| Meme Time. Break It Down |
[Dec. 2nd, 2009|07:12 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | meme | ] |
| [ | Mood |
| |  good | ] |
| [ | Music |
| | Ray Stevens - Mississippi Squirrel Revival | ] |
This meme snaged from new LJ friend ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) scootersquirrel. Welcome to my little corner of the internet.
A - Age: 47
B - Bed Size: Full
C - Chore you hate: Lawn care
D - Daughter's Name: No kids
E - Eyes: green/blue
F - Favorite color: Blue
G - Gift you last received: My Little Ponies
H - Height: 6.1'
I - Instruments you play: Drums
J - Job title: Furry Sci-fi writer / Care provider for elderly family members.
K - Kid(s): Love them, but don't want to be responsible for them. Too old in in too poor health to give them the attention they need.
L - Living arrangements: Upstairs appartment.
M - Mom's name: Betty Jean
N - Nicknames: Perri Rhoades or Perri Prinz
O - Operations: One tooth removed so far.
P - Pet Peeve: Trolls and fans who make trolls sound credible.
Q - Quote from a movie: "Luminious beings are we. Not this crude matter." ~Yoda.
R - Right or left handed: Right
S - Siblings: 2 Older brothers
T - Time you wake up: Highly variable (usually between 2-7 PM)
U - Underwater or up in the air: Neither.
V - Vegetable you dislike: Tomato
W - Ways you run late: Doing memes and otherwise messing around on LJ when I'm already late with next week's episode of Spectral Shadows.
X - X-rays you've had: All.
Y - Yankees or Mets: I don't do sports.
Z - Zoo favorite: Exiled from the zoo, farm, race track and animal shows by allergies. But will still squee over anything cute. In cartoons I'm partial to canines, felines, bunnies, deer, equines, skunks . . . Ok, I'm not partial. It's really hard to find a Furry I don't love. |
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| Writer's Block: Time in a bottle |
[Nov. 23rd, 2009|05:22 am] |
Hard to answer since most everyone I like in rock is still alive, and I saw Queen in 1980. So I can't say Freddie Mercury. Finally decided on Harry Chapin. And, if I had time, I'd also try to see Karen Carpenter and Jim Croce. |
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| Fursuit Parade |
[Nov. 23rd, 2009|04:19 am] |
 Hi! *waves* Hunny Bunny here. My SL son, Jmfoxfire,  went to Midwest Furfest and brought back some video to share with y'all, as well as a picture of a cute lynx kitty he got to pet. Enjoy.
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| And Now A Word From Our Sponsor |
[Nov. 21st, 2009|09:25 am] |
Furry mascots strike again. Too bad I stopped watching TV. So I don't see this stuff anymore. This interview with the mascot was actually cooler than the spots. But still, I doubt this guy is going to be the next Geico Gecko or Taco Bell Dog.
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| Attention All Makers Of Furry Web Comics, Net Serials, Etc. |
[Nov. 18th, 2009|03:46 am] |
If you would like to be included in The Chronology Of Furry Entertainment, please make a response here with the following information.
Name of creator, alias or team you want used.
Year your project started net publication.
A brief description of the project. (Preferably 1 paragraph)
A banner or other image I can use to represent your project.
And the URL of the project.
Any project meeting the Ursa Major criteria of featuring at least one Anthropomorphic Animal is eligible for inclusion.
You don't need to own a project to suggest it for inclusion, and there is no limit on how many projects you can suggest. But please try to include the above information for all titles.
I want to get everything into this list eventually, but it will take me forever to search the net on my own. Responding here will get things included right away. |
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| Adventures In Furry Research |
[Nov. 17th, 2009|10:55 am] |
Some interesting facts discovered while adding the Disney films to my Furry Entertainment Chronology.
Not only is there an original 101 Dalmatians novel, there's a sequel that has never seen the light of the big screen. From the Wikipedia plot description . . .
"The dogs travel to Trafalgar Square where they are addressed from the top of Nelson's Column by Sirius, Lord of the Dog Star, an extraterrestrial dog. Every dog perceives him as a dog of his own breed. Sirius invites them all to travel back to his home where they will be safe from the dangers of nuclear war on Earth, not to mention the whims and potential abuse of humans. Some dogs are for this, some against, but in the end all the dogs agree that Pongo, known for his braininess and heroism, should make the decision."
I don't know about you, but this intrigues the heck out of me. But, of course, Wikipedia doesn't see this as notable information and is considering the article for removal. May a hundred and one irate canines chomp their inconsiderate tushies.
Then I came upon this little tidbit in The Jungle Book article that really ruined my night.
"The vultures bearing a physical and vocal resemblance to The Beatles was a result of the band nearly singing songs for the movie and voicing the vultures themselves. Manager Brian Epstein (who died from an accidental drug overdose less than two months before the film's release) had approached Disney about having the band appearing in the movie without asking the band first. Once Epstein informed John Lennon about it, he immediately vetoed it and told Epstein, 'There’s no way The Beatles are gonna sing for Mickey f***ing Mouse. You can tell Walt Disney to f*** off. Tell him to get Elvis off his fat arse, he’s into making crap f***ing movies.'"
