Fuzzy Wuzzy Wee...Snacks?

I see that Mrs. Bennett (as well as, for some reason, Upchuck) is super excited about Plush Animal Lover’s Day, because it's a great opportunity to collect more Fuzzy Wuzzy Wee Bits! Since I assume that Fuzzy Wuzzy Wee Bits were a reference to Beanie Babies, I have to believe that the bottom dropped out of that particular market a long time ago.

Just don't eat the poor stuffed critters, even if it is Wild Foods Day. Still, I'd rather have a mouth full of cotton stuffing than take a chance on Jake's survival skills. No glitterberries for me, thank you!

In fact, I'll just stick to my favorite snack for National Chocolate Day. I hope Jane is able to get her hands on some unauthorized chocolate, but she'd better keep it hidden from Mrs. Johanssen if she wants to hold onto it.

Finally, a happy International Animation Day to every single character on Daria because, after all, they're all animated! I suppose it would make more sense to thank the artistic talent behind the show, though.

Fanfic Update!

• How to Train Your Dragon: Berk in Time, by cfardell_Brenorenz29 (part 1): "This is Berk. Most places have cats or dogs as pets. But we have dragons."


• Spider Quinn 12 Rise of the Green Goblin, by cfardell_Brenorenz29 (part 7): "Mayor Lawson was on edge. He read through the Sun-Herald's article again. 'Pure speculation!' he groused to himself. 'There's no proof there's an actual fourth costumed vigilante.'"

One Of My Favorite Holidays!

Daria and Tom are absolutely doing National Chocolate Day right. Not only are they eating chocolate, but it's chocolate that belongs to someone else! As Jane might say, unauthorized chocolate.

Today is also International Animation Day, which for Daria characters is every day. Except Trent, who is the opposite of animated.

Fanfic Update!

• Baby Fever, by wilddogjj (part 1): "Quinn and Jim were in the checkout line loading groceries onto the conveyer belt. Behind them was a young brunette woman trying to soothe her crying baby."


• Come And Knock On Our Door, by ladyevil (part 2): "Jane picked up the phone to see what Daria was up to and heard Trent on the extension. 'Yeah, the sun’ll be setting when the movie lets out.' she heard Trent say."


• Daria: Dark Goddess (Iron Chef: Daria and the Gang and Halloween), by meesterlee (part 1): "'Jane, could I talk to you?' said Daria. 'Sure,' said Jane. 'Here or over pizza?'"


• Fizzled Out, by Erin M (part 1): "January came to Lawndale like it usually did, cold and windy. The elevation of the town was too low for snow, but the winds came in like crazy, chilling everyone unlucky enough to be outdoors."


• Origin Story, by Erin M (COMPLETE!): "I’ve always liked games. There’s a structure to them that appeals to me, with just enough of a random element to keep things from being boring and predictable."


• Tell Me I'm a Wreck, by conquerlove (fullbrightness) (part 6): "After what feels like a year, I’m finally going in to see Trent and judge the damage for myself. Jane is still at his side, and her jerk of a boyfriend-I mean, mildly irritating boyfriend-goes into the room before I do to gently coax her out."


• A Visit From The Goon Squad, by Two-Eyed Charlie (part 1): "So that was a bit embarrassing."

Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Huddled Cynics Yearning to Breathe Free

It was exactly 125 years ago today that the Statue of Liberty was dedicated. Jane looks pretty good there for a national monument well over a century old!

This is also International Animation Day, so let's celebrate animation today by watching some kind of animated television program. If only I could think of a really good candidate. Hmmmm....

The PPMB is still down, but you can get updates on the SFMB as well as the Site5 forums. Also, discussion in general continues on the SFMB, and I'll highlight a few recent threads:

• Derek posted some pictures of trolleys at night.


• Some discouraging news about the hypothetical "Daria" revival.


• Discuss Beavis and Butt-head revival in the thread.

