Yesterday's War, Today's Divide

If you wonder how the US has become so divided, look no further than the Vietnam War, which officially lasted 20 years, from 1955-1975. As the 10-hour documentary by Ken Burns that aired in September showed, the war affected everyone in the country --  as soldiers, as soldiers' families, policy makers, analysts or as protesters -- and split the country like no other time since the Civil War. PF contributor Ed Diokno brings us back to those days and how they inform the present in "Ken Burns' 'Vietnam': The War In Our Hearts and Minds."

November 30 is celebrated yearly in our motherland as Bonifacio Day, it being the birth date of the Supremo of the Katipunan, the revolutionary movement that helped free the Philippines from Spain. Let's Read Again "Seven Little Known Facts About the Supremo," as compiled by the blog site, Filipiknow.net and "Andres Bonifacio, the Other National Hero" by Penelope V. Flores.

This year marks the centenary of the very first National Artist for Literature, Nick Joaquin, whose humongous personality is just as memorable as his classic writings. Marra PL. Lanot, who came of age as a poet and essayist under Joaquin's watchful eye, writes a personal recollection of her friendship with the late great in "Remembering Nick."

Ilocanos and other lovers of goat dishes will love Kusina de Manila, the way PF Correspondent Rey de la Cruz, an Ilocano, raves about this "goat-to restaurant" in Des Plaines, Illinois (a Chicago suburb). Its chef Niel Salvatera shares his version of Goat Papaitan as our Happy Home Cook recipe this week.

Here's our In The Know links:

Does Race Matter in America’s Most Diverse ZIP Codes?https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/24/us/does-race-matter-in-americas-most-diverse-zip-codes.html?emc=eta1

Malacañang orders easing, lifting of foreign investment restrictions in 8 areas
https://www.rappler.com/business/189357-malacanang-easing-lifting-restrictions-foreign-investment-8-areas?utm_source=The+Daily+wRap&utm_campaign=35d2bc0252-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_11_24&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b3868977d4-35d2bc0252-95400069&mc_cid=35d2bc0252&mc_eid=0c0639d4af

The taste of Filipino Christmas
https://www.rappler.com/brandrap/travel-food-and-lifestyle/189625-knorr-taste-filipino-christmas

This Toronto artist learned English from comic books - now he's the force behind DC series 'Trinity'
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/francis-manapul-dc-comics-1.3936537

For our Video of the Week, actress Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo cooks up her version of the popular Vietnamese street food – the Banh Mi sandwich.

Gratitude

Gratitude is what we're giving in spades this week as the US, where about 4 million of our kababayans live, go through the annual ritual of celebrating Thanksgiving Day. 

For first-time contributor Teresa de Veyra-Montilla, the unexpected gift of visiting the former home of her grandparents, Jaime and Sofia de Veyra in Washington, DC, plus meeting Erwin and Titchie Tiongson, who are documenting the history of Filipinos in the US capital, are beatitudes that she writes about in "A Journey in Time with My Grandma." Montilla's forebears are important historical figures. Jaime C. de Veyra was the Philippine Resident Commissioner in the US Congress, representing the country as a colony; Sofia de Veyra, who we had featured before (Read Again Titchie Carandang-Tiongson's profile of this outstanding Filipina http://www. positivelyfilipino.com/ magazine/the-thoroughly- modern-sofia-de-veyra?rq= sofia%20de%20veyra) was an early feminist, suffragist and patriot.

Meanwhile, Jin Chow of Hong Kong and Stanford University, submits a tribute to the two  Filipina OFWs who raised her -- Rosita Aguas and Florencia Masbang -- and she admits guilt that she belatedly realized how much these women sacrificed to be able to work for her family. In "Words of Gratitude from an 'Alaga,'" her thankfulness shines through.

If you've been to Manila recently, I'm sure you've heard about the current rage: Salted Egg-Flavored Potato Chips. Since it's not yet available in the US, our culinary expert Elizabeth Ann Quirino shares her own recipe for the delicacy. 

