Oh Hai!! Here at Top Comments we round up some of the site's best, funniest, most mojo'd and most informative commentary. We depend on your help with talent spotting. If you see a comment that deserves recognition, please send it to topcomments at teh gmail by 9:30pm Eastern. Please include a few words about why you sent it in as well as your user name, so we can credit you with the find! kthxbai!
I know you've all wondered what brillig does when she's not either C&Jing or running mojo for Top Comments.
I know this one! She's at the pool with Ki.. oh god she's gonna talk about her kid again. Head for the comments everybody!!!
Sure as hell isn't commenting in the diaries. Does she even read them?
Looking at LOLcats. Hmm, we can haz pootie pics nao?
Umm, trying to keep her head above water like everybody else?
Yeah, I do all that. And a bit more...
Two years ago this week, I made myself an account over at Second Life. I've written before about SL, the latest being shortly before Inauguration Day.
"Anybody know why brillig's so hot-to-trot about SL?"
Simply put, because its afforded me the opportunity to do, see, hear and experience things I never would have been able to do in real life. In SL, users create a virtual character that may be as close to or far away from their real life persona as you can imagine, and via that character interact with others in an entirely user-created virtual world. People from all over the country (world, actually) with common interests can attend discussions and events together in ways that watching streaming video while typing in a chatroom or IM window simply cannot replicate.
SL plays host to art exhibitions, musical performances, roleplay activities, political discussions, educational workshops, discussion panels and more. It's all of this, and not any other activities you may have heard about, that keeps me coming back for more. I spend much of my time with the good folk of Cafe Wellstone, a large group of political progressives founded by none other than Jesus' General himself, and also attend fantastic talks at Virtually Speaking (more on that at the end!). There are activities nearly every day, 12 months a year.
SL isn't all about virtual reality, however :-). For many of us who make it past a few weeks or months in SL, what we do there becomes tied to what we do out here. People who enjoyed the social and educational aspects of Cafe Wellstone found themselves pounding the pavement for candidates, helping with elections, and organizing talks, events and activism Out Here, thanks to the support and encouragement we gave In There!
What captures most of my time inworld these days is actually tied directly to the real world... Netroots Nation. Yes, I'll be in Pittsburgh (bought the plane tickets today!!). But I'm on the organizing committee for the third annual NN in SL conference, a spectacular alternative for those who cannot for whatever reason make it to Pittsburgh. I'm also part of what will be the first panel ever at Netroots Nation to include panelists appearing via their avatars in Second Life.
Time for me to wrap up, I know you're itching to get to the comments and mojo lists. But this is important:
I have a spectacular reason for you to come visit SL if you haven't already.. this week's guest at Virtually Speaking is none other than Daily Kos' own healthcare policy and access guru, nyceve! Here's the write-up for this event, which takes place from 9-10pm Eastern (that's 6-7PM SLT, for those of you inworld already :-)).
If you're interested, a comment here will get you helpful how-to-get-started replies from the many Kossacks involved inworld with a variety of progressive groups. You can email me (address is in my profile here) and I'll walk you through it myself :-). Don't worry about missing Top Comments - we usually take a few minutes every evening at 7pmSLT to head over, recc the diary, and comment for a bit :-).
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Now, it's on to Top Comments! What have we in the TC mailbox tonite? Hmm, what were you all doing today besides reading and finding great comments?!
From carolita:
In Muzikal203's diary Are they F*ckin' Serious? Seneca Doane explains how to leave a comment when you are speechless. So much in politics leaves me that way these days, I was happy to learn how to do this.
From femlaw:
Why don't camels spit on Rahm Emanuel? Seneca Doane has the answer: http://www.dailykos.com/...
From Yours Truly:
Edgewater updates us on Harry & Louise in McJoan's story More on the Third Way and Health Reform
notksanymore wonders in hannahlk's wrenching diary Speaking Out on Abortion: My Story
How about that Top Mojo! Thanks to the magic of search strings and mojo-to-excel goodness from cskendrick/sardonyx I give you:
Top 30 (plus ties) Comments with the usual exclusions:
1) Because instead by Eddie in ME — 167
2) I think that bonddad and Sirota are by blue jersey mom — 135
3) Ooh! by MBNYC — 114
4) The sad thing is by Empty Vessel — 108
5) Probably... by grannyhelen — 106
6) One Picture is Really Serious by JekyllnHyde — 103
7) Yep. by Pluto — 93
8) Personally, I find Bonddad's work to be by rontun — 90
9) Damn I forgot! Heh.....Justice, delayed! by buhdydharma — 86
10) The American Gulag must fall. by nailbender — 83
11) There is great rejoicing by blue aardvark — 81
12) Rahm on a camel by FireCrow — 80
13) Yup. by ek hornbeck — 79
14) It's been going on for over 230 years... by Khun David — 77
15) Morning Joe is dangerous... by labradog — 73
16) I have seen no evidence that Obama is by Arken — 73
17) eleanor and henry! Hai! by fotyc — 73
18) I appreciate Bonddad, Jerome a Paris, by TomP — 72
19) Questions. by TomP — 71
20) "Now watch this drive" (n/t) by Moody Loner — 70
21) Heh. by Texas Revolutionary — 70
22) blue dog Jim Cooper says yes to Public plan by Kitty — 69
23) all I want is a room somewhere by Debbie in ME — 68
24) An important lesson on saving $ by BFSkinner — 68
25) I think by droogie6655321 — 67
26) The thing is.... by Eileen B — 67
27) Exactly, if they want us to think these pics by Muzikal203 — 67
28) with one enormous chair by Debbie in ME — 67
29) Daily Doll - I see Ceiling Cat! by funluvn1 — 66
30) Spitzer's hooker fetish problem by FishOutofWater — 65
31) RIP Medea. by RLMiller — 65
32) The downward staircase by Dallasdoc — 65
Top 30 Comments with no exclusions:
1) Tip Jar by Phoenix Woman — 612
2) 1 by Al Rodgers — 448
3) Tip Jar by Muzikal203 — 393
4) Tip Jar by TC MITS — 353
5) Tip Jar by MBNYC — 345
6) Tip Jar by Valtin — 308
7) Tip Jar by DWKING — 259
8) Tip Jar by National Nurses Movement — 254
9) Tip Jar by ryeland — 218
10) Tip Jar by Jill Richardson — 197
11) Tip Jar by Paleo — 197
12) And other tip/tag/suggestion/flame jar by Phoenix Woman — 171
13) Because instead by Eddie in ME — 167
14) Tip Jar by buhdydharma — 148
15) Tip Jar by bobswern — 136
16) I think that bonddad and Sirota are by blue jersey mom — 135
17) Tip Jar by Meteor Blades — 132
18) Tip Jar by Ninepatch — 124
19) Ooh! by MBNYC — 114
20) Tip Jar by DrSteveB — 114
21) The sad thing is by Empty Vessel — 108
22) Probably... by grannyhelen — 106
23) One Picture is Really Serious by JekyllnHyde — 103
24) Tip Jar by teacherken — 101
25) Tip Jar by hannahlk — 98
26) Tip Jar by icebergslim — 97
27) Yep. by Pluto — 93
28) Tip Jar by LordMike — 91
29) Personally, I find Bonddad's work to be by rontun — 90
30) Damn I forgot! Heh.....Justice, delayed! by buhdydharma — 86