The Buns of August

It's August first, and today marks the 29th birthday of MTV, which gave us Daria (and, more importantly, Jane Lane). We also got A Flock of Seagulls, but Daria made up for it. And with Daria we got memes like "You taste of bun" and 666 versions of "I kissed your boyfriend." Pure win.

I have been horribly remiss in not discussing all the exciting things going on over at DariaWiki, the online encyclopedia of all things Daria. Special thanks go out to the following contributors for the month of July: Ingsoc, Brother Grimace, HolyGrail2007, Doggieboy, RLobinske, OverlordMikey, JPAGC, Charles RB, Pittsburghmuggle, Brian Taylor, Dark Kuno, Doc Forbin, Shallow15, Kchishol1970, InnerCircle, JonathanDP81, EvChemical, and Quiverwing. You people make it rock!

The new material at DariaWiki includes stuff about: "The Big Wedding," Robert, Finn Morgendorffer, Evan Landon, Corey, "Through a Webcam Darkly," Martha Peters, "Speedtrapped," Russell Stark, Science Fiction, Wind Lane, OverlordMikey, Crossover, Lawndale, Ramona, "Too Many Choices," Pam Garrett, Hammer Blow, Charles RB, Judith Strikes, Off-Canon Canon, Trueblood Cafeteria, Nicky, Spatula Man, Angie, Defender Ring, Max Tyler, Dr. Millepieds, "The Daria Hunter," Good Time Chinese Restaurant, Daria Multiverse, Steve Taylor, Architects, "Through a Closet, Darkly,"Kevin Thompson, The Chronicler, John Berry, "Daria!" Bibby Birks, Drugs 'N' Stuff, "Grove Hell on Earth," Beavis and Butt-head, Falling into College, The Fashion Club, Daria! Song Lyrics, "It's a Living," Quiverwing, The Coffee Snob, and "Backyard Foray." Doubtless some of these are not familiar to you if you haven't been in the fandom long, but don't worry: it will catch up with you.

Moar l8r when I think of something to add. Oh, one interesting historical note: 99 years ago today, Harriet Quimby became the first American woman to earn her pilot's license. She wore a purple aviator's outfit and was very famous for a time. Purple, hmmm.

N0oOZ!

• The Judith Strikes! shared setting is now closed, per Erin M. A few unfinished stories will be finished soon.
• You are invited to attend the Shared World Workshop, begun by Staticblast, on PPMB.

PPMB

• Daria/Dorian 6: Christmas Chaos, by LadieT (Part 2): Everyone was sitting around the table as Lillian talked to Amy about the recipe. Helen and Quinn took several mugs down. Amy ladled the drink and added a cinnamon straw to each. As everyone was enjoying their drinks, Amy stood up and gently tapped the side of her mug. They turned towards her. "With everything that has been going on, I realized just how much I've missed being around my family. I wanted to let you know. I came back to Lawndale two weeks ago and looked at houses. I found one I really liked. I have to sign the paperwork for it on Wednesday."
• The Ending of Judith Strikes? Green Book? by OverlordMikey (COMPLETE!): Michael and Jake walked out to confront Judith, who held Daria captive. "Kiddo, it'll be all right!" Jake cried. "Listen, Judith, you can have the book, just let Daria go!" Suddenly Brittany ran outside. "No, Mr. McNinch, don't!" "Brittany, I am a father and as such understand what it would mean to lose a child. Has not Jake suffered enough?" Brittany remained silent for a moment before yelling, "Use the power of love to defeat her!"
• NEWEST! Finn Morgendorffer 55: Dreamer Without a Cause, by HolyGrail2007 (Part 1): “I hope that’s the worst problem Finn has in his whole life.” Helen remarked at the empty chair. “What a problem to have: Bromwell or Crestmore? Both are good.” “And no military school, yeah! Not a single year or latrine duty or anything. Finn really nailed it!” "Jake..."
  
