Early Friday Five: December 26, 2024
Tiny joys, from my brain to yours
Hi beautiful consumers! I hope this holiday week has brought you some comfort, some joy, and something nourishing. This week began with my birthday, which is a day I always struggle with — dwelling on getting older and the passing of time makes me sad, my birthday takes place in a chaotic holiday week that people tend to forget, and despite being a writer, I’m not good at pausing and reflecting on myself. I’d rather keep moving on to the next thing ahead. I’d rather not be the protagonist but rather a cool, elusive supporting character.
My hesitation with being the protagonist, even of my own life, manifests in various ways, one of them is procrastinating writing — not just this newsletter, but the bubbling stew of stories I long to write. I’m curious if any of you who write or have a creative practice feel this way, not just work avoidance but this strange tension: wanting to tell so many stories while also feeling like those stories might be insignificant and not worth pursuing. There’s more I have to say here, but the Friday Five is not entirely focused on my personal musings and neuroses — so let’s get into our regularly scheduled program: five bits of joy, catharsis, and/or weirdness from across the digital universe.
Musical Performance: Every year around the holidays, I make a point to watch Patti Labelle’s chaotic, flawless performance at the National Tree Lighting in 1996. I’ve shared that here before, so instead I’m sharing her rendition of the Alphabet on Sesame Street, which I think about every time I encounter train delays in New York City and someone asks ‘What train was it?’ Honey, it was all of them. Anyway, no one has ever made the alphabet sound so groovy. If you have a tiny human in your life, share this with them and try to resist dancing towards the end.
Social Media Follows: I have two very disparate gems to share with you with this week, let’s start with the joyful chaos.
I cannot stop consuming videos from Tiktok’s ‘Bean Wizard,’ who has nothing to do with legumes or wizardry. The account shares the chronicles of a Dad with immense Jack Black energy playing Barbies with his daughter. This sounds creepy and boring on the surface, but Mr. Bean Wizard is 1) a stellar character actor with lots of voices in his repertoire 2) adept at playing Barbies in the way I fondly remember, full of drama, chaos, divorce, and fights. Mind you, besides playing Barbies I also collected Barbies (in true Capricorn fashion, my toys were assets), and somehow found enjoyment in admiring my I Love Lucy or My Fair Lady Barbies in their pristine boxes. Anyway, enjoy all of the early 2000s alt rock that he performs as Ken, I’m constantly delighted at his range.
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Next, in a complete pivot, I really enjoy following Ariana Lorelei on Instagram. Like many good people in my life, I started following her because of my friend Sam Verdile, who is a human version of the gift who keeps on giving. Sam has so much kindness and brilliance in her heart and she insists on sharing it with everyone around her — I hope you have a Sam in your life. Anyway, Ariana also happens to be smart as hell, and her social media presence is like if Carmen Sandiego was a fashionista with a lot of knowledge to impart. I like her takes on building a wardrobe, on repairing and reworking clothes, on taking care of them. In an era of mass consumption, she is a breath of fresh air and also FUNNY. Hopefully you agree.
Recipe: A few weeks ago, I tried Ottolenghi’s Black Pepper Tofu recipe and it rocked my world. It was buttery, sumptuous, sneakily spicy in the back-of-the-throat, and not hard to make. Make this for yourself this winter and savor it.
And finally, since we are still in the holiday swing of things I’m sharing some organizations that I love and support year-round, in case you’re looking for new non-profits, mutual aid groups, or ways to support things that matter (there is a lot of joy in giving!).
First, I’m on the board of the Sadie Nash Leadership Project, a non-profit that supports young women and gender-expansive youth across NYC and in Newark. I wish I had an organization like this to get me through my teenage years and help me prepare for college and working life, and I love meeting the young Nashers who take part in it. They are all infinitely smarter and cooler than I was at that age and seeing young people reach their massive potential is really inspiring.
Next up, my friend Asmeret runs One Love Community Fridge, a non-profit providing access to fresh and healthy food in Brooklyn. Food insecurity and malnutrition is more prevalent in New York than you’d expect, and this group is doing something about it and scaling up their operations.
Finally, another smartie friend Zara and her friend Dylan, have been fundraising for urgent medical care in Gaza and Egypt through Venmo. They share receipts, photo updates, and calls for funding through Instagram regularly - just this week, people have raised over $5K for medical care through these donations, lots of which are small $5 and $10s here and there which can add up so quickly.
Sending you love, hugs, wishes of sneakily spicy meals, and warmth,
Roya
Yes!!! I totally feel + understand this. I think a lot of my dilemma comes down to my mistrust and depreciation of my writing. I know I have stories I long to share, but in my head, there is nothing *I* can write to do them justice.