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Elegant Douchery 2   
02:34pm 13/07/2009
  Dear Y'all -- again.

Thank you for answering my mail on your show and giving me some wonderful advice. Because of you, I believe I now know the best way to deal with the situation.

Though none of you said it directly, I could practically feel some of your fingers wanting to type, "It's a gift, you ungrateful prick!" And you know what? You're absolutely right. I have long criticized artists for whining when a character they invent is drawn by other people in ways they might not like. The fact is, when you give a character to the world, it doesn't just belong to you anymore. It belongs to everyone. It lives in THEIR imaginations too. And if you don't want a character you love to be subject to the imaginations of others, then you'd better not give it to them in the first place.

To be honest, the only thing that really separates 2, The Ranting Gryphon from any other gryphon is a paid of round, orange sunglasses. And I wouldn't mind having a gryphon suit at all. If it comes down to it, I can remove the sunglasses (if there are any) and wear the suit happily. But in any case, if someone is, in fact, making a 2 suit for me, I will accept it happily and be thankful that the character lives so vividly in their imagination that they wanted to put the effort into making a physical manifestation of him.

In short, I WAS being an ungrateful prick and I needed a bit of a smack in the head from you guys. Thanks for keeping me in line. I need that sometimes.

- 2 Gryphon		  
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Elegant Douchery   
05:22am 13/07/2009
  I'm in a bit of a pickle, and I would like some advice. Consider this a "what would YOU do" kind of situation. This is like a Dear 2 letter, except in reverse.

Dear Y'all,

A couple of months ago, my roommate came to me with a measuring tape and started measuring seemingly random parts of my personal anatomy and writing down the figures. He told me it was for a surprise, but he couldn't say what it is or who was responsible for it. Last week at AnthroCon, someone came up and had me try on a wire frame construction on my head, "for reference" he said. And later, someone came to my table and asked to take a photograph of my head with a little ruler next to it.

Now, I'm not completely oblivious. It seems like someone might want to surprise me with a fursuit head. Maybe even a whole suit. Since I don't know the nature of it, I can't be certain.

The problem is, I don't want a 2, The Ranting Gryphon suit! I think it's a character that is better left in the imagination. However, I have no idea what is being made, IF it's a fursuit or IF it's even of my character. If it was, say, some random character -- a weasel or a deer or a raccoon -- well, that's no problem. I like fursuiting and I've always wanted my own suit to bounce around in. But I'd never have a suit of my character. And if I ever do, I will be extremely particular about the design.

So, here I am. I *suspect* a suit is being made for me as a surprise. But I can't assume too much. I don't even know who is making it. The worst case scenario is that a fursuit newb will give me a suit of my character that looks like a chicken that was wandering around Chernobyl when it blew up. On the other hand, it could be some adorable other character being made by an expert and will totally kick ass. Both of these are possibilities, along with everything in between. Even if it IS an awkward looking suit, I would still appreciate the work that went into it and it would be terrible of me not to wear it sometimes, even if I don't want my character to be in this form.

I don't know whether to find the person responsible and ask him not to make the suit, not to make my particular character, or leave it alone entirely.

What the heck should I do? Any ideas?

**P.S. If you do happen to be the person who is in charge of this, please do contact me. I know you didn't realize what an awkward circumstance this would be. And I greatly appreciate the thought. But I think everything could work out if we could just touch base.**		  
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AnthroCon 09   
11:33am 10/07/2009
  After staying an extra couple of days in Pittsburgh (I insist on being the last furry of the year to get a Fernando's lasagna wrap) I'm back in my studio. I want to thank the staff of AnthroCon for bringing us yet another excellent event, for being an upstanding example of professionalism and organization in the furry culture and finally, for all the personal assistance and encouragement they gave to me. And, of course, for allowing me to perform once more. It was a pleasure entertaining you all again and I hope my performance was fun.

