The 114th United States Congress is now in session, and already we've seen the signals that this will not be a continuation of the 113th. Change is in the air, from whatever this Congress is going to do to, well... grab a beverage that isn't your usual, and follow me below the cloudy orange special effects swirl after a word from our sponsor...
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As many of you know, for the past 6 years, I've had a regular Monday morning ritual with two friends: we meet at ~9am, order gorgeous pretty lattes at a local coffee shop, and chat for an hour about whatever strikes us before heading off for our days. For years we worked hard to let nothing interfere with this ritual. The occasional illness, whether it be ourselves or children, a doctor's appointment that couldn't be rescheduled, etc. It was sacrosanct.
Over the years, I've kept my Monday mornings as free as possible, missing a handful when it absolutely couldn't be helped. When their kids entered middle school, it became possible for first one, then the other, to arrive earlier. One friend started arriving at 8am and reading until we were able to get there. Gradually, the timing has moved so that when I get there a little before 9am, I'm always the last one there. As a shy extrovert, walking into a conversation that's been going for a half hour before my arrival is nothing short of anxiety-in-a-latte. I mentioned last week my feelings of awkwardness at always being the last one there, and was assured that 'no one minded' and that it was perfectly OK that I simply can't be there before 8:45 on a good day. It missed the point, but I appreciated the sentiment and enjoyed the morning. It really has become the ritual that starts my week.
So what will I be doing at 9am tomorrow? Probably enjoying my pretty coffee while reading the morning news, because my friends made plans yesterday to go skiing tomorrow. I don't ski. I get that we live in New England, and that one of my friends only has Mondays and Saturdays off, and so Monday IS the day if she wants to do something. But I'm selfishly feeling a bit sad at what is the end of a longtime ritual, and feeling like change is indeed in the air.
In honor of change, a couple of my favorite quotes:
"Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything." -- George Bernard Shaw
"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude." --Maya Angelou
"A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." --Margaret Mead
How do you handle change? Well, poorly, or does it depend on what's changing?
Brillig's ObDisclaimer: The decision to publish each nomination lies with the evening's Diarist and/or Comment Formatter. My evenings at the helm, I try reeeeallllyy hard to publish everything without regard to content. I really do, even when I disagree personally with any given nomination. "TopCommentness" lies in the eyes of the nominator and of you, the reader - I leave the decision to you. I do not publish self-nominations (ie your own comments) and if I ruled the world, we'd all build community, supporting and uplifting instead of tearing our fellow Kossacks down.
From Tara the Antisocial Social Worker:
In cinnamon68's This Week in the War on Women diary, kittycheshire joins the dailykos commentariat with an excellent first comment.
From Denise Oliver Velez (yes, THAT Denise Oliver Velez!):
I am nominating this comment by Mark Lippman - giving some interesting perspective on the French left.
From Village Vet:
I am nominating part of a Comment for Top Comments.
Silencio writes:
To the person who says, "But I have the right to my opinion," a simple rejoinder: If the most you can say in favor of your opinion is that it's not illegal to state it, then it's probably a pretty lame opinion.
Sincerely, Village Vet.
From susans:
Top comment submission, this comment by side pocket, in navajo's CUA diary today! Because it's funny and ridiculous. And some Top Comments should be silly.
From karmsy:
From one in that dismal age bracket (the demographic trough following the Baby Boom--blech!!) this comment by gareth took my breath away, it is so apt!
(And thanks to high uintas for describing to karmsy how to submit this! Tip o' the hat!)
From Yours Truly, brillig:
From Steven Payne's excellent Terminated Altanta fire chief is latest shiny object for the Christian persecution industry comes this brilliant summary by Krotor.
Top Mojo for Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015, first comments and tip jars excluded. Thank you
mik for the mojo magic! For those of you interested in How Top Mojo Works, please see his diary
FAQing Top Mojo.
1) I'm terribly surprised by this... by wrights — 163
2) The TRUTH will out... by Tackle — 152
3) Most of us here by Kristina40 — 140
4) Je Suis Ahmed. by zenbassoon — 120
5) I'm a boomer by gchaucer2 — 115
6) This is outstanding -- thank you so much. by Yasuragi — 114
7) Thank you for posting this. by blue jersey mom — 95
8) Oh they will have a reason by RocketJSquirrel — 92
9) I'm in for $500 by allensl — 91
10) Here's a blog post on ABC News' site. It's great. by sunbro — 87
11) I posted to FB by NancyWH — 87
12) I don't think European secularism by atana — 86
13) Right on! by Mnemosyne — 85
14) It would be nice by Desi — 84
15) He might actually be by Kristina40 — 78
16) Nice essay. Being one of the cutting-edge... by Meteor Blades — 77
17) You're right. by BenderRodriguez — 76
18) I was just about to post this by xxdr zombiexx — 75
19) WW2 People Gave Us 8 Presidents, Ike-GHW. by Gooserock — 74
20) thank you Sis. by Denise Oliver Velez — 74
21) I'm in for a bit, tough work in winter to by weck — 72
22) One of the Best by bink — 72
23) Thank you Denise for writing so eloquently by poco — 70
24) I "like" this by noweasels — 66
25) Fox News is investigating the tone of skin by deben — 66
26) And there's now a tribute for by Calvino Partigiani — 65
27) We must defend the right to blaspheme. by LanceBoyle — 63
28) It's One Tiny Example of the Stupidity of Our by Gooserock — 63
29) I for one am really enjoying my 68 year by Mrcynical — 59
30) I want to start by thanking weck and broths for by Most Awesome Nana — 59
2015-1-11 Top Comments with Pictures, courtesy of
jotter!