Rant time.

I'm tired... sick and bloody tired.. of seeing constant and repeating threads asking for help. Is it just me, or has this entire generation of people, including many in this fandom, lost the desire to do anything to support themselves anymore?

I can't go on Furaffinity without seeing at least one or two threads saying "Help me! I need money for a new XBox and I can't afford it because I lost my job for stealing batteries that I didn't steal but I kinda did and I have a maxed credit card because I went to Anthrocon and HAD to buy a new fursuit and my car is broken because i don't want to learn how to fix it and my parents won't help me because I punched my sister in the face and they had to pay for her plastic surgery and my life sucks and boo hoo hooo... GIVE ME MONEY! HEARS MY <>PAYPALS<>"

.... GAH!

I am the last to complain about my troubles. We ALL have them. Money is one of the largest issues that our current generation deals with, but holy crap people, grow some balls! Your parents might have bought everything for you in the past, but NEWS FLASH! The world isn't supposed to work through handouts!

Now, please don't think i'm speaking about generosity and gifts to people. I am 100% in favour of being giving to others. I'm talking about the useless wastes of a good bar of soap and a shower who think it's their right to request everything they want from their 'friends' just because they haven't yet figured out how to make their lifestyle work for them.

Can't afford your car? Then too bad.. sell it, and wait until you can. Can't afford a fursuit? That sucks. I guess you'll have to wait until you can save up for one. Can't find work? There are temp labour agencies EVERYWHERE that pay cash, so look for one! Don't want to lower yourself to doing that kind of thing to get by? TOO BAD!!! Suck it up and know that sometimes we all have to do things we don't enjoy to get by.

Most importantly, remember one thing. How we handle ourselves in times of trouble is how other people will define us.

Here's another tip. Someone you know is asking for a handout? DON'T GIVE IT TO THEM! The old adage is true: Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.

....

I think that about does it.

Looks like it's official...

My boss is having his stag the week of Anthrocon, so I can't get the time off of work. Thank you very much to  shortwave for his very kind offer, and to all whom I had hoped to see there, but looks like it's just not in the cards this year.

I'll be at Eurofurence, however! And of course, I hope to see you all at Rainfurrest too! Oh, and Howloween! :P

As usual, my mind is a blur with the con fuzz that seems to fill it after a good time of suiting and friends. Further Confusion 2011 lived up to every expectation I had and then some! About the only thing I'm disappointed with was my financial state after it, but.. that can be fixed with time!

Highlights:

• Roomies!  furryfoxfur,  sokitwopaw,  rex_raccoon, and  akonite were all a TOTAL blast to hang with. Fursuiting, DJing, secret room parties, filming random crap, we did it all together!

• Our ROOM was freaking epic. No other word for it. EPIC. Thank you thank you to the FC hotel liason  foxcar for his generousity in correcting his mixup with this, and completely making the con for all of us all that much more incredible! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71zH1isTpBY

• ice skating beside the hotel in suit!  baltowoof and  kijani_lion, as well as  qmick and a few others joined me out on the rink for a while. I kinda felt bad for how well I was skating compared to most out there, despite the dullest skates I've EVER skated on. Most of the others blamed my Canadian-ness for my skating abilities :P Kijani video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMTDBRA9WHY&feature=feedu

• Meeting  rarakie and her fiancee, and getting an incredible 'doodle' from her in the lobby! I'll post it up soon :) Her kind spirit and smile completely compliment her incredible art abilities. I wish she lived closer by!

• Getting to speak one-on-one with "Blotch" during the con-run coffee and tea thing, and even getting a commission of ioco! Before anyone asks, no, they aren't taking commissions; it was a complete fluke that it worked out to be what it was, but that's what makes it so special!! (I'll post if I get permission to)

• Being retarded with  arito, his girl  pawsproductions, and their other friends in the lobby VERY early in the morning. Dorito is still one of my favourite suits in the fandom. He just needs to smile more, dammit.

•  akonite's dance sets on Thursday and Sunday. Just totally awesome to be a part of both of those.

