31 Years Ago This Month

Let's join our homeland in commemorating the 31st anniversary of the assassination of Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., a tragedy that changed the course of history. Read again "Ninoy's Final Journey," the up-close-and-personal recollection of then-ABC News correspondent Ken Kashiwahara, the martyr's brother-in-law.

Meanwhile, what do Portugal and the Philippines have in common other than Ferdinand Magellan (who was, in fact, Spanish)? A growing worldwide diaspora, that's what. Our regular contributor, Tiago Gutierrez Marques, who is Filipino-Portuguese, gives an insightful analysis of the two countries' labor export market in "Brain Drain, Portuguese Style."

Another good dissection, this time on the issues confronting the Asian male in America, is presented by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Alex Tizon in his book, Big Little Man.  In "Race and the Asian Male in America," another regular contributor Anthony Maddela offers an incisive review of Tizon's frank and fascinating memoir.

The yoyo's Filipino component is told by Luisa Igloria in "The Yoyo: A Story of Downs and Ups," which also provides a brief history of Filipinos in Chicago in the early- and mid-20th century.

Robin Williams is never far from our mind, just as he will always be in Chary Ozaeta-Gohh's memory of her encounter with the late lamented comedian. "A Moment with Robin Williams" is one of those testimonials on his goodness of heart.

Our Video of the Week is a BBC report that shows why the Philippines will always be a fascinating place.

And finally, my blog this week is about a recycled romance that many readers are probably familiar with.

Close Encounters of the Pinoy Kind

With millions of our kababayans living, working and enjoying life all over the world, what are the chances that you'll meet some in your travels? Definitely much much more likely than not meeting one at all (which happened to us in Rio de Janeiro, but then we didn't stay long enough).

We've introduced a new section called Pinoyspotting, and that's where we put photos of your encounters with interesting Filipinos you've met while you were on vacation, on assignment, on work travel, whatever. See our guidelines in this week's Pinoyspotting feature from Rey de la Cruz.

Another section we'd like to point you to is In Brief, daily capsule reports about Filipinos all over the globe -- a perfect way to stay in touch with the diaspora without spending too much time scrolling down or searching the news sites. Checking out Global Briefs regularly fits right into your busy schedule.

Meanwhile, in The Magazine, we have a variety of offerings for you this week: virtual sleuth Myles Garcia regales us with his research on "The 'Oldest' Filipino Film?" and our art director Raymond Virata reports on celebrated chef Tim Luym's creations in "Tofu With Love.”

Another celebrated Filipino, Major General Antonio Taguba (Ret.), shares with us his op-ed, "Why I Called Out the US Military on Torture," first published by the New York Times.

We are as sad as everyone else with the death of Robin Williams, and our publisher, Mona Lisa Yuchengco, writes a heartfelt tribute. We have also picked up the video tribute of Filipino American actor Dante Basco, who worked with Williams in “Hook” and the statement of Marsha Garces, Williams' second wife who he once jokingly described as “Finnipino.”

And from one of our partner organizations, the New America Media, an informative piece that any smart phone user should read, "Can You Trust That App?"

My blog post this week: “Good Night My Friend.”