Stats for the 14th year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News on Wayback Wednesday

I closed 23andMe files for bankruptcy, fueling privacy concerns by telling my readers "stay tuned for the first retrospective of the 14th year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News, stats." Here goes!

As of 11:59 PM EDT March 20, 2025, this blog had a lifetime total of 5,222,122 page views, 6,168 total posts, and 4180 comments. Minus the 4,463,208 page views, 5,798 total posts, and 4,057 comments as of just before March 21, 2024, that means this blog earned 758,914 page views and 123 published comments on 370 posts during the 365 days of the 14th year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News. My calculated page views are close to the ~757,000 page views and 133 comments Blogger's counter showed during the past twelve months. That was closer than last year, but not exact. I think that's because Blogger counts whole days, which started at 8:00 P.M. March 21, 2024, but my count starts 20 hours earlier. Blogger lost all of those ~1,900 page views from those 20 hours. I tested this hypothesis by multiplying the next day's 2,290 page views by 0.833 (20/24) and got 1,908. Close enough. I can't completely account for the ten extra comments. I deleted six and there were eight comments during the first three weeks of March 2024 that Blogger might have counted, but neither add up, literally. Maybe I'll figure it out next year.

Last year's trend of increasing page views continued. Not only did this past year's 758,914 page views on 370 posts during 365 days beat the year before's 641,234 page views on 380 posts during 366 days, it beat the year before that's 419,300 page views on 379 posts during 365 days. That means I'm working less hard for more page views, as the blog earned 2,051.12 page views per post and 2,079.22 page views per day during the blog year just ended. Both are more than the 1,687.46 page views per post and 1,752.01 page views per day the blog earned between March 21, 2023 and March 20, 2024 and a lot more than the 1,106.33 page views per post and 1,148.77 page views per day between March 21, 2022 and March 20, 2023. May the trend continue during this year just started.

While the published comments increased from 78 to 123, the raw number, including never released spam decreased from 199 to either 154 or 133. Still, the number of published comments increased to 123, just edging out the 122 of two years ago. Just the same, I'm getting less spam and more published comments. Since I don't have comment goals, I'm not concerned. I'd prefer fewer quality comments than a lot of spam.

As for my commenters who aren't spammers, I'd like to thank them, beginning with continuing commenters Infidel753, Nebris, the first commenter on my blog, Friend of the Court, and Steve in Manhattan. I also want to welcome back Paul W., who didn't comment last year. Keep up the good work! I also want to thank John R. Christiansen, E.A. Blair, and Steven C. Di Pietro for making their first posts here. Stick around! Unfortunately, I seem to have lost longtime commenter Narb Xorbian, the best man at my first wedding. In addition, last year's first-time commenters H-bob, tronvillain, August Johnson, Noah, Marc McKenzie, Realityhold, and my student Ecogranite didn't return. Come back, I miss you!

Follow over the jump for the rest of the analysis.

Statistics for the eleventh year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News

It's time to review the statistics for the eleventh year of this blog.

As of 11:59 PM EDT March 20, 2022, this blog had a lifetime total of 3,402,674 page views, 5039 total posts, and 3857 comments. Minus the 2,869,693 page views, 4672 posts, and 3622 comments as of March 20, 2021, that means this blog earned 532,981 page views and 235 comments on 367 posts during the past 365 days. This is close to but not exactly the same as the 532K page views and 238 comments that the 12-month stats view on Blogger showed. I suspect the latter includes spam comments that never appeared on the blog. Just the same, the blog once again saw more page views on fewer posts than the 384,773 page views and 411 or 412 comments on 398 posts during the tenth year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News, although the comments still decreased. Still, it greatly exceeded the page view goal I set for the blog of 25,000 page views per 30 days, which translates to 304,167 page views if converted directly or 304,410 if calculated using 834 page views per day times 365 days, by 228,814 or 228,571 page views, depending on which I use; upon re-examining last year's entry, I should use 304,167 total (I omitted the 0 last year — oops), resulting in 228,814 over my goal. Either way, I was right to write "I'm not worried" again about reaching my page view goals. I easily surpassed them.

