This Image Makes My Ears Hurt

Grandma Lane is making absolutely sure that Jane can't avoid celebrating World Hearing Day, although if she keeps yelling Jane's ability to hear will be in serious danger. This might be a good day for Daria to visit Mrs. Blaine, because not being able to hear doesn't mean you don't enjoy visitors.

In fact, I think anyone who works or volunteers at the Better Days Retirement Home should get some thanks because it's Caregiver Appreciation Day! People willing to help others deserve every bit of gratitude, and they don't get enough as far as I'm concerned.

Last but not least, today we celebrate the anniversaries of the episodes "Esteemsters" in 1997, "The Old and the Beautiful" in 1999, and "Antisocial Climbers" in 2000. The first introduced the entire series, the second introduced us to Mrs. Blaine, and the third, well...introduced us to Mr. O'Neill's undergarments.

Fandom News!

• darianefan05 shares her thoughts on the recent meeting in the White House regarding Ukraine.

Lonely Old Ladies Like Dead Commies, Too!

Mrs. Blaine is pleased to note that today is World Hearing Day and, while she herself may be deaf, she's just glad to have some company. Even if said company is reading her some uber-violent stories.

On that subject, today is the anniversary of the episode "The Old and the Beautiful" in 1999, which marked Mrs. Blaine's only appearance. It was also on this day that the episodes "Esteemsters" and "Antisocial Climbers" aired, in 1997 and 2000. Happy anniversary to Daria, the TV show!

Fandom News!

• Happy Daria Day!


• Sureia has some thoughts on Through a Lens Darkly.

Say That Into My Good Ear!

Jane and her grandma are sure enjoying World Hearing Day, or at least one of them is. Jane is too busy regretting her recent life choices.

That said, today we celebrate a triple anniversary: "Esteemsters" in 1997, "The Old and the Beautiful" in 1999, and "Antisocial Climbers" in 2000. That first one means that today is the anniversary of the TV show Daria itself!

Fanfic Update!

• An Anger Observed, by Rémi (part 1): "Daria was furious. She felt a cold, deep anger. It wasn't surprising, of course. She had just lived a bad day."


• The Art of Seduction (Random Pairing Challenge 2020), by Kristen Bealer (COMPLETE!): "Skylar slouched against a wall, bored but trying not to look like it."


• Daria: High School Reunion, by Serrallonga (part 10): "CUT TO the Limbo- unknown place -unknown time. (Like everytime DARIA and TOMMY touch each other, their consciences are transferred to a kind of Limbo, where they can read and feel each other's thoughts)"


• Erin Chambers, by OzFerret (part 35): "Erin drove to a station and caught the T to the Boston Products Office. Arriving at her desk she avoided the glances of her work mates and placed a small plastic model of The Golden Gate Bridge on her desk."


• Mecha Ensign Daria: Mechs Education novelisation, by Charles RB (parts 1 and 2): "In the dark hours of Tuesday night, strange readings had been detected from the great lake in Carter County, Maryland." (Part 2)


• The Stories in D, by Lady Evil (parts 2 and 3): "Clarissa couldn't believe she was on a luxury cruise in a gorgeous silver satin gown. Even more unbelievable was that Jesse was reclining next to her on the chaise lounge, looking splendid in a tuxedo. There was just one thing niggling on her mind that she had to ask." (Part 3)


• A wish granted, by sarcasticsponge (part 1): "One late-evening in Highland, Texas, saw one fourteen year-old Daria Morgendorffer sitting by herself on an old swing set in a local park near her home."


• Worth the Trip, by Zetor (part 4): "Daria hung up the hotel bar's phone, assured a cab was on the way. She looked back at the table where Rita had ended up sticking her—Helen working through a bottle of wine like there was a prize at the bottom, Amy prodding her on, and poor Jake trying to fight the inevitable—and decided that the restroom might be a better place to wait out her ride."

Anniversaries are Grrrrrreat!

Jodie, Mack, and Brittany are pretty nonchalant about their impending mauling, but perhaps they've just resigned themselves to the fact that it's World Wildlife Day and that's just the kind of thing you'll have to expect. Jane may want to celebrate by dying her hair again...or maybe she'd rather just get mauled by the tiger instead.

Today is also a triple anniversary for the episodes "Esteemsters" in 1997, "The Old and the Beautiful" in 1999, and "Antisocial Climbers" in 2000. That means this is also the 22nd anniversary of Daria itself! Happy anniversary, Daria! Go steal some of Quinn's candy to celebrate.

