Down, Boy!

Helen isn't quite feeling Love Your Pet Day, but since Leary isn't her pet I suppose she gets a pass. It makes you wonder--if Helen were to get a pet, which kind would she want? I would bet something really low maintenance like a goldfish. Or maybe a pet rock.

Happy birthday to Daria voice actor Amy Bennett, who was born on this day in 1975! In addition to sharing a first name with one of the coolest characters on the show, she voiced Mrs. Johansen and Mrs. Bennett.

Time is running out to vote in the Daria Fanworks Awards! Please use the ballots in the linked post to send your votes in soon.

Fandom News!

• What does 'Cool' mean or represent? Share your opinion in the thread.


• Vote in the poll about a fight between Battledroid and DOGO.


• Robyn posted a new Iron Chef: Daria in the 1980's.

Just Don't Get Jake Started on the Subject

Leary is looking happy because today is Love Your Pet Day, and the Yeagers are probably preparing him an extra special (all-natural, organic, hand-kneaded, pectin-filled) treat for the occasion. It seems odd that no regular Daria characters seem to have pets that got featured onscreen. Sandi had Fluffy, but we never got to see him. The Daria Database tells us that the Lanes have two cats, but they never even get mentioned on the show itself. Where do you suppose all the pets have been hiding?

Fandom News!

• See pictures of Wouter's most recent guitar.


• Share your ideas for things that make Anthony DeMartino happy.


• Fans can talk about Shadowrun and Earthdawn in a new thread.


• See the trailer and discuss the upcoming movie Guardians of the Galaxy.


• Roentgen posted a new art Iron Chef in The Easel: Clothes switch.

As Long as It's Not "Mad Dog" Morgendorffer

Happy National Dog Day, dog lovers! Leary the third (or whatever version the Yeagers are on by now) is enjoying his holiday, and hopefully that bulldog that Daria narrowly missed running over is having a similarly happy day.

Today is also Women's Equality Day, as it was on this day in 1920 that women were granted the right to vote. Hooray for equal rights!

Fandom News!

• LadieTAG wants to know if anyone else is going to Dragoncon this year.


• Where is Highland located? Vote in the poll and discuss your choice!


• Name your least favorite Daria episode (aside from "Depth Takes a Holiday").


• When did you realize that you liked Daria? Tell everyone your story.


• ognawk is looking for contestants for the second round of the game Only Connect.


• Have you ever dreamed about Daria? SacredDust wants to hear about your stories.


• Talk about original characters that you've created for any fandom.

Still Working on that Replacement

Psychologist and author Timothy Leary, known for his experiments with LSD, was born on this day in 1920. The Yeagers' dog Leary was named for him, although it's doubtful that Leary I, II, or III did any LSD experiments themselves. They probably stuck with marijuana.

Fandom News!

• DocForbin wants a definition of "other things that give us heartburn" in Nick's Corner.


• The Angst Guy wonders who is the best website host?


• Discuss an article about high school and popularity in Deep Thoughts.


• Check out helicarrier physics as explained by Bad Astronomy.


• Post your Halloween stories in a Creative Writing thread started by Ranger Thorne.


• JPAGC posted a new Iron Chef: Jake's presentation.

Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out...and Sit Up!

Today is the anniversary of Timothy Leary's birth in 1920. Most people know Leary as the psychologist who advocated for the use of psychedelic drugs. Not as many people know Leary as the Yeagers' dog--one of several, apparently.

This is also National Nut Day! We're just nuts about nuts. Crunch nuts with your lunch. Buy them by the bunch. Send them to friends far away to munch. But don't forget to smile!

Fandom News!

• The Daria Wiki is exceeding shared hosting limits. Post your thoughts or suggestions for a solution in the thread.


• Who will be participating in NaNoWriMo next month?


• An essay on writing linked in the Deep Thoughts forum might be useful to fanfic writers.


• ioxmo wonders about a potential teacher swap between Lawndale and Highland.


• Daria made the list of CNN's "Top Five Animated Misfits"! Congratulations...I think?


• The Daria Fanworks Day is going on today! Visit the #daria chatroom if you want to participate!


• Two new Iron Chefs in Creative Writing: Ms. Kinnikufan's Lawndale Teachers meets Highland Teachers and tafka's Give me an Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Woof Woof

Ten years ago today, believe it or not, "That Was Then, This Is Dumb" first aired. At right is the great dog hero Leary (the Third), bane of squirrels everywhere.

This episode spawned a lot of fanfiction. Some examples, in no special order:

• "Visitors," by Melissa
  
• "A Time for Every Purpose," by Richard Lobinske
• "Fireworks," by C.E. Forman
  
• "Potential," by TAG
• "Vengeance," by Bacner
• "The Road Home," by CAP
• "This Is Now," by Richard Lobinske
• "Will Power," by Thea Zara and Deref
• "Past Understanding," by Ennon
• "New Drum, Same Tune," by Roentgen
• "You Don’t Need a Weatherman to Know Which Way the Wind Blows," by TAG
• "Redemption," by Atimnie
  

Interesting to imagine what else could be written. Where might it be taken?

Latest DariaWiki page: U.S. Marshals Service, by Brother Grimace. Lots of new pages in addition!

