Filipino Culture Through Literature and Its Authors, Kababayan Today

TV program, KABABAYAN TODAY, with JANELLE SO as host, features Filipino Culture through Literature & its Authors.  My books and I have cameo roles in this video. Thanks to Janelle So and Linda Nietes for including me.

Photo below was taken at Philippine Expressions' Authors night:

 Seated l-r: Linda Nietes, Consul General Hellen Barber De La Vega, Alma Reyes
Standing l-r: Cecilia Brainard, Ernie Delfin, Almira Astudillo Gilles


CLICK ON LINK TO SEE KABABAYAN TODAY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BV6EiHkT7m0

Earlier Scathing Criticism about Cebu City by an American

Last year, an American who publicly criticized Cebu was declared Persona Non Grata. Jimmy Sieczka created a 25-minute video, 20 Reasons to Dislike the Philippines, focusing on Cebu where he has lived.  Sieczka has taken down his video and apologized, but I'm posting articles about him, because some of Mr. Sieczka's comments are valid, including: beggars in the streets, heavy traffic, piles of garbage everywhere, public restrooms used for drugs, people urinating in public, prostitution, lack of safety, etc. etc. It's painful even to enumerate his complaints, and embarrassing, but it's high time, Cebuanos address these problems.

I love Cebu, and negative comments about Cebu City are painful to read. But I know that there is truth in what these foreigners are saying. I'm reprinting this so that Cebuanos, especially those in power, will be realize that Cebu City needs to be improved.  ~ Cecilia Brainard

 

Dislike’ video of American draws mixed reactions

By Princess Dawn H. Felicitas

Friday, March 16, 2012

“IF YOU plan to stay in the Philippines for a long time, be prepared to be pissed off.”
This is what Jimmy Sieczka, an American who has been living in Cebu City for the last three years, said in his 25-minute video, which has been circulating in social networking sites.
The areas featured in the video are all in Cebu City.

The video, which shows 20 things that Sieczka dislikes in the Philippines, has drawn mixed reactions.           
Among the things that he dislikes are the beggars, heavy traffic, the garbage on the streets and the “uncomfortable” comfort rooms.
While he finds their presence sad, Siezcka described the spread of beggars on the streets as “annoying.” He also said the garbage on the streets “pisses him off.”
He described the traffic as “disgusting” and the public comfort rooms as “heroin dens.”

More peeves
He also doesn’t like the Filipino’s obsession with whitening products, unsafe construction sites, taxi drivers who keep on beeping, security guards who are untrained, sidewalks that reek of urine and improper frisking in malls.
Asked to comment on the video, Mayor Michael Rama said the City Government is trying to address the problems of mendicancy, uncollected garbage and heavy traffic, among others.
Rama downplayed the negative effects Sieczka’s video might have on the city’s image.
“More people will be interested to come here and see if all the things he is saying are true,” he said in Cebuano.
Councilor Margarita Osmeña, chairperson of the council’s committee on tourism, had a stronger take on the matter.
“Why does he stay here if he does not like the city? He should go back to America instead,” she said.
Osmeña said she doesn’t think Siezcka’s video will discourage tourists, both foreign and locals, from visiting the city.
“Because it (the things he disliked) has not even stopped him (Siezcka) from coming here. But you know, over and above this, you have to remember the good things here,” she said.

Seeking public help
City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) Executive Director Raphael Yap acknowledged that some of the issues Siezcka raised are valid, particularly the traffic.
“Without mention of the myriad social and institutional issues involved in the management of traffic and transportation issues in the city, we can only do so much with our limited resources,” he said.
He appealed to motorists to help Citom solve traffic woes by following traffic laws.
“Unless our motorists obey traffic rules, without the necessity of an enforcer’s presence, or observe proper maintenance of their vehicles or park their vehicles properly, the city’s traffic will continue to worsen and plague foreign and citizens tourist alike,” he said.
On Facebook and on the website where the video was posted, Siezcka’s video has drawn mixed reactions.
Others told Siezcka to send a copy of his video to government officials, saying it was an “eye-opener.” They even thanked him for helping Filipinos see their shortcomings.
But others criticized Siezcka, and told him to go back to his country.

