Have a little pride in your country and charge your own damn currency. Seriously, I refuse to buy from Canadian artists that do this. It's not even about the price; heck, tack on an extra amount and charge more than you would have made in the exchange rate. It's really about integrity and the fact that you flock to USD whenever our currency takes a dive so you can make a few extra bucks for the same 'number'.

On the flip side, when you stay in CAD your price becomes more appealing to furries in the USA. Reap benefits from supply and demand, and then increase your prices in CAD if you're too busy to handle the demand.

I'm sure everyone has an opinion or perhaps a different reason for doing this, but this is what it actually looks like to non-artists, and the people I know personally gripe about it quite often behind your back. Just wanted to give you some insight into that, because like Canadians tend to do I'm sure nobody told it to you directly.

Also, I don't give a shit about your opinion and I'm not opening a debate here. It's been bugging me for awhile and it just has to be said now.

Fur-Eh! was a great success! So many people came together this year, stepped up and took responsibility of various aspects, giving the chairs the much-needed support that was lacking in previous years.

Post-con depression hit me pretty badly this morning. I did not attend the Hiss and Purr this year, because, quite frankly, I didn't think I could handle it X3 But as I sat down to dinner with the other staff they mentioned that we received mostly praise, with only a few minor comments for improvements. I'm really glad that most people enjoyed themselves.

I'm hoping to head the parade next year if the others are okay with it (like I did last year, instead of just being a hood ornament X3), and clear up all of the bugs we experienced.

To all those who came, thank you so much :3 To all others, maybe some day we'll see you around, and thank you anyways for just being so... fluffy and awesome XD

Courtesy of  Hato

Where are you staying?
Ramada Inn

What day are you getting there?
May 8th, but I live in town, so I'll be around on May 7th as well helping out with getting things ready :3

Who will you be rooming with?
 bearpaw  falenanjel  zevdawg

Who will you hang out with during the convention?
In addition to the roomies I'll most likely be hanging out with  JakeTiggy  mBlade  Axanis

Are you attending any stage or public performances?
Fursuit charades sounds interesting, and of course the parade!

Are there any panels you might be attending?
I am hosting 50 Shades of Neigh on Friday evening. :3 I will be very drunk and will be reading poorly written furry porn X3 If you're a sensitive twit who's offended by caling it "porn", then I mean "Poorly written furry erotica". Yes, I'm not kidding.. some furries are offended by that.

Will you be suiting?
I'm the liger with the emo mane that always falls in front of his good eye. Watch me run into people, walls, animals, and a slew of other objects! See me constantly brushing my mane aside like some little emo twinky!

Which suit(s) will you be bringing?
The one and only Spuz!

Do you do free art?
Stickmen are free :3 That's about what I draw right now!

Do you do trades?
For... Buttsecks!?

Do you do badges?
Sure, if you want a stickman badge :3

Do you do commissions?
Lawl... redundant.. X3

What is your gender?
Peen!

How tall are you?
5'10"

Are you taken? Are you looking for a 'mate'?
It's so complicated, I don't even...!

Can I talk to you?
Oh nuuuuuu!! You're scary and I want nothing to do with you! ...Just kidding.. ;p Yes, talk, talk! :3

Can I touch you?
Hug, hug, hug is fine! If you're not in my circle of friends that I allow to grope me and you do so I will become very agitated >:(

How can I find you?
Tweeting is best. I basically only use Twitter for furry conventions. X3 [at]SpuzLioncourt

Can I visit your room?
Yes, if I invite you :p~

Can I buy you drinks?
I don't know why you would want to :3

Can I give you stuff?
I don't know why you would want to :3

Can I hug or snuggle with you?
I don't know why you would want to :3

Are you nice?
I don't know why you would want to :3 ...Err, that doesn't work for this question.. X3 I'm nice, but I'm blunt and will tell it to your face if I have a problem with you. That being said, I'm tolerant and don't have problems with most. As long as you're not an uber-douche, everything should be just fine ;3

How long are you going?
Would you also like a list of my personal schedule and deepest fears? :3 That's wot Facebook is for!

