Pilfered from  CTN_0452-9
LAYER ONE : THE OUTSIDE
- Name: Andrew Stephenson
- Eye Color: in dark conditions, Brown. In sunlight Copper and Green.
- Hair Style/Color: dark brown , sloppy high and tight (haven't had a trim up recently.)
- Height: 5'11"
- Clothing style: Clothed nudist.
- Best physical feature: Firm buttock!

LAYER TWO: THE INSIDE
- Your fears: Being who I am now, ten years from now. An overactive imagination in dark rooms.
- Your guilty pleasure: A long motorcycle ride, without intending to actually go anywhere.
- Your biggest pet peeve: people who chew with their mouth open. My teacher once compared people like that to cows. I think it's disrespectful to the cows to say that.
- Your ambitions for the future: Sucessfully enlist in the Marine Corps, apply myself to College, become a financially stable prop/invention builder. "retire" by opening a Cafe someplace like Scotland.

LAYER THREE: THOUGHTS
- Your first thoughts waking up: "This is my bedroom, right?" "Okay, where are my pants?" or "Good thing I left myself a cup of coffee within arms reach."
- What you think about most: What I *should* be doing, then arguing with myself when I make an excuse to not do it.
- What you think about before bed: If I have background noise? The background noise (Old TV series are my lullabies.) If there's no background noise? I'm designing Griffon LRC V2. (a car I'd like to build some day)
- You think your best quality is: A brutal honesty, tempered with manners.

LAYER FOUR: WHAT'S BETTER?
- Single or group dates: I'd say single, except that I'm a complete idiot in 1 on 1 dates. I either speak too little, or won't shut up.
- To be loved or respected: I'd like to be loved some day. Though I still don't feel like I've earned it, or respect yet.
- Beauty or brains: Brains. Some of the sexiest women I know aren't models, they're book worms.
- Dogs or cats: A well rounded menagerie is good. Kind of miss having fish, too.

LAYER FIVE: DO YOU?
- Lie: Compulsively. It bugs the crud out of me.
- Believe in yourself: When I'm determined about something? Yes.
- Believe in love: The world is full of "love". I've been lucky enough to see a few honest cases of it.
- Want someone: Physically? Of course. Emotionally? Yes, but until I sort myself out, it's not an option.

LAYER SIX: EVER?
- Been on stage: Several stages, for several reasons. Ranging from plays, to Roadie work.
- Done drugs: Only caffiene. Having also gone through the withdrawl of it, I no longer claim it's not a drug.
- Changed who you were to fit in: A blessing and a curse, being able to be whomever you need to be, as the situation calls for it.

LAYER SEVEN: FAVORITES
- Favorite color: Forest green.
- Favorite animal: A few critters, like Elephants, Wolves, Cats... I don't really have a singular favorite.
- Favorite movie: 12 angry men. (the 1957 one)
- Favorite game: Arcanum. (Magic and steampunk in one package, with a story I love to keep going back into)

LAYER EIGHT: AGE
- Day your next birthday you will be: Tuesday
- How old will you be: 23
- Age you lost your virginity: 21
- Does age matter: It depends largely on the person. Maturity matters more than age.

LAYER NINE: IN A BOY OR GIRL
- Best personality: Boisterious, a little headstrong, creative, inventive, and eccentric. (just about any one of my friends has all of those qualities)
- Best eye color: Purple
- Best hair color: the ones that come out of a bottle.
- Best thing to do with a partner: Share interests, while helping each other try new things. (I.E. need to find someone that likes to go skydiving, because I want to jump out of a plane, but I'm scared of heights.)

LAYER TEN: FINISH THE SENTENCE
- I love: Building things.
- I feel: Like science!
- I hide: Half of the crud that goes on in my head.
- I miss: Places I never thought I'd miss when I was trying so hard to get away from them.
- I wish: That I had a workshop like Tony Stark.

I've been trying to get back to being active these days. Last year was spent with me essentially putting my head in the dirt, and ignoring everything, This year has been damage control as a result.

But on a FurAffinity related note, I thought it was funny that for that year, I had followers who stuck with during a whole lot of nothing. Then the second I posted new pictures, they kind of went "Oh, I'm still following this guy? Yoink!" and in a swoop, I lost seven followers.
Ahh well, maybe they don't like cybernetics?

Suit-wise, The arm is in the works, I've decided that the head needs to be overhauled as well, so the suit went from an upgrade to an outright replacement. About the only thing that'll survive is probably going to be a glove. Even the Tail is being replaced. I'll be making a new tail for  SamiiTiger Here soon, and given that the last fur-suit video showed a severe case of tail droop, We'll be amending the issue.

The new head will possibly be made using pepakura tricks as well, Which could be a bit of a first. I'm going to try to learn to take my grasp of 3D modeling, Sculpting, and Pepakura, and then jumble them all together! (If that works, a tutorial to help others do the same, will go up.)

That's a short update in a nutshell. Tonight will probably be spent making a 3D head to tinker on, we'll see how that goes.

In spite of me telling myself "No more" sculpting materials for awhile, I caved.
You might ask "Why?" and my answer would be: It's glow in the dark sculpy, in a variety of colors! How could I resist?

I'm pleased with the purchase, especially because it allows "sparklefur" commissions to be a little more accurate. A downside though? $14.59 for a flipping pack of 7, two of which are actually just plain old black and white. For that same amount, I can pick up closer to a 18 pack of the standard colors.
As such, Asking for Glowing will be a little extra, but hopefully the results will be worth the extra.

In other news, I'm working at Firehouse, but it's normally only two days a week, so I'm still job hunting, and socking away the income where/when I can.
The transmission on the Pontiac is still scrap, and until I've four figures of savings, it stays that way. (Blarg)
I've just about finished "converting" my 1936 Philco Model 60B to current parts, while leaving the original frame almost entirely untouched outside of refurbishing (pics will appear at some point)
I'm single once again, but apparently now the source of good rumors.
Unfortunately, said rumors are getting folks interested in me for the wrong reasons.
On a similar note, I've been feeling mopey, which is leading to overindulgence in my more rambunctious/flirtatious side to compensate/get over it. Verdict is still out on whether this is a good or bad thing.

