A few weeks ago a guy who does YouTube videos & wanted to one on furries contacted me. After watching a few of his videos I figured he was OK because he didn't take cheap shots at the people ihe interviewed. As I was going on a fursuit walk with other NYC furs the next I invited him to come along; you can watch the finished video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkt.....TWIGo5nAgXUnJr

the link might take you to 5:24 into the video; if that happens, just push the slider back to the start.

There's a college-level field of studies called HAI, Human-Animal Interaction

This message from them arrived in my inbox this morning...

Calling All Artists Passionate About Animals!

Are you an artist inspired by the powerful bond between humans and animals?

We’re looking for artists who focus on the human animal bond. Showcase your art on a platform that celebrates the powerful connections between humans and their animal companions.

Are you an artist inspired by the powerful bond between humans and animals?

We’re looking for artists who focus on the human animal bond. Showcase your art on a platform that celebrates the powerful connections between humans and their animal companions.

What We're Looking For:

Artwork (all mediums) that depict the human-animal bond

Why Should You Share?

Gain exposure in the HAI (human animal interactions) world

Connect with other artists and professionals who share your passion

Join Us!

You don't need to be a mental health professional to be a member and contribute.
Whether you’re a seasoned artist, a student, or someone who enjoys creating in your free time, we want to help you showcase your work. Join our HAI community and contribute to a growing field dedicated to understanding human animal interactions. Reach out for details:
Lori.Kogan@colostate.edu.

just popped up on my YouTube feed:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhA3bpjah5k

and that winnah is...  rimme!

His story not only very nicely depicted the TF, but captured the Funhouse's intoxicating ambience. I'll I post it to my page in a few minutes...

The people who responded to my previous journal all offered to complete the Mr. Airwick story that began as thus:

Ahh, just in time, J’raff smiled, positioning himself for a good view of what was about to occur. "Airwick can be a bit prissy at times," he thought, "but I have to admit he really does know how to transform somebody."

It was hard to say which was more responsible for the hypnotic trance Mr. Airwick’s visitor appeared to be under: the skunk's tail, or the subtle scent emanating from it, as his glassy-eyed visitor sprouted the beginnings of a white-on-black tail of his own.

I decided to make it a contest, open to all: The person who submits the best conclusion to the story wins an original Comus drawing of a TF scene they'd like to see; doesn't have to include Mr. Airwick, but must be SFW. Can be as short or long as you wish. Submission deadline is this Saturday night, November 1st.

(As you can surmise, "J'raff" is a water buffalo, I mean giraffe who is eavesdropping on the scene from his elevated persepctive.)

Ahh, just in time, J’raff smiled, positioning himself for a good view of what was about to occur. Airwick can be a bit prissy at times," he thought, "but I have to admit he really does know how to transform somebody."

It was hard to say which was more responsible for the hypnotic trance Mr. Airwick’s visitor appeared to be under: the skunk's tail, or the subtle scent emanating from it, as his glassy-eyed visitor sprouted the beginnings of a white-on-black tail of his own.

...that will never have an ending, since I now have no idea where I intended the story to go.

After writing my books and doing various media appeances I was really hoping/expecting to win the Good Furry Image Award, meant for someone who helped furry's public reputation, but it went to someone named "Finn the Panther;" anybody ever hear of this guy or what he's done to earn the award?

UPDATE:

Just checked the Awards' website; here's what it says about said Finn:

Finn the Panther: They do wonderful YouTube videos about all aspects of the fandom. Everything to fursuit types, or inner-fandom relations with others, or maintaining a healthy balance of fandom stuff vs RL stuff. It's just very practical stuff that could be really useful for someone who is new to the fandom.

"New to the fandom," sure - but what does that have to do with helping furry's image with the outside world? I wonder if he asked more friends to vote for him than I did. I've said a few times that I'm probably better known outside the furry community than within it, might be part of what why this (didn't) happen,

Apologies for the sour grapes; I should be in a better mood having just returned from the Rotterdam Furry Studies event (https://furrystudies.org/) where I gave the keynote address and a brief "history of furry" speech at its follow-up Otterdam festival (https://otterdam.org/)

I (that is, Joe Strike has)have been nominated for a Good Furry Award in the Image Award Category:

https://www.askpapabear.com/vote_fo.....ood_furry.html

I'm grateful for the nomination and I hope you'll consider voting for me. (Deadline is September 30.)

Thanx much!

Woke up this morning to the news furry artist and fellow "silvermuzzle" Taral Wayne passed away yesterday; he'd been in not-such great health for quite a while.

Taral was maybe the first furry artist whose work totally blew me away - beyond his sheer technical skill there was a real sensuality to all his work. (He was talented enough to become a professional illustrator, but I suspect he never would've been happy working to someone's taste other than his own.)

I commissioned him to do storyboard art - first page at https://www.furaffinity.net/view/6120247/ - for the introduction to The Incredible Hare, a kids TV series I was hoping to make back in the day. (Later on  speet! and I turned the art into an "animatic" for the show opening - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uX941oMLJpw )

Taral was kind enough to host me for an extra day or two when I stayed in Toronto after the TV promotion convention I was in town for ended. Several years later, visiting the city with my then young sons, I made the mistake of visiting his apartment with them, forgetting some of his art decorating his place was not exactly G-rated - probly their first exposure to "furry porn!"

In some ways, Taral and his art always seemed synonymous with furry itself, and in my eyes always will be.

Why Pay $28 for the (overpriced*) Furry Planet hardcover when you can buy the Kindle version for a mere 99 cents - but only on this Saturday May 11!

