Gary Valenciano shares the story and personal meaning behind the OFW anthem 'Babalik Ka Rin'
Gary Valenciano shared stories of OFWs, including a tearful couple in Houston who said the song reminded them of leaving and missing home.
Gary Valenciano turned down a potential US career to remain in the Philippines with his children, saying family came first.
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ABC News
44 minutes ago
- ABC News
Films and video games have age classifications. Should books?
When looking for their next book recommendations, Sylvana, 19, and Ellie, 12, don't tend to browse their local library or bookstore. "If I want to get a certain book, I … just look it up on TikTok," Sylvana says. "I'll be like, 'Oh, what's the best book to read?' "We have found a lot of books that we have gotten into from, like, YouTube," Ellie says. However, Sylvana says the recommendations on these platforms aren't always spot on. "I know my little sister, she was reading some books that she shouldn't have been." The growing influence of BookTok, BookTube, and Bookstagram has a researcher concerned about the content young people are engaging with, and they are calling for an industry-wide book rating classification system. "It really is about, 'Don't judge a book by its cover,'" says Emma Hussey, a digital criminologist and child safeguarding expert at the Australian Catholic University's Institute of Child Protection Studies. "Just because there are cartoons on the front, [it] doesn't necessarily mean that it's going to be developmentally appropriate for a 12 to 17-year-old," she says. Dr Hussey's latest research looked at 20 books that are popular on BookTok, analysing them for domestic violence behaviours, other violence, including torture, murder and destruction of property, and sexually explicit scenes. "Of those books, 65 per cent of them had these domestic violence adjacent behaviours on the page," she says. "The themes that we were seeing were things like manipulation, intimidation, physical restraint, dubious consent, stalking. "At one point, there was a GPS tracker used … we know that technology-facilitated domestic violence is on the increase. "I think, more so than not, you'll find degradation and put-downs littered throughout also." The algorithm on these platforms is another concern for Dr Hussey, as she says it is often based on popularity rather than reader safety, so it will sometimes push adult fiction towards young adult, or YA, readers. Young adult fiction is a category of its own in publishing and is generally aimed at readers between the ages of 12 and 18. "I know that there's a system that authors use to know whether their books are marketed to a younger young adult audience or an older young adult audience [but] that's not made explicit or clear in bookstores or libraries," Dr Hussey says. Children's book specialist Tracy Glover, a bookseller in Adelaide, says she has noticed a shift in the reading habits of young people since the rise of social media. "The … students from the local schools, often when they come in, they come in with a specific request," Ms Glover says. "It might be something they've talked about or someone's mentioned at school; it might be something that's very current on Netflix or TikTok. In saying this, Ms Glover also believes the young adult collection is clearly labelled, at least in the store she works in, which helps guide young people to age-appropriate texts. "We have a fairly clear boundary just by geographically where the [young adult] books are." Additionally, Ms Glover says her bookstore, like many, has age recommendations on a lot of its YA fiction. These recommendations are guided by staff discretion and databases such as Common Sense Media, which are designed with young people's reading and safety in mind. "It's very rare that we have to say to a reader, 'We're just not sure that's going to be suitable for your age level,' but if we felt strongly enough, we would just give that warning," she says. "The 12 to 14-year-olds, we're very mindful with what they choose and what we would recommend for them. As someone who spends a lot of time in bookstores, Faith, 21, says it's easy to identify which areas are dedicated to YA fiction, and she is concerned about the impact age classifications could have on information. "Hard ratings like, 'You can't read this until you're 'X' age,' I think that's limiting people being able to share ideas with each other," she says. As far as what a classification system might look like in practice, Dr Hussey says we don't have to look far to find models that already exist. "We have implemented these sorts of classification systems across streaming websites, across movies that you purchase in store, so it's not a new system," she says. "It's just about bringing that to this new medium that we've not previously considered before." Young adult author Will Kostakis says the way we experience books is fundamentally different from other media, so taking a classification system built for films or video games and applying it to books wouldn't work. "The thing about books is you can actually go into the emotions of an action — you have a character's thoughts throughout," he says. "You would have the character reckoning with consequences afterwards, thinking about it, living in it. Owen, 18, agrees that books sit in a category of their own. "Movies are a bit different because, obviously, you're watching it play out; reading, it's your imagination and you can just close the book if it's too much for you." The idea of classification also raises questions around censorship. "I think it stretches to a level of potential censorship, whether it be unintentional or not," Owen says. "With films, you have to pay to get it tested and see whether or not it's appropriate or not. "I think for like young independent authors, that might stop them from being able to publish their books … I don't think that's a great thing either." Mr Kostakis shares similar concerns, particularly around who determines how texts are classified. "Would it be parents? Would it be politicians? Would it be booksellers? Would it be, you know, publishers?" he says. "The thing is, publishers and booksellers already choose and engaged parents already choose — they are talking to their kids. "We already have rules in place to protect kids, but that can be exploited, and so when we talk about classifications, I'm always worried about not just the next step, but the step four points down the road. Dr Hussey insists this isn't about sanitising literature, but more about increasing awareness. "This is not about banning," she says. "Censorship is about the denial of access, the stopping of access. "This [classification system] does not push or advocate for the removal of access to content. "It's more about giving respect to young adult readers, flagging content that may not be developmentally appropriate for them at that stage, or they may not be ready for." Ms Glover believes more focus should instead be placed on educating readers. "There has to be some responsibility taken from the reader themselves and then from their support system," she says. Mr Kostakis agrees and says we should expect more from our readers. "I grew up in the era of Twilight, all the teen girls in my life weren't like, 'Wow, I can't wait for a 108-year-old who's posing as a teenager to sweep me off my feet,'" he says. "They are getting the feels and all of the tropes and being like, 'Cool. This is a bit romantic. This is a bit spicy,' but I don't think they're looking at these books as manuals on how to live their romantic lives." For Ben, 20, any form of age classification implies that some topics are inherently inappropriate for kids, which he disagrees with. Instead, he thinks young people should be able to access books that reflect the realities of their day-to-day. "When I was like 15, 16, there [weren't] any books that I felt like the content would be super different from what you just experienced in like your daily life. "You're becoming an adult, so you should be exposed to like everything."
