PARADOXICAL

November 2025 Recap: Aftershocks, Aftermaths, and Anathemas

As in happened, November 2025 became a month of aftershocks, aftermaths, and breaking of taboos, not to mention of equally disturbing suicide stories. But on a positive note, also of groundbreaking events and discoveries.

In the Netherlands, a train -- speeding like a bullet -- rammed into a huge delivery truck, crushing the behemoth instantly and sending its content flying in all directions.

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The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) officially opened November 4, to become "the world's largest museum dedicated to an ancient civilization"... "showcasing a vast collection of artifacts from ancient Egypt."

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"Neuroscience reveals that it’s not the passing years that make your brain slower — it’s repetition. When you live each day the same way, your brain activates the same neural circuits over and over, reinforcing familiarity but reducing flexibility. ... But the good news? Your brain can rewire itself at any age through neuroplasticity — the ability to form new neural connections. New experiences, challenges, and even learning something uncomfortable stimulate dopamine and growth factors that keep your brain active and sharp."

Wait. This basically means we should keep on scrolling on our phones for that constant dopamine boost? Guess not.

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A giant bacterium visible to naked eye was found in New Zealand -- "challenging everything about microbiology." It is called Thiomargarita magnifica, "5,000 times bigger than typical bacteria and visible as white filaments up to 2cm long." A bacterium that big ceases to be a "microbe," technically speaking, for normal bacteria reportedly lie within 1-5 micrometers in size.

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Someone noticed that one of Manny Pacquiao sons (the one whose surname is Bacosa) looks like Piolo Pascual, and immediately dubbed the boy as "Piolo Pacquiao," and netizens went wild, alternately laughing and gushing.

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Former president Manuel L. Quezon's grandson Ricky Avancena caused quite a stir when he reacted strongly against the movie "Quezon." The online commentariat took opposing sides, and I found myself on the side that was unhappy with the movie, even though I had yet to see it. I blame it for the same reason why I was unhappy with how Aguinaldo, in former movie depictions, was painted as pure evil. (He was not -- certainly not 100% ha-ha.)

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Lav Diaz's film, "Magellan," starring Gael Garcia Bernal, won as Best Picture at the Villadolid Film Festival in Spain. Makes me wanna go see the movie.

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The last kakapo bird died? That's what one report said. Maybe it is just in one island?

The reason I am wary of extinctions is because I have studied ecology -- an eye-opening interdisciplinary course I am very grateful for, that it has become my favorite subject actually. There, under the kinda annoying prof, Gene Abedania, I learned that each species has an impact on the environment and is inter-related with other species in the same habitat. This means one little loss could result in an ecological catastrophe, so I am hoping that view is wrong. Besides, the kakapo bird (the world's largest parrot and it's flightless -- imagine that) is quite a beauty and a character.

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"Intelligence peaks at 55 to 60 years old," a report said. This can only be good news to the likes of me. You see, youth is not always a plus point.

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There was a report of a terrible massacre and rape of women and children in Darfur, Sudan once again. Which made me think of how we don't hear much about the horrible things happening to the people of Sudan, Nigeria, Mozambique, and other countries where there are atrocities, genocide, and persecution otherwise unimaginable to the rest of the world. But they are happening as we speak, and the rest of the outside world doesn't seem to care. Perhaps because they are... black?

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Surprise! "Young leftist Trump foe" Zohran Mamdani was elected New York mayor." Socialism and NYC are like total opposites. Will it work? Let's see.

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Juan Ponce Enrile, as he lay dying at 101 years old, ceased to be an Internet meme for "old," as in ancient, dinosaur-age old. You might want to read about my thoughts on him in this post titled, "All Riled Up."

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A trending post captured the tenor of November 2025 in the Philippines, as though in a nutshell: "Nakakalito na ang mga letra. May warrant daw galing sa ICC (sina Bato at Go). May rally ang INC. May imbestigasyon ang ICI. Si Enrile nasa ICU."

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Speechless in Tino's Aftermath

Typhoon Tino inundated parts of Talisay City in Cebu and other areas, and it's like Ondoy all over again, just worse. The images coming out of not just Talisay City, but also Canlaon City, Bago City, etc. are staggering they make even the inured speechless.

Nature is so swift; human life, slow. Nature can be so cruel, indiscriminate, unforgiving; humanity, so puny, helpless, dazed and confused. I can't blame folk who ask, "Where is God?"

Apart from questions I have no answer for, what can we glean so far from the widespread destruction? Well, it looks like flood control is useless when deforestation is a problem. Plus we need to know whether the volume of precipitation is way above normal. For this reason, the technical term 'hydrology' was thrown around with frequency.

