... In short...

http://www.thalian.de/g2/main.php?g2_itemId=6190

Eurofurence was AWESOME.

And the last time it'll be held in Magdeburg :( It'll be sad to move on, but also awesome to move to Berlin next year.

Ten points to anyone who can spot me!

I'll be hanging out with  Hitsunekun and probably playing monster hunter freedom unite or Monster hunter 3 Ultimate.

If you see us, wave, hug, pounce!

Maybe give a warning on the pounces :3

Well, I've looked, I've searched and I'm buggered if I can find it.

"Drink Coffee: Do stupid things faster and with more energy"

It was a picture in the Eurofurence 18 art show, one that I regret not having put a bid on now. (But I walked through the dealer's den first and somehow all of my money was converted into prints and silly things!)

Does anyone know who drew it? Does anyone know if there's a copy of it online?

Well, I just experienced one of those rare moments of pure nostalgia / joy and a reaffirmation that actually, it's okay to be a furry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3ydZU1QWiI

The Animalympics! If there was a film that first got me into the notion of furry folk, it was Disney's Robin Hood, but if there was a film that actually sparked a little pride in the notion is was the Animalympics.

And I just found it on DVD

By all means, watch it on youtube... But, as with everything commercial, if you like it and want to show the industries involved that there is a market for this stuff, buy a copy on DVD.

And if you have seen it before, I hope it does for you what it just did for me... Brings back a moment of teary eye'd nostalgia, that some things are still just as good as they were when we were kids :)

A friend and local fur is looking to do a charity walk from Hadrian's wall to John o' Groats (The length of Scotland)

This is to support the 'Help for Heroes' charity, who help wounded soldiers recover and do a lot of good work.

He needs supplies and camping equipment too, I'm sure he'd welcome any help he can get in getting ready for it :)

http://www.bmycharity.com/Cubbyswalk

And the walker?

 cubbykovu

If you can't afford to donate funds or aren't in a position to donate equipment (few of us are), I'm sure a little moral support would be appreciated :)

Thanks.

... and some of the issues they bring with them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9h2dF-IsH0I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VM7HQ_zbdIw

*Ahem*

Sorry... Just wanted an excuse to use waffle in a journal title...

... No... I haven't been in the sugar again... Well, no more so than usual.

Anyhow, free art raffle! By  Ranft Go! go now! Obey the rules!

THESE RULES! http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2811002/

And don't forget to bring your moustache!

Yikes... What a day...

I've got all of the rant out of my sistem now, but yeesh, this is like the plot of a really poor comedy movie...

I've pretty much lost my job (although, yay for notice periods and a boss who's trying to keep me) and Mum managed to put a nice big scratch on my car too...

And then announced casually, that she didn't think it was worth repairing either.

Well, gee, thanks.

I'm going to bed... At least bed likes me.

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2559213/

Hehe :) Check it out!  HarukiFoxtrot is running a little competition, join in if you wanna! I know I wanna :D

There is a japanese legend, that if you make a thousand paper cranes in one year, you can make a wish...

What if a thousand people were to make one each... Could we make one wish together?

 jinnithan put it best here http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5463532

"These were made In my Class due to the Happening in Japan.

Cranes are symbolized as Hope and Peace,
It's said you can make a wish when you make 1,000.

My class is 4 hours long, with pretty disrespectful Students,
They were only asked to make one or two, hardly even made one,
making jokes when we Played footage of the Disaster that Unfolded.

I deal with my rude class mates often, but that was a bit much.

During class hours i made almost 30 cranes, while doing other needed work,
I asked to take more paper home to make more, then link them together.

I currently have them all stringed together with a Bell at the end hanging in my Room.
It will be returned to school and put in a case where a display of 1,000 Cranes stands currently, to be added.



Just to think that someone couldn't sympathize enough to make One. "

C'mon guys, it's easy :) help him out?

Instructions here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbeij8OXELs

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2191561/

 donryu is gonna be streamin' shortly. $20 for a buy in with one character and you get to watch him draw!

Heck, drop by even if you're not looking to buy, he's fun to watch :) But yeah, the guy's short on cash and looking for work, so if you've got a little to spare, put some his way maybe?

Well, I think today summed up my feelings over the olympics here in the UK...

501 days ago, in celebration of the impending games and to do the whole showing off thing, they unveiled the "thousand day clock" ... Counting down to the start of the games.

Embarrassing then that the clock didn't work, right?

Okay, so, technical failure... Could happen to anyone right? No biggie.