• Hanging with ioco's 'hoes'  sekar and  ichiblack at the dances and around the con, and ninja-ing various ear tags on people

• A certain inflatables party! Honestly, the most fun con party I've ever attended! Oh, and bringing my buddy Shaun and his husband along for their first real taste of furry

• Losing my wallet on the bus and FINDING it after running back to the bus stop 5 minutes later

• Almost missing my flight to the con and scoring emergency exit row after daring to cross through security with my fursuit anyway


and last but CERTAINLY not least...


• Carrying around the mini-kitty plush version of my mate  akariku who could not attend, but was with me in spirit in everything I did! She made the plush for me BY HAND only a few days before the con! EPIC CUTE WIN!!!


Lowlights:

• Losing $150 cash out of my wallet when I lost it (but not ALL the cash, interestingly)

• Introducing myself to a certain fox and having him walk away from me saying "oh, you're that husky that waves at everybody". I guess I'm not big deal enough to talk to him

• Lowlights? Why the hell am I doing a "Lowlights" section anyway?


I am very hopeful that next year will be even better when the con moves to the convention centre! I can see things getting even bigger, and more importantly, we'll have even more space to fill! Plan to attend next year!!

It's almost time for one of my favorite cons of the year, and I'm very happy to say I'll be going! I am really looking forward to it this year, mostly for the people I'm staying with, but also to meet so many of you that I've been talking to this year but never met in person. I can't wait!

I've put in a special offer to people looking for hugs from ioco this year. Read through and see!

Arrival and Departure:
Arriving Thursday (9am) - Leaving Monday (3pm)

Staying at:
The Fairmont Hotel, main tower

Mode of Transportation:
Travelling with  akonite to Seattle via car, then Alaska Air, flight 322 there, 327 back

Room Share:
Staying with  akonite,  furryfoxfur,  rexraccoon, and quite likely  sokitwopaw

Major Plans at the Con:
Fursuiting a lot, hanging out with old and new friends, and having a good time!

Who Will I be with:
I'll probably be with  furryfoxfur while in suit more often than not. Also hanging with  akonite and  sokitwopaw when possible while out of suit, but I'd love to meet others too!

Do you do free art?
I normally couldn't give away the art I do, as rare as that is!

Do you do trades?
Trades for what, exactly?

Do you do commissions?
I'm willing to pose for photos in suit and the like if the subject is PG, particularly if motivated through a trade or something!

Do you have prints/CDs ?
Naw..

Fursuit(s)?
ioco - Siberian Husky by OneFurAll Studios (http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2851790/)
Aphinity - Bottlenose dolphin (retired as of RF2009, but being rebuilt very soon!)

Attending Parties:
Sure! A few private parties are in the plans, but I'll come to others if invited! As long as you're ok with a husky/dolphin who can't drink :) I do tend to wander though, so I might not stay long.

How best to find me:
It'll be a lot easier to find me in fursuit than out. Look for the grey, white, and black husky with a big red collar and name tag that says ioco, often wandering around with a fox! Out of suit, look for a white guy with short, dirty blonde hair combed forward wearing a t-shirt and lanyard with a few ioco and Aphinity character badges on it.

Stage Performance:
Quite possible/likely! Things are still in discussion and confirmation.

Drink:
Non-alcoholic.. absolutely! Energy drinks too! I have medical excuses (and other reasons) for not drinking alcohol.

Smoke or Drugs:
Not my gig. Hookah is something I do occasionally partake in, however.

Hugs:
Completely willing to hug! Happy to be hugged! HUG ME! Just keep it polite and friendly or you might wind up hugging the pillar behind you :) Oh, and if I don't seem to hug you very long.. or not at all.. maybe go have a shower and try again?

Talk:
I love to talk! I don't generally talk in suit, but you may get a few words out of me if you bring up the right topics at the right time! I'll gladly talk to you out of suit!

What is your gender?
I'm a boy :)

How old are you?
31 as of a month and a bit ago. Ya, I'm old. Get over it :)

Can I touch you?
Sure, if you're clean! Just keep clear of personal areas, or I'm bound to react quite strongly to get you to stop.

Can I buy you lots of drinks?
Anything non-alcoholic is awesome! Thank you!