• NEWEST! Jane Lane: Ace Attorney—Turnabout Teacher's Pet, by LSauchelli (Part 3): Well, this is certainly not the way I thought I would be dealing with cases once I passed the bar exam, Jane thought as she eyed the red-headed PI. She wasn’t annoyed because she didn’t trust the man—she certainly didn’t—it was because she actually knew she needed his help if she was to save not only Barch, but her career as well. And her mission of getting Daria to answer some questions, of course.
  
• Judith Strikes! And It Would Come to Pass, by OverlordMikey (COMPLETE!): Judith sat alone waiting. Of course it would take an army to stop the girl, so she was unafraid of a few monsters living in some fantasy world. "So you're Judith..." came the voice of a woman. Out walked a finely dressed young woman with long black hair, wearing a long red dress and red gloves that covered her arms. She had a devilish smirk and her eyes shined with a twisted intellect. She slowly walked into the room followed by another woman. "You're the girl of the hour, so to speak. Be less gloomy. It reflects badly on me and my people if I hire someone so..."
• NEW! Judith Strikes! Closing Ceremony, by Erin M. (COMPLETE!): Helen Morgendorffer wept loudly into a handkerchief, as Amanda Lane, the Morgendorffer's housekeeper, tried to comfort her. "It'll be all right, Helen," Amanda was saying. "Vincent, Wind, and Summer are out with the search party and I have Penny looking after Jane and Trent. I'll be here for as long as you need me, and Vincent swears he'll call as soon as he hears anything." "It's all my fault," Helen sobbed. "I should have taken more maternity leave to look after her, instead of rushing back to the office as soon as I could. I'm a horrible mother." "No," Amanda said, rubbing Helen's back. "No, you aren't. It's not your fault Daria was kidnapped. Put the blame where it belongs, on the sick and evil bastard who took her away from you."
  
• Judith Strikes! The Last Stand of Odell Jones, by Brother Grimace (Part 1): Well, you heard about that little bitch Judith—the evil version of Daria Morgendorffer? (I’m sure that you’ve heard of her.) We lost three ships and eighteen hundred people as a diversion for her to steal one of our slipstream vessels. My name is Odell Jones. I’m a Warhammer—a Ringbearer trained for military operations. The word has come down from Command, on Nova Valdris. My team has its orders. We’re gearing up—and we’re going to get that vessel back.
  
• Judith Strikes!/Legion of Lawndale Heroes Mini: The Legion Encounters, Part I: Pizza Night with the Girls, by Brother Grimace (COMPLETE!): Daria Morgendorffer sipped at her glass of ice water, and watched a very familiar female form appear in her Legion Tower apartment where the blue flash of light appeared a bare moment before. “Hello,” she said, causing the young woman in the catsuit and red cloak to stop in surprise. “Looking for something?”
• Judith Strikes!/Legion of Lawndale Heroes Mini: The Legion Encounters, Part II: An Unexpected Stop, by Brother Grimace (COMPLETE!): The young woman known as Judith fell away from the door, the wicked-looking blade in her right hand falling free as she gagged upon the thick cloud of metallic-gray gas that enveloped her head. Before she could react, the room was filled with light and sound.
• Judith Strikes!/Legion of Lawndale Heroes Mini: The Legion Encounters, Part III: Equal Payment, by Brother Grimace (COMPLETE!): Charles was about to head over to Brittany Taylor’s house to work on their project for Science class—of course, he had something better in mind than that. No. Not that. Brittany was quite the fair and fetching flower of feminine perfection, but she, sadly enough, lacked even the most basic capacity for worthwhile conversation...
• Judith Strikes!/Legion of Lawndale Heroes Mini: The Legion Encounters, Part IV: Not So Different, by Brother Grimace (Part 1): “You’re not supposed to hit girls.” David Allen Farrington said, the tone in his voice kind but firm. That wasn’t enough for the eleven-year-old that sat next to him. “Why not, if they hit you first?” David Allen sighed, and took a moment to look around the area from his spot on the stage of the Kuznov Auditorium—because of circumstances (namely, having lost a bet), the place where he and a fellow Cadet First Class were having their weekly ‘campfire’.
  