Our In The Know links for this week:

How the Philippines’ Coral Heart Keeps Beating
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/proof/2017/11/tubbataha-coral-reef-philippines-unesco-world-heritage-site-sulu-sea/

The Former Army Navy Club Is Now The Rizal Park Hotel
https://www.realliving.com.ph/tips-and-guides/the-former-army-navy-club-is-now-the-rizal-park-hotel-a247-20170825-lfrm2

Tribes, Treks and Life Stories with Indigenous Aetas in the Philippines
https://www.nastasha.ca/2017/11/20/tribes-treks-and-life-stories-with-indigenous-aetas-in-the-philippines/

New York Times sues Filipina journalist for false representation
https://www.rappler.com/nation/188650-new-york-times-filipina-journalist-misrepresentation

For our Video of the Week, the US Signal Corps produced a documentary narrated by US Marine Corps Captain David Griffin about the war crimes in Manila during World War II. The film also features General Carlos P. Romulo in the introduction.

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The Philippine American Press Club USA's 2017 Plaridel Awards (Photo by Raymond Virata)

We'd also like to give a big thanks to our writers for winning big at the PAPC-USA Plaridel Awards, which was held last month at the Kalayaan Hall of the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco.

Plaridel Awards

Elizabeth Ann Quirino - 2 Plaridel Awards
Best Profile Writing: "Watch Out World: Tanya Maynigo Louks, Creator of Healthy Craft Kombucha"
Best Food Story: "Food for the Memory"

Gia Mendoza
Plaridel Award for Best Tourism Feature: "Two Side Trips (Cebu and Bohol) and a Wedding"

France Viana
Plaridel Award for Best Entertainment Story: "Her Mission Was In the Cards"

Merit Awards

Manzel Delacruz - 3 Merit Awards
Best International Reporting: "Priest and Physicist"
Best Investigative Reporting: "In The End, Love Wins"
Best Entertainment Story: "Taklub"

Rey de la Cruz
Best Entertainment Story: "Carol Varga: When She's Bad, She's Very Good"

Three Commemorations and a Headache

Our Vancouver-based contributor Sandie Gilles writes a fitting Veterans Day (Remembrance Day in Canada) tribute not just to our valiant fighting soldiers, but also to her mother, Dr. Alice Benitez, who is actively promoting the Filipino veterans' cause in speeches and during the recent awarding of the Congressional Gold Medal in Washington, DC.

A commemoration of a century-old miracle is bringing thousands of Catholic pilgrims to Fatima, among them our publisher, Mona Lisa Yuchengco, who brings us her pictorial essay on her pilgrimage and the Filipinos she met along the way.

And another commemoration: on the 4th anniversary of the devastating super typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda, American film producer/director Nick Spark, who was there shortly after the disaster happened to shoot his award-winning documentary Right Footed, returns to Tacloban and finds a markedly different -- and inspiring -- scene.

Back to the present and immediate future: the proposed House Republican tax reform bill hits home for seniors like Evangeline Canonizado Buell, who has to contend with senior ailments, rising health care costs and, if the bill passes, possible penury. We're posting her testimony here that she delivered during a press conference in San Francisco on the real-life effects of the bill.

For those of you who wondered where you got your surname, here's a popular Read Again:
http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/how-filipinos-got-their-surnames

And our In The Know links for this week:

Why should Trump care about thousands killed, when there are deals to be done?https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/14/trump-thousands-killed-us-philippine-presidents-duterte-drug-war?CMP=share_btn_fb

Thirty countries use 'armies of opinion shapers' to manipulate democracy – report
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/nov/14/social-media-influence-election-countries-armies-of-opinion-shapers-manipulate-democracy-fake-news

Meet the Filipina supervising animator behind the upcoming Pixar film Coco
http://nolisoli.ph/27957/meet-filipina-supervising-animator-behind-upcoming-pixar-film-coco/?utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#link_time=1510052894

Butterfly in the Spring's feature on Sunshine Puey
https://butterflyinthespring.com/2017/11/11/sunshine-puey/

Thanksgiving in the US is just a few sleeps away but before you indulge yourself in rich, fatty, cholesterol-laden dishes, how about enjoying a meal of Vegan Filipino Spaghetti? Vegan chef Richgail Enriquez lends us her recipe.

Our Video of the Week features a a little boy with a big achievement: Enzo Cox, a Filipino American, delivers a stirring TED talk.