Eep!

Hey, everybody! The world ended! What? It didn't? Well, give it a minute. (Waits) Okay, give it a few more minutes. Aaaaany moment, I'm sure.

Or maybe the world decided it would be rude to end on Karen and Derek Adler's anniversary.

Anyway, while we wait for the apocalypse to finally show up, here's the latest in fandom news:

• Share your favorite bits of Christmas humor in a new thread.


• Roentgen asks for some help with a scenario: The Off-Line Week.


• J-D muses about Jake and facial hair.


• MartinUK asks if anybody has seen Meatloaf recently.


• Smijey posted a new Iron Chef in the Creative Writing forum: Daria vs. the Mayan Apocalypse.

...And I Feel Fine!

Well, the world is still here for now, at least until the next time it's supposed to end. Maybe someone miscalculated somewhere. Maybe we got a last-minute reprieve. Or maybe the world realized it couldn't possibly end on Mr. T's birthday!

That's right, Mr. T was born on this day in 1952, and Mr. O('Neill) pities the fool who doesn't read Smijey/Smileyfax's excellent Daria crackfics: Mr T Meets Daria, Alison vs Mr T, Mr T and the Fanon Cannon, Daria Meets Mr T, and The T Virus.

Fandom News!

• Deref posted about his daughter's experiences in Cannes.


• Brother Grimace points out a new way to propose.


• Now you can have Daria characters on your stamps!


• Logo has started airing episodes from seasons three and four.


• DocForbin posted a Flintstones-related challenge in The Easel.

ka-BOOOM!

It would be criminal to leave this day without mentioning that today marks the

102nd!

anniversary of the Tunguska Event, a titanic explosion whose origin is fiercely debated and whose existence has become a geek touchstone. (It was mentioned without explanation in Ghostbusters, and everyone who was a geek got it.) Some fascinating websites covering the Tunguska event include this one, this one, and this one. (Click on "tunguska event" under Labels to read previous blog posts about this burning issue.)

It was a good thing the event didn't occur over a major city—or, as Daria would put it...

Do you realize that only one Daria fanfic even mentions the Tunguska Event? ONLY ONE??? The shame of it. Okay, I lied: two others (here and here) also mentioned it. BUT ONLY THREE?

MoaR N00Z!

• ImYourOpheliac has created a new Iron Chef: Tom and Jeffy become friends? "I was watching 'One J at a Time' and wondered, how would it affect the show if Tom and Jeffy became friends?"
• Roxanne M created Iron Chef: Daria and Jane pregnant at the same time (and what a response!)
• Charles RB has unleashed Iron Chef: Barch VS DeMartino. "Professionally, in sport, in post-apocalypse car-on-car warfare... whatever the situation or genre, DeMartino and Barch must battle in an all-out struggle."
  

NOTE: I am still adding fanfics to the previous post. There are so many lately I can barely keep up, but I will continue to try.

What If... Lawndale Had Been Closer to Three Mile Island?

The infamous Three Mile Island near-meltdown took place 31 years ago today near Harrisburg, PA. This incident has been brought up in this blog several times, mainly because Lawndale is alleged to be in either eastern Pennsylvania or Maryland, very close to this spot. Jane Lane has something to say about how things would have been different if Lawndale had been a suburb of Harrisburg. Anyone interested in exploring this alternate history should read the notes about it here and a suggestion here.

This is also supposed to be Something on a Stick Day and Weed Appreciation Day, both of which I am sure Jane celebrates yearly in her own special manner.

ART TIME!

• Sandi and Tiffany from Daria: Hunter, by Jim North. Dead on.

FF.net

• Bumpmass, by RLobinske (COMPLETE!): [previously appeared on PPMB]
• collar, by Jim North (COMPLETE!): [previously appeared on PPMB]
• Gimme the Prize, by RLobinske (COMPLETE!): [previously appeared on PPMB]
• The Girl with Golden Eyes, by Michellesdaughter (Part 6): Jane walked out into the backyard and walked straight towards the two. Effy sat up and gave a little wave and Jane ended up slapping her. Daria ran outside with Jesse behind her. Trent was frozen at first, they all were. Effy stood up and held her face. "The hell, Jane?!"
  
• Pluck'd a White Rose, by Dennis (COMPLETE!): [previously appeared on PPMB] (OD)
  

PPMB

• NEW! Falling into College 72: Valley of Love and Delight, by RLobinske (Part 17): Together, Daria and Michael joined hands and returned down the aisle. When they walked by, Nell whispered to CC, "So much for standing up after the 'if any has reason, let them speak now' bit." Hearing them, Sean said, "Did you really think that they would leave an opening like that that?"
  
