It's Certainly better Than Inhuman Rights!

Today is Human Rights Day, created by the United Nations in 1948 to commemorate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The declaration sets out thirty articles that each define a recognized human right, including freedom from slavery, the right to peaceful assembly, and the right to education.

There's nothing to specifically relate this to Daria, although presumably Daria would be in favor of the declaration while Ms. Li would prefer to pick and choose from the articles. I just thought it was a neat holiday to share. Plus, I bet Human Rights Day is the most compassionate person on Holiday Island.

The globe on the left symbolizes both the global nature of the holiday as well as our shared right...to drink soda!

Where the Future Begins Tomorrow!

Lots of fascinating people and things born today, of which the following are of interest to us.

• President Harry S. Truman, relevant here because of his advice for parents: "I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it." Helen & Jake, are you listening?
• Warner Brothers animator Bob Clampett, said to have put the "loony" in Looney Tunes. (This is a cartoon fandom, after all, so we cheer the great animators!)
• Coca-Cola, from which we get Ultra-Cola on Daria.
• Writer of super-complicated novels Thomas Pynchon, beloved of a number of Daria fans and authors (add "pynchon" and see what you get). Mr. Pynchon created a fictitious aerospace firm named Yoyodyne that appears in some of his stories, and the nonexistent company (complete with fake website) has since been borrowed by Pynchon's admirers for use in everything from Buckaroo Banzai to Star Trek. I guess this is sort of like Yoyodyne's birthday, too. So, like, when is Yoyodyne going to appear in a Daria story, hmmm? We need to get on the stick here.
  
• Jean Henry Dunant, who founded the Red Cross. Today, his birthday anniversary, is now called World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day.

This is also White Lotus Day, but this is difficult to explain so just click the link or whatever. Stay tooned.

NEW! Dark Kuno found the missing half of "All-Nighter" and has published it on PPMB as a complete story!

PPMB

• The Dark Days To Come, by OverlordMikey (Part 2): "Daria! Daria where are you?!" Jane was running through the streets of Lawndale. Corpses were everywhere. She could hear whispering around her... join us... the voice was familiar, but it wasn't Daria. Who was it? "Daria! Hey, where are you!?" Why was she looking for her? That was when she came upon a horrible site. On the ground lay the bodies of people—people she knew... (FF.net)
  
• Falling into College: The Clip Show, by RLobinske (Part 7): Jake stood behind the kitchen counter, stirring a large pot. "You know, when I get a hankering for some Kitchen Sink Stew, I've found a new friend to give it just the extra kick that it needs." Jake picked up a small bottle and unscrewed the cap. "Just a dash of Brother Brimstone's Blazing Brew is all it takes." After Jake shook a small drop into the stew, a small mushroom cloud billowed up from the mix. "One million Scoville units. Guaranteed!"
• NEW! Finn Morgendorffer 45: Quarter Past Midnight, by HolyGrail2007 (Part 5): While both Stacy and the guys said that Finn was acting a little weird, Tom didn’t seem to say a thing. Finn was glad he didn’t. Even Tom, who had dated Jane, wouldn’t have understood just what it meant. He wanted Jane, wanted Jane when he could have anyone else. Other girls were only interested in themselves, and only wanted to date Finn because of his looks. They lusted for him, and that was it. Even Stacy, dear though she was, initially was only attracted to his body. Jane saw him in an entirely different light, still liked him. And Finn liked being liked by her: Compliments from her were not cheap. But little good they did now. Jane was nothing without her presence, a presence Finn could no longer feel.
  
• The Game Called Life, by Trscroggs (Part 4): One of the problems with the White Room, as Daria had dubbed it many lifetimes ago, was that there was literally nothing to do with her hands before the Old Man’s desk showed up. Normally the problem was academic, but it did make it harder to get a good brood going. Daria had taken to hanging her head back over the chair back and gazing the infinite whiteness of up when she did her heavy thinking here.
• A Happy Place, by NightGoblyn (COMPLETE!): "Well, I am really impressed!" Mr. O'Neill said, looking back and forth between the two girls. "I don't think we need to go any further, it's obvious that you're ready to leave the self-esteem class." He clapped his hands together and smiled widely. "Never before have I reached young minds so quickly and so well. I am proud of the work we've done here together." "That's... great," Daria said, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. "So, you'll tell Ms. Li that we graduated?" "Oh, but you haven't yet. There's one more test you have to take, if you're going to leave the class early... it's just a technicality, really, but you have to go through a quick hypnotherapy session with Dr. Manson first."
• It Could Have Been Worse, by Yogi (COMPLETE!): Jane and Quinn had very little in common. There really was no reason for them to talk. She was only going downstairs to get a refill on snacks; it didn’t even take 5 minutes. Yet by the time Daria made it back to her room, Jane and Quinn were in the middle of a heated theological discussion.

Hooked?

Pisces begins today, for the fishy zodiacal ones among you, so check your horror-scopes as Daria here has done. And learned to regret.

And this is the ninth anniversary of the first showing of "Fizz Ed" on MTV, kicking off the fifth and last season of Daria. Angst aplenty for all.

In the fandom, Kara Wild's essay, "The Off-Canon Approach" turns ten today, exactly. A milestone, there.

SKYPECON begins this weekend! Join in the fun of an online Dariacon! Meet new people! Argue with them!

Sketches of Mr. DeMartino, Quinn, and Sandi are offered by the illustrious MDetector5 on PPMB.

The new MTV Daria site is going strong. The URL used to connect to thumbnail descriptions of the episodes in the series, but the whole thing has been greatly expanded (thank goodness). The official Daria Facebook site will give you a pre-order special if you sign up. Amazon now has a pre-order section, as do several other sites.

Sick, Sad World has updated, as of a few days ago. Outpost Daria updated a few days ago to offer details on the DVD release.

Glitter Berries is still impossible to get, but you can download the whole thing here and are encouraged to do so soon.

The MySpace fan group, Daria and Jane 4ever, has unexpectedly ceased to exist. It had the largest collection of fans until the official Facebook site came up.

Another great fanfic update coming this weekend. Stay tooned.

Who was that masked man?

It was 77 years ago that The Lone Ranger made his first media appearance on a radio show of the same name. I used to watch the TV show during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Loved it, very exciting for a small kid. Mack is polishing his already saintly image by starring as the Lone Ranger here.

By Richard Lobinske's figuring, it was 10 years ago today that Angela Li called for a weekend meeting to discuss plans to sell Ultra-Cola in Lawndale High. You might want to watch "Fizz Ed" just for fun today.

Can you think of any other special awards (like the one Daria got) that Ms. Li could give out to students at Lawndale High for their graduation?

NEW! Got any ideas for a clip show revolving around Richard Lobinske's Falling into College series? Post your suggestions here.

ALSO NEW! Remember that thread about Things Students Still Are Not Allowed to Do at Lawndale High? It's baaaaaack!

Kara Wild has learned something you might want to know about the upcoming DVDaria. Stay tooned.