Holy shit, we finally have tag blacklisting! It's been a long time coming, but it's nice to finally be able to block out shit I don't wanna see.

 superrravi is doing a random giveaway for free art here! They are choosing 5 characters to doodle, and will be closing off entries in October.

 inkoofficail is holding a pinup raffle here (NSFW):

https://www.furaffinity.net/view/47433280/

 thatblackfox still has several Kinktober slots available if you're interested! Check here for more details!

...is (almost) officially a go! I don't want to go into too many details yet since a lot is still pending, but I can say I'm very excited to be working with the person I'll be commissioning! I'm not sure what kind of time frame I'll be looking at for completion, but everything should be set in motion in early 2019.

Where are you staying?
In the Crowne Plaza (the main hotel)

How are you getting there?
Driving

What day are you getting there?
Thursday night

Who will you be rooming with?
 makkiwolf,  omasaki,  blackfang933

What is the best way to find you?
Either my hippo suit or Deacon (gray/white wolf with the huge green mohawk).



Will you be suiting?
Absolutely, Lazlow.

What/where will you be eating?
Probably either snack food or pizza in the hotel room.

Who will you be hanging out with during the convention?
My wife and the people I'll be rooming with, but I'll also be hanging with some of my favorite panelists and maybe some new people I meet there.

What is your gender?
Male

How tall are you?
About 6'1"

Can I talk to you?
Sure!

Can I touch you?
Hugs are fine, but please motion for one if you're in suit or ask first if you're not.

Can I visit your room?
Technically the room isn't in our name, so that's not up to me.

Can I buy you drinks?
As long as you don't roofie it, sure! :P

Can I give you stuff?
Uhhhhh, sure!

Can I hug or snuggle with you?
Hug yes, if you ask.

Are you nice?
As long as you're nice to me, generally yes.

How long are you staying?
Thursday through Monday

Will you be going to parties?
Not likely but might be at the dance.

If I see you, how should I get your attention?
Just yell "Hippo!" and I'll know who you're looking for.

Can I come with you for food/fun/etc.?
Possibly

Can I take your picture?
Absolutely, Lazlow.

What's your goal(s) for the con this year?
Here's hoping for another awesome year of RMFC!

 punkwolfdeacon

Go watch my new account.

Or I'll call you a bitch.

Bitch.

Dear He and She Who Shall Not Be Named,

Remember me? Of course you do. You slept on my couch for almost a month. You were the beneficiaries of my fiancee's and my decision to be generous to a furry and her boyfriend whom we knew only from Facebook because we understood that you were in a difficult situation and needed help, and felt bad that nobody else was willing to offer said help. We were to understand that you would only temporarily need housing, and that the situation would resolve itself quickly enough for everybody to leave the theater with a smile. Well, either our understanding was incorrect, or your definition of "temporary" and ours don't match. We endured just shy of four weeks of you making the bare minimum of effort to show any gratitude that we took you in, let you use our power, water, and internet bandwidth, fed you until you got your EBT set up, gave you refrigerator/freezer/cabinet space for the food you bought with your EBT, and also used a friend of ours for food and cigarettes. You put as much stress on my fiancee as anyone or anything ever has (believe me, I've never seen her so stressed out), and it trickled down to me as well. I didn't want you to feel guilty about stressing us out, so I lied and said that you weren't the main cause of our stress, but it's only fair for you to know at this point that you absolutely were. I tried to be nice. Even when Sammy wanted you gone, I put it off (which stressed her out even more), because at that point I believed that something was being done to get you out of our apartment and back on your feet. There came a time, however, when it became clear that it wasn't, and we had to take action or be stuck having to deal with four adults and one newborn baby occupying a one-bedroom apartment (which would violate the hell out of our lease agreement, not that we weren't already in violation for letting you stay with us). Maybe that's not your fault. I know that you were dealing with very unreliable friends and family. However, since you didn't have anything lined up to begin with (no transportation, no job, no other housing), it IS your fault that you decided to make the trip assuming that you could use others' generosity to get you wherever you want to be. We could've said no and left you to fend for yourselves from the very beginning, but we didn't. We genuinely tried to help. Tell me, what thanks did we get for it?

