An update on my top 14 “hits”—now the top 19

[Edit 12/8/13.]

Doesn’t it give you a pain in the tail to hear all those space-filling year-end wrap-ups in the media? Top stories of 2013…. Top news-makers…. Those who died….

I mean, it’s as inevitable as the Hess toy trucks that are available each Christmas, and we can half take it in and not be too taxed by it, but good grief…. Your local newspaper (and many do this) can load up pages with “top stories of the year” and basically it is a running of a long piece that was worked on by probably lower-level news writers over months beforehand, and comes out when a range of the staff are probably on vacation and aren’t available to cover more normal news. And unless a meteorite slammed into San Francisco and wiped out half the city, there’d be no serious news between Christmas and New Year’s.

Well, in the spirit of doing some year-end wrap-up of sorts, here is an update on my “top 14” list of early August. I post this—after looking at updated figures for my own interest—finding there were some interesting changes. Not only are there a few new entries to add to the top 14—as well as several ties—but there are enough entries that have at least 45-47 links—which is close to my July criterion—that now the list stretches to a top 19 (a nice, round number).

The numbers of links with the entries below are what was seen Dec. 4. There may be some very minor changes since then to a few of the below entries, which aren’t significant.

Still #1:

Initial remarks on Gene Mulvihill (November 6, 2012): now 771 links
Some added perspective on Gene Mulvihill, the New Jersey businessman (active in Sussex County) who passed recently

Still #2:

Review of Winter’s Bone (May 15, 2012): now 151 links
Movie break: Why deny the parentified child (in meth territory)? Winter’s Bone (2010)[:] Under the heading of “Beowulfian Protestantism”: A wildly tested backwoods young woman keeps honest while her frayed community can’t quite

Still #3

Second part of my review of The Insider (October 3, 2012): now 105 links
Movie break: An “adult picture” on an issue that concerns everyone—corporate malfeasance affecting nationally distributed products and health: The Insider (1999), Part 2 of 2[:] A drug-delivering business acting like a Mafia

New #4! (tied with #3): 105 links

(November 29, 2012): Some already-publicly-released information on heroin abuse over a wide region, and easily derived facts on the related prescription medication of buprenorphine

#5

Why no blog comments? (November 13, 2012): now 104 links
Why don’t I allow blog comments? A quick explanation; “Beowulf don’t text”
[Note: The new placement of this entry makes me think of a future possibility for my blog work, which may include allowing reader comments…you should hold off on concluding something will happen, but I am deciding…]

#6

My review of Girl, Interrupted (April 19, 2012): now 97 links
Movie break: Winona Ryder as “power waif”: Heathers (1989) and Girl, Interrupted (1999), Part 2 of 2

#7

Third part of “What in the Name of Medicine?” (December 28, 2012): 95 links
What in the Name of Medicine?, 3 of 6:  Focus on the Silliest Clown in this Mess, in view of violations of editorial standards, and religious hypocrisy in the workplace [CC #4, 5]

#8

Second version of my review of The French Connection (May 24, 2012): now 78 links
Movie break: Slobs and anger, cops and drug-conspiracy: The French Connection (1971)

#9

Part 2 of my review of Matchstick Men (August 3, 2012): now 77 links
Movie break: Matchstick Men (2003), Part 2 of 2: Family opportunity counterbalances the story’s grim side

#10

Signpost 2 (May 22, 2012): now 74 links
Signpost 2: Showing what’s ahead for late May and early June [2012]
[The only reason I can think that an entry like this, which doesn’t have much substance, is ranked so highly is that maybe it is linked to by various people as a sort of path to other entries that are of more interest, and this as a result of whatever circumstances of readers’ having earlier linked to my blog. If that makes limited sense, it echoes what is the vagueness of my own theory on this. The same applies to #18.]

#11 (tied with #10)

The second of my series on films on “females’ psychological odysseys” (February 17, 2012): now 74 links
Movie break: Films about young females’ psychological odysseys, Part 2 of 3[:] More clinical tales, or stories of immersion in personal instability or growth

#12 (new entry): 69 links

(November 25, 2012): Movie break: A family reunion would seem a winning ideal, but it runs aground on moral complexity and interpersonal tumult: The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
[If I had known this one would be so popular, I would have spent more time last year writing it.]

#13

My review of Blue Crush (August 21, 2012): now 63 links
Movie break: “Perfect Pipe Now”: Blue Crush (2002)[:] Update on surfer movies is best for its water-level view of the most dangerous type of surfing

#14 (new entry): 57 links

(November 12, 2012): Some clarification and adduced evidence on the issue of Gene Mulvihill’s local reputation (in Sussex County, N.J.)[:] Showing that views of Mr. Mulvihill weren’t merely matters of gossip, but could significantly affect elections; with a note that I will pull back from much discussion of incendiary local politics

#15 (new entry): 52 links

(December 10, 2012): Fraud in the Caymans (1970s), News-Editor Bias (1989), Part 1 of 2[:]  Mulvihill may have been “dreaming” (per recent obits) with results entailing economic benefit to part of Sussex County, but he was realistic in pleading guilty to federally sanctioned, felonious charges

#16 (new entry): 47 links

(May 29, 2012): Movie break: The best Pink Panther film: A Shot in the Dark (1964)
[I can’t take any credit for the popularity of this entry; chalk it up to the genius of actor Peter Sellers and director Blake Edwards.]

#17 (new entry, tied with #16): 47 links

(July 27, 2012): End note 2 to July 25 blog entry: Clarification on identities of two problems: schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

#18

Signpost 1 (May 3, 2012): 46 links
Signpost: Showing what’s ahead for early May [2012]
[See my comment under #10.]

#19 (new entry, tied with #18): 46 links

(April 16, 2012): End notes to April 13 blog entry on film The Front
[I can only figure this has the rank it does because it contains statistics on that ever-favorite focus of recent-history courses, totalitarianism, and maybe it has clued off some kids to potential substantiation elsewhere for their term papers. Who knows.]