Friday Flames | 7.14.23

A weekly synopsis of what we figured out about teal loofas, legally binding emojis, and Bobbi Flekman for President.

Let’s face it. After a whirlwind week of travel with her fiancé, featuring two family weddings and a few days preparing for their own wedding in October, Magda is too besotted to think much about current events. The food is ordered and the marriage license is purchased, and soon the Big Day and the Big Move will be a Big, New Reality.

Now that both the actors’ and writers’ guilds are striking, we’re fascinated by how the online debates are heating up. While one side believes creatives should earn their fair share of the profits they generate, the eight-figured studio execs are crying poverty, and some “pundits” argue that Hollywood deserves all this pain because its work has become too woke. (These latter two groups should go pound sand.)

The last time both the writers and actors struck at the same time was in 1960, when Ronald Reagan was the president of SAG. From this pattern, should we plan for Bobbi Flekman as our next President?

The amazing intimacy of washing your dad

For Episode 8, Tiffany Noel Taylor and Richard Furlong had nothing prepared when her father was suddenly too sick to care for himself. After 26 months, they chatted with us about what they've learned, and why they're still above water. Their insights about staying sane and connected in the middle of a really alienating, high-stakes situation are worth listening to.

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This is our first Extended-Cut episode, featuring over 45 minutes of bonus dialogue, because they shared many hard-won lessons that will inspire you to get those affairs in order. Plus, we laughed so much and shared too many great moments to choose from. So we said, “the hell with it!” and left them all in.

Did you know?

If you open Facebook, Instagram, and Threads on your phone at the same time, Beetlejuice comes out.

Games people play

Can we talk about what it’s like to play the New York Times’s new word game Connections when you have ADHD? So far, our sample size of two people with ADHD (not AuDHD) finds it incredibly frustrating, because we can think of lots more sets of four connected words than just the ones the game gives us credit for. Anyone else?

Doug has landed a new favorite at Digits because of its resemblance to his favorite-ever game show, Countdown.

Don’t be aloof about your loofa

If you liked learning about the upside-down pineapples, let’s talk about The Loofa Code, which sounds like a Dan Brown novel. So great to discover the intricate layers of elderly kink.

When 👍=👎

Last Friday, a Canadian judge ruled that a farmer who used the thumbs-up emoji officially entered into a contract to sell 87 metric tons of flax. As lovers of words, we think this is bull💩.

Currently watching

Doug is in the middle of Season 2 of The Bear. After the absolute onslaught of Episode 6, Episode 7 will make you cry real man tears.

While she was vacationing with her parents, Magda watched hours and hours of CNN at top volume with her dad. It's still better than Fox, but she still feels dumber and more anxious than before she watched it all.

Currently reading

Magda’s copy of Can't Pay Won't Pay: The Case For Economic Disobedience and Debt Abolition by Debt Collective has arrived, so she'll be diving into that over the weekend. She accidentally left the lackluster cozy mystery she was reading at her parents’ house, so she'll never know who did it.

Doug thought reading Slow Horses might be less interesting because he’d already watched the series. But the added plot detail, plus that reference to one character as “dead as a bucket,” made it worthwhile. So far, How to Stop Time is slow going.

Coming next week

On July 19, our guest for Episode 9 is Jodie Ousley, who was rear-ended by a car doing 120mph only a week after her only child arrived at college. She has spent the last 11 months recovering from catastrophic injuries from brain to kneecap, and we talk the physical and emotional toll as she slooooowly reclaims her life.

Thanks for reading, and please loofa responsibly.

Magda and Doug