Addressing the two of you individually, starting with the female of the couple: I'll be honest, perhaps I don't harbor quite as much ill will toward you as I do toward your boyfriend. Obviously being 8 months pregnant limits your ability to do a lot of things. It's not my place to tell you what you can or can't do, but I will say that given your financial situation, the two of you put yourselves (and potentially a child) in a bad spot, and that could've been avoided. Again, not my decision to make though, so here's hoping that your child is healthy (I could go into more details on that, but I think Sammy covered that already) and you're able to better your situation for her sake.

As for the male of the couple: while there was a time that I felt bad for seeing you in the situation you're in, your lack of effort to better the situation and your passive-aggressive attitude toward Sammy and me once we determined that you needed to go for our own sanity pretty much killed that for me. You could've walked down to McDonald's (yes it's not a terribly short walk, but for someone in your condition it's doable), applied, more than likely gotten a job, and actually been able to start saving up to support you, your girlfriend, and your child. Everytime we gave you that option, you declined, saying "fast food just isn't for me", or "it's too stressful, last time I tried it I made it three days". Did you expect your dream job to fall right into your lap? What were your other options with no transportation and no other source of income? Were you going to ask us to just permanently keep you here and let you rely on us for everything but food? No. You were aware that you had to get something going before your child was born. We made that clear to you. Like I said before, it sucks that your family and other friends were unreliable, but to be brutally honest, since you're 35, have no job, no car, no housing of your own, and a child on the way that you can't afford to support, I can't help but wonder if maybe they've just given up on you. You may be pissed at us that we're "shoving you into this hellhole with no advance notice" (and let me reiterate that we held off to give you the exact amount of time that you asked for to get your belongings accounted for, so yeah, you had all the notice you needed), but what choice did we have? If we were to let you stay with us indefinitely, what would you learn from it? That it's okay to sit back and do nothing all day because you have someone to leach off of? How far would that ultimately get you in life? I have no idea where you're going to go from here, and at this point I no longer care, but at least maybe this was a wake-up call for you. Talk all the shit about Sammy and I you want on Facebook (yes, we're well aware), but like I said before, we could've just said no to begin with when you asked us to let you stay with us. Truth be told, we should've. Thanks to you, we now know never to do that again.

My mate,  thatblackfox has already done this one, but I thought I'd do it from my perspective.

1. Who eats more?
Considering my species, I think that's obvious. :P

2. Who said “I love you” first?
I think I did, but that was quite awhile back.

3. Who is the morning person?
We both hate mornings. I'm stuck getting up at 6:00 AM on work days though, so I guess I've learned to live with 'em.

4. Who sings better?
She does pretty well, but I think I might be just a little better. :P (I'm not bad if I have the right song to sing.)

5. Who’s older?
I'm quite a bit older, but it's all good right?

6. Who’s smarter?
Depends on the subject, I suppose.

7. Whose temper is worse?
Hers might be a little worse. She's quicker to anger than I am, but I still have a nasty temper sometimes.

8. Who does the laundry?
Both of us.

9. Who does the dishes?
Both of us.

10. Who sleeps on what side of the bed?
Looking from the foot board to the head board of the bed, I sleep on the left and she sleeps on the right.

11. Whose feet are bigger?
Mine are a lot bigger. I think she has like a size 5 or 6 in women's (can't remember exactly off the top of my head) and I wear a size 13 men's.

