MAD SOCIOLOGY READERS HAVE BEEN ON THE ROLLER COASTER WITH ME!

If you are a regular reader here at the Mad Sociologist Blog, thank you for sticking with me. If you are a new reader…and by the looks of it there are a lot of you…welcome to the ride.

This was crazy year, but one of the most fruitful for the Mad Sociologist Blog. Looking at the numbers, readership was only higher in 2020…another crazy year. Maybe the secret to a successful blog is craziness. Furthermore, 2024 is only second to 2020 by about a couple dozen views. A statistical tie for the math geeks out there.

Though I do my official top ten in August because I started this blog in August 2008, I wanted to post this year’s top ten because it really is a snapshot of the year.

#10: It’s Been a Helluva Month: For instance, the tenth most popular post this year highlighted my struggle against fascism in the Free State of Florida. My year began with me resigning my teaching post and ending my thirty year career in protest of book bans in Florida.

#9: I Love Gen Z: I was also asked to comment on the problem of Gen Z always being on our lawns! Again, I was a contrarian who didn’t mind my lawn getting a little trampled.

#8: [Perspectives on History] Classroom Partnerships: I enjoyed some success publishing on some non-Mad Sociologist platforms.

#7: No! Really! I’m in the News!: I had my fifteen minutes of local fame.

#6: Protests, Riots, and Discursive Bubbles: Some of my older work was remained meaningful.

#5: Doing the Capitalist Boogie: I started a new project (I know…I haven’t finished some of the old projects yet…I will. That’s what New Year’s Resolutions are for) on Marxist Theory, or Karl Marx’s Greatest Hits.

#4: [Perspectives on History] A School Without Books: I was also published in print.

#3: A Classroom Without Books: My year started with over six-hundred of my classroom books being confiscated by my school principal. The story went viral when I posted my letter of resignation on my Mr. Andoscia’s Classroom Page.

#2: Calm the F#*k Down!: As always, it looks like Mad Sociology readers appreciate it when I endeavor to be a voice for reason over reaction. Certainly, something I intend to follow through with in the next year. Also, with my extra time I was able to resuscitate The Mad Sociologist in the News YouTube Page.

#1: What Do Taylor Swift and Karl Marx Have in Common: And yes, I admit it, a latched onto Taylor Swift’s sequined coattails for a bit to introduce Karl Marx’s Greatest Hits. It was also fun playing with the AI Image Generators.

In the meantime, I’ve also resuscitated one of my novels. Stone is not Forever, is a classic immigrant story. It takes place during the opening years of the twentieth century, through World War I. It is the story of a young, Italian stone carver who immigrates from Campagna to the United States intending to make enough money to return to his paesera as a man of respect and rescue his family. Instead, he becomes an American. I’m very proud of this novel. I also think it is very timely as we enter into a potentially devastating time for immigrants in this country. It is important to remember our immigrant forebears, and the bigotry and hatred that they had to overcome while we face the prospects of persecution of our immigrant neighbors–perhaps at a level we have never seen.

Looking back, I’m overwhelmed!

My plans going forward are as follows:

1. Finish The Twisted DNA of Capitalism Project and get it into print. You can read what I have so far:
   • The Twisted DNA of Capitalism: Introduction
   • The Twisted DNA of Capitalism: Part I Dehumanized Rationalism
   • The Twisted DNA of Capitalism: Part IIa Disease and Capital
   • The Twisted DNA of Capitalism: Part IIb Capital and Disease
   • Coming Soon The Twisted DNA of Capitalism: Part IIc The Global Disease
2. Complete Karl Marx’s Greatest Hits: I also intend to get this into print.
   • What do Karl Marx and Taylor Swift Have in Common
   • Capitalist Blues
   • Doing the Capitalist Boogie
   • Coming Soon: Species Being! Man!
3. Resuscitating my novel The Revelation of Herman Smiley. Working on it now
4. Getting back to work on Mr. Andoscia’s Sociology Class, which I also intend to combine with Mr. Andoscia’s Classroom to offer lessons that might be illegal in the Free States.

I’m also working on a new novel, tentatively called Outside. It’s a science fiction set in dystopian world in which most human beings spend their lives inside apartments, interacting through virtual reality. What happens when such a human being is suddenly cast outside? I know!

I have also had a major non-fiction project on teaching on my mind for many years. It has been on a back burner because I was…you know…actually teaching. I am now free to work on it. I’m calling it Teaching Heresies. I’m at the outlining stage right now. I would like to have a rough draft complete by the end of the year. If you are a teacher, student, or parent of a student who would like to share you thoughts on the state of education in the United States, philosophy or sociology of education, or critical observations both positive and negative with regard to education and how we approach schooling, please feel free to reach out to me at Mr. Andoscia’s Classroom Teacher Corner Page.

I also intend to continue posting on the Mad Sociologist Blog about two to three times a month. This is pretty standard for me. My regular readers have figured out that sometimes I disappear for a while, but I always come back. I do a lot of travelling. Also, I only like to post if I have something I think is worthwhile and innovative. I never want to simply parrot what others are already saying.

Meanwhile, this year I boosted my social media presence. I even started a Tik Tok account! We’ll see if that’s still a thing in the next few days. If you are interested you can follow me at the following:

1. Facebook: Journal of a Mad Sociologist
2. Reddit: The Mad Sociologist
3. Threads: @madsociologist
4. Blue Sky: Madsociologist
5. Mastodon: @madsociologist
6. Instagram: Madsociologist
7. TikTok: @madsociologist

If you are an X follower…get help

…seriously…

Anyway, I’m looking forward to a great year and would love to see you all travelling with me. Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me and even joined me in the Madness that is the social world.