Joining the nunnery
I'm back! Nunneries, Popes, and Conclaves, Tove Jansson, Small pleasure lists, America (eek), Supermarket soundstracks, It Girls, Nordic Noir, and more
Hello!
Long time no newsletter. I have spent the last 8 months living in Rome (brag) and got very distracted living (god forbid a girl be present).
I do genuinely start to feel deranged when I haven’t written this newsletter in a while though. For the past months I’ve had lists on every scrap of paper available to me, and enough tabs open to make my laptop launch into space (preferably not with Katie Perry).
It’s been three and a half years of Rimini’s Newsletter, I am quietly proud of it. The next few newsletters are a collection of musings and things I’ve been reading since Rome. This one is certainly leans heavy on the bits and bobs. If it’s old news, well, too bad. I’ve put the coffee on and I’m locking in!
And with that, let’s get into it.
Joining the church
Gaslight, Girlboss, God
Our lord and saviour Pitbull
America is Americaning
Fuckity fuck fucked
The wonderful world of Tove Jansson
Nordic Noir or Not
Small pleasure lists
The last remaining It Girl
The soundtrack to CVS
Bits and bobs for your smoke break
Joining the church:
It seems I joked a little too close to the sun about living in a nunnery in Rome and did in fact end up temporarily living in a nunnery when I arrived.
When it comes to nuns, my points of reference are: Sister Act (I and II Back in the Habit), The Blues Brothers, and… well, no, that’s it. There were fewer musical numbers than I was hoping for (none, there were none). However, what they lacked in musical numbers and Whoopi Goldberg, they made up for in generous big rooms (with an ensuite!) a desk to write overlooking a courtyard, a lovely historic building in a great location, and affordability! I may not be converted to the church (yet) but I am certainly converted to staying in nunneries.
A friend joined me for one night (I’m telling you I’d be great at converting people) and naturally, I taught her some line dances (once again I created another follower. And before you ask, yes, I did find a line dancing club in Rome). However, we may have been pushing our luck with the Big Man upstairs because we missed the curfew at the nunnery and ended up locked out and stuck on the streets of Rome for a night! Quite the adventure, we leant into the Roman Holiday (1953) of it all. Exciting until it was hilariously grim.
I will also take this opportunity to make the case for sightseeing at witching hour. Swarms of tourists, suffocating crowds, and slow walkers are my idea of a personal hell. An inevitable reality in the historic centre of Rome. What I discovered that night on the streets was how lovely and enjoyable seeing the historic monuments can be… at 4am. No crowds, empty streets, and the freedom to actually stop and appreciate them. I do believe it is the right way to go about it, because shocker, they are actually impressive.
Gaslight, Girlboss, God:
I was further tempted to join the church after watching Conclave. They really manifested: Gaslight, Girlboss, God.
“Grandeur and pageantry? The meeting of the sacred and the profane? That’s fashion at its best, baby. It’s drag. To quote that one viral Letterboxd review of Conclave: “divas in long dresses gossiping with each other trying to snatch a win… this is basically rupaul’s drag race.””
My fun real conclave fact for you all is that after 3 days, if a new Pope hasn’t been decided, the cardinal meals are cut down to one meal a day, and after 8 days if there isn’t a decision you only get bread, water, and wine.
There once was a conclave that took two years, 9 months and 20 days in 1268! They eventually took the roof off to better “receive Holy messages” to help them decide. Fair play to them.
A sidenote, I’m obsessed with the fact Pope Crave (@ClubConclave) exists as an account. Iykyk.
Update! 2 minutes before sending this out I found out the Pope died. I’m sure it’s very sad day for many people. As far as Popes go, Pope Francis was definitely a step in the right direction particularly in relation to LGBTQIA+ people and Palestine. It looks like we will have a conclave upon us very soon, I can only hope for a similar result to the film…
Our Lord and Saviour - Pitbull
Speaking of our lord and saviour, last year, I confessed to a friend that Pitbull’s motivational videos had made their way onto my algorithm and as a result of this, I believe Pitbull can save us (or just men).
A taste below for the non-Pitbull-pilled:
Just think, is there anyway we could sub him in for Andrew Tate? One bald man for another? But this one respects women, is funny, and is responsible for some of the greatest 2010s hits…
If anything, find comfort in that whatever you’re struggling with, Pitbull’s been there- done that.
America is Americaning:
Now this is old news, but I refuse to let it die. By now know about Luigi Mangione, whom, to stick with the theme, many have venerated as a Saint.
The edits, the tweets, his goodreads, the tinder profile, looking camp in the eye, the lookalike competition, the alibis, all of the photos. (Yes, those are all individual hyperlinks).
Many parts of this case are concerning (how the police and prosecution have handled everything, the perp walks, the alleged tampering with evidence, the endless photoshoots, the defence’s delay in handing over evidence, him not being able to talk to his lawyer in private, the state of healthcare and insurance in America, that people have gotten this desperate to murder etc…)
Will this be the burgeoning of class consciousness in the states?
Alas, Fall in love again and again. Mama I’m in love with a criminal.
Fuckity fuck fucked:
But seriously, I had so many articles about the shit show that has been America in the past 8 months that I don’t even know where to begin. To put it simply, it’s fucked (as is a lot of the world). I will resume linking political essays soon.
Just remember, when things are pretty shit, you can always make them worse.
The wonderful world of Tove Jansson:
Every now and then I get snagged on an author or artist and then start seeing them everywhere. The past 4 months it’s been Tove Jansson. I’m not sure if it’s just the frequency illusion or if she is having another comeback alla the 70s.