Do you have an artist table?
Somehow I feel like this should have been up where all the commission and art questions are. Oh well. I'll let you guess the answer to this one based on those questions ;p~

If I see you, how should I get your attention?
You may call me "Your Highness, Spuzareth Sun Mane" whilst kneeling, bowing your head, and pledging your allegiance as my faithful vassal! Alternatively, I respond pretty well to being called "Spuz", though it's not as theatrical as I prefer ;3

Where will you be most of the time during the day(s)?
Fursuiting, going out for lunch or dins, drinking if it's past noon somewhere. Did I mention I'm a social alcoholic? :3

What/where will you be eating?
GOH dinner, purrobably the restaurant at the Ramada... nothing else is planned.

Can I come with you for food/fun/etc?
Oh god, I am regretting this meme. Seriously, if you get to know me and I like you then I'd purrobably invite you to these things when I go out XD

Can I look in your sketchbook?
Nuuu! Get yer own! Or get me one, and then you can have a look.

Can I draw in your sketchbook?
If you get me one first, then sure :3

Can I take your picture?
Oh, snap away, I don't care. Fursuit, non-fursuit, head on, head off.. I don't care X3

What's your goal(s) for the con this year?
People actually make goals for these? I go with the flow and have fun. I guess that's my goal!

Phew... finally went through all 1600 submissions I had to look at.. X3 This is what happens when you don't log in for several months!~

Sending out a blip. :3 I'm still alive. Feeling good. Moving in soon with  mBlade. Working to pay off my car, which better last the rest of my durn life X3

Going to Vancoufur! Looking forward to some time off =:3

Feeling a bit more social lately. Say hello! Skype TMSpuz, Steam Spuz, note me, shout at me, poke me.. whatever!

I don't like journal entries like this, but I feel I have to post it. Maybe it's a cry for help, or maybe I just needed to let people know. Maybe it gives answers to a few.

It's getting close to two years since Mary left me, and I realise that I'm still not ready to be mated. The absolute feeling of betrayal still lingers inside of me, and I feel broken in a way indescribable. I'm sorry, but I'm damaged goods, and I'm convinced that I would be no good for anyone.

May you all find love.

Hi friends. I just wanted to clarify again that I don't agree with everything the comic said. I don't think my friends are "obnoxious predators." Obviously, if I did I never would have hung out with you guys so much to begin with. I'm sorry if anyone was hurt by that.

Thanks.

http://twentytwowords.com/2012/08/2.....th-introverts/

I don't completely agree with everything this comic says, but it's a crude outline of what I need some of my friends to understand. I saved up a lot of energy over the years, and had a year of extrovert behaviour, but now I need some time to recharge.

Please don't pressure me into doing shit when I say that I don't want to do something. It doesn't mean I'm mad at you, or don't like you anymore. I just need my alone time.

I'd like to go, but I'm having trouble finding a ride down to Calgary. Anyone going from Edmonton Friday after work and have some extra space? X3

I'm thinking of going fursuiting at Buddy's Nightclub on Saturday. Anyone interested in venturing forth?

...I don't feel like dealing with any of it. Moving, studying, work.. blaaah. Well, I guess I'll share my plans.

I'll be at the zoo tomorrow volunteering for NAMP. Not sure if I'm going to have my fursuit by then. Hopes are low, but I'll still be there for spotting nonetheless. I'll try to get some pictures to share if it happens, though. My other fursuit is in limbo, lost behind a smattering of con badges from the looks of it.

Some time in the next month I'm moving into my new place (into the city, yay!) and will be closer to a lot more furries. After that, it's volunteer staffing for Fur-Eh! It will cut my 2 1/2 to 3 hour commute down to a 4 minute walk each way to work, giving me a lot of time back for myself each day. I pushed back the exam date for my insurance course to July 10th, so that will give me time to actually DO the course (which I haven't at all yet.)