• Judith Strikes! Miss Helen Sue, by GlitterShrooms (intro): The Glen Oaks Lane of this world didn’t seem unusual from all the other ones Judith visited. Of course, most versions were lit by the lights of the street lamps and suburban houses instead of the starlight of an undisturbed night sky. Still, it wasn’t the possibility of a dead Lawndale that worried Judith. She had visited hundreds of those by now. What worried Judith though was the fact that an extremely powerful gem, one that could ruin everything she worked for, was here in a Lawndale that the rest of the civilized world was apparently ignoring for some unknown reason.
• NEW! Judith Strikes/Tales of the Ringbearers: Calling the Children Home, by Brother Grimace (COMPLETE!): The sound rang out through the Citadel of the Ringmasters—loud, droning, and ominous. It rang out from the Citadel and could be heard across the land. It rang out across the world, and all on the Earth that some knew as D-476 could hear its sound.
• NEW! The Lane That Wasn't, by LadieT (Part 11): Jane was back in her bed when Mr. DeMartino and Ms. Defoe walked in. Jane felt a tinge of sadness as she watched her favorite teacher head towards her "favorite student." Mr. DeMartino sat beside Jane. His face didn't show his usual anger or frustration. He looked over at Jane with genuine concern on his face. "How are you doing, Ms. Morgendorffer?"
  
• NEWEST! Legacy, by Getrealordie187 (Prologue and Part 1): He stares at her in amazement, the man named Dr. Geoffrey Hopkins, thinking this isn't the first time he's had to look at her like that. "What on earth happened to you?" She's grinning maniacally, making the sight of her in her paint-covered fatigues even more off-putting. "Some of the boys in Company B tried to put my back against the wall. I was waiting for them with Company D. About time that little rivalry started working for me rather than against me." (Part 1) (Daria/The Killers)
• NEWEST! The Long Con, by Charles RB (COMPLETE!): The end of year at Buxton had a rite of passage - the playing of the last call, next to the memorial for the alumni who'd been lost in action. Cadet Morgendorffer, clad in immaculate dress uniform, had noted there was a lot of names. This was it. The end. Ninth grade had been and gone, and it was time to see how it had worked.
  
• Mac Daddy's Discipline, by rglovejoy (COMPLETE!): The ropes holding Kevin to the stainless steel table were a little too tight. The pain was both overwhelming and delicious. Except for the leather harness around his chest, he was completely naked. The soft sounds of mellow jazz music flowed out of the adjacent bathroom. The dungeon was dim, except for the lit candles set in a small tray at Kevin's feet. He heard footsteps coming down the stairs. To his relief, it was Mac. Everything was going to be alright, so long as Mac Daddy was here.
• NEW! The Many Ways A Mother Could Go..., by OverlordMikey (Part 1): Helen Barksdale sat alone in her large office. She sighed as she flicked her hair back out of her face. It's not like I was trying to work my way to the top or anything, she thought as she sat in a large comfy chair. I just liked working. Still, maybe I overdid this. What would have happened if I had became a lawyer... She let out a laugh as she imagined someone cracking a lawyer joke. Being on the top—a CEO. She'd worked hard and here she was! No regrets! She noticed an envelope placed in the pile of all her paperwork. (FF.net)
  
• Pulp Fiction, by Chris Tucker (continued): There were odd little snippets of the events during her 18 months in training that stuck in Daria's memory, even years later... "Ms. Morgendorffer, for the next six weeks you will be learning the art and science of escape and evasion. There are 5 rules that make up the basics. Rule 1. Don't get captured. Rule 2. DON'T GET CAPTURED!"
• NEWER! Pulp Fiction: Africa, by Chris Tucker (COMPLETE!): She never did figure out when the old Daria ceased to be. At some point, the bitter cynicism, the cutting sarcasm, the misanthropy just went away. She did know that she could pinpoint where it began. Day, date, time, place, and words. "He doesn't know what it means." But, at some point during her time in Boston, it all changed. So gradually, she didn't really notice.
  