Ok, that clinches it. I detest John Lennon. I'm sorry as heck he got shot down in the street, but he was still a major jerk.
Continuing on, I got to The Fox And The Hound, which is also based on a novel I'm not familiar with. The plot synopsis concludes . . .
"The dog and the fox are both near the end of their natural lives when they begin their final hunt. Copper pursues Tod throughout the night and into the morning, until the fox finally drops dead of exhaustion. Copper himself is near death, but his Master finds him and nurses him back to health while they enjoy becoming popular and well-liked by the neighbors again. However, as the fever of Copper's accomplishment dies down, the man is left alone and turns back to drinking. Eventually the "white coated" people return to force the man to go live in a place where dogs are not allowed. Crying, he takes Copper for a final walk and shoots him while the dog wags his tail, unaware of what is about to happen."
o.o;
I, uh, don't think I'm gonna read that one. :(
Well, anyway, I got all the Disney Furry movies in. And to my surprise, there were no more than 5 that didn't qualify for the list. I guess I never realized just how Furry obsessed Disney actually is. But next time I have to try to get in everyone else's animated movies that qualify, and I've got a suspicion I'm going to find the whole industry is just as Furry obsessed. |
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| Comments On Episode 103: Fandom Politics |
[Nov. 15th, 2009|09:03 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | spectral shadows | ] |
| [ | Mood |
| |  thoughtful | ] |
| [ | Music |
| | Supertramp - Casual Conversations | ] |
Episode 103: Fandom Politics
This was one of the harder conversations to write, and I had to go over it and refine it several times. Still not sure if it totally captures the effect I was after.
Since this is a fantasy piece, it’s not supposed to make a direct statement about anything real. But here the parallels to my own experiences tend to come through rather strong, which makes it somewhat difficult to maintain the fantasy.
In allegory things are supposed to be similar, but not provide a detailed road map to what they compare to. Still, as I assume most people reading this episode will be in one fandom or another, or at least have been subjected to the kind of politics one experiences on the internet, the parallels to reality will be kind of hard to miss.
Another thing that is hard to do in an episode like this is to stay in character. In this case, 3 characters. Kacey, the talented but vulnerable fan, Vicki, the practical skeptic, and Christine, the disillusioned ex-politician who perceives the whole business with maximum cynicism.
The task of the writer is to not perceive any of these characters as being right, but simply to get down how they react to the subject of the discussion.
The reader may get the mistaken impression that I mean Christine’s perspective to be the right one, simply because her character is rather flamboyant and has a way of dominating the conversation. But we’re really only seeing Christine’s surface reactions to a subject that hasn’t even begun to be explored.
And, yes, main characters in Spectral Shadows can be wrong. Or, they may be more right than they think. The object is not to have a character be right or wrong, but to get the three characters kicking around ideas that make the readers think for themselves. |
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| Babyfurs In Bondage? |
[Nov. 2nd, 2009|04:45 pm] |
Today I got a laugh to see an Ebay seller had tagged the comic below with the following description.
“FUNNY ANIMALS, v3 #18, May 1944, Fawcett Publications. Pirates / Captain Marvel Bunny / Bondage (yes, bondage!) cover”
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| Spectral Shadows News |
[Oct. 13th, 2009|04:30 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | spectral shadows | ] |
| [ | Mood |
| |  creative | ] |
| [ | Music |
| | Pat Benatar - Shadows Of The Night | ] |
Spectral Shadows continues to keep it’s weekly schedule, but just barely this week. I was 2 episodes ahead of deadline there for a while, but I’m in an area of the story now where I’m not sure how to get from here to there, and there are a lot of characters that you should be seeing, but I don’t have anything for them to be doing. So it’s taking a bit more time than I’d like for the story to materialize. And it will most likely be a desperate race to see if I can continue getting an episode done by each Sunday.
It occurs to me that not having anyone to talk to about the project may be a contributing factor to my creative enthusiasm. So I’ve opened up a new journal specifically for that purpose called Spectral Shadows Brainstormers. This will be a place for readers to throw comments and suggestions at me, tell me if I’m doing good or not, suggest places where I need to add more details, or just anything at all anyone wants to say about the project, this will be a place to put it.
My initial idea when putting my series on the net was to have it open to participation from the internet, and especially from The Furry Community. I’d like to get that possibility open again, including the possibility of getting other writers involved. So, if you’re interested, please join up here. ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) ssbrainstormers |
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| Tales From The Turntable: Who Is Franklyn MacCormack? |
[Oct. 12th, 2009|07:24 am] |
I recently got another box of kiddie 78’s from Ebay. And today while I was recording some of them, I came across one that is not in Peter Muldavin’s price guide.
The feature artist is Franklyn MacCormack. And it nagged at me that I knew that name from somewhere. And the voice on the record sounded unmistakably familiar as one I knew well from my Old Time Radio collection. But I couldn’t place what show I knew him from.
