“Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps that explain everything about the World”.A book by Tim MarshallScribner, 2015. Maps have always intrigued me. From the ones we used as boy scouts to make our way around obstacle courses to maps used when driving cross-country in the U.S. and Canada, and in planning family trips to other countries.Continue reading “Reading Finds”
Author Archives: juanmiguelluz
A Trip Back in Time
A visit to Casa de Segunda,the ancestral home of Manuel Luz and Segunda Katigbak Luzin Lipa City.August 27, 2023 ~ ~ ~ ~ Segunda Katigbak, my great-grandmother, has been written in our history books as the “first love” of Jose Rizal. It’s one of those “what if” moments, but perhaps a bit imagined. From theContinue reading “A Trip Back in Time”
Sunday in the Cathedral
A visit to the Metropolitan Cathedral of San Sebastián,Lipa City, Batangas.August 27, 2023 ~ ~ ~ ~ The Catholic faithful filled the cathedral even as a tropical storm raged outside. The large, deep, high-ceilinged church dedicated to the martyr-saint was built by the Augustinian Order in 1605. The original church made of wood was destroyedContinue reading “Sunday in the Cathedral”
READING FINDS
The Cat who saved books A novel by Sosuke Natsukawa Translated from the Japanese by Louise Heal Kawai 198 pages HarperVia, HarperCollins Publishers, 2017 My daughter, the literature major and komiket lover, often chides me about my “fixed” reading habits. “Why don’t you try reading more fiction,” she would say, “to balance the non-fiction andContinue reading “READING FINDS”
A Garden amidst a Jungle
A walk around the FEU (Far Eastern University) campus in Morayta, City of Manila. Attending the board meeting of the FEU Senior High School was an opportunity to visit the campus after three years of Zoom board meetings. Far Eastern University is known for its rich cultural heritage, having the largest ensemble of preserved ArtContinue reading “A Garden amidst a Jungle”
WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM OUR FILIPINAS WORLD CUP EXPERIENCE
In victory and defeat, the Filipinas women’s football team has a lot of positives to take away from this World Cup 2023 debut. It was a hard loss to a more experienced Norwegian side that ended our hopes of moving on, but there are a lot of firsts we can be proud of. o FirstContinue reading “WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM OUR FILIPINAS WORLD CUP EXPERIENCE”
MOVIE NIGHT
“A MAN CALLED OTTO” Directed by Marc Foster Screenplay by David Magee Starring Tom Hanks The title did not sound particularly inviting, but every Tom Hanks movie must have something to its script to attract an actor of such caliber. So, we settled into our soft couch to watch. Two hours later, I was teary-eyed. Continue reading “MOVIE NIGHT”
Pomelo
Sometimes sour, sometimes meek Sometimes tart, sometimes sweet Soft pearls exploding in a soft sea of foamSpray rising up against the roof of the caveThat opens up to take each biteLicking its lips to savor thatSometimes salty, sometimes sweet taste Some mornings, like cool air forming Pillows falling from the clouds Like a dragon cuttingContinue reading “Pomelo”
DRAGONFRUIT
What is it I feel when I firstbite into your plushness?What is it I taste when I firstsmell the soft scent of your flesh? The black flecks on small whitecubes neatly arranged onmy China Lying in beddreaming of waking upto a light morning drizzletaking a swimin a warm jungle pool I kiss the soft fleshContinue reading “DRAGONFRUIT”
How does a country so challenged produce such beautiful artisanal work?
Afghan rugs are handmade carpets, traditionally from the northern and western regions of Afghanistan, mainly by Afghan Turkmens and Uzbeks. There are many tribal groups in Afghanistan, each having their own distinct carpet designs and weaving techniques. Hence, there is no one specific carpet pattern that can be for all Afghan rugs. Long ago, nomadicContinue reading “How does a country so challenged produce such beautiful artisanal work?”