Hey all, I updated the "Ballooning" pic I uploaded last night with a refined version. Check it out! :3

...but I'm going to go ahead and give one. I feel guilty for not having submitted anything in nearly a year. I know nobody is holding it against me, but I still feel bad for my sparse uploads becoming even fewer.

Truth is, I've been struggling with depression and crippling anxiety for most of my adult life. This March I was finally able to muster the courage to get some help, and I'm on an amazing drug called Celexa/citalopram. It's literally changed my life for the awesomer.

Howeverrrr... it's got some side-effects. One of the big ones is that I've lost a lot of my creative motivation. When I sit down with the intention of drawing big knotted doggy dicks, I can't focus and lose interest almost immediately. This is incredibly frustrating, but.. as much as I love being an artist, - hate to say it - the positive effects of the medicine are so worth it, that I'd gladly sideline my art 'skills' to keep them.

That said, I'm looking into other solutions and things to help my motivation get back on track - The world needs more docking art, after all.



P.S. Knots.
P.P.S. Sheathes.

Shocked I haven’t heard of this until just now. Rest in peace Stalking Cat. You were a fixture of the oldschool fandom and will be missed.

I loves me some statistics. Especially when they involve demographics and the fandom.
You might be aware of the Anthropomorphic Research Project, a multidisciplinary team
of scientists who put on the International Furry Survey every six months. They've just
published a summary of their Summer 2011 survey results.

https://sites.google.com/site/anthr.....ey-summer-2011

Check it out, some really interesting data in there!

AND next time their survey rolls around, DO IT! The more data they collect,
the more accurate their results will be.

So THAT's what sleep paralysis is like... fuck me. >_<

So I go to bed a little early, feeling pretty good. Just drowsy enough that I know I'll get right to sleep. The room is just a little chilly, so I know the bed will be especially cozy, exactly how I like it. Awesome.

Four hours later-ish, I open my eyes to see a human-shaped black mass moving toward me from the foot of my bed in the dim light. This appears real as fuck, most vivid dream I've ever had because my eyes are open, this thing is in MY ACTUAL ROOM, crawling along my legs.

Obviously I should get the fuck away, call out to somebody. Nope! I can't move, I can't take a breath. There's a very real pressure on my chest as this thing puts it's weight on my ribcage. I can't even close my eyes in terror. I'm forced to stare at this thing eye-to-no-eyes as it descends upon me. My extremities begin to tingle - from lack of oxygen or because I'm shivering in terror, I don't know which.

The.. thing.. fills my vision, it's covering my body, enveloping me. I draw the obvious conclusion from watching too many paranormal shows - this is a ghost. It is possessing me. I tell myself that I need to be strong-willed, that I need to THINK it away. So I throw positive thoughts at it, trying exhaustively to push it back with my mind. It doesn't leave. My vision is still darkened by it's presence, but gradually I'm able to move my arms, then my legs, then slowly slowly sit up. It's like moving against a current of deep water. Finally, I'm out of bed - it's still on me, making my movements glacial.. I beeline for the light switch, which I slam on and spin around, as the weight is suddenly gone. I fully expect to see it still there.. but it's not.

As I'm catching my breath and gathering my wits, I slowly begin to remember my roommate telling me about his experience with sleep paralysis and how some people describe a spirit sitting on their chest and stealing their breath. Here's some depictions: http://bit.ly/pMdogO Protip: Don't image search this after having just experienced it.

I decided I should see if my roommate was still awake so that we could compare notes. I left my bedroom for his, not noticing that the configuration of my house had changed to include parts of former houses I'd lived in. Apparently I had fallen back asleep. I met up with my roommate in the kitchen of the house I lived in six years ago and we began discussing my experience. Eventually I felt compelled to return to my room - presumably to write this very journal. Along the way I met two redneck-looking strangers in a hallway and thought nothing of it.

Arriving in my room, I got a chill and was suddenly in the dark again, in my bed, looking at the space where the dark figure had appeared just minutes before. I was like Fuuuuuuck This!! And bolted out of bed, thankfully able to move. Slammed on the light, and then walked through my properly-configured house to talk to my roommate about sleep paralysis. Now here I am writing this journal. Sooo... hopefully I'm not dreaming it this time.

Sleep Paralysis is goddamn fucking jesus' balls terrifying. If I hadn't known it existed, I probably would have walked away from that experience one hundred percent without-a-doubt certain that I had been visited by a malicious ghost intent upon smothering me in my sleep.

So that happened. I enjoyed sleep while I had it, but I think I'll be staying awake from now on. Forever.

