Site Tracking

I love checking my ShinyStat site tracker reports everyday...it shows how many visits I'm getting, projections for the week/month/year, what websites are linking to me, what countries I'm getting visits from, and my favorite report: which keywords people use to find my blog.

Just in February, people stumbled upon The Year of Joe by the following interesting, funny, and down-right odd website searches (click on phrase to see why my blog was attached to those keywords):

"lay off me, I'm starving"

Actually, The Year of Joe has been found three times because of this famous Chris Farley bit! In addition, a search of "lay off man im starving" brought someone to here as well. What's really weird is the original post linked to above talked about interesting ShinyStat findings just like today's post! Cue Twilight Zone music...

"adam g. partridge facebook"

Adam, you either are quite vain and searched yourself AND didn't tell us you had a Facebook page or someone is trying to hunt you down.

"you got served raindance"

I'm glad someone else thought that scene was ridiculous (or so I hope.) Oh, and I could look at that Sarah Silverman photo all day long. Sigh...

"bill belichick sweatshirt"

The Google search of "bill belichick sweatshirt" has to be up there with classics like "paris hilton sextape", "dick in a box" and of course, "adam g. partridge facebook".

"jelly of the month club"

Hallelujah. Holy shit. Where's the Tylenol?

"q.lazzarus +goodbye horses"

I can only imagine what that person thought when they came across my post.

"shit valentines"

Yippee, my favorite holiday is right around the corner! Seriously, I'd like to reprint what I originally posted:

Don't get me wrong. Would I have had someone to spend it with, I'd love the day. With my willingness to go all out and my spontaneous romantic creativity (yes, I have it, just no one to use it on), I would rock the shit out of Valentine's Day.

And ladies, you know this!

I'm def gonna have sushi again though, that's for damn sure.

"rolling stones dvd bootlegs blogspot"

Odd, but I recently put up that post so maybe that's why it got picked up.

"evangeline lilly woman of style"

Yes, yes she is. By the way, how freakin' awesome was the Lost season premiere last week? By the way #2, in the post linked above, I did a "favorite things" list. I was actually planning on doing another list this week. Cue Twilight Zone music...again.

"i will never forgive you for making us move to oakland"
This was a head-scratcher for sure. But I did the search myself and discovered I had posted that joke back in this blog's infancy. Must be a pretty popular joke for someone to Google search the punchline.

Things I Love

As promised, here's a list of just a few things that I love, an idea inspired by my bud John.

Breakfast at night
I love a hearty, four-course meal as much as the next guy, but there's something so comforting and simple about a big bowl of cereal late at night or scrambled eggs and toast after a long day of work. I'm even a bigger fan of having breakfast after hours at hole-in-the-wall diners.

Driving for no reason
Although it's not very conducive in this age of costly petrol, I absolutely love just driving. No set destination. No plans where I'll turn next. I'm very solitary by nature, so I really enjoy being by myself and just taking in the road in front of me. Usually it's a drive up the coast in the afternoon and soaking up the view of the ocean, but my favorite is driving at night, windows down and heater on, with some great music and just heading south.

Baseball
It's the greatest game. I love to watch it. I love to play it. I love to read about it. I love to try and dissect it and its stats. Not only is the game wonderful, but so are some of the residuals. The sound of the crack of bat against ball. The smell of peanuts and hot dogs. The eternal debating in bars and living rooms. Give me baseball or give me death, I say.

The area on a woman between the neck and shoulder
There are a lot of parts of the female that attract me: eyes, smile and legs are three that I constantly find myself checking out. But there's just something about that tiny area just at the bottom of the neck, just below the shoulder. I don't know what it is about it. But damn it, I love it. I doubly love it if I catch you caressing or rubbing it. Sweet Jesus. I think the Devil said it best (Pacino in 'Devil's Advocate'):

"A woman's shoulders are the frontlines of her mystique. And her neck, if she's alive, has the very mystery of a border town."

In case you can't picture the spot I'm waxing poetic about, here's my girl Evangeline Lilly to show us all just what I mean:

Sushi
I've only been eating sushi for about four years now, but it's easily leapfrogged the likes of pizza, steak, club sandwich and calamari for the title of "Favorite food". If not for the price, I could eat sushi every day. If I ever strike it rich, there will be a sushi chef on staff at my palatial estate at all times.

Holding hands
Not that I've done much of this lately, but from what I remember -- sigh . . . -- I love it. While it's perhaps the most simple form of physical affection, it really works, at least for me. Do it walking, do it while cuddled on the couch, it's all the same. It's constant holding, it's a sense of security, it's love broken down to it's essence. If you love someone, hold their hand tomorrow.

