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Hard as it may be to believe, our little community has been running along now for nine years!

It hardly seems that long ago that its predecesor, Toons Furr and Fluff, and its data base faded away into the ether. But the hard work of a few have kept it going, and the efforts of many have made this a great place. Lots of friendly folks, fun things to do, and sadly, the loss of some friends and loved ones.

For this year's anniversary, the Rose Garden was set up for the celebration. In fact, if you looked around, you'd have seen that The Rose Garden is decorated for the anniversary weekend!

From the central fountain -- bubbling and damp as always -- spread out sections reminding one of many special occasions: the rock benches and small dinosaurs running about of Prehistoric Days; the flubbery ground bouncing underneath one's step in another section; the beds of roses made of candy stalks and icing petals which quiver nervously when approached through the pumpkins.

From out of the Rose Shore to the east the occasional octopus pokes up, and the less occasional column of water rises to the sky to let people swim in and out. Do be careful of the bottomless pit where aviation feats may be displayed. Steady drizzling rain nags at the north, while to the south, it's simply covered in snow. From the west is a pile of feathers deep enough to get one lost in; the Renaissance Fair is set up near the bulletin board; and soap bubbles and mirrors billow out of the north-northeast by half north. There's been a lot of activity over the years.

A face-painting booth, the Bunny Costume Box, a Giant Ball of Yarn, and the balloon vendor crowd about and add to the general air of all sorts of things happening to be going on.

Even some of the locals got into the spirit of the anniversary. Dolly, local balloon, wore a red latex suit that covered her whole body. It had a banner reading, "Happy Anniversary, SpinDizzy." and chewed latex like Doublr Rubber gum and blew party balloons. Even Suri, local lemur, made a speech vaguely associated with the celebration which is mentioned here.

Suri's Rosegarden Address

One score and four months ago, this Lemur brought forth upon the Spindizzy a new custom, conceived in maniacal zeal, and dedicated to the proposition all horses should be pickle-attacked.

Now we are engaged in a great National Pickle Attack Month, testing whether that holiday, or any holiday based on such a Lemur's whim, can long endure. It is now the last week of that month. We have come to dedicate that portion of the month to be National Pickle Attack Week, as a final opportunity to bepickle horses, that the holiday might be a success. It is altogether fitting and proper that we do this. Yet in an embiggened sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot picklefy, we cannot make cretumbrous, this week. Only the act of stuffing a pickle into a horse's ear can do that, far above the poor power of words to add or subtract. The world little knows, nor especially cares, what we do here, yet the horses of Spindizzy know and care when they are being persecuted with pickles.

Suri pulls a pickle forth from her hat! She brandishes it dramatically as she concludes her speech. "It is for us, the Spindizzians, to be dedicated here to the surrealistic agenda which their persecution has thus far so nobly advanced. It is for us to be here dedicated to the picklish task remaining before us - that we here highly resolve that this holiday shall have a new birth of cretumbrousness, and that the custom of stuffing pickles into horses' ears shall not perish from the Spindizzy!"

However. Borris, local polar bear, took the pickle from Suri and ate it. Suri snoofed. nonplussed. She grimbled, put her hat back on, and sat down again. "Never mind."

Speeches and pickles aside, it was nice to celebrate surviving another year and having our community grow even more. Here's to many more years of SpinDizzy!

The burgeoning political scene came to Spindizzy this week when Beltrami, local balloon dragon, announced her candidacy for the mayor's office. Reached for comment, the local balloon dragon told @Action News that she feels she's the best one for the job because no one cares for Spindizzy like she does and no one has more love to give.

The local balloon dragon already has some ideas for improvements, saying that were she elected she would improve relationships between Spindizzians everywhere and take steps to ensure that they work closer together.

The Society of Evil Doers (SED), as every SpinDizzian knows, has been a problem in the past. Beltrami didn't seem to worry about it however, saying that she would leave the SED, or what's left of it for that matter, alone.

As far as SD itself is concerned, Beltrami thinks that the realm is a little bit to bland and so has vowed to give the realm a fresh coat of paint as well as a makeover to make things more colorful and interesting.

In closing remarks Beltrami said she would be a friend to all and was always willing to receive and give hugs.

A conversation between Argon, local centaur and Austin, local Semirabbit semiraccoon Elastic Coati, concerning rumored repairs to the infrastructure of SpinDizzy, led to mention of Kern, local Clockwork inca tern, and Ing, local Imaginary Clockwork Raven.

Austin said, "I hadn't heard about something to the north specifically. I did see Kern looking at the anniversary Rose Garden and freaking out. So I'd left it running until they wrapped up the development."