Can I give you lots of money?
I'd rather you used it to help someone in need of it more than me, but.. SURE!

Can I hug or snuggle with you?
Tell you what. Your best chance at friendly hug and snuggle time with ioco is to give him a balloon! The bigger it is, the longer you get hugged and snuggled for, if you want it! ioco really likes balloons :D Friendly snuggles only though, ok? Blue and red are his favorites. It can be uninflated if you prefer, air or helium, and I do prefer if I can untie it later. Popping makes the husky quite sad :( Special bonus points for someone who gives him an australian themed balloon, somehow...

How tall are you?
Me: 6' 2"

You look pissed off out of suit. Can I come up to you?
Totally! I'm probably just playing around. If I vent at you, please vent back! Just ask  baltowoof about such things...

Are you nice?
I try to be! I believe the biggest thrill I can ever get is making someone smile from something I did, even if they're laughing AT me. At least they're laughing!

Are you cliquey?
I really try not to be. I also have close friends I prefer to hang out with at times, but I'll spend time with anyone given the available time.

Can I stalk you?
There are FAR more interesting people in this fandom. Seriously.. why me? :P

If I see you, how should I get your attention?
In suit, yelling "Hey, ioco!" or "huskybutt!" or "huskaphin!"... Those usually work! I also answer to Aphinity while wearing ioco if you let that one slip :) Oh, and walking by with a larger balloon will almost definitely get my attention...

Can I take a picture of ya?
Sure! I'd love to get a link here in FA afterwards if you feel like sharing!

Can I steal ya away for *censored*?
Thanks very much for the offer, but I'm straight first of all, and past that, I am very happily involved with someone special :)

Would ya like to get a commission done of ya?
I'd love to! Money is a bit tight this year, but I'll consider options if I have them!


I can't wait to see you all there!!

Do you ever just.. feel really happy?

I do :D

Very very good documentary on us.

http://vimeo.com/17995012

I can't freaking rip this out of the site either. I wanna save it..

I hereby declare Howloween 2010 a complete success!

A slow start this year made a few of us nervous for what might come from our yearly little event here in Vancouver, BC. It's been 4 years since I took over Howloween from it's originator, Kodi, and I like to think every year has gotten better. I don't think there's much argument that things went quite well this year!


For all of you who were there and enjoyed yourself, there are a lot of people you need to thank! I hope I haven't forgotten anyone! In absolutely no particular order, and in one huge run-on sentence, let's go through it!

 Akonite kicked ass at coordinating and DJing all the dances (and thanks to  Keela too, who rocked as well!) and a whole lot more too,  Orwin mixing all the sounds together and prepping the movies, with  Kithop droping his mixer and lots of other equipment into the equation,  Mousepaws for his last minute projector loan,  Malicai for his incredible sets of lighting and trusses that continue to make us look GOOD on the dance floor,  Nitroshep for his incredibly well thought out and setup headless lounge and power distribution box,  Rex for manning the reg booth and Jason for helping out where he could, Darcy for being the security from start to finish (holy crap you have dedication dude),  Torwin for his ever-present motivation to push the event to the next level and providing the means to the equipment to do it (come on.. name another con who had their own Skeeball tables and Plush animal crane IN the event space), Ray for providing the speakers, mixer, additional lighting, and so much more and asking absolutely nothing for any of it,  Trapa for his consistent and unselfish way to make every decision easier and every idea possible,  akariku for her tremendous help with building dice, finding prices for price is fright, and just generally being a total sweetheart,  jessietwolf for her awesome art for the t-shirts,  Dragonmanmike for the website, sign design, and so many other things, Mike for his unique and valuable help with setup, teardown, and a ton else, to everyone who helped to make setup and teardown one of the quickest ever, and.. most importantly..

THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING! We do this all for you, and I hope you all had a great time!

If you have any suggestions for comments about Howloween, please, we'd love to hear them! info <at> howloween <dot> ca

See you next year, we hope!

I like this piece. Very balanced, and well represented. (Although that scribblefox suit seemed to be implied to be made by the wearer..)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4GVphA8wDg&feature=related

I'm seeing more and more good and fair news pieces on furry. It's a great trend!

