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May 19th, 2008
09:58 pm - Califur IV
Just a few images that stuck with me:
Like most cons, Califur IV offered a selection of badge insert art that you could put behind your name on your con badge ... in this case, one by Kitsumi of <a mad fox>, and two by Keovi of the convention's signature characters, <Jonas> and <Sierra> (art behind links is work safe, but host is FurAffinity). I chose Jonas. During the convention, for some reason I happened to notice that three of my straight male friends had chosen Sierra (a lady, for those who haven't clicked the links), and my personal pattern recognition software kicked in. Hmmmmmmmmm ...
Yup, it held up. For the fellows at the convention where I knew their "in bed" preference was for males and they hadn't chosen Kitsumi's badge, every single one chose Jonas. For the fellows at the convention with a female preference who went for a Keovi badge, every single one chose Sierra. I didn't find even one exception after I started looking.
So there you go. Jonas and Sierra are the new furry hanky code.
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Although I will have to say that the hotel's treatment of the convention was generally fairly dismal, I do have to like a hotel that names its fancy restaurant "69".
OK, OK, it was "6ix", which I'm sure was supposed to be pronounced "Six", but I can't help but parse that differently. Although I'm sure if any 69 were going on, the hotel would have put a curtain around it.
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The Saturday night banquet that the convention and the hotel threw for the con attendees was a very nice touch. It was like sitting down to a really big family dinner. Well done, everyone!
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Califur IV overall was reminiscent, I hate to say it, of the ConFurences that killed ConFurence. The treatment of the convention by the hotel reminded me of the cold shoulder that we got from the Town & Country Resort at CF 10, where the hotel management similarly made it very clear that they wanted this convention just to go away. Putting the convention space behind some big black curtains so that no other hotel guests could see it ... forcing the fursuit parade to route through the hotel kitchen so that it would never leave the "curtain zone" (meaning it spent more time in back corridors than it did in the con space) ... prohibiting anyone from advertising any private room events, which required everything to be advertised by word of mouth ... it really showed just how much having a friendly hotel can make or break the spirit of a convention. Kudos to the wag who posted a sign on "our" side of the curtain wall by the exit that said, "You are now entering the Neutral Zone". It sure felt like it.
And I was reminded of the very last ConFurence, where the highlight of the con was a TV crew running around trying to film the con and getting frustrated because no one would sign releases. Califur IV solved this unfortunate problem by putting up notices in the convention area that said something along the lines of, "By remaining in the convention area you agree that you consent to be filmed for a documentary tentatively entitled "UNNAMED DOCUMENTARY" and that your convention membership is your release."
OK, note to people who run conventions: your job is not to solve THEIR problem in being unable to get releases. It is to solve OUR problem of having film crews and press photographers running around documenting our private party. I paid you $45 to have a relaxing weekend, not to spend it warily checking every professional video camera to see if its red light was on and doing my best to dodge the fellow with the PRESS badge. You want me to be an extra in someone's documentary or magazine article? Cool. But in that case, next time YOU pay ME $45.
The first four Califurs were really quite cool relaxacons. Califur IV was the most attendee-antagonistic furcon I've attended since the last ConFurence. What happened, guys?
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I chose Sierra. =P
Agreed with the rest, unfortunately. ![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/10962272/2088615) | | From: | ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.1) kaysho |
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| Date: | May 20th, 2008 04:12 pm (UTC) |
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I am learning the key to generating suspicious poll results, which is to keep your sample as small as possible and to seek no additional results after your confirmation bias has been substantiated. :) I chose Kitsumi's art because in general I like her art best of all for the badge art XD MurryPurry.
Totally agree with you though. I was at that last Confurence with the Jimmy Kimmel show harassing everyone.
Im pissed about that passive "release" notice. I thought that notice was for the ATM (thats the only place I saw one of hose signs) and I only read as far as "you are being videotaped" or whatever.
