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FREE <3 ILMAINEN

#30 FEBRUARY/HELMIKUU 2023

P E A R L S

by Mel of @mendera.fi lamp (sold) submitted by Cimac Sound

Dear pearlies,
I miss you, where have you been? The air
is getting softer, people start opening up
before the blossoms do. I wish I could find
a pearl in an oyster. What a two-for-one. I
once got 8/10 double yolks in a carton of
eggs. The smallest containers can hold
the biggest surprises. Keep your eyes
open, sometimes the smoke stack emits
an endless pink cloud. Hold on to the silver
lining and keep diving for pearls.
Hope to see you soon with bells on,
Long-winded Mary
M i x t a p e # 3 0
P E A R L S
by Cimac Sound
@ cimac_sound
Inspired by SOPHIE’s OIL OF EVERY PEARL’S
UN-INSIDES and the anniversary of her death.
1. caro <3 - moonrise
2. Bby Eco - *seeding*
3. Evita Manji - Closer to midnight
4. SOPHIE - BIPP
5. EASYFUN, Iiris - Be your USA
6. A. G. Cook - Beautiful
7. Aphex Twin - Donkey rhubarb
8. Arca, Shygirl - Watch
9. Eartheater - Mitosis
10. Hannah Diamond - Staring at the ceiling
11. Charli XCX - Focus
A n o n y m o u s
S e c r e t s
Secrets collected via anonymous online
survey during January. Thank you for
sharing!
I have a fantasy of fucking someone in a
retirement home
I often lie to people that I’m busy. To be
honest I haven’t been busy in years. It’s
just so easy to skip something by using
busyness as an excuse; “I’m so sorry I can’t
make it, I’m so busy with work atm”. Also it
tells something about the modern culture,
‘busy with work’ is a justified reason to not
to attend something but the real reason ‘I
feel bad or I’m busy with my emotions’ is
not valid. I also lie that I’m broke. I have
a decent amount of money in my savings
account but I rather tell people I’m broke.
I don’t have big incomes but I’m great at
saving money and that’s my secret skill :)
I want two boyfriends. The other one would
be a bit toxic and I would go crazy (in love)
with him and the other one would be safe
and kind and I could tell all my worries to
him :) One can’t be both, so that’s why I

{ {
12. Namasenda, Oklou - *
13. A. G. Cook - 2021 need two.
for conversations & contributions:
14. SOPHIE - It’s okay to cry
by Matilda Palmu @matildapalmu

insta:@salarakashel
email: salarakashel@hotmail.com
phono: 0452510121 for love notes. <3
subscribe: patreon.com/salarakashel
G l o s s o l a l i a
P e a r l s / H e l m e t
Finnish//Suomi (by Unelma Tyttö Han Lei)
Helmi : pearl
Helmiä sioille : pearls to the pigs; when you
give something that is too good for someone
and they don’t appreciate what they get
Helmikuu : (pearl month/moon) February;
could refer to the ice pearls that form in tree
branches this time of the year in Finland
Farsi// (by Maybe Shesbornwithit)
: Morvarid bashe, ghältun bashe, ärzun
bashe : may it be a pearl, may it be precious:
(It being a pearl and the type that rolls, round
and nice and cheap) some one who wants
everything together
English// (by Long-winded Mary)
Clutch one’s pearls : to act very shocked
Pearl of wisdom : a small piece of advice
Girl with a pearl earring : most famous
painting by Johannes Vermeer (c. 1665).
15. SOPHIE - Immaterial
16. caro <3 - do you believe in forever
H o r o s c o p e s
Jim P. Stone
Pisces: Plan to be spontaneous tomorrow
Aries: Something nice is coming to you in the
mail
Taurus: Playing safe is only playing
Gemini: If you feel like someone is taking
BONUS! advantage of you, they probably are.
Spanish//Español (by Nieve de Limón) Cancer: It’s okay to admit that you don’t have
Sepa la bola : Who knows! or I have no idea; the answers.
literally “The mob should know”. Leo: Stick with friends who challenge you.
The story is that during the Mexican They’re the ones who can crack you open.
Revolution, there were a lot of protests that Virgo: You can be laid-back and move
were made by all kinds of people including forward at the same time.
farmers, the military, women homeworkers, Libra: Change your hair today.
etc. This bunch of people were referred to Scorpio: Access the parts of your memory
as la bola. La bola usually means ball but in that contain wild thinking and give them
this case, it’s a large crowd of people or mob attention.
that wanted to end the dictatorship of Porfirio Sagittarius: Stay on the sunny side.
Diaz. When there was destruction or chaos in Capricorn: Take the scenic route home. You
the protests, people simply said that the guilty may discover something.
ones were “la bola”. So now it is used to say Aquarius: You should be proud of the steps
“don’t look at me, it wasn’t me”. you’re making.
I hate white socks and white underwear.
1. I’m scared to think that maybe the truth is
i don’t want any intimate relationships in my
life. 2. I hate people, especially the ones that
just don’t shut up to listen. 3. I guess it’s no
secret that I am angry.
You are a pearl.
I wait everyday for the new zine. I’m
addicted to the crossword.
I feel invisible to men.
I’m pretending.
I judge 40+ men that are single, while I
understand women in the same situation.
I’m still in love with the guy who cheated on
his girlfriend with me. After all the shit he put
me through, I would still take him back if he
begged. He won’t.
submit your own
secret anytime here:

