It's OK to Cry in Baseball

Mr. O'Neill is being even more bobble-headed than usual in honor of Joe DiMaggio's birth on this day 110 years ago. I wouldn't have taken him for a sports fan, but I suppose it's wholesome enough to make him happy in spite of the presumably mentally-damaging competition.

Meanwhile, the Fashion Club will be happy to know that today is Shopping Reminder Day, although I doubt they've ever needed a reminder to go shopping. It seems more likely that they'd need a reminder to go home before the store closed.

Jake might like to know that today is also National Brand Day, so he could go to another branding conference if he'd like. Just make sure someone explains to Quinn that this type of branding has nothing whatsoever to do with cattle.

Fanfic Update!

• Spider Quinn 13 Aftermath and Investigations, by cfardell_Brenorenz29 (part 2): "True to her word, Sandi pulled up into the Giant Strawberry’s parking lot with screeching rubber just over four minutes later. Daria stopped trembling and got out of the car."

Anyone Want to Shop for Baseball Equipment?

Mr. O'Neill wants everyone to know that today is the anniversary of Joe DiMaggio's birth in 1914, but he hopes that the realization that DiMaggio is currently deceased won't adversely affect anyone's emotional well-being...and he's crying. I think it's a new record!

The Fashion Club won't need to be informed about Shopping Reminder Day, because they don't need a special holiday--or any excuse, really--to go shopping.

However, it might be a good idea to shop small for Small Business Saturday, because places like Payday already have enough money. On the other hand, buying from people like Earl and Barbara just encourages them to make weird product choices.

Fandom News!

• Share your picks for the best tributes to a deceased cast member on a TV show.

Apparently There IS Crying in Baseball

Mr. O'Neill would wish the late baseball player Joe DiMaggio a happy birthday, except that right now he's an inanimate object and therefore unable to speak. Let's enjoy it while it lasts, shall we? Especially because the real Mr. O'Neill is probably even less intelligent than the bobble-head version.

Fanfic Update!

• Daria's Great Adventure, by dmsfanman (part 14): "While Daria and Erwin were working on programming the welding robots, out in the old habitat space Anton checked his hard suit to make certain there were no air leaks."


• Hands Down, by Princess_Pasta (part 4): "The doorbell rang out while Daria was glued to her computer, staring at a blank Word document. She'd been there since she got home, trying her hardest to get something written down. She was no stranger to writer's block but this was the worst time for it to rear its ugly head."


• Home, by Rémi (part 2): "Morgendorffer household by night. Quinn's room. Quinn and Daria are both in their night clothes. Quinn is sitting on her bed, Daria on a camp bed. They both look miserable. Daria is purposedly ignoring Quinn's attempts at communicating."


• Late Postal Delivery (My Annual Thanksgiving Fanfic Release - 2018!), by Brother Grimace (part 3): "'Everyone in the First Academy is required to learn how to fight,' Divon explained to the boys, who watched her practice Jeet Kune Do on a trio of practice dummies in the center of the 'warren' as they lounged in the twin hammocks."


• No, Thanksgiving (Life After Thirty), by WildDogJJ (COMPLETE!): "Quinn is in the backyard draining out the pool. Her next door neighbor, Ming Wang, comes up to the fence. 'Quinn, how are you?' Smiling, Quinn said 'Hi, Ming.'" (Part 2) (Part 3)

Jesse at the Bat

Jesse's a little more energetic than usual for the anniversary of Babe Ruth's birth on this day in 1895. Baseball doesn't really get a lot of attention on Daria; football takes center stage, Jake's a fan of both golf and basketball, but I can't think of a single baseball reference at any point on the show. Can anyone think of one? If so, share in the comments!

Fanfic Update!

• Amore (LongSnakeMoan's Fluff Thread), by LongSnakeMoan (COMPLETE!): "'Hey, baby.' His voice drifted from their balcony, overflowing with greenery and the heady scent of jasmine and roses. 'Baby, come look at this.'"


