Sisterhoods

For the Cold War generation, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are unfamiliar names. These countries fell within the expansive cloak of the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), thus their separate identities weren't spoken about much. Now with the USSR gone, tourists are flocking to what constitutes Eastern Europe -- the exotic former Soviet states that hold astonishing sights and treasures of their own. One of these visitors was France-based Filipino artist Ofelia Gelvezon-Tequi, who recently took a journey with her sorority sisters and their families to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and, with her artist's eye, describes the fascinating things to see in "Vilnius Mon Amour." If you're a devotee of the Divine Mercy, Lithuania should be on your bucket list.

Journalist/community activist and domestic abuse fighter Cherie Querol Moreno adds her voice to the rapidly expanding #MeToo and #TimesUp movements in "Sisterhood Shatters Silence on Sexual Harassment," as she talks to some Filipina women and California State Rep. Rob Bonta, who are in the forefront of the community's participation in changing the culture of harassment.

PF Correspondent Rey E. de la Cruz shares his encounters with kababayans across the pond in Pinoyspotting: England.

And from the Philippines, PF Correspondent Rene M. Astudillo documents "The Curious Case of the Disappearing Faces in Philippine Peso Bills," which has many Filipinos tsk-tsking about the supposed "computer glitch."

From Rene Astudillo's food blog (mybaykitchen.wordpress.com), we also picked up our Happy Home Cook recipe for this week, Adobo Pineapple Fried Rice, using rice left over from when you cooked too much.

Another collection of In The Know links to stories you may have not caught from other publications:

Trump Immigration Plans Hit Hawaii's Filipino Families Hard
http://usa.inquirer.net/9417/trump-immigration-plans-hit-hawaiis-filipino-families-hard

Recovering from Historical Amnesia
https://www.teachforamerica.org/one-day-magazine/recovering-historical-amnesia

The Filipino Guide to Staying Sane
https://www.ncronline.org/ news/opinion/young-voices/ filipino-guide-staying-sane

The Ominous Rumblings of Mount Mayon
https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2018/01/the-ominous-rumblings-of-mount-mayon/551513/

For our Video of the week, the UP Office for Initiatives in Culture and the Arts presented a documentary of National Artist for Sculpture Napoleon V. Abueva. The video was written and directed by Katrina Ventura.

Olympics, Protests and Plastics

Nine days from today, the Winter Olympic Games will begin in PyeongChang, South Korea. To get us hyped on this once-every-four-years spectacle, Olympic historian and PF Correspondent Myles A. Garcia tells us about his visits to two Olympic Museums: the official museum of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), appropriately called The Olympic Museum (TOM) in Lausanne, Switzerland; and the Museu Olympic i de L’Esport - Joan Antoni Samaranch (MOLE-JAS) in Barcelona, Spain. Both museums offer Olympic enthusiasts collections to behold but Myles was invited to the bowels of TOM to see some prized mementoes. Read his story and be awed.

Going back in history, 48 years ago this month, Manila erupted with massive student demonstrations against the Marcos government and US imperialism, a tectonic period that is now immortalized as the First Quarter Storm. Author/poet/essayist Ed Maranan, who participated actively and later, along with thousand others, paid the price for his activism, recalls those heady, disruptive days in "Postcript: My Life Before and After the First Quarter Storm."

With 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic created since the early 1950's, plastic pollution has become an extremely serious environmental disaster that is threatening the planet. In this piece from the international nonprofit Break Free From Plastic, the severity of the problem is discussed and more importantly, the biggest corporate polluters are identified. Some of them are brands we grew up with.

Here's another crazy collection of In The Know links for your reading pleasure:

Social Media Devumi Under Fire for Selling Fake Followers to the Stars 
https://www.rappler.com/technology/news/194700-social-media-devumi-under-fire-selling-fake-followers-stars

Duterte to Build a $1 Billion New City for Thousands of Workers
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-29/duterte-to-build-a-1-billion-new-city-for-thousands-of-workers?cmpid=socialflow-facebook-asia&utm_content=asia&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social

Women Journalists Standing Up to Bullies is a Filipino Tradition
http://usa.inquirer.net/9785/women-journalists-standing-bullies-filipino-tradition

Opinion: Rappler Should Stop Misleading Everyone
http://opinion.inquirer.net/110628/rappler-stop-misleading-everyone

For those who may have issues with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), California State Representative Rob Bonta presents a checklist of your rights. Even if you are not a US citizen, you have rights, he emphasizes. 

The Happy Home Cook recipe of the week: Red Snapper Delight from Chef Niel Salvatera of Kusina de Manila.

And because Bruno Mars is in the news for sweeping the 2018 Grammy awards, let's witness his Filipino side with a video of the first visit of his mother, uncles and grandmother to the land of their birth, in time for Bruno Mars first concert in Manila.

Drift and Remember

Let's take a break from the disturbing events happening on both sides of the Pacific, and enjoy some pleasurable drifting, remembering and reading.

PF Correspondent Criselda Yabes, once- and still partly a Parisienne, takes us on a stroll in the city she loves. In "Drifting in Paris" she discovers a city whose natives have become friendlier, a city that never fails to offer new discoveries even for long-time residents. 

In Manila, contributing writer Bella Bonner focuses on Boy Camara, the UP campus heartthrob of the early '70s, who captured the attention and imagination of Manila's theatergoers then when he became Jesus Christ Superstar. Beyond JCS, however, Camara's life took some dramatic turns and he talks about it for the first time in this interview.

How about some "adobo, apple pie and schnitzel with noodles", a combination that is actually a metaphor for the delectable mix of stories in PF Correspondent Myles Garcia's new book with that title and adding: "Not a cookbook but an anthology of essays on the Filipino-American experience and some..." Walter Ang stirs the pot with his review.

And having whet your appetite, here's San Francisco-based foodie Voltaire Gungab's own enticing concoction for the Happy Home Cook: Rice-Tapioca Pudding with Pineapple Sauce and Coconut Jam Cream.

There's no escaping the real world, so here are the In The Know links to various stories swirling around cyberspace:

Violent explosion at the Philippines' most active volcano, 'hazardous' eruption expected
http://abcnews.go.com/International/violent-explosion-philippines-active-volcano-hazardous-eruption-expected/story?id=52522540

A Fraught Time for Press Freedom in the Philippines
https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2018/01/17/578610243/a-fraught-time-for-press-freedom-in-the-philippines?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social

What is Omidyar Network and why did it invest in Rappler?http://usa.inquirer.net/9632/omidyar-network-invest-rappler

Filipina Photojournalist Cheryl DIaz Meyer Sweeps Coveted White House Awards
https://www.townandcountry.ph/the-scene/current-events/cheryl-diaz-meyer-a00208-20180123-lfrm

Top 10 Ensaymadas in Manila
https://www.spot.ph/eatdrink/the-latest-eat-drink/72019/top-10-ensaymada-in-manila-2017-a1106-20171115-lfrm2

For our Video of the Week, Vicks Philippines presented the heartwarming story of Hernando Caja in its #touchofcare campaign, which shows how caring for others transforms lives.