Mike's Delayed Reaction Review, 1-12 "The Teachings of Don Jake"

Mike's Delayed Reaction Review- "The Teachings of Don Jake"

MDRR 1-12

Eye Popping Goodness- It's a mystery why the blood vessels in Jake's eyes were bursting :) Yeah, right! It was fairly obvious what was bothering him: money troubles. Oh, and that mid-life crisis had something to do with it, too. He's upset about all those doors closing, the 'entry-level' job that he took(down the wrong path) and the way his father treated him. Taking pictures of him in that state wouldn't have helped but if all of that was bothering him that long, it's amazing that he's held it together as long as he has(there were some things that tend to point to the fact that this wasn't the first time this has happened). Daria was almost trying to get this to happen(to take a picture) by telling Jake how much money Congress spends.

More on the Subject- There is too much for just one entry, so here is more. Jake was trying so hard to relax by going camping(didn't seem possible based on the flashback) that he pretty much missed everything that was said to him. First, when Helen told him to stop 'releasing tension,' Daria and Quinn probably didn't need to know when their father stopped wetting the bed. Also, when Daria made the 'joke' about Jake being discouraged to take the other path by someone. He took her statement at face value, which he shouldn't have.

Helpful Corn, I Mean Hypocrisy- Daria though they were stranded, until Helen's hypocrisy saved the day. She made a big deal about being totally disconnected from the rest of society but couldn't bear the thought of being completely alone. She may have justified bringing the phone after the fact by saying that it was brought along for just such an occurrence(which is a great idea) but any decent lawyer could come up with that one and that reason would be secondary for her.

No Way Out- Both Daria and Jane are in similar but distant situations. They both have to go somewhere they would rather not go(camping, reunion) because of the wishes of their parents. Daria has to sit through boring 'scary' stories, Jake's going somewhat insane on fumes from the mid-life crisis and the rest of her family getting high on glitter-berries. She handled it fairly easily(except for a few tense moment before hearing the phone ring) which is good but she didn't like a second of it(like she would). Jane and Trent, on the other hand, were sent to the family reunion by their parents as 'sacrificial lambs.' They were looking for ways to get away from the second they got off the plane. At the reunion; Jane is asked what is wrong with her, Trent's only redeeming quality(to the rest of the Lanes) is that he is a bum and they are both made to get up early on a Saturday for no reason(croquet isn't a good reason for them). Despite this, the family reunion subplot did have a somewhat happy(and illegal) ending- freedom! It does remind us why our families scatter in the first place.

Of all of the episodes with B-story subplots, this is the one that best integrates the two plots with some common theme that is pretty much constant between the A and B story. It was good to see the Lane family and how different Jane and Trent really are. Finally I would be remiss if I didn't comment a little on the berry 'trips,' they kicked ass. Where can I get me some of those berries? A

As I understand it, it has been independently stated (not in any show that I've seen) that Daria is 16. She once asked if she could, "...borrow either car." I ASSUME she has a driver's license. So wouldn't an alternative solution to the crisis in "The Teachings of Don Jake" have been to simply to hike to wherever they left the car and drive to a phone?

In an unrelated question: I once saw a print ad that noted something along the lines that "love means letting her drive your car." I think they were selling diamonds or something. Anyway, guys, would you let Daria drive your car?

Why is it that everyone assumes that the guy should always do the driving? It doesn't bother me, I can handle it either way, but I even see women who own nice cars and they'll turn their keys over to their male escort to do the driving. Very odd.

Ok, you'd let Daria drive your car, would you let her fly your airplane? That alter-ego picture of Daria, the one with her in a flight suit, her pony-tail blowing in the wind, is my personal favorite. I think Daria would enjoy flying--freedom, a mental challenge, a new perspective on the world--in every sense, yeah, that's Daria.

Bob

In article , "R. K. Henry" wrote:

I think that's probably what Daria would have ended up doing, if she never found Helen's cell phone. A possible reason she WOULDN'T do that(hike to the car, etc.) is that she didn't want to take her eyes off of her family because they could have caused themselves bodily harm or left the area Daria left them(making them hard to find) because they weren't thinking rationally.

