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SpinDizzians are preparing for this Friday, which, being the 13th day of the month makes it Friday the 13th. Considered an "unlucky day" by some, most folks think of the day as just another date on the calendar. However there are those who suffer from paraskevidekatriaphobia, an unreasonable fear of the date.

The tales of "bad Luck" on Friday the 13th have been around for years and years. And many theories of why the date is considered unlucky have been put forward. Some studies have found that there is an increase in "bad luck" for some folks on this date. However these instances of bad luck could be interpreted as just bad luck, and have no relation to the date.

Here on SpinDizzy, there has been little talk about the upcoming Friday. It's possible many are not even aware of its eminent arrival. Past history has shown that for the most part, this date's occurance in the has resulted in little or no "bad luck" that has effected the community.

However, things change. So it's possible that this Friday the 13th could be the one to be unlucky. So be careful! Don't walk under ladders, be wary of black cats, ask a centaur to give you a horse shoe for good luck and resist the temptation to carry a rabbit's foot. If you find a four leaf clover, you'll probably not have bad luck at all. Be careful on Friday, and you'll probably have no bad luck at all.

A few comments about the Yugioh tv show brought about the following exchange. I've had to made some edits and change a few exchanges (noted by putting them in parentheses) to keep the article "family friendly.

Gilead wraps his tail around his muzzle and snickers at the dialogue in Yugioh.
Darius puts on his yugioh hair
Darius says, "Gilead! I challange you to a d-d-d-d-d-d-duel!"
Argon dodges the spikes.
Skyler ohs?
Darius says, "I will play the dreaded red panda slippers in DEFENNSE mode! (Grabs skyler and tosses him in the middle of the garden)"
Nikon meeps and clings to Skyler.
( 2000 Life Points )
Darius snickers
Darius puts a paw up to reposition his hair.
Skyler says, "I'm as confused as you are."
( +500 points for douple point hair adjust. )
Gilead plays The Disturbingly Androgynous Villain, in mating mode.
Darius reaches into his deck "and with my fuzzy heart stapler, my panda slipper's life points are doubled!
Darius yays!
Darius wants Gilead's card.
Gilead giggles.
Gilead puts a card face down on the field.
Skyler says, "Oh! Action cribbage!"
Argon watches storm clouds gather.
Borris plays his "Hippo Charging Card!"
Darius gahs at Borris!
Darius says, "thats it! I will play the most dangerous card ever!"
Darius pulls out a card, and tosses it into the playing field. "I play...kyutte cuddwwy fewwet! in attack mode!" a huge, fluffy white ferret, with an aura of unmistakable cuddlyness and awe inspiringness appears in the middle of the garden.
Darius says, "it's Gilead's one weakness!"
Darius says, "That and lots of fish"
Skyler's right half asks guardedly, "Do we win?"
Darius laughs
Darius says, "I think so."
Borris Plays Elmirya the Pet Snuggler Card to Attack the Cuddwwy Fewwet!
Darius nooooooo!
Darius watches as Elmirya is eaten! Darius says, "mwahaha!"
Darius says, "The ferret is really a subdimensial illusional...dragon horse cyborg rocket hyenavampire demon!"
Gilead eeps.
Darius giggles madly.
Gilead puts another card face down on the field.
Darius says, "Or..its just really hungry."
( Elmirya goes "How Sweet!" and Huggle snuggles tight! )
( The ferret..thing...goes squee, then booms! Darius looses 4000 life points. )
( The storm clouds circling the play deck turn red and purple. )
Borris says, "sorry, its a last ditch card, and leaves big messes."
Darius gaspos! "Could it be....!?!" He goes into a ranting 5 minute monologue about some sort of card, Egyptian gods, and his mother. all the while, time stands still.
Argon snickers.
Darius comes out of his trance like state, and lays one card face down, while drawing another. "I play...generic card monster card!" a large skeletal dragon wizard thing pops out of nowhere and stands there looking bored.
Borris Ahs and plays the "Giant Polar Bear with Mallet Card"
Darius says, "Um..mr..skeleton..dragon..wizard guy. like attack him or something."
( The strange creature shoots a rainbow out of his fingertips at Gilead. it starts to rain candied mackerel. )
Gilead nibbles.
Darius gahs!
(Giant Polar Bear, Mallets the Skelton into Bone Meal! )
Argon gasps!
Darius says, "No! My opponent is too strong! He posesses an inner strength, an aura that nothing can break. I must not be drinking enough milk!"
