My planned MFF roommate had to cancel plans to attend MFF, so I now have room for 3. I am staying at the Hyatt (the main hotel), will be arriving Thursday Nov. 30 and checking out Monday Dec. 4, and would prefer roomies who will be staying all 4 nights to minimize complications in splitting the room cost. Any gender or orientation okay. Fursuits okay.

My rules are mostly simple and common sense.
Be courteous to each other. No drama. Follow the 6-2-1 rule.
Quiet when others are asleep (basically Midnight to 9am). Please keep more or less daytime hours so the housekeeping staff is able to access the room.
Please respect each other and each other's stuff, and make certain anyone you invite into the room is trustworthy and does likewise.
No smoking. No illegal recreational drugs. No drunkenness, but drinking responsibly and in moderation by persons of legal age is okay. No parties in the room.
No yiffing. I can be flexible on this if it's someone with whom you are in a relationship, but please no "pickups".
If you have 5 fursuits or several crates of merchandise (or any other large quantities of stuff) please discuss so we can make sure space won't be a problem.
If your plans change and you will not be staying in the room (or attending MFF at all), please notify me promptly to give me as much time as possible to find someone else to fill the spot.

The room cost is $159.60 per night. That's $39.90 per person per night ($159.60 for the whole con) if split 4 ways, $53.20 per person per night if if split 3 ways ($212.80 for the whole con).

Edit: At present I have three roommates, so the room is full.

"Your Name." ("Kimi no Na wa."), the #1 film in Japan last year, is being released in the US and Canada this weekend. If you are a fan of animation or anime, and it's playing anywhere near you, do yourself a favor and go see this film! You won't be disappointed.

It is only a "limited release" (at least for the time being) which means if you're not in a major metro area it might not be showing anywhere close to you.

At the end of Midwest FurFest, I told myself I'd get a writing track con report out within 48 hours. I might have succeeded at that if it hadn't been for the untimely and unfortunate death of my longtime friend and fellow MFF-staffer, QuasiSkunk, which threw my mind into a tailspin for a time, though at this point I have little excuse for it taking me a month. At least I am doing better than last year, which ended up taking half a year.

Like last year, the writing community came through with both panelists and panel ideas, proving once again that we have plenty of depth in the field of potential writing panelists, enough to alleviate any concern about having enough panelists if a few key people are unable to attend. Most panels drew reasonably good attendance, at least the ones I attended or peeked in on, which was most of them although I missed a few. A 10am panel was the most lightly attended I saw, probably due to the time, but the Transformation panel was the surprise of the weekend, filling the room to overcrowding despite being at 11am on Sunday.

Some things didn't go as hoped during the planning and scheduling. Due to an email mixup I missed out on reviewing any draft schedules and had to play catchup after the schedules had gone live. There were a couple of instances of panels scheduled opposite other panels and splitting the potential audience. Also, the panels were in six different rooms, and one panel that had requested a projector was in a room that didn't have one. I will continue asking to have one room assigned to the writing track for the duration of the convention, which hopefully will be easier if Dealers Den and Artists Alley move to the convention center, thus freeing up more space. I would also advocate this "one room" approach for any other programming tracks with enough panels that could use the same size panel room. On the plus side, I had requested 27 panels, expecting that a few would be cut due to space and scheduling limitations, and was pleasantly surprised that all 27 made it onto the schedule, so Kudos to the programming team for that. No one has given me a strict upper bound on how many panels the writing track can have; my operating assumption has been what I could fit in one room as discussed above.

I will be sending out a note to panelists asking for feedback on the planning process, including the breakdown of the subject area into panels, and the process of assigning panelists. My objective is to specify enough to insure all the most important topics are covered, with enough room left over to accommodate requests that come in from the field. Finally, it would be nice to know if there's someone ready and willing to take over the writing track if for any reason I am unable to continue as track lead.

A big thank you to the everyone who made the writing track a success at MFF 2016. This includes Kodi and the rest of the programming staff, MFF leadership and senior staff, the operations staff who provided the audiovisual equipment and otherwise got the rooms in order before so problems never arose in the first place, the hotel staff and liaisons, the security staff who provided volunteers to check badges for the adults-only panels. I'd especially like to thank all of the panelists who shared their expertise, everyone who attended the panels and made it worth our while. I look forward to putting on another excellent writing track at Midwest FurFest 2017.

It was the spring of 2003 when I first got on LiveJournal, and at first I didn't have a lot of friends to make connections with. Within the first few weeks I got a friend request from another LiveJournal user who was trying to make connections with other Central Illinois furry fans. This was my first contact with QuasiSkunk.

Later that year, during the holiday season, he mentioned that he and some other furries would be at an event at Wildlife Prairie Park near Peoria, and invited me to come participate. I did, and that was the first day I met Quasi in person, along with several other furries. Among them were Hazardous Roo, Cal Foxx (then known as Butterscotch Vixen), and Steve Plunkett. I don't remember who the others were that day, but I shall forever remember it as one of my first experiences when I met other furry fans in person.

