Hmm...
Currently very tempted to take the overnight bus to London for the Londonfurs Summer Weekender event on Saturday 20th. Bus there, then fly home Sunday.
Or maybe I should just save my energy for EF in a few weeks.
Decisions... decisions...

Stolen from... everybody.

I was going to wait a few more weeks before posting this but since everyone else is doing it now...


Where are you staying?

This year I'll be at the Intercity hotel. I waited too long to register and missed out on a place at the Maritim.

Means of transportation?

I'll be flying into Berlin Schönefeld and taking the train the rest of the way.

When are you arriving/leaving?

I'll be getting there on Tuesday 20th August and leaving on Monday 26th.

Sharing a room with:

I'll be with  albus

What is your gender?

Willy.

Relationship Status:

Single.

How old are you?

35

How tall are you?

About 5 foot 7.

Which languages do you speak?

I'm one of those monolingual English speaking types. I know a tiny bit of Gaelic, but not much really.

Where will you be most of the time during the day?

Everywhere - wandering the con to see what I can see.

Who will you be with?

Hopefully lots of people, both old faces and new. There's one or two people I need to make a point of saying hi to.

Do you do free art?

I rarely draw these days.

Do you do trades?

See above.

Do you do commissions?

Like anyone would pay for my stuff.

Do you have prints/ CDs?

Yes - but they've all got other people's stuff on them. :-P

What suit(s) will you have?

Peaches!

Can I dance with you?

Clomp clomp clomp...

Can I touch you?

That depends on how fluffy you are.

Can I talk to you?

You better! Don't let me come home and see any "I saw you but was too shy to say hello" messages

Can I hug you?

Of course - but not if you've got a cigarette in your hand. Or anything greasy.

Can I take photos of you/with you?

Of course - in fact I demand it.

Can I buy you lots of drinks?

Soft drinks only, if you want.

Do you drink Alcohol/Smoke?

I don't drink or smoke.

Can I give you lots of money?

Why? Want to get rid of the evidence before the cops find out you robbed the Group 4 van?

Can I hug or snuggle with you?

That will depend very much on who you are.

Can we hang out?

Again, depends on who you are - but I tend to like everyone. Except that guy.

Are you nice?

I try to be.

Other cons you may go to?

Midwest Furfest in November and, if all goes according to plan, I hope to be at Further Confusion in January.

Attending any events?

The fursuit parade for sure.

How can I find you at the con?

Big orange and cream goat with massive hooves. Or failing that, overweight balding guy with camera.

Can we go out for a dinner?

That will depend - there's a few folk I'd really like to have dinner with. I probably won't move too far from the hotel, though - I don't like the thought of missing anything. I guess I'll be eating at Crazy Chicken a lot.

Are you buying art?

I rarely buy much stuff these days.

What do I have to watch out for, when I am meeting you?

Just come up and say hi.

What is the best way to contact you?

Throw something at me.

May I kidnap you to my room?

No, that ain't happening.

You look pretty tired, are you ok?

I tend to stay up late at cons, plus a lot of fursuiting can wear me out.

Last time/last con/last meet/last chat we talked so much and now you forgot my name? Why???

I try to remember everyone but sometimes I just fail.

Will you tell me your room-number and can I surprise visit you?

I don't spend much time in my room at cons - normally only for sleeping or changing into fursuit.

I have a personal question for the convention. May I ask you that?

Just ask now!

Over the past couple of days I've added an additional 150 or so photos to my Confuzzled gallery:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/finbar.....7633959618254/
They'll be the ones nearer the end.

Actually, it might be easier to see the new ones by just going here - they'll be my most recent uploads ( until I upload something else, but that probably won't be until after EF ):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/finbarzapek/

One of the nights at Confuzzled I briefly ran into Pepper the green goat:
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3869524/
Did anyone get a photo of our suits together? Or have you seen one?
I haven't been able to track any pics ( if they exist ) down yet.
If anyone finds one, please throw me a link.

