The Chained Wolf's stories

The Chained Wolf at work. Drawn by Runhurd.

For most of us, the furry fandom is something of a passtime. Sometimes, there might be some form of spiritual connection. But sometimes you can take it too far.

This was first brought to my attention by Ironwolf85, who chatted to me on FA, after reading some of the early chapters from my current book project, The Chained Wolf Presents: The History of Humanity – A Somewhat Mildly Amusing Guide to a Now Extinct Species – a full draft of which has been finished (quick plug there).

He sent me a message in which he included the following passage:

The furries you see in the furry community are usually just humans in a different skin, they press their desires, wants, and needs into the artistic creation because they feel the furry can do what they cannot. It is not so much that they are animals with human intelligence as humans in an animal’s skin.

2, The Ranting Gryphon

Furry stand-up comedian 2, The Ranting Gryphon, has announced he is to retire from comedy.

The American comedian, whose real name is Matthew Davis, first began contemplating his retirement after the failed assassination attempt on his life. During a visit to a London furmeet, someone tried to kill 2 by excessive alcohol poisoning.

In a statement published on his website, 2 said that the botched murder attempt was a sign from God that he should quit the profession and relax. He said: "I have spent most of my career ranting and complaining for virtually no reason. I have now seen the light and have decided to devote the rest of my life to the Lord. I have therefore taken the decision to become a monk and move into a monastery."

As a way of making penance, 2 has agreed to pay back double his usual appearance fee to all the conventions he now will not be attending.

The Ursa Major Awards logo, drawn by Heather Bruton

The final shortlist for candidates for the 2008 Ursa Major Awards is open – and The Furtean Times is not on the list.

The final round of voting started yesterday and will continue until 19th April. The awards will be presented at All Fur Fun in Spokane, Washington in May. (Talking about that, how come all of these awards have been presented in the North America? We British have got conventions? Can’t we make it ConFuzzled for next year?)

Promotional poster for "Mark Allen's Pet Project", when it was on in Edinburgh

Stand-up comedian Mark Allen will perform his Pet Project show for what appears to be his last time on 11th May.

Mark Allen's Pet Project is a stand-up show which Allen performed at the world famous Edinburgh Fringe festival, which covered the relationship between people and animals. It also involved Allen "Infiltrating" the world of the furry fandom via the use of a Dalmatian fursuit.

On his website, Allen wrote on 1st March: "It's been confirmed that I'll be performing Mark Allen's Pet Project at the Brighton Fringe on Monday 11th May 2009. It'll be at the new Fletch @ St Andrews venue and will probably be the last time I perform the show before I start working on my next bit of nonsense. If you want to see it before it's retired, you can book tickets on the Brighton Fringe website after Thursday 19th March."

Outside of the show, Allen also wrote part of a sex-based article for TimeOut magazine in which he covered fursuit sex in 2008. However, he noted this was a minority in the fandom.

Read more: The Chained Wolf reviews the Pet Project