122 - The Tier List Tier List 📋☑️
Hey there, !
When traveling through the content mines alone, toiling away with my word pick and carting away the detritus of useless thoughts, I found an absolute diamond…
IT’S A TIER LIST TIER LIST.
There’s really only a few things to rate (I seriously only had like 6 tier lists total over the last 2 years? Gotta write more) so I’ll only be using 3 categories.
Criteria:
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Longevity: Do I still believe in this tier list? Are there things that have changed?
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Design: Is the tier list well designed? Are the criteria well thought out?
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Content: Was it good content?
This Needs a Rewrite (C tier)
Twelve Days of Christmas Tier List: this was just weird content; even after a year or more of writing stuff I was scraping the bottom of the barrel a bit. But hey, we try things and see what sticks right? I believe in the tiers that I’ve given (bruh most of it is like…30 birds) but I don’t think it’s very well designed because there’s no good criteria for each of the tiers, which means it’s just kinda random. shrugs We live and we learn (to make better content)!
Could do with a Refresh (B tier)
Noodle Tier List: the main problem with this list (which was one of my first ever tier lists) was that it compared the wrong level of noodles. Ramen is a whole class of noodles, where as Satay Beef Noodle Soup is a specific dish within a class of noodles. The ordering is right (so I still agree with it), but on the other hand there’s good ramen and bad ramen so the comparisons are technically wrong in the list.
Pixar Movies Tier List: It’s a similar problem as above but it was to do with the comparisons between movies themselves versus comparisons within the franchises themselves. Toy Story would probably shift up as a whole franchise because I was comparing them more within themselves than within the whole Pixar set of movies. Set theory is hard!
Snack Tier List (Instagram): I tried to create my own tiering system (S/N/A/C/K) for fun, but it’s actually harder to remember what tiering it should be. I stand behind my scores and tiers in the snack list (peep my #snackboi instagram for more!), but it’s a bit confusing to navigate whether A tier means it’s the top, or it’s the middle. I may have to change this…
I’m not wrong, YOU’RE wrong (A tier)
Fried Chicken Tier List: I think this is one of the most thought out tier lists on all of these tier lists. I had defined criteria, I’ve tried enough of these places to have a good opinion, and y’all know what good looks like. I also made sure to include the ideal fried chicken so that there’s a Platonic ideal. SEND MORE FRIED CHICKEN RECOMMENDATIONS.
Yum Cha Tier List: This one had the most engagement of any of my tier lists because people had strong opinions about it - thus, it’s an A tier tier list. It compares dishes on the same level but doesn’t have the most defined criteria (but that’s okay since enjoyment is subjective). The content holds up and it’s still the same dishes I want today - reading it makes me want to go to Yum Cha again!
Chat soon :)
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✔️Real Life Recommendations
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The Godfather - by Mario Puzo, the original author. I think my opinion on this book is definitely coloured by the fact that I love The Godfather I and II (I still haven’t watched III), but it’s still a wonderful story in novel form. It’s much more meandering than the movie, which necessarily relies on a more ‘linear’ story structure, and has full sections of the books that are specifically related to a particular character. The power of the first chapter (‘You come to me on the night of my daughter’s wedding…’) sets up the rest of the book which have character-focused chapters, and many of the most iconic scenes and lines are ripped straight from the novel. I will say that a lot of the changes made for the movie were really good changes - there’s a subplot about one of the characters worried about her…ahem…big vagina and getting surgery to tighten it up. SUPER WEIRD TO READ but a product of its time I guess. Aside from that though, the vibe was retained for the movie of the Italian-American experience, and the trials and tribulations of the Corleone Family. If you’re a fan of the movie, give this one a read!
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The Master - by Paul Thomas Anderson. He’s a weird one, this director; his stories focus more on character rather than plot, which means that if you’re looking for a common 3-act structure and a story you can follow, these ain’t the movies for you. I’m still trying to work out exactly how I feel about these movies (Punch Drunk Love, Phantom Thread are some others that come to mind) but I’m recommending this purely based on Joaquin Phoenix and Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s performances. They’re spellbinding - you see the uncomfortableness, the slight mania, the supreme confidence that slowly drains away - it’s a wonderful movie to watch if you care about that stuff. The story is really hard to follow (at least for me) so try it if it sounds interesting!
🚌 Adventures on the Information Super-Highway
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Dark Web Justice League - when you have no access to justice in an illegal place, who do you turn to? I think I liked this piece mainly because I was reading The Godfather at the time, who serves as the alternative route to justice. The Dark Web needs its justice - but how does it work?
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The importance trap - an improvement on the classic Eisenhower matrix to decide what you should do - DO / PLAN / DELEGATE / ELIMINATE -> DO / PLAN / DELEGATE / DO - sometimes, doing the non urgent, non important stuff helps create a bit of space in your life. It’s not all just work, y’know.
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Loans that hijack your phone are coming to India - I’ve posted before about the innovation happening in Asian nations for mobile, and also that unethical conduct can innovate as well - here’s one where lenders are able to lock up your phone if you don’t pay your debts. This man buys a secondhand phone…and it gets locked?