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"Groovy Day", one of the SpinDizzy specific holidays Beltrami and Portia developed, was celebrated last week.

Some folks took the idea to heart and dressed in their finest 60's and 70's clothing. Bell bottoms, wide collared shirts and a general feeling of coolness permiated the air. Although the idea was more to enjoy the mental and spiritial ideas of the groove culture, the residents seemed to stop a bit short of that and for the most part, just ended up dressing the parts. Although a 'mod' bunny was certainly an eye opener.

Those that did get involved enjoyed the concept and their participation, and although certain actions involved with hippies which altered perceptions were discussed, no such activity was observed. Who knows what effect the next SpinDizzy holiday will have? No matter, it will surely be fun and cause some conversation.

A group of SpjnDizzians gathered to riff on two of the Presidential debates and on the Vice-Presidential debates held in Argon, local centaur's, home country of America back on planet Earth. As a number of SpinDizzians are from their or have an interest in what those silly human are up to, rather sizable groups showed up for the fun.

For the first of these, several folks in the Rose Garden mentioned they were watching the V. P. debate and as no one seemed to mind, comments and jokes about the debate soon started flying fast and funny. Soon a full-fledged MiSTing of the even was taking place.

With other debates occuring, Argon loosely organised two more of these Debate MiSTings in Centaur Square. A number of folks interested in riffing on the candidates showed up and everyone had fun. Argon asked that folks joke about the candidates' performances rather than their politics, and for the most part, everyone did. Although some personal opinions on the candidates' policies came through, no fist fights or flame wars occured and everyone was respectful of the opinions of others.

Argon mentioned he may have an Election Night MiSTING just to riff on CNN or Fox's coverage of the election. The centaur stated that moderate celebrations will certainly be allowed if your candidate wins.

Zoie, local raccoon, was asking how to appear to poke out of and retreat into her tree in the Rose Garden when visiting there. A bit of research discovered the following article written by Butterfluff.

The help file for gohome is cleverly concealed as "look gohome"

The message you probably want to set is the @osuccess -- the message that others see as you leave.

@set me=gohome/osucc:<message> is the format. Remember, the muck will put your name in front of your @osuccess message. If you aren't sure if you have it right, ask a friend to watch you gohome.

The other messages you can set are:

@set me=gohome/succ: <Message you see as you leave for home>
@set me=gohome/drop <Message you see as you arrive home>
@set me=gohome/odrop <Message those in your home see as you arrive> (This message also has your name in front of it, automatically.)

Now you can gohome in style!

Local Spindizzians may be surprised to learn that Patcho'black, local jellicle cat, had a cameo recently in the webcomic 'Roo'd Awakening'.

Patchy expressed surprise that Wallaroo would pick him for the comic. "I know Wallaroo from here (Spindizzy) and some webcomic forums, but I had no idea he wanted me to make a guest appearence in his own strip until he pointed me to it."" he is quoted as saying. He didn't have an idea of exactly why he was chosen however.

Patchy did say that this wasn't his first appearance in comics, noting of his appearance in one of the Halloween themed West Corner of the Park strips several years ago and a more recent appearance in the webcomic 'Freefall', where he showed up on a bag of coffee (no word on whether it was catnip laced coffee on this last).

Patchy wasn't paid for his appearance, but this meant nothing to him, saying that " I am more than happy to be a part of the strip." and adding that "I am always honored when someone decides to feature me in their art."

Patchy does plan future appearances in webcomics. saying that he would be appearing in another webcomic (though he didn't say exactly what one) very soon.

For those that weren't watching the debate, the alternative was the SED 500. There were many great racers but in the end the lead was shared by two drivers, Morticon and Argon. Despite the tough race, it was decided in the pits as Argon was able to get all fours changed out while Morticon had a flat behind him. Despite the "need for change", Morticon kept it close with excellent streaming from his other SED teammates and a bit of unexpected help from the #78 Zoie Oktoberfest Bier car, being smashed into the wall by #23 Twinkie Car, taking out 8 others with it.

However in the end, it was decided at the last turn, Morticon tried to pass below the yellow line and was caught on it, giving Argon the cup! Argon gave no interview due to him being swarmed by his many centaur friends and assistants with Morticon strangely absent as well.

A spokesperson for Morticon came forward and spoke to Spindizzy News stating that he is challenging the ruling and shall regain the SED Cup from the victor.

