FC2004 Newsletter - July 2003

FURTHER CONFUSION 2004
JAN 22 - 26, 2004

In this edition:

* Introduction
* FC Annual Picnic
* Web page updated
* Submissions needed for FCTV
* Gaming at FC
* We have suites available
* Tables still left Dealers' Room
* Staff positions available
JULY NEWSLETTER

The fox stopped for a moment to take a drink of water from his pack as he
and the tiger hiked along the trail down from the mountains. Though the
mountains rose high behind them, the plains to the west were far below
their current elevation. Far in the distance, the forest thinned out, and
the shimmer of grasses blowing in the wind left even the most distant
landscape blurred, as waves of wind currents moved over the earth.

Hearing the fox stop behind him, the tiger also paused, breathing deeply,
the warm breeze blowing gently through his fur. Suddenly, without
warning, he leaped into the woods to his left, silently disappearing from
sight.

"I don't think he ever thinks of anything except food," the fox thought to
himself. "For my sake, I hope he keeps finding it." Hearing the gentle
footpads of the tiger as he tracked his meal, the fox sat down, curling
his tails up around him in the cool breeze. He looked off down the
mountain, the path they traveled vanishing into the distance. San Jose
was still hundreds of miles away, and they only had half a year to get
there. January was a long way off, but time has a habit of speeding up,
when you have a deadline to make.

A brief struggle coming to a sudden end brought the fox out of his
reverie, all of his tails twitching slightly at the unexpected sound.
Moments later, the tiger came bounding out of the woods, licking his lips.
"Got to keep my strength up, you know."

Rising, the fox just shook his head. "I think it's time you burned off
some of that winter fat. You're looking a bit plump there."

"Hey, I'm just a healthy cat, you know." The tiger turned to look down
the trail, growing quiet, and spoke with little more than a whisper.
"It's beautiful, isn't it. This is why I come out here. Nothing quite
matches being out in the wild, in the Great Outdoors."

FURTHER CONFUSION PICNIC

Yup, it's time again for the annual Further Confusion summer picnic!
We're back at Lake Chabot again, for Camping (at the nearby Anthony Chabot
campsites) and picnicking. We're holding the picnic on Saturday, August 9,
at 11AM until 4PM, and camping will be on Friday and Saturday nights. We
are asking $5 per night, per person for folks camping to offset the costs
of the campsites, and you MUST RSVP for the camping part of the trip
(send mail to [email protected]), but you the picnic is free, and
opened to all, no RSVP required.

As usual, we'll stock the grills with coals, hamburgers, hot dogs, and
similar camping foods, along with water, soda, chips, and the like. More
food is always welcomed, though, as are folks to help out in setting up,
cleaning, and otherwise making the picnic happen. Our next staff meeting
is on July 12, so if you are interested in the planning for the picnic,
just show up to the hotel at noon, and we'll find some way to put you to
work!

For more information on Lake Chabot, including the directions, see
http://www.ebparks.org/parks/lakechab.htm

WEB PAGE UPDATED

The new WWW page for Further Confusion 2004 is now online, with all of the
web goodness you expect from FurCon! We now have the forums back online,
as well as dealer lists, online con registration, online hotel
reservations, and other information on Further Confusion.

FURCON TELEVISION

We start this year on a high-point since last year went so well. We are
hoping to repeat the success this year with even more energy then before.
For this newsletter, we are putting the word out that we want your videos.
Any original content that you have created, filmed, or edited together
that relates to furry fandom. This includes original animations, video
productions, skits, comedy acts, fursuit events, even commercials for your
furry convention. As long as the content is furry related, we would love
to show it on FCTV. We are also hoping to contact those people that can
give us permission to show con videos from Anthrocon, Midwest Furfest,
Confurence, Mephit Fur Meet, Canadian Art Expo, Feral and any other furry
con that has videos of their cons.

If you want to submit something to us, please send only copies of the
videos, we may not be able to return the videos to you. We are also
accepting digital files in DivX, Windows Media 9 AVI format, and
QuickTime. We are currently working on submissions guidelines for digital
files as well as the requirements for those files, which will all be
on-line shortly. There will also be a permission form that you must fill
out in order for us to show anything.

Remember, all content submitted to us must be of a PG rating requirement
and must have a permission form submitted with the video. It must be
suitable for everyone in the hotel who may be watching.

Please direct any and all questions regarding FCTV this year to:
Loran
FCTV 2003 Lead
[email protected]

GAMING AT FURTHER CONFUSION 2004

Come one, come all! Enjoy the great indoors by "camping out" in the
Gaming room. Further Confusion 2004 will have gaming around the clock:
open from Thursday evening until Monday afternoon, with open-gaming
outside at the hallway tables, as well. So if you have the odd hour or a
desire to camp at a table full time, there will be a place for you in
Gaming!

There will be tournaments and demos run for a variety of game systems; in
addition to normal table games. At present there WILL BE demos or
tournaments for: DragonStorm; WizKids; Cheapass Games; Steve Jackson
Games and our annual Cribbage tournament.

There will also be drawings every 3 hours (9am till 6pm) for a prize,
every day of the convention. You MUST be physically present at the time of
the drawing to win. Otherwise wild animals eat your entry and another
ticket is drawn.

SUITES AVAILABLE

We have eight suites available in the hotel again this year, at the price
of $225 per night. If you want to reserve a suite, make a reservation for
a regular room, either online or by calling the hotel (1 408-453-4000),
then mail [email protected] with the reservation number, and
Foxcar will wave his magic wand and turn your regular room into a suite!

We'll also be hosting a party floor and a fursuit floor again this year.
Both of those are at the normal price of $99 a night. Again, make a
normal reservation, and mail [email protected], and we'll make
sure you are assigned to the appropriate location. If you are requesting
a room on the party floor, we do ask that you let us know which night the
party will be held on, and what group it is holding the party. Because of
limited space on the party floor, public parties get priority over private
ones, for room assignment.

Interested in seeing how all of this works? We need a party maven to
handle the party floor and fursuit floor assignments, as well as to help
folks running parties get the word out. Drop us a line if so!

DEALERS' ROOM

We still have tables left in the dealers' room, but they are going fast!
At the time of writing, there were five tables left, after
which you can only get on a waiting list for cancellations. If you
don't have your table yet, contact dealers@furtherconfusion as soon as
possible, or you just might lose your chance. If you think you should
have a table, make sure you are listed on the list of dealers on the WWW
page, and you should have gotten your confirmation letter in the mail in
the past week. Again, mail [email protected] if you have any
questions.

For the first year, we will be hosting "fan tables" separate from the
dealers' room. These tables are devoted to fan organizations who wish to
promote their group at Further Confusion. There are no charges for these
tables, and you should mail [email protected] if you are
interested. We're still working out details about the fan tables, but if
you drop us a line, we'll make sure to keep you informed.

Please note that sales at fan tables are limited to promotional items for
your group only. Artists may not use fan tables to sell their artwork,
but should request dealers' room tables instead. Thanks for your
understanding.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

We still need people to fill a number of staff positions for Further
Confusion 2004. If you are interested in taking on any of the following
roles, or would like to help out the con in other ways,
please don't hesitate to contact us at [email protected].

* Furly Edition (at-con newsletter) Editor
* A/V Tech Lead, Main Stage
* Logistics Lead
* Con Suite Host
* Writing Track Lead
* Social Track Lead
* Party Maven
* Registration Staff
* Art Show Staff
* Advertising Lead

--
Further Confusion
[email protected]
http://www.furtherconfusion.org/