Fred Patten News


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--2014--

December 2014

During December, Fred sends his editing of The Furry Future to FurPlanet, and proofreads the resulting galleys for publication.  He also transfers his unpublished book reviews from Flayrah to Dogpatch Press.  The combination of a bad cold during most of late December, plus Sherry's minivan being at the dealer's for body work, keeps Fred inside the convalescent hospital during the last half of December.

Sometime around the beginning of December, Gina Ruiz's AmoXcalli website, for which Fred has been writing book reviews since 2007, disappears from the Internet.  Fred's last e-mail from her says that she has been diagnosed with having esophageal cancer, so AmoXcalli is not expected to return.  On December 3, Sherry takes Fred to her apartment for dinner.  Sherry shows Fred the new, thick Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity Membership Directory, which contains Fred's biography and color photograph.  (Fred joined the fraternity while in college.)  In the evening, they attend a promotional screening of Big Hero 6 at the Disney studio in Burbank for awards consideration.  (They have already seen it, but liked it enough to see it again.)  On December 5, Sherry takes Fred to her apartment for dinner again.  In the evening, they attend an ASIFA-Hollywood screening of the 2013 Brazilian animated Até Que a Sbórnia Nos Separe/Until Sbornia Takes Us Apart, with a wine & cheese reception and a Q&A with two of the filmmakers.  Fred writes a review of it for Jerry Beck's Animation Scoop.  On December 10. Sherry and Fred pick up Phil Muchnik at his home in Montrose, and they go to the Americana Glendale 's Pacific Theatre to see the animated feature Penguins of Madagascar.  After, they go to lunch at Frida: Mexican Cuisine.  Phil gives Fred a birthday card for his birthday the next day.  On December 18, Fred gets a royalty cheque from Theme Park Press for $4.93, for two copies sold of his Funny Animals and More.

November 2014

During the first half of November, Fred receives stories for The Furry Future until the anthology is filled. During the last half of the month, he edits the book.

On November 4, Sherry takes Fred to the Gene Autry Museum to see the "Route 66: The Road and the Romance" exhibit, and to have lunch at the Autry Cafe. They go to Sherry's apartment to have dessert. On November 5, Sherry gets FLAUNT #138, the November 2014 issue, which has a brief mention (page 81) of Fred as the "furry fandom founder". On November 6, Sherry takes Fred to Dr. Yvonne Arafiles, the dentist at the mini-mall at Sepulveda & Roscoe, to get his teeth cleaned & X-rayed. After, they go to lunch at the mini-mall's Yoshinoya restaurant, and then to Sherry's apartment for dessert. On November 9, Sherry takes Fred to lunch at Solley's Deli in Sherman Oaks, then to her apartment for dessert and to autograph some of his books for friends. On November 12, Sherry and Fred pick up Phil Muchnik in Montrose, and they go to the Pacific Theatre at the Glendale Americana to see Big Hero 6. After, they go to Frida: Mexican Cuisine for lunch. On November 15, Fred receives the final story for The Furry Future, "Trinka and The Robot" by Ocean Tigrox.

On November 16, Sherry takes Fred to lunch at Solley's Deli in Sherman Oaks. Then they go to her apartment for dessert and to see a DVD of Himmelskibet/A Trip to Mars, a "lost" Danish 1918 movie restored in 2006, the first feature-length "space opera" adventure movie. On November 20, Fred receives a request from Jonathan Thurman to write "A History of Furry Publishing", which Fred works on for the rest of the month. On November 23, Robert Graham from the hospital's physical therapy department evaluates Fred's getting from his bed into his wheelchair, and into Sherry's minivan to determine whether Fred needs any additional help. Sherry takes Fred to her apartment to watch a DVD of the 1929 German 156-minute Frau im Mond/Woman in the Moon, with a lunch break in the middle. On November 27, Sherry takes Fred to a big Thanksgiving dinner at Solley's Deli. After, they go to Sherry's apartment, where they sleep for most of the afternoon. On November 29, Sherry takes Fred out for a day at Loscon 41 at the LAX Marriott Hotel. Fred has an enjoyable day, and Sherry buys T-shirts and tote bags in the Dealer's Room. However, they had invited Michael Burlake and Roz Gibson to join them for lunch, and they found that the hotel's coffee shop no longer serves lunch. They had to have lunch in the hotel's overcrowded and very noisy sports bar. As a result, Sherry and Fred left the Loscon early and had dinner at Sherry's apartment. Fred receives his first royalty cheque from Theme Park Press for Funny Animals and More, for $85.15.

