kiffa's korner

Bostonian. Singer-songwriter. Furry. '80s throwback. Animation enthusiast. Join me as I try to figure out how tumblr works, and fail spectacularly.

[kiffakitmouse]

Kiffa's Anthro New England CON REPORT (already?)

Hey, gang! (tip of the hat to Joe Machi) It's time for my full con report of Anthro New England 2015! What, you ask? How can there be a full con report on Friday, the first day of the con? Well just sit tight, kiddies. I will tell you. Seeing as how I live fairly close to the venue, my plan was to commute from home each day. Last night, I decided at the last minute (~9:30 PM) to go in and hang out for a bit. I knew there wouldn't be anything going on, but I like the anticipatory vibe of Thursday night at a con, and thought that it would go a long way towards making me feel more like I was really getting the full con experience, even though I wasn't staying at the hotel. I drove to the hotel in Cambridge, found a parking spot on the street, and went in. Unfortunately, the only person I really knew at all was leaving just as I was arriving (literally-- I ran into him just outside the hotel as I was going in). No matter. I wandered a bit, checked out the layout of the con, and then found a nice spot by a window overlooking the Charles River and the city. I sat for a while, did a crossword puzzle, and relaxed. I wasn't doing anything I couldn't have been doing at home, but it was a nice setting. I enjoyed the view out the window for a while, then went home. This morning, I went back ready to enjoy my first non-working con since 2006. The first sign of trouble was when I pulled up to the hotel and there was an orange pylon in front of the entrance to the parking garage. A man whom I guessed (from his dress and demeanor) was from the hotel told me that the parking garage was closed, but that there was an MIT parking facility three-quarters of a mile down Vassar Street where I could park. "You can't miss it", he told me. I wasn't thrilled, but if I hustled I could park, walk back to the hotel and get registered before Opening Ceremonies started. So I head back down Vassar Street. On my left, there are a couple of open parking lots. Did the hotel guy mean one of these lots? I couldn't be sure; his description was a little vague. But it didn't feel like I'd gone three-quarters of a mile, so I kept going until I came to a four-leveled parking garage with white letters over the entrance which read: "MIT WEST GARAGE". Was this the place? I wasn't sure. Yes, it said "MIT", but the other lots I passed could have been MIT lots as well. And when it comes to the possibility of my car getting towed or getting a hefty parking ticket, I don't like to take chances. So I decide that I need more information. I drive back down Vassar Street to the hotel. I ask the guy I spoke to before for clarification: am I looking for an open parking lot, or a multi-tiered parking garage, like the one at the hotel? This question seems to throw him. I'm not sure English is his first language, and it doesn't seem like the word "multi-tiered" registers with him. Again he tells me, "You can't miss it." So now I'm an idiot, I guess. I drive back down Vassar Street, past the open lots, back to the garage that says "MIT WEST GARAGE". It's a big building, big enough for someone to say "You can't miss it", so I decide that this must be the place, and pull in. There's a sign that says "PERMIT PARKING ONLY", but this is a special circumstance, and if I'm being directed here, it must be copacetic. When I get to the ticket dispenser, the readout over the button says "CLOSED". I push the button anyway, just in case. No ticket, and the little arm that blocks vehicles from entering does not raise. Push the button again. Nothing. This can't be the place. Either that, or so many other people have already been re-directed here that now this garage is full too. And what with the recent snowpocalypse, street parking is somewhere between improbable and impossible. So it's back down Vassar Street yet again. I tell the guy that I went to the big parking garage that says "MIT" on it, and I couldn't get in. He acts like this can't be possible. "Well, you're the first person who's said that", he tells me, and deciding that he's done with me, directs me to a second person, whom I vaguely recognize as being with the con. I pull up to him and he tells me I have to keep moving. "Drive around again if you want to talk to me", he says. Because I have to keep moving right now, but apparently, ten seconds later, I can stop and have a chat. I pull into a fire zone or something and put my parking lights on flash, because I have got to get this situation sorted out before I go driving back down Vassar again. I get out, talk to the con guy. He tells me that spaces in the parking garage will become available as people check out of the hotel. "So basically, I'm going to miss Opening Ceremonies, then?" I ask, the tacit implication being, because you guys picked a hotel that can't get their shit together parking-wise. "There's nothing I can do for you", he tells me. Man, when I was working for FurFright, I can't remember how many times we were told to give this as a response to con-goers. Oh, that's right-- none. None times. What we were told was, "If you can't help someone, find somebody who can". So, as I'm driving back down Vassar Street for what seems like the 100th time, I make a decision: I don't need this. I didn't pre-register, I'm not in the Masquerade, I have no obligations to anyone. And the prospect of having to potentially go through this again tomorrow or Sunday? No thank you. Neither the convention nor the hotel have one red cent of my money, and they're not going to. Screw you guys, I'm going home. So, that's my full con report of Anthro New England 2015. Right now, it seems unlikely that I will be particularly eager to attend any future ANE. For certain, I will not attend any future ANE that takes place at the Hyatt Regency.

