Sea Finds and a Desert Run

Pearl is one of three birthstones for June, and PF Contributor Myles A. Garcia sends in a timely story about some of the biggest pearls in the world found mainly in Palawan, including the Lao-Tzu pearl whose provenance almost reads like a crime thriller. Read "Pearls of the Orient Seas" and be amazed.

What pushes a man to run the Badwater ultramarathon, the world's toughest footrace? Ben Gaetos, an LA-based architect and probably the first Filipino to finish this extremely rigorous race, explains why he did it in "The Stubbornness of a Long-Distance Runner."

It's considered a delicacy in northern Philippines but for journalist/food connoisseur Rene M. Astudillo, "pinikpikan" is a no-no in his book. Find out why in "Why I Won't Eat the Cordilleras' Popular Pinikpikan."

Be amused at some of the funny signs one encounters in the Philippines. 

One of the best essays about Rizal is a must-read in our In The Know list this week:

“Death Is A Night Wind”
http://www.caravanmagazine.in/reviews-essays/jose-rizal-poem-haunts-philippines-today

The wrecking-ball president
https://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/205469-rodrigo-duterte-wrecking-ball-president

Manila City gov't is planning to destroy its last park
http://nolisoli.ph/44441/arroceros-forest-park/

Duterte signs Philippine Mental Health law
https://www.rappler.com/nation/205425-duterte-signs-mental-health-law-services-philippines?utm_source=The+Daily+wRap&utm_campaign=43223b578b-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_06_21_04_31&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b3868977d4-43223b578b-95400069&mc_cid=43223b578b&mc_eid=0c0639d4af

For the Happy Home Cook, another simplified version of a Filipino favorite -- cassava cake -- from Melanie Q. Suzara.

For Video of the Week, Safeguard Philippines features Norman King, the first Filipino Aeta to graduate from the University of the Philippines.

Renewing the Spirit

What better way to celebrate Christmas than to visit the actual place where Christ was born. First-time contributor Genevieve Dee takes us vicariously on her trip to the Holy Land plus the ancient city of Petra, and shares with us the story of her spiritual renewal. 

During the same pilgrimage, Positively Filipino publisher Mona Lisa Yuchengco met quite a number of Filipinos - OFWs and fellow pilgrims -- and introduces them in Pinoyspotting this week.

Switching to the homeland, Dr. Michael Gonzalez writes about the Dutch missionary and scholar Antoon Postma who, with eminent anthropologist Harold Conklin, lived with and documented the lives of the Hanunoo Mangyan of Oriental Mindoro. Because of Postma's thorough research, the rich traditions of this pre-colonial culture are preserved, its legacy intact for future generations to take pride in.

If you're still wracking your brains for the right food to give away this holiday season, here's Elizabeth Ann Quirino's easy recipe for cassava cake, a perfect gift, she says, guaranteed to be appreciated by your Filipino and non-Filipino friends.

For Video of the Week, the American cast members of the Hey Joe Show show their love for their adopted country by singing “Silent Night” in Tagalog, Visayan and English for Filipinos around the world.