Don't Forget to Remove the Lid if You Cook it in a Conventional Oven!

You'd think Helen is celebrating National Frozen Food Day, but you're wrong for two reasons. First, frozen lasagna is hardly a rare occasion at the Morgendorffer house. Second, I'm deeply skeptical that what they eat could be called "food" in the traditional sense.

I think fandom would be okay to skip National Brian Day, since the only two choices on Daria are Brian Danielson, Erin's sleazy husband, or Brian Taylor, Brittany's psycho little brother. Someone working on the show must have known a Brian who was a real piece of work.

If you decide to observe Employee Appreciation Day today, please also spare a thought for poor Teresa at Junior Five for Salesperson Day as well. That unfortunate woman had the most thankless job ever, possibly second only to Marianne.

Kevin's Due in Kangaroo Court

Brittany is either making sure everyone is aware of kangaroos for National Kangaroo Awareness Day or else Kevin ticked her off again and she's about to go a few rounds in the ring with him. I would bet on Brittany to win even without the animal strength and massive hind legs.

After the boxing match they should sit down and share a meal for National Food Day, although for most people National Food Day is every day. Enjoy the edible item of your choice, and bonus points if it's pizza to honor our favorite duo!

Finally, it was on this day in 2000 that Wraith posted an essay on the episode "See Jane Run." He makes some interesting points, and it's always fun to see reviews of the show written while the show was still airing!

Fanfic Update!

• Mysteries of Aurora, by cfardell_Brenorenz29 (part 1): "Freya Andersson was excited. She was starting University at Academia d’Aeterna Universitas d’Aurora, the oldest university in the world. Of course, that wasn’t the reason she was studying there."

Boxing Brittany

Brittany is making sure everyone knows that today is National Kangaroo Awareness Day, and it's kind of hard not to be aware of a giant kangaroo with blond ponytails. Of course, if that doesn't do the trick, I'm sure Brittany's killer right hook would get anyone's attention.

I hope she'll stop and have a snack, though, because it's also Food Day and I don't want to see what her temper is like when she's hangry. I'm sure no one does, least of all Kevin. Quick! Someone go get a cheeseless bell pepper pizza!

Finally, on this day in 2000, Wraith posted an essay on the episode "See Jane Run." It's not very long, but it's a great snapshot of what fan reactions to the show were like while the show was still airing.

The Hero Lawndale Deserves

Jane is dressed in a just-different-enough-to-avoid-a-lawsuit version of the Batman outfit in honor of late comic book writer Bob Kane's birth on this day in 1915. She did say she wanted to be a bat, although she seemed more interested in sleeping upside-down and spreading rabies than in fighting crime. Still, she's finally getting her wish!

Today is also Food Day, so celebrate by eating food if you weren't planning to do that already. If you need some inspiration, this also happens to be National Bologna Day, so help yourself to some questionable meat-like product if you aren't too particular about what goes into your digestive system.

Fanfic Update!

• Anniversary, by Rémi (COMPLETE!): "Evening. Dr. Calan's appartement. Dr. Calan and Quinn are coming in. Dr. Calan is carrying several bags. Quinn looks approximately six months pregnant."


• Bobbie Caller, by Meester_Lee (part 5): "Daria didn't see Bobbie again until Monday. She missed home room, although she did hand a permission slip to Mr. De Martino just as the students were leaving for their classes. Daria didn't have a chance to talk with Bobbie until after French class."


• Dammit Daria, by SexshiTiTePaNtZ (part 10): "'I can't keep my hands off you.' Jane said as she lurched for Daria. The petite brunette lay under her, belly-side-down, like a piece of buttery toast."


• Daria Drinks in China, by Smijey (COMPLETE!): "'More fucking beer!' Daria demanded, slamming a fist down on the table she and Jane shared at the bar."


• Erin Chambers, by OzFerret (part 9): "Arriving at work on Monday morning, Erin had not taken her coat off before Anne pounced. 'How did it go?' Anne asked,' Was he dreamy?' Erin smirked. 'Do you mean before the marriage proposal or after? Because they were very different experiences'"


• Evil Deed Blues, by Princess_Pasta (part 3): "Blinding sunlight filtered in through the gaps in Monique's blinds and roused her from a fitful sleep. Her dreams were plagued by visions of faceless monsters and endless mazes, not the most refreshing way to spend the night."


