Dogpatch Press

Fluff Pieces Every Week

Category: Subculture

“This Furry Life” podcast seeks storytelling contributors.

by Patch O'Furr

Flayrah reports Roo’s story:

Potoroo, host of the Fuzzy Notes podcast, is developing a new podcast that models itself after NPR’s This American Life with a focus on the stories of the furry fandom.

Roo’s blog has a call for producers/correspondents.  He wants to find a group “interested in telling stories about furry”, teach them what he knows about podcasting, hold idea meetings, divide each story between a correspondent and a producer, and be the group’s consultant to release one per month.

Interested contributors are asked to email him here:

  • Let me know what interests you about the project.
  • Let me know how much time you think you could devote in a month.
  • Tell me a few ideas you have for stories you’d like to pursue.
  • If you have already done some podcasting or writing, link me so I can see your work.

I told him it was a great idea, whose time has come.  I think story content can be more “furry” than music.  To be honest, furry talk podcasts I have heard seem unfocused with chat and filler, like “you have to know the hosts” to sustain interest.  Let’s hear some solid storytelling!

There are some excellent storytelling podcasts that have considered animating episodes using their audio.  It’s a smart way to piggyback new stuff on top of existing content.  They can take a popular story and turn it into a short film for Youtube.  Consider that for furry stories… a unique match of content and medium.  This idea REALLY needs to happen!

Potoroo was 2014 Guest of Honor at Wild Nights in Oklahoma.  See his bio there.

 

More coverage of San Francisco photo gallery show opening, “Furries & Despair”

by Patch O'Furr

Please help answer the question at the end of the story!

“Furries & Despair” happened on 11/7/14. It was super successful. It featured portraits of fursuiters from Further Confusion by Ron Lussier, and Bobby Pin’s urban decay photos from Detroit. The show was packed with people having fun in and out of costume. You don’t often see such energy at a gallery.

Courtesy of Bobby Pin:

Thank you again for everybody that came out and supported our work. We hope you guys had a great time. It was great seeing everyone.
BAMM did an amazing job filming the opening night. Please give them some love.
Check out the wonderful video they did for the Furries & Despair Show:

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TAILWHIPPED dance party invites furries on 12/6/14. Cosmo Coyote talks event producing.

by Patch O'Furr

Furclubbing:  “A repeat/regular nightclub event by furries for furries.”  See the list of parties at The Furclub survey.  Here’s a new one:

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DJ Cohn Jonner shares info below.  Talk with organizer Cosmo Coyote follows. 

Hello everyone! I’d like to tell you all about an 18 and up event I’m performing at hosted by Cosmo Coyote on December 6 in Galt, CA, called TAILWHIPPED!

THEME: FURRY ANIMALS VS MONSTERS

Are you a party animal or party monster? Ever wanted to dress as your favorite fictional creature, monster, furry animal cartoon or video game character? well this is the party for you. get those ears, onesies, tails, paws, fluffies, fursuits, or terrifying monster costumes/cosplay out and get ready to rumble it out on the dance floor at Tail Whipped! who will be the victorious this round? The furry animals or monsters? who will be TAILWHIPPED? Muahahaha!

WHEN & WHERE: Read the rest of this entry »

Recommendations for the 2014 Ursa Major Awards for excellence in the furry arts

by Patch O'Furr

UMAweb1_2aCollege Humor’s “Furry Force” cracked up watchers with a grossout Furries parody that struck Youtube gold in April.  “Yiff mode activate!” probably won’t be heard in a big time superhero movie soon, but the two animated shorts were popular enough to get 3.5 million views up to now.  Even many targets couldn’t hate it, because it’s not outsider derision.  It’s laugh-with-you comedy from personal experience, according to my interview with the writer, Adam.

I sent Furry Force to the Ursa Majors Recommended Anthropomorphics list, for best “Anthropomorphic Dramatic Short Work” of 2014.  In April, I asked Adam how he’d like one.  He said:

I’d be incredibly honored to be nominated for an Ursa Major award! The furry community knows what they want and what they like, so I’d consider that a real honor as a writer.

Speaking of that list… a little blog like Dogpatch Press, which only reaches a handful of highly attractive readers, couldn’t compare to publications with real audiences.  But if you feel like it, I can’t stop you from sending it to recommended@ursamajorawards.org for “Recommended Anthropomorphic Magazine”.  (They don’t want “detrimental” material, so ask if they take bribes to allow scurrilous gossip anyways.)

Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian fan, submits this:

“There are less than two months left to recommend titles for the ALAA’s 2014 Recommended Anthropomorphics List.  See the Ursa Major Awards website for the current 2014 Recommended List.  The next update will be on November 30.  If you have read, seen, or played anything furry that was first published or released during 2014, and it is not already on the Recommended List, please recommend it yourself before the end of the year.

Nominations for the 2014 Ursa Major Awards will open on January 15, 2015 (the first day of Further Confusion 2015), and will remain open until February 28, 2015.  Fans often use the Recommended Anthropomorphics List as a guide to what is worth nominating.  If there is anything that you consider worth recommending, don’t wait for someone else to do it.  Speak up!”  – Fred Patten

Address again: recommended@ursamajorawards.org – I have hugs for anyone who sends anything, because furries are cool and sharing their stuff is cool.

Readers may value this tip that Fred posted at Flayrah:

I have not seen any mention of next year’s Ursa Major Awards presentations anywhere. This was announced at this year’s presentations at CaliFur X, but it has not been publicized anywhere.

The presentation of the 2014 Awards will be at Morphicon 2015, in May 2015.

The presentation of the 2015 Awards will be at What The Fur 2016, in May 2016.

 

Furry photo show leads to Movember cancer benefit, and “round table” talk on 11/22/14

by Patch O'Furr

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Harley (bandana) and Spottacus (glowing eyes) at “Furries & Despair”

San Francisco had a series of furry events last week.  Before it, I posted: “Independent shows and festivals offer new concept for furry events”. After, I posted about the enthusiastic response.  The creativity and demand for more couldn’t be contained in one event. Here’s further developments that spun off from the successful gallery opening of Ron Lussier and Bobby Pin’s “Furries and Despair” photo show.

Movember Benefit:

 
Donate at least $25 to Ron Lussier’s cause for Movember – and receive a 5′ x 5′ Signed Furry Portrait from his ‘Furries & Despair Show’!

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“New concept for furry events” brings enthusiastic response in San Francisco.

by Patch O'Furr

Last week, San Francisco had a series of back to back events: a street fursuiting “crawl”, a furry photo gallery opening, a fetish party, (a private special interest thing not representing others), and Frolic dance party.  The series drew more furries than my butt attracts fleas.

It was first-time fursuiting for Sketchywolf.  He attended all of the events, and posted about it:

I’ve never seen so much love for furries from random strangers! So many photos! So many smiling faces! … Fursuiting turned out to be even more fun than I imagined it to be! I love the reaction of others when they see a suit. Walking over to Frolic suited, and back to the hotel and the end of the night, I was stopped by people wanting to take pictures!  I danced, I partied, I hugged EVERYBODY. Oh! I had SO MUCH fun!

Before the events, I posted: “Independent shows and festivals offer new concept for furry events”.  Each was organized separately, but with loose ties.  They used special venues and locations to add character beyond the “sterile/consumer” vibe of a hotel (like one comment said).  I called it a model for growing beyond cons, and proposed a new, free-range fair or festival concept.  Judging by the enthusiastic response, the idea was more than hype.  It’s a sign of a burgeoning subculture.  Let’s look at how things went.

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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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