• Burned Out, by Wrabbit75 (part 10): "Jennifer smiled at Daria so carefully closing the car door, so as to not wake her parents. 'See you at school on Monday,' the blonde said with a grin. Daria held up a finger in front of her mouth as she shushed her friend. 'Shh! Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow,' she whispered."


• Coffee, by Zetor (part 2a): "'She asked you out?' Quinn squealed; excited, happy, and very loud. Daria jerked her phone away to avoid being deafened, almost dropping the bundle of garland she was stringing along the edge of her bar."


• Commit Ted (Scenes No Daria fanfic should have: 600 Years Afterward.....), by Indigo (COMPLETE!): "'I suppose that you are going out with "him" again tonight.' Jane said pointedly as she and Daria tuned out Mr O'Neill for the last few minutes of Friday afternoon at school."


• Cosplayed (Quinn, Season 3), by WildDogJJ (COMPLETE!): "Quinn is opening her and Jim's PO box. She gets out the mail, shuts the box and leaves. Cut to a short time later and we see Quinn at her kitchen table going through the mail." (Part 2) (Part 3)


• Just Desserts, by Kristen Bealer (part 2): "'This is freaking ridiculous!' Quinn groaned later that day in the Morgendorffers' kitchen. She hadn't started mixing cake batter or even gathering supplies yet; she was still trying to find a cookbook somewhere in the house."


• The Relaxing Power of Music (Scenes No Daria fanfic should have: 600 Years Afterward.....), by Shiva (COMPLETE!): "The last day of senior year was upon them, the time to wrap up your remaining finals, clean out your locker for the last time, feel a combination of anticipation-excitement-fear, get through your graduation party with family and then head to the REAL party with your former classmates, and have in mind your plans for the future, such as college, taking a gap-year, or hopping into the workforce."


• Skeletons, by CaffeineAddict94 (part 5): "The low sound of Type O Negative filled the space around Trent as he transferred the contents of his room to heavy-duty black trashbags. He had both windows open despite the chill and yet he was still sweating."


• A Three Hour Tour, by Jim North (parts 7 and 8): "Tony's bad eye bulged as he beheld the utter disaster that the room had been turned into." (Part 8)


• Unnamed Story (LLH Short Entries : Thread #2), by Roentgen (part 98): "'I want to know everything about this guy,' Jamie said. 'Where he lives, what he drinks, what he eats, what he thinks about, his bae, his side piece, how rich he is, and the names of his dogs.'"

Swing and a Miss!

Mr. O'Neill is even more bobble-headed than usual because today is the anniversary of Joe DiMaggio's birth in 1914.

Interesting connection for the two of them: in one of the Daria books: we see Mr. O'Neill using a writing exercise to try to help him remember students' names. It doesn't work, but his example for Jodie is Joe DiMaggio. Because it starts with "Joe Di," get it? Yeah, it's dumb. Welcome to Mr. O'Neill.

Fanfic Update!

• I'm (Not) With the Band, by Kristen Bealer (part 1): "'It's gonna happen, man,' Trent told his friend. 'Cool,' Jesse said, nodding. Then he looked up. 'Huh?' 'The band,' Trent reminded him. 'We're finally going to start up a band and get rich and famous. We're almost there, you know?'"


• Lawndale 2021, by Anguirus1955 (parts 23 and 24): "Quinn gasped. 'Aw, that poor kitty!' 'What about a kitty?' Daria asked as she entered the living room and headed for the kitchen. 'A kitten that had its brain transferred into a robot body died from a hairball messing with its circuits. It's just so sad!' Quinn explained." (Part 24)


• Too Nice (Scenes No Daria Fan-Fic Should Have: The Madness Sets In), by Zetor (COMPLETE!): "'Mommy doesn't like her misfit daughter I take it? If you want I can take off and we can just hang out later.' Daria shook her head. 'No, it's fine. She can just be a little... aggressive sometimes.'"

