PARADOXICAL

August 2026 Recap: A Hodgepodge of Things High and Low

Things I randomly picked up on FB even while I wasn't watching the news. They are listed one at a time as they appeared through the month:

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I failed to note last month that national dailies picked up the news of the sudden demise of our youngest councilor. It is something I didn't expect.

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Dr. Fauci received a severe battering from Republican senators asking him about COVID and the government policies he helped form at the time. 

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"Alex Eala made history on August 3, 2026, by becoming the first tennis player from the Philippines to win a WTA singles title." >>> Eala's victory renewed my keen interest in tennis, but for a different purpose: to annihil@te all these mosquitoes going after my blood using this rechargeable racquet that I bought. Wait, it is called electric swatter. I aim for a perfect score each time. 

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"Man arrested after dressing as Grim Reaper at a hospital and staring at patient in Wales." >> Haha! Fake news or not, I hate him already!

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"Trucks carrying 200 pigs crashes in Bukidnon. Instead of helping, the crowd steals the pigs." >>> Tragedy quickly turns into 'Agawan ng Biik' game where you end up with a dirty piglet as your prize.

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Somewhere in Manila, an acacia tree on the side of the street suddenly fell on the road, nearly missing passing vehicles and causing a traffic gridlock. I would learn days later that a delivery driver died on the spot after taking a breather under that tree. >>> I suddenly have a new fear: standing underneath a tree.

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The debate on Pax Silica intensified. But not a few smart cookies saw through it and felt the hand of China behind the demonization. I'd say let's not fall for the ruse--I mean, China's hidden machinations. Let's not be too naive--let us be always mindful of psychological warfare, 'agitprop,' espionage and the like around us--yes, from both sides of the ideological fence.

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Everybody seems to have watched the latest Spiderman movie and thoroughly enjoyed it. >>> Despite the silly premise of a man improbably turning into a spider scaling NYC skyscrapers, moviegoers are willing to shell out a huge sum -- for the ticket, fare/gas, and snacks -- just to see what is essentially a fantasy movie with a compelling story. I have willingly fallen for the ruse myself, several times over.  

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"A 67-year-old woman in Colombia monetized neighborhood gossip so successfully that she has bought 2 houses down. She charges per secret and gets paid even more to stay quiet." >>> Evil kind of smart.

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Typhoon 'Luis' and 'Maymay'--which intensified the monsoon rains and was influenced by super-typhoon improbably named 'Dolphin'--brought torrential rains and caused flooding in many areas of the country. >>> It was a worryingly wet and waterlogged world for the greater part of our three long weeks--and it had many pros and cons. But in terms of resiliency, we should learn to get on with our lives as scheduled while it's raining that strong and that long. Now we had to make up for a 3-week backlog.

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Why are people posting their student IDs on their FB 'Story'?

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In his visit to Davao City, a Duterte bailiwick, Pres. Marcos was heckled by high school students in the most embarrassing manner that one felt sorry for him and the high office he represented. I've never seen such a low level of disrespect for a man of high authority, but I also understand where the utter contempt and anger is coming from, considering everything that is happening around us. 

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A devastating 7.4 magnitude earthquake rocked Colombia – collapsing buildings, trapping people under rubble and killing over 100 people. 

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Viral sa trial> "Private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan presented acknowledgment receipts submitted by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) to the Commission on Audit–Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office (COA-ICFAO) as supplemental documents for confidential fund cash advances. The documents, presented in relation to allegations of confidential fund misuse, included receipts bearing names of supposed recipients whose identities were questioned, with some reportedly having no matching records in the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) database. Among the listed transactions were a ₱70,000 payment to “Mary Grace Piattos” for medicines, an ₱85,000 payment to “Nova Santos” for various goods, and a ₱295,000 payment to “Mico P. Harina” for purchased supplies. >>> Creativity fail!

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"Isang 22-anyos na empleyado sa Alicante, Spain ang sinibak matapos paulit-ulit umanong pumasok nang mas maaga kaysa sa itinakdang oras." >>> What kind of stupid penalizes punctuality? 

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"Julian Assange sounded the alarm about this years ago. Today, it is a normal part of how the internet (and politicians) work. The sudden deactivation of federal resources like Climate.gov highlights a growing crisis: our history is being quietly erased by centralized digital servers." >>> This is scary, but I already had a taste of it after having my original FB account deleted for no explicit reason. I am worried about my accounts on another social media site where almost all of what I've written since year 2000 is stored online.

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Another trending party game emerged in which participants take turns eating certain foodstuff on the table and for some reason finds it funny and laugh at themselves. >>> I worry about the participants choking on the noodle.

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Another trending game is called the 'Pass the Mic' challenge, I think. I now follow this group from Bohol called Tropang Singers doing old high-pitched hits like Debbie Gibson songs. >>> I can just imagine inserting myself in the lineup and easily ruining the game. This game is highly discriminatory to the not-so-vocally endowed. 

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Not long after Venezuela and Colombia, strong earthquakes shook parts of Egypt and Indonesia, Spain and Peru too--and those are just the countries that I happen to stumble upon while scrolling through my screen. It's like one earthquake triggering another, then another, then another, ad infinitum.

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Meanwhile, while we keep on blaming the flood control budget scandal at home, there were some serious flooding in different parts of the world, too, including Japan, not just in the Philippines. I lost count. 

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Local literary luminary Marra PL. Lanot died. >>> Haven't read her work, but I'm a big fan of her husband's writing -- the amazingly skillful screenwriter, poet, and essayist Pete Lacaba, whom I have 'met' (and his son Kris) online in the distant past.

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Hollywood actress Hayden Panettiere died aged 36. >>> A name I have encountered several times while watching movies.

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"Trash piles up in Metro Manila waters after habagat-induced flooding." >>> Why is everyone acting so surprised? This has long been a sad and tragic old normal for Metro Manila. Have we suddenly gone blind? A culture that treats public spaces as personal trash can needs some serious soul-searching.

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Songs that trended lately because of FB reels or stories and TikTok dance videos: Ice Spice - Big Guy (from "The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants”); Olivia Dean - So Easy (To Fall in Love); Benson Boone - Beautiful Things; Paul n Ballin - Pogi; Alex Warren - Ordinary

I like each of these -- catchy, memorable, enjoyable, upbeat, fun, and... different or new.

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Reportedly trending: No-water chicken soup (with apple and Napa cabbage, etc.) >> Intriguing, so a must-try. I only tried pork chop with apple before at Almon Marina, which I liked, at least for its novelty.

posted by Resty Odon  # 10:16 PM