Anthro Music Videos   March 27th, 2010

Here’s a couple of music videos which make use of anthropomorphic animals and also show the genre as artform is still alive.

Ramona Falls – “I Say Fever” is trippy with some nice stylish animation and makes an interesting metaphor for exposing people’s baser animal behaviors. Plus, a gun that shoots birds is just cool.

Menomena – “Evil Bee” is an older video which is attributed to the same director and is another wonderful piece It’s a dystopian world and a view on life, relationships and the birds and the bees that’s darkly beautiful.

PodCastle – Of Beasts and Men   March 25th, 2010

PodCastle the fantasy podcast has a couple of recent stories with anthropomorphic characters.

When Shakko Did Not Lie by Eugie Foster is a wonderful fantasy of Japanese myth in which a cunning fox must undertake a quest and must succeed at it without using his characteristic tricks.

Narrative of a Beast’s Life by Cat Rambo is a more serious story, a narrative of a centaur’s enslavement in an allegorical tale of alternative history.

While it doesn’t have any animal characters, this Variant Frequencies podcast story has an interesting flavor of anthropomorphism to it. Heart of Clay: A Saint Darwin’s Spiritual by D.K. Thompson is a nice noir fantasy steampunk crime story.

Ever since Saint Darwin returned with harvested seeds from an Egyptian bush that wouldn’t burn, golem constables have worked alongside human and ghost inspectors. They patrol England’s cobblestone streets together, keeping them safe from the monsters the patron saint of scientists exposed to the world. But when inanimate golems are being trafficked by a shadowy group of businessmen dressed up in wicked smiles and sharp teeth, it’s up to the Paranormal Patrol’s newest created member – Constable Lump – to go undercover in the gaslit night and learn where his missing brethren have vanished to, without sacrificing his newfound life getting the answers.

The Ursa Major Awards are open for nominations. For those who aren’t familiar with them, they are the analog to the Hugos, fan-voted awards, for the furry fandom.

As nominations are open to any and all works, we would would like to nominate the Athro Dreams Podcast for the Magazine category, and the  Different Worlds, Different Skins anthology for the Other Literary Work category.

Regardless of what you vote for though, if you’re in the fandom and interested in the awards, just vote for the projects you like, to help give them visibility.

PodCastle, the fantasy fiction podcast, has a new story with anthropomorphic characters, and two older ones which are also of interest.

Marsh Gods by Ann Leckie is in the same world as The Nalendar. Both tales deal with gods, usually in the form of animals or nature spirits, living amongst men, sometimes helping them, and always vying for their devotion. The world and the gods which inhabit them are fascinating, as our the rules governing the gods interactions with people. The stories are slightly mature due to some violence, but not more than would be seen on broadcast television.

I’ll Give In by Meghan McCarron is interesting tale of a woman meeting the new neighbor, a minotaur, and being tempted by the mythical stranger. It’s metaphor in the shape of a moving relationship drama with a fantasy twist. This story is more adult for including non-explicit sex.