Gingerbread, your days are numbered!

MIUI will be taking over by the end of this week!

My apologies everyone, but there will be no Wed-Night 80's Bash tonight due to bad back. #WN8B #SecondLife

Yes, I heard about Mister Phelps.
Yes, I have something to say about it.

THURS:
Ok, so... left later than expected. Phone running map/gps has unexpected reboot 15 minutes before arriving at hotel (at the 401 / 427 split near airport). BAD place to not know where you're going. FORTUNATELY the tablet helped the last few minutes.  witchiebunny beat us to the hotel. Took her to Harvey's for burger/shake/poutin... she is now ruined.

FRI:
Went to Downtown Toronto's Younge Street to see about a mission for a friend.... and saw Spiderman Skateboarding down Younge Street. Your arguments are forever invalid. Picked up a couple of Wii games. took a LONG time to get through traffic on the Gartiner Expressway... imagine that. Got back to conspace; ladyfurs panel for TT and I set up for the First Furry Femme Shoot! We had 12 suiters.. and I was THRILLED! Very little public notice, but a good time was had by all! (I'll get pix up soon as all the suiters get their pics.)

SAT:
Biggest piece was the Fursuit Parade.. BECAUSE... While waiting for the parade, I was able to get an interview with 'Grandma Flow' (aka Sue aka  Daha )... and we got to talk about what she thought of the whole Furry Convention thing... AND her memories of my idol Jack Benny. Listen to the file at ( https://www.weasyl.com/submission/5.....w-s-grandma ) Got to see  babsbunny and  lilifox V2.0! (ALL the pinks!) Overall responses from suiters in the parade was the music fit well again this year. (^_^) Thank You!!

SUN:
My Little Pony Panel was fun - with TT as the only correct demographic in the room... Oh, right.. and  Gilda too. But, as always, 'All Good Things....' The closing ceremonies were fun: 910 attendees, aprox 25% were suiters; they're not SURE of the number of suiters - they RAN OUT OF TAGS! HUGE thanks to  sprocketdhusky who has done GREAT work with corralling the fuzzybutts since the beginnings!

And what closing ceremony would be complete without the reveal for next year's theme:

This year was a little tough - things got on a weird set from friday on, but we had a fun time just the same. Not a s much time visiting folks / getting art, but we'll still see about that. Finances got 'odd' considering I needed to replace my ailing monitor. Ah well.

My best wishes still go out to  KTurtle and  Soba who were unable to attend. Just know I'm glad you're both safe.

And special thanks to  reikuyin for trying to arrange time to see us at the con. I'm REALLY sorry timing screwed us both over on that... but we'll plan FAR better NEXT year - promise!

I'll see about getting some pix up by the end of the month and the radio stream will be a 2 parter; one tonight and one next week.

Holy CRAP! The Vlogcast...
I'll be making this a regular 'STREAM' announcement next time... but for those that are interested in my weekend activities....

https://plus.google.com/events/cepi.....lub6l6sjkjjevo

Am working on a parody song, as inspired by this journal - http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/5411241/

If you'd like to help me finish this Billy Foal song, please look over and tell me what you think!

Link - https://docs.google.com/document/d/.....it?usp=sharing

As some know, I am working on building a new Google Hangout Video series called, "Holy CRAP!" - to be broadcast / streamed / recorded to YouTube late-night Saturdays (Midnight - 1am Eastern).

One thing I'm missing is..... MUSIC!

I'm looking around for something I can use that can be 'short' (about 1 minute) for an intro, then a second in a similar theme for about the same time.

The show is going to be a scepticism themed project, so something semi-techie would be great. Not quite sure what it should sound like yet... hell, I don;t even have intro / outro script built yet. But you can bet I'm getting there.

I finally figured I should ask around if anyone knows of said musics or might be willing to help create something. I can't offer to pay, unfortunately, but I figured I have nothing to lose by asking.

Even though I do not see Christmas the same way many do, doesn't mean I don't like what it could be. I share with you a song that explains a great deal.

Safe Travels to one and all!

Copy/Paste from Twitter....
#GoodNews #FurAffinity now has a group for #JackBenny lovers!

#BadNews To join you must live in #Anaheim #Azusa or #Cucamonga
#NowCutThatOut

I've offered before, usually with few takers. But since Yawg was bandwagoning with Fluffball.... why not.

Ask away.... and let's slip the Dogs of War!

So as I've mentioned on a few occasions, I listen to a number of podcasts while working - usually centering on science, debate, scepticism and atheism. Well, two of them used my voice in them.... so the LEAST I can do is give them a plug!