Ah well, that's all for now!

Out of place?
Tonight is another weird little ramble. About being blind(ish) no less.
Warning: Content contains mention of things like trying to find the correct underwear. Reader discretion is advised.

Have you ever gotten an urge to try life without a sense, a limb, even speech?
Every now and then, I do. It might seem strange, but I consider it a worthwhile endeavor. It not only encourages you to view things from a different perspective. But it can also rip you away from your comfort zones, whilst allowing you the luxury of being able to "back-track" should it become too much for you.
A blind man cannot lift a veil. Nor a deaf woman remove her ear plugs...
When you throw yourself into their situation, you learn a little bit of what they go through. Tasks that come so easily to you or I, can come just as easily to them, but from a completely different approach.

Now, please bear in mind that I'm by no means well versed in this stuff. I'm just a random loon who occasionally will do things like put a cover over my eyes, or plug my ears. Even "remove" an arm. Just to see how it might be. This also means I don't get to enjoy what someone who has lived and adapted to their condition gets. For me, it's fresh, unknown, and occasionally, scary.

Tonight, and at the start of tomorrow, I will be sampling the world through sightless eyes.
It began with shampoo in the eyes in the shower. Something that has happened to all of us I'm sure.
Well, as I was reaching blindly for the towel to remove the remnants of soap and dry my eyes. I keyed in on just how much was happening that I wasn't paying attention to when my vision was dominant. Sounds, sensations, smells...
While hardly able to vouch for the claim that all sensations increase to counter a missing one. I can certainly say that you become more -aware- of them.
With the shower coming to a close, nice and clean. I decided to continue the experiment. Moving onto correctly determining my towel based of texture as well as placement. (in the center of three, so it was an easy find.) I wrapped up, and proceeded to walk carefully towards the sink, my hands helping to guide and stop me when there.
Feeling the diameter of the sink quickly, I moved my arms to where I knew my toothpaste and toothbrush were.
Feeling the shapes in my hands, I adjusted them until I felt the bristles of the brush lightly resting against my thumb (using my thumb as a reference to insure the brush tip was where I needed it) as well as the cap of the toothpaste against my other thumb.
Popping the seal of the toothpaste, I guided towards my thumb, trying to just slightly overshoot to hit the brush.
When I began squeezing and felt no difference. I ran my thumb tip lightly over the brush, and sure enough, there was no toothpaste. I'd overshot.
Debating how someone without sight might cope with this. I went with a change of plans. I deliberately started the initial squeeze right onto my thumb, running the paste to the tip and then scraping the little bit extra back onto the end of the brush, and toweling my thumb dry.
Perhaps it's not the right approach. But it worked for me.

Replacing the toothpaste, and turning on/off the water were trivial things. But when it came time to spit, I had to grasp for the sink once more.
Finding the initial center via the overflow hole, I guided my hand the rest of the way to the left, determining where my edges were. From there on, it was easy. When I was done, I rinsed the sink out, making sure to clean up the spot where I'd overshot with my toothpaste the first try.

With my toothbrush back in place, I searched the edge of the sink, and found the ring I got for my 21st. Running my thumb over the top of it, I "built" the pattern on the ring in my head, determining which side was the top so I could put it on.
As my hands found my glasses. I noted something that had been working in my favor even with my eyes closed.
Light.
Throughout the entire room, light was basically creating a weaker version of the room if I cued in on it. Shadows and highlights all over helped place things.
While I know some folks can be blind, but see light, this didn't seem right.
So, grasping around, I found my T-shirt and proceeded to blind myself further.
Complete darkness. Amazingly, it turned out that the light hadn't been making as big a difference as I thought. I knew the bathroom so well, I still had an idea of where everything was relative to myself.
Finding the doorknob, I let myself out and wandered across the hall to my room. Hardly even needing my hands to guide me.
Once in my room, my senses were all put to the test to navigate the minefield that is my room. Hands were out, skimming along the end of my bed to move around it and make my way to my dresser. Once there, I began on the newest challenge.
Clothing.
Thankfully. my dresser is pretty straightforward in terms of layout. So it wasn't a matter of finding the clothes. But rather the clothes I wanted to wear.
Given I'd just had a shower and it was 2AM. PJ's were in order. PJ's for me are underwear, and a shirt.
It's surprising just how much you can tell about a piece of clothing by touch alone. The fabric. The size, if there is elastic, if there's a tear in the clothing. Stuff that you can establish in seconds with your eyes, can be done almost as quickly without them.
A catch is color, as many a mocking joke will attest.
I had the benefit of knowing the colors of the clothing that went with certain designs (something that a blind person with a friend might establish too) though.
So when I grabbed a largish one from the pile, I spread it across my bed, and began to run my fingers over the texture. The backside had a large design. with a few complicated ridges, but by and large. the design was an oval. That narrowed down the shirt to 13 shirts I own. But factoring the size and material, only 5 fit the bill.
Flipping the shirt over, I continued to feel around until I located the small design over the left breast. A bunch of tiny ridges, a small oval theme... Running my hands along, I built the design in my head, Writing, a shield, encased in an oval. I figured I had my Black "Project Olive Harvest" shirt.
Being a cheater, I peaked through my cover, and was surprised to find I was right.
Underwear followed a similar route. Checking the texture of the fabric, then running my fingers over buttons, I found a pair of boxers. But as I'd been checking, I'd noted the fabric felt loose, and checked the backside. Sure enough, a finger poked through a hole in the back, and I tossed the boxers back, checking for another pair with the same feel. a few shirts and a another bad pair of boxer briefs later. I had underwear.

All in all. My brief sampling of blindness tonight was a pleasant change of otherwise mundane tasks. I also believe I'll be continuing the experiment in the morning, right up to the point where I have to drive Tony to work.
I doubt that he, or the local authorities, would be all that understanding about me trying to drive around blind. Mind you, with my eyesight, it's about the same thing if I didn't have my glasses.

The kudos go to YuchiDaYena for this one, I was poking round her page and decided to Meme once again.

