This year, I present my top ten favorite posts as a countdown. Only three of the entries deal directly with the authorship question.

10. Earthquakes, Hurricanes, Floods, and Tornadoes (August 28)

Come read the story of how I survive the worst earthquake in, as far as I know, East Coast history, and completely fail to notice. However, other natural disasters of biblical proportions do manage to cause me some minor inconvenience.

9. It’s a Poor Workman Who Blames Yogi Berra: Artificial Intelligence and Jeopardy! (February 23)

A computer beat humans at Jeopardy!, and I put on my school data specialist’s cap to do an item analysis of the responses. Read through to the comments to see two veteran Shakespeare bloggers debate the nature of language and technology.

8. Question of the Week (January 3)

Is teaching an art or a science? Or is it both? Or is it neither? Once a purely philosophical topic, recent developments in the field have made it a question with far-reaching implications in practice and policy.

7. Film: Anonymous (November 13)

I was as surprised as you were, but I actually liked it. So, I give it a good review. Because to be angry with this film is to acknowledge that we are actually engaging in a discussion about authorship. We aren’t, but it was a good film nevertheless.

6. Top Ten Shakespeare Audio Productions (August 29)

This is just what it sounds like, except I actually list twenty. And Bob D fills in some titles I missed. It just goes to show that Shakespeare will always be in my heart… and in my ear.

5. Fifty Apps for the iPad (January 9)

I identify ten things the iPad does better than the iPod Touch, while linking to fifty apps you can do them with. This one was popular among friends and family, and generated a lot of traffic as well.

4. A Choice to Make (April 13)

Eric Hanushek wrote something I didn’t like, and I explain why. Of all of my rants about education reform over the year, this one was the most rambling and wild-eyed. I highly recommend it.

3. Another Story (November 22)

To further make my point about Anonymous, I spin the most ridiculous science-fiction, bodice-ripping thriller I can imagine, positing that Shakespeare was given the plays by space aliens. If you’re secure in the knowledge that Shakespeare wrote the plays, this is what Anonymous looks like to you.

2. Under the Influence (April 23)

The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust asked me to participate in a project in which bloggers describe in a blog post how Shakespeare has influenced their lives. People told me they thought my contribution was funny. If they only knew…

1. The Hartfordian Theory (April 27)

Long before the Anonymous controversy started brewing, I took my own shot at the Oxfordians. Actually, my real target was the birthers, but the idea is the same. What if people questioned President Obama’s legitimacy using the same arguments that Oxfordians use to question the authorship of Shakespeare’s plays? Hilarity ensues… except for one hasty reader who somehow thought I was serious; read through to the comments.

I am happy to announce that I have renewed the lease on this domain for another three years, so the blog will have a home until December 2014 at least.

Wow, that seems so far away. I remember how far away December 2011 felt in December 2008. Now, with the Twitter and the Facebook and the iPads and the kids these days with the hair and the music, I wonder if, three years from now, there will still a place for an old-fashioned blog like this one.

Or will there be something completely different?

I’m the ensemble cast of a musical play;
I’m a corporate structure, just like Fannie Mae;
I’m the guests you invite to a private soiree;
And a name that is used to imply CIA.

Who am I?

UPDATE: Riddle solved by Asher. See comments for answer.

I’m a respite from work for some tea or a snack;
Take a shot at the cue ball to split up the rack;
I am taming a horse; I’m a bone with a crack;
And to add the last straw to a camel’s strained back.

Who am I?

UPDATE: Riddle solved by Daweesa. See comments for answer.

I am having two fives and then taking an ace;
I’m a dose of a drug; I’m to get to first base;
A professional killing; to punch in the face;
And the song on the charts with a laudable place.

Who am I?

UPDATE: Riddle solved by Asher. See comments for answer.

I can show you your seat, or stand watch at the door;
I once dated creation at four-thousand four;
I’m the groomsman at weddings who enters before;
And an R&B singer who did well with “More.”

Who am I?

UPDATE: Riddle solved by Daweesa. See comments for answer.

I’m to misplace an object you never will find;
When the outcome of battle or sport is unkind;
When a doctor is leaving a patient behind;
Let your temper explode; or abandon your mind.

Who am I?

UPDATE: Riddle solved by Asher. See comments for answer.