Argon noted, "Eh, I like it. Sorry Kern was caused concern. I think he and the alleged Ing like things nice and lined up. Changes they haven't prepared for get them all a flutter. They like to keep things ticking like a clock."

Austin replied, "They were upset at different zones of time coming together. Kern saw the Rose Garden was all jumbled up like this, and got very upset about the timestreams merging, and started off on plans to fix this. I hadn't heard if it had fixed them."

Royce, local Senior Raccoon churred, "Say, this place runs on a 23-hour day, right? Well, I've been thinking... How would you make an analog clock that goes around twice in one day, but still have a 12 o'clock position?"

Toledo, local skunk, suggested the clock have an 11-1/2 hour circumfrence. Noon would still be at 12:00, but as the hours have fewer minutes and seconds ( 57 and a half second minutes acording to Austin,

Argon suggested that perhaps the length of the hours vary. Some are 115 minutes others 26."

Royce churred, "Oh, so then the numbers on an analog clock around here would have to be unevenly spaced. Yeah, I can definately see that."

To which the centaur replied, "Well, they may change from day to day. The clock face would have to adjust itself."

Royce summed it up by suggesting, "You know, it would probably be best to take all the numbers off, and mount the clock on a hub so you could spin the entire thing around on a whim, and you'd have no idea what time it's pointing to."

The discussion went on for... well, no one is really sure.

Citizens of Spindizzy were shocked recently when it was revealed that Ba'ar, local bear, was part centaur.

"It was the darnest thing." he was quoted as saying. "I went in for a routine physical and the blood work revealed that I actually have some centaur genes in me."

He speculated that this rather odd item stemmed from an attack ofTemporary Appendage Uplift Reiteration Syndrome or TAURS. that he'd suffered a few years back that had temporarily turned him into a bear taur. He added, "Now I know why centaurs like me so much. They know I'm one of them."

Despite this rather unusual development, Ba'ar was careful to point out that he didn't feel any different. "I still consider myself to be 100 percent bear." he is quoted as saying. "I still look like a bear of course and devour fish and honey like no one's business." Further pointing out that "I can't sleep standing up and I don't need any horseshoes to protect my hindpaws."

No one from the local centaur community was available for comment.

Editor's Note: The plush teddetaur pictured in this article is actually available for sale at The Toy Shoppe for $265.50. However it is a Steiff limited edition of 1500 and they're known for being of high quality so the price is within reason.

Elizabeth and I would like to invite y'all to a little Hallowe'en shindig we'llbe throwin' on Thursday, October 25, from 5-8PM SD time.

The location will be at the Kenyer es Sor Inn, in Hegy Falu, Keresztulerdo. Directions: Luge S5 E4, [E]nter [F]orest, [Ea]st, [Ea]st, [V]illage [G]ate, [Inn].

Hope to seeya there! Stay shiny!

It's time for another caption challange!

Mama dog had only one puppy, and three tiger kitten cubs at the zoo had no mama at all. So mama dog is looking after the cubs. What caption should go with this picture?

Keep in mind, please, that there are no right or wrong answers. The captions don't have to be serious or funny or... well, they can be anything. Just keep them somewhat Family Friendly please.

So have some fun thinking up a caption, or just send the first thing that comes to mind. Usually I find the first thought usually is the best. Put it in an e-mail and send it to newspaper@spindizzy.org or to argon1@mindspring.com or simply page mail it to me.

Thanks!

Argon Editor, @Action News

Welcome, lads and lassies, to another dose of comic book knowledge. This time, we will be looking at a lesser-known hero, but one that has a rather unique and illustrious history. Actually, we will be looking at three heroes who shared the name of Doctor Mid-nite! Prepare for an injection of crime-fighting fun!

The first Doctor Mid-Nite was a surgeon named Charles McNider. His story really begins with him taking care of the witness of a crime who had been shot. The mobster, one "Killer" Maroni, tried to take out the witness by throwing a hand grenade into the room with the good doctor. As a result, Dr. McNider was blinding. Of course, he figured his career and possibly his life was over, when fate stepped in in the form of an owl that crashed through his window. Rather than inspire him to take on the form of an owl (that only happens when bats are involved), he removed the bandages from his eyes to discovered he could see in the darkness of night as though it was the middle of the day. He did what anyone of us would do if we discovered such an unusual talent. He donned a costume and became a crime-fighter!

Doctor Mid-Nite came up with a couple of items that added him in his battle against evil. First, he invented special pair of goggles that filtered out light, allowing him to work during the day as well as the dark of night. He also created what he called "blackout bombs", special smoke-bombs that would darken a room, blinding others while he could still see with his special form of sight. Lastly, he adopted the owl, named it Hooty, and then trained it to be used in a variety of tasks, such as dropping the previously mentioned blackout bombs from above to surprise his enemies.