The Sultan of Sensitive

Mr. O'Neill is smiling because today is the 120th anniversary of George Herman "Babe" Ruth, Jr.'s birth. I think Lawndale must be a football-only town, because I can't recall a single instance of baseball being mentioned on the show. Let me know if there's a reference I'm forgetting in the comments!

Fandom News!

• There's only about a week left to send in your votes for the 2014 Daria Fanworks Awards! Check out the written and visual nominations and choose your favorites now!


• Bill Bruford wonders about creating his own DariaWiki page.


• ScizzorWizzard is looking for help deciphering the title of the book Daria was reading in "Art Burn."


• Listen to The Lawndale Lowdown Podcast, recorded by ognawk and Princess Pasta!


• Learn some fast facts about PPMB denizens and share some of your own!


• See the new Daredevil trailer and give your thoughts on the upcoming Netflix series.

The Sultan of Sensitive

Mr. O'Neill is trying out a new activity in honor of Babe Ruth, who was born on this day in 1895. I'm not sure how to break it to him that you play baseball outside, where there could be pollen and poisonous plants and algae blooms. Also, he should know that one team generally loses the game, which could damage their self-esteem.

Then again, let him find out the hard way. Could be funny to see.

Fanfic Update!

• Ah, Hell, by metameric1 (parts 13 and 14): "'He was looking forward to making me happy, and I let him down again.' She took a sip of her now cold coffee. 'What the hell is wrong with me?'" (Part 14)


• Alienation, by malakite (part 6): "Getting home had proven more difficult than Daria had hoped, but less difficult than she'd feared."


• Alt Rock, by Indigo (part 2): "Daria turned around to see a striking looking girl with black hair, sapphire blue eyes, three earrings in one ear and a jacket that was as red as her lipstick. 'The name is Jane Lane by the way' she said sticking out her hand."


• Daria 1/2, by LSauchelli (part 9): "Mack was feeling down at the moment. In fact, he had been feeling down for over a month now, since the time Ryoga attacked the school. He hadn’t been able to do anything about it, just another victim in the story. Maybe not the worst victim, he thought, thinking of Daria and her eye. He wondered if she’d recover her eyesight any time soon."


• High School Never Ends, by welltemperedclavier (COMPLETE!): "She didn't know how well she really taught any of them. Some already basically understood the material and only needed a bit of guidance; they'd have likely earned decent grades without her help. Others struggled with the very concepts and she'd drive herself half-mad trying to explain." (Part 12) (Part 13) (Part 14)


• Is This Adulthood?, by Princess_Pasta (part 2): "I was still picturing his olive eyes, still hearing the softness in his voice, still watching as he drummed his fingers against the table and fidgeted with the sleeves on his jacket. Damn it, why did I think this was a good idea?"


• Last Night in the Tent (Iron Chef: Random Pairing Challenge 2014!), by Shiva (COMPLETE!): "Trent stirred in his sleep as he heard the zipper to the tent being undone."


• My New Uncle (Shorty Shorts: Marriages & Deaths), by ognawk (COMPLETE!): "'Sorry I couldn’t come to your wedding, Amy,' Daria said."


• New Kid in the Cul-de-sac, by Shiva (COMPLETE!): "Daria found herself waking up on hot pavement, her head throbbing in pain."


• No One Is To Blame, by Brother Grimace (COMPLETE!): "As Tom Sloane left the Conference Room, he was mildly surprised to see that the other Legionnaires were standing silently, as if waiting for him to exit the room – " (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Part 7)


• Once You See, by lulamae-golightly (parts 1 - 3): "Stacy Rowe lost her first tooth when she was six and got hit in the face with a soccer ball at PE. Her face was bloody, and she was screaming. That's when Sandi Griffin knew she hated her." (Part 2) (Part 3)


• Unnamed story (Iron Chef: Jake Morgendorffer Isn't), by Dark Kuno (COMPLETE!): "Helen: I'm not your wife. Jake: The hell you're not! Helen: (panicked)I swear to God!...I never saw you before six months ago! Our marriage is just a memory implant... !"

