Tag Archives: furry

CONS, FURRY, FURRY FIESTA, RANDOM REVIEW

66 Things I Noticed During Furry Fiesta 2016

fuzzies

#19 Taking a ‘fuzz-ie’

    1. BEFORE-Starting on this list two weeks before the con. Good Lord, do I need this vacation.
    2. The mobile scheduling website thingie works much better on my iPhone, but come on guys, no app?
    3. Even though I now have an iPhone 6, I’m debating using my iPad mini to record the fursuit parade.
    4. Note to self: Free up iPhone storage before event for ALL THE PICTURES
    5. I’ll be staying at the overflow hotel a block away this year and praying for no rain.
    6. BY MYSELF. BECAUSE REASONS.
    7. Debating getting a haircut, my bear earses look better when I have some fuzz up top, but carrying the Edfro around does get a bit warm.
    8. /looks at forecast Guess I’ll have to invest in an umbrella
    9. Got over 10,000 steps in the two days before the con 😀
    10. THURSDAY/DRIVING THERE – It says something when the tech support nerd is the ‘normal guy’ in the car.
    11. That is to say: I’m the only one that doesn’t have a fursuit
    12. Okay, so I might be just a little jealous
    13. YES MARY I HAVE THE AIR MATTRESS
    14. Missed one turn in Dallas and getting un-lost was an adventure, as well as costing me a few bucks in extra tolls >.<
    15. People are worried about the rain but the humidity is going to kick my pants
    16. Overflow hotel is nice!
    17. Forgot to bring registration email. Thank you business center!
    18. Must take pictures of all the fuzzies!
    19. PROTIP: Hold your camera horizontally to get selfies with fuzzy peoples!
    20. Hotel WiFi is dog slow, whatever happened to having an Ethernet connection in the room?
    21. I like the motivational hotel key card: REST UP AND GET BACK OUT THERE
    22. FRIDAY-Waking up at the same time you normally get up for work when you’re on vacation = BLARGH
    23. Two Waffle House trips in a row? Yes, please!
    24. Weather has been slightly uncooperative, but I’m dealing with it.
    25. WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVEN’T SEEN ZOOTOPIA YET?! *head asplodes*
    26. Did we HAVE to put the furry smut peddlers just inside the Dealers Den entrance?
    27. Seeing my cover art on paper (twice no less) made me squee!
    28. No more throwback ashtrays in the men’s room stalls. I’m just a little sad.

      lot

      #29 Uh-oh

    29. Looking at the getting-muddy annex parking on Friday afternoon made me VERY happy that I am staying in the overflow.
    30. Friends with cameras, PLEASE STAHP TAKING PICTURES OF ME!
    31. Two panels so far, one meh and one bad, no wonder they’re asking for feedback
    32. Can I give a panel on how to give panels?
    33. I probably should, especially considering how many people have been asking me ARE YOU DOING A PANEL HERE?
    34. About to go get some gel inserts because my feet are KILLING ME
    35. SATURDAY-There’s something appropriate about starting the day with a bowl of Lucky Charms
    36. Had homework to do too, the annual Furry Survey
    37. Some interesting questions this year, looking forward to seeing the results
    38. Went to voice acting panel even though my voice is shot, just couldn’t resist
    39. Voice acting presenter handed out shinies to participants! YAY SHINIES!
    40. Okay, so they were ribbons, but still! YAY RIBBONS!
    41. They don’t seem to have people monitoring the panel room entrances and checking times, are they short on volunteers?
    42. Finally got to see Furry Psychology all the way through. I will openly admit to internally squeeing when I saw the little shout-out.

      20160315_132346248_iOS

      #40 YAY RIBBONS!

    43. It seems that Twitter is becoming a preferred way for furs to communicate.  I’m @randomizer9, by the way!
    44. Two times you don’t see many fursuiters during a furcon: early in the morning and just before the fursuit parade
    45. Lucky for me the parade wasn’t longer, my iPad almost ran out of memory!
    46. Not sure if having a coffee at 10PM was a good idea, guess I’ll find out
    47. I don’t dance and I don’t drink, so there ain’t much for me to do Saturday night.
    48. Hmm, use crappy hotel WiFi to slowly upload my video, pay for ‘faster’ and hopefully not crappy WiFi, or ‘borrow’ the business center’s printer’s network cable? 😉
    49. SUNDAY-Three trips to Waffle House? Why the hell not?
    50. FYI: We don’t have Waffle House in San Antonio, hence the slight obsession.
    51. It’s kind of nice to be sitting in Artist’s Alley, I can take pictures of fursuiters as they come by 😀
    52. A wiseenheimer told me I was going to leave with one book left, and he was right. /shrug
    53. If you want to be a ‘planner’ you have to plan EVERYTHING
    54. Checking my pictures for duplicates and realizing half of them are photobombs.
    55. 620PM and the sun is still out? What order of madness is th…oh, that’s right. Daylight savings time >.<
    56. At the Scritch n B*ch, slightly disappointed at a lack of taking ownership of the issue and not presenting the obvious solution to #41
    57. That is to say: WHY DON’T YOU VOLUNTEER SMART GUY
    58. I think I will next year, there are a few gaps of time when I’m not doing much, like on Saturday night.
    59. If you feel a need to prefix your feedback by saying ‘I am not whining,’ YOU ARE WHINING

