PARADOXICAL

Got so busy with my romantic life this month that everything went in a haze.

It's a prank! It's just the algirithm. Of course I am always occupied with something, precisely because of my nonexistent love life. But strangely this month, all I picked up are either oddities of the highest order or utter ridiculousness, with mostly nothing in between. Is it just me, or the world has really gone crazy?

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Actress Catherine O'Hara, the famed mother in Home Alone, died.

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Justin Bieber performed at the Grammy Awards with just his boxers on (and socks too just in case he felt cold) -- reportedly to promote his brand of boxer shorts.

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The issue of mass student promotion became a hot issue in DepEd, with the convening of EDCOM II (Second Congressional Commission on Education).

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"The song “Ale” became an instant hit again after a TikToker named @imfunnyirl, who had only around a thousand followers, went viral with her unpolished, unstaged dance to the song uploaded on December 19, 2025. Soon after, many other TikTok users recreated and refined the dance steps, further boosting the song’s popularity, which continued to surge up until February 2026."

"The viral version used in the trend was the third version of “Ale,” recorded by the Bloomfields band in 2007. The original song was written and performed by Bodjie Dasig in 1989, and it became part of his first album released in 1990. Later on, the song was also covered and re-recorded by Richard Reynoso, introducing it to a new generation of listeners."

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A guy named Jeffrey Epstein was all over the news, and the details were barf-level grisly (sex with kids, eating kids? what is that?). Truth be told, we've been hearing of such bizarrezeries about the very rich and famous and their grand conspiracies and strange religion for so long, yet the reports we are receiving are still shocking.

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Wow! > "The Northern Aral Sea is making a historic comeback — with water volumes surging by 42%!"

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A clueless, naive, or trying-to-sound-cool-and-hoity-toity person on social media called palitaw "coconut mochi," and all hell broke loose. Of course, because palitaw is palitaw, not coconut mochi. Hahaha. Rawr! But I too was guilty of parroting other writers who say "kinilaw is like the Filipino version of ceviche" and so on, not knowing any better.

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Many people rode on the AI caricature trend on ChatGPT, with the prompt, "Create a caricature of myself based on everything you know about me." Not happy with mine because I recognized the result as someone else. I think it's my fault for uploading the wrong photo.

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Former House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. passed on to the great beyond. 

I have no strong recollections of De Venezia who is now being extolled as a "consensus builder" in a world where fractiousness is the norm, and being credited for forming political supergroups such as Rainbow Coalition and Sunshine Coalition. It must have been because I have been biased right from the start: he was a fellow Pangasinense like PGMA and PFVR (Fidel Ramos) who likewise reached the summit of his political career, and naturally I rooted for them just because "they were our guys" (haha). ...Except when GMA got involved in that you-know-what with what's-his-name COMELEC commissioner, which the public got wind of through an illegal move (wiretapping) by who knew who.

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There was something about a gold medalist that I failed to catch.

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Someone creative (and naughty) invented the term Tsinador to refer to Sen. Marcoleta (et al.?). Another one renamed him Rodent and another reworded his surname to Mark*beta. This tells you know how much he is hated by many. But take note that he won as senator in the first place. There is a reason for that, too, that those on the opposite side of the fence fail to grasp -- at their own risk! 

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An old slang term, "bonjing," gained traction for some reason.

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Hahha! > "Punches fly in Turkish Parliament as Erdogan’s justice minister nominee sparks a fierce brawl" among legislators in suits, that is! 

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LOL > "During New York Fashion Week, an unexpected moment turned into a viral story when a man confidently walked the runway wearing what looked like a garbage bag. For a brief moment, many in the audience assumed it was part of the show, as bold and unusual outfits are common at fashion events. His calm walk and confident attitude helped him blend in, proving how much confidence can influence perception. Soon, security realized that the man was not an official model and escorted him off the runway. The incident amused viewers online and sparked conversations about modern fashion, where even the most unconventional looks can sometimes pass as high style. While the man was not part of the event, his brief appearance highlighted how easily confidence and presentation can blur the line between art and reality. The clip quickly went viral, serving as a humorous reminder that in the world of fashion, confidence can sometimes be mistaken for creativity."

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Viral ngayon sa San Jacinto, Pangasinan, ang isang tindahan na pinangalanang “ELLEN ELEVEN,” na mas lalong ikinatuwa ng netizens dahil eksaktong katapat pa ito ng sikat na convenience store na 7-Eleven. Dahil sa kakaibang pangalan at witty na puwesto, mabilis itong naging usap-usapan online at patunay na talagang hindi matatawaran ang Pinoy creativity at sense of humor."

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In a live newscast, news anchor Karen Davila mistakenly called another reporter named Karen as "Karen Davila," thus adding another amusing incident in the lengthening list of local newsroom boo-boos. But the gold medal still belongs to Michael Fajatin, with the silver going to Jiggy Manicad, and the bronze to maybe Mike Enriquez? ("Ang sarap mo, Pia!"). 

