end of a decade & the start of 2020

The final solar eclipse of the decade occurred on Thursday, December 26. When the new moon passed in front of the sun it produced a stunning and photogenic ring of fire around the moon.

This new moon not only brings to an end things we have been going through for the last ten years, the energy of this highly charged, intense lunar pull brings major change.

Giving us the opportunity to release, cleanse, refresh, and renew our energy just in time for 2020 and the start of an exciting new decade.

sacred solstice season

I found this interesting article in the Smithsonian magazine on How the Sun Illuminates Spanish Missions in the Winter Solstice.

We have a Catholic tradition back in the Philippines called visita iglesia where during Holy Week we trek to churches - new and old - reciting the Stations of the Cross. All these church visits bring on fond memories.

As folks in the Northern Hemisphere mark the longest night and shortest day of the year this winter solstice, I cannot help but contemplate on the effects of colonization - then and now, here and there.

ART | fiery women & their tor/men/tors

Today's Google doodle commemorating Camille Claudel on her 155th birthday is yet another bitter sweet reminder of a fierce forgotten female lost to us.

La Vague ("The Wave") (1897), exhibited in the Claudel room of the Musée Rodin

This is not just some disgruntled feminist grudge. That would be too petty a label to place on a much larger issue.

from here to home

The NYTimes Op-Docs piece "From Here to Home" highlights five films on immigration and belonging.

Writer Viet Thanh Nguyen, herself an immigrant, introduces the works with these heart piercing words:

[T]hings happened not necessarily because we were refugees or Southeast Asian, but because we were human and did some of the same things that other Americans did. Our failures — and our successes — were due to our complicated humanity, not because of our ethnic or national origins.

100 years commemorating veterans all over the world

Veterans Day was originally called Armistice Day and commemorated the end of World War I. Unlike Memorial Day, when we remember those who gave their lives for our country.

Veterans Day NYC Parade

On 11 November 1918 the Allies and Germany put into effect an armistice on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

Several wars later and many date and some name changes after, we share this day's commemorations with several other countries.

FORCE conversations

October marks a year since the ran away wreck of Harvey Weinstein led to the fall of many a foul sexual harassers which culminated in the #MeToo movement.

So what do we have to show for all that media hoopla? What has the United States of America done for its female population? Where do our women stand today?

FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture

decolonizing & deconstructing

October reminded us of our past colonized histories. Starting with the October 12 celebration of 65 years of Philippine-German diplomatic ties. When Martina and Issa had fun dressing up in our national attires and taking photos in our New Jersey neighborhood. 

Followed on October 13 by International Day for Disaster Reduction. Started in 1989 by the United Nations General Assembly as a day to promote the global culture of risk-awareness and disaster reduction.