But Can They Dance on the Head of a Pin?

I don't think Daria and Jane are fooling anyone with their angel act, even if today is Be an Angel Day. At least Jake doesn't have to worry about his daughters going up to join that heavenly choir.

For winged creatures without all of the theological baggage, it's also National Tooth Fairy Day! Metal Mouth might make a good profit if he leaves his (many) lost teeth under his pillow tonight.

Daria will be pleased (or as pleased as she ever is) to know that today is the anniversary of Dorothy Parker's birth in 1893. The snarky late author would have been just Daria's speed, and I would not be surprised at all to find she was a fan.

Fandom News!

• Talk about the recent egg recall in the United States.


• cfardell_Brenorenz29 posted a new Iron Chef: Theatrical Sabotage at Raft.


• janethamill is looking for help accessing SFMB.

Warm Up to Sing in that Heavenly Choir!

I don't know who Daria and Jane think they're fooling on Be an Angel Day, but anyone who knows either of them (or has been on the receiving end of their snark) knows better than to believe appearances. I hope Quinn's guardian angel isn't too busy playing his string thing to protect Quinn from any jeans-related emergencies.

In other winged creatures news, today is National Tooth Fairy Day, so be sure to check under your pillow for money. Let's hope Metal Mouth finds a shiny new set of non-metal teeth under his pillow, because he's got to be sick of Cyndi Lauper by now.

Happy birthday to the late Dorothy Parker, who was born on this day in 1893. I don't think there's much doubt that Daria would be a fan, and many would even consider her to be a spiritual successor to the sarcastic writer.

Fandom News!

• Vote in the Deathmatch poll between Yor Briar/Forger and Osaragi.


• cfardell_Brenorenz29 posted a new Iron Chef: Doppleganger Rival.

"Warming up to sing in that heavenly choir!"

Daria and Quinn aren't fooling anyone, even if today is Be an Angel Day. I mean, Daria doesn't even believe in angels, so what's she trying to pull?

While we're on the subject of small winged creatures that may or may not exist, today is also National Tooth Fairy Day! Poor Fantasy DeMartino (pre-Metal Mouth) lost all of his teeth and didn't even get any money under his pillow. No wonder he was so bitter!

Fanfic Update!

• Bearing the Summer, by Lady Evil (part 5): "'What’s up, all you rockin’ rugrats?' Vixx started her show with her usual greeting. 'Not my boyfriend.' Daria quietly snarked as Trent snoozed next to her in his bed."


• Erin Chambers, by OzFerret (COMPLETE!): "Erin had finished half of her pastry and was about to suggest they stroll the docks, when a large white van, with a square-rigged ship painted on the side, rumbled past the café window. 'It’s them,' Trevor cried as he hastily gathered his things."


• Lovefool, by saiouma (COMPLETE!): "'I’ve been thinking about getting a haircut.' Daria brought up randomly, while glancing at a page of her latest book purchase."


• Unnamed story (Iron Chef: Nathan), by welltemperedclavier (part 1): "As any artist knew, sometimes you just had to experience the familiar in a new context."

"Oh, go dance on the head of a pin."

I don't know whom Daria and Jane think they're fooling, but at least they're trying to fit in on Be an Angel Day. I'm sure Quinn's guardian angel will be around, too, unless he's too busy playing his string thing.

Today is also the anniversary of Dorothy Parker's birth in 1893, which is worth mentioning because I strongly believe that she and Daria would have gotten along very well. With Parker's gift for satire and wisecracks, it would be a perfect match!

Fandom News!

• Roentgen started a new thread about Scenic Lawndale.


• VICE reports an update on the Daria reboot.


• Share your own personal Top 5 2012 TMNT lists.


• Discuss SCIFI crossovers you'd like to see.

They're Warming Up to Sing in that Heavenly Choir

Daria and Jane aren't fooling anyone on Be an Angel Day, but Quinn's guardian angel will surely show up to prevent light fixtures from falling on the popular kids. I've mentioned it before, but I still can't recommend Mike Xeno's Guardian enough.

Today is also the anniversary of Dorothy Parker's birth on this day in 1893. I don't recall Parker ever getting mentioned on the show, but there's no way Daria (the person or the character) wasn't influenced by her biting wit.

Fandom News!

• Say good-bye to recently-deceased comedians Dick Gregory and Jerry Lewis.


• What do you consider the most epic quotes from Daria?

"They should be safe at home and warm and by the fire instead of warming up to sing in that heavenly choir!"