I'm stepping away from the bi-weekly Dinner and a Movie event (I'll let Timber take that back since he's the one who asked me to start it anyway.) I'll still do fursuiting events every few months, but they will no longer be pay-what-you-want since the last event turned out so poorly as far as funding goes.

My brothers and I are starting up our on app company (windows, mac, Android, iPhone, and HTML5.) Should be interesting since I've always wanted to game program, and have always had a love for 2D games.

I'll be finally looking at getting a car. Just so much more convenient. Will probably do private driver training instead of a classroom full of a bunch of kids who couldn't care less about road safety.

Some people have been asking about it, and yeah, I'd love to play D&D or some role playing game every few weekends. I'd also like to attend some other furry conventions besides Fur-Eh! AC; purrhaps one day. Rainfurrest, Vancoufur, and MFF; yes.

I haven't felt love in over a year now. I think I forget what it feels like.

That's it for now.

Generally speaking, people are interested in you because you have something they want. The same, of course, can be said of oneself and the interest you have in others. I am not immune to this, either.

Common things that others want would be sex, money, popularity or fame, skill, and companionship. Of course there's more things than that.

Take some time to look at your friends and try to evaluate why you are friends with them. Don't bother thinking about the other way around, because you and nobody else can accurately read another person's mind. Even asking them don't expect the answer, because surprisingly people tend to not really know why they are friends with others.

Next, think about the people you have lost as friends, and why they no longer are your friends.

It's good to reflect on yourself once in awhile. It helps to bring things into perspective.

Starting on Thursday iI has a jobagain! I miss having a stable routine and a higher income, so this is much welcomed :3

I hope everyone else is doing well. You are all friends and are always welcome to yap at me if you need an ear to listen.

If you like public fursuiting and live in Alberta, we get invited to a lot of various events.

Come check out the current website: http://namperformers.yuku.com. We have about four or five future events posted already within the next few months.

Thanks! :3

Yes, so, apparently all of my journals are boring and pendantic. X3 It seems that nobody wants to hear about positive things, what my spirit guide has to say, or anything of the like.

So if that's the case, I guess I just need to do what everyone else does and post a random internet meme (non-furry edition!):

1. What are your current obsessions?

WAFFLES! Tasty Waffles! ~No, seriously though, probably fursuiting stuff X3~



2. Which item from your wardrobe do you wear most often?

That darn "Edmonton 24 Hours" T-shirt, because it's soooo ORANGE! I like orange, a lot! People are starting to notice... >.>



3. Last dream you had?

Last night I had a work-related dream where the file cabinets were being moved into my bedroom X3 Talk about taking work home with you!



4. Last thing you bought?

Gasoline fer meh mertercercle!



5. What are you listening to?

Delerium: Silence. Such a ghostly song.



6. Embarrassed to admit?

I have nothing to admit! NOTHING!! It's because I have no shame XD



7. Favourite holiday spots?

Sunspot on the carpet. Nah... Kelowna BC was really nice, though.



8. Reading right now?

Ask and it is Given.



9. Four words to describe yourself.

Silly fuzz butt liger? Goofy poor philanthropic liger? Anything ends with liger?



10. Guilty pleasure?

Watching TV / Playing video games when I know my time can be spent more productively elsewhere.



11. Who or what makes you laugh until you’re weak?

Other people's laughter. The best positive feedback loop EVAR!



12. Favourite spring thing to do?

Going for a ride on my motorcycle. Such beautiful freedom!



13. Planning to travel to next?

Deer Creek for Furthest North, and Seattle for Rainfurrest after that.



14. Best thing you ate or drank lately?

A banana split waffle. Bananas... strawberries... whip cream.. and ice cream! WTF dood, mind blown by awesomeness in my mouth X3~



15. When did you last get tipsy?

Umm... the night of furry bowling. I blame  JakeTiggy... because it's easy to blame someone else ;p~



16. Favourite ever film?

I haven't watched it yet.



