Australia 2010
Moderators: Mayhem, Steve Hubbell, Moderators
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Stan Sakai
- Sensei
- Posts: 4896
- Joined: Wed Sep 18, 2002 12:21 -0700
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kurreltheraven
- Shugyosha<Student Warrior>
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2010 23:48 -0700
Re: kurreltheraven, welcome to Usagi's world!
My badge should say "Kurrel the Raven" but let's trade mobile phone numbers anyway.zog wrote:Could we plan a specific time for a forum-meet? Or just find each other Thursday night or Friday night...my namebadge is either Zog or Jotaro or Adam. (I can't remember!)...what will yours read Kurrel? Or PM me and I will give you my mobile number.
Check PM!-
Stan Sakai
- Sensei
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Todd Shogun
- Shogun
- Posts: 1916
- Joined: Fri Sep 20, 2002 12:43 -0700
- Location: Orange Co., California
- Contact:
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Steve Hubbell
- Taisho
- Posts: 6050
- Joined: Thu Sep 19, 2002 15:25 -0700
- Location: Kalamazoo, MI
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Steve Hubbell
- Taisho
- Posts: 6050
- Joined: Thu Sep 19, 2002 15:25 -0700
- Location: Kalamazoo, MI
Sure would be cool if someone could record this program....[url=http://www.furstralia.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=54&p=85996&sid=248a9932df2d60c37d3da44c1241d4a8][size=150][b]Furstralia[/b][/size][/url] (The Home of Australian Furries) Kyle wrote:MiDFur in the papers, on TV and on the radio
posted on Tue Nov 30, 2010 12:02 am
We've been busy talking to a number of media outlets about MiDFur - so you may want to pick up a copy of The Age on Tuesday, November 30th.
You may also want to tune into Get Cereal on Syn 90.7fm at 7:50am on Wednesday, December 1st - then switch on to channel 31 at 8:15am for Get Cereal TV for an interview with Stan Sakai.
Also on Wednesday at 11am (December 1st) you should also tune into The Conversation Hour (ABC - 774am) for a whole hour of chatting with Stan Sakai.
Last edited by Steve Hubbell on Tue Nov 30, 2010 15:49 -0700, edited 1 time in total.
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Steve Hubbell
- Taisho
- Posts: 6050
- Joined: Thu Sep 19, 2002 15:25 -0700
- Location: Kalamazoo, MI
Unleashing the inner beast
Tim Richards
The Age, November 30, 2010
It's a furry good time for lovers of anthropomorphic art.
WHICH do you prefer: Mickey Mouse or Daffy Duck? The good-natured animated animal characters from the Disney stable, or the sassier gang from Warner Brothers?
It's the sort of question that might be exercising the minds of furry fans as they gather in Melbourne for the 12th Midfur convention in December. Furries, as they're known, are devotees of anthropomorphic art, which features humanoid forms with animal characteristics.
According to Midfur chairman and band manager Pete J, the furries are the latest in a long tradition. ''There were statues in ancient Egypt of the cat with hands and feet, standing upright. That's what furry fandom is about: the appreciation of that concept in art.''
The event includes panels on art, filmmaking, DJing, podcasting and costuming, along with social events. Midfur is also raising money for the Lost Dogs' Home.
Though this might seem a big production for an art form routinely dismissed as ''funny animals'', anthropomorphic art has spread beyond mainstream cartoons to comic book art for a mature audience.
One of its most successful creators is Stan Sakai, an American comic book artist with Japanese heritage, and guest of honour at Midfur. Since 1984 Sakai has written and drawn Usagi Yojimbo, a comic book series about a rabbit samurai in feudal Japan.
''I write and draw for a readership of one,'' Sakai says in explanation of the series' longevity. ''I do the kinds of stories that I would like to read. I've done mysteries, I've done love stories, and straight-out adventure stories.
''I even did a spin-off where I took Usagi out into space, focusing on his descendants in the future.''
The birth of Usagi came as an afterthought, he says. ''I wanted to draw a series based on the life of a real 17th-century samurai named Miyamoto Musashi, but one day while drawing in my sketchbook, I drew a rabbit with his ears tied up into a samurai topknot. I loved the design, it was simple and unique. So I made my character a samurai rabbit.''
The warrior meets characters depicted by a variety of animals; the bad guys he falls into battle with might be dogs. So why is he a rabbit, one of the cuddlier critters?
