This is my version of the "fetishes" meme that's going around. As I'm asexual and don't really get off on anything, I'm responding based on what I like seeing in the adult arts.

Anal on Males
Yay!

Anal on Females
Not so much... tired of seeing females in adult art

Breasts
Does not want... plus everyone draws them wrong anyway. They are not balloons people.

Breast Expansion
God no... boobies for the fail. Bigger boobies for the bigger fail

Weight Gain
It is difficult to show weight being gained in an image, but I seriously don't understand why people find this sexy

Bondage
This one is actually fun in person. I've been learning new knots. Haven't seen much good art of it though

Clothing
Sure.

Leather
I likes it. Few people draw it well however.

Stockings
no... frills suck

Shoe/Boots
so long as it goes with the ensemble.

Suit and Tie
Doesn't "clothing" cover suit and tie?

Muscle, Male
atomically correct figures are a must, but muscle-fatties are not cool. Dislike.

Muscle, Female
Xena for the win!

Herm
...not so much.

Cub/Shota
Dunno what shota is, but no. No one actually draws cubs/pups anyway; they're just chibi and anatomically incorrect for their supposed age. A prepubescent near-infant cannot splooge people, it's just not possible.

Baby/Diaper
ewwww...

Transformation
I can imagine a good transformation sequence with actual attention to the analogous bone and muscle structure could be really cool. That said, I have never seen anything that I would call "good" transformation art.

Macro/Micro
No. I do like size play, but within the realm of realistic. Pony to a draft horse, that sort of thing, but not fucking building sized or the size of finger is just silly.

Impregnation
How is impregnation any different than what a M/F vaginal splooging would look like? Do impregnation pics have a microscope close-up of the sperm penetrating the egg or what?

Pregnancy
"I'm not a baby, I'm a tumor!"

Lactation
eeeewwww... gooo...

Anal Vore
Lulwut?

Soul Vore
¿qué?

Cock Vore
sounding is mildly interesting, but mainly because the idea makes Fluffy squirm

Standard Soft Vore
nom? seriously, I don't understand sexual people's association of food and sex. Seems unsanitary.

Standard Hard Vore
I still don't know what this means...

Paw/Foot
I do like a well-drawn foot-paw or hand-paw. Gotta say Blotch does them best.

Incest
eh... it's not an element of the art. You have to know backstory of the characters involved to know their relation to each other.

Clonecest
does that count as incest or masturbation?

Yuri (F/F)
no... dislike the battle of the boobies. Plus no one seems to draw girly bits properly.

Yaoi (M/M)
sure, so long as it's not anime... wait, I think there was a contradiction there...

Hetero (M/F)
eh... demends

Girly Boys
once again... depends

Butch Girls
Alice is the love-child of Ripley and Xena

Mind Control
...and you draw that how?

Rape
does not want

Uniform
Once again, doesn't that get covered by "clothing"?

Orgy
Depends... if the artist can pull it off, go them, but too many people try to attempt an orgy pic without the anatomy chops for it, and then it just looks like crap

Subbing/Domming
sure!

Biting
biting is soooooo fun in person. Haven't seen much good art of it tho.

Solo Masturbation; Male
boring

Solo Masturbation; Female
ew... goo...

Scat
...and why do people think shit is sexy? Is that like the end result of food fetish types?

Inflation
So much no. Above all things I like realist or at least a semblance of probability in art I see and inflation violates that so much.

Fat/Pudge
As I said, realism is good, so having a realistic smattering of body types is a win. But no Jabba the Gut damn Hutt please... if a character can't find their dick, they have no right to put it in anything. Same goes for whatever hole people want to plug.

Tech
I'm curious what the hell this is supposed to be...

Watersports
You keep your R Kelly shit to yourself

Glasses
I haz them

Tentacles
never understood the attraction... tentacle-like penises I can kinda see, but disembodied tentacles have never made sense conceptually or artistically.

Oviposition
what? [looks up the word] Why the hell didn't it just say "egg-laying" for christs sake?

Masochism
Wasn't this covered by Sub/Dom?

Sadism
...you know you're an alcoholic when you repeat yourself

Partial Nudity
sure

Gore
noooooo

Snuff
see above

Hyper
god no... hyper is probably the worst thing next to bad art... so bad hyper art is the devil's way of letting us know there is a gallery in hell

Zoophilia
I forget precisely what that entails, but most of the artists who do anthro/human, anthro/feral, human/feral, or total feral are decent on the anatomy so it's OK as far as I'm concerned.

Electricity
once again, don't know what this means

She-males
How is this different than herms?

Cross-dressing
eh... depends

Oral
makes for boring art

Asphyxiation
no, though I can't say I've ever seen any art of this sort

Wet-look
explain?

Mud/Quicksand etc
never even heard of this... how is this supposed to be sexy?

Sinking
dur?

Spooge
ew... gooo...

Tickling
fun!

Vomit
eeeewwwww...

Body hair
If someone could draw realistic body hair that is in the more everyday range between twink and Robin Williams, I would adore their leet art skillz

Older men/women
yes, deny it all you want, they haz sex too

Skinny figure
unhealthy is unattractive

Needles/pricking
prickling with light application of claws is cool, but needles... not so much... by a lot

Long meme snatched from Silverone

1. How old will you be in five years?
29

2. Who did you spend at least two hours with today?
Sabre (my cat)

3. How tall are you?
shorter than the national average

4. What do you look forward to most in the next six weeks?
School starting and attending the Denver Dairy conference with my dad... yeah, I'm a nerd

5. What's the last movie you saw?
The Star Wars Holiday Special... yes, I am THAT much of a Star Wars nerd that I own and occasionally watch that movie

6. Who was the last person you called?
Alice, according to my phone

7. Who was the last person to call you?
A political recording talking about a senator-candidate from a state that is neither California nor Colorado

8. What was the last text message you received?
From Alice asking about going to see A-Team at the cheap theatre.

9. Who was the last person to leave you a voicemail?
Mom

10. Do you prefer to call or text?
Depends on the person and the purpose of the communication

11. What were you doing at 12am last night?
Playing Howrse, drawing, listening to a movie, or some combination of those

12. Are your parents married/divorced?
Married for 34 years

13. When did you last see your mom?
June

14. What color are your eyes?
Blue

15. What time did you wake up today?
9:47am

16. What are you wearing right now?
Hawaiian shirt and sleep shorts

17. Do you like Christmas songs?
not really

18. Where is your favorite place to be?
Depends. Ireland ranks high though

19. Where is your least favorite place to be?
I kinda freaked out when I went to Alcatraz

20. Where would you go if you could go anywhere?
Ireland on horseback?

21. Where do you think you'll be in 10 years?
Earth is guaranteed, the US is very certain, and somewhere in the Western states is likely

22. Do you tan or burn?
Buuuuurn.

23. What did you fear was going to get you at night as a child?
Housefire.

24. What was the last thing that really made you laugh?
Swandive!

25. If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?
Of course. Sound is not a subjective phenomenon.

26. How big is your bed?
Twin.

27. Do you have a laptop or desktop computer?
Yes.

28. Do you sleep with or without clothes on?
Clothes

29. What color are your sheets?
Black and white. They are white tiger/zebra print. Yes, I'm a furry...

30. How many pillows do you sleep with?
I have two normal bed pillows, a furry bolster pillow, and a life-size stuffed black lab that makes a wonderful bolster pillow. I like making little sofas out of may pillows and sleeping propped up on/among them.

31. What is your favorite season?
Fall

33. What do you like about winter?
The fact it requires cuddling with the cat to stay warm at night

34. What do you like about the summer?
Biking around on errands wearing very little

35. What do you like about spring?
eh...

36. How many states/provinces have you lived in?
Two... CA and CO

37. What cities/towns have you lived in?
Riverside, Chico, and Fort Collins

38. Do you prefer shoes, socks, or bare feet?
Depends on the setting and the temperature

39. Are you a social person?
Depends on the setting; I will talk to almost anyone, but I tend to be quiet and observant most of the time

40. What was the last thing you ate?
Home-made granola

41. What is your favorite restaurant?
Dunno right off

42. What is your favorite kind of ice cream?
Coffee, or something with toffee

43. What is your favorite dessert?
Ice cream or candy

44. What is your favorite kind of soup?
The vegetable/taco soup that Fluffy's mom makes

45. What kind of jelly do you like on your PB & J sandwich?
I have never liked PB&J sandwiches

46. Do you like Chinese food?
YES! Asian food for the win.

47. Do you like coffee?
Yes, but I like my coffee wussy as hell

48. How many glasses of water, a day, do you drink on average?
Not nearly enough... I frequently get headaches because I've forgotten to drink anything throughout the day.

49. What do you drink in the morning?
Eh... nothing overly consistent

50. Walker Texas Ranger or McGuiver?
McGuiver all the way.

51. Do you sleep on a certain side of the bed?
My bed is up against the wall and I like sleeping on my left side with my back against the wall.