      burd

      #64 Early bird!

    60. We’ve put a non cute fursuiter into a cute fursuit…let’s see when happens
    61. What happens is he sobs: “I DON’T KNOW HOW TO BE CUTE”
    62. Didn’t have the heart to tell the gal handing out shot glasses that I don’t drink, oh well.
    63. Realized I forgot to take my Vitamin C on Sunday OH NOES CON FUNK
    64. MONDAY/AFTERWARDS – Saw one last fursuiter in the lobby Monday morning, he said he was in “power saving mode.”  I think we all were by then!
    65. Final picture count: 339 WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME IPHONE
    66. Already have my lab coat ready for “Mad Science” next year!
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ANIME, Apple, CONS, Eduardo Soliz, FURRY, SAN JAPAN

64 Things I Noticed During San Japan 8-Bit

#8: Where am I, again?

#10: Where am I, now?

Another year, another San Japan!  I presented two panels and took lots of cosplayer pictures!

  1. BEFORE THE SHOW-Went to a bronycon to practice ‘Furry 101’ for San Japan and now I’m going to do a ‘live podcast’ there. YOU OWE ME HENKIN
  2. Bought a 30-pack of Vitamin-C fizzy-drink packets for this and future cons, be interesting to see how long they last
  3. Looking forward to using my iPad mini during my panels, no more lugging around my laptop!
  4. Thing I hope to not see but probably will: people scalping Maid Café tickets.
  5. So there’s a ‘blue moon’ Friday night when I’m doing a panel with WolfBoy. GREAAAT
  6. I spend more time worrying about what I’m going to wear to a convention than to my job
  7. 100+ plus forecast means no black shirts, thank you
  8. Decided to lend my driveway to some friends for the weekend…who didn’t park in the driveway /facepalm
  9. Sorry, 7-11, but Valero has God’s Coke Machine
  10. Nice giant maps, just missing a “You are here” sticker
  11. Did AA get smaller? (answer: no)
  12. Did the Dealers room get…taller? (answer: mmmaybe)
  13. I’m getting a little bit of that ‘where’s the anime’ vibe from some of the vendors in the Dealers room :/
  14. Looks like the Grand Hyatt has become the ‘No Fun Zone’
  15. Got my ears fixed all professional-like, yay!
  16. S. David Ramirez’s cut in half business cards = GENIUS
  17. FRIDAY -Friend: “I don’t like waking up early on my day off.” You wanted a ride, so deal with it, Frumpasarus Rex
  18. I bought him donuts so all was forgiven
  19. Stupid Windows Phone Guidebook app being derpy. Need to get an iPhone
  20. I keep wanting to go in the wrong way of the Dealers Den >.<
  21. Taco Bell at the Rivercenter Mall? REALLY?
  22. Room 002? I thought it was 202 WHARRGARBL
  23. These artist displays are getting to the point where you have to struggle to find the ARTIST now.
  24. Dave gave me a panel that no one would show up to so he could hide for an hour.
  25. That’s okay because DAVE-SENPAI NOTICED ME
  26. You know it was a long day when your electronics start to give out, iPad and phone both ran out of juice.
  27. Hit over 10,000 steps today according to my 3DS, think that’s the highest I’ve ever done in a day.
  28. Which means I need to get more exercise >.<
  29. Internets on my Cricket/AT&T phone are flaky as all heck, might need to get a new provider when I decide to pull the trigger on that iPhone.
  30. SATURDAY-Got up at oh dark thirty to get a parking spot >.<
  31. I can’t help but notice the little things that are wrong with some of the retro-styled merch
  32. Yay for wide aisles!
  33. Popular cosplay: Steven Universe
  34. Two BayMaxes got quite a bit of attention
  35. One does not simply talk to a table-top player mid game. Fist-bump and move on.
  36. Person in car at crosswalk: “What is this?” Me: “Comic Con” I FAILED YOU DAVE-SENPAI
  37. AA was blocked off for a while, Fire Marshals, maybe??
  38. Perhaps they should have ran the line INTO the convention center instead of the atrium.  Fursuiter friends were not happy
  39. Yay for Stephanie and her full panel room!
  40. Picked up an ocarina on a whim. *insert drummer joke here*
  41. If the maid café ain’t all its cracked up to be, I want a refund…from Chris
  42. ‘Perfect spot’ right in the sunlight THANKS CHRIS
  43. Going to add the Pokémon theme to my list of songs anime nerds sing on command
  44. Maid café was a nice change of pace, a pleasant way to spend an hour in what is often a overwhelmingly manic event
  45. Unlimited samples of Coke? DON’T MIND IF I DO
  46. Dear mock combat people: Please figure out how big your arena is going to be ahead of time instead of telling people to move back multiple times
  47. Between the wristband policy and lack of chill spaces, I’m thinking the Hyatt doesn’t like San Japan attendees
  48. SUNDAY-Forgot to take my C this morning, hope I don’t regret it.
  49. No selfies for me, dumb cheap no front camera-having phone XP
  50. I see San Japan charges the ‘fat tax’ for larger shirt sizes
  51. Screaming JUST DO IT has become a thing. Greaaat
  52. I’d rather yell OHHHHH with Mordecai and Rigby
  53. I’m starting to think Bluetooth speakers are one of mankind’s worst inventions. I DEMAND A BAN.
  54. Unless breakdancing is involved, then we’re cool.
  55. Full house for Furry 101, w00t