Again, these are pretty short:

A couple more clips of Splenda firing arrows at Snitcher:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYqV.....nFu7qb8Pu2oV4Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiZh.....nFu7qb8Pu2oV4Q

Rocky Raccoon & Tenderpaws exiting an elevator ( very brief ):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8LO.....nFu7qb8Pu2oV4Q

Rocky Raccoon wandering the hotel late at night:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RbS.....nFu7qb8Pu2oV4Q

And finally, some more footage of Emberkomodog's Roswita:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_oG.....nFu7qb8Pu2oV4Q

Here's my gallery of fursuit photos from the small gathering we had in Houston this past weekend:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/finbar.....7634340416913/
Hopefully it'll give you all an idea of the fun that was to be had.
For any of you guys who were there, feel free to repost.

Also, for those who are interested, here's my photo gallery ( non fursuit ) from Colorado:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/finbar.....7634343903888/

Just got home today from my US trip where  andyfox and myself took in Rocky Mountain National Park followed by a weekend in Houston, Texas.
Colorado was what I expected it to be - lots of snowy peaks, forests, fast moving rivers, and clear mountain lakes that were a total bitch to hike to. The views were worth it, though.
There were many chipmunks, prairie dogs, coyote pups, and aggressive elk that wanted to kill me ( and would have, too, had I not been able to run faster than Andy ). Saw plenty of signs warning hikers of bears and mountain lions, but saw neither. Good eating, too - Rocky Mountain Oysters ( bull's testicles! ), elk steak and bison burgers.
After a week of hiking, both myself and Andy were looking forward to a more relaxed spell in Houston - a part of the trip that pretty much turned into a mini-con. We met up with  ludwiggoff and were subsequently joined by  RNcoyote,  ruvik,  Taigitsune,  Falconpunch,  DarkDragon23,  sebastian_coco_foxy,  breakdown101, &  ralenys
For three days we pretty much had a con atmosphere complete with large hotel room, very late nights, lots of random and fun chat, not to mention several fursuits. And some serious facial hair.
Many thanks to everyone who joined us - you were all fantastic and a very friendly bunch.
Extra special thanks to Ludwig and Taigitsune for the rides, Ruvik for the discount on my new Under Armor, and to Ralenys for the lovely surprise pic of Speckle.
A really enjoyable trip.

Seems I'm only back from Confuzzled and I'm already set to head off again.
For the next two weeks I'll be away in Boulder & Estes Park, Colorado, followed by a short stay in Houston, Texas.
Will be travelling with  AndyFox and then meeting up with  ludwiggoff in Houston.
Any comments or notes I'll respond to when I get home on June 25th.
Until then - farewell.

I took a few videos during Confuzzled - not great ( I feel a lot happier taking still shots than video ), but maybe some people might like a look. Since it takes so long for me to upload footage to Youtube, I tend to keep my videos pretty short.

Bouncing arrows off an otter's belly:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFcgqc3emzc

Emberkomodog in action as Roswita:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wwd4q8bP3XM

Brok and some other suiters waving at traffic:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW0ns_bRc94

Some blatant cheating during musical chairs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TW2IDmLDw9g

Ári being cute:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcEZXrpBvAY

A very short clip of Ári jumping off a table:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UioN8YAC38

Sera's experiment with Diet Coke and a packet of Mentos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1bxyGDEIrQ

Just like last year, Cfz 2013 was a fantastic experience.
This little con punches far above it's weight and is now one of the best in the world. If 2014 is as good as the last two then I might have to reclassify that as THE best in the world. It's that good.
I was there 6 nights total, including both early arrival and late departure, and during that time I met dozens and dozens of nice folk who made the con an utterly special experience.
Many special thanks to  Ant,  darkstud88,  baccala30,  arlowryarda,  pegla,  tenderpaws,  rocky_raccoon_uk,  shadowulf,  shenson,  Flintgf,  evilsquirrel,  thunderbunny &  lightningbunny, plus many, many others.
And let's not forget  lizard-guy, who was a superb roomie.
I also got to watch some fine suiters in action, including Emejn, Blastdav, Deezlberries, Skittles, Snuggle Bunny, Yagfox, & Emberkomodog ( who did a fine job taking care of all the fursuit stuff ).
The only downside is that I never got to see Vin Weasel, who was apparently there.

Sadly, this was the final Cfz at The Hinckley Island Hotel, possibly the finest con location I've ever stayed at. Next year the con moves to a Hilton near Birmingham airport, so hopefully the magic will follow.