Follow over the jump for my analysis of the past year.

Statistics for the ninth year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News

As I promised in Happy 9th birthday to the blog and Nowruz Mubarak (Happy Persian New Year) to my readers, it's time to review the statistics for the ninth year of this blog.

As of 11:59 PM EDT March 20, 2020, this blog had a lifetime total of 2,484,920 page views, 4274 posts, and 3211 comments.  Minus the lifetime total of 2,168,149 page views and 3853 posts at 11:59 PM EDT March 20, 2019, 366 days earlier, the ninth year of the blog saw 316,771 page views on 421 posts during the ninth year of my writing it.  In addition, both the blog and I counted 464 comments during the past year.  While those are fewer page views on more posts than the 537,636 page views and 361 comments on 388 entries during 365 days for the eighth year of the blog, I set a monthly page view goal of 25,000, which means 300,000 total page views for the ninth year of the blog.  I surpassed my monthly page view goal by 1397.6 and my annual page view goal by 16,771, so I consider the past year a success in terms of readership.  Yay for realistic goals!

Follow over the jump for my analysis of the past year.

Italian military providing inspiration during coronavirus lockdown for The Ides of March

Beware The Ides of March!  To mark today, I was going to combine my usual theme of dread in the Med(iterranean) with my traditional Sunday entertainment feature by showing Italians singing to cheer themselves during their country's lockdown, but Paul W. at You Might Notice A Tread beat me to it.  No need for me to do that now when I can just refer my readers to his blog.

Instead, I will show something else inspiring, the Italian military putting on displays to bolster the morale of Italy's citizens.  I begin with VOA News showing Italian Paratrooper Supports Italy's COVID-19 Fight With Skydive.

An Italian army paratrooper dropped into Rome trailing a giant Italian flag, Friday, March 13, to express solidarity with the country as it is in lockdown due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Next, Mark 1333 uploaded a clip from BBC News showing Coronavirus (Covid-19) Italian air force display for Italy's people.

The Italian air force put on this display for Italy's people in unity and solidarity, as the country is in lock down.

I'd prefer to embed an official clip from BBC News, but there doesn't seem to be one.  Darn.  I hope this clip survives.  Even more important, I hope Italy gets out of lockdown soon and that the rest of the world, including the U.S., takes the example of Italy as a cautionary tale.

Drinks for the Democratic debates, Part 2

I finished Drinks for the Democratic debates, Part 1 by telling my readers to "Stay tuned for Part 2 tomorrow, when I do this all over again for the next ten candidates debating!"  Time to start serving the drinks, but first, tonight's participants from DebateDrinking.com.

NIGHT 2
Thursday, June 27

• Joe Biden
• Michael Bennet
• Pete Buttigieg
• Kirsten Gillibrand
• Kamala Harris
• John Hickenlooper
• Bernie Sanders
• Eric Swalwell
• Marianne Williamson
• Andrew Yang

I'll get to their drinks over the jump, but first the games.  In addition to DebateDrinking.com, Spectator USA, and A.M. New York, Paul W. of You Might Notice A Trend showed up in the comments to yesterday's entry with the following rules for three of the four top candidates in tonight's debate.

I... can TRY to make a drinking game rule.

Every time Joe Biden tries to talk like a Millennial but ends up sounding like a Baby Boomer, take two shots

Every time Bernie Sanders talks dismissively towards a woman candidate, take a shot

Every time Liz Warren or Kamala Harris sounds like sage wise life forms that WILL SAVE US ALL, cheer and get 10,000 more people signed up to vote, THEN take a shot.
...
Yes, I have a bias.

I like those rules, but I had the following responses to them.

Hey, Paul! Good to see you!

Thanks for the rules. I'll put them in tomorrow's entry.

If Joe Biden sounds like a Boomer, then he's still acting younger than he really is. He was born in 1942, so he's actually a member of the generation before the Boomers, the Silent Generation.

I share your bias. Harris the first choice of my wife and I, while Warren is our second choice. Consider yourself in good company.

Consider adding Paul's rules to whichever game you are playing.

Enough of the drinking games.  Follow over the jump for the drinks.

