Hello again, Rangerphiles

It's been an eventful week, to be sure. I struggled with what to do for this week for a few days, but then I realized it would be a good time to remind ourselves of the blessings we have here. Our community has more gifted people in it right now than at any other time I can think of. Ranger stories and pictures are everywhere, and all of great quality. But that's not the best part.

The truth is, we have a whole lot of people here who care about the Rangers, and I'm glad to count myself among the lot of you. No matter what anyone says and no matter what happens, this group of people has proven itself time and again as one of the best online groups ever assembled. We've preserved the union time and again, and this time was no different. We have a song to sing, and it's time to get back to singing it again.

Now, on the business at hand. I'm pleased to announce that Donny is this week's winner of the Caption contest. Great job there, and you'll find your name atop week five's picture. Week six is for all you Tammy fans out there. See what you can do with this one, and I'm sure it'll be great. The link to the caption page is at its usual place at the bottom.

Now, for the week that was...

Ares (Dale Arrendale) got us started with a new Gadget picture. Great expression there, and I enjoyed the creativity you put into it. Dragondreamerx meanwhile lost no time telling us that Disney is doing a great job of ignoring his requests to this point, but he will not be daunted. Go for it, Dragondreamerx, and don't stop til' you get there!

Ray Jones contributed another Gadget pic on Monday that had the board wild with appreciation. Gadget as a nurse? Yeah, it could happen. I liked the angle perspective you used, Ray. It gave it an attraction that it might not have had otherwise--whoa, what am I saying? It's Gadget, after all ;-)

Another new face joined the fold on Monday. Welcome in, Kongo, and I hope your stay is a happy and long one! Rennod wondered what Ranger character we would be most like if we were turned into an animal. I'd have to say on my part that I have elements of Chip, Dale and Gadget's personalities, but since that melange wouldn't look good all at once I'd have to say I'm closest to...all of them equally. I really couldn't choose among the lot of them. Thanks for the food for thought, though, Rennod!

Matt Pearman rejoined us on Tuesday after battling the flu and winning. Glad you're okay, and don't catch it again for a while--ever if you can help it. Also that day, Oden brought us another Gadget picture and himself as well--mustn't leave that part out :-) Cool work, Oden, and thanks for keeping in touch.

As the notices told us, 8-Bit Star has a new story up called Mind Media: Toonami Version--I haven't gotten to it yet, but I will! Thanks for the heads-up, and as Dale noted the great Coffeehouse Christmas Thread is up and going. Round one was prety interesting. Wonder what round two holds in store...

Ray Jones is at it again! His creative mind won't let him rest, and to prove it he's created sculptures of the Rangers. Hey Ray, you did fine for a first effort--they're better than any I've ever done. Soon, you'll be another Michaelangelo--just don't get mixed up with anyone named Shredder ;-)

On Wednesday, James brought as pic of...Chip! That's right, the string of Gadget pics was broken, as James presented us with a slimmed-down Chip--obviously so because of doing a lot of swimming. Gotta say it again--that's the first beefcake pic I think I've ever seen for the Rangers. I'm sure Tammy has it framed on her wall by now ;-)

Dragondreamerx is working up his next phase of the Ranger campaign to get Disney's ear. You've got the spunk, and don't lose it!

On Thursday, I reported a finding on Usenet that there apparently was a planned Ranger movie set for the summer of '91. Can we get any confirmation on this, and does anyone have a way to e-mail Tad Stones and ask him? Even if there was a preliminary script that was mothballed, I'd like to see it and also know why the project was canned--assuming this actually was planned to happen.

Also on Thursday, Sage Freehaven and Fidessa rejoined the group after a long hiatus. Great to see you two back, and don't be strangers! I also popped in again on Thursday with my Disney store report. Seems like none of us are finding the Ranger pins. Maybe we need to include that request in any official letter to Disney, plus we'd like more Ranger-related pins--particularly featuring one mouse inventor.

A side note here--I had what wasn't quite a dream but more like a daydream this weekend. I thought about the next Toy Story movie and suddenly in my mind's eye I could see the Rangers interacting with the toys! I think it'd be great--I'm already thinking of writing at least a short story doing a crossover based on an idea I thought of with them. And I do think that Pixar would treat the Rangers right, based on their other movies to this point--in fact, I think the Rangers would be a perfect fit for Pixar's formula.

On Friday, Nelson informed us that part 3 of his Munks of Hazzard series was up. Yee-haw! Great stuff, Nelson, and keep it coming! I also released part six of the ongoing Untold Ranger Tales saga, with part seven due to be released on the 21st--if I can manage it. It's going to be a busy week, but I'm going to try hard, because it's a Christmas story and I'd like to be out before the holiday.

Yesterday, Rem brought us a Gadget pic unlike any I've seen in quite some time--that's one tough-looking lady there! Glad I didn't get her in that mood. And then there was KS's picture, introduced by Ray Jones. ::Laughs:: I loved it!

Today, we had a chance to remember Deborah Walley, as they had "Gidget Goes Hawaiian" on--the first time I'd seen that particular one. I thought it was great, seeing her and James Darren go back and forth at each other. Thanks for all you did for us, Deborah, and whether you're Foxy or Gidget you're one class act.

Last of all comes Loki with a surrealistic pic of Gadget in her workshop. Really neat to look at, Loki, and thanks for sharing it with us!

That's it for this week. I wish things had gone better, but tomorrow's all fresh with no mistakes in it. Until next week, remember that the bad guys come through the doors and not the windows.