The Sassy Lawyer & Pinoy Cook on food, family and home.
For days, I’ve been reading and watching the news about the government’s efforts to stay the execution of the three Filipinos who had been sentenced to death for smuggling heroin into China. I’m sure that the government, especially the Vice President who has been very much visible these days, is earning a lot of “pogi” ... (more)
There. I said death, not suicide. Lots of reasons. I had to read all the new reports I could find after agreeing to do a TV interview. And, to answer a reader (on the FB page of my food blog) who’s wondering if the recent spate of TV appearances means I’m giving TV a “go” ... (more)
Yesterday’s news was full of tidbits about the newborn baby boy of Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem. I knew Penelope Cruz as Tom Cruise’s ex; before No Country For Old Men, I didn’t know who Javier Bardem was. After seeing Vicky Cristina Barcelona, my respect for both rose sky-high. Moreover, in Bardem’s case, the respect ... (more)
The crime was committed in June 1991 when Estrellita, Carmela and Jennifer Vizconde were killed at their house. Suspects were arrested, confessions were signed but the case was dismissed. In 1995, on the strength of an “eyewitness” account, eight young men — Hubert Jeffrey P. Webb, Antonio “Tony Boy” Lejano, Artemio “Dong” Ventura, Michael A. ... (more)
I had just turned on my computer this morning when our house helper excitedly came up to my study to ask me to please call and talk to someone because she had just won 950,000 in some draw according to a message she received on her cell phone. I told her at once that it ... (more)
First of all, an amnesty is not a pardon. You have to be be convicted first before getting pardoned. Erap was pardoned. But this isn’t about Erap. This is about Antonio Trillanes IV and the other soldiers on trial for the Oakwood incident in 2003. For those unfamiliar with the incident, a group of armed ... (more)
It’s all over the news. A Gulf Air passenger gave birth somewhere between the Middle East and Manila, and she decided to leave the baby in the trash can of the comfort room. I’m not easily moved to tears but when I read about it today, I almost cried. The baby was found in time, ... (more)
My cousin-in-law, Ramon Sunico, posted a note in Facebook about Filipino tourists who were hacked to death in Beijing in 2005. Please note that I double checked the facts mentioned before reposting the Facebook note here. Here are two relevant links you might want to see before reading the rest. American killed, another wounded in ... (more)
When Hong Kong journalist Chip Tsao’s tacky style rubbed Filipino sensitivity in the wrong way, Filipinos started calling the Chinese terrible names. Just check the comment thread in the linked article. Narrow-minded, isn’t it, considering that Chip Tsao was one person and his writing was not necessarily a reflection of the way all Chinese nationals ... (more)
In view of the hostage-taking incident which left at least four tourists dead, this announcement by the Hong Kong Security Bureau shouldn’t be surprising. I guess the Philippines won’t be earning much from tourism in the coming months. What we lose in tourism, we gain in global attention. Four top trending topics in Twitter, a ... (more)
A couple of months ago, I wrote about problems we had with the management of the dorm-hotel near Sam’s school where she used to stay. They gave us hell before returning the security deposit and only after I threatened to sue their asses did they hand over the money. Well, here’s a different perspective on ... (more)
In an article entitled Ampatuan clan the biggest winner in May 2010 elections, there was a reference to the “clan’s nation-wide, if not global, infamy.” Well, it appears that the infamy is global, it has reached Hollywood and you know how pervasive the American entertainment culture can be. If you’re a fan of NCIS: Los ... (more)
Casa is Spanish for house. CASA is also an acronym for Connie, Antonio, Sam and Alex. We are all surnamed Veneracion. We all love to take photos -- of anything that catches our fancy. It's a family obsession.
This is a journal of how we live, eat, learn, play and have fun. Work? Work is part of playing and having fun. Seriously.
In 2003, a time when I hadn't heard of the term "blog", I started a recipe website at cooking.houseonahill.net using a now defunct content management system that ran on ASP. Ok, never mind the geek talk, I'm sure you're not interested in that. The contents easily multiplied and, in 2004, I moved the food site to pinoycook.net. Always unhappy with the fact that the dot com versions of houseonahill and pinoycook weren't … (click here to read all »)
Conversations