Showing posts with label romans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label romans. Show all posts

Friday, July 23, 2010

King of the Seas

Happy Neptunalia to all fans of the Roman Empire out there. Mack appears as Neptune courtesy of MTV art staff (sent to us by renown superfan Pinhead). Today begins Neptunalia, as it were. By odd coincidence, this date also marks the beginning of a strange sea voyage in one Daria fanfic.

This is also a historic birthday date, and I will let you guess who was born today who also made it into the ranks of Daria alter ego artwork. Oh, boy.

And, this day marks one of the strangest and most harrowing aircraft flights of the modern era. Twenty-seven years ago, an Air Canadian passenger jet unexpectedly ran out of fuel and was forced to glide to an emergency landing. As it happened, the pilot was a glider pilot and knew exactly what to do to land safely. A brilliant feat of flying, indeed. Enjoy the TV documentary on YouTube. (Any fanfic ideas from this?)

Moar l8r. Okay, it's l8r now. And if you want to read something good about Daria online, try this. Thanks to InvisibleDan for finding this.

PPMB
  • The Continuing Adventures of an ANGRY!!! Young Man, by Charles RB (Part 4): The third date with Claire would be to the cinema. Unfortunately, the chances of Claire liking Valley Forge Massacre—said to be the most violent ‘Nam film ever!—was going to be remote, so Anthony decided to take her to the new chick-flick romcom East Fulham. He HATED chick-flick romcoms. But you made sacrifices for love.
  • Daria: Hunter 6—Infectious, by Jim North (continued): Anthony opened his mouth to speak, but the 'bot cut him off with a wave of its hand. "Hold that thought!" not-O'Neill said. "I've found that it's far more difficult to get other members of the opposing team to agree to their own deals with the devil if one of their number has already turned me down. So! Miss Burns, what do you say to—" "You talk too much," Burnout said.
  • Finn Morgendorffer 54: On the Outside of Love, by HolyGrail2007 (Part 1): “You know, I really like your idea of recompense. You can miss any prom or dance or anything you want.” Finn was out of breath, naked in his bed, as Sierra was dressing. “Cool your heels, hotshot,” Sierra returned. “It loses its appeal when it happens all the time.” “Speak for yourself,” Finn returned.
  • The Hallowed Halls of Fielding, by Roentgen (Part 46): "Ms. Morgendorffer, Ms. Timothy," Morioka said, singling out Daria and another student. "You two'll be wearing that hair of yours tied behind your back. I'd hate to see either of you hoisted like the Wicked Witch over the stage because one of you got her hair caught in the gears." She turned her attention to the others. "You have to learn every aspect of the stage, and you're going to get a crash course in shop safety and that means power tools."
  • Judith Strikes! Lunch, by Erin M. (COMPLETE!): Reiko frowned. "What? I'm the Senior Guide for that Cluster. You can't pull me now! The only other Guides available are Nabiki and Gosunkugi, and Gosunkugi has his duties split between the Cluster and the Collective." "We know, and we wouldn't pull you otherwise, except that there's an emergency in the Lawndale Cluster," Lazlo replied. Reiko rolled her eyes. "Oh come ON. The Lawndale Cluster has tons of reality defenders inherent there as it is. Any damage done is usually fixed by the Agency anyway. What's so important that the normal Guides for that Cluster can't possibly—" "The locket's in the Lawndale Cluster."
  • Judith Strikes! Rest Stop, by Brother Grimace (COMPLETE!): “So... have you come to kill me?” Judith lifted her head as she untangled herself from her red cloak, and saw the hated image of one of her doppelgangers raise up from the bed where she lay in shadows, and thin beams of bluish-white moonlight. “Yeah,” Judith breathed out, slow and angry. “Pretty much.”
  • NEW! Judith Strikes! The Rise and Fall of D.D. Morgan and the Sanity Assassins, by Brian Taylor (Part 1): You've seen the video by now, haven't you? The one filmed during her final concert? Of course you have. Sure, you can lie about it. You can say you don't want to see anything like it. It offends your sensibilities. You never liked her music, anyway, you say during parties, eyes darting furtively over to the CD cabinet just to make sure nobody catches you in the lie. But then, you said the same thing about the Zapruder film, and how many times have you seen Kennedy's dying moments? Head goes forward. Head goes back. Lights go out. This is the same thing. Why deny it?
  • Judith Strikes! You'll Never Walk Alone, by Charles RB (COMPLETE!): The Lawndale Lions was about to play Fielding with a 2000-strong audience, and no one official had spotted her placing agents & conning patsies through the stadium. Judith was having a good day. She began to slip out, heading for the exit (she didn’t want to be seen around when the fuzz cracked down), but she made sure she’d see the chaos that would erupt in the next twenty seconds. Ah, Fielding. Tom’s school. They had this coming. “Five... four... three... two... one...”