17. Care to share some wisdom?

You don't know what you don't know. As soon as you believe in something, your mind closes. Always hold your beliefs with quiet skepticism.



18. Song you can’t get out of your head?

Thanks... I just got it out of my head, but that question brought it back... FUUUUUUUU! Q.Q



19. Thing you are looking forward to?

My next post, which will be something positive or something to do with my spirit guide. :3 Maybe someone will even have some questions for me... maybe not. If you don't like it, unwatch me, durr X3

I am a pacifist.

Compassion is my sword,
Sympathy is my armour,
Forgiveness is my shield.

When you hurt me, I forgive you,
I sympathize with the anger you feel,
And I nurture love back into your heart with my compassion.

Sometimes, this only makes you angrier,
Sometimes, this brings you love,
It is a risk I take, as there is no room for hate in a heart wherein resides love.

Take the time within the next two days to provide a random kindness to a stranger. It can be as big as you like, or as simple as letting someone into your lane or letting someone go ahead of you at the checkout.

It will improve someone's day just a smidge, and even these simple kindnesses come back to you eventually.

TL;DR - Never regret your past, for it allows you to see the sun rise today.

Two of the most common questions in the fandom that someone else can ask you is, "how and why did you join the fandom?" and "how did you choose your species?" I now invite you to comment, or (preferably) write your own journal to answer this unending question :3

For me, I will provide my full history and descisions that lead up to my eventual demise... err... eventual integration into the fandom ;3

Ever since I was young, I was always fascinated with anthropomorphism. Most particularly fascinating was transformation: when a human would transform into an animal or anthropomorph. One of the first cartoons that fascinated me to a great degree was Pinocchio (the non-Disney version where Pinocchio is actually fully transformed into a donkey.) I remember watching this cartoon over and over again; and despite it supposedly being tragic my favourite part was always when Pinocchio and his trouble-making friend were transformed.

Of course, donkeys aren't exactly the most interesting of creatures for most people (though there are definitely a few cute ones in the fandom X3), so my attention was quickly shifted to the most common transformation scenario: werewolves. I was intrigued with anything and everything to do with wolves and werewolves. This is, of course, not to mention the fact that anthropomorphism of any kind easily caused my head to turn.

However, about this time we moved from the country into the city. Being a rather geeky fellow and moving to a new school meant being bullied to an extreme degree, meaning that anything displaying an extreme amount of power became appealing to me. At first I took a small appeal to dragons in Dragon Warrior, even though dragons were the bad guys in that game. I then stumbled upon a (incredibly cheesy) cartoon called "Flight of Dragons." Since the protagnist is 'sort-of' transformed into a dragon (more like possesses one, but close enough X3) and dragons symbolized power to a large degree I immediately became a fan of dragons. As the bullying continued, I became more introverted and more interested in dragons to the point where I was just fanatic about them.

The internet started to take off when I was a teenager, so I began to look for everything to do with dragons. Because they were a common theme in fantasy role playing games, I also searched for role playing games quite often. This is when I found Furcadia late one night in January of 1997.

Now, back then Furcadia had only existed for a good three months... so the choice of species was very limited and did not include dragons. Naturally, I would have defaulted to the canines at that point... if they didn't look absolutely hideous. (Sorry Talz, just... yeah... X3) The only species that was remotely bareable for me to look at was feline, so I went with that.

Of course, you can't stay a generalized feline for too long before you get tired of people asking, "What breed of feline are you?" with the answer always being, "I'm not sure!" Without getting into much detail as to why my colours were the way they were (there is a story behind it, but not terribly interesting.. X3) people commented, "Oh, you kind of look like a lion."

Well, the lion is--of course--a symbol of power, so it filled my need for that. However, something was missing. I was still completely introverted, and because of my newly rediscovered love of anthropomorphism I felt a bit like I was trapped between two worlds. I didn't quite fit in with the human world, but at the same time the furry world was just a fantasy. I was also a rather indecisive creature who lacked the confidence one would generally associate with a lion.

I then found an internet article about this animal called a liger, whose name was Patrick.