No Joy in Mudville

A little-known anniversary in American folklore and literature arrives today. This is the 122nd year since the famous sports poem, "Casey at the Bat," was first published. Jesse does the honors. The legendary poem is here, complete.

Silver has come up with a new shared Dariaverse idea: The Great Game. Contributions and suggestions are welcome at the thread link.

The newest Iron Chef is Obey Your Master, from brnleague99. Someone in Daria-land earns a Masters degree—and things get a little crazy as a result.

Some really excellent fanfic on tap for you. Enjoy.

FF.net

• NEW! The InDark, by Mediancat (Parts 3 to 6): Tommy Sherman watched the people fleeing the pizza place. Didn't see the chick Ms. Li wanted dead, so that was good. Meant she was inside. Li'd told him that he had a few dozen Bringers, but only a few right now. That was cool. First he'd see how this chick handled these guys with knives. Way, way creepy. Tommy Sherman didn't mind saying that. But they could handle themselves in a fight. (Daria/BuffytVS)

PPMB

• Daria: Hunter 6—Infectious, by Jim North (continued): "How long do I have?" "It's hard to say since I still haven't completed my study of the doctor's newest creation," Ted told her, "but from these readings, I'd say you'll be okay for at least a day or two, as long as you don't get infected any further and nothing horrible happens to your immune system."
• NEW! The Dream of the White Darkness, by jtranser (continued): The driver brought the car to a halt on the road shoulder and, instead of getting out, grabbed a mic, thumbed the push to talk button and called dispatch for a backup vehicle. He was informed one was on the way, along with escort cars to insure his human cargo would safely arrive at the airfield. He acknowledged the transmission, hung up the mic and waited. Shortly thereafter, three black Crown Vics pulled around the curve, and the driver got out to open the door and trunk and transfer his unwilling passengers. After he did so, he was surprised to see one of the reinforcements come over to him, smile and zap him with a cattle prod.
  
• Finn Morgendorffer 48: Filling Sacks of Failure, by HolyGrail2007 (Part 3): The following Sunday, Helen picked up the copy of the Lawndale Sun with an unusual interest. She always followed the press interest in the cases she was on. While there was a story about it on the front page, it was not written by the man who spoke to her yesterday. In fact, it didn’t even mention her, or the firm, at all. The entire story was written by someone named Terrence Jacobson, and, from start to finish, it dealt only with Congressman Sacks, and his response to the case. How he thought the case was a get-rich quick scheme, how they were out to profit off of kids, all of the half-hearted lies she thought that two-bit bribe-taking Washington man would perform.
• John Lane 46: Substitute Plans, by RLobinske (Part 4): Jodie wrote on the blackboard, "Test Tomorrow." Hearing the student groans, she turned around. "Look at it this way. You only have to answer the test once. I have to read every one of them. Trust me, I'm going to be far more tired of the questions than you are." Kevin said, "So... you're going to read each test paper?" "That's right, Kevin." "But, um, don't they all say the same thing?"
  
• Mission: Implausible, by Admonisher (Part 1): "Here's a road sign. 'Lawndale.' Look it up." "'Home of the giant strawberry.' Pretty good-sized population. Next door to a large university..." "Perfect! Zonker, turn off here." (Daria/Doonesbury)
• Morgendorffer, by Lord Akiyama (Part 2): "You're sounding awfully quiet this morning, Daria," Jane commented aloud, breaking the long silence between them. "As we probably both should be, Jane," Daria responded. "I don't want to jinx our good fortune for however long it can last." "What good fortune would that be?" Jane asked curiously as she continued painting. "Not being summoned to work," Daria answered. (Contains the great line: "You mean there are people out there who would want to know the definition to sausage?") (FF.net)
  
