At Least He Isn't Playing Bagpipes

Mr. O'Neill is prepared for Tartan Day, but there are at least three things wrong with this image.

1. "O'Neill" is an Irish name, not Scottish
2. There's no way Mr. O'Neill could lift that claymore, let alone wield it
3. WHY THE HELL IS HE NOT WEARING A SHIRT?!

Ahem. To all Scottish (or Scottish-descended) fans, wear those plaids with pride!

Fandom News!

• Pay respects at the death of Bill Withers.


• Share your thoughts on the new Labour Leader, Keir Starmer.

The Sensitive Pseudo-Scotsman

I see Mr. O'Neill is celebrating International Tartan Day, which is weird because "O'Neill" is Irish, not Scottish. Then again, why would he start being right about things after all this time?

Today is also Creative Ice Cream Flavors Day, and I'm sure Bro and QB will be here soon with some Firstdown Fudge for everyone. Unless Mack finally snaps and kills his business partner, which is likely to happen any day now.

Fandom News!

• Discuss the situation with North Korea and nuclear weapons.

But What's He Wearing Under His Kilt?

Joey's dressed in style for National Tartan Day, but if he thinks Quinn is going to stick around for bagpipe music then he's in for a rude awakening. To any Scottish fans (or fans of Scottish descent), have a good one!

Fanfic Update!

• Babysitting Pretty (Life After Thirty), by WildDogJJ (COMPLETE!): "Tommy, Timmy, Teddy, Lauren and Ultra are seated on the couch. The kids are behaving themselves (so far). Lauren is grateful that Ultra is behaving himself as well. Cut to the TV and we see that they are watching 'Shreck 2'." (Part 3)


• The Ballad of the Birthday Burden, by YouthofOz (parts 1 and 2): "It was Daria's birthday. She found it hard to get excited about the anniversary of her birth at the best of times." (Part 2) (Part 3)


• Business Boom (Life After Thirty), by WildDogJJ (parts 1 and 2): "Jim Carbone is walking through the aisles of Allmart (this universe's Walmart). He's trying to find the electronics section." (Part 2)


• Daria (and other characters) on the Defiant Round Robin, by Meester_Lee, Brother Grimace, EntrancedCat, and Roentgen (parts 60 - 64): "It drifted through the corridor like a cloud, unseen and unnoticed by the Defiant's crew. If anyone were to see it as it slowly through the Defiant, they'd see a dark, formless mass drifting about three feet off the decking of the ship's corridors." (Part 61) )Part 62) (Part 63) (Part 64)


• Erin Chambers, by OzFerret (part 22): "The Sunday morning crowd in the park differed from the previous day. Less people, less tourists, less hurry. Fifteen pale blue tablets in twenty hours, a good night sleep and 2 decent meals had cleared Erin's blisters. The shame of her behaviour and her medical condition still haunted her."


• Nothing Else Matters, by YouthofOz (parts 9 - 12): "Quinn and Stacy headed away from the BFAC campus and across the street to the college's single residence block, Summerlin Hall." (Part 10) (Part 11) (Part 12)


• Quinn, the talking Dog, by OzFerret (part 3): "Quinn's walk invariably ended at the house of Jane Lane. Jane smirked as she let Daria and Quinn inside, 'Taking some exercise M'Lady?' Daria glared at her friend, 'Too ... tired ... to ... kill ... you.'"


• Three Devils, by atiyatortilla (part 7): "Every person in the Lawndale Diner craned their heads to ogle at the two sisters as they made their way to an empty booth. The piercing looks left Daria unfazed but Quinn could feel the burning heat of embarrassment creeping up her face."


• Unnamed story (LLH Short Entries #2), by Roentgen (part 181): "Greg Adams walked down the corridors of the Legion Academy. He was lost in thought. Esra had moved out of the Legion Academy's quarters and was now over at the Tower."


• You got a fast car (Scenes No Daria fanfic should have: The Saga Goes On), by Serrallonga (COMPLETE!): "(Dariarotica porn studios briefing room) (Almost all “Daria” characters are sitting around a big squared table, mumbling. A door opens all of a sudden. The NEW DIRECTOR enters)"

Scots and Sports!

Joey's decked out in Scottish style for National Tartan Day, but if he thinks Quinn will be impressed by bagpipes I suspect he's going to be disappointed. Then again, Quinn might find herself drawn to the shrill, wailing notes.

