Las Vegas, a paradise beyond art
Las Vegas is a city of a thousand flashing lights racing on and off, bizarre and beautiful, meant to confuse people that there is no time here, no night and…
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The great game of golf: From tee to green
There is a funny thing about golf. It is more than strong shots or strong hands, beautiful knee action, smooth and self assured putting attributes or strokes. A tough player hides…
When love turns around
LAS VEGAS: On a hot, dry day in May, the whole city was breathing and heaving like a tired beast. On the strip that controlled all the luxurious hotels, cursing…
The perils of Kristeta: The back story
A long, long time ago, Kris Aquino and I sat together by the steps of the Guest House, the official residence of then President Cory Aquino. We goofed around at…
The ‘pause’ every woman endures
They call it hormonal mischief. It is the new perspective coming into view in every woman’s major life passage. A midlife agitation, literal and poignant — first, the gushing, like…
Glowing goldies and the magical fun of dancing
I am struck by women who are no longer young. At the same time, startled by the beauty of their old faces. Lived, grooved and puckered as they may…
People last Sunday at the ER
All of Los Angeles County’s sufferings come through the doors of the emergency room. Accidents, shootings, heart attacks, beatings, rapes, suicides—just as gory and heart-stopping when I was covering the…
On mothers, motherhood and beyond
The most demanding view of motherhood is this romanticized notion: that no woman is complete or fulfilled unless she has kids. In addition to this, the world’s view about motherhood…
Once upon a press club
Once upon a time, there was a press club in the heart of a city where everyone lived in harmony. Photographers and writers were affable and comrades among themselves. They…
Until tomorrow comes
I was told I had cancer on a blue day in November. In novels, it was far too gorgeous a day for tragedy. My cabbage roses were still in full…
Till we meet again, Amb. Jose P. Cuisia
Farewells are always both sad and bright like sunshine after the rain. The town hall meeting with our US Ambassador Jose Cuisia Jr. last Monday, April 18, was just like…
A glorious celebration: FACLA 71
Call it FACLA’s coming of age, as this Sunday, April 24, will be an unbridled polished affair of sight, sound and scene that will collide with the Filipino American’s Community of…
Is this really Pacquiao’s farewell?
LAS VEGAS—In boxing, there’s that thing called “The End.” It always seems like a good idea—until the next fight. On the morning of his fight, after the Bible study, we…
Las Vegas, a paradise beyond art
Las Vegas is a city of a thousand flashing lights racing on and off, bizarre and beautiful, meant to confuse people that there is no time here, no night and…
VP Jojo Binay: His big dreams for our country are worth fighting for
POLITICS back home had gradually turned into a world of petty bickering, big money and bad manners. The presidential campaign undeniably takes the surge of the interest in the personalities of…
Boxing champ Manny Pacquiao: A true gentleman
All roads lead to Las Vegas this Saturday, April 9, as Filipino boxing champ Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao faces Timothy Bradley once again. The spirit of boxing cannot be easily defined,…
Once upon a street sweeper
What a noble trade it is to be a street sweeper. It consists of sweeping the filth we produce, making our existence less infected. Mindless and ungrateful are those who use…
Who will take care of gentle angels called caregivers?
In private homes, we learn yet of another world—of quiet angels with gentle hearts. Back home, they used to be teachers, bank tellers, office workers, engineers, or registered nurses who…
It’s spring once again
Today, we stop and breathe because there it is, the scent of hope, love and lust — spring. It is land’s perpetual gift of sudden grace. It is upon us…
If I could interview Jesus Christ
The Lenten season is the time for people to renew themselves with the teachings of Christ. Presented in words in a thousand pulpits across the nation, some may be true…
Destination White House: The campaign combat
There is no arguing that Washington is one of the world’s most powerful city. But amidst its power, no one is immune to the spell of the city’s beauty, magnificent…
The fragile art of roasting people
It was “hail, hail the gags all here” at the Beverly Hills Country Club. The live roast started with tip toe humor, nodding deferentially to the seven “honorees,” rising to…
Working with the Reagans
Adela Filiu Ferguson went to America to define her dream, clutching her midwifery diploma, an abiding faith in God, sheer guts and grim determination. That day, on her date with…
The fall of President Marcos
February 26, 1986. There was something odd happening, Camp Crame was the center of army revolt. I wish I could remember it all better without weakening the vitality of the…
Maestro Dexter Grey: A blend of virtuosity and poetry
Hollywood: His was an era of the musician pianists, faithful to the music in their fashion. Touched by God, he is no longer beholden to the pianistic musicality of fantasies,…
The thrill of crime reporting
“No one is spared from crime, however, at the center of the hurricane of crime, is a brotherhood of hard men, who fight for whatever justice is possible in this…
The agonizing malady of a writer’s block!
How strange is this demented feeling when I realize that I have spent agonizing days before a pen and a notebook, with nothing better to do but jot down notes…
Beyond age lies a gentler joy
Getting old is a natural thing and no one should not be afraid of the natural— trees, animals age, and everything that is alive. I am not afraid to look…
The heart has its reasons
Perhaps the heart is not just a sort of Valentine, or only the beating thing in a chest that sustains life. It is also the well, spring of all faith,…
The many faces of love
Love’s vistas are inexhaustible. But for all the ardency of love’s idealism and romance, it can only be taken as an act of faith. To be ruled under the spell…