• NEW! Raft College: The First Year, by rglovejoy (Part 3): "Hello, Daria?" "Hi, Mom." "I'm sorry I didn't call sooner, sweetie. How is everything?" "Fine. The dorm they put me in kind of sucks, but my roommate seems cool and so is my academic adviser. I'm going to be in his seminar on writing short fiction and I'm also signed up for calculus, Western Civilization and Macroeconomics." "Well, that sounds very well-rounded. By the way, your father and I received something in the mail about a parents' weekend in October. Columbus Day weekend I believe. I never did get a chance to see your campus, you know." Daria covered the microphone and let out a low grumble. "It's okay, mom. It's kind of a hassle for you and Dad to come up here just for a weekend." "Oh, nonsense. We can take the time off. And Quinn wants to look at colleges up in your neck of the woods anyway." Daria choked. "What?! You can't seriously think she wants to apply to Raft, do you?"
  
• Regifted 2: I Put Away Joyless Things, by Ajar (Part 7): “Oh, you know,” Kevin stuttered. “The, uh, r-rumors about... please don't turn me into a newt.” “Relax,” Mack said. “She's not going to turn you into a newt.” “But she was talking about the devil and then I caught her. She's going to drown me or burn me at the stake, or something.” (Contains the great line: “Eggplant skirt with a burgundy top. God, Daria. I knew you were bad but this...”)
  

Politics in the Good Old Days

A mere 254 years ago, Aaron Burr was born. He grew up to be the first (and last) Vice President of the United States who was legally allowed to shoot his political opponents dead. Sadly, the laws were changed after Burr's famous duel with duel-loser Alexander Hamilton (former Secretary of the Treasury), and now Vice Presidents are only allowed to shoot people by accident. I am not sure if Kevin (at left) is supposed to be Aaron Burr, but it's the closest alter ego there is to him, so it will do.

This is the 115th birthday anniversary of Babe "The Big Bambino" Ruth, not the candy bar but the baseball guy. The candy bar was not named for him. It's a long story.

And this is the 58th anniversary of the most peculiar royal succession ever, when Princess Elizabeth climbed into a giant treehouse in Kenya and was there notified that she had just become Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. She went up a princess, came down a queen. And people say there's no such thing as magic. Disney must have had a hand in this, you know he did.

And if you're heading over to Facebook's Daria page, the official one by MTV, say hi to one of our own! Thanks, Kara!

Smarter than the Average Berra!

A quick sports note about a quotable quoter: Yogi Berra, famed catcher and baseball manager (and legendary mangler of English) was born today 84 years ago. He is the renown inventor of Yogiisms, which have to be read to be understood. Brilliant work, man. Daria loves you!

Interesting, I just noticed that Trent is wearing Lawndale High School colors. Wonder if he finally got a job working for Ms. Li.

DariaWiki has benefited from the handiwork of Mman, João Paulo Costa, Disco316, Richard Lobinske, Dennis, Brother Grimace, and Doggieboy. Thank you!

Dariaverse.com has updated! Hooray!

It Ain't Over Till It's Over

Given Daria's appreciation for a clever turn of phrase, it is appropriate to celebrate the 83rd birthday today of Baseball Hall of Fame great Yogi Berra of the New York Yankees, whose Yogiisms have entered the English language and immortality. You've almost certainly heard some of Mr. Berra's malapropisms, but it's great to go down the list and find some new ones.

You might not know, however, that the Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Yogi Bear was named for him, bringing us full circle to animation fandom again. Furthermore, Daria quotes Yogi Berra in Peter W. Guerin's "The Misery Senshi Neo-Zero Double Blitzkrieg Debacle," and Yogi Bear is mentioned in Patrick Moore's "Beavis, Daria, and Butt-head" and CAP's "Daria in Pink." Thank you, Yogi Berra!

There are a few other important historical notes for the day, but we'll get to them later when fanfic updates are done. Peace out, yo!