So yesterday, they unveiled their mark 2... the "Five hundred day clock"

It stopped today...

All it has to do is count down from 500 to 0... and it didn't even make it to 499.

I mean... Seriously?

I get the distinct impression that the games are going to be a disaster of poor preparation...

http://www.itv.com/anglia/armed-rob.....-footage07521/

Old aged pensioner thwarts a gang of six jewelry robbers armed with sledgehammers!

Best of all, she's a complete mystery. She complained that she was going to be late for her dance class and then left the scene...

All I can say is, I think she deserves a medal.

Hey all!

A good friend of mine is looking to break into writing and hopes to raise a little money.  aurag2 is running an auction for a 5000 word story.

You provide the characters and a basic outline of the plot, any kinks you want involved and she'll make a story on the subject!

Opening bid, just one dollar!

Anyone out there wanna give a new challenger a break? http://www.furbuy.com/auctions/1020881.html

A great friend of mine,  ranft is holding an art slave auction

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/1863320/

Seven sketches with an 'anything goes' theme on content!

I'd be bidding myself, but I already have a few in her list of commissions... Come on, the current high bid is only $20 and if it stays there, you can be damn sure I'll be topping that!

Ranft's bunches of fun to work with :) Seriously, you won't regret it if you win :)

The first one is to all of you lovely re... well, you few lovely readers :)

 donryu is doing some awesome beanie commissions :) $15 a pop and done by the end of the week!

The second? To a certain few people who need to hear it...

Be proud of who you are... You're better than you think... But if you know you're not, then it's time to change so you can be proud of yourself.

I know I'd want to be proud of you, whoever you are :)

Finally, a reminder to myself... And to anyone else in the same boat as me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV2aGYiznqg

"...Life's too short to be unhappy and since I know what I'm worth, there'll be no settling for dirt knowing what I deserve is gold.... If I want diamonds, then I can't settle for coal..."

 donryu

Seriously, if you don't know him... Get to know him :) He's awesome, and he needs your help...

50 x $15 commissions within the space of a week! ... a five day week!

But he needs more people!

C'mon! I've never known a guy so up for that kind of a challenge :)

Well, few days involve actual near death experiences...

So... Awful day at work... But funny :3

I get in in the morning, my boss has a cold and is whining (but she has a great sense of humour about it) and I start work on an account that I've been dreading... We've had a provider send us a message demanding a few thousand for something we've allegedly not paid... My job is to find out the truth and get it sorted... So the paperwork arrived on Wednesday, and due to some crap in my life which I'll not detail here, I didn't really have the moxy to tackle it until today.

So... Start the day with the (recently) usual mix of vitamin C to try and stop my own cough getting worse... Ibuprofen because I pulled a muscle in my back through coughing too hard and cough mixture to try and stop me coughing for a few hours and set to work...

Three hours later... I've been through the -entire- set of accounts... There are two omissions in the books... Neither of them are our fault. One was due to the balance at the start of the account which they hadn't added in... The other seemed to be something they had allocated wrongly.

It seemed too simple to be true... But, I'd double checked my findings... I hadn't made a mistake, and I could prove everything they would likely argue. I send them an email and then join the group heading out to celebrate the birthday of one of my colleagues.

That was where the day took a nose dive.

Firstly, the manager of the restaurant, after agreeing on the phone that he would accept the vouchers the group had when my boss rang up. That cost the group £40 more as a whole, but I guess that's only a fiver each, no biggie.

I arrive back to the office to find a message on my phone... The provider had called back... Apologising that they'd sent the wrong account over and I'm presented with another set of accounts to pick my way through... Great... Thanks guys, it only took me all morning to do that one.

And better still... Something is royally messed up on this account... So far, three departments are involved, all three have made some kind of individual mistake and no one wants to take responsibility as the client this involves? ... She's recently died... Yay, guess who's going to get voted to call the next of kin and demand payment from them?

Never mind... At least lunch was awesome, if a bit pricey... But by now I'm coughing again...

More cough mixture...

Now, what happens when you cough? ... Just as you start to cough, you breathe in, don't you? Or at least, you try to, if there's something blocking your wind pipe, you start to choke.

Imagine the irony, folks... Today, I nearly choked to death on cough mixture xD

It's foul tasting stuff, so I tend to knock it back hard and try and miss my tongue and just swallow it right down... But today, just as I tilted back and tried to swallow.. I coughed... and inhaled half the cough mixture.

So... gullet full of liquid, reflex breathe in... wind pipe full of liquid... cough never happens due to the surprise of there being gooey liquid there instead of air... and now I've got nothing in my lungs to cough -with-.