What to say about AnthroCon... I'm literally getting BORED of having nothing but confetti and rainbows exploding out of my face for them. But I can't help it. They're a consistently amazing event! And even as they get ridiculously large, they're still easy to work with as a member and as a dealer. There's so little hassle being there, I almost feel like I'm cheating somehow! Thanks again for another wonderful event.

And thanks to you guys for coming up to me and saying hello. It was great to get a chance to talk with you guys, whether we've talked before or it was the first time we'd met. Seeing your excitement for my show and at my dealer table for the new DVDs really encourages me to continue and improve for you. Several big contributors to the 2 Sense Show came and said hello. It was good to meet you. Varmit and M... it was great having breakfast with you in Fernando's on Thursday morning. I do wish that I'd had more time to spend with some of you, but you all seemed very understanding of how busy I was there, and for that, I also thank you.

Thanks for the wonderful gifts you gave me. I got an autograph book from Furcadia, a whole CASE of Guinness, bottles of absinthe, Crown Royal, Jack Daniels, Evan Williams and (OMG) a bottle of Dalwhinnie 15 year Single Malt scotch from a big contributor to the 2 Sense Show. I got badges and pictures from some talented artists. Agent Elrond came to my dealer table and gave me a binder with the ORIGINAL drawings from every 2 Sense title picture she'd ever drawn. I nearly shat myself! I got packages of fine tea, foreign coins, vintage video games, and of course, YOUR MONEY! Muaahahahahaaa! But the greatest gift I received from you was your laughter at my performance on Saturday and at the charity show with Uncle Kage on Sunday.

I only had the chance to see a few shows while I was there. Uncle Kage was definitely at the top of his game. The fusuit parade was fabulous. The number of fursuiters was just... sick. There was more fur in that parade than in the armpits of a Puerto Rican!

I had an amazing time, and I hope everyone else did too.

But I have to mention... at this AnthroCon, I got the greatest piece of furry artwork I've ever had. You guys know the artist Fossil? Of course you do. Because Fossil rocks. He's always rocked. But now... he's doing professional tattoos. He's licensed and ready to kick ass. And that's just what he was doing at AnthroCon. He had a tattoo parlor set up in his room! And let me tell you, he was one of the busiest artists all weekend. Luckily, he was able to fit me into his busy schedule for a good few hours of ink and pain. And, as soon as I realized I could get in, I comissioned my long trusted and talented artist friend Lizardbeth to draw a picture for me which will now be with me to my grave. I can think of no two other people I would rather have put a permanent piece of art on my body.

Here is the result...



Lizardbeth and Fossil... you two are awesome and I can't thank you enough.

If any of you have ever been curious to get a tattoo, I can't recommend Fossil highly enough. He was extremely professional, experienced and simply fun to spend time with.

I hope to see you all and entertain you again at the next AnthroCon!

  
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Apocalypse Of Cute   
01:49pm 13/06/2009
  Hello folks!

My new DVD, "Apocalypse Of Cute", has been mastered and has begun its production run. It will premier at AnthroCon 2009 and be available to order from Rabbit Valley afterward! The DVD features my 60 minute stand up performance from AnthroCon 2008 and an extra bonus feature. The live 2 Sense Show from AnthroCon 2007! I have uploaded not one, not two, not three, not eight hundred and six, but FOUR -- four previews of this DVD for you to look at.

Hope you enjoy!






  
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Out West!   
02:15pm 09/06/2009
  Hey all!

So, I'm out on the west coast right now. Just finished Califur weekend and am vising the folks I will be moving in with when I move here in a couple of months. It was great performing for you west coast furries again after so many years. You guys were wonderful to me and it was great getting to talk with you and entertain you again.

As you may have noticed, I've been a little scarce. I want to apologize for that. There's been no 2 Sense and recently, no FA:N shows or rants either. Well, I haven't dropped off the planet. I wanted everyone to know that there is going to be a slight drop off of my web material over the next few months due to the process of moving. You know how it is... You pack up your satanic altar, hand grenades and portable, junior Kthulu summoning kit and then it's really a pain to dig it back out in order to work. Once I get set up in California, all your favorite me-stuff will be coming back, and more than likely, it will be better than before. 2 Sense 2.2 will get started. Even FA:N will be going to video. There will be more video rants and short movies from me. (I'm even considering re-doing many of my old audio rants into videos. Any ideas?)