Alternately, even the best of them commits embarrassing mistakes. A great consolation for all of us distant observers and 'lesser mortals.'

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News about a student who jumped (other news items used "fell") from the LRT went viral. After falling onto the road, the student was hit by a vehicle and was even dragged along. The student died. The driver of the car was reportedly going to be charged with reckless imprudence resulting in homicide. But good thing the parents of the student decided not to press charges, which would have been unfair to an innocent driver of a randomly passing car.

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Ian Kyle Tablon, a 4th year veterinary student in Central Mindanao and known snake rescuer, died after he was bitten by a king cobra while rescuing it from a residential area. He was known for bravely responding to reports of cobras in communities to protect both residents and the animals he cared for.

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Kids nowadays are weak (that is why they are prone to suicide), said Sen. Robinhood Padilla. The backlash was quite strong.

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I learned two new expressions from young people lately: "thirst trap" and "it's giving ____" (2016, e.g.). I don't feel like explaining the meanings for now.

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A new Latino music artist, the rapper named Bad Bunny, created buzz due to his unusual rise to fame from being a bagger at the grocer or something. I checked out his performance at the Superbowl, but I didn't particularly like it for now, but wow, the people's reaction to the 'novel' music is something. I take his newfound popularity as a signal of the Hispanization of the USA, a great pivot to, er, Hispanic culture or at least Latin America.

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A mukbang vlogger died allegedly after eating too much.

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ICC named Dela Rosa, Bong Go as co-perpetrators in Duterte drug war. The other ones are equally interesting.

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Iconic Philtranco bus line ceased operations after 111 years, due to inability to keep the cash flow going.

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Artworks inspired by and dedicated to National Artist Kidlat Tahimik were displayed at the Metropolitan Theater in celebration of National Arts Month 2026. The exhibit is titled “Portraits of a National Artist as Kultur Warrior.” 

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"A 13-year-boy swam for more than two miles in 'rough conditions' to get help for his family who were stranded out at sea. Austin Appelbee reportedly said that he "focused on happy things to keep him going." 

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I had fun viewing this tribal art exhibit online: 'Tijd voor Papoea' (Time for Papua New Guinea) exhibition in the Wereld museum Leiden.

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A Philippine Coast Guard Spokesperson named Tarriela said something about China that earned the approval of the likes of Abp. Soc Villegas, so I had to do a double-take.

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Now for something totally unexpected: actors -- superstars during their time -- Onemig Bondoc and Aiko Melendez are now in a romantic relationship.

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Rigoberto Tiglao said Marcoleta was right and newspaper opinion-makers wrong on RP's EEZ (exclusive economic zone).

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Sexbomb Dancers became popular once again. Their unexpected resurgence in Filipino pop culture apparently happened after a 2025 "reunion concert." A big surprise, considering their music is not something that can be considered to be bound for immortality, or fall under classic or excellent category. Their name alone is eyebrow-raising from the start, a name I would associate with a Tom Jones hit song. All I can remember from them are the lines, "Ispageting pataas, ispageting pababa" and "Get get aww!" It must be nostalgia that is at work then.

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There was a lot of noise around an absentee member's husband disallowing his wife's participation for religious reasons. I learned his name to be Alvin Aragon, who turns out to be an actor, a Starstruck alumnus, and his wife's name to be Izzy Trazona, and she had a trans child who are at odds with her -- again on religious grounds.

Izzy's and her husband's public pronouncements that his wife was "pinagresign ni God sa Sexbonmb" and Izzy willingly left her profession to avoid giving men occasions for sin, let's just say, as expected, got them in trouble with those who don't share their religious convictions. 

This shows many people have such strong feelings about these issues, to the extent that someone said such a staggering statement as this: If it means going to hell with them for it (homosexual lifestyle or trans life), then I will go to hell with them. I had to read her statement again just to be sure I understood what she really meant. Another poster wrote that the husband's statements border on illegal category. "It's illegal to even make such comments." An actor named IC Mendoza who says he is a son of pastors chimed in and roughly made the same comments. This new development can be seen as an alternate giant 'leap of faith' in terms of what people want to believe in, a great conviction that they are the ones being right, and 100% so. This is a sizeable mass downright rejecting traditional Christian teaching, or choose to have another reading. 

Or it could be that the way the said man has delivered the message or chose his words was the thing that did him in, so to speak, or rubbed many people the wrong way. For speaking his mind, he is now being mocked as "St. Alvin" who has stipulated "the 11th commandment" of God. 

 Another Sexbomb dancer husband, who happens to be Bulacan Vice-Governor Alex Castro, reacted to the hullabaloo by saying, "May mga nagsabi, Bakit? Pinayagan ko ba? Siyempre di ba, dancer yan eh, syempre minsan seksi yung damit. Sabi ko, ok lang. Ganun ya eh. Yun sya. Ayokong baguhin yun. Ayokong baguhin kung sino sya. Ang ano lang, nadagdag lang ako. Nadagdag lang ako kasi ako yung asawa niya." 

posted by Resty Odon  # 1:33 AM