Headlines and Headlights #4
The articles, shows, and albums that got my attention recently
Sawatdee (สวัสดี; Hello in Thai)! Welcome to Semi-Online #22—and my first content rundown of 2025.
Writer’s block + consecutive SSCD-related nystagmus and vertigo episodes have wiped me out for weeks to months now, hence the lack of longform writing here other than these occasional lists. Honestly, I’m still struggling with the spinny spins, and the persistent brain fog means I can struggle to find the appropriate words—a curse for someone who edits and writes for a living. But I need to get back up (🐢 slowly 🐢). As much as the ableists and ignorants insist that we can simply ‘get over’ or ‘overcome’ disability and be back to ‘normal’, my invisible and rare variant currently runs me and there’s no such thing as normal.
I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating. Never take your mobility for granted! 😵
While those are running their course, I give you my picks off the global digital cesspool from November 2024 to this morning. Also: I’ve replaced this digest’s generic title with a slightly less generic one. Hahaha, I need help with this, thanks.
Read
I finished the short-story collection The Sad Part Was by Prabda Yoon back in November, and I’m currently reading the novel Cigarette Girl by Ratih Kumala. Both are great reads, and fiction readers looking for Southeast Asian stories can start with these two. Thai literature is seldom translated into English (but that’s now changing) and I haven’t read Indonesian fiction before, or even seen a foreign novel republished by a Filipino publisher.
These books should also clue you in on what’s coming in The Reading Spree. It’s also why I have ‘headlights’ in the title: some of the links I’ll put in here are glimpses of future updates. 😊
BTW, is anyone here using StoryGraph? Add me!
Let’s go back a few decades. I was in college, and a crush lent me American Gods by Neil Gaiman. He wouldn’t shut up about the book, but I heard of this author back in high school and was already curious about his work.
So I read the novel. I liked it. The same went for his other books, and it took me almost a decade to collect all the Sandman volumes on a student’s meager allowance and publishing underling’s salary. I wasn’t a big enough fan to go to his signing and publishing events here in Metro Manila; I’ve always hated loud crowds and ‘posers’ 😂 But I was super into everything he wrote.
My enthusiasm waned over the years. He was selling the adaptation rights to his catalog to everyone, and my tastes in reading material became broader and less Global North-oriented. I wasn’t into his shared publicity-seeking persona with his wife at the time, too. His books were still prized possessions of mine, though.
Until last year, when rape and sexual assault allegations against him surfaced via Tortoise Media. This should be in the ‘Listen’ section, but for context, it’ll be in here instead.
I was appalled by the news, and I donated most of my Gaiman books a few months later. But I kept an unread essay collection, my copy of Marvel 1602, and my entire Sandman collection. I thought I could somehow separate the fictional works from the real-life monster.
That delusion ended two days ago. Vulture published a damning investigation on Gaiman and talked to several of his (alleged) rape/coercion survivors. (⚠️ Read with extreme caution. ⚠️) And then US author Matthew Boroson alleged on Facebook just this morning that the entire The Sandman series was plagiarized from the late author Tanith Lee’s Tales from the Flat Earth series.
An old friend from my magazine-publishing years has already called dibs on my Sandman volumes should I decide to sell them. I can still sell or donate the books of his I have left; in this part of the world, economics outrank news headlines and personal feelings. But I’m so done with this disgusting rapist and plagiarist.
So much for having any literary heroes.
Some Substackia for ‘ya:
has put into words exactly what/how I feel about Substack shutting out Philippine and other Global South writers from paid newsletter subscriptions. And she did it so eloquently and calmly, without any (rightful) anger or cursing, etc. I struggled with my own past notes and comments about the topic and sanitized what I wrote in case our Substack overlords didn’t like it and retaliated.Click on Lalipa’s note below to read the full text. And if this is how she writes, I can’t wait to read her first newsletter!
Substack is structurally white. I can think of no other way to say it. It angers me that creators residing in non-western regions cannot have monetisation equality.
Damn Whi… right. 😈
For the other headlines: first up, some Philippines-centric articles:
The New Zealand Herald (via The Washington Post) talks about the Southern Philippines’ ‘rebrand’ as a tourist destination. I still remember the years when all we Manileños heard about Southern Mindanao were kidnappings and hostage-takings, terrorism, deadly gunfights between religious militants and the military, and murders. I’m all for this shift, but I also think that potential tourists need to learn how to conduct themselves in a Muslim-majority part of the country run by differing laws and social customs. Foreigners can’t just go to Mindanao (or anywhere else in this world, really) and expect the entire place to bend to their wills and whims.
From November 2024: a primer on the Marcos vs. Duterte narratives for public support—and Rolling Stone Philippines’ unofficial hanging of its ‘Open for Business’ shingle.
“On the Run, a Hit Man Gives One Last Confession”—Former Rodrigo Duterte hitman Edgar Matobato has finally received protection from the International Criminal Court (ICC), and does this final interview before leaving the country. I hate the man for all of his crimes, but I can’t wait for justice to be served to the Dutertes and their collaborators.