Those that went to Anthrocon this year and specifically the dead dog party may remember a group of fursuiters, me included, inflating a rather large wolf toy to sit on and take pictures with. Well, it looks like the maker,  puffypaws, has listed one of these rare toys on eBay!

There aren't many of these that don't already have homes, so jump on the opportunity, if you're interested in it! They're awesome!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170520545511&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

Hey, everyone needs some promotion every once in a while, right? If you're thinking of a partial or a full fursuit, or maybe a new artist to try out, check out these guys! They have some great stuff:

http://www.furaffinity.net/user/miharuokami/

and

http://www.furaffinity.net/user/keryu

Of course, there are many people doing this and worthy of promotion, but hey, one at a time, right? :)

They're also running a neat promotion to win a partial suit! Check it out: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/1568586

Sadly, a trip I was looking forward to for much of the year is not going to happen for me anymore. Work is without anyone to cover and Anthrocon took a bit more money out of me than I'd like to admit, so all things considered, I've decided to stay home rather than go to Furthest North this year.

Next year, hopefully! Have fun everyone!

A report from Anthrocon

Boy, I needed this trip!

This convention gave me the reminder I needed on why I'm a part of this fandom. The incredible people, openness, creativity, and just fun-loving nature of furs has been renewed and restored after my trip to Pittsburgh. I made an incredible number of new friends and made some lasting friendships that I hope to enjoy for many years. I am so terrible with names that I just won't bother for fear of missing someone or forgetting their name. I LOVE YOU ALL!

I learned one very important thing this convention. The people you room with can make ALL the difference towards how your convention experience works out for you. I stayed with Shortwave, Foxfur, and Kellogg, and I can't have imagined having better roomies for this con. They are ALL class acts, inviting and friendly, and just great dudes. I'm going to miss you all! Also, Neouka, Rory and mate (there goes my trouble with names again.. gah..) and Dark Lurker, thanks a ton for the great Wednesday and Monday nights! It was awesome spending time with you all.

I fursuited. A lot. More than any other con, I believe. Four and five hour runs in suit were common and multiple with only enough time out of suit (and sometimes not even then) to get food or let the suit dry. Dancing was epic (other than Friday.. gah.. psytrance is undanceable.. i'm sorry) and impressive as heck with the setup they had, and the sheer number of people on the dance floor. The bass was DEEP, and the highs were impressive. The lasers were everywhere, ad the lights perfectly set. FC's dance was the only thing I can compare to it, and THAT was impressive as well. Saturday night will forever be a night I remember as a pinnacle in my fursuit dancing life, for so many reasons! *High-fives Foxfur and Kenova* Throughout the con, ioco was incredibly well received and I have a feeling I'll have lots of posted photos to sort through when I get home! I love this character so much!

I purchased an air cooling system from Lion of the Sun at this convention. I had a lot of questions about it and I have a simple answer to them all. IT ROCKS! It works quite well as long as I wasn't sweating profusely. As soon as I started sweating more than just a little, it would stop working, but that just required some time in the headless lounge and I'd be good to go again. Lion of the Sun is a great guy too, and I was happy to give him all that money I didn't have for it. On a somewhat disappointing note, the fan intake appears to have somehow ripped some fur out of the back of ioco and left some bald spots... :( :( :( Interestingly, this wasn't from the fan itself, but instead, the edges on the holes in the pack the fan is built into. I might need to replace a patch in ioco's back to fix it.

I would be amiss if I didn't mention one fur in particular: Foxfur. This Danish dude and I were inseparable for the entire con! Most photos of our suits are almost definitely together and I wouldn't have had it any other way. Forget the fact that his suit is easily my favorite in the fandom, he's a great suiter, and a completely awesome person in every way. Sharing a convention with someone of mutual interest creates a new level to the experiences you have, there is no doubt, and Foxfur and I think on the same wavelength in nearly every respect. I'm REALLY going to miss him, and I hope we can find a way to hang out again soon!

