Archive (Page 11) • Notes on a Nation • Buttondown

smoke & mirrors

October 3, 2018

Manila, 3 October—My favorite Journalism professor, Luis Teodoro, has this to say to media covering the aftermath of Presidential Communications Operations...

fiefdoms

October 1, 2018

Manila, 1 October—Whatever happened to the Binays? As we enter the 2019 election season, it’s time to check up again on the Binays, who have more or less...

the final stretch

September 30, 2018

Manila, 30 September—I'd like to recommend two things we watched on Netflix: animated movie Next Genand limited series Maniac. I'm a sucker for media where...

going to the dogs

September 29, 2018

Manila, 29 September—Senator Trillanes, who was ordered arrested on Tuesday after the government voided his amnesty, is now home. With his dog, a cute Chow...

a theory of broken things

September 23, 2018

Manila, 23 September—I was gathering links to old stuff we did for Martial Law remembrances past when I stumbled upon a 1987 longread written by veteran...

#neveragain #neverforget

September 21, 2018

Manila, 21 September—Forty-six years since the imposition of Martial Law in 1972, and the Marcoses are still at it, still trying their best to hold onto...

12 years later

September 17, 2018

Manila, 17 September—It may have taken all of 12 years, but finally justice has caught up with former Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, who was sentenced today to...

heroes

September 16, 2018

Manila, 16 September—I was talking with friends from high school about the fall of Harry Roque. One of our former batchmates was a lawyer who used to view...

ljm

September 13, 2018

Manila, 13 September—It used to be that Septembers were a big deal in the Old Newsroom because it was LJM and MRP’s birth month, and this meant lots of free...

3 p.m.

September 11, 2018

Manila, 10 September—When a President announces beforehand that he’s calling a press conference at a specific date and time, it’s natural to assume that...

this long week

September 9, 2018

Manila, 9 September—Just like that, we're wrapping up the third quarter of the year with the first -ber month now in motion. So far, September has not pulled...

endings & resignations

September 3, 2018

Manila, 3 September—This is the first letter I’m writing through Substack’s native interface, and I must say I miss the simplicity. Mailchimp is an awesome...

goodnight & go

September 2, 2018

Manila, 2 September—This week was a good week for catching up with friends! One of my friends who is pregnant with their second kid had a gender reveal baby...

crazy rich

August 26, 2018

Manila, 26 August—This week was a good week for watching Asian things! I hope you've had the chance to catch Crazy Rich Asians at the cinemas—what a fun...

maintenance meds & other stories

August 19, 2018

Manila, 19 August—Every August or thereabouts, I sit down and have a talk with the company doctor, who then tells me, predictably, that my uric levels are...

while we were angry

August 12, 2018

Manila, 12 August—Finally got around to watching Erik Matti's "BuyBust" at the cinemas. Headlined by Anne Curtis as a recently transferred PDEA agent, it's...

the age of despair

August 5, 2018

Manila, 5 August—On this day eighteen years ago, I took an exam that changed my life. At the time, the idea of living away from home and amid a sea full of...

gone to the dogs

July 30, 2018

Manila, 30 July—What a week this has been, hasn't it? Gotta love it when the week starts off with a sound-less power grab at the House of Representatives....

state of the nation

July 23, 2018

Manila, 23 July—All this time, I have only been able to make sense of the present by piecing it together as a creature built from the past. Whenever I have...

thai rescue

July 15, 2018

Manila, 15 July—When I sent out Wednesday's letter, my girlfriend-slash-proofreader, who checks for grammar errors, misspellings and dead links the best she...