This .gif of Katy Perry was one of the most popular items from the past year on The mj15 Blog. So why didn't it help Perry earn a spot into the Hall of Fame?
What a memorable and exciting past month it has been here at The mj15 Blog. From the three part Emmy predictions column to, of course, the second annual Hall of Fame inductions, it has been a month filled with posts that I have enjoyed writing about immensely and I hope that you simultaneously enjoyed reading as a result. So what better way to end one of my favorite months of the year (from the blog's standpoint, that is) with a tribute to some of its best (and worst) people, stories and moments? Nothing, that's what!
But first, I want to take some time to once again commemorate the individuals and moments that were selected into the 2011 class of The mj15 Blog Hall of Game. To recap, those five that were enshrined for the better part of the past week and a half were:
Brett Favre
Charlie Sheen
Karen Owen
The Decision
Jon Stewart & Stephen Colbert ( joint inductees)
And here are the five 2010 inductees that they will be forever joined with:
The Tiger Woods Thanksgiving Car Crash/Sex Scandal/Break From Golf Story
South Carolina
Matthew Clemmens
The 2010 Tonight Show Conflict
Bill Simmons
Congratulations to all ten total inductees, each of whom deserved it in their own, special way. And now, in continuation of last year, it's time to end this prolonged celebration of the site's two years of existence with a list of the people, places and things that had some pretty good resumes worthy of having them included into this year's Fabulous Five, but just missed out of the final cut. From television shows to politicians to even a famous comedy band, here are this year's Hall of Fame honorable mentions, featuring the reasons why I could've selected them and an explanation for why I ultimately didn't:
Rebecca Black:
-Why She Could've Been Selected: Those of you familiar with the Internet culture and its past and current fads know Black as the singer in the music video of "Friday," an awful song written by the heads of Ark Music Factory in which she sang about the joys of the workweek's final day and the trials and tribulations of having to choose between sitting in either the front or back seat. Because of the song's awfulness, the video became a massive hit. It gained over 100 million views, it held the title of the most disliked video in YouTube history, and became the new song to sing ironically to people, most likely to annoy others (I, for one, held the lyrics to it being sung out loud around 6 times a day at the height of its popularity) before Black finally took it down this past June. On the bright side, the song was so bad that it sparked a string of brilliant parodies, and each week I chronicled the best for a five week period on "End of the Week." In addition, I also named "Friday" the song of the month back in March's "End of the Month" and even named her one of that month's top people.
-Why She Wasn't Selected: Black actually came very close to being inducted, as she did fit perfectly under the criteria for Hall of Fame candidates. However, as with most of the other honorable mentions, it was a simple case of her not having the "it" factor to get into the Hall over, say, Stewart & Colbert (whose resume dates back much longer than Black) and Sheen (who was more prominent in the headlines at his peak than Black). If there was anyone who Black would have defeated to get into the Fabulous Five, it would have been Owen. However, I wanted someone to get inducted this year that was the most similar to 2010 inductee Matthew Clemmens, and Owen fit that bill the most. Oh, well...I suppose.
Christine O'Donnell
- Why She Could've Been Selected: The Delaware Tea Party politician ran as the Republican candidate for Joe Biden's vacant Senate Seat in the fall of 2010 to much headlines until she ended up losing big. During that span, the American public found out many interesting things about her and her beliefs, including the fact that she once practiced witchcraft (leading her to run the infamous "I'm You" ad) and that she believed AIDS funding in this country was too much. O'Donnell was also voted September 2010's "Person of the Month" by this blog.
-Why She Wasn't Selected: Crazy and/or dumb U.S. politicians are a dime a dozen these days, especially during the past two years. Just look at Rand Paul and Jimmy McMillan as two examples. With that in mind, the fact that one female politician managed to out-crazy the rest isn't really that impressive enough. In fact, its actually kind of sad.
Mad Men
-Why It Could've Been Selected: What can I say? It was simply another brilliant year for the show, one that will probably give them another Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series and one that was discussed on multiple occasions here on this blog (including a 13 point analysis of the season four finale and a spot on my list of the 10 Best Shows of 2010). Not many other shows on TV this past year was as mentioned or as praised here on this site than this show.
-Why It Wasn't Selected: Another year, another Hall of Fame honorable mention for "Mad Men." Why is that the case? Same reason as last year: it still has plenty of time left to get in. Creator of the show Matthew Weiner just signed a massive contract with AMC to run the show for three more years, and I have no doubt that the show will still continue to ooze greatness. With that in mind, why not award a spot into the Hall for someone like Owen or Favre that will probably not get another shot in future years?