First, "Thank God I'm Atheist" with Frank and Dan - Episode 99 "I need a new Choppy" . You'll hear my phone call into the show at 62 minutes in, so Fast Forward to that point.... and enjoy my new Indian Name, "Sparkle Freekle Pony"

(O_o)

At least my point was a good one.

And then, "The Scathing Atheist" with Noah Lugeons - Episode 34. At the start of each episode Noah has people say the Professor Farnsworth quote;As a Professor of Science, I assure you we did in fact evolve from filthy monkey men.
(As seen on You Tube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjDJmDL3xIs )

Well, TinyTribble and I had a little fun with the quote... which you can hear inside the first minute of the show.... and I get credited at the 28 minute mark.... even if he isn't QUITE sure what just happened.

Soooo..... YEAH! Twice in one week.... not bad. Maybe I should see if they'd give me an interview sometime. (*Chuckle*)

Today, Sept 7th 1988 was the first day of my third semester at SUNY Fredonia... the day I would meet my future wife, Joan Irwin.

Today, 8 years after her death from Angiosarcoma (cancer), I, again, honour the memory of our Love - one that all the statistics said shoudln't have survived college separation;

By returning to the college, leaving a dozen roses in the band room where we first saw each other, getting a case of Niagara wine from Woodbury Vinyards ( woodburyvineyards.com ), and taking two orders of "Seven Stars Around the Moon" from China King in the D&F Plaza... then spend the rest of the night with our friends.

As I say at the end of many of my shows, "If you take nothing else away from my show, please take these two words; 'NEVER. SETTLE.' Never Settle for your One True Love - it is simply a waste of life to settle for anything less."

So now... it's time to head out the door and get flowers, wine... and to remember why I go on - because I can.

A good day to you all.... and an especially LARGE "Thank You" to Nancy Thornthwaite... because were it not for her friendship the year before, we might never have been what we were.

(Copy / Pasted from Second Life)

Thank you all for letting me have my time off. It has been needed more than I imagined. My shows will be starting back up again next week (Sept 9th) and things will have to change a bit. The sched will be:

Mon - 6.30 - 8.30pm SLT (Xanadu / 70's)
Wen - 6.30 - 8.30pm SLT (TFC / 80's)
Thr - 6.00 - 8.00pm SLT (Peach Fuzz & Geared Spire / Naughty)
Fri - 6.30 - ??pm SLT (TFC - TGIF)

Due to TT's new school sched, wakeup is 6am local, so this is all I can do. I'll talk more on the air. SEE YOU SOON!

Show the love, SHOW THE LOVE! After all, Princess Luna did already:
shujintribble ShujinTribble
mlp_Luna Would Your Majesty have time to wish my daughter a #HappyBirthday? She'll me 11 tomorrow! #LunaIsBestPrincess



Princess Luna mlp_Luna
ShujinTribble Sure I can and I will and hereby I DO Wish your daughter a #HappyBirthday and a long and fulfilled life!

Ah, August! Such a busy month for me. Many birthdays to sort through: My good friend "Doctor Bill" Estelle who was instrumental in getting me on college FM Radio & my own show for a while... who we lost to Leukemia a couple years ago; the Love Of My Life, my Fujin, whose birthday was the 11th (just yesterday); and coming up on the 23rd is TinyTribble's 11th birthday.

She's going to be a 6th grader in a couple weeks. Can you believe it?

...but that's not why I'm tap dancing around this journal. I've really been debating with myself - should I say or not? Should I come clean or just go on as-is?

So, yeah... guess what I chose.

I know there's a lot of people who have it worse, FAR worse in some cases, than I do. So for me to talk about what's wrong for me is.... difficult. So let me just get it out there there and run from there.

...my credit card debt is FAR higher than I want it to be. Worst part is because I screwed up a couple times, missing payment dates because of a simple oversight - like expecting when my payment due is on a sunday that they wouldn't accept an electronic payment or check postmarked on the Monday after to be valid for 'on-time'. (*Grump*)

To be fair, that's my fault for assuming, so.... yeah....

How much-so is it? (*Frown*) Right now it's in the $9,000 range.

Now, to be fair, this has been a slow climb... or drop as you might think about it. I DO have the money to cover it from TinyTribble's payments (survivor's benefits), but I feel like if I can't specifically attribute the money to specific expenditures that I shouldn't do it....


I'm trying, REALLY trying, to get a handle on making a real budget, watching what's being paid for and... (*Sigh*)

I just feel crappy because I want to help others - I want to help some who have it far worse than me.... and I know I can't.