Darius sobs. "That was a 26 dollar card!
Gilead turns one of his cards face up! It was "Gutter Drunk" who begins to produce a rainbow of spew, grossing out all other cards and making them regret their college days when they see what they look like.
Borris plays "Vodka Still" to counter "Gutter Drunk"!
Darius noooos and wails mournfully! "This game makes me question my sexuality. Why oh why must I continue with this madness." he spins around, his hair cutting a branch off the tree.
Darius reaches to play his face down card.
Darius takes a commercial break to apply 3 more cans of extra hold hairspray to his diamond cutting hairdo.
Gilead plays (lustful) Hillbilly, in Deliverance mode.
Darius spends the next 4 minutes in a flash back to tell what his 5 minute monologue was about.
Borris plays "(Lascivious Happy Eskimo)."
Darius eeps and flips over the card. Its....."OJ simpson!"
Darius plays another card. "And I also play....
Darius says, "The dreaded....." Borris plays "Slow White Bronco" thus Slowing OJ to a crawl!
Darius says, "Disco Alan greenspan!"
Gilead plays "Anger Vein on Forehead," causing all game play to be delayed until next week!
( Alan greenspan in a shining green leasure suit pops onto the field in an explosion of sparks and beegees music. )
Darius snickers.
( -2000 interest points. )
Darius strikes a 7 minute dramatic pose.
Nikon blinks...
Nikon says softly, "This will get in the paper, I'm sure."
Darius says, "This is not over PeGiliad!"
Darius says, "Yu-dar-iuo will win this battle and get back the 6 pieces of the belgium waffle helmet!"
Gilead chirps, "Sadly, it never does seem to end."
Borris plays the "Blonde Disco Skating Bimbo" to distract Alan Greenspan!
Darius awwws.
Darius hahs! Alan greenspan is a robot. your "women" have no hold on him!
Darius slides paw into his deck and pulls out a card in an explosion of blue lightning! "Haha! I play...the Stephen Hawkings McDonalds playset!"
Gilead plays, "Straight Fashion Consultant" causing Darius to dress like a normal schoolkid for once.
Darius puts up his fab 5 clothing defense card.
Gilead grins as Darius activates its trap potential. It doesn't really exist, and sucks up a monster off the field to fill the void.
Darius noooos! Darius watches as Alan Greenspan goes poof.
Darius says, "you leave me no choice...."
Borris waits
Darius reaches into his deck, and pulls out three cards. he places two of them face down, and plays the other one. "I summon.....Noland Bushnell!"
( An older man with a beard and a bit of a belly appears in the middle of the field. )
Borris says, "Who?"
Darius [OOC] Founder of Atari
Darius says, "Noland Bushnell! Aattack... with PONG!"
Borris counters with the "Ping" card!
( Two huge rectangles fall from the sky, one on either side of the ring. and then a giant white card falls from the sky and plops in the middle, and gets batted back and forth )
Gilead places "Screaming hordes of spoiled birthday brats demanding pizza and tokens" on the field in Tantrum mode. "I know your weaknes, Dar-i-oh! Bushnell also founded Chuck E. Cheese's."
Darius watches the square bat away some of the children, but they are too much....
Darius grumbles at Gilead. He flips over one of the face down cards, revealing....a puppy!
Darius ahahs! Then erfs as the puppy wanders around the arena, looking lost.
Borris says, "Poor Puppy"
Darius grumbles. "I knew I shouldn't have bought the cuddly animal friends booster pack!"
Gilead plays "White pug dog that used to be a black dog with a long nose." No puppy is safe...
Darius says, "you give me no choice but to do the one thing...that causes hte most dramatic tension!" Skyler says, "Bye, everyone!" Darius plays the one card. its the dreaded "lets-extend-the-story-arc-of-one-battle-into-15-episodes" card.
Nikon says softly, "Ah the DBZ card"
Darius knows that the only thing gilead can use to counter this is the dreaded "lets replace one show for another with a similair premise" card.
Gilead turns over his trap card. It's a TV remote, and puts on something that doesn't make him retch.
Darius gasps! "waiiiiit!" He, and everything else dissapears. But he haunts Gilead. in every other commercial. in every gaming magazine. in every streetcorner, supermarket, video store and school. Dar-i-oh is everywhere!
Darius says, "Till next time...Pegiliad!"
Darius shakes his fist!
Nikon idly wonders what to do with this card games log...
Gilead chirps, "Put it in the paper."
Gilead hugs Argon! snug Argon gently snugs Gilead back.

And I did!

Hello and welcome back to In Step With, a series of articles about your local Spindizzy citizens. This week, we meet Charlie, local mouse/motorocyle.

