Early last August I was sitting at a panel at YearlyKos when I felt the buzz of my phone against my hip.   I flipped it open and looked at the Caller ID; it was a dear friend who knew where I was.  "Huh," I thought, "Something must be wrong.  She wouldn't call now if it weren't an emergency."  So I slipped quietly out of the panel to the hallway overlooking Lake Michigan and took the call.

"Glori, " she asked, "I just heard.  Are you OK?"  

And thus my life changed.  

More after the flip.

We have so many insightful and powerful diaries written here at Daily Kos.  Our diaries inform, inflame, impassion, and even entertain.  We Kossacks have strong voices and an even stronger will to be the change we wish to see in this country.

One of the richest, and perhaps most under-appreciated, areas of thought come in the form of comments attached to these diaries.

Here at Top Comments we strive to recognize and promote the talent of this community by highlighting outstanding comments found throughout the day by the diarist, and through nominations at made at topcomments at gmail dot com by your fellow Kossacks.  

These nominations are subjective, and certainly not complete (as no one can read the complete site on a daily basis!). But hopefully they will serve to shine a light where deserved, and to give the reader a good starting point in finding conversation on the site.

Please come in and make yourself at home!   Join us beneath the fold...

We have so many insightful and powerful diaries written here at Daily Kos.  Our diaries inform, inflame, impassion, and even entertain.  We Kossacks have strong voices and an even stronger will to be the change we wish to see in this country.

One of the richest, and perhaps most under-appreciated, areas of thought come in the form of comments attached to these diaries.

Here at Top Comments we strive to recognize and promote the talent of this community by highlighting outstanding comments found throughout the day by the diarist, and through nominations at made at topcomments at gmail dot com by your fellow Kossacks.  

These nominations are subjective, and certainly not complete (as no one can read the complete site on a daily basis!). But hopefully they will serve to shine a light where deserved, and to give the reader a good starting point in finding conversation on the site.

Please come in and make yourself at home!   Join us beneath the fold...

We have so many insightful and powerful diaries written here at Daily Kos.  Our diaries inform, inflame, impassion, and even entertain.  We Kossacks have strong voices and an even stronger will to be the change we wish to see in this country.

One of the richest, and perhaps most under-appreciated, areas of thought come in the form of comments attached to these diaries.

Here at Top Comments we strive to recognize and promote the talent of this community by highlighting outstanding comments found throughout the day by the diarist, and through nominations at made at topcomments at gmail dot com by your fellow Kossacks.  

These nominations are subjective, and certainly not complete (as no one can read the complete site on a daily basis!). But hopefully they will serve to shine a light where deserved, and to give the reader a good starting point in finding conversation on the site.

Please come in and make yourself at home!   Join us beneath the fold...

We have so many insightful and powerful diaries written here at Daily Kos.  Our diaries inform, inflame, impassion, and even entertain.  We Kossacks have strong voices and an even stronger will to be the change we wish to see in this country.

One of the richest, and perhaps most under-appreciated, areas of thought come in the form of comments attached to these diaries.

Here at Top Comments we strive to recognize and promote the talent of this community by highlighting outstanding comments found throughout the day by the diarist, and through nominations at made at topcomments at gmail dot com by your fellow Kossacks.  

These nominations are subjective, and certainly not complete (as no one can read the complete site on a daily basis!). But hopefully they will serve to shine a light where deserved, and to give the reader a good starting point in finding conversation on the site.

Please come in and make yourself at home!   Join us beneath the fold...

I was catching up on my podcasts coming home from the farmer's market today and came across an episode of This American Life from a few weeks back.  

I don't know if you listen to or are familiar with the format of the show, but it's basically this:  the producers select a theme and stories are found to show different aspects of it.  Sometimes uniquely American, sometimes universal.

This one's theme was "Kid Logic".  From the show's website, it's described this way:

Stories of kids using perfectly logical arguments, and arriving at perfectly wrong conclusions.

Here's the precis of the show's prologue:

Ira talks with Rebecca, who, using perfectly valid evidence, arrived at the perfectly incorrect conclusion that her neighbor, Ronnie Loeberfeld, was the tooth fairy.

Tonight eyes turn skyward to see that marvel of natural phenomenon: a total lunar eclipse.  I did a little poking around the tubes today and came across this passage regarding Lunar eclipses in history:

A more modern turn of history hinged on a lunar eclipse that auspiciously occurred not only in the leap year of 1504, but on February 29th of that year.

That February found the famous explorer Christopher Columbus on the small island of Jamaica, where he had been marooned for several months. Though the island natives had originally brought food and provisions to Columbus while he awaited rescue, the arrogant and overbearing Columbus had alienated the natives to the point that they ceased to provide food to Columbus and his crew.

Facing starvation, the resourceful Columbus came up with a desperate ploy: Consulting a shipboard almanac and finding that a lunar eclipse was due, he called together the native chiefs and announced to them that God would punish them if they did not supply his crew with food. And as an omen of Gods intent to punish them, there would be a sign in the sky: God would darken the Moon.

