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 got caught up today in end-of-year summaries. This one came into my in-box - from McLatchy Newspapers: Best-read stories of 2008... " What better way to remember 2008 than revisiting what readers found most interesting?" (Links to each headline and more here.)
1 Is that really a naked woman in Dick Cheney's sunglasses?
2 Holiday sex: Christmas season is peak for mating.
...4 Bush shoe incident caught Secret Service flatfooted.
...19 Obama questioner explains why she finds him annoying
...24 Palin meets the press, and the reviews aren't good
What I'll remember most from 2008 are quotes - what a year for one-liners! My favorite? Tina Fey as Palin: "I believe marriage is meant to be a sacred institution between two unwilling teenagers."
There are as many quote-collecting sites as there are quotes, it seems. Best celeb quotes and sports quotes abound and even a great site that posts them by week. Loved this one from the week of December 23, 2008:
"I want to see hedge-fund managers tipped into cage fights with naked Gypsies; bank managers wrestle with lions in the O2 arena; failed regulators thrown to alligators in the Royal Docks; short sellers in pits of snakes; and distinguished City economists try their luck with sharks. They've had their heyday, their bonuses, their Porsches, their fine wines and oafish ostentation - they've had their fun. Now for ours. To the guillotine!" -- Matthew Parris writing in 'The Times' of London.
The hands-down BEST collection of 2008 quotes? Has to be this from UK Independent, compiled by John Walsh. Gathered by categories, here are a few excerpts:
Politics:
"Rosa Parks sat so that Martin could walk. Martin walked so Obama could run. Obama is running so we all could fly" – Inspirational slogan on several thousand T-shirts. Attributed to the rapper Jay-Z in October
"Sod off, you arsehole. Get lost" – President Nicolas Sarkozy of France has a few well-chosen words for a passerby at an agricultural show who refused to shake his hand. Ah the French – toujours la finesse
"Please make sure you take all your belongings with you when leaving the train. This is particularly important if you work for HM government" – Droll announcement to passengers on the Weymouth to Waterloo SouthWest Trains service
"He's talking down to black people... I want to cut his nuts off" – Rev Jesse Jackson discerns a trace of condescension in Barack Obama. Unfortunately he was still miked up when he delivered this line on air. Although...
"My support for Senator Obama's campaign is wide, deep and unequivocal" – Marvellous news for the presidential candidate from Jesse Jackson, after he'd had a little think about the above
Religion:
"I read the Bible sometimes but it bores me to death. I just want to know what other people find so bloody fascinating" – Keith Richards, Rolling Stone and savant, wrestles with the word of God and isn't impressed
Fashion:
"Like very large numbers of men, I have always bought my socks and pants at Marks & Sparks. I've noticed something very troubling has happened. There's no other way to put this: their pants no longer provide adequate support. When I've discussed this with friends and acquaintances, it has revealed widespread gusset anxiety" – Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman seizes the news agenda
Showbiz:
"I want at least five kids. And I would love to go on Countdown" – Singer Amy Winehouse reveals her softer, more domestic, more daytime-TV side
"No one wants to see an old hooker" – Julia Roberts turns down the chance to star in a sequel to 'Pretty Woman'. Ms Roberts is 41
"Theatre actors look down on film actors, who look down on TV actors. Thank God for reality shows or we wouldn't have anybody to look down on" – George Clooney explains the pecking order of actors
"Amidst this haze of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll, Amy Wineglass has just been released on bail" – Jon Snow's Freudian slip on 'Channel 4 News'
Fame:
"Angelina Jolie and her vacuous hubby Brad Pitt make about $40m a year in violent, psychopathic movies and give away three of it to starving children, trying to look as if they give a crap about humanity" – Roseanne Barr didn't want to go to their New Year's Eve party anyway
"American women: can't afford to live with them. Can't afford to pay them $2m a year" – John Cleese, on his third divorce, updates an old piece of wisdom about the sex war
Sport:
"I'm proud to see his penis 25ft tall. It's huge. It's enormous. Massive. If I looked like that, I'd walk down the streets in my panties, too" – Victoria Beckham defends her husband David's reclining-and-bulging Armani pants commercial
And finally, the best but censored quote of the year...
"You know, Meredith, I was too depressed after the 2004 election to remember any of this stuff."
- Junichi P Semitsu, contestant on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, explaining why he couldn't recall the answer to a $50,000 question about the number of voters in the 2004 election. That comment was edited out of the televised broadcast.
~~~
On to Top Comments!
~~~~
From annetteboardman:
In my diary about playgrounds that no longer are the same as those we remember, Gooserock's tale of childhood ambition takes the cake: The Tracks Where I Almost Captured a Steam Engine
Another delightful comment from my diary:
My old neighborhood in Chicago, on the by RO45.
~~~~
Submitted by cn4st4datrees:
JeffW is quick on the draw. But he's probably using both hands.
~~~~
From pixxer:
TC folk:
Reading the rant about Israel/Palestine threads this morning by droogie (very good rant, highly recommended) I found a few comments worth sending along. First a pair - Karma for All's observation about I/P threads in general, with a response whose subject line explains everything, by the relevantly named "Exhausted Pennsylvanian". A bit of humor later from Anton Sirius could, as he points out, be an oldie, but I enjoyed it anyway, and he is forgiven for not researching it further, under the circumstances.
