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April first revealed an unexpected change in SpinDizzy. The Rose Garden, usually a beautiful, traquil area, was found to be a ruin. The roses were burnt and the few roses left didn't look as though they would survive for long. The water in the canals were full of debris and the water appeared decidedly unhealthy.

The bulletin board, although damaged, was still standing and the following message was prominently displayed:

SpinDizzy Residents,

Welcome to the NEW SpinDizzy Apocalypse MUD! After several weeks of intense negotiations with the other wizards, Austin relented and handed control of SpinDizzy over to me, Morticon. As many of you know, I'm big into RP, often running or participating in many plots each week. I've always felt SpinDizzy needed to be more RP-oriented, and now this is my chance!

In the next few months, big changes will occur here to further that desire. We'll be switching from FuzzBall, which is practically unmaintained, to a more active MUD-based server software. A conversion tool will ease the transition, importing many of the rooms, objects, and characters seamlessly.

For many of you, the most noticeable change will be the theme. Besides enforcing RP in all public areas, we're switching the general theme to SpinDizzy as a post-apocalyptic world. After "The Event", the gleaming towers of Neopolis are in ruins, and the rose garden is no longer safe from the zombie hordes that breached the protective wall several months ago. The southern forest is infected with horrific monsters, and well... you get the idea. I encourage you to remake your areas to fit the new theme. The first one we're doing is the Rose Garden, of course. Be sure to check it out!

Another big change I'm working on is a high quality RP and NPC game engine, which will make RPs go much smoother. You'll soon get information on how to enter your extended description and character stats. The web site will be remade, focusing more on characters and plotlines, with log archives, maps, and NPC references.

I realize these changes are seen as undesirable by some of you, and I accept the fact that we'll see a drop in population. But as I've found over the years, it's not the quantity of RP or players, it's the quality. A MUD with 10 high quality players is much better than one with 50 low to average quality ones. Hopefully you'll come to like the change, and even embrace it.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask me!

*Morticon
Head Wizard of SpinDizzy Apocalypse

With Morticon taking the position of Head Wizard of SpinDizzy, Austin, former Head Wizard, placed the following notice on the Bulletin Board:

All hail Morticon!

I just wanted to offer a quick note thanking Morticon, Findra, Ping, Skyler, and all the people who have previously been wizards, as well as helpstaff, for making leading the muck a task as rewarding as it is demanding. It has been a wonderful time and if I know that I will miss tromping about with the same old authority I also know that it has been placed in the paws of a person with the vision, energy, and ambition that an established muck requires.

Everyone visiting the muck has put a piece of themselves into it, and we reap the rewards of that ongoing and continuing generosity. I am excited to see how the world and the community adapts in the days and weeks ahead.

Thank you all.

Austin Dern
Citoyen

As all these changes and announcements were made on April 1st, most guessed that the whole thing was an April Fools gag and expected that no "forced" RP would occur and Austin would remain as Head Wizard.

The effects of the April first appocolypse and its invasion of zombies, was negated with a team of SpinDizzians. They had gathered to located the source of the devastation and stop the infusion of zombies into SpinDizzy.

The group found a large crack in the crust of SpinDizzy and after finding their way to its bottom, discovered tunnels and rooms similar to those of the control room of SpinDizzy. However, the control rooms was being operated by even more zombies.

With their minds effected and limbs and body parts falling off, the zombies had some trouble operating the controls. It was found that this was apparently an "alternate reality" of our SpinDizzy which was populated by zombies. Somehow, a "phase shift" of some sort had opened a portal between our SpinDizzy and the zombie SpinDizzy. This portal not only allowed zombies to make their way to our world, but its opening allowed a wave of what can only be described as the zombie reality to surge through. This surge resulted in the damage that was discovered on April 1st.

Several of the more knowlegable members of the team, after disposing of the zombie operators, found the problem with the controls that had allowed the portal and surge to occur. With some crosswiring and adjustment of the controls, the arranged for the portal to close after a short delay. Once the final switch was pressed, the team made a dash for the portal and back to the surface.

As the last member of the team made their way through, the portal and the crack closed. A lucky side effect of the adjustments made to the zombie SpinDizzy controls negated the "surge" which had caused ruin to so much of our SpinDizzy. It was found that all the damage was gone and the landscape and structures were returned to the state they were in before the "appocolypse".

