https://www.twitch.tv/goldenloki

And we're live...finally. Hopefully the technical glitches are finally taken care of.

Slight delay in my stream for today. I'll be starting at 9 am CST instead of 8:30 as planned. Sorry about that, but I hope it will be fun and entertaining!

This is not a political post:

https://www.twitch.tv/goldenloki

Election got you down and stressed out? I can't say I blame you. To help give you an escape from all the election BS that will be happening tomorrow, I'll be doing an all day gaming stream on Twitch.

I'll be going from 8:30 AM CST to 2:30 PM CST for sure, and if my work schedule allows for it (aka, I finish everything tonight that I need to do), I'll be streaming again from 3:30 PM CST until after the final election returns have been released. Put me on your second screen if you want (you can download the Twitch app for your phone/tablet from iTunes & Google Play). Or you can watch me from your PC/Laptop.

I'll be doing my best to interact with the chat (assuming there's someone to interact with), and I'll be playing retro games from the ColecoVision, Atari 2600, NES, SNES, Genesis, Sega CD (imagine, an hour of Desert Bus...yes I'll do it), and Arcade (Cadillacs & Dinosaurs...yes that actually exists). I'll be playing good games (Super Mario Bros), bad games (Bible Adventures), and straight up atrocious games (Action 52).

Take your mind of the election regardless of who you voted for. I have already voted so I can start right away (I have my "I Voted" sticker that I'll be wearing proudly tomorrow) and I hope that all of you will take the time to vote as well.

I want you to be able to just sit back and chill.

I hope to see some of you there, even if I'm just streaming for an audience of one. I want to provide you some alternate entertainment.

See you tomorrow!

https://www.twitch.tv/goldenloki

So, there's been a lot of talk about Ghostbusters (2016). I'll be honest and just say that the trailers didn't excite me, and I doubt I'll see it anytime soon. That is my simple thought on it.

I know there is a lot of hate & dislike out there for the movie (as well as a lot of people who are enjoying it too). Every movie is going to have people who enjoy it and who don't. Not everyone sees Citizen Kane or Casablanca as a masterpiece. Not everyone loves Star Wars. Some people love the prequels. That's okay. Anyone who knows me, knows that I love movies. I own hundreds of them ranging in quality from The Wizard of Oz to Birdemic: Shock and Terror. Movies are escapism for me. They can be educational even. I learned to stop asking people why they enjoy Adam Sandler movies. I can't stand them myself, but if you enjoy them, I'm glad you do.

This stream of thought has already gone longer than I had planned, and there's more I could probably say. Instead, I'll wrap it up with the tagline from one of my all time favorite movies, Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie...

"Every year Hollywood makes hundreds of movies. This is one of them!"

Back in the summer of 2013, I was working at Great Lakes Higher Education. I was making and receiving phone calls to/from student loan holders. This was not a great job, but it had good benefits and pay. It was also very stressful. A couple of my friends had just recently graduated from MATC. They're about my age.

After a particularly bad call, I took off my headset and made the decision right then and there that I wanted to return to school.

I had previously gotten an Associates Degree in Commercial Art (now known as Graphic Design) from MATC. However, I wasn't a very good student, and my skills weren't good enough to hide that fact. So while I did graduate, I never succeeded in finding work in the field (I gave up pretty quickly as well).

Fast forward to January of 2014. I had made the decision to study the Visual Communcations program and took one class to see if I had what it takes to return to school. So I took the Digital Photography class (it was the only class I could take on Friday afternoons and still work full-time). I got an "A" and decided that I was ready to return to school full-time. So with the support of my family, I quit my job at Great Lakes and enrolled as a full-time student. I took out student loans (I had paid off my previous loans a few years earlier) and applied for Badgercare, since I knew I couldn't afford healthcare otherwise.

So I started school. I worked hard and learned everything I could. I took every class the program offered. Four semesters of Visual Communications (and one Philosophy class).

Now I'm here. Yesterday was my final class and I turned in the last of my assignments. Last week was our Portfolio Show. I'm feeling really good about how it went. I handed out some business cards and a handful of resumes. I spoke with a few people in the industry here in Madison. Here's hoping I made a good impression on at least one of them.

