Saturday, July 18, 2009

Unsinkable

A mere 142 years ago today, Margaret Tobin was born in Hannibal, Missouri to a poor family. She married a guy named Brown, became quite rich and well known in the U.S. and Europe as a socialite, philanthropist, labor supporter, and women's and children's rights activist, then she ran for the U.S. Senate (and lost), then she helped establish the first-ever juvenile court in the United States (on which our present-day system is based), and then she became internationally famous as the Unsinkable Molly Brown after she survived the sinking of the RMS Titanic. In the midst of the disaster, she took command of a lifeboat and aided her fellow survivors, attempted to rescue drowning victims, then (before she even reached shore) established a charity to aid the survivors who were left destitute. Afterward, she helped rebuild France after World War I, cared for wounded Allied soldiers, ran for the U.S. Senate again (and lost), and became an actress. I left out a lot of other stuff she did because this post was getting too long. When you look at her life as a whole, it is difficult to believe anyone could actually do all this. Yet Molly Brown did.

For her surpassing heroism and charitable deeds, she is remembered in many books, a Broadway musical and assorted songs, at least five movies, and a line of swimwear, and she even had a manned spacecraft named for her (Gemini 3). Her birthplace and her later home in Denver have become national landmarks. As heroines go, Molly Brown was world class.

Brittany and Kevin commemorate this important day by getting in the only lifeboat the Princess Fairy had when it sank after hitting a garbage scow ("Just Add Water"). What a lucky pair of kids. Too bad it rained and Brittany beat the snot out of Kevin. Later, Brittany had one comment about her experiences.

GNUZ: Richard Lobinske has updated the 2009 compendium of Daria visual artworks. Thank you!

FF.net
PPMB
  • Falling Again, by Silver (COMPLETE!): [Continued from here.] “What do you mean 'she isn't able to walk'?” Linda Griffin snarled. “The bullet hit her shoulder. Her legs shouldn't be affected at all!” The doctor raised his hand. “I am dammed well aware of the details regarding my patient, Mrs. Griffin,” he replied in annoyance. “Regardless, she cannot currently use her legs. All tests show that her legs should be working. Our staff specialist believes it to be a psychological problem.”
  • Gimme Skelter, by TAG and Brother Grimace (Part 17): The crimson sun disappeared below the distant mountains about the time Mackenzie saw a cluster of ruined buildings ahead. The sight was heartening, as vampire bats were increasingly haunting his thoughts. A fallen sign informed him that he was entering the town of Shoshone: “The Gateway to Death Valley.” He supposed in his case that was a good thing.
  • Lawndale's Finest, Detective Stories 3: The Line of Duty, by Lorenzo Sauchelli (Part 1): Harvey Dent, Assistant DA, parked his car a few houses away from the crime scene. He stared around for a moment and wondered how a place so peaceful could be where a crime of this nature had been committed. He opened the door of his car and strode towards the crime scene, nodding his way at all the uniformed men that surrounded the house. “Where's the body?” he asked the female officer standing by the door. [Now with Part 2!]
  • Prey as Wolves Must, by Silver (COMPLETE!): [Continued from here.] Charles Ruttheimer III blinked awake. He'd been aboard the airship Revanche for several days. The crew had been restless as pickings had been slim. “All hands on deck! Target in sight!”
  • Tales of the Ringbearers: With New Responsibility, by Richard Lobinske (Part 9): Gauging the situation, Richard said, "Do you want the endless zombie horde or the flying psycho with the spear and shield?" "Hmm, I'll go with the endless zombie horde. I can use the bottlenecks around here to our advantage," Archangel said, already planning his next move. "What about you?"
  • Two Halves, by Dark Kuno (Chapter 4, Part 2): The kitchen was quiet at the Morgendorffer house on a Saturday afternoon as Alex, Daria and Jake sat quietly in their usual places at the kitchen table and read from sections of the Lawndale Post.
  • Unnamed story (Iron Chef: Daria Is Raven's Apprentice), by Project Pegasus (COMPLETE!): "Hey Daria, you got any change for the pop machine?" "What did you just say?" [And another one! Click here to see Daria take off her top!]

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