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Dinosaurs Rock… for Kids!

Apr 10th, 2010
by rodney.
1 comment

Our wonderful, wonderful weird world…

They’re a musical band called Hevisaurus. They’re a heavy metal band for children (wrap your brain around THAT concept for a moment) that is creating quite a stir in Finland. Why? Because live on stage and in their videos the band’s members dress up in full-body dinosaur costumes! And the kids have been eating it all up. Their first album Jurahevin Kuninkaat is a certified hit in Scandinavia, and several of the band’s videos (like this one and that one) are getting a lot of views on YouTube. One thing there is not a lot of (yet) is background information on the band, other than the fact that members of several well-known heavy metal acts (including Dio and Sonata Artica) play in the group. But who conceived this? And who designed and built the costumes? Inquiring furry fans want to know! Interestingly, it seems that the actors inside the costumes really ARE musicians and really DO play their instruments, at least live in concert. If you can navigate your way through the Finnish, you can check out their web site and MySpace page.

Hevisaurus pose!

Hevisaurus pose!

Hevisaurus rock!

Hevisaurus rock!

Vote for the Ursa Major Awards!

Mar 13th, 2010
by rodney.
No comments yet

Once again, it’s time for you the fans to vote for the best that anthropomorphics have to offer with the annual Ursa Major Awards. From the web site: “More formally known as the Annual Anthropomorphic Literature and Arts Awards, the Ursa Major Awards are presented annually for excellence in the furry arts. They are intended as Anthropomorphic (a.k.a. Furry) Fandom’s equivalent of the Hugo Awards presented by the World Science Fiction Society, mystery fandom’s Anthony Awards, horror fandom’s Bram Stoker Awards, and so forth.” For 2009, the nominees in 10 categories include:

Best Motion Picture - Live-action or animated feature-length movies.
*	"Avatar"
*	"Fantastic Mr Fox"
*	"The Princess and the Frog"
*	"Up"
*	"Where the Wild Things Are"

Best Dramatic Short Work or Series - TV series or one-shots, advertisements or short videos.
*	"The Cat Piano"
*	"Partly Cloudy"
*	"The Penguins of Madagascar"
*	"Prep and Landing"
*	"The Secret Saturdays"

Best Novel - Written works of 40,000 words or more. Serialized novels qualify only for the year that the final chapter is published.
*	"Bone Crossed" by Patricia Briggs
*	"Cheetah's Win" by Phil Geusz
*	"Jazmyn" by Bernard Doove
*	"Out of Position" by Kyell Gold
*	"Return to the Hundred Acre Wood" by David Benedictus
*	"The Unscratchables" by Cornelius Kane

Best Short Fiction - Stories less than 40,000 words, poetry, and other short written works.
*	"Drifting" by Kyell Gold
*	"Moonthief" by Not Tube
*	"Stop the World" by Kyell Gold
*	"Thou Shalt Not Make Wrongful Use Of The Name Of Thy Lord" by Whyte Yote
*	"Trading Wishes" by Kevin Frane

Best Other Literary Work - Story collections, comic collections, graphic novels, non-fiction works, and convention program books.
*	"Bloom County - The Complete Library, Volume 1" by Berke Breathed
*	"Draw Furries: How to Create Anthropomorphic and Fantasy Animals" by Lindsay Cibos and Jared Hodges
*	"The First Book of Lapism" by Phil Geusz
*	"Who Are The Furries?" by Denise Winterman
*	"X" edited by Kyell Gold

Best Graphic Story - Includes comic books and serialized online stories.
*	"Concession" by Immelman
*	"Furthia High" by QuetzaDrake
*	"Jack" by David Hopkins
*	"Lackadaisy" by Tracy J. Butler
*	"Twokinds" by Tom Fischbach

Best Comic Strip - Newspaper-style strips, including those with ongoing arcs.
*	"Dan and Mab's Furry Adventures" by Amber M. Williams
*	"Doc Rat" by Jenner
*	"Freefall" by Mark Stanley
*	"Housepets!" by Rick Griffin
*	"Kevin and Kell" by Bill Holbrook

Best Magazine - Professional magazines, amateur zines, fanzines, and internet-only magazines.
*	"ANTHRO" edited by Quentin Long
*	"Heat" published by Sofawolf
*	"New Fables" edited by Tim Susman
*	"South Fur Lands" edited by Bernard Doove
*	"Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe" edited by Gene Breshears