How many fursuits do you own?
Just the one, but he's been remade time and again.
I'm hoping to upgrade his arm sometime, and also make a "huge" (6'4"+) elephant Fursuit. (hopefully with a plush texture rather than rough)

Toony or realistic?
I like the look of toony, but realism has it's place too. Personally? I lean towards Toony.

Favorite Fursuit Builder?
Yoshii Her suits are adorable. I keep debating having Leerans next head made by her rather than trying to do it again. (Still, you don't improve if you never try.)

How long have you been fursuiting for?
Since MFM 2007 (I think, my memory sucks.)

Favorite fursuit species?
Tricky question... I don't really have a favorite. I like seeing all the fursuit critters.

10 out of 10, how much do you love fursuits?
10. They might be hot as halibut, but they're a blast to mess around in, and they can turn shy folks into party critters. That's a big plus in my book.

Partial or full fursuit?
I'm a partial suiter, but I'd like to make the leap to full. My biggest reason not to at the moment is I love having my pants pockets to keep stuff easily reachable.

What was the best fursuiting moment?
It's gotta be the Fursuit games. To narrow it down? I'd lean more towards MFM 08, probably the most laughing I've done in suit.

How long can you last in a fursuit?
I typically wuss out at only three or four hours at a top end margin. Provided I had a nice long straw to keep hydrated? I reckon I could do double that, or even longer.
My big thing is that I don't want to be the guy who passed out and was cut out of his suit though, so I tend to avoid pushing myself. I also tend to call quits early sometimes because my glasses refuse to defog. Normally during the Fursuit games when the temp in suit is spiking.

Have you ever got too hot in fursuit that you fainted?
Nope. This last MFM was close though. Too little water and too much pushing. I clued in that it was break time when I realized I was giggling at nothing and lightheaded. Just swayed into the Headless lounge, drank up, then went back out.

Are you getting any other fursuit commissions?
Maybe the head from Yoshii as mentioned. I personally like to do the work myself though. It's more fun, and you know where your suits strengths and weaknesses are that way. (Leerans fingers for example, are the weakest spot, because I sewed them extra fine to allow improved dexterity)

Do you watch fursuit TV?
Um... I didn't realise there was such a thing. ^^;

Pawpets?
I like to catch it if I can. But I admit I've missed all but a few.

Got any fanboys or fangirls?
If they're there, they need to holler. (please?)
I'd like to think so, but to the best of my knowledge? No.

If there where no fursuits in the furry fandom.. Would you still be in the furry fandom?
Yep, I was furry before I ever realized it. The suiting just came as a bonus when I actually got into the fandom.

Would you let anyone hug you in fursuit?
I'm an awkward hugger (as other suiters have found out) I like the hugs, I'm just not used to them.

Would you want to get buried in fursuit at a funeral when you pass away?
Well, that would certainly be an interesting note on the funeral... You wouldn't want to be cremated in it though. The faux fur would probably melt metal.

Would you get married in fursuit?
If asked, I would attend someone else's wedding in fursuit. But for my own? I highly doubt it.

Have you done charity work in fursuit before?
I would like to do so sometime. But nothing so far.

If someone started fursuiting for the first time and wanted advice.. What advice would you give?

(i'm going to pilfer some of Yuchi's for this, mostly just adding onto them.)
KEEP HYDRATED. (I'll just repeat. They will CUT YOU OUT OF SUIT if you pass out from heat. Keeping cool and hydrated goes a long way to preventing this)
If you're in public, have a watcher. At a con? Try to stay around your friends or other suiters.
SHOWER OFTEN (This is a Kindness not just for others, but for your suit as well)
Clean your suit often (both inside and out)
Don't shun kids (You might not like them out of suit, but try to be friendly in suit)
Do not hold an infant/toddler, not because of our reputation but our paws don't always have a firm grip, so if a parent asks you to just politely shake your head.
Learn your limits. (both yours, and your suits)
Don't push yourself too hard. (Those "endurance" suiters built up to where they are, don't try to do it overnight.)
Don't hug people who don't want it, some people are scared, remember, not all furries like fursuits. :)
It might sound silly, but do every gesture a little more over the top. Bright suits show motions better than dark ones, but a lot of your gesture can still be lost in all that fur. Making it bigger increases the chance folks will see/understand what you want to convey.
Something I can't recommend highly enough? Keep thread that matches your fur(s) (or scales, feathers, whatever your suit is) on hand along with a needle and scissors. (hot glue, and other repair materials are a good investment too)
Your suit is going to have tears and breaks, and even if you didn't make it yourself, you should learn to mend it. The suit maker might not be available to patch you up, and you don't want to have to stop suiting because you let a tear get out of control and wreck your suit. Right?

What is the most impressive fursuit that you ever seen in the whole fandom?
Lionels steals the show for sheer wow factor with me. Not just for the quality but also for the electronics packages inside some of those.

Is fursuiting your favorite hobby?
I've a bunch of hobbies, but fursuiting is definitely at the top of the tier.

What are your alternative hobbies apart from fursuiting?
Blacksmithing, sculpting, tinkering, modeling, painting, photography, making mods for computer games, voice acting, pretending I have a clue how to draw...

Do fursuits and fursuiting rule your life?
Pshaw. I'd love to actually go into business making suits. But for now? They're a pleasant way to kill time at cons and socialize with folks.
I know full well I'd still be far more introverted if not for suiting. So while it might not "rule" my life, it's helped make a positive change in it.

Killing time while my head shuts down for the night and I felt like doing a bit of rambling.

But first off, and most importantly, if you're at my page curious if I was the fella who took your sculpture commission/art trade. Yep, that's me.
I didn't have the good sense to have business cards on me, and as a result some of you might have had to take a gamble on the scrawl that passes for my handwriting. Regardless, if you were interested in an art trade, or would like to be kept in the loop about a sculpture, you can leave a comment here, or email me at seth_josef at yahoo dot com (there is a good chance some folks misread the underscore as a dash.)

