Dogpatch Press

Fluff Pieces Every Week

Category: Subculture

March 5, 2019

Galactic Camp sets record with 742 furries, a San Francisco Bay warship and a Soviet time traveler

by Patch O'Furr

“A breathtaking view of the San Francisco skyline from the deck of the USS Hornet at Galactic Camp. Featuring the extra fluffy Bandit Raccoon” – Muffle the Fox. (Previous story: A furry con takes flight on the USS Hornet, Feb 23, 2019)

Galactic Camp showed how nobody has weird fun like furries.

Photo by Orzel

Lucky Fox (Udachny Lisa), a 1970’s Soviet Podpolkovnik (Lieutenant-Colonel), was traveling through time on a mission to explore the future of fully automated luxury gay space communism. Unfortunately, due to budget shortages, his time machine was missing a few pieces. When he arrived, instead of seeing moon communes, he was astonished to be on The USS Hornet aircraft carrier surrounded by rainbow animal-people.

The future was a silly place. But Comrade Lucky Fox wouldn’t abandon his mission. It was time to sample alcoholic beverage drinks and dance for science and the glory of workers. (Worry to Glorkers!)

The uniformed time traveler made a furry party on a warship even weirder. But to those who already know him, he’s loved for running 10 years of “The Communist Party” annually at the Further Confusion convention in San Jose CA. (His party isn’t for politics… it’s for themed celebration of culture and donating to a Russian LGBT charity.) He was happy to do a Q&A about it below.

Mixing weird ingredients makes incredible events, and that’s why furry activity is steadily growing.

Galactic Camp set a record for biggest one-night event ever in furry fandom.

The furries who danced with Lucky Fox totaled 742 (corrected for double-counting of ticket upgrades and staffers.) Attendance of 742 sets a fandom record, according to some who helped make it happen.

Read the rest of this entry »

1 comment
March 1, 2019

Sonic the Hedgehog artist injured by hate crime; life can be prickly for struggling artists

by Patch O'Furr

Milton Knight has a hand in works of animation and cartoon art seen by millions. For the 1993 Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog TV series, he did storyboards and animation and is credited with design for the villain Robotnik. In nearly 40 years as a pro, he’s made countless fans happy. But on February 25, he was hospitalized with “cuts, a broken nose, and more” at the hands of a racist stranger. Knight described enduring 15 minutes of provocative hate speech before it exploded with “endless punches to the head”. The attacker injured his fist and was jailed for battery.

Knight’s creative drive is inspired by retro style from the Golden Age of animation, and traditional ink and paint. As a pro since 1980, he got into animation on Ralph Bakshi‘s Cool World and The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat. In comics, he worked on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Mighty Mouse. Like his inspiration from untamed 1930’s cartoons, he also did mature work like Heavy Metal and his own indie comic Midnite the Rebel Skunk. A fact that readers here may like is that he experimented with “extremely adult furry” work in the independent spirit of 1980’s fandom. In the network where pros, fans, and art curators meet, he has done archiving for the International Animated Film Association (whose president Jerry Beck was very close to “fandom founder” Fred Patten.)

Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a comment
February 12, 2019

“Furries make the internets go”: a Behind The Meme story with Durango Dingo and Summercat.

by Dogpatch Press Staff

Thanks to Summercat for starting this story about a long-lived and frequently-shared meme. He chatted with Durango Dingo, who is pictured in a suit from Fursuits By Lacy and Nick (Fursuiting.com.) This meme continues to spread from the heyday of Myspace to now, like when it was shared in 2018 by “Swift On Security”, a 263K follower mainstream Twitter account. (- Patch)

Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a comment
February 11, 2019

Galactic Camp: a furry con takes flight on the USS Hornet, Feb 23, 2019

by Patch O'Furr

*** Get tickets here for the event in Alameda CA ***

Article photos by Loboloc0 and Amenophis.

How do you describe a one-day, space-themed furry convention on an aircraft carrier? It’s such uncharted territory, you might need a satellite view.

Galactic Camp was formerly Space Camp Party, their first event on the San Francisco Bay waterfront in March 2018. The name was changed to avoid a trademark conflict. Besides a shiny new name, it’s back with the same crew, and ambitions that go as high as putting pawprints on the moon.

Here’s Chatah’s video from the first party:

What to expect at Galactic Camp: A dance with spectacular production including a video wall and stellar DJ lineup, food trucks, Burning Man art cars, and a top-shelf craft cocktail menu better than any furry event has had before. And the biggest feature is the venue, the USS Hornet. It’s a floating museum and visitor attraction, even before you throw a horde of colorful party animals on top.

Read the rest of this entry »

1 comment
December 10, 2018

More Furry YouTubers You Might Not Have Seen

by Pup Matthias

Last year, I did an article highlighting some Furry YouTubers you might not have seen. At that time I wanted to share some creators in the growing field of Furry YouTube. Now, it’s grown enough so being a Furry YouTuber is seen as a creative field like for any artist, writer, musician, or dancer in the fandom. There are tons of creators big and small in this little corner of YouTube, working to get your attention. Although sometimes it can be hard to see what makes one stand out from another.

