At one point in our lives, occasions were incomplete without paella. As a lower middle-class family, my mother made sure this dish was served. It looked so classy and expensive with tahong, shrimps, and sliced eggs all around it. As the years passed, my mother stopped making them. It was replaced by Filipino-style sweet spaghetti, […]
Author: Arnaldo
In Quora, the post is titled “Why do the Netherlands and France do the same with Vietnam and Indonesia but not with Filipinos?”. It’s a long read, but it’s interesting. I read it once before and came across it again. I thought I’d share it. As a former colony, I am not familiar with the […]
A few years ago, while working for a software company in Singapore, I met a young Singaporean just out of college. This guy was our point of contact for the Japan office. He doesn’t speak the ethnic Chinese dialect he comes from (if I am not mistaken, it’s Teochew) and he admits that his standard […]
If you watched the Japanese television show “Lone Wolf and a Cub,” you’re really old. I kid. While I was too young to remember most of it, one episode stuck with me. It’s actually a scene in which Itto Ogami is in a river with his sword and hands hidden in the water. Of course, […]
Manong Frankie (F Sionil Jose) passed away in his sleep yesterday. He was scheduled for surgery, but it appears he decided not to go through with it. What a life he lived! I may not have known him too well, but having read him for so long, it feels as if I have known him […]
Most likely, he did. This speculation has been around for a while, but I hadn’t looked into it until I read Jorge Mojarro’s article in the Manila Times last year. Benito Pérez Galdós, a renowned Spanish writer, was Rizal’s contemporary. The two are not known to have met. What we can safely deduce is that […]
For Filipinos, Rizal is everywhere. As I was strolling near the Asian Civilizations Museum (Singapore) the other day, I was reminded of this. There’s a small Rizal memorial there, too, which reminds me of how abundant his statues are back home. Our obsession with Rizal has always seemed to me like an overcompensation. Often cited […]
The first time I learned that Catholic Mass has influenced the Japanese tea ceremony was when I came across an article on the Catholic news site Gloria TV. The whole idea that something so deeply Japanese would be influenced by a religion largely spread by Europeans in Asia surprised me. But it might end up […]
Throughout our childhood, how many times have we heard those orders from our parents? Several politically charged comments have been made about the Tung family who owns the Ligo brand in the Philippines after they sold it to the Po family, who owns Century Tuna. Due to their apparent open criticism of the current Duterte […]
The documentary Honor: The Legacy of Jose Abad Santos was an accidental discovery. My Facebook ads led me to it. Based on its release date (I watched it on Vimeo), it was launched last September. I did not hear about it anywhere. It’s one of those rare times when I appreciate social media ad algorithms, […]
I guess the best time to talk about the paranormal is around this time of year. Here are a couple of personal stories. According to Nanay (my mother), my lola (grandmother) is a faith healer. She used herbs, oils, and prayers in their little town in Negros Oriental. My Lola died relatively young. Nanay said […]
When I was a child, my brother used to say Mormons are CIA agents. Our village’s gate is right next to an LDS church. I assumed he got these ideas from Tom Clancy. He loves military and espionage novels. Then I read just the other day that due to Mormon’s language skills they’re scouted and […]
SMC CEO Mr. Ramon Ang and his team have outlined the plan for PAREX. The project is certainly ambitious and impressive. The 19.37-kilometre elevated highway will be built over the Pasig River. The plan proposes to reduce traffic congestion between Manila and its environs. According to reports the “project would create a six-lane, elevated expressway […]