Now, rather than go off on one of my normal rambles, I'll try to keep this one short'n sweet.
MFM is probably going to be my last con for awhile, so I'm really glad it went as well as it did.
Sure, there was drama, but only a teensy dose compared to the norm.
There was of course a concentrated dose of drama in the form of the MFM hotel transfer (the strongest rumor at the time was that MFM was closing for good) and as such, I think most folks were on their best behavior to try and make sure the "last" MFM was going to be a good one.
My first time at the frozen oasis was pleasant, even though it was kind of a drink and run (I was looking for Dae at the time, but couldn't pass up the chance to try one of the famous drinks)
I helped out as a runner at the charity and even modeled a collar (in fursuit) at one point, constantly debating things I could do to try and get a laugh/a bid out of folks.
Likewise, I was miserly for the majority of the con so that when I got to the charity, I could go for broke. (literally) leaving with a couple stuffed critters, an airbed and sleeping bag, as well as a #2 badge to Wild Nights, A furry campout that sounds like a blast, and I hope to be able to attend. (but I doubt I'll be able to)
I even managed to bring a bit of personality to Leeran in suit, emoting a bit more obviously, using broader gestures and whatnot. This was due largely to video I've seen of myself in the suit and the fact that even if I've got a mile wide grin inside the suit, it might look like I'm a slouch shouldered grouch. As such, I tried to be bouncier. I also took into account that black/brown fur blends into itself so I went with BIGGER whenever I was trying to convey something.
Old setup | New setup
I like/approve of something
Nod my head| Nod my head, clapping my hands, or doing something similar
I don't like/want to do something
Shake my head| Shake my head, waving my arms in front of myself

Most of my movements followed a similar path. Things that felt over the top to me, tended to work out just right in suit when taking the "smoothing" effect of the fur into consideration. Hopefully folks noticed the change. I wasn't huge, but it was a bouncy lil step in the right direction.

Oh, and on a closing note to folks, I'm still up for art trades/commissions if you'd like a sculpture of your own. I'm willing to make just about anything within 15mm high to 6 inches tall. All I ask for art trades is that you'd be willing to cover the S&H to get the sculpture to you.
As always, reference isn't required, but is a huge plus.

Well, it's now the day after my Birthday, and I have to say it was pretty danged spiffy. What follows isn't really a recap of the day on whole, so much as the drinking that 21st's are notorious for. This goes on for a while, and the first half is predominantly whiny.

I had a celebratory drink when midnight rolled from the 6th to the 7th.
The drink was called a Four Horsemen.
The one that I had contained a shot of Jim, Jack, Johnny, And Jose each. I'd been tossing up -what- to drink for awhile because I'm normally a baileys drinker, but it seemed anti-climactic for my 21st.
So, when I asked for one (after having drink ideas thrown at me from the table) and the waitresses mouth opened and she paled a little bit, I knew I'd made the right choice.
When the shot originally came over, they'd made a single shot four horsemen (which would've been fine for me) but everyone else at the table frowned and informed the waitress I was to have four shots worth (a single shot of each one) as was the -proper- way to make them. She wandered off, and when she returned, the drink was exponentially more imposing.
With a watch check, we learned it was 12:05AM, and I was now 21 (state law wise, I wasn't actually 21 yet) and I was given hearty hurrahs and a few handshakes. I basked in the glow for a little bit, but I'd apparently dawdled too long because my brother piped in "You're 21, so why the f**k is there still booze in that cup?" (Because the drink scared the shite out of me?)
I told him I was still waiting on the hamburger I'd ordered. Especially given I'd had no food bar a cookie and a piece of soft jerky up to this point. I was guffawed, informed I could eat my burger afterwards, but I had to drink NOW.

Lifting the cup, I took a tentative sip, fully expecting my normal reaction to these drinks, blanch, make a face, and then choke it down. Surprisingly though, the fourth shot (or just all of them combined) countered the normally horrid taste, and it tasted smooth, almost pleasant.
Of course, my sipping technique was not well recieved, and I was told to take it like a shot and do -all- of it.
Given that I knew I wasn't going to gag now, and that I wasn't leaving this bar sober, I dutifully up ended the drink and downed the remainder followed by the baileys chaser they'd gotten me.
The cheering returned, and I was also informed by the waitress that after doing that, I could have whatever I liked. About this time, my throat seemed to realize what I'd just done to it, and it numbed over slightly.
Anyone who's met me knows how "wild" I am. And as such, people quickly grew bored and continued with the festivities as they should. People were singing karaoke, some of my friends included, and the bar was getting increasingly loud.
Being the twink I am though, I'd already promised myself I wasn't going to need anyone to carry me out of the bar/make too big an ass of myself. So I'd had many waters leading up to the drink, and I was having many waters following the drink. Even with these though, the Horsemen were making themselves known as the rooms acoustics began to change. What'd originally been just annoyingly loud karaoke, was sounding higher pitched now. My head felt that warmish tinge you get from a few drinks, and I was loosening up and pulling the stick out just a little.
Of course one of the main reasons I was being prudish is I had my back to a bar full of people. That is the easiest way to make me uncomfortable/guarded is have me looking at a wall, knowing people are behind me.
But as the night went on, karaoke was sung, chatter was made, and drinks were had.
Tony had apparently made it his mission to try get me shitfaced properly, or at the very least unwind. He was supplying me with many tasty beverages, and I was happily sampling the variety of concoctions the bartender was cooking up and sending my way. Normally though I was also following each drink with one of water.
A little factoid about me. I do NOT drink to get drunk. I drink to enjoy the drinks. I'm willing to experiment, try new flavors, but I've been fall over drunk twice, and that was plenty for me. Since then, I normally don't have more than a drink a month, if even that.
So when I -am- drinking. I'm doing my damndest to enjoy the drinks, not the effects. Tonys method didn't really allow for too much drink enjoying given that everything was to be taken like a shot. But I have to commend him, for the scant seconds my taste buds had to try things, nothing he'd brought back tasted bad.
But, what was an effort to get me to loosen up was having the opposite effect as I remembered those two occasions before, and how much I hated the way I'd acted. So the more I drank, the more water followed. (I swear I had to use the batthroom 37 times over the course of a few hours)
Likewise, as the audio in the room changed, I went from having trouble hearing people over the karaoke, to completely deaf except to the karaoke. Which was now being preformed by chipmunks (for some reason it honestly sounded like everyone had taken a lot of helium)
So there I was, trying to enjoy myself whilst I was mentally berating myself, the prude in me chugging water to counter the best efforts of my inner party guy and Tony.
Tony brought out the big guns at one point and had two nice gals come up and give me a birthday peck on my cheek. Which as much as I enjoyed it, I felt bad for them because I was stubbly and it probably felt porcupineish.
Well, these two gals took me either arm, and dragged me upright, informing me I was about to dance. I told them in turn that I don't/can't dance. Their reply was "We don't care" and I was pulled along to the floor.
There I am, deaf, drunk, dopey, and downright terrified as my attempt at dancing consists of me gyrating my butt as close to in sync with the music as I can muster. The ever present prude in my head screaming bloody murder and demanding I get back to my seat.
As one would expect, the little fucker won once again, and when the song ended I shuffled back to my stool, tail between my legs.
By the time Tony asked me to go up on stage and do Karaoke with him, the prude had won, and the party guy in me had given up trying. I honestly think if I -hadn't- been drinking, I would've gone up there and sang like the tone deaf idiot I am, but I was so hung up on not making an ass out of myself. I made a -bigger- ass out of myself, leaving Tony alone on the stage as the crowd (which had tried chanting to encorage me) realized that I had no intention of getting up there. The DJ (a friend of Tony's) caught this too, and was nice enough to dive in to help Tony sing. But I convinced myself I'd have had a worse time if I'd gotten up there, and satisfied myself in the fact that I was a dick, but I had told Tony from square one, I'd never get on that stage that night. Even when the party guy in me kept suggesting songs Like "Buisness Time" "Walking in Memphis" and "Second Hand Faith" Songs that I not only knew, but could've sung well.