It was also happily discovered that local SpinDizzians who had been zombified or had their brains eaten by zombies had returned to normal as they were before the surge. They had no memory of the event.

Everyone was glad that the quest had been successful and that things were back to normal. It also made folks aware that everyone should be on guard next April 1st.

Zoie, was arrested April 4, 2009 for public drunkeness. She was seen by no less than a dozen individuals, acting recklessly as she tried moving on a high tree branch. Though eventually talked down by PatchO'Black and Gilead, she still continued to consume alcoholic material from a small flask. As she moved on to the public restroom, she was taken to the police station to "sleep it off". She did not cause any damage, but many called in concern for her well being.

An individual, whom shall name anonymous, was quoted that she was "...in celebration" of an Earthly collegic basketball game where her boss would be going." It was later discovered that the same team she was celebrating later won that tournament.

Zoie was released the next day, no charges shall be filed against her though it was recommended that she attend various meetings.

A still was discovered in the same tree that once housed Zoie's still from previous months. However, this still had totally different materials and did not consist of the same alcohol.

The police chief was quoted in saying that "Shiners are a very particular lot. They almost always use the same set up of the still and the same materials when they recreate their "moonshine". It is their trademark. I believe there is another "shiner" working in this vicinity and probably drove off his or her competition.

Zoie's tree was decorated in "Carolina" Blue and White balloons and streamers on Tuesday morning, April 7th as she, Ari, Niran and a few other Carolina furs and guests of our community celebrated a win of the Earthly team, University of North Carolina, over Michgan State University.

The small group was grateful and repsectful to those whom pulled for MSU and any other fur and invited them graciously for shrimp, crayfish, catfish, grits, okra, collard greens, scupperlong and muscadine grape juices (and wines), and other "imported" local Carolina delicacies on Sunday, April 12, 2009 at the Rose Garden

Zoie could not be reached for comment.

Aina, local tiger clone, appeared in the Rose Garden. Claiming she was "on patrol," she began working with a device that resembled a Rubik's Cube. As she worked with it, a portal would open and she retrieved several item from it.

At one point however, Ania must have made an error as a large amount of various materials poured out of the portal and left Aina surrounded by CDs, files, lamps, and a number of papers.

Argon, local centaur, picked up several of the papers. Looking at them he found a page labled, "A.N.I.A. Mk.III Command Unit - VMD R&D" followed by what looked like a set of kitsune tails arranged in a flowerlike pattern. Argon gathered the few pages he found and retrieved similar pages from other folks who had picked some up. Aina was quite busy getting the items that had fallen through her portal and stuffing them back through it. After gathering the materials, she quickly left.

Curious about the "manual" pages he and others had gathered, Argon attempted to put the pages in order. Although quite a few of them were missing, the centaur was able to find some general information about the history, creation and control of the Ania clones. Argon stated that he has no intention of sharing this information as the Ainas have shown no evidence of being dangerous.

On April 10th, Spindizzians far and wide celebrated Love Day, a day set aside for SDers far and wide to give special attention to love and being loved. It turned out to be a quiet day, with SDers exchanging occasional hugs and other displays of affection. "I hugged everyone I could." Cora, local bear and social maven, is quoted as saying. "Hugging's fun and also is comforting and relaxing." The she-bear also noted that she'd tried to make the day special. "Everyone likes cookies, so I baked a batch or two of my famouse heart shaped cookies with cherry icing-everyone loved them."

The day was not only for SDers to think of those who were present, but also those who could not be here. "Spent th' whole day thinkin' of mah fam'ly." Billybob, local rabbit is quoted as saying. "Kinda chockes m'up at times cause they're back in Tennesee and I'm here in Spindizzy. Sure Ah could call 'em but that's not th' same as bein' with 'em, y'know?"

All in all a very 'love'ly time was had by all. Beltrami, baloon dragon and SD mayor, could not be reached for comment on whether this was to be made an annual event.

Tuesday March 17th saw the second annual Spindizzy 'Shiny Day'. Spindizzians everywhere were encouraged to either 'brighten up' their bodies and clothing or at least think bright, cheery thoughts. The celebration in question was celebrated in a variety of ways. Argon, local centaur, celebrated by coating himself with a shiny silver coating, while Roofus_roo, local fae kangaroo, celebrated by showing off her prettiest shiny dress.

