A Good Day for Reading the News

Why is Daria smiling? She is celebrating World Press Freedom Day by reading a newspaper, which I guess means she's way out of touch with things because everyone else is reading the Internet. Thank UNESCO, of course, for the tribute to the day.

Exactly 71 years ago today, Gone with the Wind won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. The author, Margaret Mitchell, spent years researching the book, which was the only one she ever wrote. I saw the movie and still love watching Atlanta burn. Not because I don't like Atlanta, but because it's just cool to watch. Quinn and Daria must have liked watching it, too, in "Aunt Nauseam." You do know who Jake and Helen are posing as, right?

On a subject close to Daria's tricky little heart, today is also the 541st birthday of Renaissance political expert Niccolò Machiavelli, for whom "Nick's Corner" on PPMB is named. His political treatise, The Prince, became the subject of Daria and Tom's first prolonged conversation, in "Fire!" Figures.

On a closely related note, the government of Washington, D.C., was founded 208 years ago today. Happy Birthday, Beltway!

Finally, the first spam e-mails to ever pollute the pristine waters of the Internet were sent 32 years ago this day. And let me say: you BASTARDS!

Thank you for your time. Stay tooned for moar Daria.

PPMB

• ...And the Truth Shall Set You Free, by Brother Grimace (COMPLETE!): "Ewwww!" Charles Ruttheimer III winced as the very pretty girl - Angie, one of the cheerleaders - accidentally bumped into him as he sat down "Don't touch me, freak!" Something snapped inside the mind of the boy known as 'Upchuck' at the sound of the girl's voice. "While my feelings yesterday may have been different... why would I want to touch you?"
• NEWER! Daria’s Game of Divinity, by Trscroggs (Part 1): When Daria opened her eyes, she found herself in a most peculiar room. There were no walls and everything was white. Daria was dressed in white slacks and a colorless t-shirt, which had NOT been what she went to bed in. The only spot of color in the room, besides Daria’s own skin, came from the brown wood chair on which she sat. “Oh god, not again,” Daria said out loud.
  
• The Dark Days to Come, by OverlordMikey (prologue): They were interrupted by the sound of Helen's voice: "Daria, Quinn. Downstairs now!" It had a strange mix of fear and anger. Daria found herself jumping to her feet, which she then realized she had never done before. "Your mom sounds angry," Jane commented, a look of concern on her face. "She must have discovered that secret lab hidden under the house, the question remains as to whether this will hinder my plans world conquest."
• The Dream of the White Darkness, by jtranser (continued): The greatest electromagnetic pulse ever created by man would generate novel RF effects barely hinted at by previous tests. And Daria's team would be the first to observe, record, and measure it. In the hours leading up to detonation, the team did last minute checks and calibrations of equipment and a last look around. Only one thing seemed unusual, and that was the total disappearance of the atoll's primary insect, a rather awkward bloated cockroach that spent its time on the island being eaten by birds and sand crabs. Daria mentioned it to Frank Valdaree, who speculated that this might indicate a cockroach hive mind sensitive to a six-stage EMP multi-pulse that propagated backwards through time.
• NEW! The Magic of Knick-Knacks, by Trscroggs (Part 1): “So you’re a witch?” Daria asked her best friend. “No,” Jane corrected, not looking up from the sketchpad she was working on, “I’m an artificer, which is a kind of a warlock. There are a number of differences between the two.”
• NEW! Parents Are People, by Legendeld (Part 3): Amy hummed to herself as she went through the paperwork concerning the sell of her condo at the kitchen table when Daria walked in and froze in place for twenty seconds. Amy sipped from her coffee to give the younger girl time to recover from the surprise. "Ready for school?" she asked casually.
  

It's that time of the year again: BOWMAN DAY!

Yes, it's Bowman Day, just like it was last year at this time. What is Bowman Day, you ask. Why, click the link and you will see. It's all about the Bowman Acts, which were created by Senator James Bowman of the USA.

In other words, it's a fandom holiday and you don't have to go to work. Trust me. Of course, that only applies if you are a superhero living in New York City in the alternate universe for the Legion of Lawndale Heroes. If you fit these parameters, kick back, relax, and enjoy the day.

Well-earned kudos to Vlademir1 for his unceasing efforts to get spammers out of DariaWiki. You are THE MAN!

