lupestripe (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lupestripe) wrote2010-09-09 12:19 am
lupestripe) wrote2010-09-09 12:19 am
Entry tags:
Before I Forget
There is so much to write about that it's inevitable this is going to be split into various different chunks written at any spare moment I can find. I have dived straight back into work already and have 11 straight days before my next day off. Meanwhile, a couple of other deadlines are looming so it's all paws to the pump after a fantastic break away.
Firstly, I think that EF16 was the second best con I have ever been to after my first EF three years ago. The Maritim Hotel was an excellent venue and, price of drinks and food aside, I thought it was a great place to host a party. I won't pay €9 for a burger, no matter how huge it was, and I thought the BBQ prices were quite steep too. I accept that in a city like Magdeberg, you could easily go elsewhere for these things but the reality is the bar provides excellent social and ambience opportunities. Clearly, the Maritim is a hotel for businessmen and furries are rarely businessmen. Something to work on for next year but something I am sure already is being worked on - the cheaper Spooge Special cocktails suggest negotiation can possibly be made. Anyway, I was happy with our bockwurst in buns from the railway station - always a massive highlight going to Germany. As for the Hotel itself - the bar area was nice and chilled, as was the main foyer area. With the low railings, I did fear a drunken fur falling from a height but sadly it didn't happen - the only real incident was a bunch of randoms starting a fight with someone I believe. They were hanging around me on Dead Dog Eve but sadly left Jari and I alone to listen to Finnish music.
The highlight for me was speaking to Watts Martin, Alex Vance and Elfasi for three successive evenings in what we called Writers' SIGs. Their advice and wisdom has proven to be invaluable and although I left the con accepting that perhaps I am not as good an author as I thought I was, I also know how to improve. The constructive criticism provided has really aided me and I feel the same vibes coming from all those who attended my Storytelling Round Table on the Thursday. I am hoping to repeat this next year and it was great hearing some fantastic stories which demonstrated the wealth and talent that the Fandom possesses. As for my own writing - I am now starting to publish on my FA and I am looking for a writing buddy who can help spur me on. I think both of these things will really help me.
Another highlight of the con was Saturday's Improv! SIG (called How To Improve Your Acting) which must have been attended by 30-40 people, including four fursuiters. After some brief acting advice, Shaman got the ball rolling with a game of Zip Buzz Bang to get everyone in a relaxed mood. Subsequently, we played a vast number of different games in the style of 'Whose Line Is It Anyway?'. The positive feedback I have since received for this SIG has been extremely heartening and I also hope to run it again at next year's EF.
Aside from my own SIGs, I was delighted that EF was very writer orientated this time around and attended every single relevant talk going. Most of them were run by Alex Vance or Uncle Kage and all provided excellent tips and discussion points which were passionately and vociferously debated. I really enjoyed contributing to these events and interacting with my fellow aspiring authors. Again, the advice was invaluable and I learned a considerable amount from them. And the free candy was a most welcome addition ;-)
As has been well documented, on our way to the con, the radiator on Wolfie's car fell out of the car whilst we were driving down the Autobahn due to buggered rubber seals. Fortunately, it occured near a Parkplatz so we could pull in and stay safe reasonably quickly. I had the delight of using one of those orange SOS phones for the first time in my life but my skills in German don't extend to car details, making communication difficult. I got the word for radiator missed up (I used Heizkorper rather than Kuhler) and the Autobahn being next to the phone didn't exactly help. Anyway, we spoke to Germany's finest constabulary, who were most helpful and were towed away by the Reimann Toyota Garage and taken to the small town of Helmstedt. Two hours, loads of insurance documents, car log books and a €85 taxi ride later, we arrived at the Maritim in slightly less glamorous circumstances than we had hoped, with the RX7 stuck 60km away. Still, it could have been worse - it could have happened when we had a ferry to catch.
I enjoyed the Pawpet Show but felt it was the weakest of the four I have seen so far. I doubt anything can match the shows of EF13 and 14 and I couldn't help feel that this year's story was basically Romeo and Juliet with lions and hyenas. The plot didn't really pull me emotionally this year although there were some excellent doses of humour in there, particularly regarding the snake. That snake was so realistic it scared me - not good for someone with a fear of snakes I can tell you. I didn't go to any of the dances and do wish that there would be a metal alternative, at least for just a couple of hours. Techno is not my thing and although I accept it may be a furry staple, I think a bit of variety wouldn't go amiss. Accordingly, I spent most evenings in the bar socialising rather than dancing but I was happy enough doing that. However, there appears to be an increasing call for a more eclectic music mix so it will be interesting to see how, or indeed whether, this develops.