This story was created based off the following far poses between Morticon and Argon:

Morticon races Argon, from afar!
Argon wins the race with Morticon, afar!

(Note that this little RP was based on, "If you give a mouse a cookie, by Laura Joffe Numeroff" which Argon wasn't familiar with but Zen was.)

One day, a mouse by the name of Zen decided to visit a good friend of his. Argon was a centaur that lived very far away from the mouse, so the mouse was exhausted by the end of the trip!

When Zen saw his friend, they smiled and talked, but Zen soon felt his stomach rumble. He turned to Argon and smiled softly. "Can I have a cookie?" Argon smiled and said, "Oh sure..." He opened a cabinet and pulls out a bag of sugarless gingersnaps, "Here you go." Zen eeks and blehs at the cookies... They were hard to eat alone. "Can I have some milk too?" Argon smiled and nodded, he said, "Sure, Zen." Argon opened the fridge and brought out a big half-gallon jug of milk. He got a glass out of the cabinet and filled it up.

The centaur set it on the table and pulled out a chair for the mouse, "Here, have a seat, Zen." The mouse sat down and drank the milk, but soon found his front teeth getting too cold! "Thank you... oh... do you have a straw too?" The kind centaur smiled, "Sure." Argon rummaged around in a drawer and finds a bendy straw! He handed it to Zen, who squeeks and thanks his good friend!

He finished and smiled, "Tehehe... Do you have a mirror? I think I have a milk mustache!" Argon thought for a second and then said, "Uh, wait..." He finds a napkin and gave it to Zen, who squeeked and looked in a mirror, and cleaned himself up, "Thanks! Oh dear..." Argon chuckled and smiled at the mustache, "Heh, it's perfectly natural." Zen smiled and chuckled a little at the joke.

Sen smiled and then stated why he squeeked! "I need a trim! Do you have any nail scissors?" Argon says, "Er... uh, let me go look." Argon went down the hall of his house and from the back of his house, he said "Will nail clippers do?" Zen nodded and shouted back, "Sure thing!" Argon brought out a set of nail clippers, "There you go." Zen squeeked and smiled, trimming up his fur a little and then he squeekd! "Oh no... do you have a broom? I need to clean up." Argon looked around, "Clean up what?" The mouse chuckled and says, "My fur! Hehe, My fur needed a trim!" Argon chuckled, "Oh, don't worry. I'll get it when I vacuum." Zen headshaked and squeeked, "I’m a good guest! I don’t make messes and let you pick them up." Argon chuckled softly and smiled back, "I'm a good host. I don't make my guests work when they visit." Argon smiled kindly at his young friend. Zen grinned and hmms... He pulled out a small cloth and starts cleaning up the fur, "Ok.. I'll just use my tooth brush then." Argon looks at the mouse and says, "No no... wait..."

Argon went around the corner and got the vacuum cleaner, "Here.. step back." Zen stepped back, but started cleaning the kitchen as Argon vacuums! Argon cleaned up the fur and cookie crumbs.

The centaur finished and put the vacuum away. He returns and sees Zen sweeping the ceiling, "Er... what are you doing?" Zen squeeked and pants, seemingly he washed all the tables, dusted, and even hand-washed a pile of shirts!

"Whew... I'm tired... " he said. "Do.. Do you have a pillow and blanket, I need a small nap!"

The centaur raised an eyebrow and said, "Zen! You've done too much. Come out here to the media room." Zen nodded, "Aww... can I take just a small nap? It's really nothing." The kind and silly mouse smiles at his friend, glad to help. Argon put a pillow on the couch and found a comfy quilt, "Here, take a rest. Would you like a snuggly teddy bear?" Zen smilesd and crawled up there and snuggles all.

"Thanks!" said Zen, "Actually...can you read me a quick story?" He pulls out a picture book, "The tree blind mice?" Argon says, "Er, sure Zen. Ah, here's a nice teddy bear for you Zen." Argon puts a GrumpyBear on the couch with Zen. The mouse smiled at Argon! "Thanks!" he looked and tried to see all the pictures and nuzzled the plush bear. Zen then squeeked at Argon, "I got an idea! Do you have any crayons?" Zen smiled, "I need paper and crayons!" Argon looks at the mouse and smiled after first reading some of the story. "Oh, once upon a time there were three mice. Funny thing about these mice was they couldn't see trees! They could see everything else just fine, but their noses were bruised from walking into the trees they couldn't see... er, crayons?" The mouse chuckled and nodded his head. "I wanna draw a picture!"

