"We, as a nation, have suffered. Wounded and confused, we wonder whether life will ever be the same again. But for all our pain, we can heal, if each one of us pitches in. We all have a part to play, whether donating blood, contributing to relief charities, or writing high-quality fan fiction to help a grieving nation forget its troubles for just a little while."
"Such is the burden I have assumed."
"These are merely one man's meager efforts, to be sure. Such fanciful tales are far less than is needed to salve the wounds of Sept. 11. But, hopefully, they're enough to assure America that better days lie ahead. Better days and even better
Back To The Future fanfic. Specifically, my nearly completed masterwork: It's an ambitious, never-before-attempted
Back To The Future–Star Trek crossover titled
Trek To The Future."
"Operating on the premise that Hill Valley is a suburb of San Francisco, my magnum opus takes the events of
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and throws Marty, Doc, and Jennifer into the mix. While Kirk and crew stumble around the year 1986, attempting to save two humpback whales before returning to the 23rd century, Doc and Marty hover about the fringes, "helping" where necessary and borrowing Starfleet technology in myriad ingenious ways. It may well be my finest hour as a fanfic writer when Doc modifies a phaser to generate the necessary 1.21 gigawatts (I refuse to use the unscientific and meaningless "jigowatts") of power for the DeLorean."
"Trek To The Future's coda, in which Bryce McFly, the 24th-century descendant of Marty, is a skittish Starfleet Academy cadet menaced by half-Klingon Ba'Qa Tannen, will surely represent a high-water mark of American fan fiction. And the throwaway gag about Picard being descended from Principal Strickland will be masterfully rendered."
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An editorial article from the ONION, by Larry Groznic Oct 24, 2001

I thought it fit with this thread. I love that paper!!!