Community/The Office/Parks and Recreations/30 Rock
-Why They Could've Been Selected: Well, there was that time that I spent ranking these Thursday night NBC comedies episode-by-episode. Also, like "Mad Men," I have dedicated multiple posts over the past two year discussing them, most of the times in a positive light (especially when it came to "Community" and "Parks and Recreations"), but occasionally in a negative light as well (pre-Fall 2010 "30 Rock," "The Office" seasons 6+).
-Why They Weren't Selected: Same reason as "Mad Men." These shows (and even others that I haven't mentioned in this column like "Breaking Bad" or "Game of Thrones") have at least another year to get nominated.
Anthony Weiner
-Why He Could've Been Selected: This former New York congressman spent the majority of June 2011 dominated the headlines with the story of his sexual Internet encounters on the job which eventually led to his resignation. This story prompted myself to vote Weiner as not only a Person of the Week, but also a Person of the Month.
-Why He Wasn't Selected: Oooh, a politician that was forced to resign because of a sex scandal! Like I haven't heard that before!
Ben Roethlisberger
-Why He Could've Been Selected: In the blog's first year, the Steelers quarterback spent the majority that time getting himself into some messy situations. He was accused of rape by two different women in a nine month period (the second rape case influenced me to name him my April 2010 Person of the Month) and was suspended by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for 4-6 games for not staying away from trouble in the offseason. In the blog's second year, Roethlisberger did all he could to redeem himself on the football field, helping to lead Pittsburgh to an AFC North division title and a trip to Super Bowl XLV in which the team came within five point of potentially winning. In other words, it was a tale of two Roethlisbergers, and this blog covered both.
-Why He Wasn't Selected: Because redemption stories are boring, that's why! In all seriousness, Roethlisberger was just another case of "close, but no cigar" where he had a good case of getting in but was ultimately beaten by five others that were slightly better. Just look at the two sports-related inductees from this year as an example. Favre had a good-year, bad-year situation just like Roethlisberger. However, unlike Big Ben, those two years were more dramatic in that one season he went to the NFC Championship and the other he finished it on the bench (Roethlisberger, on the other hand) was good in both 2009 and 2010, proving that those rape allegations didn't do anything to his on-the-field play). Meanwhile, Lebron James and his first season on the Miami Heat was a bigger sports story.
Katy Perry
-Why She Could've Been Selected: That .gif of her on Saturday Night Live from last September that you see just below the headline lead to one of the top search keywords that brought viewers to this site and for that post which it was involved in to become the site's third most read ever. Also, there was this small period in from mid-September 2010 to early-October 2010 in which I mentioned her in three straight "End of the Weeks." Not many people have accomplished such things in this blog.
-Why She Wasn't Selected: The case for her was a bit weak in my taste. But, hey, at least you get to stare at them bouncing Tickle Me Elmos some more!
The Season 1 Finale of The Killing
-Why It Could've Been Selected: That episode basically tore the Internet up in half from TV critics like Alan Sepinwall and Maureen Ryan to disgruntled viewers of the show going online and releasing their anger of the episode's polarizing ending. I was one of those people that hated the ending, and I expressed my frustration on multiple occasions in this blog for the past month and a half (including now). That episode was also selected into my June 2011 edition of "End of the Month" and led me to give the show's executive producer, Veena Sud, a Person of the Week recipient (with a five paragraph explanation/rant to boot).
-Why It Wasn't Selected: A criteria for getting into the Hall of Fame is that I had to enjoy writing about it. Believe me when I say that I not only hating that episode, but I also hated writing about it.
Kanye West
-Why It Could've Been Selected: Two reasons: 1) The Taylor Swift incident back in September of 2009, and 2) His 2010 album "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy," which was awesome and received rave reviews and multiple "Album of the Year" picks by....well, just about everyone.
-Why It Wasn't Selected: One of the three on the list to get an Honorable Mention for two years in a row, West wasn't selected simply because his two year resume, in my mind, was a bit too light to get in. But, hey! There's always next year!
Andy Samberg
-Why He Could've Been Selected: "On the Ground." "On a Boat." "Shy Ronnie." "A Great Day." "The Curse." "The Roomate." "Jack Sparrow (ft. Michael Bolton)." These are some of the names of SNL Digital Shorts and skits featuring Samberg that have been mentioned on this blog, usually as a "Video of the Week" selectee. Basically, my love of this guy's sketches have been unrivaled by any other comedian or "Saturday Night Live" cast member.