October 2014

Throughout October, Fred works on editing The Furry Future for January publication.  By the end of the month, he has accepted ten stories.

On October 2, Sherry takes Fred to her apartment for dinner.  In the evening, they go to the weekly LASFS meeting, where Fred donates copies of his Anthropomorphic Aliens anthology and Allasso #3, which he has a story in, to the club library.  Fred also votes for the 2014 Forry Award recipient.  On October 3, Fred receives a royalty cheque and six-month sales report for his Watching Anime, Reading Manga from Stone Bridge Press, for $39.82, 35% of $113.76, for 16 e-copies sold.  On October 7, Sherry takes Fred to the mini-mall at Sepulveda & Roscoe for a haircut at Maritza's Hair Salon, where she instructs the barber to cut Fred's head bald (he has so little hair that he may as well have none).  She gets a takeout dinner at the Yoshinoya restaurant for them to eat at her apartment.  In the evening, they go to an ASIFA-Hollywood screening of the 2014 Japanese animated The Tale of the Princess Kaguya at the Laemmle NoHo 7 theater in North Hollywood.  

On October 17, Sherry and Fred pick up Phil Muchnik in Montrose, and they go to the ArcLight Cinema in Pasadena to see The Boxtrolls.  After, they go to lunch at the Yard House restaurant.  On October 19, Sherry brings Fred to her apartment for lunch and to watch a Turner Classics Special on the animation of Winsor McCay on her TV.  On October 23, Sherry again brings Fred to her apartment for lunch and to read all of the political advertising that he has received for the November 4th elections.  Later, Fred watches on Sherry's TV the Turner Classics Special on the 100th anniversary of the J. R. Bray Animation Studios.  On October 27, Sherry and Fred pick up Phil Muchnik in Montrose and go to the Glendale Americana's Pacific Theatre, where they see The Book of Life.  After, they go to lunch at The Cheesecake Factory.  On October 30, Sherry takes Fred to her apartment for lunch.  Afterward, they watch the 2014 animated movie The Hero of Color City on On Demand TV.

September 2014

During September, Fred begins editing The Furry Future, his anthology for FurPlanet Publications for Further Confusion 2015.

On September 3, Sherry takes Fred to Dr. Yvonne Arafiles in Panorama City for two fillings.  After, they go to lunch at the Yoshinoya restaurant in the same mini-mall at Sepulveda & Roscoe Blvds., and Sherry takes Fred to Maritza's Hair Salon there for a haircut.  On the way back to Fred's convalescent hospital, Sherry stops at a Baskin-Robbins to get Fred a milkshake.  On September 6, Sherry takes Fred to her apartment to watch The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, saved on her TV.  It is so long (almost three hours) that they stop it in the middle for a lunch break.  On September 9, Sherry takes Fred to see the Los Angeles Police Museum in a 1920s police division station in Highland Park.  After, they stop at Galco's Soda Pop Stop for some rare soft drinks and candy, then go to Sherry's apartment to eat lunch and watch a DVD of the 2012 South African animated feature Adventures in Zambezia.  On September 13, Sherry takes Fred to lunch at Solley's Deli in Sherman Oaks.  Then they go to her apartment where Fred reads a book, and they watch a DVD of the 2005 French animated feature Kirikou and the Wild Beasts.

