When I was growing up in the Philippines, every guy in my neighborhood played basketball. As a writer one is trained not to use absolute terms like “every” or “all,” but this is surely a statement of empirical fact. Maybe those guys were too busy now, or their knees, like mine, had given way...
Read more »
Pinoy
On Rafe Bartholomew’s “Pacific Rims” (2010).
Where’s The Other Pinay?
Dear Mr. David Byrne, You mean to tell me the one single Pinay singer who actually has a lead vocal on your project didn’t get to be on your cool poster? I mean, she sings lead vocals and all! Sincerely, The Wily Filipino p.s. Thanks, though, for the big spike in visits on my...
Read more »
My 15 (+1) Favorite Songs of 2009: 11. Anna Fermin’s Trigger Gospel, “How Do You Judge Me” (2003).
11. Anna Fermin’s Trigger Gospel, “How Do You Judge Me” - Official website. - From the 2003 album Oh, The Stories We Hold (eMusic link). The Chicago-based singer-songwriter Anna Fermin has one of those expressively elastic voices that sounds like it belongs to an older generation of singers; she’s partly husky and intimate on...
Read more »
My 15 (+1) Favorite Songs of 2009 — Number 16: Wonder Girls, “Nobody” (2008).
Continuing a series I more or less started in 2008 (here’s my 15 favorites from last year), I’ll be counting down the rest of the year and into 2010 with my list. (Best to start it now, because the order keeps changing, and many other songs — “Laura” by Girls, Parov Stelar’s “Blind Alley”,...
Read more »
LitCrawl, Saturday 10/17, SF.
I’m part of this year’s LitCrawl — phase 3, to be exact (scroll down to the Fabric8 entry) — come by and say “hello!” PAWA Arkipelago at Litquake! 8:30 pm @ Fabric8 Gallery, 3318 22nd., San Francisco PAWA & Arkipelago Bookstore Present: Of History & Myths — Writings from Philippine-American Authors. Curator: Karen Llagas,...
Read more »
Happy’s Notes from Ateneo and Ondoy.
Reposting my brother Happy Vergara’s latest note on Facebook — I thought it needed to be seen by folks who are outside Facebook, pretty much because the good news is good and the bad news is, as Happy wrote me on IM, “really really bad.” ———- These are going to be pretty random, with...
Read more »
Typhoon Ondoy Relief Goods to Tadlac, Los Banos, Laguna.
I thought I’d repost some photos from Happy, Clarissa and Monica’s most recent grocery run — okay, not literally theirs, because someone else did it for them this time — but once again, almost all the donations came from people on Facebook through Happy’s Paypal account. Tadlak is a barangay in the municipality of Los...
Read more »
Ondoy Letter of Appeal.
I’m reposting my brother Happy Vergara’s “Ondoy Letter of Appeal” (originally posted on Facebook; requires Facebook login). Please see my previous blog entry on Ondoy as well. ———- Hello Friends, I hope this reaches you well. I am writing on behalf of the millions of victims of Typhoon Ondoy, which four days ago flooded 80%...
Read more »
Happy, Clarissa & Monica’s Grocery Runs for Victims of Typhoon Ondoy.
I had originally posted the 9/27 note below on Facebook (see original note) — and made it viewable to “everyone”, not knowing that “everyone” did not mean people without Facebook accounts! So here it is — the most important part is the ONLINE DONATIONS section close to the bottom: ———- Hi folks, here’s a...
Read more »
PAWA Arkipelago Reading Series.
I’ll be at the Philippine American Writers and Artists Arkipelago Reading Series in SF on August 23rd — stop by and say “hello!” Where: The Bayanihan Center 1010 Mission Street @ 6th Street, San Francisco When: Sunday, August 23, 2009 at 2:00 pm Who: Penélope V. Flores, Joaquin Jay Gonzalez III, Kevin L. Nadal,...
Read more »