[drama-armada]

Visit Original Link

It’s October, and that has us thinking about FurFright. For many furs in New England as well as beyond, Halloween and FurFright became synonymous during the con’s 11-year run. FurFright took its final bow in 2013, but memories are forever (or at least until Alzheimer’s starts setting in), so this seemed like an appropriate time to reminisce about our second home with a song we recorded back in 2012 to celebrate the tenth FurFright. It’s a parody of Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound Of Silence”, and getting to perform it in front of the crowd at the opening ceremonies was one of our favorite moments. Cramming 10 years of con history and in-jokes into three minutes wasn’t easy, but it was a lot of fun.

The thumbnail uses artwork created for FurFright by Skulldog. Click beneath the credits for lyrics!

  "The Song Of FurFright" (3:09) Parody of “The Sound Of Silence”, as performed by Simon & Garfunkel Original song written by Paul Simon Parody lyrics by Kiffa Kitmouse and Sedge Hare All music and vocals performed by Drama Armada

Read More

[gifsboom]

Fisherman Rescues Dog Stranded On Floating Ice In Siberia. 

[kiffakitmouse]

Don't count humanity out just yet.

[drama-armada]

Visit Original Link

Surprise! We’ve got a new song (well, it’s a surprise unless you’re following us on Twitter, where we broke the news a week ago). This time, Murray Head’s 1984 song “One Night In Bangkok” is reborn as “Five Nights At Freddy’s”, after the phenomenally popular indie video game of the same title.

First off, let’s address the (animatronic) elephant in the room. We’re certainly not the only people to come up with this idea. Admittedly, it’s a little obvious. By the time we did a first partial draft of lyrics, someone else had already posted a lyrics-only parody on tumblr. But we really liked what we’d written so far, so we decided to continue with ours. Actually, it’s kind of funny, because back in 1984, there were two competing versions of “One Night In Bangkok” out at the same time: Murray Head’s original, and a cover by Canadian singer/actress Robey. One became a hit, and one faded into obscurity. Only time will tell whether we’re Murray Head, or Robey. (Ah, who are we kidding. They both kind of faded into obscurity.) At any rate, we can honestly say that the other parody didn’t influence ours in any way.

As with our previous track, "DashCon", we used a pre-recorded backing track on this. We love when we can do our own music, but truth be told, this getting-songs-out-relatively-quickly thing is pretty sweet, too.

Click beneath the credits for lyrics. We hope you enjoy the song!

  "Five Nights At Freddy’s" (4:13) Parody of “One Night In Bangkok”, as performed by Murray Head, from the musical Chess Music written by Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus Original lyrics by Tim Rice & Björn Ulvaeus Parody lyrics by Kiffa Kitmouse and Sedge Hare Thanks (and apologies) to Scott Cawthon

Read More

[kiffakitmouse]

RIP, Jim Hardiman

The news going around is that Jim Hardiman, creator of Skunkworks, has passed away. Unfortunately, it seems to be more than just a rumor. It isn't the biggest shock in the world, as it's well-known that he'd been plagued with health problems going back several years, but it's very sad news indeed.

Simply put, Jim was my gateway into the furry fandom. Even though I'd always loved anthropomorphic characters, I was completely unaware of the fandom until I stumbled across the Genus comic book anthology series in the mid-'90s (this was back when you could still find furry comics on the shelves of actual brick-and-mortar comic book shops). Jim's segments were my favorite, not just because of the artwork (which was amazing), but also because of the characters' personalities and the sense of humor that he injected into almost everything he wrote and drew.