That was my first time meeting QuasiSkunk. In the years that followed, I got some coaching from him about puppetry at Mephit FurMeet. One year at Midwest FurFest, I somewhat by accident walked into a panel about fursuit spotting that he was leading and found myself interested. Multiple times while attending other conventions such as Furry Connection North or Anthrocon I ran into him. He was always happy to be running the con suite, though gruff the first time I found him in the staff lounge at MFF (I think he was just messing with me since we knew each other pretty well by then).

At LAFF softball he was a worthy opponent even when the opposing team would win. And online he was always glad to speak of any occasion when he could get out and fursuit. On those occasions when I made it to CILFCO meets (and at least one PeoFurs meet) he was there, ready to enjoy the company of other furries and don his fursuit for the occasion.

Most recently I saw him at MFF 2016, helping Aragorn Wolf get around. I shall never forget what a pleasure it was to see him, chat with him, and keep in touch with him. Furmeets and furry conventions will no longer be the same now that QuasiSkunk is no longer with us. Rest in peace, my dear friend. My experience with furry would not have been the same without you, and now I can only imagine what it might have been if you had been there to continue on the journey.

Edit: The room is filled. I'll update again if I get a cancellation.

I am looking for one more roommate for Midwest Furfest. Currently there are 3 of us in the room and am looking for one more person to split the cost. Any gender/orientation is okay. Fursuits okay.

My rules are mostly simple and common sense.
Be courteous to each other. No drama. Follow the 6-2-1 rule.
Quiet when others are asleep (basically Midnight to 9am). Please keep more or less daytime hours so the housekeeping staff is able to access the room.
Please respect each other and each other's stuff, and make certain anyone you invite into the room is trustworthy and does likewise.
No smoking. No illegal recreational drugs. No drunkenness, but drinking responsibly and in moderation by persons of legal age is okay. No parties in the room.
No yiffing. I can be flexible on this if it's someone with whom you are in a relationship, but please no "pickups".
If you have 5 fursuits or several crates of merchandise (or any other large quantities of stuff) please discuss so we can make sure space won't be a problem.
If your plans change and you will not be staying in the room (or attending MFF at all), please notify me as soon as possible to give me as much time as possible to find someone else to fill the spot.

Cost - if all of us stay all 4 nights it's $152.55 per person. If I don't already know you I may request payment in advance.

Here at last, and months late, is my con report as writing track lead for Midwest Fur Fest 2015. My apologies to any who have been expectantly waiting for this report (or more likely, given up on me producing one).

When I attend a furry convention, one of the first things I do is to look over the schedule and see what panels I might like to attend. Given my particular preferences, those usually tend to include the panels on writing and literature. Midwest Furfest had inconsistent offerings in that area, usually about four or five panels, sometimes more. One year it had only one. Some years, writing wasn't even its own track but got lumped together into an Art and Literature track, and you can guess which of those most of the panels were about. A common sentiment among writers in the furry community is that they get overlooked while artists and fursuiters get the lion's share of attention, leaving us wondering what we could do to bring more visibility to writing and literature. In 2012 I attended Anthrocon and was impressed by the writing track there. They had more than 20 writing panels all held in one room dedicated to the writing track. RainFurrest, I soon found out, had become something of a writer's mecca, with even more panels than Anthrocon, and there were other furry cons that had a strong slate of writing panels. This had me wondering what it would take for Midwest Furfest to have a strong writing track.

At MFF 2014 I spoke with Kodi, the MFF programming lead, who agreed to put me in charge of the writing track. To start with, working from the writing tracks at other conventions (not only those I had attended but others whose programming schedules I was able to view online) I set an initial goal of 15 writing panels with a stretch goal of 20. The plan included coming up with a list of potential writing panels so we'd have decent coverage of the most important topics - here also I drew from the schedules of other conventions. I came up with a basic list that would cover some of the key writing topics, for which I would solicit panelists. I knew I needed to leave room for unsolicited panel submissions as well as any others the panelists I solicited came up with in addition to these.

Next step is to get panelists. I probably sent out 50 or 60 emails to potential panelists, many of them to people who had done or expressed interest in doing panels at MFF in the past, those who had done panels at other furry conventions, and some others from the Furry Writers Guild. I expected that many of these people wouldn't be attending MFF but I wouldn't know if I didn't ask and it doesn't hurt to cast a wider net; besides, it might get MFF on more people's radar as a convention to attend in the future for its writing track. I was disappointed when a couple of responses from past MFF panelists indicated they wouldn't be attending in 2015, but I needn't have worried, as I found out soon enough that we have a depth of writers in the fandom who are interested in sharing their craft by doing panels. Most who stepped up to lead panels probably would have attended MFF anyway but I know of one panelist whom I believe decided to come largely because of a desire to do panels and support the writing track. For a time I nearly had the opposite problem, as I ended up having more panelists than I needed for some panels (I was shooting for three panelists at each) and had to ask some to step back.

As for scheduling, I would have preferred to get all panels in one room, which would insure that no writing panels were scheduled opposite one another, and would effectively place an upper limit on the number of panels that could be scheduled over the course of the weekend. This would also facilitate bringing my own whiteboard and any other supplies, as well as making it a good place to spread any swag or flyers that are particularly geared toward writing and literature enthusiasts, and would make a better case to request a specific room configuration (I had hoped to get the room in a classroom configuration (chairs and rectangular forward-facing tables)). Ideally it would in the mind of attendees become the room to go to for writing panels, the 'writing track room', so to speak. Unfortunately it didn't work out that way, and the panels were split between three rooms with some of them scheduled at the same time, and for most of the weekend they were in theater configuration (rows of forward-facing chairs), though I'll concede that a few panels were well enough attended that we made good use of the additional seating capacity of the theater configuration.

