Among the new additions to Series 3 of the LEGO Minifigures Collection is one affectionately named, “Gorilla Suit Guy”.

The official LEGO Minifigs site explains his deal:
The Gorilla Suit Guy is a mystery. Who is he? Why is he wearing that suit? Does he think he’s an actual gorilla, or did he get lost on his way to a costume party? He certainly acts like the real thing, or at least like someone who’s watched a lot of old movies and TV shows and thinks that’s how a gorilla should act. And he sure is wild about bananas.

The detail on the minifig is the best part. Note that the back has a zipper (normally the figures don’t get printing on the back for cost issues). But really the best part is when you finally pull off that gorilla mask to find out who’s inside.

Oh shit, little guy. We better get you to a headless lounge to cool off.

Image source: The Ugly Duckling at Bricklink

Brooklyn rap duo Das Racist, who are best known for their arguably novelty rap songs like “Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell” have released a new song over their Twitter account. The track “I’m Up On That” [ft. Homeboy Sandman] covers everything from race relations to Heisman trophies to Google chat. And then there’s this line:

“I’m nasty on craigslist I’ll meet me some furries.”

This is, to my knowledge, the first time that the fandom has been used to find a rhyme for the word “curry”.

Das Racist is providing “I’m Up On That” for free download. Or take a listen below.

This is not the first Orangina ad to feature anthro animals. In fact, ad agency Fred & Farid of Paris, France has been making these kind of commercials for Orangina since 2008 (check out this risque poster seen around Europe). It has only been in the past year that the sexualized, juice loving critters have gone to the real world, mingling with real people who not only seem comfortable with them, but usually want to make their Orangina bottle explode (if you catch my drift).

It’ll be interesting to see if this ad causes the same amount of controversy that the dominatrix panther one did, or even the original strip club dance number extravaganza, both of which have been some of the most complained about ads in the UK.

This new ad is actually considerably tamer than the others, aside from the fact that the hunky French guy is obviously about to ride that cougar like a fox from a Kyell Gold novel.

EDIT: Also

Alternatively if you want to download it, right click, and save:

Be sure to let us know what you think of both audio blogs, and counterpoint reviews!

Holy fuck was I wrong.

ICP’s new song is, like many rap and hard rock group’s later songs, a tribute to their children. It’s a four and a half minute, totally genuine journey through everything that is magical in the world. And by “magical”, I mean “completely normal shit that most of us stopped being fascinated with when we were 10″.

It’s hard to say whether they wrote this song together — if Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope had this simultaneous epiphany about every mundane thing imaginable — or if the one that looks like Guy Fieri had to explain how totally awesome the sky is, even when you’re not high off your ass.

Among the many miracles these makeup clad visionaries proclaim (including dirt, “fucking rainbows”, and giraffes), my favorite is Shaggy’s sheer wonderment about magnets. See my headline up there? That’s an actual goddamn lyric in this song.

You wanna know what the Insane Clown Posse doesn’t include as one of the many amazing things in the universe? The human brain.

Presumably because they’ve never used one.

Istanbul, the chair of Furry Fiesta, was announcing the amount collected for charity (the Center for Animal Research and Education) at the convention. The amount this year, he announced, was a hundred dollars lower than had been collected in 2009. Isty is not someone to let that go. So he told the couple hundred people gathered there that we were going to try to collect donations here, at closing ceremonies, to pass last year’s total. The staff produced a sombrero to “pass the hat,” but although it was festive, it wasn’t quite big enough. So Isty lifted up a box top and asked everyone to toss in five bucks if they could.

I’ve never seen anything like it. The crowd rose with money in hand, running to the front to contribute. Derek, the representative from the charity on stage, was speechless–and he’s not the kind of guy to be speechless. For ten minutes people threw money into the box, piling up bills, the staff and guests included. When it finally calmed down, the charity liaison, looking a bit dazed, was holding a box top that looked like it had come out of a bank heist film. She and the head of security went back to count the take, and I ran back to help. Even with the three of us, it took us another ten or fifteen minutes to count the total.