On September 18, Sherry takes Fred to her apartment for dinner.  In the evening, they go to the DreamWorks Animation Studios' Campanile theater to see the 16th annual Animation Show of Shows.  Fred reviews it for Jerry Beck's Animation Scoop.  On September 21, Sherry takes Fred to the Home Town Buffet in Van Nuys for lunch.  They then go to her apartment, where Fred looks at lots of new books for him (too many to bring to him at his hospital), and they watch a DVD of the 1998 Japanese animated feature Perfect Blue.  On September 23, Sherry takes Fred to Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys for an electrocardiogram heart test.  After, they go to lunch at Big Jim's Restaurant & Bar in Sun Valley.  On September 26, Sherry takes Fred to lunch at Solley's Deli.  Then they go to Sherry's apartment, where they sort through Fred's books to send some to storage.  In the afternoon, they watch the 2013 Belgian animated feature The House of Magic on On Demand TV.  On September 30, Sherry takes Fred to an early lunch at Solley's Deli with Roz Gibson, who delivers to Fred a set of EuroFurence conbooks from Lex Nakashima.  Afterwards, Fred and Sherry go to Sherry's apartment, where Fred spends the afternoon studying the conbooks.

August 2014

On August 3, Sherry takes Fred to breakfast at Solley's Deli in Sherman Oaks, then they go to the Pacific Theatre at the Americana on Brand in Glendale to see Guardians of the Galaxy.  After, Sherry gets Fred a strawberry malt that nurse Jeff back at the convalescent hospital says sends his blood sugar to 430 and NO MORE MALTS!  On August 5, Sherry takes Fred to Dr. Yvonne Arafiles in Panorama City for a tooth filling, but she says that the tooth is cracked and should be removed.  She and Sherry make an appointment with an oral surgeon to have it extracted.  After, Fred and Sherry go to the mini-mall's Yoshinoya for lunch.  On August 12, Fred has dinner at Sherry's apartment, and then they go to an ASIFA-Hollywood presentation at DreamWorks Studios in Glendale of Bill Plympton's independent feature Cheatin'.  Jerry Beck asks Fred to write a report of it for his Animation Scoop website.

On August 20, Sherry takes Fred to Dr. Leon Peck, the oral surgeon in Beverly Hills.  Dr. Peck says that x-rays reveal that two of Fred's teeth are cracked and should be removed, and that there are two cavities behind them that Dr. Arafiles should fill.  He extracts the two cracked teeth easily.  After, Fred goes to a milk-&-yogurt lunch at Sherry's apartment.  On August 21, Fred finally gets his first copies of his Funny Animals and More, published in March.  On August 22, Sherry takes Fred to the electrocardiologist Dr. Mark Lensky in Van Nuys.  He says that Fred is in good health, but slightly overweight.  He knows that it is difficult to exercise from a hospital bed, but that Fred should cut down his weight if possible.  After, Fred goes to lunch at Sherry's apartment and gets several new review books that he has just received.  Later they watch a DVD of the animated feature A Fish Tale, the retitled 2000 Danish Help! I'm a Fish.   On August 23, Fred becomes aware of an online discussion among the members of the Furry Writers' Guild "On the Role of Criticism in Furry", which has almost forty comments in two days on furry literary criticism in general and Fred's book reviews in particular.  Fred joins in.  On August 26, Sherry takes Fred to the ArcLight Theater in Pasadena where they see The Expendables 3.  After, they go to lunch at the Yard House restaurant.  On August 29, Sherry takes Fred to a morning appointment with Dr. Ana Shahnematollahi, who advises Fred to cut down on fried foods and carbohydrates.  After, they go to Sherry's apartment for lunch and to watch a DVD of the 2009 Japanese animated feature Summer Wars.