Best Published Illustration - Illustrations for books, magazines, convention program books, cover art for such, coffee table portfolios.
*	"Gaia's Strange Seedlike Brood (Homage to Lynn Margulis)" by Patrick Farley
*	"It's Beautiful" by Jailbird
*	"Jazmyn" by Sara Palmer
*	"New Coyote" by Kenket
*	"Out of Position" by Blotch

Best Game - Computer or console games, role-playing games, board games.
*	"Earth Eternal"
*	"G-Force: The Video Game"
*	"Predation: The Board Game"
*	"Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time"
 
Voting is open now, and will close on April 18th -- with the 
awards to be presented in early summer. Visit the Ursa Major 
Awards web site to find out more about the nominees -- or, 
more importantly, to vote! Make your voice heard!

Start 2010 right… with a Kitty!

Dec 20th, 2009
by rodney.
No comments yet

Arabian Dreams is a new, provocative fur-suit calendar for 2010, starring a spotted cat known as Dreamsong. Here’s the description from Zazzle.com: “Dreamsong, Tjiran princess from long ago, accompanies you on a thirteen-month journey into the world of ancient royalty through fourteen high-quality large-format, frameable prints with companions 2 the Ranting Gryphon and Alexander James Adams.” Now that’s some company for a cat to keep! Follow the link to see pictures from the calendar and purchase your own copy for $22.95. You’ll also find links there to purchase some interesting furry-themed t-shirts.

Teens with Tails

Oct 4th, 2009
by rodney.
1 comment

The artist known as Mistystriker has posted a link to the Australian teen magazine Dolly. In the October 2009 issue, they are running a cover article (!) called “Super Furry Animals”. The tag-line reads: “These teens are taking the term ‘party animal’ to a WHOLE new level.” With several full-color pictures from Anthrocon 2009 (and several other sources), the article describes how a Dolly writer (along with a furry fandom friend) “snuck” into Anthrocon to have a look around. (Of course, they interviewed con chair Uncle Kage for the article, so it couldn’t have been much of a sneak!) The writer marvels at how much fun everyone seemed to be having, and the general silly atmosphere — in a good way.  All in all a much more positive article than many we’ve seen of late. You can see the October 2009 Dolly cover here, and the pages of the article here, here, and here. Side note: It seems that the British teen magazine Sugar has run the exact same article, with the same pictures!  Well now, that’s efficient…!

Ursa Major Awards for 2008 Announced!

May 22nd, 2009
by rodney.
No comments yet

[From www.ursamajorawards.org:]

The winners of the eighth annual Ursa Major Awards (formally the Annual Anthropomorphic Literature & Arts Awards), for the Best in anthropomorphic/”funny animal” literature and art first published during the calendar year 2008, were announced at a presentation ceremony on Saturday, May 16, 2009 at All Fur Fun in Spokane, Washington.

The Ursa Major Awards are Anthropomorphic (a.k.a. Furry) Fandom’s equivalents of s-f fandom’s Hugo Awards, mystery fandom’s Anthony Awards, horror fandom’s Bram Stoker Awards, and so forth.  The Ursa Majors are administered and presented by the Anthropomorphic Literature and Arts Association (ALAA), an organization dedicated to promoting anthropomorphic literature and arts both within and outside of the fandom.  Nominations and voting for the awards are open to the public.  The physical award consists of an illustrated trophy certificate or plaque, designed by the artist Heather Bruton.

Eligibility in ten categories is for works featuring intelligent &/or talking animals first published during the calendar year 2008.  This can include new compilations of older works, such as a new collection of previously-published separate works.  The winners are chosen by popular vote among those participating in Anthropomorphic Fandom who, first, submitted their nominations for the winners, and then voted upon a final ballot consisting of the five finalists (those receiving the most nominations) in each category. The voting for the awards was open to all furry fandom via the Internet; and took place between March 14th and April 19th; and received votes from countries as diverse as Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Laos, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Russia, Spain, Sweden, the UK, and the USA.

