Out of the Box

Lots of stuff going on today in Daria history. Nine years ago today, the last Daria episode aired on MTV: "Boxing Daria." We got to look at her early life in Highland when she didn't get along with others, and ended with her a senior in high school, only marginally getting along with others.

Seven years from this day, one of Daria's daughters gives birth. In which fanfic does this occur?

Eleven years ago today, the last names of Stacy Rowe and Tiffany Blum-Deckler were revealed on the MTV website. A banner day indeed.

Fandum N0OoZ!

• Lord Akiyama has drawn Daria as she might have looked if he had taken MTV's loose guidelines and run with it. Amazing.
• NEW! We also have Angel Quinn from MDetector5 on the new art channel. Thank you!

More to come, for sure. And here it is.

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• Daria/Dorian, by LadieT (continued): After breakfast, Dorian helped Jake decorate the outside of the house. Jane jogged by and froze in place. Dorian was covered in Christmas lights that had fallen out of Jake's hands. Jane's laughter caused Quinn to go outside. She joined Jane on the sidewalk. "And me without my camera." Jane wiped a tear from her eye.
• Finn Morgendorffer 50: Matters of State, by HolyGrail2007 (Part 9): “I should get going.” Daria remarked. “And you should probably get dressed.” “Hm.” Trent looked down at his barely clad body. “Well, Monique is coming over, so I think I’m good.” “Now I really need to leave.”
• The Hallowed Halls of Fielding, by Roentgen (Part 39): In ten minutes, Quinn would enter her English I class and Goodlett would be waiting for her. This was it. The big showdown. Goodlett was planning to assassinate her. Unless I kill him first. Really, he's made it clear that I'm going to flunk. I guess he was hoping that I wouldn't show up, or transfer out, or beg for mercy or something. But I'm more than willing to waste his time if that's the case. She only hoped that her plan would work.
• Judith Strikes! Cat Scratch Fever, by Brother Grimace (COMPLETE!): While Judith amused herself by going to Lawndale, Maryland (and ordering a meal from the Good Time Chinese restaurant, knowing that her presence near the trans-dimensional portal in the back would ring a lot of alarms, as this reality was watched over carefully) – her cloak silently moved across the darkened yard of the Morgendorffer-Fulton home in Williamstown, Virginia. It had been given a mission of its own to fulfill this night.
• Sleepwalker, by Jim North (Part 2): High-strung history teacher Anthony DeMartino's eye bulged and his nostrils flared as he crossed his arms and surveyed the mass of teenage humanity spread out before him. Though Lawndale was not by any means a particularly large or densely populated school district, he found that trying to help herd everyone grades 9 through 12 who had managed to get their permission slips signed looked as if it was going to be just as arduous and impossible as he had been fearing over the past seven days.
• Undefeated, by LadieT (previously published on FF.net)
• NEWER! The Vision of the Burning Cities, by jtranser (COMPLETE!): The little group of hobos were holding an emergency evening service in the former dime store on High Street. As each member entered, a libation of Cisco Red was poured on the concrete sidewalk and the words "Absit Omen" were uttered. Prayers were spoken, written, crumpled and burned. Their leader, Erica Flamen, bundled up in her green "Members Only" jacket, kept dancing on the checkout counter as they clapped and droned their drug-fueled invocation...
  

"Fly with me, lesbian seagull..."

Engelbert Humperdinck turns 74 today. He is a popular singer best known in this fandom for singing "Lesbian Seagull" in Beavis and Butt-head Do America. Tiny 9th-grader Daria Morgendorffer was listening to this song with Cassandra and others when Mr. Van Driessen was beaten up by the ATF. Thanks for the music! (That's actually Mike Judge singing as Van Driessen; Mr. Humperdinck sings during the movie's final credits.)

May 2 is a critical date in Is It Fall Yet? As Richard Lobinske notes in his chronology of the Daria series, "The morning of the last day of school at LHS, Jake notes the frozen waffles had an expiration date of May 2, and it was June." There will be a test later.

