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Aesthetic Distance

  • ABOUT ELIZA
  • THE AESTHETIC DISTANCE PODCAST
  • DECOLONIZE YOUR BOOKSHELVES
  • BLOG
  • GALLERY
  • CONTACT ME
  • MALAYA MOVEMENT
Photography, creative direction and styling by me. Intern: Kate Christofano. Model: Felicia Dona. All clothing by Missguided. Shoes: model's own. Hat: Eliza's own. 

Photography, creative direction and styling by me. Intern: Kate Christofano. Model: Felicia Dona. All clothing by Missguided. Shoes: model's own. Hat: Eliza's own. 

The Crush: Carli Bybel x Missguided

July 30, 2016 in Photoshoots
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Recent Posts

  • Ask Me Anything 5
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  • Events 21
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  • Outfits 103
  • Personal 120
  • Photoshoots 71
  • Travel 3
  • Videos 7
  • podcast 2
Featured
It's That Time Of Year Again: The Charm City Night Market Festival
Sep 17, 2019
It's That Time Of Year Again: The Charm City Night Market Festival
Sep 17, 2019

Charm City Night Market is back for its second year! On Saturday, September 21, make your way back down to Baltimore’s historic Chinatown to experience it all over again. Just look for the familiar paper lanterns that will stretch all the way to Center Plaza making the night market almost twice as big. The best part? I’m back as HOST.

Sep 17, 2019
The Problem With The Body Positivity Movement
Aug 29, 2019
The Problem With The Body Positivity Movement
Aug 29, 2019

The body positivity and the no makeup movements, with their empowerment slogans such as, "you are beautiful just the way you are," are still equating happiness, morality and self-worth with beauty. That's the real issue here.

Aug 29, 2019
Tama na! Sobra na! People Power na!
Jul 16, 2019
Tama na! Sobra na! People Power na!
Jul 16, 2019

Malaya Movement is calling on all Baltimore/DMV Filipinos and our allies to join us in DC on Monday, July 22nd as a massive show of opposition against Rodrigo Duterte and his regime as he delivers his 4th State of the Nation Address (SONA).

Jul 16, 2019
The Fourth of July is a Fraud
Jul 3, 2019
The Fourth of July is a Fraud
Jul 3, 2019

The Fourth of July is a fraud. Whose independence was it anyway? The Founding Fathers wanted independence and freedom only for a select few. It's no different from our leadership today.

Jul 3, 2019
Concentration Camps Have Always Existed In The U.S. And It's Time To Admit It
Jun 26, 2019
Concentration Camps Have Always Existed In The U.S. And It's Time To Admit It
Jun 26, 2019

Why are people so numb to what is actually happening to families in the migrant detention centers, yet they get so emotional at the utter mention of the term “concentration camp”? How did this moment come into being?

Jun 26, 2019
Decolonize Your Bookshelves Launch with Gina Apostol - Recap
Jun 7, 2019
Decolonize Your Bookshelves Launch with Gina Apostol - Recap
Jun 7, 2019

Decolonize Your Bookshelves launched last night and was a success! This series of events is not just about diversifying your reads to include more Filipino authors. It’s about making our own voices dominant. It’s also about the intersection of literature and activism.

Jun 7, 2019
Where To Find Me In June
May 29, 2019
Where To Find Me In June
May 29, 2019

Where you can find me in June.

May 29, 2019
The Path to Dual Citizenship in the Philippines (Am I A Balikbayan Yet?)
May 24, 2019
The Path to Dual Citizenship in the Philippines (Am I A Balikbayan Yet?)
May 24, 2019

For me, it’s about more than just voting rights. It’s also about my personal ties to the Philippines and how much I want to strengthen them. My maternal and paternal sides of the family are still there. And I want my kids to be Filipino in both ethnicity AND nationality.

