(snip!)

Nineteen years ago today, the urban fantasy movie Edward Scissorhands was released in the USA. Brittany appears as Scissorhands in this remarkable alter ego from early in the Daria series. Click on the image to get the full-size view. (Thank you, Pinhead!) Loved that movie, sad and sweet all at once. It turned the Frankenstein theme on its head. Brittany's expression in the alter ego is perhaps the most amazing thing about it. Perfect, exactly like the movie.

nU0oZ!

It is time to thank those who have contributed so much to DariaWiki of late. Richard Lobinske, Brother Grimace, Doggieboy, Roentgen, Disco316, Jim North, Boandpop, and JPAGC have offered outstanding work and greatly expanded one of the core websites in this fandom. Yay! Visit the link above to see their works. U d0oDz r0oOL!!!

Two active & worthwhile non-PPMB threads to follow (and contribute to) have appeared. They are:

• Television Without Pity: Daria
• Facebook: Daria

Go, sign up, start typing, and enjoy.

Now for a few weird (but fun) things found on the Internet. First, Daria M. and Daria W., a bedroom comparison.

Next, something that might have been posted here before, but I don't recall it: 20 Classy High School Outcasts on Entertainment Weekly (ew.com). We are interested in #5.

Here is an extremely odd blog (the pot calls the kettle black) about every single thing in the universe with the name of Daria: Daria Derly Fun. Some screen captures I haven't seen before, too. Nice. Weird, but that's okay.

Someone has posted an avatar of Daria Morgendorffer from Second Life at the Facebook site. Nice!

The Daria/Harry Potter crossover issue has again arisen. Check it out. Interesting issue.

PPMB

• Finn Morgendorffer 19: It's Edgy, Dammit, by HolyGrail2007 (Part 1): “If only we could understand the wonders of the male brain,” said Jane. “Easy," said Daria. "Every other word is breasts."
• Inner Universe, by Malakite (Part 1): The next day, Jane happened past a boy having locker trouble. As she walked by she said "Do you hear that? He hasn't got a prayer!" The boy glanced at her for a second, and then went back to trying to open his locker after her suddenly sympathetic, "Oh, bummer."
• Reaped Out 2: Sickle Sad World, by Shnookies, the artist formerly known as Pinkminx (COMPLETE!): Daria glanced at the growing crowd of onlookers and tapped her foot impatiently. She didn’t see Jane approaching her from behind. “YOU!!!” Jane growled.
• Reflections, by MidnightStorm (continued): Pizza Prince was crowded as usual as Daria slowly walked in. Workers, on lunch break, looked at her with curiosity and shrugged. Going back to their usual drawls on business and such, not caring about the lone teenager. Her usual booth with Jane was taken by two young workers arguing about some money loans. Finding an empty booth all the way at the end of the row, she sat down and gazed at the shiny metal table.
• The Secret Life of Tammy Sloane, by MidnightStorm (Part 1): It was a quiet day in the Sloane household, something that was very rare and unusual. Mrs. Sloane, better known as Kay, was pleased at the energy in the house. Most of the time it was chaotic due to their eldest daughter's actions. She had scolded her hundreds of times, most of which were for pulling pranks on her teachers or humiliating a student.
• Unnamed story (Crossovers Not Yet Crossed Over), by Richard Lobinske (COMPLETE!): When Jack Jeebs saw the woman in a black suit and round, dark glasses enter his pawn shop, his stomach tightened. "Good morning, Dee. How's it going?" he asked, hoping for the best. Agent Dee said, "Don't good morning me, Jeebs. I'm not in a good mood."
  