I dont wanna have to go to a con and have people shove a camera in my face when im eating my burrito because I haven't eaten all day. I get downright violent when people interrupt me when I'm eating, he's lucky I didn't notice him otherwise he would have lost his zoom finger. | | From: | kaysho |
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| Date: | May 20th, 2008 04:22 pm (UTC) |
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Jimmy Kimmel was, for me, the highlight of the last ConFurence. Granted, that was mostly because there was little else to do ... but especially after they were so rude about getting footage (finally bringing in their own crew and dressing them up in bad costumes they rented from Western Costume down the street so that they could get some footage, even if it wasn't of "real" furries), it became a game to see just how much we could thwart them. :)
I contemplated for a second returning my badge and asking for my money back when I saw that "Oh, by the way!" notice plastered up in the corridor, but decided that I'd just stay out of the way of the cameras instead. But you can be sure that I'll be asking questions and actually reading carefully the contract that you sign at registration before I give any money to Califur V, because that really was a violation of our trust as attendees, IMHO. ![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/99603810/3834739) | | From: | doco |
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| Date: | May 20th, 2008 09:31 am (UTC) |
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»The filming was not because of the hotel. They were invited in by the convention, and had already been filming for the better part of two years at events all over the country. They also filmed at the Prancing Skiltare, Rod & Sy's home.«
Why, oh why do I have a bad feeling about this? =)
Other than that, it happens. Hotels are ultimately up to the behaviour of their employees but it's easy to take one's business elsewhere. Con staff not so easy, but that can be done too - anyhow, better assume the brace position and wait until the drama is over, then avoid the fallout dust. :) | From: | (Anonymous) |
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| Date: | May 20th, 2008 12:35 pm (UTC) |
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Why do Rod and Sy allow this? Is this secretly gonna be the film that finally redeems us? I'm skeptical... :/ ![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/71336912/2672016) | | From: | altivo |
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| Date: | May 20th, 2008 11:08 am (UTC) |
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I'll mess up your correlation. I wasn't there, but I would have chosen Sierra. The Jonas art is cute, but the suggestive wink kinda puts me off. ;p | | From: | kaysho |
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| Date: | May 20th, 2008 05:05 pm (UTC) |
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The wink is a bit over the top (and the location of the highlight on the shadow layer on the open eye is a bit odd, making it look sunken in rather than highlighted), but I still liked it overall. Besides, I like suggestive. :) "reminiscent of the ConFurences that killed ConFurence"... Can you nail a review, or what! (you can) :> | | From: | kaysho |
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| Date: | May 20th, 2008 05:33 pm (UTC) |
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*chuckles* Thanks ... I didn't really intend for that to be a serious wince-inducing kind of statement, but it seems to be getting taken that way ... Wow, that really sucks. Califur 0 and 1 were some of my favorite cons. I'm really sorry that it's gotten to this. Hopefully next year it'll be much better. | | From: | kaysho |
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| Date: | May 20th, 2008 05:44 pm (UTC) |
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Califur III was a really nice little convention, where it felt as though everything they were doing had finally gelled and they were out of their "brand new con" trial period. It was a cool con, with quiet gaming in the lobby, some decent events, lots of room parties, etc.
Califur IV felt more like ConFurence 10: a convention that was going along fairly decently and then just had a year when nothing went right. But I'm afraid for the folks who are going to be running Califur V that they're now in the same boat that ConFurence 11 was: they're going to be inheriting a damaged brand and will have to figure out what to do with it.
Then again, ConFurence 11 was actually a decent con, so there's hope. :) I don't see how those guys are going to be able to use any of that footage. Being tricked into such a back handed "release" wouldn't stand up in any court. (At least...I don't think it would)
Those guys would be so sued. | | From: | kaysho |
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| Date: | May 20th, 2008 05:58 pm (UTC) |
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I'm really not sure what the ramifications of signs like that are on private property (on public property there is generally an implied release if you're not actually the subject being filmed). Many open-to-anyone-who-pays-admission private parties that take place on private property put a disclaimer in their contract that says that you agree to be filmed (often in small print on the back of your ticket), but I'm not sure that hanging up signs on the wall after the fact saying, "Oh, by the way, when you bought that membership you gave us an explicit release!" passes muster. I don't recall seeing the language in the contract that we signed at registration (that admittedly no one reads because it's supposed to be all common sense, like "don't forget to put clothes on before you leave your room"); but you can be sure, if I attend any future Califurs, I will be reading that contract before signing it.