So I did some Googling and discovered he’d been a popular all night music personality in Chicago up until 1971 who had maintained a strong following, but no one praising his all night program said anything about what he had done previously.
I finally went to an Old Time Radio data base and searched the name, where it took about 5 seconds for him to turn up as the announcer of Jack Armstrong, The All American Boy. Which, if you don’t know anything about OTR, is usually the second or third program opening that will appear in any OTR collage.
So I went back to Wikipedia to add this little fact to their article, which was only mentioning that he had done a local late night program in Chicago. And, as is typical of Wikipedia, someone was trying to have the article deleted on the grounds that a local personality on late night radio does not constitute a person of notability, and one local Chicagoan was having a fit over it. But still nobody seemed to know what this guy was really famous for - the guy who turned Wheaties into The Breakfast Of Champions.
Anyway, after all that, I thought I’d share the record with you. From the name of the label, “Peek-O,” I expect this record originally came with some kind of visual material. Maybe a book, a gatefold cover, pre-historic View Master reels? Who knows? But, like the other interpretation of Little Red Riding Hood I shared a while back, this is a pretty novel interpretation, making the audio interesting, even without the graphics.
Also of note, this is a Chicago based record company, and I think this lot of records came from Chicago. So this record might only have been available in Chicago, which may be why it’s not in the price guide, and why it might have some value to it beyond the other records in the lot.
Or, might this have been a premium from The Peek-O Toy Company, which today makes plushies?
Download the audio here. |
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| Squirrels On Stage |
[Oct. 7th, 2009|11:14 pm] |
Tonight with dinner I watched the movie version of the Beatrix Potter ballet. What I really wanted to share from this was the trailer, which really brings out how Furry this thing is. As if all the dancing animals aren't enough to make that point.
I particularly like the voice over in the trailer where it says, "For millions all over the world, the tales of Beatrix Potter introduced us to an animal world that we could identify with ourselves." A little later the camera zooms in on a fox reading a newspaper called "The Fur And Feather." And at the end the voice over intimates that it’s pitching this thing to adults, but you can bring the kids along if you want.
But, unfortunately they don't have the trailer on YouTube, and embedding is disabled on my favorite segment of the ballet. So you'll have to click the link below to see the dancing squirrels.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8edwIq0buXs
And, just for the fursuiters reading, a clip of one of the dancers explaining the difficulties of the costumes. It will sound familiar.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOmt7UFrGJo |
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| The New Adventures Of Peter Rabbit |
[Sep. 23rd, 2009|09:38 pm] |
Recently arrived in the mail were three Peter Rabbit comics. Some might know that there were actually three Peter Rabbits. The original by Beatrix Potter, a Fibber McGee type Peter Rabbit popular in newspaper strips of the early 20th century, and this here space age type Peter Rabbit, which Avon Periodicals created to replace the second when they got tired of licensing the newspaper character.
As with Little Audrey, who was created by Paramount when they got tired of licensing Little Lulu, it’s the replacement that tends to capture my interest. Why this should be is hard to determine. Perhaps I just feel an affinity for the comic art of the late 40’s and early 50’s. Though I didn’t grow up in that era. I grew up in the era of Underdog and Rocky & Bullwinkle. But somehow I see this art and just go, “Oh yeah, that’s what I like.”
And, also as usual, it’s not Peter that my eyes gravitate towards, but Dazy. And I think, as I often did when I was a kid, the most fun thing about being Peter Rabbit would be having Dazy for a girlfriend. In fact, without Dazy, it wouldn’t be much fun being Peter Rabbit at all. But, confidentially, just between you and me and the rest of the internet, if I had my choice of roles I’d rather be Dazy.
Thinking of this reminds me that, in childhood, for me all this was about role playing. Everything that I liked in the way of fantasy was food for my imagination to build on. So it was all about characters that I might like to be, or being a character that could meet other characters. Which is perhaps one of the reasons I relate to Little Audrey so well. I was that type of child, forever disappearing into my own imagination.
At the age of 47, that all seems very far away, mostly obscured by time. I really don’t remember much about the kid who once upon a time might easily have hopped into one of these comics and lived a part of it. But the art calls me back, reminding me that I left something back there. I don’t really know what it was. But whatever it was, I miss it and regard it with reverence.
( More scanned pages under the cut ) |
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| Little Audrey |
[Sep. 22nd, 2009|10:53 am] |
It’s been a while since I gave y’all a cartoon. So here’s a Little Audrey cartoon from the late 40’s that is rather special.
Little Audrey is one of the few things I collect for other than Furry reasons. I apparently watched her when I was little, but she had completely faded from my memory by the early 90's when she turned up on a tape of public domain cartoons. At which point a little light went on and I suddenly realized my facination with large expressive eyes is owed neither to Anime nor Disney, but more to the Paramount/Famous Studios/Harvey Comics impact on me as a very small child.