At some point I e-mailed him about a technical issue I was having with his site (this will be a little embarrassing, but it will illustrate what a stand-up guy Jim was). This was in 1999, and at the time, my internet access was via WebTV lol. Yup, that was my introduction to the World Wide Web. It was good enough if you didn't know anything else, but there were drawbacks. One of which, if I'm remembering correctly, was that it didn't support Java, and I think that's where I ran into trouble on Jim's website. I e-mailed him, and not only did he respond quickly, but he saw to it that the parts of the page that used Java were re-written so that WebTV-using losers like me could access it. This began a series of occasional correspondences between us, and I was always appreciative that a popular furry artist-- probably the most popular one that I was aware of at the time-- took the time to write lengthy e-mails to a complete unknown. When it came to his renown in the fandom, he seemed to have absolutely no ego about it whatsoever. He was just a guy, and you could talk to him as just a guy.

Around the same time, I attended a comic book show here in Boston, and I picked up a few furry comics from one of the vendors. He asked me if I was a furry, and I paused, because I honestly didn't know how to answer the question. I liked the artwork, but at that point I'd never really thought of myself by that term before. I responded with some variety of "Kind of," and then he told me that I should check out Anthrocon in July. It may have been the first time I'd ever heard of it, or any furry convention, for that matter. I was still very much on the periphery of the fandom, and didn't personally know a single other furry, but I began to consider going. I mentioned it in my next e-mail to Jim, and asked him if he'd be there. The following is an excerpt from his response.

"Yup, we'll be at Anthrocon, selling pretty much everything that's on the website...  So if you get a chance, swing on by and introduce yourself...  If my table looks really busy, try to stop by when it slows down.  That's the only thing that really sucks about these conventions.  I'd like to be able to really talk to all the folks that stop by, but it's frustrating when you've got, like, six people talking to you at once.  And then, sometimes, folks will get their stuff and walk away, thinking I've better things to do than talk to them, which certainly isn't the case."

So emboldened by this encouragement, I made up my mind that come July, I would drive from Boston to Valley Forge to attend a convention I could hardly afford, for a fandom I was barely sure I was a part of yet.

Anthrocon was a lot smaller then-- under 900 attendees-- but it was still pretty overwhelming to me at the time. I pretty much kept to myself, viewing the proceedings with a mixture of curiosity and confusion. The overall feeling I took away from the weekend was, "I'm not sure whether this is for me or not." Perhaps the one conversation that I had the entire weekend was when I stopped by Jim's table. It was during a slow period, so I got to chat with him for a while, but at some point I got self-conscious, or worried (probably needlessly) that I was taking up too much of his time, and took my leave.

I never got to meet him in person again, but we continued to exchange e-mails every so often for a few years. I confessed to him that I'd felt kind of out-of-place at Anthrocon, and he helped me realize that the furry fandom is like a smorgasbord: not everything on the table is going to be to your liking, and you can pick and choose what you like and say "No, thank you" to what you don't. To this day, that philosophy is what guides me in this wonderful, fucked-up fandom. Once upon a time, I was worried that I'd never be accepted in this community, because I wasn't interested in fursuiting or role-playing or sharing every facet of my sexual identity with the world. But once I started to let go of the idea that I had to be like other furries I'd seen, I was able to start being myself. And that's when good things started to happen for me in the fandom.

So thank you for that, Jim. Even though it's been years since the last time we corresponded, I'll miss you very much. May your version of the afterlife be an eternity accompanied by a harem of Slappy Squirrels. :)

[kiffakitmouse]

[journeyoffurries]

Drama Armada singing “It’s a Babyfur Day” parody song that went one to win 1st place in the Fursuit Games.

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/11939793/

[kiffakitmouse]

Wow, I look really pissed off here lol.

[kiffakitmouse]

Happy 20th anniversary, Duran Duran's "The Wedding Album"

On the eve of Duran Duran's return to the studio to begin work on their 14th studio album, it's time to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their landmark album Duran Duran (aka The Wedding Album), which was released on February 23, 1993.

In the early '90s, Duran Duran were in pretty rough shape. With every album that had been released since the dissolution of the band's original line-up (beginning with 1986's Notorious), it had become harder and harder for them to get radio airplay, and their record sales suffered. The same music industry that had once berated them for being what they were, now didn't want to allow them to change. Instead, it was as if critics and industry executives expected them to stand still and shut up, like some museum piece. A relic from a bygone era.