Since today is also National Student-Athlete Day, Joey's football teammates can also join him on the field. I think Joey might want to change out of the kilt first, though. I foresee too many potential embarrassing mishaps otherwise.

Fanfic Update!

• The Call, by dmsfanman (part 1): "Tom Sloane was sitting at his desk trying to keep his eyes open as he went over his group's final presentation for their class on strategic business planning."


• Community of Creativity, by LadieTAG (parts 4 and 5): "There was a long silence before Max decided to speak. 'Trent, Trent are you okay man?' 'Are you sure it's her? I mean none of us have seen her since..'" (Part 5)


• Cops And Robbers And Magic, by psychotol (part 15): "'So, Cassandra White, it says here you were discharged for disregard for the presence of civilians?' 'Yeah,' said the woman before the interviewer, 'they're all Islamic, fewer Muslims, smaller pool for terrorists to come from, am I right?'"


• Daria (and other characters) on the Defiant Round Robin, by EntrancedCat (part 51): "Daria froze in the captain's chair as she heard a familiar voice from the turbolift... 'Damn, girl. You looking better than ever.'"


• Good Things Come In Small Packages, by Brother Grimace (COMPLETE!): "'Lawrence! What in the name of God did you just do?'"


• High School Never Ends, by Princess_Pasta (parts 3 - 5): "There was a beat up composition notebook buried at the bottom of Jane's messenger bag, next to discarded gum wrappers and broken pencils, which doubled as makeshift sketchbook. She eagerly pulled it from its confines." Part 4) (Part 5)


• Statement of Intent, by Brother Grimace (COMPLETE!): "My final year. Cadet First Class Yaniv Ernet was proud of the image that gazed back from the mirror."


• Unnamed story (LLH - Short Entries), by Roentgen (parts 1 - 3): "Jodie Landon woke up and took a good look around the laboratory. Her body felt exhausted and she began to run through her algorithm of reasons that could account for the fatigue." (Part 2) (Part 3)

I Hope He Plays Better Than He Jousts

Joey's supplying the music for National Tartan Day, so those out there who have any Scottish in you should wear your plaids proudly! Not sure how the Fashion Club might feel about it, but who cares what they think, anyway?

Fandom News!

• Which class are you? MartinUK invites you to answer the questionnaire.


• Discuss the recent passing of Roger Ebert and share your thoughts on the famous movie critic.


• Share your stories about chains of events that led you to unexpected interests.


• Both of the pilots for the Daria Audio Show have been posted!

Halfway Through the Year, We Answer an Old Question

July 1st, it is today, and we celebrate all sorts of holidays and anniversaries as a result, to include:

• Creative Ice Cream Flavor Day
• The 31st birthday of the Sony Walkman, beloved of background character Dawn (at left)
• Canada Day in Canada
• Moving Day in Quebec
• Tartan Day in Australia and New Zealand
• The 7th birthday of Paperpusher's Message Board, ver. 2.0
• Financial Freedom Day (as celebrated by Daria and her Montana Cabin Fund at right)
  
• Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day in Hong Kong
• The 49st birthday anniversary of Diana, Princess of Wales (beloved of Sandi Griffin, and here's proof)
• July Morning in Bulgaria
• The 141st birthday anniversary of William Strunk, Jr. (yes, that William Strunk, Jr.)
• The 67th birthday of Tokyo, which is technically not a city though you would never know it to look at it
  
• The 102nd birthday of the SOS signal
• and I forgot, something else, whatever.

What a day! And I haven't even written in the fanfiction yet. Speaking of which...

Remember the good old days almost exactly a year ago, when we used to argue over whether Daria fandom was dying? Remember how we would commiserate over the inevitable wasting away of our happy little suburb, one day soon to vanish in the great megacity sprawl that is Fandomland? Don't those days seem kind of... well... premature?

At the moment there seems to be a literal explosion of new fans and new fanfiction and new everything thanks to the DVD set. I mean, seriously, I can barely keep up with the surge of good reading that's hitting the Internet. The number of DFB2 followers leaped from 9 to 38 in one year, and 95,000 hits to 176,000 in about the same time period. Blammo.

So, to answer the old question if Daria fandom is on its last legs, the answer would appear to be...