The piano
I wish I could play the darn thing. I think the piano produces the most beautiful music. The piano can bridge any musical style to my liking. And it doesn't even have to be very complex playing. Just the soft pounding of the keys can get me all happy. For example, the piano in Coldplay's "Trouble" just rocks me.

A cool pillow
You know what I'm talking about. The moment you lay your face on it, a calmness just rushes over you. If this company ever goes public, I'll be first in line to invest.

Babe Brackets

Okay, a few weeks ago in a posted called "March Madness," I promised to unveil a bracket-style tournament, much like the brackets most of you will be filling out in your offices come tomorrow. Well, this happened which postponed the event, but what's a better day to start this The Year of Joe event than Selection Sunday?

I'd like to introduce the Babe Brackets, a 33-women field of some of my favorite hotties, paired up against each other to determine the 2008 The Year of Joe Babe of the Year (or as you'll see in the media as "T.Y.O.J.B.O.T.Y.")

Instead of conferences, I've broken the field into categories that best group the girls. Just like the NCAAs aren't the best 65 teams in the country, these aren't my top 33 fantasy women. Tthere are some chicas left out of a certain category to make room for girls in another category. But hey, it's my blog and my favorite women, so I make the damn rules here!

Today I'm unveiling the field and next week we'll start the match-ups. Ultimately I will weigh the pros and cons of each woman to determine who moves on, but your comments and votes can (and will) sway me, so I hope you can all contribute in the comments section!

And awaaaaay we go!

The first "conference" is The Hotties, the only grouping with more than four women and clearly the deepest of all the groupings. Number #1 overall seed Gisele Bundchen leads the pack and is the obvious tournament favorite. Charlize Theron (#5 overall) has been ranked as high as #1 during her career. Rookie Megan Fox (#12) is young, brunette and hot -- my holy trinity -- and could make a deep run. Jamie Pressly (#13) is one of the rare blondes in the field and Kelly Rowland (#24) could string a few wins together.

The TV Stars are lead by femme fatales who cut their their on the silver screen. 7th Heaven's Jessica Biel (#4) and Lost's Evangeline Lilly (#8) are strong contenders. Emmanuelle Chriqui (#15) of Entourage has a very strong strength of schedule and The Office's Jenna Fischer (#25) is the sleeper pick of the tournament.

Reality TV Babes is a mix-match of contenders, but top-to-bottom, not very strong. The best is Adrianne Curry (#9) of America's Top Model/The Surreal Life/My Fair Brady. Survivor's Elizabeth Hasselbeck is dangerously cute and could surprise some people, as could sexpot Edyta Sliwinska (#26) of Dancing With The Stars. Jillian Lewis (#33) of last season's Project Runway will have to win a play-in game just to make the field.

The M.I.L.F.s are a veteran bunch and each woman, although over 40 years old, still has plenty game. #2 overall seed Elizabeth Hurley (42-years old) is a legit contender. The tournament committee shocked everyone by putting 38-year old Catherine Zeta-Jones (#10) into The M.I.L.F. group. Maura Tierney (#20, 43-years old) is a darkhorse and Sela Ward (#30, 51-years old!!) could have upset on her mind.

The Naughty Nerds is the most eclectic group and many you've never heard of but Kari Byron (#18), Morgan Webb (#21), Jade Raymond (#29) and Cali Lewis (#31) will try to make sure they are not forgotten at tourney's end.

What The Comedienne's lack in hottiness, they make up in sass and sharp wit. Sarah Silverman will no doubt be a controversal #3 overall selection, but she's got the game to back it up. Rounding up the bunch is super-sleeper Natasha Leggero (#16), mid-major Maya Rudolph (#22) and Lynne Koplitz (#32).

The Sexy Sportscasters have both looks and knowledge of sports, a deadly combination come tournament time. Erin Andrews is being tabbed by many to be a possible tournament champion, but she's also backed by Lindsay Soto (#17), Rachel Nichols (#27) and Colleen Dominguez (#28).

The final grouping to comprise the field are The Athletes, women who are sexy and pro athletes...what's there not to like? Maria Sharapova (#7) represents tennis and Rachel Wacholder (#23) is the lone volleyballer. Two golfers (Anna Rawson, #11, and Paula Creamer, #19) round out the field.

Check back next week to follow along the 2008 The Year of Joe Babe of the Year!