Had a refreshingly uneventful trip back after a very fun con. Will be posting pictures soon. Decompressing atm... Miss everyone I saw there already.

Me and Seaweed too in 2 boxes of Junior mints and shared a medium coke. We forgot about the candy and didn't finish the soda - and this was for a 3 HOUR movie. Yeah, it was that engrossing. So I hope everyone out there enjoys it as much as we did!

Me, Seaweed, Ocicat and Bedtime Bear just got back from a week at WDW, and other than Seaweed losing her credit card at the beginning, the trip went swimmingly. Bedtime set us up with a wonderful dinner at the California Grill, leading to an awesome view of the firework show. We got to do the new Pandora and Toy Story rides, as well as land some wonderful meet-n-greets. I'll post a few pics here over the next few days, but one thing did happen I want to address, and it will not be easy for me to put this down into writing...

As many of our friends know, these trips used to be organized and arranged by Pandaguy, who was often the brother I never had. Literally at the last minute, when packing, I threw in one of his old Animal Kingdom shirts he had left here years ago (yes, it'd been washed you pervs) to make sure I had enough shirts for the duration. I then forgot about it until we were at Disney. Our Animal Kingdom planned day got rained out, so we swapped it with a 2nd Epcot day which we could do at a more relaxed pace, with many Epcot events being indoor. So, a day late, we headed to Animal Kingdom to brave the rope drop and run with the bulls...er....crowd to the new Flight of Passage ride so we won't have to wait 4 hours in line later. The day progressed smoothly and we had lunch at an old favorite - Flame Tree BBQ. Mmmmmm.... Well, as we headed to Dinoland there was a scheduled event where a pair of characters would pop out and dance and interact with the crowd. Earlier it has been Turk and King Louie, I believe. Not really my characters, so it was a pass. But this time I froze when someone pointed out one of the characters to me. It was Meeko. Meeko had always been on of Pandaguy's favorites, and I knew I needed pics, so I grabbed my camera and moved in. Then I got punched in the gut. The other character out was Koda, one of the Brother Bears and another of Jon's favorites. Last I had heard the Brother Bear characters were no longer in this park, but had been sent to California. To the best of my knowledge it should not have even been there. But there I was, staring at 2 of Jon's favorite characters in the whole of Disney - together. I was still snapping pictures when I realized something - I was wearing Jon's old shirt. I admit, right there in the middle of the park I broke down. Maybe it's just a massive coincidence. Maybe it was a sign. All I know is I'm tearing up just writing this, so I'll wrap this up by saying we haven't forgotten you Pandaguy, and after this last week I know in my heart you have not forgotten us either.

Hey folks. Just a quick recap of the last week or so. Me and Seaweed headed out Wed. morning and drove to Leoma, TN to visit Pandaguy's mom. I really needed the break from work, so was looking forward to this getaway even more than usual. Fran was doing well, and we spent an evening with her and Jackie, her very excited Jack Russel terrier. I donated a Meeko Pop Funko figure to Jon's memorial room and we drove by the cemetery to pay our respects before heading onward. On that regard, I still miss him after all these years - and doubt I'll ever stop.

We detoured on our way to the hotel to visit an artist friend of Seaweed's. She worked at a country buffet in Jackson, TN. The place was located off a busy commercial road, and had a sign completely hidden by trees. Turning down a road behind a church, it narrowed down to 1 1/2 lanes and dumped out at an old barn next to a pond. Apparently this place was around well before the area grew, and is one of those secret eating spots that only the locals know about. All the waitresses seem to know everyone by name, and the food was the best I'd have all weekend. The only downside is it put us getting in at Olive Branch just slightly ahead of the con-in-a-box, so I had to keep my significant otter focused on checking in and helping me tote the stuff up to our room before she ran off to help. At least this year they did not have to unload in the rain.

