Bookish Music Memories, Easy Mac n Cheese, and Let's Talk About AI
Fantastic Friday
If you’re new to Fantastic Friday, here’s the post that got it started. It’s my homage to my favorite hangouts in the high school choir room. It’s a little celebration of the week and a time to enjoy each other. There is always karaoke music, often snacks, sometimes stand up comedy, and never any real pressure to perform.
My weekend karaoke song is another throwback, but I was not reaching for nostalgia when my memory started spinning this record.
I’ve been listening to a YA audiobook1 that I wish I was reading to see the words in black and white. Just to savor the words, I’m not speeding up the audio like I often do. Something about actually hearing this story read carefully keeps reminding me of hearing “The Scientist” by Coldplay.
The characters keep circling back to the place they began and when they’re apart, their connection haunts them. It’s like the song was written for these characters (so far).
It’s not only Chris Martin’s voice swirling through scenes in the book—it’s also Natasha Bedingfield’s. When I first heard her version, I couldn’t stop listening and singing along. I went through a bout when I just replayed her concert clip while I cooked, did homework, rode the L, or worked in the newsroom (one friend asked me if we could maybe possibly listen to a different song and I’m a little bit sorry about that).
Y’all. What she did with this song is gorgeous.
Now both Chris’s and Natasha’s voices mingle between the words of the story. I wonder if it will still feel like the characters’ song when I finish listening tomorrow.
Have you ever had a song declare that it belongs with a book you’re reading or a story your writing? Do tell!
on AI
Now that we’ve got our brain relaxed with music, how about some choir riser chit chat? With all of the reading I do about what is happening with AI right now, I need people to discuss this with…
Did you know that Meta trained its AI off of millions of pirated books? Legal action is underway in the form of a class action lawsuit to determine if Meta violated copyright laws. But courtroom justice for the authors will not undo the fact that their work was used to train something meant to replace the authors (and editors) themselves.
If you’re not thinking about the boundaries and limitations that should be in place moving forward, it is high time to start working through it.
» Do you use AI as a tool in your work or home life? What does that look like?
» Is there anything you think should be off limits for using AI? Why?
» As ethical questions grow more pertinent to the AI conversation, what personal ethic of use or stance against AI are you sifting through so far?
Tell me in the comments or if we’re friends in the physical realm, let’s please chat in person!
the easiest mac and cheese
Besides sharing my husband’s delicious Orange Julius recipe and recommending a soup that is perfect to share with friends, I haven’t brought enough snacks to Fantastic Friday with you.
I’m about to make up for it because the ease of this recipe will blow your mind. When my friend Amelia shared this recipe with me and some other mom friends, it changed our cooking-for-children game forever.
Okay. It’s just mac and cheese, but you can make it with any pasta and any melty cheese (this week I used the ditalini left over from the soup recipe and shredded cheese from taco night). The “secret ingredient” is one that I had never used before and now I always keep on hand because I must be ready to make this recipe.
Behold: The 3-Ingredient Stovetop Mac and Cheese Recipe
Something AI cannot do for you is cook food. So celebrate being a human by treating yourself and your people with some easy mac and cheese while you belt it out:
But tell me you love me, come back and haunt me
Oh, and I rush to the start
Runnin' in circles, chasin' our tails
Coming back as we are
If I make it to the end of the book without having to skip over scenes like other YA books I’ve recently encountered (why publish spice/smut for teens??!!), then I will definitely be buying a physical copy of this book to read again. I’ll update you with a recommendation or a heartbroken rant when I finish it.
From “The Scientist” by Coldplay. Here is their music video because it’s a gem:
Circling back to this post in order to make this mac & cheese today!!