-Why He Wasn't Selected: I trust Samberg to deliver in quality during the upcoming 37th season of "Saturday Night Live," so there's no rush by me in giving the man a Hall of Fame induction. It's a lot like why I didn't pick "Mad Men," in other words.
Osama Bin Laden's Assassination
-Why It Could've Been Selected: Simply one of the biggest stories to come out of 2011, much like the Middle East uprisings and the lockouts in both the NFL and NBA. It was such a big story that it became the first to dominate an entire installment of "End of the Week" back in early May.
-Why It Wasn't Selected: Another really tough choices in this Hall of Fame selection process was having to decide whether this should've gotten in or not. I suppose I chose not to induct this story was because I only discussed it about four or five times whereas all of the five things that were selected (with the exception of Karen Owen) were mentioned on this blog much, much more.
Julian Assange
-Why He Could've Been Selected: The founder of the controversial website WikiLeaks.org.mad headlines over the past year releasing previously classified documents by the U.S. government regarding such topics as the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the country's diplomacy. As a result of that, he became the person ever in the history of The mj15 Blog to get selected as "Person of the Week" for two weeks in a row and the blog's selection for 2010's Person of the Year (take that, Zuckerberg!).
- Why He Wasn't Selected: (thinks it over) Yeah...I've made a huge mistake with this one, and I'm not afraid to admit it. But hey, at least that Person of the Year award is a very nice consolation prize...right?
And there you have it. Congrats to all 12 on coming oh, so close to making it. Should be interesting to see which of these twelve get brought up again next year either as another honorable mention, or as a member of the 2012 Fabulous Five (at last). And now, to wrap up this post, here is a brand new "End of the Month" for the July 2011 that was. Enjoy:
END OF THE MONTH:
Verdict of the Month: Casey Anthony Found Not Guilty For First-Degree Murder of Daughter Caylee
Sure, she wasn't convicted of something that she probably did do. At least we got to see Nancy Grace come mere seconds away from having her head explode like in the movie "Scanners." Man, I hate that woman (Grace, though Anthony is not of my liking either)!
World Record: Takeru Kobayashi's Record 69 Hot Dogs in 10 Minutes
The record isn't as amazing as much as the story behind it. The man set the world record in New York City a few miles from Coney Island where the year's annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest was being held on the Fourth of July because he was not eligible to compete as he had not agreed to exclusively be part of the competitive food eating organization that was holding the event. He also broke that unofficial world record at the same time that Joey Chestnut officially broke the world record that he set a year ago with 62, seven less than Kobayashi. A fantastic act of revenge, if I do say so myself.
Deaths of the Month: Singer Amy Winehouse and Former First Lady Betty Ford
July was not a kind month for famous substance abuser.
Stories of the Month:
- The Weirdest of the Weird: Woman Died From Allergic Reaction To Sex With Dog
Ireland, huh? Looks like they and the Southeast are more alike than I thought! Speaking of bestiality...
- The Best Revival of a Blog Favorite: Kentucky Man Charged With Repeat Horse-Sex Offense
Somewhere, what's left of the carcass of Rodell Vereen is happy knowing that he's not alone.
- The Best Kamikazi: Konrad Schmidt, Suicidal Son, Crashes Plane To Mother's House With Her In It
That's for not liking my Mother's Day present, mom!
- The End of an Era: Space Shuttle Atlantis Lands, Ending 30 Year Space Program
Houston, we have...nothing.
- The Best Shenanigan: Intoxicated Men Take Dead, Flattened Alligator Off-Roading in Livingston County
Following the report of the story, the Detroit Free-Press was swamped by phone call leads.
-The Saddest: Texas Rangers Fan Dies Reaching For Ball in Outfield
Great! As if Josh Hamilton didn't have enough demons in his life.
- Thanks, Phone Hacking Scandal!: News of the World Shut Down
Goodbye, cruel World!
- The Most Relieving (For Him): The Charges Against Dominique Strauss-Kahn Are Stopped
Hah! Take that non-believers! You suck!
- The Plumpest: Woman Gives Birth to 16 Pound Baby
Well, you know what they say about things in Texas...