I don't have a car and am not in love right now, so I can't say;)

I don't know, it seems odd. Why would anyone let anyone else drive their vehicle(unless they trust that person with their life). My mom does this a lot. Whenever she goes somewhere with a male who drives(me or my dad), she refuses to drive, and she then procedes to complain about our driving. She thinks we're bad drivers, but lets us drive anyway.(Sorry, end of mini-rant)

Don't have an airplane either 8)

Really? Man, you're missing out. On the love part, anyway.. I don't have a car, so I wouldn't be able to tell you what that was like.

I'll trade you. I'll fall in love with someone, and you can have my car.

Although I've yet to find falling in love a positive experience.

CrtoonDude wrote in article ...

have a

hmmm, i'll have to pass on that one. you can't babytalk with a car.. yes, I actually babytalk with her, and i'm not ashamed of telling you that. I will say, however, that we don't do it in public. In case you think any less of me for babytalking, you'll find it's quite easy with someone that you're crazy about.

But then, i've let you know far too much about my personal life. You can go back to ignoring me now. :)

In article , [email] (CrtoonDude) wrote:

~*~*~Kyle~*~*~
"Eat me, I blinked!"

[email] wrote in message ...

that

either

to

the

because

Daria? Worried about her family members? Especially Quinn? That WOULD be interesting to see.

No, Daria would analyze the situation, calmly and objectively, and conclude that it would be better to seek help than to stand by and watch the situation deteriorate further.

BTW, this DOES illustrate why it really isn't a bad idea to take a cell phone into the woods, even if you're intent on "getting away from it all." You can just turn it off. I've seen local news reports about folks rescued in the Smokies with the help of a cell phone. If I had a cell phone I'd take it along.

along

your

Well I do have a car but I'm in love with the brainy chick, a mere cartoon character, so I can't say for certain either. ;-)

(mere? I need to find a better word than that!)

endless, nameless wrote in message ...

driving?

who

Actually it isn't boring--at least not if you do it right. Lots of people like to drive just for the feeling of being in control of a powerful machine. To be sure, there are places in the U.S. where you can drive all day long and still not have reached your destination. You insert the punchline here: "Yeah, I used to have a car like that too." but long drives can be wearing. That's where you learn that your brain can multitask and you can devote just enough attention to the driving to keep out of trouble while you turn some other part of your brain some other problem. I've heard it said that intelligent people make poor drivers for this reason, too easily distracted--or maybe not distracted easily enough, but I think striking a balance is the key.

If you can worry about not being a safe driver then you'll probably be ok. It's the people who think they're absolutely infallible who cause all the problems.

I don't think that's reason these women turn over their keys though. I think it's that they feel that they have to make an arrival with a man in the traditional role of escort. Otherwise, I guess the reasoning goes, it doesn't count--they might as well arrive unescorted.

Bob

R. K. Henry wrote in article ...

Why not? As much as she likes to project indifference, she really does care about them. (Recall Write Where It Hurts, off the top of my head. There's many more examples.)

conclude

Probably. Good thing the phone was there.

all."

rescued

take

On 17 Nov 1998 03:20:41 GMT, "Kyle" wrote:

I also recall "Too Cute", where Daria finally broke down and told Quinn that she was "nauseatingly perfect" just the way she was. If she was as callous and unfeeling as she pretends, she would have let Dr. Shar continue to prey on Quinn's insecurities.

There's also "Monster", where Daria's conscience (which she claimed she didn't have) got to her, and she let Quinn off easy in that video. If she hadn't actually been touched (even a little) by Quinn's little speech, she would have proceeded with her plan to skewer Quinn on a spit.

Martin (to send E-mail, remove the "nospam" from my E-mail address) ---- Quinn: You kids know where Grandma's TV is. Go watch something educational. SSW: "Breast implants for chickens???" Quinn & Daria: Not that!!! ---- Visit Outpost Daria! http://www.concentric.net/~systech/daria

"Martin J. Pollard" wrote:

That little speech would have been OK had it not been for that annoying little giggle she gives at the end. <shudder>

"R. K. Henry" wrote:

My dad is like that. He drives everywhere at about 20 miles over the limit and complains about people driving at the correct speed. Oh, yeah, and he always moans about "woman drivers." If anyone is driving badly, it's a woman. Even if they're quite obviously bald or something, they're still a woman if they're driving badly. I get on real well with my dad, as you may have guessed.

