I stumbled on this video after an old friend from the Heights posted it on Facebook. And my giggles got progressively louder as I kept watching. Sometimes I have to remember I’m at work when watching these damn things.
My favorite part? The “ang galing!” toward the end, which means something like “so good!” Totally would’ve been what my mom would’ve said if she’d seen this.
All my Filipino friends on Facebook have been sharing this recent article in the L.A. Times about, despite the abundance of classically-trained chefs of Filipino descent, how none of them seem willing to start a fine dining restaurant featuring Filipino food. The article appeared to be the centerpiece of the Food section for that day, which also included a review of Magic Wok in Cerritos and recipes for nilaga, adobo and bichu-bichu (which I don’t think I’ve ever had, but whatever). The article asks the question: why can’t Filipino food go mainstream and be featured in a fine dining restaurant? Why isn’t it as popular as Chinese, Japanese, Korean or Thai food?
I’m dreading the morning — after a vacation, a day of jet lag, then three days of packing, moving and unpacking, I’m pretty exhausted. And I’m now in the throes of feeling pregnancy uncomfortableness — swollen, sore feet, sore calves (especially after moving and carrying stuff up and down stairs) and lower back pain. Sigh. But my friend Marc’s status updates caught my eye and made me laugh.
Apparently, Filipino Heritage Nights seem to be all the rage — Dodger Stadium had one recently, which was reviewed here by my buddy Moonie. Now, it appears AT&T Park in San Francisco is going to have one soon, too — however, I only found out about it when Marc (who covers the Yankees), started posting hilarious status updates about it in Facebook.
This past week was, of course, the AAJA Convention in Boston, which brought out the nostalgia in me — especially on Facebook, where so many people I’ve met from past conventions posted about the parties, the workshops, the speakers and of course, having fun with old friends. One issue arose, however, that didn’t come out of the convention, but did get discussed — the new movie, “The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard.” The treatment of the Asian guy in the movie is not getting any love from Japanese Americans.
Laura Ling and Euna Lee will be tried Thursday in North Korea on charges of hostile acts and illegally entering the country. The two American reporters for Current TV have been detained since March 17 and if convicted, face up to five years detention and hard labor.
Both women are married, and Lee has a 4-year-old daughter.
I think we all have high hopes for these two women reporters, especially since Roxana Saberi was freed and her sentence suspended. But with the rumblings from North Korea lately, I think it will take a lot of prayer to get them out without risking a full-scale war with this still-Communist nation.
There will be a vigil in Santa Monica Wednesday night for Ling and Lee, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Wokcano, 1413 5th Street, near the Third Street Promenade. It’ll be one of many across the country. I won’t be able to be there because I work that night, but would be much obliged if anyone else is there and would be willing to share pictures with AAJA-LA.