Over 700 photos from the con now up on my Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/finbar.....7633959618254/
As ever, if you see yourself in any of these shots then feel entirely free to repost. I took them for you guys, after all
I pretty much spent all day sorting these out. I ended up with over 1,700 photos, which I whittled down to 727 for uploading. I really, really need to cut down on taking pics. Every con I keep promising myself I won't take so many, but I always see far too many nice suits
I'll try to post a proper con recap tomorrow sometime.

I'll be leaving for Confuzzled tomorrow evening on the overnight bus to Birmingham.
Given that I'm a luddite who doesn't have a cell phone or internet tablet, I'll be out of contact until at least Wednesday 5th June. Any notes or comments I'll respond to after that date ( of course, I'll still be here until tomorrow evening so you can catch me before then ).

I picked both 'early arrival' & 'late departure' for the con, which means I'll be at the con hotel for 6 nights. Long stetch of furry fun
Hope to see lots of you there!

So I stayed up late last night in order to snag a double room for FC next year, only to have the hotel reservation system crash right as the room block opened. I kind of expected that to happen, though :-P
After a few false starts I finally managed to get myself a place in the Marriott about 3am my time! Only one bed, alas, but if I can't persuade a certain fox to come then I'll be rooming alone anyway.
Still many months away, I know, but best to get things sorted early

... this great sequence from 'The Valley of Gwangi' shows just how much life and emotion can be poured into stop motion models:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3A6tNff9y98
Here we have an allosaurus vs. an elephant. Did we see that in 'Jurassic Park'? No, we didn't.
Just two latex models, but Harryhausen succeeds in making the dinosaur come across as a real nasty customer while at the same time making us feel pretty bad for the elephant.
Interestingly, the climax of the movie, which features Gwangi burning to death in a church, turns the tables and makes us feel quite sorry for the dinosaur.
One of Harryhausen's best movies.

**ADDENDUM: Titash has now managed to find a buyer**

 titash needs to back out of Confuzzled ( a shame, as I would have quite liked to have met him ) and is trying to find a buyer for his room space. Details here:
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/4558510/
Help out a meerkat in need and get a slot at one of the best furry cons in return!

Still a little over 5 weeks to go but here's da meme...


Where are you staying?

I'll be at the main hotel.


Who are you rooming with?

I'll be with  lizard-guy


What day are you getting there/leaving?

I picked 'early arrival', so I'll be getting there sometime Wednesday morning. I also picked 'late departure', so I'll be hanging around until Tuesday afternoon. 6 nights of furry fun!


How are you getting there?

I'll be taking the overnight bus/ferry combo from Dublin to Birmingham, then taking the train the rest of the way.


Who will you be with?

Despite trying to convince two different foxes to come, I'll be making the trip alone.


Do you do free art or trades?

You've got me confused with someone else.


Do you do commissions/badges?

Wha?


Do you have prints/CDs?

Negative.


Do you have art in the art show?

That's an extra big 'no'.


What suit(s) will you have?

Peaches 'N Cream the goat.


Can I dance with you?

Your feet might get clomped by my huge hooves.


What is your gender?

Hang on, lemme check.
Okay, I'm a guy.


How old are you?

35.


How tall are you?

About 5 foot 7.


Are you mated? in a relationship?

Nay.


Can I touch you?

Maybe. Have you washed?


Can I talk to you?

Yes, of course, Please do. Unless you're that guy.


Can I hug you?

Hugs, no problem.
Peaches lives on hugs.


Can I take photos of you/with you?

You bloody better. I expect to find lots of Peaches pics on FA and Flickr when I get home.


Can I buy you lots of drinks?

If you like, but no alcohol.


Do you drink Alcohol/Smoke?

Don't drink or smoke. Never did.


Can I give you lots of money?

Peaches doesn't charge for hugs.


Can I hug or snuggle with you?

Hugs, yeah. Snuggles? Again, have you washed lately?


Can we hang out?

I'm not a 'big group' kind of guy and tend to work better in smaller crowds of 3 or 4. But yeah, feel free to hang out for a while if you like.


Are you nice?

No, I'm a nasty nasty goat.


Where will you be most of the time during the con?

Either suiting or taking photos.


Other cons you may go to?

I'm registered for Eurofurence in August. I'm also planning to attend MFF in November and FC in Jan.



Attending any events?

Probably.


How can I find you at the con?

Big orange goat. You can't miss me.
Baaaaaa!!!!