The summary of that night? I don't do well whilst drinking amongst strangers, with my back to the room, listening to the prude in me rather than shutting the fecker up and going with the party guy I normally listen to most often when sleep deprived. He might get me to do stupid stuff sometimes. But normally someone's going to be laughing (at or with, he doesn't care) and having fun when he's got the reins.

When we got back to the hotel, I checked my twitter posts, sobriety returning slowly and it dawning on me what a douche I'd been by trying desperately to not be one. I watched a movie, read some comics and zonked for the night. (around 3AM)


---- And now onto the less whiny drinking! ----


The "next" day at 8AM I woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed in spite of the nine different types of alcohol that'd been glugged down the night before. As is an odd bit in my genetics, I've never had a hangover (of course I rarely drink to a degree that'd warrant one) instead I wake up feeling nice'n refreshed. Well, excluding a hellacious case of cottonmouth.
Killed an hour or so catching up on Wapsi Square and reading some QC too. After awhile I nabbed a shower and a shave and headed out with everyone to IHOP where I proceeded to drink two glasses of OJ in about the time it'd probably taken the server to pour them...

The day carried on until the big moment came around and we headed to the Pirates house. This was much more to my liking, I was among friends with the odd stranger aroung, but the place was quiet (atmospheric) and the overall ambiance set me at ease. The Bartender also had a good bit of character to him, glaring at Dan Jess and I as we ordered a Dr. Pepper and two waters. He had a bit of a wicked glint in his eye when Dan informed him that I would be getting snockered on the skull crusher later for my 21st.
We were seated, made our orders, and the food arrived, when my skull crusher plopped onto the table, I admired the sculpted skull with the dagger handle, the drink inside smelled delightfully fruity with a hint of bite. The taste not only backed it up, but encouraged continual sipping. This time I wasn't too concerned about water, I had the one glass that I occasionally took a pull from, but for the most, I just enjoyed my skull crusher. As I heard the telltale slurp that told me I'd hit bottom, I arched and eyebrow and inspected the cup.
For something that had a degree of notoriety to it, this pleasing little beverage had left me with just a hint of a fuzzy feeling. Given that I'd just earned my first drinking mug, I decided to try the Artillery punch next. An equally talked about drink, once again with its own decanter that you got to leave with if you had it.
When the artillery punch arrived, I was given a few raised eyebrows from the group, apparently the skull crusher was supposed to have been doing its thing by now. (which it was, but hardly anything worth note)
Twirling the straw amongst the cherries inside the artillery punch, I took a sip with the flavor of the skull crusher on my mind. This one was almost sickly sweet, the champagne turning it from a sweet drink into a 7Up with hidden taste that assured me there was actually alcohol. Much like the skull crusher, I just enjoyed the taste without really thinking too much about it. And during one of my sips I was once again greeted with the slurp of an empty glass.
By this point, my head was legitimately warm, cheeks flushed, and my brain was doing overtime assessing what was compromised and how to act accordingly. What that meant is that I was jolly, red cheeked, but still mobile and comfortable, with just a hint of deviousness rising to the surface during conversation.
As I made one of my bathroom trips (the two waters prior to our table seating were doing overtime it seems) I had a flair of deviousness and wandered once more to the bar. Dan apparently following behind me. After waiting a bit, I got the bartenders attention and requested another skull crusher, making note to compliment both drinks but give higher praise to the skull crusher. (deservedly so in my book)
Apparently (unknown to me) I'd accidentally interrupted the bartender counting his till. And incurred his "wrath" in the form of a more potent skull crusher.
Making my way back to the table, unawares of this, I was rather pleased with myself, and fully intent on earning my third mug. When asked where I'd been, I was completely honest about requesting my skull crusher. this drew a few eyebrow twitches that make me even more pleased with myself, the fact that I was still standing, manuvering the building/patrons with ease, and intent on a third drink surprising folks. When Dan and the Bartender came back in, I was informed of the upgraded nature of my drink, and the skull crusher was passed around, folks taking sips or sniffs as they pleased, the occasional wide eyed stare at the cup filling me with excitement at what was sounding like a daunting task if group consensus was to be believed. When it finally came back to me, I took an eager sip and savored the explosion of delicious now inhabiting my mouth. Whatever he'd upped it with, made it head and shoulders above its predecessor.
By this point, our meals had been finished, and the majority of our group, being smokers, wandered outside. so Dan (suffering a fit of giggles) Jess and I all remained inside. I was enjoying my skull crusher whilst Jess had some of her dinner and Dan just smirked at me and giggled constantly.
Once more the slurp of an empty cup came, and Dans giggling ceased, replaced with an "are you serious?" as I looked sadly at my cup, a hint of color claiming to be drink avoiding the pull of my straw.
Jess took the skullcrusher from me a moment to inspect my handiwork, an confirmed that there was a smidge left. The water I'd been neglecting this time around was once more put to use as I tipped the 1/4 left into my skullcrusher and mixed it with the remnants, gleefully draining the liquid once more then proudly handing the cup back for another inspection. A nod from Jess that I'd cleaned it proper and Dan was back to laughing.
When time came for us to leave, doggy bags in hand, I was given a field sobriety test for shits and giggles given that I'd been navigating the building, patrons and staff, with minimal difficulty during trips to the bathroom.
Following his key, I could -feel- my neck muscles as my head made small adjustments to follow his key, but didn't really think to stop them (apparently a no-no) It was passable, but Dan claimed the head twitch was a giveaway I'd had a few.
With arms out, and palms up. I was told to touch the tip of my nose with my index finger. Everyone bust up when I asked which that was. A legitimate question to me (even when sober) Because I've always said/heard it called the forefinger.
My new found knowledge of finger names behind me. I proceeded to touch it to my nose as instructed. Then did so again with the other hand.
This of course got me told off. I figured he's wanted the one hand, so I should do the other as well. I've learned since that with a field sobriety test, you make -no- assumptions. Just do what the cop says.
The final verdict was that I failed the tests, but given what I'd had. I apparently should have failed them far more spectacularly than I did. I think the majority of point docking came from me making assumptions about what I should do and an unjust docking for not knowing the index finger was the forefinger. (I thought it was the middle finger, which skewed results.)

