Dear complainer about some other artist's work:

I understand that it's tough being confronted with a big erect phallus when that's not what you want to see.

As a fellow hyena fan, I assume that you are aware that the phallus is one of the most distinctive things about female hyenas. It's not one that every artist chooses to embrace...I myself prefer the upper-chest location when putting boobs on a female hyena rather than the more accurate abdomen placement.

If it's that big a deal to you, let me refer you to basically ANY OTHER MAMMALIAN SPECIES because they don't feature dongs on their chicks.

Also, horses will frequently be drawn with hooves and mice will commonly be drawn small. Hope that helps keep you ahead of the curve.

(/bitchyyeen)

Really creepy anthro pitbull makeup, and the sexy alien creature that is Yolanda. <3

http://youtu.be/JvMXVHVr72A

Para and Tique will be coming to Austin to visit, let's have a nice time and hang out with them and lots of oontz oontz!

Still trying to think of a good theme...not that it matters of course. Summer? Novelty sized sunglasses? |)

* Steve Galacci, the creator of 'Albedo,' the comic that got me in to the fuzzy stuff, is still putting out art! Bid on a fennec of his, didn't win but I'll look for him online now. :)

* AC isn't -that- much bigger than TFF. It's not an exponential difference. The major change is the multi hotel thing, as noted by Ip and others. it means more walking through the streets, and people in their fuzzy costumes walking around everywhere. I'm not really in to the 'freaking the mundanes' thing so this is mostly an annoyance to me, but if that IS your thing then it's probably great.

* Pittsburgh is a really pretty place! Very iron-y and industrial. Glad we got to do some walking around. Wish I didn't lose my hat on saturday! :J

* Really nice light show for the big dance, with moving head washes over the dance area. None of this random-effects-lights and all the par cans pointed in people's faces crap. Also, they had chrome-plated moving heads up above! <3 Really pretty lasers too. Stuff on the video screens that was funny loops, repetitive that there wasn't temptation to sit around and watch TV. Great bass but not earsplittingly loud.

* The fursuit friendly dance...hmm. Nice 80's stuff, music videos on a screen--not sure how I feel about those--and a very few dancers. We've had more people dancing at home. |) It was advertised as 'lights-up,' but they turned most of the lights off early on...which I have no problem with, but that's not what you were advertising. The sound rig was modest, no problem, but we had the subs on either side of the dance floor which makes me twitch and they kept cutting in and out. 80's rock has SOME bass!

* Re: my hyena costume, I REALLY need to put snaps or something on the elastic bands. As is I have to take my shirt off to put it on. This is fine if wearing an undershirt but I don't like the extra layers, and I'm a big damn dork and don't want to take my shirt off in the headless lounge. DON'T LOOK AT MY NIPPLES :( Easy fix though.

* The vision on Corby's head was just too horrible for him to use it. Derp. It's those 3d modeled tear ducts. Oh well, I'll dremel them off and then redo the mesh, easy enough fix I hope.

* The panel called 'My Kid Dragged me to AC' was a lot of fun, and needs to be copied at TFF! I've wanted to talk to parents for a while, it was nice to be able to interject and talk to some of them. (young furries are rarely interested in putting me on contact with their parents for some reason) |) Just the chance for them to get together and talk with each other was really valuable.

* Ventilation on the hyena head isn't quite good enough to sit still and relax. I wore it through the jazz concert with Corby and eventually my forehead got really uncomfortably hot even though the rest of me was fine. Plenty of cool air to breathe, but...my big balding noggin needs more air. I had considered putting a fan on the back where I currently have padding to bulk it out (so there's room to use), I need to actually follow through with that.

* ...on the flip side I was able to spend a good amount of time at the dance, breaking to run over to the headless lounge to just get some cool air blowing in. With my silly construction it's a massive pain to take it off, but it was so deliciously cold in there that just sitting in front of a fan for a few was adequate to recharge me.

* Headless lounges across from both dance areas...BRILLIANT. Give whoever thought of that a tasty hot dog.

* Dressing up as a silly hyena is not the awesomest thing ever, but it's entertaining. As Corby puts it, it's fun creating the alternate-social-reality field. It makes me happy to see hyenas, so I can make there be more hyenas to see. *wag*

* Sark, I'm with you, it is more fun to dance while dressed up. :)

* Corby spotted that Skulldog was doing badges, and she did a really nice one for me! :) So happy, I love her work and she did a fine job. (I asked for 'hyena, older, paternal/maternal' and she expressed that nicely)

* Saw two nice female hyenas, one a skinny girl in a partial and one more womanly full one who took a pic with me. (once I see the pic maybe I'll be able to read her badge) AA Hyena said hi to me in the headless lounge got to talk a little before scampering off since I'd left Corby outside.

