Dogpatch Press

Fluff Pieces Every Week

Category: Society and culture

Fred Patten and Furries in FLAUNT fashion magazine

by Patch O'Furr

Historian and “elder statesman” of Furry fandom, Fred Patten, was recently asked to contribute to a high-end magazine: FLAUNT.  They’re “an international award-winning arts and culture publication based in Los Angeles.”  The editor’s request was for “a feature on cat people/cat culture for our upcoming NINE LIVES Issue.”

Fred sent me the below piece, adding a personal note –

I had hoped that it would contain more material about furry fandom, considering all of the material that I sent them.  But considering that FLAUNT is primarily a fashion magazine, it’s probably lucky that we got as much attention as we did.

COVER-785x1024If you got it, FLAUNT it!
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North Korea’s Dear Leader Kim Jong-un got pranked with plushie sex

by Patch O'Furr

kim1I’d save this tidbit for a “Furry Newsdump”, but why waste a perfectly good headline like that?

Here’s a story about a photo tour by North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. It was produced by their Glorious Socialist People’s Ministry of Correct Learnings (or whatever they call their state propaganda machine). The setting is a disturbingly empty, candy-colored orphanage. I think it was supposed to make him look cuddly. (But I’m just wondering if they ate the babies?)

None of the dictator’s censors noticed that someone with steel balls had posed plushies screwing in the scene. (I just hope whoever did it made a beeline for the border.) Scroll down for delicious details.

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This week in San Francisco: Independent shows and festivals offer new concept for furry events

by Patch O'Furr

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wild things poster2frolic

 

 

 

 

 

 

Four events are back to back in San Francisco:  Fursuit crawl – Furry portrait show gallery opening – Wild Things fetish party – Frolic dance party.  

On Friday 11/7/14 is the “Embarcadero Fursuit Crawl“.  The street fursuiting fun will move downtown, to a grand entrance at the gallery opening for Ron Lussier’s Furry portrait show.   Ron’s creative partner, Bobby Pin, shares:  More Press for the upcoming ‘Furries & Despair Photography Show’!

Saturday has the “art and sex” party – Wild Things.  This furry fetish and petplay party has gotten tremendous response. (It’s for a special interest and adult activity doesn’t represent furries in general.)  Afterwards is Frolic dance party: the monthly “mini-con” that attracts several hundred attendees, and helped influence spin-off parties across the USA.

The San Francisco Bay Area has so much activity, that furries often have multiple events to choose from at the same time.  On Halloween there was a cosplay dance party, a house party, and a street costuming meetup.  Consider what it says about developing subculture.

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Howl Toronto’s Q&A for “The Furclub Survey”, from organizer Raverfox.

by Patch O'Furr

Furclubbing: “A repeat/regular nightclub event by furries for furries.”  It’s a New Thing that’s been spreading since the late 2000’s.

This kind of dance party is independent from cons.  This builds on the growth of cons, and takes things farther.  It’s more established than events that happen once, house parties or informal meets.  Those can be inner-focused, or gather cliquish friends to only seek each other.   This brings partnership with venues that aren’t hotels, and supportive interest in the kind of events they host and promote.  It crosses a line to public space.  A stranger may walk in off the street to discover their new favorite thing.  It encourages new blood and crossover to other scenes.

See the list of parties at The Furclub survey.  Any one that gives a Q&A will get their own article.  Raverfox tells you more about his party…

Howl Toronto (2014 – now)

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howl

 

Howl Toronto is active since summer 2014.

Mission:

For Furries, Suiters, and any other member of all fandom communities in the GTA and abroad, Howl is about giving us a place to come to and cut loose with your friends, your mates and your fandoms. Convention dances are annual events, we want to be a heartbeat throughout the year.

For Furry DJ’s, Howl is about giving those who love electronic dance music a chance to experience that thrill of playing to a crowd of shouting fans and community members. Convention dances happen once a year, and it doesn’t matter what side of the mixing board you’re on, that’s just not enough to fill the need!

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Fangcon brings peace, love and music with a Woodstock theme, on November 6-10, 2014

by Patch O'Furr

 

FANGCON is “the only anthropomorphic convention located within the state of Tennessee”.  Draconis submitted an exciting notice about their third annual event, happening this weekend.

Personally, if I wasn’t hosting a paw-print furry Twister game myself this weekend… I’d make like a Husky and pounce on their “largest Fursuit Twister Mat the fandom has ever seen.”  Psst… Twister’s slogan is “The Game That Ties You Up in Knots.”  Teehee.   

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Furries & Despair photography show – “An event people are going to love and talk about”

by Patch O'Furr

The show “Furries & Despair” features Ron Lussier’s fursuiter portraits, and Bobby Pin’s photos of Detroit.  The gallery opening is Friday, November 7 in San Francisco.  The press release has gone out, announcing a fursuit crawl to meet at the gallery.  This is an excellent event to support and have fun with the public!

