InFurNation!
Heddo! Me-sa name-a Jah Jah Binks!
ConFurence Ten came and went – and despite adversity, a good collection of furry fans came along for the ride! Much more on our past and our future later in this issue. But first, here’s the newts…
How successful George Lucas and his film Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace was at taking over the world on opening weekend sort of depends on what your measure is. The film set a records for a one-day box office take ($28.7 million) and made more than $100 million during it’s first five days, but it did not beat the $90 million record for the Friday/Saturday/Sunday period, which was set by The Lost World: Jurassic Park. However, it did beat Jurassic to the $100 million mark by one day (doing it in five and setting another new record). It then went on to set a record for reaching the $200 million mark. What’s it all mean? Ask the bean counters! Critical reviews have been decidedly mixed, but not so the mouth of fandom… for the most part, fans have been ecstatic that the film series they waited years for Lucas to return to (and weeks in line to get tickets for!) has finally come to theaters. Along with a huge marketing campaign of books, CD’s, games, toys, and product tie-ins, of course. Interestingly, there are several characters in The Phantom Menace who are completely computer-generated alien characters, including Watto the flying junk dealer and Sebulba the champion pod-racer. But by far the most screen time is given to Jar Jar Binks, a Gungan (an amphibious species with very long ears!). He stumbles across our friends the heroic Jedi Knights, and proceeds to provide comic relief for much of the film. Since the film’s release, Jar Jar has become something of a flash point on the internet – with folks espousing everything from ‘Jar Jar Must Die!’ to ‘Jar Jar Rules!’ all starting up their own web pages. He’s even gathered so much attention they put him on the cover of Rolling Stone recently.
Miramax has acquired the rights to produce a remake of the Jimmy Stewart classic comedy Harvey, the story of a casual drunkard, whose only friend is a six-foot tall invisible rabbit. Casting and production info has not been divulged as of yet.
Geena Davis heads an all-star cast in a feature-length film version of the E.B. White children’s story Stuart Little, the adventures of a mouse with some human qualities, who resides with a family of people. (TRIVIA FACTOID: Many years ago, NBC had broadcast a one-hour, made-for-TV version of Stuart Little, narrated by [then] Tonight Show host Johnny Carson.) The voice of Stuart is none other than Michael J. Fox. It’s coming to theaters this December.
Besides the full-animation fare Disney will be turning out within the next 12 months (e.g. Tarzan, Toy Story II, and Fantasia 2000), its international television animation studios are hard at work on a sequel to A Goofy Movie. Its tentative title: Max Goes To College.
Another piece of family fare worth checking out is Muppets in Space. Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, and the rest of the gang go where no other massive pieces of felt have gone before (if you don’t count all those “Pigs in Space” segments from The Muppet Show back in the 1970s). It’s out now on video.
AND THE WINNER IS: Computer animator Chris Wedge of NYC picked up the 1999 Academy Award for ‘Best Animated Short’ for his unique (and sometimes funny) CGI work, Bunny. The Prayer, one of the tunes from last year’s Quest for Camelot, earned a Golden Globe Award in the ‘Best Original Song’ category. It was also nominated for an Academy Award, but it lost out to When You Believe from The Prince of Egypt.
In the “Everything Old Is New Again” Department, watch for all-new TV cartoons with some familiar characters from the past. ABC will debut Mouse Works, an array of new stories with Disney characters Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto, et al. FOX Kids Network will offer all-new shorts starring Walter Lantz’ redheaded hellion Woody Woodpecker. And later this fall, Sonic Underground presents all-new adventures of the world’s fastest hedgehog (once again voiced by Jaleel White).
Now showing on the HBO Family Network is George and Martha, an animated series based on the children’s books by James Marshall (with production by Maurice Sendak). The pair of lead hippos in George and Martha are voiced by Nathan Lane (The Lion King) and Andrea Martin (SCTV). An interesting point in this show, as mentioned in Entertainment Weekly: It features as back-up players two male crocodiles, who live together, named Oscar and Wilde. The whole lot of them are all big fans of Broadway shows.
Currently on the drawing board for Nickelodeon is Fat Dog Mendoza (scheduled for a fall debut), being worked on (in part) by Mike (Captain Jack) Kazaleh. Mike has also worked on episodes of The Brothers Flub for Nickelodeon, as well as some episodes of The Lionhearts (MGM) for syndicated TV.
