lists

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Cory Doctorow and his daughter, Posey, have a regular sushi date. “Every week or two, we visit a different sushi restaurant, usually near our place in Burbank, and have a (usually) fantastic meal. We bring along a little notebook and take notes and keep scores on everything we try, and then (usually) we give the restaurant an overall rating.” They call it the Sushi Chronicles. What a cute idea.

Top 10 Most Banned Books: 2016

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Well, here we are again, folks. It’s banned books week. Once again I’m here with a new post listing the top 10 most challenged books during the previous year. During 2016 there were 323 recorded challenges by the ALA and they have brought us a new crop of frequently challenged books. The The Holy Bible had been removed from the list this year. However, this is the first time I’ve ever seen a book or series of books being challenged because of the “criminal sexual allegations against the author“. I think it is also worth noting that half of the list are illustrated.

2016

  1. This One Summer, by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Jillian Tamaki
    Reasons: Includes LGBT characters, drug use, profanity, sexually explicit with mature themes.
  2. Drama, by Raina Telgemeier
    Reasons: Includes LGBT characters, sexually explicit, offensive political viewpoint.
  3. George, by Alex Gino
    Reasons: Includes a transgender child, “sexuality was not appropriate at elementary levels”.
  4. I Am Jazz, by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings, and illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas
    Reasons: Portrays a transgender child, language, sex education, offensive viewpoints.
  5. Two Boys Kissing, by David Levithan
    Reasons: Cover has an image of two boys kissing, sexually explicit LGBT content.
  6. Looking for Alaska, by John Green
    Reasons: Sexually explicit scene that may lead a student to “sexual experimentation”.
  7. Big Hard Sex Criminals, by Matt Fraction and illustrated by Chip Zdarsky
    Reasons: Sexually explicit.
  8. Make Something Up: Stories You Can’t Unread, by Chuck Palahniuk
    Reasons: Profanity, sexual explicitness, being “disgusting and all around offensive”.
  9. Little Bill (series), by Bill Cosby and illustrated by Varnette P. Honeywood
    Reasons: Criminal sexual allegations against the author.
  10. Eleanor & Park written by Rainbow Rowell
    Reasons: Offensive language.

…

Top 10 Most Banned Books: 2016Read More »

Top 10 Most Banned Books: 2015

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For many, many years I have put together a list of the top ten most banned books from the previous year, during Banned Books Weak. This year the Office for Intellectual Freedom, did not report the number of challenges (not without buying their official list anyway) so I’m unsure if it has decreased or increased year-over-year. However, this year has brought along a whole new crop of books. This is the first time I recall seeing The Holy Bible being on the list. Anyway here are the top ten:

2015

  1. Looking for Alaska, by John Green
    Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group.
  2. Fifty Shades of Grey, by E. L. James
    Reasons: Sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, and other (“poorly written,” “concerns that a group of teenagers will want to try it”).
  3. I Am Jazz, by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings
    Reasons: Inaccurate, homosexuality, sex education, religious viewpoint, and unsuited for age group.
  4. Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out, by Susan Kuklin
    Reasons: Anti-family, offensive language, homosexuality, sex education, political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group, and other (“wants to remove from collection to ward off complaints”).
  5. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon
    Reasons: Offensive language, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group, and other (“profanity and atheism”).
  6. The Holy Bible
    Reasons: Religious viewpoint.
  7. Fun Home, by Alison Bechdel
    Reasons: Violence and other (“graphic images”).
  8. Habibi, by Craig Thompson
    Reasons: Nudity, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group.
  9. Nasreen’s Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan, by Jeanette Winter
    Reasons: Religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group, and violence.
  10. Two Boys Kissing, by David Levithan
    Reasons: Homosexuality and other (“condones public displays of affection”).

Click these links if you are looking for the top 10 lists for previous years with easy links to Amazon: 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001.

Additionally, in 2010, I put together a list of the 100 Most Banned & Challenged Books Of The Decade by aggregating several lists from the American Library Association.

Definitive List Of Things You Should Have Already Experienced On The Internet Part 2015

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Greg Rutter is at it again with his annual Definitive List Of Things You Should Have Already Experienced On The Internet. The lists seem to get shorter and short as the years go by with this list clocking in at only 47 entries (I’ll try to add some deserving entries when I get the time). However, like earlier years, every link is a worthwhile link. A great way to waste away your winter break.

