It Can Happen Here

On Wednesday morning, January 6, I texted my daughter in the East Coast to watch the counting of the electoral college votes in Congress. We may never be able to watch this again, I said, because in normal times the process is procedural, quick and uneventful, not worthy of TV coverage. But these are not normal times so my husband and I settled in (which is a redundant phrase while in a California covid lockdown) and watched.

Little did we know that in a matter of minutes, the assault on the Capitol building would begin. We watched appalled, shocked and deeply saddened as the mob of Trump supporters vandalized, defiled and temporarily took over the seat of American democracy, presenting a clear and present danger to the lives of legislators and legislative police in the process.

This was one of those historical moments that will be indelibly imprinted in our memory, the kind that will trigger  recollections of what-I-was-doing-when-it happened details. Having lived a long life, mine is already a list:

• the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in November 1963

• the declaration of martial law in the Philippines in September 1972

• the assassination of Ninoy Aquino in August 1983

• the EDSA People Power revolt in February 1986

• the election victory of Barack Obama in November 2008

What are yours? Share your list with me at PFeditor@yahoo.com.

Our Stories This Week

Fil-Ams Among The Remarkable And Famous, Part 13 By Mona Lisa Yuchengco

Ateneo Art Gallery At 60: Art Amidst Disruption By Rosa Concepcion Ladrido

Pedal Attraction In Iloilo By Vicente Salas 

The Happy Home Cook: Binacol na Manok (Chicken Stewed in Coconut Water)  

Video of the Week:: Pamana: Saving our Heritage

In The Know

Editorial: Catholics need to confess their complicity in the failed coup
https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/editorial-catholics-need-confess-their-complicity-failed-coup

Why Filipino voters turn their lonely eyes to strongman leaders
https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/Why-Filipino-voters-turn-their-lonely-eyes-to-strongman-leaders?fbclid=IwAR2L9JjqEgaawD76fS83q4WywKWv9FrxYKW-A3dQ-FKU0XY-RG9_8IPL4QQ

How a team led by a journalist is fighting coronavirus misinformation in the Filipino community
https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2020/how-a-team-led-by-a-journalist-is-fighting-coronavirus-misinformation-in-the-filipino-community/

Anna Maria: The Spaniard who survived 16 bayonet wounds during the Battle of Manila
https://english.elpais.com/arts/2020-08-28/anna-maria-the-spaniard-who-survived-16-bayonet-wounds-during-the-battle-of-manila.html?fbclid=IwAR003Rsx92LTzEuGC7hhj874F7IuWaLIAH6WBooz6tOgSJiy97TquCzn48k

The lonely legacy of Spam
https://theweek.com/articles/956644/lonely-legacy-spam?fbclid=IwAR07-jIIPmU-_4dpGbBKwVv7aE1x3Ux_PhgCmryam98aZ6yK17aymylRS48

---

Give Thanks, Check Reality

With the pandemic and other circumstances in the US and the world swirling around us, catching our attention and sometimes increasing our stress levels, the Thanksgiving holiday allows us to pause, search for and embrace our quiet, and take stock of where our lives are heading. It's also a good time for gratitude because no matter how much our lives have been gobsmacked by tragedy and grief this year, there are also reasons to be thankful and hopeful. I say this not as a kumbaya statement but as a reality check, an acceptance of the principle of yin/yang, which states that (simplifying here) that every dark has its bright side.

To keep you company in your moments of reflection (ideally after a gratifying Thanksgiving meal with --and limited to-- the people in your household), here are some notable articles we have published that you might want to Read Again. 

Our Stories This Week

Manila Hotel: The Golden Years By Lou Gopal 

Second Springs By Cathy S. Babao 

Which Comes First, The Chicken, Or The Scruples? By Albert J. Lesaca 

Feeding My Filipino By Lotis Key 

No Turkey For Thanksgiving By Gemma Nemenzo 

The Happy Home Cook: Paksiw Na Lechon (Roast Pork In Homemade Liver Sauce And Vinegar)

Video of the Week: Jose Mari Chan and McDonald’s George Yang

McDonald’s Philippines Chairman and Founder George Yang and legendary Filipino singer Jose Mari Chan star in the McDonald’s commercial which came out during Grandparents’ Day last year. 

