So, Yeah, Rainfurrest

 

Writing under a dose of concrud and extreme PCD so things may be muddy...

Rainfurrest was definitely a unique experience. Different from BLFC and FC. Definitely a lot cozier, and felt a lot more like a vacation than a convention. Though, think this had more to do with my lost sense of time...and oddly awakening at 10am opposed to usual 8am. Anywho, quick rundown of things that involved, per usual of these reviews...

Tuesday+Wednesday (Travel time):

Arrive at San Jose Diridon Station around 7, checked my bags in, and await patiently for a train delayed by roughly one hour, and took a walk about the area to pass the time before led to platform and walked aboard a rather crowded coach car, unpacked my fox pillow and attempted snooze (having pulled allnighter prior for reasons, this and fixing sleep schedule included), I learned the hard way that despite acquiring sleep debt, I could only catch zzzs when the train was in motion. Needless to say, that night was filled with:

*A 30-minute stop just north of Santa Clara to let a local Capitol train pass by.
*One hour stationary at Oakland (later revealed to be due to toilet repair); ended up passing time via Doctor Who (Time Heist braindrain... scary)
*Undiscernable time somepoint in Benicia/Suisun Wetlands
*Extended stop with the bright Sacramento lights
*Smooth sailing from thereon out, but at the point of roughly 2am, I soon understood why that one particular line was known as the 'Coast Starlate'.

Somehow I managed to get enough sleep, or refreshed enough... Sun started to rise around the dry Shasta lake, and grabbed some breakfast (yay free coffee), and more/less any and all grudges from the night before disappeared upon full daylight and the journey became a rather relaxing and scenic pilgrimage all the way up to Seattle.

Seriously

Such beauty

I arrived at King Street downtown Roughly 9:40pm (miraculously 1 hour behind schedule) to one of the most gorgeous stations possible, walked across to the Link train, and glided down to SeaTac airport, where I met   fraddas and walked with him towards the Hilton, rested for a bit with excess coffee power, met up with @PathHyena and, for lack of better words... crashed shortly after.

Thursday -

Seattle day. Woke up around 10am very slowly, with then roomies putting up fursuits in posessed situations. After impulse persuasion, and quick running into with   keenyfox I hurried to the Hotel's main hall and waited in line... to wait in line... for registration. Pushed back a bit behind schedule, but no complaints. I got my badge, putting on my trenchcoat (for predicted rain, and misplacing my normal jacket at the time, and headed for the Emerald city via Link...

Now this is riding in style!

...and arriving at Westlake a bit past noon, grabbing a bite at a group of food trucks parked on the park (yay balsamic italian... surprisingly good), and begin tourist stages of the journey... via monorail!

...and suddenly gaining a fear of heights at the Space Needle (seriously, those elevators gave me sudden vertigo, and I swear the uneven concrete made me uneasy on the deck)... didn't stay long beyond a quick, obligatory panoramic lookaround

 and a good hour and $20 later found myself back on terra firma, marching towards the EMP museum which was a surprisingly fun experience compared to seven years ago.

Entering to see a giant concert hall of music videos, props of Sci-fi and Fantasy, and interactive instruments. I think I spent roughly a good couple of hours in that tourist trap (which, in hindsight, now sounds sad, but pleasant fun).

Around this time, my mistake in using a trenchcoat caught up to me as the clouds gave way to sunny skies (I swear I brought California with me). Things started to warm up. Nevertheless, I checked out one last thing - Pike's Place Market - explored the many layers... which, I seriously wish I explored more of; that old-fashioned place just goes on and on! Nevertheless, I felt the need to return, stopped by the first Starbucks , grabbed a reserve, and boarded the link back...

Looks so indie!

At the moment I boarded a crowded, rush-hour train, I realized that I forgot to check Pioneer square and underground.... my restraint from the door prompted me to consider "another time", melting in my roo upon my return, and beginning my con experience. Which pretty much involved (and more/less cycled thru this process for next few days) going to room to rest, wandering the halls and taking random pics of suiters, chatting with   calicoyote, and repeat...plus running into a whole bunch of Bay Area furries as if I never left.