I wanted to let you guys know that in spite of the move and the lack of shows, I will still be doing live stand up performances at AnthroCon, Eurofurence and it's possible I'll be performing at Megaplex in Orlando, Florida as well.

Thanks for being patient with me during this. Honestly, no one is more ansy for me to get back to work than I am. Once I'm out west for good, I'm going to do what I can to make the wait worth it for you guys.		  
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Relocation.   
04:38am 24/05/2009
  Folks.

I know it's sometimes difficult to tell when I'm being my character and when I'm being myself. That's supposed to be part of the fun. Truth be told, there've been very few times when I have been *out* of character to the public.

Right now, I want to be real with you guys. I want to talk as the actor/stand up comic who plays the character you all know. For those of you who've met me in person, you know the me I'm talking about. I have an apology I would like to make. It may turn out a bit lengthy. You don't have to read it. I think it will make me feel better just to say it.

For the last couple of years, I have not been a very good entertainer for you guys, and I want to say I'm sorry. My rants have shallowed off, my stand up material hasn't been its best, my shows have been sporatic. I don't want to make too many excuses for myself, but there has been a reason this is happening.

You see, a few years ago, I lost the most special person I've ever had in my life. And along with him, I lost quite a few good friends. Many of the people in my life that I felt were solid, and whom I used to help define my own life suddenly weren't there anymore. The only way I can describe how I felt would be to say I was devistated -- something of a smoking crater of a person. I felt like I'd lost my whole family at once.

I'm sure many of you out there have had similar situations in your lives. And I'm sure you know how much you just felt like crawling into dark cave and wasting away. Well, that's what I did. The cave was called Michigan.

I came to Michigan to hide. It was my dark corner to crawl into and be broken, deal with my issues and rebuild myself. I've spent the last three years drunk, in my room, barely coming out to do anything unless it was a convention performance. The people around me aren't especially supportive of my creative indeavors, but that isn't their fault. I've surrounded myself with people who are emotionally supportive instead because that's what I've needed, and in that respect, they've helped me more than I can express. They've been there for me as I've laid around broken.

As I've been in this emotional hole of mine, I knew I couldn't just drop off the planet. I enjoy being an entertainer even when I'm not at my best. So I wound up doing the minimum. I did produce some things, but I didn't grow artistically. I didn't learn anything. I didn't improve. My heart wasn't in it. Being drunk 24 hours a day didn't help my motivation either.

I wanted to let you all know that I'm ready to crawl out of this hole now. And I'm sorry for having been so distant. I came here to lick my wounds and put myself back together. With the help of some very special people, I've been able to do that. And now I'm ready to put my attention toward making others happy again, instead of devoting so much of it to keeping myself from falling apart. Now that I'm back on track emotionally, I can be artistic again, and I find it's the first thing I want to do.

In August of this year, I will be moving to Los Angeles. I have someone who is willing to be an agent for me. I'll be performing in comedy clubs around California. The 2 Sense Show will start up again, this time as a live video stream. There will be more rants and other kinds of videos. Hopefully more music too. In short, I apologize for being off the ball for the past couple of years. I needed the time to be broken. But I'm feeling better now and I'm ready to get back to work.

As a side note, I will be performing at Califur here in a couple of weeks. Come out and see the show!		  
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Owl.   
02:18pm 21/05/2009
  This fucking rocks.

I have no idea what it is, but it rocks.




  
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I've got competition.   
11:28am 14/05/2009
  Dude. If Obama wasn't the President, I'd love to see him doing stand-up. Some of these jokes are just brilliant. It's good to know he knows how to make fun of himself... and others.