I've made some good friends through the program in both my fellow classmates as well as in my instructors. I will do my best to stay connected with them (thank you Facebook and LinkedIn).

Tomorrow at 5:30 PM I will walk across the stage at graduation. This is something I didn't do when I got my Graphic Design degree back in 1999. I thought back then that since I had only recently graduated high school, and this wasn't a four year university, that it wasn't important. This time around, it's more important to me. It genuinely means the beginning of a new chapter in my life. A major step in the direction of doing something that I'm confident I'll love for a living.

I never loved working at Great Lakes.

I want to thank everyone who has been there for me these past few years. They've listened to me bitch and complain. They listened to this story hundreds of times I'm sure. They've reminded me that I made the right decision to return to school, and I agree with them. My friends, family, and collegues have all been incredibly supportive.

Tomorrow I walk across the stage at graduation and back into the real world, and I couldn't be more excited!

So those of you who follow me on other forms of social media (Twitter & Facebook primarily), know that I've been hard at work, working my way through school. I just finished up my third semester at Madison College in the Visual Communications program. What does "Visual Communications" mean? Well, it means that I'm working on video & audio (yes, I know, not visual but it does fit the program) production. I'm preparing to enter my final semester coming up here in January and graduate in May.

I'm slowly starting to piece together my portfolio to show potential employers what I'm capable to doing. I've been somewhat reluctant to link to my Youtube page here on FA because the work that I've done is not furry related at this time (I would like to do some video shooting at some of the cons when I get back to work and making money). However, I've also discovered that the best way to get my stuff out there is to make it available to as many people as possible, so here goes:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu.....qqfMFBw/videos

There you will find every video project I have worked on in the last three semesters. The last piece, "How (Not) To Do Science" was my final project for my Video 2 class, and is something I'm quite proud of. So please, if you're at all interested, feel free to watch, comment and share if you would like. I have some big ideas for the future, and at least one of those will be furry related and I plan on making that plan known here within the next week or two I think!

Loki

I have a question. What is the appeal of the YCH commissions? I have always thought that if I'm spending money on a piece of original art, that I would want it to be just that, original. I thought about this after a long conversation with a very dear friend, who is also an artist who doesn't do YCH commissions (and as far as I know has no interest in doing them in the near future).

Not trying to poke a bear here, I'm just curious.

I rarely use my journal, as you've probably noticed. I thought this was a worthy cause though. This is intended as a signal boost for  bondagepuppy who recently has been going through a rough patch. She just opened up a slot for a couples commission. If you're not familiar with her stuff, you should be as her bondage and fetish art is simply stunning, and I cannot recommend it enough.

For the high quality of her work, her prices are quite reasonable.

If you're curious, here's a link to her most recent journal with details on the commission.

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/7042890/

Greetings Programs!

So let's see...it's been a year since my last journal entry, and two years since my last proper entry. Needless to say, in that two years a lot has happened. Two years ago I was working what was essentially a dead end job. For those who don't know, I spent eight years working in the student loan industry. Now, if you read the news with any frequency, you know that student loans are a debt that is becoming more and more unmanageable for many people and I was right in the heart of that problem. You see I was the person (along with many more) who would call (and take calls from) people who were having a difficult time paying back their loans. In fact, many of them were in danger of defaulting (I often dealt with the most extreme cases). This meant talking to people who didn't want to talk to me, dealing with people who wanted nothing to do with me, and dealing with stresses that extended far beyond their student loans.

One day (about two years ago, though I don't remember the exact date) I had a particularly bad day at work. In fact, it was one of the worst. I don't remember the details but I remember it was terrible. After one call, I took off my headset and took a five minute breather. During that time I thought back to May when three of my best friends (including my partner's husband...we're a polyamorous family) all graduated from the same technical school that I had graduated from back in 1999. I decided at that moment that I was going to go back to school and get a degree that I can actually use (I currently have a Associates Degree in Graphic Design but was never able to develop the proper skills to make it a career).

