Apparently it's been a tradition on this blog to write something on this extra day in February that comes every four years, so here I am, even if I wasn't really planning to write anything. And I say that because it's been a relatively busy day, because I spent it with Shalla's folks, which means spending it with her nephews.
One of them is five, and is my godson. We spent half an hour or so playing Super Smash Bros. on the Switch, finally figuring out how we can play together as a team, only to have him spend most of the match flying away from the opponents rather than actually fighting them. At least he doesn't fly high enough to kick himself out of the stage.
And then her other nephew, age 2, wake up from his nap and sees us playing.
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2/29/2020
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2/22/2020
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To make twenty large meatballs, start by slicing one whole red onion. I assume white works well, too, but they say red onions tend to be sweeter - and besides, that's what's more easily available (and more affordable) here. Slice off the top and the tail, split in half, and then slice against the rings. It doesn't really matter how it looks, but don't chop them into fine pieces. You want half rings, if that makes sense.
Add some oil - any oil will do, but you don't really want to put your fancy oil of choice at this point - in a large pan over low heat, and when that's ready, add the onions. Sprinkle some salt, and stir it around constantly for around, say, twenty minutes or so. You're caramelizing the onions. You want them to get dark and somewhat sweet to the taste. The salt helps bring out the moisture; when all that's cooked away, the sugars get in line and turn into, er, something sweet.
While you do that, soak a cup of bread crumbs in some milk. This would be ideal if you have dried bread crumbs, as I do. If you have fresh bread crumbs, maybe you don't need to do this, but then Alton Brown had some torn up white bread and he soaked that in milk. Anyway, you let that sit for a while. The bread crumbs should sip up the milk and expand a little.
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Add some oil - any oil will do, but you don't really want to put your fancy oil of choice at this point - in a large pan over low heat, and when that's ready, add the onions. Sprinkle some salt, and stir it around constantly for around, say, twenty minutes or so. You're caramelizing the onions. You want them to get dark and somewhat sweet to the taste. The salt helps bring out the moisture; when all that's cooked away, the sugars get in line and turn into, er, something sweet.
While you do that, soak a cup of bread crumbs in some milk. This would be ideal if you have dried bread crumbs, as I do. If you have fresh bread crumbs, maybe you don't need to do this, but then Alton Brown had some torn up white bread and he soaked that in milk. Anyway, you let that sit for a while. The bread crumbs should sip up the milk and expand a little.
Read more »
2/12/2020
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Until last night, I haven't seen a single Studio Ghibli film.
For one, I wasn't really a guy who watched a lot of anime as a kid. I was happy with whatever was on local TV, dubbed in Filipino, unless I had no patience for the premise, which turns out to cover almost all of the more adventure-driven shows that did air here. My ADHD, I guess, was never compatible with mythology, at least until I learned to understand them.
Also, I wasn't the cool kid who knew what was going on outside of my bubble. I mean, you probably had access to these things, but I didn't. This is me being really fascinated with local alternative music in high school. This is me being really fascinated with British radio in college. This is me going to great lengths to understanding K-pop over four years ago. It's when I finally discover something properly, and realize I'm interested in it, and then going relatively deep.
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For one, I wasn't really a guy who watched a lot of anime as a kid. I was happy with whatever was on local TV, dubbed in Filipino, unless I had no patience for the premise, which turns out to cover almost all of the more adventure-driven shows that did air here. My ADHD, I guess, was never compatible with mythology, at least until I learned to understand them.
Also, I wasn't the cool kid who knew what was going on outside of my bubble. I mean, you probably had access to these things, but I didn't. This is me being really fascinated with local alternative music in high school. This is me being really fascinated with British radio in college. This is me going to great lengths to understanding K-pop over four years ago. It's when I finally discover something properly, and realize I'm interested in it, and then going relatively deep.
Read more »
2/11/2020
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I remember this time when former president Noynoy Aquino admitted that he refused to award National Artist honors to actress Nora Aunor because she was convicted of drug possession. He worried, or so he argued, that it would send the wrong message. Something about drugs being okay or whatever.
Of course he really did that because he wanted to send another message, one that he's been sending for the six years he's been president: that he has the moral ascendancy to lead the country. With the blessing of his mother and that yellow ribbon pinned to his chest, he is here to deliver the Philippines from eternal damnation, away from the darkness and into the light. He has done nothing wrong, therefore he is the right man for the job; everyone else who has made mistakes along the way can never be have the supremacy bestowed upon him.
We all know what happened.
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Of course he really did that because he wanted to send another message, one that he's been sending for the six years he's been president: that he has the moral ascendancy to lead the country. With the blessing of his mother and that yellow ribbon pinned to his chest, he is here to deliver the Philippines from eternal damnation, away from the darkness and into the light. He has done nothing wrong, therefore he is the right man for the job; everyone else who has made mistakes along the way can never be have the supremacy bestowed upon him.
We all know what happened.
Read more »
2/02/2020
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On her way to do the laundry yesterday, Shalla saw a Chinese national - one of many who have moved into the flats surrounding ours - walking around with a sign hanging around his neck, much like a pre-schooler on the first day of school would. It said "sorry".
And then she saw another one, also with a sign saying "sorry" - complete with crying emoji - hanging around his neck.
For many reasons I feel so strongly about how inherently racist we really are as a nation. Shalla is one of them. She's half-Taiwanese, although she was born here and grew up here. I never got the chance to meet her father, as he died when she was nine or ten. She carries what you'd call a typical Chinese last name, but she doesn't really look like one; it'll all make sense if you go to Taiwan and see the, uh, natives. She often tells me about how her Chinese heritage becomes part of the conversation when her colleagues talk about the more negative side of the Chinese - you know, the peeing-in-sidewalks, berating-service-crew, flouting-the-rules thing you always see on social media. It's what I was thinking when I wrote this last week.
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And then she saw another one, also with a sign saying "sorry" - complete with crying emoji - hanging around his neck.
For many reasons I feel so strongly about how inherently racist we really are as a nation. Shalla is one of them. She's half-Taiwanese, although she was born here and grew up here. I never got the chance to meet her father, as he died when she was nine or ten. She carries what you'd call a typical Chinese last name, but she doesn't really look like one; it'll all make sense if you go to Taiwan and see the, uh, natives. She often tells me about how her Chinese heritage becomes part of the conversation when her colleagues talk about the more negative side of the Chinese - you know, the peeing-in-sidewalks, berating-service-crew, flouting-the-rules thing you always see on social media. It's what I was thinking when I wrote this last week.
Read more »
Niko Batallones writes The Upper Blog.
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Some photographs have been edited using post-production curves from Shalla Yu.
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