• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

It’s pointless to bring up problems that can only be solved with a time machine.

“Facilitate” is an active verb, not a weasel word.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

I like political parties that aren’t owned by foreign adversaries.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

The lights are all blinking red.

Roe is not about choice. It is about freedom.

You are either for trump or for democracy. Pick one.

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

They want us to be overwhelmed and exhausted. Focus. Resist. Oppose.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

Is trump is trying to break black America over his knee? signs point to ‘yes’.

The media handbook says “controversial” is the most negative description that can be used for a Republican.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

We can’t confuse what’s necessary to win elections with the policies that we want to implement when we do.

How any woman could possibly vote for this smug smarmy piece of misogynistic crap is beyond understanding.

“The defense has a certain level of trust in defendant that the government does not.”

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

Mobile Menu

  • 4 Directions VA 2025 Raffle
  • 2025 Activism
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • 2025 Activism
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • Targeted Fundraising!
You are here: Home / Open Threads / Sunday Evening Open Thread: “Do Not Waste A Minute Living Someone Else’s Dream”

Sunday Evening Open Thread: “Do Not Waste A Minute Living Someone Else’s Dream”

by Anne Laurie|  May 19, 20135:44 pm| 31 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat, Readership Capture, All we want is life beyond the thunderdome

FacebookTweetEmail

Many thanks to Paddy at Political Carnival for the video. This is truly an excellent commencement speech, and not just for the snippet everybody is quoting:

“Failure is the key to success for so many great people… Oprah was demoted from her first job as a news anchor, and now she doesn’t even need a last name!

And then there’s this guy, Barack Obama, who lost — {crowd cheers} — I could take up a whole afternoon talking about his failures, but — he lost his first race for congress, and now? He gets to call himself my husband.”

***********
What’s on the agenda for the ragged remnant of the weekend?

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « And we don’t care
Next Post: Kitty 4:20 »

Reader Interactions

31Comments

  1. 1.

    raven

    May 19, 2013 at 5:49 pm

    Ugh, just came from a neighborhood association pot luck (they liked my jambalaya). Have to go to a birthday party for a 30 something with Elton John karaoke at 8. They don’t have one song from Tumbleweed on their list. Double UGH!

  2. 2.

    Hill Dweller

    May 19, 2013 at 5:53 pm

    The President’s speech at Morehouse this afternoon is also very good.

  3. 3.

    gogol's wife

    May 19, 2013 at 6:01 pm

    Looking forward to seeing how Aggie’s romance with the window dresser progresses on Mr. Selfridge tonight.

    My life is a whirl of excitement.

  4. 4.

    raven

    May 19, 2013 at 6:03 pm

    @Hill Dweller:

    “But I will say it betrays a poverty of ambition if all you think about is what goods you can buy instead of what good you can do.”

  5. 5.

    MomSense

    May 19, 2013 at 6:09 pm

    @gogol’s wife:

    I just couldn’t get into that show. I do love Bletchley though.

  6. 6.

    raven

    May 19, 2013 at 6:10 pm

    @MomSense: Call the Midwife?

  7. 7.

    Mnemosyne

    May 19, 2013 at 6:11 pm

    I’ve been struggling with the whole Weight Watchers thing because I have to pre-plan my entire week’s worth of meals in order to be successful (eating on the fly doesn’t work when you’re impulsive) and they took that functionality away from the website a few years ago. :-[ So I’m going to try Slender Kitchen‘s sample menu for a week and, if I like it, I’ll probably subscribe.

  8. 8.

    geg6

    May 19, 2013 at 6:11 pm

    PENGUINS! What else is there? Around here, nothing.

    Well, some food (am trying a very tender steak, filet, to see If I can manage it, steak fries with sour cream and chives from our deck, and green beans and tomatoes). And wine. And German chocolate cake.

    But it’s all about the hockey.

  9. 9.

    Ultraviolet Thunder

    May 19, 2013 at 6:11 pm

    I just finished my yard work, which I’m too exhausted even to describe.
    Gotta get it done because I’ll be out of the country from 5/27 – 6/7.

  10. 10.

    raven

    May 19, 2013 at 6:12 pm

    @geg6: worse than Elton John karaoke.

  11. 11.

    imonlylurking

    May 19, 2013 at 6:14 pm

    It marked me as spam again! Apparently FYWP doesn’t like our new dog.

  12. 12.

    Yatsuno

    May 19, 2013 at 6:16 pm

    @geg6: I LIKE PENGIES!!

  13. 13.

    Nicole

    May 19, 2013 at 6:20 pm

    Was feeling bummed about Orb losing the Preakness yet another year going by without horse racing having a Triple Crown, but seeing as how the winner, Oxbow, has a 50-year-old jockey (who just came out of retirement in January) and a 77-year-old trainer, it’s too much of a feel good story to be too disappointed. Though I guess the betting angle for the Belmont should be picking a horse with a one-word name that starts with “O.”

    I wonder if Overanalyze will be running…

  14. 14.

    Yatsuno

    May 19, 2013 at 6:21 pm

    @imonlylurking: I blame Tunch.

  15. 15.

    catclub

    May 19, 2013 at 6:24 pm

    Spurs Win!

  16. 16.

    MomSense

    May 19, 2013 at 6:27 pm

    @raven:

    I am hooked on Call the Midwife as well!

    Oh but I have the commentariat here to thank for my recent obsessive viewing of Doctor Who. I don’t know why I never watched before–but I do love it now.

  17. 17.

    Paddy

    May 19, 2013 at 6:43 pm

    @Hill Dweller: Video- President Obama’s Complete Speech at Morehouse Commencement 5/19/13 Very personal, heartfelt and wonderful

  18. 18.