52. Do you know how to play poker?
Vaguely.

53. Do you like to cuddle?
Yes

54. Have you ever been to Canada?
Nope

55. Do you have an addictive personality?
Terribly so with behaviors particularly

56. Do you eat out or at home more often?
Home

57. Do you believe in ghosts?
I have not been presented with sufficient evidence to be convinced they exist. The way they are commonly described is nonsensical and inconsistent. That said, there is something that consistently causes repeatable phenomenon which is popularly attributed to ghosts; there is something that causes that. What that might be, I don't know.

58. Do you know anyone with the same birthday as you?
Nope.

59. Do you want kids?
Nope.

60. Do you speak any other languages?
I speak and read Old School Nerd fluently, and can read Spanish at a 2nd grade level

61. Have you ever gotten stitches?
Maybe when I had my wisdom teeth out, but I don't rightly remember.

62. Have you ever ridden in an ambulance?
Nope.

63. Do you prefer an ocean or a pool?
As a location, ocean. For swimming, pool.

64. Do you prefer a window seat or an aisle seats?
Window seat over the back of the wing on the port side... yeah, did I mention I'm a tad OCD?

65. Do you know how to drive a stick?
Yep! It's the only way to drive!

66. What is your favorite thing to spend money on?
Deals found at yard sales or similar second-hand locations. Or materials for a projects.

67. Do you wear any jewelry?
Necklace I made with a stone I found in Ireland in 2002.

68. What is/are your favorite TV show/s?
Buffy, Angel, X-Files, Star Trek TNG, Family Guy, Southpark

69. Can you roll your tongue?
Yep

70. Who is the funniest person you know?
Fluffy

71. Do you sleep with stuffed animals?
I covered that a while back

72. What is the main ring tone on your phone?
The one among the default options that sounds most like a tricorder beeping

73. Do you still have clothes from when you were little?
I still have my first cat tail from when I was a black cat for Halloween when I was 5.

74. What red object is closest to you right now?
My toolbox is within arm's reach.

75. Do you turn off the water while you brush your teeth?
Of course. You only need to wet the brush and wash away the spit so why would it need to run for all the time in between?

76. Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed?
I don't usually notice one way or the other.

77. Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of bees?
Bear. Better story quality later on if you survive.

78. Do you flirt a lot?
No, and I'm seriously oblivious to when others flirt with me

79. What do you dip a chicken nugget in?
BBQ sauce

80. What is your favorite food?
hmmm... dunno honestly

81. Can you change the oil on a car?
Sadly no. That was the one thing my Dad actively refused to teach me.

82. Have you ever gotten a speeding ticket?
Nope

83. Have you ever run out of gas?
Almost. I had to coast into the gas station. Neutral in a stick for the win!

84. What is your usual bedtime?
Depends, but anywhere from midnight to 2am.

85. What was the last book you read?
"...and a hard rain fell" by John Ketwig

86. Do you read the newspaper?
During the school year because I can get the New York Times for free

87. Do you have any magazine subscriptions?
Nope... I haven't had a magazine subscription since I was little and I subscribed to Star Wars Insider.

89. Do you watch soap operas?
NOOOOO... That shit is unacceptable.

90. Do you dance in the car?
Um... I dunno what the hell sort of SUV monsters you're thinking about, but I have a '92 Honda Accord... There's no room in that shit to do anything, least of all dance.

91. What radio station did you last listen to?
Fox News radio, the rap station out of Denver, and the classic rock station at the end of the dial in that order of frequency

92. Who is in the picture frame closest to you?
Fluffy if we are taking about pictures. Wolverine and Sabretooth if we are talking about any sort of image.

93. What was the last note you scribbled on a piece of paper?
A synopsis of a DnD game I'm trying to advertise

94. What is your favorite candle scent?
I don't believe I have any scented candles, but I HATE "warm vanilla"

95. What is your favorite board game?
Star Wars Monopoly

97. When was the last time you attended church?
Umm... I attended a synagogue service for my cousin's Bar-Mitzvah... and now he's a sophomore in college, so... 7 years ago?

98. Who was your favorite teacher in high school?
Mr. Williamson (biology) and Mrs. Lupsai (geometry)

99. What is the longest you have ever camped out in a tent?
A week and a half. That was some fun shit!

100. Who was the last person to do something extra special for you?
Fluffy made me a custom trance art poster of awesomeness of our crest and other cool meaningful stuff... which I still need to put up

[01] Do you have the guts to answer these questions and re-post as The Controversial Survey?
Apparently

[02] Would you do meth if it was legalized?
no.

[03] Abortion: for or against it?
Mixed... on the one hand, no pre-sentient blob of meat should have more rights than an established member of society and no government should have the ability to make the choice for an individual, but on the other hand, adoption for the win?

[04] Do you think a country would fail with a female president?
Evidence from other countries has proved genitalia matters not in issues of state.

[05] Do you believe in the death penalty?
yes.

[06] Do you wish marijuana would be legalized already?
Don't honestly care.

[07] Are you for or against premarital sex?
I am against pre-loyal relationship sex, but considering marriage is a crippled institution with more religious trappings than legal these days, and that it is a cookie unequally distributed among those who want it, marriage holds little relevance for me.

[08] Do you believe in God?
no.

[09] Do you think same sex marriage should be legalized?
yes. Or all marriage as far as the state is involved should be disbanded.

[10] Do you think it's wrong that so many Hispanics are illegally moving to the USA?
yes. People should not be able to get into our country illegally regardless of origin, motivation, or so on. There are ways to come legally and plenty of people have and still do it.

[11] A twelve year old girl has a baby, should she keep it?
Should she? No. Is it her right to keep it (read, her parents keep it) if she and her parents feel they are able to do so? Yes.

[12] Should the alcohol age be lowered to eighteen?
Don't really care.

[13] Should the war in Iraq be called off?
Probably. Bleeding us dry over here and they seem to not want us over there. For the most part I'm in favor of not being involved with expensive messes where we are not wanted. Give the world a year of the US not helping/intervening and it would be interesting to see who all is begging for us to return.

[14] Assisted suicide is illegal: do you agree?
No. People have the right to choose their death and those who are too weak to do it themselves in a more expedient way should not be forced to starve themselves to death to achieve it. It's supposedly humane to put down an animal in irreparable pain, yet it is unethical to do the same for a person? I say bullshit.

[15] Do you believe in spanking your children?
I was spanked as a child and I am fine with that fact. I don't intend on having children myself, so the spanking issue is moot as far as they go. Children and pets should be properly trained and disciplined where necessary and punished in accordance with what they did, but it should be sparing.

[16] Would you burn an American flag for a million dollars?
Dunno. Probably, though it would likely depend on who is asking me to do it, why, and whether or not it was going to be filmed.

[17] Who do you think would have made a better president? McCain or Obama?
Neither. I reject your false dilemma

[18] Are you afraid others will judge you from reading some of your answers?
If I was, why would I have filled it out, numbnuts? Plus I'm an opinionated, argumentative fuck anyway.

01) [x] You own tools that you use regularly
02) [x] You carry a wallet (generally in your back pocket).
03) [x] You prefer movies or shows where there is more action than romance
04) [] You spit on the ground when not in a building
05) [] You scratch where it itches when it itches
06) [x] Your idea of good footwear is boots or tough tennis.
07) [x] Your wardrobe only changes if you gain weight or the clothes fall apart.
08) [x] You don't count calories when eating.
09) [] You have deodorant strong enough to make you socially acceptable but not strong enough to make you smell like it.
10) [x] You tend to wipe your hands on your clothes instead of a napkin.
Total So Far: 7

Do you love:
11) [x] Video games (video games are cool, and I get to start playing them again!).
12) [x] Working on mechanical items.
13) [x] Building things.
14) [] Working out at a gym
15) [x] Getting in and out of stores as quickly as possible.
16) [] Football (American)
17) [] Baseball
18) [] Wrestling
19) [] Boxing
20) [] Hunting and/or fishing (I like fishing!)
Total So Far: 11

Do you shop at:
21) [x] Home Depot
22) [x] Lowe's
23) [ ] Big and Tall Men's stores
24) [] Hunting and Fishing supply shops
25) [x] Hobby shops
27) [x] Comic book stores
28) [] Sports supply stores
29) [] Video game stores (not yet, but soon!)
30) [] Electronic supply stores
Total So Far: 15

Do you say:
31) [] Son (when the person is not your biological child or even younger than you)
32) [x] I can fix it.
33) [] Man-up
34) [x] When I was your age - followed by how far you had to walk and in what weather conditions. (I do reminisce about the differences between current media use and media use when I was a kid)
35) [x] Don't be a wuss.
36) [] It's just a scratch
37) [] Take it like a man.
38) [x] That's not how you do it.
39) [x] (insert profanity here)
40) [] Here's your (insert profanity and what the person just said).
Total So Far: 20

Do you read:
41) [] Field and Stream
42) [] Bear Magazine
43) [] Playboy
44) [] Sports Illustrated
45) [] Pro Football Weekly
46) [x] Comic books
47) [] Men's Health
48) [] Men's Fitness
49) [] Men's journal
50) [] Private Media Group, Inc.
Total: 21

Multiply your total by 2 and then you have your percent: 42% Manly. (lame! A lot of that was biased towards stereotypical straight guys.)

