One RBF, Comin' Up!

This is National Root Beer Float Day, says the calendar. So be it. Go forth and consume mass quantities.

The World Wide Web is 19 years old today, almost legally old enough to drink. Here is a snapshot of its birth. Also having birthdays today are Kevin Mitnick, mega-hacker; Geri Halliwell, ex-Spice Girl; director M. Night Shyamalan ("I see dead people"); and Pop icon creator Andy Warhol. Two of the above had Daria alter-egos drawn for them. Can you guess which ones? Click and see.

KNEWZ!

• The rules for the 2010 Daria Fanworks Awards are being discussed at this time. Join it, please.
• Anyone want Daria stickers? Really? Look no further.
• Questions remain over whether Daria will appear in any new Beavis and Butt-head episodes. At least give us Cassandra!
• Are there alter egos that should have been drawn for the Daria cast? Fans say YES!
• NEW! Charles RB asks, "If the Morgendorffers are upper-middle class... why did they live in Highland for so long?" If you know the answer, or think you do, tell us.
  

King of the Seas

Happy Neptunalia to all fans of the Roman Empire out there. Mack appears as Neptune courtesy of MTV art staff (sent to us by renown superfan Pinhead). Today begins Neptunalia, as it were. By odd coincidence, this date also marks the beginning of a strange sea voyage in one Daria fanfic.

This is also a historic birthday date, and I will let you guess who was born today who also made it into the ranks of Daria alter ego artwork. Oh, boy.

And, this day marks one of the strangest and most harrowing aircraft flights of the modern era. Twenty-seven years ago, an Air Canadian passenger jet unexpectedly ran out of fuel and was forced to glide to an emergency landing. As it happened, the pilot was a glider pilot and knew exactly what to do to land safely. A brilliant feat of flying, indeed. Enjoy the TV documentary on YouTube. (Any fanfic ideas from this?)

Moar l8r. Okay, it's l8r now. And if you want to read something good about Daria online, try this. Thanks to InvisibleDan for finding this.

PPMB

• The Continuing Adventures of an ANGRY!!! Young Man, by Charles RB (Part 4): The third date with Claire would be to the cinema. Unfortunately, the chances of Claire liking Valley Forge Massacre—said to be the most violent ‘Nam film ever!—was going to be remote, so Anthony decided to take her to the new chick-flick romcom East Fulham. He HATED chick-flick romcoms. But you made sacrifices for love.
• Daria: Hunter 6—Infectious, by Jim North (continued): Anthony opened his mouth to speak, but the 'bot cut him off with a wave of its hand. "Hold that thought!" not-O'Neill said. "I've found that it's far more difficult to get other members of the opposing team to agree to their own deals with the devil if one of their number has already turned me down. So! Miss Burns, what do you say to—" "You talk too much," Burnout said.
  
• Finn Morgendorffer 54: On the Outside of Love, by HolyGrail2007 (Part 1): “You know, I really like your idea of recompense. You can miss any prom or dance or anything you want.” Finn was out of breath, naked in his bed, as Sierra was dressing. “Cool your heels, hotshot,” Sierra returned. “It loses its appeal when it happens all the time.” “Speak for yourself,” Finn returned.
• The Hallowed Halls of Fielding, by Roentgen (Part 46): "Ms. Morgendorffer, Ms. Timothy," Morioka said, singling out Daria and another student. "You two'll be wearing that hair of yours tied behind your back. I'd hate to see either of you hoisted like the Wicked Witch over the stage because one of you got her hair caught in the gears." She turned her attention to the others. "You have to learn every aspect of the stage, and you're going to get a crash course in shop safety and that means power tools."
• Judith Strikes! Lunch, by Erin M. (COMPLETE!): Reiko frowned. "What? I'm the Senior Guide for that Cluster. You can't pull me now! The only other Guides available are Nabiki and Gosunkugi, and Gosunkugi has his duties split between the Cluster and the Collective." "We know, and we wouldn't pull you otherwise, except that there's an emergency in the Lawndale Cluster," Lazlo replied. Reiko rolled her eyes. "Oh come ON. The Lawndale Cluster has tons of reality defenders inherent there as it is. Any damage done is usually fixed by the Agency anyway. What's so important that the normal Guides for that Cluster can't possibly—" "The locket's in the Lawndale Cluster."
• Judith Strikes! Rest Stop, by Brother Grimace (COMPLETE!): “So... have you come to kill me?” Judith lifted her head as she untangled herself from her red cloak, and saw the hated image of one of her doppelgangers raise up from the bed where she lay in shadows, and thin beams of bluish-white moonlight. “Yeah,” Judith breathed out, slow and angry. “Pretty much.”
• NEW! Judith Strikes! The Rise and Fall of D.D. Morgan and the Sanity Assassins, by Brian Taylor (Part 1): You've seen the video by now, haven't you? The one filmed during her final concert? Of course you have. Sure, you can lie about it. You can say you don't want to see anything like it. It offends your sensibilities. You never liked her music, anyway, you say during parties, eyes darting furtively over to the CD cabinet just to make sure nobody catches you in the lie. But then, you said the same thing about the Zapruder film, and how many times have you seen Kennedy's dying moments? Head goes forward. Head goes back. Lights go out. This is the same thing. Why deny it?
  