Tradition sucks! Who needs an escort to go places?

R. K. Henry wrote in article ...

along

your

Yes. Jane? No way.

would

I can hear her say it now: "new perspective on the world? What's wrong with my old perspective?"

"R. K. Henry" wrote:

I'd do that. I'd imagine that driving is very boring. I'd only be able to go for about 5 minutes or so before I started racing other cars or something. I wouldn't be a very safe driver, so I'd let the guy drive instead. Let him get bored! Speaking of which, I'm gonna have to get a car as soon as I'm old enough, I'm going to Henly college next year rather than stay on to do A-levels at my current school, and it's like, 10, 15 miles away, so I'm going to learn to drive ASAP because the only other option is to get the bus at, like, 7:40 or something. That's way too early for me.

endless, nameless wrote in article ...

It depends on where you are driving. If it's in-town, you have to be paying attention so it's not too boring. Highway driving is mind-numbingly boring after about 10 minutes. BRING MUSIC!

~*~*~Kyle~*~*~
"Eat me, I'm tasty!"

Kyle wrote:

Well, the nearest town centre from here is very small and mostly reserved for pedestrians, but there are a lot of little country roads which I'd imagine would be even more boring than a highway, unless you decided to go on a rabbit-killing spree.

I'm not going to eat you. Ask Kazul next time. :)

endless, nameless wrote in message ...

mind-numbingly

I find motorways even more boring than country roads. But then again I do sometimes drive the length of the M18/M180/A180, reputedly the most boring stretch of road in Europe, and said to be a fave venue for scientists researching accidents caused by drivers falling asleep at the wheel. But it's fast (a steady 70mph all the way, unlike the M6, the M1, the M25, the M-just-about-anything-else), and comparatively empty. Why such fast, straight, wide, empty-ish roads out to Grimsby? Some would say: thank the Cold War, and the Strategic Planners!

Kyle said it: bring music. I'd add, and extra strong mints! And be ready to pull up somewhere safe for a twenty minute snooze. Or take the back roads instead.

Once you've passed the test, you might choose to get your instructor to give you a session on motorway driving. I found it well worth it.

Martin.

Martin Sylvester wrote:

Hmmm...comparing boring American roads with boring European roads, there's *no* comparison. You don't have real *wastelands* in Europe, like the vast wasteland that is Nevada, where there's *no* scenery whatever. "Oh look, another field of sagebrush!" %-{)>

MIKE (a.k.a. "Progbear")

make GEORYN disappear to reply

"Parece cosa de maligno. Los pianos no estallan por casualidad." --Gabriel Garcia Marquez

N.P.:nothing

Mike aka Progbear wrote in message ...

Fair comment, Mike. If I try to imagine the road I referred to going on for eight hours driving, it fair makes me shudder. If the radio/cassette broke down, and I had no passenger for company, then after the sixth hour I'd start seeing UFOs, and by the time I reached my destination I'd be a gibbering wreck! (Waits for someone to say, "No change there, then!")

This bit of England (Lincolnshire - "The Aviation County" according to a tourist leaflet I once saw) is flat, though. Our maps should be cheaper than elsewhere: all that ink saved on contours.

Lest I give an entirely negative view (Negative? In this newsgroup?), we do have one officially designated & protected Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and some stretches of Heritage Coast, and some empty beaches, and some nature reserves (pocket handkerchief things compared to similar areas in America, I know)... Next week I'm off to a confidential location to see the seal colony: they come ashore this time of year to give birth: IIRC, more than 160 pups born last year.

But I still prefer hillwalking and mountain climbing!

Martin.

No, this newsgroup is never negative, just like it's never sarcastic

Dagny

Visit the Parsley Firefly http://members.aol.com/Eccles9697 Monty Python, Spike Milligan, Marx Brothers and More!

"One must have chaos in one, to give birth to a dancing star. I tell you: you still have chaos in you." Friedrich Nietzsche

Oh look!! The last known residence of Charles Manson!!

OK, I've read Fear & Loathing too much, there's all about that *wasteland* :)

Dagny

Visit the Parsley Firefly http://members.aol.com/Eccles9697 Monty Python, Spike Milligan, Marx Brothers and More!