Though not a Furry character herself, Audrey does sometimes encounter Furries, as with this particular toon. And when this happens it’s usually pretty special. This one more so than most. Almost unbelievable in a short cartoon from that era.
Sadly, this is one of those cartoons that was butchered and tinted for black & white TV. So the quality is attrotious. And I’m not aware if any prints exist that might give a better impression of what it looked like when it was new. And since this butchering was done to the actual negative, a restoration seems unlikely.
Not that anyone in a position to do so would be likely to see any value in restoring it, just as those who butchered it saw no value in preserving it. Today it just boggles the mind to think how disposable this stuff must have been regarded. One is also given to wonder if the apparent love that went into making it was considered just as disposable.
( Little Aurdey Collectibles Under The Cut ) |
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| Furry 78 RPM Picture Discs |
[Sep. 21st, 2009|07:21 pm] |
Here's an item I'm currently bidding on that I don't expect to win. There are a lot of these picture records around. Some are more common than others. These right here are a couple of the rarest. Circa 1948. And they have their original container with them, which adds boodles to the value. So I expect this to go way beyond my price range. But I thought I'd feature it here just because the 1940's Furry art is so eye catching. And I'll display some from my personal collection under the cut.
( Click here for more ) |
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| The Furry Beatle |
[Sep. 20th, 2009|10:30 pm] |
Well, it’s been a while since I’ve featured something Furry in the journal. So here’s a little something I found while doing research for my latest update of my Furry History article.
One surprising person who keeps cropping up as I research Furry history is Paul McCartney - there being at least 4 instances I’ve found of Paul either using Furry art for an album cover, working in Furry animation, and now writing a Furry book.
Normally when this happens with a music personality there is the big temptation to say it’s just a one time thing. It’s not evidence of a fan interest in Furry. But the title of Paul’s book is “High In The Clouds, An Urban Furry Tale.” Which you can purchase and read reviews of here.
Paul is apparently one of those perennial Furry fans who latched onto anthropomorphic animals in childhood and just never lost the fascination.
What’s really significant about this, from a historical angle, is that Paul is using the term Furry in the subtitle. Whereas I’ve previously had to ask people to read children’s books from the 1930’s to get them in touch with the fact that a bunch of fans in the early 1980’s did not invent the term, Paul has pretty much provided the link that ties together a lot of loose ends.
Odder still, in some articles I’ve read, Wirrel The Squirrel is referred to as Paul’s alter ego. It’s not everyday I come across a rock star with what might equate to an actual fursona.
Though I have to admit, it’s the character Linda McCartney played that makes Paul’s concept of serious interest to me, above and beyond it’s historical significance. She is quite possibly the most beautiful squirrel character in the whole of Furry creation.
Oh, and if you'd like to see animation of the characters that McCartney created as a demo for the movie he's now in the process of making, I couldn't find it on YouTube, but it's on DVD which you can buy here.
( Personal update under the cut. Featuring Furry History Project News, Spectral Shadows News, Personal Health News and Second Life News. ) |
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| Personal Update |
[Aug. 14th, 2009|10:22 pm] |
Yep, I’m back again, still alive in spite of everything and feeling better everyday. It took about 5 days to fully recover from my confrontation with the C-PAP machine. But eventually the pain in my lungs subsided. Since then I’ve been able to breathe normally, I’ve detected no difficulty sleeping, I’m multi-tasking without headaches or confusion. In fact, at the moment I can’t say I feel sick at all.
I did find out coming home from the grocery store the other day that I don’t have the strength I used to. I can still pick up a 50 pound box of records, but I can’t carry it very far, and my lower back will punish me egregiously afterwards. Still, it felt good to be getting active again without feeling like I had to treat myself as fragile. I lugged records and groceries all day with nary a head spin.
Being able to multi-task again is a hopeful sign. I can be on Second Life, be ripping vinyl and writing Spectral Shadows all at the same time. Which means I think things may start moving around my little area of the net very soon.
So, some of you might wonder what I’ve determined was wrong with me. Well, weight seems to be a factor. I’m down 10 pounds since my last doctor visit and still losing, I hope. Apparently the difference between 280 and 270 is life or death with my breathing system.
Also, I’m certain anxiety plays a big part in the problem. Anxiety tends to tighten up the throat. And with all these doctors assuring me I’m going to die, I was living in a perpetual state of anxiety, especially during the sleep studies.
Consequently, what is probably the minor problem with sleep apnea I’ve always had was exaggerated to a point where it was actually becoming life threatening. I wasn’t getting enough sleep or air. And the C-PAP test pushed me to the very edge.
But that’s the story of my life, really. I go all the way to the edge with addictions and bad habits, and then quit cold turkey, soon finding myself bouncing back stronger than ever.
So, having a clear head for the first time since I can’t remember when, I find that what I need to do for good health, besides staying on my diet, is to get my priorities straight. Deciding which of the projects I have going is most important to me and putting that first. Not letting lesser projects keep me from being productive, and thus not being constantly beaten down with depression for the things I’m not accomplishing.