  
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Metal Alert!   
09:34am 08/05/2009
  I stopped listening to metal when its spirit all but died out around the mid 90's. Yeah, there are a few bands who do traditional sounding metal, but to me, it just sounds like they're faking it. Every now and then though, I will find a new metal song that will bring me to my knees. It will be more metal than I can handle! It will tear my beating heart out and show it to me and it's so lovely.

I found one last night! The song is about five years old, but I just now found it. I thought maybe there were others who hadn't heard it.

This song is for true metalheads only. No one else can listen. ......Okay, the rest of you can listen too.

I can't believe how much of an anthem to furries this song is. It's almost a perfect metal song, if there is such a thing.

First read the lyrics, then watch the video. If you are a metalhead, expect to get a few boners.

(And, I know people will say it, so I'll answer already. Yes, I have heard of Nevermore before. Yes, I know this isn't a new song. Because it's in my LJ doesn't imply any guarantee of "new-ness".)

LYRICS

We are the nothing grating against the norm
We are the something that will not conform
No one understands what we've been given

We are the useless by-products of soulless meat
We are all gone we all sing the same tragedy

Open wide and EAT THE WORMS of the enemy
We are the enemies of reality, in a world that's unforgiving

Waiting to sanitize bastard tongues
To purify the ignorance that hides the sun
The less you understand the more you're driven

Packaged and processed the masses are force fed
The standards they judge us on swallow the rot we shed

Open wide and EAT THE WORMS of the enemy
We are the enemies of reality, in a world that's unforgiving

Breathing dust and decay while I'm sipping
Human trust and betrayal
Losing faith once again
Take my hand my friend, my foe, I am enemy

Open wide and EAT THE WORMS of the enemy
We are the enemies of reality, in a world that's unforgiving
Open wide, EAT THEIR WORDS, become what you most fear





  
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2 Sense Update.   
11:25pm 06/05/2009
  I know a lot of you out there are wondering what the status of 2 Sense is. I've been getting a lot of e-mails about it and I'm glad to see you guys are anxious for the next season. At this point, I'd like to let you in on our plans.

I know it has been a long time since the last season, but there is a good reason for that. Toward the end of the last season, I began realizing that internet radio shows, while certainly fun, are getting a little out of date. When 2 Sense started, there weren't a whole lot of quality internet radio shows out there, especially for the furry fandom. I believed our community should have something they could listen to in the internet radio world, thus 2 Sense was started.

Now however, I'm happy to see that many more people have jumped onto the podcasting wagon and are using their voices to express themselves and entertain others. It's an even more beautiful sight to see that furries are doing this as well!

To get to the point, I feel that 2 Sense is no longer needed in a radio form. There are so many wonderful furry radio shows out there to choose from, it just doesn't feel as though 2 Sense is breaking any new ground. It is for this reason that 2 Sense will be turning into a TV show. Because of some very generous donations from 2 Sense listeners, we have been able to upgrade our equipment, and when the next season begins, every episode will be broadcast live on Ustream. 

Just as when 2 Sense first started, not only will we be aiming to make a TV show for furries, we'll be aiming to make the best damn furry TV show we possibly can. We want to give something to the world that furries can be proud of. At the same time, we will also continue to upload the audio files onto the website for those who like listening when they can't watch. There will be segments from your favorite 2 Sense characters in the audio version and hopefully, in the video version too, eventually. There will be discussion of headlines, gore news, viewer mail... essentially, it will be the same 2 Sense you remember, only now it will have the dimension of video added to it.

We will have access to a space in which we can build a studio and even space for a respectable sized audience for furries who're in the area to come and watch the show in person, if they wish.

Now, if this sounds a little bit like a pipe dream, keep in mind that most of the equipment we'll need for this has already been obtained. It's already a reality. Donation money we've received has already gone to purchase 8 video cameras, tripods, rackmount audio components, a teleprompter, high quality radio mics with stands and spider mounts, pop filters, cables and adapters and other odds and ends. We will have a video mixer on loan from a generous donator. All that is truly left to do is to put this equipment together and construct the studio.

