The + Friday + Five: 02.07.25
Rando Thoughts on Books, BlueSky, Sing Sing, Ghost, and Weight
The Friday + Five* is a brief list of things I have found meaningful, challenging, joyful, soothing, or quirky from the week. Some weeks will have themes, while others will feel like they were gathered by a raccoon hyped up on six shots of espresso. You’ve been warned.
Your Friday Five: 02.07.25
I have recently been at a loss for words with 83 posts in draft form sitting in my Substack posts tab. Every time I open it up, there they are, their witty titles taunting and shaming me like Netflix does every so often with their little, “Seriously, are you still watching this show?” alert, but for me it’s, “Seriously?!?! And you call yourself a ‘writer.” Poser.”
“Just write,” they say, so here you go, five random things from the raccoon cage fight in my head.
ONE: I have two books in rotation right now: We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite by Musa Al-Gharbi and Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman. Al-Gharbi is challenging my soul with his critique of those who deal in social capitalism and Dinniman is soothing my soul by calling middle school Bruce’s D&D nerdiness back to the present day.
TWO: I continue to enjoy BlueSky, so if you have not jumped in yet and are still yearning for a social media space where you control what you see, I highly recommend you get in when you are ready. BlueSky’s Instagram and TikTok alternative services are coming out soon, so at least grab your username and start exploring. I wrote a post about getting started with lists, feeds, and starter packs or feel free to follow me and ask questions. My two favorite third-party services are ClearSky (A way to see who has blocked you, what lists you are on, etc.) and DeckBlue (an alternative BlueSky posting platform).
THREE: One of the draft posts that I have been noodling on is one about my ongoing dance, struggle, and journey around weight, health, and fitness.
If you have tried all the diet things, I see you.
I have been on a two-year commitment to lose weight (goal is to drop 34 pounds) to get in control of my pre-diabetes and high blood pressure. There are days when I am super proud of how far I have come since, just over three years ago I was dragging my post-covid oxygen tank. And then there are the days when my body confounds me, like how can I swing that much weight from one day to the next. Yes, I know scientifically how it happens, but it is still fascinating and often disheartening.
I will write about this more later, but as I settle into these mid-50s years, I have definitely come to appreciate my body more and more. More days than not, I no longer allow these numbers to determine my worth; rather, I now see the various measurements as insights into the created being called me.
FOUR: I am seriously considering a move to Ghost and away from Substack. After this post from one of the founders that called Musk and Zuckerburg principled free speech advocates, I can’t but believe that the future is not good.
Here is an excerpt:
Elon Musk has been a vocal supporter of free speech. It’s no secret that we haven’t always seen eye to eye, but he deserves a lot of credit for advancing freedom of speech on X, before it was popular and in the face of fierce criticism and opposition. But Musk’s record is not perfect—he has been credibly accused of censoring his political opponents in addition to his commercial ones. Mark Zuckerberg recently announced favorable changes in policy for Meta that should result in freer expression on its platforms. His stated reasons were a change in public sentiment and a new administration, reflecting a real change in the culture. Those who welcome the press freedom changes at Meta owe a debt to those who took a principled stand when the wind was blowing the other way.
I have always been an early adopter, and many are finding Substack a place like none other for writers, but this has been needling at me ever since they launched their new enterprise with Bari Weis. Everyone is going to approach this differently, and for all of us trying to make a living at the word things, everything is an internal negotiation of morality.
Many have written about the Substack problem: Anil Dash’s Article about “substack” as a brand, Imani Gandy thread on Bluesky, and Marisa Kabas’ piece about Bari Weiss, but a special thanks to
and her prompting post about Ghost.My tentative plan is to launch a new Ghost site in March, which will also centralize my main website. We are still working on the migration details, but if it all goes as smoothly it has for others, free or paid subscribers should not even notice.
FINALLY, FIVE: I recommend you see the movie Sing, Sing. This is a movie based on the theater program at Sing Sing Prison. It was so very good. This film had me constantly on the verge of tears for many different reasons. Also, knowing that many of the actors graduated from the program made it all the more powerful. We saw it at this cool theater in Oakland if you’re in the area, The New Parkway Theater, where the vibe is awesome, the kombucha is tangy, and the tater-tot are just the perfect amount of crispy.
Keep breathing, Miyagi’ing, or whatever brings you joy and I’ll see you soon.
Comments on The + Friday + Five are always open to everyone, so feel free to drop some random readings and tantalizing tidbits below.
From the Camera Roll: With my favorite child getting older and slowing down, you will have to deal with more photos of Vespa. No joke, Vespa saved my life and continues to do so, so I am sure you’ll understand. Here she is sleeping, having somehow managed to get onto the couch and get tucked in with all the blankets.
*The Original Friday Five was a weekly-ish post from my 2010s SF Gate’s City Brights blog. If you stumble across anything that you think would fit, please feel free to drop me a note.