Ba'ar growls, "Okay let's start. Our readers know about you and some have even met you 'in the pelt' as it were. For one thing, how long have you been here in Spindizzy?"

Charlie grins, "Well, I just got here a couple weeks ago, though I've heard good things about this place from friends."

Ba'ar growls, "It's a great place to be...very small and very intimate.."

Ba'ar growls, "What brought you to Spindizzy?"

Charlie says, "What brings anyone here? I was taking a long trip home and got somewhat lost, and ended up here."

Ba'ar growls, "It's a great place and I hope you've decided to stay."

Ba'ar smiles

Charlie grins back, "Oh, I have. Plenty of good people here."

Ba'ar growls, "Charlie, you're a curious combination of mouse and motorcycle. If you would, could you tell us how that came about?"

Charlie says, "Well, I was a pilot awhile back. Mostly stunt planes and vintage aircraft. During a show I lost control and crashed. I couldn't use my legs anymore so I went to a cyberneticist friend and had myself grafted into the bike you see here."

Ba'ar growls, "Did you always enjoy motorcycling? Is that why you chose to combine yourself with the bike?"

Charlie says, "Yeah. Mostly it's the combination of speed and grace, to me. Plus it's easier to get around in than if I grafted myself into an aircraft."

Ba'ar growls, "I was just about to ask about the advantages. Would you say the advantages include speed, grace and the ease of getting around?"

Charlie grins, "Yup. Though there are still times I wish I had gone for something more conventional like a pair of legs, I'm pretty happy with my bike."

Ba'ar growls, "Okay thanks. What are the disadvantages of having a bike grafted to your body?"

Charlie says, "Well, for one, I have to have the engine running constantly to be much use at all. Without the engine on I'm really slow and groggy. Then the smaller movements are harder or impossible. Ever try to sidestep with a pair of forword-rolling wheels?"

Ba'ar growls, "Good point. So how about fuel?"

Ba'ar growls, "Can you eat the same kind of food as before or do you have to consume a special kind of fuel for your motorcycle part?"

Charlie says, "Well, I do need some gasoline, but a good portion of my fuel comes from just what I eat. I do have to eat a lot more starch and protein now, but it's all good."

Ba'ar growls, "Interesting. So ..how have furs in general reacted to your form?"

Charlie says, "Well, back home a lot of friends and stuff were shocked. They wanted to know why I didn't choose something I could still fly with. Everyone else thought it was an interesting choice, but cybernetic replacements were fairly normal so it wasn't a big deal. Now here I find it kinda funny that I'm actually quite normal for the furs here."

Ba'ar growls, "I know. You'll meet all kinds here... Now then...What are your hobbies?"

Charlie shrugs. "I dunno. I like to keep up to date with aircraft tech still. I like to hang out, and meet new furs. I see myself as mostly a laid-back kinda guy."

Ba'ar growls, "If you were made Spindizzy's king, what changes would you make?"

Charlie thinks about that for a little bit... "Well... First I'd paint the crown to match my bike, a nice blue and chrome design, then I'd require that everyone completely ignore the monarchy and just take the crown as little more than a fashion statement."

Ba'ar growls, "Would you do any paving to make it easier for you to get around?"

Charlie says, "Nah. I do just as well off-road as on. Heck, it's more fun to bounce around on a nice rocky trail than cruise on a paved road, sometimes."

Ba'ar growls, "Do you have any plans for the future?"

Charlie just leans back a little against the back seat. "Just gonna make myself a home here and settle in on this world."

Ba'ar growls, "Good idea. Now then...a few more...What secret fact or desire about you would surprise our readers?"

Charlie thinks on that for a second... "That I can turn water to wine? No... Wrong person. Lead to gold? Don't know alchemy. I dunno, I guess. They'll just have to find out over time."

Ba'ar smiles..."One more question before we go...Do you have any words of wisdom for our readers?"

Charlie grins, "Words of wisdom? Don't pull into a high-G dive in a vintage plane unless you know that maintenance is up to date, and then some."

Ba'ar grins, "Good advice. That concludes our interview for the paper. Thanks for your cooperation!

Charlie grins and offers his hand, "Thanks for inviting me."

Q: What do you call a honeycomb in Australia? A: Wall o' bees.

Q: What do you put on Australian sushi rolls to give them bite?
A: Walabi.

Q: What procyonid is most musical?
A: A Rockoon.

Q: What procyonid has the most annoying sound?
A: A Ringtone.

Q: What do you call a long-nosed procyonid that eats eucalyptus?
A: A Koalimundi.