During the weekend I was concerned that my activity might be seen as 'helicoptering', though in reality I attended many panels simply because I was interested in them as a writer. In fact I discovered (both there and at RF a couple of months earlier) that I reach a saturation point on writing content and somewhat feel like I've missed out on all the other fun stuff I could have been doing at the convention. In 2016 I probably will take more time to do just that.

There was one instance brought to my attention of bad chemistry between panelists, so this year I may have to who not to assign to the same panels. Only a couple of other minor issues came up over the weekend. The magnetic locks on the panel room doors were a nuisance throughout the weekend, and in one case, a projector was removed from a room when I knew there was a panel coming up later in the day. Con ops got the projector back in time for the panel, so kudos to them for that. They said they're aware of the magnetic lock issue but there isn't a way to shut them off and maybe this year we'll get some good doorstops that will allow the doors to close most of the way (to block out outside noise) without the locks engaging.

Based on my experience at MFF2015, I think 20 panels is a good number to shoot for. If programming gets more function space for smaller panels I might try for 30 but as long as we are limited to what we had in 2015 I'll keep the target at 20, and might even have to dial that back some if some of the other programming tracks want to schedule more panels. I'm also aware that the Kodi and the other programming and convention leadership have a lot to deal with and if I'm going to make requests or suggestions, I don't want to pile on more work for them, and if anything should try to make their jobs easier.

Finally, while my primary task is to get a good slate of writing panels on the MFF schedule, I have a secondary objective of promoting writing and literature in the furry fandom. Toward this objective, some of the things I would like to see are to get at least one story in the conbook, a writer guest of honor (the last time we had one was 2007, if you don't count inviting all the past GOHs back in 2009). We have the furry small press, of which all of the 'big three' (Sofawolf, FurPlanet, and Rabbit Valley), have been dealers at MFF the last few years (and panelists too). I'd like to think I'm doing my part to drive more business to them and other publishers in the fandom, both in terms of purchases from MFF attendees and submissions to future publications.

To all who read this far (and waited this long), thank you for bearing with me. As the time grows near to start kicking preparations for MFF 2016 into high gear, I hope some of you will join me for the ride.

It looks like I'm about to have an interesting couple of months. I've just been cast in a local production of "Little Shop of Horrors". I'm going to be the puppeteer for Audrey II, in addition to some minor/ensemble roles.

Two months ago I submitted this post containing a list of a dozen or so furry conventions closest to my hometown, which was also submitted to  cilfco, the local furry group, to include in one of their community posts.

Since then I've toyed with the idea of creating a tool that anyone could use to produce a similar list, wherever you live. I now have a beta version of just such a tool. Please check it out by clicking on the following link.

Furry convention locator

I'd be interested in hearing any comments, suggestions, or bug reports you may have.

Imagine a couple where the wife drives 90% of the time. She complains that her husband should drive more, but whenever he does, she nags and hounds him and complains about his driving. Arguments ensue, with the most common outcome being that she ends up back in the driver's seat.

That was my ex-wife and I, except it wasn't about driving. That's what parenting was like in my marriage.

Submitted to the  cilfco group; reposting here for the benefit of any others from the area who may be interested.

Don't ask me why, but I had the urge to compile a list of the nearest furry conventions to Bloomington/Normal, IL. Some of you may be thinking of going to a couple of furry conventions this year but you're not sure which ones, or what your options are, so as a public service to the CILFCO community, I have compiled this list, which I'm fairly sure includes everything within 500 miles (but if you know of any I missed, I'd be interested in hearing about them). I hope some of you find this helpful.

The distances were generated with Google Maps, using a location on the west side of Bloomington near the intersection of Market Street and I-55/74.

A couple of these are iffy as far as whether they qualify as conventions. One of these happens to be the closest, but it's only a day long, basically a glorified New Years Eve party, so I'll get it out of the way
New Year's Eve Con (123 miles) - Oak Brook, IL Dec. 31, 2015-Jan. 1 2016 http://newyearsevecon.com/

The rest I'll count down in order from farthest to closest.

These two, listed for completeness, are just a little beyond 500 miles, still drivable in a single day.
Anthrocon (531 miles) Pittsburgh, PA July 9-12, 2015 http://www.anthrocon.org/
Fangcon (530 miles) Knoxville, TN Oct. 30-Nov.1, 2015 http://fangcon.org/

Bubbling under the top ten, only about 8 miles farther than #10, is a personal favorite. Started in 1997, this is the longest-running convention on this list.
11. Mephit Fur Meet (469 miles) Olive Branch, MS Sept. 4-6, 2015 http://www.mephitfurmeet.org/

Coming in at #10 is a con that's only been around a couple of years, taking place in the other twin cities.
10. Furry Migration (461 miles) Minneapolis, MN Aug. 28-30, 2015 http://www.furrymigration.org/