• NEWEST! The Question, by LadieT (Parts 5 and 6 and 7 and 8: COMPLETE!): "Barch! What the hell is SHE doing here?" Daria almost wrecked as she slammed on the brakes. "I'm serious. She just pulled into the front parking lot. Daria, where are you at?" Jane motioned to Jodie to go back inside. Jodie shot through the courthouse door. "Right now, we are in the left side parking lot. Are you sure it's Barch?" "Yeah..the car had a 'Take Back Night Lawndale High School Women's Self Defense Club' bumper sticker on the back of it." "Damn it!" (Part 6) (Part 7) (Part 8)
  
• NEW! A Road Trip Game, by OverlordMikey (COMPLETE!): "Hey Jess," Trent said as they drove down the road in the Tank. The other guys where fast asleep. Only he and Jesse remained awake. "I came up with new lyrics." "Yeah?" Jess said vacantly.
• NEWER! Unnamed story (Iron Chef: Guys and Guys), by Charles RB (COMPLETE!): Jeffy, as always, looked nervous. Tom shook his head and pushed the boy playfully on the shoulder. "Come on, man, we're just go-karting. Two cute guys messing around with cars, who's going to suspect?"
  
• NEWER! Unnamed story (Iron Chef: Guys and Guys), by Chris Tucker (COMPLETE!): It started simply enough. He'd always known he was different. He thought that he was the only one in the world that felt like this, The only one who had these urges and needs. He never acted on them, because, well, he WAS the only one in the world.
• NEWER! Unnamed story (Iron Chef: Guys and Guys), by Derek (COMPLETE!): Helen walked through the front door and stopped in shock...
  
• Unnamed story (Iron Chef: Daria and Military School), by Jim North (COMPLETE!): Once the rank and file were settled into their chairs, Lieutenant Colonel Anthony DeMartino snapped the heels of his shoes smartly to call attention to the front. All noise ceased immediately as every eye turned forward. Pleased with the speed of compliance with his nonverbal order, DeMartino smiled slightly and began to speak in calm, even tones. "Class, we have a new cadet joining us today," he said. "Please welcome Fourth Class Cadet Morgendorffer. ON YOUR FEET, SOLDIER!"
• NEW! Unnamed story (Iron Chef: Guys and Guys), by Breitasparrow (Part 1): I can't believe I made her cry, Tom thought. It had been a few hours since he confronted Jane about her strange behavior. He didn't think things would get weird between them after that one day, but he also didn't expect her to react the way she did. I just hope she'll accept my apology. After a few rings, he started to think no one would answer. Just as he was about to hang up, he heard a familiar voice. "Hello?" "Oh, hey, Trent. Is Jane there? It's kinda important."
  
• NEW! Unnamed story (Iron Chef: Real Esteem), by Jim North (COMPLETE!): "Like, esteem!" "Like, a teen!" "They totally don't rhyme, do they?" the blonde guy said, shaking his head with melodramatic sadness. "It's like, they almost do, but then they don't, right? And that's not really cool." "Right!" his partner agreed, a goofy grin plastered across his face. "But we're here to totally fix that! We're gonna make all you little dudes and dudettes totally rhyme!" (Daria/Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure)
  
