Los Angeles–“For many Filipinos in America, [the election of Barack Obama] is a time of celebration and pride. For others, of concern, even fear,” writes San Francisco-based Pinoy journalist Benjamin Pimentel, whose book, Pareng Barack: Filipinos in Obama’s America, launches this Saturday, January 10, 1 p.m., at the Filipino American Library in Los Angeles.

Pareng Barack is about Obama’s incredible march to the American presidency and how Filipinos responded–often with excitement, sometimes with fear and dread–to his campaign and victory. The book is also about the Filipino journey in America, how it has intersected and sometimes collided with those of other communities, and how it has taken a dramatic turn as America enters a new era of anxiety and hope.

“It will be Obama’s face and voice that my sons will see and hear on television and on the Internet over the next four years, maybe longer. It will be Pareng Barack who will play a critical role in defining my sons’ future in America,” writes Pimentel.

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By Abby Yao

Reading a doctor’s health blog helps keep sickness away.

After the holiday feasting has taken its toll on everyone’s well-being (and on the weighing scale, most of all), paying close attention to one’s health is perhaps the best way to start the first workweek of the new year. Helpful as reading medical research findings may be, getting past the daunting terms and language is too much of a challenge for most of us. Fortunately, Cebu City-based endocrinologist Dr. Gerry Tan digests the results of studies straight from the latest journals on his blog Docgerrytan.com, which he started in 2006.

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• Happy New Year! We look back at 2008 with some of our favorite stories. We also talked to a number of our favorite bloggers and asked them how their blogging made a difference in 2008.
• Restaurants are helping bring Pinoy artists and their works closer to the people.
• If you’ve been wanting to write that short story for the longest time, this is the year to do it. The Romeo Forbes Storywriting Competition is now open for entries.
• If you’re as big a fan of sago’t gulaman as we are, you’d be happy to know that this popular Pinoy dessert now comes in bottled varieties you can take with you wherever you go.
• Similarly, Philippine coffee is now available in coffee pods, the first of its kind in the country. Wherever you are in the world, you can enjoy homegrown coffee in the comforts of your kitchen.
• Do something different and creative this year. How about Chinese painting lessons at Yuchengco Museum?
• The digital film Dayo, which got a grade A rating from the Cinema Evaluation Board, got four awards during the Metro Manila Film Festival.

Image: “Enjoy it while it lasts . . . Farewell 2008!” by Tacit Requiem

Canvas.ph, a nonprofit organization that celebrates Pinoy art, culture, and the environment, is calling for entries to the 5th Annual Romeo Forbes Children’s Storywriting Competition. Deadline is 5 p.m., March 20, 2009.

This year’s contest, centered on an original untitled oil on canvas work by artist Juanito Torres, will award P35,000 and a trophy to the winning author. The story will also be published as a full-color children’s book in 2010.

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And so a year has passed, and another year is stretched ahead of us. Despite the challenges of 2008, it was still good for us as a people, and I’d like to think the tanking economy shaped us for the better. Some companies closed, and many lost their jobs, but we live with the hope of better days, because that’s how we Pinoys are. We bounce back. We learn. We move on. We just get better and better.

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We asked a number of our favorite bloggers what they considered their blogging achievements for 2008, and this is what they said:

Manila Gay Guy [www.manilagayguy.net]
For me it’s not about page views, PageRanks, or ad revenues–my blog reached new heights on those too, this year, but I wouldn’t say those are my major blogging achievements in 2008.

There are two that I consider major achievements for my blogging this year: first, I was able to meet more fellow bloggers, and I continue to cherish their friendship (hello, Fabcasters!); and second, through my blog I learned more about myself, my limits, and how I react to what I call “venomous vituperations.” In November, I decided to close my blog mostly due to fatigue. After some “cocooning” and listening to friends and dear loyal readers, December saw me re-opening it under its new domain and format, signaling rebirth and renewal, Manilagayguy.net.

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