I'm going to call the next two a tie, as they are so close that which one is closer depends on what part of town you're measuring from.
One is Missouri's first furry convention, started only about 3 years ago.
8T. F3 Convention (372 miles) Springfield, MO Nov. 20-22, 2015 (tentative) http://f3convention.wix.com/f3con

The other is well-known to our community, the successor to Furry Connection North.
8T. Motor City Furry Con (371 miles) Novi, MI Apr. 8-11, 2016 https://motorcityfurrycon.org/

Some of you may not have heard of this one, but it's been going since 2003.
7. AnthrOhio (formerly Morphicon) (355 miles) Columbus, OH Apr. 30-May 3, 2015 http://www.morphicon.org/

Up next is another Ohio entry.
6. Fur Reality (293 miles) Cincinatti, OH Oct. 9-11, 2015 http://www.furreality.org/

Now comes the other entry that I'm not sure qualifies as a convention, a lodge event that's not so much a convention as a gathering of friends.
*. FurConsin (291 miles) Wautoma, WI Oct. 8-12, 2015 http://www.furconsin.com/

Getting closer now. Another Michigan convention is up next.
5. Great Lakes Fur Con (281 miles) Grand Rapids, MI May 22-24, 2015 http://greatlakesfurcon.com/

Now we're getting well into LAFF territory. The drives are getting shorter.
4. Fur Squared (210 miles) Brookfield, WI Feb. 26-28, 2016 http://www.fursquared.com/

Another one very familiar to our community.
3. IndyFurCon (180 miles) Indianapolis, IN Aug. 14-16, 2015 https://indyfurcon.com/

How many of you thought IFC was second closest? Perhaps you didn't know about the next, now in its second year.
2. Gateway Fur Meet (160 miles) St. Louis, MO May 8-10, 2015 http://gatewayfurmeet.org/

And to no one's surprise, the nearest (until we have a furry con in central Illinois)
1. Midwest FurFest (130 miles) Rosemont, IL Dec. 4-6, 2015 http://www.furfest.org/

If you can't make it to any of these, there's always CILFCO meets, CHUFF coffee, and LAFF softball. Until then, safe travels!

A few days ago I posted that I needed a room for Midwest FurFest, preferably at the Hyatt. By luck or whatever, I managed to reserve a room, so now I'm in the opposite position. This is for Thursday 12/4 arrival, Monday 12/8 departure (or possibly Sunday 12/7 - see below).

My rules are mostly simple and common sense.
Be courteous to each other. No drama. Follow the 6-2-1 rule.
Quiet when others are asleep (basically Midnight to 9am). Please keep more or less daytime hours so the housekeeping staff is able to access the room.
Please respect each other and each other's stuff, and make certain anyone you invite into the room is trustworthy and does likewise.
No smoking. No illegal recreational drugs. No drunkenness, but drinking responsibly and in moderation by persons of legal age is okay. No parties in the room.
No yiffing. I can be flexible on this if two of you are a couple, but definitely no "pickups".
Fursuits okay, but if you have 5 of them (or any other large quantities of stuff) please discuss so we can make sure space won't be a problem.

Cost - if I get 4 people all 4 nights it's $143 per person. If I get two roommates who would prefer to keep it to 3 people and don't mind paying extra, it'll be $190. If I don't already know you I'll probably expect payment in advance.

I currently have the room reserved until Monday but if I get enough potential roommates who plan to leave Sunday I might cancel the last night and head home late Sunday. In that case, the cost drops to $107 if there's 4 of us, $143 if there are 3.

UPDATE - I was able to reserve a room - see this post if you're looking for a room at MFF. But I'll leave this up for now - if I get an offer to roomshare with someone else and don't have any roommates yet, I can cancel the reservation.

A query for my watchers - if you're going to MFF and staying at the Hyatt, do you have room for one more? Do you know of someone you trust who has space in their room? I am looking for room space.

I will be arriving Thursday, departing Sunday or Monday. I have my own air mattress that I can use if necessary, don't smoke, won't get drunk but may do some moderate drinking. I prefer a room that has no parties (including "private parties") and stays within the hotel's 4-person limit, and wouldn't mind paying extra if there's only 3 in the room. I follow the 6-2-1 rule. I'm okay rooming with people of any gender or orientation as long as they respect each other and their stuff, are careful who they invite into the room, and keep more or less daytime hours and are quiet when others are asleep.

Which Disney princesses would you like to see turned into superheroes and teamed up to fight crime?

This morning at church, my furdar went off. I saw a guy who appeared to be high school or college age wearing a T-shirt with a raccoon wearing glasses (I think it was a raccoon; may have been a fox). I wanted to ask if he was a furry but didn't know how to approach him.

A few years ago when I purchased my first mp3 player and started comparing features between different brands and models, two of the features I knew wanted were gapless and ReplayGain, believing that both were likely pretty standard on most players by then, and was surprised to discover how sporadic support for those two features was. Once I found out Rockbox had both, I immediately narrowed my selection to those that would support both. Long story short, I purchased a Sansa Fuze, Rockboxed it, and life was good.

Recently I became obsessed with creating a playlist of all my favorite songs. I'd been favoriting songs on last.fm for quite some time and had accumulated a list of over 3000 songs, but I had never created a playlist from them. Pulling all of those out of my much larger music library (often having to identify the best of several copies of a song) took many hours but I finally finished it a little over a week ago.