12. Whose hair is longer?
Hers is about the same length as her character's, and I always keep mine short.

13. Who’s better with the computer?
I work with them for a living. She can hold her own though.

14. Do you have pets?
We have 5 rats and 2 lizards.

15. Who pays the bills?
Most of the accounts are in my name, but she helps when she can.

16. Who cooks dinner?
I usually do since she works later than I do most days.

17. Who drives when you are together?
I'd say it's about 50/50.

18. Who pays when you go out to dinner?
Again, probably close to 50/50. She might pay a little more often.

19. Who’s the most stubborn?
Definitely Sammy.

20. Who is the first one to admit when they’re wrong?
Usually me.

21. Whose family do you see more?
Hers (at least on her mom's side) since they live a lot closer. My parents live about 4 hours away.

22. Who named your pet?
She named all the rats but two (Bee already had a name when Sammy got her, and I named Cookie). The lizards don't have names.

23. Who kissed who first?
Doesn't that usually happen at the same time? :P

24. Who asked who out?
She asked me out, and of course I said yes.

25. What did you do on your first date?
Met up for sushi (even though she doesn't eat sushi, silly fox that she is :P) and hung out in a small thrift/antique shop across the street from the sushi restaurant.

26. Who’s more sensitive?
Definitely her.

27. Who’s taller?
Definitely me.

28. Who has more friends?
I'm not sure. We have a lot of mutual friends.

29. Who has more siblings?
Both of us have one brother.

30. Who wears the pants in the relationship?
Honestly, probably her. It's all good, though.

Where are you staying? The Marriott

When will you be there? Friday morning from opening to Sunday at closing

How are you traveling? Car

Who will you be rooming with a couple guys who aren't on FA

How is the best way to find you? I dunno, look for a big gray hippo?

What do you look like? Big gray hippo. Duh. (On a more serious note, out of suit I'm about 6'1"/270, short hair, and I'll probably have all my Hammond badges on.)

Will you be suiting? NOOOOOOOOOO (Yes)

What is your gender? All male all the time.

How tall are you? 6'1"

Can I talk to you? Sure

Can I touch you? Preferably not without permission

Can I visit your room? Preferably not without permission

Can I buy you drinks?(21+) As always, just don't roofie my shit and you can buy me whatever you want

Can I give you stuff? You're seriously asking a furry if you can give them free shit? You know the answer to that.

Can I hug or snuggle with you? Hugs, yes.

Are you nice? If you're nice, yeah.

Will you be going to parties? Maybe

Will you be performing? Yes, I'll probably be doing 's voice acting panel and karaoke.

If I see you, how should I get your attention? Yell "HIPPO!" I don't think anybody else but me would answer to that.

Where will you be most of the time during the day/s? Panels, suiting, or eating more than likely.

Can I come with you for food/fun/etc? Sure, I don't mind a few groupies to promote my rockstar status (I wish).

Can I take your picture? Of course!

What's your goal(s) for the con this year? Same as always, just to have a good time.

First of all, let me get this out of the way: No, I'm not leaving FA, and no, I'm not following you to wherever it is you're going after you leave FA.

I'm going to go against my better judgment here and, rather than simply making a sarcastic comment about all the people leaving FA over the IMVU buyout, I'm going to make a statement about why I'm 99.9% certain that it's just a knee-jerk overreaction, like every other time FA has made the slightest of changes and people decided to hop on the first train out of FurAffinity-ville.