Aside from one depressing note, Rainfurrest 2011 was probably the best con I've had out of the eight or so I've been to. I ran into a lot of people I hadn't expected to (hi guys!) and met some others (hi guys!). Despite a lot of time to myself, I was never bored there. There was always something to see. Like fursuits.

A LOT of emphasis on fursuits nowadays. I see this as the "MTV / CSI problem" perpetuating itself - where furries think that to be a "real" furry, one must wear a fursuit. This used to bother me because when I joined the fandom, suiters were still considered the weirder, more extreme small portion of the our populous, but now I think I'm okay with it. With things like Room#366 out there, the creepy fursuit stuff is pretty well known and assumed to be commonplace. Rather than trying to keep that hidden, it could be best just to inundate the fandom with suits and show people suiters are normal enough just by sheer numbers.

I hear the Hilton loved us and even called us well-behaved - at least until after the con when soap was poured into the pool, the cops were called twice, and a "protest" con was held in the lobby. For fuck's sake, furries. Washington furs remain some of the drinkingest furries I've ever met.. so.. you've got that going for ya.

Where was I? Oh yeah, fursuits. A lot of cool fursuits. A few of my favorites were TaniDaReal - she was a great GOH and her suit is beautiful, schnolfs FTW. There was an Angry Bird suit, which was spot-on. And my buddy jerinheadisson looked adorable sporting his new suit. Many really cute suits there this year.

Fursuiters, I'm all for this new fursuit revolution. Go for it. But I do have one plea: There was a time when taking your head off in public was verboten. It breaks the illusion. I saw SO many suiters walking around without their heads this con. Guys, don't do that. Please please please don't do that. There's a headless lounge for a reason. That reason is that you look stupid with your head off.

Yeah, okay, I'll be there.

Probably during the weekend, probably sitting in the main hallway looking Forever Alone and watching the furry shenanigans pass by.

Feel free to stop and say hi, but I won't draw ya anything because I suck.

<3

I see all of this 9/11 memorial artwork posted by furries and I think to myself "Seems kinda inappropriate."

Then I think, "They're young, a lot of them probably weren't capable of rational thought in 2001."

Then I think, "My god, a lot of them really were too young to remember 2001!"

And then I feel really, really old.

Meme's are a strange phenomenon. They often show just how impressionable creatures we are when a trend blows through a community of like minds.

Example, I've noticed a lot - a LOT - of furries lately expressing pleasure using the onomatopoeic "ummm". As in, "Umm, this cookie is tasty!" That's... SO not correct.
This isn't a grammar nazi speaking; go on, say it out loud. It sounds like a question. "Umm, is this cookie tasty?"

Now say it aloud the way you naturally would. "Mmm, this cookie is tasty!"
There. Doesn't that sound and look better? Yes. Yes it does.

Drives me nuts.

Hey furries.

This year's July 20th is a significant one for me. At approximately 8:15 AM July 20, 1996 (UTC-7)
I discovered the furry fandom. Unless my math is horribly wrong, I've been in this mess for fifteen
years. I'm 30 years old, so I've officially been a furry for roughly half my life.

(Pause for reflection..) Whoa.

I found Furry and I'd like to think I'm better for it. I honestly think the fandom has saved my life
at least once if not more. Those friends I have kept through the best and worst of times have all
been furry and are all still my closest companions. I live with great furry people and I have a
wonderful furry mate of 7 long years (love you!). All the people I look to first when I need advice,
comfort, a shoulder to lean on - are furries.

I wouldn't give it back for anything.


And to my watchers, your support, your favs, your humor, and your commiseration mean a whole lot.

Thanks guys, you keep me going.
Here's hoping this stupid fandom lasts another 15 years.

Stolen from  zerwolf

THREE NAMES YOU GO BY:
1. SilverTail
2. Wuf
3. Rob

THREE SCREEN NAMES YOU'VE HAD:
1. SilverTail
2. Fedha
3. Mwitu

THREE THINGS YOU'VE DONE IN THE LAST 33 MINUTES:
1. Convinced a tonerless printer to print.
2. Took a leak.
3. Deleted Zerwolf's answers from this meme.

THREE THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. My facial features.
2. My occational wit.
3. My opinions. :P

THREE THINGS YOU DISLIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. FAAAAAAT.
2. Crushing anxiety.
3. Lack of monies.

THREE PARTS OF YOUR ORIGINS:
1. Adopted.
2. Greek.
3. Farmboy.

THREE THINGS YOU'RE AFRAID OF:
1. Everything.
2. Everything.
3. Everything.