Apart from that, I stacked up on loads of furry literature in the Dealers' Den, as well as an excellent commission of Lupestripe playing football from Keeny Fox. The Hungarian furs kindly bought Wolfie and I a bottle of wine whilst we bought some pin badges off the ever-wonderful Ralesk. I think I bought other things too but I am not too sure. I did think the Dealers' Den was pretty cramped but it's only a testament to the entrepeneurial spirit, as well as the creative talent, incumbent in the Fandom. Oh and I also bought the DVD Jesus versus Judas, which I can't wait to watch ^^
So, what else to say? The lifts were horrendous - worse than the Ringberg but again, there's little which can be done about this. It was great seeing Andre and the general manager of the Ringberg again, it's nice to see the seeds which have been sown in Suhl and I hope the same path will be taken at the Maritim. I personally thought the staff were friendly, courteous and genuinely interested in our community - and even let me practice German with them so they must be alright.
I was also delighted to talk to a lecturer in sexual studies at the Dead Dog Party who was delighted to have stumbled across the furry fandom on the night before she was due to give a big lecture in the city. I told her a fair bit about the Fandom - about the creativity, the art and the spirituality - and she said she would go upstairs, change and get dancing. The last thing I saw of her, she was bopping away with a fursuiter so she seemed pretty pleased. Meanwhile, earlier in the week, I found myself speaking to a German businessman about the Fandom - in German. He asked me why there were so many men there but I didn't think it was my place to out people so I made up some crap about meeting people off the internet. He seemed satisfied enough.
In the wider world, we toured the cities of Osnabruck as well as Magdeberg, and enjoyed the Ninth Magedeberg Wine Festival which took place in nearby Leiterstrasse on Friday evening. I think Kage would have liked to have bee there and it was great talking to the locals as well as indulging in a little culture. There was dancing cheerleaders, Greek dancing and a competition to judge the Wine Queen of 2010. All five women were most fruity. We also spoke to a wine seller in English who knew all about the delights of Middlesbrough (where I am from) and Peterborough whilst he recommended us many delicious red and white wines of a sweet and half-dry variety. Shep Shepherd was also in attendence, along with former Guinness Book of Records presenter and famed anti-freedom campaigner Norris McWhirter. Distinctive indeed. The Topfenbrot - pink sminge or cream cheese and chives atop brown bread - made for a delicious pre-McDonald's snack.
We also went to a Czech restaurant twice where we had delicious goulash and dumplings - and the Prazer Trio - three 0.1ml samples of Staropramen's three main ales. The second time we went with Pinky, Agrajag, Selth and others as is becoming a Dead Dog's Eve tradition. The Italian restaurant we went to the first night clearly couldn't cope with the influx of all the furries but I hear things improved as the week progressed. The fact that many places were giving furries discounts implies we could have another Anthrocon situation on our paws where local businesses cater for and offer support to the furry community. This would be nice to see.
We also visited the Vom Fass store three times - twice to get our own whiskies and wines, and once with the excellently-attired Lone Wolf (after this trip, we ended up downing a whole bottle of wine between us in his room at the ungodly hour of 5pm). The store is a treasure trove of spirit kegs, uniquely shaped bottles and wine dispensers. Oils and vinegars are also available and you can try before you buy. The owner of the store was so delighted with our business, he said he wanted me to bring the Fursuit Parade to his shop next year. I told him the tails could knock over his wine bottles but he said it didn't matter. He also told me about the occasion on Saturday when his young daughter met the furries and he was clearly gushing with happiness over this encounter. This was a heartwarming highlight, as well as the friendship I made with the proprietor - he was at the Wine Festival too and he clearly loved us. I am also glad to hear there's a Vom Fass store in Windsor so we will be popping down there sometime soon. Meanwhile, we bought so much cheap German beer, taking advantage of the fact we drove over. I was shocked to see good beer being sold for 25 cents a bottle and wondered why such a policy won't sadly work in the UK, particularly regarding the current minimum pricing of alcohol debate.
The BNP were tearing up paving slabs outside a gummy bear shop, which was a shame. I bought some bears for Wolfie's birthday and also a children's book entitled 'Alles Gute zum Gerbertstag'. It featured a dog licking his master's face so it seemed appropriate. It was set on a farm though so that's where the appropriate nature ended. We also walked around the city, taking in the strange pink house, noticing the old Soviet style traffic light symbols and standing in awe of the beautiful cathedral which, as is customary throughout Europe, has some scaffolding stuck outside it. We also saw the charming River Elbe and the churches which lie on its banks, most of which were destroyed in 1631 during the Thirty Years War, in which 20,000 of Magdeberg's citizens were massacred.