Today might be Be An Angel Day, but I don't know who Daria and Jane think they're trying to fool. I suppose as long as they don't grope anyone, it'll be fine. While Daria and Jane go dance on the head of a pin, why don't the rest of us read Mike Xeno's excellent guardian angel fanfic "Guardian"?

One of Daria's role models, Dorothy Parker, was born on this day in 1893. Or at least, considering the similarities between the two in sharp wit and dark humor, I wouldn't be surprised if she was one of her role models.

Fandom News!

• See the trailer and talk about the new Silent Hill game.


• Meester_Lee has a question about Daria and musical instruments.


• DarkDranzer wonders about PTSD in Daria fanon.


• Two new Iron Chefs have been posted in Creative Writing: PrecambrianStudios's Bootless Daria and Waylander's Daria as Renaissance woman.


• Discuss Nemo Blank's Ring Toss and Retrograde Girl in the Golden Oldies forum.

"Oh, go dance on the head of a pin."

Better be on your best behavior today--it's Be an Angel Day! Make sure you tell everyone to have the raspberry vinaigrette dressing...but I'd avoid groping anyone. Helen's always on the lookout for a good lawsuit.

For a very touching story about the Morgendorffer family's guardian angel, read Mike Xeno's excellent fanfic Guardian. If you're already read it, reread it. It's totally worth it.

Fandom News!

• Find out more about the incoming coronal mass ejection. Just think of the fanfic potential!


• Share your advice and/or horror stories about wisdom teeth with Shiva.


• aqualeap muses about BFAC and the f-word.


• Discuss a recent controversy involving One Direction and The Who in a new thread.


• Two new Iron Chefs have been posted in Creative Writing: Vukodlak's Evil Trent and Shiva's Daria wrecks a car.


• Payul shares an article with the fan artists: 5 Fundamental Skills Every Artist Should Master.

Teen Angels

Daria's only flirtation with religion appeared on MTV just 11 years ago today with the episode "Groped by an Angel." The episode sparks a lot of fanfiction ideas, but a big one it fires on is this: could there be guardian angels in Daria? Given all the disasters that the characters experience in the series, the answer leans toward "yes." Seriously, how else could Daria have survived the collapse of the school library roof, her near accident in the family SUV, the sinking of the Princess Fairy, the hurricane, and everything else?

Does Quinn have a guardian angel? Fanfiction says yes. Does Daria have a guardian angel? Fanfiction says yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes. Does Jane? Apparently not, dammit, but as she says in "Speedtrapped," she's a survivor and probably doesn't need one. So, maybe "Groped by an Angel" was on to something. (I know the images with this blog post come from "Daria! The Musical," "Lucky Strike," and "Sarcastathon 3000," but they fit so I am using them.)

The Morgendorffers appear to be some liberal flavor of Christian, most likely Protestant, because they have a Christmas tree and are at (very rare) times shown in church. Plus, the outdoor wedding in "I Don't" looked very Protestant to me. Religion doesn't seem to enter much into their lives, except for cursing and weddings. And minor religious bits in certain Sick, Sad World episodes. Oh, right, there's the big Cupid in "Depth Takes a Holiday," but he's a Greek demigod and not really an angel. Upchuck is shown as Cupid in an alter-ego, but he's no angel, either.

Here's what I am pondering: what would a guardian angel from Daria properly look like? Creatively speaking, I mean. I have a mental image of Sandi Griffin's alleged guardian angel as having the form of a heraldic griffon (eagle's head and wings and foreclaws, with a lion's body, rear feet, and tail). A griffon for a Griffin. Works for me.

Any other ideas? Might a guardian angel look at all like a spirit animal from "The Teachings of Don Jake," or like a small animal like the bulldog in "Through a Lens, Darkly," or like a cat? Could Jeffy, Joey, and Jamie actually be Quinn's guardian angels? Why would she have three? Toss out some ideas here. Spread them around like manure and let's see what grows in it.

Angels. Why do they all have harps in Daria? I don't think any of the characters depicted with them know how to play them. Oh, and here are some fan artworks of Daria cast angels:

• "Fallen Angels" (SRA)
• "The Archangel Daria" (Geoffrey Roberts)
• "Quinn as Claire Danes' Juliet, from the movie Romeo+Juliet" (Liliane Grenier)

Meanwhile... hmmm, don't have any fanfiction lists ready. Moar later then. Talk amongst yourselves about angels in animated series. Especially this one.

The Groundhog and the Angel

How many years has the Daria fandom been around, and we still don't have any Groundhog Day fanfiction! It's amazing. It's like it's not an important enough holiday to write a story about, and it's got groundhogs! I give up. If anyone writes one, just don't imitate the Bill Murray movie. Do something original.

