GQ created The 2024 Overrated List because “a single page from GQ’s September 1995 print issue made the rounds, first on Reddit, then X, and finally, the tabloids. It was the 1995 Overrated List, comprising 81 people, places, and things the staff deemed ‘utterly unworthy of the praise and respect they’d received.’”
Unsurprisingly, I was unaware of the notoriety that the 1995 list engendered. Nevertheless, I looked at the 2024 list. I perused it, in part because I was fascinated by how many items were totally unfamiliar to me. Popping Zyns? It’s a nicotine pouch.
I have a strong interest in some items, though.
“The most important election of our lifetimes” -Yeah, I know we’ve heard it before. But in the words of Bullwinkle J. Moose: “This time for sure.”
Not wearing a tie – I’ve been way ahead of the curve on this topic. I’ve always railed against wearing a noose, even forgoing one in a family photo back in the 1980s. (There’s a story there, which I may or may not have told before.)
Telling it like it is – I noted on a recent Facebook discussion that many of those folks equate that whatever they read on an incendiary website becomes “what it is.” Then they say, “The earth IS flat! Do your research!”
Watching everything with subtitles – I’ve read several articles about how movie dialogue has become unintelligible in the past few years. This is also true of some television programs. Add to that an aging population and I’ll give those subtitle addicts a pass.
History has its eyes on you
Reexamining the past – How the heck does one learn anything new otherwise? I guesstimate that about a quarter of what I know about Black history and probably half of what I’ve gleaned about LGBT+ issues involved a reexamination of what we THOUGHT was normative.
Documentaries – I’ve read several recent stories of the travails involving documentaries, such as American Nightmare (“How we believe — or don’t believe — victims”) and The Jinx series involving litigation.
Working from home – I am SO happy I retired before COVID because my old office was, and inexplicably is STILL working from home.
Hard-launching your relationship online – I remain puzzled by “Facebook official”
Opening-weekend box office numbers are increasingly meaningless.
Binge-watching – I once watched three episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show. That was tough and I love that show. Definitely not my thing