Photos from 2016 European trip. I haven't done a full report, but you can find my live tweet of Disneyland Paris starting from this tweet, which includes photos not included in this photo album. Thank you to all my friends who showed me there is still so much wonder in the old world for a rat like myself to experience. One of the highlights of EF 22 was the rat fursuit photoshoot I organised. It restored a lot of my confidence in my ability to organise such things after my failure at trying to organise a rodent fursuit photoshoot at FurDU last year. Photos from this rat fursuit photoshoot will follow when the overworked photographer gets a chance to process them.

When did Support > Knowledgebase become boilerplate text? Previously it had useful information about how to apply tags. How am I meant to access this information now?

Don't mind me, I'm just spruiking up my Weasyl account. Don't worry, I'm not going to join the rushed exodus from FA, but it doesn't hurt to have a presence on more than one furry site, eh? ;)

BTW, I found this neat app: https://projects.weasyl.com/soft/

I thought this being the start of the Lunar New Year, this might be apposite. I mentioned on G+ (gasp!) that I didn't do anything special for the last Year of the Rat, but that's not really true. At Further Confusion 2008 I had the most singular honour of heading up the fursuit parade. Madius had organised a banner celebrating the Year of the Rat which was due to start soon and was very topical for FC that year, whose theme was the Fur East. It seemed the FC parade organisers agreed. I had humbly agreed to take one end of the banner and soon after the parade organisers caught wind of the plan and called for us to come to the front of the parade. I would not have given up my half of the banner for anything at that point! I often say I am proud to be a rat, but I don't think I have ever been prouder than I was on that day. I don't know what I will do for 2020, but it is hard to think how I will top that.
Congratulations to sheep and goats, and to all the animals of the zodiac. There are only 12 of us, so we are all very special. (With a special nod to cats, who only narrowly missed out.)

http://youtu.be/sPHTM-Ggx3E?t=31s

In the forlorn hope that you see this, please email me. You know my address. I'm worried about you and I miss you. I realise now that we should cherish the mice in our lives.

Doing signal boosting for rat friends who are trying to pay off medical bills.

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6359401/
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6359401/
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6359401/

Hurry! Raffle closes the end of this month!

Dittman and I will be hosting a Rodent Party in our room this year at MFF! All rodents and friends of rodents are invited!

The official party time is 4-6PM on Saturday at MFF, though it'll very likely be extended if people want to stay longer.

Cheese and drink (and cheesecake!) will be provided, but feel free to bring your own. You can bring your own booze, but we will also have some home brewed beer and wines.

Fursuits are very welcome, in fact the more the better! I hope to do a photo shoot!

The party will be in our room, 1045 in the con hotel (Hyatt Regency).

Looking forward to seeing all you squeakies there!

I'm just leaving this here for now. Hope everyone is having a good time watching the Thanksgiving game. Lagomorphs are welcome, as are partners and friends of rodents. In other words, just come! (But we will want to do a rodent-only fursuit photo.)

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6301233/

There is a very handsome cheetah head and tail for sale:

http://www.furbuy.com/auctions/1043516.html

Disclaimer: I don't know the seller and make no warranty about it, but I thought people would like to know.

I am sore, subject to a myriad little aches, but elated. It is hard for me to explain how important Rattus is to me, how much he gives me every time I bring him to life. I didn't want to go in the morning. I had a bad case of stage fright, but I couldn't contemplate backing out when so many of you had donated so generously. I promised photos to prove I kept my side of the bargain and went in full suit:

https://plus.google.com/photos/1109.....39887270000785

Everyone who donated: You made this happen. I did it for you, and I'm so glad I did!

And thank you to  ristin who was by my side and made this possible. Although uncredited, many (maybe all) of those photos were taken by Ristin using Kidsune's and Boxer's cameras.

Finally got around to uploading a few photos Ristin and I took at FurDU 2013. Hendikins took a lovely photo of Rattus and I at the mini-golf.

https://plus.google.com/photos/1109.....64331744453009

My good friend and talented artist  Dyandod (well, we shared a room for a few hours at MFF last year) is doing an art raffle here:

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/10223564/

He is making a commission sheet. Just follow the simple rules and it could be of you!