Consequently I’m backing off of Second Life. Hunny Bunny has hired a group of managers to take care of Xanadu in her absence. So it is no longer necessary for her to be there during every event, or for her to be overseeing every aspect of the events she attends.
Hunny is now very much like her totem used to be, carrying her notebook everywhere she goes, and grabbing every idle moment to get some writing done.
Even better news is that we now have the next two episodes of The Planet Of Genetic Misadventure in the can, and we are keeping our fingers crossed that this heralds the restarting of regular weekly updates. Though we may be making the episodes shorter in the future. I don’t think many net serial writers go for a 15 page episode every week. 7 to 10 pages ought to be fine. Look for a new episode on the site this Sunday.
Still up in the air is the question of will I start posting regular features in this journal again. It’s not like I’m out in the world actively collecting anything at the moment. And YouTube has become rather unstable. It’s not so much fun sharing videos or making them the centerpiece of a feature when they tend to be taken down so quickly. This makes it a problem trying to figure out something to entertain my watchers with on a regular basis, but we shall see what comes up.
Well, that’s it for this update. Thanks to all of you out there who are still watching and caring. |
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| The Art Of Making Dying Preferable |
[Aug. 5th, 2009|07:11 am] |
Well, I finally did it. Had the C-PAP sleep test. Do not remember sleeping at all. I remember starting to drift off a few times and being traumatically shocked by air backing up in the mask. Apparently it wasn’t accomplishing spit as far as keeping the airway open. The only thing it was greatly successful at was assuring that I would get my worst night’s rest ever, and that I would get up feeling worse than I do after a normal night of breathing difficulty.
Truth be told, when I’m at home in my own bed, I sleep just fine, except for certain nights, which usually follow a very stressful day. So I think the reason I can’t pass a sleep test is because they’re so darn stressful. And I think the real reason I’m so strung out all the time has a lot to do with the depression caused by my doctors assuring me I’m gonna die if I don’t learn to deal with this infernal machine. But, of course, no one wants to think about treating the stress. Nor do they want me to try the alternative treatments.
Well, I’ve had it. I submitted to their torture and I feel worse than ever. If this is all I’ve got to look forward to in the future, that pine box is starting to look more and more attractive. I’ll get plenty of sleep when I’m dead. Till then I’ll try to lose some weight and back off the things that are causing me stress. If that doesn’t do the trick . . . Oh, well, I wasn’t looking forward to tomorrow anyway.
Now I can't even enjoy today, because I've got a pain in my chest to worry me, and I have to worry if I dare go to bed. |
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| Looking At Anime Without The Rose-Colored Glasses |
[Jul. 27th, 2009|12:58 am] |
On TK’s suggestion, I recently started putting Spectral Shadows up on Fur Affinity. There hasn’t been much response to this so far, but what there’s been has been favorable. And it is a lot like starting over in a new environment looking for a new audience.
The only thing is I can’t figure out how to create files for the individual serials. So the nature of the site is kind of bullying me into presenting the thing from beginning to end. That means it’s finally time for me to look into continuing The Aslanders. So I’m busily searching my computer and notebooks for notes on things I had planned for The Aslanders. I also need to go back and watch some of the old anime titles that inspired it.
Tonight I started watching Slayers, which is probably the biggest influence on The Aslanders. And given the feelings I expressed in the last entry, I thought I should write something about what I’m thinking as I’m watching anime again after all this time.
( Read more ) |
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| Why Anime Failed |
[Jul. 19th, 2009|07:00 pm] |
This is the weekend of Otakon. And for some reason it’s getting a lot of attention from people who didn’t even want to hear about anime when I was into it. Suddenly everyone is reading about Otakon in the newspaper and saying, “This anime/Japanese pop culture thing sounds so cool. Why aren’t you there?”
Consequently, I’ve had to do a lot of explaining this weekend about why I’m not into anime anymore. This got me curious about what other people are saying about anime. So I hopped on YouTube and took in some anime bashing. And, unlike the furry bashing that goes on there, I find myself agreeing with most of it. Particularly the griping about fan boys and fan girls, which hits home because I was one for a long time.
So I thought it was about time I analyzed this and wrote a piece on why I’m not at Otakon.
( More under the cut. ) |
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| A General Update To Let Y’all Know What’s Going On |
[May. 20th, 2009|04:18 pm] |
I’m taking a 2 week hiatus from Second Life. Building and establishing Xanadu has required some intense energy over the last couple of months, which has left me kind of burned out. So, when the money ran out and we had to close the club for two weeks until more money comes in with which to pay the employees and campers, it seemed a good idea that I steal the opportunity to give Second Life a rest and use the time to apply myself to some other things I’ve been neglecting.
One thing I’ve been neglecting, of course, is Spectral Shadows. So I spent all day yesterday getting a new episode posted and updating the art gallery. Today I hope to get started on another episode, and if I’m lucky have that ready for posting before the hiatus ends.
