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Hello
It's been a hot minute! I've been a busy beaver the last year, working tirelessly on quite a few projects. Some of you may know, I am part of a comedy panel at Megaplex called ClownCon. For months I've been working on a "DJ Set" for it, it was my first time using VEGAS and it was a painful lesson in the fine art of video editing. After six months of frustration, constant crashes, learning new tricks and near-endless tutorials..I present "DJ Dinner Blaster" a love letter to YTPMV's and YTP culture in general. Which were a huge part of my life growing up in the 2000's internet space and still are something I enjoy to this day.
Here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/yp3xzg2hAHg
Here is also my dj set for jester knights as a fun bonus: A funny shitpost laced romp of various original mash ups and some personal favorites from the soundclown and siivagunner communities over the years:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/ud-uffliQHw
Other than that, I've gone to a few cons since my last post. <b>Furry Weekend Atlanta</b>, <b>Anthrocon and Megaplex</b>. These three cons were fantastic experiences that further cemented my love and admiration for the furry fandom and the people I consider my friends in it. I decided it would be best I try to write out how I feel about these conventions and what they mean to me in a broader, more general sense.
Furry Weekend Atlanta
FWA wasn't my first convention this year, but it was the first convention that I went hard at this year. Whereas ANE was a sweet, heartwarming meet up of friends I love and cherish, FWA was like a bombastic exercise in drunken tomfoolery. In a way, this is just a more loud and obnoxious way of having a heartwarming meet up of friends that I cherish, but the vibe is very different. But FWA stands out in particular for me, because I made new friends in the process. Leo Borzoi was my con bud the entire con! and let me tell ya, what a fucking character..
It's not every day you meet another furry who's been locked in the hellscape of left twitter as long as you have, or who can joke about whatever niche bolshevik infighting from the 1920's you know about, so finding Leo was a bizzare blessing and they're someone I now consider a great friend. Nonestar is hilarious, he was not at FWA, but he was with us later at Anthrocon, someone I can always be fascinated by in a myriad of ways, by just how much he knows, but also his ability to make bizzare observations on seemingly innocuous things. Like he's an alien visitng from another planet.
Standing around in a soviet uniform, drunk, smoking Chungwas and downing PBRs like it's water, was absurd. Truly absurd. It's not like anything I've ever done in my life before. Like a long bit that just kept going and going. And honestly? I love that. I love that about cons, it's an outlet of expression, whatever that expression may be. None of us are normal people, we're all terminally online freaks who express it in different ways. Cons are a great outlet for a gathering of said freaks to meet and do stupid shit without endangering the public (too much).
And that's kind of beautiful. I try to avoid being "too online" in my public life, mostly because of very real political obligations I have, but these cons are a moment for me to dress up in a goofy outfit (of which I own many), get a bit drunk and party with a bunch of other freaks who happened to share the same online experience I've had. There's comradery in it, one I don't get in other spaces. <i>These are my people</i>, for better or for worse.
Anthrocon
I've always said that Anthrocon is a quasi-spiritual experience for me. And while that sounds tongue in cheek, I am dead serious. There's no gathering of people in the world where I feel more euphoric than Anthrocon. FWA and Megaplex are fun, they're great weekend long parties. But Anthrocon isn't just a "party" to me. It's this space where I'm surrounded by so many people that I cherish, a space where the city is beautiful and welcoming, where there's so many creative forms of expression, that you kind of get lost in it. In a good way. I step into this con and say out loud "I'm a furry. And I love it."
The performances of many talented musicians (shoutout to a fantastic I Made Too Much Pasta show, as well as the show put on in Dyl's room by a fantastic array of artists), the vast and seemingly endless amount of art, whether in the alley or the auction, and just all the smiling faces that I get to see from friends both new and old. Hell, even the crazy fucker I met at FWA was there as my roommates! Our friendship only strengthed after this con. Now it is hard as steel, ready to erect two shiny new towers in the former radio city era of lower manhatten. What could go wrong?