Siezcka’s purpose
Siezcka posted his reaction to the negative comments online.
“For those of you that think that this video was made to show my hate for the Philippines, I must say that you are sadly mistaken,” he said.
“I’m just stating the obvious in an unconventional way in order to spark change. Never once did I use the word hate in the piece. I simply pointed out issues that have been overlooked for quite some time,” he added.
Sieczka’s video is already gaining popularity, having at least 50,000 hits, as Cebu City is being nominated for the 7 Wonder Cities in an online voting.

~~~
 FILMMAKER JIMMY SIECZKA APOLOGIZES AFTER PRESSURE FROM CEBU POLITICIAN, March 21, 2012

The American filmmaker living in the Philippines that caused a stir with his viral video, “20 Reasons to Dislike the Philippines”, issued a video apology on Wednesday to the Philippine people.
The video’s host, Jimmy Sieczka said, “the video was never made to attack, or put down, or to hurt, or to let down some of the people in this wonderful and beautiful nation that have been so great to me when I moved here 3 ½ years ago”.
He goes on to say he is “deeply sorry that I offended some of the people of the Philippines”.
The apology follows Cebu City Councilor Sisinio Andales statement earlier that he would file a resolution to declare Sieczka “persona non grata”. Persona non grata is a term indicating that a person is no longer welcome in a particular area.
Sieczka says in the apology video that there was no hate involved in the video; he felt he was merely pointing out the obvious flaws that anyone else could see.
In the video, “20 Reasons to Dislike the Philippines”, Sieczka points out a wide range of things he dislikes while he walked through Cebu City. Traffic, garbage, comfort rooms, ubiquitous urinating and ladyboys all took the brunt of Siecka’s wrath in the video.
The apology, as well as the original video, garnered mixed reactions with Filipinos. However, the following reactions to Councilor Andales “threat” were the most interesting:

"This Cebu councilor doesnt deserve to be reelected for being insensitive, immature and naive. He should take this as a constructive criticism. The video may be hurtful to us but it's the truth and I don't see it as anti-Filipino. We see these things everyday yet we never make an effort to do anything about it. The councilor, I believe, should address these issues if he wants to promote tourism in Cebu. James, no need to apologize. You were just practicing your freedom of speech. Keep it coming! We need people of your kind.GO, go, go!"

"Whatever happened to free speech in the Philippines. This should take the Philippines down 1-level on the United Nations freedom list. I saw the video and basically he said that anything for the public access was terrible....including sidewalks, CR rooms and proper hygiene of sidewalk food vendors."

~~~
tags: Cebu, Cebu City, Philippines

Scathing Article about Cebu - Why is your City in Chaos?

OUCH! Scathing Article about Cebu City - When I first read this, I was angry at the writer, but I thought about it and the writer has valid points. I hope Cebuanos read this, especially those in power - Cebu City needs to be Cleaner and Safer; it needs a better Transportation System; Cebu needs Parks and Recreation facilities; and most of all Cebu needs more conscientious politicians who don't think of themselves but of the people and community.

WHY IS YOUR CITY IN CHAOS?
by Jess Ruffolo

By Jeff Ruffolo
Cebu Daily News

6:54 am | Sunday, April 28th, 2013 

 

MY wife just dropped me off at the international airport here in Cebu.  I thought of sharing my thoughts about my experiences in your fair city.

I am an American, living in Guangzhou, China and have worked at the elite level of the Olympics, both as a on-air radio announcer and senior adviser for both organizing committees of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and 16th Asian Games. As such, I have been able to travel most of this beautiful Earth and until I landed here in Cebu thought I had seen everything.

I am a guest in your country and as such have no agenda, not seeking money, fame nor advantage, therefore I will take a moment to tell you the truth of what I have seen here.

I’ve been walking around the Mactan airport and taking notes.  The international terminal is falling apart; the security belt where  you place your luggage is being held together by black masking tape.  The ceiling tiles are black from soot and age,  ready to fall apart.  There is no free WiFi high speed Internet connection and almost all of the power plugs available in the dilapidated waiting areas to run laptops like mine have been yanked out.

The taxi drive on the way to the airport itself was something akin to a thrill ride at Hong Kong Disneyland.

There is no modern transportation system in your city of Cebu. None. You have no bus system and no Metro. It is a frightening experience to get from one end of this city to another. Nighttime travel is even worse. Try getting in a taxi at 9 p.m. with Cebu city streets filled with roving bands of young men and prostitutes who stare at you while hovering over open fire pits.

Cebu at night is a medieval nightmare.

Every building in the downtown area is manned with white-shirted, armed security police who  shoulder shotguns or automatic machine guns. They are not there for decoration.

Your city is filled with noise and confusion. Your city has no bicycle lanes. Almost no city streets have white lines down the middle and yellow freshly painted on either side.

Cebu is a city in chaos.

Traffic police – if they do exist – must all be sleeping on the job. If there are any traffic laws being enforced, they are done so by officers wearing uniforms coated with invisible ink.

Your city of more than one million people has no central park, hence no quiet place for residents to leave the noise behind and take a few moments to commune with nature.

Your city is ugly.