Last year I wrote last about rewatching 90s episodes of The Moomins on Youtube. More recently, I finished reading Tove Jansson’s (author and illustrator of the Moomins) adult fiction The Summer Book which tells stories of a grandmother and her 6 year old grand-daughter living on the island. I’m currently reading The True Deceiver next up is Fair Play.
Jansson is a Finnish author, novelist, painter, and illustrator and has such a beautiful life and body of work to explore.
Here is a quiet, melancholic, short documentary (only 39 mins) from 1968 of her on her summer island Klovharun in the Gulf of Finland.
It’s funny when you pay attention to something and then start seeing it everywhere, in the upcoming issue of Appartamento Magazine #34 Sini Rinne-Kanto explored the impact Jansson’s island had on her life, legacy, and work. The New York Review of Books have just republished Sun City. Backlisted (a great literary podcast that gives new life to old books) has a lovely episode discussing Moominvalley in November by Tove Jansson.
My favourite story from the Appartamento article was that Tove and Tuulikki (her partner) left secret notes around the island and their home for themselves and any visitors when they weren’t there.
As all wonderful people on this earth are, Jansson was also a great letter writer. You can read a collection of her letters here. The letters between her and her partner Tuulikki Pietilä are particularly touching.
Nordic Noir or Not:
Speaking of Nordic things, a few newsletters ago I paid my respect to all the gays and Gen Zers working at SBS to create their SBS collection categories. Today I bring you another collection perfect for everyone’s mums: SBS’s crime categories. Nordic Noir, Nordic Not Noir, and Noir Not Nordic.
Props to them for these tongue-twister categories. I would also like to mention that it has come to my attention that some of you don’t know about Kanopy. A site where you can watch free movies (many from the Criterion Collection) if you have a library card. We all know I’m a huge library lover (taking the baton from Parker Posey) the benefits are endless. If you’re not on it already, get on it!
Small pleasure lists:
It is well-documented that I love lists. The Pleasure Lists is a newsletter and instagram account listing people’s simple joys, inspired by Bertolt Brecht’s poem ‘Pleasures’. It is a nice little wholesome practice to participate in, I’ve got my own slowly growing.
The last remaining It Girl:
If Julia Roberts is the last remaining movie star, then Chloë Sevigny is the last remaining It Girl. Chloë embodies the effortlessly cool party girl who knows all the right people and places with an innate sense of style.
She recently spoke to The Cut about turning 50 which was an interesting reflection. I chuckled at her reply when she was asked if she’d read All Fours, Miranda July’s perimenopausal novel and (‘It book’ of the summer) ““Sounds intolerable,” she says when I describe the plot.”
Here’s a look at her style over the years. I also love how much she hates LA.
Even watching Charli xcx’s 360 music video featuring Chloë Sevigny and the current internet It Girls, I couldn’t help but feel they lacked a little je ne sais quoi…
Then again, maybe ‘It Girls’ no longer have the same appeal to me since I’m no longer a teenage girl clinging onto Alexa Chung’s It like a bible…
The soundtrack to CVS:
I got a good laugh out of this piece in The Paris Review written by Mitch Therieau from last year about the soundtrack at CVS.
“The decor is what you might call austerity-core. It is both corporate-loud (garish displays of next season’s decorations) and minimalist-clinical (pilled gray carpeting, fluorescent lights)….
The one unalloyed delight of CVS, though, is the soundtrack. One of the first things you notice once you start paying attention to the in-store music is how much whoever is in charge of programming loves Rod Stewart….
The basic experience of shopping at CVS is one of doing something desperate at worst and banally unpleasant at best while swimming in a warm bath of muted musical intensity. No other retail chain is so committed to the power ballad as a musical form.”
I can tell I’m growing older because the Chemist Warehouse and Woolies’ playlists are becoming more appealing. Unlike CVS, they are more upbeat 2000s/2010s pop with the occasional 80s hit. Is it the fate of a pop song? Club to the supermarket? How depressing. Or perhaps they have the exact right demographic?
Bits and bobs for your smoke break:
In my absence “an amorous couple” in a stairwell in the Melbourne Central Station caused a huge flooding in multiple stations when they accidentally dislodged a sprinkler. It’s objectively hilarious situation. Very Seinfeld coded, I can imagine Elaine or Kramer getting themselves into a situation like this. Victorian Minister for Transport Danny Pearson trying not to laugh when sharing the news was equally joyful.
Speaking of which, I love this Modern Seinfeld account. It is perfect.
Quincy Jones passed away, screenshots of his 2018 Vulture interview did the rounds and damn, they just don’t make them like this anymore. I can’t pick my favourite quote, but consider me gagged. Also here’s a video of Quincy Jones and Herbie Hancock jamming in 1984.
Another funny interview and the award for Biggest Hater goes to Hugh Grant. That man is fed up!
I love and hate whatever Adrien Brody is doing on his instagram.
My experience of Italian pharmacy signs
We had a series of lookalike competitions, starting with Timothee Chalamet in New York and Timmy showed up! Club Chalamet (after claiming Timmy wouldn’t show) followed up with the wonderful and mysterious quote “this benefits me in ways you can’t even imagine”. The people yearn for fun and whimsy! Also, je ne regrette rein.
And finally, to end full circle on the Roman life and summarise why I haven’t written a newsletter in a bit:
I’ve got another 4 lined up so be prepared for an onslaught of Rimini’s Newsletter…
Love,
Rimini
This has reawoken my desire to read the Tucci oeuvre ❤️❤️❤️