01) Dover Police Dash Cam Confessional
02) Ship Your Enemies Glitter
03) Selena Gomez Prom Invite
04) RC Millennium Falcon
05) Cat Jumps Through Snowbank
06) Dr. Phil With No Dialogue
07) Cantore Thundersnow
08) What Color Is The Dress
09) Llama Drama
10) Justin Bieber’s Carpool Karaoke
11) Himalayas From 20,000 Feet
12) Hype Man Duties
13) Zoolander at Valentino Show
14) Robert Downey Jr. Delivers A Bionic Arm
15) Earl Sinclair Performs “Hypnotize”
16) Left hanging when you need the answers on a test
17) Why the f*ck you lying
18) Drake’s Hotline Bling
19) Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch
20) Father Invites Stepfather Down The Aisle
21) Attention Kmart Shoppers
22) Rejected Pepto Bismol Superbowl Ad
23) Man In The Giant Waterballoon
24) Babboon With Computer
25) Duck Army
26) Father Daughter Beatbox Battle
27) Chuck Esterly’s Stand Up Debut
28) Peanut Butter Baby
29) Obama Reads Mean Tweets
30) Tee Ball Bat Flip
31) Later That Same Life
32) The Dancing Doge
33) An Irishman In Las Vegas
34) Pizza Rat
35) Company is coming
36) Holy Mother Nikki
37) Adele At Adele Impersonation Contest
38) Chairbacca
39) The Last Message Received
40) Pelican Learns To Fish
41) U2 Busks On The Subway
42) Silento- Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)
43) Plastic Ball Prank
44) Guy Has Seisure While Skydiving
45) Merry Christmas Starbucks
46) This Damn Ass Rock
47) Cats Vs Cucumbers

Top 10 Most Banned Books: 2014

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For the past many years, during Banned Books Weak, I have put together a list of the top ten most banned books of the previous year. Out of 311 challenges (a slight increase from the 307 challenges reported in 2013) as reported by the Office for Intellectual Freedom, here are the top ten:

2014

  1. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
    Reasons: anti-family, cultural insensitivity, drugs/alcohol/smoking, gambling, offensive language, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group, violence. Additional reasons: “depictions of bullying”
  2. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, by Marjane Satrapi
    Reasons: Anti-family, homosexuality, political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group. Additional reasons: “promotes the homosexual agenda”
  3. And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
    Reasons: Nudity, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
  4. The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
    Reasons: Sexually explicit, unsuited for age group. Additional reasons: “contains controversial issues”
  5. It’s Perfectly Normal (The Family Library), by Robie H. Harris
    Reasons: Nudity, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group. Additional reasons: “alleges it child pornography”
  6. Saga, Vol. 1, by Brian K. Vaughan
    Reasons: Anti-Family, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group.
  7. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
    Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited to age group, violence
  8. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
    Reasons: drugs/alcohol/smoking, homosexuality, offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group. Additional reasons: “date rape and masturbation”
  9. A Stolen Life: A Memoir, by Jaycee Dugard
    Reasons: drugs/alcohol/smoking, offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group
  10. Drama, by Raina Telgemeier
    Reasons: sexually explicit

Click these links if you are looking for the top 10 lists for previous years with easy links to Amazon: 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001.

Additionally, in 2010, I put together a list of the 100 Most Banned & Challenged Books Of The Decade by aggregating several lists from the American Library Association.

Mad Men Reading List

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The New York Public Library (NYPL) has created a Mad Men Reading List, a collection of 25 titles read by the main characters during the course of the series. These titles are a great way to gain insight into the social and cultural eras in which the series takes place.

DON DRAPER’S PICKS

ROGER STERLING’S PICK

JOAN HARRIS’S PICK

BERT COOPER’S PICK

  • Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
    (Episode 108 “The Hobo Code”)

BETTY DRAPER’S PICKS

PETE CAMPBELL’S PICKS

SALLY DRAPER’S PICKS

LANE PRYCE’S PICK

HENRY FRANCIS’S PICK

Billy Parrott has also written a more comprehensive blogpost that lists books seen on shelves and lying around on tables during the show.

Definitive List Of Things You Should Have Already Experienced On The Internet Part 2014

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Greg Rutter has once again created a definitive list of the 99 things you should have already experienced on the internet unless you’re a loser or old or something. Once again, it is a little YouTube heavy, me thinks. But it still a great way to burn an evening. There are a bunch on this years list that I haven’t seen yet. Maybe I really am getting old or something.