The centaur looked around and thought, "Well... uh... hang on..." Argon went back and returned with a pad of art paper and some colored pencils, "I don't have any crayons but I have these." He held out the pencils to the mouse. Zen took the pencils and drew a picture of a centaur and a mouse! "Oh... now I just need a pen to write my name!"

Argon says, "Well, ok." The mouse smiled and thanked Argon again, "Aww.. thanky so much!" Argon smiled kindly at the kind mouse, "My pleasure." Zen smiled and held his paw out, Argon gave Zen a pen. Zen signs his name on the picture, "Hehe.. can we hang it on the fridge? We'll need duct tape!"

Argon thought and then smiled, knowing duct tape wouldn't be necessary, "I have some magnets."

Zen nodnoded and yayed! "Ok!" He handed Argon the picture and smiled. Zen nuzzled his friend, "Heh, the picture is of you and me!" Argon smiled and put the picture on the refrigerator with a couple of magnets and then looked at his friend. Zen smiles, "You know what? All this is making me kind of hungry... can I have a cookie?"

Hence, this is why you never give a mouse a cookie.

Hey all!

It's that time again and welcome back to Zoie's lil classic gaming.

This week is a classic gem I'd like to call "Shining Force". No, its not the grinding hack 'n slash that they turned it into the past few years, though I have to do give them credit for making the latest installment a true strategy based RPG.

This is truly the Spindizzy of RPGs, it has flying squid, werewolves, centaurs, dragons, humans, dwarves, elves and even a Gilead... I mean Yogurt the Jogurt (a helmed otter mascot).

You start off as Max (or whomever you wish to name the hero) in the city of Guardiana training with Velios, one of the greatest centaur knights. Soon you discover that Runefaust is trying to get the key to open up the Gate of the Ancients, so Nova, whom becomes your advisor, recommends a young but talented team (yes, I know the theme gets repeated quite a bit) led by Max. to stop them, the king dubbing them "The Shining Force" (much to the jealousy of the Centaur Knights and the Pride of Velios). However, it seems like you're too late and you must fight off the forces of Runefaust as they get the key, kill the king and Velios, yet with Guardiana barely surviving and winning the battle, with the war far from over.

You, as the heroes, always seem to be a step behind Runefaust in stopping them completely, but as you progress, you help various people, towns and countries become free of their countrol as well as gain various allies. Always by his side are Lowe, a warrior cleric, Hans the bowman, Tao, the firey mage and Ken, the knight with TOO much energy. Soon, they will be supported by even stronger forces and even surprises along the way.

You need to be VERY careful about catching allies, because you might miss them. You can get your first new ally, Gong, by leaving the first battle and going to the hut nearby. Don't forget to talk to our helmed otter or you can't get him later.

As you progress, the story unfolds even more... taking you beneath sewers, through moving towns and even into the depths of the underworld.

The story keeps you interested and being able to "egress" out of battles and restart them helps with a bit of level grinding when you get lesser experienced members that will become even MORE powerful than you can imagine (coughArthurcoughcough).

I would highly recommending DLing this game if you have a Wii or if you can fidn it by Ebay for the Sega genesis, I'd HIGHLY recommend it. Love yuns,

Zoie!

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the newspaper this week!

Special thanks go to:

Argon, for the report on "Groovy Day,
Argon again, for the story about MiSTing the debates,
Butterfluff, a friend we still miss, for helping Zoie find how to set arrival and go home messages,
Ba'ar, for the report on Patch O'Black's appearance in a web comic,
Zoie, for the report on a race between Argon and Morticon,
Argon and Zen for telling about cookies and mice,
Zoie, for her article on classic gaming,
Patch O'Black, for telling us about temps in the Fantastic Four, Gilead, for his puns, Ba'ar, for the survey,
and, Argon and Harvey Comics for a "Groovy" cartoon.

Greetings and welcome again to the Four-Kolor Kitty. Now, most folks know about the Fantastic Four, sometimes called the First Family of Super-heroes. This team is made up of the elastic and world-class genius Dr. Reed "Mr. Fantastic" Richards; his wife, Sue "Invisible Woman" Storm-Richards, her brother Johnny "The Human Torch" Storm, and their good friend, Ben "The Thing" Grimm. As rock-solid as this group is, especially Ben, there have been times when one or more members of the team has had to take a leave of absence. So, let's look in on the substitute members of the Fantastic Four!