  • The Lane That Wasn't, by LadieT (Parts 4 and 5): A couple of hours later, Jane woke back up. She was feeling physically better, but mentally and emotionally she was still suffering. She tried to survey the room without hurting her neck. She froze when she saw a taller, skinnier version of Daria staring at her from Daria's side of the room. A smile came over the woman's face as she walked toward Jane. "Ahh, I'm glad to see my favorite niece is up. How are you feeling?" "Hi, Aunt Amy." How do I know this woman's name? I've never heard Daria mention her before? Could it be I am a Morgendorffer, but Daria looks just like her. (Part 5)
  • NEW! Night Time Is the Right Time, by Chris Tucker (COMPLETE!): "Swell. I'm naked in the middle of nowhere. Again. I hate this nightmare. Show yourself and lets get this over with so I can wake up screaming and get everyone in the house all freaked out yet again." The gray skies. The featureless plain. Not a single herd of beautiful wild ponies running free to be seen anywhere. "This place sucks." [Part of the "Season in Hell" series]
  • Pulp Fiction, by Chris Tucker (Prologue, Parts 1 and 2 and 3): "OK, what makes you think I'm intelligent?" "'Ah, Watson. You see, but you do not observe!' The bookbag is from the Raft student co op. The modestly sized school crest is embroidered upon it. Your polo shirt is also from the co op. I see the collar where it peeps out from the neck of your sweater. A unique shade only available at Raft. Part of the school colors. Further, your bag is obviously stuffed with textbooks. Finally, Raft only accepts the cream of the crop of applications. There are NO stupid people at Raft. Ergo, you are intelligent! And as for being pretty, that's written all over your face. I take it you don't own a mirror. Oh, I hope you're not a vampire. Miserable things, vampires. The very devil to get rid of, you know!" By now, she was laughing out loud. "My name is James Clark Wilder V... and you are...?" "Um, Daria Morgendorffer." (early version of Prologue) (Prologue) (Part 2) (NEW! Part 3) (Daria/Doc Savage)
  • Unnamed story, by Ranger Thorne (COMPLETE!): Jane scowled at Alison as she tried to slip around her to the door. When Alison stepped in front of her, the younger woman gritted her teeth and growled, “Alison, I like guys. Now get out of my way.” “Yeah, you like guys and hanging out with bisexuals in their bedrooms.” The smirk returned, “Hey, I even bought you dinner.” “Dinner was settling a bet. And I didn’t know you were bi.” “Sure you didn’t. Sorry, baby, but I never hit on straight chicks.” “I’m not interested in women. Now let me out of here.” “You mean you're not ready to admit it.” She leaned forward, “That’s okay. I’d be happy to —” anything else she was going to say was cut off as Jane, freaked out that Alison had leaned in too close, shoved her. To the surprise of both, Alison was sent flying back into the door, only to have the hinges give way and deposit Alison into the yard on a door that skidded for at least five yards.
  • NEWER! Unnamed story (More Crossovers Not Yet Crossed Over), by RLobinske (COMPLETE!): "Professor Daniels asked me to double-check his translation of the Latin inscription." "Busy work? From what you mentioned, he's a gifted linguist." "A joke. He knows the language a hell of a lot better than I do. Anyway, it was still fun." "So what did it say?" "Basically, 'Here Lies Jupiter. Do not open.'" "Jupiter's coffin?" "Like I said, a joke." "Not really," another voice said from the other end of the room. (Daria/Stargate)
  • The Vision of the Burning Cities, by jtranser (continued): In the cold grey shadows of the dimly lit street stood a great locked wooden gate carved with numerous cryptic glyphs worn smooth by the casual touch of impious hands over the centuries. Trembling, Stacy approached the door and reached for the door knocker. As she touched the bronze ring, the central panel of the door suddenly lit up its carvings with a bright yellow light. Then it appeared to ooze streaks of tar-like red blood as a primitive intercom buzzed and crackled while a suave voice gave her a message: "I'm sorry, but we're celebrating a murder right now. You'll have to come back later."
  • NEWER! Two Halves 6: Role Models, by Dark Kuno (Part 3): “Why would the school need bulletproof skylights?” asked Jake as he gave his eldest children a quizzical look from across the kitchen table. “Because the pigeons have upgraded to the heavy duty munitions,” returned Alex. “Pigeons? Damned lousy rats with wings! Every time you wash your car...” Jake began to mutter angrily.
  • We're 700 miles from Chicago. It's 6 in the morning. We've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of gum and we're both wearing bowling shirts! by Chris Tucker (COMPLETE!): Anthony DeMartino found Jane Lane in his empty classroom. That was the first surprise. The second surprise was that the usually unflappable Ms. Lane was crying her eyes out. He knew Lane was Morgendorffer's best friend. And he suspected that the reason this poor child was crying had something to do with her friend's illness. OK, Tony. Low key. Don't scare her. Softly: "Ms. Lane?" [Part of the "Season in Hell" series]