Let me be clear - I am NOT asking for donations! That's not the purpose of all this. I'm just... apologizing to those that I WANT to try to help - some I've helped in the past.... You guys know who you are.

I'm just......

I'm just feeling like I'm slowly failing at being responsible - 8 years since Fujin died and the fact that this is far more of a marathon than I ever knew is finally coming at me.

I don't want to fail. I don't want to be a failure at this.....



(TL;DR) Growing up / responsibility sucks sometimes

If you remember, fondly, who Fred Mcfeely Rogers aka "Mister Rogers" was.... maybe you'd like to join me next year?

Feel free to join me...
https://plus.google.com/hangouts/_/.....fd48439a?hl=en

I'm going to re-write the ending / 2nd half of Double Rainboom the way *I* think it should have gone!

For those who are unfamiliar with Double Rainboom, it was a college animation project using many musicians, animators & voice actors to create a Canon-Quality, Fan-Made episode of "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic".

And to me, it simply FLOPPED after the first half.

Here, see for yourself. And I ask you to ONLY watch up to the 17:00 point - there is a natural fade to black there. That was, effectively, the teaser-trailer that was shown off at a number of cons to drum up support and interest in the project.

With me so far? Good.

I'm going to write up what I think the ending SHOULD have been to make it a worth-while, "Canon-Quality Fan-Made Episode" staying as true to the MLP:FiM Poniverse as possible.

Now, I have not seen reviews, critiques, fan-fictions or anything else about this project. This has been stewing in me for a long time - since the full movie was released.

I am NOT ragging on the animation or the music or the voice acting... those there are some notable high and low lights. What I'm dealing with is JUST the script.

...and, truth be told, I have not written anything in a LONG time, so this is going to be one HELL of a challenge for me... so let's be nice, OK?

...and may Princess Luna have mercy on my Muse.

I am in the process of putting together my AC'13 Photo Collages - Starting with the Muscle Car Meet photos, then the general photos, ending with the Furry Femme Shoot photos. Somewhere in there I'll be getting some video editing done too.

If you were part of the Furry Femme Shoot, PLEASE PLEASE get in contact with me if you have not yet gotten your copy of the photos! I have the gallery online at the location on the business cards you got at the shoot - PLUS I can get you a ZIP archive of the whole gallery for offline use.

And as a side note - I have had people asking if the CD's / photos will be for sale.
* The Furry Femme Shoot photo sessions that I am part of will NOT be paid for.
* The Photos Themselves, regardless of the medium, are not to be paid for.
* I WILL accept donations for The Ride For Roswell, however.... meaning if someone wishes to give me money as a Thank You, it will go towards the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in my fund raising team's name ('End Of Cycle For Sarcoma') in memory of my wife.

And finally...

* Those suiters who wish to have PRIVATE PHOTO SESSIONS will ALWAYS have their privacy respected to the utmost degree. Those photos will NEVER see The 'Net through me UNLESS I have explicit permission to do so with specific photos. (IE, if I take your picture and you post it, that does not automatically convey permission for ME to post it.)

Thank you all for your patience.... And your friendship. It meant a LOT to me this year.

If you did NOT pick up your CD from me in The Zoo....

I will be posting the CD's gallery to the web address on your business cards in a couple hours. If you would like the physical CD or an ISO to burn for yourself, please contact me via notes or email (Yahoo or Google mail).

Gimme a little more time to put up my Post-Con info. nearly 700 Submissions / Journals / Comments to have gone through.... still working on that PLUS pics PLUS videos....

I'll get there.

Alright.. breaking down the computer and headed out... Follow me on Twitter and WAZE folks!

And a SAFE WEEKEND around the board!

This journal will cover my PERSONAL events for AC2013. If you have an interest in ANY of these events, PLEASE-PLEASE-PLEASE... Re-blog / re-post / tweet / Facebook / G+ / Tumblr the hell out of this journal. (Normally I do not ask for attention - but this is one of those times I would ask it.)

FURRY FEMME SHOOTContinuing the tradition of getting the female character suits away from the general populous, I will be bringing all my photography equipment again this year.

When: Friday July 5th from 9.30pm - ???
Where: Convention Center Third Floor - Opposite end of the hallway from "Spirit of Pittsburgh" Ballroom. (Same as previous years)
Who: All Female-Character Fursuits are welcome to participate in the shoot, along with their assistants / handlers, of course.