• Finn Morgendorffer 39: That S-E-X Word, by HolyGrail2007: Finn started to talk rather fast as Jane pulled his shirt off. “You’re nervous?” Jane asked. Finn only talked fast when he was nervous. “I... a little,” Finn admitted. “I mean, I really do want this, and I really want you, it’s just... you know I’ve never done this before and you deserve to be happy in all ways and I just want to give you the best pleasure imaginable and it’s a lot of pressure and it makes me nervous, and I always talk too much when I’m nervous and...” Finn continued to chatter, however, he did start pulling Jane’s clothes off.
• John Lane 45: Haunted by the Past, by RLobinske (Part 4): Jodie said, "So you're really doing it?" "Unless they're writing in crayon, I'm sure I can edit whatever they give me into something useful," Daria said. "And if they use crayons?" "I'll give it to John to convert into an art project." "Gee, thanks," he said.
• NEW! Kamen Rider D, by Silver (Part 4): D lashed out, punching it in the nose. The monster staggered back, holding its nose in surprise. "You're worse than my last date!" it snapped at her. "Um, we are trying to kill each other, you know." The tiger stopped to consider this. "Right. Forgot." It charged again.
  

Near Miss Day? What's That?

"Monster" aired 12 years ago in season two of Daria. Daria got a little soft-hearted, didn't she? She was still a winner in the long run, but one does wonder what would have happened if the original version of the video had come out. A permanent rift between sisters? Punishment for Daria from Mater Helen? The video making it to the Sundance Festival and winning a Jury Prize? What might have been, indeed!

Today is also Near Miss Day. Say what? you ask. Near Miss Day is pretty straightforward, unlike a lot of weird holidays. It's a reminder, not so much a celebration, of the fact that we barely missed getting knocked back into the Stone Age when a small asteroid sailed past us in 1989. It came as close as twice the distance of the Moon from us. Now, lest that sound comfortably far, asteroids have come a lot closer. In fact, one whizzed by only a year ago at only one-sixth the distance from here to the Moon. How long is our magic rabbit's foot gonna hold up? We'll find out one day. (LATE NOTE: This has to do with Daria because of all the jokes about writing a Daria story when Earth gets hit by an asteroid. No one seems to have ever written such a story, but everyone thinks about it anyway.)

Oddly enough, this was also the day nine years ago when the legendary space station Mir reentered the atmosphere. Alas and alack-a-day. It was a grand place for so long.

Horrors! Minx has outdone herself again with a crossover between two leches we know and kind of love. Meet Quagheimer ("Giggiddy Giggidy!") Also check out her Class of 2001! Yowza!

Daria World on Facebook is just short of 300,000 fans!

PPMB

• Apocalyptic Daria: Scarlett’s Tale, by Doggieboy (Part 18): At first, she was shocked still. Scarlett was in a thatched hut—one where it was unbelievably warm, like a still summer day where the heat had nowhere to go and sweat simply oozed from one’s pores. “You are not Richie.” She turned and saw a man with curly blonde hair, lean and shirtless, but still clad in olive green pants and black combat boots. A pair of dog tags hung loosely around his neck and reflected the sparse candle light. “What?” she asked, her voice confused. “Who’s Richie?”
• NEW! collar, by Jim North (continued): "Seriously, you guys, you don't have to do this," Quinn said, her words accentuated by a tremor of suppressed giggles. "I'm fine, seriously!" "Do you think she is being serious right now, Stacy?" Sandi asked with a smirk.
  
• Cynic and Violence, by Peapotmaster (Part 1): SCOOTER: What are we going to do, boss? / KERMIT: Time for guest star B. / SCOOTER: Who could that be? / (We now see Daria Morgendorffer and Jane Lane enter.)
• NEW! Falling into College 72: Valley of Love and Delight, by RLobinske (Part 16): "You look good." "And that dress makes you look radiant." "I told Isabelle that radioisotopes were over the top."
  
• Finn Morgendorffer 38: Fractures, by HolyGrail2007 (Part 3): “You what!” Rita shouted into the phone. “Erin, you signed a pre-nup? Without telling me? When you’re the one with money, you never sign one of those. It’s a death warrant!”
  
• The Hallowed Halls of Fielding, by Roentgen (Part 18): "Sara, this is my friend, Quinn Morgendorffer. We need you to cast a spell for us." "Wait a second. A spell?" Quinn asked. "You mean were going to use magic? Like those gyps with the 1-800 numbers?" Sara looked perturbed. "Oh, you unbelievers. You know not what forces you mock. I'm almost tempted not to help you. Not only am I a true-born Wiccan, but I'm also a Hufflepuff."
• John Lane 45: Haunted by the Past, by RLobinske (Part 3): "Trust me," said Quinn. "When it comes to writing stuff, Daria's ego is as big as… well, it's big. Really big."
• Lawndale's Finest—Action Stories 4: Power Struggle, by Jim North (Part 1): "With all the work that Supergirl has done around Lawndale and Gotham City, she shouldn't have to put up with people trying to tear her down like that." Jodie scowled deeply. "Willis doesn't even live here, anyway. She's from Metropolis. What does she know about what Supergirl is really like anyway? Nothing, that's what," she answered her own question. "That's why the Daily Planet or any other respectable paper won't touch her. That's why you can only find her mean-spirited editorials running in second-rate magazines and trashy tabloids." "Gosh, Jodie," Jane said as she turned a page, "I'm starting to get the feeling you don't like our good pal Val." [NEW! Part 2 here: Lawndale's Finest: Action Stories #4 - Power Struggle, by Jim North (continued): "Supergirl!" Val greeted her brightly as she approached, looking and sounding as if she were meeting an old friend for the first time in years. "What a pleasure to finally meet you! Now, you probably didn't know I was coming since I wanted it to be a super surprise, but I'm Val! As in Val Takes On...!"]
  