Not just ugly with a Capital U … but dirt ugly. Something truly horrifying. Cebu is a city of the dead with the majority of its people slouching and moaning like zombies from the Walking Dead, moving from place to place always begging for “the man” to give them a handout, not a hand.

Your city is dirty in a way I’ve never seen with trash littered everywhere.  The poor are manifest in the faces of little children, some as young as 4 years old, wearing little more than tattered rags, coming up to unmoving cars in the downtown streets – zombified children who have vacant eyes that pierce through your soul and with hands outstretched, reaching out, seeking something, anything from a stranger to relieve the daily torture their lives have become.

Your city of Cebu has collapsed around you and yet the politicians who are responsible for all of this  – you the residents and thus the owners of this city have put in places of civic responsibility – seemingly do nothing but show up every few years, beg for your votes while telling you how your life will be better.  Then they all disappear.

Your city of Cebu has collapsed around you and yet all I have seen are endless posters of smiling politicians.

Shame on all of them. SHAME.  How dare they call themselves representatives of the people!
You politicians are all cowards, faceless and nameless. You act in prideful self righteousness but can’t wait to join your other elites at fancy dinners, get big money payoffs and live a life the rest of your fellow citizens could not even dream of.

How dare you call for spending billions of pesos to even consider building a new airport. You truly have taken a stupid pill to consider such a boondoggle.

You do not need a new airport in Cebu.  Cebu is not and never will be Singapore.  Yours is a regional destination and does not need a hub airport. Giant Boeing 777 aircraft from Cathay Pacific already land here. You do not need a third runway. Instead you should focus on providing the people of Cebu and its visitors with convenient, reliable transportation services.

Do not tear down your airport but start now– TODAY – and spend what is appropriate to make this the most beautiful and functional airport – the “diamond in the rough” – and a key part of the most user-friendly transportation system in your country.

ROADS IN RUIN
Most of your roads in Cebu have fallen apart. Do not wait for an election for something to change, for some plastic political person who wants your vote so he/she can suck up more precious public money, buy  a big house in the hills so they can look down on everyone else.  Gather yourselves together and start painting all of Cebu’s roads today – tonight – while city residents of Cebu sleep.  Start painting lines down the middle of every street in bright white.

You can go to any True Value store. They sell white paint.  I am sure they will give you a bulk discount.

Put bicycle lanes on the city streets and ENFORCE TRAFFIC LAWS of Cebu.

Start cleaning up your city by yourself.  Have civic pride in being a Cebuano. You don’t need approval.  You already voted in the cowards who sit idly by and do nothing.

City is a city and a pig is a pig.

Cebu is a pig residing in a filthy pigsty.

You can put a rose on pig, but it is still a pig.

Vote for none of these politicians.  They all lie to you.  They will say whatever it takes to get your vote.

All Cebuanos should rally to the cause, grab a bucket of paint, a broom and a mop and start getting  to work and make Cebu a place to be proud of.

Faith without works is dead.

Follow Us

Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/398763/why-is-your-city-in-chaos#ixzz2RmQoZFxj
Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook

~~~
tags: Cebu, Philippines

Cooking with Cecilia Brainard - LINGUINE WITH CLAMS

COOKING WITH CECILIA BRAINARD - 
LINGUINE WITH CLAMS

This is a great recipe for Linguine with Clams!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs Linguine
8 tomatoes, chopped
1 tbsp red chili peppers, finely chopped
Clams, 50 + fresh or
   6-6 1/2 oz cans whole baby clams
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup butter
10 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1/4 cup oregano, chopped
1/4 cup basil, chopped
1/4 cup thyme, chopped
1 lemon, large

Prepare linguine, al dente, lightly salted, drained. Saute in large skillet: olive oil, butter, garlic, parsley, oregano, basil, and thyme. Do not burn herbs! Reduce heat as soon as soft. Add clams. Continue to saute over low heat for 2 minutes or until fresh clams open. Squeeze in the juice of a large lemon. Add tomatoes and peppers. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add linguine and serve with parmesan cheese and garlic bread. (serves 6-8)

Note: Cecilia uses dried crushed chiles, not fresh chilis. She will sometimes use frozen clams (from Trader Joes).  This is easy to fix once you have all the ingredients. You could prepare the "sauce" before hand and cook the noodles last minute, if you want to serve at a particular time. Serve with hot French bread and good white wine. Yum!!!!


Read also:
Cooking with Cecilia- Pancit Bihon Guisado, Filipino rice noodle dish
Cooking with Cecilia Brainard - Quiche
Cooking with Cecilia Brainard - Linguine with Clams
Cooking Lengua Estofada
Food Essay - Fried Chicken Caribbean-style
How I Learned to Make Leche Flan (or How I Met my Husband)
Cooking with Cecilia - Leche Flan (Vietnamese Style) 
Recipe of Balbacua Cebuana from Louie Nacorda
Easy Filipino Recipes from Maryknollers
Cooking with Cecilia - Beef Bourguignon 
Cooking with Cecilia - Chicken Soup for my Bad Cold
Cooking with Cecilia - Short Bread Cookies and Friar Tuck in my Kitchen!

