"See how the hands grip the steering wheel, like he still thinks he could drive his way out of it?"

Today is the 99th anniversary of the birth of Jackson Pollock. Pollock, an artist known for his "dripping" technique, died in a car accident in 1956. Jane Lane was apparently a fan, or was at least interested enough to make his art and death the theme of the school dance in the episode "Daria Dance Party."

Quinn: What's this about?

Jane: Being young, carefree, having your whole life ahead of you, and dancing the night away to celebrate. Oh, and the untimely death of Jackson Pollock.

Quinn: Great! Some friend of yours bites it in a car crash and you take it out on me. My life is over, okay?

Today is also the 25th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, in which seven crew members lost their lives after the shuttle broke apart after lift-off. May they rest in peace.

Fandom News:

• Kara Wild has some information about what to do in the case of board problems.


• Remember, you have until 11:59 PM on January 31st (UTC) to vote for the 2010 Daria Fanworks Awards!


• Have an opinion about 3-D movies? Talk about it in the thread!


• jtranser speculates about character appropriate alternative occupations.


• CR85747 wonders about everyone's Oscar predictions for this year.


• MJPollard would like some help with the timeline of Daria Multiverse stories.


• Roentgen posted a new Iron Chef in the Creative Writing forum: Stupid Sexy Daria!

The Ace of Space

Forty-nine years ago today, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to reach space and orbit the earth. In Russia today is Cosmonautics Day, but worldwide it's Yuri's Night, celebrating both his achievement and the launch of the first American space shuttle, Columbia, 29 years ago. Find a Yuri's Night party near you and PAR-TAY!!!

Today is also National Licorice Day, for those of you so inclined to celebrate it with a snack, and it is also Big Wind Day (look it up). Late night talk show host David Letterman (at left) turns 63.

Would you believe the very first truancy law in the USA was passed 157 years ago in New York? That was before the Civil War, too. Daria has a reflection on this day for you.

Finally, for reasons that are not clear in the least, this is Walk on Your Wild Side Day. It does not seem to be connected to the Lou Reed song, so I have no idea what's up with that. You figure it out.

PPMB

• Ah! Amiga-sama! by Nullset (COMPLETE!): “Aunt Amy, I really need some help now if you have time to talk,” Daria said when the ringing stopped and the call connected. “Thank you for calling the Goddess Technical Help Line!” Daria heard in reply. “Please stand by as a goddess will be with you shortly.”
• NEW! Finn Morgendorffer 42: The Suburban Symphony, by HolyGrail2007 (Part 3): “Oh, hey, Daria. It’s Tom.” Her boyfriend was on the other line. “Hello,” Daria replied politely, but coldly. After the whole talk with the recommendation and all, she was a little peeved at Tom. Fortunately, he didn’t mention it: He informed her that Finn had called and was stopping by in an hour, and wanted to know if she wanted to hit a movie afterward. She declined, a movie just didn’t seem exciting. She hung up, and began writing a short story. A short story quickly turned into a long one. A long one about a virus that made it’s victims blind and idiots, convinced that they were superior to the “lessers” as it slowly wrecked their bodies. As a side effect, it turned blood blue.
• NEW! General Semantics, Private Angst, by Gwrtheyrn (Interludes 21.1 & 21.2): There was only quantum-level flickering on the interface graph. Trent Lane propped the guitar he had been holding against the padded, soundproofed wall, and reached for his coffee. Ice cold, with that oxidised flavour. Mmmmm, gimme more! He closed his eyes, and whited out for a long moment.
• NEW! The Ringbearers, by Roentgen (COMPLETE!): Daria waited backstage, combing her gray hair into submission. It's so much thinner now, she thought, remember the time that the make-up artists had with it so long ago. She hadn't been on television since 1966, but everyone would expect her to look the same as she did when she stepped on the set at CBS as a 22 year old who wanted to learn the business from the ground up. "Hey, old woman." It was a familiar voice with a sharp nasal accent that Daria placed instantly.
  
• A Series of Unfortunate Events, by Minx (COMPLETE!): "Mom and Dad are going to kill me.” Daria sighed and stopped pacing. “I’ll take full responsibility; they can’t put any of the blame on you for me hiding in the van,” said Quinn. “No, that’s not why they’re going to kill me. They’re going to kill me for murdering you and leaving your body to rot in the middle of the desert.”
• Tequila and Tattoos Don't Mix, by LadieT (COMPLETE!): "How was your week?" Jane asked Daria. "Well, the renewing of Erin's wedding vows turned into a "Sick, Sad World" moment but watching my mom knock out Aunt Rita was worth the price of admission." (FF.net)
  
• Unnamed story (More Crossovers Not Yet Crossed Over), by OverlordMikey (fragments): “I need to talk to you about something.“ The two sat together in the mall food court. “I’m a time traveler," said Brittany. "I’ve come here from the future when it was discovered that we couldn’t go back any further than the date when you arrived in Lawndale. Our agency is curious how Ms. Morgendorffer caused this. However we like believe she did not do this intentionally. She somehow cause a quake thing in time.” (Daria/Haruhi Suzumiya)

The History of Retirement by Rocket: Part 1

The world's first liquid-fuel rocket was launched 82 years ago today by American rocket scientist Robert H. Goddard, who later invented the bazooka. This act of genius set the stage for the first actual Retirement by Rocket spaceflight in 1998, when the Hon. John H. Glenn Jr. flew aboard the shuttle Discovery (STS-95) at the age of 77, becoming the oldest spacefarer on Earth. He retired from spaceflight thereafter. It is possible that his flight sparked the idea for the Sick, Sad World segment (aired in June 2001 on "Boxing Daria"), though some disagree.

The world's first liquid-fuel rocket launch site is now part of the ninth hole on a golf course in Auburn, Massachusetts. Maybe Daria and Jane played golf there in college.

I will add more Daria-related news to this post as soon as I can figure some out. I don't recall Daria and Jane launching model rockets in fanfic. Pity. There's some SF stuff, though.

Oh, also must say that Richard Lobinske has updated the list of 2008 Daria Visual Fanworks, links to which are in the left column, down there somewhere.