Rumors Of His Birthday Have NOT Been Greatly Exaggerated!

Daria's ready to wish Mark Twain a happy birthday, as the satirist was born on this day in 1835. I don't know what Twain would have thought of Huckleberry Hound, but I'm sure his commentary would have been sharp and spot-on.

Today is also National Personal Space Day, which Daria will also be celebrating. Just as she does every day. Even when Mr. O'Neill makes it difficult.

Fandom News!

• RIP, Irene Cara.


• Wouter wonders about Donald Trump and Kanye West.


• Vote in the Celebrity Deathmatch poll between Quinn Morgendorffer and Holly Stone.


• Discuss the man who was arrested after a family Monopoly game turned violent.

A Good Day for Satire!

Daria's taking a solemn moment to think about Samuel Clemens (also known as Mark Twain) on the anniversary of his birth on this day in 1835. Of course, solemn wouldn't describe a humorist like Twain, so maybe she should consider reverting to her usual sarcasm.

Also on the subject of satirists, today is also the anniversary of the birth of Jonathan Swift on this day in 1667. Tip for those who don't know (and they're out there): his Modest Proposal had nothing to do with asking anyone to marry him.

Fanfic Update!

• Bearing the Summer, by Lady Evil (part 16): "Quinn stepped out of the taxi and waited for the driver to unload her luggage. This was going to take awhile, so Quinn took a good look at her old house."


• Danny Morgendorffer, by ST91 (part 55): "The next day, Daniel and the members of the school newspaper were having lunch at their usual table. As expected, what happened in the men's locker room had become public knowledge."


• Daria in the Background (IC : Daria doesn't need glasses), by cfardell_Brenorenz29 (part 1): "Daria Morgendorffer just wanted to be left alone. As she had grown up she had found she was different to the other children, and to her sister Quinn."


• The Engineer and the Time Lady, by cfardell_Brenorenz29 (part 9): "Alpha and the Synth were in Transporter Room 1, along with a replicated coracle, which the Synth would use to board the distressed ship. 'Ready for transport?' Alpha asked."


• Life Goes On: A Christmas Special, by WildDogJJ (parts 2 - 4): "Quinn and Jim are pacing nervously. They've just found out that some troll deleted Quinn's YouTube channel, de-monetized Jim's channel and suspended their Patreon." (Part 3) (Part 4)


• RA Holidays 2020: Is this year over yet?, by DIsaac (part 1): "JODIE: Guys... DARIA: Nope. JODIE: I haven’t even said what was needed from you guys."


• Unnamed story (Iron Chef: Artie's Abduction), by welltemperedclavier (COMPLETE!): "'Get out of here, Artie!' 'Wait!' Artie said, holding up a hand. 'I won't--'"


• Unnamed story (Scenes No Daria fanfic should have: The Closing Walls of Schloss Morgendorffer and Casa Lane), by Lady Evil (COMPLETE!): "'Whoa, Kevin, you made it with Lisa?' asked Joey. 'Yeah, she does this awesome thing with her tongue!' Kevin answered."

What Could Go Wrong?

Jane and Alison are ill-advisedly celebrating National Drink Wine Day, but as long as Jane keeps a level head and...never mind.

Today is also the anniversary of the publication of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in 1885. Daria would like to remind everyone that Huckleberry Hound is a complete different character who was not created by Mark Twain.

Fandom News!

• Discuss various Daria locations.


• Share songs that ask, "How did it all end up like this?"

It Was a Good Day for Humorists!

Daria's getting into the spirit (in a matter of speaking) because today's the anniversary of Mark Twain's (a.k.a Samuel Clemens's) birth in 1835! She was a fan of his work, including Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, but it's still open for debate whether or not he was responsible for creating Huckleberry Hound.

Speaking of famous satirists, today is also the anniversary of Jonathan Swift's birth on this day in 1667. Swift was known for his story Gulliver's Travels and his essay A Modest Proposal, the latter of which advocated for eating babies. Satirically, of course, but don't tell that last part to the Fashion Club. I'd love to see their reactions.

Fandom News!

• Play a new game: I Heard It In A Movie.


• mscoolbear has news for those who knew Ahmygoddess.


• Discuss the recent terror attack in London.


• What do you think about the riots in Iraq?


• Share your thoughts on the movie Terminator: Dark Fate.

A Modest Blog Post

Daria's getting to know the pint-sized versions of the Lawndale folks in honor of the 350th anniversary of Jonathan Swift's birth on this day in 1667. I think Swift's biting satire would have been very appealing to Daria, but I also think the way O'Neill is pointing directly up Daria's skirt is incredibly creepy.