The Characteristics and Symbols

Ligers and myself seemed to have a lot of matching characteristics and symbolism, which led to my eventual choice.

Indecisiveness: The article commented about how the liger had a pond, so he could follow his tiger side and choose to swim, or stay dry. Later I discovered that ligers typically like to go for a dip, but at the time this seemed symbolic of my nature of being indecisive ;3

Power: Ligers are even larger than either lions or tigers, so they still retained the portrayal of power.

Trapped between two worlds: Being the offspring of a lion and a tiger, this makes sense.. They aren't exactly a lion, nor are they a tiger... So they didn't quite fit in either world, just as I felt like myself with respect to the human world and the furry fandom.

Social bi-polarity: Because lions are social creatures, and tigers are solitary, this fits me well because I am fairly bipolar in a social sense. Every so often I tend to hermit myself and desire solitarity for an extended period of time. Other times I can't get enough social interaction.

Introversion: Because ligers don't exist in the wild, they are always in cages. At the time, my severe introversion made me feel like I was in a cage, so this also became symbolic to me.

Product of man: Ligers only exist because of the mation of captive lions and tigers, and therefore they are a product of man/humanity. Because my nature of introversion was also a product of humanity, I had this kinship with ligers.

~

In the end of it all, it doesn't really feel like I am the one who found my choice of species... Because a lot of what happened to me was out of my direct control, it more feels like the liger found me. Nowadays I look at it in a spiritual manner, and I am happy to be where I am. I do not regret a single thing in my past.. and all has been forgiven. It was all necessary to bring me here where I have met so many good people.

You are all wonderful.

I am often frustrated by the simple fact that words cannot truly express how much I appreciate each and every one of you.

Since I would rather not frustrate myself with the inadequacy of words I thought it would be nice to share some positive vibes with all of you. We often go through life taking what we have for granted, so I now invite you to take a few minutes to think about things that you appreciate and post a comment in this journal to share those things. If you appreciate this journal, feel free to also share it with your friends.

I appreciate:

Having the technology in our modern society which has allowed us to become friends.
Having an adorable and loving dog who is over protective of me.
Music that touches the soul.
Your laughter, because it is so infectious.
Your smile, because your happiness means the world to me.
Nighttime rain, because it makes the new day feel cleansed and full of promise.
Sunshine, because it reminds me that the world is beautiful to those who choose to see it. Strawberries and whipped cream; no explanation required!

Someone asked me this question shortly after my last journal.

So, you are wondering what my spirit guide is. The true nature of each individuals' spirit guides is that they are what they want/need them to be at the time.

A lot of this has to do with the vibrational nature of the universe... All matter and energy exists simply as vibrations. In order to access universal consciousness, it must be received at similar vibrational frequency as the mind can allow at the time. Think of it as tuning into a radio station... You cannot hear 103.9 FM when you are tuned into 102.1 FM.

When I was in my teens, my spirit guide was a dragon, because that's what I needed him to be. A dragon to me symbolized power, and the ability to conquer against adversity. Because I had much of the common teenage angst, my spirit guide was only able to send messages with similar frequency, making him seem angry a lot of the time (though he only did it because it was the only way for me to hear the message at the time.)

If someone tells you their spirit guides are animals, or a person.. this is all true. Any image perceived is absolutely correct. I have just stripped away the guise and talk directly with the universal consciousness (which in itself can just be considered another guise, when you think about it.)

Everything that my spirit guide types is in itallic letters. I do not provide corrections to the spelling mistakes, but I might insert my own comments with square brackets in order to clarify some points to my understanding of them.

When I asked my spirit guide(s) for a name some time ago, the one given was "The Rest Is", (refered to now as Therestis) as in time itself is but an illusion, and the future, past, and present exist harmoniously. The present itself is only a 'focal point' of time, and only exists as an oberservation by consciousness (i.e. if our universe had no consciousness, there would be no time.)