The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) continues its coverage of the gig economy with this first-parter on app gamification.
The Atlantic serves up two great reads.
“The Hawaiians Who Want Their Nation Back”—I saw this while writing my review of Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves and wondering about what other countries Murica has taken by force aside from my Philippines. Unlike us, Hawaii didn’t get the so-called dignity of a colonizer-to-colonizer purchase formalized in another colonizer country; their islands were straight-up invaded and their ruler was overthrown by White opportunists from the ‘mainland’.
“The Anti-Social Century”—Great cover story on how intentional solitude has become the norm in an individualist American society. It also offers peeks into how it can happen in conservative and community-first cultures; I agree with too many things here. 🫢
Next, two articles on creative writing as—and related to—professional writing.
“What the MFA Does and Does Not Do for Aspiring Novelists”—Again, this is US-centric. But it also makes me think about my big wish for Philippine MFA programs (especially after being in one for six years before going AWOL): mix its craft and industry aspects. Teach our writers how to manage their finances; file their taxes as independent workers; negotiate fair contracts, royalties, and (re)publishing rights across media; find translation and adaptation opportunities without needing institutional backers, etc.! Universities must integrate those topics into their MFA programs or work with undergraduate/graduate business departments and faculties. Hindi puro craft at workshop, tapos barkadahan/gatekeeping galore ang mga propesor at estudyante kapag nakaangat na.
“Qwertyman No. 122: On Writing as a Profession”—Butch Dalisay, renowned author and journalist whose The Best of Barfly and The Knowing is in the Writing: Notes on the Practice of Fiction gave me some of the best (and non-patronizing!) writing advice I’ve seen for Philippine writers, talks in his newspaper column about the push and pull of writing for art vs. writing for money:
The fact is, both are two sides of the same coin, which is the currency of public persuasion through words and language. One is an artist, the master of design; the other is the artisan or craftsman, the master of execution. Both can reside in the same person, unless you’re foolish enough to disdain one or the other. You can produce great art, if you have the talent, the discipline, and the hubris for it; but you can also live off your artistic skills, if you have the talent, the discipline, and the humility for it.
The New York Times gave me two more bookmarks:
“How an Old Laptop Is Transformed Into 9-Karat Gold Earrings”—An interesting look at how the British Royal Mint is entering the jewelry business.
“Why Friendship Breakups Hurt So Much”—This reminds me of my June 2023 newsletter, and it’s handy for those undergoing their own cord-cutting.
The New Yorker chimes in with why Spotify Wrapped 2024 was boring AF.
From ProPublica: a freelance vigilante got into the US right-wing militia Oath Keepers, and sent all the data he acquired to a journalist. Then he went into hiding. With just days to go before that racist orange troll returns to the White House, this is a must-read.
Something that should be added to my previous content rundown: human composting. That’s it. That’s the hook.
I loved this The Economist feature on Tokyo’s Toyosu fish market, which replaced the legendary Tsukiji market.
Three more ‘headlights’:
Asian children are going No Contact or Very Low Contact with their parents, too. Channel News Asia interviews a few Singaporeans who’ve had enough.
I’ve always complained about the noise levels in Metro Manila and other urban areas. But my SSCD-addled self isn’t imagining it; the world truly has become 📣 FUCKING LOUD 📣. National Geographic talks about noise pollution and “how silence became the newest luxury lifestyle.”
My mother died back in the 1990s. I don’t want any version of her to come back to life via AI. But this is exactly what others are choosing to do with their loved ones. The Conversation discusses how AI gives the dead new kinds of tech-driven afterlife.
Watch
I didn’t like the third and final season of Marvel’s What If? as much as its first, and I think the series should go on for a few more years. But I watched it through the long Christmas holiday, anyway. It had nice alternate versions, but also so much wasted potential.
I’m also starting Creature Commandos, the first official release from the James Gunn/Peter Safran era of DC Studios:
As always, Midnight Diner (the regular series + Tokyo Stories) was such a salve for extra-tough days. There’s just something incredibly soothing about watching a bunch of fictional characters troop into a homey place for food and comfort.
And just for fun, here’s Nick Offerman drinking whisky for 10 hours. 😆🥃 That looks like a Lagavulin 18. Nice.
Listen
As I mentioned above, Spotify’s 2024 Wrapped came out and was considered lackluster. But I also thought mine was more accurate than the previous years’ lists. So I’ve been listening to mine along with the ever-changing Daylists.
No, I’m not linking to my Top Songs 2024 playlist. Some things should be kept private. 🫠
I’m linking to these albums/earworms, though:
Finally, I had no idea Muji makes playlists for their stores’ background music. Manila playlist, when???
That’s it for now. Thank you for reading, and see you next month!
Speaking of novels, this was an interesting read: https://substack.com/home/post/p-153255909
I wish my MFA program covered the topics you mention.