American Venus

This is quite the party day for film buffs. We start with showgirl, dancer, writer, fashion model, and movie actress Louise Brooks (at left), born 103 years ago. She was at one time amazingly famous and still has fan clubs. The MTV artists did an alter ego of Ms. Li as Ms. Brooks, in black and white like her many movies. (American Venus was one such film.)

The choice of model for the alter ego confounds me, as one alert superfan (Scissors) has pointed out that Jane Lane looks a heck of a lot more like Ms. Brooks than does Ms. Li. Well, whatever. The image of Ms. Li at right (thanks, Pinhead!) can be blown up to almost pin-up size by clicking on it, if you think you won't be visually or emotionally damaged by doing so.

Ms. Brooks, by the way, gave us the bobbed hairstyle. She made it popular, anyway, so Ms. Li and Jane Lane both owe her a debt. A quote from Ms. Brooks: Most beautiful dumb girls think they are smart and get away with it, because other people, on the whole, aren't much smarter.

We also honor the birthday anniversary of actress Veronica Lake, whose peekaboo hairstyle is so well and so often used by Sandi Griffin.

The dwarf planet Sedna was discovered six years ago today. It was mentioned only once in Daria fanfic, and then only in passing. A shame.

Last, but not at all least, Mrs. Johanssen probably knows that today is World Diabetes Day, which is something for us all to think about. Watch the sugar.

Looking for something to do while the MBs are offline? See what's new at DariaWiki. Maybe add a new page of your own. Couldn't hurt.

Nuuz Plash! PPMB & SFMB ARE BACK! HOORAY!

And now for the fanfics.

PPMB

• Daria: Hunter--The Love Triangle, Jim North (continued): "Ready?" Quinn asked once they'd taken a few moments to soak in the ambiance. "Almost!" Stacy said cheerfully as she slipped on a pair of wide-lens glasses.
• Finn Morgendorffer 14: Going Medieval, by HolyGrail2007 (Parts 1 and 2): “So the school is throwing a Renaissance Faire?” Finn wondered to his friends at the lunch table. The news had been delivered just before lunch. “Yeah. Doesn’t it sound stupid?” Jamie stated. Finn agreed. He had never been to one of those before, but it involved wearing those dreadful outfits in a time where people didn’t bathe very often. What could be so fascinating about that, aside from the primal, visceral pleasure of eating meat on a bone?
• Reusably Complex, by Ajar (Part 7): "Consider if you will one Quinn Morgendorffer. A girl whose concern doesn't go far beyond the neatness of her hair, the painting of her face and the style of her clothing. This is a girl who has lived a charmed but empty life of popularity, boys, and diet soda. However, she's going to have to relive the memory of when her almost sister ruined it all in... The Twilight Zone."
• Unnamed story, by Trscroggs (Part 1): If our hypothetical observer was capable of seeing more clearly through the fog, the would have been able to see that the shape was not running to something, but rather running from a much smaller shape. A hypothetical male observer might have stuck around long enough to try to see the pursuing figure before retreating. Anyone from outside of Lawndale would have described the pursuing figure as a teenage girl wearing a stylized Chinese-style dress far too skimpy and short to be decent. Anyone from Lawndale would have called the pursuing girl a magical girl.