John Oliver helps update 'The tax bill and the U.S. economy in 2018 and beyond,' a top post of the seventh year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News

Happy Throwback Thursday!  To celebrate, I am following through with my promise in Football and the Super Bowl for the seventh year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News to post an update on the tax bill.  That's because the seventh most read entry of last year was The tax bill and the U.S. economy in 2018 and beyond from December 30, 2017.  It earned 7094 default page views and 7313 raw page views, enough to make it the fourth most read entry actually posted during the seventh year of the blog.

Before I explain how it got there, along with an update on its predictions, I'm doing the same thing I did for Samantha Bee helps update 'Vox on Puerto Rico statehood and John Oliver on territories,' the fourth most read entry of the seventh year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News, include an update from an Emmy-winning variety talk show host.  In this case, it's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on Corporate Taxes.

Many of America’s largest corporations shift a surprising portion of their profits overseas to avoid paying taxes. Even more surprisingly, that’s a legal thing to do.

That's even more pointed than John Oliver and FiveThirtyEight on Tax Day and that's saying something!  Also, in case my readers missed it, here is a diagram of a double Irish with a Dutch sandwich.


Clear as mud, but it certainly avoids U.S. taxes.

Follow over the jump for the stories describing how this entry rose into the all-time top ten, how others reacted to it, and how its predictions have fared so far.

Stats for the seventh year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News

I twice promised a statistics entry, so it's time to deliver.

As of 11:59 P.M. E.D.T. on March 20, 2017, I had posted 3101 total entries, the blog had earned 948,385 page views, and the readers and I together posted 1,903 comments over the blog's first seven years.  As of that same time on March 20, 2018, those totals had reached 3465 entries, 1,630,513 page views, and 2,391 comments during the first six years of the blog.  Consequently, the seventh year of the blog saw me post 364 entries, which earned 682,128 page views and 488 comments from my readers and me.*  For comparison, the sixth year of the blog recorded 377 entries, which earned 352,764 page views and 596 comments.

Follow over the jump for my analysis of these numbers.

Colbert and Meyers examine the Trump Foundation

Early last week, Paul W. at You Might Notice a Trend did some research on the Clinton Foundation Vs. Trump Foundation.

Where I work, I have access to a foundations/grants database.

On a whim, I took a look at the two foundations currently in the news...

The governing board for the Clinton Foundation has CEO, CFO, executive Director. The only Clinton family member I see active with the non-profit is Chelsea Clinton.

The governing board for the Trump Foundation is all Trump: Donald himself, two of his kids, one of his grandkids, and I think his son-in-law. I know I shouldn't suspect *cough* nepotism *cough* but still...

The database I use didn't show on the records the foundations' rating scale, it may have been under a different part of the directory. But for what I know, the Clinton Foundation is vetted and graded and the Trump Foundation isn't.

My comment summarized the information in the last two links.

I'm a regular user of Charity Navigator. That site has a wealth of data many charities, including both foundations. The Clinton Foundation has a 4-star rating. The Trump Foundation is not rated at all!

The day before, Paul quoted a Washington Post article in A Serious Scandal For a Deadly Serious Election Year that reported that the $25,000 donated to a political group connected to Florida Attorney General Pan Bondi came from the Trump Foundation.  The two stories came together again this week when The Late Show with Stephen Colbert posted The Trump Foundation Needs Your Help to its YouTube channel.

Can you find it in your heart to give? For just pennies a day you too can pay off a Florida attorney general.

Colbert wasn't the only late night television host to examine the Trump Foundation.  Seth Meyers did so as well in A Closer Look: The Trump Foundation and tied it into other controversies surrounding Trump, his not paying contractors to his business and vendors to his campaign and his not releasing his tax returns.

Seth examines whether Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's refusal to release his tax returns is related to controversy surrounding his personal foundation.

Meyers did a good job of closing the circle on this segment, so I'll follow suit by returning to Paul W., who concluded his blog entry on the two foundations with the rhetorical question, "And the Beltway media only wants the CLINTON Foundation to close down?  Screw them."  I second this emotion and see it and raise with this graphic.