    #55 Full house!

    #55 Full house!

  56. I’ll get a Lightning->VGA adapter because ‘cons don’t have       the latest equipment’ I come in and see a projector with an HDMI cable CRAP
  57. Found a cable but iPad no likey YOU HAD ONE JOB, iPad!
  58. Ended up using the silly thing as a clock. A FUZZING CLOCK
  59. Thank God AJ showed up with his laptop
  60. Joel did a bang-up job as my co-presenter, added some humor to the proceedings
  61. Guess I’ll always be the Dean Martin to someone else’s Jerry Lewis
  62. The half-hour length of my presentation used to bother me, but it leaves time for questions and pictures!
  63. Hit the road after the panel, another great time!
  64. It’s Cyborg 009, guys! Whole world of difference!
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CONS, FURRY, Wild Nights

49 Things I Noticed During Wild Nights 2015

Snazzy!

#18: Snazzy!

Unlike last year where I was accompanied by a cacophony of friends, Wild Nights 2015 was a solo affair.  Work and life has been a bit stressful lately so I wanted some alone time.

  1. THURSDAY-DRIVE UP-If I’m going to be away for more than two days, I always make sure the house is relatively clean.
  2. Rain in the forecast, oh boy.
  3. Left my university ring at home and my right hand feels naked.
  4. Going to try to save my recyclables this trip, see how that goes.
  5. I think a place called Slovacek’s (in West) has nearly duplicated Buc-ees.
  6. The new Buc-ees north of Temple is now open though, so it seems redundant.
  7. Just north of Dallas, I got passed up by a truck from “Hakuna Matata Plumbing.” Huh?
  8. Took only 360 miles to get to the Texas border from San Antonio…sheesh.
  9. Saw a restaurant advertising Tex-Mex…in Oklahoma?  Get a rope.
  10. Sign on highway: “Do not follow construction vehicles” THIS IS A PROBLEM?
  11. Took a short cut in Oklahoma because it looked good on the map.  HOLY CATS NEVER AGAIN. The last time I was on a road that scary I was in Mexico.
  12. Got delayed because of an accident on that back road, hope everyone ended up okay 😦
  13. Thing I forgot: small tripod-stool thing for sitting in my tent.
  14. I semi-jokingly refer to it as ‘The Nutbuster’ so perhaps it was just as well.
  15. FRIDAY Going to have to unlearn reaching for my phone because of no signal.
  16. That is, except for updating this list. 🙂
  17. Attended a crafting panel and made a pouch with more than a little help from the presenter. YAY I SORT OF MADE A THING!
  18. At the same panel the hyena plush above got a full wardrobe!
  19. Armbands that say ‘Staff’ Interesting.
  20. Constant showers during the day were annoying but not much else.
  21. I thought about buying a flashlight that clips to a ball cap but didn’t. I wish I had now, because it would be great for reading and writing at night.
  22. I keep looking at my phone to check the time, need to invest in a cheap watch.
  23. FRIDAY-There’s just something about starting the day with a nice hot chocolate, glad I bought my mini-stove.
  24. Feeling a little stuffy, whatever crap they have here (as opposed to the crap we have in Texas) must be affecting me.
  25. Saw a guy in the mess hall playing Fallout 3 on a laptop. Really, dude?
  26. Someone said “wolf spider” and I got the oddest mental image…stupid hybrids.
  27. I need to write a story with a wolf spider in it now.
  28. Saw an angel dragon, guess they’re required at every furcon.
  29. Wrote a scene in that wolf-spider story where someone is eating popcorn and now I want some.
  30. Doesn’t help that the character eating popcorn is based on myself
  31. SATURDAY-Obligatory job-related item: My legs should not be this sore, I need a new job where I’m on my feet more.
  32. I think I’ve finally cured myself of my ‘reaching for the phone’ reflex.
  33. Took a hike to the cave area and got lost again. Note to self for next year: Start on the right side.
  34. After the grey wet Friday, the weather today is beautiful.
  35. Maybe too beautiful, it got pretty warm in the afternoon.
  36. There needs to be a DON’T MESS WITH THE FIRE sign by the campfire, saw a few people admonished for tampering.
  37. A saxophonist performed in the Furry Drama Show, had to resist the urge to ask if he knew Yakety Sax.
  38. Forgot my new car insurance card, hope I don’t get pulled over on the drive home.
  39. A fellow attendee complained about his three hour drive. Try seven, pal.
  40. Broke a tent pole with my head. D’OH!
  41. Once again some of the local yokels infiltrated the camp and started some shenanigans. Oy.
  42. SUNDAY-DRIVE HOME Vehicle hesitated to start in the morning, might be time for a new battery.
  43. Most clever small town business name: ‘Carey-out’ for a restaurant.
  44. Concrete barriers in the middle of the highway for construction means a lot of dead critters 😦
  45. Took off my Green Lantern ring before entering the casino. Gotta set a good example, you know
  46. Noticed some interesting slot machines: KISS, ZZ Top, House of the Dead, Shinobi.
  47. Note to self: If you’re in an unfamiliar area and you see cheap gas, STOP AND GET THE CHEAP GAS.
  48. Some gas stations in OK charge extra for gas without ethanol…oh-kaay.
  49. Was delighted to finally photograph the ‘FUDGE CHEESE BUTTER’ sign that entertained WolfBoy and I so much since last Wild Nights 😀

    Oh, you wacky Amish

    #49: Oh, you wacky Amish

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Books, Con Fluff 1, CONS, Eduardo Soliz, FURRY, FURRY FIESTA, MUSIC, ORIGINAL-GAMER.COM, RANDOM REVIEW, RANDOM STOPS, Video, WHATS GOING ON, WHISKEY-TANGO-FOXTROT

92 Things I Noticed at Texas Furry Fiesta 2015

profu

Don’t spill the Chemical X!

Texas’ only furcon, Furry Fiesta, took place last weekend from Feb 20-22 and I had a ball.  So, without fur-ther ado:

