The Call Is Coming From...Helen's Cell Phone!

It appears that Daria is already celebrating Campfire Day, but I don't think that her companions will enjoy the stories she's preparing to share. As long as there are s'mores, I'll be happy to stick around, though!

There will be bonus points if her stories include clowns in honor of National Clown Day, even (or especially) if the clowns are creepy. Even better, they could be dead clowns who (according to Mystik Spiral) can no longer clown. Just don't bother with the crying clown paintings, because Art in the Park has already done that theme into the ground.

On a less humorous note, the infamous episode "Dye! Dye! My Darling" aired on this day in 2000. Like any good scary story, it started with a girl getting into a car that she really shouldn't have entered.

Lost and Fraud?

Ms. Li is having a rough time because she just found out that it's International Anti-Corruption Day and that's going to put a real hitch in her usual pro-corruption plans. Still, I don't suppose she's actually going to do anything drastic like stop embezzling funds. Someone has to feed those bomb-sniffing dogs!

Has anyone seen Tad Gupty? It's Lost and Found Day and I'm hoping that he falls into the latter category right now. If not, just send Daria after him and remind her to look for windmills.

If she ends up at Art in the Park she should also look for some of those crying clowns because it's Weary Willie Day and he was the original sad clown. Fortunately, he was sad but not dead, so he could still clown and we'll still be freakin' friends.

Fandom News!

• Discuss the United Healthcare CEO murder.


• Talk about an article about disabled veterans from The Economist.

All She Needs Is a Pie in the Face!

Andrea's sporting a new look for National Clown Day, not to mention a new hobby and a new mode of transportation. Let's hope she's still got the same personality, because fandom loves that seldom-seen yet delightfully snarky goth chick!

Today is also National Underwear Day, so be sure to hand over your underpants to any fratboys who want to run them up a flagpole. College punks.

Last but not least, let's all take a moment to appreciate the finest Daria fandom blogger ever seen for Blogger Day! Ahem. Me. I'm talking about me. Fandom punks.

Fandom News!

• Vote in the Celebrity Deathmatch poll between Fred Flintstone and Captain Caveman.

"When dead clowns can't clown...."

I see Andrea got the memo about National Clown Day, but I'm still unsure about why she felt she had to join in. I guess if she already had a unicycle, doing otherwise would have been a wasted opportunity?

Today is also International Hangover Day, so if Andrea's unusual choice has anything to do with that flask she carries around, I expect she'll be regretting it soon.

Fandom News!

• Share your thoughts about Days of Our Lives moving to Peacock.


• Discuss the most hilarious ways cartoon baddies got what was coming.

Hey, Clown Daddy!

Happy birthday to Kevin Daniels, who voiced Mack in the third season. I guess not even the voice actors could handle Kevin Thompson for very long.

Today is also the anniversary of the birth of famous clown Emmett Kelly, known for his "sad sack" routine. I guess that, being dead, he can't clown and therefore Mystik Spiral's Freaking Friends song will be put to the test.

Fandom News!

• Vote in the Deadliest Warrior poll between Terminator and Vincent from Beauty and the Beast.


• What are your favorite Christmas movies that aren't about Christmas?


• Do you believe these recent claims about the "Jodie" spin-off?


• Discuss this interview with writer Grace Nkenge Edwards.

Send in the Goths

Andrea's tapping into some unknown talents to celebrate National Clown Day, and I did not expect her to be into this one. Then again, so little is actually known about Andrea that I couldn't say anything about her with any real certainty.

Today is also International Cat Day, so give Mr. Whiskers a little extra love today. Unless you're Jake, in which case stay the hell away from Mr. Whiskers for your own safety!

Fandom News!

• Talk about the explosion in Lebanon.


• The New York Attorney General has moved to dissolve NRA. What do you think?


• Charles RB posted a new Iron Chef Round Robin: Star Trek Daria.

Know Any Corrupt Clowns?

Ms. Li is absolutely horrified to learn that today is International Anti-Corruption Day, because she has no idea how to run Lawndale High School in anything like an honest way. Maybe she can take a class on the subject and pay the tuition by embezzling some extra school funds.

Today is also the anniversary of the late Emmett Kelly's birth in 1898, which would make good inspiration for the Art in the Park crying clown artist. Good news, though, for Mystik Spiral: although Kelly is dead and unable to clown, they can still be freaking friends.

Fandom News!

• Come up with time travel story ideas.


• Choose who would win in Deadliest Warrior battles between Ebenezer Scrooge and Krampus, Donnager-class and Omega-class, and Scimitar and Star Destroyer.


• Roentgen started a series of Daria Asks, starting with "How's your self esteem?"

See Any Fuzzy Wuzzy Wee Bits Up There?

Mrs. Bennett has Walk on Stilts Day covered, unless they finally cut Ms. Li's budget and this is now her only low-tech surveillance option. Either way, she seems to be having fun.

Today is also Take Your Pants for a Walk Day, and given Mr. DeMartino's ability to hem pants and love of hiking, there's a good chance he's participating.

Finally, this is the anniversary of the episode "Pierce Me," which aired on this day in 1998. It didn't feature people on stilts or walking pants, but it did give the Daria/Trent shippers a little more fuel.

Fanfic Update!