But then again, if people are walking around your convention wondering if they need a lawyer or need to hide in their rooms or feel as though they need to vet your convention contract carefully before they risk attending ... that's a fail. :) ![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/6287347/1226109) | | From: | albear |
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| Date: | May 20th, 2008 03:04 pm (UTC) |
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Oh yes, this Califur sucked! It wasn't until yesterday that the photographer taking pictures was from a XXX hard core porn magazine called Swank! UGH! If I would have known this before hand, I would certainly NOT allowed my photo being taken. Dex and I weren't too happy with the way things turned out. We really will not be going back next year.
Another thing that ticked me off was how half assed planning was, I mean, spending 2 hours in line with th 40-50 person line to register? WTH? and getting to the front, trying to pay with plastic and they tell you, sorry, we only take cash. No signage anywhere whatsoever on this little thing, oops. OOh, and by the way sir, I got the running with matches badge, my second choice would have been yours. What does it tell you about folks wearing the Kitsumi mad fox? ;) | | From: | kaysho |
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| Date: | May 20th, 2008 06:06 pm (UTC) |
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Ummmmmmmmmm ... hopefully not that you drool. :)
Yes, they did seem seriously disorganised. Part of that was, I'm sure, from their short-staffedness and from the last minute juggling of people necessitated by losing staff to injuries. I was joking at one point that I was tempted to ask some of the staff, "Ummmmmmm ... did you just find out that you were running a con ... TODAY?", but actually one of them had. Poor guy.
But yeah, so many little things, like running out of event schedules at registration on the first day. You've got a room full of printers, guys. How about, oh, printing some more instead of telling people, "Sorry, no event schedule for you!"?
By Sunday the staff that I saw were all walking around like zombies. ![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/114399464/539437) | | From: | giza |
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| Date: | May 20th, 2008 03:11 pm (UTC) |
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Califur IV solved this unfortunate problem by putting up notices in the convention area that said something along the lines of, "By remaining in the convention area you agree that you consent to be filmed for a documentary tentatively entitled "UNNAMED DOCUMENTARY" and that your convention membership is your release." Um, is that even legal/enforceable? It might be worth it to see how Disney handles it. I've been to Disneyland multiple times and such signs were posted so there probably is some precedent.
That said, yeah, it was chickenshit and sucked. Kaysho is totally on target with what he said - I'm there to have fun, not be the news of the weird. I asked the camerman and, he said the filming is for "American Furry" - google away, its an upcoming documentary. Talk among some furs is that this is indeed the 'good' documentary that will 'redeem' us but with how modern filmmaking of such is just about tittilation, I somehow doubt it.
Kaysho, you got it so right on your comments on this. Other cons of late have had similar issues and what needs to be understood it that its not about the rights of the press or showing 'we have nothing to hide' -
Its about I paid money for a fun event and, if some would be film genius wants free acting and script, go get it somewhere else.
Btw, check Boing Boing's preview clips of American Fury. Mark and Rod are in it.... Is this the part where I look surprised? The 'good' documentary? 'Redeem'? Lol, okay.
You know, I was thinking the same thing about the badges. I certainly chose Jonas, haha.
And yes, it was reminiscent of the last ConFurence where, if it weren't for friends, it would have been almost a snoozefest. I'm glad that I at least got to hang out with my buddies. I now feel totally redeemed for feeling listless the first night of con. It felt like the only times I was having any fun was when I was with friends doing events we had planned independently of the convention. One could argue that the con isn't their to entertain you...
...but then why is the con there? That "fellow with the PRESS badge" was a reporter/photographer with Swank magazine, a hardcore pornographic publication. He was looking for an exclusive, which he worked pretty hard to do, taking pictures of fursuiters behind curtain with their heads off. Then after getting his shots, he'd forcefully shove a "release form" in their faces to get them to sign.