Info and the magic 99-cent QR code are on my most recent uploaded image:

www.furaffinity.net/view/56547654/

PS: Monthly NYC Furry/Brony Meet-up is also this Saturday May 11:

www.meetup.com/nyc-furries/events/300768197/

*IMHO way too expensive for the average fur - but 99 cents? Now we're talking!

- full face, staring out of the screen when I clicked to watch a random video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exhe79zKVDQ

I posted the following response to their instagram page:

As a spokesbunny for the furry community, I must take exception to the token human in your otherwise excellent video who makes a disparaging remark about “smelling like a skunk.”

In spite of increasing awareness, anti-mephitism is still endemic among humans. (Not dissimilar to the burden weasels, snakes, sharks etc. share for simply being themselves.) Skunks use their scent purely as a defensive mechanism and pose no menace unless they feel threatened.

My "Collaboration Confuzilication" event at Furthemore was a total blast. For those unfamiliar with it, it's basically an art jam where people collaborate on a 4-panel comic page with some rules that make the finished results really bizarre and funny.

It was downright wonderful, about 30 people there really getting into it and laughing their heads off at the results. I was SO pumped and SO looking forward to repeating the session at Anthrocon, so last Saturday (3/16) I checked Anthrocon's Discord feed to find out if they'd opened panel submissions...and discovered submissions closed the very day before!

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

I appealed to Kage and the Programming Dept for a break, but was turned down cold. (And it's THREE MONTHS between now and Anthrocon!) It's my own fault for not keeping a closer eye on the Anthrocon website itself, instead of the Discord feed where a lot of stuff gets posted & it was unfortunately easy to miss the announcements re submissions. (On 3/11 they posted submissions would close on the 15th.) Checking the Discord feed every few days turned out to be not a good idea.

The ONE DAY late is what really burns; if I found out I missed by 3 weeks or something, I would've been "oh well..." (like when I missed the ANE submission deadline by several weeks). But what really, really burns is that now I'm going to have to wait a year to propose it again--and 15 months until Anthrocon 2025 takes place. I'm going to a new con in May, "Garden State [NJ] Fur-the-Weekend," and proposed the session to them. (Checked first to make sure submissions were still open, they said they still had room in their schedule.)

I'm still going to Anthrocon of course, not going to stay home and sulk because I made a mistake, the con itself is tons of fun & meeting online furfriends in person is always great...but it's still gonna hurt knowing I won't get to share my "Confuzilication" with the convention.

One freakin' day...as Maxwell Smart used to say, "missed it by that much."😭

- and I can't wait to see it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dm5.....nnel=JeanKayak

https://www.wbur.org/news/2024/01/1.....furries-boston
😀

A Republican, of course:

A Republican In This State Wants Animal Services To Remove Furries From Schools

Justin Humphrey, an Oklahoma legislator who once said trans people are mentally ill, is pushing a debunked right-wing talking point.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/okla.....8oEZvICLMFrkjE

NO WAY the people who made this commercial weren't aware of furry:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSbvhOMtLV0

Just watched a video of the entire Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with a perfect street corner view; no babbling NBC hosts reading ad agency-approved copy of everything passing by, no commercials - but WITH all the fun stuff inbetween the floats & balloons they never bother showing on TV (like walking bowling pins & much other weird stuff!) 😀

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsND8k-ius0

PS - Did I ever tell you I walked in the parade twice back in the 80s as this guy: https://the-great-space-coaster.fan.....ile=Baxter.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIK1--ej-SM

This is the most professional looking piece I've seen from Culturally F'd, or any fan effort in general - an excellent message, perfectly told.

(If you're not familiar with the play "Harvey," give its Wiki entry a read first: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_(play) )

Ask your local public library to order a copy; if they have a budget for requests (and aren't run by right-wing reactionaries - "I don't like this book so no one should be able to read it!") they'll usually oblige. (Then anyone with a library card can read it too.)

check out my program book listing here: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/54038773/

Just a few weeks after the paper posted an article about Furry Planet they ran a story on Friday from another publication:

"I’m a teacher by day and a furry by night — here’s why you shouldn’t judge me." - https://nypost.com/2023/09/22/im-a-.....ldnt-judge-me/

Article was very straightforward, non judgemental - but I can't say the same for the comments. Except for 1 or 2 "let them do what they want," the rest - about 93 or so - were angry to the point of utter viciousness. (Public school teachers were subject to a lot of vitriol whether they were furries or not, and of course the usual "grooming" cries were included.)

Of course, I felt obligated to speak up for us; as of this moment my reply is at the top of the list, as yet to be attacked by any of the yahoos:

***
The Post has printed at least four friendly articles about the Furry community in the last few years - and as the author of Furry Nation and now Furry Planet, I've been quoted in three of them.

The level of misunderstanding and even anger in many of these comments is surprising. People have been "dressing up" or taking on animal identities since the beginning of civilization, and are even part of religious rituals for many indigenous peoples; likewise imagining anthropomorphic animals in ancient times as gods, and in modern times as cartoon characters or sports or product mascots. It's an instinct hard-wired into the human mind and furries are simply people who are more in touch with that instinct than the general population (almost all of whom enjoy the antics of cartoon animals - a minor touch of the same instinct that motivates furries).

I suspect the authors of many of the above comments have had the liberating, fun experience of becoming "someone else" on Halloween, liberating an alternate personality for a little while - we furries just get to enjoy it more often than most people. PS: only about 20% of furries actually wear those suits (including this occasional Komodo dragon!)

***
by the way, "suprising" was originally "terrifying," but I softened it just in case the Post might have been upset I called their readers terrifying.

Go figure; this is the third time I've appeared in the paper: first when Furry Nation was published, then when the litterbox rumor was making the rounds, and now with the new book:

https://nypost.com/2023/09/02/heres.....lly-all-about/

I wonder what Rupert Murdoch's fursona is...