Several items of furry interest turned up recently at the Licensing ’99 International trade show in New York. ITV (in Britain) and YTV (in Canada) are jointly planning to release 26 episodes of a new TV series based on the animated film version of Watership Down, this coming fall. The ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) has a new line of mascot animals (a pig, a dog, a cat, a horse, and an owl) which they are planning on releasing on a wide variety of promotional products. Meanwhile in 3D furries, look for Kanga Roddy, a fursuit kung-fu kangaroo who (along with his singing puppet friends) teaches children the value of physical fitness and good citizenship. The producer is none other than Joe Montana of the San Francisco 49ers. And, on a very different note is Between the Lions, which appears to be a cooking show staring two puppet lions named Theo and Cleo. You heard it here, furs.
Animation Magazine had a recent article on animation companies in France, and several of the projects mentioned are of furry interest. Transylvania Pet Shop is currently a top-rated cartoon in Great Britain. Other recent shows include Inspector Mouse, Archibald the Koala, Pablo the Little Red Fox, 64 Zoo Lane, and an animated TV series based on Brian Jacques’ well-known book series Redwall. Feature films to look for in the near future include A Monkey’s Tale and a Babar feature.
From Canada, look for D’Myna Leagues, a comedy cartoon series about an all-bird baseball team and their adventures on the road. Currently in production.
Just in time to tie in with Disney’s animated Tarzan movie comes the Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan of the Apes trade paperback from Dark Horse Comics. Some thirty years ago, illustrator Russ Manning adapted many of the most well known Tarzan adventures into full-color comic book stories. Here they are collected for the first time, with digital color enhancement. Meanwhile, the comic book adaptation of Disney’s Tarzan, also from Dark Horse (and Greg Ehrbar and Mario Cortes) hit the shelves on June 16.
New from the DC Comics title Wetworks comes the Night Tribes one-shot by Golden, Sniegoski, Chin, and Scott. All the tribes of the world’s monsters must come together and join forces with the humans of ‘Wetworks’ to help fight off a demonic invasion. In full color.
In Tellos, new from Image Comics, the world is again threatened by dark magic – but this world is a fantasy, filled with magical creatures, adventures, and peril. And one of our heroes is a 6-foot tall tiger with a sword! Monthly, in full color, from Mike Weiringo and Todd Dezago.
New in black & white from Avatar Comics is Quantum Mechanics. In a violent future, a lady human adventurer battles the mysterious Church of the Acarine with the help of a renegade warrior mechanic – specifically, a giant reptilian basilisk she refers to as ‘Uncle Munhgo’. With the release of this new comic by Barry Gregory and Jacen Burrows comes the new 8-inch tall Uncle Munhgo action figure as well.
Getting a lot of buzz already is The Adventures of Browser Sequoia, which goes by the under-title Action Heroes from the Ice Age. Richard de Montebello and Gene Gonzales have created this non-violent (and often very funny) black & white adventure comic for the young and the young at heart. A boy in early North America must come to grips with his tribe, a pet wooly mammoth, and an infant saber-toothed cat. From SaberCat Comics, by the way.
Shanda Fantasy Arts has several new black & white comic titles on the shelves, most of them through the S.F.A. International line. Issure #2 features the return of Diane Sasse and Frenchie Doudou in a new adventure, Grove of Evil. Issue #4 collects the Tales of the Morphing Period stories of Richard Thatcher, as well as introducing some new stories (and featuring a new cover by Mary Hanson-Roberts). And issue #5, Zebra, is the first collection of works by writer, illustrator, and humorist Carl Gafford. Also look for the long-awaited premier of Nautilus, a furry science-fiction adventure by Curtis, Frank, and Garcia (with a cover by Carla Speed McNeil).
For a more humorous take on the Quantum Mechanics idea, check out Mojo Mechanics. (In black & white, from Tait, Matt, and Syndicate Publishing.) This comic of ‘science fiction INSANITY’ features the adventures of Ajax Sterling and Bippy – a roving galactic mechanic and his friend, a hippo. Yes.
An independent comic book landmark is reached as Fred Perry’s well-known Gold Digger reaches its 50th issue. To celebrate, Antarctic Press will be releasing it in two editions: One with a regular cover, and one with a special multi-character splash poster included inside. And, don’t forget about issue #1 of Gold Digger Volume 2, now appearing in full-color.