One of the highlights of the con for me was receiving a lovely tour of Pittsburgh from Brick, which had nothing to do with the con itself really. And hanging out at Gollypon's house, along with Krum, Kai and so many others, far away from the chaos in the con center and nuzzled in the hills of Pittsburgh.. It was the first time I felt a sense of belonging. It imparted a valauble lesson to me. This fandom isn't about the cons, the cons are just a convenient meeting point. It's about the people, the people I love. I could spend a whole ass week just fucking around with these folks in Pittsburgh, no Uncle Kage shenanigans involved, and I would be the happiest raccoon this side of the rockies. It's not about who can get fucked up the fastest, or what is the coolest pooltoy at the pooltoy panel (though those things rock) it's about being with people like you. Sure, they're not entirely like me, I'm some irony poisoned shitposter, an internet jester and a political radical. But hey, we all like these talking dogs, this cool music and can relate on being on the internet for way too long. So I guess it somehow works.
Anthrocon is also special to me because I met a very unique group of people there, a group who, despite me being a bit different than them in terms of personality and interests, were kind of enough to let me into their circle at a time where I was struggling to find out where I belonged in the fandom. In 2022, I off handedly offered Para Raccoon a drink and through him was introduced to a wonderful cast of colorful talented people with an absurdly good vibe. So shoutout to the Plums, you're what makes Anthrocon special to me.
I was sitting on a back porch of an airbnb with some friends, enjoying some fantastic pasta made by Kai (lots of love!!), surrounded by these folks I've come to know and love, and I had to fight back the urge to cry like a baby. (Mostly because I had a REALLY funny cumtown bit to explain to Dyl) It's all so beautiful man, that con is beautiful. And I don't think I'd be nearly as complete as a person without it.
Also, shout out to Victor for just appearing out of nowhere at the con without forewarning and giving me one of the greatest surprises at a con ever. I was so fucking happy to see you dude. And double shout out to Rosphix for being cool as hell. I'll take the "you're just like the people I work with" remark as a compliment.
It would be wrong for me to talk about Anthrocon without talking about the dog-shaped hole in the heart of the con for me. Cypress. While Cypress and I weren't super close, we knew each other and chatted a few times (He tossed me an offer for a rooom with him at ANE last year, something I denied and deeply regret doing so now). We also ran in the same circles and in this fandom, if you know enough people in a circle you kinda know everyone. He was a talented, witty, sort of whimsical guy. He deeply touched the scene in Pittsburgh and across the fandom, as evident by the countless people who memoralized him and kept him in their thoughts at this con. On sunday night, I joined a group of friends (led by the ever-bold and brash Muzzy) to pay our respects to Cypress at his memorial tag near the waterfront. We poured one out for a true artistic force in this fandom who continues to impact people well beyond his physical time in this space. It's hard to say he really "Died". Because he really isn't gone. He's alive in everyone he talked to, everyone he shared a laugh with, every tag he put around the city and I hope to god, that he lives on right there by the waterfront, every single July, for many, many years to come.
........
Megaplex was a fantastic experience if anything, just to be with my friends, from afar and near. Leo and Nonestar were there, who we already established as great comrades. Patches was there, one of those great people I met at AC two years ago and who I was enjoy being around (with every unhinged remark you say, my smile widens. So keep doing it!) and I got to hang out with friends I'd never met in person before. Dante, you ARE the silliest raccoon to me. Having you with us was a joy, sorry if we unloaded a LOT of crazy things on you, especially since it was your first con. But that time we had together at that Ethopian resturaunt was good compensation I hope. In all seriousness though, it was an honor to meet ya, I hope we can room again next MP. Also shoutout to my Jax friends for putting up with my antics. You local furs are what make Jacksonville tolerable, particularly, shout out to Greg, Will and Dirty. See ya later this week.
My beautiful girlfriend was with me at this con, it had been over a year since we had gone to a con together. And while we have had time together in between, going to a con with her is always a fun experience. Though I always prefer one on one vacations with her, going to various quiet places where we can focus on being with each other, I always enjoy taking her to a con. Mostly because I subject her to the absolutely insane debauchery that my friends and I get up to in these places. The fact she keeps dating me even after all that is a fucking miracle. Love you Stuffie, sorry for party rocking.
Can't say much of MP outside that, I was just there a week and a half ago, so I've yet to really collect my thoughts on it. It was very much a party con in the same way FWA is. Which is fine, it's Orlando, you have to be drunk to tolerate that place. But I praise Clownbo that this one went mostly great and I got to spend time with my great friends.
Cons are a special experience. I will keep going to cons, even when I'm 45 and dying from like 20 unique diseases, I'll still be taking my crusty ass to a con in some way or another. And though I'm done with cons this year, you can bet 2025 there'll be plenty of other Wacky Hijinks sightings. So get ready fuckers, it's show time.
Til the next blog post
.....
Wacky
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