1 – Do you and your "fursona" look alike?
Nope. Especially what with him being all liony and covered in fur.

2 – Do you and your "fursona" share attires?
Yeah, I dress him in some of my favorite things in a mild attempt to "brand" him as mine/me. Hat, kilt, glasses (though mine are sadly not green), necklace and sandals.

3 – Do you share the same sexuality as your fursona?
Eh... yes and no, but mostly no. I'm asexual with a laundry list of strangeness to go along with it. He's sexual and gay.

4 – If you hadn’t already made your fursona look like you, if you would to change how he/she looked like to make him/her look more like you, how would you think he/she would look like?
shorter, less muscular... not a leopon... ya know, details

5 – Did you work hard to develop your fursona? What is the (brief) history of your fursona?
Not really, though he was a long time in coming. He's basically an anthro version of an inversion of my dæmon, Oryon, physically anyway. In personality they are rather different.

6 – Do you and your fursona share relationship status?
Yep. Though I need to do more art of Eric and Fluffy's fursona, who I don't think has a name at this point, aside from maybe "Fluffy"

7 – Do you find yourself jealous or upset if you get paired with someone you don’t like or your partner does?
Eh? I don't think i have that issue.

8 – How would you like your character not to be used?
I would want info on any use of my character without my permission. Exception would exist for Fluffy or any G level gift art

9 – What’s your fursona’s specialty?
Looking awesome? Dunno... he is a blacksmith, moonlights as a high school heart throb, plays 20s style trombone, manages a stable of warhorses, and was an admiral in some otherverse.

10 – At a score of 1-10 how much are you and your fursona alike?
Not very. And scales are useless if each number extreme is not given a meaning.

Now before anyone gets any overly furry ideas, I'm looking for story RP buddies only. I am NOT looking for sexual RPing. If you respond by effectively soliciting my character, I will be irritated.

My main interest is to RP some in-universe Star Wars story scenarios with my Wookiee character, Taloombray. I have some images of him here in my gallery and a bit of his backstory here

Most of the time I play him in and around the timeline of the original movies, but he was born in 240 BBY so he was alive during the new blasphemous movies as well. His backstory also fits well in the post-Knights of the Old Republic era if anyone's interested in that timeline. I do my story RPing in the third person and in character.

If you have a Star Wars fan character who needs some play-time or would like to know more about Taloombray, either post here or send me a note.

By FluffyVivi...

1. First things first, when did you start drawing, and what did you draw?

I started drawing when I was about 3. My mom took me to dinners on Monday nights with my godmother and kept me busy by drawing an incomplete horse on the back of the paper place mats. I would draw in the excluded details (ears, tail, mane, eyes, hooves, etc.) at first, then I started drawing my own boxy horses.


2. What do you like to draw these days?

Still do horses for Howrse, but my variety is not very different from what it has been; a lot of near-realistic creatures. Anthro creatures, creatures in general, subjects rather than backgrounds.


3. Is there an art medium that you really want to try?

I'd like to do more sculpting, and I'd love to learn how to tame watercolors, since they are currently scary


4. What motivates/inspires you to make art?

Bringing my characters/creatures all that much more into our real world. Since the characters and creatures that populate my brain are inherently unreal, depicting them at greater and greater levels of realism is the closest I can do to make them real.


5. Are there any artists you really like or admire?

The only one that is coming to my mind right now is James Muir who is a bronze sculptor. I stumbled upon his foundry and gallery by accident a few years ago, but it was awesome. The fact he can render realism in such an unwieldy medium as metal is mindblowing. I really admire the "Pieta" for the same reason.


6. Would you consider doing art as a career? If so, what would you do?

I used to (and still do) dream of a career as some sort of artist. Sadly, however, I have let my practicality and past events redirect me from such a career. I would love to do character/creature design. Also, being turned loose in the Weta workshop or Stan Winston Studios would be a wet dream.


7. What really frustrates you about your art?

Not so much about the art itself, but my behavior where my art is concerned; I finish maybe 25% of what I start.


8. Do you have any pet peeves or annoyances in art you see?

Yes...
--Anime/manga as a style picked up by beginning artists; it's a crutch and gives a false sense of artistic security to new artists.
--"Modern/Postmodern art" -- no, it's not artistic genius suggestive of the current trials of the jacked up political system, it's paint splatters the likes of which any 5-year-old could accomplish.
--"AHHHtists" who will spend more time fawning over a dead bird lacquered to a board than a photorealistic piece because the former "needs to be interpreted" while the latter is "only" a demonstration of technical ability.
--The general trends in the "AHHHT" community which dismiss "commercial art" as "real" art, demand everything be on canvases so huge one needs a truck to move them, and related snobbery.


9. What's your art medium of choice? Why do you recommend it?

I have been mostly working digitally lately for the convenience of it, but I enjoy traditional (specifically graphite and pen/ink) more. A combination of ink and digital is fun.


10. Should art be done "for arts sake" or for profit?

Art should be done for whatever purpose the artist sees fit/makes them happy/drives them. With that said, people who produce art for the sake of art shouldn't whine when no one wants to fund them or buy their stuff.


11. Do you have a favorite time of day to work on art?

Evening and during class


12. Do you listen to music while you create art? Why or why not?

I like listening to plotted things. Movies or TV shows that I have already seen or don't require much attention to follow (i.e. kids' movies) are the best as far as I'm concerned.


13. Do you like creating art with/around other people (ie. collaboration or art jam)?

Art jams with people I work with/around frequently is a lot of fun. I haven't had the best luck artjamming with strangers, though.


14. Do you think sex can play a role in art and still be tasteful?

Depends entirely on one's definition of "tasteful". If someone thinks anything having to do with sex lacks taste, then there will be no pleasing them. Personally, I think sex CAN be covered in art tastefully, but it frequently isn't. There is also the issue of what one considers art or the mindset with which one approaches visual depictions of sex.


15. Lastly, the age old question, what is your definition of art?

I think there are categories of art. For instance, there's art accomplished for the artist's purposes and art done with the audience in mind. Admittedly, there are no hard and fast lines there, and the intention of the artist is generally irrelevant when the audience is viewing it without the artist there to explain their intention.

I am generally liberal with what I'll call "art" (or at least not argue when others call it "art") but much more strict in what I call "art I like". The only things I would argue are not art are things which the "artist" has not made/produced/altered the majority of the piece. For instance, in the classic example of Marcel Duchamp signing a toilet and arguing it was art, I would say that was not art, least ways not Duchamp's art, as he did not contribute anything to that particular piece.

My definition of "art I like" is loose, but includes (1) actually depicting something, (2) depicting that something in a way attempting at realism/probablism, and (3) there is a story behind the image or identifiable reason for its production

Yay! Got the install issue fixed and my new Bamboo tablet is up and running. Apparently the issue was a corrupt driver file on the install disk. Then all further attempts to do anything with it were blocked by the bad initial driver install. All I had to do was remove the initial install files and reinstall with the online downloads.

Wacom's customer service is excellent! Personable, friendly, and immediately knowledgeable about the issue.

My Wacom Graphire died and the Bamboo I got to replace it isn't installing. I've heard from a few people they also had problems installing their Bamboos. Anyone who had such an experience, what did you do to make it work?

Me and My Mate

What are your middle names?
Thomas/Michelle

How long have you been together?
We've had fun times trying to figure this out as we kinda merged from "friends" to "mates" with no real delineating events. We've generally figured that whenever we get out to see each other in the summer will be our 1 year.

How long did you know each other before you started dating?
Again with the not dating bit... We met during his Frosh year of college and started hanging out the second semester of that year. So we've known each other for 3 years. Damn... has it really only been such a short time?

Who asked who out?
There was no asking out. We started doing domestic-y things about 1.5 to 2 years ago. Dunno who initiated that.

Whose siblings do you see the most?
He's the only one with a sibling, and I have met said sibling. Although he hasn't met my fake siblings.

Do you have any children together?
No. And there's like .09% chance of children ever happening. I don't like them, it would be really odd, and unless he wants to bear them there will be none...

What about pets?
I haz a cat! And an otter puppy. Mine.

Did you go to the same school?
We attended the same undergrad. I was a couple years ahead of him so I'm not there anymore sadly.

Who is the most sensitive?
Dunno for sure, though he has weighed in on his meme entry saying that he is, so I'll go with that. I do tend lean on the side of logic and rationalizing things.

Where do you eat out most as a couple?
Fast food places in the casual nature, Kwandos or Outback for sit-downy places.

Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
He came out to CO to see me, and I went from CO to CA to see him. Also we shared springbreak in San Diego one time.

