Well Done, Yuri!

It's It's Yuri's Night, which celebrates the anniversary of the first manned spaceflight in 1961 by cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. Sorry, Jodie. You're a bit too late this time.

Fanfic Update!

• Behind the Counter, by NightGoblyn (part 3): "She jumped backwards with a strangled cry as five totes full of candy bar cases hit the floor with an amazing boom, cardboard boxes and loose candy bars flying every where."


• Darius Taylor, by Shiva (part 7): "Tom rolled his eyes, 'You mean Pat's newly minted Ex, Sue Bee?' 'Yes... Wait, Ex?!' Darius exclaimed, 'When the hell did that happen?'"


• Emo Tom is Emo (Scenes No Daria Fanfic Should Ever Have: Sick, Sad Edition), by Shiva (part 4): "'God this is awful.' Tom commented as 'Aunt Andrea' played tour guide for him as she showed him around the 'Ok to Cry Corral'."


• I'm Tagging With the Band: Meeting Tom (Scenes that should be: Polite Requests), by Shiva (COMPLETE!): "The Grove Hills/Fielding Mixer was about what Tom Sloane expected it to be, a sucky event with sucky people. But the reason he had come to this one was due to the band that was hired to play this time, Mystik Spiral."


• The Power of Alchemy (IC : Legion of Lawndale Super Villains), by Shiva (COMPLETE!): "Ever since she was little, Daria knew that she was special. It was more than just her intelligence, or how everyone seemed so desperate to force her to be ordinary, it was something else about her that made her special."


• The Silliest Thing I've Ever Written, by PrecambrianStudios (COMPLETE!): "After finally powering through The Angst Guy's newest story, Peetz fell to the floor of his room and retched."


• The Summer Back, by Shiva (part 5): "'You know,' Daria began slowly, 'This is a first for me, seeing someone discover good cinema for the first time.' She then gave one of those strangely alluring half smiles and added, 'I kind of like it.'"

First in Space, Forever

This is Cosmonautics Day in Russia, held each year in celebration of the flight of Yuri Gagarin, the first human to reach outer space and orbit the Earth. That was 47 years ago today. The Western counterpart of Cosmonautics Day is Yuri's Night. It is worth noting that Gagarin was 5'2" tall, exactly the height of Daria Morgendorffer, which was of great help in allowing him to fit inside the cramped pilot's cabin of Vostok I.

At left, in this same vein, is shown the courageous attempt to put the first quarterback into space: the launch of Kevin Thompson from Big Gun One in the main parking lot of Lawndale High School, just before his graduation ceremony in 2001. Donations in his memory may be sent to Cedars of Lawndale Hospital, the Runamok Ambulance Service, and the City of Lawndale Streetsweepers Union.

Note: A monument was just built to Laika, the first living being to orbit the earth. Laika was mentioned in "A Hard Days' Night." Had to tell you that. (Good dog.)