May 24, 2019
Let's Set The Record Straight About Immigration
May 18, 2019
Let's Set The Record Straight About Immigration
May 18, 2019

It’s time to set the story straight. Not everyone who immigrated to the U.S. actually wanted to come here. My parents didn’t. They wanted to stay in the Philippines with their families and their friends. So why did they move here? It’s time for a brief history lesson…

May 18, 2019
Why Is Everyone So Mad About The Philippine Midterm Elections?
May 17, 2019
Why Is Everyone So Mad About The Philippine Midterm Elections?
May 17, 2019

Gut instinct, I knew that the 2019 Philippine midterm elections that took place on Monday, May 13th would be a shitshow. But I hoped for the best anyway. The day after the elections, I woke up to check social media and was disappointed and angry but worse…I wasn’t at all surprised.

May 17, 2019
Your Classics Aren't My Classics! Deconstructing Literary Canon For Asian Americans
Apr 30, 2019
Your Classics Aren't My Classics! Deconstructing Literary Canon For Asian Americans
Apr 30, 2019

I grew up thinking that the most important books were written by white men and women. I was wrong. Entire generations of Asian Americans have been erased or misrepresented. It wasn’t that we were voiceless all these years. It’s that we weren’t being heard.

Apr 30, 2019
Dancing Queen: Interview With A Stripper
Apr 20, 2019
Dancing Queen: Interview With A Stripper
Apr 20, 2019

There is something about a woman who is willing to show off her body without shame that enrages a certain type of (terrible) person. And despite the ubiquity of strip clubs all over the country, so little is known about the workers inside. I talked to Tiffany* and she gave me the insider scoop.

Apr 20, 2019
People Power in DC: The National Summit for Human Rights & Democracy
Apr 12, 2019
People Power in DC: The National Summit for Human Rights & Democracy
Apr 12, 2019

Last weekend, I attended the National Summit for Human Rights and Democracy in the Philippines in Washington, D.C. More than 350 people from various organizations came from different cities across the United States to participate in one of the largest political summits gathering Filipinos to unite against the fascist Duterte administration and U.S. imperialism in the Philippines.

Apr 12, 2019
The Dark Arts Of Manipulating The Media
Apr 2, 2019
The Dark Arts Of Manipulating The Media
Apr 2, 2019

When trolls and media repression represent the dominant culture, how can we have faith that our news hasn't been manipulated for the sake of hits?

Apr 2, 2019
Join Me In DC April 6-8th
Mar 26, 2019
Join Me In DC April 6-8th
Mar 26, 2019

Join me in D.C. from April 6-8 for the National Summit for Human Rights and Democracy in the Philippines. I will be a speaker at the Defending Press Freedom panel.

Mar 26, 2019
One Night at Arundel Mills Live! Casino & Hotel
Mar 11, 2019
One Night at Arundel Mills Live! Casino & Hotel
Mar 11, 2019

One night at Live! Casino and Hotel in Baltimore. My review.

Mar 11, 2019
The Arrest of Maria Ressa and the Rise of Illiberal Democracy in the Philippines
Feb 18, 2019
The Arrest of Maria Ressa and the Rise of Illiberal Democracy in the Philippines
Feb 18, 2019

Aesthetic Distance condemns the recent arrest of Filipino journalist Maria Ressa, co-founder and CEO of online news outlet, Rappler, and a vocal critic of President Rodrigo Duterte's regime. 

Feb 18, 2019
Events in February 2019
Feb 6, 2019
Events in February 2019
Feb 6, 2019

If you are in the Baltimore/DC area this month, here are some events where you can find me!

Feb 6, 2019
Are Superhero And Comic Book Franchises Ruining The Film Industry?
Jan 26, 2019
Are Superhero And Comic Book Franchises Ruining The Film Industry?
Jan 26, 2019

With streaming services like Netflix producing Oscar-nominated masterpieces like Roma and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, what we are witnessing is a dismantling and changing of the guard in Hollywood that is on par with the end of the silent film era and the collapse of the studio system. In the meantime, Hollywood will continue to pump out franchise features and movie “events” to grab our attention and lure us out to the theaters.

Jan 26, 2019
The Backlash Against Marie Kondo is So Stupid (and Racist)
Jan 20, 2019
The Backlash Against Marie Kondo is So Stupid (and Racist)
Jan 20, 2019

Have we really progressed as a society when it comes to how we view Asian women? What is really behind the backlash against (very benign, very gentle, very sweet) Marie Kondo?

