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 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!
Do you know where you were this time two years ago? I do...
I was at a club in Somerville, MA with a roomful of grief-stricken people trying to keep tears at bay, listening to a band barely keeping it together. Why? Because it was 24 hours after we'd learned that Brad Delp, Boston's lead singer and frontman for local band (and friends of Casa Brillig) Beatlejuice, had died... and the show must go on.
I've written three music diaries over at StreetProphets on Brad, in 2007, 2008 and just last week. And a TC diary this time last year. As the anniversary rolled around, I thought about what the aftermath of Brad's untimely death meant to me now. Let me share a few thoughts...
We do indeed get by with a little help from our friends. Back in 2007, we gathered at homes, at gigs, and wherever we could to hug, cry, remember and yes, dance and sing together. My best friend literally talked me home (by cellphone as I drove) the day news broke that the cause of death was suicide. Others talked to Kid Brillig, as she tried to make sense of what happened. Today, I try to the best of my ability to be there for my friends, listening and supporting them in the ups and downs of life.
We're not all gonna make it to 64.. or 84, or 104. So, to borrow from Tim McGraw... live like you were dying. My Mom was fond of telling me of all the things she was going to do when she retired. She died of lung cancer at the age 61, never having retired. So I have that extra piece of dessert (sometimes :-). We went to Disney World. At the end of whatever run I've got on this earth, I want to be remembered for having a life well-lived.
Here comes the sun. But for some people, it's hidden behind so many clouds they can't see it. In the days following the shattering news, so many people wondered if they'd missed a sign, a word, anything that could have suggested he was making plans to end his life. When someone sounds like they just don't want to be here anymore, EVEN if they say they're joking... stop. Look. Listen. Because there are no do-overs in this game of life.
In the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make. So... why act in ways that diminish the amount of love flowing? Is that parking spot really so important you need to cut off the minivan with a frazzled parent and four kids to get it? Carry that weight the extra 25 yards and feel good about yourself. Is that grudge you're nursing worth a friendship people said was was the stuff of legends? Try working it out. Friend need you to move furniture? Don't be a nowhere man, go help. And always, remember that to really understand what someone's going through, you need an understanding of what a day in the(ir) life really looks like. So listen when they tell you.
As the boys from Liverpool said, it's getting better all the time. Life continues, time heals our hearts, and the music continues - we're going to see Beatlejuice in mid-April :-).
Oh yeah, the diary title. What's The Word? Why, that's easy. It's the word, love. And it really is all you need.
- - - - -
Well, you need Top Comments too! And did you send comments along with love
from you to me? Let's see:
From pattyp:
From nosleep4u comes the best description of Joe Scarborough I've ever seen, although it could apply to any wingnut. :-)
From terrypinder:
I am recommending this entire subthread begun by earicicle for Top Comments. It is rare a civilized discussion about a highly emotional topic can take place.
From The Termite:
From CParis comes this remedial Wingnut History Class.
From Anonymous:
rjnerd gives us funny, and a bit of a revelation...
From Yours Truly:
*Mister Gloom* asks for help debunking a WSJ myth. Several commenters, including fhcec and Scout Finch oblige.
Bernie Goldberg says we're Media Enemy #3. ebleyes feels cheated. Fun ensues. (Plenty of snark in the whole story for everyone to get their fill, BTW :-))
They say Don't Look Back, but we at Top Comments have got to have our Top Mojo, the highest-recced comments of the last 24 hours, tallied with the mojo-to-excel method of cskendrick/sardonyx:
Top 30 Comments excluding search-identifiable tip jars, first comments, and C&J:
1) Take it to the Post Office and file a complaint by nio — 249
2) My favorite words from Jon Stewart: FUCK YOU!! by exlrrp — 173
3) When it comes to punishing O'Reilly by pollbuster — 172
4) I'd personally favor O'Reilly. by Angry Mouse — 154
5) What I heard Cramer say was by Inland — 143
6) They must be sadists... by droogie6655321 — 135
7) Do it... by noice — 126
8) :o) by Muzikal203 — 126
9) This is a matter for the FBI by fla1sun — 122
10) And he does it with words! And he by UkieOli — 119
11) If Cramer was smart, he'd shut up.... by Finck II — 106
12) I think this is how Stewart responds by Yavin — 105
13) Are you publicly listed in the phone book? by wader — 102
14) and what does Joe do for a living? by theKgirls — 97
15) Well, by droogie6655321 — 95
16) I think you mean masochists ... n/t by derekd — 94
17) Socialism JUST isn't getting the same old by funluvn1 — 92
18) What a sad display by zeiben — 89
19) There's a word for this: incitement. by 8ackgr0und N015e — 88
20) &^%$ Joe too by gwh — 86
21) Hannity by Inky99 — 86
22) It seems that Mr.'s Beck and Norris are by FXDCI — 86
23) Another great idea. by geomoo — 76
24) yes, sedition by Stranded Wind — 74
25) Not to mention the dead girl found in Joe by darthstar — 73
26) Mega Rec for you babe. Share your joy by LiberalCanuck — 73
27) I hope they take this seriously. by Reality Bites Back — 72
28) Jon Stewart by Jeffersonian — 70
29) The phone book is a very likely source. by geomoo — 70
30) Man oh man by Clio2 — 70
Top 30 Comments with no exclusions:
1) tips, literally by geomoo — 770
2) Welcome to my rant by Maimonides — 470
3) I'd like to see Holder start investigating by clammyc — 392
4) Tip Jar by Muzikal203 — 386
5) This inflammatory rhetoric amazes me by 8ackgr0und N015e — 330
6) Stock Tip Jar! by reef the dog — 330
7) I'm pretty sure Jon won't let it slip by by funluvn1 — 318
8) Thanks for reading / tips. by TexasAMC — 292
9) Take it to the Post Office and file a complaint by nio — 249
10) Tips for shovelers and plowers by WineRev — 241
11) Tips for a better approach by Lefty Coaster — 176
12) My favorite words from Jon Stewart: FUCK YOU!! by exlrrp — 173
13) When it comes to punishing O'Reilly by pollbuster — 173
14) I'd personally favor O'Reilly. by Angry Mouse — 155
15) For Jason Armitage, a glorious day by noweasels — 149
16) What I heard Cramer say was by Inland — 143
17) They must be sadists... by droogie6655321 — 135
18) :o) by Muzikal203 — 130
19) Do it... by noice — 126
20) This is a matter for the FBI by fla1sun — 122
21) And he does it with words! And he by UkieOli — 119
22) Tips by Spedwybabs — 112
23) tips by Nuisance Industry — 109
24) If Cramer was smart, he'd shut up.... by Finck II — 106
25) I suppose this is my usual pattern by teacherken — 106
26) I think this is how Stewart responds by Yavin — 105
27) Are you publicly listed in the phone book? by wader — 102
28) My family is safe... by bluejeandem — 101
29) and what does Joe do for a living? by theKgirls — 97
30) Well, by droogie6655321 — 95