So, with a little research and a lot of encouragement from my friends, I quit my full-time job that was paying well and had excellent benefits (but was killing my soul and stressing me out beyond what I could manage), and returned to school as a full-time student. I decided to do this because the first time I went to school after HS, I worked a lot and didn't focus as much on my studies as I should have. I refused to make that same mistake. Thankfully, it seems to be paying off in spades! When I originally graduated back in '99, I had a 2.65 GPA. In the two semesters I've been back to school, my fall semester I finished with a 3.89 GPA, and in the Spring I achieved a 4.00 GPA for the first time ever in my life. I'm incredibly proud of this because I was never a good student in school, and would have rather watched TV or play video games instead of studying. I could never achieve what I wanted if I continued that mindset.

Now, for those of you who are curious, I'm currently studying Visual Communications at Madison College here in Madison, WI. I'm working on focusing my skills on video production (editing in particular) as well as post production and motion graphics. I have all my videos posted on my production Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu.....TJqqfMFBw/feed

I certainly encourage you to visit the page and watch my videos. There isn't any furry-centric content there, but as I continue to practice my puppeteering, I expect that to change hopefully in the near future!

I think I've gone on long enough for now. As you can see, despite my lack of activity on here, I've been quite busy! The future is looking a little uncertain, but I'm excited to see what it brings!

Originated by  marauder6272 (I got it by way of  KeldorFeign)

1. Name a movie that you have seen more than 10 times:
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie

2. Name a movie that you've seen multiple times in a theater:
Star Wars (all of them)

3. Name an actor that would make you more inclined to see a movie:
Hugh Jackman (he's the main reason I saw "Les Miserables" last year, and he's awesome as Wolverine)

4. Name an actor that would make you less likely to see a movie:
Tom Cruise (I don't avoid his movies, but I won't see it just because it's him)

5. Name a movie that you can quote from:
UHF "You took the box...let's see what's in the box...NOTHING! ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! STUPID! YOU'RE SO STUPID!"

6. Name a movie musical that you know all the lyrics to all the songs:
Rocky Horror Picture Show, Little Shop of Horrors, and South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

7. Name a movie musical that you have been known to sing along with:
Rocky Horror Picture Show

8. Name a movie that you would recommend everyone see:
Ben-Hur. It's a perfect example of a perfect movie. The acting is top notch, everything about the movie looks big and grand, the score is amazing, and the action sequences are excellent (the Chariot Race is the second best action sequence filmed, just behind the truck chase from "Raiders of the Lost Ark"). Even at 3+ hours, the movie is never boring (and it has an intermission, something modern movies have forgotten about).

9. Name an unusual movie that you own:
This is a toughie as a huge part of my library is made up of unusual movies. I would have to say "The Wizard of Speed and Time"

10. Name an actor that launched his/her entertainment career in another medium.
"Weird Al" Yankovic

11. Have you ever seen a movie in a drive-in?:
Yes! There are three within an hour from where I live. I also saw back in 1984 a double feature of Gremlins and Ghostbusters that I have very fond memories of.

12. Ever made out in a movie?:
No, but I certainly wouldn't mind trying (that's what the drive-in is for...right?)

13. Name a movie that you keep meaning to see but just haven't gotten around to it:
Beverly Hills Cop (I've seen the sequels, but never the original)

14. Ever walked out of a movie:
Yes, three times. The first was Bugsy with Warren Beatty (it was a terribly dull and stupid movie. Number 2 was 1408 (I was really into the movie, but a group of idiots in the back row would not shut up at all so we left after 30 minutes, I still haven't seen the rest of it). Finally was Cloverfield (I was enjoying the movie, but the shaky camera work was making my housemates motion sick).

15. Name a movie that made you cry:
E.T. The Extra Terrestrial & Up

16. Popcorn?:
Yes, please!

17. How often do you go to the movies?:
I try to go at least once a month if I can and there's something worth seeing.

18. What's the last movie you saw in the theatre?:
The World's End, and we absolutely loved it!

19. What is your favorite/preferred genre of movie?:
Horror, science fiction, and action

20. What was the first movie you remember seeing in the theatre?:
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. I still have vivid memories of the major events of that movie from my first screening.

