Sunday, January 05, 2025

Holiday Post 2024: What the heck happened?

Welcome to the fourth and last post in the 2024 holiday posts series. For me, being Puerto Rican, I am still in the holidays spirit well into January. In fact, as I am typing this, tomorrow is Dia de Reyes (Three Kings Day) in Puerto Rico and much of the Hispanic world. In Puerto Rico we keep going with  "las octavitas." So still plenty of holiday cheer to go around, even with today's serious winter storm going on in our area.  In this post, I take a look at what the heck happened in the previous year, and boy has 2024 being a royal pain. Last year, I thought 2023 had been a hot mess, but apparently 2024 took that as a personal challenge to be worse. Anyhow, I will also add some predictions and outlooks for the new year, and we'll see how things go from there.

 

Top news events of the year

  •  The top news in the United States has to be that the Pendejo In Chief was re-elected  (via Reuters) to the presidency. You'd have thought that being a convicted felon, among other issues, may have kept him from public office, but as a man wiser than me once wrote, and I paraphrase, never underestimate the empowerment Americans feel in being able to say fuck you. It did not help that Kamala Harris did not exactly run (via BBC) a brilliant campaign against him. In fact, at one of those times she was visiting Michigan and Dearborn, MI, which has a big Muslim community that she managed to alienate (see Reuters here and Al Jazeera here), I said it would likely make things difficult for her, and sure enough. And while the post-mortems on what the Democrats failed to do came out pretty much right away, you can already tell they will not learn anything. I've lived in the States long enough to know the Republican Lite party is notorious for snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory. The bottom line is we are in for a rough four years ahead. 
  • And while folks fuss about the election and its results, the climate continues to break heat records in weather. Story via The Daily Climate. I honestly do not see much hope of anything being done about this. Between the robber barons who don't give a fuck and a society that just let's them get away with it, it will just keep getting worse. 
  • NPR reports as the Atlantic hurricane season ends that the season was the deadliest in nearly two decades. 

 

 

What the heck happened? 

(Big news overviews) 

Graphic with a big question mark. Text: What happened?

 

 

  •  Here is UPI's overview of top stories for 2024. Their highlights include the U.S. elections, wars, and the clusterfuck that is now Boeing. 
  • Vox considers "what really matters in 2024" for their annual review. Among their highlights are the rising bird flu epidemic (the one no one in the U.S. seems to be concerned about. Anyone feeling deja vu in light of COVID-19?), the rise of AI, and the insurance CEO shooter. Now that last is a story that will stay with us for a while as the shooter has basically risen to become a folk hero. I don't think I need to explain why. The article also does a bit of looking back at previous years to see what if anything from previous time we still remember. 
  • ABC News looks at the stories "everyone was talking about" in 2024, at least according to them. Among their highlights we find school shootings, hurricanes, and the insurance CEO shooter. 
  • FAIR (Fairness and Accountability in Reporting) has their most-read stories for 2024. This includes some of the usual for last year line of "the economy is fine, look at the numbers you ungrateful peons," which for me boils to asking the wrong questions. But, as I often say, I am not a pundit nor play one on TV. 
  • ProPublica also has their list of most read stories for 2024. Unlike FAIR's list, this list is a bit more balanced and realistic. Among their topics, we get stories on American militias, the company that helps insurance companies deny you coverage (and then some folks wonder why people want to free Luigi), and the fraud of Walmart's financial services. 
  • The Root has their list of worst Black moments of 2024. I usually avoid stories with slide shows, but I figured this topic was worth a look. Among the highlights are some notable deaths including James Earl Jones and Nikki Giovanni. 
  • Religion News Service has their list of top 10 religion stories of the year. Among the highlights, the Roman Catholic church had their Synod on Synodality and the United Methodist Church actually did something constructive and overturned their ban openly LGBTQ+ clergy and same sex marriages. There is also a story about what could be my dream job: being a (Roman Catholic) church approved hermit. This particular story is better because the hermit recently came out as being transgender, and the church so far is going along with it. 
  • If you are in Texas or have an interest in Texas, the Texas Observer has their list of most-read stories for 2024. One or two of my four readers may recall I did a sojourn in Texas. It being Texas we get stories on government corruption, Neo Nazis, and Christofascists. 
  • In keeping it rural, The Daily Yonder has their year in review. Among their highlights was a story on queerness in rural areas. They also highlight some rural prison journalism and some environmental stories. 
  • In higher education and academia, according to Inside Higher Ed, it was a year of closures and mergers.  
  • Colossal has their list of top articles of 2024. If you want to read a few things on topics like arts, this may be for you. 
  • RAND Corporation, the think tank, lists their big policy stories for 2024. Topics include competition with China, education, and the rise of AI. 
  • ABC News at the billion-dollar disasters of the year. We are talking natural disasters, not fuckery like the 2024 elections in the US.
  • In photography:
    • For some humor, My Modern Met has a list of amusing photos that won the Nikon Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards. 
    • Reuters has a 2024 in photos feature. It highlights a lot of floods that happened in 2024. 
    • Religion News Service has their list of photos of the year.
       