PPMB

• John Lane 39: Leaving Summer, by Richard Lobinske (COMPLETE!): Alison said, "I'm not going to forget your offer…when you turn 18." Daria's cheeks reddened at the comment, but she maintained her composure. "A promise is a promise."
• Legion of Lawndale Heroes Special—Tokusatsu Team Up! by Lorenzo Sauchelli (Part 3): The Planeswalker grimaced when her counterpart teleported back to Japan. “I was hoping it would take you longer to get back from Alpha Centauri.”

Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut...

If I told you today was both National Nut Day and the 88th anniversary of the birth of LSD advocate Dr. Timothy Leary (for whom the Yeagers' German shepherds were named), you would probably believe me, and that's good because it's true. You can celebrate National Nut Day by clicking here and getting some ideas, but frankly it's okay with me if you only pet a dog for Dr. Leary's birthday and not, you know, take drugs or stuff. Dr. Leary is buried in Earth orbit. Seriously. Anyone remember the Moody Blues' song about him? Anyone remember Dr. Leary talking with dolphins, or trying to? They don't talk much. Oh, and superstar Jeff ("Must Go Faster!") Goldblum is 56 today, being one of my favorite actors up there with Will Smith.

More stuff soon. Must go faster.

PPMB

• Blood, Sweat, and Cheers, by Kristen Bealer (Part 8): The look on Brittany's face was unreadable, but it made Daria feel strangely nervous.
  
• But Why? by Legendeld (Part 1): “Leave me alone!” Daria cried out as she inched closer to the edge of Lawndale High School’s roof.
• Daylight: When the Ball Dropped, by Disco316 (Part 1): “Okay," said Stacy, "so if I have this straight, I spend the night with you in your fallout shelter. If anything happens, we’re safe, and we don’t die virgins."
• The Other Side of Time: Unfinished Business, by The Sidhe (continued): Bad news travels VERY quickly.
• Snuff the Rooster, by Cypher (continued): “Wet Willie!”
• Two Halves, by Dark Kuno (Part 2): "Careful,” warned Daria. “That scrunchy might be loaded."

Good Dog!

The legendary Rin Tin Tin was born 90 years ago today. It is unlikely that Helen Morgendorffer appreciates this fact, given her experience with Leary IV.

More soon. Back. SFMB is being molested by pornbots. Alas.

Superfan Magnuskrauss has collected all the postings from the PPMB Things Students Still Are Not Allowed To Do At Lawndale High thread and reposted them as a single file on a different website. You wanna see what students can't do, go here. (Beware of ads, though.)

On DariaWiki, the Multiverse, Defender Rings, and Tales of the Ringbearers pages have gotten thorough workovers.

Best fanfic line of the day: "Add "Friggin' in the Riggin'" to the list of Things Students are Not Allowed To Do At Lawndale High."

FF.net

• Freaky Stories from the Fashion Club #1: The Diet Pills, by bhut (COMPLETE!): "Tiffany’s most prominent idiocy was her diet...."
• Girls Together Sarcastically #5: Closets Are for Hangups, by Dennis (COMPLETE!): “Well, that could have ended better,” Quinn said, attempting to sound friendly.
• Is It Graduation Yet? by MandeeMistress (Part 5): “I thought we might have to talk,” Trent said, looking into Daria's deep brown eyes.
• Mirror, Mirror, by Angelinhel (COMPLETE!): Three eerie tales from a dark carnival. Get your tickets now.
• The Sickness, by Angelinhel (COMPLETE!): In the small cave above the valley, she waited, toying with a a gun than only had three bullets left.
• Two Halves, by Dark Kuno (Part 1): “I still never understood why Mom and Dad possibly thought sending Alex to military school was a good idea,” said Quinn.

PPMB

• Common People #3: Tears of the Dragon, by NightGoblyn (Part 1): “Jane hates me.”
  
• Falling Into College 64: This is Now, by Richard Lobinske (Part 1): The return of the Yeagers . . . and Sandi Griffin.
• The Heather/Damsel Chronicles: Clique, Clique, Boom, by NightGoblyn (Part 1): “I love those old classic horror movies, but you absolutely can’t tell anybody.”
  
• The Other Side of Time: A Father's Legacy, by The Sidhe (Parts 1 and 2): “So, what’s the surprise?” Daria said as they left her study. (SFMB)
• The Sleeper Awakens, by durgarox (Part 2): This could have been called: "There Will Be Blood." The "one-shot" continues!
• Tales of the Ringbearers 9: Artifact, by legendeld (Part 1): When he arrived, he saw the body she was looking at. It was a near perfect skeleton. Nicki pointed at its hand. Tom didn’t understand the problem until he saw the ring.

Meet the Bomb-Sniffing Dogs

Yeah, okay, that's Leary III from "That Was Then, This Is Dumb," but I don't have any pictures from Daria of Lawndale High's bomb-sniffing dogs. I'm doing the best I can here.

Anyway, bomb-sniffing dogs. Ms. Li's got 'em, so what about 'em? Any way to fit them into a fanfic in a prominent way? What do the dogs think about LHS, the students, the faculty, the lockers and their mysterious contents, and Ms. Li? They'd have a lot to bark about, I bet.

Seriously, it's such a weird idea that Ms. Li has actual bomb-sniffing dogs on her high-school campus. Who else would ever do this? Are these the same dogs that are "criminologically trained," per The Daria Diaries? Probably not, as the latter must visit, and if Ms. Li is using part of the school budget to feed the BSDs, then they live on or next to the school grounds. This whole thing is worth a fanfic somewhere, you just know it. Wonder if they moonlight at some other jobs on the side, have a union, who knows what dogs really do when we aren't watching them.