Another historical point of interest were the split spheres which adorned many of the squares. I didn't quite place the connection before, although I knew what they represented, but eventually discovered that the physicist Otto van Guericke was a Magdeberg citizen and he proved some important principles about vacuums and air pressure back in 1650. All tremendously interesting stuff. Meanwhile, we also picked up some bizarre props for our Improv! SIG on the Saturday, saw the wonderful theatre and ate wild berry ice cream for the ridiculously low price of 80 cents.
Osnabruck had a similar range of churches and cathedrals - along with a gay sex shop and cruising area right outside the main one. It looked seedy. It also had a Schnitzel World which delivered some mighty fine schnitzel, if not particularly great service. I had wanted to visit this city ever since I learned about it in German class when I was 12. We got lost from the car park going into the city and ended up wandering round non-descript suburbs in the rain but we did spot some excellent graffiti advertising a housing company which had a man in a kennel so I was quite pleased. We also had a nightmare trying to get money out of an ATM - Volkesbank quite clearly is not for 'volk' like me.
There are far too many people to name but a massive heads-up goes to the Hungarian furs, the Finnish furs and Daisuke Miles, all of whom I haven't seen for so long. It was great meeting Schnee and Skie for the first time as well as Vulpine - the Californian fur with whom we had a fascinating two hour political discussion. Also a massive shout out to all the English furs I spent time with, particularly rambling incoherent time late at night. Hope to see more of you this year, and indeed at EF next year too ^^
And finally thanks to all the EF staff who made it possible - it was, indeed, a brilliant six days ^^
P.S. There are some pictures but they are of boring things like the hotel and the cities we visited rather than particularly furry orientated. I thought there would be plenty of those around anyway hehe.
Firstly, I think that EF16 was the second best con I have ever been to after my first EF three years ago. The Maritim Hotel was an excellent venue and, price of drinks and food aside, I thought it was a great place to host a party. I won't pay €9 for a burger, no matter how huge it was, and I thought the BBQ prices were quite steep too. I accept that in a city like Magdeberg, you could easily go elsewhere for these things but the reality is the bar provides excellent social and ambience opportunities. Clearly, the Maritim is a hotel for businessmen and furries are rarely businessmen. Something to work on for next year but something I am sure already is being worked on - the cheaper Spooge Special cocktails suggest negotiation can possibly be made. Anyway, I was happy with our bockwurst in buns from the railway station - always a massive highlight going to Germany. As for the Hotel itself - the bar area was nice and chilled, as was the main foyer area. With the low railings, I did fear a drunken fur falling from a height but sadly it didn't happen - the only real incident was a bunch of randoms starting a fight with someone I believe. They were hanging around me on Dead Dog Eve but sadly left Jari and I alone to listen to Finnish music.
The highlight for me was speaking to Watts Martin, Alex Vance and Elfasi for three successive evenings in what we called Writers' SIGs. Their advice and wisdom has proven to be invaluable and although I left the con accepting that perhaps I am not as good an author as I thought I was, I also know how to improve. The constructive criticism provided has really aided me and I feel the same vibes coming from all those who attended my Storytelling Round Table on the Thursday. I am hoping to repeat this next year and it was great hearing some fantastic stories which demonstrated the wealth and talent that the Fandom possesses. As for my own writing - I am now starting to publish on my FA and I am looking for a writing buddy who can help spur me on. I think both of these things will really help me.
Another highlight of the con was Saturday's Improv! SIG (called How To Improve Your Acting) which must have been attended by 30-40 people, including four fursuiters. After some brief acting advice, Shaman got the ball rolling with a game of Zip Buzz Bang to get everyone in a relaxed mood. Subsequently, we played a vast number of different games in the style of 'Whose Line Is It Anyway?'. The positive feedback I have since received for this SIG has been extremely heartening and I also hope to run it again at next year's EF.
Aside from my own SIGs, I was delighted that EF was very writer orientated this time around and attended every single relevant talk going. Most of them were run by Alex Vance or Uncle Kage and all provided excellent tips and discussion points which were passionately and vociferously debated. I really enjoyed contributing to these events and interacting with my fellow aspiring authors. Again, the advice was invaluable and I learned a considerable amount from them. And the free candy was a most welcome addition ;-)
As has been well documented, on our way to the con, the radiator on Wolfie's car fell out of the car whilst we were driving down the Autobahn due to buggered rubber seals. Fortunately, it occured near a Parkplatz so we could pull in and stay safe reasonably quickly. I had the delight of using one of those orange SOS phones for the first time in my life but my skills in German don't extend to car details, making communication difficult. I got the word for radiator missed up (I used Heizkorper rather than Kuhler) and the Autobahn being next to the phone didn't exactly help. Anyway, we spoke to Germany's finest constabulary, who were most helpful and were towed away by the Reimann Toyota Garage and taken to the small town of Helmstedt. Two hours, loads of insurance documents, car log books and a €85 taxi ride later, we arrived at the Maritim in slightly less glamorous circumstances than we had hoped, with the RX7 stuck 60km away. Still, it could have been worse - it could have happened when we had a ferry to catch.