On the subject of birthdays and satire, today is also the anniversary of Mark Twain's birthday in 1835. We know for a fact that Daria's a fan of Twain's, judging by the Mark Twain T-shirt she wears as a nightgown and her comment about Huckleberry Finn being an American classic. She seemed less enthusiastic about Huckleberry Hound, though.

Fandom News!

• Follow the surprising story of Slobodan Praljak's trial.


• Join in the thread about girls you should not underestimate.

Never Surrender...Unless It's Against Corporal Ellenbogen

Jake's doing a pretty good impression of Winston Churchill, perhaps the best-known of England's prime ministers, who was born on this day in 1874. There are a few similarities between the two, most notably their love of alcohol. I suppose if Jake had become the leader of his country, Mad Dog might have actually had something kind to say to his son. But I doubt it.

We also wish a happy birthday to both Jonathan Swift and Mark Twain, two famous satirical authors who were born on this day in 1667 and 1835. It probably goes without saying that Daria would be a fan of both, although she might have had a favorite between the two. After all, I don't think we ever saw her wear a Jonathan Swift nightshirt.

Fandom News!

• The Angst Guy talks about the many possibilities for Daikaiju.


• BloodyWilliam wants to know if anyone's interested in exchanging Christmas cards.


• Which of the LHS teachers would teach *pornography*? See the spin-off to the photography thread.


• Discuss cloud storage and other methods to save your writing work.


• Two new Iron Chefs have been posted in Creative Writing: Vukodlak's Amy's Trash freakout and Shiva's Ms. Li as a Teacher.


• Ask Roentgen your questions in the new Ask the Author thread.

It's a Good Day for Satirists!

Daria is reenacting Gulliver's introduction to the Lilliputians from Gulliver Travels, a work by Jonathan Swift, who was born on this day in 1667. Swift had a skill with satire that rivals even that of Our Heroine--a skill he shares with another writer who shares his birthday, Mark Twain, born in 1835. We already know Daria's a Twain fan, as we saw he was featured on her nightshirt in "Lane Miserables."

Fandom News!

• Share any Black Friday shopping horror stories you've witnessed or heard about.


• SacredDust is accepting requests for his burger reviews.


• Happy Hanukkah to those in fandom that celebrate it!


• It's not paranoia if they're really out to get you! Talk about conspiracy theories in a new thread.


• Discuss the latest developments on Family Guy and look out for spoilers!


• Talk about the new movie Frozen in the Weapons of Mass Distraction forum.


• Erin M. is asking artists if anyone could design a logo for him.

A Birthday Three-fer!

Happy birthday to a trio of famous people! Winston Churchill, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during World War II, was born on this day in 1874. Jake's impression of the man isn't bad, but I'm sure things would have turned out differently for the UK if Jake had been in charge. Rest assured, though, it all would have been Mad Dog's fault.

Mark Twain, also known as Samuel Clemens, was also born on this day in 1835. Daria was a fan of the author, judging by her sleep shirt in "Lane Miserables," but Trent seemed somewhat less enthusiastic about him.

Finally, satirist Jonathan Swift was born on this day in 1667. I don't believe Swift was ever mentioned in canon, but there is that alter ego of Daria as the title character from Swift's Gulliver's Travels. I'd be willing to bet that Daria's a fan of his witty and acerbic writing style, though.

Fanfic Update!

• The Beginning of our Story, by ST91 (COMPLETE!): "After dinner Darius took Jane back at her home. When they reached the doorway Jane said, 'Today was a wonderful day thanks' 'Was the same for me. Tomorrow I will pick you up and go to school together ok ?' 'Ok.' Jane said first to embrace Darius and give him a passionate kiss."


• Crossing Stars, by Silver: "Mac tapped his console again. 'Well, that's one Raven off our back. Five to go.' 'One of you remind me,' Daria said suddenly, 'To look into weapons upgrades when we get done with this job?' There were three replies that they would, indeed, not let her forget."


• Daria - Double Down, by neonhomer (part 9): "Lynn was laying face down on Daria’s bed when Jane and Daria walked in. They stopped short of walking in, and stood in the doorway. Quiet sobs could be heard coming from Lynn. 'Maybe I should go talk to her...' said Daria. 'Good idea.' Said Jane, starting to walk into the room, but Daria grabbed her by the arm before she could get too far. 'Alone.' Said Daria. "


• Die Hard Quinn (Iron Chef - In the movies), by Reven384 (COMPLETE!): "Quinn dragged her aching body through the air vent hoping to avoid the terrorists that took over the building Daria worked at."


• The Lady and the Tiger, by RLobinske (part 3): "'Hi, Hobbes,' she said to the stuffed animal on the sofa arm as she sat down. After taking a long drink, Daria closed her eyes and leaned back to rest. 'I've had a long day myself.' Without thinking, she placed one hand on the tiger as she drifted off. Sometime later, Daria became aware of purring. I didn't know Calvin had a cat she thought. She opened her eyes and saw her hand resting on a miniature tiger."