Jan 20, 2019
The AASLE 2019 Conference
Jan 15, 2019
The AASLE 2019 Conference
Jan 15, 2019

Yesterday was an amazing experience at the AASLE (African American Student Leadership Experience) conference in DC. I participated in a discussion panel about being an Asian American creative and facilitated a workshop with students from all over the country. I left feeling so inspired and motivated!

Jan 15, 2019
Events in January 2019
Jan 6, 2019
Events in January 2019
Jan 6, 2019

Happy New Year!! I can’t believe Aesthetic Distance is in its 5th year now! I hope everyone had a wonderful, restful holiday. I know I did. And now I’m ready to get back in action. Here are a few events that I’ll be hosting or am involved in this month.

Jan 6, 2019
The Best of 2018: My Greatest Hits
Dec 28, 2018
The Best of 2018: My Greatest Hits
Dec 28, 2018

As 2018 comes to an end, I had a look back at everything I wrote, shot, podcasted, and collaborated on this year and boy did I have a lot of projects. I learned so much and met so many amazing people. My brand is constantly evolving to become more and more of a community and providing a perspective not often found in mainstream media. And I wrote A LOT of essays.

Dec 28, 2018
Decolonize Your Bookshelves
Dec 23, 2018
Decolonize Your Bookshelves
Dec 23, 2018

My book club is coming soon. Get ready to decolonize your bookshelf in 2019. I hope to host some great, thought-provoking discussions and open people’s eyes to what they’ve been missing by relegating Asian American writing as “special interest” and therefore, inessential. To us Asians, these works are absolutely necessary to discovering our own identity and liberation.

Dec 23, 2018
Corporations That Encourage Charitable Giving Are Only Helping Themselves
Dec 21, 2018
Corporations That Encourage Charitable Giving Are Only Helping Themselves
Dec 21, 2018

Since it's Christmas, be wary of any corporation that encourages charity (like Walmart and countless universities across the U.S.). They could just, you know, pay their fucking employees a livable salary.

Dec 21, 2018
My Favorite Filipino Christmas (Pasko) Traditions
Dec 19, 2018
My Favorite Filipino Christmas (Pasko) Traditions
Dec 19, 2018

With the vast majority of Filipinos being Catholic, the most prominent holiday celebrated in the Philippines is Christmas (“Pasko” in Tagalog).

Dec 19, 2018
The Bmore Creatives Gallery Opening: December 13th
Dec 9, 2018
The Bmore Creatives Gallery Opening: December 13th
Dec 9, 2018

Thank you so, so much to The Bmore Creatives for naming me among the city's most influential figures. As part of this recognition, the above portrait of me will be on display on Dooby's gallery wall alongside an inspiring group of other Baltimore makers, artists, and movers and shakers.

Dec 9, 2018
We Need To Change Course, But What's That Mean?
Dec 4, 2018
We Need To Change Course, But What's That Mean?
Dec 4, 2018

During the Trump presidency, many Americans have found themselves desperately trying to not just point out the longstanding problems in our society but actually find pathways to fix them. But what does that mean?

Dec 4, 2018
Coming soon...The Aesthetic Distance Podcast
Nov 20, 2018
Coming soon...The Aesthetic Distance Podcast
Nov 20, 2018

I’ve been collaborating with so many of my friends and colleagues that I’ve met on this huge project of mine and it’s almost ready for launch! Get ready….

Nov 20, 2018
King of the Yees at CenterStage
Nov 12, 2018
King of the Yees at CenterStage
Nov 12, 2018

While the last event was about revitalizing the historic Chinatown neighborhood here in Baltimore, the event at Center Stage was about understanding where your parents came from and in doing so, discovering your own origin story.

Nov 12, 2018
Featured
It's That Time Of Year Again: The Charm City Night Market Festival
It's That Time Of Year Again: The Charm City Night Market Festival

Charm City Night Market is back for its second year! On Saturday, September 21, make your way back down to Baltimore’s historic Chinatown to experience it all over again. Just look for the familiar paper lanterns that will stretch all the way to Center Plaza making the night market almost twice as big. The best part? I’m back as HOST.