Randy Zimmerman returns with his loudmouth, sarcastic, politically opinionated (but never correct) character Spank the Monkey, now in his own solo comic book. (Though Spank’s wild haired brother Shock does show up now and then). In black & white, from Arrow Comics. While you’re at it, check out these new titles from Arrow as well: Dr. Goyle is a scholar, detective, and monster fighter, who just happens to be made of stone. He and his loyal (if inept) assistant are on the case of giant insects who’re eating a town’s prize sheep. You heard it. In black & white, from Mike Stegbauer and Mike Norton. Meanwhile, in Miss Chevious by Steph Graves, the galaxy’s greatest bounty hunter (who also happens to be an anthro black cat) faces much more than she bargained for. This four-issue miniseries is also in black & white.
Dark One returns to the world of Animal Mystic with Klor, a new 3-issue limited series from Sirius Comics. It features Dark One’s well-known gray-tone painting style, and tells the story of Klor (an equine centaur warrior/priest) in his early days as a barbaric scoundrel.
Two new manga of furry interest are available now in the U.S. In Kajika by Dragonball Z creator Akira Toriyama, a young hero must seek help to find the legendary last egg of the dragon in order to lift the Curse of the Fox – which has left him with pointed ears and a tail. In Inu-Yasha by Rumiko Takahashi (Ranma ½), a high school girl is spirited back to feudal Japan, where she attempts to locate the pieces of a missing soul-gem with the help of (among others) a canine-like monster.
Speaking of furries of a Japanese sort… the new Usagi Yojimbo trade paperback by Stan Sakai hit the shelves in August (from Dark Horse comics). The featured storyline is called Grasscutter, and finds our lapine hero in possession of the legendary lost sword of the Gods.
Starting in July, DC Comics began a truly unusual story-arch — JL-Ape: Gorilla Warfare. Try to follow this, okay? Beginning in July’s JLA Annual #3, Flash adversary Gorilla Grodd hatches a plot to not only kill the benevolent ruler of the hidden Ape City, but to turn first the Justice League of America, and then the rest of the human race, one by one into mind-controlled apes! One by one the super-heroes are transformed into gorillas, through the pages of the annuals for Batman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Superman, Green Lantern, and finally Martian Manhunter. Who’s behind all this? A host of DC writers and artists, lead by editor Dan Raspler. Each annual features a full-color cover (and the series features a full-color poster) by Monkeyman & O’Brien creator Art Adams.
Speak of gorillas in comics (July seemed to be a month for them!), you’ll want to watch for the premiere of Cy-Gor from Image Comics. Straight from the pages of Spawn and artist Joel Thomas / writer Rick Veitch comes the tale of half-simian, half-machine, all-dangerous monster, and what happens when he escapes from the secret government lab that created him. Monthly, in full-color.
Peanutbutter is an office cat, on the run after ruining some important paperwork. He meets up with an obnoxious crow named Jeremy, and together they search for buried treasure. In Peanutbutter & Jeremy by James Kochalka, what seems like a children’s story actually turns out to be a biting critique of modern society, in disguise. In black & white, from Alternative Comics.
New from Bare Bones Studios (in black & white) comes Garou: The Lone Wolf by Purcell, Moya, and Leveaux. In the time of the Spanish Inquisition, a Jesuit priest is bitten by a werewolf… and must struggle against the temptation to join the night beasts himself.
From Mprints Publishing comes the premiere of Ernor by Patrick and Vicky-Morgan Keith. In a primitive world inhabited by sentient wolf-like creatures who call themselves the Fenrae, a young cub must the help of strangers to help avoid the deadly ant-like Chic’tr as he searches for his pack throughout the world of Ernor. In black & white.
Back again from Radio Comix is a new Hit The Beach for 1999. The newest issue of this well-known black & white portfolio of furries in swimsuits features art by the likes of Joe Rosales, Terrie Smith, Kevin Muranaka, Kjartan Arnorsson, Norman Scott, Mark Moore, Michael Vega, Daphne Lage, Ryan Burke, Nami Jarret, Yusaka Toyoshima, Shon Howell, Diana Vick, Louis Frank, Marc Schirmeister, and many more. The whole 48-page collection is wrapped in a full-color cover by Trump.
Finally on the stands from Shanda Fantasy Arts is Nautilus, the long-awaited science fiction miniseries from Curtis, Frank, Garcia, and Fender. Furries and aliens interact on a far-flung spaceship in this combination of adventure, intrigue, and slice-of-life. Also look for New Horizons #6, this time featuring the return of Phantom Bunny by Chuck Fiala, plus more stories and art by Richard Thatcher, Tanamin, Ken Asche, Kevin Mulder, Dann Phillips, Steve Addlesee, and others.