    1. PRE-TRIP/THURSDAY: Never been on a 4-day trip that didn’t involve a tent before, time to upgrade my luggage.
    2. Nothing like that ‘did I forget to pack anything’ feeling, luckily there’s a Wally Martinez (Wal-Mart) near the hotel.
    3. Weight on Thursday morning: 267 Hope I don’t spend half the event pulling up my pants like at PAX South.
    4. Then again, that wouldn’t be so terrible 😉
    5. Thing I almost forgot #1-Nintendo 3DS, Thanks, Oscar!
    6. Thing I almost forgot #2-Cologne. Insert joke about ‘no female furries’ here
    7. Thing I almost forgot #3- Apparently my insurance card expired last October.  Oops!
    8. Thing I did forget #1: Ballcap for my Soos cosplay. Doh!
    9. Didn’t drink caffeine in purpose on the way up, finally had to succumb and stop at the Czech Stop for a soda.
    10. And some kolaches.  Mmm, good!
    11. New duffel bag has wheels…I feel so WHITE rolling it around.
    12. I was recognized by someone in the reg line and couldn’t figure out who it was until I heard his furry name.
    13. Felt honored to call Nuka “Doctor” for the first time.  Congrats!
    14. Room is on the 9th floor. Well, I did say I needed exercise XP
    15. Full-color conbook!  Is niiiice!
    16. A friend said the conbook was in color last year but I didn’t care because I didn’t have a story in it
    17. Yay, a fridge in the room…already stocked with overpriced items…BOO
    18. Karma FTL: Joked about the first guy in reg line being their guinea pig, then I ended up being the guinea pig when I upgraded to Super Sponsor.
    19. Prediction: Lots of angel dragons this year.
    20. Private joke: Wolfboy was denied chocolate chip waffles at Waffle House, dude just has bad luck with chocolate.
    21. Waffle House was great!  Now I have another place to stop at when I’m in Austin.
    22. Bad timing though, we bought a total of 15 people there and there were only 2 workers.
    23. They did an admirable job, though!
    24. FRIDAY: Had to get the genuine Waffle House experience the next morning after we swamped them on Thursday night.
    25. Bought a clip-on tie for a cosplay thinking it would be quicker, but it’s more trouble than a real one >.<
    26. Cap or ears with cosplay? Ears, of course.  Ignore #8
    27. It says something when Wally Martinez runs out of bags!
    28. Dafuzz is up with no trash cans on the first floor of the hotel?
    29. The magic is routinely being broken here. I has a sad.
    30. Feel funny hanging my ears on my rear view mirror like they’re fuzzy dice or something.
    31. Semi-retired my ears until I figure out a better way to wear them.
    32. “I’m sleepy” “Drink some coffee” “I don’t drink coffee” “There’s no better time to start!”
    33. Took a quick peek in the adult section of the art auction, funny how the quality of the art dropped a little.
    34. The Corral sends to be much improved this year.
    35. I gave away paper copies of one of my books to a few folks and it felt good, I hope the recipients enjoy them.
    36. Had to abandon my lanyard because my badge was blocking my shirt…oh no, I’ve become one of THOSE cosplayers
    37. Two researchers at the con means two surveys to do. I haven’t had this much homework to do since college!
    38. Obligatory work-related item: Saw a tech-sounding name on a building and the first thought that popped in my head was “Are they hiring?”
    39. Got bumped in the head by a fursuiter at the Bucktown Tiger performance but it was okay, he was padded.
    40. I kinda want to knee people that carry speakers playing music in the nards.
    41. Learned some photography stuff from a ‘fur-tographer’ 😀

