Morphicon Pics
RL gave me a break this year, and I was able to attend this year's Morphicon. This is one of the smaller furcons, held in Columbus, Ohio. This year's attendance came in at under 200, yet this was 24 more than attended last year. Being a smaller con, however, does have its advantages. It is not so difficult to arrange meetups, and it is nice to be able to finally attach faces to the handles and avatars of those you routinely correspond with on the various Furry forums.
Not much went on: there was the Furry writers meet 'n' greet. Hit the "Dealers Den" to pick up some CDs, and commission a con badge. There were a some interesting SiGs: Foxes, Wolves, and Totem Animals. The only bit of drama occurred today when a group of high schoolers from a local hockey team that was also meeting at the hotel tried to crash the Fursuiters Dance. However, con and hotel security dealt with the situation in an efficient and discreet manner. I was not present for this, in that I am not a fursuiter.
Attended "Beginning Fursuiting", which only served to confirm that when I do get into this, I am definitely going to go with the pros. Holy shit! How many bad ones would I have to make before I came up with something I could wear? I would definitely want something that'd look good. Speaking of fursuits, at this con, I didn't see a single one that in any way, shape, or form resembled the examples of fursuits that the Fur-bashers love to point out as illustrations of Furry fucked-up-ness. How many really terrible fursuits are actually worn to cons anyway?
Hit the "Dealers Den" again, and found some outstanding artists who were reasonably priced to commission some yiff. They don't simply do wank material, but include good artistic value in its own right in their work. Looks like the system's gonna get some fresh wallpaper.
The chili 'n' spaghetti this evening was pretty damn good. Of course, it wasn't spicy enough (but, then again, it rarely ever is for my own personal tastes). A minor disaster avoided when one of the cheap-ass Wal-Mart hotplates being used to prepare the pasta burnt out.
The Furry Variety Show went off quite well. For a bunch of "amateurs", the performances were unexpectedly good. The performers pulled this show off very well, and it was obvious that they put a good amount of planning and preparation into it. It was over too soon, before you knew it. The "Raccuties" and "Sonic Blu" were especially good.
Sited a CYDer attending under an assumed fursona. Kept that to myself since he was just havin' fun like the rest of us.
The follow up comedy hour was a good closer.
Missed the "Getting Published" Panel (DAMMIT!) Didn't win at the raffle (DAMMMMMMIT!!! Am I ever gonna win one of those fuckin' things?). Did the puppetry competition: didn't think I'd like it; it was great. Did the "Raccoons" and "Felines" SiGs, since I had some interesting experiences with wild raccoons locally and in the Florida barrier islands. I also had several cats as pets. Also attended the "Chewing the Cud" panel for feedback on what went wrong, what went right, what can be done differently next year. There were very few complaints, and major concern that Morphicon wouldn't get stuck with the Mothers Day weekend again next year. That really hurts attendance, just like it did last year.
Atomic Battle of Doom: got to pay closer attention to the pre-convention programming. I'd've gotten one of those "Nerf" guns for this. Looked like a helluvalot of fun. Oh well, there's always next year.
This was also the day the furbashers put in an appearance: a couple of "noog's" from "Indefinite Unacceptable". They left behind some snarky material on the literature table, but no further provocations occured, Con security got that out of there promptly.
Drama: minimal. Incidents: None. "Freaks": Two sited in bondage gear, and one of those was doing nothing more than wearing these fake "handcuffs" while wandering about the main lobby aimlessly. There was no yiffing in any areas of public access; skritching was done discreetly. Furthermore, there was none of the so-called hetero and family hostility in evidence here. This is the latest bit of Fur-bash bullshit: straights and guests with children being harassed, treated with discourtesy by con staff, and called: "breeders". Whatever Furry freakery that was going on was kept in its places: adults only panels and private room parties. The average mundane, member-of-the-public-at-large saw none of it. This is as it should be. This is how it really is with but a few exceptions.
Once again (SURPRISE!) the reality of the Furry fandom, and the stories that furbashers tell, are at odds.
PCD: I used to think this was bullshit. It isn't.
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