The hotel had renovated a little more since last year. Our room had a new TV and most of the place has new carpets now - sadly the AC is still only adequate to keep the room tolerable until night falls (then it actually does get cold). Normally this is a minor complaint, but fursuiters know how nice a cool room can be.... We roomed with Lauren Rivers and Shrag this year. They were supposed to room with us last year, but came down with a slight case of HURRICANE. The weather cooperated this year though. In fact, attendance was up quite a tick at the con, and I attribute that to the first time in about 3-4 years a natural disaster was not occurring nearby as the con took place...

Tibble was supposed to room with us as well, but had to back out due to job interviews dropping into their lap. Best of luck on those! But Lauren and Shrag seemed to really enjoy the slow, casual pace of the con compared to the larger conventions, and I hope they'll be putting it on their con rotation in future years. But getting hugs from Shrag, Lauren and Topaz was a highlight of the weekend. ^^

So rather than go into even more detail, let's sum the rest of the weekend up quicklu....

The Good - Got Timber out and about a few times. I won the "Treasury of Great Recipes by Mary and Vincent Price" at the charity auction. This is the 2nd of 3 books I have been looking for that I have now gotten at this auction.....will my luck hold out for #3? Stay tuned in future years to find out! Lauren and Shrag were awesome room mates, and the local smoothie and wrap place, as well as Osaka's, provided excellent food.

The Bad - Tina got an app come in early in the weekend that turned into a nightmare through no fault of her own, so she lost about half a day to that. The hotel's internet service was actually better than past years. But that is like saying a piece of toast and a ketchup packet is better than rotting garbage. Granted, in past years it was almost impossible to hop on during the day, this year out could kind of sort of get connected - sometimes. Also, the pizza at the pizza feed looked like it was cooked hours before hand. It was never the greatest pizza to begin with, so let it cool down and harden up and "edible" is the kindest word you could use to describe it. Lastly, the BBQ place I loved so much is either going to pot or was staffed by newbies this weekend, because the food was nowhere near as good as it had been in the past. Still, at least this con has plenty of eating options around it, so one or two bad places cannot ruin the whole weekend.

The Ugly - I was going to put the BBQ and the Pizza Feed here, but as disappointing as they were they were not so awful I felt they needed placement here. Nothing really all that "Ugly" about this weekend at all.

I also enjoyed meeting Teric Dragon this weekend. He is a friend of Lauren and Shrag's, and he had a lot of great stories to share.

But as usual, the real highlight was getting to hang out and enjoy the company of friends - something that smaller Cons like MFM seem to excel in. I'm already looking forward to next year...

I loved the summary this guy did after the 2016 election, and now he tackles Oppression Obsession.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9_bI789Gog

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HOLY SHIT!

..... that's it. Saying anything else would be spoilery....

Here and settled in after a good night sleep. Weather is nice, but already the elevators are annoying as hell. I'm having fun so far, but also remembering why I hate larger cons...

Me and Seaweed should be arriving at the hotel tomorrow night, so look for me out and about on Fri/Sat and the first half of Sunday. And if you see Timber bouncing along, come and give him a hug - he lives for those ^^

a) No matter how much candy you think you have, it's never enough. (I think the number of kids coming by have doubled each year for the last few years. We've gotten a good rep in our neighborhood!)

b) Hot dog burps are the worst in fursuit heads. Seaweed found this out the hard way, and it's provided me with endless entertainment the whole evening.

c) It's never too early to indoctrinate the youngsters to Aawhoo-ing. Until a tail mishap caused me to switch out Timber with Kumba (the lion), I had all the kids coming by howling like pros....

That's it for this year. Me and Seaweed are settling down to watch The Blob now, Happy Halloween!

Just got back from our local Fall food fest downtown. Since I do not really drink, I sank $20 into tickets for food. So what did I score?

A Gator Dog - more like a gator sausage hoagie with spicy mustard. Very yummy and filling.

Shrimp and Grits - Not bad, but I've had better. Got this near the end when I thought we were about to head back, only to discover more food booths. Not bad in the least, but the one item I'd change if I could.

Jack Daniels Chocolate Pecan Pie - Now, think of how good this sounds. It tasted even better. Salivating yet?