He tried it with me while I was wearing Alpine, and I refused, keeping my head on and walked away from him.
| | From: | giza |
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| Date: | May 20th, 2008 06:28 pm (UTC) |
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Err... oooookay.... o.O
Do you know if anyone informed the convention organizers or security? As someone who's done ConOps/security type stuff in the past, weg enerally like to know about stuff like this when it happens so we can deal with the individual responsible. That photographer was clearly out of line from what you describe. This sounds pretty awful really. Almost like the powers involved went out of their way to ruin a good thing. | | From: | kaysho |
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| Date: | May 21st, 2008 04:07 pm (UTC) |
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I don't think they had any particular intention of ruining anything ... but I think they were more concerned with their efforts to give furry a "good public face" than they were about what the attendees of their convention would think about being used for this purpose. It wasn't polite. Califur was so so for me. | | From: | kaysho |
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| Date: | May 27th, 2008 06:53 pm (UTC) |
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I could second that review. It was an OK convention. But I felt bad for the people who travelled long distances for it. I really enjoyed their breakfast buffet, the smoked salmon was excellent! At $25 it was pretty steep though. Overall I feel the hotel was not as well suited for the event as the Holiday Inn.
I feel the way the con handled the documentary business was pretty bogus. Had I know they were doing this I would have seriously considered skipping the con altogether. As it stands, I doubt I'll be attending next year if things don't change. | | From: | kaysho |
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| Date: | May 27th, 2008 07:49 pm (UTC) |
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It was a really nice hotel, I'll give them that; but a pretty facility can't make up for hotel management who get cross once they realise that these guests didn't come with expense accounts. :)
Hyatts are terrible about charging through the nose for their breakfast buffet, figuring that businesspeople will have someone else paying for it and won't have time in the mornings to find anything else. A couple of my co-workers were just staying at one in Chicago a few weeks ago and balked at even expensing the buffet there.
For the prospects of attending Califur V, the documentary thing is really a lesser concern, as that was entirely under the control of the con organisers and can be changed. It's the hotel. If they're back at that hotel next year and don't improve relations with the hotel dramatically, it may not be worth travelling to. Although in any case I'd be asking in advance if we're going to be used as unpaid actors again. :) "I happened to notice that three of my straight male friends had chosen Sierra"...
Were those the only three straight males at the con? :) | | From: | kaysho |
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| Date: | May 31st, 2008 06:00 pm (UTC) |
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I suspect not, but of course I wasn't asking people I didn't know about such things. :) Isn't there something inherently wrong in giving away other people's rights by merely putting up a sign that says they will be filmed inside a hotel (which constitutes a private setting by legal definition). I don't remember it saying anywhere on the site that something like this could actually happen.
Let's think about this for a minute. We, the attendees, were not informed of the presence of a film crew until the actual day of the convention, and even then, there were signs posted up saying a documentary was being filmed, and we, for better or for worse, may or may not be featured in the film being shot. That, in itself, might seem discomforting.
Then you have to look at it from the point of view of being given advance warning. The way they did it makes anyone look at the people running the convention with a now distrusting eye. If they didn't warn us about the crew ahead of time, on the website, who knows what they'll try next year. Now, if they had posted that there's going to be a film crew there on the front page, or anywhere else on the site, even if it was on the page where you pre-register, with a notice that said that in order to buy your attendance ticket you consent to having your likeness photographed and filmed for a production company working on something like what they were working on, then maybe there wouldn't be any qualms about it happening.
So now, I'm going to have to send an email explaining how I'd like to have my likeness, if at all photographed and/or filmed, not featured in their film. | | From: | kaysho |
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| Date: | July 7th, 2008 04:41 am (UTC) |
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I don't know if I'd bother ... given the difficulty of complying with the request, they're unlikely to care. Your best bet would be to wait until the documentary comes out, watch it, then see if there's anything in it that portrays you specifically in an unflattering light. If there is, contact an attorney, because I don't believe that the con's "blanket release" will hold up. If there isn't, then don't worry about it.
But agreed, it was a betrayal of our trust, and I'm sure it will have a negative impact on the attendance at future Califurs. |
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