There is still a lot of work to be done. It's likely that 2 Sense won't return until sometime toward the end of this year. But I hope that when you see what we've done, you'll understand the work that has been put into this time.

If there's any suggestions you guys would like to offer on the future of 2 Sense, now would be a good time to toss them in!		  
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Who are you?   
03:58am 28/04/2009
  "Dear 2. If my parents ever found out I was gay/furry, they would kick me into the streets with no place to go, take away all I have, brand me with hot irons, beat me with chainsaws, discontinue my nipples and disown me. What would be the best way to go about telling them I'm gay/furry?"

You would probably be amazed at how many times I hear this question or similar variants. The first few thousand times, my immediate reaction was to pound my face into the desk until I passed out, and after regaining consciousness, clawing my way to the keyboard to type with a trembling, bloody hand, "THEN DON'T TELL THEM, YOU TARD!"... just before I'd collapse onto the floor, dead.

After a few years of this, I started to become extremely curious why so many people would be willing to sacrifice their families, friends, homes, nipples and everything they have for a meager moment they can stand a sliver of their private business in the spotlight in front of everyone who cares for them and, whom they know will reject them for doing such a thing. So, one day, just when I was about to lose consciousness from the blunt trauma to my face, I stopped for a moment and asked... "Why? Why do you so desperately need these people to know this specific piece of private information about you?"

I asked the next person and the next the same question. And I discovered something interesting. Without fail, the answer was always, "Because I want them to know who I truly am."

At first, this puzzled me. Then, when I became sober, it still puzzled me. So I took a dump. I always think better when I'm taking a dump.

What exactly makes up a person? A person is made up of a million different elements. What his favorite color is, how well he can climb a tree, what his talents are, where his aspirations direct him, how much money he's willing to pay to take a shit at a coin operated toilet. All these elements come together to form a person.

But what causes a person to elect a single one of these elements to be "who I really am"? What, out of the million different things that culminate into "you" do you choose to identify yourself with? Which tiny piece of you do you pick to stamp onto your forehead for the purpose of labeling yourself?

Is it random? I don't think so. People don't generally stick their hand into the proverbial Power Ball tank of personality and pull out the element by which they will forever title themselves.

How then, is this element chosen? By what criteria do we select the one millionth of ourselves to present to the world when they ask, "Who are you?" But even more perplexing -- why would anyone choose the preference of the gender they'd rather rub their sexual organs against to do this job?

Picture a somber scene. A troubled and nervous teenager, anxiously entwining his fingers sits in a chair in front of his father. His posture is straight and defiant. His chin is gritted in solid determination. He says, "Dad, I have to tell you something."

The father raises an eyebrow and acknowledges with a gruff, "Uh huh?"

The teen takes a deep breath, pauses for a moment and then, with a tear streaking down his cheek, his voice crackles, "I like corn."

It's a little silly, isn't it? No one would consider an enjoyment of corn to be "who I truly am." But for a moment, let's what-if.

What if, in this world, no one thought for a moment about a person being gay? What if it was a normal or natural as anything else. It had no social repercussions, no one talked about it or even really thought about it. If you told someone you were gay, you got a reaction much like if you said you think grass is itchy.

However, in this same world, corn is taboo. It's used to point out undesirable people. Its enjoyment is employed as an insult and in questioning a person's moral values. "I don't trust you, corn eater!" Though there is a small community of people who insist, and rightly so, that there is simply no reason to judge people based on their enjoyment of corn, this community is seen as dangerous, immoral and threatening. Business owners pretend to support them for the sake of putting on an anti-hate facade.

Would this conversation be so strange then? Would being a person who enjoys the taste of corn become "who I truly am" in this case?

I believe that the reason so many people have decided that "who I truly am" is gay or furry is because people pick the most controversial elements of their personality to present to the world. People don't want to define themselves by something that no one gives a crap about. They want who they believe themselves to be to get a reaction. To get attention and notice. Even if the scale of the element they choose is no bigger than any other element. Even if it would otherwise be seen as personal, private business. Whether it will delight people or piss them off, we choose to define ourselves by that which people will have the biggest reaction toward. How many African Americans define themselves as being black? Now, how many caucasians define themselves as being white? Being black has a history of causing a much bigger reaction than being white.