Let's see.. a quick runthrough of highlights! THERE WERE SO MANY: The dances were completely wicked, as I mentioned already. Spending time with BigBlueFox, NightFox, TaniDaReal, and Cheetah introduced me to some really awesome people, and I hope it won't be the last time we hang out! Socializing in the headless lounge while cooling off (no longer than that!) was awesome. Dealers den was MASSIVE and, in particular, my conversation with Black Teagan, James Gurney, and poking at 2 at his booth stand out as memorable for sure! The 'light' incident in the front of the hotel with BBF and Juno. The HUGE, incredibly cute, inflatable wolf pooltoy thing we all sat on and took pictures with before the dead dog party. Falling asleep in front of the fan AFTER the deaddog party. Spark's chicken. The applause I received when I fixed Jibba's AV audio by bypassing the mixer and plugging the mic directly into the powered speakers. 2's Rant. Local businesses that welcomed us and even had their own con badges and t-shirts (FURnandos, Cage's, Tonic, and so many more). The flag on top of the convention center. The fursuit parade. The 5 minute pre-reg pickup. Dorito and the cool dude wearing him (Arrito). Lion of the Sun's cooling vest. Talking with Firestormsix. Suiting with Foxfur and Kenova. Monoyasha's toothless plushie. Being one of the last suiters able to say goodbye to leaving furs on Monday (thanks to me leaving Tuesday). I could go on and on and on. And on.

It wouldn't be a full report without mentioning the issues I had. First off, I was extremely surprised at the number of glaring errors in judgement and staffing throughout the con. Security ws great, in my experience! However, trying to find even the most basic of staff member besides them was next to impossible. Just a brief synopsis:

Headless lounges (Convention center and Westin):
- No Towels in the convention center, barely any in the Westin
- Only 3 fans in the Westin headless lounge
- Extremely minimal head drying rack space
- No Gatorade, mirror, clock, or snacks in either headless lounge
- Convention Center Headless lounge closes the same time as the dance, leaving suiters hot, sweaty, and grumpy.

Fursuit Parade:
- Nobody coordinating exit from the staging room, particularly merging lines of suits trying to exit at once from different rows
- The english gentleman repeatedly announcing to us at the end of the parade "Move along from 'this' side of the room to 'that' side on the blue tape please" without giving any idea to anyone verbally where "this" and "that" side were.

Art Auction:
- Bid closing time does not mean closing time. It means run around as quick as you can and write last minute bids for the next half hour while the art pieces in the back get closed first. I lost something to a last minute bid for this reason.

Masquerade:
- Worst I've ever seen at a con. Some acts were -okay- (such as the dancing blue dude, don't know his name, and the fursuiting and you skit, and I didn't mind the wrestling one, albeit way too much leadup and poorly timed)
- extremely poor stage setup with no hidden stage right or left exits
- No light dim between skits to hide suiters coming and going from and to the stage, yet not ENOUGH lighting and nobody to help suiters as they tripped, fell, and missed the entrance staircases
- Glaring errors in A/V audio and video queues including BAD clipping on a few audio clips, and a delay for video that eventually postponed a skit from happening

.... But the worst thing of the con... was this:

A/V:
- For JR's show, nothing was plugged into the mixer at all. Mic cables and speaker feeds were sitting there, unplugged. No staff member was present anywhere.. not even security. I'm not staff, but I went up and tried to get it working to no avail. JR proceeded with his hour long show without a mic.
- For Jibba's show immediately after JR's show in the same room, no staff had shown up, and nobody answered as staff in the audience when I loudly asked, Jibba standing around and unwilling to start without a mic. Again, I am not staff, and I was the only one doing anything about it.
- When telling con-ops that the mixer was dead and that I had resolved the situation with what I had, they said, "You plugged the mic directly into the speakers?!?" , me acknowledging, and them sighing, asking my badge number and giving a VERY subdued thank you. I still don't know if I was being reprimanded or thanked.

So.. to sum it up, Anthrocon was being run on autopilot by many people. Staff were invisible and unavailable. I think everyone just expected everything to just.. work. In many ways, it did, and in quite a few, it didn't.

