This week is about Filipinos who have crashed the international scene in their respective fields and have made us proud:

F. Sionil Jose, the grand old man of Philippine letters, the country's foremost chronicler of the Filipino experience, is paid homage to by author Rafaelito Sy, who writes about his recent encounter with the National Artist for Literature. ["F. Sionil Jose and a Nation's Memories"]

Cris Comerford, the White House chef of three US administrations (Bush, Obama and Trump), was recently awarded a doctorate honoris causa by her alma mater, the University of the Philippines (UP). Sonia Delen, current president of UP's alumni chapter in San Francisco, profiles Cris. ["Her Lola's Legacy: Chef Cris Comerford's Secret Sauce"]

This week is also about remembering, this one a painful episode in 1929-1930 when anti-Filipino riots broke out and ended tragically in California. Read Again Alex Fabros' "In The Heat of the Night: The Exeter and Watsonville Riots 1929-1930."

And speaking of remembering, we join the sports world in grieving the untimely death of basketball legend Kobe Bryant. Here's our Video of the Week showing him dancing the tinikling.

Our Happy Home Cook recipe this week is for Chocolate Cake from Ballesteros, Cagayan baker Dondon Catli, who we featured earlier this month.

ICYMI, stories you may have missed or want to read again:

WOMEN OF THE EASTERN CALIPHATE: Hiding in plain sight
https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/investigative/245849-women-eastern-caliphate-hiding-plain-sight-isis-part-1

WOMEN OF THE EASTERN CALIPHATE: By blood and marriage
https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/investigative/245822-women-eastern-caliphate-by-blood-marriage-isis-part-2?utm_source=Rappler+Subscribers&utm_campaign=82d6b16cbd-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_01_07_04_22_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d18b1557b8-82d6b16cbd-96223989&mc_cid=82d6b16cbd&mc_eid=0c0639d4af

'Kill Everyone Over 10' –Jacob Smith, the ‘Monster’ of the Philippine-American War
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/jacob-h-smith-philippine-american-war-a1926-20190919-lfrm?fbclid=IwAR0G4IHMUvqfn428wobgF_nFqUGTX7L5EX2IR3G5ev4llfrtHoK57TdtC64

Reviving ancient Cordillera textiles
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1211779/reviving-ancient-cordillera-textiles?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR26HEwT8pJLsvIYCnHdeHPVRapsWcjuEv__OCLhgRx8NWXiTWcCDa9WF8w#Echobox=1578786243