I love consuming
You are what you eat - briefly, you reflect what you consume. Arguably, I’m not so much brown rice, but I prefer to be mindful about my diet, not food, but what I see, read, watch.
I love to consume, in the sense to absorb, relish, and in turn let consume; to drift between personality to personality between movies, to change a routine to orbit entirely around one product, to listen over and over again until the lyrics disappear. I love choosing and curating what I get to have, watch, use, or read next. There is a beginning and an end, and sometimes a repetition: a piece of pie, a movie, a lip balm, an album. When one thing is finished, there is an inexplicable joy. That is my heaven.
I believe the way we take our tea tells about our personalities, and the way we feed ourselves, in a spiritual sense, the same way our Spotify Wrapped. The way someone apologizes may reveal who they are, but just as much as their go-to moisturizer. Everybody is so interesting (everybody is so creative!), and the only way we can find out about ourselves is through others, perhaps that is why “What’s in my bag” videos are a timeless trend.
Here is a show-and-tell of some of my favorite things, of all time or current. I just want to share, and I want to know yours.
Videos
My Place: Florence Welch - NOWNESS, 2015
I want my future house to look like hers, but at the same time, I’m wary about cleaning off the dust on all of these trinkets and papers, and my natural penchant for decluttering would hinder this happening. Regardless, I am a devoted fan of Welch’s artistry, especially her style and her lyricism, and a tour of her house to me is like a glimpse of heaven. I love this video.
Caroline Polachek: Tiny Desk Concert - NPR Music, 2023
I am half of the views on this video. I discovered this video around the time it came out, and it resulted in Polachek being my top artist on Spotify in 2024. I already knew of her music, but never gave it proper attention. The acoustic version of her songs make me levitate. I love her lyricism, I love her eyeliner, I love that she’s turning 40 this year (like what!!), but most of all, I love her album Desire, I Want to Turn Into You.
Nooriyah | Boiler Room London: Middle of Nowhere - Boiler Room, 2022
I don’t know much about the DJ, Nooriyah, but this set is just perfect. Her baba comes out with an oud at the beginning of the set (he’s so sweet), so many keffiyehs in the room, the crowd ululating, etc. I love seeing pieces of traditional Middle Eastern culture mixed with modernity, it makes my heart burst with joy.
Honourable mentions:
Yoga with Kassandra (favorite yoga channel since forever)
Marya Lykova (so raw and real, glad we can be internet friends <3)
Olive Ugly (my fav drag queen who does ASMR)
Books
The Wall, by Marlen Haushofer, 1963
I bought a French translation for 17.99 at a bookstore in Mont-Royal, and I cannot recommend it enough. It reads like the diary of a middle-aged woman who is stuck in the perimeters surrounding a cottage, deep in the curves of the valleys and mountains of Austria, by an invisible wall. What was supposed to be a weekend getaway with her husband at her cousin’s estate became a harrowing, lonely reality. It’s the story of her survival, humanity’s relationship with nature, farm life, and motherhood.
Perfume, by Patrick Suskind, 1985
I have a well-thumbed copy from tenth grade (also a French copy) which I have read maybe thrice. It's historical fiction, and it’s quite an appalling story. I loved the descriptiveness of the semi-fictional places and the elaborate characters. It’s a cynical jab at humanity’s lows, metaphorically, but I mostly enjoy it for the writing. There’s no romance, no heroic action, and Perfume is godless, though religion is a major theme. It follows a murderous, gifted perfumer during the French Renaissance. Since a little boy, his life is marked by rejections, his clouded sense of morality, and a particular lack of conscience. A feverish tale of a disaffected serial killer, whose talent triumphs his innate repulsiveness.
Honourable mentions:
Lapvona, by Ottessa Moshfegh, 2022 (most similar to The Perfume)
My Year of Rest and Relaxation, by Ottessa Moshfegh, 2018 (it really is that good)
Climbing the Mango Tree, by Madhur Jaffrey, 2005 (beautiful, delicious memoir)
Prozac Nation, by Elizabeth Wurtzel, 1994 (most like The Bell Jar and My Year of Rest and Relaxation)
A Certain Hunger, by Chelsea G. Summers, 2020 (cannibalistic misandrist food critic)
Movies
Jennifer's Body, directed by Karyn Kusama, 2009
I am bisexual. I love Hole. I love women being evil and winning. The director is an American-Japanese woman. Two plus two equals four. I don’t care what Megan Fox did with MGK, they can never make me hate her.