Overall--great time. It was nice to see Giles there and spend some time with him too!

Still zero PCD since I get to see y'all Austinites again real soon. :)

Corby and I will be packing for AC. Have a nice 4th y'all! :)

I started cutting up the wig for Corby's mask this weekend. I was worried that I might have problems with it unravelling on me when I did this, but it turns out that I needen't have worried...the hairs are bonded to a totally synthetic backing, a meshlike fabric like that used on the tops of sneakers. So, good!

If you have no experience with wigs (as I don't) I can now commend them--at least the cheapy sort that one would order for chopping up. And thank you to the punks and anime cosplayers out there who have created a supply of awesome crazy colors. :)

Same drill as always...sadly I'm working two hard on sewing for Corby to do a poster this time. 7pm until late, pester me if you have any questions!

Sark seems enthusiastic at musicy stuff and I've enjoyed his selections so I'm looking forwards to hearing more of them!

Avrin and Tylenn have put this together, woot! Go take a look! :)

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/5831865/

Penciling in the next date. This should be before the flurry of stuff we have going on at work and elsewhere next month!

If anyone has ideas for a name or theme, or wants to draw or collaborate on the poster, let me know!

I learned a new stitch! now I know TWO!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gF6u.....qKQU&t=50s

...working out really well on the lycra. You can see the seams but they aren't bad, and that's really the best you can hope for with non-fluffy fabric I think.

It's also nice because you can work from the front of the material. There's a fair amount of it to do, though, I maaay not have the sewing done by saturday. I'll try though!

Also I tested the Super 77 adhesive out to see if it 'eats' at the foamie stuff, and no problem, it's safe! Whew. One fewer thing to worry about!

I was mowing the lawn yesterday and I saw a little thing wriggling around in the grass! My first thought was OMFG I mowed a critter, but when I looked closer it looked fine.

It was a fat-bodied legless thing, less than a foot long, brown with darker stripes along its sides and back. Its body was really fat halfway along (but still tube-shaped, this was not 'I just ate something') and then quickly tapered to the end of its tail.

Looking it up, it may have been a 'Slender glass lizard': http://reptile-database.reptarium.c.....ies=attenuatus

SUPER cute...it wriggled away before I could catch it, but it was a neat find. :)

I have stuff shipped to my workplace when I can since we have a receptionist. Generally I have our compnay name AND my name on the labels, but the folks I ordered them from (Roofur) left my name off. The receptionist opened the package and posted a pic of the plastic claws to the company list asking whose they were.

When they found out that they were for me, and to make a mexican hairless costume for my SO, it all made sense to everyone, I think. :)

dork dork dork dork!

Tylenn has made the group  fouxpaw for organizing fursuiting events in Austin, with a focus on benefiting the pet rescue nonprofit 'Pets Alive.'

If this sounds interesting, check it out! :)

Tylenn's proposes an outing to Zilker park on 4/22, partly to distribute literature for Pets Alive (an animal rescue group), partly for fun.

The fine details are still being worked out, but send him a note to his FA account if you're interested:

http://www.furaffinity.net/user/tylenn

If you're interested in being on a mailing list for other fursuiting events (mostly benefiting Pets Alive) send him your e-mail address!

Edit: derp derp hyena derp

Gonna aim for the next one then!

As a side note, I'm still up to suggestions of other venues if anyone has a great idea.

Kage/ you want to DJ again? Probably not for the whole night, I won't make you do that. |) Sark, you expressed interest in doing that too?

Sark points out that Eeyore's birthday is coming up:

http://www.eeyores.org/

It's on April 26th and is an all-day event in Pease park, totally costume and bizarreness-friendly. Worth a trip, althogh there is NO parking on site, one needs to bus/walk/ride in!

Keep it in mind! :)

KaGe: I figured out what was crashing the player and fixed it. :)

So we're on! I'll have hot dogs and popcorn as always, bring anything you care to drink. And my all means dress up if it amuses you to do so! I want to see Fadey in his cute raver shorts! <3

Still on for this! Contact me if you need any info. Kage and Fades have expressed interest in DJing also so there'll be an even wider mix. :)

Would anyone be interested in either lipsyncing or doing ghetto kareoke? (by this I mean singing along on a mic with a pre-recorded track with the midrange scaled back, no TV with lyrics, knowing them is YOUR problem) We have the technology, and several of us own cameras to immortalize your shame. |)

If you ARE interested then bringing your own copy of the music you want to use is smert, 'cuz I probably don't have it!