• Judith Strikes! You'll Never Walk Alone, by Charles RB (COMPLETE!): The Lawndale Lions was about to play Fielding with a 2000-strong audience, and no one official had spotted her placing agents & conning patsies through the stadium. Judith was having a good day. She began to slip out, heading for the exit (she didn’t want to be seen around when the fuzz cracked down), but she made sure she’d see the chaos that would erupt in the next twenty seconds. Ah, Fielding. Tom’s school. They had this coming. “Five... four... three... two... one...”
• The Lane That Wasn't, by LadieT (Parts 4 and 5): A couple of hours later, Jane woke back up. She was feeling physically better, but mentally and emotionally she was still suffering. She tried to survey the room without hurting her neck. She froze when she saw a taller, skinnier version of Daria staring at her from Daria's side of the room. A smile came over the woman's face as she walked toward Jane. "Ahh, I'm glad to see my favorite niece is up. How are you feeling?" "Hi, Aunt Amy." How do I know this woman's name? I've never heard Daria mention her before? Could it be I am a Morgendorffer, but Daria looks just like her. (Part 5)
• NEW! Night Time Is the Right Time, by Chris Tucker (COMPLETE!): "Swell. I'm naked in the middle of nowhere. Again. I hate this nightmare. Show yourself and lets get this over with so I can wake up screaming and get everyone in the house all freaked out yet again." The gray skies. The featureless plain. Not a single herd of beautiful wild ponies running free to be seen anywhere. "This place sucks." [Part of the "Season in Hell" series]
• Pulp Fiction, by Chris Tucker (Prologue, Parts 1 and 2 and 3): "OK, what makes you think I'm intelligent?" "'Ah, Watson. You see, but you do not observe!' The bookbag is from the Raft student co op. The modestly sized school crest is embroidered upon it. Your polo shirt is also from the co op. I see the collar where it peeps out from the neck of your sweater. A unique shade only available at Raft. Part of the school colors. Further, your bag is obviously stuffed with textbooks. Finally, Raft only accepts the cream of the crop of applications. There are NO stupid people at Raft. Ergo, you are intelligent! And as for being pretty, that's written all over your face. I take it you don't own a mirror. Oh, I hope you're not a vampire. Miserable things, vampires. The very devil to get rid of, you know!" By now, she was laughing out loud. "My name is James Clark Wilder V... and you are...?" "Um, Daria Morgendorffer." (early version of Prologue) (Prologue) (Part 2) (NEW! Part 3) (Daria/Doc Savage)
• Unnamed story, by Ranger Thorne (COMPLETE!): Jane scowled at Alison as she tried to slip around her to the door. When Alison stepped in front of her, the younger woman gritted her teeth and growled, “Alison, I like guys. Now get out of my way.” “Yeah, you like guys and hanging out with bisexuals in their bedrooms.” The smirk returned, “Hey, I even bought you dinner.” “Dinner was settling a bet. And I didn’t know you were bi.” “Sure you didn’t. Sorry, baby, but I never hit on straight chicks.” “I’m not interested in women. Now let me out of here.” “You mean you're not ready to admit it.” She leaned forward, “That’s okay. I’d be happy to —” anything else she was going to say was cut off as Jane, freaked out that Alison had leaned in too close, shoved her. To the surprise of both, Alison was sent flying back into the door, only to have the hinges give way and deposit Alison into the yard on a door that skidded for at least five yards.
• NEWER! Unnamed story (More Crossovers Not Yet Crossed Over), by RLobinske (COMPLETE!): "Professor Daniels asked me to double-check his translation of the Latin inscription." "Busy work? From what you mentioned, he's a gifted linguist." "A joke. He knows the language a hell of a lot better than I do. Anyway, it was still fun." "So what did it say?" "Basically, 'Here Lies Jupiter. Do not open.'" "Jupiter's coffin?" "Like I said, a joke." "Not really," another voice said from the other end of the room. (Daria/Stargate)
  
• The Vision of the Burning Cities, by jtranser (continued): In the cold grey shadows of the dimly lit street stood a great locked wooden gate carved with numerous cryptic glyphs worn smooth by the casual touch of impious hands over the centuries. Trembling, Stacy approached the door and reached for the door knocker. As she touched the bronze ring, the central panel of the door suddenly lit up its carvings with a bright yellow light. Then it appeared to ooze streaks of tar-like red blood as a primitive intercom buzzed and crackled while a suave voice gave her a message: "I'm sorry, but we're celebrating a murder right now. You'll have to come back later."
• NEWER! Two Halves 6: Role Models, by Dark Kuno (Part 3): “Why would the school need bulletproof skylights?” asked Jake as he gave his eldest children a quizzical look from across the kitchen table. “Because the pigeons have upgraded to the heavy duty munitions,” returned Alex. “Pigeons? Damned lousy rats with wings! Every time you wash your car...” Jake began to mutter angrily.
  
• We're 700 miles from Chicago. It's 6 in the morning. We've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of gum and we're both wearing bowling shirts! by Chris Tucker (COMPLETE!): Anthony DeMartino found Jane Lane in his empty classroom. That was the first surprise. The second surprise was that the usually unflappable Ms. Lane was crying her eyes out. He knew Lane was Morgendorffer's best friend. And he suspected that the reason this poor child was crying had something to do with her friend's illness. OK, Tony. Low key. Don't scare her. Softly: "Ms. Lane?" [Part of the "Season in Hell" series]

Love Story

Rock star Courtney Love, beloved of MTV's animation staff so much that someone drew Quinn Morgendorffer in Ms. Love's attire, turns 46 today. Odd how some people cringe when I mention that I collect her CDs. Really like her music. Some people have no taste, I suppose. Click on the label "quinn as courtney love" to see previous Love birthdays, including an image that might have been the model for the alter ego at right.

Outpost Amy, beloved of Daria fans from way, way back, was last updated nine years ago today. Such a fun website with such wonderful stories! It was the first shared world in this fandom.

Stay tooned, moar on the wai.

NoooZ!

• Re-viewing Daria: a PPMB thread about watching the show all over again, and how it looks the second time around.
• Lord Akiyama presents us with another view of Quinn and one of her fanfiction beaus.
• Erin M. offers up an Iron Chef: First Impressions. "Your mission, should you decide to accept: Chronicle the first meeting between Helen Morgendorffer and Amanda Lane. Other members of either family can be involved in this meeting."
• Not to be outdone, we have Charles RB's Iron Chef: The Great Age Reversal. "Your challenge: do a fic where all the adult characters are students at Laaaaawndale High, and the teens are the adults. And Kevin is a teacher of the most inappropriate class he could possibly be given."
• And there is Iron Chef: Crossover the Pond, by MJPollard. "Your mission, should you choose to accept it: show one or more characters from Daria (your choice) interacting with the characters from any popular British television series (including, but not limited to, Coronation Street, Blake's 7, Red Dwarf, Absolutely Fabulous, Fawlty Towers, Prime Suspect, and, of course, Doctor Who)."

FF.net

• The InDark, by Mediancat (Part 25): Here they were. Once again, hanging around an airport again in the middle of the night, which was rapidly becoming early Tuesday morning. At least everyone else could sleep, Daria thought, seeing Jane and Oz sacked out a couple of seats apart. Aunt Amy was awake again and getting the two of them coffee. The third time she'd slept, for about an hour and a half, the First had apparently left her alone. She'd dreamed about Camp Grizzly, but nothing had reminded her of April 10, 1997, either the day or the book. (Daria/Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel/Dick Tracy)

PPMB

• Dammit, by Ajar (COMPLETE!): "Dammit, Peter! I've got a meeting with Buzzdome in twenty minutes and I need to explain to them why their market awareness penetration is below projections." "Dammit, John! Don't look at me. The new boy spearheaded that one." "Dammit, Peter! Get him down here." (Daria/A Bit of Fry and Laurie)
• Daria: Hunter 6—Infectious, by Jim North (continued): Axl scrabbled at the controls for the elevator doors with digital fingers, but they were locked down tight without even the slightest crack into which he could apply leverage. Boiling with frustration, he left a part of himself there to try a brute force approach as he turned his attention back to the exits. If he could get the survivors out of the building quickly enough, it wouldn't matter if they were all together or not. His brain buzzed with the intensity of keeping several parts of himself working all across the DENA network. The implants and surgery that the Engineer had put him through enabled him to split his consciousness across several parts of that system, but one of the downsides was the infernal itching that it caused in his head.
• The Hallowed Halls of Fielding, by Roentgen (Part 42): Unless one had read the back pages of the Sport section of the Fielding newspaper, Daria knew that one might never have guessed that such a thing as a Fielding Swim Meet existed. When the four of them—Helen, Jake, Daria and Jill—arrived at the Fielding Natatorium, the only clue of such an event was a simple sign near the entrance, a sign supported with two stiff wires shoved in the dirt. The sign read "SWIM MEET HERE." Not even the dignity of the school name. "Cool," said Daria, "I didn't know we were having a swim meet. I would have been completely unprepared."
• Judith Strikes! Mack Dynamite vs. the Crimson Phantom, by Erin M. (Part 2): As he reached the top of the stairs, he saw a slender female figure bent over in front of the upstairs door. She was wearing a short denim jacket and what looked like a white halter top. Mack Dynamite took a brief moment to appreciate the tight, muscular buttocks encased in the ass kissing red vinyl bell bottoms, before walking up and giving the woman a playful slap on the ass. The woman bolted upright, spun on one foot and lashed out with a fist. Mack Dynamite's forearm shot up and blocked the attack effortlessly. He smiled and looked into crystal blue eyes under shaggy black bangs. "Relax, Baby Jane," he said. "Didn't mean nothin' by it. Just saying hello." The expression of anger faded, and Jane Lane, Madame Daria's bodyguard and Gal Friday, smiled. Red lips parting to show perfect teeth.
• Life, But Not As You Know It, by Phoenix (Part 2): “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Elsie said as she removed her black over-sized sunglasses and looked up at the building in front of her. “This is a joke right?” she turned to her mother and waited for Kay to respond. “Do you see me laughing?” Kay said stiffly, and then began to walk across the small parking lot to the staircase that clung to the outside of the apartment block. Elsie gave a disapproving grunt and followed her mother. When Kay had first told her that they would be moving into an apartment, Elsie had envisioned the new high-rise that had recently been built near the shopping district. Not this. The building in question was a two-story structure that looked like it had been erected in the mid-to-late sixties; a place of residence that, in its heyday, would have been quite acceptable to live in. Now, however, it was in a great state of disrepair.
• The Light of the Charge Brigade, by Roentgen (COMPLETE!): By the time the four arrived at the Khaki Barn, they were exhausted but all very happy, carrying multi-colored paper bags and shoe boxes. Stacy noticed a wool sweater featured on one of the displays at Khaki Barn. "Hmmm...." Stacy thought to herself. "Good choice, Sta-cee," Sandi said. "British hand-knit will be so in this winter. Way to think ahead." "Yeahhhh," Stacy said, "but I'm almost up to four figures on my parents' charge card. The last time I spent this much they yelled at me. I don't know." "But if you don't get it now it will be marked up in two months!" Quinn said.
• Unnamed story (Iron Chef: Crossover the Pond), by Lord Akiyama (COMPLETE!): "So... you're an artist." "You can say that." "So am I. What kind of thing do you do?" (Daria/Spaced)
• Unnamed story (Iron Chef: Crossover the Pond), by Jim North (COMPLETE!): [Too short to sample!]
• Unnamed story (Iron Chef: Crossover the Pond), by Quiverwing (COMPLETE!): [Too short to sample!]
• Unnamed story (Iron Chef: Daria and Jane pregnant at the same time), by NightGoblyn (Part 2 of this unnamed story): The door slammed thunderously, making the dishes in the cupboard rattle and causing LJ to start crying. Daria winced, and then walked over to the playpen, sweeping her little girl up and cooing at her. The brunette glanced up as her best friend stomped into the room and threw her book bag onto the worn love seat. "Rough day at the office?" Daria asked quietly. "Shut up," Jane snapped, glaring at the other girl. A little down the hall, a door swung open and Tom stuck his head out. He peered around with a sleepy, confused expression, and then asked, "What's with all the racket?" "Go to hell!" Jane shouted. "I'm a goddamn pariah, and it's all your fault!"
  

Another Digression on Alter Egos

The awesome UU and Pinhead provided the, um, enlarged inspiration at left for this particular post, which is about those wacky MTV Animation artists and their very clever use of alter egos to remind us of pop culture past.

One of the late season alter egos of Quinn Morgendorffer was this one on the left, identified on the MTV website with the caption: Quinn poses for a glamour shot as Jayne Mansfield.

What makes Quinn become Jayne Mansfield, though?

First of all, some background. Unless you are as old as me (or, worse, older), you might not know that Vera Palmer, a.k.a. Jayne Mansfield, was a buxom movie star from the 1950s and 1960s. She was a Playboy centerfold star, too, and a nightclub star, a Broadway star, a television star, and a paramour of both JFK and RFK. (Good Lord!) Because she liked to show off her ample bust, she was once introduced on a late-night talk show with the legendary phrase, "Here they are, Jayne Mansfield!" (This story was later mutated to have been said about Dolly Parton by Johnny Carson, but that was not true.) She played the violin and other musical instruments, sang quite well (once with none other than Jimi Hendrix on guitar), entertained American soldiers in Vietnam on USO tours with Bob Hope, and got married to one of her husbands while wearing a transparent gown. She knew how to live large, and she did. She almost became Ginger on Gilligan's Island, but turned down the part. Her impact on pop culture is incalculable.

Quinn becomes Jayne Mansfield because: 1. she has Jayne's 40-inch chest, 2. she has Jayne's hairstyle (with Quinn's trademark bangs), and 3. she's wearing a leopard-skin bikini. Do not underestimate the leopard-skin bikini. Jayne liked bikinis and was fond of ones with leopard prints. One female reviewer for the Miami Herald, in an article about how the bikini became so widespread in use and so beloved by the public, wrote, "In the beginning... there was Jayne Mansfield."

It is said that Jayne Mansfield was one thing that Brittany Taylor isn't: smart. She could pander as well as anyone, but behind the 40-inch breasts was a powerhouse mind and a hard-driving actor/entertainer with an extraordinary range of professional skills. It was literally impossible for her to fail at life.

This post closes with a thought from her: If you're going to do something wrong, do it big, because the punishment is the same either way. Enjoy.

In with the Old, Out with the New!

Pinhead and UU have once again come through for us. In with the New Year, out with the Old Year, something like that.

The following posts are this blog's feeble attempt to cheer those who are spending the New Year's celebrations at home on the computer. Unlike me.

Oh, you might check out the constantly growing number of "In the Spotlight" online interviews with Daria fans, by Daria fans, on PPMB. Vlora and Devilkitty are the new ones up.

And Minx's new version of Quinn.

And Vlora's continuing display of outrageous artistic talent, of which I have none. (The Daria pin-up is mind-blowing.)

"Diane, the Red-Nosed Reindeer..."

At left, another of those curious alter egos that leave you scratching your head. Wonder if the outfit is used for the same role-playing purpose as that racehorse costume Helen has for those special bonding moments with Jake. Mrs. Bennett's husband would pretend to be a reindeer-friendly Santa Claus, and... oh, let's not take that any further. Sorry.

Enjoy these additional holiday-spirited words from Daria herself as you view classic artwork from Wouter, on PPMB: Naughty Daria. Not very naughty, but she means well.

TEN unnamed Christmas fanfics for you: one by Demi_Cat, one by SigDiff, one by A.J., one by Reese Kaine, one by Nemo Blank, one by TheEleventy, and four by Decelaraptor (others are here, and here, and here). Party on!

FAN ART!

Christmas Daria/Trentness! by Minkychanz

Christmas Stacy/Andreaness!! by Minkychanz

Early Christmas Pic by Angelinhel

Birthday Time

According to Archbishop James Ussher, Earth is 6,013 years old today. This begins a large number of important anniversaries on this special date. Get ready.

Chicken Soup for the Butt (later collected as part of the megavolume, Reading Sucks) says that Daria is a Scorpio. Today begins the Scorpio part of the zodiac, so her birthday is sometime between now and November 21st. Happy Birthday, Daria! Now, if we only knew when Jane's birthday was....

This is also the birthday of "Weird Al" Yankovic, beloved of many in this fandom. Do you like chemistry? Today is also Mole Day for you science nerds.

Seven years ago today, the now-defunct online comic Mall Monkeys had some special guests. The artwork was borrowed from Outpost Daria.

Last year about this time, Daria fan Dr. Mike pointed out an unusual resemblance between another online character, Clarice, and Daria Morgendorffer. You be the judge, though I will point out Daria does like books and has been depicted (in canon) wearing an outfit like the one Clarice wears in her second-shift job.

Five years ago, "Save the Nauga’s Hide" was completed by Greystar. Fun story!

CURRENT NuuZ

• Acidgirl has her own new version of Jane from "Love Is a Series of Burning Sensation."

PPMB

• Anti-Trope, by Pinkminx (Part 4): Dean sat quietly at a desk toward the front of the class. He turned in his chair to survey the rest of students in the room, realizing the strong female presence in the first few rows of desks. In fact, he was the only male in the front section of the class; every other male student was seated in the back rows. As Dean pondered this abnormality his thoughts were interrupted by the shrill, nasally voice of his science teacher.
• Finn Morgendorffer 9: Legends and Losers, by HolyGrail2007 (COMPLETE!): Finn stood up and looked at himself in the mirror. It was a ritual he performed at least three times a day, more if he had a date or other excuse to be presentable. And the mirror, just like before showed it’s reflection. Finn’s hair was a little in disarray because he had been laying on the bed, but he still looked as handsome as ever. Except for his mouth. Finn couldn’t smile.
• NEW! Finn Morgendorffer 10: Finn the Brain, by HolyGrail2007 (Part 1): “When I assigned you that essay on the styles of writing poetry, I knew I’d get work that reflected the teen within, whether it be the happy-go-lucky cheerleader or the quiet, sensitive person—but never was I so impressed as I was by the essay that Finn Morgendorffer wrote for us!”
  
• Invisible Love, by Charliefox2012 (Part 6): “What are you doing?” Duncan asked. “Drawing,” Jane said, not looking up from her sketchbook. Duncan smirked. “I kind of figured that.” Jane grinned. “Then why’d you ask? And you’re supposed to be smart.” (FF.net)
  
• NEW! A Minty Move-in Day, by Aloysius (COMPLETE!): When the boy and his dad laid their loads on the unmade bed, they left the room and Linda sat her box on top of a nearby desk and wiped her forehead. “I hate carrying boxes,” she muttered. “So I’ll take a brief rest.” The Dawson boy looked at the woman and said, “Mrs. Griffin?” Linda looked at him, her eyebrows raised, and saw that he held out a mint container. “Would you like a Paul’s Fresh Mint?”
  
• The Substitute, by Echopapa (Part 1): Angela Li looked up from her computer screen to the woman sitting at the opposite end of her desk. O’Neill’s nervous breakdown had left her short an English teacher, and the flu virus that was sweeping Lawndale had ravaged the available pool of substitutes, forcing her to hire from the outside. It was fortunate that this resume had arrived in her email yesterday; even more fortunate that this applicant was able to come over from Gotham City on such short notice.
• NEW! Unnamed story (Halloween IC: The Mist), by NightGoblyn (COMPLETE!): "We're gonna die in here, we're gonna die in here, weregonnadieinhere, weregonnadieinhere, weregonnadieinhere!" "Stacy!" Quinn shouted, shaking her friend by the shoulders. "We're not gonna freakin' die! Now calm down!"
  

The Howl of the Cats Anniversary!

Remember that weird poem Daria tried to read to luckless seniors in "The Old and the Beautiful"? That was Allen Ginsberg's "Howl," and the first public reading of it was performed by the author 54 years ago today. Daria reenacts this fateful moment at left. A recording of Allen Ginsberg himself reading part of Howl can be found here. Quite possibly NSFW, but very interesting. I was born the year he wrote it.

Also in our Arts section, the musical "Cats" came to Broadway for the first time 27 years ago. It didn't leave for another 18 years, setting a record for stage performances. Mr. O'Neill reenacts the play at right, dressed as one of the "cats." Can you guess which "cat" he is? I'm not that familiar with the characters, though I did read the T. S. Eliot poem.

A famed Dariaverse villain was born this day in 1944 in Witney, Oxfordshire, UK. Who was that person? Guess before you peek.

DariaWiki has greatly benefited from the most excellent talents of Brother Grimace, Richard Lobinske, Roentgen, Quiverwing, JPAGC, Disco316, Gouka Ryuu, Saiyaman, Kchishol1970, and Ludraman. Thank you all! New pages have been flooding in as well: The Bug Guy, Electronic Alchemy, Memories, Meowlody Powers, The Missing Link, Pinhead, Quinn at College, A Small Stumble for Stacy, and Zachary Butler. Check it out!

Speaking of "Cats" costumes, Doc Forbin has a suggestion for Halloween. See what you think.

The Daria Fan Club is up to 1,436 members. Nice! You new guys, stick around for the DVD release, okay?

Stay tooned.

A Chimp and a Keyboard

Not much going on here. I was daydreaming for a moment, imagining what the fandom would be like a little over a year from now when Daria comes out on DVD. We've gone through a lot of changes in the last 12 years, all the comings and goings. Hope there will be a good number of us around when the product finally ships.

The same old problem is still here, how to keep the fandom's interest fresh during the long wait. I've been tinkering with various shared world ideas. Other people are creating marvelous art and writing great stories. A year is a long time to wait, but we've been around a lot longer than that. It will be a great day to have DVDs in our hands.

More "Small Jokes" from Pinhead are appearing on PPMB, specially altered renditions of Daria alter egos. Wonderful stuff. LATE ADD: And he has created a masterpiece collage from assorted alter egos: JAM!

LATE ADD: Roentgen has thrown down a really strange challenge before us. Can you resolve the impossible situation in Iron Chef: Contract Dispute?

LATE ADD: Malakite asks if Daria should have been called The Quinn Show. Who got the most on-screen time: Daria, Quinn, or Jane?

FF.net

• My Bizarre Daria Dream Fic, by FantasyChick (COMPLETE!): Jane, Trent and a long black haired guitar player were together on a patch of grass under some fully blooming trees and surrounded by fully blooming bushes.

PPMB

• NEW! The Curse of El Smoocho, by Roentgen (Part 1): "GAAHHHHHH!!" Quinn wiped her mouth as she looked up, but the pervert had disappeared without a trace. She didn't even get a good look at him.
  
• Finn Morgendorffer 6: Beautiful, by HolyGrail2007 (Part 1): “Hmmm...” He was thinking of inviting his Aunt Rita to come down for a game soon, but, unfortunately, Rita’s beau Roger had been in an accident recently, and things did not look good.
• NEW! The Highlander, by Smileyfax (COMPLETE!): Daria hated Highland, hated it down to her toenails. The Morgendorffers had almost escaped the town once, four years ago. Helen had had an interview to join a law firm in some town called Lawndale, but Helen had returned to Highland empty-handed, muttering about "damn perverts." Daria decided she didn't want to know. (FF.net)
  
• Lawndale's Finest—Detective Stories 4: Fledge, by NightGoblyn (Part 3): The message, scrawled in what was apparently lipstick, read, The science teacher tried to test me, but I’m not a humanitarian. As Robin read it, she heard a low giggle from the darkened room ahead. [NEWEST! Part 4: Stacy’s first clue that she wasn’t dead was the pain; a constant, dull ache that seemed to come from everywhere and pulsed in time with her heart beat. Her ear was ringing from the communicator blow out, and her ribs sent her angry messages every time she breathed. She slowly opened her eyes and noticed that the left lens of her goggles was cracked.]
  
• NEWEST! Meowlody Powers, by Richard Lobinske (Part 3): Instinctively curling her long tail close to her body, Meowlogy sneaked through the revolving doors and was free to roam the store, looking for her target. Anti-assassination duty was always messy business, especially when Meowlody was told that she didn't need to know the identity of the target.
  
• Rolling the Dice, by Ajar (COMPLETE!): Jane rolled some twenty-sided dice. “While you are distracted by this fascinating can, Tiffany suddenly faceplants the pavement.” “Faaace...plaaant...I alwayyys thought I'd beee a prettyyy flowerrr...”
• Stacy Rowe, Seeker (Part III), by jtranser (continued): The patterns within the patterns swirled and writhed, moving from fractals to paisleys to golden sections to previously unknown non-euclidean geometrical distortions.... [NEWEST! continued: While en route to the center of the milky way, the chinchillas suddenly left their places of concealment and erupted all through Stacy's ship body, breaking into thousands of launch tubes filled with Brussels Sprouts and ravenously devouring billions of sentient sprouts.]
  
• NEW! That Was Then, This Is Where I Don't. Fair Enough? by TAG (COMPLETE!): "I still don't know how Jane caught ebola from eating leftover Chinese food."
  
• NEW! Unnamed story (Iron Chef: Contract Dispute), by Smileyfax (COMPLETE!): Daria and Jane were walking to school, as was their wont. "Did you study for your math test?" Daria asked, knowing that the answer was probably no.
  
• Unnamed story (Scenes no Daria fanfic should have: Hump Day), by Aloysius (COMPLETE!): Daria, Jane, Kevin, Quinn, Charles, Scarlett, Sandi and Mack skipped all the way to Lawndale High School, arm in arm as they sang a song of friendship. "We're all friends, we all get along, everything that happens to us is always good, even the school lunch is good!"
• Unnamed story (TAG: write a fic based on this bombing of the moon quick!), by Deref (COMPLETE!): "It's easy for you to criticize, Daria. You have a teaching job to keep you busy—grading all those papers to keep you entertained during the wee small hours. I, on the other hand..." "...should have stuck to art instead of rocket science."

One Last Blast from the Past

It's funny to think about it now, but when I began this blog two years ago, I was afraid I would run out of images very quickly. How naïve.

At left, a special image The-N once sent out to those who completed a quiz to show how much like Daria they were, and managed to score right at the top. One of the neater little things The-N had on its site, along with large-size images of Daria and Jane, and huge unique wallpapers.

Garden gnomes! Who doesn't love garden gnomes? I think the image at upper right was from Wildgoose's old site, Hell Is Other People. Was this scene at the Gupty's house? Don't remember where it showed up.

Oh, just a side note: check out the newly expanded Backgrounders webpage for The Head, the clueless nerd who seems to show up everywhere, sometimes twice at the same time. You know Ms. Li's gotta be running a Professor Xavier-type school here with all the mutant time traveling, shape changing, self-duplicating, teleporting kids around this school. My sincere and heartfelt thanks to UU and Pinhead for the images and labor that are slowly transforming the Backgrounders site into a thing of absolute wonder.

Too bad you can't click the image at right and really get Mystik Spiral to show up at your house. This was from an old MTV Daria page. I seem to have a lot of tiny Tank images from all sorts of places.

Where did the Fashion Club like to shop? Just look to the right and find out (another old MTV image for wallpapering).

At left, an excellent screen capture from Is It College Yet? showing Daria and Jane as bff's in the 1920s. They're wearing flapper outfits. Good jump-off image for a time-travel tale. This was from CyberDaria, touched up a bit. Funny, when you read the first couple of paragraphs about flappers on Wikipedia, it does remind you of Jane and Daria. Mostly Jane for me, but your mileage may vary.

At right is an alter ego that might not look familiar to you unless you've played the computer game, Daria's Inferno. In the end credits for the game, as information on the game's publisher (Simon & Schuster) is being given, this picture appears. (It is quite large. Click on it.) It is Mr. O'Neill, of course, dressed as the Simon & Schuster logo. He looks more like an older version of the S&S logo from 1961, but even more like the original source of the logo itself. The S&S logo was based upon a French artist's work from 1850: Jean-François Millet's The Sower, which surprises us nowadays as it was once considered a revolutionary work. During Daria's time, Simon & Schuster was the publishing wing of Viacom, which also owned MTV. And there you have it: an alter ego with a longer-than-expected history and meaning.

Left: A rare screen capture of Jane Lane putting on lipstick. I forgot which episode this was in and on which extinct website I found it. Oh, well. The image came from fan artist extraordinaire Pinhead, and my thanks to him for it. Love the shot. It's actually rather big. I touched it up a little.

Last, we have what I think is an image from the Mystik Spiral rock video, "Freakin' Friends," though I am not sure. Kind of evocative, the lighter and psychedelic background and everything.

Enough for tonight, moar tomorrow at some point.

LATE NOTE: I've just discovered that some of the images I posted today and credited to CyberDaria actually came from a different goldmine, the recovered files and images from the old Triste Monde Tragique website (also French). I have so many new images I'm losing track of their origins. My apologies for the mix-up.

LATE LATE NOTE: Remember the Lawndale High teachers' lounge?

A Holiday to Get Carrie'd Away Over

The first day after Labor Day is always Dead Stacy Rowe Day, thanks to this legendary fanfic by Angelinhel. Hooray for Dead Stacy Rowe Day! Please write a fanfic on this topic to celebrate.

Stacy is on the left in her traditional "Carrie" costume (with obligatory pig's blood), after the climactic scene from the 1976 movie (at right) based on the 1974 Stephen King novel. Makes you wonder what happened a few seconds after Stacy got splashed....

A Guilty Aside: I admit that I really like tracking down the origins of the alter egos that appeared on Daria. Hope you don't mind, but it's terrific fun. Mind game thing.

Today is also the 43rd anniversary of the premiere of the first Star Trek TV episode ever. This allowed Daria to have someone to make fun of (i.e., Trekkies). If you are a Trekkie, don't worry, there's always help available somewhere.

And it is also International Literacy Day, which Daria would always find a way to celebrate by reading a book. Splendid idea. Read a book, why don't you (Carrie is good!), but write your Dead Stacy Rowe Day story first.

Richard Lobinske has once again updated his 2009 Daria Visual Fanworks List! And I have not yet done the same for 2009 fanfic, but it is on my calendar for very soon. Moar 2 com.

BREAKING ART NOOZ: Pinkminx's latest update on "Jane - My Style" is available by link on PPMB. And Her Awesomeness Hershey-chan is back with more 'shipper artwork! Her latest is... real good! (I won't spoil it.)

FF.net

• Pigskin Caduceus, by HolyGrail2007 (Parts 11 and 12): “What the hell were you doing on the bridge, dude?” Joey asked. Good question, I thought. I couldn’t look at the two of them. I still felt deeply ashamed of what Daria had revealed to me, that I thought they had abandoned me. I thought little of them, and here they were, saving my life. After all they had done for me, they deserved to know the truth. (PPMB)
  

PPMB

• Falling Into College 70: Is It The Future, Yet? by Richard Lobinske (Part 1): "Don't give me any crap about not being patriotic, you whiny-assed, testicularly challenged pile of road-kill opossum that a starving pig wouldn't touch! You feeling threatened by a woman speaking the truth on stage doesn't make her wrong. It shows how much of a useless excuse of a Y chromosome you are!"

Labor Day, with a hi-di-hi-di-hi, and a ho-di-ho-di-ho!

It is supposed to be a major fashion "don't" to wear white after Labor Day, the reasons being unclear. As a Fashion Club reminder to the less fashionably aware, we give you Ms. Li, the principal of Lawndale High, in a white tuxedo. She will be today's Labor Day icon. (No representative student from Holiday Island High was available.)

Notice that Ms. Li is on a stage in front of a curtain, singing into an old-time microphone. Ms. Li actually appears here as Cab Calloway, the world famous jazz singer, dancer, orchestra conductor, and guest star in the 1980 movie, The Blues Brothers, where he sang one of the songs for which he is best remembered: "Minnie the Moocher." (Click the link and the white tuxedo-and-tails thing will become immediately obvious). He was also famous for "Hi Di Ho Man," which he sang with the Muppets (again in his white tux).

This is one of the older alter egos used on Daria for which no description was given, so it is up to extremely aged people like me to figure out what the secret cultural reference is. Those MTV animators were clever little devils, weren't they?

Speaking of Labor Day, Kara Wild noted in the introduction to one of her DWU fanfics that "All But Forgotten" and "Memory Road" take place during the Labor Day weekend. In another fanfic, Quinn Morgendorffer offers the following quote: "IF I were Jesus, I'd wouldn't wearing ANYTHING florescent this soon after Labor Day, that's just as blasphemous as wearing white shoes." Love that.

What would the HIH student known as Labor Day be like? Hmmm...

On another topic, while checking some of the links at left (in "The Daria Directory"), I found a few that were extinct. I've managed to recover them using the WayBack Machine and relocate them in the Blasts from the Past section. Version Daria, one of the great old supersites, has finally vanished. Few of the AOL ones that disappeared can be recovered, however. The Web is ephemeral. All things come and go. Alas! Anyway, if you notice a broken link, just let me know.

New PPMB Iron Chef: Sick, Sad Worldisms!

Whistling "Sweet Georgia Brown" Once Again

With one important exception, I did not like sports when I was a kid. The exception was watching the Harlem Globetrotters on TV, which was the only sports event that made you laugh. A number of websites state that today is the 82nd anniversary of the birth of the Globetrotters, though the actual situation is more complicated than that. Nevertheless, here is Jane Lane wearing an outfit very similar to the "away" uniform of the Globetrotters. Thank you, Meadowlark Lemon, wherever you are, for all the joy you gave me.

FF.net

• Pigskin Caduceus, by HolyGrail2007 (Part 9): I drifted in and out of consciousness for the next couple of hours, I couldn’t remember things too well. When I was coherent enough to think again, I was lying on the floor in my room. My head was lying next to a puddle of vomit, the carpet had quite a number of bloodstains.
• Reaped Out, Act 2: Sickle Sad World, by Pinkminx (up to Part 3).

PPMB

• Stacy Rowe, Seeker (Part III), by jtranser (continued): "Let me see if I have this right. You've gone to all the trouble of kidnapping me, bringing me to some godforsaken jungle, and now you tell me you're going to destroy the world!! And I'm going to help you!? And I thought I was nuts!!!"

Alter Egos Are Not Just for Daria Folks...

The artwork at left (I use the term "artwork" quite loosely) might puzzle some people. It's obviously Daria's close personal friend, Butt-head, in a woman's black wig, black gloves, and black stockings, sitting naked in a martini glass. Why would anyone draw that? Who would ever drink out of that glass again? And why would I put that image on my blog and gross out the entire readership? (Because I can.) As you futilely try to scrub the offending image out of your brain, you should learn a new thing about it: this is a Beavis and Butt-head alter ego, which works exactly the same as a Daria one.

In this WayBack Machine image from an old MTV B&B site, Butt-head is imitating a femlin. A femlin is a female gremlin character found on the "Party Jokes" pages of Playboy (see book cover at right). This particular pose is one of the most famous ones (among people who drool over Playboy), so much so that it has been sold as a tiny collector's statuette. The femlin even has its own pretentious coffee-table art book. Upchuck would know all about this character, of course. And now, so do you. No, no, don't bother to thank me. It's all a part of educating the Daria fandom, which Lord knows could use it.

Let's see what else we can drag out of the WayBack Machine from MTV websites past.... Have an idea for a new MTV cartoon show? TOO LATE!!! AH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!! Man, that was funny!

FF.net

• Teenage Wasteland, by Yorsh Passangero (Parts 1 and 2): (Daria/Total Drama Island) Camp Wawanakwa, formerly an amazing summer camp that should bring fond good memories to generations past, now, an almost collapsing joint that should be declared no man’s land. This was now one of North America’s most recognizable places because of three simple words: Total Drama Island.
  
• To Me You Are a Work of Art, by Mrs. Abject and Solace Layfield (Part 1): “Hey , you have just failed to communicate with the artist Jane Lane. Either I'm asleep, I've lost my phone, or I'm blowing you off. Anyways, leave me a nice message and we'll get in touch, alright?”
  

PPMB

• Apocalyptic Daria: Brave New World, by Doggieboy (Part 9): Odell walked off then and tried to ignore the girl. He turned his back on her as he walked. But he could feel her stare as he moved towards the old man, and sweat appeared on his forehead. (SFMB)
• Iron Chef: Daria Is Raven's Apprentice, by Project Pegasus (COMPLETE!): "You’re really childish, you know that?" "Are you coming on to me, Ms. Lafave?"
  
• The Misery Chick, by thatLONERchick (Part 2): Jane recollected Daria’s memorial with little emotion. It had been held on the field at Lawndale High, one week after the grisly event had taken place. A podium was set up on the grass, the bleachers underneath which Daria’s life had ended easily visible behind a somber Ms. Li, cordoned off with black ribbon.
• Rainbow Disconnection, by Disco316 (Part 1): “Seriously," said Quinn, "why do you surround yourself with such depressing stuff?” “For the same reason I’m going to college: to prepare myself for the real world,” deadpanned Daria.
• Reaped Out: Sickle Sad World, by Pinkminx (Part 2): "Are you okay?" Georgia asked warily. She had realized very quickly that Daria had a hair-trigger temper; although it usually manifested in a passive-aggressive silence, now wasn’t the time to set off "the beast."
  

The answer to Monday's question is....

...Jane Lane. She appears in this alter ego wearing a costume like that worn by Flavor Flav, the 1980s rapper with Public Enemy. See this webpage for the source outfit. Another source is here. The original question was here. Nobody guessed it.

Clever people, these MTV animators.

More clever than you, it seems.

Making a Good First Post-Impression

Paul Gauguin, the famed Post-Impressionist painter, was born this day 161 years ago. His name appears in very few fanfics, the only one I can find being this one, an interesting read in itself. You can bet Jane Lane knew who he was. In fact, if Gauguin had made a woodcut of Jane (he was fond of creating woodcuts as well as paintings), it might have looked like the MTV alter ego at right.

Or, you know, not.

LATE BREAKING MOAR! Richard Lobinske asked for a sound bite for this post. Here is Jane Lane, telling us the secret of Gauguin's artistic genius.

More later today, will be busy for a while. Enjoy.

FF.net

• Apocalyptic Daria: Brave New World, by Doggieboy, a.k.a. Doggieboy80 (updated to Part 8)
• Apocalyptic Daria: Scarlett's Tale, by Doggieboy, a.k.a. Doggieboy80 (updated to Part 9)
• Don't Wound What You Can't Kill, by thatLONERchick, a.k.a. Alpacca Joe (COMPLETE!): Golden afternoon sun shone gaily down on the Morgendorffer lawn on a quiet, typical late Spring day. The carefully maintained shrubs on the side lawn rustled in the light breeze and a butterfly fluttered past, capping the idyllic scene. Circumstances in the fenced-in backyard were slightly different. "You shoulda killed me when you had the chance, Jakey." (PPMB)
• Falling Asleep Drunk, by Valie (COMPLETE!): Jane had warned her friend what would happen if she kept downing the vodka shots.

PPMB

• Lawndale's Finest: The Dark Knight, by NightGoblyn (Chapter 4, Part 7): Quinn shuffled along, hunched over against the winter wind that made the trees sway and groan. When she reached the school building, she shifted her bag into her left hand and knocked loudly on the front door. After a few seconds spent shivering in the cold, the door swung open and she hurried inside. “Good evening, Miss Morgendorffer.”

"I pity the fool who touches my gradebook!"

Yes, today is the 57th birthday of that great American legend, Mr. T, represented here on the right by Mr. O'Neill (dressed in something vaguely like Mr. T's A-Team outfit). Irony, oh, the irony.

Question: Did anyone ever do a Daria/Mr. T (B.A. Baracus) crossover? 'Cause that would rule.

More later, still getting over the flu.

MORE NOTES: Plans for a late summer Midwest USA Dariacon are in the works. I pity the fool who doesn't make it there.

MOAR NUZ! A new website has been created to host the five author/artist interviews conducted last year (the "alt.lawndale.creators" batch). So far, only the interviews with MMan and Christ Oliver are up, but the rest are following in short order. Got any comments? Want to see the interviews continued? Let me know. There seems to be a lot of interest on this topic.