Who has the craziest exes?
He does. Without question based on the stories. He's even met both of mine.

Who has the worst temper?
Dunno. Never really encountered a time to measure our respective tempers against each other. I'd say that he gets more angry or more easily annoyed by things, but I'm more willing to act on my anger/irritation.

Who does the cooking?
We both do. He's getting really good with the cooking.

Who is more social?
He said it best; he hangs out with people more often than I do but I'm more outgoing with meeting new people.

Who is the neat freak?
Between the two of us, I am, though I have my messy places too.

Who is the most stubborn?
Pro'ly me.

Who hogs the bed?
He takes up more of the bed, but it's not really "hogging" as I tend to curl up in a small corner.

Who wakes up earlier?
He does. I can sleep FOREVER!

Where was your first date?
We didn't date and as I said we are still trying to figure out when we were really a couple. We figured out we were relationship-y after I left Chico in May.

Who has the bigger family?
Dunno. We both have rather large extended families, but I'd have to say his extended family seems to have more of an impact on him than do mine. With the exception of grandparents, I could care less about my extended family.

Do you get flowers often?
Flowers have not happened. I'm not interested in flowers and neither is he apparently.

How long did it take to get serious?
Roughly 2 to 2.5 years apparently.

Who eats more?
I do. It's constantly a source of amusement for me that I out-eat him at almost every meal.

Who sings better?
Dunno, though he does it more than I do so that makes him a likely candidate.

Who does the laundry?
We have never lived together yet so we each do our own laundry. Dunno what it'll be like when we move in together.

Who’s better with the computer?
He is.

Who drives when you are together?
Depends on where we are and whose car is available as he can't drive mine. I enjoy driving more/longer distances than he does.

Who picks where you go to dinner?
We like the same types of food so we generally agree on whatever suggestion comes up.

Who is the first one to admit when they’re wrong?
Dunno... the question suggests a setting of an argument and I can't remember if we've ever had a relevant argument.

Who wears the pants in the relationship?
Me [grins] even when I'm wearing my utilikilt

Who has more tattoos?
Neither of us have tattoos.

Who eats more sweets?
Hmmm... tough one. He likes a wider range of sweets, but I can gorge on jellybeans.

Who cries more?
Dunno... I've never seen him cry and I make a conceited effort to never cry around others.

...Because I am perfecting all ways of not doing what I should be doing

Personal:
1)Are you Equine? nope, but I appreciate the single hooved critters
2)If so What breed are you? I would be a draft pony of some variety; always liked the Bardigiano, Dales, and Dartmoor
3)Would/do you have accessories? Harness, and I've always loved those big show horse collars
4)What special markings would/do you have? dappled mouse gray or gurllo
5)Can you or do you make horsie noises? yes
6)Do you have horsie mannerisms if so what are they? sometimes, but mostly when I'm thinking about it
7)Any conformation flaws? me personally? I get shin splints easily, so that would suck if I was an actual equine

Favorites:
8)What is/are your favorite breeds? Friesians, Dales, mutts
9)What is your favorite eye color? eh, whatever fits on the horse
10)What is your favorite coat color? black, roan, grullo, dappled gray, piebald of all of those save black
11)What is your favorite sex ? to ride, geldings, but the right mare will kick a gelding's ass anyday
12)What is your favorite gate? depends on the horse entirely
13)Do you like breeding and foals? never had any experience with either

General:
14)Do you prefer long hair or short hair? depends; do I have to take care of the long hair?
15)Do you like your horses large or slim? depends on the horse, but usually stocky
16)How tall do you like your horse? tall enough to fit me, but not too big
17)Do you have a horse plush toy? somewhere
18)Do you have a horse ornament? propably
19)Do you have any horse art or pictures on your walls or standing frame? nope
20)Have you ever actually learned to ride? yes; took lessons for over 6 years

Experience:
21)Ridden a horse? Yes.
22)Have you fallen off? yep, recently in fact
23)Have you ever had to bail or intentionally throw your self off? nope
24)Do you own a riding helmet? somewhere
25)Do you have riding boots? yep, in my closet
26)Do you have clothing for riding? for western riding (i.e. jeans)
27)Mucked out a stable or stall? yep
28)Groomed a horse? yep, love it
29)Kissed a horse? don't think so
30)Been groomed by a horse? yes
31)Bathed a horse? yes
32)Bitten by a horse? yes
33)Kicked by a horse? no, but I've been stepped on
34)Has a horse ever ditched you and left you to walk back? yes, I had to chase her and catch her
35)Have you ever lost control or had it bolt on you? I've had horses bolt before, but I usually think it's fun
36)Have you bred horses (horse-to-horse)? nope
37)Have you been pinned down. (like pressed against a wall/door etc. by the weight of the horse)? nope
38)What sort of treat would/do you have for them? carrots, apples, smarties
39)Have you spent large amounts of cash on horses? no

Five things you will find if you open my school bag:
- full set of flatware, including chopsticks
- metal ruler
- sketchbook
- an ungodly assortment of art/writing utensils
- an altoids tin with nuts in it (either for me when I'm hungry or for the squirrels on campus when I'm bored)

Five things in my bedroom:
- a crossbow
- a lot of swords
- flags (a black jolly roger and a yellow "do not tread on me")
- posters of Wolverine and Sabertooth tearing each other apart
- far too much furry shit (i.e. clashing animal print plush blankets, stuffed animals) to fit with the general scary weapon and kill-you theme set by the rest of the room

Five things I’ve always wanted to do in my life:
- see the Northern Lights
- publish something non-academic
- ride more horses
- sail a sailing ship on the sea
- um... can't really think of another one right now

Five things that make me very happy:
- my Mate
- my art/art of my characters
- roleplaying (i.e. traditional gaming like DnD)
- wearing a harness and pulling wheeled things
- social interaction with a small group of friends that is not on Friday nights

Five things I’m currently into:
- that whole grad school thing
- X-Men Evolution
- staying warm (it fucking snows here! I'm from California, I don't know what to do with this shit!)
- news podcasts
- remeeting old characters

Five things on my To-Do list:
- do the required reading for my current grad project
- doing ref sheets for my characters
- finish that damned coloring book!
- sign up for classes
- figuring out this whole "my future" thing

Five things some people may or may not know about you:
- I'm uncomfortable around pigs, parrots, and monkeys/apes
- half the time I have no idea what my gender or orientation is
- my first payed job was with Disney as an artist
- I "subscribe" to a number of ideas many in the mainstream consider conspiracies
- I'm in a relationship so unorthodox the GLBTetc community would likely react with "LOLWHAT?"

Five most important moments of the last year:
- leaving Chico (as in, leaving the place where Matt is)
- having that big, relationship-altering fight with my mom
- becoming entirely financially and legally independent
- getting accepted to my 1st choice grad school
- being in a relationship which I can and do see as life-lasting

Five things you enjoy doing during your free time:
- art
- sleeping
- playing stupid internet games
- making things
- talking with people

1 | What is the name of your fursona?
Eric

2 | Where did the name of your Fursona come from?
"Eric" is the mainstream name that sounds closest to "Yrrek"

3 | What species is your fursona and why did you choose that species?
Leopon; my spirit animal is a reverse patterned spotted cat that vaguely resembles a leopon, so it seemed an obvious choice. A leopon is the result of a male leopard mated to a lioness.

4 | What color is your fursona and why? Hair/fur/eyes/etc.
Tawny colored with black-brown spots. His mane generally black with red-brown highlights

5 | What is your fursona's personality and how does this compare to your RL personality?
He is more consistently curious, active, and extroverted than I am. He seems to be a representation of my male sexuality that I generally lack as an asexual.

6 | What is one item your fursona owns that is significant to you in RL?
Eric is a child of the internet, and the internet giveth unto its children all they need! He utilizes the Nexus capabilities of the internet so he has anything and everything he needs. Seriously, he doesn't really own anything, let alone something that I own IRL. The few times I've drawn him I have drawn him with my favorite hat and my utilikilt, but that was more a connective strategy than anything.

7 | What is one thing you think you would say to your fursona if you could meet?
"OMG! A real furry! Awesome!"

8 | What is one thing your fursona would say to you if you could meet?
"INORITE?!"

9 | How has your fursona changed over the years?
He hasn't existed for a year so he has had very little time to change.

10 | How long have you had this fursona?
Somewhere between 4 and 6 months.

11 | Would you like to be more like your fursona?
There could be some real world benefits. Being able to wield the power of the internet in the real world would kick ass too.

