Top Posts at New Savanna 19 Mar 23 [& notes about why]

Every once in a while I make a post about what’s going on here at New Savanna, though I tend to include action at my Academia page under that tag as well. Back in August of 2019 I took a look at top posts. Back in August of 2013 I took a look at the all-time most popular posts, as of that time. I gave counts for the top 35 posts.

It's time for another look, though I’m not going to survey the top 35. I have something different in mind.

This shows the action from the beginning, in April 2010, to the present:

Notice that big spike there around 2017. I have no idea what’s going on there. Here’s a short post about it.

This is Blogger’s list of the top ten all-time posts:

The counts are off, moreover, when you take a closer look, those really aren’t the top ten. I’ll look at the in a minute.

But let’s take a look at the list as it stands. The top post is about Ninja Scroll. That’s one of the earliest posts I ever did and it has been the top post as long as I’ve been checking. Five more of the top posts are about animation, either Disney or Miyazaki. While I’ve done many posts featuring photos of irises, that particular post has only one photo. It’s a nice photo, but I do not know why it has proven so popular. I assume the popularity of Joe Rogan post is a function of Rogan’s popularity plus Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris (it’s about a well-known fight scene). The Hilary Hahn post is nice, and I believe benefited from being listed over at Marginal Revolution. Finally, we have that old post about what’s popular here. Why’s it so popular?

This table gives more accurate counts for those posts, along with direct links to them. Thus, whereas the Bogger states had Ninja scroll at 138K, the true figure seems to be 142K. Going to the bottom, we have 3.08K for Hilary Hahn vs. 3.59K. But look at the disparity for Pigs in Spirited Away, 3.67K vs. 14.2K. Something’s messed up. I have no idea what, but I decided to do some looking around.

Top Ten Posts at New Savanna Listed in order according to Blogger’s order and not by “true” count March 19, 2023
Sex, Power, and Purity in Kawajiri’s Ninja Scroll [Rape]	142,091
Secrets of Pink Elephants Revealed	94,000
Horikoshi’s Wife: Affective Binding and Grief in The Wind Rises	54,877
Irises	10,082
Two Rings in Fantasia: Nutcracker and Apprentice	9,435
Joe Rogan and Joey Diaz call “Bruce Lee vs. Chuck Norris”	6,338
Disney’s Fantasia as Masterpiece	8,236
What’s Popular and Why (April 2011)	5,961
Pigs in Spirited Away	14,212
Hilary Hahn on daydreaming as a mode of practicing music, of priming yourself to go with the flow in performance	3,590

Since animation is by far the post popular topic, I looked at animation posts. I’ve created tables for Miyazaki posts, Disney posts, and other animation.

Most Popular Miyazaki Posts March 19, 2023
Horikoshi’s Wife: Affective Binding and Grief in The Wind Rises	54,877
Pigs in Spirited Away	14,212
Follow the Acorns: Revealing Totoro	9,326
Miyazaki Notes 2: Castle in the Sky	6,193
Real Dreams: From Seeds to Trees in Totoro	6,876
Miyazaki Notes 2: Castle in the Sky	6,193
Porco Rosso 3: In the Minds of Women	5,626

 

Most Popular Disney Posts March 19, 2023
Secrets of Pink Elephants Revealed	94,000
Two Rings in Fantasia: Nutcracker and Apprentice	9,435
Disney’s Fantasia as Masterpiece	8,236
Domestic Tranquility, NOT: Disney’s Pastoral	6,682
American Mythology in Disney’s Dumbo	5,040
Roustabouts, Trains, Elephants, and Crows	4,373

Other Popular Animation Posts March 19, 2023
Sex, Power, and Purity in Kawajiri’s Ninja Scroll [Rape]	142,091
Sakaki Rides a Dolphin	7,256
Samurai Champloo: Graffiti and Baseball in Old Japan	4,745
Porky in Wackyland	4,140
Intimate Enemies: What’s Opera, Doc?	3,739
The Hottest Man in Siam	2,304

I’m particularly pleased that The Hottest Man in Siam has done so well. It’s about a Walter Lantz cartoon, “The Greatest Man in Siam,” which features an amazing dance sequence, two people doing the Lindy to a really hot trumpet solo. The post is mostly screen shots of that dance sequence. It’s hard to find online. The last time I looked I couldn’t find it. But maybe someone’s put it up again.