So as regular readers know, every Friday, more or less, I choose my favourite comments from this blog (and my favourite posts I’ve read on other blogs), and list them in the sidebar under the title Bragging Rights Central. In December I go through the archives, tally the wins (congratulations again to Ricardipus (most mentions for best comment) plus Massimo, Nina, Beth and Henry (joint most mentions for best post)!), pick my 12 favourite comments of the year, and let my readers vote for the winner.
This is no easy task – I’m lucky enough to have some amazingly funny and insightful commenters, and it’s sometimes hard enough to choose the best comments of the week, let alone the whole year! I had to cut some really, really great comments from my “short” list of 48 (!!!), and as always I’m really sorry not to be able to include everyone.
This year’s 12 choices are below, and you should can click through to the original posts to read the comments in context.
But first:
THE RULES
- All regular and irregular commenters and readers are encouraged to vote! Lurkers, this includes you – and why not delurk at the same time? 😉
- Please vote using the poll ONLY (link at the end of this post). Any votes cast in the comments on this post, on Twitter, Facebook, other people’s blogs, or by carrier pigeon WILL NOT COUNT.
- Please vote only once each
- Please do not vote for your own comment!
- If you’re nominated, please feel free to link through from your own blog so all your own readers see the poll. HOWEVER, please link to THIS POST, rather than directly to the survey, so everyone who votes sees all comments in full (and all the rules 🙂 )
- Voting closes at midnight (Vancouver time) on December 31st
- In the event of a tie, I will choose my favourite of the tied comments (I won’t vote otherwise)
- The winner will be formally announced as soon as the NYE hangover clears
- Prize: ultimate 2011 bragging rights AND a CAD40 Amazon gift certificate
THE COMMENTS
1) Anthony Fejes for “I think silliness in right wing material is impossible because it is essentially already a parody of a rational perspective. In fact, even making a parody of a right wing video becomes a poe, indistinguishable from the non-parody version.
[…]
It’s like religion… Have you ever seen someone threaten you with eternal damnation and hellfire while being silly? It just doesn’t make sense, and both the religious and the right are trying to do the same thing: Use fear as a motivator to encourage some behaviour.
Fear + Silly just don’t work well together.”
2) Beth for “OMG! I’m not a Capricorn anymore! I don’t even know what a Sagittarius is supposed to be like! Hopefully it will be a list of generic positive characteristics that can apply to anyone!”
3) Bob O’H for “I’m amazed you’re spending so much time working on REDACTED. I can’t imagine how you’ll get it published, though.”
4) Eva for “Gah! My longest job was my PhD, which was about a *million* years. (Six years and three months, to be precise). A MILLION!
Oh, and longest time in same place by myself was seven years. Most of aforementioned PhD, plus a year after that. Fun fact: I got Penny within two weeks after moving into that apartment, so she also lived in the same house for seven years. My cat totally beat your house record!”
5) Eva for “I’ve dated someone who showed me a powerpoint presentation about his work on the first date. That should have been a sign, but the topic was actually interesting, so it didn’t put me off right there and then. Unfortunately, his job was the only interesting thing about the guy.”
6) Frank Norman for “Of course you know the area is really gentrified when you see a restaurant open up that sells retro de-greased greasy spoon fare but at five times the price of the old closed-down greasy spoon cafe.”
7) Lavaland for “That’s falcon awesome.”
8.) Mermaid for “Similar instructions are common when trying to learn an old family recipe from my mom (who learned it from my dad’s mom), which really can’t be written down. “Add flour until it feels right” is a favourite, as is “Mix until it looks the right level of combined”. I am sure with practice I will know what it all means, but in the meantime the failed batches are depressing.”
9) Mike for “With my little monster rapidly approach 1 yr old, I’ll take romance wherever I can damn well get it. Whether that be in Roskapankki’s stinkin’
bogs or not.
I’m already regretting typing this.”
10) Nina for “It somehow reminds me of a student of my dad’s who google-translated a term-paper from (random) bits of scientific literature (English to Dutch), and also translated some of the names of people that were cited in the literature. It took my dad a long time to figure out who those researchers were that she kept citing and that he’d never heard of …”
11) Ricardipus for “It is certainly the case that Mr. Harper controls his cabinet very, very tightly, something he’s been criticized for many times (and definitely not how I’d like to see the country run). I’ve not a lot of use for Michael Ignatieff, who is sorely lacking in international political experience, and even less for Jack Layton, who I believe would promise us all personal jetpacks, free prescription drugs and resurrected dinosaur amusement parks if he believed we’d vote for him.”