"One must have chaos in one, to give birth to a dancing star. I tell you: you still have chaos in you." Friedrich Nietzsche

Martin Sylvester wrote:

LOL! I'd do that, fall asleep. I went to see the Verve once, and fell asleep on the floor, 20 000 drunks carefully stepping over me on their way to the bar.

[email] wrote:

(snip)

Don't get the ordinary berries by mistake. Be sure to get the GLITTER berries! :)

On Mon, 16 Nov 1998 21:24:59 -0500, Jeg7777 wrote:

I sent my research team out to find the elusive "Glitter Berries" they have obviously found them because they've been gone for about a month and I havent heard a word from them. I did my own research and found several hallucinogenic plants that produce berry or bean like fruit.

Myristica fragrans (nutmeg) A pseudo-hallucinogen that causes delerium and hallucinations. Dangerous.

Atropa belladonna. Hallucinogenic in small doses, otherwise very deadly. also several varietys of Datura and Mandrake

Anadenanthera peregrina. the beans are ground into a powder and ingested through the nose. It can be taken orally if boiled along with Banisteriopsis Caapi.

Sophora secundiflora (Mescal Bean) highly poisonous. used by at least 12 different tribes in northern Mexico, New Mexico, and Texas. It has been abandoned by these tribes after the discovery of the safer Peyote cactus.

several species of Erythrina (colorines) sometimes used with Mescal Beans.

several species of Rhynchosia (piule) important folk medicine in many countries. Narcotic

Coriaria thymifolia (shanshi) Intoxicant.

Heimia salicifolia (sinicuchi) Auditory hallucinogen

Pernettya furens (Hierba Loca or "maddening plant") causes confusion, madness and permanent insanity.

Gomortega keule, intoxicant.

Ok., I just got a call from my research staff, they just mumbled something about colors and walked away.

- Cops don't appreciate fish driving around. They frown on that. -Bill Hicks

Happydude wrote:

[snip!]

     Belladonna seems the most likely source of "glitter berries", considering
a) the branch Jake waves in the girls' tent *looks* like it and b) women in
medieval Italy used it as a cosmetic, to dilate their pupils and make the
surface of their eyes look shiny, symptoms similar to those exhibited by
Daria's family.
     I've been thinking about this *way* too much! %-{)>

MIKE (a.k.a. "Progbear")

make GEORYN disappear to reply

"Parece cosa de maligno. Los pianos no estallan por casualidad." --Gabriel Garcia Marquez

N.P.:nothing

On 17 Nov 1998 07:34:50 GMT, [email] (Progbear) wrote:

as you all may know the title of this episode was taken from the book the Teachings of Don Juan; a Yaqui Way of Knowledge by Carlos Castaneda. In the book jimsom weed is used a lot, the active ingredient in jimsom weed (hyoscyamine, scopolamine, and atropine) are the same found in Belladonna. I also agree that the "glitter berries" are in the Belladonna family.

- Cops don't appreciate fish driving around. They frown on that. -Bill Hicks

Happydude wrote:

Someone actually overdosed after eating three whole nutmegs not long ago. Just thought I'd share that with yous.

On Tue, 17 Nov 1998 14:19:16 +0000, "endless, nameless" wrote:

One thing I forgot to mention is that ALL of these plants are very dangerous. Do not try any of these plants they could cause irreversable damage or death. I live in Florida and I hear about people over-dosing on "tree datura's" all the time. I also hear a lot about children accidentally ingesting the Psilocybin mushrooms that grow wild around here. If anyone feels the need to experiment please be careful. Always use the safer hallucinogens (Psilocybin, Peyote, or pharmacy grade LSD) in doses lower than recomended. Always follow the rules of "set and setting" and always have a guide to talk you down in case of a bad trip or panic reaction. I would recomend avoiding these substances, sober reality is frightening enough.

- Cops don't appreciate fish driving around. They frown on that. -Bill Hicks

Jeg7777 wrote:

Yeah, I liked the way they showed their pupils dilating as their rantings grew ever more frantic. Nice touch. Oh, and I liked Jake's "sickening mood".

MIKE (a.k.a. "Progbear")

make GEORYN disappear to reply

"Parece cosa de maligno. Los pianos no estallan por casualidad." --Gabriel Garcia Marquez

N.P.:nothing