Friday Five: December 20, 2024

It's the longest night of the year!

Hi lovely Consumers, happy Friday and happy Yalda!

Yalda is the Iranian celebration of the winter solstice — the longest night of the year — heralding the triumph of light over darkness. We typically spend Yalda eating pomegranates, drinking chai and/or wine, and reading our ancient poets into the wee hours of the evening. I know that it doesn’t feel like there’s a ton of light out there right now, that there are so many things that feel so very dark and grim, but we can hold that truth in one hand and find a tiny bit of light in the other. I am trying my darndest to find those bits of light, day in and day out, because sometimes those tiny lights are what get us through the depths of the darkness. Here’s your Friday Five, a roundup of five light, cathartic, weird bits of joy from the corners of the internet.

Songs: I am still thinking about Nikki Giovanni, naturally, and finding all the different ways I can take in her work. I’ve been listening to her albums of poetry on Spotify and think they’re a fantastic pairing for a morning winter walk.

And for those of you who aren’t so poetically inclined, here’s a second bonus song today. Teena Marie’s 1980 hit Square Biz is something you’ve probably heard browsing the aisles of a grocery store and hummed along, but did you know she name checks Nikki Giovanni in the rap break? Give it a listen and let out a deep exhale. This bop pairs nicely with holiday cookie baking.

Podcast: We’ve got one more Nikki moment here because there just aren’t enough ways to show reverence for her. I listened to this interview in my Spotify searches for her and absolutely loved it — it is 30 minutes that will go by very quickly. My favorite moment? When the host asks Nikki if she thinks about her legacy, and Nikki straight up says “No.” For Nikki, thinking about legacy “gets you caught up in your life, and that's not what your life is about. Your life is about your duty.” Mmmhm.

Book Rec:

passerby

asked me for my end of year recs and I told them about my favorite read this year, Kaveh Akbar’s Martyr. Incredible Consumer Afra gave me an advanced reader copy of this book and it has haunted me - in the best way - from the moment I picked it up.

Dregs of Twitter (gotta keep my ear to the streets):

Alternatively:

Thank you Bob.

Roya