My advice to the teen who has decided that he simply must tell his loved ones "who I truly am", in spite of the hell they'll turn his life into... Why don't you sit for awhile and think about just who you truly are. Perhaps being a person with a warm home, parents and friends is more of who you are than just "a gay person".		  
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Bird Brain #3   
03:37am 17/04/2009
  There will be another Bird Brain show on Ustream, Friday at 10pm Eastern time.

On this show, we're going to try something a little different. Other than talking through comedy ideas, I will also be recording the next FA:N show live for the audience, as long as the equipment Gods will let me.

See you then!




  
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Anthropod.   
05:58am 10/04/2009
  Hey guys! I just thought I'd let you know that I was a guest on the AnthroPod Podcast this week. Matthew Ebel, myself and the host of the show, Flain, discussed a lot of interesting topics and had a lot of fun! If you'd like to listen, check it out here...

http://www.anthropodcast.com/		  
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Furverts   
03:53pm 09/04/2009
  **Warning! Controversial opinion ahead!** (Expect some waah.)

A new book as been released called "Furverts", by Michael Cogliantry. It's all about the "secret" lives of furries where we put on animal suits and fuck each other blue in the face. I'm sure the book will sell pretty well because people who claim to have minds cleaner than the Virgin Mary's pap smears just looooooove to read about people so backward and twisted that they'd rather screw the high school team mascot than one of them. It's meant to be a train wreck. So much so, that the book even includes pictures of people boffing each other in fursuits that are *obviously* nothing a furry would ever wear. I suspect they just paid some poor college kids to pose in some store bought Halloween crap, just for effect.

Since the news of this book has hit the fandom, there has been a lot of bitching and whining. A lot of furs trying to defend the upright and proper character of the furry fandom. A lot of bawling that this book will make us all look bad.

Give me a fucking break.

This is OUR fault. You want the furry fandom to be an all-inclusive sub-culture? Well, here we are, welcome to it. You can't decide one minute that it's okay to tie an animal tail to any random fucking interest that walks up to the door and call it "furry", then, when people start pointing and laughing, stand up and complain that the fruitcakes we openly welcomed in don't represent us. It's ludicrous.

A grown man who just wants to wear diapers, a girl who wants to parade her leather slaves around, a guy who gets an erection from being wrapped in latex, a chick who makes her farm animals fuck her... slap a pair of ears on them and suddenly they're furries. And damn anyone who tells them they're not welcome in our group. Damn anyone who tells them they don't belong. But as soon as the cameras are pointed toward these people and they're fucking and sucking each other for the national media, we throw up our hands and reject them as "just a few weirdos we couldn't manage to keep out." We tell them it's not what furry is about. We say they don't represent us. One minute, it's practically a furry crime to ostracise anyone for any reason, and then next, we're whining that we're misrepresented because of the focus on the creepy bastards that we insisted on openly including.

We can't have it both ways, folks.

The furry fandom has become a catch-all for anyone with interests so weird that no other group will accept them. And it has happened because we don't have the nuts to set a definition to who we are and tell those who don't share our interests to find somewhere else to go. Anyone who knocks on our door, slinging around an erection for child porn or warm cheese mold is welcomed right in because we don't have the balls to say, "Sorry, but this is not who we are!"

The furry fandom is no longer about anthropomorphic animals, cartoon characters or mythical creatures. It's become a place where any crazy fuck on the planet feels entitled to be able to openly express whatever unconventional object or idea drives him to orgasm in his bedroom closet at night. And it has become this way because we invited them in! And it will continue to be this way until we find the responsibility to collectively seperate what is furry from what isn't.

