The Fat Man Today

Something Strange This Way Comes

noreply@blogger.com (Martin) — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

So the first day of 2026 saw the end of one of Netflix's biggest (and most well-sustained *cough Daybreak* *cough Dirk Gently*) shows. Stranger Things closed its curtains with a whopping two-hour long cinematic episode that was showed in 500 theaters across America from December 31st to January 1st, and premiered on Netflix on 9AM January 1st, at least in the Philippines.Read more »

Threat of Noise in Communication

noreply@blogger.com (Martin) — Mon, 22 Dec 2025 11:48:18 +0000

I have a bunch of acquaintances - close friends, colleagues - who have a hard time explaining themselves. As a result, they always end up getting misconstrued or brushed aside, which infuriates them even more. And because of this, they end up giving up trying to explain themselves overall, which leads to them being misunderstood in general. But what are the chief barriers of communication that they're facing?

Post-Enrilean Epoch

noreply@blogger.com (Martin) — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 03:06:00 +0000

JPE with Brownie

Kara David is doing some serious manifesting with all that's happening to corrupt government officials lately, that started with the passing of the late, notorious, Juan Ponce Enrile, the biggest political butterfly this country has ever known since the days of the makapili.

Gridlock

noreply@blogger.com (Martin) — Thu, 18 Dec 2025 05:27:00 +0000

Two Saturdays ago - December 3, if memory serves - I was caught in the carmageddon that gripped the north-eastern part of Metro Manila. I consider myself one of the luckier ones since I didn't have a long way to travel, but it was still pretty bad considering that normally, it wouldn't have taken me that much time to make my trip. It was incredibly frustrating and inconvenient, and it was a good indicator of how much needs to be fixed in the metro's traffic infrastructure.Read more »

For your Inconsideration

noreply@blogger.com (Martin) — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 02:30:00 +0000

There's a post circulating online - mostly thru Reddit - about how Filipinos are the friendliest people in the world, but are the least considerate. The post was made by two Americans, and I originally saw the post on Nutribun Republic's wall on Facebook. The post goes on to show how our inconsiderate nature shows up in many, many things that people have come to take for granted as "that's just how things are, jut let it be."Read more »

The Death of Satire

noreply@blogger.com (Martin) — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 02:30:00 +0000

Take a look at that image up there for a second and tell me if that little line – that bit about it being a work of satire – is immediately visible. These days, more and more works of satire are including these one-line disclaimers in their artwork body, perhaps in order to erase any doubt that the content of the piece was, in fact, not based on truth.

Same thing, but different

noreply@blogger.com (Martin) — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 06:40:00 +0000

I remember when blogging was the big thing. It was social media before the age of Twitter, Friendster (I'm dating myself, I know) and Facebook. And my decision to blog again - aside from having a curated space of sorts to show off my writing style - got me to thinking back to when I was one of the bloggers littering the worldwide web with thoughts from my very own soapbox. Read more »

Small Update: Shameless Plugging!

noreply@blogger.com (Martin) — Fri, 05 Dec 2025 06:16:00 +0000

Just a small update ladies and germs. I've never really utilized this channel for self-publication (aside from using it as a reference), but that ends today. If you've stumbled upon my page and you need to have some content written, hit me up! I've placed a link to my Fiverr up on the navigation, so head on over to find out more. Or feel free to message me via the contact form (I've also placed this on the navigation bar, since I don't think people use sidebars nowadays).Read more »

What Happy Gilmore 2 Teaches Us About Great Marketing

noreply@blogger.com (Martin) — Sat, 26 Jul 2025 19:20:00 +0000

Courtesy of Joe Crann / X.com

I just finished watching Happy Gilmore 2, and you know what? It was pretty good. Adam Sandler might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but let’s not kid ourselves. His movies from the ’90s and early 2000s were comedy gold. So good, in fact, that they made him enough money to build his own production company. Say what you want, but the man had a formula that worked.

Comfort in Nostalgia

noreply@blogger.com (Martin) — Mon, 31 Jul 2023 01:55:00 +0000

One of the habits my dad picked up after his lung popped was watching TV nonstop. His preferred background noise of choice was anything cable by ABS-CBN, be it ANC Live, Teleradyo, or Jeepney TV. Jeepney TV was especially one of his favorites; this cable channel featured a lot of ABS-CBN's soaps from bygone years, which he apparently enjoyed.

AI wish I, wish I could

noreply@blogger.com (Martin) — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 05:27:00 +0000

It's fairly easy to think of the rise of AI as the next revolution in the history of humanity, in that the industrial revolution essentially created jobs for individuals by running craftsmen out of business. The blacksmith, smelter, and basically many fabricants in the old ways had to bow down to the superior manufacturing power of the fabrication plant, and the parallels between that upheaval and the one that’s burgeoning today are just too similar to each other.

A very strange year

noreply@blogger.com (Martin) — Wed, 19 Oct 2022 03:27:00 +0000

It's been a year of many things for me, and while usually an introduction like that carries with it a very strong aura of foreboding (!), this post is one of thankful reminiscing, where we go down the (fairly recent) memory lane of when yours truly was part of the presidential campaign of one Mdme. Leni Robredo.