Name five items within arms reach:
1: Sabre (my cat)
2: my laptop, obviously
3: quilt
4: remote
5: numerous pillows

Name your top five favorite songs, in no particular order:
1: V. Hobbits, by Johan De Maji
2: The Greatest Adventure, by Glen Yarborough
3: Songo, by Andre Bocelli
4: The Sound of Silence, Simon and Garfunckle
5: The New World Symphony, Dvořák

Name five languages that you would learn if you could:
1: Gaelic (Irish)
2: Spanish
3: Russian
4: German
5: Japanese

Name five politicians, not including Presidents, Prime Ministers, etc:And not if you like them or not... if you want
1: Gray Davis
2: The Governator
3: McCain
4: Palin
5: McCarthy


Name five things you want to do before you die:
1: See the Aurora Borealis
2: Be in Newgrange again
3: Sail on a tail ship in the ocean
4: Publish something non-academic
5: Ride more horses

...because I don't wanna grade papers! Seriously, I'm shirking my educational duties to fill out furry meme... whee.

*Are you a furry?
Looks like, what with me being on one of the central internet hubs of the furry world.

*If you have a Spouse/SO - Is he/she a furry too?
Considering I call Fluffy "my mate" or "my otter"... yeah

*How long have you been in the community?
I consider my official "joining" of the community to be my first attendance of Further Confusion in 2005, though I was drawing anthro critters WAAAAAAYYY before that.

*How did you find furry?
My buddy SixArmedWerewolf got into it when we were in high school and introduced me to it.

*What's your reason for furry (what interested you to get into the community)?
I likes to draw teh animal-peoplez!

*What's Furry to you?
"A loosely associated group of people, the only connecting feature of whom being an enjoyment of anthropomorphic animals"

*If someone found out you're a furry and asked you about it how would you respond?
LOL! So this one time, at Further Confusion, a cop asked me what the hell was going on over there (he was pointing at the convention hotel parking lot where the fursuiter parade had just let out) because he had seen this one episode of CSI... I had to stifle a gut-wrenching bout of laughter.

Generally I just explain what I mentioned in the above question and add that, like any fringe interest group, there are some crazy-strange people involved and not to believe everything CSI tells you... just some of it... like the crazy sex and dressing up in mascot costumes... hehe. Oh, and never to go into a babyfur's room. EVAR!

*What are your favorite aspects of our community?
The ever-presence of gay and the art. Specifically the art.

*Do you use any furry terms? (i.e. yiff, paws, murr?)
Yes, but only when taking to Fluffy.

*What do you wish furry was NOT associated with?
An astoundingly constant resemblance to Kevin Smith by the majority of the members; social dysfuncts of most sorts; emo sissy bitches who whine in a particularly martyrish/self-righteous manner; and CSI... no wait, I think the CSI thing is hilarious... hehe

*How strongly do you feel about someone bashing the community as a whole?
I generally find it funny.

*How strongly do you feel about anyone bashing you yourself for your interest based on the media's aspect of what furry is?
I generally find it funny, especially since I can most often out-draw said basher.

*We all know furries have alot of sexual aspects in this fandom, What's your opinion on it?
I'z teh asexual furry! Muahahahaha!

Meh... in all seriousness and the inexplicable l33t speak aside, I think the porn element to the art is far overdone and not done well nearly enough. Seriously folks, how many angular, disproportionate, drawn-on-lined-paper scribbles of unidentifiable creatures splooging all over themselves do we really need? If you're going to do porn, you damn well better be able to do anatomy. And we really don't need hyper or inflation... at all.


Personal

*What is/are your fursona(s)?
He is a leopon, and his name is Eric.

*Do you have any fetishes that pertain to the fandom?
...you mean besides the furry bit? 'Cuz most people would consider that a seriously out-there kinky fetish.

*If you could magically morph into your fursona would you?
Could be fun for a while.

*Do you believe you have a spirit animal?
Define "believe"? Do I think of one and mentally interact with something I think of as a spirit animal? Yes. Do I think he physically, really exists apart from my thoughts of him? No. My spirit animal is my consciously created and purposefully projected mental avatar of my rather nebulous inner self. I find it easier to interact with that little voice in my head when it has a face and clearly defined personality than not, so there you go.

*What other fanbases/groups are you a part of?
Star Wars, Star Trek, D&D, related nerdly shit that may or may not pertain to Joss Whedon.

*Anthro/Feral, Therian or Kemonomimi (Not a furry, just a human with animal ears and a tail)?
LOLwhat? Questions usually have verbs in them.

*Are you a fursuiter? If yes, how many do you own? If No, do you ever plan on being a suiter?
No, though the creative and engineering challenges related to making one are highly captivating.

*How many of your friends are furry?
About 4 to a greater or lesser extent.

*How many pets do you own, if any?
I can haz cat?

*Aside from furry what other interests do you have?
Art, occassionally politics, occassionally whatever the hell I'm studying... right now the unlikely possibility of sleep is looking really interesting

*Are you confident enough in yourself to say that you're a fur, no matter what the media says?
Yep. I tend to be rather outgoing with the willingness to tell people stuff.


Meetups

*Do you attend any cons? If no, would you attend any cons? If yes, which cons have you been to?
I have been to FC a couple times, and I just recently went to RMFC (which I would seriously NOT recommend)

*Do you go to local meetups(bowling, public outings...etc)?
I did over this summer briefly, but I haven't been lately as I'm somewhat protective of my personal time now that grad school has kicked in.

*Have you ever attended a furry party? If no, would you attend one?
I guess I have... I dunno, what counts as a "furry party"?


Online

*Have you ever met up with a fur you talked to online?
Yep, at cons... which some mixed results.

*What furry websites do you attend?
FA, very infrequently wikifur

*What non furry websites do you frequent?
like... all the other ones? I'm not listing them all out... this is a dumb question

*Has the fandom done anything for you that you're thankful for? Has it taught you anything or brought you anything you treasure greatly?
It has revealed to me that there is a relatively profitable market for the art I have always liked to do, and it has seriously reduced or eliminated my threshold of what is inappropriately weird. At this point I have to remember that the vast majority of the world gets weired out by... hmmm... almost everything involved with the furry fandom. To me it's part of my norm, so yeah

Stolen from  fluffyvivi

• × • ALL | ABOUT | ME • × •

- Name: Kerry
- Single or taken: Taken
- Sex: None of yer damn business
- Birthday: March 18th
- Sign: Fish
- Hair color: Brown
- Eye color: Blue
- Height: short
- Are you straight/bisexual/gay?: Asexual (why do these things always forget that one?)

• × • F A S H I O N | S T U F F • × •

- Favorite place to shop for clothes?: I don't really like clothes shopping
- Favorite designer?: Lolwhat?
- What is your sexiest outfit?: ummm... Utilikilt with some shirt and boots?
- What is your most comfortable outfit?: Jeans and T-Shirt
- What do you usually wear?: collared/buttoned shirts and dockers

• × • S P E C I F I C S • × •

- What kind of shampoo do you use?: ummmm... cheap stuff that smells like fruit?
- What are you listening to right now?: "The Way" by Fastball
- Who is the last person that called you?: One of the other TAs
- How many buddies are online right now?: None; I'm up late

• × • F A V O R I T E S • × •

- Food: The edible, generally Western-culture kind, though sushi is yummy
- Girls' names: Rebecca, Elizabeth, Julie
- Boys' names: Eric, Tyler, Cory
- Subjects in school: History, writing, politics, stuff
- Animals: Felines, horses, otters

• × • H A V E | Y O U | E V E R • × •

- Given anyone a bath?: pets, but no people
- Smoked?: Hookahed once
- Bungee jumped?: No. Sounds interesting though
- Made yourself throw up?: Yes. I knew it would ultimately feel better to get it out than let it stay where it was
- Skinny dipped?: Nope.
- Ever been in love?: Twice.
- Made yourself cry to get out of trouble?: No.
- Pictured your crush naked?: No, but now I am...
- Actually seen your crush naked?: Nope.
- Cried when someone died?: Sort of... I tend to mourn people's passing before they actually die.
- Lied: a little, but not lately
- Fallen for your best friend?: Yes.
- Used someone?: Not that I can remember, but likely
- Done something you regret?: Yes.

• × • C U R R E N T • × •

- Clothes: None. Jeans, collared shirt, slippers, furry poncho
- Desktop picture: digital painting of koi
- CD in player: none
- DVD in player: Angel season 3, disc 3

• × • L A S T | P E R S O N • × •

- You touched: Prof. Trumbo, shook his hand
- Hugged: Probably Fluffy
- You kissed: don't remember the last time I kissed someone
- You IMed: Fluffy
- Talk to online: isn't this a bit redundant?
- You sexed it up with: None of yer damn business

• × • A R E | Y O U • × •

- Understanding?: I try, and sadly that attracts crazies a bit too much
- Open-minded?: a lot, as compared to many
- Arrogant?: I tend to think so more than others
- Insecure?: Not often
- Random?: Not much at all
- Hungry?: Yes
- Smart?: As far as I can tell
- Moody?: Not really
- Organized?: In some things
- Shy?: Not often, though it depends on the setting
- Difficult?: Depends on who you ask
- Bored easily?: Generally
- Obsessed?: Not much, though some would argue with me
- Angry?: Not in general
- Happy?: For the most part, or at least I'm not generally unhappy
- Hyper?: Infrequently
- Trusting?: Depends

• × • R A N D O M • × •

- In the morning I: Try to ignore the noisy thing waking me up
- Love is: Intruging.
- I dream about: Very narrative things in great detail
- Sexual preference: not the most interested
- What do you notice first in the sex people you're into: The way they move, hold themselves, and dress; their "genre"

• × • W H I C H | I S | B E T T E R • ×

- Coke or Pepsi: Neither
- Flowers or candy: Candy.
- Tall or short: Short

• × • W H O • × •

- Makes you laugh the most: Fluffy
- Makes you smile: Most of my friends
- Gives you a funny feeling when you see him/her: Fluffy, and it needs to happen more.

