By Karl Garcia Rodrigo Duterte was not the first Filipino leader to invoke Singapore as a model, and he will not be the last. Long before his 2016 campaign promise to “make the Philippines like Singapore,” the aspiration already existed across the political spectrum. Ironically, many of Duterte’s strongest critics also want the Philippines to […]
Why the Philippines Was Never Going to Become Singapore—No Matter Who Promised It
Musings 2026 01 12
Melancholy is the vibe ride now.
Or some impending doom
KPop Musings
I got into Kpop because of the Pandemic. Twice was on repeat during that time.
Caught the last stuff from IZ*ONE mostly because of the sixteen connection, now mostly follow all the alumns.
Follow Le Serrafim when I need a banger.
Follow I’VE because they probably have the musical sense I most vibe with.
Follow ITZY for the same reason.
Follow Red Velvet because the music is music.
Follow most JYP groups because of Twice.
Follow SM groups because was a big SNSD fan a decade or so ago.
Follow 2NE1 because of Sandara who I voted for in SCQ.
I was watching Haewon of NMIXX getting that we made it moment and the room got misty.
Probably the most talented group I believe. I really was afraid they would never get the success they are now enjoying. Success in KPop is mostly having songs that people would vibe with and although I loved the complexity of their songs I didn’t like a lot of their early stuff. The mix was just not mixing.
Keep on trying , adjust, learn.
Dream 2026 01 03 0317H
I was studying then suddenly woke up in a submarine. Submarine was in the stlye of Golden Compass aesthetics and it was all glass and bronze like materials. I was wearing a wetsuit crossed with a space suit in the same ancient civilization style. Something looks back at me in the class of the submarine. I put my hand on the glass then a cold feeling envelopes me. Next thing I know I am within what seems like the insides of the creature looking at me. I realized I was dreaming and then forced myself to wake up.
Upon waking up made a sandwich with 3 pieces of bread, 2 pieces of pre cut holiday ham, mayonaisse , and sweet style tomato catsup. Still reeling from what feels like a nightmare.
Two Decades On: Did Get Real Philippines Get It Right About Filipino Dysfunction?
By Karl GarciaOriginally inspired by GetRealPhilippines.com’s essay, first published on August 20, 2002. In the early 2000s, Get Real Philippines (GRP) struck a nerve. At a time when political instability, corruption, and moral fatigue defined the national mood, GRP’s essays offered a bracing diagnosis: the Philippines was not merely suffering from bad leadership—it was crippled […]
Two Decades On: Did Get Real Philippines Get It Right About Filipino Dysfunction?
rePost: The Curious Origins of the Word ‘Scapegoat
The Curious Origins of the Word ‘Scapegoat’
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
The term ‘scapegoat’ is well-known: it refers to an innocent person who has to carry the blame for something on behalf of other people. As the Oxford English Dictionary defines the word: the ‘scapegoat’ is ‘one of two goats that was chosen by lot to be sent alive into the wilderness, the sins of the people having been symbolically laid upon it, while the other was appointed to be sacrificed.’
Impotence 2025 06 23
My dad has end stage kidney disease.
For some miracle God helped us find a donor.
The application to the ethics committee is not proceeding because of all the issues with birth certificates, baptismals, marriage certificates misspellings.
The administrative state is infuriating, depressing.
I feel so impotent.
rePost: Imagining the feudal Philippines with an AI architecture: Society of Honor
Feel Alone 2025 05 24 1224H
Feeling alone right now. Seems everyone is in take mode. I think I need a break. You can’t give what you don’t have and I am feeling spent right now. Just have zero fucks to give. ZFG.
Sad 2025 03 27 0117
Feeling melancholy.
Life just seems so unfair.
So sad that I even went off on the kids.
My kiddos if you are reading this and you are older. Your old man says sorry.
Just so incredibly sad.