All in all though, I believe I gave my 21st a proper sendoff. Of course, I was still standing/walking fine at the end, which I'm told means I did it wrong.

I'm doing a casting call for actors to take part in the TF2 Machinima project I've been futzing with. Currently, due to me being cameraman, all slots are open.
I'm looking for people who have mics, a decent connection, and are willing to do multiple takes as well as follow directions.

Players could "claim" a specific actor if they want at the moment too.

Spy: Will be doing much killing, but in the storyboarded fashion. I.E. Looking for someone to act, not just go on a spree.
(No actor yet)
Engineer: Will (unfourtunatly) die quite often. Player must be willing to deal with respawns.
(No actor yet)
Other classes: Provide the background players, These will predominantly be blue, the Red team is mostly giving the spotlight to the spy.

I'm looking for around six actors, but it'd be possible to do with as few as three (especially given that some scenes are just the spy/engineer.

If you're interested, please drop a comment or a TF2 playername and I'll try to get in touch with you.

1.) Your name?
Andrew - Ultra cool, Usually hot or at least sort of cute. Awesome sense of style, music, and humor. Sexy, awesome kisser

(Anyone care to test this claim?)

2.) Your age?
21 - The age at which one finally feels that the drinking age is actually somewhere in sight.
OOOH Yer 18 BIG FUCKING DEAL!! THat's still a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG way from 21!

(They should probably change that to -legal- drinking age. I had Kahlua for lunch.)

3.) One of your friends?
Alice - a young, beautiful, sophisticated woman who is confident in all that she does.

(Yep, that sounds about right.)

4.) What should you be doing?
Sleeping - When you close your eyes and think of perverted things, which will never actually happen.

(S-shut up! They might!)

5.) Favorite color?
Green - yes... it is most definitely referring to the marijuana... and also, upon occassion, any substance with similar uses. too, properly, of course, it is a golfing term, but that;s really not very much fun, now is it?

(I'd rather Tee then toke. Golf term it is!)

6.) Birthplace?
Huntingdon - huntingdon is bare scene

(Couldn't honestly tell you, haven't been back since I left.)

7.) Month of your birth?
June - The month the hottest people in the world are born.

(Yep, and some ugly ones decided to muscle in on the month too)

8.) Last person you talked to?
Dae - (Allegedly) comes from Korean language and means "the essence of cool".

(The direct translation is in fact "awesomesauce".)

9.) One of your nicknames?
Poodle - To take advantage of a friend with a higher income so that they will pay your way for lunch, movie tickets, etc. This can either be with prior notification (notifying the friend that they are about to be the recipient of this action) or it can be a surprise poodling, such as when you seem to have forgotten your wallet when the bill arrives.

(That shoe fits far more snugly then I like to admit. In my defense, I try to be generous in turn when I actually have money.)

I tag... whoever feels like it. I jumped on the bandwagon. You might as well too!

For those that wanted to see/hear Matthew Ebels AKA  Hali's performance, I've uploaded my videos to Youtube now. http://www.youtube.com/view_play_li.....8D42D5FBA7534D
Apoligies in advance for the quality of the footage, but on the plus side. Think of it kinda like a game demo. You get a little taste of what the real deal is like. It's just not as good as what you're after. Which gives you incentive to go out and buy the whole package.
Where can you get the full deal? Why https://www.MatthewEbel.com of course! G'wan, you know you want to. Shoot, I need to buy some new ones too, I loaned them to a friend and they "disappeared".

Well, a few days post FWA, I've gathered a few of my thoughts a bit, so here ya go.

For starters, FWA was, as expected, a blast. I met new people, found some old ones, and generally had a good time. I even de-geeked a bit and allowed myself a few drinks. Before bed o-course, and nowhere near enough to get me shlickered. (which is just fine in my book)

A few things in the con stick out more then most, for starters, my roomates all turned out to be great folks, and I hopefully didn't annoy them too much with my antics.

 Hali is still awesome as always, and was even kind enough to help me (and others) to get water to the suiters during the dead dog dance. I'll be uploading some of his show to Youtube (with his permission) once I finish editing the video.
Turns out my phone records in 3gp which means I need to find a good freeware converter that doesn't watercolor before I can even do sound editing.
Should you be the impatient type. Go ahead and head on over to http://matthewebel.com/ and listen to some of his stuff. If you like whatcha hear, I can assure you the CD's are worth getting too. (and coming from a cheapskate like me, I hope that has some cache)

Grain alcohol is surprisingly tasty, but I apparently should've had more sense than to try it. I shant have any more.
Banana Shnapps is also tasty. (when mixed with a soda) I will be having more.

