frustration season
Manila, 31 January—Did any of you get wind of the GameStop shenanigans early enough? Or at least, enough to perhaps take advantage of what’s happening? Well, I… did not. Hehe. I’m no stock market expert, though a good friend kindly explained to me what the fuck was happening to GME stocks, and I was floored.
READ: Explainer: Why GameStop’s stock surge is shaking Wall Street via AP
If there’s anything I am taking away from this, it’s that wealth is so… arbitrary? It’s infuriating. There are ways in which one can earn so much without so much as lifting a finger, and it’s frustrating, because one can only do so… if one has so much money in the first place???
How is this right???? If a cat held GameStop shares, they’d officially be richer than me rn.
Meanwhile, the Philippines’ 4th quarter and full-year 2020 GDP scores are in and oh boy did we just post the worst post-war recession figures or what? It’s officially worse than 1984, so yes, I have never seen anything like it.
Acting NEDA Secretary Karl Chua has gone on to say that there is no point in providing families subsidies “if they cannot go out and spend.” DUDE READ THE ROOM. If there’s anything the quarantine has taught most everybody, it’s that one doesn’t even have to get out of the house to spend.
Meanwhile, some eventologist’s superspreader shenanigans in Baguio… have landed him and his friends a whopping Php1,500-fine and The Manor a Php9,000 penalty. Justice in the Philippines, everybody!
Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong, the country’s contact tracing czar, has found himself right smack in the middle of this controversy, because he and his wife attended the party which was held Jan 17th—this, as we gather reports about the UK COVID variant in Bontoc, Mountain Province. Starting Feb 1, Baguio and neighboring towns in Benguet are once more imposing stricter border restrictions following a surge in COVID cases.
Personally, we are not at all surprised that the celebrity at the center of the hullaballoo has seemed to have leveled up his totally uncaring ways—back in the Paper, he was notorious for partying even as his Lifestyle pages remained unfinished, prompting staff to remain well into the wee hours of the morning, awaiting his return from some bar. (Anybody remember that Gucci Gang fiasco in 2008? 2009? That shit was entertaining.)
Recs from the Internet
Anyway. Plugging this effort from the Consortium on Democracy and Disinformation—a #FightDisinfo newsletter helmed by journalist Jonathan de Santos (Slow News Days). Subscribe for a weekly roundup of writeups and research on disinformation. Goes out every Friday. Let’s support, friends!
Recs from you?
Brief IRL update: We’re in the midst of moving, and we’d like to know:
Where do you guys shop for furniture or get some custom ones?
Rec your WFH chair (lol the one I’m using belongs to our landlady and I would have to return it :( )
Rec your coffee machine!
Thank you in advance! Have my favorite meme from this week, courtesy of GameStop:
Oh, and I hope February goes well for you! (Kaloka, Pebrero na?!) Thank you for making it this far, as always.
XO,
K