• × • D O | Y O U | E V E R • × •

- Sit on the internet all night waiting for that someone special to IM you?: Frequently
- Wish you were a member of the opposite sex?: Frequently
- Wish you were younger?: Don't really care
- Cry because someone said something to you?: No

• × • N U M B E R • × •

- Of times I have had my heart broken?: once
- Of guys I've kissed: dunno... 1?
- Of girls I've kissed: can't think of any
- Of Cd's I own: not many; maybe a dozen?
- Of scars on my body: I don't regularly count them

Stolen from  zooni

Write out the names of your characters and explain
1) how you thought of their name
2) what made you create the character in the first place
3) how the character has changed over time (if they have changed)
4) any random fun fact about that character

Rahkus
1) When I came to naming him, I liked naming in an "Indian style" i.e. descriptive of the character's personality. When Rahkus is in one of his playful, jovial, or mischievous moods, or when someone is sawing a mad fiddle, he is downright raucous. Then I messed with the spelling.
2) I was doodling while watching "Pirates of the Caribbean" and was intrigued by the captivating qualities of Cap'n Jack. As I pondered over what made him so entertaining, a doodle manifested into a full-bodied character image. I later RPed with him on IM systems where his character developed.
3) Rahkus was the character who most "came alive" in my head. It was rather spooky to have him as a recognizable entity "telling" me his backstory and commenting/criticizing my RPing of him in places as unrealistic.
4) He is a pituitary dwarf

Alec
1) I have always liked the name "Alex" and it was a nod to Sir Alec Guinness of "Star Wars: A New Hope"
2) I don't rightly remember as it was so long ago (16 year).
3) Massively! My childhood-version of her was a horrible Mary-Sue fan character; utterly stereotypical and a flat and boring stalwart champion of goodness. Now she is a morally ambiguous political fanatic who agitates for a more radical galactic government. She attempts to accomplish or bring about her desired changes via guerilla warfare, manipulation, and extensive systems and financial hacking.
4) To date she is my only female character.

Taloombray
1) No real rhyme or reason. I threw long O sounds in with a few other "Wookiee-ish" sounds and focused on trying to have more than two syllables.
2) Again, I don't really remember, but he was created in conjunction with Alec
3) Again massively! Where he was a (again) Mary-Sueish flat dogged champion of a downtrodden people, he is now a mentally and emotionally unstable individual. He tries to maintain an outer appearance of harsh, aggressive, righteous anger and certainty, while all the while dealing with uncertainties about his motivation, proper allegiances, and fears of dedicating his life to a wrong direction. From my interest in Irish history, I have placed him as emotional and mental cousin to the IRA members at the close of the Irish Revolution and the eve of the Irish Civil War.
4) Taloombray is terrified of close, dark, underground places

Eric
1) "Eric" is the closest mainstream, Anglicized, obvious male name that sounds similar to the pronunciation of "Yrrek"
2) I needed a proper fursona, plus I took his form in a dream that FluffyVivi found wildly appealing.
3) He is relatively new (3 months max?) so he has had little time to solidify, let alone change.
4) He must always be wearing something green

Stolen from BigBoobsMcGoo


1. What is your mode of transportation?
Currently a bike and a car. Bike for school and bopping around town. Car for heavy lifting and longer distances.

2. Ski or Snowboard?
Neither, what with the lack of ever seeing snow. Can I choose sled dogs instead?

3. Mountain bike or road bike?
Mountain bike that I ride on the road

4. Plane or Train or Boat?
Plane most of the time, but boats are fun.

5. Gas or Diesel?
Gas usually

6. Skateboard or Roller blades?
RollerSKATES!

7. Sail or power?
Sail!

8. Magic carpet or Transporter?
Transporter for the win! But I don't really want to be an early adopter.

9. Horse or camel?
Horse

10. Dragon or flying unicorn?
Unipeg... Pegicorn!

So after a spectacularly crappy day today, I fell asleep for an unexpected nap and boy did I have a crazy detailed dream...


My dream started out with me in what seemed to be the last days of my graduate school career. Instead of being here at Fort Collins, or even at Chico or anywhere else my mind connects with school, the building itself where I found myself seemed very much like an old English parochial school or high-end English boarding school. The lighting was very low I remember and the architecture of the building was large, imposing, and mostly rich wood.

Giles, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, was apparently my adviser or personal tutor or something. I remember coming back from some celebratory party or event with some of my friends and encountering Giles. He was drinking tea and looking very British. We got to talking about my up and coming graduation from my masters degree and in the midst of that he brought up some test or other that was required for my graduation and something I had not yet done as it turned out. At that point he got very concerned and started telling me off for not being more responsible and having done it earlier. As it was, that day at noon -- about an hour from the time we were talking -- was the cutoff time for this particular assignment. Panicked, I pointed out that this was the first I'd heard of this requirement.

Bruskly, Giles swept me off to some classroom or other where I was to try to do the assignment as best I could. Apparently I needed to do something and turning something in, even if it was crappy, was better than not doing the assignment at all. As it turned out, the assignment was a reflective essay on the unspoken meanings of some short story. The story, of course, not being something that I had read. After reading the story and eating up most all of my hour, it turned out the primary character of the story was Quark from Deep Space Nine, who had a coat of many colors much like Joseph.

I remembering staring at the page, willing myself to write something, anything. Ultimately, I got down the barest paragraph which was little more than an outline of what I had intended to write. When I took it to Giles, he measured it and said that I'd get a D at the very best.

Completely depressed and very worried, I wandered into the lower levels of the very large and maze-like building to the pub with some of my friends where we drank and ate pub food, trying to reclaim the frivolity of earlier. Some guy who I didn't know either in the dream or in reality was flirting with me and showing off his ability to go invisible. I seem to remember ignoring him and asking one of my friends as to the whereabouts of a mutual friend of ours. He didn't know, but the guy who was trying to flirt with me said he'd seen her going into the basement the other day.

So we all head to the lower bowels of the building, looking for this person who was, according to my dream, my best friend. As we reach some of the lowest and most remote passages in the building, we happen into what appears to be an underground cavern with overtones of ballroom. In it, and expanding out as far as we could see, were furries engaged in toil and digging, all presided over by strange white-skinned demons. When I say furries, I mean people with tails and ears, normal looking people, fursuiters, and anthro creatures.

It appeared to be that the furries were being enslaved by these demons. I and my group quickly joined up with a little contingent of furry slaves standing in a formation near where we had entered the ballroom cavern so that we would not be noticed. While standing in this group, I noticed my best friend in the front of the formation.

One of the bigger and more threatening-looking demons wielding a long, Uraki-looking whip started to move through the formation we were in, barking out orders to my friend in a language I couldn't understand but she apparently did. She began to move off from the group slowly, apparently doing the whiter demon's bidding, but he didn't seem pleased with her and continued to move through the formation towards her with a look of ill intent.

Just before he reached where I was standing in the formation, I began to move off in the same direction as my friend, making sure that I was keeping my body between the two of them and I moved specifically to block his path. When he finally figured out what I was doing and got irritated, he began to yell and raise his whip. But I pounced on him rather out of the blue and literally tore his throat out with my teeth. He died very suddenly and with a look of complete surprise on his face. I remember the inside flesh of him was very pink and fish-like in consistency.

When he fell, a short of hush fell over the nearby furries. Dream-knowledge informed me that, while there were other overseers in this cavern, the one I had just killed was the leader and most vicious and feared. He oversaw the "training" of new arrivals. Taking quick action to capitalize on the opportunity, I called out to the enslaved furs, telling them that now was the time to escape!

There was a lot of concern involved -- if caught while attempting to escape, things would be far worse than if they just stayed put -- but eventually the mass flood of enslaved furries turned and flowed from the caverns into the lower passages of the school building with me as their leader. There was pursuit, but the thing had happened so fast that most of the demons were caught completely off-guard.

We made it out of the building and into the surrounding forest by nightfall. We picked a place and laid down for sleep. It occurred to me at that point that I was leading over 1000 people and responsible for their well-being. One of my earlier group of friends -- now taking up a role as my second in command -- pointed out to me that everyone was now looking to me for guidance and leadership. I was their rescuer and savior; I had to take responsibility for that.

With this in mind, I made inquiries with possible defenses. At the very least we needed to have people on watch at night so we wouldn't be snuck up upon. But, having just escaped from labor-intensive slavery, almost everyone was bone tired. Unhappily, I made the whole group get up and we wandered some more until we found an abandoned mansion in the woods which offered more protection at night. We stayed there.

Come the morning our scouts awoke the group with warnings of an ambush. This set the furries into a panick and most drove further into the depths of the mansion where they then found themselves trapped. In the basement I tried to figure out an escape plan from the building as our demon enemy began breaking into the higher levels of the building. We were trying garden-level and sunk-in windows, but the glass made things difficult and dangerous.

While some of my officers were spear-heading an attempt on a storm window, I caught site of what looked like an even lower basement. This one was unfinished and the floor was earthen. I thought perhaps it might be a wine celler or something else that might open up elsewhere in the forest and provide an escape to the trapped furries. As I rounded a turn from the stairs down to it into the room itself, however, I was struck on the back of the neck with something whizzing. Whether it was a large insect living in the basement or a missile from one of our demon enemies who had snuck around behind me, I don't know as I woke up at that point.


...and yes, I have ridiculously detailed and narrative dreams. This sort of thing is very normal for me.

Have you ever wanted a absolutely gorgeous feather? Either to have for it's inherent beauty, or as a symbol or talisman of your nature-based spirituality, or even as a canvas for art? Let me tell you about this place I found and have worked with...

http://www.stmarymagdalenes.org/pea.....ckfeathers.htm

St. Mary Magdalene's retreat in Yureka, California is a ranch apparently owned by a church, and, among other things, they have an apparently large flock of peacocks. From these peacocks -- and peahens -- they collect naturally shed feathers of all varieties. Of course everyone knows of the long blue and green eye-feathers from the peacock's train, but did you know that peacock also has 18 inch golden primary flight feathers? or foot-long jet black wing feathers? or foot-long dappled golden and black wing feathers? They do! And the feathers are beautiful, large, strong, and some of them come with sizable stalks befitting an old-style feather quill pen.

I happened upon St. Mary's site a while ago when I found an astounding golden feather I was sure belonged to a golden eagle. While researching it I discovered St. Mary's site and, to my surprise, learned that the feather was from not an eagle, but a lowly domesticated peacock. But this is a fortuitous thing as I later learned that owning feathers from wild, non-game birds is illegal. Personally I feel this is a very stupid law, but that's a rant for another day. As these feathers come from domestic birds, they are 100% legal own and look just as stunning as any eagle feather.

What's better, is St. Mary's sells their feathers -- which they collect from the ground once the birds have shed them and then clean -- for very low prices. I just recently bought an assortment of 5 of the largest wing feathers ($10 + $8.70 shipping and handling) and found they had also included 4 smaller pretty feathers as well. Though it took a while to receive my order -- they have to wait on the birds, afterall -- when they arrived the feathers were exceptional in quality and exceedingly clean.

If you are ever in need of feathers for any reason, check out St. Mary's. They do good business and their feathers are excellent.

Because I can't pass up the opportunity to talk about my characters... I'll be using several of my characters -- the ones who show up most in my RPs -- and answering for them

1. What is your character's name?
Rahkus
Taloombray
Alec
Eric

2. What is your character's name in another language?
Rahkus -- ?
Taloombray -- the closest translation of Taloombray's full name (common and family name, Taloombray Dewurra) in Shyriiwook means gray stout warrior/soldier
Alec -- ?
Eric -- ?

3. How old is he/she? (I know all their lives, so the ages listed are the focus areas)
Rahkus -- 21-26
Taloombray -- 213-260
Alec -- 18-32
Eric -- 23 (my age)

4. What is your character's race/species?
Rahkus -- human, from 1600s Earth
Taloombray -- Wookiee, from Old Republic through New Republic-era Kashyyyk
Alec -- human, from Imperial-/New Republic-era Corulag
Eric -- leopon furry

5. Do they have a crush?
Rahkus -- a lover who was killed
Taloombray -- a mate who has disappeared and not been found
Alec -- no
Eric -- we're still figuring that out

6. Do they have many friends?
Rahkus -- yes, but given the pirate life-style they tend to come and go with crews
Taloombray -- not many; he's not overly friendly
Alec -- same as Taloombray, except that she obsesses over things and is thereby not social
Eric -- some, a very small inner circle with a few others as social friends or acquaintances

7. What planet is your character from?
Rahkus -- Earth
Taloombray -- Kashyyyk
Alec -- Corulag
Eric -- the internets

8. Does your character like to eat?
Rahkus -- food is a valuable commodity to be consumed when available
Taloombray -- food is good, feasts are better, but he's not overly attentive
Alec -- food is fuel, use it when needed
Eric -- is in line with Rahkus' thinking, plus there's that whole starving student thing going on

9. What's his/her favorite food?
Rahkus -- food that has both not gone bad and does not contain too many weevils
Taloombray -- not sure, but likely some ceremonial Wookiee feast dish; roasted something or other
Alec -- small food that is highly nourishing and not overly messy
Eric -- sushi, barley, Italian sausage, hummus, garlic, chicken... food

10. What's his/her favorite drink?
Rahkus -- rum
Taloombray -- Wookiee Fire Ale
Alec -- Alderaanian cider
Eric -- coffee with Bailey's

11. Is your character annoying?
Rahkus -- no, a jovial rogue
Taloombray -- dangerous and dogged, but not annoying
Alec -- a political fanatic, single-minded and manipulative, but not really annoying
Eric -- well, I don't think so!

13. Is your character loved?
Rahkus -- yes, or at least he was
Taloombray -- he was loved by his mate, and he and Alec have an interesting companionable love
Alec -- yes, though not by people with whom she returns the emotion, except for Taloombray
Eric -- I'm loved, so yeah, I suppose so

14. Is your character hated?
Rahkus -- no, at least not that he's informed me
Taloombray -- yes, he has caused quite a bit of contention on his homeworld
Alec -- yes, many in the Empire, then later the New Republic would love her to "disappear"
Eric -- not to my knowledge

15. Is he/she emo/goth?
Rahkus -- no, considering those styles didn't exist, but he is a pirate
Taloombray -- no, social extremist, agitator
Alec -- no, political fanatic, agitator
Eric -- nope, I like academic chic myself

16. Is he/she straight, bisexual, or gay?
Rahkus -- gay
Taloombray -- straight
Alec -- asexual
Eric -- gay

17. Is he/she a virgin?
Rahkus -- no
Taloombray -- don't know, as it's never come up in my stories about him
Alec -- don't know, but virginity is very likely
Eric -- no

18. Name 3 hobbies
Rahkus -- being a pirate, not getting caught by the Navy, frivolity
Taloombray -- melee combat, fixing the damned ship, hunting Imperials/slavers
Alec -- building droids/computer systems, hacking sensitive systems for gain, radical guerilla politics
Eric -- wielding the holodeck-like power of the internetz, hanging with Fluffy, saving gay Narnia

19. Is your character normal?
Rahkus -- non-standard for a person, but a relatively normal pirate
Taloombray -- sure, for a violent radical extremist
Alec -- sure, for a violent radical extremist
Eric -- I suppose so, for a furry

20. Is your character attractive?
Rahkus -- he certainly attracts attention by his looks
Taloombray -- among Wookiee females who don't know him, he is often praised for his handsome fur
Alec -- don't know, as Alec generally ignores any and all attention of that sort
Eric -- he thinks he's a damn fine-looking feline

21. How does your character handle emotions?
Rahkus -- he wears his emotions on his sleeve for the most part
Taloombray -- things like anger, anxiety, embarrassment, and fear usually result in something dying
Alec -- she's a relative brick wall; rarely displays emotion aside from political fervor or something similar
Eric -- contemplative, expressive and extroverted at times, stolid and introverted at others

22. Does your character have other forms?
Rahkus -- nope
Taloombray -- nope
Alec -- nope
Eric -- nope

23. Does your character overreact?
Rahkus -- yes, he can be very twitchy at times
Taloombray -- YES! though that does seem to be a racial trait with Wookiees
Alec -- sometimes, but one very rarely knows about it until later
Eric -- not frequently

24. Is your character a criminal?
Rahkus -- yes, he is a pirate after all
Taloombray -- yes, though only according to the government; he thinks he's a freedom fighter
Alec -- yes, again according to the government; she feels she is working for the greater good
Eric -- not really, though occasionally he role-plays as a pirate

25. Does your character go to school?
Rahkus -- nope, and never did
Taloombray -- no, though he did in his youth
Alec -- no, though she did recently
Eric -- yes

26. What's his/her IQ? (how should I know? And how do you measure other species?)
Rahkus -- illiterate but clever
Taloombray -- a very hands-on type, a soldier
Alec -- very high, computer wiz and quite manipulative
Eric -- whatever mine is

27. Does your character have a disease/curse?
Rahkus -- he is a pituitary dwarf, meaning he is properly proportioned, but only 4'9"
Taloombray -- I'd assume he has hypertension from his excessive anger and stressful life
Alec -- don't know
Eric -- not to my knowledge

28. Is your character dead?
Rahkus -- no, but I know his life up until his death
Taloombray -- no
Alec -- no
Eric -- no

29. Does your character have a family?
Rahkus -- he had a mother obviously, but he doesn't remember her much
Taloombray -- yes, though both parents died in the Clone Wars and he and his brother are estranged
Alec -- yes, she keeps in contact with her mother but is estranged from her father
Eric -- I guess, though I've never had cause to put them in

30. Has he/she encountered any tragic times in life?
Rahkus -- yes, though he is a bouncy and jovial soul who has gotten over it
Taloombray -- yes; several wars, capture, enslavement, more wars, political persecution, loss of his mate
Alec -- sort of; has lived through and interacted in rebellion and political persecution
Eric -- not really

... IS THIS MEME OVER YET?

31. What's the best time in your character's life?
Rahkus -- his time with Nher-ahn and his time serving under Captain Lass
Taloombray -- most likely his youth
Alec -- not sure, she doesn't seem to be emotionally attached to much, temporally speaking
Eric -- not sure

32. If you could name 1 friend, which would you relate to your character?
Rahkus -- Rowan! He seriously looks like Rahkus... it was creepy
Taloombray -- I don't know anyone like Taloombray and would likely be scared to meet such a person
Alec -- Dan strangely enough, save the political fervor that Alec has
Eric -- Fluffy! for fun connotations of the word "relate"

33. Is your character single?
Rahkus -- depends on what time in his life I project him, but we'll go with no
Taloombray -- yes, and so he will remain unless he finds his mate
Alec -- yes, and it is unlikely that will ever change
Eric -- still figuring that out

34. Has he/she developed any relationships? (this is a dumb question)
Rahkus -- yes
Taloombray -- yes
Alec -- yes
Eric -- yes

35. Does she/he have an element?
Rahkus -- water
Taloombray -- fire
Alec -- fire/air
Eric -- earth

36. Do you role-play your character?
Rahkus -- I sometimes story-RP him online, and I played an adaptation of him in DnD
Taloombray -- I played him in Star Wars the table-top game, and I occasionally story-RP him
Alec -- not really, unless as a side-kick to Taloombray
Eric -- IM RPing; he is my fursona after all

37. Do you write about your character?
Rahkus -- used to
Taloombray -- used to
Alec -- used to a lot
Eric -- not besides IM

38. Does your character have a bad temper at times?
Rahkus -- not really, but he does have a vindictive streak
Taloombray -- YES!
Alec -- perhaps, but if she does it doesn't show much
Eric -- short at times, but not necessarily bad

39. Does your character get depressed?
Rahkus -- sometimes
Taloombray -- quite a bit, though he expresses it as anger or irritability
Alec -- hard to tell
Eric -- sometimes

40. What's your characters favorite animal?
Rahkus -- ponies, especially ones he can steal for a joyride while on land
Taloombray -- doesn't pay much attention to animals
Alec -- droids?
Eric -- felines, equines, and otter-kines

41. Does your character have any fears?
Rahkus -- the navy, being captured, being hung, large men, sea monsters, ghosts, etc.
Taloombray -- being rejected by his clan and race, being wrong in his path, never finding his mate
Alec -- not sure
Eric

42. Does your character have any weaknesses?
Rahkus -- he panics easily, he is very small, his left eye has been blinded
Taloombray -- is given to enraged bull-headedness, snaps easily, is dogged in his intention
Alec -- no real combat abilities, no real flight capabilities, is single-minded and close-minded
Eric -- my weaknesses

43. Does your character look up to anyone?
Rahkus -- most people, what with being 4'9"
Taloombray -- the Jedi, his father, mother, and ancestors
Alec -- Taloombray
Eric -- not sure

44. Does your character like music?
Rahkus -- yes
Taloombray -- yes
Alec -- doesn't really care
Eric -- somewhat

45. What's your character's favorite type of music?
Rahkus -- Irish jigs and reels, similar stuff that can be danced to
Taloombray -- anything with drums and chanting
Alec -- eh
Eric -- nothing particular

46. Is he/she impatient?
Rahkus -- not overly
Taloombray -- he can be
Alec -- not at all
Eric -- sometimes

47. What's something funny about your character?
Rahkus -- he's a short little pirate who likes to climb all over everything
Taloombray -- he's pretty damn funny when he tries to chill
Alec -- she loves her droids and talks to them
Eric-- he wears a lime green thong

48. Name 5 nicknames?
Rahkus -- nothing he gets called other than his name is particularly friendly
Taloombray -- one of his masters called him "Jack" but that doesn't really count as a nickname
Alec -- "Alec" actually is the nickname
Eric -- none really

49. Does your character curse?
Rahkus -- he's a pirate, go figure
Taloombray -- yes, though more of the cursing of other people instead of the use of expletives
Alec -- sometimes, but not often
Eric -- yep

50. This test is over, what does your character have to say?
Rahkus -- [is not here]
Taloombray -- [is not here]
Alec -- [is not here]
Eric -- "Isn't there something else we should be doing right now?"

Monkey see, monkey do... then monkey throw poo.


Where are you staying?
In a hole in the ground, where there lived a Hobbit. Not a dirty, wet hole, nor a dry, sandy hole. But a Hobbit hole, which means comfort

What day are you getting there?
Friday early-ish to get registered and to put up my auction pieces.

Who will you be with?
Fluffy

Do you do free art?
Not usually, least-ways not for people who aren't part of my close crew, or when I'm sober.

Do you do trades?
Not often, but that's more due to lack of opportunity than anything else

Do you do commissions?
Yes, but not now. I'm full-up at the moment.

Do you have prints/CDs?
Not on me, but my DA gallery offers a couple of prints of my work.

Do you do badges?
Yep! And now I have markers and know how to use them!

Will you have Art in the Art Show?
Yep! "Rocky Mountain Rivals; the Ram and the Bison." The ram piece is done and the bison piece is in progress.

What is your gender?
I am androgynous tending towards the masculine; "one of the guys" is my favorite position

How old are you?
23

Are you taken?
It hasn't been discussed, but it is a possibility

Can I talk to you?
Sure, though English is preferable, otherwise I'll have to make up what I think you're saying in my head.

Can I touch you?
I'm not to keen on the touchy-feely with people I don't know

Can I hang out with you?
Don't see why not. One of the aims is to find cool people to hang with and art-jam with.

How can I find you?
You can likely find me during the day time and possibly evenings -- as I'm not staying at the hotel -- and I'll be wearing a black Irish driving cap, glasses, and a brown feline tail. I'll likely wear my Utilikilt one or more of the days.

Whee! So, hope to see you there and meet new furry artists!

Rocky Mountain Fur Con --  FluffyVivi and I are gonna be at the Denver Rocky Mountain Fur Con and we're gonna submit stuff to the Art auction! Whee! Hope to meet you Fort Collins furs there.

Commissions -- I feel HORRIBLE about the state of my commissions. I'm about 1/3 of the way through SoulFire's Indiana Jones commission and Mozdoc has mentioned he wants me to start work on the second page of his comic. I've got to finish assembling my coloring book for the therapy stable, and I know I owe someone a contest prize. I'll hunt through my journals and find out who at some point. Thankfully, I've got a month of next to nothing, save a visit from Fluffy and the con, so there should be some art done.

Update, Fursona! -- I now have a fursona! A proper, anthro one at that. He's a youngish lion with a scruffy black mane. He's got some spots on his back, so I'm guessing he's actually a leopon rather than a full lion, but the emphasis is on the lion elements. [Shrugs] It makes sense given that Oryon is a leopon with reversed coloration and emphasis on the leopard side. I'll get some ref pics up of him at some point when I have time to draw them.

Who all is going to attend this year's Rocky Mountain Fur Con (Denver, August 7-9th)?

I'm thinking of going as I will be new to CO and it might be a good way to get to know people. I'm not decided yet, so, can anyone offer any opinions or what not?

DANCING! AND MUCH CELEBRATION!

Why?...

Because I got in! Whee! I FINALLY got an email from one of my grad schools that didn't start with "We regret to inform you..." And what's better, I got it from Colorado State University! My first choice school! Yay! So now that big question mark that loomed when I pondered my future has been replaced with SOMETHING, which is the biggest comfort.

However, I must try not to get too excited. It's not set in stone yet. If I don't get a TA appointment, or some form of support from the school, then it's still a no-go. But, considering I've had TAing experience as an undergrad, among other things, I should be an attractive candidate.

So.... besides having somewhere public to do some e-dancing, I posted this here for a reason. I've never lived in CO and only visited Fort Collins once, so I don't know anyone. I was hoping I could tap the furry networking underground for some suggestions of contacts and artists to meet. So, anyone in Fort Collins (or Denver) CO, or know anyone from thereabouts? Also, anyone know what the furry scene, art scene, or gay scene is there?