I'm sorry. Please just ignore this. >_< For those who comment here, I shall do the following:

1. Tell you something I learned about by looking at your FurAffinity page for 13 seconds.
2. Tell you a color you remind me of.
3. Tell you my first memory of you (as best as I can).
4. Ask you a question.
5. Tell you something I like about you.
6. Tell you the object that is to the left of me.
7. Dare you to do this yourself in your journal.

Because I commented on http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/4378786/

This sweet furry called  sweetsushi is holding a raffle where she gives the lucky winner a free custom kigurumi! If you love the warm pajamas as much as I do (I'm wearing a squirrel glider right now) then you will want in on this:

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/4362109/

 FoxWolfie went through his favourites, tallying how many were adult and mature. For some reason, this intrigued me enough that I wanted to see what my own stats are, even before I have breakfast and tea. Fortunately, I have far fewer than he does.

71 adult submissions (~27.8%)
22 mature submissions (~8.6%)
162 general submissions (~63.5%)
(Note: Percentages won't add up to 100 due to rounding.)

I suppose based on this, I'm much more furverted than he is, coming in at about 36.5% furverted. In my defence, my most recent 36 favourites are heavily slanted towards general submissions (75% clean) and all my own submissions are rated general.

EDIT: All the slots are taken!

This kind gentleman is offering free icons if you follow his (relatively simple) rules. Try your luck!

http://sfw.furaffinity.net/journal/4259428/

UPDATE: The suit it returned! I'm glad, but still disappointed that a supposed furry would be so low as to do this and would only do the right thing after the application of social pressure. I should counterpoint that against the knowledge that it is because of furries pulling together as a community that the right thing was done.

This sort of thing really shakes my faith in the fandom. To steal a dead furry's favourite suit. I hope the suit finds its way to PG's mother soon, who I am told wants it in remembrance of her son.

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/4252181/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/9733005/

The title says it all really. I think you can guess who's selling it. ;)

https://www.furaffinity.net/view/8925525/

1. You can ONLY answer Yes or No.
2. You are NOT ALLOWED to explain ANYTHING unless someone messages/comments you and asks. And believe me, the temptation to explain some of these will be overwhelming... things are not exactly as they seem.
3. It is harder than it looks, but NO explanations !!! You will want to... but don't!!!

Kissed any one of your Facebook friends? - Yes
Been arrested? - No
Kissed someone you didn't like? - No
Slept in until 5 PM? - No
Fallen asleep at work/school? - No
Ran a red light? - Yes
Been suspended from school? - No
Experienced love at first sight? - No
Totaled your car in an accident? - No
Been fired from a job? - No
Fired somebody? - No
Sang karaoke? - yes
Pointed a gun at someone? - no
Done something you told yourself you wouldn't? - Yes
Laughed until something you were drinking came out your nose? - No
Caught a snowflake on your tongue? - yes
Kissed in the rain? - No
Had a close brush with death (your own)? - No
Seen someone die? - No
Played spin-the-bottle? - No
Sang in the shower? - Yes
Smoked a cigar? - yes
Sat on a rooftop? - yes
Taken pictures of yourself naked? - Yes
Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes? - No
Skipped school? - no
Eaten a bug? - no
Sleepwalked? - no
Walked a moonlit beach? - no
Ridden a motorcycle? - Yes
Dumped someone? - yes
Forgotten your anniversary? - no
Lied to avoid a ticket? - no
Ridden on a helicopter? - no
Shaved your head? - no
Blacked out from drinking? - yes
Played a prank on someone? - Yes
Hit a home run? - No
Felt like killing someone? - Yes
Cross-dressed? - No
Been falling-down drunk? - Yes
Made your girlfriend/boyfriend cry? - Yes
Eaten snake? - No
Marched/Protested? - yes
Had Mexican jumping beans for pets? - No
Puked on an amusement ride? - No
Seriously & intentionally boycotted something? - yes
Been in a band? - No
Knitted? - No
Been on TV? - yes
Shot a gun? - no
Skinny-dipped? - yes
Caused someone to need stitches? - No
Ridden a surfboard? - No
Drank straight from a liquor bottle? - Yes
Had surgery? - Yes
Streaked? - yes
Taken by ambulance to hospital? - no
Passed out when not drinking? - no
Peed on a bush? - Yes
Donated Blood? - No
Grabbed electric fence? - no
Eaten alligator meat? - No
Eaten cheesecake? - yes
Eaten kids' Halloween candy? - no
Killed an animal when not hunting? - no
Peed your pants in public? - yes
Written graffiti? - No
Still love someone you shouldn't? - Yes
Think about the future? - Yes
Been in handcuffs? - no
Believe in love? - Yes
Sleep on a certain side of the bed? - Yes

