Friday Flowers #7

A few links to things I enjoyed recently—that you might enjoy, too. Plus some pictures of pretty flowers.

[Editor’s note: I want to start by drawing y’all’s attention to our fabulous new logo. HUGE thanks to design genius Walter Green—who also designed the original Walk It Off logo. Walter dropped this welcomed surprise on me at the end of last year. Hope y’all dig it as much as I do. Three cheers for Walter!]

The new logo has multiple backgrounds, so keep an eye out for all of them in the coming months. Thank you again, Walter Green!

[Editor’s note, continued: Also, before we get started with links to other places, I want to encourage you to read the latest Walk It Off featuring Karolina Waclawiak (if you need more encouragement, my father texted to tell me how much he enjoyed this one). Also, this week’s “Tell Me” is all about the people who have encouraged us over the years. There’s already numerous heartwarming stories posted. Go give those a read if you need and pick-me-up, and consider adding one yourself.]

Ok. Let’s get started. I am what I am (for better or worse) so we’re gonna kick-off this “Friday Flowers” by celebrating that Billy Joel has released his first song in 17 years… and it’s good!

Take a listen (or feel free to skip, if you ain’t as big a Billy Joel fan as I am):

---

“The internet has made it so that no matter who you are or what you do—from nine-to-five middle managers to astronauts to house cleaners—you cannot escape the tyranny of the personal brand.”

Rebecca Jennings writes a fascinating piece on how “Everyone’s a sellout now” for Vox.

[Editor’s note: With that said, you can now follow me on TikTok. I told a short, somewhat spooky story recently, and people seemed to like it…]

@dirtbagfitzgeraldHave you ever had a Stephen King moment happen in your life? #creepy #stephenking #booktok #stephenkinguniverse #creepystories #scarystories #spooky #stephenkingbooks

Tiktok failed to load.

Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser

[Editor’s note, continued: Following me on Instagram is great, too. Thanks for considering!]

“‘Eleven years ago, I was pissing the bed,’ [Kaveh Akbar] said. ‘And now I’m living this life.’”

Elizabeth A. Harris brilliantly profiles Kaveh Akbar for the New York Times. With congrats to Akbar, whose new novel Martyr! is an instant New York Times bestseller.

---

“I was myself a ‘child of divorce,’ as they say, as if divorce were a parent. When I was very young, I thought divorce involved a ceremony, the couple moving backward through the choreography of their wedding, starting at the altar, unclasping their hands, and then walking separately down the aisle.”

Speaking of books, there’s a new excerpt from Leslie Jamison’s forthcoming memoir, Splinters, in the New Yorker.

[Editor’s note: If you’re a Jamison fan, don’t forget to read her Walk It Off, if you haven’t already.]

Listen, it’s hard to find flowers in the dead of winter, ok?

“I was likely a twin once, a fact I learned only recently, when I underwent routine testing during a pregnancy. Genetically distinct DNA was detected and explained to me as being the possible remnant of a prenatal twin, a boy, who did not survive, and whose tissue I had absorbed into my own.”

Apologies for doing two New Yorker links back to back, but Parul Sehgal reviews How to Be Multiple: The Philosophy of Twins by Helena de Bres—and then does so much more.

---

I was on the Today Show at the beginning of last month, recommending books—along with Cord Jefferson’s adaptation of Percival Everett’s 2001 novel Erasure, the now Oscar-nominated American Fiction— to beloved hosts Al Roker, Sheinelle Jones, Craig Melvin, and Dylan Dreyer. The segment ended with a hug from Al.

Lastly, a bit of housecleaning—it has come to my attention that people are taking my hyperlinks in Walk It Off, uh, seriously…

Thank you, Estelle Tang, for texting to roast me.

Here’s the thing, I do link because I think it’s funny—but also in case somebody doesn’t know what people are talking about! Some people don’t know Lemmy, others might not know Jennifer Aniston. I stand by my ridiculous hyperlinks, which I will also claim are a joke. I contain multitudes.

Losing where the sea ends and the sky begins.

Ok, that just about covers it. Like I said before, I’ll be doing Walk It Off on a somewhat more regular schedule this year (but please do let me know if I’m emailing y’all too much).

Don’t forget to have some fun this weekend! 🍓

Looking for another way to support me? Consider picking up a paperback copy of Dirtbag, Massachusetts for yourself or a pal. Thank you!