Until then, none of us has any right to whine about bad press. If you don't like the way the furry fandom is portrayed in the media, don't blame the few weirdos they were interviewing because we're the ones who told those wierdos to come to the party.
 
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Suddenly!   
11:33pm 30/03/2009
  2 And Jibba's Sudden Improvisational Broadway Theater Play!

10 minute warning. That's it!




  
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Bird Brain!   
01:03pm 29/03/2009
  Well, the ideas in my idea book have piled up and it's time for me to think them out and see which ones might make good material.

Soooooooo... There will be a Bird Brain show tonight on Ustream at 10pm Eastern time!

I know it's a little bit late notice. The last one was even later. I'll try to announce it a day in advance from now on.

Anyway, enjoy!

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bird-brain




  
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In with the new!   
08:47pm 26/03/2009
  Folks!

I'm happy to say that along with being a new Twitter-er, some of the new things I've been working to get ready are coming to fruition. There are two things I would like to let everyone know about tonight.

First, I am starting a movie club, here on Live Journal. I've run into a lot of people lately who are interested in movies, yet haven't seen very many of them and don't know where to start. Movies have long been a great passion of mine and I'd like to share what I know of them. The club will be much like a book club. Every week, we'll all check out a movie and then discuss the different aspects of it and consider each other's opinions on it. Generally, I don't prefer any certain genre as much as I do a good story. So if you're a fan of good movies and would like to have some good recommendations, along with discussion about the films, go to http://2-films.livejournal.com and join me in exploration of some of the best films ever made.

Secondly, I have a new show. This is a live video show on Ustream and it will likely happen two or three times a week.

You see, developing new comedy material is an interesting process. It's different for everyone who does it. Personally, I take events that effect me emotionally, such as things that happen to me personally in my day, or stories I hear about on the news, and I will talk them out. I will grab a tape recorder and begin talking through my feelings about them as though I were in a theatrical setting. This gives me new ideas and lets me capture a certain feeling for how I might present the material on stage. Sometimes I find new material and sometimes I don't.

It occurred to me the other day, if I'm recording these thoughts anyway, why not broadcast them?

The show is called "Bird Brain" and will basically be my process of spazzing over recent events in the attempt to make comedy out of it. Some of it might be offensive, some of it might be sappy or emotional, some things might make it to stage and some won't. I will be paying attention to the chat window because I believe feedback might lend more insight or send me on tangents I might have not thought of before. If anyone wants a glimpse into the way a comic makes their material, this might be something interesting for you. Or, if you just want to see what twisted things fly out of the recesses of my brain that might be too harsh for stage, then you might like it too.

The show is here. http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bird-brain

The first show will be tonight at midnight, Eastern time. It will be something of a test show, since I haven't done this before. For those who tune in, I'll see you there. I'll also embed a video window here, so you can watch it from my LJ if you decide to.




  
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It's alive! ALIVE!   
01:32am 25/03/2009
  Agent Elrond strikes again.

*hugs* You're awesome, Elrond.



  
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Twitter.   
12:05pm 24/03/2009
  I thought it would be interesting to see how long it would take for a bunch of people to start following my Tweets if I never even told anyone I was on Twitter. The answer... about two weeks.

In any case, that was interesting to know. So now, I'll just make a little note here to let folks know that I'm on Twitter if you want to see what I'm up to all day.

http://twitter.com/2_gryphon

See you there!		  
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Back from FWA!   
04:04am 24/03/2009
  Well, I've returned from FWA. I want to thank the staff for running such a great event and apologize that I wasn't as accessible as I usually am. I barely got to say hello to some of you.

FWA's new hotel is... massive, to say the least. But it's good that they've moved because with the number of furries there this year, there'd have been no way to stuff them all in the old hotel. The hotel was so big that it fit FWA's near 1500 members easily and still had room for another few simultanious events from other groups. And it was in a very good location. There were all kinds of foodz and boozez around the area to love with face.