July 2014

On July 4, Sherry takes Fred to lunch at Solley's Deli in Sherman Oaks, then to her apartment to see some new review books, and to watch a DVD of the 2009 Irish animated feature The Secret of Kells. On July 8, Sherry and Fred go to a Subway to get lunch, then to Sherry's apartment to look through their Mother's old files on Fred. Fred selects an old photo of him from 1969 to add to his webpage. In the afternoon, they watch a DVD of the 2008 Finnish animated feature Niko - Lentäjän poika/The Flight Before Christmas. On July 10, Sherry takes Fred to meet an old friend, Dr. Alan Cholodenko of the University of Sydney (emeritus), visiting UCLA after reading a paper at a symposium in Toronto. They take him on a brief tour of Santa Monica, including lunch at a Denny's. After taking Dr. Cholodenko back to UCLA, Sherry & Fred spend the afternoon sorting more of their Mother's papers, finding more old clippings of Fred. Later, they watch a DVD of the 2012 Finnish animated feature Niko 2: Lentäjäveljekset/Little Brother, Big Trouble. On July 13, Sherry and Fred take their Mother's wheelchair to Lee Gold at the LASFS clubhouse, then go to lunch at Solley's Deli, then spend the afternoon at Sherry's apartment sorting more of their Mother's papers. On July 16, Sherry and Fred bring a Subway lunch to eat at her apartment, while sorting more papers. In the afternoon, they watch a DVD of the 2012 Indian animated feature Delhi Safari.

On July 19, Sherry takes Fred to Solley's Deli for lunch, and then to her apartment for an afternoon of sorting through more of their Mother's papers. On July 22, Sherry and Fred bring a Subway lunch to eat at her apartment, while Fred looks at new review books sent to him. In the afternoon, they go to the Center Stage Gallery in Burbank to see an exhibit; "3000 Moments: A collection of images by illustrator and designer Pascal Campion". Fred is more interested in exhibits of original animation and concept art by Marc Davis, left up from a previous exhibit. Davis was a Disney studio veteran from the 1930s until his retirement, and there are samples of his art from Disney movies from Snow White to 101 Dalmatians, Disney's 1960s unfinished Chanticleer, and Disney theme park attractions like "Pirates of the Caribbean" after that, plus samples of Davis' fine art. On July 24, Sherry takes Fred to dentist Dr. Yvonne Arafiles in Panorama City for his quarterly teeth cleaning. She says that he will need more serious dental work soon. After the appointment, Sherry and Fred go to lunch at a Yoshinoya's in the same mini-mall for lunch. Fred has his first Beef Bowl since his stroke. On July 27, Sherry takes Fred for breakfast to the Home Town Buffet in Van Nuys, then to her apartment to look through more of their Mother's documents and old magazines. In the afternoon, they watch a DVD of the 2012 Belgian animated feature Sammy 2/A Turtle's Tale 2: Sammy's Escape from Paradise. On July 29, Sherry takes Fred for dinner to an IHOP in San Fernando. In the evening they go to a presentation by Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon of its feature-in-production Song of the Sea, at Woodbury University in Burbank. Fred writes it up for Jerry Beck's Animation Scoop. On July 30, Sherry takes Fred to the ArcLight Theater in Pasadena, where they meet Phil Muchnik and all watch Planes: Fire & Rescue. Afterwards, they all go to the Yard House for lunch. After leaving, Sherry and Fred go several blocks on Marengo to see the house where their grandmother Madeleine grew up in the 1900s.

June 2014

On June 1, Sherry takes Fred to Mission Community Hospital for tests to have a pacemaker put onto his heart.  This is supposed to be a simple operation lasting less than a day, but after four days of tests, x-rays, cat scans, etc., the doctors at Mission Community Hospital decide that he does not need a pacemaker, and he is sent back by ambulance to San Fernando Post Acute Hospital.  On June 16, Sherry and Fred stop in Montrose to be joined by Phil Muchnik, and they go to the Glendale Americana to see Maleficent at the Pacific Theatre. After, they go to lunch at Frida: Mexican Cuisine.