Stay tuned for the Sunday entertainment entry, which will be about the speculative fiction and music winners at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards last weekend.

Infidel 753 and I talk fossils

Last week, Infidel 753 namechecked my blog to begin Ten years -- a bit of blowing my own horn.

Some blogs such as Crazy Eddie and Politics Plus post regular digests of their statistics, which give a glimpse of what interests their readers and where those readers are drawn from.  I haven't ever done that, but having just reached my ten-year anniversary, I took a look back at the whole history of the blog via the stat counter, out of curiosity.

I expressed my gratitude in the comments.

Congratulations on ten years of blogging! I'm flattered to be mentioned as an example of posting regular digests of my statistics and of playing a minor part in inspiring you to write this entry.

That's not what really caught my eye.  This was.

#10: "important things that happened in 2006"
#9 "infidels 753"
#8 "calenche ranae manos" (?????)
#7 "things that happened in 2006"
#6 "infidel 753"
#5 "arthropod"
#4 "title"
#3 "eurypterid"
#2 "eurypterids"
#1 "infidel753"

#5, #3, and #2 are explained here, and I guess a lot of people see something I've written elsewhere on the net (I use the name "Infidel753" almost everywhere) and look me up.  Aside from that, I'm baffled by these.

Those search terms reminded me that I have been ignoring one of my areas of expertise.

As for "eurypterids" being the second most used search term for your blog, I'm envious. Mine is "game of thrones dungeons and dragons." I'm the paleontologist and you get the traffic for a prehistoric animal? Of course, it might help if I actually blogged more about extinct organisms. Most of my posts with the paleontology label are about the Jurassic Park/Jurassic World movies.

That admission surprised Infidel.

You're a paleontologist? That had slipped by me. Well, feel free to borrow the eurypterids -- perhaps they'll prove a critter of good internet fortune for you as well.

See the illustration.

Yes, I'm a paleontologist. As I wrote on LiveJournal nine years ago, "I am the world's expert on the fossil snails and clams of Rancho La Brea. Seriously. Of course, that and $1.60 plus tax will get me a tall coffee at Starbucks. It's still my claim to scientific fame." I've since updated how much a grande tall Starbucks coffee costs and the boast to "Yes, I was the first person to identify 33 species from the most famous fossil deposit in North America. That, and $1.65 plus tax will get me a tall coffee at Starbucks. :-)" As I wrote, I really need to write about fossils more at my current blogging home. I might start with the eurypterids and that image, which is from "Swimming with Sea Monsters."

Here's the photo in question.


I may have recalled the show's title as "Swimming with Sea Monsters," but it's really called Sea Monsters: A Walking with Dinosaurs Trilogy.

Infidel encouraged me in his final reply.

I'd definitely be interested in a fossil snail post. And I'm glad you also appreciate Lady Gaga.

Thank you, Infidel.  I've already borrowed the eurypterids and blogged about Lady Gaga.  I'll have to write about fossil snails, not just living ones.  Stay tuned.

P.S. Infidel wasn't the only blogger inspired at least in part by my example.  Paul W. of You Might Notice a Trend referred to both Infidel and me in Ten Years Blogging And All I Got to Show For It Is a T-Shirt.  Their examples inspired me.  Sometimes inspiration circles back to its source.

Monthly meta for April 2016

I haven't posted a monthly retrospective since Monthly Meta for December 2015 so it's time to catch up.  I'm skipping over January and March to post April.  Why?  Because it was the most complete draft available.  Hey, sometimes I'm lazy.

April 2016 was the second best month in the history of the blog with 18,084 page views.  That works out to 602.8 page views per day and 548.0 page views per entry (there were 33).  The blog also passed 600,000 total page views for its history on April 1, just over six months since it passed 500,000 page views late in September 2015.  Since this is the first full month since my statistics entry for the fifth year of this blog, I can say that I'm meeting or exceeding my goal of between 16,500 and 17,500 page views per month for the current blogging year.  Yay!  Finally, the blog earned 44 comments, an average of 1.47 comments per day and 1.33 comments per post.

