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Nyni, local cetan is looking for help.

As is well known, Nyni enjoys trying different forms. From unicorn to unicorntaur, to My Little Pony, and all sort of things, she's been a cetan, the human / dolphin hybrids often seen around SpinDizzy. In chatting with Airborn, local airplane, Nyni is thinking seriously about becoming an airplane. Only she has a problem.

Although able to transform herself into forms she's already had, Nyni says she can't just change herself into something she's never been. When asked how she becomes all these new things, she replied that she's, "made into." them.

So Nyni's delima is finding someone who can transform her into an airplane like Airborn. As of press time, Nyni is unsure whether she wants the holographic projection ability that Airborn uses to project the skunk form he uses to interact with folks.

If you are a shape changer, or can transform the form of others, contact Nyni and / or Airborn. It would seem as Airborn will be teaching Nyni to fly, having a form similar to his will make it easier for him to teach her.

Mouser, local furpent, is at long last shedding his Winter coat.

Although usually having resumed his sleek Summer fur far eariler than this, the furpent explained that the disruption in his shedding may have a simple explanation, "Nah, I've just been oversleeping." was his off-hand explanation.

The furpent's weather predicting ability is well known on SpinDizzy at least as far as the severity of upcoming Winter seasons. The earlier in the Fall that Mouser gets his white, Winter coat, the more severe the Winter is suspected to be. Spring's arrival can also be predicted by Mouser's fur going from it's Winter white color, to its usual reddish-brown tone.

Austin, local coati-raccoon-rabbit, noted that Mouser's sleeping habits were, "very raccoony," as sleeping a lot is a noted habit of raccoons.

There is hope that the retention of Mouser's Winter coat isn't a result of global warming. Al Gore was unavailable for comment on this indicator of the climate.

Arriving in the Rose Garden I noted Argon, local centaur, seeming a bit on the nervous side so I inquired as to what was troubling him. He noted that he was lacking articles for the paper and was off in search of gnus to fill the empty space. A bit perplexed as to how gnus would fill space in the paper, I deduced he was intending to interview them. Having been around SpinDizzy for a few years, and meeting people quite frequently, I can't say as I can recall ever having seen gnus, antelope, wildebeest or even any hyrax or hyenas around.

Anyway, Argon headed off in search of some big gnus. Other articles updating his progress I'm sure will follow as time and events permit.

Hello dears. Who's ready for a party?

I'm having an 'end of summer' shindig at my house (T #2086) this Monday the 3rd(Labor Day).

It'll start at 1900 MUCK time and last until the last partygoer leaves.

It'll be an all ages party with food and drinks for everyone! See you there sweeties!

Hello, and welcome back to our whirlwind alternate-world tour! Now that we have looked at the DC Multiverse, and the Marvel version as well, I bet you are saying, "Hey! Hasn't DC Comics' and Marvel's characters met each other?" Well, yes, they have. However, since this usually requires months of legal wrangling. So, what do you do when you want your characters to meet the gang from that "other" company, but don't want to go through all the trouble? You make up a bunch of characters almost, but not quite, like the ones from your rival! This week, we are looking at the almost, but not quite, crossovers!

When Marvel wanted the Avengers to battle the Justice League, they knew that (a) DC wouldn't let them use their characters and (b) DC wouldn't let Marvel's heroes beat their characters. So, they decided they better go the "inspired by" route and created... The Squadron Sinister! It featured Hyperion (the flying powerhouse), Nighthawk (the brilliant shadowy one), the Wizzer (super-speedster), and Doctor Spectrum (wielder of the power prism), a group of super-villians from another dimension! Of course, the Avengers cleaned their clocks. They showed up a few more times over the years, but with no real success because, hey, their bad guys! However, there is a flip-side to this group, called the Squadron Supreme, the heroic version of these villains. This group also includes female warrior Power Princess, aquatic hero Amphibian, and the shape-shifting alien Skrullian Skymaster! To no surprise, they also introduced master of the bow Golden Archer, winged warrior Blue Eagle, diminutive genius Tom Thumb, sonic songstress Lady Lark, mistress of magic Arcanna, and radioactive teen Nuke! Gee, who could these folks be...

