For my last post of 2011, I’d like to share the posts of which I’m most proud this year. No, these weren’t the most popular posts of 2011, but they’re the ones I wish had been. It was a great year. Thank you all for following along.
My plea for mainstream adoption of naps. I genuinely enjoyed the article on napping men of power on The Art of Manliness. Very interesting reading.
There was a scary moment in 2011 when it seemed possible that funding for public radio and television would be erased. This was my heartfelt reaction to that possibility.
8. great: the louis c.k. special, louis on the b.s. report and louis in general.
I included this one because of the level of respect I have for Louis C.K., his work and the appreciation I have for his willingness to take a personal financial risk to restructure the existing model of how a television show or comedy special is created and distributed.
My thoughts upon returning home on an afternoon in January when I decided it was a good idea to travel to the theater to watch Black Swan and True Grit in one sitting.
A very proud moment: Katie Couric does a piece on HALO for the CBS Evening News. It’s been such a pleasure to work with HALO over the years; seeing them grow and get exposure like this only adds to that joy.
5. parks and recreation pawnee rangers, screenshot tour.
This post originated on a whim to show some love to Parks & Recreation, but ended being a very fun exercise. It prompted Nic Franklin to comment, “Best thing you’ve ever posted”. Success.
4. the showbiz pizza place band: rock-afire explosion.
Just a nostalgia orgy. The opportunity to relive the Showbiz Pizza experience and to see the band playing current hits was a real treat.
3. high-quality bedding: don’t get fleeced by thread count.
A quick, informative guide to maximizing value when shopping for bedding. There’s a good chance this post will grow into a column feature sometime in the future.
2. october simply kc magazine column: the kansas city man’s guide to denim.
I’ve had a great time with my Simply KC column A Man’s Perspective. The October 2011 issue featuring Baldwin Denim and a brief primer on how to be an informed denim consumer has been my favorite thus far.
I had an amazing few days in New Orleans this summer visiting my friend Sunny and went to great lengths to document the experience. If you care about food, don’t visit NOLA without reading these first. The opus is dinner in new orleans, but they all offer a nice glimpse into what The Crescent City has to offer.
MM: The LEGO VW stop motion post certainly belongs on this list, but since it qualified on the Most Popular Posts of 2011, I decided not to duplicate it here.
Yesterday I posted my Top 5 Most Popular Posts of 2011, but I excluded the top Man’s Man posts. I figured these deserved their own designation even though they technically qualify for the most popular list (the five posts below were among the top ten most viewed pages on the whole site this year).
5. the man’s man viii: george harrison
4. the man’s man xxvi: robert de niro.
3. the man’s man xvii: mickey mantle.
2. the man’s man xii: john f. kennedy.
1. the man’s man xix: marlon brando.
*UPDATE: Honorable mention, for Renata and her friends.*
This is one of my favorite weeks of the year because it’s almost perfectly designed to allow time to reflect on the year, reassess goals and plan what’s next. 2011 was the year that I really set aside some time to try to make this blog something other than a diversion. Throughout this week, I intend to share some of the most popular content and a few collections of my favorite posts that didn’t necessarily get much attention. I hope your 2011 was healthy and productive and here’s wishing you a fulfilling 2012.
Most Popular Posts of 2011
5. gq august 2011: the comedy issue with mila kunis, alison brie and gillian jacobs.
Let’s just say I’m not surprised that a post with a title including “gq mila kunis” received a lot of Google traffic.
4. 50 years of paul newman & joanne woodward.
I filter through thousands of images to find what I post here. This collection of shots of Paul Newman and his wife Joanne Woodward were probably my favorite of the year. I’m glad others were able to find their way to it.
3. lego volkswagen t1 camper van 10220 time lapse build.
The LEGO VW stop motion video post represents the largest single chunk of time I sunk into the blog this year. It’s safe to say that I underestimated both the time it would require and the reception it would receive. What started as a nostalgic homage to my old VW bus turned into YouTube front page real estate, a Gizmodo feature and 230,000+ views. No regrets.
2. observations: espn magazine the body issue.
Again, not a big surprise that “hope solo body issue” was one of the most popular ways Googlers found their way to my corner of the internet. Isn’t it amazing how much on the net has changed, but how it’s still basically a place we go to get our jollies? ESPN’s Body Issue has become their answer to Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue, but I do appreciate that they don’t exclusively select attractive women to feature. They continue to offer some of the most interesting bodies in sports, not just the curviest.
1. michael symon: cook like an iron chef.
This one was a surprise. I would not have guessed that a short diatribe on the state of the Food Network and a review of Michael Symon’s show would be the most popular thing I wrote this year. However, thanks to Chef Symon’s extremely likable disposition and his loyal following, his Facebook mention of my post sent an avalanche of traffic my way. I stand by what I wrote, including the scathing opinions on the bulk of the current line-up of Food Network personalities. It was, however, an important reminder that anything you broadcast should be written from the perspective that it could be read by anyone/everyone, including those about which you are writing.