I enjoyed the Pawpet Show but felt it was the weakest of the four I have seen so far. I doubt anything can match the shows of EF13 and 14 and I couldn't help feel that this year's story was basically Romeo and Juliet with lions and hyenas. The plot didn't really pull me emotionally this year although there were some excellent doses of humour in there, particularly regarding the snake. That snake was so realistic it scared me - not good for someone with a fear of snakes I can tell you. I didn't go to any of the dances and do wish that there would be a metal alternative, at least for just a couple of hours. Techno is not my thing and although I accept it may be a furry staple, I think a bit of variety wouldn't go amiss. Accordingly, I spent most evenings in the bar socialising rather than dancing but I was happy enough doing that. However, there appears to be an increasing call for a more eclectic music mix so it will be interesting to see how, or indeed whether, this develops.
Apart from that, I stacked up on loads of furry literature in the Dealers' Den, as well as an excellent commission of Lupestripe playing football from Keeny Fox. The Hungarian furs kindly bought Wolfie and I a bottle of wine whilst we bought some pin badges off the ever-wonderful Ralesk. I think I bought other things too but I am not too sure. I did think the Dealers' Den was pretty cramped but it's only a testament to the entrepeneurial spirit, as well as the creative talent, incumbent in the Fandom. Oh and I also bought the DVD Jesus versus Judas, which I can't wait to watch ^^
So, what else to say? The lifts were horrendous - worse than the Ringberg but again, there's little which can be done about this. It was great seeing Andre and the general manager of the Ringberg again, it's nice to see the seeds which have been sown in Suhl and I hope the same path will be taken at the Maritim. I personally thought the staff were friendly, courteous and genuinely interested in our community - and even let me practice German with them so they must be alright.
I was also delighted to talk to a lecturer in sexual studies at the Dead Dog Party who was delighted to have stumbled across the furry fandom on the night before she was due to give a big lecture in the city. I told her a fair bit about the Fandom - about the creativity, the art and the spirituality - and she said she would go upstairs, change and get dancing. The last thing I saw of her, she was bopping away with a fursuiter so she seemed pretty pleased. Meanwhile, earlier in the week, I found myself speaking to a German businessman about the Fandom - in German. He asked me why there were so many men there but I didn't think it was my place to out people so I made up some crap about meeting people off the internet. He seemed satisfied enough.
In the wider world, we toured the cities of Osnabruck as well as Magdeberg, and enjoyed the Ninth Magedeberg Wine Festival which took place in nearby Leiterstrasse on Friday evening. I think Kage would have liked to have bee there and it was great talking to the locals as well as indulging in a little culture. There was dancing cheerleaders, Greek dancing and a competition to judge the Wine Queen of 2010. All five women were most fruity. We also spoke to a wine seller in English who knew all about the delights of Middlesbrough (where I am from) and Peterborough whilst he recommended us many delicious red and white wines of a sweet and half-dry variety. Shep Shepherd was also in attendence, along with former Guinness Book of Records presenter and famed anti-freedom campaigner Norris McWhirter. Distinctive indeed. The Topfenbrot - pink sminge or cream cheese and chives atop brown bread - made for a delicious pre-McDonald's snack.
We also went to a Czech restaurant twice where we had delicious goulash and dumplings - and the Prazer Trio - three 0.1ml samples of Staropramen's three main ales. The second time we went with Pinky, Agrajag, Selth and others as is becoming a Dead Dog's Eve tradition. The Italian restaurant we went to the first night clearly couldn't cope with the influx of all the furries but I hear things improved as the week progressed. The fact that many places were giving furries discounts implies we could have another Anthrocon situation on our paws where local businesses cater for and offer support to the furry community. This would be nice to see.