- The Best Proposal: Mila Kunis to Attend Marine Ball With Sgt. Moore
Too bad that she eventually said no. I thought it would have been a nice cross-promotion for her movie "Friends With Benefits" with "good PR" counting as the "benefit."
- The Most Horrifying: Norway Devastated With Oslo Bombings, Youth Camp Shooting
- The Most Petulant: Dave Chappelle Tells Single Joke, Sighs For Remaining 45 Minutes
Dave Chappelle: the real life version of Joaquin Phoenix's character in "I'm Still Here."
- The Most Hypocritical: Kim Jong-Il Gets Big Macs Delivered From China to North Korea
Well, at least the U.S. can now share responsibility for his death.
- The Most Heroic: Scared Chihuahua Scares Off Two Robbers
I think we know who's gonna cameo in the new "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" movie!
Mugshot of the Month: Adam "Pacman" Jones
CHUH-CHUH.
Milestone of the Month: Derek Jeter's 3000th Hit As a MLB Player
He became the first Yankee in major league history to ever achieve such a milestone, and on a day where he had his best single game offensively, going 5-for-5, a home run (#3000), two RBIs, two runs scored and a stolen base. It was a great day to be a baseball fan, and an even better day to be a non-Yankees fan knowing that the unnecessary extra attention put on him was immediately diminished.
Retirement of the Month: Basketball Player Yao Ming From the NBA
He will leave behind an impact on the sport as big as his size.
Videos of the Month:
- The Most Embarrassing: "Fausto Carmona Baserunning FAIL"
Oh My God! An MLB clip on YouTube that has yet to be taken down! It's an August miracle! I wonder how long before the league realizes of its existence?
- The Most Inspirational: "Pastor Joe Nelms' Prayer Before NASCAR Nationwide Series Race"
Must have been awkward for the Christian pastor when he realized that he was thanking God for science.
- The Funniest: "George C. Scott Watches the 'Jack and Jill' Trailer"
Hitler Reacts videos, meet your newest competitor (besides the movie studios taking you down because of copyright). Also, couldn't have put it better myself, really.
- The Least Cat-astrophic: "All of Harry Potter Re-Enacted By Cats in 1 Minute"
Damn, that was pretty thorough. And I read all those books for nothing!
- The Coolest: "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon: History of Rap (Part 2) w/ Justin Timberlake"
Jimmy Fallon - Jokes + Singing & Dancing + Justin Timberlake + Classic Songs = Gold.
- The Biggest Brat: "Kid Pouts at Giants-Dodgers Game Over Missed Foul Ball"
The kid was eventually rewarded for his anger by the Giants TV crew with another foul ball to call his own. Personally, I thought that was a nice gesture. Very important to teach children entitlement at such an early age.
-The Bravest: "Soldiers Answer Simple Questions in Tear Gas"
America's finest in training!
- The Funnest: "Blob Jump Official Guinness World Record"
I sure hope the amount of depth between the top of the water and the ground were sufficient enough for the guy. Seems like a bad way to end something so cool.
- The Most Awesome: Abby Wambach's Goal in 122nd Minute vs. Brazil in Women's World Cup Quarterfinals
Sure, the ladies ended up losing during penalty kicks at the championship game against Japan. But at least we will always have this great moment in our memories. A simple wonderful play by the U.S. Women's Soccer team, doing the impossible in a time where things seemed very bleak.
Fake Tweets of the Month: Barack Obama's Assassination on FOX News' Twitter Feed
It was hacked? Are we sure? For all we know, the tweet could have been pre-written as a draft like obituaries for famous old people.
Photoshoot of the Month: Alison Brie and Gillian Jacobs on GQ
Now, will you watch "Community"?
Person of the Month: Newscorp. CEO Rupert Murdoch
It was widely known before July that Rupert Murdoch was basically the Mr. Burns of reality. However, what the past few weeks have done basically all but affirmed it, from the phone hacking scandal to the cancellation of News of the World to the Parliamentary hearing.
-Honorable Mentions: U.S. Congressmen, Derek Jeter, Christian Lopez, Women's Soccer Aficionados, Casey Anthony, Roger Goodell, DeMaurice Smith, NFL Fans, NASA Haters.
And there you have it: a really long post dedicate to a bunch of things that happened in the past. If you have any complaints of this column, or if you have anything else to add that probably should've been included on "End of the Month," please feel free to express it in the comments. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday night/early Monday morning! Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a very good episode of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" to re-watch.
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15
If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are greatly appreciated.
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