News.com.au
13 hours ago
- News.com.au
Belinda Carlisle on The Go-Go's and THAT wild night with Ozzy Osbourne
It's been a year of mixed blessings for Belinda Carlisle. There have been plenty of positives for the singer, who turns 67 today: a rapturously received set with her former band The Go-Go's at Coachella in April, her first English-language solo album in 29 years, and perhaps most importantly, 20 years of sobriety. But there has also been sadness. Carlisle admits she cried when she heard rock great Ozzy Osbourne had died last month. She knew the singer socially, and wasn't shocked to hear that he had passed away, after decades of hard living followed by a Parkinson's disease diagnosis in 2019. However, it served as a reminder of her own wilder days. When The Go-Go's played alongside the Black Sabbath frontman at 1985's Rock In Rio festival, pianist Charlotte Caffey was kicked out of Osbourne's dressing room for being too rowdy – which, as Carlisle points out today, 'is a really hard thing to accomplish. 'They were really fun,' Carlisle says of the mega-selling post-punk outfit, over Zoom from her home in Mexico City. 'The thing is, we were doing the same thing as the guys. But because you're women – or girls – everybody was like, 'That is scandalous.' 'Rock In Rio was something else. It was quite the pinnacle of The Go-Go's partying. I'm so glad I did all that. I have really funny memories … until it started to not be funny, when it got to be a big problem. We were young, we were single, we had money, we were famous. And we took advantage of every single minute, as any young rock band should.' Even more poignant for Carlisle was the death in June of Beach Boys creative force Brian Wilson. Despite his years of ill health, she still wasn't prepared to farewell the artist she says influenced her musical tastes more than any other, from her childhood in '60s Los Angeles to today. She guested with The Beach Boys on stage, and describes Wilson agreeing to sing backing vocals for her 1996 song 'California' as 'one of the best days ever. My first album was Pet Sounds,' she continues. 'He's part of my DNA.' Memories of Carlisle's home state were also the driving force for her new album Once Upon A Time In California, which features covers of songs by artists such as Dionne Warwick, Harry Nilsson and The Carpenters. Their music offered her an escape from her 'dysfunctional family' – a religious mother and an alcoholic, abusive stepfather – and spurred a life-changing notion. 'I lost myself in the pop music on the radio,' she recalls. 'Every day after school, I'd go to my best friend's house. We'd listen and sing along. And I thought, 'Maybe one day I want to be a singer.' That was a fantasy I had as a little girl.' After The Go-Go's broke up in 1985, Carlisle had a run of enduring solo hits including 'Heaven Is A Place On Earth', 'Summer Rain' and 'Leave A Light On'. But the '90s and 2000s brought diminishing returns as her addictions took hold and music tastes changed. She was dropped by her record label a day after turning 40, but Carlisle says she now feels liberated by 'not being on a treadmill anymore' trying to recreate her chart heyday. Plus, she adds with a laugh, 'All the good songs are going to be taken up by younger artists like Miley.' Last year, Carlisle finally made good on her long-awaited tour of Australia, and says she enjoyed it so much that she plans to return in early 2027: 'I did discover Tim Tams, and I can't wait to come back and get some more.' The Go-Go's and their perennially difficult intra-band relationships remain on hiatus, but she has learnt to 'never say never with that band. It's a really complicated dynamic, and it's been complicated for 40-odd years. We all keep in touch. Everybody is civil. There was a lot of healing and love going on this time, which was nice.' Next year, Carlisle will celebrate 40 years of marriage to producer husband Morgan Mason. It's one of her proudest achievements, she says, along with the couple's son (writer/commentator James Duke Mason, 33), The Go-Go's 2021 Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame induction, and the ubiquitous 'Heaven Is a Place on Earth'. So too is the sobriety she says turned a life that was shrinking into something that is 'so huge now. It was probably the most important thing I've ever done in my life,' she adds. 'Because I wouldn't be here if I didn't. That's when the most interesting part of my life began.' Once Upon A Time In California (Demon Music) is out August 29. Read the full interview with Belinda Carlisle in tomorrow's issue of Stellar.
SBS Australia
17 hours ago
- SBS Australia
Chanel Olive Thomas on embracing her Filipino roots and breaking pageant norms
Chanel has earned multiple titles, including Miss Philippines Air 2015 and Miss Supranational 2017, solidifying her place in pageant history. Growing up in Australia, she struggled to fit in, but it was in the Philippines where she felt fully accepted as both Filipino and Australian embracing her natural self. She returned to the Philippines to join the Miss Universe Philippines stage in 2025 as a married woman and the oldest candidate, challenging traditional pageant norms. LISTEN TO THE PODCAST SBS Filipino 32:37 Filipino Growing up in Queensland, I just wanted blonde hair, fair skin and blue eyes to fit in because that's all I saw around me. In modeling, I was often told I looked too 'exotic', not Australian enough. But coming to the Philippines was my identity awakening, and for the first time, I felt accepted for exactly who I am. Chanel Olive Thomas Nayer – Miss Supranational 2017, Miss Philippines Air 2015, Miss Universe Philippines 2025 Nueva Ecija and Filipino Society of Melbourne representative 📢 Where to Catch SBS Filipino