• NEW! Unnamed story (Judith Strikes! Closing Ceremony), by RLobinske (COMPLETE!): On the monitor of his scanner, Hypersphere Supervisor Richard watched a reality thread flare to a bright, angry red. A voice behind him said, "And so it begins."
• NEWER! Unnamed story (Judith Strikes! Closing Ceremony), by Charles RB (COMPLETE!): "You were on your LAST WARNING for scrawling, student!" "I didn't do it this time, I SWEAR—"
• NEWEST! Unnamed story (More Crossovers Not Yet Crossed Over), by Wraith (COMPLETE!): Jane took a bite of the meal she had scraped together from the last of the food left in the kitchen. Namely, a Ding Ding, the only slice of baloney that wasn't too green, and a large quantity of mustard. As she chewed, she processed Daria's last comment. (Daria/UHF)
• MOST NEWEST OF ALL! Unnamed story (More Crossovers Not Yet Crossed Over), by Roxanne M (COMPLETE!): Helen was in the kitchen warming up a tray of frozen lasagna for dinner when the doorbell rang. She walked over and answered the door, to be greeted by a man and woman dressed in light blue blazers, white shirts, and black neckties. The man spoke: "Are you Helen Morgendorffer?" Helen replied, "Yes I am, and who might you be?" The woman replied this time: "I am Kate Monday, and this is my partner, George Frankley." In unison they flashed police badges and said, "Mathnet." (Daria/Square One)
  

Just an animated reminder....

...anyone fired up enough to try their own hand at creating animated Daria gif files (micro-cartoons) should go straight to this webpage and dig in. Some of the files from Daria's Inferno are hysterical. Jake as Robin Hood, Artie eating pizza, Jane as Charlie Chaplain, it's too much.

Enjoy.

Turning Over a New Leif?

Today is Leif Erikson Day, celebrating the first landing of Europeans on North American shores (meaning Newfoundland) just over 1,000 years ago. Leif was a Viking's Viking. Alternate histories sometimes toy with the question of what might have happened if the Vikings had managed to expand their colonies in the New World. It's anyone's guess there. Maybe we'd have the mighty Upchuck of the North or something.

The last known supernova in the Milky Way Galaxy appeared in the sky 405 years ago today. Closer to our own time, Entertainment Weekly named Daria Morgendorffer one of its "cartoon divas" 11 years ago. Daria gained her new status at the same time as did Tinkerbell, Veronica from the Archie comics, and... um... Foghorn Leghorn? WTF?

MTV Animation, which produced Daria and so many other wonders, closed its doors for good eight years ago today. The collage at upper right shows the major MTV cartoons 0f 1996, just before Daria appeared. Rest in peace, MTV Animation, and thank you.

GNUZ ALERT! Quiverwing has just posted the rules for the 2009 Daria Fanworks Awards on PPMB. Read over them now and start picking out your favorites!

PPMB

• NEW! The Curse of El Smoocho, by Roentgen (Part 4): Quinn stormed over to the door. "Daria, why do you want to ruin my life?" she yelled. "I'm sorry for lacing my boots in the unapproved 'under' method. With the help of God and family, I can change—"
  
• Detective Stories 4: Fledge, by NightGoblyn (COMPLETE!): Stacy leaned on her cane and, in an effort to distract herself from the constant itching of her right leg, peered over Daria’s shoulder at the computer screen. “What are you working on?”
• Finn Morgendorffer 6: Beautiful, by HolyGrail2007 (Part 3): “I’m fat,” Finn finally moaned. Unlike his normal complaining, Finn now sounded like he was two steps away from crying. “Fat?” Daria thought. She had many choice words to cut her brother down to size. Some curse words, some normal ones, and some Finn would have never heard of. But “fat” was not an insult she reserved for him.
• NEW! Meowlody Powers, by Richard Lobinske (COMPLETE!): The busy crowd and layout of store displays made Meowlody's job difficult as she patrolled the area. Zhreow would come in close, because, like Meowlody, she believed in the personal touch. That would be Meowlody's only chance to stop the assassination, even at the risk of being detected and forever losing her ability to be an agent. (FF.net)
  

Take a Bite

One hundred fifty-two years ago today, Milton S. Hershey was born, the guy for whom Hershey's Chocolate and Hershey, Pennsylvania, were named. Go forth, ye lovers of goodness, and celebrate in the manner we know and love: eat some chocolate. Speaking of chocolate, today is also the birthday anniversary of Roald Dahl, creator of Willy Wonka and the you-know-what. Bet Daria loved his books when she was younger.