I've just come back from a great meetup in San Diego -- TC's very own Ambrosius came into town for family stuff, and so busy-bee organizer OrangeClouds115 spirited him (and us!) away for an evening of lovely gossip and Bush-bashing.

oculus, asimbagirl, San Diego Dem, Ambrosius, (another lady and I've forgotten her dKos name!  ACK!), and your humble diarist met up at Terra for dinner.  I told OC to ignore what was ordered at the other side of the table and had one of the best steaks I've ever eaten.  Big words from a Wisconsin Girl!

virgomusic and her fiance joined us later at the aptly-named Extraordinary Desserts.  This is a tiny storefront that just does desserts, coffee, and tea.  I'm sure OrangeClouds will describe the reaction Ambrosius and I had when we finally 'rounded the corner and saw the dessert case in comments -- "shock and awe" would aptly describe it, but she tells it better.  White chocolate caramel macadamia nut cheesecake, a sinful fruit cobbler, a chocolate cake of death, and chocolate mousse eventually made it to the table and consumed with gusto and happy groans.

T'is the holiday season!  And we all know what that means: it's time for mass commercialism and seasonal guilt to come crashing to the fore in the guise of getting a present for everyone you have more than 10 minutes of contact with during the day.  As a confirmed workaholic, for me this comes in the form of the dreaded office gift exchange, wherein people who pretend to like each other buy meaningless gifts for those whose asses they most need to kiss during the rest of the year.  

And in its wake:  completely unneeded gifties.  

More seasonal bitchiness over the fold.

In last Thursday's Top Comments I made reference to something I wanted to expand on this evening.  

I have a saying: it's all about the books and art supplies.

As in:

I have a job so I can buy books and art supplies.

I have an apartment so I have a place to store my books and art supplies.

I have a car so I can transport my books and art supplies home.

It's all about following my bliss.  Make the jump with me.

I'm spending Thanksgiving Day alone.

Before anyone starts feeling sorry for me: please don't.  Really.  It's my choice.  I usually go to my best friend's house.  She separated from her husband this year, and is in the middle of gutting her kitchen besides, so she made other plans.  And I had other offers but turned them down.  It wasn't the extra guest syndrome -- although being the "unknown friend" at a large family gathering drives me a little nuts -- but today I needed to be alone.

Today I'm spending time reflecting.

I forget this frequently, but I do have a great deal to be thankful for.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
3071

Whereas it has long been our customs to commemorate November 11, the anniversary of the ending of World War I, by paying tribute to the heroes of that tragic struggle and by rededicating ourselves to the cause of peace; and

Whereas in the intervening years the United States has been involved in two other great military conflicts, which have added millions of veterans living and dead to the honor rolls of this Nation; and

One of the richest, and perhaps most under-appreciated, areas of thought come in the form of comments attached to these diaries.

Here at Top Comments we strive to recognize and promote the talent of this community by highlighting outstanding comments found throughout the day by the diarist, and through nominations at made at topcomments at gmail dot com by your fellow Kossacks.  

These nominations are subjective, and certainly not complete (as no one can read the complete site on a daily basis!). But hopefully they will serve to shine a light where deserved, and to give the reader a good starting point in finding conversation on the site.

Please come in and make yourself at home!   Join us beneath the fold...

I've been doing a Schadenfreude Snoopy-dance recently.  A grand one, really; you should see it.  It involves a great deal of foot-stomping and wailing to the rafters.  Self-righteous tub-thumping.

I should mention I work in a heavily Republican-dominated atmosphere.  More than one desk is adorned with Bush bumperstickers and campaign paraphernalia; one has a picture of its occupant with the President himself.  We few Dems -- and we know who we are -- tend to be quiet about our affiliation.  There's been no hazing reported, but good Lord -- who wants to tempt fate in this economy?

But not now.  Oh no.  And what are we crowing about?

The party of family values can't be trusted to protect our own children, much less this country and its ideals.  

Burn, baby, burn.  And so we dance.

BARTLET
Good morning. This month, as autumn is in full bloom in much of the nation, the weekends will
be devoted by many of you to leaf peeping and football... watch... ing...

He starts to laugh.

TECHNICIAN
Cut tape.

BARTLET
[still laughing] I'm sorry. Leaf peeping? Is that something we do now?

TECHNICIAN
Try another.

DONNA
We better get some key chains in here.

BARTLET
I heard that.

I've just come off of a late-night release at work so I've had NO sleep.  Therefore you will find no pithy statements, no thoughtful commentary, and no social insight from me this evening.  Just a big round of hugs, some mixed drinks, well wishes, and a kick-off to tonight's big shebang.  I envision myself in a great four-corner poster bed in silk lounging pajamas, holding a martini and surrounded by jaguars.  Come as you wish to be.  May the party commence.

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I want to speak a little bit today about September 14th: The Friday After.  

As I stumbled through a fog of disbelief and pain on the days following 9/11 I remember emails and conversations hinting at a nationwide-level of reaction for Friday.  A groundswell of needing to do something -- anything -- to demonstrate to the world, to ourselves, that we would overcome this.  That this was not an acceptable act.  That we would not back down.

It's not quite Labor Day, but this morning I realized I didn't know much about the holiday or its origins.  Parades, barbecues, picnics -- getting out of work for a day! These things are what I associate with Labor Day.

Surely this is not the founders' original intent. :)