PARADOXICAL

Another Mentally Disordered Month (December 2025 Recap)

Whew, December appears to be another mentally disordered month. In other words, crazy. But the saving grace lies in what is not in the news, in the little under-the-radar stories quietly appearing in my feeds, assuring me that it's not the end of the world yet.

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New record: The Philippines is the world's number one plastic polluter of the ocean. Congrats, mga dugyot!

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Ethiopian volcano erupted for the first time after 12,000 years.

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Math/science professor and newspaper columnist Queena Lee suddenly died. I must have read maybe dozens and dozens of her insightful articles.

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"Frank Gehry, who designed some of the most imaginative buildings ever constructed and achieved a level of worldwide acclaim seldom afforded any architect," died at age 96. I remember how his design of the Bilbao museum shocked-and-awed the world at the time.

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The month's craziest story is one made viral by these unbelievable lines from a super-hypertensive former COMELEC commissioner, Atty. Rowena Guanzon -- "HINDI KA NAKA-ROLEX, HINDI KA NAKA-GUCCI, AKO PA PINILI MO?!" -- after an alleged Chinese couple told her to get out of a Makati mall (in posh Rockwell, it turns out) if she was sick after she coughed because the noodles or something that she was snorting was too hot and spicy for her. She even went further by filing a complaint with the Makati police even after the man's partner apologized on his behalf.

The story was one-sided because it didn't carry the alleged foul-mouthed man's side, so it was hard for me to react, but a foreigner telling me to get out of a mall in my own country would indeed shoot my BP to dangerous levels. (Turns out they are just regular Chinese-looking Filipinos.)

But to go beast mode full-on? Excessive. And to equate a person's worth in terms of Rolex and Gucci, very revealing. Her response to Ronald Llamas' response of a joke online -- heaping contempt at a widely well-regarded political analyst as "walang trabaho," "walang PhD," "pangit," and "kalbo" -- and to Atty. Jesus Falcis -- "maligo ka muna ng tatlong beses" -- further added insult to the injury. The tirades were a long series of insults as ad hominems -- funny in a way, but offensive if you are jobless, you don't believe in doctorate degrees as a measure of your educational attainment at a time when masterals and doctorates can be faked or bought, you are not as physically attractive as most people, you have thinning hair, and you don't always look fresh-from-the-onsen like, say, Joshua Garcia.

I checked her FB page and found out that that is the very brand she has been peddling: Queen of Bardagulan. No wonder. She was merely living up to it.

But wait, why does everything feel oddly familiar? Who normalized low language at the highest levels of government again? I don't know about you, but I don't think the answer is Miriam Defensor-Santiago.

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Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, "Mortal Kombat" star, died at 75. Haven't watched this movie, but I know that a lot of young people have.

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"A study found that the Ayta Magbukon people of the Philippines carry the highest known levels of Denisovan DNA in the world, suggesting that multiple Denisovan groups once lived here in Southeast Asia and interbred with the early humans, thus reshaping current understanding of early human migration in the region."

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"Singing can increase an immune antibody (SIGA) in the body by up to 20% in less than an hour." Tra-la-la... Do-mi-mi, Mi-sol-sol, Re-fa-fa, La-ti-tiiiii! Aherm, aherm. No wonder professional singers like me seldom get sick.

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"Poland is one of the wonders of this world - a rising global power, an economy reaching a trillion dollars, the strongest army in Europe, the fastest-developing country in the region, and a guardian of NATO's eastern flank."

Philippines be like, "How to be you Po-land?" RP, be like Poland.

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People are dancing a new dance craze to the tune of Taylor Swift's "Opalite." The dance looks an easy choreo to follow, and the pop tune unremarkable, one that you'd forget after a few weeks. But no worries, I won't even make an attempt. What were you thinking?

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Wow: "Film history enthusiast and film historian Nick Deocampo uncovered a copy of "Diwata ng Karagatan" (1936), believed to be the oldest existing Filipino film, tucked away in an archive in Brussels, Belgium."

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The internet went wild with this new 'obsession': trying to dangle from street signs and traffic lights while singing or lip-syncing to the song "Maui Wowie" by American rapper Kid Cudi, including a version by local singer Darren Espanto.

The curious line, "Goin' back to Honolulu just to get that/That Maui Wowie, that Maui Wowie," allegedly means "chasing enjoyment or a sense of escape."

Okay , but it's amazing how people could easily reveal their wiry-haired kilikili (armpits) for the whole wide world to see.

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"The practice of making asin tibuok, the artisanal sea salt of Bohol, made it to the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding." I wonder if this development will help preserve the practice.

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"Cold water immersion can profoundly affect your body: increase insulin sensitivity, helping you effectively turn glucose into energy; lower cortisol, the stress hormone; and increase the amount of brown fat in your body."

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"New 'remarkably tame' tinamou species discovered in Amazon mountains may already be at risk of extinction" because it is "a mostly flightless bird with a unique dark slate-colored facial mask and cinnamon-colored underparts that was surprisingly unafraid of humans."

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"In Japan, where isolation and emotional distance can quietly affect many lives, one man has created a gentle and unusual service—'rent-a-dad.' Through this heartfelt offering, he’s hired by people of all ages to step in as a father figure, offering warmth, support, or simply quiet presence. His clients don’t seek formal counseling—they come for hugs, someone to clap during a graduation photo, or a calm voice to talk to over lunch."