The biggest reason for people leaving that I've seen so far is that people are afraid that IMVU is going to either run the site into the ground, or pump tons of revenue-generating advertisement into the site in order to turn a profit off of it at the expense of the user base. Regarding the first of those things: remember who owned the site before? While I'll give Dragoneer credit for managing to keep FA from imploding completely, he was never the best option for running an insanely popular website. He hired coders and administrators based purely on the buddy system, not on their coding or moderating acumen, which led to countless people finding ways to exploit the coding (and when people who could easily close all the loopholes and already had the code written out to prove it stepped up and offered their services, he declined). He not only pooh-poohed rape accusations against a well-known FA user because said FA user is well-known, but he appointed him as the development lead for Project Phoenix (yet another attempt to re-code FA that probably never really got off the ground aside from a few previews of what it was expected to look like). There are countless examples, but suffice to say, IMVU probably isn't going to do any worse. Regarding what their plans for the site are from a business perspective, consider this: FA is obviously a user-driven website. Without all the traffic and user interaction, it's just a bunch of 1s and 0s taking up space on a hard drive in a server rack somewhere. IMVU is a business, and though businesses make decisions that piss off customers all the time, it's understood that the decisions those businesses make are intended to strike a balance between profit generation and customer retention. Sure, the balance isn't always found, but it's always striven for, because customers are what drive the business. Spamming FA with advertisements and forcing users to pay to get full usage of the site is a horrible business decision, and anyone who could manage a roadside lemonade stand for more than an hour should recognize this. I have no doubt that IMVU does. Obviously they intend to profit from the site, because that's what businesses do. "But Dragoneer was just a furry who wanted to provide a service to his fellow furries", you say? I say bullshit. It was as much a business for him as it is for IMVU. Otherwise, why would've he sold it? Though IMVU may change some things about this site in order to make it worth the investment, I don't expect those changes to be intrusive to the user base, because if they are, it's going to cost them.

The second reason I've seen for people leaving is that they're afraid that IMVU is going to distribute their artwork willy-nilly without asking for permission. Again, that's going to piss people off, so why would they do that? At most, they might use snippets of people's artwork for promotional purposes. What's the problem with that? Is it costing you money? Are people going to stop commissioning you because a small piece of something you drew got used as a promotion for the website that's hosting the piece? No. Unless it's costing you money (which it isn't), why is it a problem?

TL;DR: Knee-jerk reactions are silly. Stop it.

Where are you staying?
Whichever one is the overflow hotel... I think

What day are you getting there?
Friday morning

Who will you be with?
 furryhuskyjj

Who will you hang out with during the convention?
 furryhuskyjj,  nyanfloyd, and  damionwolfycub. Probably some of the other Nebraska furs too

How can I find you?
Look for the big gray hippo!

Are there any panels you might be attending
Probably

Are you attending any stage or public performances?
I'll probably do karaoke and  buckhopper's voice acting panel if he has it there this year

Will you be suiting?
Abso-friggin'-lutely!

Which suit(s) are you bringing?
Hammond and Deacon

Do you draw?
Occasionally

Are you taking commissions or trades?
No

How old are you?
29

How tall are you?
6' 1"

Can I talk to you?
Of course!

Can I touch you?
Uhhh, I dunno...

Can I visit your room?
That's up to Leppard and JJ

Can I buy you drinks?
As long as they're not roofied, sure

Can I give you stuff?
Go for it

Can I hug or snuggle with you?
Hugs, yes. Snuggles, no.

What’s your goal for the con this year?
Expose more Midwestern furs to the awesomeness that is Hammond the hippo :D

Are you nice?
As long as you're not a douche, yes

How long are you going?
Friday - Monday

If I see you, how should I get your attention?
Yell "HIPPO!" That's what most people do.

Where will you be most of the time during the days?
Either Dealers' Den, a panel, or suiting

What/where will you be eating?
No clue

Can I come with you for food/fun etc?
Sure!

Can I take your picture?
Absolutely! Hammond is a very photogenic hippo.

So while I can't honestly say my third year at RMFC was my favorite (that honor belongs to the 2013 edition and probably always will), I can say I had a great time again. Good to see everybody again this year. See ya again in 2015, Denver!

