The Last 10 Hits of Powered by Indifference, Focused by Caffeine

Now that that 2012 is over and the title of http://vanvelding.blogspot.com has changed slightly to reflect a more open and accepting contributor policy which extends to condescending asexuals, I need to finish this sentence, smug with the satisfaction that I've taken my cohort down a peg.

The best posts aren't the ones that garnered the most traffic--the popularity of Alzheimers patients amongst Russian Spambots wrecks the curve somewhat--but the ones that I can look back on with a certain level of pride.

10) My Avengers review actually did receive a good bit of traffic. I'd like to think it's because of my concise compliment sandwich review style, my intense love which was only mildly dimmed by putting it down into words, and the fact that I photoshopped Beanie-Babies (TM) onto Nick Fury, but it's probably because everyone saw Avengers and it became the most popular thing ever for two weeks. I can't break down if any of that traffic stuck around from the spike it gave me (thanks if you did), but I can say that 2012 was the first year that the blog broke 2,000 hits and it's probably related.

t) Before you can do the math on that last one, I also did The Great Dominarian Planeswalker Showdown. The best planeswalkers of the Multiverse (who've been printed), backed by standard-legal pauper decks, faced each other down in multiplayer games, for the ultimate title of "best planeswalker." The only hints as to a flaw in my methodology was that Nichol Bolas didn't even place.

t.1) I also made a foray into making my own funny images for the web, my favorite of which--if not for its quality--is "Gone Fishing," based on a number of simple truths.

t.iiv) I think we all noticed the sharp uptick in how much I bitched about one larger issue or another during the year. I think my latest instance, picking up the banner of universal freedom to dress up like a geek, was one of the better ones. Hopefully, I can start with that level of quality and do better this year.

6^6) The last good Timewalking Archive Trap also came up this year, covering my first and--for reasons explained in the posts--last time playing Warhammer 40k. It isn't flattering, but few of my early blogging adventures really are. It's painfully obvious even now that my current efforts are only one or two iterations away from poorly-secured diary.

Black) I'm no Nathan Silver, but I believe I have every right to be smugly satisfied with  my probably-a-landslide-but-let's-not-get-crazy analysis for the 2012 election. It was all based on numbers, but in retrospect those numbers are so overwhelming I should be more pissed that others didn't see this than proud that I did.

,) I watched most of Star Trek: The Next Generation last year. Knowing every twist and plot point before they happen could make it boring, if I didn't use it as an opportunity to try to understand acting and analyze characters. The largest of my conclusions was that Lavar Burton was not used nearly enough as Geordi LaForge. It invited a lot of thought about both the writing and fandom on my end. And it didn't come up much there, but Marina Sirtis' Deanna Troi falls into much the same category, without any speculation about the writing or fandom.

My ramblings of comics and terrorism is something that I'll have to refine and rewrite one day, but it's been on my mind for a while and I'm glad I finally got it out there. Plus I got to photoshop hearts into Rorschach's journal, which is always on the best-of list. (οяяΑsid

()) Stopping Kony was possibly the second most popular trend for idiots this year, beaten only by a hipsterish, "Let Kony Keep Doing His Thing" counter-trend. I may not have covered this, but sometimes the world is the way it is not because of politicians, or indifferent Gods, or the limits of physics and economics, but because the balance of humanity would rather be right than believe in something.

) When I quit my highly-profitable offshore job to return to school last year, I blogged extensively about the nature of personality. I also drew an awesome jump-dolphin, made some other cool pictures, and pondered the nature of empathy while trying to extend some to a good friend who'd recently gone through a very rough time. I don't think I did any of those things very well (except for the jump-dolphin: remember that face), but it's definitely a case where I swung hard from the heart and it was worth it just to make it halfway.

What about you guys? Proud 2012 moments?