There was one more most wanted feature I had not only not found on any mp3 player, but in any computer music player either, and that is the ability to group two or more tracks that are part of a song suite or multi-part song to be played as a singular unit, yet be able to include them in a longer playlist and leave these groups intact when shuffling the playlist.

Back to Rockbox - with a couple of queries I found out there's a folder shuffle feature that would provide this capability. It shuffles the order it selects the folders but within each folder it plays the tracks through in order. By putting each song suite/group together in its own folder, and putting all the singular tracks each in its own folder, and shuffling the folders, it shuffles the whole playlist while keeping the grouped songs together and in order.

With over 3000 tracks I had to order a 32G microSD card to hold it. Foobar has file operations that made short work of the task of moving each singular (non-grouped) track, which was most of them, to its own folder (I am told there are other programs I could have done this with as well). A few needed tag edits, and the grouped songs requires some manual work, but it all didn't take long. Once the folders were all set up the way I needed on my computer, I plugged in the Fuze and used a file sync program to copy them to the microSD card, which was about 70% full. Sure, I could have just used Windows copy, but I figured there are likely to be changes, tweaks, new favorites added, etc., and using a file sync program will greatly simplify the task of keeping the player current with the "master copy" on the computer.

So the player is all loaded, I plug it into the aux jack on my car stereo, and wallah!, I have my own private radio station, with over 3000 of my favorites on random shuffle! It's been my commuting music for the last week and so far it's been wonderful, if interesting. I have a road trip coming up during which I'll be spending a few days on the road. If my math is correct, I'm not going to get even halfway through the playlist.

I'm working on plans to attend Anthrocon and I need to get a room. Does anyone here on my friends list have a room and need roommates?

I'll be arriving Thrusday 7/3, departing Monday 7/7. I'm okay with and prefer the usual courtesies: 6-2-1 rule; respect each other's property and be certain any friends you invite into the room do also; no parties; no smoking; no illegal recreational drugs; alcohol okay if responsibly and in moderation by persons of legal age. I'm okay with any gender or orientation. If at the Hampton I will be taking advantage of the free parking.

Yes, I know about the room share board on AC's website but I wanted to ask here first to increase the chances of getting in with someone I already know.

No comment on the state of things on FA - I'll be sticking around here for the time being but since it seems to be the thing to do these days, here is were else I may be found. The SoFurry account is newly registered - you'd think I would have done so a long time ago, what with me being a writer and SoFurry being the most writer-oriented of the major furry websites, but better late than never - so at this writing there isn't anything there yet but I plan to remedy that in the days ahead.

Weasyl: http://www.weasyl.com/~mwalimu
SoFurry: http://mwalimu.sofurry.com/
deviantArt: http://mwalimu.deviantart.com/ (not used much)
Inkbunny: http://inkbunny.net/mwalimu (not used much)
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jemccauley

I have a personal webpage, though I haven't updated it in a couple of years. It may be found at:
http://www.lionking.org/~mwalimu/

I won't try to write a full-on con report for Midwest FurFest, so I'll just stick to a few odds and ends.

Between stuff that happened at work that morning and a long traffic delay en route, I was pretty stressed out when I first arrived and had to immediately report to reg. Rama was kind enough to put me on badges instead of a terminal. Within an hour or so I was getting into much more of a con spirit and would have done okay on the terminals after all. All told, I spent about 14 hours working registration over the weekend.

My list of friends who were there that I would like to have chatted with but I never once saw them is currently up to four:  CmdrKitsune,  DashaRhosenwyn,  Doctor_Fox, and  was1.

MFF really really needs to get a stronger writing and literature track.

That said, it was an awesome con experience overall. I got to talk to a lot of people and got better acquainted with some I had known only in passing. I know of at least two other males I am totally comfortable snuggling with, even though I'm straight and there is no expectation that it will lead to anything more. All three of my roommates ( sawblade5,  Dyandod, and  Maglot) are now on my "would gladly room with again" list.

3,825 attendees! That puts MFF ahead of Further Confusion once again. Anybody want to give odds on whether FC will once again leapfrog MFF to become second largest? I'm giving MFF 3 to 1 odds in favor of staying ahead this time around.

1. Name a movie that you have seen more than 10 times:
The Lion King

2. Name a movie that you've seen multiple times in a theater:
Patton

3. Name an actor that would make you more inclined to see a movie:
Bill Murray

4. Name an actor that would make you less likely to see a movie:
Tom Green

5. Name a movie that you can quote from:
The Princess Bride (but I think that's one of those universally most quotable movies).

6. Name a movie musical that you know all the lyrics to all the songs:
Technically, I could truthfully answer that I know the lyrics to all the songs in any movie that doesn't have any songs, but I'll be nice and say The Lion King. I know most of the songs in The Sound of Music but there's a couple I'm not sure about

7. Name a movie musical that you have been known to sing along with:
Many, including the two named above. Also The Music Man.