The Problem With The Body Positivity Movement
The Problem With The Body Positivity Movement

The body positivity and the no makeup movements, with their empowerment slogans such as, "you are beautiful just the way you are," are still equating happiness, morality and self-worth with beauty. That's the real issue here.

Tama na! Sobra na! People Power na!
Tama na! Sobra na! People Power na!

Malaya Movement is calling on all Baltimore/DMV Filipinos and our allies to join us in DC on Monday, July 22nd as a massive show of opposition against Rodrigo Duterte and his regime as he delivers his 4th State of the Nation Address (SONA).

The Fourth of July is a Fraud
The Fourth of July is a Fraud

The Fourth of July is a fraud. Whose independence was it anyway? The Founding Fathers wanted independence and freedom only for a select few. It's no different from our leadership today.

Concentration Camps Have Always Existed In The U.S. And It's Time To Admit It
Concentration Camps Have Always Existed In The U.S. And It's Time To Admit It

Why are people so numb to what is actually happening to families in the migrant detention centers, yet they get so emotional at the utter mention of the term “concentration camp”? How did this moment come into being?

Decolonize Your Bookshelves Launch with Gina Apostol - Recap
Decolonize Your Bookshelves Launch with Gina Apostol - Recap

Decolonize Your Bookshelves launched last night and was a success! This series of events is not just about diversifying your reads to include more Filipino authors. It’s about making our own voices dominant. It’s also about the intersection of literature and activism.

Where To Find Me In June
Where To Find Me In June

Where you can find me in June.

The Path to Dual Citizenship in the Philippines (Am I A Balikbayan Yet?)
The Path to Dual Citizenship in the Philippines (Am I A Balikbayan Yet?)

For me, it’s about more than just voting rights. It’s also about my personal ties to the Philippines and how much I want to strengthen them. My maternal and paternal sides of the family are still there. And I want my kids to be Filipino in both ethnicity AND nationality.

Let's Set The Record Straight About Immigration
Let's Set The Record Straight About Immigration

It’s time to set the story straight. Not everyone who immigrated to the U.S. actually wanted to come here. My parents didn’t. They wanted to stay in the Philippines with their families and their friends. So why did they move here? It’s time for a brief history lesson…

Why Is Everyone So Mad About The Philippine Midterm Elections?
Why Is Everyone So Mad About The Philippine Midterm Elections?

Gut instinct, I knew that the 2019 Philippine midterm elections that took place on Monday, May 13th would be a shitshow. But I hoped for the best anyway. The day after the elections, I woke up to check social media and was disappointed and angry but worse…I wasn’t at all surprised.

Your Classics Aren't My Classics! Deconstructing Literary Canon For Asian Americans
Your Classics Aren't My Classics! Deconstructing Literary Canon For Asian Americans

I grew up thinking that the most important books were written by white men and women. I was wrong. Entire generations of Asian Americans have been erased or misrepresented. It wasn’t that we were voiceless all these years. It’s that we weren’t being heard.

Dancing Queen: Interview With A Stripper
Dancing Queen: Interview With A Stripper

There is something about a woman who is willing to show off her body without shame that enrages a certain type of (terrible) person. And despite the ubiquity of strip clubs all over the country, so little is known about the workers inside. I talked to Tiffany* and she gave me the insider scoop.

People Power in DC: The National Summit for Human Rights & Democracy
People Power in DC: The National Summit for Human Rights & Democracy

Last weekend, I attended the National Summit for Human Rights and Democracy in the Philippines in Washington, D.C. More than 350 people from various organizations came from different cities across the United States to participate in one of the largest political summits gathering Filipinos to unite against the fascist Duterte administration and U.S. imperialism in the Philippines.

The Dark Arts Of Manipulating The Media
The Dark Arts Of Manipulating The Media

When trolls and media repression represent the dominant culture, how can we have faith that our news hasn't been manipulated for the sake of hits?

Join Me In DC April 6-8th
Join Me In DC April 6-8th

Join me in D.C. from April 6-8 for the National Summit for Human Rights and Democracy in the Philippines. I will be a speaker at the Defending Press Freedom panel.

One Night at Arundel Mills Live! Casino & Hotel
One Night at Arundel Mills Live! Casino & Hotel

One night at Live! Casino and Hotel in Baltimore. My review.