''The rabbit has an interesting role in Japanese folklore,'' Sakai says. ''He's always portrayed as a good guy - he protects the people and there are a lot of stories where the rabbit is the hero.''
Given that most of his readers live in high-tech urban environments, the appeal of animal characters might seem puzzling, but University of Melbourne philosopher Dr Damon Young sees something deeper in the appeal of animal characters. ''Animals are mysterious,'' he says. ''They're alive, but so different to us; marked by different bodies, behaviour, language. They also represent a certain primal feeling - a world of lust, anger, hunger, thirst. We see in them our virtues and vices, drives and ideals. We can't help it.''
Dr Young also considers anthropomorphic figures an aid to effective storytelling.
''When we mix man and animal, we get to play a little. They're still very human stories, but in a parallel universe, where fables and legends are alive. This can help us to see our familiar human condition with fresh eyes; and realise what virtues we value, or ideals we prize. Sometimes an animal is more obviously human than a human.''
This paradox appeals to Midfur's ''fursuiters'', fans who wear animal costumes. Among their number is the convention's other guest of honour, a German DJ known as Big Blue Fox.
''They get to live a little bit of imaginary life,'' Pete J says. ''In daily life we're so stuck with having to do this and do that, pay these bills, have those responsibilities. Sometimes even adults want to get away from it all. In essence they're living vicariously through their furry other halves.''
''We're embodied animals,'' adds Dr Young. ''We respond to touch, smell, and body shape. By wearing the costume, furries try to live the fantasy.
And it's a communal thing: a shared fantasy is stronger. It's easier to suspend disbelief when you're in a room of caped superhero foxes or flirting ninja bears.''
Midfur XII runs from December 2 to 5 at Rydges on Swanston, 701 Swanston Street, Carlton. Full event $200, day pass $60, tickets at door. Details at midfur.com.au.
Tim Richards
The Age, November 30, 2010
It's a furry good time for lovers of anthropomorphic art.
WHICH do you prefer: Mickey Mouse or Daffy Duck? The good-natured animated animal characters from the Disney stable, or the sassier gang from Warner Brothers?
It's the sort of question that might be exercising the minds of furry fans as they gather in Melbourne for the 12th Midfur convention in December. Furries, as they're known, are devotees of anthropomorphic art, which features humanoid forms with animal characteristics.
According to Midfur chairman and band manager Pete J, the furries are the latest in a long tradition. ''There were statues in ancient Egypt of the cat with hands and feet, standing upright. That's what furry fandom is about: the appreciation of that concept in art.''
The event includes panels on art, filmmaking, DJing, podcasting and costuming, along with social events. Midfur is also raising money for the Lost Dogs' Home.
Though this might seem a big production for an art form routinely dismissed as ''funny animals'', anthropomorphic art has spread beyond mainstream cartoons to comic book art for a mature audience.
One of its most successful creators is Stan Sakai, an American comic book artist with Japanese heritage, and guest of honour at Midfur. Since 1984 Sakai has written and drawn Usagi Yojimbo, a comic book series about a rabbit samurai in feudal Japan.
''I write and draw for a readership of one,'' Sakai says in explanation of the series' longevity. ''I do the kinds of stories that I would like to read. I've done mysteries, I've done love stories, and straight-out adventure stories.
''I even did a spin-off where I took Usagi out into space, focusing on his descendants in the future.''
The birth of Usagi came as an afterthought, he says. ''I wanted to draw a series based on the life of a real 17th-century samurai named Miyamoto Musashi, but one day while drawing in my sketchbook, I drew a rabbit with his ears tied up into a samurai topknot. I loved the design, it was simple and unique. So I made my character a samurai rabbit.''
The warrior meets characters depicted by a variety of animals; the bad guys he falls into battle with might be dogs. So why is he a rabbit, one of the cuddlier critters?
''The rabbit has an interesting role in Japanese folklore,'' Sakai says. ''He's always portrayed as a good guy - he protects the people and there are a lot of stories where the rabbit is the hero.''
Given that most of his readers live in high-tech urban environments, the appeal of animal characters might seem puzzling, but University of Melbourne philosopher Dr Damon Young sees something deeper in the appeal of animal characters. ''Animals are mysterious,'' he says. ''They're alive, but so different to us; marked by different bodies, behaviour, language. They also represent a certain primal feeling - a world of lust, anger, hunger, thirst. We see in them our virtues and vices, drives and ideals. We can't help it.''