NEW! Roentgen has started a thread about the secret code names of Daria's classmates, if they were fighter pilots.

NEW! Richard Lobinske has also just updated the 2010 Daria FanArt listing. Thank you!

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• NEWEST! Falling into College: The Clip Show, by RLobinske (Part 6): Our records show that DARIA L MORGENDORFFER has been assessed a fine of $1.00 – ONE Dollars and ZERO cents - for overdue library materials. Please remit payment to the Circulation Desk as soon as possible. If payment is not made within 4 (four) weeks of the above date, the fine will be reported to the Financial Services office and a hold placed on your account until payment is made.
  
• NEW! Kim Possible: The Solo Missions, by Erin M. (excerpt): Kim Possible entered the main common area of the dorm and went to a door behind the information desk. She knocked and waited. After a moment, a young woman in her mid-20s opened the door. She had shoulder length brown hair, glasses with thick black frames, and a somewhat sardonic expression. This was Kim's boss, a grad student who worked as the Senior Resident Assistant, or as everybody referred to her, the "House Mom," a term which caused her no end of irritation, which is why it was in common use in the first place. "Oh, hey, Kim," she said. "Hey, Daria," Kim replied. "Just wanted to let you know I'm heading out for break. You need me to do anything before I take off?" (SFMB)
• NEWER! A New Set of Rules, by Dennis (Part 10): "Are you going to start dating again?” The corners of Daria's mouth turned down. “Even if I wanted to, it's not like guys are lining up to ask me.” “Look around, Daria. I think you'll be surprised.”
• Springtime for Self-Esteem, by Ajar (Part 2): “Angela, it's two in the morning,” Margaret said as she threw another booklet on the pile. “All these proposals are blurring into one. How did you get so many submissions, anyway?” “It's amazing what you can get done with cafeteria vouchers and threats of mandatory staff calisthenics."
  

"Who'd like a candy bar?"

Back in her Highland period, Daria appeared in the Beavis and Butt-head episode "Candy Sale," which premiered on MTV on this day 15 years ago. Daria had a nonspeaking role, but oddly she fell for the transparent ploy that "Mister Candy" uses to get the kids to sell candy bars for the school. Maybe this kind of stuff made her more cynical later in life. (Click on the class pic to enlarge it and see what everyone is doing while "Mister Candy" talks. No wonder Daria wanted to get out of Highland as fast as she could.)

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• NEW! Endings Are Beginnings, by Dark Kuno (COMPLETE!): I sat in my hotel room and stared at the screen of my laptop. The cursor blinked back at me, unmoving as it had for the past hour. I leaned back in my chair and let out a frustrated sigh. Nothing. That’s exactly what happened, as it had the five times I tried before to produce anything of value for this assignment.
  
• Falling into College: The Clip Show, by RLobinske (Part 2): "Welcome back, you’re just in time to see the introduction of one of our more unusual friends and Jane’s first college roommate.
• Finn Morgendorffer 41: It's Called Boston, by HolyGrail2007 (COMPLETE!): “Do we have to go anywhere?” “No. We’ve got time. Or we could check out that jetted tub.” “Jane, we tried that, it didn’t work as well.” “Practice makes perfect.”
• FORMER MTV STARLET INJURED IN ACCIDENT, by LOTR_Dan (snippet): Brittany Taylor—the blonde bombshell from MTV's Daria and more recently E!'s Tracking Taylor—revived injuries to her neck after a nasty collision on the 5 North.
• NEW! Holiday Air, by RLobinske (COMPLETE!): "Eleven years after 'Depth Take a Holiday' aired, it is still controversial, so I'm going to ask the most obvious question: Are you real holidays or just actors?" "We're real, dammit!" "For those that truly believe."
  
