I’ve done the tallying and the results are below the fold, in reverse order.
In fifth place, with a grand total of three votes, Jules Crittenden gets the wooden spoon. As stated in my original post, I didn’t think that Mr. Crittenden quite matched up to the quality of the other entries, and the votes reflect this. But nice try all the same.
In fourth place, with seven votes, Donald Luskin. Our Donald is still the Stupidest Man Alive; nothing can take that away from him. But stupidity just isn’t enough without verve, imagination and pizazz. Our commiserations.
In third place, Daniel Klein with 13.5 votes (one vote was split). Professor Klein was a dark horse, and took some time to find his stride. But when he did, he nearly pulled off an upset, looking at one point as though he might displace the second place contestant. Well ran!
In second place, with 20.5 votes, the popular favorite, ryck, or rather “rycK”:https://crookedtimber.org/2008/10/15/exploding-heads-deathmatch-there-can-be-only-one/#comment-255911. To be perfectly honest, I thought at one point about taking him out of the race on grounds of decency – the other contestants are less ambiguously public commentators and thus fair game for this kind of exercise. But since rycK has turned up in comments and seems to be enjoying the attention, I’ve decided not to deprive him of his fifteen minutes.
And in FIRST PLACE, with a grand total of _thirty votes_, we have Professor William L. Anderson. Congratulations – but the outcome was never seriously in doubt. Professor Anderson established an unassailable lead at an early stage. Congratulations! To quote Dryden (and annoy Michael B.)
An—— alone, of all my Sons, is he
Who stands confirm’d in full stupidity.
The rest to some faint meaning make pretence,
But An—— never deviates into sense.
Some Beams of Wit on other souls may fall,
Strike through and make a lucid intervall;
But An——’s genuine night admits no ray,
His rising Fogs prevail upon the Day:
(yes, I _know_ that it doesn’t scan properly when you substitute ‘Anderson’ for ‘Shadwell’: bite me).
You now are entitled to display an ‘Oh noes my head asploded 2008’ banner on your website, right beneath the animated gif below. Well played!
!https://crookedtimber.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/exploding-head.gif!
{ 15 comments }
Jay 10.18.08 at 4:27 am
Terrific! I wish we could hold such a contest every day… oh, wait.
^_^J.
Dave Maier 10.18.08 at 4:33 am
Eww.
M 10.18.08 at 5:02 am
Oddly, I really need someone to tell me that exploding head isn’t real. Tell me it’s all ok.
Zarquon 10.18.08 at 10:57 am
…ryck, or rather rycK.
Wow, someone who was pre-satirised in The Young Ones and yet continues anyway.
Bill Anderson 10.18.08 at 12:11 pm
I appreciate this great honor! Indeed, to dedicate an entire Dryden poem to me is an honor of which I cannot claim worth, but, what the heck, I’ll take it, anyway.
perianwyr 10.18.08 at 12:11 pm
rYcK found out about the thread a little late to troll it! Condolences!
Righteous Bubba 10.18.08 at 2:35 pm
Injustice! rRyYcCkK got rolled!
Malaclypse 10.18.08 at 5:38 pm
I feel confident to say that Prof Anderson realizes that this is not as great a moment in western civilization as the victory of Charles Martel in the Battle of Tours, but it suffices as one of those happy moments we will cherish over time.
Brad DeLong 10.18.08 at 9:05 pm
This may be Appomatox for us Kleinians, but it is not the end. The Kleinians shall rise again!
Ronald Brak 10.19.08 at 9:44 am
Trust me, that is not a real exploding head, M. It is far too overly generous with exploded bits to be a real head. Only if one had a head of Tardis like capacity would such fulsome spreading of gore be possible
rea 10.19.08 at 2:06 pm
Indeed, to dedicate an entire Dryden poem to me is an honor of which I cannot claim worth
Well, but of course, that’s not the whole Dryden poem . . .
Richard Stanczak 10.19.08 at 9:37 pm
I demand a recount! I believe Prof. Anderson [if that is his real name] was the elitist pick for this award. rYcK represented the dim, the mediocre, the enraged everyman that most of us posters would much prefer to sit down and have a beer with. I doubt the Professor even drinks beer! HA!
gandhi 10.20.08 at 12:54 am
Speaking of heads exploding…
http://www.gocomics.com/mikeluckovich/2008/10/18/
Sock Puppet of the Great Satan 10.20.08 at 5:41 pm
Can’t we give Luskin an honorary wingnut award for “”ifetime achievement in ass-elbow-hole-in-the-ground confusion?
Also, Krugman’s Nobel is just the appetizer, the melon-with-raspberries, the pot stickers, the antipasto, before the delicious main course of an Obama victory. A 60-seat Senate victory would be the dessert (fruit and cheese, of course).
I’d hate to be the janitors at Fox News, AEI, CEI, Heritage, Townhall.com, or the RNC after November 4th. That’s more exploding brains than all the zombies in George Romero’s films could ever eat.
Helen 10.21.08 at 3:21 am
#10: Trust me, that is not a real exploding head, M. It is far too overly generous with exploded bits to be a real head. Only if one had a head of Tardis like capacity would such fulsome spreading of gore be possible
Please don’t tell us how you know that.
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