 2gryphon was funny as always. He also has an oddly effective charisma.
I spent most of the one dance skulking about trying to work up the guts to dance. (being in fursuit still didn't help)
When he said to do so though, a group of us did so without question. The end result was me laughing my ass off, and losing one of the electronic glow-sticks I'd gotten near the start of the con. (got it back though, and I plan on using it inside my radio/jukebox project.)

 FuziBuni was great, and actually added the sculpture I made for her to her fursuit. Thankfully it held together for the con. While I wasn't too worried about it breaking, I still have plans to make more durable sculptures. The current idea is to have a mold technique with something like hotglue around metal for the finished piece. That way they can be sat on, beat up, and so on without breaking. Just need to work the kinks out.

Vertical push ups, while fun, should not be done when you've had a few drinks. What I mistook for rugburn, was in fact my glasses cutting a 1/3rd of an inch into my face. Thankfully Manytails had pliers and my glasses were bent back into their proper shape.

To the mystery furry that fixed my car. -Please- let me know who you are if you see this. I owe you a drink next time I see you. (The doors are working perfectly now)

 lizardbeth was very nice in spite of the fact the sculpture I made her for her birthday unintentionally gained about 30 pounds. If it breaks on you, lemme know though so that I can replace it with a better one.
On a similar note. Do -not- use a widescreen monitor with "fit to screen" if your reference image isn't wide to start with.

 DragonWolf2k talked with me about Commissioning a suit. The successor head to the V3.1 is in the planning stage, depending on how it looks when I'm done, I might just take her up on the offer. A little PR (especially from someone that'll put a suit to good use) is always welcome. I really need to get the hang of converting measurements to templates though.
Either that or just start requesting DCD's so that I can fit the suit to the dummy.

Sometimes doing staff like things can be very rewarding. When the headless lounge ran out of water, I was press ganged into helping. After we had a water chain started, I went downstairs, sweet talked a bit and organized three more water jugs to be sent up for the machine. I waited around to make sure it was done properly.
This worked out though, because the hotel staff had looked in the wrong room.
I took them to the right one and waited again till I saw the bottles arrive, and then went about telling the other suiters that the water tank was up and running again. In hindsight, the last bit was probably overkill, but seemed like a good idea at the time.
Also, doing volunteer things can be rewarding too. I didn't do a lot this con, but the few times I did, I enjoyed myself. Didn't even bother with sign offs on my sheet.

On a similar note, it's a nice sensation when you're carrying about 50-100 pounds of camera equipment with only a little strain, and when you hand it off to another person, they visibly buckle under the weight. While I didn't enjoy his plight, it's nice to know that my exercises are actually paying off. (My dang gut still won't leave though)

On a closing note. A -big- thankyou to the sound crew for letting me borrow an extension cord for my phone.
This led to some hilarity involving running up some stairs, catching an elevator, blasting past some furries, grabbing my phone charger and then running back to the main ballroom to charge my phone, all so I could record hali and 2. Turns out though it was a good thing I did though, my phone developed -just- enough charge to turn back on just a few minutes before Hali started his show. If I hadn't run like an idiot. I wouldn't have made it in time. As it was, even with the charger my phone was sucking a lot of power during the shows. It would've died three times over (on a full charge) if not for y'all loaning me the cord. Thankyou again for that.

The season to be jolly!
Whilst my job hunting continues, I'm currently shy on cash and as such prezzies are going to be in short supply. Unless...

How would you like to make a fur happy, and put smiles on his families faces?
Now, I'm not asking for handouts. I'm offering up more FIMO keychains in exchange for a little dosh, which will go towards presents for my folks.

The keychains themselves could be a present for someone else too, that way everyone wins!

I honestly don't know how this'll go over. But the price I'm after is $15.00 plus S&H.
This might seems high, it might seem low. (preferably the later)
My reasoning behind this is that to cover the cost of materials, and actually have money left over for the presents.
Likewise, these keychains are small, but have as much detail as my hands can manage.

I will be keeping any buyers in the loop on how their keychains are coming along as I work.
If you have an image to start from, then I can work with that.
Otherwise, give me a description of what you're after. Then I'll sculpt a pose, send you a picture, and if you approve I'll build from there.

Keychains not your thing? How about collars?
 RisuMurasaki is selling Collars from her page.
Examples of them Here

Y'all remember the two sculptures I showed here? How would you like one of your own?
Currently I'm offering up three keychain sculptures. Much like Dae and Delilah's, but slightly smaller, and more keychain friendly.
Likewise, you can decide if you want a 3d chibi character (they will be tiny'n squished looking given the size) or a flat, face/full body.
Also, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place get slightly smaller respectively.

To be honest, I really just want to make something, so I didn't put too much thought into a contest idea. If you're willing, we can do an art trade, with a sculpture being my end of the trade.

If not, any suggestions for a contest? ^^;

Edit: On an interesting note, Lil fur's aren't just the kind you know. Apparently it's also a term for that fuzzy Russian hat. (referenced via a site that sells em)

Anyone else ever go for a walk and as you're walking along, you get this urge to go farther than you planned?
This happens to me a lot, but normally I'm not walking in the first place, and it's easier to convince myself I don't need to.
Other times, I have case like tonight. Where a short little 2 mile jog'n walk exploded into what felt more like a marathon. It was still quite nice, even when I got the blisters. I felt I coulda kept walking all the way to Huntsville. But then my MP3 player died. *laughs*
It's amazing just how much difference a little music can make as you're puttering along the road.

Oh, while I'm thinking about that. People that leave their brights on as they're coming towards cars? Those people are jerks.
People that do the same thing to joggers? I want to use their heads as my personal punching bag. That is not just rude, it's hazerdous. I am 100% blind when someone has their brights on, and when that could potentially lead to me breaking my neck on the un-even terrain, I get a little miffed.

In the end though, it all went over well enough. I got home safe and sound, and I'm probably going to undo all of the healthy stuff I just did when I get the urge to terrorise the ginger snaps.

