Reflection 2016 (Not A Short Story)

An End of the Year Reflection: Thank You

Though the middle of the week (and it's already Friday anyways) is reserved for short stories, anyone whose been reading the last month or two knows short stories haven't happened, and the schedule remains both fitful and variable. Instead, (just for today) this space hosts a reflection on the first year of the complete Awkward Mixture (A review of the video game articles was posted yesterday).

Goal: three, one-thousand word articles a week. One-hundred and fifty six, for the exceptionally fastidious. Actual: Awkward Mixture of 2016 included 45 video game reviews, 36 political posts, 24 short fiction stories, and an 15 additional articles. One-hundred and twenty, 2.3 per week. Not a triumphant performance, but a sufficient start.

As of this moment, (12/29/2016 – 3:47 EST), there are a few stats worth highlighting.

Readers Choice Awards: The top ten article on Awkward Mixture determined to page-views:

Star Wars Episode VII: The Final Death Star, the third of three articles condemning the opening act of the sequel trilogy. The reason behind the article's rise is part mystery, and part absurdity. Within an hour of its publication, the post surpassed every previous article. The next day it doubled in volume. It preceded to achieve an unprecedented (for me) quantity of pageviews. Five days after its reveal, the flow of visitors ceased. With a bit of investigating, Google Blogger revealed the source of the traffic: I could see the countries visitors were viewing from. The United States is the norm, but the Star Wars article was very popular in Poland! The mystery remains unresolved, the reason undiscovered for this aberration. For someone who still believes the internet is magic, I posit this: maybe the image I chose through Creative Commons led viewers to Awkward Mixture? If anyone with actual understanding has a real theory, I'd be glad to hear it.

Unlike Star Wars, which has a massive fanbase, some Awkward Mixture articles appear in google if one searches with the perfect combination of terms. The article in which I compared Europa Universalis 3 and 4, achieved second place on the blog and is still receiving pageviews. The reason: anyone looking to buy Europa 3 or 4 search for advise on Google. Typing “eu 3 versus 4” into google bring my article up fifth. But “eu 3 or 4” won't. One has to accept silly, tiny, trivial successes where one can.

The articles holding positions three and four of Awkward Mixture's most viewed also can be found on the first page of google (with specific search terms). While Mount and Blade: Warband was released in 2010, its “overwhelmingly positive” reviews on Steam confirm its classic status. Players new and old, are still invested in the eternal question: what is the best army composition? Even though I wrote the pair of articles in April, the analysis still continues to receive regular hits.

Human Resource Machine was a tough game I never beat, but even attempting the challenge was a reward. Problem: people who already know how to program will find it too easy, while those who don't will need to research beyond the scope of the game to win.

Almost a True Story is the first short-story on Awkward Mixture's top ten, and was written after reflecting on some experiences that may or may not have occurred teaching middle school in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Returning to video games, two articles debating the merits of Shadow of Mordor secured spots seven and eight. That the article with slightly more views expresses approval, bests the one conveying disgust, sums up my overall view of Shadow of Mordor.

A second short story manages to fill the ninth spot. Cotton Candy Castles was inspired by my time in Eastham on the Cape. Driving down route 6, tree line the road, and suddenly, isolated from any other buildings appears two brightly colored buildings facing each other across the two-lane road. They appear to be selling identical beach products, and I always wondered what might occur if the owners argued.

Number ten suffers a thirty percent drop from the ninth, has half the pageviews of the third place article, one fifth of the second place, and one tenth of the first. So it barely deserves a spot. But it is the tenth highest. Life is Strange is an interesting game full of brilliance, but also overused and underdeveloped plot points. Play it yourself, or watch my Youtube Channel.

Best Three You Might Have Missed:

If you joined the blog halfway through the year, you might have missed something worthwhile. It can be difficult to look back through previous articles, as I haven't devised a method for easy access of the archives. Something to work on for 2017.

But I'd like to reissue three short stories I wrote early on.

The Connector (better title anyone?), is, a short story that I could turn into a novel. The idea is there, but alas, many ideas and maybe lacking in motivation. Even though it has no connection, this story feels a bit like a Le Guin idea, and has a bit of The Dispossessed in it. Maybe it will make an extended appearance in 2017.

Another short story that has a little Le Guin in it, (The Lathe of Heaven?), Fish, a Phone, or Paradise was enjoyable to write, but like much of my stuff becomes too bogged down in an unwieldy ending.

I was mulling PKD when writing Is It Worth Remembering? Something about the word tinny (as in: having a dis-pleasingly thin, metallic sound) always reminds me of Horselover Fat. Not that book per say, but Ubik and A Scanner Darkly, if one's generous.

If you had a favorite article, I'd be glad to hear about it. Feel free to post in the comments.

Finally, as was said in the video game review yesterday, I want to than everyone whose been reading this year. I've not kept up 100% with my goal, but I'm looking to continue forward for the next year and see how it goes.

Short Stories return next Year.

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