• The Hallowed Halls of Fielding, by Roentgen (Part 22): "That segment that Merritt assigned where she asked us about comparing Edward Rochester from Jane Eyre to Max De Winter. I'm getting the impression that Merritt wants us to tie that in with du Maurier's views on sex. What do you think?" "I think we're almost thinking the same thing. After all, you have to put down what the prof wants. Individual thinking? God knows what you'll get for a grade."
• NEW! It’s What’s for Dinner, by Dennis (COMPLETE!): “Hello!” Daria shouted as she opened the door at 1111 Glen Oaks lane. Not that she had any particular desire to see her family, but there hadn’t been any food at Jane’s and it was well past dinner time. No answer. She sighed and opened the door wider. Turned out the family was at home.
  
• Miss Scarlett's School for Boys, by Respite (COMPLETE!): “Hey,” he said, as nonchalantly as he could manage. “Hey yourself,” Daria answered. “If you're looking for my friend, she had to—” “No, I—I wasn't looking for your friend. My name's Tom.” Tom stuck his hand out to Daria in greeting.
• NEW! Moon Shot, by Dennis (COMPLETE!): “I heard,” said one such unfortunate, as the band and some of the crew gathering in the hotel room to wind down after the show, “that if you cut up one of these horse pills and take just a little bit with another stimulant like coffee, you get a really nice kick that lasts for hours. And you don’t crash.”
  
• THOMPSON'S LOCKER ROOM RAGE—CAUGHT ON TAPE, by LOTR_Dan (snippet): Thompson, who has not been seen since the incident, is currently being sought by law enforcement.
  
• Unnamed story (Scenes no Daria fanfic should have: Ouch Time), by Scissors MacGillicutty (COMPLETE!): "You know, kiddo, I'd like to believe that you're aware enough even now to know that there's nothing sadistic in my actions." (Daria/Kill Bill)
• Up With Chuck, by Ticknart (COMPLETE!): The business world knows Mr. Ruttheimer as a ruthless axe man; buying internet companies, cutting them up, keeping the parts that he likes for himself, and then selling the left-over pieces. He's also built his own news search site, designed around an algorithm he developed early in his college career. Most of you visiting this site, though, know him as "Upchuck" from the late 1990s MTV hit series Daria.
  

Daria Gets the Last Laugh

Can't believe this happened 15 years ago. God, am I old or what. Daria and her classmates have a good laugh at the expense of Beavis and Butt-head in "Wet Behind the Rears," after the Dud-namic Duo are forced to flee school in their underwear during a fire drill. How many times do you recall seeing Daria laugh? Not often. Recognize anyone else?

Oprah Winfrey, who was the President of Texas in this Daria fanfic, turns 56 today, bless her heart. And Tom Selleck, imitated by Daria in "Murder, She Snored" (also see images at this link) is 65.

Fanfic update coming this weekend.

A Very Special Message from Highland

This speaks for itself, I guess. Oh, but there's this, too:

This is from "A Very Special Christmas with Beavis and Butt-head," showing Highland High School if Beavis and Butt-head had not been there. Note Daria (right) and Cassandra (left) singing Christmas carols. Daria has a boyfriend, too, shown moments later.

Very Special Friends of Bill

Sixteen years ago this very day, Daria Morgendorffer, ninth grader at Highland High School, got to meet President William Jefferson Clinton and be totally humiliated when Beavis and Butt-head stole her moment in the spotlight. This was in the fateful Beavis and Butt-head episode, "Citizen Butt-head." (The DariaWiki page for this episode does not yet exist.) Not a lot of fanfiction makes references to this event. We don't get the chance to see B&B episodes very often, I guess. That "Incognito" one really shocked me.

There's a very nice sketch of Daria listening to music, by Pinhead, on PPMB. Ranger Thorne has also finished a very nice work with Daria in a brand new style. She looks taller, doesn't she?

New Iron Chef: Teachers as Students, by Greystar!

FF.net

• NEW! Sinspiration, by Vlora (Part 24): "You said no to an agent?" Jane managed to get out, her voice shaking. Daria and Jane had spent the better part of the day trying to get the answer out of Trent; he seemed reluctant to discuss the matter any further than its occurrence. "You, a struggling musician, said no to an offer of a tour and a paid series of gigs? Oy."