On June 19, Fred's new Anthropomorphic Aliens is added to FurPlanet Productions' catalogue for pre-release orders.  On June 21, Sherry takes Fred to her apartment to be interviewed by Joe Strike, visiting from New York to collect information for a book on the history of Furry fandom.  Strike has spent the previous two days studying Fred's collection of Furry materials at the University of California, Riverside Library, and he has interviewed several other veteran Furry fans in Southern California.  On June 24, Sherry takes Fred to her apartment where he works on research.  In the afternoon, Fred watches a DVD of the French 2010 movie Les Aventures Extraoridnaires de Adèle Blanc-Sec, and the 1937 Miss Withers murder mystery Forty Naughty Girls on TV.  On June 30, Sherry and Fred stop in Montrose to be joined by Phil Muchnik, and they go to the ArcLight Theater in Pasadena to see How to Train Your Dragon 2.  After, they go to lunch at the Yard House restaurant.

May 2014

On May 3, Sherry takes Fred to Blastoff Comics in North Hollywood for Free Comic Book Day.  Although they arrive a few minutes before the shop's opening time, the shop is already open and so crowded with comics fans that Fred can hardly get inside, and the noise makes it impossible to talk.  They leave almost immediately, after Sherry gets the free Hello Kitty comic that they came for.  (Fred gets several free comics.)  They get takeout lunches at nearby Crown Chili Burger, and take them to Sherry's apartment to eat.  In the afternoon, they go to the Center Stage Gallery in Burbank to see the exhibit "Through the Eyes of Sunny Apinchapong".  It is an exhibit of not only his personal paintings and art books, but also the work of Mike Kunkel, Dean Yagle, and several other artists at the Disney, Warner Bros., DreamWorks, and other studios of their personal cartoons, paintings, art prints, art books, T-shirts, and more.  On May 5, Sherry and Fred get Subway sandwiches to eat lunch at Sherry's apartment, where Fred does research.  Later they watch a DVD of the 2010 Belgian animated feature A Turtle's Tale.  On May 8, Fred gets a request from a professor at the University of Exeter in England for a full history of Graphic Story Bookshop/Wonderworld Books, which he co-owned with Richard Kyle forty years ago.  He and Sherrill get takeout dinners at The Habit Burger Grill in North Hollywood to eat at her apartment while Fred does research.  In the evening, they go to the weekly LASFS meeting, where Fred presents the club library with a copy of his Five Fortunes anthology, which is dedicated to the LASFS.

On May 13, Allasso volume 3, Storge, goes on sale on Amazon.com, with Fred's short story "Family Life" -- his first published short story -- leading off the contents.  On May 18, Sherry and Fred go to the Glendale Public Library to return a book, then to Sherry's apartment for lunch and where Fred spends the afternoon doing research.  On May 23, Sherry takes Fred to dinner at McDonald's.  Then they go to a screening of "Dutch Delights!", 15 recent Dutch animated films, hosted by ASIFA-Hollywood and the KLIK! Animation Festival in Amsterdam, at Woodbury University in Burbank.  Fred reviews it for his weekly Cartoon Research column.  On May 25, Sherry takes Fred to breakfast at the Home Town Buffet in Van Nuys, then to a day of research at her apartment, plus filling out his ballot for the statewide elections.  On May 28, Fred gets a new review book, A Brief History of Manga, by Helen McCarthy.  Fred is credited in it for introducing manga into America.  On May 29, Sherry takes Fred for an appointment with Dr. Ana Shahnematollahi. She reports that his circulation in his legs is poor, due to his diabetes.  After, they get a Subway takeout lunch to eat at Sherry's apartment.  In the afternoon, they go to Center Stage Gallery to see the new exhibition; "Shadows and Dreams: the Art of Christophe Vacher".  Vacher is a painter, art director, and designer for Disney, DreamWorks, Wizards of the Coast, and similar companies.  His concept art included several recognizable paintings from their works.  On May 31, Sherry and Fred go for the day to CaliFur X at the Irvine Marriott Hotel.  They see the "Fur Fans in the Military" and "The 2014 Ursa Major Awards Presentations" events, and Fred participates in the "Rowrbrazzle: 30 Years" panel.  They have lunch at the hotel's Floe Lounge restaurant with Roz Gibson and Laurence Parry.  Fred sees many old friends.  Later they return to Sherry's apartment for dinner.