( Some commentary on the new episode below the cut )
Other stuff.
TK continues to draw. And she just gets better and better. 8 new pics for the gallery since the last update.
( Below the cut are 4 of them along with some commentary )
Health wise I’m doing pretty good at the moment. I can tell I’m still having problems with the apnea. But as long as I keep my anxiety under control I seem to be getting enough restful sleep. My outlook is good, emotions on the positive side.
My apologies for neglecting the journal of late. I do mean to start up the collectibles posts again at some point. But between Second Life and Spectral Shadows there’s just not any time left at this point.
This is something they don’t tell you when you join Second Life. If you’re successful there and really do end up living what equates to a second life, the Lindens are not capable of providing you with 48 hour days. So you’ve got to cram 2 lives into a space that sometimes seems hardly adequate for one. Which means you just don’t have time for everything you want to do.
As far as my second life goes, Hunny Bunny is as happy as ever. She loves her job DJing at Xanadu, but gets a little stressed sometimes about keeping track of the payroll for the club. Her hubby is talking about buying a time clock for the club. That may help.
Hunny is a little miffed at her totem human though. There are about 4 huge boxes of 45’s she’s waiting for me to rip so she can play them at the club, and of course I’m proceeding at a crawl on that project too.
Reminds me of something Christine once said to Perry, that he’d be an unstoppable powerhouse if he’d just apply himself to one thing. Don’t see either of us taking that advice in the near future. |
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| Virtual Xanadu Is A Reality |
[May. 7th, 2009|01:58 am] |
Hi all. Wow, these disappearances of mine seem to get longer and longer, don’t they? Well, at least this time it hasn’t been due to illness . . . uh . . . much. Yes, I’m still dying from the apnea, and my new doctor still hasn’t seen me. But that’s a sad story that is not what I want to talk about today.
What’s been keeping me busy this last month or so is that somebody on Second Life finally offered Hunny Bunny a piece of commercial land on which to set up her virtual Xanadu that she purchased over a year ago. Hunny and her hubby have been very busy rebuilding the structure and tracking down all the extra pieces it needs.
Hunny is literally sparing no expense to make it a great club for those who like a 70‘s/80‘s atmosphere. She’s even got her own stream now and is doing all the DJing. You can tune in Radio Xanadu here. http://white.neostreams.info:11478/listen.pls
You can visit the place at this slurl. http://slurl.com/secondlife/Zurich%20City/160/201/27/ And Hunny has sent along some picies which are below the cut.
( Click To View Screen Shots ) |
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| Little Black Sambo (1949) |
[Mar. 22nd, 2009|04:47 am] |
Since there was some curiosity about Little Black Sambo, here’s the best (and least offensive) version I have of it. Here you see it in it’s original state, with Sambo not being black, at least not in the American sense of the term, but rather just a cute kid from India who runs afoul of some rather cantankerous furries.
Actually, this story kind of reminds me of that line from Spellsinger, where the main character says he’s getting just a wee bit tired of somebody always wanting to eat him everywhere he goes.
Come to think of it, this is a kids story. So it should have a moral. What is the moral of Little Black Sambo? The winner is the one who ends up with all the clothes?
Anyway, this is one of the more valuable items in my collection. Kiddie Rekord King values it at $50-$100. So, of course, mine is in lower end condition. But the art still shines on brightly when digitized. Actually, it shines so brightly it puts me in mind of Yellow Submarine.
This story is a part of Furry history, as well as political incorrectness history. Though I’m sure it’s not the furries that give the album its high value listing. Nobody seems to notice that the artist spends the bulk of this project drawing tigers, and drawing them very well, I might add. Or that the tigers talk and stand up to put their pants on. Folks are too absorbed in the cute little Indian kid getting stripped naked.
Oh yeah, and what is up with these fairytale parents always telling their kids to go take a walk - by themselves - in the jungle - where the tigers are. It’s also amusing to conjecture how many kids actually grew up thinking tigers turn into butter if they run too fast.
Click here to download the audio.
( Album art under the cut )
More Little Black Sambo is available at Kiddie Records Weekly.
Little Black Sambo's Jungle Band
And
Little Black Sambo And The Twins |
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| Little Red Riding Hood (More Weirdness From The Furry 40’s) |
[Mar. 21st, 2009|07:21 pm] |
I recently won a stash of empty 78 covers on Ebay. There’s a lot of cool items in there that I might show off in the future, but right on the top was this little gem from 1941 that I’ve scanned for you to enjoy.
Unfortunately it is an empty cover. So we don’t have the audio to go with it at this point, but I think the main value in this item is the art, which is just loaded with amusing incongruities and suggestiveness.
The most incongruous thing about it is the mixing of the 1940’s Funny Animal comic style with the 1940’s Classics Illustrated style. The “Wicked” Wolf, not the Big Bad Wolf, is a wickedly sharp dresser. And one is given pause to wonder just what kind of actual wolf posed for this anthropomorphization. How many white wolves with red noses have you seen in fairy tale country lately? Or perhaps his face is just painted white, which I suppose might make him . . . a Goth wolf?