8. Name a movie that you would recommend everyone see:
Groundhog Day, Second Hand Lions

9. Name an unusual movie that you own:
Bagi. There's an obscure early 80s comedy entitled Serial I keep meaning to order but keep forgetting to

10. Name an actor that launched his/her entertainment career in another medium but who has surprised you with his/her acting chops:
Reba McEntire

11. Have you ever seen a movie in a drive-in?:
Several, including Unforgiven and one of the Harry Potter movies

12. Ever made out in a movie?:
I probably did with my ex before we got married, but I really don't remember

13. Name a movie that you keep meaning to see but just haven't gotten around to it:
Avatar

14. Ever walked out of a movie:
Yes, a few times. One was a really bad movie version of the classic novel Fanny Hill

15. Name a movie that made you cry:
The 1972 version of The Lorax (I haven't seen the 2012 version)

16. Popcorn?:
Not for what movie theaters charge for the stuff, but I enjoy it at home or elsewhere

17. How often do you go to the movies?:
Lately, about once a year

18. What's the last movie you saw in the theatre?:
Offhand, I can't think of any I've been to since The Lion King 3D reissue a year or two ago.

19. What is your favorite/preferred genre of movie?:
Comedy

20. What was the first movie you remember seeing in the theatre?:
Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree

One of the biggest controversies the last few years in the US is the so called Affordable Care Act, what many refer to as Obamacare. I have a confession to make, and that is that I have never really read up on the ACA closely enough to have a strong opinion one way or the other on it. One thing I do know is that there is a lot of rhetoric flying around about it, and a lot of it is half-truths and outright lies. Maybe the biggest reason I haven't looked at it that closely is that it can be difficult to sort out the facts from the propaganda.

Having not looked at it that closely, I do know that one of the most important criteria for me will be what this so-called Affordable Care Act is actually doing to make health care more Affordable. That is, what do they really mean by "Affordable"?

A huge complaint of mine about living in the USA is how ridiculously high medical costs have gotten in this country. It seems as though the largest medical providers, while they will gladly discuss how people will pay for it, or who will pay for it, tend to deflect questions like 'Why does it cost so much?" and "Why do medical costs keep going up faster than inflation?" and "What are you doing to make health care more affordable?"

There's that word again. Affordable. And that brings us back to the Affordable Care Act. When they talk about making health care affordable, do they mean in terms of what the average person has to pay out of pocket to receive health care, or do they mean the total cost that has to be paid by somebody somewhere? One of the first things you learn in economics is that there are no free lunches. If you eat lunch and didn't pay for it, somebody somewhere had to pay the cost of that lunch.

Any good, effective act that's supposed to make health care affordable absolutely, positively must address the issue of how to bring the total, ultimate cost of health care under control, regardless of who pays that cost. If all it does is shift the cost of that care onto employers, health insurers, or the government, it is a stopgap measure at best and it fails to address the real issue of making health care affordable. It might be "affordable" for now in terms of what I pay directly, but in the end the cost of that care comes back around to all of us. If employers pay it, they have to cover that cost by charging their customers higher prices and paying their employees less. If insurance companies pay it, they have to charge higher premiums. If the government pays it, they have to raise taxes, cut costs elsewhere, or go into debt. Just because I'm not paying for it directly doesn't mean I'm not paying for it in other ways. There are no free lunches.

And that is at the crux of the issue. If all the Affordable Care Act does is to perpetuate this shell game of "Who will pay for it" while the medical providers get to go back to their boardrooms and discuss how much to raise their prices next year, then all the ACA has accomplished is to ignore the real problem long enough for it to get worse. As I said at the beginning, I haven't engaged in the herculean task of sorting out the good information from the bad, so I'm going to beg off on calling it good or bad. But I already know what will likely be my deciding factor.

Just thought y'all should know...

Everybody talks about bodies, about what makes a good body. We look at others (whether we admit it or not) and obsess over our own. Very few of us have perfect bodies, but most of us have bodies that are reasonably good looking by some standards. Most of us have scars, birthmarks, some extra pounds, or other characteristics considered by some to be flaws. Some flaws are on the inside, such as diabetes, asthma, or other diseases. So here are a couple of my thoughts on what makes someone attractive.

If you feel good about yourself and act like it, I find that very attractive. If you hate your body, that's unattractive. How you carry yourself, how you dress yourself, how you present yourself, how you talk about yourself, all speak volumes about your self-image, No matter what kind of body you have, some people will find it attractive. One of those people should be you.

If your body is not as good as it could be in ways you can do something about, if you're making a reasonable effort to take care of your body, improve it where it can be improved and keeping the problems you don't have yet away, that's attractive. That may amount to watching what you eat and drink, exercise and activity, and watching your appearance. If you're not even trying and acting resigned to the body you're stuck with, that's unattractive.

Many of you are probably familiar with the serenity prayer: "Lord, give me the courage to change the things I can, the serenity to accept the things I cannot, and the wisdom to know the difference." Whether you believe in God or not, it's a good way to approach how we feel about our bodies and what we do with them.

Recently I came across a post on [adjective][species] written by Phil Geusz, aka Rabbit, entitled Of Rabbits and Rayguns ( http://adjectivespecies.com/2012/12.....s-and-rayguns/ ), in which he discusses the comments his work has received on amazon.com. While the majority of the comments have been overwhelmingly positive, a vocal minority find the notion of a story told from the viewpoint of an uplifted rabbit utterly repulsive and impossible to stomach. One of the responses to that post was from an anthro artist going by the name of Scale, who describes a similar reaction to his anthro art at public showings. As I read this, something clicked in my mind, something to do with my ex-wife and the issues that led to our getting divorced.