Since nobody had any questions, I asked Therestis to answer a general question that is commonly asked. The answer is as follows:




We konw there is many questions, though give the circumstance in your community there is expectance of no response [at this time, due to Anthrocon.]

The most common question is about meaning and purpose [of life.] Unfortunately those who ask this question are looking for a definite answer which is self definitive by nature. To say there is no purpose is both wrong and right, and to say there is a purpose is the same. The answer is: you are here to determine the answer [to this question.]

We know there are many souls who are unhappy with this answer. They believe it should be a grand scheme, that the purpose should be world changing and impactful. We are here to say that each and every life is just that. Imagine yourself as a peblle on a pond; your life is in focus as the pebble passes through the surface of the water. Even after the pebble falls through, the ripples continue to flow outward. Sometimes the pebble skips, and this too is true in life [when someone makes a drastic life-change.] It is simple fact that each and every life places importantly in the whole, regardless of length, breadth, or weight of the pebble there are always ripplies.

In life there is also a flow. It is like a stream. Many choose to swim against the current, causing their ripples to vanish in a torrent of wrong thinking [I understand this, but it is not so easy to explain. It happens when your life is stuck in a monotonous rut.] Instead of listening to their heart, they block out the sound and let what their mind tells them. The true currency of life is happiness, and we are here to say that you would have much more of this if you were to follow your heart and not strive for other things [i.e. a high-paying job that you hate, a goal that is imposed by your parents but you do not have your own interest in, etc.]

As Thomas provides the example of following a parents' goal, we would like to expound further on this. Many of you choose to look for happiness in others. Company does provide happiness, though we bring a warning that true happiness comes from withon yourself. In the end you may acheive your parent's goal for you, which makes them happy, but this is always at the expense of your own happiness, every time. You are not here to follow in the footsteps of those who have been before you, as if you were there would never be change, and this is impossible as there is constant changes, thus against the natural flow of things.

The other thing to remember is that each individual's true goal is to strive for their own happiness. In this way, they will sooner or later let you down. It is a matter of fact that you are yourself, and they are theirselves. Their reach for happiness can not always coincide with your own. This is anothyer reason why happiness should be sought from within.

Please take time now to reflect on this. These words you were born with but have since forgotten as others move to control you [They do not refer to 'OMG evil empire control', but rather, a more appropriate example would be your parents telling you what is right or wrong, your boss telling you what is right or wrong, and your friends telling you what is right or wrong.] We have infinite patience, infinite love.

I see and meet a lot of great people every day. I do feel love and happiness within my heart, and I do my best to share it with as many friends as I can... but I want to share it more deeply with someone now, who will be there during the times when friends are too busy with their own day-to-day tasks. Those are the times when loneliness hits, and you just want someone to be there with you. Nothing needs to be spoken; just enjoyment of each other's presence.

I am not surprised that the people I feel closest to already have mates. So many good people out there, who purrhaps in another time or place I am closer to than is possible now. I have a heart without hate now... Not even those who have intentionally hurt me in the past are hated.

Today I will sit and speak with my spirit guide. If you have any questions you would like me to ask about--well, anything--then please let me know. I will share answers in my next journal entry, or privately if preferred.

I have hit a bit of a snag. I know that I would like to continue making the amount of money that I could if I stayed in insurance, but I don't really want to do that. My heart just isn't in it, and it was making me miserable.

What is my heart in right now? To be honest, it's here in the furry fandom. So one must ask, how does one make a living here? The market for artists is completely saturated, and I would need to do a lot more practice before anyone would pay for my work. I am quite capable at writing, but once again there is plenty of competition there. There are then conventions and mascoting, but either of those take several years of building reputation before they are profitable enough to even support a single full time employee, let alone part time. Even fursuit making is starting to become widespread and competitive, with the queue times for most creators diminishing.

So, what does the furry world need these days, I wonder? What do you guys wish existed in the furry fandom? If there is a niche out there, I am looking to fill it.

This is a quickie... So you can get quickies from me in the future ;3 (I mean.. if you want them X3)

Add me SpuzLioncourt