Interestingly enough, it doesn't matter though. I still had one of the best convention experiences of my life! I would love to come back, and I hope that Kage and his crew can work through the errors I noticed to make this convention worthy of being the largest of it's kind in the world. I would love to return!

ANTHROCON 2010 Meme

Arrival and Departure:
Arriving Wednesday at 7:16pm, departing Tuesday, 4:24pm

Staying at:
Westin Hotel

Mode of Transportation:
Vancouver, BC > Chicago O Hare - Flight UA620
Chicago O Hare > Pittsburg - Flight UA7244
RETURN
Pittsburg > Chicago O Hare - Flight UA351
Chicago O Hare > Vancouver, BC - Flight UA97

Room Share:
Shortwave, Qmick, Turbo, + more!

Major Plans at the Con:
Fursuit a lot, have fun a lot, dance a lot, hug a lot!

Who will I be with:
Probably with my buddies from the West Coast (Nitro, Spark, Qmick), old friends from around the continent (Neouka, Shortwave, Delmir), and anyone else I happen to spot from around the globe!

Fursuit(s):
ioco the siberian husky. Aphinity is retired and needs a rebuild.

How best to find me:
I wear badges most often, and most likely wear Aphinity the dolphin badges more prominently. I may have a few ioco badges as well. Otherwise, look for the grey, black, and white scribblefox husky with a very happy expression and a red collar with a big, oversize tag saying "ioco". I SHOULD also have a GMRS two-way radio in my suit on channel 2.

Stage Performance:
I'm a sucker for this. Ask me! I'll probably say yes!

Drink:
Nope. Can't. Thanks anyway though!

Smoke:
Nope. Can't. Maybe hookah ;)

Talk:
I'm known to do this! I will stage whisper in suit but that's it, and only if necessary.

Art:
I love it! There is very little of ioco so if you're offering.. .please do! I rather suck at art, so probably not worth asking :P

Do you do trades?
Umm.. not really, but I'll give you lots and lots of hugs!! And maybe take some photos for you of stuff!

What is your gender?
Male/Straight

How old are you?
30

Can I buy you lots of drinks?
Sure! Non-alcoholic though, please :) My body doesn't like alcohol.

Can I give you lots of money?
I'd rather you use it to make yourself happy :)

Can I hug or snuggle with you?
ioco in particular LOVES hugs and is known to snuggle too! Just keep it G or you won't like the result.

Can I touch you?
Sure! Keep in mind, I'm straight, so nothing below the waist, guys. Girls, I.. might not mind so much :)

How tall are you?
6'1"

Are you nice?
Most say so! I'm not afraid to tell it like it is, though.

You look pissed off out of suit can I come up to you?
Absolutely. I'll probably need to vent, so expect an earful.

Are you cliquey?
Gah.. I strongly dislike cliquey people, so I hope not.

Can I stalk you?
If you mean can you follow me everywhere, you obviously need something more interesting to do!

Do you like parties?
Yes! I blend better than most would think, despite the fact I don't drink or do drugs.

If I see you, how should I get your attention?
I answer to Aphinity, phin, ioco, or Rob.. so take your pick! If I'm in suit (in ioco), I'd appreciate if you called me by that name.


I welcome further questions! THIS COMPLETES MY FIRST MEME.. EVAR!

I have a VERY excellent boss.

Get this. My boss, after me mentioning my desire to go to Pittsburg, used points from the company credit card to buy me airfare to AC!

I can't think of many people I've worked for who have been willing to do such an extraordinarily kind thing for me. Without it, there's no way i could afford it, what with living on my own now.

It's confirmed, I'll be arriving in Pittsburg Wednesday evening at 7:16pm, and departing Tuesday evening at 4:24pm. I'm going to be speaking to people privately about possible rooms as discussed in my previous journal. Thanks again everyone for the offers that were made!

I'm really excited! I'll have to watch my spending when I'm there, but I am REALLY excited to get out and see this convention!

Oh, and yes, I'll be bringing ioco :)

Who's going and needs a roommate?

Ok, more specifically, if I were able to go, who would be willing to have a dolphin/husky crash in their room with them?

