Energy Wars - Russian Gas Cut Off To Ukraine by Aaman Lamba (Jan. 2)
You think gas prices here are out of control? Aaman Lamba's informative report shows that those of us on these shores have nothing on those in the former Soviet Union, where Russia has cut off Ukraine's gas supply because of disputes over petrol pricing there. And things aren't much better in many eastern and western European countries either; many are suffering under high prices and low supply. Mr. Lamba earns readers' thanks by reminding us that sometimes, the grass isn't always greener.
Sports
Sports Editor: Matthew T. Sussman
UMass 66, St. Peter's 49 ... And A New Tradition Begins? by David
R. Mark (Dec. 28)
David took a respite from his political conquest to reflect on his alma mater (University of Massachusetts) and their once dominant reign over college basketball in the '90s. Not only does he discover a good luck charm to take to games (his 4-year-old son), but he reminisces on the time he schooled UMass hoops legend Lorenzo Sutton, if only for a brief moment, in a pick-up game.
NFL Picks of a Thoughtful Fool, Week 17 by David Mazzotta (Dec. 29)
David's weekly column was claimed by Blogcritics on the waiver wire in midseason, but it's an addition that payed off huge dividends. It began as a weekly breakdown of an attempt to beat the spread and evolved into a witty and insightful look into each week in the NFL. Here's just one of his nuggets of wisdom found in his Week 17 piece:
From Rex Grossman's performance on Saturday, it's pretty clear that one can have a solid throwing arm or a full neck beard, but one cannot have both.
A job well done, David, on keeping up with the pace week-to-week!
Gaming
Gaming Editor: Ken Edwards
The Worst in Video Games 2005 by Matt Paprocki (Dec. 21)
Jack Thompson, Grand Theft Auto sex, Spike TV, and Chinese MMO players. What a combo! Instead of those typical, boring, and cheaply planned out best of lists, let's hand out some awards for the "less fortunate" people, places, and things from the industry we love... some times.
Product Review: Mental Floss Trivia Game by Bill Wallo (Dec. 21)
From the creators of the magazine Mental Floss and a line of "irreverent" trivia books (such as Condensed Knowledge and Forbidden Knowledge) comes the Mental Floss trivia game. Promising to pick up "where every other party game stops," it adds a number of twists to the traditional trivial pursuits.
Article comments
1 - Aaman
Egad! Thanks mates!
Much fine reading here - get it while it's hot
2 - Ken Edwards
Gaming pics fixed. They now show the new picks.
3 - Deano
Hey Eric,
The editors picks missed Dec 21 through to December 26! Your last batch was Dec. 14-20th and this batch is Dec. 27 to Jan.4th....What gives?
Of course I ask from a completely altruistic perspective...not because I posted a terrific (and brilliantly written) news post on Dec. 21st (which you obviously criminally missed reading completely)...(that's a hint by the way...)
4 - Eric Berlin
Congrats to all pickees !
Deano, I mention up top that the editorial staff took the week off over the holidays. Sorry that your post got lost in the mix!
5 - Deano
Curses! Another piece of scintillating breathless prose lost to the ages because of the vageries of #$@#&*%^!* editors...
6 - Eric Berlin
Dude, editors need some time off, just like everyone else! We publish over 400 stories a week -- that's a lot to cull through, even with the burst of energy that scintillating breathless prose gives.
7 - RJ Elliott
Ah! Thanks for the mention, Suss! :)
8 - Al Barger
Thank you for your kind words.
On a related note, check out my new Beatles Photo Gallery.
9 - uao
Thank you Connie, for the kind thoughts on the article, I really appreciate it. I can't really take full credit though; the Blogcritics and visitors who commented made the piece a lot better.
I didn't know about the picks picking picks, but I will do my bit. Just want to read some of the ones I've not gotten to yet this week...
10 - Nik
Thanks also for your kind words toward my meager scribblings! Much appreciated!
11 - Diane Kristine
Thanks! For my editors' pick pick, I'm going to go with Brandon Valentine's DVD review of Pi (http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/01/03/165123.php). Brandon's reviews are always well thought out and well written, and this one is for a lesser-known movie that isn't for everyone, but he really captures why those of us who like it, love it.
12 - Eric Berlin
That's brilliant Diane but you jumped the gun a little -- time frame is 1/4-1/10 for the next set of picks. No worries though, if you don't check in with a new one, we'll see if we can sneak Brandon's piece through!
13 - Diane Kristine
Oh, sorry, I thought it was for the same time period as the title. You're asking for a lot ... good reading comprehension AND that I'll remember to think of this in a week.
14 - El Bicho
Thank you for the selection, Connie. Is the brief mention with it yours or Eric's?
15 - Eric Berlin
Diana -- We know you can do it!
El B -- All annotations here are the work of the section editor(s). I personally commented on each pickee's article page this week as well.
16 - Eric Berlin
Joan -- Thanks for selecting my television piece! (I didn't pay her, I swear!)
17 - diana hartman
my sincere thanks for the pick!
*smiles* abound!
me and my younguns have been sick since new year's day so this was a great pick-me-up!
18 - Bennett
Thanks for the nod Lisa! Okay, here's my nominee for editorial pickin' glory
NFL Picks of a Thoughtful Fool, Season Wrap-Up by David Mazzotta
David started doing a weekly NFL column during week eight of the season, and immediately became one of my "must read" favorites. His scientific tomfoolery and solidly logical predictions were one thing, his deadpan humor was another thing altogether.
He delivered more laughs from day one, than almost anyone else on BC, in a football column no less.
I'm not kidding when I say that I looked forward to the "Thoughtful Fool" each week as much as I used to look forward to Joe Bob Briggs' Drive-In Movie Column in the Sunday paper, back when I was a younger pup.
David's clever writing should be rewarded with enough hard cash to allow him to bet big in Vegas. Every single week of the football season.
Mr. Mazzotta is a huge asset to blogcritics.
19 - sal m
I'd like to nominate Mark Steyn Predicts The Collaspe Of "The West" - Sadly I Agree, by Hugh Hewitt at
http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/01/08/060238.php
as an editor's pick for the week of 1/4-1/10.
Mr. Hewitt has crafted a well-thought out addendum to a great piece by Mr Steyn, that deals with a very difficult and complex subject.
This kind of well-thoughtout and well-written article is a great example of what blogging is all about.
20 - Nik
If it's not too late, I'd like to tap H. Michael's piece here for 1/4-1/10:
"Buy the World An iPod" was a nice paen to that must-have consumer good; bought my first one myself last fall and it's my favorite material possession. J. did a nice job just summing up the simple pleasures of the pod, without lapsing into critical overhype or aimless wandering. A fun, short piece!
21 - Scott Butki
Congrats to all picked. There's a bunch of pieces here - especialy the tv ones - that i am going to bookmark to read this weeken.