Q: What kind of snake makes little shavings of cheese?
A: A Grater snake.

Q: What kind of snake defends things?
A: A Guarder snake.

Q: What kind of snake makes roads smooth?
A: A Grader snake.

Q: What kind of snake eats Belgian settlers in Africa?
A: A Boer constrictor.

Q: What kind of snake eats airplanes?
A: A Boeing constrictor.

Q: What kind of venomous snake is the world's toughest and meanest?
A: A ratelsnake.

"But you're my son no matter what form you take."

Back issues from a year and more ago. Remember when...?

• One Year Ago / Midnight in the Garden of Mushrooms
• Three Years Ago / Help Staff Survey

@Action News, SpinDizzy's weekly paper, apparently has a fairly healthy circulation, so we figured we'd show just how healthy it is.

Each week, as long as there's room. I'll show the 'hit graph' for the @Action News website.

Welcome to the latest edition of Bearing up, the advice column where Ba'ar (That's me!) has answers to your most challenging questions.

Dear Bearing Up,
I squeezed the Charmin. Should I turn myself in to Mr. Whipple?
- Scott

Dear Scott:
No. Here's a secret...Mr. Whipple actually LIKES to squeeze the Charmin.

Dear Bearing Up,
Who makes the best coffee?
- Max House

Dear Max House:
General Foods, of course!

Dear Bearing Up:
What's the best wood to use for a nice slow burning fire?
- Argon

Dear Argon:
Oaks.

Dear Bearing Up,
Was the War of the World's radio poof of 1938 actually broadcast from the future to the past which was the present then to warn us what will happen in the past now but what was then the future?
- Marvin

Dear Marvin:
No It was broadcast in 1938, which was the present then but now is the past.

Dear Bearing Up:
When I shower, should I put plastic bags over my big ears?
- K. Roo

Dear K. Roo:
Sure, if you don't want to wash them.

Dear Bearing Up:
As the leader of an evil organization, what should I get my mother for Mother's Day
- Dead Symbol

Dear Dead Symbol:
The best gift would be to disband your organization and turn your life around.

Dear Bearing Up:
The smiles on those people in the Enzyte commercial scare me. Where do they get such freaky looks?
- V. Iagra

Dear V. Iagra:
From Botox injections, of course.

Remember possums (to steal a term from Dame Edna ;-D), if you have any questions,please page mail me (Ba'ar) online or send mail to big_bear@operamail.com. Thanks.

This week, Argon asked, "I'm doing a survey for @Action News. The question this week is, 'Are you planning to see the new Star Wars movie in the theater?"

• Violet says, "Well, I'm probably not going to go see it in the theatre, since I didn't see the last one anyway and the one before that sorta ruined the myth for me."
• Ping squeaks, "Nope. No point."
• Tarka says, "Yes... yes I am. I'm going to loudly heckle it on the first night until they kick me out or I can blame it on someone else."
• Pa'hti headshakes, prolly gonna wait for da cheapy theater.
• Logan gruffs, "Perhaps, though definately not when it first opens."
• Ba'ar - My answer to the question is...Yes But I'll give it a few weeks until the crowds thin out.
• Aleu mrrs, "Oh heck yeah! I'm gonna wear my custom made storm trooper suit."
• Shady_Raccoony gruffs, "No, no, and no."
• Gilead chirps, "If I can find a way to get a free ticket."
• JayTee - Eventually, but I don't think I'll see it right away. And I'm certainly not camping out days before the film.
• Findra - Yes, I'm planning to see the new Star Wars movie in the theatre
• PatchO'Black mews, "Yes, I am."
• Casandro says, "Definitely not, The 4th to 6th part were already on TV in my country, and I don't like high budget sci-fi. I might be biased, but when the image went throught a computer costing more than $2000 chances are low that I find it good."
• Jac - Yes, I think I will see the new movie, it looks nice and dark so far!

Author D. V. newest release, _A Father and Son Seperated_ leads the top of the best seller list. Folks are lining up just to find out what is going to happen. Pre-order your copy today.

Today's location takes us, that's right back to the Rose Garden! Our quoter is that loving scottish moxie, Elissa.

Woohoo for all of you that got it right!

Going for a swim with Argon and Mavra almost turns tragic when Suri insists on wearing her zinc swimsuit!

Submitting a story or artwork for @Action News is easy! Just send it to newspaper@spindizzy.org or qmail or page Argon, Carl or SDN about it.
@Action News is published weekly on or after 12:01 AM Eastern Time on Sunday. Most any type of story or article 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