.. yes, I'm debating the idea. :)

Give someone a species where there are very few rules, put a like-able nerdy kid with great dialog, add in the mix someone who obviously knows how to write intelligent animals interacting beyond speaking, then put all that to a good set of action and enjoyable other supporting characters.. and you get "How to Train your Dragon".

I typically think very little of DreamWorks animated films. With the exception of Kung Fu Panda (and I do enjoy that one very much) and to a smaller degree Over The Hedge, most have left me wanting and saying "wow, Pixar does this stuff SO much better". This was an example of one I can say, yes, I enjoyed this very much, and was even impressed.

The main character dragon, with the absolutely stupid name of "Toothless", is made cute in all the typical and effective ways: Big eyes, cute rumbling noises, nuzzles to his human friend.. and yet, I didn't sit there screaming and yelling saying "oh come on.. it wouldn't do that." Ya. Actually, it might.

Everything from the excuse for meeting it, to the first interaction, left me staring at the screen and smiling. The way it flew - the animation showing the wind jostling the wings back and forth and around in every which way just like the real thing. The detail in the hair of the human characters. The cartoonie mix with real life textures and beautiful landscapes. This was a truly beautifully thought out and built movie.

For the first time in a very long time, I found myself recalling my time with the dolphins, and how they acted towards me, and comparing it to something on a movie screen. Maybe it just struck the right cord in me, but I could feel how this type of relationship could come to happen in the way that it did. And I smiled. Oh, did I smile.

Other than the title. I won't give away the story, but the title has virtually NOTHING to do with the story. Just giving you a heads up.

Now, if only the "Toothless" plushes were actually something decent... :P

What's the best way to spread pride in your country's athletes and have a great time doing it, plus give tons of smiles to people around the olympics?

Fursuit!

Two outings with groups of 7 and 8 fursuits (respectively), all wearing custom jerseys I had printed up thanks to instant imprints (the same company that does our awesome howloween shirts every year), and tons of great photos and videos that have been previously posted by others that were part of the group, including  nitroshep,  renniefox, : and  lace.

Other suiters included  pdawg,  torwin,  spark,  sairyswolf,  silverrwolfe,  dreamersdestiny

Thanks a TON to our dedicated and awesome spotters, including  kytefosky,  sikuwolf,  dragonmanmike, Six, Kitten, Honey, Gritz, Ember, Zeph, Damien, and a ton of others I'm sure I'm forgetting. Thank you ALL for being part of this!

For a full description of our time on the first day, Saturday Feb 20th, check out my livejournal post at aphinity.livejournal.com.

A neat video posted by some random, awesome person there that day (thanks wonghusky for pointing this out to Lace and me): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tldYjhlvzlY&feature=player_embedded

EDIT: thanks everyone for your interest! Looks like ShadowKeeper and a few others will be joining us in our room this year. I can probably help others find spots though as I do have a few friends also looking to fill their rooms. Let me know!

I have a dual-bed room at the main FC hotel in the sought after fursuit level and I'm looking for bunkmates! Anyone needing a bed for one or two (possibly 3) people, please let me know! Right now, it's  dreamersdestiny and me.

I'm looking to save costs a bit and hopefully have a good time with roommates :)

After having my passport stolen out of my car (along with  dreamersdestiny passport as well), I have learned one major point.

Write down your passport number somewhere you can retrieve it.

Right now, I'm not even sure I have properly listed my passport as stolen since the police claim they cannot look up the passport number, and I was told tonight I have to go in person to the Passport Office with ID in order to get the passport number JUST to report it stolen.

I guess I can only hope the crooks don't try to use the ID before I can do that... :(

EDIT: FYi, I found out you don't NEED a passport number in order to submit it as stolen and you can leave the passport number field blank on the required declaration when requesting a new one, so that much is good. Still, it would help to have it should such a thing happen, as it has to me.

Today is my 30th burfdae. Yay! .. I guess. I never knew what it would feel like to be old, and now I'm old, so now I have to be all wise and preachy and stuff to all you young folks!

.. Or maybe it just means you ARE that way without knowing you are. *shrugs and smirks*