relief & assistance for Typhoon Odette/Rai

The central Philippines region has been slammed by the recent Typhoon Odette [Rai], making nine destructive landfalls in the country on December 16. 

Typhoon Odette crisis response page on Facebook

In Siargao Island, Surigao del Norte; Cagdianao, Dinagat Islands; Liloan and Padre Burgos, Southern Leyte; and Pres Carlos P. Garcia and Bien Unido in Bohol.

Palawan Relief Efforts

Multiple sources report that Typhoon Rai has caused extensive damage in passing the Philippines. The typhoon caused widespread disruptions in the Philippines from flooding, landslides, and strong winds. Overall, at least 146 people were killed. 

crafts of home

Christmas is in the air! Happy holiday cheer to all! 

native bamboo Christmas ornaments

The Philippines is notorious for having the longest Christmas season and Filipinos throw ourselves fully into the holiday spirit with great gusto. 

We have countless Christmas customs to celebrate the occasion - with food, feasting, and festivals fare. Christian, traditional, or familial - we all have our special triggers, practices, and customs that enliven our celebrations. 

a unique Christmas celebration

There bamboo trimmings capture the spirit of Christmas in our island home. They are a collaborative creative achievement between Hacienda Crafts of Manapla, Negros Occidental and CM Bamboo Craft Centre of Iloilo. 

power pinays

Another Pinay is one of two photo journalists tapped to showcase the accomplishments of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Maria Ressa.

Fellow Filipina and prized photojournalist Hannah Reyes Morales has been tapped to highlight Nobel Peace Prize winners through a photography exhibition in Oslo, Norway and share their stories with us and the rest of the world.

Images: Nobel Peace Center; Hundred Heroines

Morales, along with her fellow photojournalist Nanna Heitman's coverage of Dmitry Muratov, will feature the significant contributions of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize laureates, who were selected “for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.” 

Morales “has created a documentary photo series that depicts how social media permeates everyday life in the Philippines. This work is personal: like many of us at home, watching the consistent assault on truth has been deeply disturbing.” 

Morales told the Nobel Peace Center, “I’ve been able to take a closer look at the chaos that is rooted online, and in the dark, I was reminded constantly that on the other side of the screen are people.” 

Brava! Mabuhay ang Pinay! 

thank you for being

Let us be of one mind that we may do this properly.

We give thanks for our Clan Ancestors.

Thanksgiving family feast, Edgewater NJ, 2021

And the Great Mystery, told us this:

I shall continue to dwell above the sky, and that is where

those on the earth will end their thanksgiving.

I shall always be listening carefully to what the people are saying and

shall always be watching carefully what they do.

They will begin on the earth, giving thanks for all that they see.

They will carry that gratitude upward, ending where I dwell.

Thanksgiving family feast, Negros Island PI, 2021

eclipse of the century

Lasting three hours, 28 minutes and 23 seconds, the November 19 lunar eclipse breaks monumental records. There hasn’t been a longer partial lunar eclipse since 1440. According to NASA, it will remain the longest eclipse for the next 648 years - until the next one in 2669. 

Plus this lunar spectacle has the Moon passing so deep through the darkest part of the Earth’s shadow that it almost qualifies as a total lunar eclipse and barely a penumbral one.

full beaver blood moon over NYC

According to astrologer Cathy Pagano, Eclipses represent portals of transformation and awakening, opening us to unknown parts of ourselves. Perhaps it’s time to cleanse and heal past life patterns that tested us to grow.

Lunar eclipses often finish up old business. Eclipses sometimes bring fated events into our lives that help with the evolution and growth of our soul, especially if they contact any of our natal planets.

Eclipses come around to ask, Are you living from the heart? Taurus asks, What is of value to you and your life? Scorpio asks, How long are we going to hold onto childhood’s traumas when the world needs us to grow up?

⁠

At times things look sunny on the surface - yet there may be some limiting [beliefs, doubts, or blocks] in the unconscious that need to be cleared out - to get closer to our truth. ⁠

How exciting to be at the forefront of shaping a new vision of life for a new society. What do we each have to do to make this a reality today?

a natural campus

wonder | wander| world in conversation — with our fellow island born, nurtured circle of friends, and former high school classmates — got to talking about our campus life back then.

registration building & Oblation statue, UP Diliman campus

A few of us went to college at the University of the Philippines, Diliman (UPD) in Quezon City. Growing up on our little lush tropical island made us appreciate the campus more — our escape from the concrete and crush of the overcrowded chaos in sprawling Metro Manila.

Academic Oval Road, UP Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines

Although we had since moved on and have not returned to the community, it was good to see this grand state campus still thriving and well tended. We were among the lucky few who got to dorm on campus — a great comfort and convenience at a simpler time in our lives.

the Threatened Species Arboretum on campus

island independence

November 5 marks the 123rd anniversary of the Negros Revolution - Al Cinco de Noviembre or Negros Day.

memorial marker in Silay City

This was the 1898 political movement which created an independent government in Negros Island in the Philippines.

Local sugar planters and traders along with their farm workers and grassroots groups led by political and religious heads like Dios Buhawi and Papa Isio instigated open rebellion.

Spanish-era depiction of the Cathedral and the Plaza Publica

Ending Spanish control of the island and resulting in a government run by the island natives on the western side [Negros Occidental].

The newly established Negros Republic would last a mere three months. American forces landed on the island unopposed on February 2, 1899 which brought the island's independence to an end.

pre-war photo of the Plaza Publica & historic bandstand, 1930s

Negros Island experienced three peace time years many old timers still refer to as their golden years, until the Japanese invasion of World War II.

Many islanders take pride in their revolt against the authorities and today there still is a dedicated core who promote secession and federalism.

1950's photo of plaza & bandstand with checkerboard tiles

That folks is the mixed bag of pride and prejudice for the sake of local independence.

current aerial view of plaza & bandstand