Volume 01 Issue 12
November 9-15, 2020
It’s been a week of cycling between helplessness, frustration, rage, anxiety, and a few moments of relief. SSDD - typhoon barrels through our country and leaves thousands stranded or dead. Government response is pitiful, with the Office of the Vice President being the only government office worth their salt. Private sector steps up, spirit of bayanihan, blah blah blah.
It’s getting real tiring because we know this was preventable. I’m not even going to go into the climate change/deforestation issues because those are massive. Just this one piece: If the lawmakers representing Cagayan and Isabela voted to keep ABS-CBN on air, their constituents would be alive today because they would’ve had access to the information they needed to evacuate. They didn’t have to die or suffer for hours, stranded on their rooftops while the floods engulfed their homes.
There’s really not much else I can say right now, sitting at home with my worries and my anger, other than: it didn’t fucking have to be this way.
Shop Small, Love Local
Not a shopping tip, but a few notes about where I rage-donated / spent my money towards Ulysses recovery:
Kaya Natin, VP Leni’s partner organization, is the link I share with my friends who live abroad because there’s a Paypal option available.
Project Bangon Luzon, one of a few PH BTS ARMY fundraisers, because Aia’s tweet made me laugh: “Mas organized pa ang PH BTS ARMY kaysa sa gobyerno!” As of this writing, the fandom has collectively raised a million pesos. I stan the right group!
I picked up some Colourette lipsticks because I wanted to support the owner after she tweeted “Para sa lahat ng mga die hard DDS na nagorder nung 11.11, paki comment ang order number. Ako na mismo magcacancel ng order niyo.” Unbothered, unafraid - we have to stan!! She’s donating the total sales — not just profits — of five lipsticks worth PHP 299 and the amount raised has already crossed a million pesos. There are still some stocks of Olive, Zola, Robin, Liv, and Gigi, available at Shoppee: https://bit.ly/NINAshopcolourette and Lazada: https://bit.ly/NINAlazcolourette
Currently…
Feeling grateful to all who responded to our call for O+ blood donors for my baby niece Clara. She’s still in the NICU. :( My sister was discharged this week (THANK GOD) so we’re hopeful that the baby can be discharged soon also. Her tests show signs of improvement, so please continue to pray for her healing and full recovery.
Eating takeout Sugi, a family favorite. Kakamiss yung weekend sa mall, no? Movie, dinner, shopping… huhuhu. On top of the typhoon shit, we’re still in the middle of a pandemic! Will things always feel this bleak?
Reading The Roommate by Rosie Danan. I’ve never read a romance novel with a sex worker as a main character before.
Watching the episode of Immortal Songs featuring Pdogg, the producer behind many BTS hits. Also happy to report I finished BTS’s travel documentary Bon Voyage season 2 this weekend. Comeback season is almost here: The new album BE is out this coming Friday! They won an award this week - Wall Street Journal Magazine’s Music Innovator award - and the accompanying video is so good. Can’t wait to get my copy of the magazine.
Enjoying the quote replies to this question “What’s a BTS moment that doesn’t feel real?” I feel like ARMY brought out their best answers for this one, and as a baby ARMY, I learned so much…!
Longreads
Prehistoric female hunter discovery upends gender role assumptions — Maya Wei-Haas, National Geographic.
“Did the newfound toolkit belong to the buried individual? Sterling challenged the inquiry itself. ‘We typically don’t ask this question when we find these toolkits with men,’ she says. ‘It’s only when it challenges our ideas about gender that we ask these questions.’”
Andy Slavitt’s thread on what the COVID-19 vaccine news really means
Andy Slavitt was Obama’s head of health care. I trust him, and it felt damn good to read this. The road ahead is still tough but it looks like there’s light at the end of the tunnel.
Hanson Is Facing a Mutiny From Its Own Fans — Ashley Spencer, VICE.
I’ve heard about this in bits and pieces, but seeing it all laid out together like this… whew. I hope this never happens with BTS, LOL. This was such a good read.
Why Joe Had to Propose 5 Times Before I Said Yes—And What Finally Changed My Mind — Dr. Jill Biden, TIME.
I like her so much, and I love that she’ll continue teaching even after her husband takes on the presidency.
The Trump Presidency Is Ending. So Is Maggie Haberman’s Wild Ride. — Ben Smith, The New York Times.
Queen of the Trump beat. Really enjoyed reading this, and all her coverage the past four years. She was so unbelievably prolific.
The End of the Line for Trumpland Is a Poorly Rated Sex Shop in North Philly — Lachlan Markay, Asawin Suebsaeng, Sam Stein, The Daily Beast.
Pure comedy! I read all the articles about Four Seasons Total Landscaping; The Daily Beast one was particularly funny.
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Yours from afar,
Pinky