The Very Official hot mushrooms 2024 In and Out List

or maybe it’s just a very hot mushrooms kind of in / out list

Hello and Happy New Year readers! I truly hope you had a relaxing end of year, and that you got everything you ever wanted for Christmas. I had a delightful little holiday myself, thank you for asking!

Have you noticed a conspicuous lack of New Years’ Resolution posts from other writers and creators you follow? I have. I think the world seems too precarious to commit to something solid like a resolution. What I have seen is an abundance of more light-hearted In/Out lists, and I’d like to put my own hot mushrooms spin on the idea.

in: supporting Palestine | out: supporting companies on the BDS movement (Boycott, Divestment, Sanction) list

Yes, here at hot mushrooms we are overdue in making our stance on genocide clear: it is always wrong. Anything else I write about it seems so ineffectual and trite. What is happening to the Palestinian people, what has been happening, is wrong beyond words.

in: analogue everything | out: giving away your monetised attention for free

This year I am hoarding my attention like billionaires hoard wealth. I could link several articles from fairly reputable sources about how social media has turned our attention into currency, but I think it’s more effective to point you towards a post from the “global professional services company” Accenture that reads, plainly: “Consumers are spending more time on media, creating a huge opportunity to win user engagement. Where eyeballs go, money follows.”

It goes on to admit that privacy regulations make it harder for corporations to turn you and your attention into numbers for their spreadsheets. Rather than make a product or offer a service that you can purchase they are counting on you to generate their revenue for them. I bet you didn’t know you were an employee of “more than three quarters of the Fortune Global 100 and Fortune Global 500” companies!

Personally, I’m getting deep into paper, pen, candles, my watch, and, as always, books. And before I sound too smug please know I am typing this on a MacBook sitting in front of a TV that is streaming Downton Abbey from HBO Max. So… nobody’s perfect.

in: personal style | out: trends

Most of this year popular fashion was dominated by a trend called “quiet luxury” where people tried to dress like truly wealthy people. Not people like the Kardashians, but the actually wealthy people who’ve never been on Instagram. Here is the truth, which won’t generate revenue: the most refined clothes are those that fit your body.

Online, or on TikTok at least, there has been a protracted battle between millennials and gen z about which style of denim is acceptable. And again the non-revenue-generating truth is that the best style of jean — skinny, low-rise, wide leg, whatever — is the style that fits your body.¹

It takes time and a lot of trial and error to find the hair and wardrobe that suits your body and your style preferences, but not only will it save you money it will also make you look effortlessly amazing.

in: writing about whatever I want | out: trying to shave myself down into a defined niche that is easier for algorithms to work with.

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Thanks for reading this edition of hot mushrooms, I’ve got some medium-sized plans this year and I’m excited to get started! If you enjoyed this, or any other, post I would really appreciate if you shared it with anyone you think might like it as well.

1. This is also true for how you part your hair (a minor battle in the TikTok generational style war), and how you do your makeup.