~~~

tags: food, wine, pasta, seafood, linguine, Cecilia Brainard

LINK RE CEBU TRANSPORTATION,AMERICAN PERIOD

 LOVERS OF OLD CEBU, NOTE:

This is an interesting link about turn-of-the-century Cebu, from the Journal of the Eastern Society for Transportation Studies, Vol, 5, October  2003:


http://www.easts.info/2003journal/papers/3286.pdf

~~~
tags: Cebu, transportation, train, railway, American period

THE BEST WEAPON ON EARTH - THE HOLY ROSARY

The Best Weapon on Earth - THE HOLY ROSARY

(courtesy of Miraculous Mama Mary of Odlot FB Site)

The Five Glorious Mysteries
Said on Wednesday and Sunday
1. The Resurrection
2. The Ascension
3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit
4. The Assumption
5. The Crowning of the Blessed
Virgin

The Our Father:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

The Hail Mary:
Hail Mary, full of grace! the Lord is with thee; blessed are thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Glory be to the Father:
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Prayer to Jesus Requested By Our Lady:
O My Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, take all souls to Heaven, and help especially those most in need of Your mercy.

The Apostles' Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ His only Son, Our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into Hell; the third day He arose again from the dead; He ascended into Heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

Hail Holy Queen:
Hail! Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To you do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To you do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, O most gracious advocate, your eyes of mercy towards us; and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus. O clement! O loving! O sweet Virgin Mary!

Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary:
V/ Lord, have mercy.
R/ Lord, have mercy.
V/ Christ, have mercy.
R/ Christ, have mercy.
V/ Lord, have mercy.
R/ Lord, have mercy.
V/ Jesus, hear us.
R/ Jesus, graciously hear us.
V/ God, the Father of Heaven,
R/ have mercy on us.
V/ God, the Son, Redeemer of the world,
R/ have mercy on us.
V/ God, the Holy Spirit,
R/ have mercy on us.
V/ Holy Trinity, One God,
R/ have mercy on us.
R/ for ff: pray for us.
Holy Mary,
Holy Mother of God,
Holy Virgin of virgins,
Mother of Christ,
Mother of divine grace,
Mother most pure,
Mother most chaste,
Mother inviolate,
Mother undefiled,
Mother most amiable,
Mother most admirable,
Mother of good counsel,
Mother of our Creator,
Mother of our Savior,
Virgin most prudent,
Virgin most venerable,
Virgin most renowned,
Virgin most powerful,
Virgin most merciful,
Virgin most faithful,
Mirror of justice,
Seat of wisdom,
Cause of our joy,
Spiritual vessel,
Vessel of honor,
Singular vessel of devotion,
Mystical rose,
Tower of David,
Tower of ivory,
House of gold,
Ark of the covenant,
Gate of heaven,
Morning star,
Health of the Sick,
Refuge of sinners,
Comforter of the afflicted,
Help of Christians,
Queen of Angels,
Queen of Patriarchs,
Queen of Prophets,
Queen of Apostles,
Queen of Martyrs,
Queen Confessors,
Queen of Virgins,
Queen of all Saints,
Queen conceived without original sin,
Queen assumed into heaven,
Queen of the most holy Rosary,
Queen of the Family
Queen of Peace,

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world,
R/ spare us, O Lord,
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world,
R/ graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world.
R/ have mercy on us.
Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R/ That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Prayer After The Rosary:
O God, whose only-begotten Son, by His life, death and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life; grant, we beseech Thee, that, meditating upon these mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Magnificat: Mama Mary's Pilgrim sites, edited by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, is available in e-form in Kindle and Nook. The hardcopy edition is published by Anvil, Philippines, and you can get copies from Powerbooks, National Boosktore. In the US, Philippine Expressions sells hardcopies of this Marian book.
~~

tags: Catholic prayers, Roman Catholic, Mary, Mother Mary, Virgin Mary, Rosary

Courtyard, San Miguel Allende - photo by Cecilia Brainard

Courtyard, San Miguel Allende - photo by Cecilia Brainard

~~
tags: travel, Mexico, gardens, San Miguel Allende, courtyard

Repeat - Brainard Kenya Safari! YouTube

CLICK ON YOUTUBE LINK TO WATCH THE SHORT VIDEO

Brainard Kenya Safari

Reprinting/rerunning this again - watch the YouTube clip below!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTt_5vtZfVg

Philippine Expressions at the LA Festival of Books!

Today, Philippine Expressions is in USC for the LA Festival of Books. Support Filipino and Filipino American writers, booksellers, and publishers - stop by Philippine Expressions' booth!

BTW, Philippine Expressions carries most of my titles, even the rare ones.

Philippine Expressions, tel: 1-310-514-9139
linda@philippineexpressionsbookshop.com

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard and Georgia O'Keefe

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard and Georgia O'Keeffe

Authors' Night, Philippine Expressions. April 19, 2013

Just got back from Linda Nietes' Author's Night, a Philippine Expressions Literary Event.

Seated l-r: Linda Nietes, Consul General Hellen Barber De La Vega, Alma Reyes
Standing l-r: Cecilia Brainard, Ernie Delfin, Almira Astudillo Gilles

l-r: Criselda Yabes, Sumi Sevilla Haru, Cecilia Brainard

l-r: Cecilia Brainard and Gladys Batan

Thank you Linda and Rob for sponsoring Authors' Night once again!