Newly collected in University[2] – The Angry Years is 80 pages of Frank Cho’s well-received collegiate comic strip Liberty Meadows. Beginning in the Washington Post, it has since gone on to newspapers all around the country. This collection features nearly eight weeks of dailies and Sunday color strips, all featuring Brandy and her funny-animal friends.
Here are some new recordings based on traditional stories and fables with various talking animals: Coyote Tales (from Newport Classics) is a magical American Opera, depicting the Creation of the World by Coyote (based on Native American legend). Recorded live at its world premiere performance by the Lyric Opera of Kansas City (Russell Patterson, conducting), this two-act production spans over 100 minutes, with a unique musical score by Henry Mollicone (and a libretto by Sheldon Harnick). For more info on this 2-CD set, write to Newport Classics, 11 Willow St., Newport, RI 02840; or phone 401.848.2442; or fax 401.848.0060 . Also look for Four-Legged Tales (from Lyrichord Discs, Inc.), which offers a variety of animal folktales from Europe, Asia and Africa — all of which are narrated by Laura Simms.
From: Robert King, rcking@enteract.com
Hi Folks. Just to make it a bit more official, we are planning for 1999 to be the last year that Duckon’s furry track will be part of Duckon. The furry track has gotten too big to just be a “track” any more. For the year 2000, we will split off from Duckon to become the Midwest Fur Fest. At this time we are exploring a timeslot at the end of July.
From: Matt Henry, Madbadger2@aol.com
Grrrrrrrrrreetings, all.
Although the fandom has lost a valuable resource, in the form of Mailbox Books’ closure, Bronzebear Media Distribution is now up and open for business. To view our web-based catalog and ordering process, point your browsers to:
The catalog has a large assortment of comics, fanzines and portfolios by the top names in the fandom (Terrie Smith, Eric Schwartz, Tygger, and Michele Light, to name a few), and the hottest comic and ‘zine titles out (Associated Student Bodies, Yarf, Genus, Gallery, Furrlough, the Shanda Fantasy Arts line, Huzzah!, Havoc Inc…), and is promising to grow tremendously in the future!
To ease in making choices, the catalog contains a single sample cover for each item available, as well as full information on pages, format and cost. Make your choices by comic titles, fanzine titles, artist names, or portfolio names. An easy to follow order form is ready to be printed out for your convenience!
Didn’t make it to CF10? We did, and we’ve got the lion’s share of the new material (forgive the pun, had to be said *grins*) available in the catalog, at the click of a mouse, or a few strokes of the pen and the lick of a stamp!
Got something you think we’d be intersted in selling? Take a look at the “Vendor Guidelines” section. No web browser? No problem! Send a letter to our address, and we’ll get you a FREE catalog out, for your old-fashioned browsing pleasures! Bronzebear Media Distribution can be contacted by either conventional mail:
Bronzebear Media Distribution
P.O. Box 770742
Orlando, Fl 32877-0742
Or by email: Harry@bronzebear.com
Welcome to Bronzebear Media Distribution!
Harry Bronzebear,
Bronzebear Media Distribution
Anthropomorphic supplier for the new century!
From: Shyravas Snowdawn, Snowdragon@bonbon.net
Hi all. Thought y’all might like to know about this news I picked up:
“ABC Orders Dinotopia Miniseries”
ABC plans to air a six-part miniseries in May 2001 based on the first two books in James Gurney’s illustrated series Dinotopia, according to Variety. The books center around a utopian island where talking dinosaurs and humans live in peace and harmony.
The ABC series is being developed by Hallmark Entertainment, which has signed Gulliver’s Travels writer Simon Moore to pen the screenplay. The project will be executive produced by Robert Halmi Sr. and Robert Halmi Jr.,with a reported price tag of $50 million. The miniseries will likely be shot in Australia, New Zealand, the Gobi Desert and Mongolia, with a mixture of computer-generated effects and animatronics used to bring the dinosaurs to life. To date the Dinotopia books have sold more than 2 million copies, and HarperCollins plans to publish the third installment in the series, Dinotopia: First Flight, in October.
ConFurence has Stuff!