Midas is suggesting a mass outing to Sherwood fantasy faire next weekend. It's pretty close to Austin and they have a pretty grounds with lots of space; I like it! Any maybe the weather will be good. :)

Thanks to Darkwolfdeamon for pointing this group out...fun music, and this video establishes that the lead singer is a surgically modified poodle!

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

(she looks a lot like Bernadette Peters, doesn't she?)

Re: straps, I added them to the bib of the mask (running under each armpit) and they seem to work really well. I was worried that the'd make it too hard to put it on or take it off, but I sewed 'em in anyways (easy enough to remove) and there are no issues. Yay for simple fixes!

So...I extended the 'bib' on the hyena mask so it goes down past nipple length in the front, and almost that far in the back. Sadly it still pulls out from under my shirt when I move my head around a lot. :/

Here are some ideas for dealing with this:

* Add extra slack on the neck, a bit of double chin. That'd give the slack needed for craning the head up (which I frankly have to do to see faces, it's a hunched head position--totally appropriate for a hyena, but occasionally one needs to see)

Downside: This won't help with turning or with the back, where I've added some padding to give a bit of that horselike hyena neck.

* Suspenders worn inside the shirt, elastic straps to pull it back down when it gets yanked up.

Downside: ...connected to what? Since this has to be under the shirt, the'd have to clip to my underwear...wedgie city?

* Wear a form-fitting T-shirt under it, and use velcro or something to attach the edges to the shirt.

Downside: More layers make sweaty big guys like me sad. :/ And maybe it'd just result in the shirt being pulled up over time.

* Extend the 'bib' to go under my arms so they can hold it down. Perhaps have an elastic band running around my chest to hold the middle of the front down.

Upside: Under my clothes, I get to dress like Leeloo from Fifth Element.

Downside: ...more stuff jammed in my pits? Actually this seems pretty practical.


Any of y'all have experience with this? I assume I'm not the first person to have this problem!

So last wensday we were talking a bit about fun stuff to do in Austin as a community and throwing around some fun ideas. (More on those later) KaGe pointed out that a lot of people he knows aren't really comfortable with fandom/sub community get-togethers, and I definitely agree...there are a lot of people who meet their social needs elsewhere, have insecurities that they haven't gotten past, simply aren't that social, etc etc etc. The number of people who are up for any given activity are a slice of a slice of a minority.

This is not necessarily a BAD thing. I think a frequent illustration is when an SO gets dragged along and doesn't want to be there. (I have been both the dragger and the draggee in the past) It's generally a trial for everyone in the vicinity and it seems to rarely get better over time.

(another variation is the person who shows up long enough to find a boyfriend/girlfriend and then bails immediately after, only to be seen again when they break up. Kudos for recognising the value of a community, at least!)

Anyways, inclusive dorks like myself frequently want to include everyone, but that's not a realistic goal. Including people who WANT to be included is. (And have the maturity to not piss in the punch bowl, of course)

This translates to 'mention stuff to people you think might be interested, but don't push' for me at this point in time.

Anyways, one of this really obvious thing that people like me are really slow figuring out. Yay for incremental progress. *wag*

Okay, back to the Austin swing of things. :)

I'm penciling in sat 3/22 for the next dance. Same place, same time--7pm-ish until late. Unless someone has a banquet hall they'd like to make available of course!

If you know anyone that you'd like to invite that you'll personally vouch for (and I know you, of course) that's great, just let me know.

Kage has expressed interest in DJ'ing for part of it. I look forwards to seeing what she plays!

So I was talking to Fades and he'd really perfer it if I'm not up to the wee hours on wensdays, so I'll he gently and lovingly urging people towards the door at 10:30pm. Happy SO's make for happy houses, and gods know he puts up with a lot. :) He keeps saner hours than I do and it's also been hard for him to get to sleep with lots of conversation right outside the bedroom door.

We ARE on for this week. I want to start a big collab TFF2014 pic, I think that'd be fun and it's been a while! I may just slump exhaustedly and stare at cartoons though.

I also look forwards to hearing people's thoughts and observations about last weekend!

Okay, I think we're set to go. Anyone who wants to bring some music for inclusion, feel free to, ideally this wensday.

If you show up early I'll make you help me move furniture. *wag*