The celebration was a great success and proved to be very popular, even to those who did not participate. "I like this." Cora, local she-bear is quoted as saying. "It makes our cheery town that much cheerier." To the delight of all, Beltrami indicated that she would like to do a Shiny Day next year.

Patch O' Black, local cat and keeper of all things Jellicle, recently took pen to parchment and started composing something he called his "Way".

Patchy was reached for comment on this unique document and explained while a "Will" was a document for leaving things to people after one has passed on, a "Way" was a list of things that one should get when one is alive. Patchy was quoted as saying that his contained such things as "Cream, scritches, food, the unwavering devotions of my followers..." but did not elaborate further.

The town's Jellicle cat was quick to point out that he wasn't finished with his Way, saying that "I've been having trouble figuring out what I should get, so it is hard to choose if I should name a specific fur, or make this just a general Way..." adding that he didn't want SDers to think he was leaving them out.

Patchy said that he'd only seen Jellicle cats make Ways, but didn't see why anyone else could make them, saying that you just need to be "of jJllicle mind and body" before writing one out.

In closing Patchy didn't say when he would be finished with his Way, but there will be more reporting on this important document as things come to pass.

One of the more overlooked, and yet quite extensive areas on Spindizzy, is that of our favorite Jellicle, Patch O'Black. It's called Jellicle Fields and is about 7 km east-northeast of the Rose Garden (N3 E6). We've all been there at one time or another, I'm sure, for one of his holiday partys, but likewise I'll bet we've all been just as lost wandering around in there as I have. So one day after getting lost on the way to his Ice Cream shop I decided to do something about it, and explore the whole area. Notebook in hand, I created the map attached to the thumbnail there on the left.

I traveled the length and breadth of Jellicle Fields, from the snowy playground of the Winter Wonderland, to the grassy sweep of the Summer Savanna. I marveled while staring up at his Crystal Tower, and amused myself strolling the shops of his Summer Shopping Complex. Did you know there's a shopping mall down at Sundance Surf? Stop in and say hi to Borris at his Surfboard Shack. Or visit Patch himself at the Scoops of Summer Ice cream shop.

There's a couple of interesting things I should point out you'll want to keep an eye on. If you noticed like I did that there's still an empty corner of Jellicle Fields proper still untilled, it probably won't remain empty for long. In a chat with Patch he mentioned that he IS pondering another area. I can't say any more than that, but you might just see some developement in that corner in the future. The other item is probably completed by the time you read this. If you've been to the Summer Shopping Center before, you may have noticed the couple of shops that have been closed for ages. Well, when I was there, there was a lot of construction going on in those storefronts, so by now 'The Ship's Hold Groceries and Grills' and 'The Captain's Table' restaurant should be open for business. It's a really nice restaurant, come on down and check it out, maybe I'll see you there. And don't forget to bring your map.

Paws, local plush fae-gryphon, was discussing a building project. She had found a space, but it had a half completed structure on it that needed to be removed before her work coould start.

Mentioning this, local centaurs, Karial, Kefan and Argon offered the plush their help in removing the structure. Being strong as horses the centaurs expected to make quick work of it.

Paws and the centaurs got together and using ropes and cables, and their hooves, along with sledgehammers, they soon had the concrete material reduced to rubble. Although the rebar material was tough, the centaurs found that by grabbing the rebar and slamming the concrete attached to it, soon seperated the two materials.

The centaurs and Paws did run into trouble with the foundation. A 2 foot slab of concrete that their sledgehammers and centaur strength were unable to crack. Argon suggested they ask Borris, local polar bear, for help. Borris showed up and suggested explosives, but Paws didn't agree to a crater in her land. The polar bear then pulled out his mallot and within a few minutes had the foundation reduced to gravel.

Borris, Paws, Karial, Kefan and Argon then piled up the old material into a low hill. Inspection of the rebar revealed that it had zinc elements in them and they were sent to Suri, local lemur, for processing.

The next day, the centaurs planted grass and a few bushes to landscape the area and covered the debris hill with soil and sod.

The final result was a nice grassy area with no evidence of the former building. It is now ready for Paws to build her home. Borris and the centaurs were rewarded with plush hugs and a sincere thank you. The centaurs also took pride in their strength and ability to take on a seemingly difficult project and complete it.