~~~~
tags; Philippines, Philippine, Filipino, Writers, authors, literature, fiction, novel

Filipina Bathing the Old Fashioned Way

This picture is courtesy of the Facebook site, Pearl of the Orient.
The image reminds me of women I had seen bathing in rivers and creeks or using water containers. They wear this tapis, wraparound, as they bathed.

Philippine Expressions Authors' Night Friday, April 19, 2013- You are Invited

 YOU ARE INVITED TO A LITERARY EVENT

Los Angeles, CA folks, please try to attend this Friday, April 19th literary Event. I'm one of the authors who'll be there. I'll be talking about the best-selling religious book that I edited, MAGNIFICAT: MAMA MARY'S PILGRIM SITES. Linda Nietes' literary events are always fun and provide great networking opportunities. Don't miss this one! RSVP 1-31-514-9139.

 I'll be talking and signing Magnificat: Mama Mary's Pilgrim Sites. You can order this book directly from Philippine Expressions, tel: 1-310-514-9139.

 

tags: Filipino, Filipino American, literature, literary events, book launch, authors, writers, books

CEBU CITY - Volunteer to help Clean Cebu's Rivers

Read letter below - This woman wants to volunteer to help clean up Cebu's Rivers - whom can she contact? 
~~~~~
Dear Ms. Brainard,

I am currently working at DTI Cebu Provincial office. Today I intentionally came to office earlier to view the current status of Pasig River in youtube. I supposed to view it yesterday around 5 P.M. but the internet connection was already very slow. So early today I have quenched my thirst in knowing the current status of the Pasig River. I am so amazed at the transformation. And right now I find hope in my desire to also transform our rivers and creeks.

The desire came about when I observed how bad the creeks now in T. Padilla. Early in the morning in going to the office from T. Padilla, I love to walk. But it saddened me a lot to observe how dirty the creeks are. I even saw some people discharging their human waste. Same things are also true in some rivers in other parts of the City.

So I am wondering if you have a sort of organization on "Cleaning the Rivers in Cebu City"? If you have, I wanted to be a part of it.I wanted to volunteer.

By the way, I happened to stumble your article while googling on the rivers of Cebu City.

I look forward to hear from you soon.

~~~~
Someone sent me this info. I don't know the organization, so please check it out first:
 Ang Save Philippine Rivers o SPR . . . di ko lang alam kung sinong lokal na NGO ang tumututok sa Cebu . . . maaaring umugnay sa Movement of Imaginals for Sustainable Societies Through Initiative, Organization and Network (MISSION) Cebu Node www.imaginalmission.net ang may balak kumilos para sa pagbabago at tunay na pag-unlad ng ating mga pamayanan . . .

mission of imaginals

www.imaginalmission.net

mission is the movement of imaginals for sustainable societies through initiatives, organizing and networking

~~~
More info from someone else:

here is a Cebu City Management Council which STAA had an agreement with way back in 2011 -- maybe it still exists with different names in it. Pity I don't have a contact name -- but here's the page from our Chronicler.http://www.flickr.com/photos/89033380@N00/8656001071/

Save a River Project

www.flickr.com

Page for Chronicler

~~~~
tags: Cebu City, Cebu, Rivers, Clean up, Creeks, Environment

Pre-Hispanic Filipino Writing on Copperplate

Early Filipino writing on Copperplate!  Let it never be said that pre-Hispanic Filipinos were illiterate.