Drowning is ... an interesting sensation =o-O=... Drowning in a mentholated mixture is... unpleasant... and I'm wearing my suit, so I am trying hard not to vomit all over it and cough with no air in my lungs...

Shit, I'm in trouble! By this point I'm coughing and spluttering, but not enough to clear my wind pipe... fuck the suit, life is more important... What am I going to do?

Gravity! Gravity will help... Time to try and pull a headstand in the dustbin...

I can hear people asking who's making that coughing noise, but by this point I'm ducked down below the partition between desks, blue in the face, half coughing half vomiting, half blasting this mentholated crap through my tear ducts...

About this time, my back decides that all this bending into a tight ball and coughing my guts out is more than it can be bothered to deal with and goes again... I don't blame it, really, I hurt it bad a few days ago, and this is more than it bargained for...

Needless to say that I was just about able to breathe by the time they worked out what was going on...

Spent the rest of the afternoon banging my head against the desk in frustration at how truely stupid we must look in some of the mistakes we've made in this payment... We'd paid an amount... and then, stating we were cancelling it and taking payment back, something we are not supposed to do anyhow in the situation, we take back a completely unrelated amount and then post it onto the wrong account.

So, 5pm finally rolls around and I'm waiting in the cold winter breeze for the ride home I was promised... 10 minutes... 20 minutes... Then my mobile phone rings... "Oh shit, I forgot, are you still waiting?"

xD...

I'm home now... and everyone agreed, as my day was just should have been binned and started over, so I got the last box of doughnuts to take home tonight.

Bad day, but at least I have doughnuts :)

 ranft needs your support!
 ranft needs your ideas!
 ranft only needs $5 for a sketch!

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/1602422/ Go here now! Order yours today!

Well, throughout my life I've battled to lose weight... I know there are other people out there who have the same problem.

And I know that 'the same problem' isn't just the weight... It's the willpower to do something about it and stick with it.

Well, today I realised that my half assed efforts weren't paying off...

Sure, I cycle to work... Sure, I do tai chi on mondays, but it's not enough.

I've been here before, I've started before and something usually trips me up... In the past four years, that something has been college. Well, last week I finished my last exams...

One more project to hand in, and that's that. College is, basically, out of the way.

So, I have my evenings back again... Time to get in shape.

The plan was to start today, but we had guests over... They only left an hour or two ago.

"I'll start tomorrow." I caught myself thinking.

... "I'll start tomorrow." is a dangerous thought... It's basically saying "I'll delay starting."

No. Putting things off is bad. Delaying is bad.

It starts... NOW.

As I type this, I'm hot, sweaty, flabby and tired... But it feels good...

No more junk food... Smaller dinners... When it comes to desserts and stuff, just say no.

Not tomorrow... Today.

Why am I posting?

Well, I know I'm gonna have trouble sticking to this. Perhaps other people out there think the same about themselves...

"I'm fat, I'm out of shape, I need to take control. I'll start exercise tomorrow, I'll start a diet next week."

Well, if you're still in it this far... Just spare a thought for a moment...

"It starts now."

Thank you for reading, if you wanna join in, feel free... It'd make me smile if you wish me luck.

-Chris. 17st 8lbs, but as of now? Doing something about it.

I live in a country which has two flags... One of which is ignored or dispised, depending on who you ask... and the other?... Well, the other of which has been subverted.

I live in England.

Quite frankly... I don't get the English mentality.

Why is it, England...? Why do you only get patriotic during the world cup?

Why is it that our flag... The cross of saint George... Is only flown during a tournament of a sport that, quite franky, we're not very good at?

Why is it that people see fit to actually deface the flag itself?

I've seen two common variations... One with the "three lions" logo across the horizontal bar... And worse still the word "ENGLAND" printed across the middle.

Have you lost touch with what it is to be English so much that you have to remind yourselves which country the flag is from?

Why is it that if I were to take the flag and fly it outside my house, people would not assume I am being patriotic so much, but rather that I am one of the millions clinging to the irrational hope that the England team will do well in South Africa?

Seriously, has England stooped so low that we no longer have anything else to be proud of than a mediochre world cup team?

And don't tell me they're not mediochre... If they were good, you'd expect something better than the performance thus far...

Why -do- people laugh and actually tell me that the world cup is over if I fly the flag after it's finished? Is that all it means to you? ... Really?

So yeah, level with my England... Is there really nothing left in this country than the faint hope of world cup glory?

I really hope not.

