Hi there, Rangerphiles!

Well, this week was an improvement all around. We still carry the memory of what happened earlier this month with us, but now our lives are beginning to stablize some again. I'm glad of that, and I hope the many families and friends that have been affected by all this are finding peace and solace. It's been a busy week here at the world heaquarters for all things Rangerish, so let's dive right in!

Ray Jones brought us some new artwork done by himself and also by Rebekah Henderson. Ray's was very appropriate to the moment--our Rangers suffering with us, as we know they would. Excellent job, Ray. Rebekah's pictures are my favorites of hers so far. The drawing of Gadget and Dale together reminded me of a scene from my own work, so I couldn't help but like it. The second not only showed her creativity, but hit on a deeper level. The comfort of home, and the security and warmth we all used to take for granted. Wonderful, Rebekah.

Jaleel updated the Feature again--he surely is a busy fellow, ain't he--and introduced a new picture of Foxy by ChipN'Death that had great visual appeal. Looks like Foxy's starting to shop for clothes at the same store as Lahwhinie ;-) Also, kudos for your kindhearted message concerning the attacks. You're a class act all the way around, Jaleel.

Rem brought us another picture of Gadget--can't get enough of those--this time, a very happy Gadget. Hmm, I wonder what made her so happy...

Gadget: Oh, Golly! It's a "This Old House" weekend marathon! (For the uninformed, "This Old House" is a show on PBS about renovating old houses).

Brian Walmer alerted us that his story "The Big Goodbye" would soon be updated again. Thanks for letting us know, and we'll be watching!

Ares now has his own site entitled "The Small Hours: Re-Revisited" at

www.rrstuff.net

It's also the new host site for the RR Weekly Poll, so don't forget to visit! That also brings up something new to the Artifacts--Ares will be sending me his RR poll results to include here, so we'll combine his information into the weekly updates. And now, the RR poll results...

Rangers Poll- 9.10
Which Ranger would be best as a human?

Chip 5 (20%)
Dale 1 (4%)
Gadget 6 (24%)
Monty 3 (12%)
Zipper 1 (4%)
Are you crazy? 9 (36%)

25 total votes

Comments:
1. You're nuts, but we already knew that. Heh,heh,heh...
2. It would take some time for them to get familiar with Automated Teller Machines, public toilets, downtown traffic, and all the other charms or human life!
3. Buahaha !! What kind of question is that ?!
4. I have no trouble segueing from Gadget to Washu, the delightful and
somewhat deranged lady scientist in the Tenchi Muyo series. There are some distinct differences in their personalities, but given another 20,000 to work and study, I think Gadget might become someone rather like her.
5. It'd probably be best to announce polls on the Cafe, not the Off Topic Board.

On that last note, I agree Ares. It's definitely something on-topic, so it would be wise to announce the RR poll for each week there.

Rem posted again, alerting us to a special site that will contain all the new pictures BAS, Loki, Rem and TOZ. The URL is--

http://toon.eu.org/rem/graphic/index.shtml

Thanks for letting us know, Rem, and the site looks good!

Schroeder piped in on Thursday, making note of differences he's found between the new Chip 'n Dale and their previous incarnations in the classic Disney short films. That led to a discussion of how high the newer Rangers were, and the accepted standard for measuring toon height. My take is that it is measured by head size, but the main thing I'm concerned with is that they look proportionately correct. Gotta give Disney a nod for that.

MChet brought up the Rangerity Test, the classic measure of one's fandom created by TheBoz. I personally haven't taken this test in quite some time, so I think maybe it's time to update my scores. I'll post mine once I know, but maybe it's time we all retook it and see where we stand now as compared to a couple years back. I think my number's going to rise a little, and I wouldn't be surprised if most of yours did, too.

Ilya posted a new concept pic, portraying Gadget as an elf. Very well done, and particularly the hair. I'd love to know how he does that.

CD brings us this question--if Monty has cheese attacks, do his parents and other relatives have them too? It's certainly possible, but Chris Silva and I wrote a story called "The Spy Who Loved Monty" that addressed his cheese attacks from a psychological angle. Anything's possible with explanations of our favorite Aussie's cheese attacks--just make sure you're not standing in front of him when he has one! Ah, the power of cheese...

Did I say something about an artifact this week? Oh, that's right. A very unique aftifact. Well, I think it is, but to fully understand it will take a little explanation...

Back in the 60's and 70's, Dickie Goodman put out a bunch of parody skits, piecing together stories using snippets of various songs. His "Flying Saucer" series is legendary in the parody circles. Anyway, when I was about eight years old I discovered my mom's old collection of 45 rpm records. Contained within was Dickie Goodman's "Flying Saucer the 2nd".

It cracked me up, and then and there I decided to take what he'd done and insert my own material within the bounds of the skit, which basically is about the first Earth ship that travels to Mars. It's done as a parodied news report, with John Cameron Cameron (The name itself a parody of the famous newsman John Cameron Swazey) as the reporter. Mars is populated in this skit, and everyone celebrates the ship's arrival. However, just after the Martian national anthem, the Giant Frog Monster appears and Mars is in peril. A hero has to save them--care to guess who the hero will be in this one? I'll leave the outcome open for now, so you can listen and enjoy for yourselves.

Anyway, back to the story. I started making my own parodies, and sending them to my cousin Doug. He in return made his own and sent them to me. We had a ball, and then I got my own computer and eventually a digital audio editor which helped a great deal. One day, I thought, "why not do one with the Rangers?" Well, I did. And that's what this week's artifact is.

It's in mp3 format, and you'll find at the link below. A few notes--even with digital editing, a few of the words in the skit are clipped at the end of sentences where it cuts to the inserted Ranger phrases. They're pretty clear, but if you need clarification as to what the reporter's saying, let me know. Second, this is a big file and I had to take down a couple of my other mp3's to get it up (the RR theme and the Fat Cat Stomp, to be specific), so this is, as the cheezy commercials say, a limited time offer. I'm going to keep it up for one week, so get it while you can!

That's it for this week's Artifacts. Until next time, watch your step around girls named Willie--they tend to scream at anything that moves or slithers and get you into serious trouble. Oh, and to get the song, just use your mouse's right button to click on the link and select "Save Target As", then in the next window that comes up choose where you want it to be saved. That's for Internet Explorer, by the way. The rest of you hopefully know the drill for your own browsers.