Instead, Duran Duran started to work on the album that would prove virtually everyone wrong. Embracing new technology, they moved out of the big studios and began to record at then-guitarist Warren Cuccurullo's home. John Jones (who had previously produced their megamix single "Burning The Ground") was brought in to co-produce along with the band-- original members Simon LeBon (vocals), Nick Rhodes (keyboards) and John Taylor (bass), plus Cuccurullo. When they were finished, everyone involved felt that they had created something truly special. But there was no guarantee that the rest of the world would feel the same way.

In the autumn of 1992, the song "Ordinary World" was leaked to radio, and the listener response was immediate. Any reservations that pop radio stations had about playing a new Duran Duran single were erased as request after request came in. The song's haunting melody and emotional lyrics instantly appealed to just about anyone who'd ever lost someone they cared about. Capitol Records pushed up the US release date of the single to meet consumer demand. The song would eventually land at #3 on the US charts, their best showing in 7 years. It was followed up by another Top 10 hit, "Come Undone", a song that almost didn't make it onto The Wedding Album at all. Thankfully, it did, and helped cement the album as a hit.

The album started with "Too Much Information", something of a 'f*** you very much' to the media entities that had wanted to bury Duran Duran along with the 1980s. The first lyrics on the album are "Destroyed by MTV/I hate to bite the hand that feeds me". Ironically, deemed relevant again, the band would get the chance to sing those lyrics on an episode of MTV Unplugged. Other standout tracks included the soaring "Breath After Breath", a collaboration with Brazilian singer Milton Nascimento that stands as one of the most unexpected things the band has ever recorded, a beautiful treatment of the Velvet Underground's "Femme Fatale", and the album-closing "Sin Of The City", about a 1990 NYC club fire that killed 87 people.

Unfortunately, Duran Duran lost its momentum by next releasing the largely-disappointing covers album Thank You, but they had delivered a message: 'We're not done yet. We're not going anywhere. It's not over until we say it's over.' It was a message they'd deliver again when, still around almost 20 years later, they released All You Need Is Now.

And the good news is that they're not following that one up with a covers album.

[kiffakitmouse]

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't concerned about the snowstorm we're getting this weekend. I feel like where I live isn't a very good place for it. I don't mean geographically, I mean my building itself. I live on the top floor of a building with a flat roof. My room is at the northeast corner of the building, so it will be receiving the full brunt of the wind that comes in from the northeast. I've heard scary sounds (banging, creaking etc.) under less severe weather conditions than what we're slated for. On top of that, I regard the people who manage this property as largely incompetent, and I'm not sure I trust that everything's as safe as it could be.

Hopefully, I'm worrying over nothing... but just in case, I'm making out my will. Should they survive the roof cave-in, who wants my complete set of 'Night Court' Collector's Plates?

[kiffakitmouse]

40 songs on shuffle

I started this on Twitter, but decided to finish it here so I could do it in one post rather than annoy everyone there with 20 individual tweets.

#first40songsonshuffle

1. Super Furry Animals, "Demons"

2. Eurythmics "Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four)"

3. Missing Persons "Walking In LA"

4. Isolated Incident "Driveling Nonsense" (Isolated Incident was a band formed by some friends and I. It existed from 1988 to 1990.)