Fandom News!

• TheBrodsterBoy posted two new Iron Chefs: McMelodys 2: 10 Years Later and Cynic Reincarnate.


• Discuss the "responsible" gun owner who shot himself.


• New users can post in the Introductory Thread at Lawndale-high.


• What are you listening to?


• Sofa King has a potentially unpopular opinion about canon compliance.


• What are pairings that you like (but don't think would work)?

A Double Holiday and a Triple Anniversary!

Theresa's about to lose her temper with the Fashion Club, but someone should remind her that today is both Employee Appreciation Day and National Salesperson Day, so that makes all of the aggravation worthwhile. Really.

Today is also the anniversary of the episodes "Esteemsters," "The Old and the Beautiful," and "Antisocial Climbers," which aired on this day in 1997, 1999, and 2000. That means, of course, that today is also the twentieth anniversary of Daria itself. Woot!

Fandom News!

• RLobinske shared a Sick, Sad World-relevant article: How much pee is in that pool?


• Ranma is looking for recommendations for a Bluetooth to FM transmitter.


• Share your examples of politicians doing the right thing.


• Read and talk about two articles about Daria, 20 years on.


• Is it time for a major reform of the Oscars? Join the discussion.

Without His Invention, Eric Would Have to Learn Morse Code

It's practically a national holiday to Helen and Quinn. Today is the anniversary of Alexander Graham Bell's birth in 1847. Bell was of course the inventor of the telephone, without which both of them would probably wither away and die.

Not only that, but today is also a triple anniversary for Daria episodes: "Esteemsters," "The Old and the Beautiful," and "Antisocial Climbers" all aired on this day in 1997, 1999, and 2000. Imagine that episode mashup for a moment. Daria shows up for her first day at the nursing home and everyone climbs a mountain. Hey, come to think of it, that has some interesting fanfic potential.

Fandom News!

• Two Dariacons are being planned in Minneapolis, Minnesota this year: Console Room Con in May and Midwest DariaCon 2014 in August. Can you make it to either or both?


• What are the real risks of living in your area? Talk about your hometown here.


• If actors were to play your favorite Daria pairing, whom would you choose?


• Jeremy Garrett started a new Character of the Week activity, beginning with Mandy Crishner.


• Snow-Kitty posted a new Iron Chef in Creative Writing: Mr. DeMartino fic challenge.

That's For Me!

Happy birthday to Alexander Graham Bell, born on this day in 1847. Bell is best known for inventing the telephone, for which Quinn and Helen are eternally grateful.

Today is also a triple anniversary for Daria: "Esteemsters," "The Old and the Beautiful," and "Antisocial Climbers" all premiered on this day in 1997, 1999, and 2000. That also means that today is the anniversary of the show itself! Happy anniversary, Daria! I remembered, unlike Tom. So there.

Fandom News!

• Kara Wild reminds everyone about the Paperpusher Twitter account for emergencies. It's also now listed under Recommended Links on this blog.


• PrecambrianStudios and DIsaac are now in the spotlight, so ask your questions in the threads!


• welltemperedclavier muses about mental illness and Our Heroine.


• Charles RB challenges everyone to redeem Barch.


• Share your favorite songs you love by bands you hate in the Weapons of Mass Distraction forum.


• Do you play American McGee's Alice? Discuss the game in the thread.


• Three new Iron Chefs have been posted in Creative Writing: random-one's the cult of daria and PrecambrianStudios's Daria Homeschooled and Conjoined Twins Iron Chef Contest.


• ashk09 wants to know, can't we have a drawing contest or something?

A Ton of Anniversaries on Line One!

Happy birthday to the late Alexander Graham Bell, born on this day in 1847. Thanks to him, Helen and Quinn are both free to talk on the phone until their ears grow over the receiver. And...that's a good thing, right?

Today is also a triple anniversary for Daria episodes, as "Esteemsters," "The Old and the Beautiful," and "Antisocial Climbers" all aired on this day in 1997, 1999, and 2000, respectively. That also means that today is the 15th anniversary of the birth of the show Daria itself! Woo hoo! Party down, everyone!

But try to keep it quiet--Quinn and Helen are on the phone.

Fandom News!

• Posters discuss flooding in New South Wales and Victoria.


• The Virtual Dariacon is happening today! Join in if you can, and there will be a special event at 5:00 PM EST!


• Watch and discuss two new trailers posted in Weapons of Mass Distraction: The Avengers and Frankenweenie.