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• NEW! Fat Man's Grave, by TAG and Brother Grimace (Part 4): Police entered the Morgendorffer home using keys given them by either Quinn or Stacy, then discovered evidence of radioactive contamination and summoned a hazmat team from the fire department. If I thought a circus was playing out in my hospital room, what then took place at the Morgendorffers’ was the chariot-racing Circus Maximus of all time. The helicopter coverage of the crowd was especially entertaining. (HTML)
  
• Finn Morgendorffer 9: Legends and Losers (Part 1): “Hey, Finn, did you hear, dude, did you hear?” Kevin was speaking in excited tones as he, Finn, and Mack all walked down the hallway. “Hear what?” Finn asked. With Kevin, one would never know just what popped into his head. “The man, dude. The man is coming.” Kevin could barely contain his enthusiasm. “Tommy Sherman is coming into town," said Mack. "You didn’t hear about that?”
  
• In Silence Sarcastic, by Trscroggs (Part 1): Jodie Landon privately admitted to herself that she was only a decent observer of people. So it came of no surprise that her that she couldn’t get a read on the new student. The new girl certainly didn’t make it easy. Jodie was quite certain she had not heard her say a single word so far.
• Invisible Love, by Charliefox2012 (Parts 1 to 4): Duncan Morgendorffer sat in the backseat of his dad’s blue Lexus. His little sister, Quinn, was sitting in the front passenger seat putting on her make-up. Duncan rolled his eyes. He didn’t get why a fourteen and half year old girl needed to wear make-up. Quinn wasn’t supposed to be attractive at this age. At the moment, the two were waiting in the car for their dad. “We’re going to be late,” Duncan muttered. “Well, dad did get up later than us,” Quinn said. “Obviously, he forgot that he was supposed to take us to school.” (FF.net)
  
• NEW! Lawndale's Finest, Detective Stories 5: Belfry, by Lorenzo Sauchelli (COMPLETE!): Batgirl opened one of her belt's pockets and extracted from it a glowing green rock. According to her data, and what little information she had gathered from Quinn's letters when she first moved to Lawndale, she was fairly sure it was the silver bullet against the mighty Supergirl. [Last part is here.]
• Nightmare results, still thinking on a title, by Aloysius (Part 1): The runners got closer and Daria blinked as she looked at them. “Hold on, Jane.” “You should join us, Daria. Nothing like running to get a body all hot and bothered.” She grinned. “Well, almost nothing, I mean.” “Jane, stay in the car! Look at them!”
• Our Time Now, by Charliefox2012 (Part 4): “Hey, what’s wrong? I tried calling your house,” Jane said worriedly. “Dad set the house on fire,” Daria replied.
  
• Reusably Complex, by Ajar (Part 6): "Would someone tell me how she knew that Ms. Li was going to hire me to replace Mr. Edwards?" "Like I said, I've experienced this all before." "No, I mean how did you really know?"
  
• Shadows of a Timeless Song, by Dennis (Part 6): Daria spent morning, noon, and night tracing the history of King Arthur's sword through the myriad version of the story, and looking for hints of Avalon's—or Abhalljin's—location. Jane, now understanding her friend's obsession, provided a useful sounding board when Daria needed one, sometimes accompanying her to the library, more often joining her in her room after dinner. But it wasn't Jane who was present when Daria finally had her breakthrough.
• NEW! Unnamed story (Three-peat! New Ideas Thread Wins Again!), by thatLONERchick (Part 1): Daria awoke in a fog. She lifted her head from the pillow, hair stuck to the side of her face and ruffled with sleep, to find a single glistening ruby perched upon the white linen pillowcase.
  
• Wristcutters: A Daria Story, by Charliefox2012 (COMPLETE!): “I love you,” Eugene said simply. Daria looked at him confused and startled. Eugene waved his hand dismissively. “Not like that. I mean I love you like my… dyke friend,” he said and grinned. Daria rolled her eyes, but smiled. She thought a moment before she spoke. “And I love you like my idiot friend,” she said easily. (FF.net)
  

Is This the Origin of Holiday Island?

