Foster's Freeze?

[athelind]

Okay, there's something I've long heard in the Rumor Mill, but I haven't really been able to find even peripheral documentation.



Alan Dean Foster is possibly one of the most "furry" mainstream SF writer out there -- or perhaps he's the most mainstream Furry writer out there. Like many writers of his era, his SF books have anthropomorphic animals presented as "aliens", though even more prevalent than in the works of Larry Niven or C.J. Cherryh. His Spellsinger series of fantasy novels are even closer to the "Furry" genre, presenting a fantasy world populated not merely with cat-like and lizard-like aliens, but actual anthropomorphic turtles, tigers, otters and so forth.

In 1995, Mr. Foster was Guest of Honor at Conference 6 in Irvine.

I have heard that he was so horrified by his exposure to the fandom as represented by ConFurence's notoriously over-the-top attendees that he vowed never to associate himself with that particular subset of the lunatic fringe again.

I first heard this as an offhand explanation of why we'd never see Foster as the GoH of Further Confusion, despite his work.

I'm just asking for endless flame wars in my LJ, aren't I? First, I ask for OS recommendations; then, I ask about something that, true or not, is almost certainly a majro controversy in fandom.

Comments

[cargoweasel.livejournal.com]

I was at CF6, in fact it was my second con ever, and I remember attending the panel that Alan Dean Foster was at, we talked about Quozl and a bunch of his other books. He didn't look like someone who was 'horrified'. Maybe afterwards he just said "Enh, it's not for me" or something, but I don't think he actually ran screaming.

Furry cons are really no more shocking than any other fannish convention.

As for controversy, I think this one's a cold, dead issue, hell CF6 was nine years ago. Bill Holbrook is another GoH who was at Anthrocon this year, and I've seen him around at multiple cons, maybe he's cool with it, while ADF isn't?

[pyat.livejournal.com]

Furry cons are really no more shocking than any other fannish convention.

There's a lot more open porn at Furry Cons. Yeah, yeah, there are Slash rooms at other cons. But I've been to lots of cons, and furry cons are the least kid-friendly and most mundane-perplexing.

[ceruleanst.livejournal.com]

In the S-F conventions I've been to, the art show is unsegregated. Full-frontal vampire playmate paintings are out there mixed with everything else, where anyone with a badge can see it. I think the only reason porn seems more prevalent at furry cons is that everyone's so worried about its presence that the whole structure of the con has to be built around it.

[pyat.livejournal.com]

I disagree. A lot of "proper" art features full-frontal nudity. Furry erotica seems to often feature extreme sexual fetishs (extreme to most people, anyway), rather than simple nudity. The open dealer's room at Anthrocon features artists selling adult commissions at every second table, with samples simply featuring conveniently placed stickers to get around the rules for display.

Most cons I've been to don't HAVE any adult areas - everything has to be PG-13 or less. GenCon, for example. The most shocking thing there were the costumes on the girls shilling the book of Erotic Fantasy, and they were pretty tame. (Actually, the most shocking thing was the guy doing a brisk trade in Wehrmacht and SS marching band CDs...)

That said, I know there are also Trek cons with rooms that specialize in rather racey slash art and fiction, but it is hardly the most obvious thing about the con. Adult themed art IS the most prevalant item up for sale in furry dealer rooms, and not just because it's visible.

[auryanne.livejournal.com]

Mmyeah, I'm going to have to disagree with you there.

I've never seen bestiality room parties at other fannish cons.

[cargoweasel.livejournal.com]

Uhh, I've never seen a 'bestiality room party' at a furry con, either. Or is this another third-hand wild rumor?

[pathia.livejournal.com]

I've never seen or heard of this at any furry con either. If there was one, the police would have been notified by the con staff pronto and a lifetime ban of all involved parties would probably be done as well.


What the heck con was this that you went to?

[baxil.livejournal.com]

All I can offer is that I've heard a very similar rumor about Mike Kazaleh -- which appears, with a quick Web search, to be false, seeing as how he was a GoH for ConFurence 12, long after he supposedly was driven away. (Unless my rumor mill had the date wrong ...?)

[archteryx.livejournal.com]

This is a very old rumor, and there's some support for this from Mark Merlino himself. We talked about it some after that CF. I did run into Mr. Foster in the art show at that con, and had a short convo with him. He seemed out of his depth, but that was just my impression of the moment. Being out of one's depth hardly equates to a lifetime grudge.

-- ArchTeryx

[jakebe.livejournal.com]

I've heard variances of this rumor for a little bit now, though this is the most concrete version I've heard so far. :) I'm not really sure of it's verity, though if it *is* true I'd be quite bummed; A.D. Foster was my favorite writer as a teenager and indirectly responsible for bringing me into furry in the first place. He still has a high place on my bookshelf for this. ;)

Which reminds me, I should complete my Spellsinger collection...

-J