Doctor Mid-Nite first captured the man who robbed him of his sight, then went on to become a valued member of the Justice Society of America. He and the rest of the Justice Society at one point were thrown into Limbo, and when they escaped, they were given a gift of slowed aging. Unfortunately, eventually, Doctor Mid-Nite faced an opponent that caused this gift to be removed, causing him to age rapidly. He suffered a heart attack, and died.

While Doctor Mid-Nite did not have any children that we know of, two others became the heirs to his name. The first successor was a young african-american woman by the name of Dr. Beth Chapel. Blinded by an oxygen explosion, which caused her to be affected in the same manner as the original Doctor Mid-Nite. However, Dr. Chapel apparently felt that spelling was more important that her inspiration, and went by the name Doctor Midnight. Her career was short-lived, unfortunately, and she was killed on a mission against the dark-themed villain, Eclipso.

The current Doctor Mid-Nite is Pieter Anton Cross, a doctor who ran a free clinic. He decided to investigate a new street drug called A39. The corrupt company that was producing it decided to get revenge by drugging Dr. Cross, which caused him to get into a car accident which killed a woman. As you might have guessed, once again the accident results in a medical professional that can see in the dark. However, this Doctor Mid-Nite really steps up his game by remembering the first part of his handle is "Doctor". He carries a wide variety of high-tech medical equipment and supplies in his belt and special gauntlets he wears. This has included a laser scalpel, liquid bandages, quick-setting casting materials, medicines and antidotes. Another interesting quality to this version of Doctor Mid-Nite is that, while most fictional doctors seem to lean toward being pacifists, Dr. Cross is not afraid to use force and to do what needs to be done. While he has not been shown to use deadly force, on one occasion, when he found that the eyes of another hero had been stolen and implanted in another man, he had no reservations removing the eyes again to return them to their original owner. However, he is also a vegetarian and practices yoga, so he isn't all dark and gritty. He also trained an owl and named it "Hooty" after the original. He currently works with the latest version of the Justice Society of America, and shines as a super-hero field medic, surgeon, and all-around medical expert.

And that's it for this examination! Remember, if you have a comic book question that is ailing for an answer, or a topic suffering from not being discussed, just send it to us here at the ol' Four-Kolor Kitty! Until then, see you in the funny pages!

Q: What do you call pickled guinea pig ova?
:A Cavy-ar.

Q: What do you call it when a guinea pig moves through water so fast a partial vacuum forms behind it?
:A Cavy-tation.

Q: What was one of the Village Guinea Pigs' greatest hits?
:A In the Cavy.

Q: What do you call a guinea pig with an airplane?
:A A Cavyator.

Q: What do you call a guinea pig food that makes its own sauce when you add water?
:A Cavy Train.

Q: What do you call a guinea pig with a hankering for White Castle burgers?
:A A Cravy.

Q: What do you call a show about a stop motion guinea pig and a dog learning Christian values?
:A Cavy and Goliath.

Q: What do you call party-sale makeup for guinea pigs?
:A Mary Cavy.

Q: Why did the guinea pig go to the dentist?
:A To get her cavy-ties filled.

Greetings all, Ba'ar here with your Spindizzy @Action News survey for this week. Name a food that you like the least.

• Kit_Skyfire says, "Pork Rinds... Nasty looking stuff."
• Niran hmms a bit,"Okra!"
• Shoe barks, "Chicken."
• Darius says, "German potato salad."
• Fermata says to Ba'ar, "I would have to say fat from meat."
• Argon says, "Oh gee, most any cooked green vegatable. Broccoli in particular. Yuck!"
• PatchO'Black mews, "Ah, I know. Lutefisk."
• Ba'ar growls, "I don't like cooked broccoli and cauliflower. Ironically I love them raw, especially when served with dip."
• Borris Gruffs, "And I hope I spell it right 'Zuccini'."
• DTF ponders "Hm... food I like the least. When mother throws together all the leftovers in the fridge with some elbow macaroni and a can of peas and calls it "Casserole"
• Raphael hmms, "I don't like beans.. no, I hate beans. Just the northern/navy/whatever beans.. I like other types."
• Dingo says, "Mushrooms!"
• Gilead chirps, "Thermally denatured - ie cooked - fish."
• Leowulf says, "I don't really care for black olives."
• Toledo says, "Fried zucchini."

If you want to know who I think I portrayed, a larger copy of the drawing is available with the names. There's also a larger version of just the drawing .

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