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Bobby Pin tells me:

40 People already got tickets to our show through Eventbrite.  23 People are coming to the show through Facebook and 32 are maybes.  I think it’s gonna be an event people are going to love and talk about for awhile 😛

More about Ron’s portraits:

Here’s a press release to share as PDF:

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Animated Dawgtown news, cool pandas and creepy clowns. Furry Newsdump (10-22-14)

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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Movies and video

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maxNew updates from Dawgtown, animated movie featuring sympathetic fighting dogs.

It’s an ambitious, traditionally hand-drawn animated drama about captive dogs fighting for freedom.  It has voice acting by George Foreman, and the indie spirit of a Ralph Bakshi movie.  The  director was super cool about providing a great interview to this blog.  Storyboard progress is just posted, and he reports Getting close to half the film (40 min) complete.”  The new scene shows Max, the hero, lost on the dangerous streets of New York City.  

See a rough animatic of Dawgtown storyboards in motion. 

Here’s the next fursuit music video you were expecting.  NOA NEAL – FULL MOON PARTY.

Call it a modest trend. Here’s a “sexy video full of crazy Cosplayers, playful cheerleaders and a band of exuberant dancers.” It’s from Noa Neal, a Dutch-born, Belgian pop singer since 2003.  In 2009 she had a career boost from a talent show.  Since 2012, she’s known for presenting kid’s content on Euro TV.  In 2013 she moved to the US to write and record with a producer associated with Katy Perry, Carly Rae Jepsen & Miley Cyrus.  Her new single was recorded in London and produced in Finland.  It might not be an Ylvis-style novelty hit, (let’s hope fursuiters don’t have to hear another song yelled at them), but it’s fluffy, harmless fun.

 

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Five pro photographers advancing the art of furry documentary.

by Patch O'Furr

Fursuit portraiture is getting ambitious.  It’s more than an inward-focused service just to make con-goers happy.  It’s starting to be treated as documentary art to publish and put in galleries.

These photographers often give special focus to fursuiters, a sub-section of this subculture.  Furry is about more than costumes, but it makes sense to emphasize their unique, non-replaceable fuzzy glamor.  News media puts them in front of every furry story because it answers a “show, don’t tell” challenge.

The photo subjects come with fixed expressions, designed by their makers.  Performance brings them to life.  It’s a challenge to avoid stageyness in flat images of a tactile experience.  The best photographers do it by putting something personal in the relationship – a signature approach.

Fursuit-makers don’t require outside notice to be cool.  But this work isn’t “ogling”, it’s inspired from within. It’s win-win for both sides.

Here’s five photographers earning notice for their Furry documentary art. Update: added a sixth at bottom. (This is a nonprofit blog only sharing to promote artists- send questions here.)

Ron Lussier

AeroShep

Project- “Further Confessions.”  Gallery show opens in San Francisco On November 7, 2014.

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Creators of furry fetish party “Wild Things” explain “human sized cat box”.

by Patch O'Furr

citadelLet’s be clear:  Furry is an art and fiction thing, not a sex thing.  It’s always been a sensitive topic.  In the earliest days of organized furry conventions, many felt that they were derailed by advertising in bad places.  Media exploitation and nasty “hit pieces” deepened resentments. Without forgetting this background, sex is a topic that can’t be dismissed.

Adult activity is one optional ingredient in a wide open collection of interests.  Some furries prefer clean activity only.  Some prefer adult.  Many express both interests as part of life, in the right times and places.

Such personal interests don’t represent everyone, but they have value.  Adult activities pushed limits to open new freedoms and rights.  They’ve led advances that built the internet and alternative communities.

In San Francisco, some furry fans recognized a demand for adult-friendly space.  An opportunity was caused by overflowing crowds at night life events, that don’t host adult activities. More opportunity came from an invite to join forces with a venue that does.  The Citadel is a BDSM “dungeon” club, with a supportive community of 1000+ members.  It invites other communities including leather and petplay together for this event.

These sparks grew into the first “Wild Things” party, scheduled for November 8, 2014.

Private parties happen among friends – but as far as I know, there’s never been a bold open-invite event promoted like this.  The San Francisco Bay Area has a huge population of geeks and sex-positive subculture, making it more likely to work here than anywhere else.  It’s caused attention and rumors among furries, bystanders and others.  I reached out to “Wild Things” organizer Catarina to get the real scoop.

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Creators of a furry fetish party dare to be “Wild Things” (NSFW content)

by Patch O'Furr

fritz-the-catWild Things:  at San Francisco’s Citadel club – November 8, 2014 (18+)

Artists and dealers are invited to show and sell your wares.
Info: (Ask me – patch.ofurr at gmail.)

I apologize in advance for humping your leg. It’s that exciting to share news about a unique, gutsy, sexy, creative, WTF happening for consenting adult friends. But first, have a soft intro.

Is furry a “sex thing?” It’s the #1 topic that furries love to hate.  Some call it a myth spread by media exploitation.  But the internet is bursting with self-generated erotica.  Reddit’s r/yiff community has more subscribers than r/furry.  The media doesn’t have enough imagination to be that dirty.

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