How awful that the epidemic of fatherless-ness has come to this.

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Speaking of fatherhood... "Many people assume fathers bond through gentle moments and quiet cuddles. However, neuroscience shows the strongest connections form during active, playful chaos. Wrestling, chasing, roughhousing, and tumbling provide children with high-energy experiences that shape the brain in meaningful ways."

I have read something like this decades ago. Specifically, that fathers bond best particularly with their sons through activities that they share together like engaging in sports.

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78-year-old Hollywood actor and director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, were murdered in cold blood by their own flesh-and-blood, i.e., their own son Nick Reiner, who appears to be a drug-addled nutcase, according to reports. Rob Reiner is a most successful director of truly enjoyable films, such as "When Harry Met Sally...," "The Princess Bride," "A Few Good Men," "Stand by Me," etc., stuff generally referred to as "good vibes" these days, that is why there were so popular back in the day. So it is quite strange that he'd have such a progeny. Watching the son being interviewed, I get a somewhat creepy vibe, with those wide, expressionless eyes and all.

Now I need to watch a movie the father-and-son tandem co-created, "Being Charlie," because it is said to be quite autobiographical.

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There was a shooting in Brown University, Providence, Rhode Is., USA.

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Two Middle Eastern men -- a father-and-son -- also went on a shooting rampage in Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, apparently targeting Jews enjoying Hanukkah, a Jewish celebration. The carnage, unusual for Australia, was made even more unusual when a man, ironically a Muslim, grabbed one shooter singlehandedly and unarmed and successfully extricated the rifle from the mass murderer. Sadly, the duo is said to have undergone training somewhere in Mindanao, implicating the entire country where nothing of the sort happens, someone wise pointed out.

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“Film historian and filmmaker Nicolas Francisco ‘Nick’ A. Deocampo has recently discovered what is now considered the oldest surviving Filipino film—the 1936 production ‘Diwata ng Karagatan’ (Diwata)—in Brussels, Belgium.”

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A new party game trended: Blowing candles using paper plates. I don't know why, but my inner killjoy says I hate it.

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A new exchange gift trended in office yearend/Christmas parties this year. Mechanics: Players each bring a brown bag of assorted gift items based on a pre-chosen theme (e.g., something green). The number of items should be exactly the same as the number of members. One by one, each member throws out the contents, and members scramble to get the items they prefer, each one fearing to be left with the most unwanted items (the ones that end up as useless items, except as all-year-round dust gatherer and 100% sure toe injurer). The group erupts in tumultuous shouts and laughter as a result, and the room and building develop cracks due to the volcanic explosion.

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Never heard of this, but it's great to know: Sen. Migz Zubiri noted that it's 16 years RA 9850 was passed, a law declaring arnis as the Philippine national martial art and sport.

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Another wait-what-happened moment: Zsa Zsa Padilla returned her Lifetime Achievement Award to Aliw Awards organizers after she wasn't given the honor or courtesy of making a speech. What a terrible gaffe. Honoring me with such an insult, even when unintended, would've deeply offended me as well.

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The pulpit of the 300-year-old church of Maragondon, Cavite, crashed to the church floor due to "internal structural failure." The church is listed as a National Cultural Treasure.

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"The Philippines has the lowest tourism return in Southeast Asia." Heard this already before that it has become a tired refrain. When are we going to shape up?

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"New brain-imaging research shows that depression is not simply the result of a chemical imbalance but is linked to structural and functional changes in brain circuits responsible for mood, decision-making, and emotional processing. This finding challenges long-held beliefs and explains why medication alone has not worked for many patients. By recognizing depression as a disorder of complex brain networks, the study opens the way for more personalized treatments such as brain stimulation, cognitive training, and lifestyle-based interventions."

As a low-key mental health sufferer, I knew this by instinct: Depression is generally not caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain, but a result of toxic thoughts, ungrieved grief, unprocessed traumas, and I think that, among the world's psychologists, it is Gabor Mate who gets these things -- depression, anxiety and panic attacks, drug addiction -- right the most.

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"Japanese biologist Yoshinori Ohsumi was awarded the Nobel Prize for his groundbreaking discovery of how the body uses a process called autophagy to eat its own damaged cells when it doesn't receive food. This process is vital for maintaining cellular health and is a key factor in how we fight aging and disease."

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A powerful DPWH technocrat named Catalina Cabral, a planning chief, was suddenly found dead along a river in Benguet. A very interesting development in these high-tension-wire days of Marcos Jr.'s reign.

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I thought it's another AI prank, but an escalator in Bangladesh suddenly sped up like crazy, like an amusement park ride whose operator went loafing, expelling the poor frightened riders down the conveyor belt. Good thing it didn't end up in something more violent like what happened recently somewhere in Europe.

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Actor and Leyte Rep. Richard Gomez was accused by a Philippine Fencing Association of “physical attack” during the fencing competitions of the 33rd Southeast Asian Games, after the latter allegedly replaced an athlete without Gomez's knowledge.

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I must have missed a number of other equally important developments, because I was preoccupied with Christmas stuff (mainly, attending parties for the first time after how many years of disability). I would appreciate your rejoinders.

posted by Resty Odon  # 2:55 AM