Jacked from  beastcub



1. Did you date someone from your school?
No, only asked one girl from my school out

2. Did you marry someone from your high school?
No

3. Did you car pool to school?
I drove

4. What kind of car did you have?
In chronological order: 1989 Ford Thunderbird, 1980 GMC Jimmy, 1992 Toyota Celica convertible

5. What kind of car do you have now?
2004 Chrysler 300 (and I still have the Celica but it doesn't run)

6. It's Friday night...where are you?
Assuming this refers to when I was in school... if so, either bowling or partying

7. It is Friday night...where are you?
If this is referring to now, fuckin' working. :/

8. What kind of job did you have in high school?
Drove tractors for my grandparents and my dad on the farm

9. What kind of job do you do now?
IT technician for a retail chain

10. Were you a party animal?
Somewhat

11. Were you considered a flirt?
LOL no

12. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir?
Played trombone and tuba in band

13. Were you a nerd?
Somewhat

14. Did you get suspended or expelled?
Got an in-school suspension for refusing to wear a South Park shirt inside out

15. Can you sing the fight song?
If I could remember the theme song for Blazing Saddles I could, because that was our "fight song"

16. Who was/were your favorite teacher(s)?
My band teacher and my Enhlish/Spanish teacher

17. Where did you sit during lunch?
I usually ate lunch off-campus

18. What was your school's full name?
Chambers High School

19. When did you graduate?
2003

20. What was your school mascot?
Coyote

21. If you could go back and do it again, would you?
Fuck that

22. Did you have fun at Prom?
Prom was okay, my date my junior year wasn't much fun though.

23. Do you still talk to the person you went to Prom with?
Neither of them, though the girl I went to senior prom with stayed in touch with me for a few years after we broke up

24. Are you planning on going to your next reunion?
Maybe

25. Do you still talk to people from school?
Some of them, I have most of my old classmates on Facebook but we don't talk much

26. If you could change one thing about your high school experience what would it be?
I would've taken up motocross at that age. Seriously.

So, I've been thinking that it's been too long since I've gotten a motocross-related commission. Unfortunately, I'm drawing a blank on who, exactly, I want to commission. Basically, I'm looking for something like this. If you happen to be reading this and want to take a crack at it, or know somebody who'd do a kickass rendition of it with my wolf character, let me know.

Just in case anyone's curious, I started up a Tumblr today. If you wanna check it out, head over to:

http://hammondjhippo.tumblr.com

Enjoy! And yes, if you follow me, I'll follow you back. :)

Is it here yet?

Grabbed from  marcofox. Think I've done this one before, but oh well.

Start with 100% and subtract 1% for everything that you've done.

100%

(x) Smoked.
(x) Drank alcohol.
(x) Cried when someone died.
(x) Been drunk.
(x) Had sex.
(x) Been to a concert.
(x) Given a handjob.
(x) Gotten a handjob.
(x) Given a blowjob.
(x) Gotten a blowjob.
( ) Been verbally/sexually harassed.
( ) Verbally/sexually harassed somebody.

PERCENTAGE SO FAR: 90%

(x) Felt someone up and/or been felt up.
(x) Laughed so hard something came out of your nose.
(x) Cheated on a boyfriend/girlfriend before.
(x) Been cheated on by a boyfriend/girlfriend.
(x) Been to prom.
(x) Cried at school.
( ) Gotten lost in a WalMart or a department store.
( ) Went streaking.
(x) Given or received a lap dance.
(x) Had someone of the opposite/same sex in your room.

PERCENTAGE SO FAR: 82%

( ) Had someone of the opposite sex sleep over.
(x) Slept over at someone of the same sex's house.
( ) Kissed a stranger.
(x) Hugged a stranger.
() Went scuba diving.
(x) Driven a car.
(x) Gotten an x-ray.
() Hit by a car.
(x) Had a party
(x) Done serious drugs. (cocaine, but only once)

PERCENTAGE SO FAR: 76%

(x) Played strip poker/darts.
( ) Got paid to strip for someone.
( ) Run away from home.
(x) Broken a bone.
(x) Eaten sushi.
(x) Bought porn.
(x) Watched porn.
(x) Made porn.
( ) Had a crush on someone of the same sex.
(x) Been in love.

