Friday Five: August 16, 2024

Aug 16, 2024

Happy Friday! It’s been a minute. For those of you who are new here, the Friday Five is a roundup of five cathartic and/or joyful things from far-flung corners of the internet. Let’s go.

Recipe: We’re in the beautiful peak season of delicious summer produce, and it’s time for savory-sweet fruit salads. Last week’s creation included tomatoes, labneh mixed with zaatar and Aleppo pepper, plums, cherries, salt + pepper, and pistachios. My perfect breakfast!

Song: Willow Smith is giving soulful Paramore suited for 2024 with shades of Fiona Apple in this song while also being her own beautiful, original self. I wish I had a more eloquent way of phrasing that, but if you listened to Paramore way back (and still now!), I think you’ll understand. I want to get lost in the folds of this song.

Art: I’ve been thinking a lot about Saj Issa’s poppy paintings, both beautiful and haunting, as a symbol of protest. In an interview, Issa says, “So many flags and slogans come with baggage attached, which people are conditioned to read in a particular way, through a certain lens. I thought that in the twenty-first century we need new symbols that can belong to us, with new meanings we can assign to them.”

The poppy is one of Palestine’s national flowers, whose colors match those of the flag, while also representing the plight of the community. In many commonwealth countries, the poppy is a symbol of remembrance for lives lost in war, support for the armed forces, and wishes for a peaceful future. I cannot reconcile the devastating irony here, but I remain in awe of this art. Read the article linked above and visit Issa’s IG for more.