This is the birthday anniversary of Farrah Fawcett, the TV and movie actress who, with her fellow Angels, changed television forever. "Murder, She Snored" even has Quinn with Farrah Fawcett's hair!

...and then they went to Kitty Heaven

Eight years ago today, the last Daria movie was aired. Is It College Yet? drew appreciative reviews and a last interview. It's funny now to think that my time in this fandom did not begin until three months after the show went off the air. Weird.

In that last interview, Daria is asked, "Once you're in college, do you think that you'll find the happiness that has eluded you for, really, all your life?" She frowns and replies, "Why do people assume I'm unhappy just because I mope around all the time, saying snide things in a deadpan voice? I find that very judgmental. But in answer to your question: God, I hope so."

Today is also National Hug Day, about which Daria says this... and also this. 'Nuff said.

And finally this is the birthday anniversary of actor Telly Savalas, best known for his starring role in Kojak, a TV crime drama from the 1970s. I used to watch that, and it was pretty good. Kevin gives us his best imitation of Mr. Salavas as NYC police detective Kojak at left. Kinda surprised they did that as an alter ego, but Telly Savalas was a cool guy, too. (The big version of this image can be had by clicking on the little one.) Who loves ya, baby?

Thanks as always to UU and Pinhead for the marvelous images!

Saints Preserve Us!

Saint Daria? Yes, indeed. Today is the Roman Catholic feast day for St. Daria, though the Orthodox feast day for her is on March 19. Saint Daria was said to be "supremely modest." Hmmm, is that our Daria? Pagans were supposed to have proclaimed of the saint, "Daria is a goddess!" Like, duh, we knew that. Interesting that St. Daria started off as a priestess of Athena, goddess of wisdom. Double hmmm.

Twelve years ago, curiosity got the best of one fanfic Daria. The rest was history. Bizarre history. Still thinking about a sequel to that.

The awesome supersite Glitter Berries was last updated two years ago today. *sigh* Still metric tons of good stuff to see there, especially art. Thank you, Kem!

Stay tooned.

Teen Angel Angst

Brittany's crystal bullhorn explodes into a thousand shards, miraculously without injuring Brittany, in the climax of "Groped by an Angel." That episode premiered nine years ago today. Maybe Brittany had a guardian angel of her own. For more on the episode, click here.

If you are for some reason curious about what was being said in this blog a year ago, click here and enjoy.

More soon. Okay, it's soon now.

Because the text tends to overlap left-mounted images using this blog format, I am adding all new fanfiction from today to the blog post from yesterday. Yes, I know this smacks of treason, but it just looks so much nicer and neater that way. Plus it forces readers to see all the goodness that popped out the day before. It's for your own good, trust me.

Okay, forget that reason because I'm going to use bullet points anyway. Let's take a look at what "Groped by an Angel" gave us to play with in the field of fanfiction topics and general discussion.

• The man who rescued Donna that snowy Christmas Eve, the one who was no ordinary roadside mechanic. What was up with this? Of course it was a regular guy, but... what if it wasn't? Think of something in the category of mechanically inclined aliens, supervillains, etc.
  
• "Angels are everywhere. They can hear you." If Quinn was correct, how could the Daria series be reinterpreted with angelic interference?
• "Some people just won't listen to logic." One of the best Quinn quotes ever. Makes you wonder what she would be like if she became highly religious in an AU or as a high-school senior. The new Sarah Palin?
• Trent and "subzero": Since when was Trent this smart? Is Max really this stupid? Speaking of Max, we need more bald-headed whiny poser Max fanfiction in which he gets killed.
• Undead deadbeat dads: anyone we know in particular? Must be a way to work this into a fanfic.
• Brian Taylor and his father: Well, now we know why the original Mrs. Taylor ran away after his birth. Brian's father clearly doesn't like him and just as clearly spoils Brittany. Given the uncomfortable similarities between Brittany and her stepmother... no, let's don't go there. That's been done to death at SFMB.
• Ball game: So, there's a baseball stadium near Lawndale? Baltimore Orioles? Philadelphia?
• "You know, I wanted a cat when I was little, but my father never let me have one. 'Dogs are for boys. Cats are for girls.' Well, you know what, Dad? I didn't want a dog, okay?" Did Jake have a dog as a kid? Why hasn't Jake gotten a cat (or cats) for the family? Would life be any different if he had, and the cat enslaved them all forever? It's happened in other fanfics, why not in near-canon?
  