First off,  Exdra ( that's Peaches' mom ) has another hoofer for sale. If you want to join the clompy club then head over here for more details:
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/10370224/

Secondly, we have a very nice panda suit on offer from the great  panda :
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/10369937/
I've seen this suit in person and can testify that it's very nice indeed.

Yep, I'll be there.
The temptation was too strong and my plans to skip EF this year totally failed.
I registered for the con last night and just booked my flights to and from Berlin ( I can take a train from there to the con location ), which I got at a pretty reasonable price. No long trip overland this time - just 2.5 hours flight each way. I still hate flying, though!
Of course, I'm too late to get into the main hotel, so I've booked myself a room at the overflow, which is just 5 minutes walk away. Close enough for me to suit up in the room and just walk to the Maritim.
Hopefully I'll see many of you there.

Two of them.
And a saddle, a set of handlebars, and a couple of pedals.
It's a new bicycle, see.
I don't know how to drive :-P

Spent the day working in the city archives here, sorting old newspaper editions from the 20s to the 60s during the morning and then spending all afternoon scanning handwritten letters written by guys in the trenches during WW1. As these letters are almost 100 years old, many of them were rather brittle and faded. I was almost afraid to handle some of them in case they just crumbled away in my fingers. Lots of 'Thanks for the cigarettes' ( I guess everyone smoked back then ) and 'I can't wait until this war is over so I can go home and... **insert dream**'.
Gut instinct tells me half of these guys never came home.
Anyway, given that I spent all day handling decades old paper I'm now getting quite itchy in spots. I think I picked up some fleas direct from WW1.

My travel plans for this summer have been slowly falling into place over the past few weeks.
I'll be attending Confuzzled in late May, arriving at the con hotel on Wednesday 29th May and departing on Tuesday 4th June.
Then, on June 11th, I depart for Colorado and will be spending 9 nights in or around Boulder and Rocky Mountain National Park.
After my trip to the Rockies, I'll be heading for Texas on June 20th. My original plan was to tour around Texas, but this trip will now be compressed into just 4 nights in Houston.
Leaving for home on June 24th.

I've booked a multi-city option with US Airways at a very reasonable price. Dublin to Denver ( via Philadelphia ) and Houston to Dublin ( again via Philadelphia ).
I still haven't booked my flight from Denver to Houston - will get working on that soon.

You know, for about 5 minutes the other night I strongly considered going to Califur this year. It's a small con, yeah, but apparently it's pretty close to Disneyland. Furry con + Disneyland. Sounded like a winning combination.
Sadly, this plan only lasted a few minutes as I soon realized that Califur and Confuzzled are both held THE EXACT SAME WEEKEND. So... eh... no. I don't think I can co-exist in England and California at the same time.
Whatever will the 'go to every single con' furs do? :-P

 felony_boat is selling her boat ( that's a goat/bunny ) fursuit, so if you want to join the hoofers club, head over here for more details:
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/4292588/
I've seen this suit in person and it's a lovely piece of work, so hopefully she'll go to a good home.

After much consideration I've decided that I won't be attending FWA after all.
My timeframe wasn't really adequate enough, plus Delta ( the only airline that have a direct Dublin to Atlanta service ) wanted just over €800 ( about $1060 ) for a round trip. As I'll probably be making a trip to Texas in June and a return visit to MFF in November, that would probably be one transatlantic trip too many this year. There's only so many hours cooped up in a plane that I can handle!
Many thanks to everyone who said they'd like me to do FWA in my last journal - it's really nice to know that so many people would like to see me again.

So my con schedule for the forthcoming year will be pretty much Confuzzled in May, then probably MFF ( or maybe Rainfurrest, although that's an outside chance ) in November, and I'm strongly considering a return to FC for Jan '14. But that's still a long ways off.
As for EF this year... I haven't decided yet. Registration opens tomorrow and the main hotel is likely to sell out fast, so the fact that I'm holding off on a decision makes it almost certain I'll end up in the Intercity if I go at all.
We'll see how that goes.

I've got 5 days vacation time left to take before the end of March ( my vacation year runs April - March ). Add this to the fact that FWA takes place over the 3 day St. Patrick's Day weekend and I could pull off a quick trip to Atlanta, with a couple of days recovery time before going back to work.
Not promising I'll go, and at the moment it's just 50/50. Not sure if I could face another 8 hour transatlantic flight so soon after MFF, so that might put me off, too.
Who would I see there if I went?