The Witch, directed by Robert Eggers, 2015
The wardrobe and dialogue are exceptional for a movie in this budget. When I first watched it, I was 15, at Arabel’s basement (Maite, you were there too?). I have no idea why I got so scared but I couldn’t sleep for a week without flashbacks (it’s really not that scary). Looking back I laugh. But this is one of my all time favorites. I don’t necessarily prefer horror but I like this one for its whole, especially because I’m a big fan of historical fiction, folklore, female rage, and themes of the occult. I like the desolation, the fear, the crescendo of insanity, and, above all, the costumes and set design!
Late Spring, directed by Yasujiro Ozu, 1949
If only one film can stay, may it be this one. What a sensible, poetic, meditative, stunning film! Unconventionally, the plot isn’t the main focus, and the synopsis would make me snore if it wasn’t for Ozu’s mastery. Anyone can enjoy this, and I truly believe it may be the best movie of all times. The familial relationships between the characters are so gentle and realistic, and though the dialogues are simple, Late Spring will fill your heart with warm sobs.
Honourable mentions:
But I’m a Cheerleader, directed by Jamie Babbit, 1999 (unfortunately a queer classic)
The Scent of Green Papaya, directed by Tran Anh Hung, 1993 (Vietnam in the 1950s, also one of the most beautiful movies ever made)
Orlando, directed by Sally Potter, 1992 (my gender)
Albums
Honeymoon, by Lana Del Rey, 2015
Tumblr said this was a flop when it came out (they said that about Lady Gaga’s ArtPop too, what do they know) but this is my favorite Lana Del Rey album of all time. It was also the one that introduced me to her music. I was 13 at the time, and it forever changed the trajectory of my life, undeniably. Del Rey has been my Spotify top artist 8 times out of the last decade (once Lady Gaga, once Caroline Polachek, lol). If I saw her live, I would never wake up. This album is decadent, sensual, and terribly bittersweet, and the visuals and music videos from that era are iconic today.
Be The Cowboy, by Mitski, 2018
I fervently look up to Mitski not only as an artist but also as a public figure. I like how private and down-to-earth she is. What gets me is her ability to capture mood with her vocals and songwriting. I like her music entirely, devotedly: when I first came across her music, it was through the music video for Nobody, at the age of 16, and it was the only song I played for the next two weeks - the spiraling, the abandon! Her song Geyser in this album is also a favorite, it is so poignant it makes my stomach drop like I just got told some really bad news.
Lullabies in a Glass Wilderness, by Lalleshwari, 2007
I came across this album by chance on Spotify two years ago and I haven’t been able to find something that does it like this one. I know very little about the artist, other than a bit on her career in music and her previous band, and this feeling of detachment contributes to the elusiveness of the album. Roadkill and For You I Hold My Breath are my favorites, they make me feel like my heart is being ripped out of my chest.
Honourable mentions:
The Family Jewels, by Marina and the Diamonds, 2010 (rips my heart out)
Colour Green, by Sibylle Baier, 2006 [recorded 1970-73] (also rips my heart out)
Retired from sad, new career in Business, by Mitski, 2013 (Class of 2013)
Desire, I Want to Turn Into You, by Caroline Polachek, 2023
Norman Fucking Rockwell, by Lana Del Rey, 2019 (the summer I was 17, like wind in my hair)
Live Through This, by Hole, 1994 (Violet )
Personal miscellaneous
Tiger Balm/aromatic balms of sorts
I would be dead without these little pots and vials of buttery, spicy goodness. I am nothing without these. My neck hurts often from bad posture and I get tension headaches on the left side, but a bit of balm goes a long way, oddly, when painkillers don’t even work at times.
Grapefruit seed extract
Shout out to my friend Fanny who put me on. When I feel a cold coming on, I just drink ten drops diluted in water multiple times a day and it helps. Personally, I find it especially potent near the end of a cold to just wrap it up - I always feel miraculously better the next day, no more runny noses and body aches. This is anecdotal, so please don’t take this as medical advice. It tastes disgusting, too.
Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse
A multipurpose oil that I only use for my hair. Quite pricey, you can get it at LOFT, but it smells divine without being overpowering (as someone who prefers unscented cosmetics). It doesn’t make my curly hair greasy or heavy, just adds the tiniest bit of shine and smooths out the frizz perfectly. This bottle is basically empty, but still has two drops left that I’m saving!
Honourable mentions:
Acupuncture (I know a lady in Tokyo who speaks English, I can get you a referral!)
Diva Cup (a hill I will die on)
Maybelline The Hyper Curl Waterproof Mascara (doesn’t flake, doesn’t itch, doesn’t smudge!)
MUJI’s Doubled Ringed Ruled Notebook [with elastic strap] (perfect A5 size and sturdiness for a diary)
Thank you for reading! x0x Mimi