Wonder if there is a way to work Daria Chocolate bedding and shoes into this post, too. Oh, guess I did.

Poking around with Google, trying to find a connection between September 13th and Daria, produced one oddball result, that being a fanfic called "What Is Memory?" I cannot figure out what is going on in it, but maybe you can. Pretty bizarre alternate universe there.

In animation history, Don Bluth has a birthday today. His Titan A.E. was crossed over with Daria in a cool fanfic by Greystar.

Wanna help DariaWiki? Got a few minutes to spare? Click here and see if you can link these dead-end pages to something else in the 'Wiki. If nothing else exists, maybe add an External Links section to fanfic writers' works online, or create a page about something related to the dead-end page. Just something fun to do. I've been adding artwork for a while.

Finally, I have begun creating the new list of 2009 Daria Fanfiction, but it will not be ready until late today at best. Stay tooned.

A Little Animation

I had to fudge a little to get things to line up properly, but here goes:



You'll need to click on the image to see the animation. Why? I don't know, but that's how it's working.

Probably can play around with sizing, too. Maybe more later

ETA: Thanks, TAG. It's working now.

That F Word, Revisited (Part 2)

Next on our tour of Fail is a mini-website called The Art of Daria Fan-imation. This was started when I got copies of Daria's Inferno and Sick Sad Life Planner, and discovered some of the images, movies, and sound bites could be removed and tinkered with. I had already noticed that famed Daria fan artist SC had developed some mini-cartoons of his own, several derived directly from the CD games. (Remember Daria riding the motorcycle? It's in there.)

After figuring out some ways in which the material could be worked with to produce amusing little movies, I posted everything I had to the Fan-imation site. All free.

And heard nothing more about it.

At this date I have to assume the level of technical expertise required put off most users. At the very least, the movies from DI are fun to watch. You get original animation, original cast voices, and pretty good screen shots like the one above, as Daria falls asleep during Mr. O'Neill's class on Dante.

Maybe someone will create some new animation for us one of these days. I'd do it if I could be cloned.

FF.net

• Daria's New Look, by Stevenie Ellis (Part 3): Daria stands in the middle of Jane’s room, feeling much better now that she’s had a shower and washed her hair. The feeling of wet hair on her neck drove her nuts, so she pulled it into a messy bun on top of her head. Then she pulled on an oversized, paint splattered tee shirt and some boxer shorts Jane had lent her. The bagginess of the outfit made her look even more petite. Still standing in the middle of the room Daria arched her back and stretched her hands toward the ceiling. There were a lot of knots in her neck she would have to work out later.