I'll mention the most liked on Google Plus over the jump, so I'll begin with this blog's activity on Pinterest.  The most pinned entry for last month was "Drink recipes for July 4th from Tipsy Bartender" from July 4, 2015 with one pin and one like.  It was a slow month for this blog on Pinterest.

The most commented on article during the month was "Springtime for Trump" from March 2, 2016 with 8 comments during April.  It now has 9 total. It earned 88 more page views during the month for a total of 483.  It got the additional page views and all the comments from being shared at Greer's blog.

Two entries received honorable mentions by tying for most commented on entry posted during April with four comments.  The first was "Drum corps for the Wyoming Democratic Caucuses" posted on April 9, 2016, one of four entries connecting drum corps with the election.  These came thanks to Robin of Your Daily Dose and Paul W. of You Might Notice a Trend.  It also landed in twelfth for page views among last month's posts with 121.

The other entry earning an honorable mention for most commented on entry posted during April was "2016 Saturn Awards for Television" posted April 3, 2016 with 4 comments, again thanks to Paul and Robin.  It also came in eleventh for page views with 144.

Follow over the jump for the ten (actually twelve) most read entries for the month.

CNN and MSNBC interview Libertarian candidates William Weld and Gary Johnson

Over the weekend, Paul W. mentioned that the Libertarian national convention would be in Orlando this weekend and linked to Libertarian Gary Johnson picks former Mass. governor for VP at Politico.  I had the following reaction.

As for [William] Weld running with Johnson, that's a very serious ticket should the Libertarians actually choose both. They are serious about being the alternative to Trump and whoever he picks (please, let it be either Gingrich or Palin--the laughs will keep coming all the way to Election Day!) Too bad neither will meet the approval of William Kristol; the Libertarians are insufficiently hawkish and interventionist for his taste. He'd be better off with Hillary Clinton, but he'll never admit it. No wonder liberals call him "Captain Always Wrong."

As if on cue, CNN interviewed Weld on Sunday, just as they did Gary Johnson two weeks ago.

Today on CNN's State of the Union, Former Massachusetts Governor William Weld and Libertarian Vice Presidential Candidate, joined Jake Tapper to discuss his comparison between Trump and the Holocaust, gun control and more.

I still think 2016 could be a good year for minor party candidates and so does CNN.

MSNBC does as well.  The Sunday before, Chuck Todd interviewed Gary Johnson in the context of Calls For Alternative Candidates Grows.

Can Republicans rally around Donald Trump as the convention draws near or will disaffected Republicans seek an alternative option in November? Former GOP New Mexico Governor and Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson weighs in.

The Libertarian convention is this weekend.  Stay tuned for the results.

Tipsy Bartender Drinks for 4/20

I've been promising "marijuana legalization news for 4/20 on Wednesday" all week, but this morning I have other things I need to do and am not feeling like writing a serious post.  Instead, I'm referring my readers to Reclassifying Marijuana Would Be Game-Changing at You Might Notice A Trend as well as three posts here and posting something less serious--drink recipes from Tipsy Bartender.  Welcome to another of my "I can't be all DOOM all the time" moods!

I begin with yesterday's Marijuana Jungle Juice Bowl with Banana Leaf Straws.

Celebrate this 420 with our super potent MARIJUANA JUNGLE JUICE BOWL with Banana Leaf Straws!
...
MARIJUANA JUNGLE JUICE BOWL
Kiwi Slices
Pineapple Slices (shaped like marijuana leaves)
3 oz. (90ml) Bacardi 151
3 oz. (90ml) Everclear
4 oz. (120ml) Coconut Rum
4 oz. (120ml) Melon Liqueur
4 oz. (120ml) Captain Morgan 100
10 oz. (300ml) Pineapple Juice

Normally, Skyy uses Nickey, who is an adult film model, for drinks about sex, which is why I usually don't post videos with her here.  Today, he's using her for a video about drugs because she's from Colorado, where pot is legal.  Sex and drugs--now all she has to do is host a video for a drink about rock'n'roll.

Now last year's offering, Marijuana Jello Shots.

