It’s a special day here at My Latest Distraction as we celebrate our third anniversary. Thank you again to everyone that stops by. You are a big part of what keeps us going. Whether you’re a regular reader or a just here for a fleeting moment every visit something we find thrilling.

A few weeks ago we discussed MLD’s most popular posts from the past year, and today we decided to spotlight some of our favorite posts from throughout our history. Despite the X-Men reference in the title and comic books being the dominant topic on the site most weeks, you won’t find much spandex among our selections this time around.

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Happy New Year from everyone at MyLatestDistraction! The start of a new year is typically a time when people look back at the one that’s ending, and 2011 was a big year for MLD. That has everything to do with our readers, so rather than make a “best of” we’ve decided to take a look back at our most popular posts from 2011. These were determined based on the number of people who came to read them throughout the year. In some cases, our highest traffic posts of 2011 were actually originally published in 2010, but that didn’t mean they’ve collected any dust since they were published.

Also be sure to check out what’s recently gotten a lot of attention on MyLatestDistraction (including a recent review of Marvel’s Uncanny X-Force #19 (part of X-Men Regenesis) and one of our weekly WWE Monday Night Raw Warm Ups). What’s currently “trending” can always be accessed in the sidebar under “Popular Posts.”

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After a brief hiatus, MLD is now rebuilt, back up and running on a new web host. That means more updates, less downtime and most importantly fewer excuses to cover dodgy service and unsupportive technical support.

We’ve missed you while we were away, so please let us know you were here when you visit. Also, be sure to like our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter, or subscribe to our feed so we can stay in touch through whatever social medium you prefer.

While we were gone (and for short time before), a number of articles fell through the cracks. It seems a shame to let them go to waste, so look for them here throughout the week.

Thanks for stopping by. It’s good to be back.

Originally published in Wonka Vision Magazine, June 2006.

Today marks another anniversary for MyLatestDistraction and it’s hard to believe how fast the time flies. What’s even harder to believe is this article, titled “My Latest Distraction: Lights, Cameras, Action Figures,” that we unearthed during our recent move. It’s not all that old, but obviously that title really caught my attention. Apparently, MLD has been a distraction going back to before this site even existed.

The issue of Wonka Vision Magazine featuring this article was dedicated to toys and action figures of all kinds and even had three variant covers. The feature was an interview with Todd McFarlane, who we ran into back at the Baltimore Comic Con.

After looking at our visitor logs over the last year, I feel I have to do something about a group of states that never visit. You know who you are…well, you really don’t know who you are, do you…

Maine…monosyllabic Maine. No one’s even sure what you’re named for.

I once walked into Maine, but I didn’t get very far and I think I only stayed for lunch. It was really just for the novelty of being able to walk out of New Hampshire (I’ll get to you soon enough).

I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that not many people from Maine visit since it’s apparent that there are way more trees than people up there, and trees don’t get the internet.  Maine has the lowest population density East of the Mississippi, and it really doesn’t get more East than Maine.

In doing a background check on Maine, the thing that struck me was that every city I could name was more famous for being somewhere else.  The capital, Augusta, Portland, Belfast and of course Norway are all conspicuously borrowed. I thought Bangor was original and then Angie pointed out to me there was a Bangor, PA. I have to hand it to them for a place like Beans Corner Bingo, that you’re unlikely to find anywhere else.

A number of movies and TV shows seem to be set in Maine, but The Cider House Rules, The Shawshank Redemption and  Murder She Wrote don’t really inspire me to visit. The Iron Giant, Dark Shadows (Angelique is named after a witch on that show), and Casper the Friendly Ghost are a different story entirely.

A lot of fun things have come from Maine; like Maine Coons, Moxie, Milton Bradley, and Matt Stairs, so maybe it’s not so bad. On second thought, Moxie is terrible.

I hear you’re beautiful Maine, and I’m sure I’ll be back. Just keep in mind that our site looks pretty nice too. So ignore all the mountains and Canada and look over here, Mainers, Mainards, Manians, or whatever you call yourselves, we get plenty of visitors from the other Portland.

Image courtesy of Greenwich Mean Time.com.
Moxie image by JoeShlabotnik/ / CC BY 2.0

Other states that never stop by: Utah, Nebraska