01) First Kiss
02) Apparently Kid
03) Hater Blockers
04) The Ice Bucket Challenge
05) In My Mum’s Car
06) Swedish Soldier’s “Greased Lightning”
07) Skateboarding Cat
08) Mr. Pimp Goodgame
09) Kayden and Rain
10) Runner Falls In The Snow After Interview
11) Shia LaBeouf – Live
12) Climbing The World’s Second Highest Tower
13) Snowboarding NYC
14) Brian Williams Sings “Rapper’s Delight”
15) Twitch Plays Pokemon
16) 10 Hours Of Walking In New York As A Woman
17) Cleaning Dancing Roommate
18) Seth Rogen’s Alzheimer’s Senate Testimony
19) Fake Chef Pranks Morning TV Shows
20) Glow Stick Blows Up In Kid’s Face
22) Two Women Caught Stealing Canopy On Beach
22) The Camera In The Mirror
23) Barack Obama’s Between Two Ferns
24) The Ice Cream Van
25) Demon Baby Attack
26) Good Looking Parents Sing “Love Is an Open Door”
27) Superman With A GoPro
28) Andrei Linde Celebrates Physics Breakthrough
29) KTLA Anchors React To Earthquake
30) Louis C.K. and Bradley Cooper
31) Grandmas Smoking Weed For The First Time
32) I Might Boycott Bath And Body Works Rant
33) BASE Jump From The Freedom Tower
34) Instant Karma
35) Action Movie Kid
36) Slow Life
37) Coke + Nutella + Mentos + Durex ITALIA world record
38) Circle Of Life On Flight Home
39) When Mom Isn’t Home
40) Classroom Phone Call April Fools Prank
41) Kids React To The Walkman
42) The Futility Of Existence
43) Kicked In The Head By A Train
44) Baby Conducts Choir
45) Dog Carjacking
46) Reveal To Grandpa
47) Tiny Hamsters Eating Tiny Burritos
48) 100 Days Of Dance
49) Tempura Shrimp Canon
50) Shovel Fight
51) Ellen’s Oscar Selfie
52) Three Year Epic Selfie
53) My Cat Saved My Son
54) Bunny Eating Rasperberries
55) 300 Sandwiches
56) Amazing Jam Session
57) 26 Country Proposal
58) Aug(de)mented Reality
59) Basejumping Dog
60) Luigi Death Stare
61) Full Cycle Inside A Dishwasher
62) Blatant Racism In Cheektowaga, NY
63) Sir Mix-A-Lot With The Seattle Symphony
64) All By Myself
65) Musicless Music Video: Dancing In The Streets
66) Fireworks Filmed With A Drone
67) F*ck Her Right In The P*ssy
68) I Dare You To Watch This Entire Video
69) Pallate Surfing
70) An Oscar-Worthy Toddler Tantrum
71) Zach King’s Magic Vines
72) Sadie Doesn’t Want Her Brother To Grow Up
73) British NFL Commentary
74) Things You Can’t Do When You’re Not A Toddler
75) Seal Wants To Surf
76) Been Walking Up Late For Some Reason
77) Between Two Ferns: Brad Pitt
78) People Power Frees Man Trapped By Train
79) The Gap by Ira Glass
80) East Hills Mall Back To School Commercial
81) Wisdom Teeth Ice Bucket Challenge
82) That J Crew Gingham Shirt
83) Run, Walter, Run!
84) Mascot Traffic Accident
85) Grandpa and Grandmaster Flash
86) Mutant Giant Spider Dog
87) Jam Session Bat Attack
88) First iPhone 6 Gets Dropped
89) You Poked My Heart
90) Dog Thinks Terrace Door Is Closed
91) I Smell Like Beef
92) Kid Goes Diva
93) Auto-complete Song
94) Love At First Touch
95) Dallas Airport Homophobe
96) Walking On Clean Ice In Slovakia
97) Coyote & Crow Dance
98) Crash And Burn Weezer Cover
99) iPhone 6 Plus Bend Test

I always try to add a few that I think Greg Missed, so here you go:
100) Deez Nuts