• Shining Star: Temporal Conundrum, by RLobinske (Part 3): Standing on a hill overlooking a town, Archangel said, "No giant strawberry, but otherwise it pretty much looks the same as any other universe. Gotta love nexus stability." Also looking at the town, Richard said, "Except that all the signs are in what we call Old English." "Details, details."

It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fried)

Today is a special day in science. This is the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the greatest solar eruptions known in history. It was a butt-kicker. Fortunately the most complicated things we had at the time were telegraphs, but even those got knocked out. This is the event that spawned the Daylight shared multiverse setting. If the 1859 eruptions happened today, we'd have major problems. Daylight, of course, assumes it does happen today, but it's a lot worse. Heh heh.

Also today, Leo Tolstoy is 181 years old, and St. Augustine, Florida (the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in North America) is a mere 444 years old.

What Would Jane Do? smk asks this question and everyone awaits your answers on PPMB. The issue is, how would Jane have reacted if Daria had found a boyfriend on her own.

FF.net

• Pigskin Caduceus, by HolyGrail2007 (Part 4): Although my incident with the Sudoku book was making me nervous, I pushed the thoughts out of my head to concentrate on Quinn. All of the following week, she was very quiet as of late. She wasn’t raising her hand in class, she wasn’t speaking to her friends at lunch, indeed, she seemed very distracted. But she seemed to be making a lot of sidelong glances at me.

PPMB

• Legally Halloween, by Richard Lobinske (Part 2): "What do you need?" "Um, help dyeing my hair." "Could you repeat that? I thought you said something about dyeing your hair."
  
• Reusably Complex, by Ajar (Part 1): “I have called this meeting to inform you of some budget changes that are effective immediately,” said Ms. Li to the assembled teachers. “Due to an overrun in security spending after that bomb scare we are cutting hours for all janitorial staff.”
• The Runaway, by Aloysius (Part 2): “I sobered up faster than they expected,” Daria said. “They left two doors unlocked, because they thought I was still zonked out. I took off, hid, and made my way back to my hometown.”

BOOM! Good morning, Earth! This is your wake-up call!

Was there ever a story about Lawndale getting hit by a giant asteroid or meteor? I keep thinking there was, but most of the fandom talk about it was from the early 2000's, kind of a joke meme. But did someone ever write something like that? Maybe an old timer can clue me in.

Today is the 7th anniversary of the Eastern Mediterranean Event, which is why I was wondering. It appears to have been an impact event, one of those little reminders that the cosmos is very big and we are very small and easily stepped on. Still pretty cool, though.

Today is also the 70th anniversary of the declared death of Judge Crater, a well-known New York City judge who vanished without a trace in 1930. There is considerable controversy over his disappearance, and at one time it was considered a sensational mystery story. His name, along with those of writer Ambrose Bierce and pilot Amelia Earhart, has become synonymous with missing persons in general. Were Eric Schrecter to vanish in a similar way, would anyone care?

What if it was Helen Morgendorffer?

PPMB

• Expecting Trouble, by Legendeld (Part 9): Helen Morgendorffer didn’t hear her youngest daughter enter the kitchen but when she finally noticed Quinn standing at the age of the nook bar looking at her, she couldn’t shake the feeling that the redhead had been standing there for a long time. She pushed the paperwork away from her and tried to give a smile that she hoped wouldn’t be more of a grimace.
• Falling Into College 68: Judging January, by Richard Lobinske (Part 2): "At least I stopped sleeping with the knife under my pillow." "That's because I kept bumping it in the middle of the night and you moved it to your nightstand." "It's progress." [Plus, Michael screws the pooch and brings out Daria's inner b-word. Stay tuned.]
  
• Lawndale's Finest: The Dark Knight, by NightGoblyn (Chapter 4, Part 5): The rough surface of the rooftop crunched as Robin settled herself down to peer over the low safety wall at the edge. She tapped the side of her goggles the way she’d been shown to activate the zoom function, and then carefully scanned the shipping yard across the street. The stench of the industrial park was stupendous, but she wasn’t going to let that dim her high spirits.
  
  

"I've Got Me, Babe . . ."

This shocking image of Tiffany Blum-Deckler dressed as Cher graphically and horrifically illustrates that this is the most terrifying day in world history: Cher's 62nd Birthday. Yes, the sun has literally gone out all across America, and many believe the Day of Judgment is at hand. Alas, it is not. You need only glance at the image at right to feel bone-chilling fear that millions are experiencing in this nightmarish time. Or whatever.

Nothing else going on. More in a moment or two. Or three.