  •  JStor Daily lists their most popular stories for the year. Want to read something other than the usual news, this is a good option. 
  • And we wrap up this part with the Rude Pundit's annual tradition of haikus for the end of the year. 

 

A bit from around the world 

 

  •  The Walrus has "2024: Year in Review." This list of stories has a more international perspective and offers stories about the rest of the world because no, contrary to what gringos think, it is not all about the U.S. Topics here include women in Afghanistan, dissidents in India, and mass market mountaineering (this you may want to read). 
  • My Modern Met offers a list of 45 best photos from around the world in 2024. Check this out to see some beautiful photos. 
  • Reporters Without Borders reports on the many lost lives of journalists covering war zones and repressive regimes around the world.

 

Film, music and television

An old time movie projector


 

Though I stay aware about media through reading about it, media is not really something high on my list of priorities. I am very much a reader, and I prefer to read books and articles over watching and/or listening to film, music, television, and other media. As I have written before, I tend to enjoy the comforts of watching or rewatching older media than worrying about whatever the heck is considered the latest. Yet in order to stay informed, in part because I am a librarian, I do read on the topic, and thus I take time to look over the annual highlight in film, music, and television. I am sure my four readers have probably experienced some of the things listed, so feel free to leave me a comment with your favorites, or perhaps which ones to avoid. 

  • Film. Since I gave up going to movie theaters years ago, movies and film is not an area I worry too much about. I read enough to know what is in theaters, plus in social media people often can't shut up about whatever they're watching in theaters or streaming, so I manage to stay informed. For me, I usually watch stuff when it makes it to physical media, so I can borrow it from the library, or much later find it on a free streamer like TubiTv. Anyhow, let's see what others considered good or not in 2024. 
    • Sojourners lists their top movies of 2024. From their list, I had heard of Furiosa (the Mad Max movie), Dune: Part 2 (I am waiting to watch this once it is complete, and I may want reread the book), and Conclave. 
    • Rolling Stone always has lists of pop culture items in various categories. Here are their 10 best horror movies for 2024. I admit that aside from the new remake of Nosferatu I had not heard of any of these movies on their list. From their list, the South Korean film Exhuma is the one catching my eye. On a side note, I do enjoy international films, and I have often found some very good selections on TubiTv. Exhuma is the kind of thing they might pick up down the road. 
    • UPI offers a list of "2024 worst movies." A lot of these are pretty much remakes, rehashes, and other recycled material no one really asked for, but the studios said fuck it and went for one more cash grab only to fail at the box office and/or critically.
       
  • Music. This is certainly an area I do not follow very much, so I make this list to remind myself of what is out there and maybe find a thing or two to listen. I'll be honest. I pretty much stayed within my decade of the 1980s, and outside of that, the things I like are few and far between, but I am happy when I do discover something new to me that I end up liking.
  • Television. Yes, I am aware of the various television shows out there. No, I do not give a hoot about most of them, but if they bring you joy, go for it. There are one or two shows I am amazed are still on the air, especially in the reality television genre, but it is what it is. I tend to take comfort watching old favorites. This month, for example, I am rewatching the Granada Television Sherlock Holmes series with Jeremy Brett. For newer things, I just keep an eye out, and if they are good and get a DVD release, I may borrow from the public library. Anyhow, let's see what everyone else seems to be liking or not.
    • Decider has a list of the saddest cancellations in television in 2024. I was not sad but apparently some people were. Most of the items on the list were apparently on pay streamers that I just don't have nor care about, so that is probably why I missed them and did not care. I see the first responders drama/soap opera genre, a la Third Watch (which I recently rewatched on Tubi) is alive and well on the list. If they're good, I may catch those down the road or not. No rush here. So, were you sad about any of these? Feel free to comment and give me reasons to seek out any of the shows listed, or warn me away from them. 
    • Reality Blurred lists what they consider the best reality TV of 2024. This is a selection of what the author has watched. Article also gives a bit of an overview of the reality TV landscape for the year. Most of these to be honest I could not care less and there are at least one or two I never heard of, and I am at peace with that. I am a bit amazed Survivor is still hanging on. They also have a list of best true crime documentaries for the year. That list I may need to check out as I do like true crime now and then. The article is part of their "best evidence" series where they look at true crime in various ways. You can find a link for the "best evidence" series at top of the article.