The Winners in each category:

Best Anthropomorphic Motion Picture: Bolt, from Walt Disney Pictures

Best Anthropomorphic Dramatic Short Work or Series: There She Is, from SamBakZa

Best Anthropomorphic Novel: Waterways, by Kyell Gold

Best Anthropomorphic Short Fiction: In Between, by Kyell Gold (from Out of Position)

Best Anthropomorphic Other Literary Work: Dog’s Days of Summer, by Blotch

Best Anthropomorphic Graphic Story: Heathen City, by Alex Vance and others

Best Anthropomorphic Comic Strip: Fur-Piled, by Leo Magna and A. Husky

Best Anthropomorphic Magazine: Heat

Best Anthropomorphic Published Illustration: Suhl, by Blotch (Cover of the Eurofurence 14 souvenir book)

Best Anthropomorphic Game: Spore, by Maxis and Electronic Arts

[For a complete list of winners and nominees, as well as how you can nominate and vote for your favorite furry stuff for 2009, visit www.ursamajorawards.org]

Voting is Open for the 2008 Ursa Major Awards!

Mar 26th, 2009
by rodney.
No comments yet

[From www.ursamajorawards.org:]

Public voting is now open for the annual Ursa Major Awards, which highlight excellent works in the anthropomorphic community appearing during 2008 as decided by the fans. Nominees range from Hollywood movies such as Bolt and Kung Fu Panda, to works published in the furry fandom such as Alone in the Dark and Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe, to single illustrations and webcomics.

Voting is open to everyone and will close on April 19. Please go to
http://www.ursamajorawards.org/Voting.htm
to get the ballot. The ballot includes a URL link for each nominee that has one. Click on the links for further information about the nominees.

Best Motion Picture   (Live-action or animated feature-length movies.)
* Bolt
* Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
* Kung Fu Panda
* Madagascar 2
* Wall-E

Best Dramatic Short Work or Series   (TV series or one-shots, advertisements or short videos.)
* Big Buck Bunny
* Nine Lives and Counting
* Presto
* There She Is
* Wallace & Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death

Best Novel   (Written works of 40,000 words or more. Serialized novels qualify only for the year that the final chapter is published.)
* Iron Kissed, by Patricia Briggs
* Ratha’s Courage, by Claire Bell
* Stick and Bones, by Phil Geusz
* Thousand Leaves, by Kevin Frane
* Waterways, by Kyell Gold

Best Short Fiction   (Stories less than 40,000 words, poetry and other short written works.)
* Earth Rise by Ivor W. Hartmann
* Candy and Music (in Heat #5), by K. M. Hirosaki
* In Between by Kyell Gold
* It’s a Beautiful World by Kyell Gold
* Secrets by Kyell Gold
* Third Date by Kyell Gold

Best Other Literary Work   (Story collections, comic collections, graphic novels, non-fiction works, and convention program books.)
* Alone in the Dark, edited by Will Sanborn
* ANTHROlogy TWO, edited by Quentin Long
* Behind the Sofa, interview conducted by Phil Geusz
* Dog’s Days of Summer, by Blotch
* Sabrina On-Line: The Story, by Chris Yost

Best Comic Book   (Traditional comic books, one-shots or ongoing series, printed or online.)
* Finding Avalon
* Gargoyles
* Heathen City
* i.s.o.
* Sandman: The Dream Hunters

Best Comic Strip   (Internet or regular newspaper strips.)
* Faux Pas, by Robert and Margaret Carspecken
* Freefall, by Mark Stanley
* Fur-Piled, by Leo Magna and A. Husky
* Housepets!, by Rick Griffin
* Lackadaisy, by Tracy J. Butler

Best Magazine   (Professional magazines, amateur zines, fanzines, internet-only magazines.)
* ANTHRO (#15, January-February to #20, November-December)
* Heat (#5, June)
* New Fables (Summer 2008)
* Softpaw Magazine (#3 & #4)
* Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe (#44, January to #45, September)

Best Published Illustration   (Illustrations for books, magazines, convention program books, cover art for such, coffee table portfolios.)
* Blotch: Suhl, cover of Eurofurence 14 program book, August
* Heather Bruton: “Slumber Party, cover of ANTHRO #16, March-April
* Dark Natasha: Centerfold of Eurofurence 14 program book
* Kacey Miyagami: Cover for “More Terrible Than Chains”
* John Nunnemacher: Cover for “Waterways”

Best Game   (Computer or console games, role-playing games, board games.)
* Kung Fu Panda The Video Game
* Mouse Guard roleplaying game
* Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
* Sonic Unleashed
* Spore

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