March 17th's Shiny Day, when Spindizzians everywhere were encouraged to 'brighten things up', was a huge success. However, there were some parties that weren't all that pleased with the festivities.

Ba'ar, local bear, celebrated the day by dying himself with shiny green dye and soon regretted it. "It was easy enough to work into my fur, all right, but that was the the only pleasure I got out of it." he said. "It wasn't much longer after that that the stuff started irritating my pelt and making me itch! Argon gave me some ointment to help out but it didn't stifle everything."

The biggest pain in the tail, according to the local bear, was in removing the green dye. "It took me more than an hour of lathering up and scrubbing myself down to remove everything from my fur." he is quoted as saying. "My pelt'll be sore for DAYS!"

Nonetheless, the local bear found Shiny Day very enjoyable. "It made our bright and shiny city even brighter and that was nice to see." he is quoted as saying. "I'll just have to celebrate it in a different way next time.

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

Special thanks go to:

Argon / Morticon, for the report on the Apocolypse MUD,
Argon / Austin, fot the report of Austin "stepping down" as Head Wizard,
Argon, for the report on returning SpinDizzy to normal,
Police Files / Various Sources, for the report on Zoie's troubles with the law,
Argon, for the report on the Aina Manual,
BunnyHugger, for the report on Shiny Day,
Ba'ar, for the report on Patch O'Black's "Way",
Leowulf, for his outstanding map of the Jellicle Fields,
Argon, for the report on centaur assistance to Paws,
Ba'ar, for his "Shiny Day" itch,
Ba'ar, for the survey
and, Kinsor, for the Doze Garden cartoon.

Hi all, Ba'ar here with your latest Spindizzy @Action News Survey. What's your idea of a good breakfast?

• Nigel says, "Given the hours I keep, my usual breakfast is whatever I'm having for lunch. But as far as the IDEA of breakfasts goes, strawberries and yogurt, coffee, and a bagel."
• Findra chirrrs softly, "A cup of tea and a piece of carrot cake."
• Jimun hmms, "I rather fond of french toast... nice and hot with lots of syrup. Mmmmm!" ^^
• Gyre says, "I like cereal! The kind with little marshmallows in it."
• Borris Hmsssss "12 eggs, scrambled, with a half pound of bacon, two quarts of coffee, black, Garlic Texas Toast, two oranges, and a Pop Tart, strawberry, of course."
• Dingo yips, "Waffles an' cheesy grits with bacon!"
• Leowulf says, "Oh, thats easy, 4 egg omelette, stuffed with mushrooms, onions, green peppers, and ham, with a huge side order of hash browns."
• Fuzzy says, "Bacon"
• Austin says, "I like a couple of bagels with cream cheese, myself, and no particular time that I have to be done with breakfast. I've had that as recently as .. uhm ... "
• BunnyHugger says, "French toast, though my more typical breakfast, the one I have on a day when I go to my job, is a Caribou Coffee granola bar and a cup of caffeinated hot chocolate."
• J.P. says, "As for the breakfast poll... I'm not usually much for most breakfast foods; I tend to like having leftovers (which, being in college, doen't work as well as it does at home), or cold pizza. I do appreciate a well-made omelette, though. Pasta is good, too."
• B.J. says, "Yeah. eggs, english Muffin, and some nice strong tea."
• Beltrami looks blankly at Ba'ar.
• PatchO'Black mews, "Ba'ar, a good breakfast would be eggs, usually scrambled with cheese, onions, and bell peppers, hash browns, and bacon, or sausage, or both, with toast on the side."
• Rhea's usual breakfast is toaster waffles, peanut butter, and black tea, because she keeps forgetting to buy bagels.
• Ba'ar growls, "For me, you can't do better than the traditional eggs, bacon, toast, juice and coffee."
• Mischa says, "Helium!"
• Argon says, "Chicken fried steak, scrambled hash browns, scrambled eggs, a side of link sausages. Times 4 if I'm hungry."
• Kearn grins, "For me, as a giant snake, a good breakfast would be a whole cow, or pig. Although elk wouldn't be bad.. I'm not picky."
• Zoie churrs, "Freshly sliced fruits and cheeses with some green tea and honey."

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 when enough news and articles are gathered, so the date of publication may vary.
• 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