February 25, 2018

who were you 32 years ago?

Manila, 25 February—Cannot help but comment briefly on the anniversary of the Edsa revolution in 1986, which ended the 20-year reign of strongman Ferdinand Marcos. Especially since I spent many Februaries putting together content for the paper's commemoration pieces years ago, when LJM was still there to insist that we had to. Looking back: Was it just a case of senseless nostalgia? How necessary was it to recall how dark those days were, and how a movement like that provided the necessary spark to turn the tide against a government that, at the very core, was against its people and held only the interests of the very few, wealthy and powerful at heart?

Sounds familiar?

Anyway, yung masaya naman:

Requisite spoiler warning here: Everyone's talking about Black Panther, and we finally managed to watch it! The hype is real, friends. Fantastic world-building, amazing empowered women, well-written villains. I can't imagine how important it is for young black women to see themselves on screen like this, thinking, When I grow up, I want to be like Okoye—strong, loyal, and clear-sighted. or I want to be like Shuri—great sense of humor and comedic timing (A++), intelligent and innovative. or I want to be like Nakia—helper at heart, skilled and beautiful. The thing I loved best? When it became apparent that the throne was occupied by a madman, it was the women who first saw through it. 

Tl;dr—watch it in the big screen! And wait for two post-credit scenes. Enjoy :)

One more nice watch for this week: Altered Carbon on Netflix

Spoiler alert ulit: We binged Altered Carbon last weekend purely for Dichen Lachman, and we weren't disappointed! A little like Westworld, a little like Black Mirror, a little like POI, and a little like The 100, but with more Anya being badass and naked (oops). So if long-living people with chips on their nape (I KNOW), societies divided into Grounders and Skypeople (I KNOW), and morally dubious choices are your thing + sex and violence and nudity (blood and naked bodies everywhere, warning)—give Altered Carbon a go! It's based on a sci-fi novel series by Richard K. Morgan, I've been told. Granted I had some questions about their world-building and casting (really, you couldn't have casted the POC dude as the main one?), overall it was an entertaining and gripping binge. ALSO: Watch for the AI named Poe, because he's my favorite. Plus, the whole rebooting chips into bodies is a dilemma with humorous situations at times. 

Watch all ten episodes on Netflix

In life news: Kaia turned one on Friday!

Our inaanak Kaia (Almi and Kim's firstborn) turned one in a Totorific birthday party on Friday :) So damn cute. Just wanted to note here that I am happy to be part of this kid's life, like you won't believe. Limited pictures as I'm waiting for the parents to release them haha. Happy birthday, kid! :)

And now, for something truly exciting

The pilot batch is here. 
Clean, straight-to-the-point, no bullshit $$$ planner. Using mine as a modified finances-only bullet journal.  Here's to never missing a deadline ever again.

Want it? Get it.