• Quinn: "I think I'm very spiritual." Helen: "Yes, you take after your mother in that." Say what? How does this work? Why does Helen think she's spiritual? Because she can see spirit animals when she's on drugs, like in "The Teachings of Don Jake"?
  
• Fourteen-hour days: If Helen's really gone this long during the week, no wonder Daria doesn't think much of her.
• What if Quinn had been struck on the head by the light fixture? Mild concussion, scalp lacerations, brain injury, angst. Why hasn't anyone done the appropriate AU for this?
• Quinn talks to her guardian angel? Out loud? What if he answers back? Will she date him?
• The Trix Rabbit's secret trysts with Daria have already been discussed.
• Jamie has a creepy old aunt who smells. Maybe his parents should die so that he leaves Lawndale.
• Wonder if Sandi did have a guardian angel, and he did tell her to try the raspberry vinaigrette dressing because he wanted to make her sick. Maybe he's not a guardian angel but another kid using ventriloquism. Maybe the salad dressing in another AU causes all three of them to die or at least go into comas. That would be awesome. I mean, that would be so sad.
• Party Planet. Must remember to use that store and the salesman in a fanfic.
• Quinn asks for money, and both she and Daria get $50? This family is whacked.
• Trent really does know algebra. Damn.
• Daria: "I mean, watch the bloodshed on the evening news, and then tell me there are guardian angels." Why doesn't Quinn see what Daria sees? Selective intellectual blindness? Why doesn't Daria want to help Quinn see life more realistically? Is Quinn's happiness more important that Quinn's grasp on reality? Oddly, this issue does reflect some current psychological thinking, that optimists do not see reality as clearly as pessimists. Optimists believe they always have a chance even when they pretty clearly don't, but that perseverance sometimes saves that day. This episode, for all its problems, highlights an important distinction between Daria and Quinn, one that should be explored in more fanfiction. What if Daria came to think Quinn might be right, that there were angels?
  
• Wonder what would happen if the stupid Three Js did beat up Mr. O'Neill. I can dream, can't I?
• Mr. Taylor "borrows" from Brian's college fund to get presents for Brittany. This just looks so wrong. Plus, Brian will have a good reason to become a serial killer later in life, like next year.
• Daria: "I think what makes sense is to believe whatever makes you feel best." That just seems like such a nice thing to say, and so unlike Daria. What if Daria had said something else, like about there being no angels because they would have helped save people but obviously haven't, so Quinn becomes more depressed and realistic and thoughtful, instead of stupid. What if Quinn saw that Daria had a point? Would she take more responsibility for her actions instead of leaving it to a guardian angel to bail her out of situations?
• Quinn goes on a cyberdate. There's a whole story there waiting to be told.
• Jane doesn't like Quinn very much, but we already knew that. And Daria pretends not to like Quinn to Jane. Weird. Does Jane know it's all a front? She should, after "Monster."
  
• Jane: "How is it that [Ashely-Amber] looks and acts exactly the same age as her own stepdaughter?" Man, this is freaking me out. Maybe SFMB was right.

Your thoughts, please?

Even the Angels Love Quinn

"Groped by an Angel" appeared for the first time eight years ago on MTV. This was the closest the Daria series came to investigating religious belief among the characters, and we learned Daria was agnostic and Quinn believed in angels, but angels that did things for her like her regular boyfriends. (For an interesting fanfic possibility, see here.)

"Groped" inspired several fanfics, most notably "Guardian" and "An Angel Named Mary Sue." It also inspired a section of "Illusions" (in the Veronica universe).

This episode is also infamous for being the only Daria episode, and possibly the only cartoon ever, to include the four-letter "t-word," which Steve Taylor uses on his son Brian for kicking the tires on an expensive car. Isn't that special!

BTW, if anyone wants to spruce up the bare-bones DariaWiki page on this episode, please do.

Today, 19 years from now, also marks the beginning of Daria and Jane's adventures in the fanfic "Drive."

More soon. Yo, peace out, my dogs!

Random Fanfic Idea #1

About halfway through the episode, "Groped by an Angel," the Fashion Club is in a school hallway listening to Quinn talk about her guardian angel, when Sandi (who has had enough of playing second fiddle) says, "I mean, I have a guardian angel, too. I just don't brag about it all the time." Though subsequent events seem to show Sandi was just making that up, what if she wasn't? Interesting fantasy or AU possibility there. If anyone wants to use the idea, be my guest.

Interesting sort of Veronica Lake thing Sandi has going with her hair, isn't it?