Pinkminx is asking for beta-readers to come to her aid. She writes great stuff, so go for it. Fun for all.

A new PPMB Iron Chef has arisen: The Great Flood! Go to it!

Over 98,000 hits on this blog! Yeee-HAAAW! We're gonna hit 10 to the fifth in no time!

* IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT! *

The Bay State Dariacon has been canceled for now, due to low pre-attendance figures. If you purchased a ticket for $000.00 to this free event, Derek has stated that he will honor all refunds.


And there's NEW FANFICTION!

FF.net

• Bed and Breakfast Man, by Ruthless Bunny (Part 31): OMG! NEW CHAPTER! HOORAY! GO READ IT! Best line: “For an extra fee can we burn Joan of Arc?”
• Commitment Issues, by Fringeperson (Part 6): Daria realized when she woke up the next morning that she would not be able to wear the dress. At least not for some time. It would look like she had snuck back to the shop and bought it when the Lane’s weren’t looking, and that would be bad.
• In Another Life, by Charliefox2012 (Parts 1 and 2): “I don’t know how you could do this to me,” Duncan Morgendorffer said miserably, sitting on his living room couch. “Haven’t I been good to you?” he asked the love of his life. Sandi Griffin sighed irritated, “Well, yeah. But he has money. I mean, he-llo, he’s a Sloane.”
• An Oily Situation, by Doggieboy (COMPLETE!): Helen Morgendorffer got out of her SUV and looked around the factory grounds. She knew that the owners didn’t want her there, but they were being rather cooperative. Their offer of compensation was rather generous, she thought, but we still need to see the incident area, just in case it goes to court.
• Reaped Out, by Pinkminx (Part 16): "Three hundred dollars for a pair of shoes?" Helen screamed as she paced the kitchen. Quinn sat at the kitchen table, her arms folded tightly across her chest. "You said I could buy some new shoes." "Not for three hundred dollars! First thing tomorrow you're returning them for a full refund."
  
• Wristcutters: A Daria Story, by Charliefox2012 (Part 14): Daria turned around sharply and looked into blue eyes. “Jane?” she said, completely taken aback.

All the News That's Fit to be Censored

We celebrate the UN-mandated World Press Freedom Day today. Now admit it, you wouldn't know if your news had been censored, would you? Anyway, good luck with that freedom of the press thing. Today is also Discoflux for all you Discordians, but I have no idea how to celebrate that. Neither do the Discordians.

The first mass spamming of the Internet took place only 31 years ago today. My, we've come a long way, haven't we?

FF.net

• Omega Omega, by Smileyfax (Part 5): "And then I put my gun to her head and shot her."

PPMB

• Fundamental Daria: The Sodom and Gomorrah Show, by Disco316 (COMPLETE!): She sat on a bench set up outside what looked to be a fairly rundown house on the outskirts of town. An intercom system sat silent on the wall while she waited for her turn. She had been the last one there, after her last meeting dragged on longer than expected. However, the ad had said that all would get their chance, unless someone else had won the job outright.
• John Lane 40: Starry Eyes Open, by Richard Lobinske (Part 1): NEW! Ms. Li's voice announced over the P.A. system, "Welcome back students and remember; the school nurse is in and ready to take your voluntary urine sample. Show your Lawndale High spirit with the gift of urine!" Walking down the hallway with Daria, John looked up at one of the speakers. "She didn't really say that, did she?" [Yes, she did!]
  
• Legion of Lawndale Heroes Special: Tokusatsu Team Up! by Lorenzo Sauchelli (Part 10): Akane Horoi was the quickest to react to the intruders, she cupped her hands together and a red plasma-like beam instantly destroyed all of the Phyrexian cyborg horrors. The Planeswalker Jane, however, didn’t seem to be either affected or impressed by the magical blast.
• Omnicides: A Daria/Watchmen Crossover, by Lorenzo Sauchelli (Part 2): NEW! Lynn Cullen drew a long breath before pretending to smile at Tom Sloane’s presence, the quick peck she gave him afterward seemed a bit awkward, but it was good enough to fool anyone around. “How have you been?” She asked him. The question was a mere formality, as she knew exactly what he had been up to since the last time she had seen him. Sleeping around was Tom Sloane’s MO these days.
  