Yes, I know, it's the cover of a Beavis and Butt-head comic. Part of it is serialized on a July 1997 MTV website in the B&B section. There are at least two pictures of a bland-faced Daria here. Just keep clicking and you'll read the whole Halloween section.

The entire issue is about B&B's trials and tribulations with the holidays. See the cover? Did this start the ball rolling on "Depth Takes a Holiday"?

Love seeing Daria as a sour Christmas present. Makes me smile.

Oh, and here is the link to the December 1996 B&B section of MTV Online. Some fun little things to download, if you like.

February Follies

Thought you'd like to see Daria and company having a good laugh at the underwear-clad Beavis and Butt-head in "Wet Behind the Rears," described here yesterday. The image at left is from the MTV site. You hardly ever see Daria laugh, do you?

Though the following events have no specific dates, they all took place in February of different years, so we will remember them here in a bunch. See if you can guess which story these are from.

An important new addition to the Morgendorffer family arrives: a granddaughter.

Helen discovers she is pregnant—and breaks up with the biological father soon after.

A certain female superspy hides in the woods, hoping to avoid capture.

Daria gets published. The female superspy has something to do with it.

Daria does not get published. Someone else secretly does (not the female superspy, though).

Good luck!

Anniversaries I missed thanks to the damn ice storm

This past Wednesday, January 28th, was the seven anniversary of a very special wedding in Daria fanfic-land. Who got hitched? Give up? Click here for the answer.

That same day was also the 50th anniversary of Lego toy bricks, which can be used to create a very good likeness of Jake Morgendorffer, shown at left.

Thursday, January 29th, was the 14th anniversary of Daria's appearance on the Beavis and Butt-head episode, "Wet Behind the Rears." Daria doesn't speak in the episode, but you see her having a good laugh, along with the rest of the student body, when Beavis and Butt-head are forced to leave school during a fire drill wearing only their underwear. Plus Beavis is covered in blood and has a hole in his right hand from being hit with a javelin. Plus, you discover at the end, the fire alarm was rigged by the principal and Coach Buzzcut for the sole purpose of having Beavis and Butt-head embarrassed in front of the rest of the school. Which really makes you wonder what the hell was going on in that school. Jeez. At least Daria got a good laugh out of it. So did both Kimberlys and Cassandra.

Plus, it was nine years ago on Friday the 30th that part of the episode "Fizz Ed" took place. It was Super Bowl Sunday in the year 2000, when Daria took on The System and won. More or less. Thanks to Richard Lobinske for puzzling this one out.

Lorenzo Sauchelli has drawn another Legion of Lawndale Heroes super-dude. Enjoy!

Greystar has posted a special PPMB Iron Chef challenge. Stay tuned to see where this ones goes.

SPECIAL NEWS! Roentgen (here, too) has created a DariaWiki page with all the links to the Legion of Lawndale Heroes stories! Huzzah! This was a much-needed item. Thank you!

The New Idea Thread on PPMB continues to spiral out of control. Many exciting projects are also being discussed for 2009.

More later as I read some more stuff. Oh, and the stories I missed updating are below.

FF.net

• Daria, Poem Unlimited: The Meme Wars, by Project Pegasus (Part 2): Tom is at it again! This time he is trying to take over the Internet, and only Daria and Jane can stop him! While Daria and Jane desperately chase Tom across Cyber Space, they find themselves stuck in yet another Internet meme!
• Harry Butthead, by Deep Metal (Part 2): “Butt-head, I’m very disappointed in you! We wanted to raise you in an upright, Christian household and this is how you repay us? With black magic and occultism?” [This story was in the B&B forum, but it includes Daria, so is listed here.—TAG]
• Helping Hand, by Ivgie Sole (Part 3): Having already suffered a great loss Daria is about to lose her love, sanity and perhaps her very life. That is until an old friend comes to her rescue.
• When It Rains, by MandeeMistress (Part 1): Daria is finally getting the tour of Raft that she wanted. A placement test is her main objective. With Trent, Jane and Jesse along for the ride, it's bound to be a disaster.