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Tidbits of love Taimi Nurmi In the Pearls P e k k a ’ s T i p

My grandmother died three weeks ago or something. She was 95 years old. She had chosen of My Eyes
months ago, maybe years ago, the outfit she wanted to be buried with. The dress, the shoes, the Margarita Vulgare
jewelry: all pearls –the earrings, the necklace, the bracelets.
Everyone except two friends said ‘I am sorry for your loss’. Everyone said, ‘Even though she I was born to endure these kinds of
was old, it’s always sad to lose someone’. Everyone said that, except these two friends, who storms
know me better. They know my life well, sometimes better than me. Though it’s something I never asked for
My grandmother wasn’t someone her grandchildren would mourn in death. She was someone I wish I could dance under the lightnings
you would write a book about, though. Someone who had a terrible childhood, a terrible youth, But I’m not that kind of gal
and a terrible adulthood. Someone whose bitterness you’d understand if you’d look beneath the Not at all
surface: everything had been so terrible, that she herself became unlovable, and incapable of
loving anyone. Someone who you’d feel compassion for: it’s okay, grandma, it’s really okay. You Strangers with weird promises
can die now. We are not angry at you. No one is, really. It is okay. We understand why you were And I attach to each one of them
horrible to everyone; we really do. As if my life would change by magic
When I was nine or ten or eleven, I don’t remember exactly, I spent a whole summer with her. As if things started to make sense
She’d paint my nails, cook good food. We’d watch television until very late in the night. When But the strangers come and go
she’d paint my nails, she’d let me try her jewelry: all those pearls. She’d touch them one by one, Some remember me for longer
saying: authentic pearls. The real deal. She’d paint my nails with care and we’d look at the same Others forget faster than I’d like to admit
mirror when I’d try the pearl necklaces on, the bracelets, the heavy earrings. ‘See how nice they
look on you, you’ll get them when I die’. Why am I disappointed
Through jewelry and pearls and nailpolish she gave me tidbits of love, little love, small love. When yet another morning finds me in my
That was the most she could do: touch her pearls, let me borrow them for play. Share with me sweaty bed sheets
a moment of vanity. Maybe dream of another life. Find a second of rest in her pearls, touch Be it rays of sunshine
them and dream. I don’t know. Someday I will write a book about her, and my sadness will be Or the glittering rain drops
unleashed, like a beast. Im indifferent to it all
Though I almost like the crispy smell of
the fallen leaves

Why would you even want to know the

by Lù @lu.isanameof.gem
truth
It wouldn’t benefit you anyway
When I fall, I prefer to stay in the ground
But theres always something or someone
that drags me from my feet

Too often I get the feeling

by Matilda Palmu @matildapalmu

That there’s no one else in the world than
me
In the dictionary they should use my
:interview:exclusive: image
For all the sorrowful words

K a t i e L e n a n t o n In the pearls of my eyes

curator, forager
feministculturehouse.org
What do you call yourself - a creative,
activist, curator, collector? How do they
intersect?
All of the above, and also an editor, writer,
proofreader (my side hustle—mail me at katie.
lenanton@gmail.com with work offers please!!).
Actually, I’m not super comfortable with the
term creative cos of its buzzy commercial
associations, though it does kinda encompass
You’ll see the creation of this pressure of
pain
& wannabe bartender PearlsOfWisdom
@lenanty They tell me life won’t stop Jim P. Stone
council hired me to manage their youth And that I should stop waiting for the ~ Cut once, measure twice.
cultural programming, and there I learned to world to end ~ Write in white heat, edit in cold blood.
navigate bureaucracy and institutional logics. They don’t know that for me it ended a
long while ago
Long-winded Mary
After 5 years I realised bureaucracies don’t ~ If you build it, they will come.
really bend, and I tapped out and moved to Im not dreaming of a better tomorrow
~ It’s only weird if you make it weird.
Finland for MA curatorial studies. Just of calm waters instead of these
storms Maybe Shesbornwithit
What is your favorite tool? You gotta give something to get something.
This bird-shaped silicone scraper from Daiso
in Seoul. I don’t like waste when cooking, Crossword// 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

how my mind works. I believe creativity is and it enables me to get everything out of the Ristisanatehtävä
12 13 14
#30 by LWM
something we all possess, and there shouldn’t bowl with concise movements, which gives
be (professional) limits on how and where it me much pleasure :) ACROSS 15 16 17
Answers are in English except when it’s a translation or a specific cultural term. All accents should be ignored. The puzzle is shamelessly Helsinki and foreigner inspired.

