January 27, 2021

What a Difference

January 27, 2021/ Gemma Nemenzo

When news about a forthcoming vaccine against Covid-19 first came out months ago, we were skeptical and a bit scared. The common thread among my age group was we'll wait it out for a few months, we don't want to be the guinea pigs.

Now that the vaccine is here and people we know have gotten it and survived, our tune has changed. We can't wait to get it and some friends have gone to great lengths just to have the shot. One admitted that she was on hold on the phone for an hour and a half but she persisted. Another monitored availability from county to county, finally landing an appointment in a city not her own.

Because our health insurance provider has issued a don't-call-us-we'll-call-you instruction due to the inadequate supply of the vaccine, we're starting to feel like guppies in a fishbowl, watching the world pass us by, gaping enviously at those lucky enough to snag a place in line.

The consolation is we can sleep soundly now, the planet (or at least the US) seems to have righted itself. What a difference a week brings!

Our Stories This Week

Bullying The State University by Criselda Yabes

Fil-Ams Among The Remarkable And Famous, Part 14 By Mona Lisa Yuchengco

A Festival In A Cookbook By Elizabeth Ann Quirino

The Happy Home Cook: Adobong Dilaw By Lyn B. Gamboa

Video of the Week: Ligliwa Dance Troupe

In The Know

Feeding the Troops on Inauguration Week
http://www.manilamail.us/?p=11529&fbclid=IwAR1IL3mbps39UoHR6bZitw9OzEGqT4iEToqQC4-e8dJWtrCNae-XJTaYce0

Japan's Filipino community puts down roots and moves past its hostess origins
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2021/01/24/issues/japans-filipino-community-puts-roots-moves-past-hostess-origins/?fbclid=IwAR2U9aZwBk_AaKYqn0i77GU6p6A1289Czb84aaKh2YJeRhvAQLxgHtnqU8w

The surprising, inspiring story of how the Met was built
https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/spotlight/04/30/19/high-standards-humble-efforts-the-early-years-of-the-metropolitan-theater?fbclid=IwAR06edrU6LTbcTdR_xYE4Juhs9bC5DEj76PiWLrtFAB7uxvxnN2IAoGPxr4

Everything You Need to Know about Filipino Food: The Next Great American Cuisine
https://www.themanual.com/food-and-drink/filipino-food-guide/?fbclid=IwAR2oaOZ-hRqoPiv11RNzMRlpfBnY2q3tI9KDyFO4OjJY-AaLnfCTNh5i4oE

How Drew Barrymore fell in love with this Pinay chef’s cooking
https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/food-drink/features/01/14/21/how-drew-barrymore-fell-in-love-with-this-pinay-chefs-cooking?fbclid=IwAR3fPL5_VqPgkrCcPmKyn_mLnDpF4ftw-OFY3cjGqyeuR3z_j969UW3PYR8

My UP in the ‘70s: I didn’t mind being a martial law baby
https://www.thediarist.ph/my-up-in-the-70s-i-didnt-mind-being-a-martial-law-baby/?fbclid=IwAR2Ia7X0_kDZAz07HK0725CaNopI4MLBF3aqDcnYBHUIHubidfiEJtXJ9KE

January 20, 2021

No Paywalls or Pop-Ups, Just Pleasure

January 20, 2021/ Gemma Nemenzo

If you've been checking out multiple pubs online for your news fix, you know all about the paywall which stops you from accessing the rest of the content after you've reach your limit for the month. To continue, you have to buy a subscription.

Then there are those annoying online ads that pop up or clutter your screen, interrupting your reading or requiring you to scroll down repeatedly before you can see the rest of the story.

Well, with Positively Filipino, you will not have any of these. What you get is plain, pleasurable, uninterrupted reading. And all we ask in return is for you to spread the word -- share the link to the magazine -- so our global barangay of readers and contributing writers will get bigger and livelier.

Occasionally we will ask you to share your thoughts, the better for us to know you more. And we welcome story contributions (subject to topic approval and our editorial standards; send query to PFeditor@yahoo.com).

As we begin our 8th year of publication, we hope that 2021 will be another year of sharing and caring in our uniquely Positively Filipino way.

Our Stories This Week

Where Giving Back Is The Main Course By Cherie M. Querol Moreno

She Tracks The Wind For Wildlife’s Sake By Anthony Maddela

Read Again:

The First Quarter Storm Was No Dinner Party, Part 1 By Jose Lacaba

The First Quarter Storm Was No Dinner Party, Part 2 By Jose Lacaba

Note From The Underground By Patricio Abinales

[Recipe of the Week] The Happy Home Cook: Steamed Stuffed Bitter Melon A La Siomai By Rene Astudillo

[Video of the Week] Ambeth and the San Miguel Corporation anniversary

In The Know

‘It’s Starting Again’: Why Filipino Nurses Dread the Second Wave
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/15/nyregion/filipino-nurses-coronavirus.html?smid=fb-share&fbclid=IwAR2_onJf7EDLWdmEyUrhQyCm0wDzo892iJNzGMrNIKvs4x9wPisDFamRlzs

These are the proposed toll fees for SMC's Skyway 3
https://www.autoindustriya.com/auto-industry-news/these-are-the-proposed-toll-fees-for-smc-s-skyway-3.html?fbclid=IwAR0tsm4vHXzyiTLHang3-0MjWOGoLHwI8XzGo2f0ol_LviWaZJ3_ya7Mck0

[ANALYSIS] Trying to understand Filipino-American Catholics who voted for Trump
https://www.rappler.com/voices/ispeak/analysis-trying-understand-filipino-american-catholics-voted-trump?fbclid=IwAR2lSqvBcSORSWu6zJCNPU9PXT7FnXUM8L8hAUsTTTGCeKUUsiMyv-DdgCc

Why Filipinos Love the Santo Niño
https://nqc.gov.ph/en/resources/why-filipinos-love-the-santo-nino/?fbclid=IwAR0K45O1k3yv5HqFV95kWv3wedysDLdC9VNFz7zv1mcj08-qwqYG4HxhcQE

In the Philippines, the soon-to-be tallest statue of the Virgin Mary in the world is about to be ready
https://catholicsay.com/in-the-philippines-the-soon-to-be-tallest-statue-of-the-virgin-mary-in-the-world-is-about-to-be-ready/?fbclid=IwAR0Ape2Pv0a0mqTTdNRdXLnTpaOGM905tJN4h0KTa7iBAMyvcBWgmr53seo

January 13, 2021

It Can Happen Here

January 13, 2021/ Gemma Nemenzo

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.