Dance lovers
It is not the kind of column one usually pursues. There was no edge to it, no compelling plot, no dynamic of change. It’s about a lot of dance lovers with…
Category: Lifestyle Columnists
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A room for grace
AS a group of scholars in theology and veterans in seminary formation were preparing for a new school year, a discussion at a breakout session came about between two professors. …
Experience ‘Love on 5th Avenue’ with Raymond Lauchengco
Showbusiness has constantly been the microcosm of both society’s ideal and turbulent lifestyles. A great number of avidly idolized celebrity figures are treated like demi-gods by swooning fans while being…
Date-rape drugs
What are date-rape drugs? Date-rape drugs, sometimes referred to as Party Drugs or simply Ecstasy, are medications that can be slipped into drinks and make a person unconscious for 15…
Vigan for the New 7 Wonders Cities: A shared responsibility
What makes you proud to say, “I am a Filipino”? Perhaps, every time Manny Pacquiao delivers his killer punch that KOs his opponent, you quickly raise your arms with matching…
Thank heavens there are cops!
I went through the grinder back in the Philippines as a crime reporter of a tabloid (People’s Tonight) that started off by exploiting shame and facilitated rage to work up…
A clamor for universal peace and harmony
I HAVE never attended a Jewish service in my entire life until two weeks ago, when my friend Armando invited me to a Shabbat while spending a week of vacation…
Of Doctors and the Literati
BEVERLY HILLS – Everyone will agree that if you exercise and eat right and don’t smoke or drink or annoy a cop, you’ll never die. I have been told that…
Goodbye, ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ (July 21, 1951-August 11, 2014)
From the Windy City of the American Midwest hailed one of the world’s greatest actor-comedians, Robin McLaurin Williams, cinematically christened simply Robin Williams. Born in one of the most populous…
Depression
The suicide death of comedian Robin Williams a few days ago was attributed to depression. This highlights the importance of understanding this mental illness and how to deal with it….
A little boy starting kindergarten
IT was love at first sight. As soon as I set my eyes on him, no one else mattered inside the room. I stood there on one sweet Thursday, cradling…
Encountering God
I REMEMBER the years that I spent in the minor seminary, particularly those times when I would walk around the grounds of the seminary on a stormy morning, singing psalms…
The Consular Staff and their niceties of protocol
DIPLOMATIC service, like life, is about the important, the amusing, the humane. At one level, it is routine and technique. But at its highest level, it is an art. Often…
A Grand Cotillion highlights 2014 Fiesta in America
The Philippine Fiesta, now aptly tagged Fiesta in America, has been consistently celebrating its cultural festival since its inception 15 years ago and on August 15 it’s turning a new…
DNA: Who is the Daddy?
What does DNA stand for? DNA stands for DeoxyriboNucleic Acid, the “substance” that is analyzed in the state-of-the-art test to determine paternity, and in other cases, maternity. The genetic information…
Buko featuring your suki
You are resting in your living room, and you hear the most distinct sound you are very well acquainted with – your “suki” shouts “buko.” Automatically, you get up and…
Remembering President Cory
I covered the presidential term, sailing through its choppy waters while chronicling President Cory’s wavy patterns of success and glory; laughter and grief; loss and devastation; troubles and genuine delights. Through the oppressive…
Of wonder and awe
FR. RONALD Rolheiser, O.M.I. contends that there is an important distinction between “amazement” and “wonder and awe.” He says that wonder and awe stop the flow of energy passing through…
What makes a perfect beauty pageant?
THERE is no correct or incorrect answer to that question—only an honest or dishonest one. Because you can’t deny its reality: it is about values, beliefs, love, money, integrity, generosity…
Eight hopefuls vie for the first ever FIA International King & Queen crowns
Fiesta in America (FIA) launches the first ever international beauty and talent search this side of the eastern seaboard in connection with its 16th year of celebrating the grandiosity of…
Ballroom dancing
Is ballroom dancing good for everyone? For the majority of people who love to dance, ballroom dancing is one of the best exercises for cardiovascular fitness. Only those with medical…
You are bound to be there
THE rap artist Andrew E. gave people, at an early age, a picture of what Malate is in his song Banyo Queen—a place where one can have fun with an…
The other side of news reporting
Interviews come in many ways. Some regard it as a battle, a delightful minuet. Others call it theater piece. That is why I am reluctant to write about fashion, showbiz,…
Sunday night at the ER
All of LA 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…
Becoming all flame!
“BY and large the world is a good place,” claims Fr. Ronald Rolheiser, author of Sacred Fire: A Vision for a Deeper Human and Christian Maturity. “But among all those…
It’s raining and we won’t stop 2.0
THIS article, a continuation of last week’s, was originally intended for outdoor activities during the rainy season in the Philippines. However, with the present condition, it would be nonsensical and…
Once upon a press club
There was once a press club in the heart of a city where everyone lived in harmony with each other and their surroundings. Photographers and writers: they were affable and comrades among…
Mariedel Leviste, M.D.: Any challenge can be fun
The piece began as an act of friendship, arranged by super lawyer Roman P. Mosqueda. It was a conversation-interview supposed to draw a portrait of Dr. Mariedel Leviste, a portrait without…
On being patient with ourselves
“BUT though you are master of might, you judge with clemency, and with much lenience you govern us; for power, whenever you will, attends you. And you taught your people,…