I don't know if anyone actually reads my journal, but I thought its worth a shot. Biscuits is arranging a rodent group picture, details here:

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/3726930/

Where are you staying?
At the con hotel.

Who will you be with?
 Ristin and anyone else who is silly enough to want to hang around.

What will you be doing most of the time?
Fursuiting, socialising, attending the major events, but most of all, eating.

Do you do trades?
No, but if you ask nicely (and you fit) I might let you wear Ziggy.

What suits will you have?
Rattus, Ziggy. Skippy is not out of the question.

What is your gender?
Male.

How old are you?
Old enough to know better, but young enough not to care.

Can I touch you?
Define touch.

Can I hug or snuggle with you?
Hugging in and out of suit is a definite yes, but I won't initiate a hug unless I feel I know you fairly well. I will almost always accept a hug if offered though. As for snuggling, if you have to ask... Rattus is much more open to snuggling though.

Can I talk to you?
Why could you not?

Can I buy you lots of drinks?
Only in moderation.

Will you be drawing/selling anything?
Sadly, I am a talentless hack, though Ristin prefers to think of us as patrons of the arts.

Can I give you lots of money?
Unless its for something in particular, no.

How tall are you?
177cm

How will I be able to spot you in the crowd?
In human form I will usually be wearing rat or rodent-themed shirts. If I'm suiting, just look for a big grey rat.

Are you nice?
That really is up to others to judge, but I hope most furries think so.

Are you cliquey?
Ugh, no! To quote Billy Bragg: "If you've got a black list I want to be on it."

How long are you going?
Last year, Ristin and I made the mistake of not booking the hotel room for the Monday; wer're not making that mistake again. Expect us for every day of the con.

Do you like parties?
Invitations gratefully accepted. I'll even bring Rattus if asked.

If I see you, how should I get your attention?
Offer me cheese.

An eastern grey eating grass: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xh.....-grass_animals

All the cool furs are doing it, so I didn't want to be left behind! I have an account on InkBunny as well now: https://inkbunny.net/MarkoTheRat

I also used a handy utility called Fa2IB to move some of my photos over and I'm gradually unhiding them. There is nothing new over there yet, but when I do have fresh photos to put up, I may upload in parallel. Because FA has a limit on the number of photos of your own fursuit you can put up, I may, over time, start posting only to InkBunny.

If you've got an account on InkBunny, please come watch me there!

Here are photos of Rattus and others strutting their stuff at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras:

https://picasaweb.google.com/110978.....eat=directlink

I won't be uploading them to FA because most of them at least aren't "furry" enough. Do check out the gay bear in leather gear though. ;)

Maybe it doesn't always work like that, but when it does it's a magical thing. I paid  Bell_the_otter for a con badge for Ziggy at MiDFur 2011 which I picked up at the con. She felt bad at the rushed job she did, so she took it upon herself to track me down on FA and offer to redo the badge for me:

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5324577/

This is in stark contrast to another artist who took people's money but is now apparently hard to find. (UPDATE: That artist has sent a commision to at least one of the people looking for her, so she turns out not to be so hard to find after all.)

If you need a commission done, please do consider  Bell_the_otter. Her prices are very reasonable, and you can see for yourself the quality of her work and the kind of work ethic she brings to her commissions.