• A QB Grows in Lawndale, by Kristen Bealer (part 9): "'Then you must not ever hear yourself talk,' Kevin said. He felt really warm, even to the point of sweating. 'When was the last time you ever did anything that worked out right?' 'Well, at one time I did a pretty good job of raising a successful football player,' Doug yelled, slamming his fist on the counter, 'but that ended up going straight to hell!' Something inside Kevin broke. 'You can go straight to hell, Dad!'"


• Three Signals, by Arena del Sur (COMPLETE!): "It was 2 am, I offered her some coffee. Jane accepted so we went downstairs to the kitchen. And then, while we drank coffee, she started to ask questions. –Have you ever felt trapped in a maze?"


• Tigresses of Lawndale, by taishigi (parts 3 - 5): "Daria looked unsure, so Quinn came over and said, 'I believe in you, too. It's your job to become a great script writer or whatever, so you can write stuff for me to star in.' Daria looked at Quinn, not believing even her sister could say such a thing. Then Quinn winked at her and stated, 'It is your destiny to write for me, young Morgendorffer.'" (Part 4) (Part 5)


• Unnamed story (Iron Chef: Guilty Pleasures Redux), by RX-87 (COMPLETE!): "'Alright,' Daria said, conspiratorially as she helped Tad button up his shirt and wiped the creamy whiteness from her lips, 'Now remember not to tell your parents about this. It's our secret.'"


• Unnamed story (Iron Chef - In the movies), by Greystar (COMPLETE!): "Sandi: Like Stay-seee, are you, stoned or stupid? You don't hack a bank across state lines from your house, you'll get nailed by the FBI. Where are your brains, in your ass, or something? Don't you know anything?"


• Unnamed story (Iron Chef - In the movies), by SgtTrentLAne50 (COMPLETE!): "'Seriously, guys. What am I supposed to do?' Jane though a moment, then said, 'Kill your sister. You'll feel better.'"

Happy Birthday, Dead People!

Lots of famous birthdays today! First, Jonathan Swift was born on this day in 1667. Daria appears as the title character in Swift's Gulliver's Travels on the right, possibly about to eat one of the little people in an homage to another of Swift's works, A Modest Proposal. I can't tell which one she's holding, though. Tom? All I know is, I don't like the way O'Neill appears to be pointing up her skirt. If Swift were still alive today (with or without metal detectors), he would be 343. Get off'n his lawn, everyone!

A couple of relative youngsters were also born on November 30th. Another satirist, Mark Twain, also known as Samuel Clemens, was born in 1835 and would be 175 today. He was referenced briefly in "Lane Miserables," thanks to Daria's nightshirt. She and Trent shared a deep and meaningful conversation about Huckleberry Hound and joiners. I wonder if Mark Twain would have been a Daria/Trent shipper?


Finally, Winston Churchill was born on this day in 1874. He's the baby of the group, coming in at a sprightly 136. And speaking of babies, if all children tend to look like Winston Churchill when they're newborns, what did Winston Churchill look like when he was born? Anyone know? Jake is doing a passable impression of the former British prime minister (as an adult) on the left.

Of course plenty of other people, famous or not, were born on this day but either I was too lazy to track them down or I couldn't find any good Daria connections for them. Happy birthday, everyone who was born today!

Fanfic update coming soon. I think.

And Never the Twain Shall Meet

With Trent in her bed while she's wearing little more than a nightshirt, Daria ponders her options in this scene from "Lane Miserables." Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) is on her shirt, and today is the 173rd anniversary of that great author's birth. Not sure how much longer she would have had that shirt on if Jane hadn't shown up.

Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn is mentioned in two different Daria episodes: "Write Where It Hurts" (on the blackboard in Mr. O'Neill's class) and "Lake Miserables". (Trent remembers reading it but seems to confuse it with Huckleberry Hound, an early Hannah-Barbera cartoon character.) It inspired and is entwined with a recent fanfic, "One More River to Cross."

More interesting is the issue of the Mark Twain nightshirt, which reappears in numerous Daria fanfics: "Generation Gap," "Visitation," and "Call of Quinnthulhu," among others. Fans must have really liked that nightshirt, or the scene in which it appeared.

Ribbit!

On this day, 143 years ago, Samuel "Mark Twain" Clemens' "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" was published in the New York Saturday Press. The tale grew in the telling until now it is an annual event. We fanfic writers should be so lucky. On the subject of frogs, Daria says: click here. Beavis and Butt-head have much to say about frog (baseball), but we will ignore it.

Stay tuned.