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.

Surf's Up!

Mack Mackenzie reminds us that today is King Kamehameha Day in Hawaii. Party it up as you see fit.

A lot of topics are being argued over in PPMB. Some of the most popular threads include these, which you should patronize and enjoy. (PPMB is having a few technical issues itself, but it is mostly stable.)

• Why are nerds unpopular?
• Daria and Asperger syndrome
• Daria geek movie consensus
• Which writers specialize in certain characters?
• Ever have a teacher give you this advice about writing?
• Questions, questions, questions (for fanfic writers)
• Flinging Fourth the New Ideas Thread

And there is even more fanfiction on tap.

PPMB

• Finn Morgendorffer 49: Blessed Be This Meal, by HolyGrail2007 (Part 2): “Daria, when is your last class on Wednesday? Tell me now so I can make sure someone picks you up in time for Thanksgiving.” “About Thanksgiving, Mom. I don’t think I’m going to come down.” The news hit Helen very hard. “Why?”
• NEW! The Hallowed Halls of Fielding, by Roentgen (Part 35): Daria walked downstairs. "I suppose I shouldn't even ask," Daria said. "No ham?" "Daria!" Jake cried. "This is Thanksgiving! It's Turkey Day! We don't eat ham on Turkey Day!" "All right," Daria said. "Mom, did you stock the anti-diarrhea medicine again?" "Daria, I keep trying to tell you, over and over again, that Jake's turkey is fine. You're the only one that seems to have trouble with it. And I know that you eat turkey on other occasions, so you can stop trying to sell that you're allergic to turkey."
  
• Hang Time, by Lord Akiyama (Part 2): Jane and Trent Lane slouched as they stood on the curve in front of their home. Both wore sunglasses, primarily to prevent too much sunlight into their eyes. Both were extremely tired and, quite frankly, would rather be asleep at this moment. Instead, they were awake, or about as awake as they could be at this time of day, and waiting. Waiting for their nightmare to truly begin. "Hey, Janey," Trent managed to mumble. "Yeah?" Jane responded in a sleepy voice. "What time is it?"
• Springtime For Self-Esteem, by Ajar (continued): “We're just here to say we've chosen your proposal for the new self-esteem club.” “Good. Maybe now there won't be such a bias against women in self-esteem education.” “What bias?” “What bias?! How about the bias that a woman's self worth is how much approval they get from a man who will walk out on her after twenty-two years. What bias? When was the last time you saw a man desperately trying to make herself attracted to a man who doesn't appreciate all the sacrifices she made to him.”
• The Weed of Crime Bears Glitter Fruit, by Kristen Bealer (Part 2): "Welcome to It's a Nutty, Nutty, Nutty World. We're just nuts about nuts. Crunch nuts with your lunch. Buy them by the bunch. Send them to friends far away to munch," recited the teenager behind the counter. His bored tone of voice contrasted sharply with the fake smile plastered on his face. "We want to speak to the person in charge," Kevin demanded. "Is there a manager or whatever here?" The teenager's smile immediately vanished as he gestured toward the back room behind the counter. "In there." Kevin and 99 burst through the door to see a thin man with blond hair and an earnest expression, holding a clipboard as he inventoried the nuts. "Hey! No unauthorized personnel behind the counter!" As the agents pulled guns from their holsters, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. "Please!" he begged. "Take what you want, but please leave the pistachios; we're down to our last bag!" "Drop the act," Kevin ordered. "We know this place is a KAOS front, and we're here to shut it down!" (Daria/Get Smart)
• NEW! Unnamed story (Iron Chef: The Sincerest Form of Flattery), by Roentgen (fragment): In 2002, a film was uncovered from the Crotobaltislavonian State Archives. Called "Esteemed Too Dearly," it appeared to be some sort of teen comedy film financed by the Crotobaltislavonian Council for the Filmic Arts. However, due to the collapse of the Crotobaltislavonian unit of currency—the pem—sometime in 2002, the movie was never released...
  

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.
  

Aloha, Yo!

Today is Kamehameha Day, honoring King Kamehameha of Hawaii. Do something to celebrate the occasion! I don't know, just do something, roast a pig or eat pineapple, watch Is It Fall Yet? Go wild!

More soon. It's soon!

The courageous Disco316 has taken up the unenviable task of finding and listing all NC-17 Daria stories (Dariarotica). His list is on SFMB somewhere. If you can't find it, you're not supposed to find it. Some works are borderline but fit more into the conventional listing (e.g., "Embers" and "Love Is a Series of Burning Sensations," both by Undefinedlust, which is what I said in the first place). If you have an opinion on what constitutes Dariarotica, particularly which works should be in which list, post your thoughts here.