Thank you.

FF.net

• College Wry, by LibertyxIsxLove (Part 3): Nick scratched his head, newly dyed blue, and for the tenth time took a look around Trent's basement. "Um, guys?" he finally sputtered. "Where're our instruments?" "Some other criminales prol'ly heard how hard we are!" Max began shouting. "And they wanted to stop us before our music could change the—" "Shouldn't we call Trent and tell him his house was robbed?" Jesse inquired anxiously. Nick rolled his eyes at this idea. "Nah, he's in Australia. It's not like he'd be able to hear us."
• The InDark, by Mediancat (Part 21): Amy Barksdale said, "I believe you." "You say that as though there were some doubt," Daria said. "No doubt," said Amy. "It's a legitimate explanation. It's just one I hadn't thought of."
• NEWER! Fresh TV—The Musical! by Mikata88 (Parts 2 and 3): Chef Hatchet: "Emma! What the Sam Hill are you still doin' here? There's a got-dang hurricane a-comin'! You know... I've never told you this... [sings] Emma, Oh, Emma, You're a gem... a... [looks at watch] Man, this is eatin' up a lot of time. [exits] Don't forget to lock up." (Daria/Total Drama/6teen)
  

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• NEW! Anti-Trope, by Minx (continued): Dean walked through the house but his search for Quinn had so far been unfruitful. As he came to a less crowded hallway he saw a long row of framed photos ranging from the year prior all the way back to the mid sixties. Each one depicted a similar scene: a young, good-looking woman being held up on a group of young men’s shoulders. Under each snapshot was a small gold plaque reading ‘Keg Queen’ with the name of the queen and year the photo was taken. As he walked along viewing each photo he stopped dead at 1975’s winner. His mouth dropped open as he read the inscription: Keg Queen – 1975 Helen Barksdale. (FF.net)
  
• NEW! Daria: Hunter 6—Infectious, by Jim North (continued): "I KNEW those rumors were true!" DeMartino crowed. "And you were HOLDING OUT on me this entire time! For SHAME, Miss Morgendorffer! For SHAME!" "Yes, yes," Daria said with sarcastic long-suffering, "I'm extremely sorry we didn't let you know we were secret agents. I'm a horrible person."
• NEW! Finn Morgendorffer 51: A Matter of Trust, by HolyGrail2007 (Part 3): And then, Jeffy remembered during sophomore year, near the end of the school year when Finn left for a weekend visit to some spa place. When he came back, the guy was a total wreck, barely able to function. When questioned about it, Finn just shrugged and said he hadn’t been sleeping well. He got a bit better, but he was a mess for the whole school year. How the hell did I fall for that? Jeffy wondered.
• NEW! Grove Hell on Earth, by Charles RB (Part 7): Things were going badly. They continued to go badly as the trio walked into the concert, right past the hordes of pierced rockers and alternative fans (alters?) who were having a blast, all love and laughter and life. Everything Daria was destroying was on display, a joke at her expense. She wondered, against her will, if she would soon view Grove Hills with nostalgia. There, she had Amelia to write to; there was an escape. Where was she supposed to go when she’d pissed on that escape? (Jane? Who was Jane? How long would it last before she drove Jane away to?)
  
• Politricks Are Not for Kids, by Brian Taylor (Part 2): The bedroom is almost pitch black with the curtains drawn, but for the little blue glow of a bedside alarm clock. The phone continues to ring. Daria turns on a light and fumbles for her glasses on the nightstand. The phone keeps right on ringing. Securing her glasses, she settles them on her face—crooked—and glowers at the clock, which reads 3:30. Finally, she grabs the phone and holds it to her ear. A long pause follows during which we can hear a muffled voice talking animatedly on the other end....
• A Reality Parent Looks Back, by CR85747 (COMPLETE!): “The Daria years were a mixed blessing,” recounts Amanda Lane from her home in Lawndale, the famous “Casa Lane” that served as the base of the family as seen on the MTV reality show and is now the residence of the retired parents. “People kept calling me: 'Why weren't you there all the time?' There was too much to do. Besides, they took care of themselves fairly well—perhaps surprisingly to people who didn't know them firsthand.”
• NEW! Sleepwalker, by Jim North (continued): The overhead light flickered off, breaking Quinn out of her reverie. All of the girls jumped in surprise, and Quinn was fairly certain that she heard one of them—Tori, she hoped—squeal a bit. Beside that, everything was eerily silent. The light came back on a few seconds later, and the tension left the air as everyone relaxed. "I do believe that has proven my idea of a fashion lockdown was an excellent one," Sandi said as she went back to applying rouge on Tori's cheeks. "None of us would want to be caught outside if all the lights went out. No one would be able to see how cute we are." Quinn ruefully resumed her braiding. "When you're right, you're right, Sandi," she said with a sigh.
  
