8-27-97

Hail,

I finally have an announcement to make.  You've probably already noticed the new link on the main page, so here I'll explain.  I love reading.  And writing.  I like encouraging both as much as possible.  Although there have been a few good Daria fanfics, there haven't been many.  So, I decided to give a little push to things.  I am starting my own, very unofficial, writing contest.  The grand prize really depends on MTV, since they should be releasing quite a large amount of merchandise before next season (which, despite message board rumours, is not happening this year).  So, between now and early next year, at least think about this contest ;)  You'll have plenty of time, after all.
The judges I have all show a great deal of Daria knowledge.  I will not give out their names, so don't bother asking.  I will not be putting up the entries until the end of the contest, but I will be posting the number of entries I've received so far.  Now, I don't expect any for a few weeks.  You've got plenty of time to work on them, after all.

Please keep in mind that this has nothing to do with MTV.  I do not have their support for this, I'm doing it because I feel like it.  I'm not charging entry fees, and I'm paying for the prize (unless someone wants to donate... Daria merchandise only, no money).  

Wraith

8-20-97

Hail,

I found a wonderful website a few days ago, called My Word's Worth that you may be interested in, even though it has nothing to do with Daria.

Katherine, of alt.lawndale.com, has put up an article about Daria, which, in yet another bit of syncronicity, has information about the Morgendorffer family relationships.

No one has mentioned this, but in one of my old Ramblings, I do mention that Daria may be depressed, a notion she firmly, and irritably, denies in "The Misery Chick".  I somewhat fell into the "trap" of popular perception, and I'd like to explain the "somewhat".  I felt (and feel) that the mental-health perceptions of this society need a good kick (I've had the same trouble with it Daria had, just in a different - and far less dramatic - manner).  I figured that Daria was challenging other society perceptions (namely, "smart is bad"), so why not this one?  The writers just went about it in a way I hadn't anticipated.  I hoped, rather than assumed, that she would be the "misery chick".  Since they did challenge these perceptions, I'm happy.  And it's obvious from the way everyone acts around Daria that this little aspect of Lawndale High isn't going to go away any time soon.  It will be interesting to see how she handles the situation.

I'm going to babble about society (U.S. society, at least) and intelligence.  This is, of course, one of the big points of the show for me (and all the better since it's coming from a channel associated with the word 'intelligent' only because it is particularly not).  Americans, most of them, treat intelligence like a bad thing.  I've never been offended when someone called me any of the supposedly derogatory names such as bookworm, brain, egg-head, etc.  I've always taken them as a compliment, which rather irritates the name-callers.  The point here is that some people think calling someone a brain can actually be taken as an insult.  Quinn, and others of her ilk, do (remember her and Daria fighting in the flashback in "Pinch Sitter"?).  Daria's well aware of this, too (Daria:  Hi.  I'm Quinn's brainy older sister.  People say we look alike.  "The Invitation").  But what does it say about Americans that most think intelligence is a bad thing?  Could this possibly be why we have some of the worst educated kids in the world?  Well, of course.  Notice, however, that Lawndale High isn't quite as bad about this as many places.  Kevin, the QB of the football team and resident idiot, actually likes Daria.  This may be because of his puppy-dog character, but he's willing to do more than go to her for advice, one of the few times intelligence is sought out.  An attempt to change the "smart is bad" perception, perhaps?
Of course, you all know the big evidence that intelligence is rarely valued.  With the exception of Bill Gates (who's not really an applicable point when you know he actually got hold of DOS), how many rich intelligent guys appear in the media?  The Senate?  Anyone think they're intelligent?  The President?  Same question.  The scientists involved in the Sojourner probe had a brief burst of popularity (and I do mean brief).  Then look at pro sports.  Know anyone who gets paid $200,000 a year for thinking (CEO's don't seem to think much anymore, either)?  And that's just the average.  Theoretical physicists sure don't get paid $40 million a year.  This is a society that wants to be entertained, not create.  (I'm not being too hypocritical here... sure, Daria is a TV show for entertainment, but at least I'm doing some creating .)  This will probably be a theme running through all the rest of my ramblings.  And if this page starts to make me seem like an intellectual snob, well, that's fine by me (and you have yet to see some of the ideas I'm saving for a bad mood...).  Everone has biases, whether they admit to them or not, and intelligence and common sense are two big ones for me.

Wraith