• Unnamed story (Iron Chef: "And Then Buffy Staked Edward."), by MidnightStorm (COMPLETE!): Edward looked around. The streets were deserted, something very unusual about the lively small town of Forks. Cars were parked on the side and seemed to gather dust. Looking toward the street he saw a lone figure leaning against a light post. Auburn hair blew in the wind. Edward walked toward the figure, curious to see if she knew anything about the town's disappearance.
• Unnamed story (Iron Chef: "And Then Buffy Staked Edward."), by Raskolnikov (COMPLETE!): The formation of Cylon Raiders rose in the sky like a wave of metal. The hawklike ships headed towards the battered hull of the old battlestar....
• Unnamed story (Iron Chef: Once Bitten, Twice Shy), by Greystar (sequel COMPLETE!): "Jeez! Daria always gave me gas when she was alive, but this is ridiculous!"
• Unnamed story (Iron Chef: Once Bitten, Twice Shy), by Wraith (COMPLETE!): "Isn't she just perfect bait? In a manner of speaking. I mean, in the stories aliens or UMAs or whatever always go for the cute, timid, scared ones first, right? And predators always go for the weakest of the pack. Natural selection is a basic principle."

Moar Gud Gnuz!

Kara Wild continues to update the DVDaria situation for this lucky fandom, and it looks like we are about to receive an extraordinary treat next year. Now we've really got something to smile about! (More updates here.)

Good thing, too, because I was running out of acorns to sacrifice to the Great Bright-Eyed and Bushy-Tailed One.

The quarter million fans at the Facebook site are talking. Reactions are coming in from the Television Without Pity message board, too.

Think maybe we can drop some hints about repairing the broken links to flipbooks on the official MTV Daria website? We would dearly love to see them!

XTER GUD GNUZ

• Jim North has opened up a new shared Dariaverse for fanfic writers! Go to it!

The Illustrated Jake & Other Birthdays

I know, I know, the headline didn't make any sense. Whatever.

There are a lot of very relevant birthdays applying to Daria fandom today. Let's fix them up to show their importance.

Jake's Alter Ego: Today is the 89th birthday of master storyteller Ray Bradbury, whose books kept me entertained and informed throughout my childhood. Of particular interest is Jake's alter ego, that of a tattooed man from a circus, which perfectly sets off Bradbury's short-story collection, The Illustrated Man. (The book cover at left is the same as on the copy I owned.)

Daria's Literary Role Model: Writer and critic Dorothy Parker, she of the sharp pen and sharper wit, was born 116 years ago. Read some of her barbed remarks for a real education in wicked writing. She even has a New York City fan club.

Upchuck's Favorite Bond Girl: Honor Blackman celebrates her 84th birthday today. She appeared as a Bond Girl in Goldfinger, and I would bet this appearance (for obvious reasons) made her Charles the Third's favorite.

Summer Lane: Yes, according to one popular fandom mythology, Jane and Trent's oldest sister, Summer Love Lane, was born this day 42 years ago, which was also the same day Vincent and Amanda tied the knot.

Just Because: George Herriman, one of the immortals in the cartooning world, was born 129 years ago today. He was the creator of Krazy Kat, who was forever being hit on the head with a brick by the mouse that Krazy Kat loved. Do you see any application of this theme to any one Daria character in particular?


MOAR NUZ: The announcement that Daria is coming out on DVD in 2010 galvanized two of the message boards for our fandom. If you like posting on MBs other than PPMB or SFMB, try alt.tv.daria and Television Without Pity, the latter of which is going great guns. Sadly, all of the other MBs appear to have died for now. (The stub MB for Daria on The Onion's website has been taken offline for lack of interest, alas.)

Brother Grimace has published a teaser for his next fanfic on PPMB: Legion of Lawndale Heroes 13.7: Time for Me to Fly. Check it out.

A PPMB thread on student stereotypes and using them in fanfiction is moving along well.

MDetector5 has turned Quinn into a costumed furry. For some reason it makes me think of Honor Blackman again.

Hope your day is a good one.

Oops

While I was off in la-la land for the last two days, I missed some very important anniversaries for the fandom. You may suggest appropriate punishments for me in the Comments section below.

Anyway, this evening I will post the fandom holidays I missed in this work-in-progress post for the DFB2, plus all the new fanfiction, fan art, and fan et cetera that's been around. Here we go.

The 12th anniversary of the premiere of Daria itself, "Esteemsters," was two days ago. That day was also the 10th anniversary of "The Old and Beautiful" and the 9th anniversary of "Antisocial Climbers."

