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.

Only This, and Nothing More

A small raft of alter-ego people birthdays today. Edgar Allan Poe turns 201 today, congratulations to you. Poe is chiefly remembered today because Daria read his short story, "The Telltale Heart," while in study hall in high school ("Gifted").

Dolly Parton (played by Janet Barch at right) turns 64 today, and this is also Janis Joplin's birthday anniversary (who is played by Quinn on another blog post).

Today is also supposed to be National Popcorn Day. Huh. Always something new on the Internet. Oddly, this trivial "holiday" is more popular than you'd think. I discovered several children's museums and libraries celebrating it, because what better way to get hundreds of kids into your building than to give them free popcorn? Glad I don't have to clean up later on. Pop some and go to it.

Iron Chef: A New Word is now up on PPMB. Are you up to fudging with the language of teenagers?

Iron Chef: Lawndale Office is also up, from LSauchelli. Thank you!

Why so much hate for Mr. O'Neill? Why indeed. Check in on the argument discussion.

If you are interested in the Physics of Space Battles, there's a thread for that, too, on PPMB. If we're going to talk about space battles, then let's have more of them in fanfiction!

Minx has Quinn in black-and-white on her website, Heather Morgendorffer appears courtesy of MidnightStorm, and Pinhead has a realistic Tom to show the world. Bless this fandom's artists!

LATE ADD: Malakite has a doodle or two of Alex from Dark Kuno's Two Halves.

PPMB

• Crossing Stars, by Silver (Part 1): “As it so happens, Jane,” Daria said calmly, “I have checked the contract boards. As it turns out, there is a contract we could take. Some rich idiot wants to be ferried ten jumps to Malygos, and they want an antimatter drive, N-space pathed starship to do it. It pays thirty million ISK.” “That's good news,” Jane remarked. “And it leads right into the bad news.” Daria brought up the holotank display, showing its default display of the jumpweb.
• Daria: Agent of Cobra—Expectavi, by Ranchoth (Part 4): Daria's ears popped again. "Cobra Commander isn't paying you 17¢ a minute to gad about!" Dragonsky barked at his troops. [Spindoctor is back!]
• Daria: Hunter 5—Strictly Business, by Jim North (continued): As Helen stared the agents down, the room became deadly silent. Jane glanced at Daria, both of her eyebrows threatening to lift straight past her hairline. Tom had a hand covering his mouth, and if the subtle shakes of his body were any indication, he was doing his damnedest not to burst into hysterical laughter. The male agent's forehead creased. "Ma'am," he said, "we are the government of the United States of America. We do not 'get out of the wa—'"
• Finn Morgendorffer 27: Helen and the Boys, by HolyGrail2007 (COMPLETE!): Finn knew the problem with his mother playing poker wasn’t because she didn’t know how to play. His mother played poker a lot. But she was competitive and hated to lose. While Finn liked the idea of beating his mother at poker, he knew how she reacted when she lost, and it wasn’t pleasant. How she acted when she won was even worse.
• NEW! General Semantics, Private Angst, by Gwrtheyrn (Part 1): Daria had read about such things, in... what? She couldn't bring it to mind at the moment, but didn't care enough to chase the memory thread, which obviously led to subjects that seemed less real to her than--than hot, bubbling, store-bought lasagna, or hot penguin sex. (Daria/A.E. van Vogt's Null-A series)
  
• NEW! The Heather/Damsel Chronicles 12: Yule Be Sorry, by NightGoblyn (Part 5): “This is real chill,” Cherry said, walking up to Heather with a 'dog of her own. “I didn't even know that old video games like this still existed. They don't have goggles or anything.”
  
• Sisters, by Roentgen (Parts 1 and 2): Daria opened her eyes... and took in her surroundings. Her padded walls were missing. Somehow, she wasn't in her room. "What the... hell...?" [continued here!]
• NEW! Trapped, by Jim North (continued): "Okay, the room on the left here," Jane said, turning her head to shine her light on the door. "That one should have windows." "And it might have a giant snake with insta-kill venom in its fangs," Shaggy whimpered. "Or, like, a mummy."
  
• Unnamed story (Iron Chef: A New Word), by Jim North (COMPLETE!): "Pal toss nadrim," Daria said as she leaned across the table and handed Jane a can of Ultra Cola.
• Unnamed story (Cheer Lord ficlet), by Jim North (COMPLETE!): "Oh, you are the cutest of the cutest!" Quinn squealed happily as she hugged the puppy and ruffled its fur. "I can't believe how unbelievably cute you are! Yes you is, yes you is!"
• NEW! Unnamed story (Scenes No Daria Fanfic Should Have: Hump Day), by DrNoGood09 (COMPLETE!): Just then the rest of the fanfic is cut off by a voice saying: “The following Announcement has been paid for by the staff of DVDaria.”
  
• Yes, Mr. D., There Is an MLKJR Day, by ticknart (COMPLETE!): "Class," said Anthony DeMartino, turning away from the board to face the room full of mostly blank or vapid stares, "does anyone know what Monday is?"