My ex had no particular problem with anthropomorphism in general. She liked many of the same animated films I did, including several classic Disney films and some others that featured anthropomorphic characters. She was well aware of my interest in The Lion King, which lasted from 1995 to 1998 before morphing into an interest in furry works in general. I read a lot of published furry literature and became interested in several webcomics, such as Kevin & Kell and Faux Pas. I ordered print editions of some of these comics and related works, which were circulated around the family.

I was also reading non-published works online, and some of these works were decidedly very adult-oriented. I had to do so discretely, in large part because we had a single family computer at the time and at least one of our children had figured out how to go snooping in the web browser cache. This also somewhat inadvertently resulted in my wife not being exposed to this activity. Now any of you who have been in a long-term relationship know that you need to trust one another implicitly; you can't expect your significant other to report back to you on every little detail of your time and activities. But that only goes so far, and beyond a certain point it becomes obligatory to keep your significant other apprised of what you're involved in. Failure to do so amounts to keeping secrets and hiding things. I admit fault on this score. I wasn't that heavily into adult works, but it was enough that I should have made her more aware of it.

At times during in our marriage, we experimented with ways to spice things up. Among the things we did on occasion were reading and sharing adult stories, watching adult videos, and so forth (nothing we tried involved third parties, as we both agreed that was strictly out of bounds). We didn't do any of these things frequently - for example, I could probably count on one hand the number of adult video rentals - but it was either because they didn't do much for us, or due to other practicalities. She did not, as far as I know, find these things to be morally wrong or inherently objectionable.

Thus, between our past experimentation and her acceptance and occasional sharing of my interest in anthropomorphics, I had good reason to believe she wouldn't find anything wrong with adult anthropomorphic works.

Boy was I wrong!

When it finally came out, I admitted being in the wrong about keeping too much hidden from her, and for that I did my penance. But her reaction to the material itself caught me completely by surprise! Remember that [adjective][species] post mentioned above? Her reaction to the idea of anthros in adult situations was a lot like the reactions of people discussed in that post. It was disgusting and revolting to her to such a degree that she could not stand the thought that I actually liked some of this material. She said that to her, it was bestiality. I explained to her at some length why it wasn't and what set it apart from bestiality, and she basically dismissed my arguments and said that to her it was the same thing.

To give another example, among my other favorite works of furry literature was Lisanne Norman's Sholan Alliance series. While I knew my wife wasn't that interested in most of the (mostly non-adult) furry literature I was reading at the time, I convinced her to read this series in the hope that it could become a topic of mutual interest. To give a bit of a spoiler, the storyline involves a human female and an felinoid alien male who unexpectedly form a mind link that includes a sexual compulsion. To my wife, it seemed obvious that this was a problem for which a satisfying resolution must surely include the characters being freed from this link, and she found it distasteful that the characters instead learned to accept the mind link and ultimately come to regard it as a good thing. She stopped reading partway through the third book.

Over time after the issue arose, the scope of what she found distasteful gradually widened. Even mildly suggestive works became offensive. She didn't like me visiting furry websites, even relatively safe ones where I might only occasionally be exposed to more adult material, and she was very reluctant to allow me to attend a furry convention. Eventually she wanted me to give up furry fandom altogether.

There were other issues I believe were far more substantial that led to our divorce. Parenting, money, and whether to relocate are three of them that come to mind. But the furry issue continued to be the most inflammatory up to the time we gave up attempts to reconcile the relationship. We were married for more than twenty years, and one of the things I've said many times is that we had many good years together before the marriage went bad. I still love the person she was when I married her. I don't love the person she had become by the time I divorced her, and based on the limited interaction I've had with her since then, she has since become even more unreasonable, more controlling, and more difficult to deal with. Looking back now, several years later, it's more obvious that this personality shift over time, played out not only in her handling of my furry interests but over several other conflicts, was primarily what drove me to decide I was better off getting out of the relationship than trying to make it work. If furry stuff, adult or otherwise, hadn't been the flashpoint, something else would have been, and it's probably a good thing for my sanity that I got out when I did.

It's been a while since I did one of these. Snagged from  wildbilltx...