Unfortunately, Mr. Wolf’s sense of 1940’s style seems to stop at his hat, which does not at all go with his suit.
Then the woodsman comes in, based on what was probably the cartoonist’s main model of human male perfection at the time, Clark Gable. Except that he’s wearing a skirt. At first I thought somebody must have told the artist this was a Scottish fairy tale, and thus he had attempted to put a kilt on the hero. But then I looked again and thought, “How many yellow kilts have you seen lately?” Nope, he is most definitely wearing a skirt, standing in a field of tentacle length . . . grass?
Then there is the final page, which is usually reserved for the moral of the story. In this case the moral seems to be that it’s not ok for animals to eat humans, but it’s perfectly splendid for humans to eat animals. . . . . . . . Well, it is, isn’t it? The only odd thing being that the wolf looks strangely human, especially when he sees the arrow flying at him. Thus creating a sympathy for the wolf we wouldn’t normally have.
Probably back in the 40’s no one would have looked twice at this stuff. But in the context of modern pop culture . . . Well, someone with a naughty sense of humor could have a lot of fun with it.
Given the exaggerations seen in this example, I’m almost scared to see what this artist did with Little Black Sambo.
( Click To View Cover Art ) |
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| Second Life Update |
[Mar. 11th, 2009|09:43 pm] |
Some of you might recall that sad business last year that left Kacey Foggarty a ghost on Second Life. Well, today, out of the blue, she got an IM from her family and has been summoned back to life. Her family apparently really missed her, but now everything seems set up for the happy ending that should have been.
In an odd twist, Kacey’s family have gone neko. So Kacey will be giving up her bunny av and going neko as well.
In other SL news, spring time has come to the garden for Hunny Bunny. A disco loving pixie named Minty has taken up residence in the treehouse. And Hunny’s hubby is moving the main house and movie theater down to ground level where everyone will be able to enjoy them.
All in all, spring is bringing new life and happiness to SL. And though it might be a little early for all you out there in the real world - well, that’s one of the joys of Second Life. We get to start celebrating early. Or at least as soon as we can talk the island owner into turning off the snow.
Anyway, Hunny and her Hubby went to Rockibilly’s to celebrate. Here’s a snap of them dancing to Brian Setzer. And below that, is Brian Setzer to kick off the new season with some upbeat groovy sounds.
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| The Real Reasons Why Progressive Rock Failed |
[Mar. 9th, 2009|08:17 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | dixie dregs, electric light orchestra, emerson lake & palmer, iq, jethro tull, pink floyd, procol harum, progressive rock, rick wakeman, triumvirat, yes | ] |
| [ | Mood |
| | contemplative | ] |
| [ | Music |
| | Cat Stevens - Music | ] |
Hi all,
Yes, I’m still around. Just too busy with other stuff to do much blogging at the moment.
The revival of Spectral Shadows is not going as smoothly as I’d hoped, but hopefully it will pick up steam soon. Meanwhile, both the story and art sections of the site have been updated since I last posted here. And the art is now also seen on the story pages at the point where each illustration belongs.
Anyway, I’ve been listening to a lot of music lately and been wanting to write something about Prog, as I continue to like the old stuff in spite of everything. Thus under the cut you will find my latest 4 page essay on the subject. Just beware that anything I write on this topic is controversial and potentially offensive to Proggers. But I need to get these thoughts out of my head so I can concentrate on other things. So here goes.
( Click here for the progumentary, my comments, and musical illustrations ) |
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| Spectral Shadows Continues |
[Jan. 11th, 2009|06:37 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | spectral shadows | ] |
| [ | Mood |
| | accomplished | ] |
| [ | Music |
| | ELP - Welcome Back My Friends To The Show That Never Ends | ] |
For those of you who have patiently waited for a whole year for the continuation of Spectral Shadows, I’m pleased to announce the next episode of The Planet Of Genetic Misadventure has been posted to the site. This is the episode that was meant to be the season finale last year, but I was never able to finish it for some reason. But then again, if I had, maybe folks wouldn’t have been so patient.
Incidentally, this episode carries a violence and disturbing imagery warning.
Anyway, we’re off and rolling again, and hopefully there will be another new episode next Sunday.
Episode 86: The Frozen Water Of Life |
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| More Furriness From Paul McCartney |
[Jan. 7th, 2009|02:52 pm] |
New year, new mascot, same old fur-bearing journal.
Linked here an article about Paul McCartney's crusade to bring Rupert Bear to the big screen, along with notes about some other furry projects. I've long been thinking of doing a write up on this, but since someone has already done it I'll just give you the link.
http://www.toonhound.com/rupfrog.htm
And here we have a clip of the animation, which is most excellent. If you liked The Butterfly Ball you'll love this.