THREE THINGS YOU ARE WEARING RIGHT NOW:
1. Briefs.
2. Cargo sweats.
3. A henley tee.

THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS:
1. INTERNETZ.
2. Diet soda.
3. Cats.

THREE IMPORTANT OBJECTS:
1. INTERNETZ MASHEEN.
2. Can o' diet soda.
3. More cats.

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE BANDS:
1. Deadmau5
2. That one band that does the thing with that instrument.
3. That other band that played that one song that time.

THREE WAYS TO BE HAPPY:
1. Money.
2. More money.
3. All the money.

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE SONGS AT PRESENT:
1. Wub wub wub wub
2. Boom-tish boom-tish boom-tish
3. Oontz oontz oontz oontz oontz oontz

THREE NEW THINGS YOU WANT TO TRY IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS:
1. Not sucking at arts.
2. Taking commissions for reals.
3. Working faster.

THREE THINGS YOU REGRET:
1. Not team-lifting that lay-z-boy I moved last weekend.
2. That was a mistake.
3. Oh god my back.

THREE THINGS YOU WANT IN A RELATIONSHIP:
1. Loyalty.
2. Honesty.
3. Bitch, listen when I tell you things.

THREE IMPORTANT THINGS YOU'VE GIVEN TO THE WORLD:
1. Porn.
2. Another wolf-cougar.
3. But mostly the porn.

TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE: (not in order)
1. Originally, my character was a feral.
2. Originally, my character was a silver fox.
3. Originally, my character literally had a silver tail.

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU LIKE IN THE OPPOSITE SEX:
1. Uh.. hrm.
2. Drawing a blank..
3. They've got that vajay-jay thing.. that's pretty cool if you're into that.

THREE EMOTIONAL THINGS YOU LIKE IN THE OPPOSITE SEX:
1. *backs away slowly*
2. ...
3. ..

THREE THINGS YOU JUST CAN'T DO:
1. Open relationships.
2. 3+ member relationships.
3. Pineapple.

THREE THINGS YOU MISS FROM YOUR PAST:
1. Not having to care what other people think.
2. Being the quiet kid that everyone respectfully ignored.
3. Living on a farm where I could have many animals.

THREE GIFTS YOU WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE:
1. Money.
2. A Cintiq.
3. Healthcare.

THREE REASONS WHY YOU ARE WHO YOU ARE:
1. I'm a pervert.
2. I looooove animals, stupid.
3. I cried after The Lion King.

THREE OF YOU YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES:
1. Drawing porn.
2. Talking and IMing with my friends.
3. Talking and IMing with my friends about porn.

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW:
1. Breakfast.
2. Pet this cat under my chair.
3. Inherit a fortune.

THREE CAREERS YOU'RE CONSIDERING:
1. Graphic design.
2. Print professional.
3. Videogame graphic artist.

THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO FOR HOLIDAY:
1. Nowhere.
2. Seriously.
3. I <3 Seattle.

THREE CARTOON CHARACTERS:
1. Scrooge McDuck.
2. Oh shit.
3. Now the theme is stuck in my head.
(..Life is like a hurricane.. here in.. Duckburg..)

THREE BOY’S NAMES:
1. I always wanted to name my potential son "Cosmo".
2. ...
3. I'd have been a terrible father.

THREE GIRL'S NAMES:
1. ..
2. ...
3. Cosmette?

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE:
1. Play MassEffect 3.
2. Play Half-Life 2: Episode 3.
3. I'm pretty easy to please, really.

THREE PEOPLE WHO HAVE TO TAKE THIS QUIZ OR DIE PAINFULLY:
1. -
2. -
3. Meh.

For fuck's sake.

My "Mineshaft" submission was deleted by a Mod because it used a Minecraft screenshot as a background. They claimed it was against AUP because it was a screenshot, nevermind that there was an entirely original character painted over it. I think that liberal interpretation of the AUP goes both ways because I've seen Dragoneer allow much more blatant violations, i.e. a character half-ass scribbled over a disallowed submission simply to subvert the AUP.

Maybe this Mod hates Minecraft or something. Anyway, it's not worth my time to fight over it. Once I'm settled into my new home, I might toss it up on my personal site or something.

-SilverTail

Hey folks, just a note to mention that I'm in the middle of moving to a new home and likely to be without internet for a week or more. You know how it goes. Catch ya all on the flip side.

-SilverTail

.