So, this last weekend I went to Midwest Furfest with my lovely Cupcake. It was her very first furry event ever! We had a wonderful weekend together. We watched Uncle Kage and 2, and I got to walk in the fursuit parade!

There was one other really neat thing that happened this weekend. Some of you know that I have a pair of Folkmanis puppets. There's Thor, my Golden Retriver puppet and Hannibal, the wolf in sheep's clothing. Cupcake also has a little white rat (I know it's labeled as a mouse, but to us it's a rat). We went to a beginners panal for puppeteering and learned a few good tips for starting out. Towards the end, KP from FPS stopped in and I was lucky enough to show him Thor.

This kinda led from one thing to another, and with some encouragement from Cupcake, KP, and Cisery (sp?) I decided to try my hand at performing for the first time at the annual MFF puppet show. Needless to say, I was quite nervous. I was asked to help with two songs and was asked if there was a song I wanted to do.

Now, anyone who knows me, knows I'm a huge Weird Al fan, as well as a huge Disney fan. I decided to take the things I love the most and do one of my favorite songs off of "Alpocalypse" and I performed "Skipper Dan" I really had a lot of fun and decided that I would love to participate in the puppet show again next year. I hope with more practice I'll be more confortable performing for others. I've become very attached to Thor (and I named him well before the movie came out, I'm half Norwegian by heritage), and he's become a natural extension of my personality.

So thank you to all who came to the show, and helped encourage my puppeteering interests. I hope I can make others smile when my performances in the future

Loki

Well, I'm off to my first furry con since MFM in 2010! I'll be joined by my adorable foxy girlfriend Cupcake (it's her very first fur con ever). If you see me and want to say please do. I'll definitely be walking around some in suit (look for the tall Golden Retriever with glasses and a Hawaiian shirt), and yes, hugs are welcome when in suit.

Arf!

Loki

I don't journal on here very much (most recent was back in August), but a lot has happened since then and I thought this would be a good place to talk about some of it.

Back in December, my now ex-girlfriend got into a huge fight. It was a large and complicated situation and reason. Mistakes were made on both ends I feel, but I took the brunt of the blame for it and eventually our relationship ended in January after a month of attempting to repair it. I did what I could to at the least maintain a friendship, however unfortunately due to unforseen actions and circumstances that is no longer a possibility. I do hope that perhaps one day I'll be able to at least be in the same room as her, and perhaps maybe we can at least be able to talk to one another again.

I have felt a lot of guilt, anger, sadness, among other emotions and feelings.

I have however, managed to work through them. How? With the help of my new girlfriend and boyfriend (I'm still living a poly lifestyle, and it works for me). They helped me realize that I shouldn't take the blame for what happened, and that my feelings are natural and will take time to work through. Both have been amazingly supportive of me, and have been incredibly sweet to me during this period.

My new girlfriend is such an amazing woman. She's been so open minded about my interests and kinks, and has been a closet furry who came out to me. She's been joined me in my love for balloons, body-inflation, puppy play, and has even dabbled a little into ageplay (though there's a long ways to go there). She's my wonderful Cupcake (her puppy name), and I can't say enough how wonderful it is to have in her my life. I hope to spend many, many years with her and her family.

There's more to come, but that should give you a little taste of how I'm doing, and hopefully I'll update around here more often.

Loki

I'm on the tail end of a wonderful weekend! What made it so wonderful? Why I got a weekend visit from my big bwother  KennyKitsune It was his first time to visit Wisconsin and I got to show him around Madison, eat good food, play with balloons, and have a fun and good time!

I wanted to just say thankies to Kenny for traveling all the way up here to see me and for sharing his weekend (and balloons) with me!

Thank you Kenny

Or am I the only one who doesn't get the sudden, and (I think at least) unexpected surge in "My Little Pony?"

Don't get me wrong, I think the new designs are cute, but I guess the sissy in me would rather still watch "Rainbow Bright" or "Sailor Moon."

Loki

PS. There is also I think a distinct lack of balloons and inflation in MLP as well *giggles*

I know there are furries partial to the Steelers because of the Anthrocon connection, and I totally get that. However, as a proud Cheesehead, I must say Go Pack Go!