Actually, in the early days, a couple of folks attempted to make the Fantastic Four into the Fantastic Five. The first was a humorous suggestion by the F.F.'s mailman, Willie Lumpkin, that if they needed another member, he would be willing to step in. He admitted he didn't really have any great super-powers, but he could at least wiggle his ears really well! While Willie never made the official roster, he has always been considered one of the family.

Another would-be fifth member was the web-slinger, Spider-Man. At one point early in his carrier, he needed to get some extra funds to pay some bills for Aunt May. Noticing that the Fantastic Four didn't seem to be suffering from a lack of ready cash, he paid a surprise visit to the Baxter Building to demonstrate his abilities. Unfortunately, he learns that the F.F. is strictly not-for-profit, and is sent off.

The first real time when a member of the Fantastic Four needed to be replaced is when Sue need to take some time off, as she felt that being in the spotlight as a super-hero was damaging her relationship with Reed. She was replaced by a member of a reclusive group of super-powered people known as the Inhumans, and thus did Medusa join the Fantastic Four for a time. Ironically, Medusa first meet the F.F. as a super-villianess, but she had amnesia at the time, so it wasn't her fault. Her super-power, that of having hair that not only prehensile, but elastic-al and nearly indestructible, served her well until Sue was ready to return to the team.

The next substitution would occur on one of the occasions when Ben Grimm would return to his human form for a while. When this happened, Reed Richards hired one Luke Cage, AKA Power Man, to pick up the slack. While Power Man was strictly an employee, his tenure was marked by his being taken over by reoccurring F.F. foe, the Puppet Master. He was let go after Reed invented a strength-enhancing armored "Thing suit" for Ben. Luke Cage, however, has nothing but good things to say about his time in the F.F., noting "They always paid me on time".

When Sue became pregnant with her first child, she of course needed some time off. Once again, a member of the Inhumans stepped in to help. This time it was Crystal, who controlled both the elements as well as Johnny Storm's heart at the time. At first, Reed Richards was unsure about having the untested girlfriend of the Torch as a member, but after she helped stop the attacks of the Wingless Wizard, she proved she was worthy of wearing the "4". Eventually, however, it turned out that exposure to the pollution found outside of the Inhumans' retreat was killing her, and she was forced to give up her membership.

When The Thing found out at the end of the Secret Wars, discovered that he could change back to his human form on the patchwork planet that was the backdrop for the mini-series, he elected to stay behind. Taking his place this time was the sensational She-Hulk. The gamma-powered amazon provided both power and beauty to the group, though sometime even the unstable molecules in the gloves of her uniform couldn't take the strain of her punches! She stayed on when Ben returned to Earth, but left the team for some soul searching. Eventually, though, The Thing would return to the team, of course, though She-Hulk has always been willing to lend a hand when needed.

When Sue and Reed decided to try and raise their son in a more "normal" setting, Ben became the team leader. To fill in for the gap, Crystal was once again tapped, along with a hero that Ben had met during his previous time away from the team, known as Ms. Marvel. Unfortunately, during Ms. Marvel's time with the group, she got hit by cosmic rays, like those that originally empowered the F.F., and mutated into a distaff version of The Thing. Naturally, she began calling herself She-Thing. The Fantastic Four, being family, helped her through this transformation, always treating her as a lady.

More recently, Sue and Reed needed some time off to reconcile and work on their marriage after the events of the Civil War story-line threatened to tear the team apart. Fortunately, two friends of the family were available to tag in. The Black Panther proved to have both the physical fitness as well as the intellect to sub for Dr. Richards, while his new bride, Ororo, better known as Storm, covered for Sue. The two showed that they brought both the needed "family" feel to the team and the seasoned super-hero knowledge that made them a perfect replacement while the Richards rekindled the romance in their marriage.

It would be inexcusable, though, not to mention a time when all four members of the Fantastic Four went missing. When that happened, an unofficial replacement team banded together to try and fill their shoes. This group was made up of Spider-Man, the popular mutant Wolverine, the gray version of The Hulk, and the supernatural Ghost Rider. This was done as something of an in-joke, as these characters were, at the time, some of Marvel's most popular and were being used in numerous cross-overs and guest appearances to boost sales. Even the cover of that issue proclaims it "The World's Most Commercialest Comic Magazine."