Read more in this link

http://kahimyang.info/kauswagan/blogs/730-reading_the_laguna_copperplate_inscription




~~~
tags: history, Philippines, Philippine, ancient script, Javanese script, writing, antique, pre-Hispanic, pre-Colonial

COOKING WITH CECILIA - LECHE FLAN (Vietnamese style), Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

 COOKING WITH CECILIA - LECHE FLAN (Vietnamese Style)

I'm cooking for some friends, and my menu includes Leche Flan. Here is my favorite Leche Flan Recipe, which has coconut milk.  The coconut milk seems to make the texture smoother.  I have other Leche Flan Recipes, from the Philippines and Mexico, but this one almost always turns out perfect. It may take more than 45 minutes to cook. You have to test with a knife. Poke and pull, if the knife is clean, the flan is cooked.

(The picture shows me with Beef Bourguignon, another favorite recipe. I'll post that recipe another time.)

Leche Flan with Vietnamese Touch
4 eggs
1 cup condensed milk
1 cup coconut milk
2 tbsp vanilla
sugar to carmelize container
Mix eggs, milk, and vanilla. I carmelize sugar in a pan and spoon out brown sugar-liquid into the bottoms of pyrex containers. I put the mixture into the containers, around 2/3 or 3/4 full. I double boil for around 45 minutes at 325 degrees.

Let the pyrex containers cool. Run knife around the edges and loosen flan before flipping onto a serving plate, spoon carmelized sugar over the top. Delicious!


Read also:
Cooking with Cecilia Brainard - Quiche
Cooking with Cecilia Brainard - Linguine with Clams
Cooking Lengua Estofada
Food Essay - Fried Chicken Caribbean-style
How I Learned to Make Leche Flan (or How I Met my Husband)
Cooking with Cecilia - Leche Flan (Vietnamese Style) 
Recipe for Balbacua Cebuana from Louie Nacorda 
Easy Filipino Recipes from Maryknollers
Cooking with Cecilia - Beef Bourguignon
Cooking with Cecilia - Chicken Soup for my Bad Cold

~~~

tags: cooking, recipes, dessert, leche flan, custard, cookbook, food

Two Young Elephants Playing - Photo by Cecilia Brainard

Random photo from Cecilia Brainard's Album - Two Young Elephants Playing, Nairobi, Kenya

Good morning! Here is a picture of two young elephants playing. I took this at the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage



~~
tags: travel, animals, wild animals, Africa, elephants

Che Guevara in India - Random Photo by Cecilia Brainard

Che Guevara in India - Random Photo by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

tags: travel, photography, India, Che Guevara

Bino Realuyo's article on Filipino American Literature/Authors in Huffingtonpost.com

 Bino A. Realuyo, author of The Umbrella Country, has an article in Huffingtonpost.com about Filipino American Literature. He kindly included me in the bookcase of Filipino American Brilliance.  Thank you, Bino!

click on link to get to article, thank you.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bino-a-realuyo/filipino-american-books_b_3008833.html



~~

tags: Filipino American, Philippine American, Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, Regie Cabico, Lara Stapleton, Sarah Gambito, Patrick Rosal, Barbara Jane Reyes, Jon Pineda, Oliver de la Paz, Hossanah Asuncio, R.A. Villanueva, Nita Noveno, Luis H. Francia, Joseph O. Legaspi, M. Evelina Galang, Gina Apostol, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Ricco Siasoco, Laurel Fantauzzo, Grace Talusan, Luisa A. Igloria, Jessica Hagedorn, Eileen Tabios, Noel Alumit, Sasha Pimentel, Veronica Montes, Bino Realuyo, Nick Carbo, R. Zamora Linmark, Ninorchka Rosca,

Kirkus Review of Linda Ty Casper's novel, WINGS OF STONE

Kirkus Review

The Philippines, two years prior to the ouster of Marcos, is the setting for Ty-Casper's second novel to be published in the States (the first was Awaiting Trespass, 1985). And as this talented writer portrays it, it is a country in its darkest hour, where death squads take the lives of the defenseless with utter indiscriminateness, where the homeless and the hungry roam the streets of Manila while Madame Imelda refers to them as "economic saboteurs." To this Manila comes Johnny Manalo, son of a Filipino doctor, who's spent the last 15 years teaching physics at Harvard. His spur-of-the-moment return has the surrealistic quality of a "continuously broken dream," due both to his own disconnectedness from his feelings and to the grim state of affairs in his native land. His mother has recently died; his aging, idealistic father has retired; and his brother has become wealthy as a drug dealer's henchman. At first, Johnny pays no heed to the words of an anti-Marcos political activist whom he meets, Pete Alvarez: "...no one can stand aside. Or pay lip service. Here is where the battle is being fought. Now." But then a child is found with 60 stab wounds in his small body--reprisal for his father's outspokenness--Alvarez is shot, and a priest in the shanty-town where Johnny's father wants to establish a clinic is gunned down. And given the apocalyptic imagery of the ending, we're left to imagine that Johnny will work his way out of the miasma of his ambivalence and respond to the outrages that confront him. Ty-Casper's writing is hypnotic and elliptical, her novel's plot a loose connection of nightmarish incidents, her characters sometimes indistinct. But the horrors of the twilight years of the Marcos regime glow through the haze, making the book significant.

