November 7, 2021

midnights

Hello friend, how was your week? This week was both long and short, in that it was a four-day work-week because of All Soul’s Day BUT it was still kinda long considering how much we’ve managed to squeeze into it! CRAZY. Some show recs, readings, and notes on 2022, the usual–and as usual, I hope you find some of these things useful. -K

Midnight Mass [spoilers maybe]

We finally managed to marathon Midnight Mass on Netflix over the previous long weekend and it was SO GOOD. Mike Flanagan has been a staple of our Halloween marathons the past couple of years, with Hill House and Bly Manor, so yeah we had high hopes for this one. It’s a different kind of terror, one that kept our heart rates up throughout its seven-episode run, but also kind of very familiar? Speaking of course as a Catholic school girl.

Anyway, the show was pretty upfront about its mood–it’s set in a dreary far-flung small town accessible only by ferry. There are no cars mostly, people walked on dirt roads or rode bicycles. Its main industry is fishing, and its life is, unsurprisingly, centered on the church.

Far-flung town beside a body of water? A community filled with remarkable neighbors? Fishing as main livelihood? Main male character with a past? Yes, so basically, Midnight Mass is Hometown Cha-cha-cha’s evil sibling or something, so that’s just fascinating.

(LOL I made this meme myself! I hope it makes my girlfriend proud HAHA)

Anyway. I kind of miss that small-town neighborhood feel irl–I grew up in one, and at one point, we knew nearly everyone in our corner of the neighborhood. My parents were friends with the other parents, and we kids were around the same age and while we didn’t go to the same schools, we shared the same play space–the street–until sundown. The same street where I learned how to play basketball. Outside of that, the center of all socialization–pre-Internet, pre-cable TV even–was whatever the church was up to. When we got to high school, the basketball hoops were dismantled, so there was really no reason to get together with the neighborhood barkada if not to see each other in church, or participate in the month-long Marian prayers every night of May, or during the caroling season and Simbang Gabi in December. The nights were still cool, and it was all so simple.

We’ve since moved out, and so have our peers, so the neighborhood’s pretty quiet. Given the lockdowns, it’s been all too long since I was last there. Sadly, I have not inherited my parents’ knack for making good neighbors. Sadder still that, right before the lockdowns, we had just started joining the cat feeders community on our street, making relationships with the people behind the counters at the coffee shops and restaurants in the area, etc. Sigh. I hope there’s still time to restart and rebuild these pandemic-impacted relationships.

From the internet

Anyway. I think I’ve managed to keep my comments on Midnight Mass relatively spoiler-free. However, this review of Midnight Mass via The Atlantic is most definitely not, so maybe read after you’ve finished with your viewing. Also, pls scream at us.

Speaking of screaming: Remember that Tumblr joke that the wlw community at large has this border-less “great migration” instinct where we just seemingly know where to find wlw material, no matter how obscure? That’s how we reached our newest, shiniest trashbin: #Sahyo.

Mamaya nyan me albums na rin kami. OH NO. HAHAHA.

ANYWAY. A couple of interesting reads:

What is romantic friendship? via The New Statesman

What, then, were Murdoch and Foot to each other? Close friends? Lovers? Murdoch herself grappled with this question. She wrote to Foot, “Sometimes I feel I have to invent a language to talk to you in, though my heart is very full of definite things to say. You stir some very deep part of my soul. Be patient with me and don’t be angry with my peculiarities. I love you very much.” It seems Murdoch herself didn’t quite know how to characterise her affections for Foot.

^ This was actually so well-written, and I did enjoy its swoon-worthy language, but I can’t quite seem to shake off the feeling that the whole thing is about tiptoeing around the word ‘lesbian.’ Or ako lang yun. Acknowledging of course that there are other ways to be a woman-loving woman, and that love comes in many forms, etc etc. But yeah, I can see how this article can make a lot of people feel “seen”.

ALSO: I can’t believe I just heard of Biringan–Samar’s mythical, Wakanda-esque city–just now. How come none of my aunts from this side of the world ever spoke about it?! I feel robbed. Haha.

2022 things

Anyway, while Bongbong Marcos was busy trying to evade a 24-year-old tax-related conviction, VP Leni Robredo has laid down her COVID exit plan in under five minutes.

We’re spending a bit more time trying to go through the rest of the details over at lenirobredo.com, but do go ahead and visit if you have time. It’s pretty detailed.

meme of the week

Time for our favorite meme this week:

^Me vs RTO, fr. T_____T

Hope you’re having a good weekend so far! Thank you for reading this far.

XO,

K