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

April Showers Bring The Flowers

Two thousand years ago, give or take a few, today was part of Floralia, a Roman celebration of the goddess Flora (who looked over flowers and plants, of course). Floralia actually began yesterday, but Wikipedia had the wrong day down. Can you imagine that? Anyway, Floralia was quite popular with the Romans for reasons I can't go into here, so perhaps you should click on one of the previous links to find out why, if you are not at work. (Nothing obscene, just... naughty.)

This is also Workers Memorial Day in the U.S. and Canada, to commemorate those who died while performing their jobs. They live on in our thoughts and prayers.

ALERT #1! The Daria DVDs ARE OUT!!!

ALERT #2! UK orders for the Daria DVDs are being filled and mailed!

ALERT #3! Special message from Glenn Eichler!!!

PPMB

  • General Semantics, Private Angst, by Gwrtheyrn (Part 23): "Your head is just a bit large, not freakishly so," said Dr. Sloane. "Stop. You'll put me all a-flutter with your honeyed words," Daria replied, in a flat, deadly monotone.
  • The Hallowed Halls of Fielding, by Roentgen (Part 26): "Wx xrx hxrx txdx tx hxnxr xxxsx at Fxxldxnx whxx xxll xxxry xxr xxnxxxrx xntx txx xxxmy txxxtxrx xf Gxxxvx Hxx. Txx xxxxx mxx xf xxr xxxlxvxx Fxxldxnx Blxx xxxx. Thxsx xxx xx rxxdx tx dxpaxx xnd txxx txx bxxr xx xxx xxgx, xx xt wxxx. Nx onx cxn sxy thxx thxxx yxxxg mxn, xxx xxnxxt xxf xxx Fxxldxnx xxxlxtxc txxdxxxx, xxx nxt prxpxxxx, nxt cxxxxxxx, xxx nxt cxpxblx xxx xxx xxxk xx dxlxvxxxx gxxdxrxx xxxtxry."
  • NEW! Mrs. Sloane, by Liz Ruiz (Part 1): "Tommy," Mrs. Sloane addressed her husband, making a point of ignoring the other man. "That shade of green is isn't really what you should wear today. I thought we had agreed on the dark blue suit." Daniel saw the candidate stop in mid-bite. He would've sworn that the senator was turning a slight shade of green himself. Very few things fazed Thomas Sloane.
  • NEW! Parents Are People, by Legendeld (Part 1): “So you and Dad are really going to get married?” Quinn said softly. Amy held up her hand to show the engagement ring. “Yes, I hope you both are ok with this but I understand if you aren’t. All I ask is that you give us a chance.”
  • Unnamed story (Scenes no Daria fanfic should have: Ouch Time), by Yogi (COMPLETE!): “Oh my god!” Jake exclaimed “Daria's gay, too?!?” “WHAT?” Daria yelled. “What do you mean 'TOO'?” Quinn cried.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Chill Out!

Canadibrit's heartwarming classic tale, "A Family Holiday," begins on this day nine years ago. (Prose version here.) Just thought I'd toss that out there.

Daria and Jane at right remind us that this is the time of year to dress warmly and not go hiking in the wilderness before a blizzard. If you do, good luck. At least you were warned.

Today also marks the beginning of the ancient Roman party holiday of Saturnalia, a week-long festival that is directly to blame for the commercialization and debasement of every December holiday there is today. You know what Christmas cards and Chanukah cards look like. When the Roman sent Saturnalia cards to each other, the cards looked like this. The Romans forgot more about partying than we will ever know. Thank God they couldn't drive.

