Celebrating the sainthood of Mother Teresa
I REMEMBER standing next to her at the Luneta Park in Manila when Pope John Paul II beatified Lorenzo Ruiz of Manila and his companions. I was a young college…
Category: Life & Style
Covering the week’s most noteworthy life & style news stories impacting the Filipino-American and Global Filipino community.
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The agonizing malady of a writer’s block
How strange, this demented feeling gives me when I realize that I have spent agonizing days before a pen and a notebook, with nothing better to do but jot down…
Behind Pokwang’s fun and endearing personality
Robin Williams (rest his soul) once said, “Comedy can be a cathartic way to deal with personal trauma.” Some people second that notion with quotes like ‘happy people are truly…
Oral germs and pancreatic cancer
PANCREATIC cancer is one of the deadliest and fastest killers in our society today. Because of the deeper anatomical location of the pancreas, cancer of this organ is most often…
New Asian Culture Center in Las Vegas celebrates grand opening
Las Vegas’ new Asian Culture Center celebrated its grand opening ceremony on Monday, August 29. The festivities began at 3pm, with honorable mayor of the City of Las Vegas, Carolyn…
The intimacy of women columnists
TODAY, more women are writing columns than before. But as the women’s movement took hold, traditional limitations on them began to dissolve, and they’re now writing about politics, government, finance,…
The healing and liberating power of forgiveness
IN these turbulent times when the world is replete with hatred, violence, and killings, Paramount Pictures and MGM’s remake of the classic film, “Ben-Hur,” makes a relevant point: forgiveness heals…
Of healers and scribblers
Everyone pretty much agrees that if you exercise, eat right and don’t smoke or drink, you’ll never die. I have been told that by my internist, cardiologist, psychiatrist and all…
‘Scripted in Heaven’ screening night
The trailer of “Scripted in Heaven,” the movie inspired by Lou Baron’s book, premiered during a red carpet screening event at the Wilshire Screening Room in Beverly Hills, California on…
Weight and premature death
A CLINICAL study of 3.9 million adults in 189 countries, published in the medical journal Lancet, revealed that our risk for illness (like hypertension, diabetes, heart diseases, stroke, Alzheimer’s, and…
On retirement and preparing for your ‘nest egg’
NO career lasts forever. However dedicated individuals might be their professions, health and other concerns will eventually limit their ability to work. When that time comes, it is unlikely that…
Bob Shroder’s perfect, graceful fusion of musical past with contemporary musical world
At the recent FASO’s Summer Family Concert, you’d think that time honored, phrase “Maestro, at his best!” says it all.. But there is more between fresh observation and stale clichés…
We belong to Him
MY favorite time of the day is the early morning after I arise from bed and take a shower. I would quietly sit by the window of my living room,…
NOSTALGIA Beatles: Let it be
I AM one of those who freely and ungrudgingly takes great interest in my friends’ pleasures, in what they relish and what they become anxious about in the world of…
The perks of being Liza Soberano
SOME people just have it all—beauty, brains and personality—plus the fame and fortune that come with having all three. But if the bearer of “all things beautiful” is as lovely…
The three-day 18th Fiesta in America celebration through the lens
…And then suddenly, it was over! After months of conscientious preparation and inflexible planning, the annual three-day festivity that celebrates the custom and tradition of the Filipinos this side of…
Metabolic syndrome
THE epidemic of childhood obesity, which obviously parallels the incidence among adults, have contributed to the explosion of metabolic syndrome, the most common cause of major illnesses our society faces…
The delicate dance of a publisher and an advertiser
“…That if all Printers were determin’d not to print any thing till they were sure it would offend no body, there would be very little printed. I consider the Variety…
Dexter Grey: Rebellious audacity and improvisations highlight latest concert
There was nothing in Dexter’s Grey ancestry, background or environment to suggest he would become the greatest living interpreter of the work of Frederic Chopin. It was all there, when…
To bloom where we are planted
IN my 8th year of priesthood, I was asked to be part of a dating game. Not the dating game that we see today on television like The Bachelor or the dating service called Christian…
Hair and beauty solutions for all occasions
My beauty-related articles are among the most popular ones, based on the reactions I have received from my readers. I try to pick up the most common questions to help…
The glitterati of the 2016 People’s Ball
An event, no matter how meticulously conceptualized, painstakingly rehearsed, and smoothly presented, will still fail to achieve the utmost standard of grandiosity when lacking of interesting personalities and glitterati that…
Gluten-free chocolate protein porridge
(Champurrado inspired recipe courtesy of Fit Chef for Life Katrina Palana-Soledad) Ingredients 1 cup boiling water 1/3 cup steel cut oats*complex carbs 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder 1 tsp coconut…
Crazy for coconut protein pancakes
(Bibingka inspired recipe courtesy of Fit Chef for Life Katrina Palana-Soledad) Minutes to Prepare: 10 Minutes to Cook: 5 Number of Servings: 4 Ingredients *Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour, .5 cup…
Ground turkey with potato-bell pepper ometlette topped with grilled organic eggplant
(Pork giniling & tortang talong inspired recipe courtesy of Fit Chef for Life Katrina Palana-Soledad) Ingredients: GROUND TURKEY BASE 1/2 cup Onions, diced 1 Tbsp, Garlic, minced 1 Tbsp Grapeseed Oil 16oz…
Sleep deprivation and power naps
“MOST American adults sleep poorly,” according to a study by the National Sleep Foundation. The findings from 1,506 adults are obviously applicable to most of us in general. The lack…
The power of tourism for Bicolandia
In Bicolandia, the renowned Mayon Volcano towers majestically at 8,000 feet from the base to its pointed tip, with its crater a mere 1,640 feet across. At dawn, mists bank…
Healthy alternatives to your favorite Filipino dishes
Meet Michelle Ibarrientos, a Fil-Am based in Southern California, who whips up healthy versions inspired by Filipino favorites. Before she was a self-proclaimed “health enthusiast,” Ibarrientos would feel bloated and…
A beginner’s guide to working out
Getting started on a workout routine may seem intimidating to beginners, but it’s certainly attainable. Longtime personal trainer and proud Fil-Am Joshua Hayes lends his tips to kick starting a…
On living well: Fit Chef for Life Katrina Palana-Soledad
For Katrina Palana-Soledad, living well has been a journey — one 12 years in the making. “Growing up in the Philippines, there’s no such thing as dieting,” she shared. When…