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• Expectavi—Daria: Agent of COBRA, by Ranchoth (Part 2.5): OMG. Don't try this at home, kids. *
  
• Falling into College 66: Christmas in White, by Richard Lobinske (Part 4): It appears the truck filled with ebola-carrying penguins is not going to make it to the wedding, but there's always the honeymoon!
• Long Trek Home, by Ranger Thorne (Part 2 continued): Daria sighed then sat in one of the seats across from Jodie. "This is just too weird to talk to Jane about," she admitted. "But, I, um, think that girl's father might be me."
  
• Other Side, by Legendeld (Part 7): “The boiler is fine but it looks like the exchanger is cracked and that’s why it can’t build up more pressure to turn the turbine fast enough to make this thing go faster than five miles per hour.”
• Snuffed Animals, by Disco316 (Parts 13 to 16): Everyone's on the road not previously taken. Stay tuned to see where the road ends and if there are any fatalities.
  
• Stacy Rowe, Seeker (Part II), by jtranser (continued): Daria and Jane meet... uh-oh. This can't end well.
• Turnabout Confusion, Part II: All the King's Horses, by Dennis (continued): There aren't enough shocked little yellow emoticons in all TEH INTERNETZ to fit my reaction to this plot development.
• Two Halves, by Dark Kuno (Chapter 3, Part 7): “I can’t believe we missed the sale by an hour,” Quinn said with an annoyed tone as she dropped her keys on the living room table. Joey, Jeffie and Jamie each filed slowly through the front door a minute later. Each was encumbered with numerous bags, bundles and parcels of various sizes and visibly struggled to hold onto their immense burdens.
  

* Contains mature content. Brace yourself.

One for the Kids

This being Universal Children's Day, per UNICEF, we offer a precious thought from young Daria Morgendorffer of Highland Elementary School: click here.

x

Um, the "x" above meant that I was supposed to add something there but forgot. I've forgotten what I had to add, so....

Hey! It's Thursday! Time to party!

Latest entry on DariaWiki: it's a surprise from Brother Grimace. Wonder what Daria is like on that world.

A Day for Students Everywhere

As you can readily tell, this is International Students Day, when we celebrate those young monsters who eventually turned into us. A scene from Daria's Highland High years shows the diversity of the modern student, but I couldn't tell you how. They all look like delinquents to me. Actually today is far more serious than that, honoring student activism in the face of genuine oppression, but you know how I get.

The very first session of the U.S. Congress was held 208 years ago, and if you want to celebrate that, be my guest.

And... two years ago a new element was discovered: roentgenum. Sound familiar?

More l8r.

Okay, itz l8t.


FF.net

• Apocalyptic Daria: Scarlett's Tale, by doggieboy80 (up to Part 3): Roger better get his little furry butt over here pronto.
• Size Does Matter, by HawkingRadiation, a.k.a. BlackHole (up to Part 6): Big problems come in big packages.
• Two Babies and a Wedding, by age4age4 (Part 1): In this sequel to "Christmas Eve at the Lanes," Helen thinks: I wonder if I still have that riding crop around here somewhere... I'll have to ask Jakey. [You know what THAT means!]
  

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• Apocalyptic Daria: Scarlett's Tale, by Doggieboy (Part 5): Scarlett froze in place as John set the candle on a small dinner table. “Time to relax, Scarlett.”
• Daylight: The Road to Nowhere, by Disco316 (Part 2): The foursome set camp where Interstates 70 and 270 converged. While it was still light, Chuck opened his map of the area. He was studying it when Stacy joined him. “So what’s the plan, Charles?”

Putting the "Ass" Back in F-ass-t Food (heh heh heh heh heh)

You may as well know that today is also National Fast Food Day, though as someone else has pointed out, every day is National Fast Food Day. Butt-head will be our mascot for this event, held at Burger World in Highland, Texas. Daria herself asks an important question about Beavis and Butt-head's future: click here.

Enjoy your mouseburger!