The original Furry Convention and Seminar is proud to present the ConFurence General Store. Three of our popular T-Shirt designs are still available for a limited time: “Furries in Force” (black on honey-color) by Eric Schwartz from CF7, “Furries in Love” (black and pink on grey) by Rachael Cawley from CF9, “ConFurence, the International Furry Con” by Ken Sample and Crassus from CF10. Plus, we still offer our Highlights Videos from ConFurence Seven, ConFurence Eight (Music and Mirth), and ConFurence Nine; plus coming soon – our special ConFurence Five/ConFurence Six combo tape! (Watch this space for an announcement!) Not to mention many cool prints and extra Souvenir Books! Look for the order form from The General Store attached to the back of this very issue of In-Fur-Nation – or, be sure to check out the detailed list on our web site! Hey, remember, look for our NEW addresses – by snail-mail is
The ConFurence Group
P.O. Box 84721
San Diego, CA 92138-4721
e-mail is info@confurence.net, and on the web you’ll want to visit us at http://confurence.net
A Request to Our Readers:
Hey, got a favorite comic or book store that carries your favorite furry titles, or that you wish would carry more? Give us their address! We’ll send them a copy of In-Fur-Nation each quarter, and keep them abreast of the kind of comics and media that you would like to see on their shelves! Remember, they can’t order it if they don’t know it’s out there! As an alternate: Know of any good comic review zines or web sites that might be looking to trade issues?
Guess what? In-Fur-Nation still wants Reporters!
As an on-going feature, we’re going to present profiles of furry creators and furry-oriented companies that are helping to promote products and media of interest to funny animal fans all over. So, like to help out? Know a comic book creator, animator, publisher, or other such person in the field who’d like to discuss what furries mean to them, or to the world? Talk to them, write down what they say… then give us a write-up, about 300-500 words, and we’ll include it as a blurb in an upcoming INF, and give you credit for it. [We do maintain the right to edit for clarity and length, mind you.] Send hard copies to the ConFurence address, or, you can e-mail your submission to Rod O’Riley at mink@firstlight.net .
Advertising in In-Fur-Nation: For those who’ve been asking, ads in In-Fur-Nation come in these sizes: 1/8-page “business card” size for $5.00 per issue, and 1/4-page size (4 1/2″ tall by 3 1/4″ wide) for $10.00 per issue. Full-page inclusions can also be arranged for $50.00 an issue. Send camera-ready art and text to P.O. Box 1958, Garden Grove, CA 92642-1958.
(Many thanks to Ray Collazzo, Darrel Exline, Mark Merlino, Jed Martinez, Zsa’nene Klinkler, and all the people who helped provide information for this issue both by mail and via Internet!)
How wude! — [Jar Jar Binks, Gungan, from Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace]
ConFurence Ten — Aftermath Report
Long before the event itself, Mark Merlino and Rod O’Riley had decided that ConFurence Ten (actually the 11th such furry gathering, if you remember your furry history) would likely be their last go-round as co-directors of ConFurence, at least for a while. Simply put, it takes a lot out of you to run such an event for 12 years, in your spare time… and besides, they’ve been saying for a while that, since rumor has it ConFurence can be a pretty neat convention, they’d actually like to attend one or two! So what happened at this, their final bow? Well…
Those Special Guests
This year we welcomed one of the premier fantasy authors in America, Patricia C. Wrede as our writer Guest of Honor. She actually admitted what many of us had suspected: Her comic fantasy novels were often inspired by none other than Jay Ward’s Fractured Fairytales! She also found time to sit in the Den of Dealers at a bookseller’s booth (our first!), meeting many of her fans and signing autographs. (She was also, I might ad, one very sweet and courteous person – Ye Ed-Otter). Artist GOH Mary Hanson-Roberts was celebrating her birthday during ConFurence 10, and spent much of her time letting folks celebrate with her (when she wasn’t at the Shanda Fantasy Arts Table with CF9’s Guests of Honor). Filk GOH Cynthia McQuillin was kind enough to join us for what she says may be one of her last cons away from home – her back is just getting too sore to travel. Given that, she was very kind to join us for our special Filk Concert on Friday nights (more on that later!). And special GOHs Robert & Margaret Carspecken were all over the con, participating in discussion groups and SIGs, and even running some of our art workshops.