So, yeah. Apparently these exist.

http://www.google.com/images?q=&quo.....ater+deer";
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_deer

"These canines are held loosely in their sockets, with their movement controlled
by facial muscles. The buck can draw them backwards out of the way when eating.
In aggressive encounters, he thrusts his canines out and draws in his lower lip to
pull his teeth closer together. He then presents an impressive two-pronged weapon
to rival males."

Deer with switchblade saberteeth.

- -- The More You Know =★

"Sir, I stopped your vehicle because you're missing a headliOHSHITWOLVES!"

http://www.wimp.com/brokenheadlight/

Thankfully, I don't have the dreaded bacon lung this year.

I don't know where or when, but I should be there off and on for the duration of the con, as I live just minutes away. I should be wearing a few badges, one of which being a large version of my av icon. I'll most likely be wandering around the dealer den or camped out in a corner somewhere. I'm not a very social critter, so I'll likely be keeping a low profile.

See you there, perhaps.

Happy birthday to me?
Holy crap, I'm 30. >_>
Yikes.

Not anymore. Sad netbook is sad. :C

So take Meet the Feebles. Tone it down for TV, add British humor, and Muppet-quality critters.

If you haven't seen Mongrels on BBC3, then you need to. It's hilarious.

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

I'm really surprised I haven't ran across mention of this show in the fandom before now. It's totally furry, full of adult humor, and has foxes. Gay foxes, even. Screwing.

In regard to this: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/1580019/

As a web designer I have to say DURR HURR BECAUSE NEW SITE LOOK LIKE DEVIANT ART NEW SITE GONNA SUCK LIKE DEVIANT ART DURR HURR.

No.

If you are one of these people that think just because FA is getting gussied up with a slick new paint job that it's also going to perform like the shit stack that DeviantArt is, you are wrong.

Please form a complete sentence from the following words: Up The Fuck Shut


I would also like to point out that Zaush's new design is sexy as HELL. CSS FTW, bitches.

Hey folks,

So, as of yesterday morning, I'll have been in the fandom fourteen years.

That's.. either cool or really sad, I haven't decided. Also, I'm old.

That is all, carry on.

-Silvah

I can't pin down why this upsets me so much, but it does.

http://www.kens5.com/news/Teen-wolv.....-94015234.html [video]

Perhaps its the further mainstreaming of the fandom.
Maybe I just miss the mid-90's when we were a small,
secretive, and relatively unknown group of malcontents.

Maybe I'm just old.

Some of my pet peeves about the use of thumbnails on FurAffinity.
The following annoy the crap out of me:

18+ ADULT
Let's see. I'm logged in, my account is set to view Adult material, and there's a red band around your thumbnail. You mean there might be an Adult image inside? No shit?

Please Full View
No. Just because you asked. Why don't you all have your accounts set to always full view anyway?

Extreme Close-up
I'll admit I'm a little guilty of this, but I like to think I show enough to not to lead people into a trap. Too often I've clicked a thumbnail of lovingly rendered cawk only to find it attached to the most horrific creature I've ever seen.

Warning: Gay
I can understand if maybe you primarily draw non-gay artwork and feel it necessary to warn your viewers of the impending buttsecks. But when you primarily draw buttsecks, this warning is not necessary. Especially in this fandom.

Unrepresentative
Folks who post thumbnails of something other than the image they're linking to. This shouldn't occur anytime other than April 1st. And as far as April 1st is concerned, everyone has seen that joke and already knows it's coming. Stop it.

Vanity
This goes along with Unrepresentative thumbnails above; people who, instead of using a thumbnail of the image they've submitted, upload a picture of themselves or their avatar instead. If I see 20 pictures of your head in your gallery, I'm not clicking them.

Missing
No excuse for this. Upload your submission. Go to your gallery and check if you're missing a thumbnail for some reason. Fix it.

Text Thumbnails for a Picture
I'm here for the porn art. I'm much more likely to view your submission if I can preview it first. If I have to construct a mental image before clicking through to your submission, I'm going to lose interest real fast. And chances are, my mental image is going to be a million times better than your drawing.

Submission has been deleted by the owner.
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!!!

I suspect that a lot of these instances, such as 18+ ADULT, Extreme Closeup, Vanity, and Textual thumbs are often just ploys to get views. I'll admit, getting a bunch of views feels pretty good, but if I were deceiving people to get them I wouldn't really consider my artwork worthy. Favorites are more telling, but the real gold is in a +Watch. That says to me that this person liked your work so much that they'll keep an eye on you and anticipate your future submissions.

Thanks again Watchers, it always means a lot to me.

http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1935464

Does what it says on the tin.