Top 10 Most Banned Books: 2013

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For the past few years, during Banned Books Weak, I have put together a list of the top ten most banned books of the previous year. Out of 307 challenges (a decrease from the 464 challenges reported in 2012) as reported by the Office for Intellectual Freedom, here are the top ten:

2013

  1. Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey
    Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited for age group, violence
  2. The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
    Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, violence
  3. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
    Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
  4. Fifty Shades of Grey, by E.L. James
    Reasons: Nudity, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
  5. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
    Reasons: Religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group
  6. A Bad Boy Can Be Good for A Girl, by Tanya Lee Stone
    Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit
  7. Looking for Alaska, by John Green
    Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
  8. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
    Reasons: drugs/alcohol/smoking, homosexuality, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
  9. Bless Me Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya
    Reasons: Occult/Satanism, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit
  10. Bone (series), by Jeff Smith
    Reasons: Political viewpoint, racism, violence

Click these links if you are looking for the top 10 lists for previous years with easy links to Amazon: 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001.

Additionally, in 2010, I put together a list of the 100 Most Banned & Challenged Books Of The Decade by aggregating several lists from the American Library Association.

2013: The Year In Blogging

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During 2013 Artifacting saw 1,530,685 absolute unique visitors to the site. While this number is larger than last year is doesn’t show the growth seen in earlier years. Below is a graph of my total number of absolute unique readers throughout 2013.

2013 Visitors

The spike on July 7th came from the “Today I learned” Sub-Reddit discovering my post about Venezuela’s Never Ending Lightning Storm.

Below are the top ten most visited posts published on Artifacting in 2013.
Google Street View At Night
Every Human Being
2013 SXSW Music Torrent & Radio
Denver Has The 3rd Best Looking Flag In The Nation.
Climbing The Mercury City Tower
Museum Of Endangered Sounds
Rare Color Film Of The Three Stooges
Gravity Is A Mistake
United States Of Electoral Votes
Bruce Springsteen <–> Dolly Parton

Referring sites sent 165,029 visits from 1,469 different sources during 2013. Less than last year.

2013 Referrals

The top ten referring sites to Artifacting (with search engines removed) during 2013 were:

Stumbleupon
Yahoo Answers
Reddit
Facebook
Squidoo
WikiHow
Just Free Stuff
Metafilter
Disneyland Fanclub
Pintrest

This year Pinterest, Wikihow, Just Free Stuff, and the now defunct Disneyland Fanclub were all newcomers to the list over the past year.

General stats for Artifacting are as follows:

Year # Of Posts Avg. Length Of Posts Total Length Of All Posts Comments (Mine)
2013 30 4,889 146,682 115 (2)
2012 88 2,093 184,142 273 (7)
2011 96 3,369 323,412 304 (13)
2010 172 1,900 326,775 326 (20)
2009 105 1,828 191,907 285 (19)
2008 135 956 129,117 363 (34)
2007 248 835 207,145 568 (124)
2006 221 927 204,804 536 (122)
2005 39 1,392 54,292 295 (0)
2004 117 1,673 195,757 955 (0)
2003 144 1,473 212,112 701 (0)

If you’re interested I also have the similar year-end stat posts for 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009 and 2008.

2013: My Year In Music

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I have been scrobbling my listening habits to last.fm for almost seven years now. Below I have listed the bands that I listened to most during 2013. Two of the bands in my top ten this year were also on last years list.

  1. Ratatat
  2. Ween
  3. Songs: Ohia
  4. Against Me!
  5. Make Up
  6. Built To Spill
  7. Kanye West
  8. 10 Ft. Ganja Plant (6th last year)
  9. Beastie Boys (4th last year)
  10. Cloud Cult

Below is a wave graph of the top artists that I listened to over the last year (click for a larger image). It’s a great way to visualize the trends in my listening habits throughout the year.
2013 Wavegraph

Additionally, here is a list of my most listened to songs of 2013:

  1. Ratatat – Wildcat
  2. Ratatat – Tacobel Canon
  3. Ratatat – Tropicana
  4. Brassy – Who Stole the Show
  5. Ratatat – Swisha
  6. African Bush Doctor – Not for Sale
  7. Ratatat – Nostrand
  8. Cat Power – Good Woman
  9. Ratatat – Loud Pipes
  10. Junior Toots – This is Fire

Some of the best live shows I’ve seen this year included:
Dinosaur Jr.
Vampire Weekend
Of Monsters And Men

You can also see similar lists put together for 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, and 2007.

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