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/1365201/

A friend pointed me in the direction of this... Ranft has a boyfriend with an eye infection, the medicine costs $140!

Help 'em out by commissioning some work from her?

If it'll help, I don't mind having a stab at doing some short stories for folks that donate a few dollars.

Eye infections are no fun at all, please help out if you can, and if you can't? Spread the word!

Thank you!

Okay, so here I am, pokemon soul silver and a whole bunch of duplicate pokemon I don't really need.

I've always been a bit more of a collector / breeder than a battler, so if anyone wants to help me fill out my collection, that'd be awesome.

Anyone up for trading?

Friend code: 4383-4376-1289
Name: Farrel


Pokemon Types Available:

Available for trade (newborn / egg also available)

Rattata - Female l7
Geodude - 2x Female l9, Female l15 1xGolem Male l32
Gastly - Female l15
Onix - Male l10
Slowpoke - 2x Male l8
Magnemite - Neuter l11
Machop - 2x Female l7
Staryu - 2x Neuter l10
Chinchou - Female l12
Murkrow - 3x Female l11
Pikachu - 9x Female l10
Golduck - Malel17 (Named Dirk)
Sandshrew - Female l16
Girafarig - Male l16
Ponyta - 2xFemale l7
Krabby - 1x Female l21 (Named Spah)
Zigzagoon - 2x Female Linoone l30
Polywag - 3x female l15

Available for trade as egg / newborn only.

Spearow
Venonat
Corsola
Scyther
Totodile
Pidgey
Hoothoot
Sentret
Weedle
Zubat
Ekans
Wooper
Bellsprout
Oddish
Drowzee
Abra
Nidoran (Male)
Nidoran (Female)
Sudowoodo
Vulpix
Stantler
Meowth
Miltank
Eevee
Doduo
Paras
Ledyba
Voltorb
Magikarp
Goldeen
Farfetch'd
Growlithe
Caterpie
Cubone
Ponyta
Wobbuffet
Marill
Jigglypuff
Clefairy
Mareep
Tauros
Paras
Smeargle
Chikorita
Remoraid
Swinub
Teddiursa
Electabuzz
Magmar
Ninkada
Seel
Jynx
Ryhorn
Skarmory
Tentacool
Sneasel
Misdreavus
Glameow
Buneary
Unown

Most wanted: (please forgive mispellings)

Cindaquil
Spinarak
Mankey
Gligar
Phanpy

All resonable offers, especially those not appearing in my pokedex yet will be considered. If you need to trade and trade back a pokemon that evolves on trade, I can do that too :)

No eggs please, I will hatch pokemon I offer on request, I would expect trade partners to do the same. (I like to know what I'm getting, and this way, I get more trainer numbers)

General hours available for trading 7-8am, 10pm-Midnight (Tues / Thurs) 6pm-midnight (Mon / Weds / Fri / Weekends)

Oh, I also don't make any promises as to natures... If I already have a pokemon available for trade, I won't mind quoting it's nature, but I won't breed and hatch only to have a trade back out because of an unfavourable nature.

Okay, yes, next time I buy a bike, I want one with wheels that need a spanner and maybe even a hammer to remove...

So here's the thing... This morning I had an argument with the back wheel of my bike. It didn't like the gear I had chosen. With a godawful crunch, it parted company with me and the rest of my bicycle...

Oh shit...

Can I manage a two mile stoppie all the way to work?

No... And besides, I'll need that wheel to get home anyhow...

And on reflection, I don't think I actually considered it, because for most of the time I was rather preoccupied with thoughts that my trusty steed was now trying to kill me...

So, I start trying to run at about maybe 15 miles per hour with a bike between my legs, thank god I wasn't on the down hill part of the trip... Because running with a bike between your legs doesn't fucking work!

Chest hits handlebars... Saddle then decides that now would be a really really good time for surprise buttsex.

Net result? I'm late for work, both legs bleeding from where the pedals tore them up, and my back hurts from the bike smacking my tailbone.

The cause?

Someone had caught the quick release on the back wheel and hadn't realised it.

So yeah... Oww.

The day went into a slow decline from there...

Not really too interesting, but I needed to vent ;)

I was tagged by  gunge Curse you!...

1) What’s your fursona’s name and how did you come up with it?

Ahh, the hard to admit to first, huh?

His name is Farrel, and it is pretty much a derivative name and character. Originally, outright stolen. (from before I knew about copyright and stuff). Years ago, I found an awesome picture by an artist called whitefox. A typical male red fox wearing a silk shirt and slacks, buckling some swash with a really elegant longsword.