April 2014

On April 3, Sherry and Fred go to the San Fernando branch of the County of Los Angeles Public Library to get a DVD that Fred needs for his weekly animation column, then they stop at a Subway to get lunch (Fred experiments with a steak and bacon melt), and go to Sherry's apartment to eat lunch and watch the DVD.  On April 6, Sherry takes Fred to Subway (Fred goes back to a tuna sandwich) for lunch at her apartment and more work on Fred's articles.  Fred gets a royalty cheque from Stone Bridge Press for sales of Watching Anime, Reading Manga for the last half of 2013.  He earns $43.87 on the sales of 23 copies of the electronic edition, for a total of 3,757 copies sold (trade paperback and electronic) since September 2004.  He also gets Doc Rat collections vol. 11 & 12 from Jenner, the author.  It Hurts to Swallow, Doc (Doc Rat vol. 12) contains a quote from Fred in its back-cover blurb.  On April 10, Sherry and Fred get Subway sandwiches in the afternoon for dinner at her apartment and more research by Fred for his articles.  In the evening they go to the LASFS for the club's 4,000th meeting.  Fred donates a copy of Flight of the Godkin Griffin by M. C. A. Hogarth to the LASFS Library.  On April 12, Sherry and Fred go to the home of Marc Shirmeister in Pasadena to pick up him and Roy Pounds, II.  They all go to the Mitsuwa Marketplace in Torrance, where Fred used to shop regularly before his stroke nine years ago.  They shop at Books Mitsuwa, have lunch at the Food Court (Fred has beef curry and misu soup from Miyabi-tei Restaurant), and buy sweets at J.sweets confectionery.  After leaving, they stop at Stuart Ng Books in Torrance where Roy buys art supplies (the shop is too narrow for Fred in his wheelchair to fit inside).  Schirm gives them directions from Torrance to Galco Soda Pop Stop in Highland Park, where Fred buys some hard-to-get soft drinks and candy.  On April 14, Sherry and Fred get Subway sandwiches and go to her apartment for lunch.  Fred does a little research, but mostly watches the DVD of the Russian 2012 animated The Snow Queen, and the 1936 movie The Plot Thickens, with Zasu Pitts as amateur detective Hildegarde Withers, on Sherry's TV.  On April 17, Sherry and Fred get Subway sandwiches for dinner and more research at Sherry's apartment.  In the evening, they go to the LASFS to meet Roz Gibson and get her some books from the LASFS Library.  Fred takes the opportunity to get some s-f novels for himself.  

On April 19, Sherry takes Fred to the 2014 WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center.  They stop at the Anaheim Marriott Hotel first to have lunch at the hotel's Cafe del Sol restaurant.  At the WonderCon, Fred gets on the review lists of three new publishers and is given a book to review.  Sherry buys some items.  They go home to Sherry's apartment for dinner.  On April 20, Sherry takes Fred out to the Downtown Burbank Arts Festival, where four blocks of San Fernando Boulevard are blocked off for art students, animators, street chalk artists, sculptors, colleges with art or animation schools, makeup artists, and others to display and sell their wares.  Sherry and Fred spend a couple of hours window-shopping.  A booth with a man making brass, gold, & glass figurines is particularly impressive.  Afterwards, they walk to Flavor of India restaurant for a lamb vindaloo lunch.  On April 24, Fred gets an e-mail from Brian Cook, who had asked him back in 2012 to write a story -- not an article -- for his magazine, Allasso, to be published in December 2012.  The magazine never appeared and Fred forgot about it, but Cook has reappeared and published Fred's story online, with a promise of the paper copy to come next month.  This is Fred's first non-comic-book fiction. On April 25, Fred gets the cover rough from Roz Gibson for his next anthology from FurPlanet Publication Publications, Anthropomorphic Aliens.  On April 26, Sherry takes Fred to lunch at Solley's in Sherman Oaks.  Then they go to the LASFS for the beginning of the "LA 4000" weekend event, also to celebrate the club's 4,000th meeting.  Fred participates from the audience in a panel with David Gerrold, Craig Miller, Larry Niven, and Jerry Pournelle discussing how the LASFS has helped them to become professional authors.  On April 30, Sherry and Fred pick up Phil Muchnik at his home in Montrose, then they go to the ArcLight Theater in Pasadena to see Rio 2.  Later, they go to lunch at the Yard House restaurant.