Unfortunately, I can't comment extensively on the programming or events at the convention because I was making sure to take it easy on my leg, so that I wouldn't bust any arteries back open again. Though I did happen to catch Matthew Ebel's show (which was just amazing). Coming from someone who is also a stage performer, the magic he weaves on stage makes me terribly jealous. I also made sure to watch Uncle Kage's show, who can still weave just as engrossing a tale as he could when I first saw him perform 84 years ago. It's a constant pleasure to work with him on stage, and I continue to learn things from him every year.

Though I wasn't able to participate as much as usual, I must say, my experience of FWA was wonderful. Having been there the first year, it's amazing to see what it's turned into in such a short time. Everyone had a wonderful time and, perhaps I'm mistaken, but for as large as the con has become, everyone still seemed very relaxed. There was narry a long face at FWA, at least as far as I could see... unless they were horses. Or collie dogs. And even the folks from the non furry events just seemed to be more curious about us than hostile. Many of them came to our event space just to get some pictures and talk to us. Hell, by the end of the con, some of the bartenders were wearing ears and tails and remembered us by our furry names.

Though I'm bummed a little because I wasn't able to get around as much, I have to say that taking time to relax and smell the roses... or in this case, the fanboys... did turn out beneficial. I'm always running around conventions so much that I don't have time to stop and really talk to people. It was very nice to be able to do that again, and I wound up making a few new friends, which is rare for me.

First, I'd like to acknowledge RB. He's the guy who I wound up rooming with after I asked for roomspace for a poor bird. I've seen RB here and there for years now. He's always seemed like a great guy. And this weekend was my first real chance to hang out with him and talk. It turns out, he's every bit the upstanding personality I suspected he was. We shared some great conversation and a bit of booze and I think I can say I have found a new friend in him.

Second, Matthew Ebel. I finally grated up enough nutsack to go to his dealer table, congratulate him on his show and offer him some booze and company for awhile. I knew that he probably gets offers like that all the time, so I didn't truly expect him to come. I just wanted to make the offer. However, to my surprise, he decided to take me up on it! I was thrilled! Let me tell you first hand, he's a highly intelligent, passionate and energetic person. A true artist. We tossed back a few and talked about performance, furries, politics and religion. He's an exceptional human being. And also a bird! I had no idea he was a fellow bird! An ospray! I don't know if he feels the same, but I really had a good time hanging out with him and I now I consider him a friend.

Finally, I'd like to give a shout out to Captain Jack Sparrow. I've seen him at many conventions before and interacted with him on several occasions. At FWA, fate decided that we should wind up in my room getting trashed together and I was delighted to find that he and I have a lot in common. The last time I saw Jack he was a little depressed. Apparently some rival pirates were giving him a hard time and he was a little upset that he was going to have to kill them later. I hope he's doing okay. As a bird, I have to say that knowing Captain Jack a little more closely, I would be happy to sit on his shoulder and ask for crackers... but only when no one is looking.

Thanks to everyone who came up to me to say hello. It was good meeting all of you. Thank you to the guys I sat next to in the artists alley! You guys were loads of fun to hang out with and you even gave me pr0n of my character looking through a window. You rock! Thank you to the artist who allowed me to share dealer space with you! Ich liebe Sie. Sie sind wunderbare Gesellschaft. Und Sie kosten gut. Nom.

Thanks to everyone who gave me gifts! Such as the bottle of Jack Daniels, (that was nom), the pretty gryphon head pendant, the hand written calligraphy letter and the drawings. I love all of them.

Hello to all my fellow birds who were at the convention, including the cute little gray one I find myself fawning over all the time (I hope your broken wing is better) and the owl who wandered into Trader Vic's and said, "Someone got to buy dis owl a DRAAAAANK!"

Finally, I want to give a shout to Mohito, the Tucan. She spent some time hanging out with me, but she left a bag with her bird head in my room and I never saw her again to return it! I've brought it home with me, but I have no way to contact her to let her know. If someone knows how to contact Mohito or Captain Jack, please let me know. I'd like to get this back to her!

Thanks for a great FWA everyone. Hope to see you next year!		  
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