    Suzanne

    May 19, 2013 at 6:43 pm

    @Mnemosyne: I have been doing it for the past 4-5 weeks and I am really liking it. However, I am struggling with how to compute restaurant meals. I don’t typically eat at chains, and most independent restaurants don’t have nutrition info on their meals. How does WW recommend to do it? I have been trying to take a best guess at portion size and point values based on ingredients, but I have the suspicion that I am waaaay off sometimes. I’ve lost weight every week that I’ve done it, so maybe it doesn’t matter that much.

  19. 19.

    WereBear

    May 19, 2013 at 6:45 pm

    Thanks to the mentions of The Liberation Trilogy, about WWII. I got all three Kindle books this weekend, since I’m sick and cannot do much else, and they are absolutely riveting!

  20. 20.

    Mathguy

    May 19, 2013 at 6:55 pm

    The best commencement address I’ve heard-David Foster Wallace’s famous Kenyon College speech: vimeo.com/theglossary/thisiswater

  21. 21.

    Yatsuno

    May 19, 2013 at 6:56 pm

    @efgoldman:

    You probably rooted for the Yankees in the lat 90s, too

    You take back that unforgivable blasphemy NAOW!! Or I’ll sic your daughter on you!!

  22. 22.

    gogol's wife

    May 19, 2013 at 6:57 pm

    @WereBear:

    I would really like to get that for my husband, who is constantly reliving WWII in his head, but he never reads anything non-work-related. If I could just get him to relax every once in a while, I think he’d enjoy that trilogy.

  23. 23.

    SiubhanDuinne

    May 19, 2013 at 7:01 pm

    @Paddy: Looking forward to watching the POTUS speech at Morehouse, and thanks for the link.

    Loved the First Lady’s address, but I was distracted by the grumpy-looking guy over her right shoulder. He never cracked a smile, took his time standing up when everyone else did, and didn’t even applaud her at the conclusion of her remarks. Anyone know who he is and what crawled up his ass?

  24. 24.

    MikeJ

    May 19, 2013 at 7:09 pm

    ABC’s hed for this story? “Michelle Obama Makes Light of President’s Failures in Graduation Speech”.

  25. 25.

    JPL

    May 19, 2013 at 7:15 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: I noticed that also. Maybe he was auditioning for the secret service.

  26. 26.

    SiubhanDuinne

    May 19, 2013 at 7:16 pm

    @MikeJ: I hope you’re fucking joking. But I imagine you’re not.

  27. 27.

    SiubhanDuinne

    May 19, 2013 at 7:17 pm

    @JPL: Oh, that didn’t occur to me. He might well have been a SS guy in disguise as an academic.

  28. 28.

    Emma

    May 19, 2013 at 7:32 pm

    @Mnemosyne: I’ve been doing WW online for a year. Lost 40 lbs so far, even through two surgeries. I’m not a good planner either. What I do is keep enough pre-prepared things around that I can grab something on the fly if I don’t have leftovers. Dinner is the only meal I plan in detail. On Saturday and Sunday I cook both lunch and dinner for 2; one meal, one leftover for lunch.

  29. 29.

    aimai

    May 19, 2013 at 8:05 pm

    Watched the last episodes of Lost Girl season 3 with my daughters–what a fantastic role model the heroine is for this generation. Made a (very non WW) meal of little cheese purse ravioli sauced with garlic, bacon, tomatoes, kale, pine nuts, thyme, roasted potatoes, and corn. I usually drizzle it with a littel pomegranate molasses to give it a little sour/sweet. In addition to three kinds of cheese. Guess I should go back on WW myself.

  30. 30.

    Mnemosyne

    May 19, 2013 at 10:11 pm

    @Suzanne:

    You can either add all of the ingredients up (and then I usually add at least 2-3 Points for things I don’t know are in it), or you can look up the points for a chain restaurant’s similar dish and use that. You really don’t need to stress about it unless you hit a plateau — as long as you’re in the 1/2 pound to 2 pounds a week zone, then what you’re doing is working.

  31. 31.

    Mnemosyne

    May 20, 2013 at 1:17 am

    @aimai:

    Well, you’d have to cut back on the cheese and they’d probably want you to use turkey bacon or Canadian bacon instead of real bacon, but otherwise that sounds like a pretty WW-friendly meal, especially once you work the magic word “kale” in there.

    I gained 15 pounds after a knee injury and I’m at what I call my “eating junk and not exercising” weight. I really want to get back to 130 pounds, which isn’t very low since I’m only about 5’3″ (if I round up).

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

On The Road - lashonharangue - Mayan Ruins and the Sacred Monkey River [3 of 4] 6
Photo by lashonharangue (1/22/26)

Mary Peltola Alaska Senate

Donate

Order Your Pet Calendars!

Order Calendar A

Order Calendar B

 

Recent Comments

  • Geminid on Jack Smith Testifies Today at 10 am Eastern (Jan 22, 2026 @ 1:50pm)
  • Baud on Jack Smith Testifies Today at 10 am Eastern (Jan 22, 2026 @ 1:46pm)
  • Ruckus on In a Bizarre Move by the Republicans, Jack Smith Will Testify PUBLICLY Tomorrow (Jan 22, 2026 @ 1:45pm)
  • Suzanne on Thursday Morning Open Thread (Jan 22, 2026 @ 1:45pm)
  • RevRick on Jack Smith Testifies Today at 10 am Eastern (Jan 22, 2026 @ 1:41pm)

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
On Artificial Intelligence (7-part series)

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)
Fix Nyms with Apostrophes

Balloon Juice Mailing List Signup

Social Media

Balloon Juice
WaterGirl
TaMara
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
DougJ NYT Pitchbot
mistermix
Rose Judson (podcast)

Mary Peltola Alaska Senate

Donate

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Privacy Manager

Copyright © 2026 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!