Now, the JLA isn't the only team that Marvel has been inspired by. In the 30th (and later, 31th) century of the DC Universe, evil is battled by the Legion of Super-Heroes! However, Marvel's universe apparently couldn't wait 1000 year, so they came up with The Imperial Guard of the Shi'ar! This group is lead by Gladiator, who is invulnerable, super-strong, flies, has a host of vision-based powers...remind you of anyone? Other members include a shrinking heroine named Scintilla, flame-throwing Starbolt, lighting-powered Flashfire, and so on. Just like the Legion, the Imperial Guard has several, several members, so I won't name each and every one. However, if their is a new member of the Legion, you can bet that membership has increased in the Imperial Guard!

Of course, DC wasn't going to let Marvel have all the fun! When DC needed the Avengers, they came up with...the Champions of Angor! Now, only four of the heroes from this team showed up in DC's backyard. There was storm-controling, axe-wielding Wandjina, the chaotic magic-wielding Silver Sorceress, super-speedster Jack B. Quick (later known as Captain Speed), and BlueJay who can shrink and gain wings. While not the full team, it is definitely a nod to Marvel's own super-team. Unfortunately, this team's own home world would be destroyed, with only Wandjina, the Sorceress, and Bluejay surviving. Wandjina would later die stopping a nuclear reactor from going critical and the Silver Sorceress would be killed fighting a villain who managed to escape from their home universe. BlueJay, however, apparently is still alive and well.

However, more recently, DC decide to come up with a more complete version of their competition's characters. In their Batman/Superman series, they came up with a super team on an alternate world known as the Maximums. This might also be seen as a nod toward Marvel's Ultimates line. They are lead by military-minded Soldier, the bezerker son of frost giants Viking, the android armor Robot, the young girl who becomes a rampaging behemoth known as Monster, the towering Skyscraper, and the insect-like Hornet. Apparently, they had an archer member called Bowman, but he died before the story began. There is also a claw-slashing bestial hero called Wolven, and a wisecracking wall-crawler simply called Bug. These heroes apparently were created by the powers of Mr. Mxyzptlk and the twisted imagination of the Joker. Though nothing is clear at the end of the story arc that feature these characters, I personally hope that DC keeps these characters around. To be honest, I think they did a great job of making them recognizable as being inspired by while not making them two-dimensional carbon copies.

That's it for this stop on our extra-dimentional trip. Be with us next week for more comic capers with the ol' Four-Kolor Kitty! Till then, see you in the funny pages!

Take Pictures of Things Getting Broken!

You'll Need:

• Zinc Foil
• Cardboard
• Camera with tripod
• Flash Unit with synch cord
• Black Cloth
• Light Bulb
• Hammer

You'll need:

Everybody loves pictures of things getting broken, but few people realize how easy it is to make high-quality pictures for yourself. The trick lies in getting the flash to fire just as the hammer hits. Here's how it's done.

Cut a circle about two inches across in your piece of cardboard. Now tape some zinc foil to the tabletop, lay the cardboard on top of that, and tape another piece of zinc foil over it. The foil should overlap the cardboard on opposite edges - i.e., the bottom foil sticks out past the cardboard on one side, and the top foil on the other side. The two pieces of foil must not touch.

Now, cut the plug end off the trigger cable of the flash unit, exposing the two wires inside. Tape one wire to each piece of zinc foil. When the two pieces of foil come into contact, that will trigger the flash.

Cover the foil assembly with the black cloth, and lay the light bulb on top, over the opening. If the weight of the bulb tends to set off the flash, use thicker cardboard, or else lay a thin sheet of cardboard over the top piece of foil to support the weight.

Focus your camera, and darken the room. Lock the shutter open. Smite the bulb mightily with the hammer! The impact will drive the two foil sheets together, and set off the flash just as the bulb is breaking, for a dramatic picture!