Went to the main stage that evening and witnessed what may be the most entertaining opening ceremonies I have witnessed (which may or may not have to do with   peppercoyote's performance). This was followed by roamings, and also running into plus chatting with said coyote (very delightful, and elated with his enthusiasm and joy). This was proceeded to running into/hanging with   bigtig,   hornetv2 among others.. proceeded to join   alphapak, @Temporary_Yote, @PathHyena, and @DaDoberDog for dinner at (regrettably tasty) Thirteen coins. At this point I lost sense of time, as it was suddenly midnight. I ran into more furries and then called it a night.

Friday -

Did some shopping in the Dealers den, running into more local furs, acquiring Kyell Gold's latest book (per persuasion of corgi), and stocking up on caffeine soaps. Proceeded to do usual roaming, before attacked (patially eaten?) by a hyena, then sent on my merry way for dinner of Teriyaki, making it in time for Pepper's show which outright surprised (and amazed) me by how he's pretty much a one-man(yote?) band.

I just love the hotel gardens, 'kay?

After the show, I contemplated going into the hot tub (a decision I later regret not making due to events that happened the next day), but instead did the dance... holy marf RF's lighting... plus retro music... was a huge highlight personally. Compared to (BL)FC, it was marfin' mesmerizing. Just after, I went to   fraddas and   lakota_lander's party of cards and music. Feeling sleepy, I proceeded to head back to Hilton and crash past 1 am; thoughts filled with animal people... even when I close my eyes... for a con of this size, it felt very casual and it was that night that I realized why RF was very favorable in terms of West Coast cons.

Saturday -

Embarrassing moments ensue.

I woke up to finding out that I was both a loud snorer and heavy sleeper... begun usual rounds of noms and roamings, again attacked by a hyena (seriously, I'm like a gazelle at this point). The skies were unusually sunny, and lacking prior planning (or rather, losing said plans when traveling), lost track of all the writing events I had planned to attend.

I found a few more local furs (you know who you are, and I don't recall your FA names), walked along for a bit, and attended the Variety show of musical performances (again, props to the lighting, Pepper, and Alex... and other acts... you all did well!)... I did another dance (again, props on lighting), before calling it a night.

Sunday -

Well this day went by quickly... did breakfast at Denny's with Path Hyena and three coyotes (and a tiger?), checked in with my Virgin flight home in advance. By this point, it was mid-afternoon. I took a swim (they said it was heated!), got early onset PCD, witnessed the closing ceremonies (which was heartwarming, and ended the con on a high note), saying hellos and goodbyes to random furries, acquiring some candy, and checking out the dead doge dance before initiating packing for the final day, and sleeping for the night.

Monday -

Well, that was an adventure. Woke up around 6 to my flight being delayed. I washed up, did some final packing (followed by zipper mishaps.... gonna have to rid of this giant bag), and headed off to SeaTac airport. Around 11am (Roughly two hours later than planned), I entered my Virgin with two local furries, entering sun-dried California and SFO (first time actually finding my house from the air) around 1:30, and headed my way home on what could be best summed up as public transit trip from hell... with signs of con crud (felt tired, congested, and chilly... probably aggravated from plane. Upon my return in the evening, I just crashed in my bed... frankly, it felt as if the con never happened, being back so quickly.

Overall, looking back, the con was fun. Glad I went, and never at all did it feel like it was the 4th largest. More smaller.

However, I swear it also felt underwhelming. Like, despite all the lead up and excitement it was all done in the blink of an eye. Might also have been my own cause; perhaps given the saturation of furry events here as well as the past two cons, I may have been rather desensitized at this point, and felt moreso towards the end and then now. Like, it started high then dwindled.

FC's large size ironically made it pretty easy to run into folks personally, and the urban environment made the place feel more "warm", like taking over downtown for a resort... it felt like a destination, and major event.

For BLFC, the roommates were the highlight of the con, never a dull moment, and never missed an event due to the one-room space.

RF... it was cozy, but felt for like an escape vacation than a con.

Plus, save for one person, I never managed to talk about and further brainstorm my projects. Shame.

Nevertheless, it was a con. Back to normal human/marfle mode until January. Joy!

Nevertheless, lessons learned and taken account into for chance of next year.

RF RF ARF ARFARFARF! (Rainfurrest/Seattle/Week Plans)

AKA that thing Mike can't stop tweeting about.

So, after three (two?) years of ill-fated attempts, I'm finally off to Rainfurrest! Been looking forward to this, not just the con, but also visiting Seattle (which I haven't visited in nearly a decade). The excitement has been so much that, frankly, it bit into my work ethic all summer (which, to my chagrin, delayed the very project I wanted to get off the ground by this time, but I digress).

