Hello there, Ranger fans!

Another busy week's gone by, so that means it's time for the man in the hat to take a look back and see what all the hubbub was about! There is a story announcement this week--not part of the saga--so look for that plus a highly-related artifact at the end of this week's Artifacts. Oh, and I should give out a word of thanks to Dale Arrendale for letting me put his RR Poll results in the artifacts each week. You're doing a fine job, and keep it up!

Now, for the week that was...

Monday found us discussing a rather eccentric topic at length--the J.A.M. asked "in the series, is there a telephone insdie RRHQ?" Now to my knowledge (and apparently everyone else's) there was not. It's become almost standard in fanfics to have one, though, for convenience's sake. Nuff said, although I really liked the way-out tangents on this thread. Caller ID with the Electro-Shockback Feature...good one, Zip! Maybe it's all that coffee Gadget drinks ;-)

Hey, jaguar fans, don't forget that The J.A.M.'s excerpt from this soon-coming fanfic "I Dream of the New Ranger" is over at the Story Board! Also, 8-Bit-Star's thread on original story character is still awaiting more authors. Join in, it's starting to get really interesting. Julie's contribution really was :-) In addition, 8-Bit-Star's fifth episode of his Pennywinkel Saga is up at the Story Board as well. Lots to read, so no excuses!

Dragondreamerx speculated on one of the Great Unanswered Questions of Rangerdom--why does Gadget hate salesmen? There's lots of possible answers. I admit, I liked Matt Pearman's reasoning--"hey, I can make it in two minutes!" When you're an inventive genius, you don't exactly need to go down to the local mall to buy what you can make at home--of course, there is the consideration that it should work with no problems ;-)

Kudos go out to Brain Walmer for his Ranger rendition of "God Bless the U.S.A." A good thought at the right time. Now's the time to remember how great this country is, and everything that's good about it. The Rangers are certainly included in that category.

Also, Brian brought us the completed version of "The Big Goodbye", and it was well-received. Again, all-caps shouldn't be used as an attention-getter like that. I could've been an old stick-in-the-mud and deleted the thing, but I decided to let it go this time. Just remember, it's not necessary to draw anyone's attention that way, nor is it polite to use them in conversation.

I did delete an offering by Rem, and since I don't have his e-mail addy I'll explain why here. By his own admission, the picture was PG-13 and he linked directly to it instead of to the site's homepage--which is required in the rules for PG-13 pictures. Plus my own opinion was that this particular picture was pushing the upper bounds of PG-13 (and perhaps surpassed it), and I noticed the comments pretty well confirmed my idea. That said, I would have allowed it if the link had been to the site's homepage, along with the warning that Rem did give.

On Friday, Zipper presented an idea for having the Rangers in the their own version of "The Maltese Falcon", called "The Maltese Fly". I'm a classic movie buff, so this idea is appealing to me. I think that it could be a fun one to do and to read, so I hope you'll do it, Zipper, because I'd love to read it!

Nathan also presented as with a new Gadget pic that was simply great. Very nice touch, putting her image on the computer screen as well as having her sitting on top of the monitor--very creative. Keep it up, Nathan, and here's hoping you'll have more great pics like that for us.

The J.A.M. kept us updated on his new story yesterday and posited the question of why the Rangers would wear exercise outfits. I think the main consensus is right that the Rangers (as most animals) are simply emulating human culture, though there are indications that animals in this reality are more human-like than here. For instance, one thing that bothers me no end are the size of Gadget's pupils. They're drawn small and round to look like human pupils, but her eye sockets are clearly mouse-sized. Another paradox in the Ranger universe. Oh, and I agree with Zipper. She did look cute in that exercise outfit :-)

And last, TOZ brings us a picture by BAS of Gadget as an angel, performing Atlas' duty of holding up the Earth--or is he simply supposed to be protecting it? Hard to tell. In any case, very nice picture.

Okay, on to this week's artifact--yes, there is an artifact this week! In fact, it's a very old one. As you might recall, I developed a geneaology for Foxglove's ancestry. The first of her family we have record of is Sagramore Fayremounte. It was her uncle Bedivere Fairmont's opinion as well as mine that Sagramore lived around the 1600's, but we recently came upon a document that totally shattered that notion.

Bedivere and I traveled to England, where we uncovered the ancestral archives of the Fairmonts. Included was an ancient piece of parchment that instantly caught our eyes. Based on our research, we believe that this was written after the fact, but likely soon after. I have a copy of the parchment ready for viewing as this week's artifact, and I will include a translation of the Old English as the parchment is faded in some places. But before I do, there is much more.

We found Sagramore's original accounts, on parchments similar to the one you will see. They were literally falling apart, but after painstaking effort we were able to piece them together and put together a story that reveals the historical facts behind one of the most legendary figures of history. Sagramore had a role to play in it all, but that's all I'll say because otherwise I'd spoil it. Suffice it to say, it's a story that all Foxglove fans and those interested in a fun little story should enjoy.

Follow the link entitled Sagramore's Adventure to the story. The the link here (hope this works) to the parchment image. Jaleel, Bedivere has some personal notes on Sagramore to add to this for the Feature, when you're ready to link to the story and picture. Again, much thanks goes to Bedivere for patiently translating all of this, including the parchment, which translation he provides here:

Third of May, 1215

This day found me engaged with the most strange personage I have ever had the fortune to lay eyes upon. His name was Terwin the Mighty, although I am mayhap not convinced of that latter portion of his title.

In his manner, he comports himself with honor, but appears to evince ways that are disturbing to say the least. We watches me daily, and once he attempted to construct a costume that appeared as I do. Methinks he wished to join me in the fair heavens above. When his companions found him on the ground below, they laughed and took him home.

Since then, I have seen my curious friend in much melancholy. I do not understand exactly what his soliloquies mean, but I am now convinced there is truly some blackness which Terwin intends to oppose. He prepares another curious device now, and I am curious to see its outcome. With my oath to uphold the honor of the noble knights, I can do no lesse than to provide my own unique assistance.

Sagramore Fayremounte

Enjoy, and until next time, remember it's not the years--it's the mileage!