From a couple hundred people, with no warning, Istanbul collected a thousand dollars for the charity.

It’s things like this that I wish would get more attention in the fandom. People talk about the weirdness, the drama, the inappropriate behaviors. And yet one of the things that keeps me coming back to furry conventions is the people. By and large, they’re nice, warm, and caring, and when given the chance, they come through. I know that Derek was quite overcome by the gesture. Hell, I was blown away by it. I mean, who has money at the end of a three-day weekend? Okay, the dealers do, but certainly there were a lot more people in the audience than just dealers. And I know from talking to fans that a lot of people were hurting for money this year. And still, and still.

All you guys who were there, thanks for your generosity and your inspiration. I keep telling people what a pretty cool fandom–what a cool community–we have. Let’s keep on proving it.

[[Editor's note: Ainoko recorded video from the closing ceremony. The sound is hard to hear, but you can see the generosity in action. It starts at the 8:00 minute mark in the first video, and continues in to the second]]

And you’ll understand why I had to make this post in a vain attempt to bring traffic to my reputable and very mature website.

Dealer’s Den
The dealer’s room in the new hotel is a bit larger this time, but it’s by no means huge. Still you noobs may be wondering where to throw your money. If you’re a sketchbook fan you’ll want to check out Gideon’s Corral (Booth 63), Susan Rankin (Booth 34), or Brian and Tracy Reynolds (Booth 49).

You might notice a lot of people in some badass leather badges like the one on the right. You can’t have one now, you’re not cool enough. But if you head over to the Cooner Arts booth (Booth 35) during the con you can order one, and/or get a sweet sketch for your book (maybe your character as a cowboy?).

And of course be sure to pick up merchandise. Sofawolf Press (Booths 37 and 38) will have much of their catalog, including two new books, The Seventh Chakra and <>Shadow of the Father. Weasel Wordsmith highly recommends both of them. Down the aisle to the right of SofaWolf is FurPlanet Comics (Booth 32) where you can grab comics from many talented authors and artists.

Panels
I’m not a big fan of panels in general. Not to discount the quality of them, but they’re very specific and I tend not to fall into the niches. That said, this year seems to have a better selection of panels. For you writer types, the entire Writing Track is pretty solid. Kyell Gold will be hosting numerous panels, reading passages from his upcoming book, and even recording an episode of Unsheathed, the furry writing podcast. Many other talented authors, like Not Tube, Alopex, K.M. Hirosaki, and Blackfeather will be there. I guarantee these will be some of the most useful and most interesting panels at the convention.

Art Show
There are a lot of really talented artists with pieces up for auction this year. And since you know the Blotch pieces are going to skyrocket, go look for at some of those up and coming artists. The website doesn’t list everyone in the gallery, so expect a few surprises, like Teaselbone putting up hot suggestive pieces.

Off Campus
FC is fun, but chances are you’re going to get bored hanging out in the hotel. Luckily you’re going to be in the heart of downtown San Jose and there is plenty to do. Within walking distance of the hotel are things like the Tech Museum of Innovation, which currently has a Star Trek exhibit for you nerds. there are also numerous bars, restaurants, and stores in the general vicinity. You’re just a few blocks from San Jose State University, so there are plenty of places to go. It’s a little nerdy, but the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Library is the largest public library west of the Mississippi River. When it comes to places to eat you can’t really go wrong with the Gordon Biersch, but if you feel like going to a douchier place, the Fahrenheit Ultra Lounge is right down the street. But honestly even without a car you shouldn’t have any problem finding things to do and places to eat.

If you do have a car and want to explore, there are places both north and south of San Jose that may be up your alley. Down south on Cannery Row is the Monterey Bay Aquarium. They have motherfucking otters, y’all. Up in San Francisco there’s the California Academy of Sciences. The museum was rebuilt in 2008 so everything is shiny and new. It’s a pretty fantastic museum too, with penguins, and a four story rainforest dome you can walk through. If you’re free on Thursday night the museum has its Nightlife event, where they open the door up after 9 p.m. and play music and serve alcohol.

Among the many atrocities on the Tacky Weddings blog are these terribly awesome wedding cake toppers, custom made by Megan Bogonovich.