~~~~
My own picks:
There's a sig-line in here somewhere: America has had many exceptional moments ... by Meteor Blades
Abu Gonzales to write a book? The Audacity of a Dope by The Wife of Bath
Many good ones in bondad's Great Depression diary; a few that I marked noteworthy: So far so good by Bobjack23, "Let's pretend as if..." by Dallasdoc, and I think a lot of folks lost trust back then by Vacationland.
In 'Stimulate Me,' I read in one of A Siegel's by blueintheface speaks to jobs-related stimulus projects; there's no shortage of work out here to be done, just a shortage of wages. We just have to prioritize, e.g., school (re)construction by teacherken
On I / P discussions, I vote for other by jfromga, I asked clammyc this the other day... by Timroff, and The Middle East is where colonialism by beltane.
I didn't either so thanks: Don't know Zune by tlemon
Great diary today by our favorite French financier; two from the diarist, a secondary tip jar - This is part of a series of arguments - and this reply to another commenter - What euro bubble? - both by Jerome a Paris.
Best diary disguised as a tip jar: From a 2005 diary on the Christmas Tsunami by cskendrick
Excellent poetic credo here: Don't sweat it. by Crashing Vor
Funny, funny thread starts here: I love this site by keirdubois
~~~~
TOP MOJO - thanks, sardonyx!
Top Mojo (cskendrick/sardonyx-style) excluding search-identifiable tip jars, first diary comments, and Cheers and Jeers:
1) I wish I could believe that these 90 ... by Meteor Blades — 202
2) Thank you both. My mom is 90, and she was by blue jersey mom — 105
3) I've tried to avoid the I/P discussion by trinityfly — 90
4) Actually, I'm even afraid by the girl — 85
5) Get his address by angry liberaltarian — 76
6) American Holocaust by cacamp — 73
7) Whaddaya call 90 Bushies at the back of the by BA BarackUS — 72
8) Run out of town tarred and feathered by deepsouthdoug — 71
9) Like Alan Greenspan? by Dallasdoc — 71
10) Who called us traitors by Jerome a Paris — 66
11) My grandparents never talked about it by escapee — 65
12) Interesting diary by plf515 — 64
13) Tell you what, by therealcervantes — 64
14) Special thank you... by twilight falling — 62
15) at an 'end the occupation' rally in DC in 2007 by dancewater — 60
16) I think a lot of folks lost trust back then by Vacationland — 57
17) Hey Thank you & Happy New Year!!! by Predictor — 56
18) Standard HR procedures by Dallasdoc — 56
19) If we WERE really planning on 16 years of by chrississippi — 52
20) I don't associate with racists,,,, by Miss Blue — 52
21) This is part of a series of arguments by Jerome a Paris — 50
22) You can forget it by SteveLCo — 50
23) Excellent piece by langerdang — 49
24) A hollow pumpkin doesn't ring all that well. by lineatus — 49
25) One need not by david mizner — 48
26) My parents grew up during by fiddler crabby — 47
27) Eternal Rest by marykk — 47
28) Thank you, monkeybiz, for this lovely by blue jersey mom — 47
29) With sorrow and my deepest respect by joyful — 47
30) what a beautiful remembrance by Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse — 47
Top Mojo with No Exclusions:
1) Tip jar by litho — 304
2) I wrote this yesterday when I was still ticked by droogie6655321 — 284
3) Tip jar for the last time this year! by WineRev — 279
4) Buh Bye!! by skillet — 260
5) Tips for a Happy New Year by Ellinorianne — 232
6) Hopefully, by the time the GOP regains power by billmon — 222
7) Tips for standing up by NLinStPaul — 212
8) I wish I could believe that these 90 ... by Meteor Blades — 203
9) Tip Jar - 31 December by Jerome a Paris — 195
10) Last Tip Jar of 2008... by Bill in Portland Maine — 173
11) NDD Provided Some Great Infor by bonddad — 171
12) Tips / Mojo: 31 Dec 08 by A Siegel — 146
13) Tip jar for collaboration by New Deal democrat — 142
14) Thanks Bonddad... Looking forward to this series. by Torta — 142
15) considering Bybee by dday — 140
16) Thank you both. My mom is 90, and she was by blue jersey mom — 105
17) We remember by monkeybiz — 93
18) We Remember Them by twilight falling — 91
19) I've tried to avoid the I/P discussion by trinityfly — 90
20) May those who loved this Seaman find peace by SisTwo — 85
21) Actually, I'm even afraid by the girl — 85
22) Some Judges thinks the Constitution matters? by Redstateresident — 79
23) Get his address by angry liberaltarian — 76
24) American Holocaust by cacamp — 73
25) Tips or Falme Me by Haole in Hawaii — 73
26) Whaddaya call 90 Bushies at the back of the by BA BarackUS — 72
27) Like Alan Greenspan? by Dallasdoc — 71
28) Run out of town tarred and feathered by deepsouthdoug — 71
29) Tips by RfrancisR — 67
30) Who called us traitors by Jerome a Paris — 66
~~~~
See ya' next year!
Always the mountains,
va dare