The character in the picture was called 'Farel'. Back then I thought it original to simply add another 'r'. When I learned it kinda sucked to steal other people's characters, I tried to find the artist to apologise, but I couldn't find the artist again. So I kept the name in the hopes that maybe he'd notice and comment... Then I could explain.

Years go by, and I've pretty much given up, but a lot of my friends know me by the name Farrel now.


2) What species is your fursona and why?

Originally he was a fox, as noted above, but I love to roleplay and when I stop paying attention I tend to get quite cat like. Now, I'd never ever give up on my main fursona being a fox... I've always loved foxes (my earliest memory was of meeting one face to face in our garden).

My manerisms in roleplay tend to be quite catlike though... Pouncing, purring, enjoying being stroked... Retractable claws are so much more fun... And yeah, foxes have an unfortunate reputation, which, quite frankly, bugs me. (no matter how well it might fit, somedays).

One of my (now ex) girlfriends was convinced I should be a tiger rather than a fox, after we broke up, I decided it might fit me better to be a crossbreed and there we go, tiger-fox.


3) Is your fursona based off a preexisting character? (Like a pikachu or renemon)

Originally? Yes... But since then he's grown, his history has changed. Even his birth name has changed (although, I don't think I'll ever change the name he uses)

Originally... Whitefox's Farel
Now?... One part Whitefox's Farel... and... uh... nine parts mashup of all the other characters I've loved... Nothing is ever entirely original... None of my characters are... and it bugs me...


4) How old is your fursona and how long has it been since you created your fursona?

As at 2010? Farrel would be... Oh, must be about 2250 years old or so...

He's been a part of me since the age of about 8 I guess (Yay Robin Hood!) although he only really became 'me' when I was 16... 16 years ago.

Incidentally, yeah, I made him an immortal... Not for flashyness or anything, but there are so many historic eras I would love to put him in, I thought I'd make it so he could be in all of them... And there are times when I feel very very old... It kinda fits.


5) Does your fursona have a background? If so, please share!

Oh crumbs... Now you're for it.

Okay, He was born in the Hu-Lao region of the country now known as China.

Both of his grandfathers (both foxes) were seduced by women who were possessed by the same huli-jing (Chinese kitsune). The grandmother on his mother's side was a tiger, the rest of his family were all foxes. Much to the fox-spirit's chagrin, when he was eventually tracked down and destroyed, his consciousness and remaining abilities awoke inescapably trapped in his (effective) grandson.

The young Zhang Lao grew up in the early Han Dynasty, suffering fits of 'brain fevers' as the fox spirit tried to escape and, realising that he was no longer aging, began to travel in an attempt to keep some level of anonymity, eventually leaving China entirely when he found his unique appearance was starting to make him stand out.

Through the centuries that follow, Zhang Lao changed his name many times, studied many different cultures and languages, but always kept a fondness for his homelands. He studied herbalism and alchemy extensively, claiming that it was the secret to his apparent slow ageing. By the time of the first world war, he had a tendancy to dye his fur to make him look like a regular red fox. He was also utterly bored with life by this point. He partook in the first world war (on the side of Germany) but, realising that population records were improving, Lay low through the second war, eventually joining the French resistance and 'retiring' to England.

These days, he lives under whatever name he can forge an identity for, presently travelling through the Americas under the name W. F. Farrel.


6) What does your fursona wear?

Depends on Era and settings. Generally, given the choice, he will dress for comfort rather than looks. If he's somewhere he won't be disturbed, he'd go right back to traditional Korean or Chinese peasant styles. If it's sunny, wearing a sakkat too.

He always keeps a teapot nearby...

7) How do you relate to your fursona? Does he sound like you, look like you, act like you? Details please!

Well, as far as history goes? There's no link at all... Otherwise? I don't tend to put on a persona when playing Farrel, although I will refer to an obviously fictional history.


8) Name one trait about your fursona you like the most and one trait you dislike the most.

I like that he's just world weary in a friendly kind of way.

I dislike that this world wearyness tends to make him a little depressed and lonely.


9) What is your reason for creating your fursona?

Ever since I was young, I related to foxes... I first created a fursona as such because I didn't want to use my actual name on the internet. Simple as that... I needed an alias and I wanted it to be a fox.


10) If you could become your fursona by tagging at least 10 people, would you do it?

If I could become my fursona by cutting off my balls, I would probably do it... But neither is gonna get the job done, so neither is gonna happen :P


Okay, I'm done, you can wake up now!