In The Know

Covid-19 is taking a devastating toll on Filipino American nurses
https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/24/health/filipino-nurse-deaths/index.html

City pens official apology to Filipino community for 1930 race riots 
https://pajaronian.com/city-pens-official-apology-to-filipino-community-for-1930-race-riots/?fbclid=IwAR1Kxj8bMlph0t5THF_tLwVR9Mesy8WZP18TEI2IzpyrqU6VKu0y0bHpOPA 

When love is not enough
https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2020/11/asia/hong-kong-filipino-helpers-dst/?fbclid=IwAR28Ta29T7d9MXxGYqkouj5wqmJez3XCCnziejFd2q7lXPBpeEOC0LrgDzk

Fil-Am state lawmaker seeks help for Democrats in Georgia runoffs 
https://usa.inquirer.net/60486/fil-am-state-lawmaker-seeks-help-for-democrats-in-georgia-runoffs

Philippines' richest chip in for COVID-19 vaccines
https://www.rappler.com/business/tycoons-philippines-chip-in-covid-19-vaccines?fbclid=IwAR2UrazfFSKVoFn8aJeprFAlOvj2CQTw3P4LNwZLDImN-Z18wOrQOMZCftY

A Mindanaoan filmmaker tells martial law's 'forbidden memory'
https://cnnphilippines.com/life/entertainment/film/2016/11/22/teng-mangansakan.html?fbclid=IwAR2e645MY_QEgumVC2TzTw5Pbu_8-tTiBaYo3loAZDbrA_tjZ_i1tRQUpnY

65-year-old man plants 10,000 mangroves for 8 years to protect his house from the big waves during typhoon
https://kickerdaily.com/posts/2020/11/65-year-old-man-plants-10000-mangroves-for-8-years-to-protect-his-house-from-the-big-waves-during-typhoon/?fbclid=IwAR00DVsADdRVstLinOTLABN6C1YNcDFRsLtS2dcgnZM9-vFHOiP8b2rkuxE

Why is UP the Bastion of Student Activism?
https://www.reportr.world/news/why-has-up-become-synonymous-to-activism-history-has-the-answer-a4713-20201119?fbclid=IwAR3xgQ2wRelOk2OYUX7V37oeXmobUJxbT_Kp4pMZI9S30Lezz-ZhIvIncK8

Shaken or Stirred? Just Sit Back.

As we move towards a vastly different Thanksgiving holiday this year, let's use this post-election, surging-pandemic week to take a break from high emotions, and to sit back. It's interesting to watch how traditions and institutions work toward resolving the current political uncertainty being spearheaded by a stubborn incumbent and fanned by his spineless ilk. If you need some reading to quell, or enable, your anxiety, I suggest Gabriel Garcia Marquez's book, Autumn of the Patriarch. The title itself is an apt metaphor for this time, along with "the winter of our discontent".

Nevertheless the world continues to turn, with or without our participation. In Positively Filipino this week, James Bond dies, a young Fil-Am comic rises and, as our Motherland heaves from yet another hurricane, regular people carry on the best way they can amidst the pandemic.

Our Stories This Week

Pinoys Love James Bond, And Vice Versa By Men Sta. Ana

[PARTNER] The Typhoon Victims Need Your Help

JR De Guzman Shows Filipinos Are Truly Funny By Anthony Maddela

Covid Guys By Criselda Yabes

The Happy Home Cook: Oriental Beef With Fried Noodles By Nora V. Daza and Nina Daza Puyat

Video of the Week: Fides Enriquez and Chef Cocoy Ventura’s new documentary series, Ilocandia, which features the Ilocos region’s rich culinary tradition.

In The Know

[ANALYSIS] What will a Biden presidency bring to China, Manila, and the Asia Pacific? 
https://www.rappler.com/voices/thought-leaders/analysis-what-will-biden-presidency-bring-china-manila-asia-pacific?fbclid=IwAR3PRlgwNNjI2Ce1_h-ICVvfsgkMq3RKGdxicT_eD6J3CZMszo-9bjlick0

Things May Get Worse Before They Get Better for the U.S. 
https://fpif.org/things-may-get-worse-before-they-get-better-for-the-u-s/?fbclid=IwAR0DKLpWGt1SIJhski9RPlbDwPcj7b_sXj7hK6N48arU1Zc_gCA2BlIaTdQ

12 Exceptional Filipino Restaurants in SF and the East Bay
https://sf.eater.com/maps/best-filipino-restaurants-food-san-francisco-bay-area-east-bay-oakland

A New ‘Blue’s Clues’ Episode Will Feature Filipino Family Traditions
https://www.vice.com/en/article/7k9bpd/blues-clues-nickelodeon-filipino-family-traditions-lola-grandmother?fbclid=IwAR1vwyhD_b16Y2oWbPaiK30OVkUtjfyrjweNSEKt7w-YP30eU6Y6zUYdc34

Their neighbor allegedly painted a swastika on their driveway. Now they’re getting bullets in the mail.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/11/13/louisville-harassment-couple-swastikas-racial-slurs/

A Whirl Through the Philippines with Jeepney’s Meal Kits
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/11/16/a-whirl-through-the-philippines-with-jeepneys-meal-kits?fbclid=IwAR0gsstldoTVp66WzDELSaIAsqXcCniSD2Q_65KZw2TMhCbKQUhIzInnTgc

---