Toasted Marshmallow Ice Cream - To quote Ian Malcom, "You did it. You crazy son of a bitch, you did it!" Not just ice cream flavored to taste like Toasted Marshmallows, but an ice cream made WITH Toasted Marshmallows. mmmm...

A couple of Pepsi's. Gotta wash this stuff down....

I went with Seaweed and my mother in law, so we were all sampling each other's items. In the end we spent the last tickets on Deep Fried Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough balls. I think we were all ready to burst by then. I'm a full, fat, and happy wuffie right now. Can't wait til next year....

I recently brought my old Dreamcast out of mothballs and hooked it back up. Nothing like the sounds of Crazy Taxi to liven up a house. :) But I know you can run emulators on a Dreamcast, and I was wondering if anyone out there knows of any good sites or instructions on how I can download/burn/run game emulators on it. I know folks have run emulators for Sega Master System, NES, Super NES, Collecovision, ect on them - I want a piece of that action, but am woefully unskilled at setting such stuff up. So any advice or help will be appreciated!

Well, the in-laws helped us out again and I now have a replacement for the old car - a 2017 Honda Fit. Nice to own a new car, but we'll be in hock to them forever I fear... Still, I truly appreciate their help.

Went to a local furry gathering today and got to suit a bit. Road a train, entertain some kiddies. Have not felt this tired/good in a long time. Makes me reflect back on my macotting days at the Zoo. Good times. Was good to catch everyone there too.

Had a rather fabulous guest here with us last week, weathering out the hurricane. Was nice to see him, just wish it had been under better circumstances.

Might be finally getting help at work. we'll see if this is daylight at the end of the tunnel or a train...

All in all, good weekend so far..

Our old car is dead. It will take 4K to replace the transmission on it and the whole car itself is not worth it. We'll have to look for a new (used) car soon. Not this weekend, since I have a chore list from the HOA to do. So yeah, MFM was an oasis of sunshine in a wide, vast sea of SHIT that is my life atm. Needless to say, unless something of a miracle happens, Disney is out.

I'm at a loss for words, sorry for not saying more. I think I need to go lay down....

... the building might be vintage, but there's nothing wrong with the pipes. He's still got it, and delivered a great mix of old and new, up-tempo and slow stuff. Very nice balance in the set. Just disappointed he did not play Kodachrome since it is one of Seaweed's favorite songs.

Very enjoyable. Much better than the critics I have seen say it is. Overall a very satisfactory way to wrap up the series. Of course, I don't think this will be the final film as long as there's a penny to be milked from this cash cow, but if they did end it here I'd be happy.

In answering a post a acquaintance made on FA, I came up with something that I thought I'd share. I figured the furry fandom needed their own Miranda Rights....

You have the right to remain furry,

Anything you yiff can and will be used against you in a court of public opinion.

You have the right to talk to an artist and have him draw a con badge or character reference sheet for you.

If you cannot afford an artist, you have the right to badger, prester, and plead for free art on FA until someone panders to you.

You can decide at any time to exercise these rights, or rage quit FA and run over to Inkbunny or DeviantArt.

Do you understand each of these rights I have explained to you?

Having these rights in mind, do you wish to yiff...er...talk to us now?

2017 continues the trend of celebrity with Bill paxton's untimely passing Sunday after undergoing surgery. I know he got a lot of good natured flack from me and others for his "Twister: The Ride" into at Universal Studios, but anyone who watched some of his smaller roles or more TV -oriented performances can tell you he really could act. He was a great character actor, and I for one will miss him.

....GIRL SCOUT COOKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
::

Still missing you...

Got to try honest to God genuine(ish?) Poutine at Disney Springs. For those who do not know, that is fries with beef gravy and cheese curds. Was not sure about the cheese curds, but it was quite yummy. Seaweed loved it because the cheese curds squeaked when you bit into them. May have to grab another round before we go. :)

If you get the reference, you know me and Seaweed saw tonight. If you don't get the reference, it's ok, my scrotum is actually NOT infested with maggots.

Damn you 2017, stop being like 2016!!