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Read our article at The New Yorker.

Last Saturday we attended a screening of the 1971 gothic melodrama Lilet, organized by the Society of Filipino Archivists for Film (SOFIA) on the occasion of the great filmmaker Gerardo De Leon’s centenary. More on the movie (And we’re doing a podcast with Celia Rodriguez!!!) later. After the screening, organizer Onat Rios had his picture taken with us. We could hardly decline to pose with our gracious host, but we don’t have to show you the picture. As far as we’re concerned, the most terrifying thing about it is our triple-chin.

But Onat pointed out that there are orbs in the photo, notably the one next to his head. Orbs are circles that are supposed to indicate ghostly presences. “Naah,” we said, “That’s not a mumu, that’s probably our mummudrai.” Onat wanted an expert opinion, so we asked a professional photographer, who said the circle was caused by a dirty camera lens or sensor, or a drop of water in the air that got blurred in the shot.

And then we showed the photo to our friend Tina, who said it really was an orb. “Is it Gerry de Leon?” we asked. “We should’ve gotten his autograph.” Tina noted that the orb is next to Onat, so it probably has something to do with him. We can believe that the CCP is haunted, if not by ghosts then by dust creatures, because the place really needs a major vacuuming.

As they say in the movie, “Lileeeeeet…Lileeeeeeeeeeet…”

What do you think?

From JimRomenesko.com. Thanks to Juan for the alert.

There are many great books about cats: Natsume Soseki’s I Am A Cat (which Rene insists should be ‘We Are A Cat’) and T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats immediately spring to mind, and then there’s Saki’s alarming Tobermory. Perhaps the best of them is On Cats by Doris Lessing, which brings together her earlier works Particularly Cats, Rufus the Survivor, and The Old Age of El Magnifico in a single volume.

Danton Remoto gave us our copy ten years ago. Deeply moving but utterly unsentimental, On Cats is as dignified as its subjects. This is a book that cats would approve of.

“In the evenings people and the two resident cats, the rightful cats, were in the sitting room, and Rufus was under the bath. And then, one evening, Rufus appeared in the doorway of the sitting room, and it was a dramatic apparition, for here was the embodiment of the dispossessed, the insulted, the injured, making himself felt by the warm, the fed, the privileged. He glanced at the two cats, who were his rivals, but kept his intelligent eyes on us. What were we going to say? We said, Very well, he could use the old leather beanbag near the radiator, the warmth would help his aching bones. We made a hollow in the beanbag and he climbed into the hollow and curled up, but carefully, and he purred. He purred, he purred, he purred so loudly and so long we had to beg him to stop, for we could not hear ourselves speak. Literally. We had to turn up the television. But he knew he was lucky and wanted us to know he understood the value of what he was getting.”

– from Rufus the Survivor

The scraggly white stray cat who kept trying to run into our house in August.

Drogon today.

Damaged houses in the municipality of Pontevedra in Capiz, where fisherfolk were the first to bear the brunt of the typhoon. Jong Arcenas is collecting donations for tarpaulin and tents to help the homeless in Capiz. His mobile number is +63 917 533 2990. #HELPCapiz

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According to the provincial disaster coordinating council, 92,000 people in Capiz province have been rendered homeless by typhoon Yolanda. Power and communications have not yet been restored. There’s been little coverage of the devastation in mainstream media.

These photos were taken by Jong Arcenas in Roxas City, Capiz. The devastation is even worse in the outlying areas. The people need water, blankets, medicines, and cooking utensils. Please bring your donations to Luzon branches of Bibingkinitan and spread the word #HELPCapiz. If you need more information, contact Stella Arnaldo @pulitika2010.

We’re no strangers to disaster, we know the drill. Help Capiz now.

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