Rambling Ever On Presents: Overrated/Underrated
We’re back with more infallible opinions on those things in our culture that are a little too respected and things that need more love.
Ben Plunkett
Overrated – Big Toe
Everyone thinks he’s the cool guy on the foot campus because he’s this big old Hoss fella and he’s the only piggy that actually does any work by going to market. All that is well and good, but he is also the only piggy that gets hurt. You ever think about that? So you’re getting up in the middle of the night. Nine times out of ten, you are going to stub a toe and every single one of those times it is the big toe and his bulbous ways.
Underrated – Pinky Toe
This is the dude that went wee, wee, wee all the way home. Okay, that does seem pretty lame, but people aren’t asking about the context. It’s all because the other toes are so mean and stuff. So really, it comes down to his sorry family life: His miserable brothers. There’s the hifalutin biggest brother, the second eldest who stays at home all day playing video games, the third oldest who always eats all the food, and the pretentious fourth brother who constantly preaches on the many excellences of veganism. All in all, the poor guy has sorry role models and therefore has good reason to wee, wee, wee all time. Bless his heart.
Mike Lytle
Overrated – Funyuns. I am not a fan of these artificial, processed, disgusting things that are made to look like the letter “o”. They are a disgrace to the chip family as well as the onion ring family. It is really hard to bring shame to two different types of food, but Funyuns pull it off easily. The fact that the word “fun” is in their name when they are opposite of fun is the cherry on top of this failure sundae. When most of your main ingredients sound like the names of villains in Harry Potter1 then you have a problem.
Underrated – Pork Rinds. NOW WE ARE TALKING! Sorry about yelling, but I get excited about frying pork skin. They are natural, they are low in carbs, they are a great source of protein, but most importantly they are delicious. Whether you prefer plain, bbq, or hot and spicy, there is a pork rind for you. They are great served fresh at a state or county fair, but they are also great in a bag from your local Walmart or gas station convenience store. Sure they are high in sodium and fat, but most of us need more sodium and fat in our diet anyway so that is not necessarily a negative2. In Spanish, they are called chicharrones which makes them sound even more scrumptious.
Gowdy Cannon
Overrated: Deep Dish Pizza from anywhere
Underrated: Frozen $2.29 Pizza from Aldi
Oh, do I get made fun of for this in my church in Chicago. But I must keep it 
since the movie Creed taught me to. For pizza, I prefer a balance of ingredients. Deep dish has far too much sauce, which I assume is the point. The tomato sauce is a role player on a good pizza to me, not the Allen Iverson of tastes. Hogging the ball.
I can, and have, eaten the big frozen Aldi pizzas five times in a week. They are simple yet thoroughly satisfying. I still remember when they raised the price from $1.99 to $2.29 at my local store. I wept for days. Because 30 cents over thousands of pizzas really adds up.
Phill Lytle
Overrated: Candy Corn
In 2016, USA Today conducted a survey to determine the favorite candy for each state. The people of the great state of Tennessee, my state, picked Candy Corn as their favorite.
Candy Corn.
I don’t want to speak ill of my state, but this might be the dumbest thing Tennessee has ever done. Candy Corn is vile. It is a disgrace to candy. It is a disgrace to corn. It is sickly-sweet with the consistency and texture of hardened ear wax.
Underrated: Corn
Corn is the most underrated of all vegetables3. It is versatile: you can put corn in just about anything and it makes that dish better. Corn on the cob – particularly grilled corn on the cob – is about the tastiest thing in the world. Other great examples of corn usage: Corn Casserole. Cornbread. Corn tortillas. Corn chowder. Cornhole!!!
Corn is king.
Ben Plunkett
Overrated – White Coffee (Overcreamed coffee)
This is what I call cups of creamer/milk with a little bit of coffee added. A lot of people apparently consider this the greatest thing since the invention of goat yoga. I have no problem with milk. I love milk. Milk is good people. But when I drink milk, I drink milk. When I drink coffee, I drink coffee. A wise coffee drinker once told me that you should never trust coffee drinkers who corrupt their coffee. I think there might be something to that.
Underrated – Black Coffee
And that brings me to the underrated king of coffees. It ain’t just me, folks. There are dozens of us! Dozens! I’m thinking about starting a Black Coffee Matters movement. I think such a group has potential to make a true difference in the Java world. Who’s with me?!
Phill Lytle
Overrated: Sleeping in
Sleeping in was fun when I was 13. Sleeping in stopped being fun when I became a man. Sleeping in is painful now that I am nearly 40. If I sleep in (basically any time after 9:00 AM) I feel like death the rest of the day. Plus, I feel like I wasted a good portion of my day.