When you have so many who put on their fursuits to do silly vlogs just like everyone like them, it can make viewers burn out because there’s little difference for watching one over another. That’s why someone like BetaEtaDelota who uses character stills over blurry gameplay footage, with his soothing voice, was able to stand out and grow as he did in this space.

Doing YouTube is like riding a bike. It’s easy to say how to do it (Be yourself, have decent audio and lighting, compelling titles, SEO, a consistent schedule, etc…) It’s another to actually ride it, and juggle all these factors together to make content that stands out and gets people to watch it. I’ve been making videos for over five years and have learned that the hard way.

So today, I have six creators for you who put their own unique spin on being a Furry YouTuber. This was actually inspired by a tweet from one creator who wished to share how other small creators have made an impact on the fandom in 2018. It’s not hard to see why they were recommended. Each of these creators goes beyond the fursuit, and uses their Furry as a part of their content without having it define their content.

The only thing to note is that this isn’t a “go subscribe to these creators” piece. Some of the creators I knew before the tweet. Others were new, and one is my personal pick. Each I believe is worth watching as examples to other creators, but I’ll leave the decision to you if you wish to follow them. Plus there’s some light criticism for some, because we’re always growing and there’s room to improve. Now here are more Furry YouTubers you might not have seen.

Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a comment
November 21, 2018

A tribute to Fred Patten, 1940-2018

by Patch O'Furr

Fred in 1993 at a furry party at San Diego Comic Con. Lizard unknown. Photo by William Earl Haskell.

Fred Patten passed away on November 12, 2018 at age 78, leaving a legacy as historian and founder for the anime and furry fandoms. He was the star guest poster here. It’s hard to think of having no more Fred posts, but easy to say how much he influenced everyone. I’m really going to miss him sending in news tidbits or emails from curious fans, and asking if I can use them, then working out collaboration posts from his prompts. This was one of many, showing how he was sought out as an authority on anime and furry by people as far away as Malaysia.

Fred is remembered by many outside of furry. A memorial post on File770 highlights author David Gerrold calling Fred a “classic old-school fan”.  The Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society’s memorial page has Melissa Conway saying: “He was, without a doubt, the dean of Furry Fandom.”

From fellow furry fans, Dronon posted a rememberence of Fred at Flayrah news.  So did Mark Merlino, cofounder of the first furry convention (ConFurence) and organizer of science fiction con parties that paved the way. Shortly before Fred’s passing, I ran into Mark and Rod of The Prancing Skiltaire (the long-running fan house in southern California) at PAWcon in San Jose. They had a table set up to remember gone but not forgotten fans. I think Fred deserves a place of honor in the middle of them all.

Read the rest of this entry »

4 comments
November 12, 2018

Jello Biafra’s Incredibly Strange Interview and dance party with furries: San Francisco, 12/1/18

by Patch O'Furr

Info: Frolicparty.com or Facebook – Frolic with Jello Biafra

Are you a man or are you a mouse?
If you love your fun, die for it!
– The Power of Lard by Lard

Man or mouse: why pick just one? Furries can have their cake and eat it too. (It’s cheese cake, of course!)

That line jumped out of my car music on a drive to San Jose’s PAWcon, on the day after Halloween. Besides rocking my giant ears, I was geeking out about just doing a 45 minute phone call with Jello Biafra.

Jello is a punk legend, the singer for Lard and the Dead Kennedys, the founder of Alternative Tentacles (one of the longest running indie record labels)… and he’s friendly to this fluffy fandom. Is that punk? Well, will it annoy purists and/or make you laugh? Then it just might be. And will the average furry care? I’d say it’s cooler than the times when furries infested the White House and assimilated Insane Clown Posse. If you could put all those things together, and let the mayhem commence with cute animals and crazy clowns doing a coup on the Capitol lawn, it would only be half as outrageous as this amazing event.

Speaking of Halloween, that wasn’t just a date on the calendar. Halloween is a classic Dead Kennedys song, and Jello referenced it when I asked for his thoughts on furries. The song rages against social regulations and asks why people don’t express themselves like that day, every day? So, furries, you got compared to a classic punk rager by the legend who wrote it. (He also wrote Nazi Punks Fuck Off. By the way, Nazi Furs Fuck Off!)

See why I was so stoked? Getting in that spirit also reminds me of Ministry’s Every Day is Halloween; Jello’s band Lard is a metal/industrial collab with the guys from Ministry. And when I asked what his fursona could be, he gave the punkest answer:

Read the rest of this entry »

11 comments
October 19, 2018

Zoosadism investigation: Capitalizing on abuse, and the ugly persistence of Kero.

by Patch O'Furr

Investigation continues – October 2018

Last month, furry fandom took a very dark turn. Zoosadism leaks: possibly the worst story to ever hit fandom was a mere introduction to the exposure of hidden networks for abuse and even snuff porn of animals.