What better way to start your 420 party that with marijuana leaf shaped jello shots! We also used the Liquid Marijuana Shot recipe.
...
420 MARIJUANA LEAF SHAPED JELLO SHOTS
*Marijuana Cookie Cutter: http://amzn.to/1FZhBKk

White Layer:
1 Cup Water
2 Packets Gelatin
1 Can Condensed Milk
1 Cup Coconut Rum

Green Layer:
1 Cup Pineapple Juice
2 Packets Gelatin
1/3 Cup Spiced Rum
1/3 Cup Midori Melon Liqueur
1/3 Cup Blue Curacao

So it's food instead of a drink--munchies!

There are lots more, but I'm going to be a good environmentalist and conserve my resources.  I'll also recycle and point my readers to 2014's drink on this theme at Tipsy Bartender drinks for St. Patrick's Day.

Here's a toast to marijuana legalization following in the tracks of marriage equality!

Paul Wartenberg, Infidel753, and The Archdruid comment on me

Monday's prompt reads "Have you ever had another blogger write about you? How did you feel reading the post?"  I mentioned this in passing as part of STORY is the theme for April 2016.

Also, I like the idea of writing about what other bloggers have to say about me.  I can think of two who have been complimentary, Paul Wartenberg and Infidel 753, and one who has been not necessarily critical but not friendly either, John Michael Greer the Archdruid.  I've mentioned the first two writing about me before, including in two of the recent retrospectives, but I've never passed along what Greer thinks of me when he's not responding to me directly.  Time for that to change.

I rather enjoy when Paul and Infidel write about me, which usually include links to my blog.  Here's an example from Paul Wartenberg that I quoted in Super Bowl drinks from Tipsy Bartender.

This year, I'm going to take a cue from Paul W., who mentioned about the topic he most associates with my blog:

So I need to point out, as this is the Internet, LINKS are everything around here. They link to me, I link to them, people can follow through those links to new and exciting places that offer up drink recipes and NSFW comments about crazy Republicans.

Super Bowl drink recipes it is.

I took it as useful feedback about what he most values in my blogging, so I chose my topic for that day accordingly.

The same is true of Infidel 753, who regularly includes me in his Sunday linkspams.  For example, this past Sunday's referenced me in the sentence "A week ago it was Nowrûz (Persian new year), and Obama once again took stock of our relations with Iran."  The first one of last month linked to me twice, beginning with "It's Springtime for Trump!"  He paid me the favor again by writing "here's what genuine popular anger looks like."  My response was to comment "You linked to me twice! That's an honor usually reserved for the likes of Rosa Rubicondior! I'm not worthy! /WayneandGarth." Infidel753 was quite complementary in return, writing "Pinku: Hey, they're good posts."  I'm glad he thinks so!

The Archdruid, on the other hand, was less positive.  Follow over the jump for what he wrote in response to another commenter at his blog.

STORY is the theme for April 2016

From BlogHer:

So what is the BlogHer Writing Lab theme this month?

STORY
Hamilton ends the play with an important question: "Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?" Is it you? If it isn't you, is there someone you trust shaping the narrative? Is your story fated to be lost to time? And what becomes of all those ideas floating around inside your brain?

The beauty of the Internet age is that everyone has the ability to get their story out there. You can write a blog, Tweet your world, or photograph the whole thing for Instagram. Doing so not only records the important moments in your life but tells the rest of the world who you are, what is important to you, and what you believe.

This month, we're talking stories over at the BlogHer Writing Lab. We're looking at who owns a story, how you write about other people who are characters in your story, and how you set some firm blogging boundaries.
...
So join the April BlogHer Writing Lab and tell your story.

The prompts for this month actually look interesting, especially the first two and a few others.  I might use them.  After all, I almost always observe April Fools Day on this blog, even if I sometimes observe it a day late.  Stay tuned to see what pranks I find on the web today.

Also, I like the idea of writing about what other bloggers have to say about me.  I can think of two who have been complimentary, Paul Wartenberg and Infidel 753, and one who has been not necessarily critical but not friendly either, John Michael Greer the Archdruid.  I've mentioned the first two writing about me before, including in two of the recent retrospectives, but I've never passed along what Greer thinks of me when he's not responding to me directly.  Time for that to change.