The Arrest of Maria Ressa and the Rise of Illiberal Democracy in the Philippines
The Arrest of Maria Ressa and the Rise of Illiberal Democracy in the Philippines

Aesthetic Distance condemns the recent arrest of Filipino journalist Maria Ressa, co-founder and CEO of online news outlet, Rappler, and a vocal critic of President Rodrigo Duterte's regime. 

Events in February 2019
Events in February 2019

If you are in the Baltimore/DC area this month, here are some events where you can find me!

Are Superhero And Comic Book Franchises Ruining The Film Industry?
Are Superhero And Comic Book Franchises Ruining The Film Industry?

With streaming services like Netflix producing Oscar-nominated masterpieces like Roma and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, what we are witnessing is a dismantling and changing of the guard in Hollywood that is on par with the end of the silent film era and the collapse of the studio system. In the meantime, Hollywood will continue to pump out franchise features and movie “events” to grab our attention and lure us out to the theaters.

The Backlash Against Marie Kondo is So Stupid (and Racist)
The Backlash Against Marie Kondo is So Stupid (and Racist)

Have we really progressed as a society when it comes to how we view Asian women? What is really behind the backlash against (very benign, very gentle, very sweet) Marie Kondo?

The AASLE 2019 Conference
The AASLE 2019 Conference

Yesterday was an amazing experience at the AASLE (African American Student Leadership Experience) conference in DC. I participated in a discussion panel about being an Asian American creative and facilitated a workshop with students from all over the country. I left feeling so inspired and motivated!

Events in January 2019
Events in January 2019

Happy New Year!! I can’t believe Aesthetic Distance is in its 5th year now! I hope everyone had a wonderful, restful holiday. I know I did. And now I’m ready to get back in action. Here are a few events that I’ll be hosting or am involved in this month.

The Best of 2018: My Greatest Hits
The Best of 2018: My Greatest Hits

As 2018 comes to an end, I had a look back at everything I wrote, shot, podcasted, and collaborated on this year and boy did I have a lot of projects. I learned so much and met so many amazing people. My brand is constantly evolving to become more and more of a community and providing a perspective not often found in mainstream media. And I wrote A LOT of essays.

Decolonize Your Bookshelves
Decolonize Your Bookshelves

My book club is coming soon. Get ready to decolonize your bookshelf in 2019. I hope to host some great, thought-provoking discussions and open people’s eyes to what they’ve been missing by relegating Asian American writing as “special interest” and therefore, inessential. To us Asians, these works are absolutely necessary to discovering our own identity and liberation.

Corporations That Encourage Charitable Giving Are Only Helping Themselves
Corporations That Encourage Charitable Giving Are Only Helping Themselves

Since it's Christmas, be wary of any corporation that encourages charity (like Walmart and countless universities across the U.S.). They could just, you know, pay their fucking employees a livable salary.

My Favorite Filipino Christmas (Pasko) Traditions
My Favorite Filipino Christmas (Pasko) Traditions

With the vast majority of Filipinos being Catholic, the most prominent holiday celebrated in the Philippines is Christmas (“Pasko” in Tagalog).

The Bmore Creatives Gallery Opening: December 13th
The Bmore Creatives Gallery Opening: December 13th

Thank you so, so much to The Bmore Creatives for naming me among the city's most influential figures. As part of this recognition, the above portrait of me will be on display on Dooby's gallery wall alongside an inspiring group of other Baltimore makers, artists, and movers and shakers.

We Need To Change Course, But What's That Mean?
We Need To Change Course, But What's That Mean?

During the Trump presidency, many Americans have found themselves desperately trying to not just point out the longstanding problems in our society but actually find pathways to fix them. But what does that mean?

Coming soon...The Aesthetic Distance Podcast
Coming soon...The Aesthetic Distance Podcast

I’ve been collaborating with so many of my friends and colleagues that I’ve met on this huge project of mine and it’s almost ready for launch! Get ready….

King of the Yees at CenterStage
King of the Yees at CenterStage

While the last event was about revitalizing the historic Chinatown neighborhood here in Baltimore, the event at Center Stage was about understanding where your parents came from and in doing so, discovering your own origin story.