Yes, this Super Bowl will kick ass! And to all the Vikings fans out there...Brett who?

Good afternoon fellow furs!

I've been considering for the past few year of getting a tattoo. I have a very specific idea for it as well combining a few of the things I love. What I'm thinking of doing is a teddy bear, wrapped up in a straight jacket, looking rather psychotic, with several large helium balloons floating gently above him...or pulling him into the air.

I'm posting this to see if anyone has an idea for an artist I could commission for this idea. I already have a few ideas...but I'm also looking for suggestions. I'm sure I'll get some great ideas from you all

Loki

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/1977650/

Take the time to vote. I'm curious to see where this'll go

I just thought I'd let those who've maybe looked for me online via Yahoo IM...I've been away from it since about August. I found myself getting too overwhelmed.

More updates to come

Due to circumstances beyond anyone's control except my own, I've decided I'll be skipping Anthrocon this year. Instead, I'm seriously considering attending Megaplex instead. Why do you ask? Well one, I love Florida. Two, the there for MP this year is Mad Science and their GoH is Paul Zaloon, aka Beakman from Beakman's World! Also, Megaplex doesn't have the "Balloon" ban that AC has been forced to implement (stupid convention center rules).

So, who out there will also be attending Megaplex? I'm really hoping to see my sweetheart  ArmandNousagi squeakybunny  KennyKitsune  farellemoon and  Duncan_The_Dog

I'm looking forward to this :)

Loki

Roy E. Disney, the nephew of Walt Disney (and son of Disney co-founder Roy) died today at 79. I've always been a huge Disney fan so to see the last remaining family member involved in the company pass away just after the release of their return to hand-drawn animation is sad. I'm not going to write much about this, but there are two excellent articles regarding his passing that I'll link to instead...

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps.....OPLE/912169998
http://d23.disney.go.com/articles/1.....RoyDisney.html

My life's dream was to be a Disney animator. Even though I never reached that dream, it's because of the stuff that Roy helped with in the 80s and 90s that I love Disney today. The world is just a bit less magical now :(

Loki

For those of you not familiar with that date...that was a date that a little golden retriever named Loki was born (officially). It's a pretty amazing feeling I've got right now. Yesterday at work I received a big bouquet of balloons from my mommy in Milwaukee. They all looked so beautiful.

I really can't believe how lucky my life seems to be. I have wonderful friends, strong relationships, a loving family, and a stable job. I can only hope it continues ^_^

Thank you to everyone I've met and made friends with over the last year. You all mean so much to me, and I look forward to seeing and chatting with you all more over the next year!!!

Birthday Balloon Puppy...
Loki

This isn't directed towards anyone specific. I like getting commissions, it's fun and it's always nice to see new renditions of my characters. I just seem to be having the worst luck with them though. Not that the quality of the work has been not there, but it seems like the artists I've commissioned run into stone walls the moment I've made the deal with them. Now I understand that life happens, and real life often has to take priority at times (boy do I know it).

All I ask is if an artist takes a commission, if something comes up, please be in communication with the people who have given you money for your art. They are paying customers and deserve to at least have a regular status update. I know of one artist who's been very good about communication (and if you read this, you know who you are...thank you!), and would like to see more of that. Believe me, when I see your art and want to throw money at you because of it, that's a great sign of adoration and flattery. Please don't risk damaging your reputation by not communicating.

I can't possibly be the only one who feels this way.

Loki

For those curious or wondering where I've maybe been, I jus moved yesterday and am basically without decent Internet access until Wednesday evening. So if you've been wondering where I maybe am on Yahoo IM or AIM, that's where I've been. This move has been smooth but depressing. I'll go in more detail when I'm not trying to post from my phone.

Loki

I'm just sitting here waiting for my breakfast date before I have catch my shuttle to the airport. This con is the most fun I've had a convention in years. The friends I've met...the new friends I've made...all reasons for not leaving. I feel like a really lucky guy. There are few places where I can feel 100% accepted for who and what I am. Thank you all who made me me welcome and loved! It was magnificent!

Loki