5SR - February 5, 2024

Hitha on Lunar New Year, the Hallmark Channel, and the most important newscaster in Mexico

Author

Hitha Palepu
February 05, 2024

Today’s curator is the founder of #5SmartReads, Hitha Palepu. She’s a consummate multihyphenate - CEO of Rhoshan Pharmaceuticals, author of WE’RE SPEAKING: The Life Lessons of Kamala Harris and How to Pack: Travel Smart for Any Trip, and professional speaker. Hitha is an unabashed fan of Taco Bell, Philadelphia sports teams & F1, romance novels, and is a mediocre crafter. She lives in NYC with her husband and two sons.

I’ve been thinking about the Medicare-led drug pricing negotiations that were authorized under the Inflation Reduction Act - specifically, how Medicare will calculate the price they propose to manufacturers.

It’s not focused alone on the cost of goods sold, or factoring in R&D into their final price. Other factors are important. especially what other options - generic and brand - are on the market (and both their efficacy and price).

I hope to see some transparency from Medicare on how they calculated their offer price for these first 10 drugs, both because I’m a nerd and to offer a level of transparency that we don’t get from commercial biopharma companies.

That Hallmark Channel had more viewers than CNN or MSNBC is fairly surprising and a warning that we all could use a Hallmark Channel movie, especially in these turbulent, depressing times.

I think Elmo is still recovering from the Internet’s trauma dump and Larry David assault.

But this isn’t about that. It’s about the unlikely rise of Hallmark Channel, in an age where cable networks are on the decline and the rom-com void is depressingly large.

“Disdain for Loveuary, and Hallmark programming in general, is tinged with nervousness. It’s edged in a fear of how deeply timeworn tropes appeal to realists, idealists and cynics. We’re all afraid. We’re all tired. So we are susceptible to living vicariously through yet another couple sealing their love at a Valentine’s Day ball. Will we suffocate in this cozy secondhand joy? Will we do the work of loving one another? Of being our own cavalry ? Because if not? That’s a horror show right there. Those are the real walking-dead numbers.”

I, for one, cannot wait to watch Deborah in Sense & Sensibility.

I think drag queens make everything better.

They know how to deliver a performance. They bring me immense joy. They’re artists. And they are incredible at making people feel welcome and that they belong.

Which is why they should be delivering some news broadcasts. And that’s exactly what Guillermo Barraza - better known as Amanda - does when the lights go on for “La Verdrag.”

And not without immense risk - death threats, hate comments, and a spike in targeted killlings of LGBTQ+ people and journalists in Mexico over the past 6 years.

“Growing up gay in the conservative northern city of Culiacán, Sinaloa, Barraza never saw gay characters he identified with on a deeper level staring back at him from the screen of his family’s clunky television.

On news channels, the only time gay people were brought up was following a hate crime or a brutal murder. In school, people would go out of their way to not appear gay. With a family that continues to struggle to accept his public gender expression, Barraza said he only grew into himself when he became involved in a theater community, where his character of Amanda was born.

“In Sinaloa, they teach you not to be gay.” Barraza said. “Historically, we were always ridiculed, an object of entertainment.””

My husband and I both love Apple TV’s Mythic Quest, which gave me a deeper appreciation for video games. Specifically, the stories that really make a game.

Brittney Morris is one of the creative forces behind some of Sri’s favorite games - ones that I couldn’t help but watch for long stretches as well. And I am so glad she has a number of books out, because I am about to read them all. This quote from the interview shows just how important representation - a full-spectrum, honest version - is, and why she works in this industry:

“When we turn on the news, we hear about violence against Black people, rampant throughout the country and the world. When talking about something like Black futurism, which comes up in Spider-Man 2 in Hailey’s character, there are ways to build a bright, optimistic, joy-filled future on a foundation that’s maybe mixed and maybe not so joy-filled. It’s all about finding and creating your own safe space where you don’t have to police yourself or diminish yourself for people who may be uncomfortable with who you are.”

A very happy early Lunar New Year to all who celebrate!

I really loved learning about how this holiday is celebrated in different countries and within the Asian diaspora, and how it’s centered on the same tenants and values as so many holidays celebrated in different religions and countries.

Food. Reflection and prayer. Gifting others. Coming together.

It’s a beautiful holiday, and it has me committing to celebrating Diwali differently this year (declining more than saying yes, planning activities to do with my kids, decorating our home, learning more about our religion).

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