The Nicholist #18
Receipts! 👏 Proof! 👏 Timeline! 👏 Screenshots!
Welcome to The Nicholist! My weekly list of pop culture where I gush on everything that’s got me obsessed.
Charles Melton and his Face
Period.
Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen and The Row
I love the Olsen Twins1. Billboard Dad hive!! The duo is so elusive nowadays that the only way to be a consumer of their celebrity is mostly through parody. I am a devoted follower of @MKA_Smoking on Instagram (the account’s sole purpose is to celebrate the chicness of the Twins smoking cigarettes), and I own a Mary-Kate and Ash-Tray ashtray from THNK1994 Museum (and I don’t even smoke2).
But this Twitter thread from @arihappywick dissects Mary-Kate and Ashley outside of their celebrity and turns an eye to them as fashion icons and moguls. This is the hard-hitting news I live for!
Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner and his Burpies
Outside of being Asian-embarrassed by Jo Koy poorly representing Filipino Americans3 on a golden global stage, the 2024 Golden Globes were about Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner to me. The obsession of their strange pairing4 gives a waft of the heyday of supermarket tabloid culture. And that’s the culture that made me. US Weekly was my bible. @BadLipReading gave my favorite take on the pair with their interpretation of their lovey-dovey exchange.
*kiss*
K: You’re burpy.
T: …the Tabasco.
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Season Four Finale
The drama was drama-ing, the Housewives were Big Little Lies-ing, and praise the prophet Joseph Smith for it all! Watching this finale is what I imagine all you people feel when you tell us Succession5 is interesting. It was art.
Books I Read in 2023
I read 75 books in 2023. Does me telling you mean I think I am better than you? Yes, if you read fewer than 75 books in 2023, then yes, it does.
Need a rec? Here are my favorites from last year:
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang,
Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Family Meal by Bryan Washington
Party Monster by James St. James
Lie with Me by Philippe Besson, translated by Molly Ringwald
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Who actually hate being called the Olsen Twins and prefer to be referred to as Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen.
I use it as a coaster.
Dishonor on your cow!
I’m rooting for you!
I’m sure it’s good. But I am not investing in a show where one’s argument to get me to watch is, “It doesn’t get good until the last episode of season one, but it’s worth it.” It’s actually not.
Poor Jo Koy, it was a rough crowd. Felt bad for him especially he was like the #8 choice to host and had practically no time to prepare. He was a good sport and did the best he could under the circumstances. I thought his Hall and Oates joke was funny! And it was sweet how he told Meryl Streep she was his inay's favorite. Loved how Meryl was game to do the Wakanda Forever thing.
I've had Crying in H Mart and Patron Saints of Nothing on my Want to Read list for forever! Mad props you read over 70 books 👏 I read only 10 😭 Gonna try to do better in 2024!