The shoot will begin with individual shoots for the early participants. Naturally pairings or triples are fine too. Once we have all the participants together I will get several group shots as well. Plan now for what you would like to wear for this event.

As always I will be burning CD's of the shoot for all the participants later that night. Your CD will be with me in the ZOO Saturday Night as I am recording my show. Just come up and I'll get you your copy. (The better shots will go online at my personal web-space after the shoot also.)

(*NOTE*)
Additional photographers / videographers ARE WELCOME to take photos / video. HOWEVER, this is an unsanctioned event - meaning "My Shoot, My Rules" for everyone. Even though I do not charge in any way for this shoot, I still treat it with the highest of professionalism regarding the people and equipment involved. With that in mind, please be sure you understand the following conditions.

1) The point is to have FUN and to give the Furry Femmes a little something SPECIAL to remember the con with.
2) The safety and well being of the suiters is PARAMOUNT at all times. If a suiter needs a break or a drink or air and asks you to help with that, by being at the shoot you WILL help that person. (No one likes calling 911 to a FurCon.)
3) There will be some fairly expensive photography equipment in use. Be mindful of where those items are at all times. Gravity is a bad way to turn off a photo lamp.
4) A certain manner of decorum will be expected of everyone. Meaning, don't be a creep! If the ladies don't feel comfortable with a pose or for you specifically, for ANY reason, let it go and just enjoy taking other shots.
And, most importantly....
5) I am the primary photographer - so I will be making the most suggestions on poses or positioning equipment. As I get my shots, you will be welcome to get some as well yourselves. AND feel free to make suggestions as we go along. Who knows? I might like what you think of.

Some past photos have been:
FFS '11 thank You - http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6169812/
FFS '10 Recap - http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4171638/
FFS '10 Full Shoot - http://www.practicallyimpractical.com/AC2010FFS/
FFS '09 Collage - http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2488167/

SEMI-PRIVATE PHOTO SHOOT
I was contacted by Bramble Bunny aka Pocy Fox aka  pocy who is bringing a Porsche 911 convertible to A.C. due to this year's theme. For those that might be interested, I will make myself available (weather permitting) in the afternoons for G - Cheese-cake-naughty photos with the car for those that would like to do so. Please post below if you have even a passing interest in this possibility.


PRIVATE PHOTO SHOOTSSince I will be bringing ALL my photo equipment, I will be available for 'Personal' photo shoots Saturday and Sunday afternoons. As with my past offerings, the only people who will have copies of those shoots will be Myself (naturally) and You, burned onto CD Rom. I will not post / release ANY photos without specific word from the suiter(s) involved. EVER.

Trust is my most valuable trait - and I will NOT compromise it. Period.

BREAKFAST WITH FRED (ROGERS)
Some of us still fondly remember Fred "Mister" Rogers growing up. Well, it turns out there was a statue erected ( PICTURE HERE ) across the river from AnthroCon several years ago ( WALKING DIRECTIONS ) in his honour.

What I am proposing is getting a bunch of us together to either walk or take local mass transit to the site of Fred's statue for 8.30am on Saturday Morning. I'll bring single-serve cereal boxes, milk and spoons and we can start our day with the man who taught us that we're all special, just by being ourselves.

I've kicked around this idea for the last few years and I would REALLY love to make this a worthwhile tradition to celebrate a kind, gentle soul who many of us admired or were taught by. So please consider this one? I know this makes it a little early on Saturday, but at least it puts the event before the official start of events at 10am.


THE FELINE CONSPIRACY'S WED-NIGHT 80'S BASHAgain, this year, I will be recording my show from The Zoo on Saturday evening. This year the show will be running from 7.30pm and end at 11.30pm, local time. If you know someone that you'd like me to interview, please let them know I will be there. I'm, of course, hoping that  kagemushi will be able to show up again.... maybe  Jibba... we'll see.

The show will be broadcast the following Wednesday night starting at 9.30pm Eastern time at http://LiveDJ.TFCsl.com .

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
And now, I've posted tips and tricks about attending AnthroCon before - so I'm going to do so again. Read these first and then come back here:

* How to survive a furry con - http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/145324/
* Convention survival guide part II - http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/151467/

Now, for MY two cents....
1) When you go to a con (doesn't matter which one), remember that the vendors and artists there are operating a business first and foremost. Yes, it's GREAT to be able to meet them (trust me, I was rather overwhelmed getting to meet a LOT of these folks first-hand), but they are there as business people first.

2) If they're working / selling things / talking with someone already about a commission or a product or speaking with ConStaff, give them time to do it. Be patient. They aren't going anywhere and they know you're there. If they try to interrupt someone they're already talking to to tend to you, tell them to finish up first.

Seriously... Good manners go a LONG way to making people WANT to give you an extra minute of their time after.

3) Once you have your chance with them, put out your hand and give a firm handshake and, before anything else, THANK them for sharing their time and talents with you.

Again, its not just good manners, but you have to remember - these people (artist and non-so-artistic alike) share a part of themselves, even if it's just comments and insights posted on a comment board.

They don't HAVE to... they CHOOSE to! That deserves some gratitude - a simple handshake and a 'Thank You' mean a hell of a lot to folks. Seriously.

4) If you DO buy something from an artist, consider paying an extra dollar; JUST a dollar. Why? Simple! Consider a waiter/waitress' tip - the 'double the tax' rule here for me puts a BASELINE tip at 16%. If you get a $10 sketch, $1 is a 10% tip.

Come on... you know what a waiter/waitress would say about you for leaving a freekin' 10% tip? And really, what's an extra dollar? You'll be spending a LOT of money at the con already just getting in and parking and gas and lodging and food and....

What does it all come down to? Its simple; Go the extra niceness mile, be considerate, use good manners, follow the 6-2-1 rule, don't over-share, don't troll and MOST of all.... DON'T BE, "THAT GUY/GAL"! If you have to preface something with a, "please don't take this the wrong way, but...." then don't say it at all.

And finally.... communication. I cannot stress this enough! Make sure you have all the contact information you need in case of an emergency or just to connect with someone you're hoping to see. To that end, for those travelling with smart devices with nearly unlimited data plans, I would suggest using "WAZE" ( http://www.waze.com/ ) for travel / traffic updates / police locations / sharing travel info with others via email/Facebook..... I started an "Anthrocon" group to help us all share data to and from A.C. freely.

So that's it. LONG journal, I know.. but good info. I can't WAIT to see you all SOON!

Am at TinyTribble's school as the 5th graders are prepping for Moving Up ceremony

This is the letter I have drafted... with email addresses / names removed for safety. I believe it speaks for itself, however.... Opinions / critiques before I print / send it tomorrow?
The last letter I sent was specifically requesting clarification on several matters concerning the 5th Grade Campout's location; specifically concerning, amongst other things, that the facility is officially titled “Odosagih Bible Conference and Retreat Center”. My concerns were addressed at the time, allowing me to grant permission, with reservations, for my daughter, XXXXX, to attend. Via email correspondence I was assured that:
From: "TEACHER" <TEACHER'S EMAIL>
To: Shujin Tribble <SHUJIN'S EMAIL>
Sent: Tuesday, May 21, 2013 3:38 PM
Subject: RE: Letter / Camp-out
“...I can guarantee you that we will not allow anything religious as part of this campout....
I completely understand your concerns as a parent.”

Unfortunately, it would appear that my concerns were well-founded. Although there were no religious overtones or teachings, I was informed that my daughter's room included a Bible. Out of curiosity she opened the book to a random page to see if it was an actual Bible and read a few passages. She was able to recount to me specifics that mentioned 'Moses' and 'two trumpets'. This was enough for me to identify the story from “The Book of Numbers” Chapter 10 verses 1 & 2 which reads as follows:

1) The LORD said to Moses: 2) "Make two trumpets of hammered silver, and use them for calling the community together and for having the camps set out....”

I am highly disappointed and upset at this turn of events! I voiced my misgivings in no uncertain terms, had those worries addressed, only to have this confirm my highest concerns. It would not be a stretch to say I am shocked and furious at this time.

This is an inexcusable breach of trust from Parents to Teachers and the district! I would go on official record as wanting to know WHY this was allowed to happen in the first place, but that is not the real issue. The REAL issue is that this event was held at a “Bible Conference and Retreat Center” in the first place, as I mentioned in my first letter. That has been simply tempting the rules of probability into having something like this, or worse, happening eventually... and it has.

I am requesting a FORMAL response from the school district addressing this matter:
* WHY it happened
* WHO is responsible for it happening
* A letter of apology to the entire 5th Grade Class and parents explaining this problem clearly
* And WHERE the future campouts will be hosted since it is obvious this location cannot be trusted not to skirt a clear line of religious demarcation with our children.

I EAGERLY await your reply.

Oh, yeah.. I am fuckin' LIVID right now.... enough that I am giving SERIOUS reconsideration to contacting the Freedom From Religion Foundation to help me if I don't get satisfaction.