We're approaching holiday season here and with the pandemic receding (hopefully for good), what better way to prepare for Thanksgiving and Christmas than to check out recipes from the bounties of new cookbooks from Filipino chefs in various countries. Positively Filipino will be hosting a virtual gathering of cookbook authors on Tuesday, November 9 (Wednesday November 10 in the Philippines). Below are the details. To register:

For those who missed -- or want to listen again -- to last week's webinar on the USS Telesforo Trinidad campaign, here's the link to the recording.

"Instagrammable" Cafes

It's not only K-drama that is trending in the Philippines; 2D cafes patterned after South Korea's famous Greem Cafe is sprouting in Philippines cities. Baguio-based PF Correspondent Rene M. Astudillo brings us there.

Reading Centers to Stir Up Filipino Children's Appetite for Learning

With more than a decade of experience running a volunteer reading center for disadvantaged kids, medical technologist Ana Maria Bacudio opens a second one for Mangyan children in Baco, Mindoro. With partial funding from a California-based nonprofit, the project includes a mobile library.

An "Upsetting" Story

We've gotten many book reviews but this one is a stand-out for its raw honesty. Manila-based author George Deoso shows us what good fiction reads like.

For the Happy Home Cook

A recipe using the Cordilleran smoked meat called etag need not faze home cooks thousands of miles away from those mountain communities. Any smoked meat from the supermarket will do.

Video of the Week

Filipino Heritage Night at the Houston Rockets stadium got especially thrilling as two exceptional Fil-Am ball players — Jalen Green of (team) and Jordan Clarkson of (team) face off.

In The Know (Philippine Politics Edition)

A story bigger than Pharmally
https://www.bworldonline.com/a-story-bigger-than-pharmally/?fbclid=IwAR0udlLfmBUYK-2oFr454REKJ-pnPE3wn2_PBbBCl1-VJUsUXJGPs0yjeEo

Mayor Vico Sotto, Commencement Speaker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfVsxmP7CW4

PH, laggard in critical areas, settles for FDI crumbs
https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/10/31/opinion/columns/ph-laggard-in-critical-areas-settles-for-fdi-crumbs/1820392?fbclid=IwAR1zv1nJ09C5BpkKFCVoWFO9XYc11oy8OQlsCEwGaTvAO9SJmdRfNycwRDE

Be vigilant with fact-and-fiction blended content
https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/10/31/business/sunday-business-it/be-vigilant-with-fact-and-fiction-blended-content/1820324?fbclid=IwAR2pQLyUf4FTP44S4lQcad-pZDMSgSZ20r77qEMSYajQ1lgaJFPOROi4JcM

In The Know (Standard Edition)

How the music of Filipino youth continues to rock the regime
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2021-11-01/how-filipino-rock-transcends-the-white-norm?utm_id=41070&sfmc_id=472786

Nearly 3 decades-old FACINE is the longest-running Fil-Am film festival
https://thefilam.net/archives/34932?fbclid=IwAR1vCM46aYRfSl_ttjTuGVGtm16jgfa_w_b-fNaJJj4cyT7KBR1ottWyMrU

In major ocean polluter Philippines, group turns plastic waste into planks
https://news.yahoo.com/major-ocean-polluter-philippines-group-043219267.html

The last of the asinderos: a look at Bohol’s heritage “unbroken” salt
https://mb.com.ph/2021/10/24/the-last-of-the-asinderos-a-look-at-bohols-heritage-unbroken-salt/?fbclid=IwAR2FL5sKI0Mbh5pjRGB1zvegmJCGVESNbyy_rzKSiLsNGp0F6QqzBbU1yEc

A new Tate Gallery installation tells a story of martial law corruption through jewelry
https://cnnphilippines.com/life/Culture/art/2021/10/15/pio-abad-frances-wadsworth-jones-martial-law-jewelry.html?fbcd&fbclid=IwAR1MrGtXDnUZCO4ri-IRURm3yXCb-pWrgZFphtNKbwOQipYskKruQqUDBVU

Flavors of Beijing: Filipino cuisine finds a home in the Chinese capital
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-10-29/Filipino-cuisine-finds-a-home-in-the-Chinese-capital-14KFTaUWlNu/index.html?fbclid=IwAR2z9TLgZfFbUVdnmBa950KZnj5GQOw6l7nppk_GgYjApWUYOg4mgHn410A

Remembering the Thrill of Reading ‘True Philippine Ghost Stories’
https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxdewn/true-philippine-ghost-stories-book-series-nostalgia?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Lit%20Hub%20Daily%3A%20October%2028%2C%202021&utm_term=lithub_master_list&fbclid=IwAR3YwyjwX3e6jIxwtUncwUvGXXPWqY5BbYAC0pDILO_F1FxGyoFpwK6PHGU

Like a creature with far-reaching tentacles, climate change is already impacting all countries and every living thing on this earth today. Severe weather, rising seas, warming atmosphere -- these are only some of the most visible manifestations of what scientists are describing as the most serious existential threat currently confronting the world. Left unchecked, the tentacles of climate change will determine where we can live, our food supply, our health, immigration movement and even national security.

Young people get it - it is their world after all that will bear the brunt. Older generations, not so much yet; for as long as we can continue living our lives the way we have (even if we already experience changes that we don't associate with it), climate change remains a theoretical issue: it happens to others, not to us. Worse, some prefer to see it as a political issue, not a science, even though more than 95 percent of earth scientists confirm its truth.

Positively Filipino joins the celebration of Earth Day this month with a webinar that tackles Climate Change (see flyer below). It will feature Von Hernandez, the Philippines' most noted environmental activist, Wei-Tai Kwok, a Fil-Am climate advocate from Al Gore's Climate Reality Project, and Robert Suntay, a marine conservation educator and filmmaker. Moderator will be Shiela R. Castillo, a Futures Learning Advisor. Please join us and invite your friends and family as well.