The vice of unreasonable rage

noreply@blogger.com (Martin) — Mon, 17 Oct 2022 02:30:00 +0000

I spent the end of the week steeped in anger. I was angry because my internet provider was being unsatisfactory. It was affecting my work, and it had the potential to get expensive. So when my ISP - of whom I shall write about in another post - I snapped. And in an effort to lessen the impact of this post, I shall grace it with a picture of my sleeping tomcat.

The passing of Mon Legaspi

noreply@blogger.com (Martin) — Mon, 10 Oct 2022 03:30:00 +0000

Last week, one of my own personal heroes passed away. Mon Legaspi of Wolfgang, The Dawn, and Kontra was 54 when he went into cardiac arrest. He was in the US at the time, and the news was broken to the general public by his current band, The Dawn, via their social media page.

Zip-a-dee-day

noreply@blogger.com (Martin) — Fri, 07 Oct 2022 02:30:00 +0000

The very first song I played on the guitar was from the Eraserheads' third album, Cutterpillow. I remember spending an entire night trying to teach myself the E and A chords on my tiny Lumanog starter guitar. The Jingle songhits I was studying had the picture of Michael Jackson triumphantly raising his arm, undoubtedly taken from his then-recently completed Philippines leg of the HIStory world tour. I was thirteen years old then, and I would begin what would turn out to be a very long love story with music, and it all began with the Philippines' fab four.

On structure versus agency

noreply@blogger.com (Martin) — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 06:15:00 +0000

One of the things that you learn early on in life is that hard work will get you places, and that hard work will be everything you need to get ahead in life. Right, so that's complete and utter bullshit. Because honestly, at the end of the day, hard work will get you places, but how far you get to go will depend on your starting point.

What's cookin' doc?

noreply@blogger.com (Martin) — Wed, 28 Sep 2022 05:47:00 +0000

The last time I cooked for anybody on a regular basis, I was living on my own in Cagayan de Oro. Back then, I was limited to oatmeal and stuff that usually came from a can.

Why we keep talking about martial law

noreply@blogger.com (Martin) — Wed, 21 Sep 2022 07:25:00 +0000

Today marks the 50th anniversary of when martial law was signed into law by Ferdinand Marcos back in 1972. I don't normally post about these things, but in this age of misinformation, disinformation, and social media, I think it's important to talk about these things again.

Resting

noreply@blogger.com (Martin) — Mon, 19 Sep 2022 02:00:00 +0000

Something I read somewhere recently: stop asking yourself why you're so lazy, and start asking yourself why you need to rest so much. To ape Good Mythical Morning, I decided to talk about that today, because for some reason, I find myself drawn towards rest more often these days, much to my frustration - but maybe I shouldn't be frustrated about having to rest after all.

FILE ONE [&_&_&]

noreply@blogger.com (Martin) — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 02:30:00 +0000

This is a work in progress. Story starts after the jump.

Turncoatism!

noreply@blogger.com (Martin) — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 07:44:00 +0000

As I write this, I had recently just read that former BBM supporters were pushing for the president to resign his position in order to make way for the vice president to take over. Opposition supporters - of which I am a part of, but more on that some other time - are frothing at the bit, preparing their I told you sos and Here it comes, many giddy with anticipation at the shitshow that the government is slowly turning into.

The Queen is dead. Long live (and God save) the King.

noreply@blogger.com (Martin) — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 02:30:00 +0000

Queen Elizabeth II passed away today. I don't think I know enough about the British monarchy to be able to say much in terms of a proper tribute to the lady - my girlfriend follows royalty more closely than I ever did - but I think it's important to note that she was probably the longest (and first - don't quote me on that because my parents may have exposed me to Rey Juan Carlos and Reina Sofia before that) monarch that I've ever encountered.

Dealing with uncertainty

noreply@blogger.com (Martin) — Wed, 07 Sep 2022 02:30:00 +0000

This article originally started out as an article on the illness my dad had last 2016. Then I put it on the back burner for so long, that I forgot it existed. Today, both my parents have passed away, and I can no longer write an article about how it is to recover, as a family, from the ordeals dad went through without looking at it through the lens of more recent events, which I believe is unfair to it because those were a completely different set of emotions and circumstances that are sure to be overshadowed by their passing within the past two years.

A (short) meditation on the heroic minute

noreply@blogger.com (Martin) — Mon, 05 Sep 2022 02:30:00 +0000

Sleeping patterns are not my friend. Just as with everything else, having a regular sleep pattern requires a little bit of discipline, and that can be pretty taxing, considering everything each individual has to work on every day.

The Death of the Doctor

noreply@blogger.com (Martin) — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 03:20:00 +0000

I saw a Quora thread that was basically a deconstruction of what made the current seasons of Doctor Who terrible. You can read it here if you want to scream at somebody else who isn't me because you can scream at me all you want and I wouldn't care.