And that will do it for this look at the Fantastic substitutes! Remember, if you have a comic book question or topic that you would like to see in a future edition of Four-Kolor Kitty, just send it along to me, Patch O'Black. Until next time, see you in the funny pages.

Q: What do you call a cat that thinks it may want to live in the jungle canopy, but isn't quite sure?
A: A Marbicurious.

Q: What do you call an extinct big cat with really teensy, puny canine teeth?
A: A Frownodon.

Q: How does a wolf stripper optimize her tip income?
A: She gives private loup dances at $20 a pop.

Q: What do you call a liquid fox?
A: A gravyxen.

Q: What can you say about a todd who's getting all dressed up?
A: He's probably fixin' to land a vixen.

Q: What's the world's most pessimistic canine?
A: The Mexican't Wolf.

Q: Why are arctic foxes white in winter?
A: Because above the arctic circle, for six months they can't vix-sun themselves to maintain a tan.

Q: What's the world's most painful feline?
A: A paper cat.

Q: What did they call Shakespeare's dog?
A: The Bark of Avon.

Q: How can you tell that a dog has a gambling problem?
A1: When he sits down at the poker table and immediately starts wagering his tail.
A2: He sits down at the poker table a lot even when nobody's painting a picture of it.
A3: He'd rather roll the bones than eat them.

Q: When is a cat not a cat?
A: When it's a ringtail cat.

Q: How do you turn a cat into a procyonid?
A: Give it to a miner, so it becomes a miner's cat.

Q: Why did the fox become a procyonid?
A: He was fired.

Q: What do you get when you cross a dog with a southern California blonde?
A: An Airheaddale.

Q: What kind of dog likes to take off all his clothes to music?
A: A Chippenairedale.

Q: How do Spanish dogs set out to sea?
A: En un bark-o.

Q: Why did the female dog yell at her husband all Labor Day weekend?
A1: Because he wouldn't get off the furniture.
A2: Because she was an old yeller.
A3: She was just being a bitch.

Q: How do you breed cats?
A: Insert Tabby A into Tabby B.

Q: How do baby dogs reach their adult form?
A: They spin a coccoon and pup-ate.

Q: Why didn't the dog worry about cleaning his cat's litterbox?
A: He had it licked.

Q: Why did the Doberman space cadet open fire on the tail of his mothership during training?
A: He misunderstood when he was told to practice docking.

Q: Why did the lone wolf miss his flight?
A: He wasn't packed.

Hi all, Ba'ar here with your Spindizzy @Action News survey. What song would be best for Spindizzy's National Anthem?

• Argon says, "Oh, the one Suri wrote and was printed in the paper.
• Zoie grins,"I'm so dizzy" by Tommy Roe.
• Portia lilts, "I don't know really."
• DTF smiles "Oh Lord, It's Hard to Be Humble".... or "It's a Small World."
• Morticon says, "Static."
• GrumpyBear grumbles, "What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong."
• Andreas yips, "The Imperial March."
• Leowulf sings, "Iiiit's a Smallll World, AAAAfter Alll."
• Patcho'black mews, "Lookin' Out My Back Door by CCR."
• Niran says, "If I could talk to the Animals" from the 60's Dr. Doolittle movie."
• Borris Gruffs, "Thats easy Ba'ar. Lookin Out My Back Door, by CCR"

In honor of "Groovy Day" I went Googling for "Mod" and / or "Groovy" in search of ideas. I found this comic, "Bunny, Queen of the In-Crowd", which, being directed at teens of the 60's, reflected the aspects of the "Groovers" that the media of the time showed. Strange fashions, (for our day,) incense, and other "groovy" ideas relating to the times were shown in a wholesome and comedic (in the opinion of someone,) way.

There is a whole site related to Bunny, and clicking on the artwork below will send you to it. I did kind of snicker at the reference to her full name, "Bunny Ball". I'll let you make your own innuendoes concerning that. The publisher, Harvey Comics, was less than subtle sometimes.

Got something that You'd like to contribute to @Action News, but aren't sure if you should, or how to do it? Here are some basic guidelines.

Contributing a story or artwork for @Action News is easy! Just send it to newspaper@spindizzy.org!

• @Action News is published weekly sometime between Sunday and Wednesday each week, although the date of publication may vary.
• 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