March 2014

On March 11, Sherry takes Fred to the Barnes & Noble at the Glendale Americana to shop, where she buys him Dragons Wild by Robert Asprin, then to the Pacific Theatre to see RoboCop. Afterwards, they go to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. On March 13, Fred receives the online galleys for his next book, Funny Animals and More, for proofreading and final revisions. On March 14, Sherry takes Fred to see the cardiologist Dr. Mark Lensky, who says that Fred's heart and blood pressure are still excellent. Then they go to Solley's Deli in Sherman Oaks for lunch; then to Best Buy in the same shopping mall, where a Best Buy Geek fixes some minor problems on Fred's laptop. On March 16, Sherry takes Fred to the annual Los Angeles Vintage Paperback Collectors Show at the Glendale Civic Auditorium, where Fred chats with some old friends whom he hasn't seen for years, agrees to appear in a documentary, and gets some information for a last-minute revision for Funny Animals and More. On March 19, Sherry takes Fred to pick up Phil Muchnik and they go to the Glendale Americana to see Mr. Peabody and Sherman at the Pacific Theatre, followed by lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. That evening, Sherry notifies Fred by e-mail that their mother has just died.

On March 20, Sherry takes Fred to Dr. Yvonne Arafiles, dentist in Panorama City, for his quarterly teeth cleaning. Afterwards they go for lunch to Big Jim's Restaurant & Bar in Sun Valley for lunch, where Fred has a burrito especial. On March 26, Fred's new book, Funny Animals and More, appears on Amazon.com. On March 27, the publisher of Funny Animals and More sends Fred an illustrated advertisement for the book that Fred can re-send to all his friends. Sherry takes Fred to Dr. Ana Shahnematollahi. She reports that his latest tests show that everything except his triglycerides is good, and he still needs to reduce his cholesterol and stop eating fried snack foods like potato chips and Fritos. After, they get Subway sandwiches and eat them for lunch at Sherry's apartment, where Fred does more research for his writing. On March 31, Sherry and Fred go to Montrose to pick up Phil Muchnik, and they go to the Glendale Americana to see Muppets Most Wanted with Pixar's short Party Central at the Pacific Theatre. After, they tour the Glendale Americana shopping mall, and stop for lunch at Frida: Mexican Cuisine, where Fred has a burrito Frida.

February 2014

On February 5, Sherry and Fred pick up Subway sandwiches for lunch at her apartment, where Fred works on his next anthology. In the afternoon, they go to the Center Stage Gallery in Burbank to see "The Collectors Corner (Master Illustrators Show)" exhibit, "Originals and Sketches On Loan from Private Collectors" /; original paintings and sketches from twenty artists of the 1930s to the 1970s of magazine illustrations, comic strips, and paperback covers, from the private collections of four veteran animators and comic-book artists. On February 8, Sherry and Fred pick up Subway sandwiches for lunch at her apartment, then go to the Gene Autry Museum of the American West to see the Masters of the American West fine art exhibition, and to attend the "Lightning Round: How the West Changed the Civil War" lecture (which turned out to be a promotion for the Autry's coming exhibition in April 2015). On February 13, Sherry and Fred visit Dr. Melissa Conway at the UCR's Rivera Library to get some photocopies for Fred's future anthologies, and for Fred to sort and identify his donated convention pins & buttons. Melissa tells them about a visit of students from Japan who had asked about Fred's collection.

