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General Category => General Radio Discussion => Topic started by: Fansome on June 16, 2012, 0039 UTC
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Furries looking to ‘shed’ bad rap in Pittsburgh
The Associated Press Fri, Jun 15, 2012 (11:25 a.m.)
The furries are gathering in Pittsburgh, and they're ready to shed.
No, not clumps of fur. They're looking to dispel what they contend are the mistaken perceptions that their fascination with all things anthropomorphic _ animal characters who exhibit human characteristics _ are dangerously weird or fetishistic.
More than 5,000 devotees are expected at the city's convention center through Sunday for Anthrocon. They refer to themselves as "furries," though only about 1 in 5 will be cavorting in "fursuits" _ full-bodied costumes including otters, foxes, cats and dogs. There's even a guy who dresses as an extinct species of zebra.
They're celebrating animal characters from movies, TV shows, comic books, video games and, most especially, the characters they create themselves.
Gary Guy Mathews, an unemployed, self-described computer geek from suburban Green Tree, prefers to appear in public in a costume of shredded paper that looks much like the "The Shaggy DA," a Disney movie that unleashed his inner canine when he was about 11 years old. He prefers to be called Boomer since becoming enamored with "Here's Boomer," a short-lived NBC TV series about an adventurous, good-deed-doing mutt.
"It's a very personal thing to me, as my dog persona. It's just something I feel I should be, having had the name for so long. It just says who I am: Boomer. The. Dog," Mathews said.
Samuel Conway, Anthrocon's chairman, is a chemist for a major pharmaceutical firm. He dresses in a lab coat and goes by the alias Uncle Kage (pronounced KAH'-jay). That's short for Kagemushi, the samurai cockroach character he dreamed up years ago.
Though he speaks with the exaggerated inflection of some cartoon characters, Conway doesn't dress like a bug because the costumes are, "too hot; they're unwieldy."
"That's what people seem to think Anthrocon is all about, but it's about more than just costumes," Conway said.
The convention draws artists, puppeteers, costume makers, writers and just plain fans. This year's guests of honor are Mike Kazaleh, a comic book and TV cartoon animator known for his work with characters ranging from Bugs Bunny to Ren and Stimpy, and Dev Madan, a video game and comic books illustrator.
The convention features displays and vendors, an artists' show, cartoon and character-related presentations, dances and live performances.
So where can one see Kagemushi this weekend?
"I'm not an artist, I simply imagine him," Conway said. "He exists primarily in my mind. It's fun."
Media members were escorted and warned that some characters might be reluctant to speak because of past publicity portraying the group as "some kind of whacked out, crazy culture," Conway said.
Accordingly, Anthrocon.org advises furries that all public areas are rated "PG," except for "events or exhibits that are specifically noted to be inappropriate for minors." Minors must have a parent's notarized permission to attend "due to unfortunate situations in years past," the website says, without explanation.
Fetish wear is discouraged, though collars are acceptable as a fashion statement, "but leashes attached thereunto are not."
Asked about the adverse publicity, Conway said when Americans "encounter something that people do that they don't understand, they immediately draw the conclusion that it must be a sexual fetish."
"I find it highly annoying ... because some of our people have lost jobs over it," Conway said. "They'll go into work on Monday and the boss will say, `I heard you were at one of those things over the weekend' and that's it."
CooperTom, dressed as a life-of-the-party housecat, confesses to be named Jim, a 29-year-old systems manager for a New York City advertising agency who restores classic cars.
"I was actually afraid of this kind of thing," he said of learning about furries online. After determining they were both friendly and normal, he joined their ranks in 2009.
"Just becoming something different kind of hooked me," he said.
It's a bigger deal to some members, like Matthews.
Only a reluctant Allegheny County judge kept Mathews from legally changing his name to "Boomer The Dog." The judge ruled such an unusual name could confuse a 911 operator into believing Mathews was making a crank call should he ever need emergency help.
Mathews said individual furries have supported him but some Anthrocon officials have not, especially since the convention moved to Pittsburgh in 2006 after outgrowing Albany, N.Y., and Mathews received widespread local publicity when the judge rejected his name change in 2010.
"The convention heads were a little put off, I think, because I'm kind of out there with it," Mathews said. "Furries and Anthrocon are going through these growing pains right now where, I think, they're a little bit shy of the press."
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Online:
http://www.anthrocon.org
http://www.boomerthedog.net
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Go Boomer!!
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One of the reasons that I left the Furreh Radio Network site was because it was becoming less about free radio and more about furries. One long, dreadfull series of posts concerned Boner The Dog or some such and his fight to change his name. Lets leave the furreh stuff on the furreh site, PLEASE!
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Boomer is a legend in two communities. We are lucky to have him be part of ours. I accidentally ran into him a couple months back, totally by chance. We talked radio and music including a little furreh music. He seems to be a very personable guy. Look forward to maybe talking on some punk muzak in the future (yes that was me Boomer). I welcome the chance to read of his escapades here.
Yeah, GO BOOMER!
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I disagree. It was like an insidious disease that kept spreading. And then the sock puppet gallery would post all sorts of messages of support and attack any sort of dissent. Many were scared to post at all lest they incur the wrath of the trolls that hide behind the anonymity of the internet. You can mark my words: this series of posts has probably already set in motion the aforementioned cancer. We will now be reading of this for the next few weeks. If not longer. Watch for lots of posts by newbies and other sock puppet I.D.'s that vigorously support the furrehs and viciously attack those who don't support them. I personally have nothing against them; I simply don't care. But after seeing the way the FRN was dominated by them I am VERY worried that the same thing will happen here.
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OK
I see where you are coming from.
I had hundreds of posts 'over there' and eventually left.
I'm just saying Boomer, the individual, is a good guy and I like him. He was around before interwebz and never took sides and I hope at some point he will post over here too. He is certainly not representative of 'over there.'
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Cool. I have no quarrel with you, him or even furrehs in general. Just specific furrehs and sock puppets that ruined the other site. This is the only pirate site that I have left to access news. I can't lose it as well.
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Boomer is a long time friend of mine. A great guy and Dog. You're off base on this one,JR.
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Fine. I'm in the minority and will not mention it again.
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I for one welcome our new furry overlords.
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I for one welcome our new furry overlords.
You just like the porn :D
Peace!
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Good! We got through it with some discussion. Wouldn't happen over there huh?
All seems well in HFUland. I think Chris and Lex will keep us safe too!
(no I'm not a marriage and family therapist, just been dragged through a lot of that the last 20 years).
Don't worry JR, I think it will all be good.