• neonhomer is looking for a new avatar and would like help from fan artists.


• Erin M. posted a new video: Mr. DeMartino Discusses "Ocean's 11" (1960)


• TheExcellentS continues to update the list of 2012 Daria Fanfiction - The Finished Stories. Thanks, TES!

The Three-in-One Day of Greatness!

First off, this is a GOLD STAR MAJOR-LEAGUE DARIA FANDOM HOLIDAY. It's the 13th anniversary of When It All Began: the premiere of "Esteemsters" on MTV. With that, it is also the 11th anniversary of the first showing of "The Old and the Beautiful" and the 10th anniversary of "Antisocial Climbers." Celebrate this great day as you wish.

Surprise Quiz: How long was Daria in the self-esteem class before she was able to get out of it? And how long did the self-esteem class normally last?

Some of the above DariaWiki links need to be updated and expanded. Anyone up to it? Also, the DariaWiki page on "Esteemsters"-based fanfic could be updated, too. I might lend a hand, there.

One thing I will say about "The Old and the Beautiful" is that Kevin and Brittany, for all their dopiness, are nice people. The scene of Kevin reading from a Rat Boy comic book to an older guy was oddly touching.

Still would like to see a Rat Boy fanfic. [ahem] So many possibilities of who Rat Boy could be in "real life" in Lawndale.

More stuff to come today, including new revelations about paranormal powers in Lawndale. What the heck is going on there?

Great new discussion thread: The Perfect Daria Episode.

FF.net

• NEW! A Painting, Some Pizza, and What Comes After, by JohnnyStyle (Parts 1 to 3): She came to the conclusion that it wasn't her who was at fault in her failed relationships. Well, in the sense that her choices had not been right for a woman who spent her life being Jane Lane. Tom had at least understood who she was and respected her for that. Smart, Witty, well read, but still willing to do stupid stuff with her.

PPMB

• The Hallowed Halls of Fielding, by Roentgen (Part 12): With a hard edge, Quinn murmured, "I've hit rock bottom. I'm so desperate I'll even put up with your attitude, if that's what it takes. If you want to kick me when I'm down... fine. You want to slash my wrists, too?" Quinn pulled up her sleeve, revealing her exposed forearm and extending her wrist. "Here. Now, sister, start cutting or shut up, because in about twenty more seconds I'm going to pull out my bitch kit."
• A Ticket to Ride, by Doggieboy (COMPLETE!): “I could love you, Linda Griffin.” “I could love you, too, Ted DeWitt-Clinton. But you have absolutely no idea what I’m like to live with. You’ve never seen me when things don’t go my way.” [Likely NSFW, be warned]
  

The Aliens Among Us (in Jane's School Locker)

"The Old and the Beautiful" has an interesting moment in which we get to peer inside Jane Lane's school locker. She has a drawing that looks to be of a Grey alien, and above it a sketch of some kind of tentacled Cthuloid monster with one large eye. (She's holding a bull's skull, by the way.)

Why would she have these? Yeah, I know, because she's Jane and having monster pictures in her locker is a very Jane sort of thing to do. Her brother Trent, however, has a picture of a Grey in the Tank. Wait, the Tank is owned by the drummer, Trent just drives it. The image at the lower right is from "Road Worrier." You can usually see the Grey behind Trent's head while he's driving.

If you click on the label "aliens" below, you'll get a long list of all the other aliens that have appeared in Daria over its five seasons. That's a heck of a lot, and we're not counting mentions of Sasquatch, black helicopters, clone armies, and alter egos.

Or the UFO convention with the giant green Grey making a peace sign (or victory sign?) for the crowd. (Click on pic for detail.)

Interesting place, Lawndale.

Wonder what really goes on there at night...

The Howl of the Cats Anniversary!

Remember that weird poem Daria tried to read to luckless seniors in "The Old and the Beautiful"? That was Allen Ginsberg's "Howl," and the first public reading of it was performed by the author 54 years ago today. Daria reenacts this fateful moment at left. A recording of Allen Ginsberg himself reading part of Howl can be found here. Quite possibly NSFW, but very interesting. I was born the year he wrote it.

Also in our Arts section, the musical "Cats" came to Broadway for the first time 27 years ago. It didn't leave for another 18 years, setting a record for stage performances. Mr. O'Neill reenacts the play at right, dressed as one of the "cats." Can you guess which "cat" he is? I'm not that familiar with the characters, though I did read the T. S. Eliot poem.