      #41

      #41

    42. Heard someone use the phrase “home grown country boy.”  Is there any other kind?
    43. What is a fursuiter without a fursuit at a furry con? Very very sad.  Dude got better, though.
    44. Thing I could have gone the rest of my life without seeing: Tingle-styled zentai suit.  MY EYES
    45. Elevator-con didn’t happen for me, there were a few waits, but they were reasonable.  Kudos!
    46. SATURDAY: “I’m gonna dress as Professor Utonium” “Will you have three girls?” “No, but this is a con, they’ll be around” “Yeah but they won’t be girls” /facepaw
    47. When doing a panel, make it more about the topic, and less about you.
    48. Hell, at least have an outline.  The last time I went to a panel that was that bad it was held by teenagers.
    49. Heard a bird cawing outside, not sure if actual bird or attendee
    50. It says something when I sneeze in the hotel room and someone walking in the hall says “Bless you”
    51. New thing I’m not sure about: Someone had a friend do a badge of their ‘fruitsona.’
    52. Two people have referred to me as Uncle Kage. Not sure it’s complimentary
    53. After my camera battery conked out last year, I used my iPad mini to record the fursuit parade.
    54. …in landscape.  I didn’t want to be THAT guy again.
    55. Got to portray a not-very-nice executive during the voice over panel. That was easy.
    56. Nothing like that NOOOO moment when you realize your 3DS wifi has been off for the last few hours >.<
    57. Next time I think I’ll try a room at the hotel next door because reasons.
    58. Parking Idea: Paint one side of the parking barriers red so people know not to park next to them.
    59. Parking Idea #2: Take the back way through the overflow parking onto Quorum, much faster to get to Belt Line Road or the shopping center across the freeway
    60. Got fur-tobombed while getting my picture taken with a friend, lol
    61. Thing I forgot #2: Small ice chest to store/chill drinks
    62. Wore a lab coat for a costume on Saturday (see above) and kinda liked it, especially the pockets!
    63. SUNDAY:  Still no bags at Wal-Mart? Get it together, people!
    64. Awesome idea: Use cardboard priority mail envelopes from USPS for prints to keep them fresh and un-bent
    65. Boston Market’s 3-person meal could have easily fed 4 but SO GOOOD
    66. Whispered “I don’t read Gold Digger” to the Antarctic Press guy because Fred Perry was right there.
    67. I did buy (and enjoyed) two of his other comics and Furry Tales, though!
    68. Eyeball con: Some wag went around sticking googly eyes onto random things and apparently having pupils on fursuits is not cool anymore.
    69. I was right about the angel dragons, but the ‘no pupils for fursuits’ thing is a mite weird.
    70. Van Morrison’s “Moondance” got stuck in my head after hearing it during the jazz performance Saturday night
    71. That’s not a bad thing, BUT I DON’T KNOW THE WORDS >.<
    72. Whenever I see musicians play live, it makes me miss being in a band *sigh*
    73. Had an impromptu “Be Prepared” singing session in the car and realized I’d forgotten most of the words
    74. From Sunday afternoon afterwards the con was pretty cool, seemed like most of the hyperactive kids had left.
    75. MONDAY / POST-TRIP: Woke up Monday to see a layer of snow outside…CRAP
    76. Okay, ice. I’ve spent 99.999% of my life south of San Antonio and know not of such things 😛
    77. Got some neat “furries in the ice” pictures though!
    78. You don’t know which shoes are good for ice until you actualy have ICE
    79. Well at least I wasn’t wearing sandals.