Dr Young also considers anthropomorphic figures an aid to effective storytelling.
''When we mix man and animal, we get to play a little. They're still very human stories, but in a parallel universe, where fables and legends are alive. This can help us to see our familiar human condition with fresh eyes; and realise what virtues we value, or ideals we prize. Sometimes an animal is more obviously human than a human.''
This paradox appeals to Midfur's ''fursuiters'', fans who wear animal costumes. Among their number is the convention's other guest of honour, a German DJ known as Big Blue Fox.
''They get to live a little bit of imaginary life,'' Pete J says. ''In daily life we're so stuck with having to do this and do that, pay these bills, have those responsibilities. Sometimes even adults want to get away from it all. In essence they're living vicariously through their furry other halves.''
''We're embodied animals,'' adds Dr Young. ''We respond to touch, smell, and body shape. By wearing the costume, furries try to live the fantasy.
And it's a communal thing: a shared fantasy is stronger. It's easier to suspend disbelief when you're in a room of caped superhero foxes or flirting ninja bears.''
Midfur XII runs from December 2 to 5 at Rydges on Swanston, 701 Swanston Street, Carlton. Full event $200, day pass $60, tickets at door. Details at midfur.com.au.
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Stan Sakai
- Sensei
- Posts: 4896
- Joined: Wed Sep 18, 2002 12:21 -0700
I am here in Australia now--Melbourne, exactly--enjoying the wonderful hospitality of Craig and Julia Hilton. It has been raining off and on, but a light shower.
I did two radio shows and a television interview today. I was told they went very well. The longest of the intierviews was on radio with host Jon Faine on ABC. Here is the link. It will be up in a couple of days, I am told. I am the second of two guests, so it will start a little more than half way into the hour:
http://www.abc.net.au/melbourne/conversations/
I did two radio shows and a television interview today. I was told they went very well. The longest of the intierviews was on radio with host Jon Faine on ABC. Here is the link. It will be up in a couple of days, I am told. I am the second of two guests, so it will start a little more than half way into the hour:
http://www.abc.net.au/melbourne/conversations/
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Steve Hubbell
- Taisho
- Posts: 6050
- Joined: Thu Sep 19, 2002 15:25 -0700
- Location: Kalamazoo, MI
I guess this link must be for the second radio spot......Stan Sakai wrote:I am here in Australia now--Melbourne, exactly--enjoying the wonderful hospitality of Craig and Julia Hilton. It has been raining off and on, but a light shower.
I did two radio shows and a television interview today. I was told they went very well. The longest of the intierviews was on radio with host Jon Faine on ABC. Here is the link. It will be up in a couple of days, I am told. I am the second of two guests, so it will start a little more than half way into the hour:
http://www.abc.net.au/melbourne/conversations/
Dave Faulkner, Stan Sakai and Waleed Aly on ABC Brisbane
http://www.abc.net.au/local/audio/2010/ ... e=brisbane
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Stan Sakai
- Sensei
- Posts: 4896
- Joined: Wed Sep 18, 2002 12:21 -0700
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Jet_Jaguar
- Shugyosha<Student Warrior>
- Posts: 1281
- Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2007 21:37 -0700
- Location: TX, United States
Why did this interview just cut off after about the 33 minute mark? I wanted to listen to the rest of it.Steve Hubbell wrote:
I guess this link must be for the second radio spot......
Dave Faulkner, Stan Sakai and Waleed Aly on ABC Brisbane
http://www.abc.net.au/local/audio/2010/ ... e=brisbane
I think part of Jackie Chan's First Strike was filmed in Melbourne. I wonder if you were around any of the filming locations for that movie.Stan Sakai wrote: It is a beautiful morning in Melbourne. Sharon and I went for a yumcha breakfast in China Town.
"It doesn't matter whom you are paired against;
your opponent is always yourself."
-Nakamura (via Joe R. Lansdale's Mucho Mojo)
your opponent is always yourself."
-Nakamura (via Joe R. Lansdale's Mucho Mojo)
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Stan Sakai
- Sensei
- Posts: 4896
- Joined: Wed Sep 18, 2002 12:21 -0700
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kurreltheraven
- Shugyosha<Student Warrior>
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2010 23:48 -0700