Hardcopy pub date, Nov. 14, 1986, by Readers International
E-book by PALH, now available in Kindle and Nook

Wings of Stone
Kindle:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CA8IHQO

Nook:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wings-of-stone-linda-ty-casper/1001222759?ean=2940016546988

Linda Ty Casper's novels in E-format, Now Available

Noted Filipino author, Linda Ty Casper's three novels are now available in e-book format in Kindle (Amazon.com) and Nook (Barnes and Noble) - see links below:

Wings of Stone
Kindle:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CA8IHQO

Nook:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wings-of-stone-linda-ty-casper/1001222759?ean=2940016546988




A Small Party in a Garden
Kindle:  http://www.amazon.com/A-Small-Party-Garden-ebook/dp/B00A2SZFOG/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1365606927&sr=8-2

Nook:   http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/small-party-in-a-garden-linda-ty-casper/1001160756?ean=2940015920390


Awaiting Trespass
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Awaiting-Trespass-ebook/dp/B00AHJN72W/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1365606927&sr=8-9

Nook:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/awaiting-trespass-linda-ty-casper/1000314472?ean=2940015824940

~~~
Kirkus Review of Linda Ty Casper's Wings of Stone:

Kirkus Review

The Philippines, two years prior to the ouster of Marcos, is the setting for Ty-Casper's second novel to be published in the States (the first was Awaiting Trespass, 1985). And as this talented writer portrays it, it is a country in its darkest hour, where death squads take the lives of the defenseless with utter indiscriminateness, where the homeless and the hungry roam the streets of Manila while Madame Imelda refers to them as "economic saboteurs." To this Manila comes Johnny Manalo, son of a Filipino doctor, who's spent the last 15 years teaching physics at Harvard. His spur-of-the-moment return has the surrealistic quality of a "continuously broken dream," due both to his own disconnectedness from his feelings and to the grim state of affairs in his native land. His mother has recently died; his aging, idealistic father has retired; and his brother has become wealthy as a drug dealer's henchman. At first, Johnny pays no heed to the words of an anti-Marcos political activist whom he meets, Pete Alvarez: "...no one can stand aside. Or pay lip service. Here is where the battle is being fought. Now." But then a child is found with 60 stab wounds in his small body--reprisal for his father's outspokenness--Alvarez is shot, and a priest in the shanty-town where Johnny's father wants to establish a clinic is gunned down. And given the apocalyptic imagery of the ending, we're left to imagine that Johnny will work his way out of the miasma of his ambivalence and respond to the outrages that confront him. Ty-Casper's writing is hypnotic and elliptical, her novel's plot a loose connection of nightmarish incidents, her characters sometimes indistinct. But the horrors of the twilight years of the Marcos regime glow through the haze, making the book significant.

Hardcopy pub date, Nov. 14, 1986, by Readers International
E-book by PALH, now available in Kindle and Nook


~~
tags: Philippine, Filipino, literature, novel, fiction, Marcos, historical, writer, author, Linda Casper, Linda Ty-Casper, Linda Ty Casper

Manguerra Genealogy Chart

 Manguerra Genealogy Chart:

I scanned this Manguerra Genealogy for a relative, and I'm sharing it in this blog, just in case other Manguerras will be interested in seeing it. This was prepared by Luz Villamor and she sent it to me shortly before she died.

All Manguerras and Mangueras (with one "r") are related.

~~

tags: Manguerra, Manguera, Sta. Rosa, Laguna, Marinduque, Philippines, Genealogy

Kirkus Reviews Lives and Carries on its Fine Work! (with old review of When the Rainbow Goddess Wept)

I found this link of Kirkus Review with an old review of When the Rainbow Goddess Wept. A while back there had been news that Kirkus Review would fold, so I'm happy that it's still alive and strong.

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/cecilia-manguerra-brainard/when-the-rainbow-goddess-wept/

 

~~~
tags: Cecilia Brainard, World War II novel, Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, Filipino, Philippine, Philippine American literature, writers, authors, fiction