5. A Flock Of Seagulls, "Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You) (Full-Length Version)"

6. David Bowie, "Breaking Glass"

7. Seal, "Hey Joe (Live)"

8. Fleetwood Mac, "The Chain"

9. Pet Shop Boys, "Paninaro (Italian Mix)"

10. Pet Shop Boys, "Jealousy"

11. Duran Duran, "The Needle And The Damage Done"

12. The Hollies, "Bus Stop"

13. Johnny Cash, "Folsom Prison Blues (Live)"

14. Michael McDonald, "I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)"

15. Gary Numan & Tubeway Army "Down In The Park"

16. The Beatles, "You Won't See Me"

17. Madonna, "Borderline"

18. Queen, "A Kind Of Magic"

19. Bananarama, "I Heard A Rumour"

20. Spandau Ballet, "True"

21. Nine Inch Nails, "Hurt"

22. ABBA, "Money, Money, Money"

23. Radiohead, "Scatterbrain"

24. The Beatles, "Help!"

25. Madonna, "Papa Don't Preach"

26. Toto, "Rosanna"

27. Simple Minds, "Alive And Kicking"

28. Soft Cell, "Insecure Me (12")"

29. Led Zeppelin, "The Battle Of Evermore"

30. Pet Shop Boys, "A Man Could Get Arrested (7")"

31. Steppenwolf, "Born To Be Wild"

32. Pet Shop Boys, "We're The Pet Shop Boys"

33. Peter Godwin, "Images Of Heaven"

34. Level 42, "Something About You"

35. Radiohead, "Hunting Bears"

36. Wire, "Feed Me"

37. The Beloved (UK), "Hello"

38. Lou Rawls, "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine"

39. Gorillaz, "Rockit"

40. Van Halen, "Dance The Night Away"

Only something like 4 songs on this list were recorded in the 21st century. That fact pretty much sums up my musical tastes right there.

[kiffakitmouse]

This is The Voice?, Part Deux

WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS

Not to sound like a broken record, but I wanted to make one more post about The Voice, because a thought occurred to me which I think illustrates my feelings clearly and concisely.

As I said in my previous post, I recognize that Cassadee Pope is talented... but to me, she is not The Voice, and here's why: even though she hit all the right notes, her voice never made a unique impression on me. Imagine this scenario: you turn on the radio tomorrow, and in the space of a couple of hours, scattered in between other songs, you hear three brand new songs you've never heard before. One is by Terry McDermott, one is by Nicholas David, and one is by Cassadee Pope-- but none of them are introduced or identified by the DJ in any way. Is there anyone who watched The Voice this season who's really going to tell me that they would be able to positively identify Cassadee's voice before they could identify Terry or Nicholas'? I would find that incredibly hard to believe.

[kiffakitmouse]

This is The Voice?

WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS

NBC's The Voice is the only singing competition show I watch. I like to kid myself that it's different from the other ones, but the truth is that once the blind auditions are over, it's really pretty much like all the other ones.

This was the first year that someone I was really pulling for made it to the final show. It was really refreshing to see Terry McDermott making a mostly younger audience appreciate classic rock. Because I liked him, I never thought he'd make it past the first couple of stages. And when he did, I was foolish enough to get my hopes up. Tonight, those hopes were dashed.

Don't get me wrong, I think Cassadee Pope is talented enough. But there are at least half a dozen singers out there doing the same type of stuff she does. There aren't really any other Terry McDermotts or Nicholas Davids out there right now. And that's precisely why Cassadee Pope won-- because the American public is so goddamn boring and predictable, and want to be fed the same thing over and over again. It's really disappointing. You really suck sometimes, America.

[Edit: I just realized that I used the word 'really' six times in this relatively brief post. What's wrong with me? I mean, really?]

[suitcaseofcourage]

Gingerbread Replica of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater

Click on the photo to read about how this was created.

[kiffakitmouse]

I had been wondering over this past weekend whether or not this has ever been done. Question answered!

[kiffakitmouse]

Hi. I'm new here.

Welcome to the latest in a long string of sites that I will surely eventually abandon.

My name's Kiffa, and I don't know what I'm doing here-- both figuratively and literally. I'm one of those 'furries'-- you know, those people who were portrayed 100% accurately in Vanity Fair, and on that one episode of "CSI" where Marg Helgenberger's character reacted to furries with more horror and disgust than she did with any murder scene she ever encountered.

I'm also a singer, songwriter and musician whose main claim to fame is being one half of the furry music/comedy duo Drama Armada. Each October, we perform in the Masquerade at FurFright, a furry convention held in Connecticut. We consistently bribe the judges, being careful to make sure that they usually only award us 2nd Prize so that nobody gets suspicious. So far, it's worked out beautifully. One time they gave us 1st Prize instead, but we decided to just let it go.

This tumblr page will be partly real and partly fake. I'll try to keep it entertaining, but I hope you'll also indulge me when I want to write about something from my real life (although if I follow the pattern I've established at other sites, that may not happen too often). Thanks for visiting.

Did I leave the iron on?

[kiffakitmouse]

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE INANIMATE OBJECT?

Sadly, my TV set.