Underrated: Naps
Naps were awful when I was a kid. Naps were essential when I was in college. Naps are glorious retreats to the world of slumber now that I am nearly 40! As much as it drives my wife crazy, I am able to take a nap every day at work on my lunch break. As a teacher, she is unable to do that, and so she resents my happiness and sleep.4
Mike Lytle
Overrated – Day old sushi. I am going to get very personal with this one. I once ate day old sushi that I purchased at a grocery store. I ate half of it the day I bought it and it was fine. I ate the other half the next day and it was not fine. Or perhaps I should say I was not fine. I have a pretty impressive record of stomach issues during my lifetime. This was especially true when I was younger. The sushi I ate that day messed me up for over a month. Most every topic covered in this article is a matter of personal opinion, but this one is fact – DON’T EAT DAY OLD SUSHI!
Underrated – Day old chili. I love fresh chili. I have had the honor and privilege of being judge/scorekeeper for several chili cook-offs and have tasted hundreds of chili varieties that were entered for competition. I have savored every moment. That being said, there is just something about eating chili the day after (or even a couple days after) it was first prepared. The flavors have more time to coalesce. The spices and seasonings have much needed time to meld with all the other ingredients and produce something truly special. Take your time, don’t rush…you will thank me later.
Gowdy Cannon
Overrated: Pronouncing ‘gif’ with a Hard G
Underrated: Pronouncing ‘gif’ with a Soft G
“Gift” is an exception to an English pronunciation rule. “Giraffe” is the rule. I’m not even going to argue this. As a Level 1 ESL teacher I already spend way too much time trying to explain why OU has six pronunciations, why “both” and “bother” have completely different O and TH sounds and why “February” and “Wednesday” have the most random, ridiculous silent Rs and Ds (and if you think about it, the second E in Wednesday is silent as well…you can’t make this stuff up). All words we add henceforth need to be consistent. Think of the children! (And the immigrants)
- Ferrous Sulfate would be exhibit A ↩
- This is completely false as most of us do NOT need more fat or sodium in our diets. ↩
- I realize there is a lot of debate on this point. Some consider corn a vegetable, a fruit, and a grain. Basically, it’s the holy trinity of food. ↩
- She doesn’t resent it. That was a joke. Or maybe she does resent it a little. I don’t know. I’m too relaxed and rested to really notice or care…due to all the naps. ↩
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“Goat yoga”. LOL. I’m with Phill on the naps. I have had many people tell me naps make them cranky. Not me. They’re like rays of sunshine when I’m feeling blue.
I enjoyed the article. I doubt it contributed much to my spiritual growth, but it was fun to read.
Isn’t there a verse in the Bible that says that man cannot live by day old sushi alone?
That hurts! Are random observations about pork rinds, pizza, and coffee NOT spiritually rewarding? I don’t see how that is possible.
Gowdy, how have you not been banished from Chicago?
Phill, you forgot corn pizza. Corn is also an excellent topping for hamburgers and hot dogs.
If we lived in the 1800s I’m sure it would have happened. Thankful for modern morality.
I started to add, but didn’t for the sake of word count: this past summer I had two exceptional visits to eat deep dish pizza. So my hardened stance against it is about gone. I enjoy it now. But it’s still overrated to me because people are so crazy over it.
I don’t believe I have ever had Chicago-style, deep dish pizza. I’ve had Detroit-style which is different – not as much sauce and they don’t put the sauce on last like Chicago style. I love Detroit-style.
I love them both, but Detroit style is the best.
Personally, I prefer Coluta’s thin crust to Giordano’s deep dish.
I could eat Coluta’s every week.
Mike, I’m disappointed in your assessment of Funyuns. Based on what I’ve witnessed you eat, I don’t think “artificial” or “processed” keeps you from consuming other foods, so you are holding Funyuns to a standard that you do not hold other edibles.
And, ferrous sulfate is important as an iron supplement for people who are anemic, so don’t judge an ingredient based on its name. If the name alone determines the value of a thing, you should never consume something called PORK RINDS.
Shots fired!!!
Overrated: green bay packers. Period.
Laughing so hard here!
Nice!
Pork rinds rule!!!
I love them as well. Sadly, due to my pork intolerance, I cannot eat them. Woe is me.
“Black Coffee Matters!” Hilarious stuff, guys. Well done.
Phill Lytle
Overrated: Sleeping In
In a recent REO article, Phill Lytle posted in the comment section, “A good bowl of cereal. Sleeping in. Binge watching a great TV show. A jaw-dropping sunrise or sunset” to an article titled, if your happy and you know it.
Interesting…
You’ve caught me, young man!
In my defense, my definition of sleeping in that is okay is sleeping until around 8:30 to 9:00. What I reference in this article is the way people typically define sleeping in – until much later than that.