It seems like every year more well-known types decide to join us at ConFurence, from a wealth of backgrounds in comics, science fiction novels, movies, computers, TV, and many other forms of media where furries can be found. This year we welcomed Steve Addlesee, Darrel Benvenuto, Mitchell Biero, David Bliss, E.T. and Elizabeth Bryan, Jose Calderon, Jack Cavanaugh, John and Rachel Cawley, Richard Chandler, Jimmy Chin, Mike and Carole Curtis, Pat Duke, Baron Engel, Tim Fay, Jeff Ferris, Leslie Fish, Steven Gallacci, Frank Gembeck Jr., Roz Gibson, Dr. Jay D. Glass, D.A. and Tygger Graf, Jim Groat, Christina Hanson (Smudge), James Hardiman, Harvo, Matt Henry, Shawntae Howard, Lance Ikegawa, Pat Kelly, Robert C. King, Kris Kreutzman, Daphne Lage, Michele Light, James Lomax, Ed Luena, Steven Martin, Michael-Scot McMurry, Carla Speed McNeil, Phil Morrissey, Kevin Andrew Murphy, John Nunnemacher, Joseph and Trish Ny, Tim O’Roarke (Tor), Fred Patten, Michael Payne, C.K. Penchant, Mike Raabe, Dr. Jane Robinson, Lance Rund, Eric Schwartz, Gary Lee Seto, Ted Sheppard, Terrie Smith, Gordon Spurlock, Pete Stoller, Brian Sutton, Jefferson P. Swycaffer, Trump, Susan Van Camp, Diana Vick, Edd Vick, Taral Wayne, Mel. White, Elin Winkler, and Tommy Yune. Not to mention a host of artists, small-press publishers, and other folks whose names you know — or will, soon enough! [And if there’s anyone who’s name we passed over – please forgive us!]
Those Costume Events
They braved the rain, and they came out to show us what they could do! Some of them even played golf! In the middle of it all was our annual fur-suit event, the Costume Presentation. And once again, both the fur-suit makers themselves and the con at large were given the opportunity to vote on their favorites. For CF 10, the winners included:
Popular Vote (By the con members):
Intro level: Furry Sailor Saturn
Advanced level: Stanley D. Lion
Peer voted categories (by their fellow fur-suit makers):
Performance:
Intro: Scruff E. Coyote
Advanced: B*tch
Original Design:
Intro: Rupelli Volpe
Advanced: Hephestos & Oshin
Use of materials:
Intro: A’kal Tiral
Advanced: Hephestos & Oshin
Best of show:
Intro: A’kal Tiral
Advanced: Stanley D. Lion
Our congratulations to everyone who won, and everyone who participated!
That Furry Filk Contest
This year, the furry filk contest was won by perhaps the most famous person to enter: Leslie Fish, for her song Invasion. Kitty cats versus space aliens – and the results aren’t pretty. Watch this space in the next issue: We’ll print the winning song lyrics!
We Had Events!
Thursday night once again featured two dances; our ever-popular Club Techno-Fur, and that gothic dance happening, Nevermore. Meanwhile, monkeys and apes got their very own species SIG for the first time.
During the day Friday we had several new and interesting presentations, including Kevin Andrew Murphy helping out Patricia Wrede in several writing workshops. Dr. Jay D. Glass discussing his book, The Animal Within Us and his theories on animal/human behavior (to an enthusiastic crowd that wanted more). And the folks from Linker Systems giving a demonstration of their famous Animation Stand software. And once again, Walksfar was gracious enough to lead the Paw-Fasting Ceremony for furry couples who wanted the world to know their lives are now one.
Friday night after the Furry Filk Contest was the return of the ConFurence Filk Concert, featuring not only Mid-Life Crisis (i.e. Guest of Honor Cynthia McQuillin and her partner Dr. Jane Robinson) and local folk/filk talent Windbourne, but also fan favorite Leslie Fish and a special (rare!) live performance by filker and furry author Michael Payne. Meanwhile, once again it was time to dance till the walls shake at The Purple Nurple Live. Many thanks to the tech crew, DJ’s, and volunteers for all of our nighttime events. (Special thanks again to Cargo and Digital Panther!)
Come the busy Saturday, it was time for another colorful and varied Costume Presentation; and a special lecture by folks from the Exotic Feline Breeding Compound in Rosamond, California, about their important efforts to save endangered big cats. That afternoon, professional hypnotist Terry Brussel-Gibbons lead a Guided Imagery seminar to help folks imagine themselves in the body of their favorite animal. It was so popular they had to turn folks away at the door. Saturday night it was time again for the Cabaret Fur le Dance, to bring in another capacity crowd and raise important funds for the Deal Whitley Scholarship at the Du Cret School. This year’s show once again featured a grand spectacle of talented dancers and singers, hosted for the first time by the dastardly and alluring T.J. Once again this year our lighting and effects were provided us by Digital Panthers, and the whole shebang was organized by John and Amanda Geyer and their helpers. Our heartfelt thanks go out to all the show crew, all the instant help, and most especially to all our dancers, fur suit performers, musicians, and singers. You’ve all given us another great one to take home! And thanks to the members of the ConFurence Choir, who got together and practiced a special song from Simba’s Pride just in time for the con!