Yesterday was the 9th anniversary of an event that took place in a Daria fanfic spinning off from "Fizz Ed." Guess it?

Today is the eight anniversary of the premiere on MTV of "Fat Like Me."

That about covers the missed anniversaries. More anniversaries will be missed next week. Now for the news.

THE NEWS!

• Brother Grimace urges one and all to vote for the next Legion of Lawndale Heroes leader!
  
• Wouter posted a nice pic of Jane relaxing in the school yard on PPMB. Thanks!
• thatLONERchick is working on a Daria/Watchmen story. Hot holy @#$%^%$. Hang on for the shockwave.
• 1,181 fans at the Daria Fan Club. This thing sure took off. Needs more polls and quiz questions, hard ones. And thank you for the new pictures!
• Over 70,000 hits here. Whoa.
  
• The scenes that should not be have spilled over into the scenes that SHOULD be.
• The scenes that should be continue to spill over, but not into the scenes that should NOT be.
• Some new characters were added to Backgrounders, but for the life of me I can't remember who they were or when they were done. Dang.
  
• Lots more added to the thread called "Finish it Damnit! and Whose world do you want to play in?"
• Interesting DariaWiki additions: Scenes from a Lawndale Christmas, A Night to Remember to Forget, A Visit to Camp Grizzly, Starbears, and A Rookie Mistake. Oh, and Cobb pizza.
  
• We now return you to a discussion concerning the word "dunt" as it appears in a fanfic, already in progress. Srsly.
  

Enough of that. Now for the new fanfiction. In a minute.

FF.net

• 1800DARIA, by Smileyfax (Part 1): Jane was hunched over laughing on the couch. "Daria, you HAVE to be pulling my leg. You do NOT work at a porn hotline." "Not anymore."
• Falling into College, Year 4: Christmas in White, by Richard Lobinske (COMPLETE!): This is the only complete story in this listing. That means you are required by law to read it.

Lawndale Online

• Dennis has posted the stories from his Girls Together Sarcastically series. Check 'em out.
  

PPMB

• Accidents Will Happen, by undefinedlust (Part 3 finished): "Oh really?" Alison's voice perked with interest. "What's up babe?"
• Acts of Cupidity, by Disco316 (Parts 5 and 6): It being Saturday Night, Valentine’s Day went to his usual starting point, the Zon. He didn’t figure to find too many people he was looking for there, but it was as good a place to start as any. As he canvassed the room, he found two of the people he’d been looking for; unfortunately, they weren’t what anyone would consider a couple.
  
• The Exile Papers, by Gene (Parts 1-13): I hate this tent. It's smelly and cold. When Janie brought me sandwiches, she also brought a couple of quilts. She's as thoughtful as can be while Wind and Penny are just jerks. I won't say what I'm thinking of Mom right now. Too tied up with her art projects to say anything about what's going on around the house.
  
• John Lane 39: Leaving Summer, by Richard Lobinske (Part 2): BEST LINE BEGGING FOR AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE: "It's not like you were a bad kisser or anything." [Two stories featuring Alison? Whoa.]
• Legion of Lawndale Heroes Special: Tokusatsu Team Up! by Lorenzo Sauchelli (continued): The red dragon-like monster the five robots were battling looked like it belonged in a Godzilla movie. It towered over every building in the area, and its wings gave the impression that the monster had the ability to swallow all of Tokyo in a few bites.
  
• A Merry Invitation, by TheSecretSharer (Part 1): Daria as Shakespeare wouldst have done it. Rox yr sox.
• The Other, by TAG (Parts 1 to 7): They that are born on Halloween will see more than other folk.
• Size Does Matter, by BlackHole (Part 38): With a bowl of ‘Model Cereal’ in her hand, a glass of orange juice on the table in front of her, a pajama and bathrobe clad Quinn lounged in front of the big living room TV while the noon news interrupted the procession of the Sunday morning series. Quinn contemplated the motions required to reach for the remote and change the channel, but decided that skipping the news wasn’t worth the effort. (SFMB)
  
• Turnabout Confusion, Part II: All the King's Horses, by Dennis (continued): "Ms. Morgendorffer," Ms. Li said, "I know for a fact that you have been plotting with Mr. DeMartino to undermine my authority in this school. Now if you confessed your crime, I may be moved to be lenient." She loomed over Daria, her voice barely above a whisper. "You do not want to find out what will happen to you if I am not lenient."
  
