Is It Heat Stroke Yet?

Bleah. It's hot out where I am, and probably where a lot of you are, too. To those people chilling in the Southern Hemisphere I say...nothing, because it's too freaking hot for expending that kind of energy.

Since there's not a lot going on today for history, anniversaries, silly holidays, or anything else, I figured this would be a good place to talk about summer in Lawndale. Aside from Is It Fall Yet?, we didn't get a whole lot of episodes dealing with summer vacation in Lawndale. The series ended at the beginning of the summer after graduation, and the summer between Daria and Jane's sophomore and junior years was largely untouched.

This phenomenon is known as "The Lost Summer," and a handful of fanfic writers have filled in the gaps. A few people have also theorized that a few episodes (such as "Road Worrier") actually take place during the summer but were out of order in the season.

Well, what do you, the blog readers at home, think? Did Lawndale High skip a summer vacation due to budget cuts? What theory do you prefer, or do you have a new one to share? And what's your favorite Lost Summer fanfic? Talk about anything related to Daria and summer in the comments while I go stick my head in the fridge for awhile.

Fandom News!

• PrecambrianStudios has a Fan-Fiction.net question.


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• Have you seen Pacific Rim? Tell everyone about it in the Weapons of Mass Distraction forum.


• Two Iron Chefs have been posted in Creative Writing: Shiva's Things that will never come out of Tom's mouth... EVER! and GDTSP9's Daria's Final Destination.

The Heat Is On!

It's International Surfing Day today, which means it's also the Summer Solstice! PAR-TAYYY!!! The summer solstice (give or take a day) is the time for many holidays around the world, such as Go Skateboarding Day, Fête de la Musique (a.k.a. World Music Day), World Humanist Day, National Aboriginal Day, and Inti Raymi. Enjoy!

Dulcinea has a question on PPMB: will Daria miss the people she knew in high school? Lots of answers given already.

PPMB

• Finn Morgendorffer 50: Matters of State, by HolyGrail2007 (Part 5): Leanna said, “My brother was recently... deployed. To Afghanistan. He’s in the Army, he went there just last week.” Finn had no idea what to say at first. “You...never saw him, before he left?” Finn asked. “It’s not a hospital, there aren’t visiting hours. Besides, he’s on the other part of the country. Other part of the world, now. So, no. He’s not here. He’s spending his days getting shot at, or whatever happens over there.” “Oh no!” A familiar voice reminded all three of the speakers that they were standing next to the elevators in a purely public place. The three turned to see Mr. O’Neill, his face in a mask of worry.

A Musical Interlude for Summertime

Just for you, Trent will try out a new song about summer.

Enjoy. Stay tuned for further instructions.

NEWS: Richard Lobinske is offering a peek at a future fanfic.

Wanna see my new tattoo? The Cheshire Cat has some interesting ones.

A new Iron Chef is up at PPMB, courtesy of Lorenzo Sauchelli: School of Rock.

PPMB

• Daria the Hoosier, by Doggieboy (Part 6): "Now, you know how you suggested that we go see Heinlein?” “Yeah.” “I just realized that there is a much better person out there to see and talk to. Isaac Asimov.”
• M4: Tomorrow Is a Better Day, by Silver (COMPLETE!): Chris leaned on his locker and rubbed his face, trying to wake up. Damn DeMartino and his tests. Damn the brilliant idea of pulling an all-night study marathon. He stopped cursing reality at the feeling of a finger on his nose. He peered over the tops of his fingers, down a slender finger and into the gray-green eyes of Stacy Rowe.
• Unnamed story (Scenes No Daria Fanfic Should Have: Hump Day), by JPAGC (Part 1): "The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep..."

Summertime, Summertime, Sum-Sum-Summertime

The title above is from the 1958 hit song by The Jamies, which surely one of you must have heard. Anyway, this is the official beginning of summer, and it is also World Refugee Day, International Surfing Day, Litha (or Yule if you are in the Southern Hemisphere), and the 46th birthday of the Hot Line, a.k.a. The Red Phone.

I think we'll go with the surfing thing for art, courtesy of Daria's appearance on TV Guide, July 12, 1997.

Intriguing Daria Bit of the Week: C.L. Basso wrote an "odium" to 'shipper fanfic some years ago. You might enjoy it. I did.

FF.net

• Commitment Issues, by Fringeperson (Part 2): Daria wasn’t sure what time she woke up, but as it was Saturday at the Lane house, it didn’t matter. The house was silent compared to the activity of the Morgandorffer house, where Helen would be raving on the phone, Quinn would be playing her teeny-bopper music and gossiping about outfits, and Jake would be crying, ranting about his father, or trying too hard to be cheerful. However, there was still sound, and it seemed to be coming from Jane’s room. (Daria/Trent)
  

PPMB

• Choice of Words, by Silver (COMPLETE!): “Shut it!” The words were a slap, and Sandi Griffin turned in absolute shock. Over the three months they'd been a couple, Stacy's boyfriend—Chris, she reminded herself—hadn't once raised his voice in anger. She opened her mouth to snap back, but Chris kept ranting.
• Gimme Skelter, by TAG and Brother Grimace (Part 9): Mackenzie fired the grenade launchers directly into the zoms attacking from the highway, swinging the twin barrels to the right to catch more zoms coming up a shallow depression between the road and a two-story cliff face from a road cut. In seconds the weapon hammered the vast mob with projectiles that blasted heads and limbs from running bodies before exploding in dazzling fountains of white and yellow flame.
  

Summer has officially begun

In this image that I'm willing to bet very few of you have seen before (from the Sick, Sad Life Planner), Jane Lane reminds us that even though school is out, that's no reason to forget all the nutbars you've had to put up with. Or maybe you should. Your mileage may vary. Click on the pic to get the full-size image. SPECIAL NOTE: The yearbook she signed has the correct LHS school colors, blue and yellow!

"Schooooool is out... for... summer!"