Jessica Zafra's Blog, page 29

A very bright and massive star rejoins the cosmos: Stephen Hawking, 76.

We mourn the loss of a man whose physical body was bound to a wheelchair, but whose mind encompassed universes. And while his death is deeply felt, we must also celebrate his sheer grit and tenacity. Stephen Hawking was not expected to live more than two years after he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease. […]

Update: Our friend Nella Sarabia’s shop survived the fire at the UP Shopping Center.

This morning I woke up to ten texts reporting a fire at Dilimall, the UP Shopping Center where my optometrist of 22 years, Nella Sarabia, has had her shop forever. As has been pointed out in the news media, this is the fourth fire on campus in the last four years. The Shopping Center was […]

Message to all women: There is no stain on your reputation that the truth can’t wash away.

So proud of one of my best friends, Noel Orosa, who wrote the Rise, Kris, Rise ad. It’s a tribute to the strength of women and how they refuse to bow to the social strictures that tell them how they’re supposed to behave. This reminder has never been more timely or necessary.?? I remember how […]

Ang Dalagita Ay ‘Sang Bagay Na Di-Buo at UP’s Guerrero Theatre is astonishing. Watch it.

Dulaang UP’s Ang Dalagita Ay ‘Sang Bagay Na Di-Buo, an adaptation of Eimear McBride’s novel A Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing, is intense and electric: theatre as a form of exorcism. You go in expecting a thoughtful entertainment for the age of #MeToo, and you leave with your soul purified in a cleansing flame. It […]

Kurosawa, eat your heart out: A samurai must have a cat!

Cats and swords, be still my heart. All the great TV series—The Wire, Breaking Bad, Buffy The Vampire Slayer—bow before your master, Neko Samurai! Who is the genius who thought up this series? When will it be on Netflix? And what band is singing that bonkers “I’m So Great” song in the trailer?

Two weeks left before Jessica Zafra’s Writing Boot Camp at the BenCab Museum, Baguio on March 17-18. Book your places now!

Two weeks to go before Writing Boot Camp Weekend! We have several places left for participants. You don’t have to have writing experience, but you have to want to write. Boot Camp focuses on the process of writing, which really begins with hauling your ass in front of that notebook or screen and translating your […]

Watch our new travel show The Flip Trip online!

Our travel show The Flip Trip premieres on TV in April, but you can already watch our short travel features on YouTube and our show’s Facebook page, and see the photos on Instagram (@thefliptripph). Follow us so you don’t miss anything. Here’s Pepe introducing our show to adobo Magazine. Ideas for features: Women flirt with […]

My cats challenge T’Challa for the throne of Wakanda. Black Panther rules!

Saffy is T’Chorva. Summon the Dora Milaje! Drogon is T’Charot. Bring me my armored rhinoceros! Jacob is T’Chenes. Vibranium claws! Obviously we love Black Panther and will watch it over and over again. Gripping, joyful, political. The world needs this movie.

World domination is going to be a cinch.

The first time I visited Yokohama six months ago to prepare for TPAM (The Performing Arts Meeting in Yokohama), the team had dinner at a traditional okonomiyaki place. We concluded the meal with monja, a pancake eaten directly from the grill with spatulas, and washed down with umeshu (plum wine). So it became a tradition. […]

What should we do with the alleged cat killers of BGC? (Since it’s too late to neuter their ancestors)

I knew there was a reason I bought this kerchief. Dammit I leave for ten days in Japan for the World Domination Project, and the minute I return to Manila my phone is seismic with reports of an alleged cat massacre in BGC. Before I can celebrate the mass recruitment to our cause, I have […]