?

This year’s “PAWCon” is a fall festival fundraiser with a focus on a social weekend with great music, games, and more. Visit pacanthro.org for more details. Registration will open soon, and hotel reservations open next week.

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Furry news of the week: Pittsburgh’s official “Anthrocon Day” (7-5-14)

by Patch O'Furr

ANTHROCON’s official holiday, world record, FBI investigation – Wolfgem and Beastcub recover from tragedy – New con: Pac Anthro Weekend – More

Here’s the regular feature of Furry news bites, scoops, and Snausage links. Tips welcome- I’d love to post yours!
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– July 5th officially declared “Anthrocon Day” by Pittsburgh’s Mayor!

– WTAE reports: Furries return to Pittsburgh for Anthrocon
Pittsburgh TV on the world’s largest annual Furry convention that brings around 6000 people and $7 million to the city.

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