Friday Five: April 4, 2025

I am not April's Fool.

Apr 04, 2025

Happy Friday, Consumers.

I hate April Fools! Call it the pains of being pure at heart, but I don’t like being fooled by brands or friends or people I follow on social media. I wonder if this is just part of getting older, but I was gullible even as a child and didn’t like to be fooled around. Speaking of fools, the news this week has been tarrif-iying…

Chaos and uncertainty aside (just for a moment), let’s get into your Friday Five — this one is a little extra unhinged because aren’t we all feeling that way now?

Two Fun Videos with Fake Microphones: This might be the most specific category to-date, but here we are. First off, let’s start with the beautiful and brilliant Mattison twins whose sing along videos are full of earnest joy — this one set to one of the greatest songs ever.

mattisontwins

A post shared by @mattisontwins

Next up, we’ve got a ‘Auntie Ann’ doing her best Whitney Houston remix. Shout out to my dear downtown Julie Brown for sending this my way — Julie was one of the best people I met at my first job out of college, and at her going away party we belted this song at karaoke. Whimsy and play don’t stop at any age — let Auntie Ann inspire you to be a lil silly today.

crazyauntieann

A post shared by @crazyauntieann

News for Nerds (like me): I do not own a Nintendo Switch although the allure of one has been in my heart for several years now. My weakness with video games is any really any Mario franchise, but in particular, Super Mario World and Mario Kart are irresistible. Well, there’s a new Mario Kart coming out and the latest addition is ‘Free Roam’ — a version of the game where you can just DRIVE AROUND. No competition, just some free time on the road exploring town. I don’t know why it took so long to make this setting, I don’t even own the console, I don’t even drive in real life! Nonetheless, this brings me joy and I simply love the idea of driving around Mario’s stomping grounds.

America’s Most Beautiful TJ Maxx: I may have beat my own record for category specificity twice in this newsletter now, but this felt too precious not to share. As a lifelong Maxxinista, I have been to TJ Maxx’s far and wide, including my new home country’s share of TK Maxx’s. I’ve recently learned Milwaukee is home to arguably the prettiest TJ Maxx, see below for proof…

The clips in this video really seal it for me, minus the collection of jellybeans solely in the Buttered Popcorn flavor (haunting).

@isabelyandall Prettiest TJ Maxx ever right in WI. #tjmaxx #tjmaxxfinds #shopping #milwaukee #retailtherapy #retail

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Thoughtful Clapback: After a country music star who seems to be awful all around immediately left the SNL stage at the end of the episode (his name doesn’t deserve to be in here), Kenan Thompson shared his take with Variety, and I’ve been consumed by two bits of it in particular: “I thought maybe he had to go to the potty or something…” and this:

“The ‘God’s country’ of it all is strange because it’s like, what are you trying to say?” Thompson added. “You trying to say that we are not in God’s country? We’re not all in God’s country? We’re not all under God’s umbrella? That’s not necessarily my favorite. But whatever. Moving on, we got a new show. We got Jack Black this week.”

We should use the word ‘potty’ more, I think — it’s gentle, it’s funny, and I fear we’ve restrained the use of it to children and pets. Second, this is a bar: “We are not all under God’s umbrella? That’s not necessarily my favorite.” Someone could run a political campaign on that. It also reminds me of another piece of internet lore I’m always thinking about: