People come and go as they say. Yet, the ones who stay are the ones we have to be grateful for. Time is not even a valid argument for longevity. Relationships sometimes may be toxic but we don’t realize it until it’s too much or too late? What is toxic is not healthy, but our …
Osaka, Japan – The use of rattan for the façade of the Philippine Pavillion perhaps is a simple way to address climate change issues. The panel discussion on “Health and Climate Change: The Greatest Challenge of Our Time” underscored that climate change impacts livelihoods and health through various direct and indirect pressures, and vulnerable populations …
I wonder how one gets out of the abyss. I wonder how one finds light in the circumstantial sadness and chagrin. I wonder how one finds hope in between and among thoughts and musings. I wonder how one lies down and no matter what one does, closed eyes never mean a peaceful mind. I wonder …
At a recent Generation AI forum, I sat on a panel alongside other creatives. I was the only woman there, representing the Freelance Writers’ Guild of the Philippines. We were all wrestling with the same question: How do we work with this technology without losing what makes us human? One question for the panel stood …
Soundness, Intensity, and the Choice to Resist: Writing with Agency in the Age of AI Read More »
Eighty years ago, the pre-recorded announcement of Emperor Hirohito verbally accepting the terms of surrender that ended Second World War reverberated throughout Japan via radio on August 14, 1945 . The United States earlier detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima (August 6 ) and Nagasaki (August 9) that killed between 140,000 and 70,000 people, respectively, most of …
Besides the coconut being like a giant nut according to a song, the coconut in common parlance is used by Filipinos to mean an empty and hallow brain. No matter what language or gay lingo you know of, this proves true, “Women are made of beauty and brains more than yes – coconuts!” Take for …
Buscalan Tinglayan, Kalinga – I was inked last Holy Week in my right forearm with the iconic three dots tattoo by Apo Whang-Od, the so-called last and oldest surviving mambabatok. Batok refers to the traditional Filipino tattooing practice, particularly in the northern Luzon region that has been around for more than a thousand years. It involves hand-tapped designs applied to the …
The three dots iconic tattoo of Apo Whang-Od and copyright Read More »
A couple of times, I’ve wondered what is the meaning of life and why we often lose hope. Trigger warning, even headlines talk about losing the will to live. If there’s anything I can say to those who’s losing it, it’s that tomorrow is full of surprises. I mean, don’t you get excited just thinking …
I didn’t jump into creative work with AI right away. Like many others, I was cautious—more out of fear than doubt. At the time, I was reading criticism about how generative AI might be undermining the rights of writers and artists, pulling from datasets without consent. As someone who values originality and authorship, I wasn’t …
Mahjong has a special place in our family as we grew up with weekend gatherings of aunts and uncles for mahjong sessions while we (cousins) play traditional games. Mahjong is a Chinese tile-based game of skill, strategy, and luck, which can be fun but can also be deadly. Mahjong is commonly played by four players …
Mahjong as part of Chinese influence in Filipino culture Read More »