• Fates Entwined, by Deep Metal (part 22): "For miles and miles they had traveled, based on nothing more than the printed directions Daria had gotten for the trip back when she was still in Lawndale."


• Flight, by Princess_Pasta (part 1): "Stacy Rowe was born scared. Okay, that was probably a major exaggeration on her part but, for as long as she could remember, she'd been seized by an overwhelming sense of dread."


• Hell-oween (Life After Thirty), by WildDogJJ (COMPLETE!): "Quinn and Jim are getting ready for bed. Jim is sitting up in bed and looks really distraught, which Quinn notices. 'Jim, honey, what's wrong?'" (Part 3) (Part 4)


• Metamorphoses, by Rémi (COMPLETE!): "Dr. Calan's office. Quinn and Dr. Calan are talking. Dr. Calan (benevolent) : How are things, my sweet Quinn ? I hope your parents aren't too harsh with you."


• The Montana Cabin Fund is going to LIT!!! (Iron Chef: MegaMillions), by DIsaac (COMPLETE!): "JANE: It's WHUB 98.5 and This must be Daria and Jane! I'm Jane and Why does your name come first? DARIA: This is Daria and I think it's Branding? Hell if I know? But we have some important stuff we need to talk about."


• The Turn Around, by Silberias (COMPLETE!): "Trent knew he had to take care of his baby sister—no one else in his family was going to do it, and Daria had left for college. Sure, she'd be back, and Janey had taken care of herself just fine before Daria Morgendorffer, but this was something big."


• Unnamed story (LLH Short Entries #2), by Roentgen (part 152): "Mack drove up to the Bel Air home of producer Nicholas Leppner and award-winning actress Jennifer Collins. The plan was that he would meet Carter's parents and have dinner."

To the Jane-Cave!

Jane doesn't exactly look like Batman here, but then again I don't exactly want to get hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit. In any case, today marks the anniversary of Batman creator Bob Kane's birth in 1915. Even if Jane's costume isn't quite right, we know she's always wanted to sleep upside-down and spread rabies.

This is also Food Day, and you could celebrate with whatever food you like. Cheeseless pizza, frozen lasagna, kitchen sink stew...the sky's the limit!

Fanfic Update!

• 40 (Iron Chef: A Slacker Looks at 40), by dmsfanman (COMPLETE!): "Standing in the bathroom in a pair of pajama bottoms Trent Lane looked in the mirror and pondered the reflection looking back at him. His beard was gray. There were even a couple of gray hairs on his head that only he knew about."


• Bond (Pasta's Never-ending Ideas Thread!), by Princess_Pasta (COMPLETE!): "Jane reached up to adjust an earbud, the low sound of Dream Theater successfully muffling all other noise. If she had to listen to one more second of that cheery instrumental theme song, she'd go mad."


• Contriving Hope, by RubinaLadybug (COMPLETE!): "'FORGET IT, TIMOTHY!' 'But, Anthony, I need counselors for my OK To Cry Corral. None of my students have taken interest in making a difference.'"


• Cynic and a Six-String, by fringeperson (part 36): "'Honey, I'm home,' Daria called in a monotone, tongue firmly in cheek, as she let herself into Casa Lane by the back door. 'Hey Daria,' Trent answered with a smile."


• It's Supernatural, Daria, by elainefr (COMPLETE!): "'New teacher today.' 'What? What class?' 'Mr. Chance's, his wife just had the baby and yadda, yadda, yadda......'"


• A Moment Behind the Mask, by RubinaLadybug (COMPLETE!): "'And so completes our time of raising the dead and causing mass panic in this listless town,' Daria stated, her deadpan tone infecting every word she spouted."


• Unnamed story (Crossovers Still Crossing Over), by Roentgen (COMPLETE!): "'There,' Quinn said, positioning the football. 'That's about right, isn't it?' 'Okay, Jeffy,' she said, the ball balanced between the ground and her fingertips. 'I'll hold the ball, and you come running up and kick it.'"


• Unnamed story (Iron Chef: A Slacker Looks at 40), by darbanville (COMPLETE!): "Trent laid back on his bed looking around his room. Things hadn't changed much since high school."