A famed Dariaverse villain was born this day in 1944 in Witney, Oxfordshire, UK. Who was that person? Guess before you peek.

DariaWiki has greatly benefited from the most excellent talents of Brother Grimace, Richard Lobinske, Roentgen, Quiverwing, JPAGC, Disco316, Gouka Ryuu, Saiyaman, Kchishol1970, and Ludraman. Thank you all! New pages have been flooding in as well: The Bug Guy, Electronic Alchemy, Memories, Meowlody Powers, The Missing Link, Pinhead, Quinn at College, A Small Stumble for Stacy, and Zachary Butler. Check it out!

Speaking of "Cats" costumes, Doc Forbin has a suggestion for Halloween. See what you think.

The Daria Fan Club is up to 1,436 members. Nice! You new guys, stick around for the DVD release, okay?

Stay tooned.

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!
  

A Power Behind the Melody

Even though Daria's fictional character Melody Powers was only mentioned twice during the show, in Season 1's "Café Disaffecto" and Season 3's "The Old and the Beautiful", the idea has generated a lot of material for fanfiction, from the obvious of Daria writing "Melody" as a plot element to the inclusion of actual Melody stories, the best example of which is Galen Hardesty's "Blood Oath of Patriots" series.

Since both episodes include the ending of their respective Melody stories, it is clear that Daria wrote at least two of them. The "Café Disaffecto" story ended with:

Daria - Safe for democracy, or almost safe. Melody brushed some errant grains of sand off her fingers, tied her top back on and reached into her beach bag. Tonio heard nothing, and that was a pity, because he would never hear anything again. So long Tonio, she thought as she calmly stood up. I could have loved you if you weren't as red as the blood stain now spreading across the sand.

(Mr. O’Neill hides face in hands)

Daria - Melody walked calmly away toward the hotel, there’d be a message there from HQ no doubt. She hoped she had time to shower.

While "The Old and the Beautiful" with:

Daria - "Melody Powers sighed as she began picking what was left of Misha out of her hair. She'd look into less aggressive explosives back at HQ after her rendezvous with Team Algiers and the intriguing Eduard. 'I hope he's the strong, silent type,' she thought, flicking away one of Misha's molars. 'I've already had one man go to pieces on me today.'"


Though riffing off of the contemporary movie, "Austin Powers", the character and stories are not comedies, but instead are satires of the spy genre with over-the-top body counts like an episode of "24".

Daria - As Melody sun-bathed on the Rio beach, she looked back upon the past few days with a certain quiet satisfaction: twelve dead Russians, five dead Chinese, three or four dead Cubans. The world was once again safe for democracy, she reflected while watching Tonio's exquisite chest rise and fall with his light snoring.

Come to think of it, it makes you wonder how Daria would write Melody meeting Jack Bauer. Hmm, since I'm feeling a little lazy today, that's your homework assignment. How would Melody Powers react to Jack Bauer. Write a short bit here or if it's something longer, take it over to one of our regularly scheduled message boards.

"I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by high school . . ."

Eighty-two years ago today was born the Beat Generation poet Allen Ginsberg, author of Howl. This was the poem Daria attempted to read aloud at the Better Days Retirement Home, with miserable results. If you want to hear Allen Ginsberg himself read part of Howl, click here. Quite interesting (but possibly NSFW). I was born the year he wrote it.

It's interesting that Daria chose to read this work, as it was once declared obscene and contains homosexual references and profanity. She obviously felt she should read something with redeeming literary value, and she picked a work that was iconoclastic and revolutionary for its time, but she had no clue that the material was inappropriate in the extreme for her audience. Just like Daria to do that. Not a real "people person."

I'm behind on doing stuff again, but hope to catch up later. Wish me luck.

Hurry, While Supplies Last!

Believe it or not, today is Free Comic Book Day, probably because of the new Iron Man movie, and you can get a free comic book at participating dealers. You know Kevin will get Ratboy and share it with his new friends at the retirement home. (Not the movie called Ratboy.)

A pity Daria never got her own comic book, though Beavis and Butt-head did. Still, fans have given her some comic-book time of her own.

Ratboy appeared in a couple of stories by Galen "Lawndale Stalker" Hardesty: "Blood Oath of Patriots" and "Blood Oath of Patriots II: By Any Other Name." Ratboy got to meet Melody Powers. That meeting didn't go well at first.

What if Ratboy was a real superhero in Lawndale's universe? He's never appeared for real. He could also crawl through the wormhole in the back of Good Time Chinese. Could be fun.