But it is clear this early how deforestation is the bigger, if not biggest, culprit.

I'd say protect and restore our mountain forests now. There is a good reason why they are sometimes called watershed. They act like our sponge.

Supposing climate change isn't the real culprit yet, blaming rampant deforestation looks like common sense, right? It's not like we've stumbled into something new and complicated, as though it's rocket science.

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Because of Tino, actor-turned-businessman Slater Young's Monterazza mountainside luxury villa project, inspired by the Ifugao rice terraces, was under fire, judging by, uhm, online knee-jerk commentators. I am not sure about this, since the 'verdict' is not yet in.

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For the first time in a very long time, our place got a direct hit from a super-furious typhoon, and it was named 'Uwan'/'Fung-Wong.' We residents suffered through a sleepless night, anxious over the prospect of waking up with our roofs gone and trees falling over our domicile. We distinctly remember the unusual calm -- and humidity -- before the storm. There must be a technical term for that unusual calm before the storm, but I couldn't find any, despite our ultra-rich local vocabulary.

Anyway, like everybody else, my fervent prayer was for 'Uwan' to stay away or change its course, or at least weaken a bit. It did not, on all three counts. But still we were thankful, for things could have gotten a lot worse. The aftermath was merely a day of sweeping of fallen leaves, branches, and other debris and hacking away at wayward branches in the midst of a power blackout with no internet connection. ...Plus the dilemma of how to cook all the raw food we have stored in the ref so they wouldn't go stale or turn bad. In the end, we were happy to have survived another delubyo.

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On a personal note: I got sick November 5. I think I caught the flu virus. But I couldn't complain. A lot of people were in worse shape after losing loved ones and everything they had to flash flood. And happily, for the first time, I was able to fend off an oncoming full-on flu which I get without fail each year except when I had a flu shot (cold, cough, body malaise, physical weakness). What I did was take time off work just to be able to directly expose my skin to sunshine for hours on end. No Bioflu, no antibiotics, no artificial vitamin supplements, no appointment with the doctor. It works! Why haven't I done the same in previous years? Then again, maybe that barley supplement I had been taking worked wonders, plus I was into guava leaf tea lately as an experiment. (I eventually stopped after I noticed some side effects.) I suffered from earache and an irritable throat instead, which slowly went away, thank God.

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I read with interest the current word war between the Baguio City government and other 'stakeholders' over the proposed renovation of the 'iconic' City Public Market. I don't know whom to side with, honestly. I love Baguio's old public market because it was so charming in that rustic mountain way and I had lots of good memories of it, especially since it was so spic-'n-span. There are some things in a city that you wish would never change, and one of that is Baguio City's unique blend of American Hill Station-Igorot architecture. But I am also for embracing modernization if it can't be helped, but hopefully never at the expense of historical and cultural heritage. How to balance these two? I have yet to figure out, but people like Palafox surely have a long time ago. What I noticed is that Baguio has through the years continuously defaced what made it attractive in the first place; it would be a cultural, aesthetic, and economic suicide to deface or erase your own selling point. Baguio would no longer be Baguio if it looked like another city in Metro Manila or anywhere else in the world.

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The low-intensity conflict over Michelin ratings between the pros- and the antis- I found very interesting. But here's something about Filipino food that I wish I wrote because I am 100% in agreement with it: "The Michelin Guide and authentic Filipino food" by Stephen Acabado. Look it up!

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A newly constructed 2,500 ft bridge partially collapsed into a river in China after a massive landslide occurred near the area. I somehow felt relieved that it's not only in the Philippines that this...er... engineering marvel happens.

Another horror, also in China: an ancient 8-story wooden pagoda burned down like flint or kindling, though commenters said it was a rebuild or reconstruction. Nonetheless, seeing an ancient heritage structure fall down like that is just so sad and tragic.

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The infamous Zaldy Co issued a bombshell of a video: that BBM and Romualdez ordered him to stay put abroad and masterminded the you-know-what yada-yada. But people were not inclined to believe any of it because they had a problem with the tainted messenger and his motive.

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Meanwhile, Kiko Barzaga compared himself to Jose Rizal. The public reaction was of course "The nerve!" and "Wait, what?" Like, have you written two authority-defying literary novels on top of a number of lyrical poetry pieces and made yourself a most wanted man because of it? Are you fluent in more than a dozen languages? Traveled around the world? Had a string of girlfriends of diverse ethnicities? Idolized by the country's revolutionary leaders of your time? Studied ophthalmology on the side? Built a little self-sustaining community on the side? Killed by firing squad after being accused of rebellion? If no, then forget about it and find someone on the lower rungs.