12) Steve Caplan for “Mycoplasma are an essential part of animal/human cells. Since there is MORE bacterial DNA in a human than human DNA, we need to look at humans (and their cells) as symbiotic organisms–meaning that Mycoplasma are an essential component of human cells and any cell lines lacking them should be treated with suspicion.
[…]If the editor wouldn’t listen, I’d tell him/her that he/she is full of sh.., no cr…, no…Mycoplasma…”
THE POLL
I be done voted. And, as per the rules, not for myself.
I’m thinking Eva has no chance at all, since she has to not vote for herself twice.
yes, it’s gotta be tough…
Wouldn’t it have been better to allow the readers to rate the comments in order of preference rather than allowing a single choice? 😮
better for whom?!
This already takes hours, not even counting the time it takes to choose, link, and archive all the comments and posts each week. I’m sorry but I don’t feel like taking even more hours to figure out how to score dozens of lists of ordered comments to pick a winner…
plus the time it would take each person to rank 12 comments… I think the voter turnout would decrease significantly!
Yes! PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION! REPEAL THE POLL TAX! DINOSAUR PARKS FOR EVERYONE!!!!
is this why we still have first past the post?!! I’m with Ricardipus. Dinosaur Parks for the win!
You would have had to do an Excel macro that tallies 10 points for people’s first choice, 9 for the second, etc. until 0 for the bottom two, and then add up the points per comment.
ugh, sounds far too much like work 🙂
Nothing a little Pivot Table couldn’t handle. Ask rpg, he has those v00d00 sk1llz.
I’m not sure I could rank. I already use the close my eyes and pick as its hard to decide you is the funniest. Ranking would cause head explosion.
exactly!
Oh god, all my comments from the past…. 😛
I won’t promote this because I don’t want to advertise that I’ve said something negative about an ex. So, well, I should’ve thought of that before complaining (but he was just not very nice at all 🙁 )
LOL, and you couldn’t promote your comment last year either because it was about your Dad… oops!
I’m rather disappointed with my lack of presence. I’ve tried VERY hard to be witty. I may boycott in protest. Seriously what does girl have to do around here to get some LOVE
I’m rather disappointed with my presence. I’ve tried to be extra boring this year, but I still got myself nominated.
Next year I’m going to have to be even more disciplined and only post quotations from Cox & Ried’s The Theory of Design of Experiments.
Ried -> Reid. Although I’m sure that typo was in one of their earlier drafts.
Y’know, comments like a couple that have showed up so far on this thread almost make me not want to do this any more. I always get at least one such comment, every year, and yes they’re often kinda jokey comments – but never 100% jokey. This is supposed to be a nice thing that I do for my readers, that takes me hours and hours and much agonised decision making to finalise, and every damn year someone moans that their comment wasn’t included or that the voting system isn’t right or that something else is wrong. I have more than 12 regular commenters, so not everyone is going to make it every year. If you’re not included it doesn’t mean I don’t think you’re funny or witty or that I don’t love all my commenters. It doesn’t mean anything at all, except that this is a subjective list of MY favourite comments (on MY blog).
I’m sorry I have to cut people from the shortlist, I really am, but c’mon – even 12 is almost too many for a final vote!
OK, venting over. This year’s competition will definitely keep running. Next year? Depends on what mood I’m in at the time.
(It’s OT’s birthday and I’ll pout if I want to)
” I have more than 12 regular commenters, ” yeah yeah, rub it in for those of us who aren’t as loved ;P
[joke joke joke!!!]
I love these comments and the silliness of all of them! Will be fun to read the winner!!
really really was joking! I totally did vote, close my pick method but did vote! But re-reading can totally see how you feel. I really seem to be getting in trouble on this here blog lately…my bad. I blame the change in horoscopes.
My comment was in reference to last year’s stated goal to win. What you don’t remember?! Your life does not revolve around me? I am shocked I tell you shocked! <- not really 🙂
🙂
OK, sorry for getting all frustrated and shit!
(And thanks to Bob for making me laugh!)
Have I won yet?
nope – sorry! Maybe next year!