can be enacted. Curator is my profession, and Pearls or oysters? 1. Nerd 18 19

this practice often intersects with activism, like I used to love oysters, their taste transported 5. Excuses, abbr.
through my work with Feminist Culture House. me back to salty hometown ocean 8. Two-wheeler 20 21 22 23
12. With PR is a 1st coat, with
Collecting is part of my essence, and an memories, water with vigour. But now I’ve
a T a device 24 25 26 27 28 29
impulse I’m constantly interrogating / placing experienced food poisoning in Helsinki one 13. Homer Simpson sounds
boundaries on. too many times to be able to eat them Pearls 14. Ruler’s power
30 31 32 33

Do you have a personal manifesto? are my birthstone, I love their iridescence, 15. Took great pleasure 34 35 36 37 38
It used to be call, don’t email, but now I’ve and I always try to wear at least one every 17. Freaky
experienced that many (younger) people are a day. 18. Extreme self-centeredness 39 40 41 42

bit apprehensive about talking on the phone. How do you view taste? 19. 2nd most populous
43 44 45 46 47 48
So I’ve learned to check in about people’s I’m aware of what’s considered to be good country
20. Actor McLaughlin of
comfort levels in relation to calls, but I still taste, but nordic minimalism is not for me 49 50 51
Stranger Things
very much believe in talking as an efficient lol. I get excited by things that are horrific, 21. Encourage bad decisions 52 53 54 55 56
way to get on the same page, comprehend eerie, unnerving, strange, crude, or funny. 24. Harbor, Japanese prefix
tone, emit warmth, and hopefully bypass I also like intensity, excess, decoration, 25. Refrain from enjoyable
57 58

misunderstandings. and the sensation of witnessing / living things 59 60 61

How did your creative practice begin? with something that embodies a tedious 27. Person life anniversary
My roots are in DIY arts and music handmade process (which I’m usually message, abbr. 62 63 64

communities in Boorloo (Perth). With friends compelled to honour through acquisition). 30. “__ __ for now!” goodbye
32. Verbal action suffix
we started a non-profit record label and What are your current hobbies, works,
33. Changed the color 2. ΩΩΩ 41. Austria to Nazi Germany
publisher, and I learned through doing—split 7” and/or passion projects? 34. Here and there, French 3. Currently happening in Iran 44. Wild pig
vinyls, local band cookbooks, In no particular order: foraging to make 37. Plans of motives or 4. Krispy 45. Like executioners or clitorises
pop up recording infusions for cocktails; learning about intentions 5. Human vessels and significant 47. Hybrid bottom garments
studios, commissions, mushrooms for the thrill of the hunt and the 38. Winnie of the Hundred amounts of water 48. Gretel’s bro
exhibitions, radio tasty meal afterwards; moving my body in Acre Wood 6. Italian red wine 49. Kind of crown
shows, public some way to the point of sweating every day; 40. Snow, Swedish 7. U.S. identity code, abbr. 51. Certain degrees
artworks… reading; playing football; kirppis pleasures; 42. 2nd month of the Jewish 8. Salty water 52. Name from the Arabic for morning
religious calendar 9. Me done 53. Spanish article and Continental
after years of pup snuggles; peikko research; feasting
43. Cute hotel 10. Gossip meeting, slang country club
making things with friends; one-on-one chats with artists; 44. Wailing female spirit of 11. Irish easy-listening queen 54. Sky gem
happen, the sharing about specific aesthetics; talking to Irish origin 13. Small lair 56. Butter or scooter in Finland
local strangers; trash. 46. Burnt dust 16. Canadian beer 58. “Summer Girls” pop group
In what realms do you act as a social 49. Heirloom, cherry, or green 17. Oven for cooking wood or clay (#29 - solution)
facilitator? 50. Yearn, Finnish 22. Two groups for addicts, abbr.s
Many and most, I get a thrill out of 52. River in Piedmont, Italy 23. Notorious Mr. Smalls
introducing people who might enjoy each 55. Doing after break-up 26. Riga Black liquor
57. Platform for offerings 27. pH indicating flowering shrubs
other, or introducing references and ideas to
by Katie Lenanton of her favorite tool.

58. CA baseball team 28. Golden Girl Mrs. Arthur

people. Often that happens in a professional 59. Black, brown, or grizzly
sense, but also in my personal life. 60. Free, German
Does your practice have different seasons? 61. Not early
I’m still trying to find that balance, but it’s the 62. Ethereal glow
dream: hibernate, forage, warm nights of pleasure, 63. Approved, abbr.
reflection, rest. 64. European Severe Storms
Less is more or more is not enough? Laboratory
DOWN
Less is never more!
1. Non-stop
29. Stereotypical large boob size,
abbr.
31. Good grade and Canadian
interjection homonyms
33. Hereditary code
34. Helsinki Kulmakuppila
35. Not a pro
36. Karenina or Kendrick
38. Vision curtain

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