She has a bunch of other cake toppers with bizarre animal combinations on her Etsy gallery.

Well, now I know what to get a certain fox and wolf for their wedding!

But let’s start with some positive notes, shall we?

2009 was actually a pretty good year for music, at least pop music. Love it or hate it, there some amazingly fun songs this year. Lady Gaga went from nobody to somebody my mom called “weird” and “gross” then “funny” and “cute” in the same breath. For some reason 2009 was the year of songs about bad shit happening on the dance floor. Whether people were too drunk to think, shorties were on fire, or people were urged to evacuate because the music had turned into a virus that was killing you. But it was also the place you heard your favorite song from a musician you’ve never listened to and decided not to fly back home to Tennessee.

This was also the year of mashups. Now mashups have been around for a while, but they really got a lot of publicity thanks to reality TV, and shows like Glee. Speaking of mashups, check this shit out. It’s an amazing mashup of the top songs of 2009:

Speaking of Glee they actually had great mashups, so great in fact that one of their songs is featured on the Best of Bootie 2009 CD. You need to go download that free album, by the way, it’ll blow your mind.

But not all the music was good. And that brings me to the whole reason I wrote this blog: so I could lambast one particular musician.

Owl City
Fuck you, dude.

I swear to god, Adam Young is trying to Talented-Mr-Ripley himself into the role of The Postal Service. He even has an anthem for Seattle, Washington on his overproduced album, Ocean Eyes. You’re from Minne-fucking-sota, Adam. You know who’s from the Seattle area? Ben Gibbard of The Postal Service! Love your own goddamn hometown, douche.

Joking aside, there are obvious and legitimate comparisons to the two bands, except that Owl City is insipid. His lyrics are cliché, contradictory, and oftentimes just plain stupid. Bright Eyes started by making shitty music in his mom’s basement too, but he had the decency to not release the stuff as his opus.

Another bad thing about 2009: people kept dying. It wasn’t that more people died than in 2008, but it was more people that are in the spotlight, so people who didn’t know them at all were really torn up. You know who didn’t die this year? My grandparents, and the doctors said they were supposed to. So fuck Michael Jackson. But this is not about MJ. He got way too much spotlight. And since I am emotionally broken, I can’t honor fallen celebrities like a normal person. So that brings us to:

Top 10 Dead Celebrities Who Aren’t Michael Jackson (And Some Mean Jokes About Them)

Brittany Murphy – I’ll always remember Brittany Murphy for her first scene in her breakout film, Clueless and her line that would serve as the motif of her career: “No shit, you guys got coke here?!”

David Carradine – Kill Bill probably would have been a much shorter movie if Uma Thurman just mailed him an extension cord and a bottle of lube.

Natasha Richardson – I hear Liam Neeson’s next film is an action thriller where he goes to a ski resort and beats the shit out of every tree on the mountain.

Billy Mays – Autopsy reports show Mays had cocaine in his system. That pretty much explains everything about him.

John Hughes – I thought he died in the late ’80s. Oh wait that was his career.

Ricardo Montalban – If you’re old you remember him as that dude from Fantasy Island or Captain Kirk’s arch-nemesis, Khan. If you’re a furry you probably know him as the voice of that lion in the Taco Bell commercials. “Carrrrrne!”

Ed McMahon – For someone who had his own brand of Vodka named after himself, it’s amazing he lived to be 86!

Patrick Swayze – I can’t decide if I want to make a Ghost joke or a Road House joke. But whether in film or real life, Swayze was always most memorable when he was dying.

Farrah Fawcett – Forever to be remembered as “that lady who died on the same day as Michael Jackson.”

Other things that are worthy of disdain:

Hey SEGA! You’ve killed my boner for Sonic the Hedgehog more than any bad gay fanart ever could.

Hey Glenn Beck! I firmly believe that you don’t believe half the shit you say, and that makes you twice as despicable.

Hey Dan Brown! I’m reading a furry book that is way better than anything you’ve ever written.

Ok, I think I’m good now. Bring it on, 2010!