We also visited the Vom Fass store three times - twice to get our own whiskies and wines, and once with the excellently-attired Lone Wolf (after this trip, we ended up downing a whole bottle of wine between us in his room at the ungodly hour of 5pm). The store is a treasure trove of spirit kegs, uniquely shaped bottles and wine dispensers. Oils and vinegars are also available and you can try before you buy. The owner of the store was so delighted with our business, he said he wanted me to bring the Fursuit Parade to his shop next year. I told him the tails could knock over his wine bottles but he said it didn't matter. He also told me about the occasion on Saturday when his young daughter met the furries and he was clearly gushing with happiness over this encounter. This was a heartwarming highlight, as well as the friendship I made with the proprietor - he was at the Wine Festival too and he clearly loved us. I am also glad to hear there's a Vom Fass store in Windsor so we will be popping down there sometime soon. Meanwhile, we bought so much cheap German beer, taking advantage of the fact we drove over. I was shocked to see good beer being sold for 25 cents a bottle and wondered why such a policy won't sadly work in the UK, particularly regarding the current minimum pricing of alcohol debate.
The BNP were tearing up paving slabs outside a gummy bear shop, which was a shame. I bought some bears for Wolfie's birthday and also a children's book entitled 'Alles Gute zum Gerbertstag'. It featured a dog licking his master's face so it seemed appropriate. It was set on a farm though so that's where the appropriate nature ended. We also walked around the city, taking in the strange pink house, noticing the old Soviet style traffic light symbols and standing in awe of the beautiful cathedral which, as is customary throughout Europe, has some scaffolding stuck outside it. We also saw the charming River Elbe and the churches which lie on its banks, most of which were destroyed in 1631 during the Thirty Years War, in which 20,000 of Magdeberg's citizens were massacred.
Another historical point of interest were the split spheres which adorned many of the squares. I didn't quite place the connection before, although I knew what they represented, but eventually discovered that the physicist Otto van Guericke was a Magdeberg citizen and he proved some important principles about vacuums and air pressure back in 1650. All tremendously interesting stuff. Meanwhile, we also picked up some bizarre props for our Improv! SIG on the Saturday, saw the wonderful theatre and ate wild berry ice cream for the ridiculously low price of 80 cents.
Osnabruck had a similar range of churches and cathedrals - along with a gay sex shop and cruising area right outside the main one. It looked seedy. It also had a Schnitzel World which delivered some mighty fine schnitzel, if not particularly great service. I had wanted to visit this city ever since I learned about it in German class when I was 12. We got lost from the car park going into the city and ended up wandering round non-descript suburbs in the rain but we did spot some excellent graffiti advertising a housing company which had a man in a kennel so I was quite pleased. We also had a nightmare trying to get money out of an ATM - Volkesbank quite clearly is not for 'volk' like me.
There are far too many people to name but a massive heads-up goes to the Hungarian furs, the Finnish furs and Daisuke Miles, all of whom I haven't seen for so long. It was great meeting Schnee and Skie for the first time as well as Vulpine - the Californian fur with whom we had a fascinating two hour political discussion. Also a massive shout out to all the English furs I spent time with, particularly rambling incoherent time late at night. Hope to see more of you this year, and indeed at EF next year too ^^
And finally thanks to all the EF staff who made it possible - it was, indeed, a brilliant six days ^^
P.S. There are some pictures but they are of boring things like the hotel and the cities we visited rather than particularly furry orientated. I thought there would be plenty of those around anyway hehe.
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Nice meeting you at the con, too! *hugs* It's a pity we couldn't spend more time talking, though.
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It's a shame we couldn't spend more time chatting but at least we managed to this time. There is always next EF :)
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(I kinda wonder how long it's going to take before EF will end up in Berlin... again. :)
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Get a pink doggy suit! XD
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Interestingly, the fountain with the pissing dog and the ladder mural on the side of the block of flats in the square where the winefest was held date from well before the Wende. It's surpsrising how many photos of the DDR there are on Flickr if you look for them :)
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Ah yes, I forgot to mention the weird pissing dog statue - interesting you can find a lot of DDR pictures, I will have to comb my way through them.
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"Yes. It is a good hobby." :D
I spent this afternoon going through DDR-themed Flickr albums which contained literally thousands of photos or buildings, products and vehicles, some of which were taken in Magdeburg. It's amazing how much the city has changed since the Wende, yet if you look closely, the vestiges of the DDR can still be seen :)
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/sludgeulper/4120021061/in/set-72157612283939340
The department store building in the background still looks exactly the same today as it did twenty years ago:
http://i512.photobucket.com/albums/t326/shep_shepherd_2008/IMG_0802.jpg
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Yes!
While overall I'm happy with the way the improv sig turned out, I was mulling afterwards over the things that we could have done better. I think there are definitely lessons to be learned!
I definitely want to be more involved with the whole improv thing ... I just need to find the energy and the willpower to get things done >.
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