• Once Upon a Time in Lawndale, by Disco316 (COMPLETE!): Sandi rode slowly back into the partially-built town, passing the men and women working on the railroad as she went. On her way in, she saw a familiar, red-haired figure, leaning on a post and whittling a piece of wood. She stopped and nodded her recognition, as did the woman Sandi knew only as “Harmonica.” Sandi started to say something, thought better of it, and continued on her way.
• Separate Weights, by Dennis (COMPLETE!): Sandi sat alone at the bus stop on Dega Street and sighed. Her evening off from being Sandi Griffin was working about as well as being Sandi Griffin had lately, which was to say not at all. The bus had so far shown no sign of coming, and the fact that the bench was empty except for her was troubling. Worried about the prospect of hitching back home—or worse, calling for a ride—she didn’t notice the other person take a seat next to her. (FF.net)
• Unnamed story (Iron Chef: Finish the Story, Your Way), by Disco316 (COMPLETE!): It's been said that today is the first day of the rest of your life. On that day, it proved to be the last day of Tommy Sherman's life, and the first day of the rest of mine, a period so different from before.
• Unnamed story (Iron Chef: Finish the Story, Your Way), by Scissors MacGillicutty (COMPLETE!): Andrea went out the back door of the Zon to the new unofficial smoking area, lighting up just before she stepped across the threshold. Once outside, she exhaled and announced, "Ridiculous." "Yeah, right?" replied a guy with a ring in his nose from which a chain dangled. "No smoking in bars? It'll never last. I'm surprised they're going along with it."
  
• Unnamed story (Iron Chef: Finish the Story, Your Way), by Ajar (COMPLETE!): "Are you there Brittany?" asked Mr. Taylor to the door. "Go away!" came the reply in a sad but still somehow perky voice. "If you don't come out soon they're going to replace you on the cheerleading squad, you don't want that do you?"
• Unnamed story (Iron Chef: Angst Lord time-trials), by Angelinhel (COMPLETE!): NEW! Lawndale High hadn't changed in ten years. It was still the same nondescript, squat brick building, churning out the next batch of worker drones. She stood off to one side, out of the circle of light cast by the open entry door. Faint music could be heard from within, along with the low hum of idle small talk, shouted over the greatest hits of the nineties. She should go in, but she wasn't ready. It had taken almost fifteen minutes for her to decide to get out of the car and walk that far.

Prepare for a Knockout

A mere 105 years ago today, Ward Moore (no relation) was born. He became among other things a science-fiction writer, and is renown today for producing one of the greatest alternate-history stories ever: Bring the Jubilee, a tale of what happened after a Confederate victory at Gettysburg. Given some of the AU stories in Daria fandom about the Confederacy, fans might wish to find this book, considered a cornerstone of SF writing, and give it a good read. I loved it.

SFMB is getting spambot posts all over the place. If anyone knows how to delete those posts, please do. Other message boards should take notice. The sad news is, the recent spambot posts outnumber the recent legitimate posts. A sign of the times, I guess.


FF.net

• The Young Switcheroo, by Smileyfax (Part 5): Rather than give a synopsis of this chapter, let me say instead that we have a winner here, and it is a hell of a winner. A brilliant AU in progress, a must-read from the very beginning. Smileyfax has an update on all of his unfinished stories at his FF.net profile.

PPMB

• Avenging, by Lorenzo Sauchelli (Part 16): "When was the last time you executed a Tom?" (I love this line. It's classic. Wild story, too.)
• Death Takes a Holliday, by TAG (COMPLETE!)
• A Monster in the Unmaking, by Kristen Bealer (Part 1): Damn, right in the bull's-eye. Read this story. We finally get a look into the lives of the Taylors, and it will blow you away.
• New Life, by legendeld (Part 12): “Now that you know, I’m dropping out of college and running off with Stacy," Daria told Quinn. "Trent’s going to drive us to our new life in paradise but I promise we’ll send him back as soon as we get bored with him.” Ouch!
  
• A Simple Makeup Kit, by Richard Lobinske (COMPLETE!): This story should have been canon. Dead, solid perfect, 11 out of 10.
• Stacy Rowe, Seeker (Part II), by jtranser (continued): Luhrman Barksdale has a short conversation with Upchuck about marketing. (Eww!)
  
• Turnabout Confusion Part II: All The King's Horses, by Dennis: "Wednesday" added. This story is creepy good. Blood on the moon, indeed.