PERCENTAGE SO FAR: 69%

(x) Made out.
() Laughed so hard you cried.
() Cried yourself to sleep.
() Laughed yourself to sleep.
( ) Stabbed yourself.
(x) Shot a gun
( ) Trash talked someone and then acted like their best friend the next day.
(x) Been online for 9 consecutive hours.
( ) Watched TV for 9 consecutive hours.
(x) Watched an animal die. (Poor pigeon/rat :<)

PERCENTAGE SO FAR: 65%

( ) Watched a person die.
(x) Kissed and/or messed around somewhere with at least 1 person.
(x) Pranked somebody.
( ) Put somebody in the hospital.
(x) Snuck into someone's room and/or your own room after being out.
(x) Kissed somebody of the same sex.
( ) Dressed punk.
( ) Dressed goth.
( ) Dressed preppy.
(x) Been to a motocross race. (I've participated in several of them.)

PERCENTAGE SO FAR: 60%

(x) Avoided somebody.
( ) Been stalked.
( ) Stalked someone.
(x) Met a celebrity.
( ) Ridden a horse.
(x) Cut yourself. (not intentionally though)
( ) Bungee jumped.
( ) Ding dong ditched somebody.
(x) Been to a wild party.

PERCENTAGE SO FAR: 56%

( ) Got caught stealing something.
( ) Kicked/punched a guy in the balls.
( ) Stolen a boyfriend/girlfriend from a friend.
( ) Gone out with your friend's crush.
( ) Got arrested.
( ) Been pregnant.
( ) Made a girl pregnant.
(x) Babysat.
( ) Been to another country.
( ) Started your house on fire.
( ) Had an encounter with a ghost.

PERCENTAGE SO FAR: 55%

( ) Donated your hair to cancer patients.
( ) Been asked out by someone that you never thought you'd be asked out by.
( ) Cried over a member of the opposite/same sex.
(x) Had a boyfriend/girlfriend for over 3 months.
( ) Sat on your butt all day.
() Ate a whole carton of ice cream all by yourself.
(x) Had a job.
() Gotten cut from a sports team.
(x) Been called a whore. (as a joke :P)
( ) Danced like a whore

PERCENTAGE SO FAR: 52%

(x) Been mistaken as older than your own age. (rare, I'm usually mistaken for being younger)
(x) Been in a car accident.
(x) Been told you have beautiful eyes.
( ) Been told you have beautiful hair.
( ) Raped somebody.
(x) Danced in the rain.
(x) Been rejected.
( ) Walked out of a restaurant without paying.
(x) Punched someone/slapped someone in the face.
( ) Been raped.

FINAL PERCENTAGE: 46%

It's good to see that RMFC is starting to gain traction. It was so nice to meet all the cool flurries I met there.

Hammond the Hippo has come to life.

I cannot thank  beastcub enough for taking this project on. It's pretty awesome knowing that this is a project that both of us wanted to see come about. She did a fantastic job.

You may have heard by now, but  beastcub's sister  wolfgem and her boyfriend  elden were recently involved in a terrible incident involving a hit and run driver. They both were seriously injured, though thankfully their injuries weren't life threatening, but they lost all four of their dogs, which were like family to them. Please show them your support, and if you'd like to help them out financially, donations can be PayPalled to thebeastcub[at]gmail.com

Four Dead in O-Hi-O

Wanna be a key cog in the Furry Banana Republic? Hint: No, you don't.

The Mulisha lost another rider today.

Ride in peace, Jeff.

Ripped this off from  muddog007 .

Favorite Brand: Gotta go with Chevy, although I do have an appreciation for Ferraris.

Favorite car: Ferrari F430 Spider or '69 Dodge Charger Daytona

Least favorite car: Anything with rims bigger than 20" on it. LOL

What car do you drive: 2000 Honda S2000 and 1988 Chevy S10. I'm saving a little back to buy a '68 Nova with a 357 (350 SBC bored .040" over) from a friend as well.

What was your first car: '89 Ford Thunderchicken

Favorite engine: Either Honda F20C or Chevy 454

Favorite transmission: 6-speed manual, but I like pretty much any manual tranny.