The Top Ten Most Popular Posts of Mine from 2013

Here we are, the end of another year. And what better way to celebrate than to take a walk down memory lane and see what were the posts that interested the most people over the past year? Since that’s something I was going to check out anyway, I figured it’d make a nice blog post. Two birds, one stone–that sort of thing. Ready?

Starting the list off at number ten was my response to the use of the word “Gypsy” in Pacific Rim. I admit in hindsight that the post came across as much harsher than I intended it to be, but sometimes I get upset, and that’s what the blog is here for. To help me snap my thoughts into focus. On a happy note, the screenwriter heard about the issue and apologized for his ignorance. Very well handled, and nice to see awareness raised.

Number nine is the popular Scrooge-based post–the one about how I don’t send out Christmas cards. Surprisingly, I still got a slew of cards, so apparently you all didn’t hold my scrooginess against me too hard. Not that I’m going to send cards out next year, either. But still.

The eighth most popular post was my summary of the Jodi Arias trial. The one where she ended up being found guilty for murdering the man who converted her to Mormonism (and did a whole lot of much less savory things, but we won’t go into that right now). Of course, the sentence is still tied up in courts, and who knows when that’ll be ironed out. Yuck.

Number seven? My thoughts on the NSA government snooping scandal. A scandal which has only deepened as the months have drawn on. No happy ending in sight here–my general feeling now is to accept the fact that I’m being snooped on constantly, and it’s a sad state of affairs when I feel like I need to accept that as the status quo. Not sure how to change it though . . .

The most popular family related post I had (and the sixth most popular post overall) was the little piece I put out when MC was born. Also the shortest popular post, which means clearly for me to have more blogging success, I need to have more children. Ideally on a weekly basis. Maybe that should be a goal for next year . . .

The fifth most popular post was that Duck Dynasty kerfluffle. One in which I ended up predicting that this would just be a PR move by A&E to get more attention to their duck show. Which indeed seems to have been the case. It’s like firing someone on a Saturday morning, and then rehiring them a few hours later. Sheesh.

Then comes number four, a discussion on the need to separate the art from the artist. I enjoyed writing this post and the discussions that followed. Still feel the same way, but I recognize not everyone does, and I understand where they’re coming from.

Number three was my post about the Mormon church’s new approach to dealing with controversial issues like racism and polygamy. Namely, to write detailed, historically accurate posts and put them on the church website for everyone to read and learn from. It’s such a no-brainer to me, and I’m very glad they’re finally doing it.

Clocking in at the second most popular post was this piece on hypocrisy and some religious conservatives. I’d actually forgotten I’d written this one, and it was a pleasure to reread as I prepped for this post. It’s a great feeling to look back at your writing with totally fresh eyes and realize you really like what you’ve written.

And finally, my number one most popular post: a discussion of how Mormons approach missionary work. Wowzers. This one got a lot of comments going on Facebook and the blog alike. It wasn’t one that I thought would generate a lot of interest. It was just a discussion I’d had with my brother, and I wanted to write some more thoughts down.

Looking over the year, it’s been an interesting one to say the least. I can never tell ahead of time what everyone will be drawn to on the bog and what they won’t. Some posts I think are fantastic, and hardly anyone sees them. Others I view as throwaways, and then they see a ton of traffic. (“Ton” being a relative term, but still. . . .) Another thing I noticed? The views for my blog after my new website went up are overall better than they were before. I think the writing has stayed consistent, so I have to say that it must be due to the new site. Huzzah!

In any case, it was an eventful year, and I’ll be interested to see what things lie in the future. Thanks to you all for your comments and opinions. The blog has become one of my favorite things I do each day. Bring on 2014!

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