As for the rest, I have lots of my story, the story of Detroit and Michigan, and stories about and from speculative fiction media to pass along.  I expect it will be as fun for my readers aa it will be for me!

Statistics for the fifth year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News

I told my readers to stay tuned for a statistics entry about the blogging year just ended, first in Nowruz Mubarak (Happy Persian New Year) and Happy Birthday to the blog and again in A belated Earth Hour 2016.  It's time to follow through and complete the cycle.

Between March 21, 2015, and March 20, 2016, I posted 435 entries, which earned 176,458 page views and 672 comments from my readers and me.  These are out of totals of 2724 entries, 595,621 page views, and 1309 during the first five years of the blog. For comparison, I present the statistics from the previous four years.

During the fourth year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News, from March 21, 2014 to March 20, 2015, I posted 528 entries, the readers and I posted 229 comments, and the blog received 145,875 page views for a total of 2289 posts, 637 comments, and 419,163 page views over the entire first four years of the blog.*  For comparison, the third year of this blog saw 785 entries, 304 comments, and 127,945 page views, the second year I posted 493 entries, readers and I posted 129 comments, and the blog received 97,535 page views, and the first full year I made 483 posts, readers and I posted 204 comments, and the blog received 47,808 page views.
...
*I am recording these stats from Midnight EDT to Midnight EDT on March 21 of successive years.  It would be easier to record using Midnight GMT, as that is the default time zone of the stats recorder, but I want to count full days here, not London.

Follow over the jump for my analysis of the fifth year's statistics compared to the fourth year's.

All those endorsements couldn't save Marco Rubio

It's time to be a good environmentalist and recycle two comments from earlier this month.

Paul W.:Stop trying to make him happen, Republicans, Rubio is not gonna happen.

ME: As for "Little Marco," I predict he'll lose Florida and then drop out. If Kasich wins Ohio, then he'll have the establishment/moderate vote all to himself from here on out.

That's exactly what happened last night.  CNN reports in Marco Rubio drops out of presidential race.

Marco Rubio drops out of the presidential race after losing his home state of Florida to Donald Trump. He warned his party not to play on people's frustrations.

All those endorsements of Rubio couldn't put him over the top; no wonder the smart money abandonded him.  Look at all the endorsements as of six days ago from FiveThirtyEight.


All that establishment support may have earned Rubio wins in Minnesota and D.C. and higher placements in a few states, especially South Carolina, but that's it.

Now look at the endorsements for the remaining candidates in both parties, again from FiveThirtyEight.


Hey, look, the Agenda 21 conspiracy theorist is number one--the establishment's worst nightmare!  At least I can be reassured that being an establishment candidate has not done any Republican candidate much good this year.  On the other hand, it's still working for Hillary Clinton on the Democratic side, but that's a story for another entry.

Follow over the jump for the reactions from Cruz and Kasich, plus a farewell toast to Marco.

Please clap for Jeb Bush as he leaves the island

I wrote that I had a good-bye to Jeb Bush post coming in the footnote to Drink to 'Deadpool's second week on top of the box office.  I could make zombie campaign jokes, but I'm just not feeling it today.  Instead, I'm feeling sorry for the guy. Without any further ado, here's his concession/suspension speech from CSPAN: Jeb Bush Suspends Campaign - FULL SPEECH.

Former Governor Jeb Bush (R-FL) suspend his presidential campaign the night of the South Carolina Republican primary.

Included in his remarks: "I'm proud of the campaign that we've run to unify our county and to advocate conservative solutions that would give more Americans the opportunity to rise up and reach their God-given potential. But, the people of Iowa and New Hampshire and South Carolina have spoken and I really respect their decision. So tonight I am suspending my campaign."

I found it quite appropriate that Jeb made a reality TV reference--"my competitors that are remaining on the island"--considering that he lost to a former reality TV star.  I have a clip from Vox about that, but I'll save it for another entry; today is Jeb's day.

The only thing that surprised me about Jeb's announcement was the timing.  I made my bets in the candidate deadpool in the conclusion to Kasich stumps in Michigan.