Bees in my Garden

Bees in my Garden

There are a lot of bees in my garden!
For information about Bees Colony Collapse, click on link below. Please don't use pesticides or weed killers because they kill bees, butterflies, and other creatures.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_collapse_disorder

~~~
tags: garden, home, flowers, bees, colony collapse 

What's Coming Up for Cecilia Manguerra Brainard?

 What's Coming Up for Cecilia Manguerra Brainard?

1)  Linda Nietes of Philippine Expressions has graciously invited me to participate in her Authors' Night event coming up this Friday, April 19, 2013, 5:30-9 p.m, at 1145 Wilshire Blvd, LA, CA 90017.

Ten Filipino and Filipino American Authors will be there to talk about their books; there will be book signing.  They are:  Almira Astudillo Gilles, Marvin Gapultos, Giovanni Ortega, Sumi Sevilla Haru, Janet Stickmon, Criselda Yabes, Steven Yagyagan, and me, Cecilia Manguerra Brainard.

I'll be posting the official invitation from Philippine Expressions in the next day or two. 

2) Now, this is very interesting: a  Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines has invited me to be part of a Writers' Workshop this May.  Susan Brooks, who's assigned in Bago, Negros, is arranging an Author's Talk in May, via Skype!

I was forced to get a Skype account. And guess what? -- I tried it out and love it.  It's a fantastic tool! And as you can see, there are a lot of possibilities for its use.

3)  I also have some  trips coming up, but I'll talk about those after they've occurred and I have some pictures to post.

In the meantime, I'm slugging away on my novel in Eve Caram's Private Novel Workshop.

When I have time, I'm gardening.( I'm delighted to see many bees in my garden!)

Thanks for reading and enjoy Spring now that it has finally arrived.

Cecilia

~~~
tag: Cecilia Brainard, Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, Filipino, Philippine, author, writer, novelist, fiction, Philippine American, Filipina

Capadoccia, Turkey - Photo by Cecilia Brainard

Capadoccia, Turkey - Photo by Cecilia Brainard
I took this photo from a hot air balloon.  

Random photo from Cecilia Brainard's album

More info from Wikepedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cappadocia

~~~
tags: travel, Turkey, caves, Capadoccia. Capadocia, Kapadokya

Feast of the Divine Mercy, Sunday, April 7

Don't forget it's the feast of the Divine Mercy on Sunday, April 7

 The Chaplet: (Use a rosary)
"First say one 'Our Father', 'Hail Mary', and 'I believe'. Then on
the large beads say the following words:
'Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity
of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement
for our sins and those of the whole world.'
On the smaller beads you are to say the following words:
'For the sake of His sorrowful Passion have mercy on us and on the
whole world.'
In conclusion you are to say these words three times:
'Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us
and on the whole world'.

Read more: http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/dmmap.htm#ixzz2PkIQ9KSZ

Leaf Bug or Katydid Again - Photo by Cecilia Brainard

Here's another picture of the Leaf Bug or Katydid that I featured the other day. This time, it's in the midst of the leaves, and it's difficult to spot it. My hand hovers over the Leaf Bug.

~~~
tags: science, bugs, insects, Leaf bug, Katydid

Stick Insect - from photo album of Cecilia Brainard

Random photo from Cecilia Brainard's album - Stick Insect, photo taken in Malaysia

I don't know if you can see the Stick Insect. It's at the end portion of the stick, under my middle finger. It has six legs and a stick-like body. 




tags: botany, science, stick insect, Phasmatodea, insects, bugs

Leaf Bug or Katydid, photo taken by Cecilia Brainard

Random picture from Cecilia Brainard's album - A Leaf Bug (Katydid), photo taken by Cecilia Brainard, in Malaysia

tags: botany, science, leaf bug, katydid

Filipino Writers/Filipino American Writers from Cecilia Brainard's Album

Random photo from Cecilia Brainard's album - Filipino Writers/Filipino American Writers, l-r: Linda Nietes, P.C. Morantte, Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, Bienvenido N. Santos

tags: Filipino, Filipino American, authors, writers, literature, novelist

Colossi of Memnon, Egypt, Cecilia Brainard Album

Random Photo from Cecilia Brainard's  Album, Colossi of Memnon, Egypt -

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tags: travel, Egypt, megastructures, Colussus, architecture

Random Photo from my Album - Group of Filipino Writers

Random photo from my album

This was taken several years ago: l-r: Cecilia Brainard, Felice Sta. Maria, Isagani Cruz, Michael Gonzalez, Bienvenido Lumbera, Marily Orosa, Karina Bolasco




tags: Filipino writers, literature, Philippine, Philippines, authors, Cecilia Brainard, Isagani Cruz, Felice Sta. Maria, Bienvenido Lumbera