LATE ADD: Father Martin has left an invitation for a Dariacon in London on November 19th. Anyone up to it?


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• Bet, by Legendeld (Part 6): “So, are you knocked up?”
  
• Daylight: Recruitment Day, by Richard Lobinske (COMPLETE!): For some reason, the phrase "Did the earth move for you, too?" comes to mind.
• Order and Chaos, by Legendeld (Part 11): Gracious, where are all these dead Sith coming from?
  
• The Other Side of Time: Unfinished Business, by The Sidhe (continued): The news from the Morgendorffer house was not to Jasper’s liking. “So they’ve got the place well guarded, eh?” said Jasper as he looked at the rough map of the area his men had drawn up.

Other

• Mannequinn, by Michael Pallante (COMPLETE!): An emotionally damaged Daria and family arrive in Lawndale. *

* Contains adult content.

The Buzz on The Buzz

Remember Highland High Coach Bradley Buzzcut? What if he reappeared in Daria's life while she was in Lawndale or later in college in Boston? How might it happen they would meet again? Could he be a mighty superhero/villain from all the uranium he drank in the Highland water, or have we run that meme into the ground already? Maybe he's turned into a psychotic vigilante and thinks Daria was part of a plot against the government, because he heard that from Beavis and Butt-head. Run with it, I say.

Peter Guerin's essay, "American Animation's Finest Hour: Why 'Fire!' and 'Dye! Dye! My Darling' Have Reached a High-Water Mark for U. S. Cartoons," was written eight years ago today, shortly after DDMD aired. It makes for interesting reading in light of fan reactions to The Kiss.

Also, today is the anniversary of the birthday of Joseph Merrick, who became known as the Elephant Man because of his disease-caused deformities. In "I Loathe a Parade," Daria quotes something said by Merrick in a play written about him. That counts as an obscure reference to me. Wonder if she saw the play, read the script, etc. It figures she would know about it, as she had such an interest in biological deformities according to many canon sources. Might Daria have gone on to medical school one day?

More soon. Don't go away. Well, okay, for a little while then, but come right back.

Juneteenth

Today is Juneteenth, established 143 years ago in Galveston, Texas when the Union Army proclaimed an end to slavery in the Galveston area. One wonders if Juneteenth was celebrated in Highland, Texas, and what the young Daria Morgendorffer thought of it. My guess is, she liked the idea and privately wished for her own Juneteenth, when she was free to go off to college and escape Highland, her schools, and her family.


Happy Juneteenth to everyone. More later.

Young Daria's Bedroom in Highland

When watching "Boxing Daria," I am always struck by the very feminine quality of her childhood bedroom. She certainly lacked for nothing: frilly curtains and lampshade, ornate furniture, little ducks along the ceiling, a clown-face light switch, toys and books galore, a doll house, and pink walls to boot. This was the lair of the Daria we know? Granted, she learned to drop her things on the floor early on, as she does in her Lawndale bedroom. And she did learn to hide in a book when real life got too stressful (or too ridiculous) to handle. It still seems like a different kid, though. Beavis and Butt-head couldn't have ruined her that thoroughly.

Looking at this picture, one wonders where the feminine side of Daria went. She wears a skirt in high school, but all the frilly things, the ornate and decorative things, that stuff went away. There was a big change. She stops competing for attention. She blocks out thoughts of boys (until Trent appears, and even then she squashes down her feelings without mercy). She doesn't socialize with other girls or with boys. She keeps to herself, intellectual and introverted and judgmental and increasingly sarcastic.

One wonders what kind of Daria this little girl could have grown up to be, even with her personality style as solemn and standoffish as it was. Interesting fodder for AU stories, starting with this little Daria. Who else might she have become?

Home Is Where the Highland Is

Here's an interesting project: draw the probable layout of the Morgendorffers' old home in Highland, Texas. Per "Boxing Daria," it's a one-story ranch, possibly with attic and basement (for tornados), attached garage, separate bedrooms for Daria and Quinn. We have interesting glimpses of the interior in several episodes in flashbacks, many in the kitchen.