      #78

      #79

    80. For being a small con, I didn’t see some folks on some days. Odd.
    81. Found a phone, how do we find the owner? Fursuit picture on the home screen of course!
    82. Drive home had a few harrowing moments at the start, but once we left Dallas things were fine.
    83. Still fuzzing cold, though; the Excelsior (my CR-V) still had ice on it when I got home.
    84. Took over 200 pictures during the con, holy cats!
    85. Bye bye, backpack, hello super-sponsor messenger bag.
    86. Not looking forward to seeing how many FA notifications I have pending.
    87. Or work emails for that matter.
    88. Aww #1: No calendar this year.
    89. Aww #2: Didn’t get to wear my “Do not feed the bears” shirt.
    90. Realization upon cleaning out backpack: I have way too many chargers and cables
    91. Weight on Tuesday morning: 268…so why are my pants so bleeping baggy?
    92. Saw a Krystal cosplayer and thought: “Hey, a place where Krystal CAN enjoy her sandwich!“
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Eduardo Soliz, FURRY, WORDS, Writing

Rewriting History

writingI previously mused about the universes my stories take place in.  There, I mentioned that the majority of my stories did not take place in ‘the real world’ (Earth-Prime).  Instead, I have a parallel world (Earth-F) that is inhabited by furries but is otherwise similar to our reality, but for the problems that possessing fur, claws, and sharp pointy teeth might introduce.

I recently found myself writing two stories that inched a bit closer to the real world than usual and went through the trouble of making sure they didn’t get too far away from their real-life influences.

The first, “Rules of the Game,” was based on the invention of basketball by James Naismith but transposed on to a world where a furry basketball league exists (FBA).  While I had the basic outline for the story down, I took it upon myself to research both the real-life events that led to the creation of the game as well as what limited information I could find on the fictional history of the Furry Basketball Association.  While I didn’t have to do so, I did the research in the interest of accuracy and I’d like to think the story came out better for it.

Another as-of-yet-unpublished story (“Epiphany”) gives a fictional account of what may have influenced the creation of some well-known characters.  I could have simply written the story with no regards for the real events or individuals involved, but I wanted it to make real-world sense even though it doesn’t exactly take place in the real world.  Once again, I did my research and I hope that the story stands up to scrutiny.

I might be the only one that cares about such things, but such is the price of having an anal-retentive computer guy brain!

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Books, Con Fluff 1, Con Fluff 2, CREATIVE, FlipSide Stories, FURRY, JUST SAYING, Nine to Five Lives, One Sheet Stories, Seven Super-Short Sci-Fi Stories, WORDS, Writing

Earth-Mine

writing
When I started writing fiction, I didn’t give much thought into linking my short stories together or having them take place in a shared universe.  As time went on, I did find myself putting some of them into a few distinct worlds:

“Earth Prime” is our home-sweet-dimension, and given that the majority of my stories involve some combination of furries, super-science, and fantasy, I don’t know that many of them actually take place here.   I do have a few sci-fi stories that take place ‘twenty minutes into the future,’ that is, near enough for us to relate to them (I hope!).

“Earth-F” is a parallel version of our world inhabited by furries.  These stories tend to be humorous and I like to ‘Hanna-Barbera’ the names in those stories.  For example, in a story that took place in a television studio, an older character referred to old-time TV stars such as “Mewcille Ball” and “Droopy Sales.”  I know, I know!

