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Children's book illustrators group Ang INK marks 30th year

Diana Uichanco
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Once upon a time, a few dozen young people who loved to draw found themselves together in a  nondescript room. Surrounded by pencils, paints and lots of paper, they set out to learn all there was to learn from a renowned figure from a foreign land.. For days and days they listened and they learned, they imagined and they drew. By the end of their time together, each of the young artists had created wonderful magic on paper with the expert guidance of their visitor. The nondescript room in which the group was gathered was somewhere in the former Goethe Institut Manila in Quezon City; the gathering with the guest from foreign shores, a children’s book illustration workshop with renowned German illustrator Reinhard Michl, with budding artists in attendance, most of them in their 20s and had just started their professional careers. It was 1991 and it was only the beginning of an adventure for these young people armed with their pencils and their paints, for when the workshop conclude...
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If you want to be happy for the rest of your life...

Diana Uichanco
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What may be utterly trivial to one person may be the ultimate source of happiness for another. But one thing that is common among everyone is the desire to be happy. Where do you look for your bliss? Are you at peace? More importantly, is happiness meant to be simply a for-the-moment thing or one that can last a lifetime -- and beyond? Here, musings and pieces of advice that are meant to encourage the optimistic, the jaded, the broken, the weary, and everyone in between. "Hindi lahat ng nagpapasaya sa atin, tama. Pero lahat ng tama, masakit man sa simula, pasasayahin din tayo sa bandang huli. " (Not everything that makes us happy is the right thing. But that which is right, however much it hurts at first, will us happy in the end.) The woman who uttered those lines was tearfully but resolutely bidding a loved one goodbye, having chosen to end their illicit relationship (he was married) for good and to live free from the burden of guilt (the scene is also from a 2007 movie ...
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Slumber, smoke and 'happy hormones'

Diana Uichanco
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Blowing your budget isn’t a prerequisite to enhancing your looks. Here are simple things you can start doing right now to boost your beauty without spending anything. How many times have you heard someone explain the pretty looks or the radiant quality of women by saying that such women have the money to maintain their presumably pricey regimen? “ Magastos magpaganda ” or “ May pera siya eh ,” you yourself may have uttered at some point to dismiss fresh-looking ladies who seem beautifully put-together. The good news is, while money can buy things that offer solutions (not necessarily the right ones) to your beauty woes, many of the things you need so as to bring out your natural radiance are a matter of lifestyle. And by making a few simple changes in your lifestyle, you’ll see positive results in your appearance  and  in your well-being, too. If your body could talk, it will certainly tell you these three simple things: “Give me enough sleep.” Movies and fashion features may ...
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Healing, burnout & banishing fears: Empowering the cancer patient's family

Diana Uichanco
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  The diagnosis of cancer is too often equated with a dead-end sign on a road. It may feel that way both for the patient and his family, especially upon being told the news by the doctor. But the fact is, while there are indeed some dead-end signs on the road of life, cancer is not one of them because life goes on amid the treatment sessions, physical pains, expressions of concern from relatives and friends, and the regular day-to-day tasks, which all cancer patients go through. Life remains a journey headed for the same destination, and a terminal illness – like any other significant condition or incident one experiences – simply means making adjustments and preparations accordingly. Call them “detours” or “bumpy roads” but as with any challenge a family member faces, the rest of the family ought to be there to guide him towards the destination, accompanying and supporting him through rough roads, bleak stretches, and serene moments. A serious illness affects the entire family, an...
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War diary creates bridge between generations

Diana Uichanco
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Mickey Mouse money. An amusing name for currency bills which anyone born way after World War II would associate more with   Disneyland   than with wartime   Philippines . But then that’s just what they were -- legal tender in the form of Japanese notes whose value was so low people had to carry them in big bunches to be able to come up with substantial amounts for a purchase. “We did not carry  pitakas  to the market. We carried  bayongs  because we were using Mickey Mouse money! Our money was not the Philippine peso but Japanese notes, and we called it Mickey Mouse money -- it was like play money,” relates Pacita Jacinto as she launches into accounts of life during what she calls the “golden years,” then of living through a world war that had Filipinos awaiting liberation by the American forces, which finally came in 1945. The bombing of  Pearl Harbor , Gen. MacArthur’s famous “I shall return,” the Leyte landing, the fall of Bataan and Corregidor...
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Little pink houses

Diana Uichanco
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My sister didn't use to like jigsaw puzzles. In fact, when I showed her some really cute ones as we roamed a bookstore years ago, my excitement over the array of choices was met with a wan smile and no interest whatsoever. So when she received one as a birthday gift from a niece and showed much enthusiasm about it, I was baffled. It was a 200-piece kind and it featured a fascinating world map in cartoony drawings. She required help with it and everyone was only too willing to take part in the fun. We completed it eventually and were thoroughly pleased with ourselves, not least my sister. That was in 2018. By the time the first lockdown in the summer of 2020 rolled in, my sister had acquired over a dozen jigsaw puzzle sets of varying sizes and degrees of difficulty and could work on most of them by herself. When several started getting worn-out from repeated use, I knew she needed a new challenge. When it was obvious that our usual weekend outings would be out of the questio...
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