The impact of it kicked up murky clouds of misinformation. After the shock, there was the usual speculation that comes with lesser dramas that usually die out in a week or two. There was smokescreening to hide evil that shocked even the most shady corners of the internet. There was rubbernecking, shit-stirring, evidence-tainting, and penny-chasing for views. And beneath it all was natural confusion. The ongoing story still defies explanation after a month, but on the good side, there’s significant work behind the scenes. That should have been done from the start to avoid a botched mess. Most of that work is for future updates. This update is mostly about public awareness.

One thing needs saying up front: you can definitely judge before a court does. “Innocent until proven guilty” is a legal standard to constrain government, not common sense about the evidence. There’s different standards between criminal court, civil court and society. (For example you don’t get a trial about fitness for employment, election, or safety with kids or animals.) Remember names like Casey Anthony, George Zimmerman, or OJ Simpson, and let a lawyer explain:

It’s not just about Kero, but apologism for Kero is the most obvious obstacle to progress.

If you followed so far and understand the evidence, then the name Kero may fill you with disgust and rage. Kero is a Youtuber exposed as a secret animal abuse fetishist, whose complicity got outsized notice due to his 100,000+ subscribers.

[UPDATE] Twitter Moment: “Kero is guilty – Evidence”

Kero had opportunity to own up or shut up. He didn’t. In the most self-serving way, he responded with cherrypicked and inconsistent denials, to brush this under the rug and keep his following, manipulate them to shield him, and even capitalize on notoriety built on puppy killing. I’ve never labeled anything obscene in my life, but making money from this is nothing less than obscene. Of course the info wasn’t leaked to target Kero and there’s a roster of worse offenders to account for. But his failure to at least relieve everyone from apologist bullshit makes him a poster guy for what’s wrong.

Kero dug a bottomless pit for himself, and the rest of fandom is on the edge. If you thought it was bad already, you haven’t seen anything yet.

Read the rest of this entry »

9 comments
October 15, 2018

Bass Totem brings ravers and furriends to DNA Lounge in San Francisco, October 26 2018

by Patch O'Furr

If you visit San Francisco and you like subcultural stuff, try DNA Lounge. They’re an anchor for night life that supports unusually cool shows.

It’s Sunday night and I just got back from being on stage there with Rachel Lark. She invited me because I answered her need for a furry in her music video. Rachel’s show was advertised with stuff like “sex-positive, musical theatre, stand up comedy, politically charged rock”, and that’s not even mentioning the circus performers suspended in mid air! For the low effort of jumping around and wagging my tail, I left with an invite to be in Bawdy Storytelling, another wild happening. I love when furries get welcomed like this, and it shows how much potential there is for fandom to mingle with other crowds.

Furries vs. goths, and furries vs. drag queens are among previous DNA Lounge shows covered here. A lot of credit for a thriving scene is due to DJ Neonbunny, founder of Frolic Party, whose activity brings recognition well outside of fandom. But since furries started flocking to Frolic in 2010, Northern California has been heating up with other crews starting new events too.

Midekai, Buster, Mr. Disk0, and Cosmo Coyote are some of the crew who talked to me about Bass Totem, their furry-led crossover with local rave events. The upcoming one is part of the monthly So Stoked party:

Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a comment
October 10, 2018

6 Exotic Fantasy Animals To Create A Unique Fursona

by Pup Matthias

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

Do you want something different in choosing a furry persona? Are the usual anthropomorphic wolves, foxes, cats, otters, and bears too overused in your opinion, ever with bright neon fur or wings or horns? Even dragons and unicorns are too common in furrydom for you?

There are still a number of exotic fantasy animals that you can choose among that are almost or completely ignored in furrydom. Frankly, some of these are probably unused because they look so ungainly, or are too impractical to exist. Others look too much like other animals. But they’re real in the lists of mythical animals. Some are more prevalent in heraldic art.

Antlered Fish

This is on the coat-of-arms of the municipality of Inari, Finland, in far northern Lapland. The village is on the shore of Lake Inari, the largest lake in Lapland. It is known for its salmon and trout fishing. Lapland is known for its reindeer. A salmon plus a reindeer’s antlers give us this image.

This would probably be more suitable for badge art than for a fursuit. There are not any salmon in furrydom, with or without antlers.

Chakat

The chakat, a 24th-century alien feline centauroid, is the creation of Melbourne furry fan Bernard Doove. He has written several novels set in the Chakat Universe, with covers by furry artists that illustrate the four-legged cattaurs. There are also foxtaurs, skunktaurs, and others, originally created artificially but now (in the 24th-century) breeding naturally. Doove has given another fan, James R. Jordan, permission to write chakat stories. There are no chakat fursuits, but Doove’s fursona is Chakat Goldfur.

Presumably Doove, who is active in Oz fandom and usually comes to America every year for Anthrocon, will give other fans if asked to use his chakats. This is another fursona that is more practical in fan art than in fursuits. (Are there any taur fursuits?)

Read the rest of this entry »

4 comments