We Had Our Sponsors…
Our sponsors are the special folks who help us see that ConFurence takes place; that it has special guests, and that it has a place to be! They do this just by contributing a bit extra above their membership fees, which we apply to transporting, housing, and feeding our guest speakers. Our list of Sponsors for ConFurence Ten included: Rob “Cinderwolf” Alston, Christopher Wendell “WolfWings” Armstrong, Andrew “Loxorion Trypnotk” Beaudoin, Steven Butler, Tim “Talin” Collier, Erik “Schnookums” Dominick, Romano Eberwein, Kay “Wolf” Exenberger, Deen Foxx, Aaron “Delynth” Goulding, Gerrit “Tes-Tui-H’ar” Heitsch, Andrew “Rasta Da Pantha ” Hicks Beach, Ed Hollowell, James “Sardonyx Fox” Hrubos, Michael “Tres Pendel Unicorn” Jacobsen, William “Brombear” Koonts, Matt “Foxlord” Koush, Chris Kuminecz, Doyle Lawson, Kevin “Rott” Lewchuk, Jeffrey “Sylffor” Lind, Oscar Marcus, Eric “Black Wold” Miyoda, Peter A. Murphy, Brian “Tarka” Myers, Barry “Rafflin” Needleman, Kevin Nose, Robert W O’Connor, J M “Porsupah” Paxton, Freddy E. Praul, Orion “Rors” Rainy, Jim “FoxTail55” Rauscher, William D. “Aronel” Ringland, Stephen “Polecat” Roy, Michael “Flafox” Russell, Robert “Sandy Claws” Sanders, Bob “Marauder” Schumacher, Matt “Underdog” Shaw, Jason Short, Lee “T.F. Rabbit” Strom, Jefferson P. Swycaffer, Sven “Cheetah” Tegethoff, Conrad “Kzorith” Thonger, Richard Williams, and Shannon “Shan’slox” Wilson. Thank you one and all!
… and We Had Our Super Sponsors!
These extra-special folks gave some real extra help for our guest speakers’ needs by contributing more than $100.00 each for the care and keeping of our big-name furries. Super Sponsors for ConFurence Ten included: Ralph “Rexel” Atwood, James K. Augur, Terry S. “NightGecko” Austin, Stephan “Jumpy” Bartels, Richard Brocaw, Clark “Ferret” Broslin, Michael “VulpesRex” Burlake, Andrew “Renkill” Burt, Jim “Perriloux” Cansdale, Lyon Castro, Caleb “Kymri” Corey, David “Spino” Cotelessa, Andrew “Hercule” Cullen, Dee Davison, Jeff Davison, David “G.I. Joe” Ewell, Tony Ferro, Sydney Fisher, Hanno “Hurga” Foest, Patrick “YiffyFox” Garvey, Heiko “Mran” Gemming, Peter N. “Lochiel” Glaskowsky, Michael “Aiyeska” Grodemaw, Michael “Lionman” Hackett, Brock Hoagland, Masaki “W.Crow” Iwahara, Andreas “Tabalon” Jaekel, Ron Johnson, James P “Krin” Kelley, Boyce Gerald “Admiral Kline” Kline Jr., Chris “Remington Fox” Ladusky, Robert A , “Blars Blarson” Larson, Gary Leasia, Lee Leduc, Shane “Ferian” Longo, Jake McDermott, James McMelhan, Krystian “Melburik” Misztela, Judy “Jwyldragon” Oxford, John “Edward Fox” Pennington, Norbert “Bigwig” Peschel, Christopher Pesl, Timothy “Jurann Foxtail” Rea, Michael R. “Old Husky” Reed, Gary “Sleepy Jackal” Renaud, Herb “Furry Felon” Rickards, Charles E. “Foxiekins” Roe, D.W. “Goat” Souther, Eric “Oskar” Stout, Richard F. “Treerat” Thatchr, Brian “Cinnamon” Thomas, Peter “Whitefire” Torkelson, Kyle “Hartree Fox” Webb, Gary L. Whalen, Terry “Terrybear” Whittier, John “Omega” Williams, and Dave “T’Chall” Wilson. Extra special thanks to all of you once again!
More Furry Conventions All Around!
Here’s a quick look at some of the many furry gatherings popping up around the country, and around the world… hopefully, we’ll meet YOU at some of them ourselves!