On “Earth H-minus” mankind has destroyed itself in what becomes known as the “Final War” and after their intelligence has been increased due to increased mutations, the furries eventually inherit the Earth.  One as-yet unpublished story takes places in a period where humans and furries coexist, though not harmoniously.  Society is eventually rebuilt by the furries but I haven’t quite hammered out the predator/prey relationship rules yet or if the humans were completely eradicated.  Yeah, its not exactly a happy place.

The ‘Enchanted Forest’ stories obviously happen in a fantasy world, but I haven’t done much there (like come up with a clever name) though it has been established that magic does have limits.  For now, anyway.

I should probably sit down and figure out just where all my stories fit, because inevitably some reader out there is going to try to ‘connect the dots’ and completely screw it up.  Well, assuming I haven’t already!  😀

Click here if you’d like to read some of those stories!

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ANIME, CONS, FURRY, JUST SAYING, RANDOM STOPS, REALMSCON, WHATS GOING ON

35 Things I Noticed During RealmsCon 2014

Zoidberg cosplayer!

Cosplay? Why not Zoidberg?

  1. OMG the Corpus Christi humidity kills me, yet another reason I need to lose weight
  2. The line for pre-registration was zero so I got my badges quickly. Always preregister, folks!
  3. Both aisles of the Artist’s Alley hallway were being used, which made it little crowded
  4. The bigger dealer area was nice, but they really need to put AA in a better spot
  5. A few empty tables here and there in AA, sadly typical
  6. The artists I knew that weren’t coming back to Realms after poor sales in the past, didn’t.
  7. Sighted in AA: body-sized “Hug pillows?”  YEAH, STILL NOT CREEPY AT ALL
  8. Filling out paper form in the reg line always holds it up
  9. No multi-arcade game machine in the game room?  FAIL
  10. GoPro cameras seem to be everywhere now for better or for worse
  11. The Zoidberg cosplayer at right was probably my favorite one of the con
  12. Note to self: leave the laptop in the CAR if you aren’t going to use it *huff*
  13. I am sorry, Jena, but a sandwich and a hamburger are most definitely NOT the same thing. Guess it’s a “guy thing”
  14. 123456? Yeah, they’ll never guess *that* hotel WiFi password
  15. Want to turn a decent hotel room into OMG BEST ROOM EVAR? Add a fridge and a microwave!
  16. Gave my niece a ride to the con, she bought a tail while she was there…ONE OF US ONE OF US
  17. Construction on Shoreline? Dammit Corpus!
  18. I always see cases of water on the cheap at Stripes convenience stores except THE ONE TIME I ACTUALLY WANT TO BUY ONE >.<
  19. You know you’re bushed when you don’t want to go up the stairs to eat on the second floor of Whataburger by the Bay
  20. Apparently VIP passes allow one to skip lines, here, what a concept!
  21. The actor playing Kirk in “Star Trek Continues” had a celebrity table and McCoy was in Artist’s Alley…typical
  22. Holy cats, we managed to fill up a panel room and then some for the “Furry 101” panel
  23. There are even a few furries present, which might have been cheating 😉
  24. According to Wolfboy adding “-ies” to the end of an animal name makes it furry “insect-ies” “shark-ies”
  25. I can’t argue against his logic, though.
  26. MASSIVE con fail for not having projectors for either one of my panels even though I had requested them
  27. Projectors were found but I had no screen so I had to project my presentations onto the wall at an angle and figure out how to darken the lights. -_-
  28. Luckily I think I could do my e-book panel without one, but still!
  29. What the fuzz was up with that guy that wanted to take a picture of all the furries jumping up in the air?
  30. I was tickled that the schedule part of the conbook was titled ”Celebrity Schedules’ and my name was on it. Oh, you!
  31. I don’t get the point of having someone watching the door at the end of Artist’s Alley, can’t they just, I don’t know, LOCK THE DOOR?
  32. Seafood restaurant, why is your salad bar backwards?
  33. There were only 8 people at my e-book panel, but those three very interested folks made it worth it
  34. Since nothing was scheduled after e-books the panel room became an improvised fursuit lounge.
  35. I lost two pounds over the weekend, perhaps I need to attend more cons!
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Con Fluff 2, FURRY, JUST SAYING, Uncategorized, WORDS, Writing

Second Lives

chris_the_watch_fur_by_chrisholm

A real stinker

As a creator, you never know how your works are going to be received.  Things done on just a whim can become your Next Big Thing while your Magnum Opus sits next to it unloved despite all of the blood, sweat and tears that have been (metaphorically, I hope) poured into it.  You release your art into the wild and it’s up to John and Jane Q. Public to sort it all out.