On February 19, Fred is visited at Sherry's apartment by Steve Latour, the Senior Director of Advancement for Alpha Sigma Phi, Fred's college fraternity, from the fraternity's headquarters in Indiana. Alpha Sigma Phi is starting a nationwide drive to build new chapters and get back in touch with old alumni. They discuss publishing an article about Fred in the fraternity's national magazine, The Tomahawk, and Fred's writing for the magazine. On February 21, Sherry & Fred pick up Phil Muchnik, and they go to the Glendale Americana to see The LEGO Movie at the Pacific Theatre, followed by lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. Fred is notified that his forthcoming book Funny Animals and More is postponed from February to March. On February 24, Fred gets the news from Sherry that their 101-year-old Mother is dying. The nurses at her assisted-living community say that she may live for another two weeks but not a month. On February 26, Sherry takes Fred to the Burbank Center to see The Monuments Men. Afterwards they go to lunch at Fuddrucker's.

January 2014

On January 2, Sherry takes Fred to the Glendale Americana "shopping community" to a Barnes & Noble bookstore where she buys him a book, then to the Pacific Theatre to see Saving Mr. Banks, then to a big lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. On January 6, FurPlanet Productions finally starts to send Fred the proofreading for his Five Furry Fortunes, due to be printed and go on sale at the Further Confusion 2014 convention in San Jose on January 16. On January 9, Sherry takes Fred to an appointment with ophthalmologist Dr. Sanjay Logani, who declares Fred's vision to be fine for his age. No new glasses are prescribed; Fred is still using the same pair that he got just before his 2005 stroke, Afterwards, Sherry and Fred pick up Subway sandwiches for lunch, which they eat at Sherry's apartment, followed by watching a DVD of the South Korean animated Koala Kid. On January 15, Sherry and Fred pick up Subway sandwiches to eat at her apartment for lunch, and then watch a DVD of the French animated Cinderella: Once Upon a Time in the West.

On January 17, Sherry brings Fred in the hospital three French bandes dessinées albums borrowed from Lex Nakashima at the LASFS meeting the night before. Fred will write reviews of two of them. Later, Fred is informed by e-mail that his Five Fortunes has not arrived at Further Confusion 2014 in time. It will go on sale through the FurPlanet online catalogue after the convention. On January 21, Sherry brings Fred to her apartment to meet Glen Wooten and Terrie Smith, who are driving home to San Diego from the four-day Further Confusion 2014 the weekend before. Fred watches a DVD of episode #3 of the Japanese anime TV series Planetes while waiting for their arrival. They discuss the convention, and deliver Terrie's original painting of the cover for Fred's Five Fortunes that had been in the Art Show there; they also deliver another bande dessinée from Lex Nakashima. Later they all go to dinner at Solley's Deli in Sherman Oaks. On January 24, Sherry and Fred pick up Phil Muchnik in Glendora and they all go to the Glendale Americana to see The Nut Job, followed by lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. On January 29, Fred gets an announcement posted online by Theme Park Press about the publication soon of his Funny Animals and More. On January 30, Sherry takes Fred for an appointment with Dr. Ana Shahnematollahi. She reports that his latest tests show that he is in good health, but that he needs to reduce his cholesterol and stop eating fried snack foods like potato chips and Fritos. After, they get Subway sandwiches and eat them for lunch at Sherry's apartment. Fred spends the afternoon reading Sherry's copy of 85 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards by Robert Osborne (464 pages; 6.6 pounds), a Christmas present. Later they go to both the L.A.P.L. and the County of Los Angeles P.L. to get new books for Fred. Back at Fred's hospital, he gets an e-mail that Alasso vol. 3 with his short story "Family Life", scheduled for publication in December 2012, is finally in production.

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