PPMB

• Boy Hostage, by Undefinedlust (COMPLETE!): Tom regained consciousness and tried to clear the fog from his mind. He realized he was laying down, but was unable to get up. He then tried to move his hands, but they were tightly bound. Looking down he was confused by the fact he was wearing a TV series era Robin suit. He became even more alarmed when he noticed the giant rotary saw blade between his feet.
• Cold Comfort, by Doggieboy (Part 3): Daria's postwar travels take her into backwoods country and into the lives of unfamiliar and unfriendly people.
• Don't Bet On It II (Sequel to the Prequel), by Lawndale Lurker (COMPLETE!): Jane wolfed down another slice of margarined white bread while eying the jock table. “Look at that big goof, telling war stories. The rest of the team eating it up, cheerleaders adoring him; like he was the love child of Bret Favre and Steve Bartkowski.”
• Stacy Rowe, Seeker (Part II), by jtranser (continued): At that moment two shots rang out from Jake's bedroom, followed by the sounds of a struggle, bright flashes and electrical arcing. As they raced toward Jake's room, jumping over the paralyzed bodies of security guards, they could hear him screaming....
• Unnamed story (1,001 Deaths of Tom Sloane—Part II), by Brother Grimace (COMPLETE!): Jane looked around the Sloane kitchen. "I love raiding your kitchen, Tommy boy," she said, putting the finishing touches of a saucer-sized cheeseburger with all the fixings. "What else do you have to go with this?"
• Unnamed story (The Daria Fan Fiction Classification Test), by Dennis (COMPLETE!): Daria sat along in the room and waited. It was more a box than a room, but there was enough space, barely, for her to sit. Suddenly, the entire universe was inside with her: the grand infinity of creation, infinite numbers of stars making infinite numbers of galaxies in a cosmic dance of incomprehensible complexity.
• Unnamed story (Iron Chef: Lying About "The Kiss"), by Dennis (Part 2): “I can’t imagine how I could have hurt Jane more,” Daria said, voice heavy. Her mother, sitting across from her, sighed. “It’s a lousy situation, Daria. Buy you didn’t set out to hurt anyone.” They were seated across from each other in a booth at a bar and grill near her mother’s office called, appropriately enough, The Settlement. [Continued from here.]

Fan-imation Free-for-all

A new webpage has been created for everyone interested in experimenting with actual animated Daria images. The page is largely based on an earlier post here, and it is called "The Art of Daria Fan-imation." That's animation for Daria fans, of course. The page is rather plain at present, but perhaps some of you will create entertaining images worthy of posting or linking there. I have other SMK files to upload there at a later time, but this batch should be a good starter set.

Feedback would be greatly appreciated and would make that page a lot more interesting and complete. I look forward to hearing from you. Enjoy your new hobby!

LATE ADD: There, I've added a small special section for it in the Daria Directory, just below the sound files section. Cheers.

Party Time for Daria Fan-imators!

Here is a chance to try out your animation skills and perhaps produce some fun micro-cartoons (animated GIFs that tell a story or show a scene).

First, I downloaded every single SMK file from Daria's Inferno to a special index page:

http://www.theangstguy.com/inferno/

The DI game itself is not playable, taken apart like this and missing the critical non-SMK files (plus the CD). However, if you also download this item:

RAD Game Tools

and a good GIF animator, perhaps like this free one:

FastStone Image Viewer 3.6

(or whatever else you happen to like for tools), then you can try your hand at making Daria micro-cartoons. You'll have to puzzle out how to do it, but you have all the tools you need right here.

Anyone up to a real challenge? The individual SMK files are often quite amusing and offer marvelous screen captures, plus detailed scenes like rooms in the Morgendorffers' home.

Remember, this is only for your amusement and education. It's time to goof around!

P.S. You'll find all four Mystik Spiral band members playing instruments in the SMK files. Add a soundtrack for extra fun. Speaking of soundtracks.... more later.

P.P.S. Plus a big handful of Sick, Sad World clips. And Shaggy chained to a wall. And Artie walking. And Jane popping out of famous artworks. And flying eyeballs. And weirdness on the level of Alice in Wonderland crossed with The Wizard of Oz crossed with Invaders from Mars crossed with insanity. Awesome!

Who are the Katzenjammer Kids?

The oldest continuously published comic today is the Katzenjammer Kids, which appeared 107 years ago today in a New York newspaper. I used to read this when I was a kid. Not my favorite comic, but when you're a kid you'll read anything. I recognize Mr. DeMartino at right (as the Captain), but not the kids. Anyone?

Working with animation is very hard. I'm not likely to get far with it yet, until I get the hang of creating animated GIF files from some of the SMK files on the two Daria CDs. I would hazard a guess that someone other than me on PPMB has long been at work on this very same project. More power to you.

More later. This, by the way, is my 900th post on this blog.