In the same way that ‘stories write themselves,’ characters can take on a life of their own.  “Chris the Watchfur” was intended to be a one-off character in a conbook story titled “The Tell-Tale Tie,” which can be found in the upcoming Con Fluff 2.  The story and character were inspired by my friend Chris Holm, who took it upon himself to draw the character.  A friend also drew the Watchfur as part of an artist Secret Santa, and when I later needed a villain for another conbook story, he made yet another appearance, this time as a supervillian with time-based superpowers.  Oddly enough, other characters I have written for the explicit purpose of  writing a series of stories with them have not managed to escape the confines of their first story.

Not bad for a one-off character, and a crook, no less!

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FURRY, Oklacon, RANDOM STOPS, TECH, WHATS GOING ON, Wild Nights

34 Things I Noticed During Wild Nights 2014

robinhood

Robin Hood!

I spent the weekend at Oklahoma’s other outdoor furry convention, Wild Nights, and as is always the case, I noticed a few things…

  1. After two false starts trying to go to this convention, itlooks like the third time’s a charm!
  2. Introduced my co-pilot to slot machines at a gas station casino; many apologies in advance if he becomes a gambling addict!
  3. Cell service is zip at the park, luckily I saved the camp maps to my tablet.
  4. At first, I listened in horror as the only FM stations my radio picked up played country music and then luckily stumbled upon a classic rock station…whew
  5. Looks like they got off to a late start with dinner, I hope everyone had a big lunch.
  6. The park is awesome, and even has real trees!
  7. Feels odd to not be wearing my rings, I keep reaching to take them off before I walk to the restroom…TMI, maybe?
  8. Old tech is better #1: LED lights have come a long way, but I’ll take my trusty 2-mantle Coleman lantern for lighting up camp any day.
  9. I thought I was going to be attached to my backpack for the weekend but I surprisingly did okay without it.
  10. Thing I forgot: a handkerchief, its driving me nuts because I keep reaching for it when I cough, but it isn’t there!
  11. Last year, I wrote a story at Oklacon about my own withdrawal from the Internet.  This year, I may scribe a similar story about a friend descending into madness.
  12. The blooping noise the tap makes when getting water is the COOLEST THING EVAR.
  13. I didn’t go to the hat-making panel and spent the rest of the con wishing that I had one!
  14. Idea: Glow in the dark zippers for tents.
  15. Temps were in the fifties outside on Thursday night, WHY were the a/c units on at the cabins?
  16. Robber’s Cave State Park took a little looking for, didn’t help that I took the scenic route.  Stupid Apple Maps
  17. The cave itself took some hunting to find, too, but then again, we went off the beaten path.
  18. Apparently the NOAA weather computer saying ‘shitstorm’ on the radio is the funniest thing ever.
  19. Crepes for breakfast, potato soup for lunch; seems like someone in the kitchen knows what they’re doing!
  20. Didn’t bring the car key for passenger, came to regret it after being asked ‘is it locked?’ every hour or so.
  21. We got caught by the grocery stores in the nearby town being closed early twice, once at 9 and then at 8. I wanted to ask if dancing was also forbidden and that’s because I’m from a small town in Texas.
  22. Nothing like hearing a gust of wind come from the trees then seeing a cloud of pollen descend. Crap.
  23. Scheduling seems to be an issue for Wild Nights, and registration also took a little while. Don’t forget to bring some patience along!
  24. Comparing the two OK outdoor cons: Wild Nights has the better venue, but Oklacon seems to be better organized. Balance of the universe and all that.
  25. Also: At Oklacon, I took home red dirt in the Excelsior as a souvenir. This time, it’s POLLEN. POLLEN EVERYWHERE. *cough cough*
  26. Saturday afternoon turned into siesta time at the con, there was very little going on. Works for me.
  27. Wore my bear ears into town for no good reason. Oh yeah, because I felt like it. That’s a good reason.
  28. Had my first s’more ever, yum!
  29. Once the weather forecast started mentioning thunderstorms, hail, and tornadoes, it quickly lost its comedy value.
  30. Old tech is better #2: While most smartphones were useless, my radio worked just fine.
  31. There appeared to be an exodus of people Saturday as word got around about the impending weather. We hung around, but put everything away just in case we had to make a quick exit.
  32. I don’t think I have ever slept in a top bunk, and after spending a restless night in one, I still haven’t.
  33. This felt more like a camping trip at a furry convention than a convention that involved camping.
  34. Drove into some hail after leaving the event, apparently we just missed the bad weather.  There but for the grace of God we go.
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