Q: What do kangaroo joeys play in the pool?
A: Macro Podo.

Q: Why do cowboys have miniature dachshunds?
A: They obey the song lyrics, "Get a long, little doggie."

Q: What's a skunk's favorite tune?
A: "Flower's Song," by John Denver o/~ You empty my scent glands, like a fright in the forest. Like a fountain of thiols. Like a bad-smelling rain. Like a spray of sharp sulfur. Like a stinky explosion. You empty my scent glands. Don't scare me again. o/~

Q: What did the dolphin do when a seagull stole his fish?
A: Flippered the bird.

Q: What nationality is a Shar-Pei in Paris?
A: Chien-ese.

Q: What do you call the process of a baby dog metamorphosing into an adult?
A: Pup-ation.

Q: You hear the one about the Australian lizard?
A: It skinks.

Q: If a car key opens a car, and a file cabinet key opens a file cabinet, what kind of key opens a banana?
A: A mon-key.

Q: Where does mouse honey come from?
A: Bee-sels.

Q: Where does bamboo flower honey come from?
A: Wah-sps.

Q: How do you get information out of a panda quickly?
A1: Wah-terboarding.
A2: Or witholding putting bamboo slivers on their tongues.

Q: Who extracts information from wahs?
A: Pain-das.

Q: What should you put on a wah when they get a bamboo splinter?
A: A pand-aid.

Q: What does a panda get to eat in a hurry?
A: McD's Bamboorgers.

Q: Why did the football-playing black Lab keep trying to eat and eat?
A: He wanted to become a wide Retriever.

Q: Where do seals go to get discount Chinese oysters?
A: Walrus*Mart.

Q: What do you call a skinny tusked seal?
A: A columnrus.

Q: What do you call a tusked seal out in a field?
A: A fencerus.

Q: Why did the Eurasian badger have no headfur?
A: Meles pattern baldness.

Q: How did the dolphin feel when he came home to find his wife wearing a lace teddy and holding a feather?
A: Tickled pinkbellied.

Greetings all. Here's your @Action News survey for this week. If there were a Spindizzy TV show, what would it be like?

• Argon says, "Bob Barker would be the host."
• Gilead chirps, "It'd be like a nature documentary, only with more puns."
• Guest1 says, "probably like 24."
• Royce churrs, "I imagine something like one of those old nature documentaries with the cheesy background music, and coma-inducing narrator. And also a laugh track that kicks in at inappropriate times."
• Fermata says to Ba'ar, "Pancake Mountain or Red Dwarf."
• Carl thinks a SpinDizzy TV show would be a lot like that PBS show with the sloth called, 'Big Big World.'
• Cora growls,"I'd have to say a soap opera, telling about the daily lives and loves of SDers."
• Sally says, "Like Spindizzy, I'd imagine."

OS arguments are brought to a quick end on SpinDizzy thanks to the area's cartoon nature.

Got something that You'd like to contribute to @Action News, but aren't sure if You should, or how to do it? Just get in touch with Argon, Skyler, or Findra, and they'll be happy to help! Here are some basic guidelines, though.

Contributing a story or artwork for @Action News is easy! Just send it to newspaper@spindizzy.org, or qmail/pagemail Argon, Findra, or Skyler, with Your article!

• @Action News is published weekly sometime on Sunday.
• Articles received after midnight Pacific time on Saturday may be held and published in the next edition of @Action News.
• Most any type of story or article of interest to SpinDizzy's newspaper readers will be accepted. Generally, we'd prefer things that aren't out and out lies or flames about other folks, and have a basis in the reality of SpinDizzy.
• Things that occur in public areas are fair game.
• The things reported don't have to have actually happened, (any more than anything that happens here does,) but make sure You don't overstep the social boundaries and rules of interaction that we have.

These are pretty broad guidelines, but we expect good sense to apply.

Thanks!

Argon
Editor - @Action News