Further Confusion Y2K
Where? The San Mateo Marriott, San Mateo, California. When? January 27th – 30th, 2000
What? Further Confusion is a convention centered in the San Francisco Bay Area for fans of animals and anthropomorphics. In addition to providing a forum for organized and informational events, convention is designed to promote a sense of community among “furries”. The four-day convention will feature workshops and presentations representing the broad range of interests within Furry Fandom. Events will include costuming (“fursuit”) presentations and a masquerade, an art show and dealers’ area, writing presentations, and dances at night.
Registration: Further Confusion is pre-registering attendees for a discount price of $30 for a full membership, good for the length of the convention. This price will be available to people registering before November 1st, 1999, and $35 after that date. For details and a pre-registration form, see our Registration Page.
Hotel Reservations:
Further Confusion will be held at the beautiful Marriott of San Mateo. More information about the hotel, in addition to a map for those driving, is available on our Hotel Page. The Marriott now accepting reservations for the convention. The rates are as follows: $90 for doubles and $109 for quads. But wait, there’s more! You can get a Regency Suite for $109, and a Rotunda Suite for $129. The suites are limited and available on a first come, first served basis, but there are quite a few suites available. Along with our new hotel, we’ve got even more space for dealers, the art show, and programming. We are occupying almost all of the hotel’s event space, so it should make for an enjoyable atmosphere for all.
Contact Information
If you want to reach us, you can write to us at:
Further Confusion
P.O. Box 1299
Cupertino, CA
95015-1299
You can also reach us by email at info@furtherconfusion.org .
And then, again, we welcome you back where you started… and us to a place we enjoyed!
ConFurence 11 – Furries in Asia
April 6-9, 2000, at the Irvine Airport Hilton in Irvine, California
Check out the ConFurence Group web site at www.confurence.net !
It’s a brand new day at ConFurence, with a new crew in charge, and lots of great new ideas we’ll be giving a whirl – not to mention, lots of great old stuff we’ll be bringing back!
Please join us in welcoming the brand-new co-directors for ConFurence 11, Darrel L. Exline and Zsa’nene Klinkler.
Introducing CF11 Co-Chair Zsa’nene Klinkler
Hi, my name is Zsa’nene Klinkler (a.k.a. “TigerEyes” or more commonly “Zee”). I’m one of the two new Co-chairs for ConFurence, along with Darrel Exline I really hope that I do a wonderful job along side of Darrel in running ConFurence this year.
I have been attending ConFurence since CF4. The second year I attended CF I ended up volunteering my time to help out with CF security team. I have been on security staff ever since. The last 3 years I have been Head of the Security team. I really love being part of CF itself and I am looking forward to getting into even more now.
I will be helping Darrel out in every aspect that I can help out in throughout the year and throughout CF itself.
My ears are always open for anyone that would like to talk to me about things. If you would like to contact me, you can reach me through e-mail at TigerEyes@zeus.ax.com, by phone at (619)442-1807, or by pager at (619)257-6217 at anytime.
I look forward to meeting new people that show up for ConFurence and old friends and members that show up for CF this year.
Introducing CF11 Co-Chair, and Director of “The ConFurence Group”
Darrel L. Exline
When I first heard the rumor that Rodney and Mark were stepping down from running ConFurence, I became a bit disheartened. Over 10 years ago, Mark and Rodney had this funny little idea that since their Furry Parties at various Sci-Fi conventions were becoming so popular, there might just be enough interest to hold a separate convention just for furries.
Well, that’s all history now, but suffice it to say, that attending every single ConFurence, including the prototype convention, CF-Zero, has spawned some of my fondest memories over the years. I was still a college student during the first CF, and have since lived in Texas, Arizona, and now back in Southern California where I started.
When Mark and Rodney tendered their resignation at the last staff meeting before CF10 it immediately followed with an impromptu election for their replacements. I was honored to have received the first nomination directly from Rodney, and stuned when I heard it seconded from all around the room.
I knew then that I had better start planning to put on a damn good show to live up to the honor I received that evening.
I knew right away that creating a new business was necessary. Running ConFurence is going to be done in the most professional way I know how. Thus was born a new company known as “The ConFurence Group“.
The stated goal of The ConFurence Group will be to finance ConFurence and other funny-animal fandom events.
At this time, there are plans to also run a new convention alongside San Diego ComicCon called “CritterConDiego” on Friday and Saturday nights, taking place of the ever-popular furry part (which had over 200 people attending this last year). The planning of CritterConDiego depends mainly on the success of ConFurence 11, though, which at this time looks to be quite a promising continuation of the legacy started by Mark and Rodney nearly twelve years ago.
(See our advertisement for more information on ConFurence 11 elsewhere in this issue of In-Fur-Nation.)