• Two Halves, by Dark Kuno (continued): Quinn’s eyes went wide at the sound of her sister’s angry voice. She turned slowly to find Daria standing behind her with arms crossed and an expression that matched the older girl’s tone.

Current Topics on Less-Visited Message Boards

• alt.tv.daria - Don't even bother clicking.
  
• Bestuff - Someone admits to a crush on Jane. Someone female. (See below for Daria Lovers Unite!)
  
• Daria Fan Club - British Daria!
  
• Daria Lovers Unite! - Is Jane a lesbian? (Srsly.)
• Daria Shrine's MB - Daria appears in House of Tracks magazine.
• FF.net: Sick Sad World - Favorite characters, with digression about Jake
• IUFMB (Tanandaria) - Ranger Throne says hi.
  
• SFMB - Trapezoid Glasses Girl gets a real name.
• Television Without Pity - An actual real swear-to-God serious discussion about Daria. Srsly!
  

Mental Flotsam

Vincent van Gogh is 155 years old today, as Jake reminds us. The picture appears wrong at first because: 1) he's holding paintbrushes in his left hand; 2) his left ear is bandaged, not his right, per VvG's self-portraits; and, 3) his coat is buttoned the wrong way, again per his self-portraits. However, he did his self-portraits while looking in a mirror, and he was (so far as I can tell) left-handed. Thus, the picture is generally correct if you were to look at him in real life. Which of course you can't, as he is dead.

Almost 1,700 articles in DariaWiki! (LATE ADD: Now 1,707. Richard made "Latitudes" #1,700. You da man!)

Some activity has been noted on the minor message boards. On Television Without Pity, a talk progresses about the likelihood of Daria DVDs.

A poster on Daria's Rubber Board asks if anyone agrees that Jane Lane and Natarle Badgiruel of Gundam Seed look strikingly alike. (They do. Cloned? Not the same personalities, for sure.)

And, on the dreaded IUFMB (Infamous Unserious Five's Message Board), Ranger Thorne has been elected Most Significant Poster of 2008, in part because until just recently he was the ONLY poster in 2008. One of the IUF has returned, however. What does this portend? Could it be a sign of the Apocalypse? One can only hope.

First part of a broad update:

FF.net

• Basic Training: a Daria the Green Lantern story, by echopapa (continued): Daria and Kara get together. No, not that Kara. The comic-book one.
• Extracurricular Activities, by Smileyfax (up to Part 6): Down to R from NC-17, but still an eye-opener. *
  
• Fashion Zombies, by Smileyfax (Part 1): The Fashion club decides to visit Brooke, who is in the hospital after seeing Dr. Shar. There's only one teensy problem. . . .
• I've Waited Here for You, by Kristen Bealer (COMPLETE!)
• John Lane 33: Tiptoe Through the Ivy, by Richard Lobinske (COMPLETE!)
• A Legend of Rebirth, by Richard Lobinske (COMPLETE!)
• A Little Vacation, by Doggieboy80 (up to Part 13)
• Turnabout Confusion Part II: All The King's Horses, by Dennis (continued)

* Contains mature content. Brace yourself.

Lawndale Online

• I've Waited Here for You, by Kristen Bealer (COMPLETE!)
• John Lane 33: Tiptoe Through the Ivy, by Richard Lobinske (COMPLETE!)
• A Legend of Rebirth, by Richard Lobinske (COMPLETE!)
• Nervous Dreams, by Richard Lobinske (COMPLETE!)
• Sandi and the Dropbears, by smk (COMPLETE!)
• Walls? What Walls? by smk (COMPLETE!)

SFMB

• The Other Side of Time 2: And All That We've Won, by The Sidhe (continued)
• Size Does Matter, by BlackHole (Part 18): Daria called it right: how kinky.