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Former presidents/vice-presidents Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Joseph Estrada were seen together with VP Sara Duterte as they attended the Office of the Vice-President's 90th anniversary. It would have been interesting to observe the respective body language of the two former political arch-nemeses.

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Rosa Rosal, glamorous actress of yesteryears and Red Cross board member, died at 97 years old. Her real name, it turns out, is Florence Lansang Danon-Gayda. Thanks to YouTube, I had been able to watch two acclaimed films she starred in: "Biyaya ng Lupa" and "Anak Dalita." Looks like I shall be hunting down another acclaimed title associated with her, "Badjao," which a film critic (Noel Vera) says is fortunately available on YouTube as well.

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At a huge Iglesia ni Kristo rally, Imee Marcos did something unthinkable, like it's straight out of a Koreanovela: rat on her brother's and sister-in-law's (and nephew's too?) supposed drug use -- a private matter of personal weakness, and in front of 650,000 people too. What an unbelievable breaking of a cultural taboo. And technically speaking, because of the private nature of the alleged transgression, it constitutes slander, whether the charge is true or not.

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Kiko Barzaga made a fearless prediction, a cliffhanger: "Martin Romualdez will escape the country before President Marcos resigns next week." Now, the guy's playing Nostradamus.

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Lea Salonga's daughter Nic Chien had her breast excised. And these days, commenting on it other than applause, or even using the word 'daughter,' might spell trouble.

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On November 19, minimum wage in Pangasinan was increased from P468 to P505.

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Wow: "A storied Gustav Klimt painting sold for $236.4 million at Sotheby’s in New York, [thus becoming] the most expensive work ever sold at Sotheby’s and the most expensive Modern artwork ever sold at block." I love Klimt's paintings! They are just so different, so original.

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Another awful story of suicide, most likely due to depression: A young man named Ivan Cezar Ronquillo reportedly committed what is suspected to be suicide after he was wrongfully accused of killing his girlfriend, an actress and model named Gina Lima. What a waste of life, no thanks to online defamation or slander.

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"In one of the world’s most fast-paced cultures, South Korea introduced something almost unbelievable — a real contest dedicated to sitting still, breathing slowly, and letting your mind go quiet. It’s called the Space-Out Competition, created in 2014 by artist Woopsyang as a protest against burnout. A reminder that rest isn’t laziness — it’s survival." Hmm... sloth and rest are two completely different things: one is vice, the other virtue.

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"An 18-year-old Filipino male teenager wrote a children’s book as a gift to his longtime Filipino nanny. The money he earns from selling the book will be used to help overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Hong Kong who wish to finish their studies."

Hiyang-hiya ako sa batang ito ha. Ikaw, ako, tayo, ano na ang ambag mo, natin? Imagine if all of us are as selfless.

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On November 19, minimum wage in Pangasinan was increased from P468 to P505.

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Jesus Falcis: "Alice Guo was arrested and now convicted. Anti-POGO Law was passed. Li Duang Wang’s citizenship law was vetoed by BBM upon Sen. Risa Hontiveros’ plea." I am not exactly a fan of Hontiveros' politics, but these achievements are impressive.

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Chocolate Lover Inc. closed shop after 36 years of selling chocolates, buttercream, walnuts, and other baking essentials. Owned by Annie Carmona-Lim, dubbed the “Chocolate Queen,” the shop is housed in a castle-like building which has long been an eye-catcher in Cubao for its atypical structure.

The only ones similar to such an architectural style in the country, crenellations and all (with the exception of resort structures), are the Christ the King church in E. Rodriquez and a private residence somewhere in the southern Tagalog region.

Anyway, sad business closure stories like this makes me think of how small and big businesses are a cultural treasure of a community that oftentimes make brand names synonymous to a given town or city. And if the business is not passed on to the next generation for any number of reasons, to say nothing of enrichment or expansion, it just dies a natural death and quickly forgotten (except by historians and history buffs like me).

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Miss Mexico won the Ms. Universe but Filipinos were sore about it because they believed our bet or another one, a Ms. Côte d'Ivoire (isn't this country Ivory Cost?), deserved the title better for reasons I am not sure about.
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Whew, I want to end this crazy month's recap with a laugh: "The ability to speak several languages is an asset, but the ability to keep your mouth shut in any language is priceless."

posted by Resty Odon  # 4:13 PM