Anywho, for those interested in the mundane activities, and wish to stalk/follow, meetup during the con, here be plan so far:

I'm leaving the great Valley of Silicons tonight around 8:30 pm aboard the great chariot of Amtrak, Coasting along the Starlight and arriving in Seattle the next day, roughly 24 hours later. From that point, I will take another train down to SeaTac, and find refuge in the humble abode that is the Hilton.

The following day, Thursday, is more/less my "Seattle Day"; Given that much of the con won't pick up until Friday onwards, I figured I'd spend a day exploring downtown a la tourist (Needle, Monorail, Pike's, Starbucks, etc), and returning to hotel that evening.

Friday onwards is all up in the air, while I have a few panels/events that I definitely wanna attend to, I'm more than happy to hang out and bore you to death with my awkward discussions of coyotes and delayed projects.

Come Monday morning, I shall be entering a Virgin (America), flying back to Friscotown... and immediately starting school again later in the day (yay mood whiplash).

If you're interested in meeting up, feel free to contact in any way you can, stalk me on twitter (which, you probably are already), and marf at me. Any more details, refer to this meme.

Hasta Marfle!

PS, while the odds of anybody actually doing this is highly unlikely, if you're a Portlandian, and will still be in town, care to send a dozen of Voodoo donuts to Union Station? I'm a curious folf and the train will be stopping by in mid/late afternoon with a 30-minute layover. I'll pay you back proportionately.

Project CanisVulpes

The clock is ticking,  I've been meaning to discuss this,  and best to get this idea, of which I've had cooking for years, off the ground and soon; big challenge and all.

What is Project CanisVulpes?

Long story short, web animation project involving Valleydog.

Why animation? Because I feel the current comic format of once-a-week pages isn't the most effective for the stories (which, frankly, shouldn't really last months), and really don't allow for much character development personally, with such a posting date; most just walking in won't get a grasp unless they archive binge (which I doubt is unlikely from get-go). Plus a majority of recent pages done can be easily converted into rigs and backgrounds if needbe.

Why Valleydog? While I did have another idea in mind, Valleydog is more developed, and thus will be theoretically easier and faster to work with, by having materials (characters, stories, etc) already there, plus chance to expand on via characters, settings, and stories a lot more for shorter time span. Also, as mentioned, the comic itself is designed visually to be 'animation ready' with a few cosmetic revisions as needed. There is a lot of potential that can be readily and easily unlocked in this format compared to static comics.

What is Valleydog?  Long story short, a young, finicky, booksmart sheltered Coyote by name of Francis Gris is forced to move west from Washington, DC to a small town in California that is unknowingly filled with eccentric personalities, in which he must get himself acquainted (and possibly assimilated) into semi-suburban, neo-hipster NorCal culture.

So What's the plan? Sixteen 15-minute webisodes (plus shorter shorts) that will initially be published online via YouTube Channels (and/or other video sharing sites), for ease of viewing and accessibility.

How is This Feasible? I'm not looking for anything grand (well, aiming decent quality at least). Animations will, initially, and for practical reasons, be via Flash (which, in itself, is a tool; if used right, can achieve impressive results). Funding will be, ideally, achieved via crowdfunding (Looking into Patreon, specifically), with enough to just cover what is needed. This isn't a solo project; in no way can I do this alone, and thus asking and seeking those who can and willing to help.

What am I looking for? Not much, just a handful.

• Voices
• Basic artists and those with time on hands to lend a helping hand (will be pitching in as well on this end; we all play part =P)
• Writers for proofreading and consistency
• (Least important) Musician

This does seem like an ambitious project, and I am not really expecting much response and enthusiasm from this. Frankly, not looking for anything professional/high class for the sake of profit; just pure fun and passion (as I otherwise would not have started this in first place).

Already in the past month I have worked on stories for shorts and redesigns of characters, as well as finished a pilot script awaiting a table-read (once appropriate voices are acquired), before moving on elsewhere, while still working on more notes and designs. Ideally, I want to try to get this off the ground (or at least walking somewhat) come Rainfurrest time.

If you are interested in supporting/taking part as a peasant victim volunteer into this mad idea, send me a note/PM/DM/email :)

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this, and I look forward to seeing this go through :) 

Off Model

It's been an off week (or month) for me, balancing projects (or rather, figuring out which one to actually dedicate time to, despite having thought over this several times this year and actually making a decision last month. Perhaps my increased distraction isn't really helping matters (seriously, I haven't been this unfocused since 2010... kinda concerns me. It's an old habit of mine that arises again; whenever I have plenty I need to do, I freeze and sleep on it to deal with later, and end up doing nothing #ProcrastinationFolf

I wanna change that, and been trying for a while.

I'm taking care (along with several friends and writers) in getting the basics of Project CanisVulpes done writing wise, as the coyotes take my time artwise, prepping up the dead tree edition of Valleydog, as well as related art in regards to such and the project. Around this point the perfectionism and self-consciousness arises, as I know I can do better, freaking with each anatomy error tipping on the A.Ricky issue (Having glaring mistakes with pose/anatomy resulting in a stiff, chubby/short character yet calling it "good" and ready for publicity).

I never fully created the characters of Valleydog (Save for Francis), yet the basic premise and idea were of my plan; 'twas a friend of mine, in highschool, who offered to help... long story short; it didn't last and I took over as I didn't wanna scrap the idea.... with plenty of rough edges and starts as I tried to get to know the cast while reforming to my plan as it went on..... with varied results. I wanna work on Valleydog further; I have ideas and dialogues that, witty and funny, fit best in the context of its Davis, CA expy Charter High School setting, while I try to make it feel 'relatable' to an average audience instead of a severe niche, and soon; many of these ideas are based on true stories. As I get older, and these stories are based on what are now memories (up to 5 years old at this point); things get muddled, and thus the effect isn't as full as it was. In fact, had I kept on schedule (which if I did I would be insane at this point), this would've been the comic's penultimate year, ending on June 2015 (in fact, I already have the final storyline written down; left for easy revising for prior character developments).

On that note, I find myself despising doing story arcs for the very reason of time. Given the comic runs (or is supposed to run) once a week at very least, the average storyline (of, say a simple task) can take months to resolve. Given the tame nature of the comic thereof, 'tis nothing really exciting to wait for, and thus I feel that, frankly, the comic format isn't really suitable for Valleydog, and hence plan to incorporate such into Project CanisVulpes (more on that later)

On the topic of  writing and relevance, I find myself ever more enticed to forgo Valleydog (of which I'm mainly using solely because I have the most ready material to work with) and jump to Elevations instead due to such being more "free" and open to develop further, plus more personally relevant to my current life, for said project.

Anywhom, 'tis three in the morning, and I should sleep. Feel free to leave your two cents, and I appreciate you taking the time to read this.

Thanks, and hasta marfle!

New Comic Pitch (Project Elevations)

Just something written up for an upcoming comic idea in the works... 

In the Small town of Santa Alta, CA on the shores of San Francisco Bay, lies a creperie cafe, off the corner of 5th and Montel. Above the cafe lives a middle-aged, reserved, and cynical yet stoic and sage Nathaniel Montague and his goofy, hyper, adorkably college-aged housemate Maxwell Hayward. Nathaniel is forced to house Max and act as mentor per the Landlords request via six degrees of separation. Max commutes south for class as a film student, while Nathaniel operates a series of fresh-baked cookie food trucks in the city and East Bay. The two occasionally go on adventures around the bay to mixed results, and  make connections in their careers, of which intertwine surprisingly, for better or for worse.

 Shall flesh out further over time, and already have plans set for this should things go forth. Feel free to give thoughts if you'd like.

Hasta Marfle!

Becoming the Mask

Just something that came to mind, and felt ever more apparent in these past two years, and even moreso as of late.

To those who have been involved in the fandom, local community, or otherwise, do you feel like and/or find yourself identifying more and more with your furry self/life? I necessarily mean, like, feeling like an actual animal and living a la lifestylers (I still consider myself human. Heck, even my fursona is just me as a fox/wolf thing), but more of like having lives just meld together, so to speak. Like, I am accustomed to hearing animal noises and names nearly everywhere that it's become the norm, almost routinely mundane. More than half the friends and folks I talk to go by animal-based names, even I am known more here and elsewhere as "Mike Folf" than my actual name to point of doing doubletakes when hearing the latter/having to sign such (if you're curious, look up the 90s band 'Voice of the Beehive').

Not really complaining though, just an interesting thought.. maybe it's because I seem to be surrounded by hundreds of furries in a ten-mile radius, or the sharp increase in furry meets as of late.. or I'm just getting more involved and this is just a side effect, the new normal personally.


Marflebark!

Marflepride

So I went to pride for the first time over the weekend... or rather kinda/sorta close to pride as I could without really experiencing it, in what could be best described as a derpy adventure.

Went up on Saturday afternoon and met with a couple of furs at a hotel in Civic Center, and helped oncoming furs up to room (due to elevator key-lock), as they all suited up, phone charging along with 'em, and went up along with another pride newbie fur,  to grab such as the rest headed out, with us trying to catch up, and running into other furs in the process while finding the main group (who happened to be right below us, waiting for the Muni subway to Castro).

After a bit of waiting/chatting with other furs and newfur wolf, we debated whether or not to just walk or follow the gang via Muni, before compromising and walking to another fur who happened to be driving in town (and, for whatever reason, we all decided would be a much faster option). This resulted in 2/3 hours of traffic, looking for a parking space, rage (understandable given driver's condition), and giving up and driving 30-some blocks down to a pizza and market down Mission (and trying a Sushiritto in the process). Wolf and I decided to make a trek on our own and attempt Munibus as the other driving furs decided to forego pride altogether and head to the other evening meet in the area. It was 7pm at the time, and personally frankly, with plans skewed from driving, figured why not wing it?

Wolf and I ended up waiting a good half hour before the bus came. I informed the main group about this and tried to coordinate in what can be best described as poor timing and miscommunication (as majority of group would be heading our way anyway, however this info was received upon entering said bus), and we both traveled towards Castro in a bit of a Sardine can, arriving around 8 to the sight of long lines of entry (for body checks). I called the main group again to follow-up and see about meeting up with them....only to find out they were waiting for the Muni line back to Civic Center. We both admit defeat and attempt to go back to the hotel, and Walking along the steep hills to Dolores park and the J Muni line, and waiting a bit half an hour for the train...in the other direction (as, we both needed to go to BART; Wolf to head home, I for the evening game night meet, both of us aggravated). I did run into a fellow alumni from my high school my delightful chance, which helped improve the evening a bit as we waited and traveled a bit, sharing similar sentiments in general. The tram was heavily delayed and instead came along a shuttlebus substitute. With us three equally confused, and being mislead and Dropped off on 49 (29th?) street, around 9:00 or so.

Breaking down after a quick search for directions (which would've lead to walking several blocks alone in SF), and (Rather regretably) rage-tweeting in the process) as we all waited for a bus (eta 40 min) to dog knows where, an actual downtown-bound J Muni train arrives, and we all rush onboard, arriving at Civic Center around, by coincidence around the same time as the main group (as, apparently, the entire system had temporarily shut down). We proceeded to meet back at the hotel, cool and rest for a bit, before returning the the BARuni station, parting ways with Wolf, as a couple of furs and I, remaining from the main group pleasantly traveled along BART to Balboa for Game night, which went rather enjoyable and (much needed) relaxing, discussing with furs the philosophical ideas behind good and evil...which then turned into a discussion on cartoons. I was then asked to help spot a couple of suiters for the pride parade the following morning. I have never done such before, but in act of goodwill, good friendship, and up for the challenge, I accepted, and thus discussed and awakened early 7am (running on three hours of sleep and two cups of coffee) to help.

Spotting was easy than thought, and tried best double-checking with the collie and horse making sure all's well before, and during, the ride on a Munibus + BART to Embarcadero, handling fare and guiding thru crowds (reactions of which were amusing, with photo-ops a plenty, as we were in a hurry). Walking a couple blocks to find the Furry float, hidden amongst the more colorful crowd. At this point, and after a few greetings, I got message of having to return home, and rushed back. I was in a hurry, and to put it lightly, personal failure of communication and derps that left me feeling awful for overlooking. Thankfully, such was resolved as much as it could, but I do feel compelled to compensate and make up for the mistake.

All-in-all, the last weekend was definitely not as expected, but hey, fun to chat about after the fact. I'm kinda used to random, unexpected adventures at this point in my (youngish) life. Had fun hanging and helping several furs, and really can't beat a visit to San Francisco.