• NEWER! Unnamed story (The Hallowed Halls of Fielding), by Roentgen (COMPLETE!): "God, the Strawberries and Creme flavor is rank!" Quinn cried. "Sorry, 'Kiki'. You're not getting any of my Maple and Brown Sugar flavor," Daria said. "Elsie, how are you doing with your oatmeal?"

Aye, And a Bonnie Day It Tis!

Another day full of interesting anniversaries. First, this is Tartan Day, for those of you who are Scottish-ally inclined and like to wear kilts. Tim O'Neill here is doing his fair share, dressed more or less like William Wallace from the movie Braveheart. At least that's what the note for the alter ego said.

That TV show loved only by little kids who weren't put off by Baby Bop's screeching voice, Barney & Friends, had its debut 18 years ago today. (Oh, the horror, I had to leave the room whenever it came on. I am a broken man.) The image at left is from a Beavis and Butt-head episode.

In the U.S.A., today is Student-Athlete Day, so appropriate for the Lawndale Lions, though none of them is on hand to be a mascot.

And, finally, the North Pole was reached on this day 102 years ago by Daria and Jane. No, sorry, that should be Peary, Henson, and four Inuit men. Amazing story there. With the warming trend at the poles, soon the only way to get there will be to swim.

Interesting new directions for creative works in the fandom are still being debated.

And with that in mind...

ARTZ!

• Quinn Dandy, by MDetector5
• New Iron Chef for a one-panel comic: Place a character of your choice in a mildly embarrassing situation such that the character could say, "I meant to do that."

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• Finn Morgendorffer 41: It's Called Boston, by HolyGrail2007 (Part 3): “Yeah, I guess I should unpack. Maybe I’ll get my friend Duke Hudson to get us some drinks.” “Finn, you don’t know anyone up here.” “Duke Hudson is the name on Finn’s fake ID.”
• NEW! Nightfalls and Sunrises, by ticknart (COMPLETE!): Well, it's been a quiet week in Lawndale, my hometown, out there on the edge of that city... [Can you guess who's talking?] ...And that's the news from Lawndale, where all the women are insidious, the men are ineffectual, and the children bewildered beyond belief.
• NEW! The Ninth Circle of Helen, by Brother Grimace (COMPLETE!): “Oh, Gerald—will you forgive me?” Helen asked me. “I was running late already – Amy and Reese are in town, and the twins were bouncing all around; there’s nothing like a pair of twelve-year-olds dueling through the house about which boy on TV is cuter, and there was a bit of a clothing disaster at breakfast.”
  
• On the Road with Mystik Spiral, by CR85747 (COMPLETE!): “Hello, Tucson!” Trent Lane bellows out. The lead guitarist of Mystik Spiral is at the Rialto Theater, Tucson's historic downtown live entertainment destination. The band is preparing to begin a set leaden with the few songs that got play on the successful MTV series Daria, concluding with their biggest-- and only--hit, “Freakin' Friends,” which made #24 on the Billboard active rock charts.
  

It's Tartan Day! Wear Your Kilt!

Timothy O'Neill, cleverly disguised as famed Scottish hero Mel Gibson, introduces us to Tartan Day, which to be honest I had never heard of before until I read Wikipedia, which is where I figure out what was supposed to have happened each day so I can stick something Daria-ish here to celebrate it. Whatever. Break out your kilt and throw some logs! Play golf! Watch some Mel Gibson movies! Or not. He's not all that nice when he's drunk, is he? But I guess none of us are. Wonder what Tim would do if he got drunk. Interesting fanfic idea there.

I forgot what I was about to say. Oh. I'll be out much of the day and so will take a break from posting more goodies, and there are a lot left to do, more than I would have guessed, including tiles to use as background on your computer screen.

Cheers!