Well folks, MFM has come and gone now...
I was stabbed.
I was blugeoned.
I was molested.
I was cooked alive...
And it was a blast! This MFM was quite possibly the best out of all the conventions I've been to. Admitedly, I'm biased because I got a free ride to next years MFM. (Expect to see why posted up here sometime soon.)
Now, to explain the injuries I mentioned, whilst all accurate, happened in ways that were great fun, with the exclusion of the stabbing.
But really all the stabbing was was when I was sewing up some damage in my gloves using a heavy thread and needle, I dropped the needle, talking to Corsi as I searched for it. About the time I said I hoped I found it before someone accidentally stepped on it and got it stuck in their foot or something, I winced.
Looking down at my hand, well aware of -why- I was in pain I laughed and said "Well, that's one way of finding it." and promptly lifted my hand to reveal the needle buried nice'n deep in my hand.
Honestly, could've been worse though. Better my hand then someone's foot/butt.

Now as for the blugeonings. Those are just par for the course when doing fursuit games. My poor man tackle is becoming quite the crash test dummy for tails. Sometimes from other furs, but typically my own.
Plus, when running full bore in a suit, it helps to remember where a wall is. I can only imagine what folks thought watching this silly looking suiter plow straight into a ramp wall and fall on his butt because he forgot the brakes. (I was laughing all the way to the floor and then some.)

The molestings were both funny, and awkward. The funny ones took place mostly during the iron artist event. In which I was amazed at my own balace as a husky buddy bumped my leg, or tickled me in an effort to topple me from my "perch" while I worked.
To those suiters. I thought it was hilarious, but I do apoligise for ruining y'alls table prank by pining it to the floor. (I'd thought you were going to dump everything on the floor, not rotate it. ^^;)
The more legitimate molesting was... well, weird.
The newest head has a massive cowl, as a result of being sewn together too quickly. (Which I will actually be sharing the build with you all here so that you can learn from the mistakes made.)
So anywho, everytime I put the cowl on, I'd spend a minute or two getting it into my shirt, and getting it matted flat to my chest. An experience that is oddly pleasant given how nice the fur feels.
Well, this time, I was too quick, and hadn't matted my fur down enough. Without thinking anything about it, I walked out of the lounge. Giving a friendly nod to some folks. I heard "Boobies!" and looked straight through my suit eyes to see a broad grin and a pair of hands reaching for my chest.
Yeeeeeeeah, if I were a woman, I might've reacted accordingly, but the shock of having my chest associated with breasts paralysed me. I couldn't decide whether to laugh or freak out, so I stood frozen whilst my fur was fondled.
After that experience I consider myself a little wiser in was some suiters/women go through at this con.
So I reckon I'll be sticking to giving massages to those who ask, but keeping my hands away from the chesticular areas, no matter how badly I wanna fondle em. (which means I'll do what I've always done. >.>)
Well, unless asked. But not even in my wilder fantasies do women ask me to grope them.

As for being cooked alive. That is a reference to the V3 of my suit. The first incarnation, some of you got to see at the first MFM. It was pretty toasty, and was "That creepy wolf/bear with no eyes" some of you saw wandering until Delilah helped me look a little closer to what I was after. Ironically, doing the same thing again for the new head. Kudos to her, and thanks again.
Well, the V1 head was -hot- it had poor visibility, poorer breathing, and was agonizing to wear because It had no internal padding and a lot of tie-straps and staples (don't ask) that would stab me whenever I wore it.

Convinced I wanted a new head. In a moment of insanity, I skinned my first head to build a new one, but the V2 was scrapped before I ever finished the frame, which lead to me having a naked head, and a convention creeping up rapidly.
Hardly the end of the world, but I can be a drama queen at times, so I freaked out and "built" a new head, taking some new techniques, knowledge of faults, and more realisitc expectations, then shoving them all into the V1. Re-dubbed the V2 given how drastic it felt and preformed.
The V2 breathes perfectly, has nearly 180 vision, and allows me to keep my glasses on whilst suiting. (the V1 nearly removed an eyeball)
The v2 looks crummier, but I consider it a success with the view that form follows function. The functions in mind were being able to keep it on as long as I wanted, and see with glasses instead of contacts and it preforms admirably for rookie workmanship.

The V3 was built with two goals, I wanted something that had nothing hard in it. Not even glue. The second was that I wanted something even closer to my badge, albiet toonier than my norm.
A third goal sprang up at the end, and that was to build it entirely with scrap pieces. Something I achieved if you exclude the cowl. Even the balaclava is an old shirt (which I'll toutch on later)
The problem with this is that I used buckram for the eyes, at other suiters reccomendation.
Yes, it looks nice, yes it's good material...
But it does. Not. Breathe.
As such my glasses are almost always fogged, or fogging inside the head. Which leads to me blindly grasping around the fourth floor for the elevator to try and get to the suiters loungue and regain my sight. Not fun.
Likewise, the mouth originaly worked "okay" for getting air to me. But that stopped the moment I put fur on.
It went from being mildly uncomfortable, to outright suffocating. Scissors and thread abated the severity, but it still breathes like crud.

The V3 taught me that I can make a head that'll pack down to about five square inches, and still spring back to shape, but it also taught me a -lot- of sewing techniques that I learned too late to make use of in the head, the damage was typically already done. I reckon the V4 will contain a bit of all it's predecessors (not literally) but I don't know if I'll ever do a solid balaclava head ever again after the nightmare that was the V3.

Oh, on that note, a small shout out to Animecat and Ocicat for their fursuit constuction panels. I will be incorporating a -lot- of what you folks said into not only the head, but the rest of the suit.

This long winded blathering brings me to the leap mentioned in the subject though.
I think once I've finished the next head, and possibly one or two more, then I'll start taking commisions.
These days a lot of my sewing is solid. The only problems I've had lately is with the thread itself being too weak because of cheap material. The lock knots I sew hold perfectly, even when the one next to them fails from being yanked on.
Chances are if I'd used tougher thread, I wouldn't have even had troubles with the seams.
So keep your eyes peeled folks.
This is is one fur that might be stepping into a much bigger world.