Speaking of which, I complained a year ago that there was no Daria fanfiction featuring Saturnalia, and guess what? It's a year later and there's still no Daria fanfiction featuring Saturnalia. (Paperpusher wrote a story that mentions Saturnalia in passing, but the Morgendorffers aren't celebrating Saturnalia.) How low have we sunk to ignore this vital part of our midwinter holiday tradition? How low, Daria fen? ("Fen" means fans. It's old-timer fannish talk. Just roll with it.) Get on the stick, fanfic writers, and let the good times of Saturnalia rise once again!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Day for a Goddess

Thousands of years ago today, today was the Quinquatria, a Roman holiday celebration in honor of Minerva, goddess of wisdom and warfare. How this came to have Quinn's name in it instead of Daria's, no one knows.

Okay, more later. Stay tuned. Don't go away. Ciao.

BREAKING NEWS: UU has informed me that all of the flipbooks on MTV's Daria site now work. I tried them, and he is correct. THEY WORK! MORE INFO!

Here are the links he sent to me. UU totally rules.

http://www.mtv.com/onair/daria/encyclop ... rmed.jhtml

http://www.mtv.com/onair/daria/encyclopedia/filed.jhtml

http://www.mtv.com/onair/daria/encyclop ... ward.jhtml

http://www.mtv.com/onair/daria/chapter2 ... ored.jhtml

http://www.mtv.com/onair/daria/chapter2/tangle.jhtml

http://www.mtv.com/onair/daria/chapter3 ... tive.jhtml

Thank you, UU, and thank you, MTV.


Wednesday, December 17, 2008

When in Rome, Party Like the Romans Do

Today is the first day of Saturnalia, the ancient Roman midwinter festival of wackiness, when the low became high and high became low for a week (until December 23rd). That's why Daria gets an emperor's golden wreath today. It is also a day marked in a Daria story having to do with her diary. Do you know that not a single Daria story makes use of Saturnalia? What have we become to have missed this?

This is also Wright Brothers Day, commemorating the 105th anniversary of the Wright Brothers first heavier-than-air powered flight at Kitty Hawk, during which no one served salted peanuts. Thanks to them, Daria and her father got a rare chance to bond on a passenger jet in the episode "Of Human Bonding," but they blew it. Of course.

Wouter offers some Sandi wallpaper for your computer on PPMB. Thank'ee kindly!

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Flame Wars on a Volcanic Level

This post is not really about "flame wars" online. It is about today being the date of the ancient Roman festival for Vulcan, their god of fire, and the curious fact that Mount Vesuvius began to show signs of life this day, 1,929 years ago, just before toasting and burying Pompeii and Herculaneum a short while later. Is there a student with an explosive temper at Holiday Island High named Volcanalia? Hmmm.

Today is also (takes deep breath) the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, which could have been shortened to Abolition Day or something. I mean, think about that poor student at HIH, trying to write his whole name out on papers or computer forms or whatnot. A worthy date, but shorter would definitely have been better.

Two crossover ficlets have appeared in response to two different Iron Chefs on PPMB. One is a Daria/The Wire minific by Scissors MacGillicutty, for The Barksdales of Baltimore, and the other is "A Party with a Rose," a Daria/Grendel minific by Grifter74, for Grendel Vivant.

Though rained out by Fay, durgarox has produced a marvelous color version of her sketch, "Hey, Daria," featuring a special Daria fanservice for us all. Love it, especially Jane's new hair, and especially the looks on their faces. YES!

Still working on a story idea. It is coming together nicely, but . . . it really is quite weird. Stay tuned.


FF.net

PPMB
  • Jörmungandr, by TAG (prelude): This one might be a little weird. Hope you like it. (SFMB)
  • Sometimes It Rains, by legendeld (Part 1): An unexpected addition to the Lane family knocks on the door, and the chaos begins.
  • Stacy Rowe, Seeker (Part II), by jtranser (continued): Oh, okay, that's what Maughers are. Ouch. LATE ADD: And it never pays to make Brittany forget her lines! OUCH!!!
  • Starbright, by legendeld (COMPLETE!): A tricky tale reaches a satisfying conclusion, although there is the matter of the sonic screwdriver. . . .
  • Tales of the Ringbearers: Tiger Cruise, by Brother Grimace (COMPLETE!): “Is there any world where I’m not a cartoon character or constantly in either more drama that a soap opera or more action than Indiana Jones?”