Would such a performance make him drop out?  Probably not.  Losing Ohio would.  That happens on March 15th, the same day as the Florida primary.  That's when I expect Kasich to exit the contest and perhaps the weaker of Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio.  I expect to be writing another farewell post or two that week.

Good thing I didn't wager any money; I'd have lost it.

Follow over the jump for analyses of Jeb's failed candidacy.

Super Bowl drinks from Tipsy Bartender

It's Super Bowl Sunday, so today's entertainment entry is ostensibly about sports instead of movies, television, or music, although I managed to combine the two last year with Predictions vs. reality for Katy Perry at the Super Bowl.  This year, I'm going to take a cue from Paul W., who mentioned about the topic he most associates with my blog:

So I need to point out, as this is the Internet, LINKS are everything around here. They link to me, I link to them, people can follow through those links to new and exciting places that offer up drink recipes and NSFW comments about crazy Republicans.

Super Bowl drink recipes it is.  Of course, they're from Tipsy Bartender.

Skyy began this year's suggestions with Panthers vs Broncos Super Bowl Jungle Juice with the assistance of Nikki Limo and Inna the Russian.

A jungle juice for each of the Super Bowl teams, Denver Broncos vs Carolina Panthers. Each of these jungle juices cost less than $50!
...
DENVER BRONCOS JUNGLE JUICE
2 (1.75L) Vodka
1 (.75L) Malibu Rum
6 (2L) Orange Soda
Oranges
Blackberries

CAROLINA PANTHERS JUNGLE JUICE
2 (1.75L) Vodka
1 (.75L) Peach Schnapps
3 (1 Gal) Polar Blast Hawaiian Punch
Blueberries
Blackberries
Limes

I'm old enough to remember when the nickname of the Broncos defense was the Orange Crush, so if were making the first recipe, I'd use that instead of Sunkist.

Follow over the jump for three more recipes.

French soccer fans sing their defiance in the face of terror

Jean Jullien's "Peace for Paris" from Banksy via You Might Notice a Trend.
In the wake of the Charlie Hebdo shooting rampage, I reacted by posting Musical responses to terror, updated.  In the wake of yesterday's coordinated terror attack in Paris, I'll let the French themselves give their own musical reply to the Sith Jihad* via the New York Times: Soccer Fans Sing ‘La Marseillaise’ .

Soccer fans responded to a series of explosions and shootings in Paris by singing the French national anthem as they were evacuated from the stadium.

Vive la France!

*That's right, as Reuters via The Huffington Post reported today "Islamic State Claims Responsibility For Deadly Paris Attacks."  First the Russians, now the French.  Keep making enemies by the boatloads, assholes.  As Infidel753 quoted Comrade Misfit today: "Other than the Americans, there aren't many nations capable of projecting military force at a considerable distance beyond their own borders. The terrorists have, in the last two weeks, seriously pissed off two of them."

A farewell drink for Larry Lessig

I concluded Drinks for Republican candidates: Graham, Pataki, and Gilmore with "I'll have one more drink recipe entry for Larry Lessig.  Expect to see it in November."  It's November, but Lessig has already dropped out.  Vox reports Lawrence Lessig quits Democratic race, says party changed rules to exclude him from debate.

On Monday, campaign finance reform activist and Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig announced he was ending his long-shot campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Lessig blamed the national Democratic Party for, he said, changing the rules in a way that made it impossible for him to qualify for the party's next debate. "It is now clear that the party won't let me be a candidate," he said. "I must today end my campaign for the Democratic nomination."

Farewell, Larry!  Here's a drink in your honor, the Harvard Cocktail.

1 oz brandy
1 oz sweet vermouth
4 dashes bitters
1/4 oz simple syrup

I'm now done with the project that started with recipes for Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Martin O'Malley.  My drink orders for Paul W.'s Democratic Debate Drinking Game for October 2015 are now complete.

Follow over the jump for Lessig's account of what led him to drop out and my brief rant about how Democratic and Republican candidates have behaved very differently in response to their likelihood of getting the nomination.