And finally, a scan of my own Rupert book, which I have had since childhood. The book is dated 1963, making it less one year as old as myself. Though Rupert himself is much, much older, and is, in fact, one of the early stars of the funny animal era. Read more here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupert_Bear
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| A Mad Russian's Christmas |
[Dec. 24th, 2008|08:23 am] |
Continuing on our prog Christmas theme, this video aught to bring back memories of a couple years ago when it was all the rage to synch your Christmas light display to Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
Today, Trans-Siberian Orchestra remains all the Christmas rage, at least on Second Life, where a day has not passed this month that I have not heard at least one of their tunes booming on somebody’s parcel.
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The Cinnamon Bear, Episode 25: Captain Tintop
http://www.sendspace.com/file/ocjkfb |
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| Ring Solstice Bells |
[Dec. 23rd, 2008|05:22 pm] |
Jethro Tull on Top Of The Pops in 1976 with their bicentennial year Christmas hit, Ring Solstice Bells.
Now, they did actually do an animated video to this song, but the imagery in it is, for me at least, just a bit disturbing and not at all conducive to my good Christmas mood. So let's dispense with the prog imagery and just enjoy the band playing a jolly tune.
Note: If you actually want to see the disturbing animated promo for this tune, it will no doubt pop up in the YouTube tray afterwards.
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The Cinnamon Bear, Episode 24: The Parade
http://www.sendspace.com/file/rfitl4 |
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| Wonderful Christmas Time |
[Dec. 22nd, 2008|04:19 pm] |
The time has come, The Walrus said, to talk of Christmas things. Of reindeer names, of snowball games, and trees with lighted strings. Of traditional shows, advertisement that flows, and animated videos.
And here's another clue for you all. The Walrus was Paul.
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The Cinnamon Bear, Episode 23
In which there is a little problem with a gang of bad dolls.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/vyjfh0 |
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| Mike Oldfield - In Dulci Jubilo |
[Dec. 21st, 2008|05:43 pm] |
Another seasonal favorite in prog circles, from back in the days when Mike played all the instruments. A really bouncy version with lots of Mike's unique guitar sound.
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The Cinnamon Bear, Episode 22
Time to meet Santa Claus.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/gf8zbs |
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| Jon Anderson - Three Ships |
[Dec. 20th, 2008|04:28 pm] |
Since the 80's, Christmas around my house has meant time to make another proggy holiday mix tape. And what would a proggy holiday mix be without Jon Anderson? So here's Jon on MTV from 1983 progging up I Saw Three Ships.
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The Cinnamon Bear, Episode 21
In which the travelers encounter a rather odd talking snowman.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/a9lfe7 |
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| A Walt Disney Christmas |
[Dec. 19th, 2008|12:09 pm] |
Unfortunately the audio here is not too great, but at least you can see the cute bunnies.
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The Cinnamon Bear, Episode 20
In which the travelers take a ride in a flying hat
http://www.sendspace.com/file/tsdh5u |
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| Weird Christmas Record Of The Day |
[Dec. 18th, 2008|11:43 pm] |
This is Art Carney, Norton of The Honeymooners, jivin' The Night Before Christmas. Not sure, but I seem to recall having seen him do this on the show.
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The Cinnamon Bear, Episode 19
In which the travelers meet a rather politically incorrect wooden indian.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/k9n9ec |
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| Christmas Chopsticks by Mel Blanc |
[Dec. 16th, 2008|11:26 pm] |
Spent all day searching YouTube trying to find something quick to put up. Counter-productive exercise there. Meanwhile, I'm not getting any work done. Ummm, me bad. So maybe I'll just put up some Christmas records the next few days.
Here's a nice one that I actually don't have. Though the Capitol series this comes from is one of the main ones I collect in the way of retro kiddy fare. Not quite sure which character Mel is doing on this record though. Sounds a lot like Bugs, but has an accent.
Edit: The video that was originally here is gone from YouTube, and there's no other video of the record. And since I don't have the record, I can't even put up the audio. It's just lost. Our loss. So here's the closest thing I could find to substitute for it.
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The Cinnamon Bear, Episode 17
Featuring The Muddlers
http://www.sendspace.com/file/lsrpa4 |
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| Dudley Do-Right Does Wrong |
[Dec. 14th, 2008|07:04 pm] |
Upon getting to the other side of my cold, I seem to have fallen into a vat of depression. Just feeling generally down, defeated and hopeless. But that's my problem. Why should you all have to be bothered with it? So, let's kick depression to the curb for the moment and have another cartoon.
Here’s something interesting I found - a banned episode of Dudley Do-Right. It’s amusing to imagine being a member of the US Forestry Service watching this in the 60’s, thinking Jay Ward should be lynched with the nearest fire hose for insulting their mascot. Apparently they complained so loudly that the episode actually was banned.
Probably just ahead of its time though. This thing is about as weird and filled with just plain wrongness as anything currently airing on Cartoon Network.
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The Cinnamon Bear, Episode 15
In today's episode, the travelers meet Snapersnick, The Crooning Crocodile.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/u8p4vr |
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annoyed
bouncy
disappointed
scared
