Daria en español

The alter ego of Helen Morgendorffer dressed up as Charo (maybe a little more than dressed up, as cosmetic surgery seems to have been involved *) was the only icon I could locate on short notice with a Spanish touch. The list of Spanish-language websites at left was lengthened, but that was the extent of my fanwork today.

The only problem with adding non-English websites is that, of course, I can't understand them, so you, dear reader, will have to let me know if anything useless or inappropriate appears. Them's the risks of uncontrolled fandom. Suggestions for new websites are always welcome.

In other news tonight:

SFMB has been fixed. Thank you, Gamer! U r0k!

Lawndale Online needs new material; it hasn't been updated in weeks. Send in your stuff, people!

Richard Lobinske, Brother Grimace, and Dr. Mike bravely continue to expand and explore the outer limits of DariaWiki.

A new thread on PPMB has appeared: "Scenes that Should be: Brains for Rent." If you can think of fanfic scenes that deserve to appear somewhere, jot them down there.

* I am well aware that some fans feel that Helen probably required no "enhancements" to fill the bill here. We will have to examine that issue in great depth at a future time. Scientifically, of course.

Trooo Luuuv (or Something Like It)

Curious thing about Dr. Shar and Rock and Roll Randy. On one hand, you have a petite middle-aged woman who has probably had cosmetic surgery on every part of her body that could conceivably withstand it, and on the other hand you have a big, bald, overweight, middle-aged guy who has obviously had no cosmetic surgery at all. What's the attraction? Randy is a guy, pure and simple, so his attraction to Dr. Shar is pretty straightforward (*cough*big boobs*cough*). What does Dr. Shar like about him? Though overweight, Randy's an active, semi-athletic guy, big and loud and boisterous, probably a party animal and loads of fun to be with. He has a good career and clearly likes who he is.

If it happens that Randy likes Dr. Shar mainly because of how she looks, that's perfect because her looks are the focus of her entire life. One might also hypothesize that both are G.I.B. (if you are old like me and recall what that stands for). If it's not romance, it's the next best thing. Who's gonna knock it?

It's also curious that we know only his first name and her last name, but that's how the nomenclature crumbles. Or whatever. Something like that.

Final thought for the day:


"When a woman is elected president, it won't be because she got breast implants."
—Helen Morgendorffer, "Too Cute"


"At least, her people will deny it."
—Daria Morgendorffer, "Too Cute"

The Dark Side of Dr. Shar

"You know, maybe I should get boobs."
—Quinn Morgendorffer, "Too Cute"


Several years ago in graduate school, I was required to write reports on various topics having to do with health psychology, which was one of my classes. During my studies I discovered a startling article that had found a correlation between women who get breast implants and suicide. In other words, the study found that women who got cosmetic breast implants were more likely to kill themselves than women who didn't get implants. This disturbing connection has been confirmed in numerous other studies. A few articles on this problem are given here: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

Current thinking is that a significant number of women seeking cosmetic surgery probably have some form of mental illness that, left undiagnosed and untreated, results in greater self-destructive behavior. Indeed, some breast-implant studies show higher levels of drug and alcohol abuse among women seeking cosmetic surgery. Cancer rates appear to be unaffected, except for an odd increase in lung cancer in one study that has been interpreted to show a higher probability of smoking among women seeking cosmetic breast surgery. Auto accident rates seem higher, too—possible suicides?

One illness often cited as a possible cause of suicide, when combined with plastic surgery, is body dysmorphic disorder, a condition in which a person believes he or she is ugly or physically flawed, though little or no actual evidence to support this claim exists. Most teenagers, like Quinn, worry about their looks, but some take this to extremes. This reminds me of a certain Daria character (hint: "Does this dress make me look fat?").

I think you see where the Angst Train is heading. More shortly.