 

Books and reading


I already did a holiday post on books and reading, so this covers some lists I found interesting that I may have missed and/or came after that post, plus some trivia about books and reading. On a side note, let me mention that I will be writing and posting my end of year reading list and report later this month on this blog, so stay tuned to see what I read in 2024.

  • Via Literary Hub, the most scathing book reviews of the year. 
  • Religion News Service has a list of their top picks in religion and spirituality. From their list I am currently reading White Poverty.
     

 

 Adult and risque

A nice woman wearing light blue lingerie, next to a Christmas tree, holding up a present. Pin up style


 This is where you can feel free to scroll on down if it is not your jam. But if it is, read on. 

  • Pornhub revealed their top searches of 2024. I live in a retrograde puritan state that Pornhub said fuck it and blocked access, so you can read the summary in The New York Post. Post article includes link to the report if you live somewhere other than a shithole Christofascist state. 
  • Clips 4 Sale, based on their data, finds that "chastity" is their 2025 Fetish of the Year. The NY Post has a summary if you prefer. Not my jam, but if it makes you happy and everyone consents have at it.

 

 

Miscellaneous


These are stories that did not fit any of the categories above and/or just random trivia.

  • Word of the year, depending on which dictionary you ask.
    • Cambridge Dictionary chose the word "manifest." Via Reader's Digest. 
    • Dictionary.com chose "demure." Via ABC News. Apparently we can thank a couple of Tik Tok folks for that one. Whoop dee doo. 
    • Oxford University Press chose "brain rot." Story via CBC. That one seems pretty applicable for the year and going into 2025. 
    • Merriam-Webster settle on "polarization." Story via AP. Another very relevant word for this year and going into 2025. 
  • FactCheck.org presents their 2024 FactCheck Awards. This looks at some unusual, odd, and/or cheeky political ads for the year. They also have a list of the Whoppers of 2024. Yes, there was a lot of lying and bullshit from public figures, so what else is new? 
  • In more awards, EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) looks at the worst data breaches of the year.
  • 2024 was a year that you could not get away from AI no matter how hard you tried, and it seems to be getting worse as we go into 2025. The Verge offers an AI year in review. 
  • The Root looks at the wildest political moments of 2024. No, the Pendejo In Chief making a comeback is not the only wild moment. Among the highlights, remember JD Vance's "childless cat ladies" comment? 
  • Google reveals their top search trends for 2024. Story via The New York Post. 
  • Mother Jones has their list of Heroes and Monsters for 2024. 
  • What is a yearly summary without a list of notable deaths? 
    • The Latin Times has a list of notable deaths. This list features celebrities, public figures, and others. It does have quite a few names you might not have seen in other lists. Among the lost here: Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball, Roger Corman, the American B-movies master, and Ratan Tata, Indian industrialist and head of Tata Group. 
    • The Root looks at Black celebrities that died too young in 2024. 
    • Religion News Service looks at faith leaders who died in 2024. Most of these folks did some good, but as often happens, there is at least one asshole on the list. 
    • For the pagan community, they are facing the deaths of pagan pioneers and elders. Via Religion News Service.


Predictions for 2025


Predictions was a new category I added to this in 2023. People love to make all kinds of predictions about new year, and I found quite a few. This year I am breaking this down into trends, you know the pundits, experts, and gurus who tell us what to expect, and into esoterica where we look at things like astrology, Tarot, and other esoteric ways to predict what will happen. 

Trends: 

  • Nieman Lab has their predictions for journalism in 2025. Some of these seem a bit optimistic, such as publishers figuring out that AI is not that lucrative, but we will have to see. 
  • In his last show of the year, late night show host Jimmy Kimmel makes some predictions for 2025. Article includes link to the video clip. Via Daily Beast. 
  • Quartz offers a list of predictions from various hoity toity people like bankers and bitcoin "experts." 
  • Vox does something a bit different. They went back and looked at the predictions they made for 2024 to see which ones came true and which ones did not. Out of 24, they missed 10, so they got a bit more than half right. Among the predictions they got right: The Pendejo In Chief's return to the White House, climate getting hotter (I think that was kind of a low fruit given the climate patterns), and that Mexico would elect a woman for president.

 

Predictions and looking at the future:

A fluffy cat with a cloth on head, necklace, and crystal ball. Text: Let me check my crystal ball.

 


 
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