1. Had sex? I was married for over 20 years. Need I say more?
2. Bought Condoms? Yes.
3. Gotten somebody Pregnant? Yes, my ex and I have three children.
4. Failed A Class? Not that I recall
5. Kissed A Boy? If family members count, yes.
6. Kissed A Girl? Yes.
7. Used A Little Paper Bag for Lunch? Yes.
8. Had A Job? Yes.
9. Slipped On Ice? Yes.
10. Missed The School Bus? Yes.
11. Fucked a girl? I'm divorced with three children.
12. Bullied Someone On The Internet? No.
13. Sexted? Yes.
14. Sex In Public? No.
15. Played On A Sports Team? Yes, 5th grade basketball.
16. Smoked Weed? Did it several times in college
17. Smoked Cigarettes? Nope.
18. Smoked A Cigar? Yes.
19. Drank Alcohol? I'm a beer enthusiast.
20. Watched porn? Yes.
21. Skipped class? Never when I shouldn't have, but I did on numerous occasions in college when attendance wasn't mandatory.
22. Gotten Arrested? No.
23. Done meth? No, and I wouldn't have a clue where to find any. (No, I don't want to know.)
24. Been To A Wedding? Many, including my own.
25. Fell in love with a best friend? No.
26. Been On The Computer For 5 Hours Straight? I spend the majority of my waking hours doing something on a computer.
27. Watched TV For 5 Hours Straight? Yes.
28. Been Late For Work? Yes.
29. Been Late For School? Yes.
30. Kissed In The Rain? Not that I recall.
31. Showered With Someone Else? Yes.
32. Failed My Drivers Test? No.
33. Cheated on a ex? Nope, never did.
34. Been Outside My Home Country? No, but I hope to.
35. Been On A Road Trip Longer Than 5 Hours? Many times.
36. Had Lice? Thankfully, no.
37. Gotten My Heart Broken? Not sure. I thought I was heartbroken when I separated from my wife, but now I'm not so sure.
38. Had A Credit Card? I have a few now and have had others in the past.
39. Been To A Professional Sports Game? Several baseball games.
40. Broken A Bone? No.
41. Am I Bi/Gay/Lesbian? I'm between 0.5 and 1 on the Kinsey scale.
42. Won A Trophy? Yes, a few times.
43. Cut Myself Unintentionally? Probably. I don't remember any specific occasions.
44. Had An STD? No.
45. Got Engaged? Yes.
46. Done ecstasy? No.
47. Tried Out To Be On A TV Show? No.
48. Rode In A Taxi? A few times.
49. Been To Prom? Unfortunately, no. I wanted to.
50. Played A Drinking Game? Not that I recall.
51. Stayed Up For 24 Hours Or More? Yes.
52. Been To A Concert? Many while I was in college, only a few since then.
53. Had A Three-Some? No.
54. Had A Crush On Someone Of The Same Sex? No.
55. Been In A Car Accident? Yes.
56. Had Braces? No.
57. Learned Another Language? I've had classes in Spanish and German, but never became fluent in either.
58. Killed An Animal? Yes.
59. Been At A Yard Sale? Yes.
60. Been To A Japanese Steakhouse? Yes.
61. Wore Make Up? When it was part of a costume, yes.
62. Talked To Someone Via Webcam? Yes.
63. Lost My Virginity Before I Was 16? No.
64. Had My Wisdom Teeth Taken Out? Nope, still have all four of mine.
65. Kissed Someone A Different Race Than Myself? Not romantically.
66. Snuck Out Of The House? Probably, though I don't recall any specifics.
67. Bought Porn? Yes.
68. Had A Virus On My Computer? Yes.
69. Had Oral Sex? Yes.
70. Dyed My Hair? No.
71. Gone Skinny Dipping? Yes, at least once as a child.
72. Graduated From College? Yes, University of Illinois College of Engineering.
73. Wore Someone Else’s Clothes? Yes.
74. Voted In A Presidential Election? Yes.
75. Rode In An Ambulance? No.
76. Rode In A Helicopter? No.
77. Caught The Stove On Fire? Yes. Splashed some oil while making hash browns.
78. Got In A Verbal Fight? Yes, both with family and with my now-ex-wife.
79. Met Someone Famous? All five members of REO Speedwagon, beer author Michael Jackson (not to be confused with the pop singer), and probably a few others I'm forgetting.
80. Been On Vacation? Many times.
82. Been On A Boat? Yes.
81. Been On An Airplane? Yes.
83. Broken Something Expensive? Yes.
84. Had Surgery? Not major surgery. Got fixed in 1994; corn removal in the early 2000s.
85. Beat A Video Game? One from the standup arcade days (Crazy Climber) and several from game systems.
86. Found Something Valuable On The Ground? I once found a lost purse, which I turned in at the store I found it at without looking inside.
87. Made A Survey? No.
88. Stalked Someone On A Social Network? No
89. Prank Called Someone? Not that I recall.
90. Been To A Library Outside Of School? Yes, many times.
91. Spent Over $100 Shopping In One Day? Yes.
92. Cut My Hair And Hated It? Not as an adult.
93. Peed Outside? Yes, in the woods and on numerous other occasions.
94. Went Fishing? Yes. For a couple of years I tried to get interested in it but couldn't.
95. Helped With Charity? Yes.
96. Taken A Pregnancy Test? Why would I?
97. Been Rejected By A Crush? A couple of times in high school and college.
98. Been Suspended From School? No.
99. Broken a mirror? Not that I recall.
100. Thrown up on someone? No..
101. Lied to your parents? Doesn't every child do that at least a few times.

It looks like I am set for attending FCN next month. I have a roomshare set up with  tigerpaw and his mate, and I am now preregistered at the sponsor level. If anyone reading this would be interested in a rideshare from central Illinois, please reply or note me.

Unless I have a change in plans, I'll be attending the same three conventions this year that I attended in 2011 (FCN, MFM, MFF). No AC for me this year. Starting next year I will get an additional week of vacation per year from my employer, which I had decided a while back would be the trigger for increasing my annual convention attendance to four.