• Unnamed story (Scenes that should be: Pacific Rimmers), by Szcz (COMPLETE!): "Daria was very tired. The Lawndale did not understand her unique pseudo-asymmetric magnetic field and gave her a magnetic harmonisation class."


• Time (Iron Chef: A Slacker Looks at 40), by Princess_Pasta (COMPLETE!): "Trent looked good for his age; at least that's what everyone was always telling him. He didn't pay much attention to his appearance, even in his younger days, which meant that the barely noticed the fine lines on his face or the few extra pounds."

"May I Take Your Order?"

Andrea the waitress (probably her college job) reminds us that today is International No Diet Day, when we remember eating disorders and promptly forget them for the duration. (You know what I mean.) Enjoy the day as you best see fit.

Sigmund Freud is 154 years old today. Happy Birthday, Psych-dude!

PPMB

• NEWEST! Before the Deprogramming, by Kristen Bealer (Part 2): "Hello! My name is Jane Lane and I'm in the Girl Scouts. How would you like to help support my troop by buying some delicious cookies?" "Cookies?" sneered the woman at the door. "More like over-processed, artificially-sweetened slabs of industrial by-products! Go peddle your corporate poison somewhere else." Jane turned away as the door slammed shut. I guess the corn in the front yard should have been my first clue that this house wouldn't be interested, she thought with a shrug.
  
• NEW! The Dark Days to Come, by OverlordMikey (Part 1): Jake was the son of a man so twisted that his war buddies shivered with fear when they remembered he was on the same planet as them. This was mostly because he died—three times—only to come back to the regiment as if nothing had happened. The commanders never noticed it.
  
• Finn Morgendorffer 45: Quarter Past Midnight, by HolyGrail2007 (Part 3): Jane and Daria were already sorting Daria’s doo-dads. “I sure hope your roommate doesn’t mind looking at a dead horse fetus in formaldehyde,” Helen noted. “Eewww!” Jake shuddered.
• NEW! Games of Divinity (continued): Daria sighed. “Well, at least I know one thing.” “What’s that?” the Old Man asked. Daria’s grin would have frightened most sharks, and not a few lawyers. “I have a new hobby: destroying Eric Schrecter.”
  
• NEW! General Semantics, Private Angst, by Gwrtheyrn (Part 24): "What you have, Ms Morgendorffer, resembles not so much the cerebral cortex as the great control systems in the solar plexus and the spine. The paired structures, taken together, constitute the most compact set of controls that we have even seen or imagined. The number of cells involved is about a third of your brain's total, meaning that your total brain matter is about half again that of an ordinary adult human. You've got enough control apparatus in your head to direct electronic operations in the microcosm, and there are not enough objects in the Galaxy to engage the full potential power of the switching networks in your head." "So, they're controllers—to control what? And how?" "How the heck should I know?"
  

A Day for the Jakester

Today is one of those weirdo what-the-heck-is-this kind of pseudo-holidays, but for our purposes it turns out to be perfect. It's Kitchen Klutzes of America Day, seriously. Who makes this crap up? Anyway, we know what to do to celebrate this wonderful day: make something in the kitchen like Jake Morgendorffer would do. Just for this special day we will use the alter ego from MTV showing Jake as sushi. Reminds me of the subplot for "My Night at Daria's." Works for me.

Today is also the annual Blog Like It's the End of the World Day, as Medea42 reminds us. (Thank you.) Support your local zombie horde!

Now 1,291 fans at the Daria Fan Club! Speaking of which, anyone have any opinions or thoughts about that website? How useful is it, how could it be more useful, etc.?

Off to Family Dinner, Back Eventually

Time for Christmas Eve dinner with family. Hope everyone out there in Reality Land is having a good time.

New art on PPMB:

Merry Christmas! by Minkychanz

New art on SFMB:

Christmas Stacy/Andreaness!!, by Minkychanz

Christmas Daria/Trentness!, by Minkychanz

New fanfic on PPMB:

Falling Into College 61: Latitudes (Part 2), by Richard Lobinske (told ya it was coming!)

Lambda (Part 12), by SigDiff

With Minds Wide Open, by legendeld (complete!)