Mars Phoenix

I've been emotionally attached to the Mars Phoenix mission from the beginning. My son and I watched it's landing live and cheered. Also, I tend to anthropomorphize things, which means I end up empathizing with them. Add in the fact that the mission team also has a Twitter profile for the lander and it's even harder not to feel for that little machine. Then this comes across Twitter:



Hard not to feel some pride and sadness. 2 hankies

Barack Obama Half-Hour TV Special

I'm watching this Obama special, and he's sharing some hard-luck stories of everyday Americans, and I have to tell you, it's tearing me apart. He's right. We have to do something, and he's the guy for the job, but this show is really hitting me hard. There are many, many people who need help. 3 hankies

Ezra Phoenix Chatterton 1996-2008

I've written about Ezra, before. He's the young man who went to Blizzard Entertainment and made a World of Warcraft Non Player Character in Bloodhoof Village through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

I just saw that Ezra has passed away. www.ezrachatterton.org

My thoughts are with his father and the rest of his family. 4 hankies

Charles Meets Barack

3 hankies

Wasssup for 2008

This one made me laugh and cry. I was roaring with laughter as tears were almost shooting out of my eyes. And they were tears for the sadness buried under the humor, not just from laughing. Overall, a fantastic little piece. 3 hankies

5th Grade Reporter Interviews Senator Joe Biden

I thought this was cute, but the part that got to me was toward the middle when Biden was speaking to the audience about his granddaughters and Obama's daughters having a sleep-over. He said he was reluctant to be VP, but he knew it was important for his kids and grandkids and all the people who are hoping for a future for this nation that he help Obama pull the country back from the precipice. Well, that's not exactly what he said, but that's what I think it means. 2 hankies

Obama '08 - Vote For Hope from MC Yogi on Vimeo.

I like this video, but it's not the video, per se, that brought a tear to my eye. It's the audio of Barack Obama quoting the Declaration of Independence, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."

Those powerful, prophetic words that marked the beginning of our nation always bring a tear to my eye. 2 hankies

Tom Udall Ad

3 hankies

Rachel Maddow Show 10/9/08

At 1:51 into this clip, Rachel talks bout Cook County Illinois Sheriff Tom Dart suspending evictions of renters who's landlords are in foreclosure. These tenants aren't part of the mortgage, but they're still being tossed into the street. He's risking contempt charges but still is doing the right thing for the people he serves. 2 hankies

Craig Ferguson - 10/7/08

At about 7:24 into the monologue, Craig starts talking about Solidarity, and when he spoke about the image of democracy being "one American armed with a ballot," tears immediately sprang to my eyes. 3 hankies

Death of Hellscream

I've written about this, before, but I was playing some Warcraft III, today, while the WoW servers were down, and I got to this cutscene and it made me weepy all over again. 3 hankies

Craig Ferguson - 10/2/08

This one's a two-parter:



I thought it was pretty touching that Craig would meet this kid, see how remarkable and fantastic he was, and then get him on the show, right away. (2 hankies) Then came the whammy, at the end of the show:



This was just really touching. I've always liked his humor, but now I have a lot of respect for the man, too. 3 hankies

Joe Biden at the Vice Presidential Debate

Part of Biden's appeal to me is that he's a fellow widower. He lost his wife and one year-old daughter, I lost my wife and nearly-born son. He's not only an unapologetic Liberal and Populist, but he also knows that peculiar, particular pain of losing that which means most. Listening to his answer recalling that pain brought tears to my eyes. 3 hankies

Then hearing Sarah Palin's total lack of empathy as she blithely trudged on to yet another memorized talking point right on the heels of his emotional answer just floored me. I felt the blood drain from my face and my jaw drop open as I marveled that she could fail to be at least minimally tactful.

Richard Trumka 2008 Steelworkers Convention

If this doesn't bring tears to your eyes, there's something fundamentally wrong with you. Period. A fire-breathin', barn-burner of a speech.

3 hankies