• Doing What You Love (Scenes No Daria fanfic should have: 600 Years Afterward.....), by Brother Grimace (COMPLETE!): "It's good to be able to do what you love, and get paid for it..."


• Drake And Jane Diaries, by James the Lesser (part 1): "A New kid started class today. He made me chuckle a bit when he made Mr. D's eye bulge with the right answer. And hey, surprise surprise, he's in my self esteem class. Drake something or other."


• I Can't Make You Love Me, by elainefr (COMPLETE!): "The young man stood center stage holding the microphone. His dark hair fell slightly over his right eye as he did a scan of the crowd. It didn't really matter who was out there; he only sang for one person and she was.......with someone."


• Leaving Hope Behind (World's Medium-Sized Crossover), by Meester_Lee (parts 1 - 3): "Early in the morning somewhere out in west Texas, a group of students were getting ready to board a school bus to go on a field trip The students were all dressed identically." (Part 2) (Part 3)


• Rude Awakening #14: And she was gone...., by DIsaac (part 1): "JANE: I got the pizza and booze! DARIA (Not looking up and adjusting the angle of the tv for better viewing): Do you remember this BEFORE we added booze to the mix? How did we cope?"


• Those Tired Old Cliches, by Charles RB (COMPLETE!): "In the bar of Sydney's FantastiCon, a man and woman – one white, one Asian, one Melbourne, one Brisbane, one in a SILHOUET T-shirt and so was the other one – studied, respectively, a press release and their drink."


• Unnamed story (Daria and Mack Fanfics), by Sureia (COMPLETE!): "Ignoring the screaming children demanding ice cream, Mack ended the call and swore under his breath, glaring at nothing even as he gripped the phone tighter. It was all about the parents with her, wasn't it?"


• Unnamed story (LLH - Short Entries), by Brother Grimace (COMPLETE!): "'Hello, Michael...' Cadet Michael Fulton glanced up from the oblong, two-foot long stone on a table before him, the electric-blue in his eyes fading as he saw Leda Calavicci on the other side of the table."


• Unnamed story (LLH - Short Entries), by Brother Grimace (parts 1 and 2): "'Charles said that you wanted to see me, Colonel?' 'Have a seat, Mackenzie.' Oh, hell. This is like getting called into the Coach's office - or even worse, Li's office." (Part 2)


• Unnamed story (LLH - Short Entries), by Roentgen (parts 30 and 31): "The armored figure entered her tiny moment of The Now, the period where everything exists all at once, where life draws its power and where the Unmentionable is converted into the Actual." (Part 31)


• Unnamed story (Scenes No Daria fanfic should have: 600 Years Afterward.....), by Sureia (COMPLETE!): "'Come on, Mack; it's not that bad.' Mack looked at Jodie, wondering how best to explain to his... Actually, he wasn't quite sure what they were any more."


• White Girl Wasted (Daria and the Gang Thread II), by Roentgen (COMPLETE!): "(The Fashion Club are all at Quinn's house. Daria is over at Jane's and the parents are out. There are all sorts of dresses, boxes, shoes, accessories stacked on the bed."

Just Don't Call Him Kevin Daddy!

Mack shouldn't look so sad; today is his (okay, actually Kevin Daniels's) birthday! Daniels voiced Mack during the third season, one of four voice actors to portray the character. Maybe even pretending to put up with Kevin's antics was too much for any one actor to deal with.

Today is also the anniversary of Emmett Kelly's birth in 1898. Kelly is most known for his "Weary Willie" persona, recognizable for the sad face. It's quite possible that the crying clowns Tom and Daria saw at Art in the Park in "Art Burn" were at least based on Kelly.

Fandom News!

• Discuss the recent London Underground station terrorist attack.


• Erin M. spotted Daria and Jane in an Archie comic.

Life Is a Circus!

Today I was in a quandary whether to celebrate the birth of that guy Ringling, who started the Ringling Brothers Circus, or Britney Spears, whose birthday it also is, and it took me .021 seconds to decide that even with an official MTV alter ego of Ms. Barch as Britney, I would still rather show Mrs. Bennett as a clown on stilts. Yo, Ringling!

Still working on spicing up this drab, dreary blog page. More in a day or so.

LATE ADD: It is interesting that a number of cast alter egos were done as circus performers. (Click on "circus" below for a few examples.) This and a few similar memes in the alter ego field make me wonder if the artists for Daria were sometimes given a theme they each had to explore. ("Okay, today everyone has to draw a cast character as an animal!" or "Let's do alter egos of cast members as famous singers and musicians!")

Mad Marchness Munches Muchly

1,400+ views, whee!

Right, enough of that.

Below are some more "adoptable" webpages about Daria, as discussed in an earlier blog post. All are in English. Take your time, look them over, then maybe pick one out and make yourself the resident expert there on Daria. Post pictures, comments, essays, chat, fresh links, messages, anything. Have fun with it. None of these are exclusively fanfic sites; most are informational and allow for reviews and opinions.

• DMOZ Open Directory Project (might be difficult to get)
• Episode World
• Everything2
• Experience Project
• Fan History (an interesting wiki, someone already posting heavily there but more is better)
• Google Directory (might be difficult to get)
• Hot or Not

A side note: Looking for good Daria screen captures? Try this page in StarPulse. More soon, mebbe.