VANCOUVEREYE ZINE

  By Tom Choy Vancouver, BC   “ We must all help one another or all perish together.”   Carl Sagan   Time Magazine recently had an article “Lessons We Learned from the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918.” People were also warned to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays only with their immediate family. Some of those who did not observe this advice indeed caught the flu virus.   People were also told to wear masks and social distance. So what Dr. Anthony Fauci of the US Infectious Diseases Center and Dr. Bonnie Henry, the Health Officer of British Columbia are not really original ideas. They have proven effective in the past and are still relevant today.   There was no vaccine developed in 1918 compared to today’s operation warp speed vaccine that seemed to have met the deadline of end of 2020 to deliver the first batch of vaccine. Without a vaccine in 1918, the question is, how did the virus disappear? Herd immunity developed when 70% o...

  by Tom Choy Vancouver, BC                                                                       I spotted Wolf Blitzer on CNN donning this teeshirt that shouts "THE WORLD NEEDS JOURNALISTS," and it sort of piqued my interest. Is there a shortage of journalists? Is the demand for journalists vanishing? Hossein Derakshan, a research affiliate at MIT Media Lab and a research fellow at Harvard's Shorenstein Center said "the news is dying, but journalism will not--and should not." I used to have NewYork Times subscription but with the advent and shall we say, saturation of social media, from Twitter to Facebook to Instagram, one's sources of news can be obtained without spending hundreds of dollars. The business model of major news outlets like New York Times, Washington Post a...

                                                   by TOM CHOY     Vancouver, BC Canada                                                           " This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters."    1 John 3:16 I am still feeling lucky having a rare chance to help other people through the Vancouver Salvation soup kitchen program. Our Ateneo Alumni Association of BC volunteered a few alumni members to help prepare the Thanksgiving dinner for over a  hundred people in Downtown Vancouver. I also participated in the Richmond Salvation Army branch at Gi...

DOUGLAS NIERRAS' POWERDANCE TOURS CANADA AND THE USA 2019 “ A good dancer is not necessarily defined by great technique, skill, or ability to pick up choreography but by confidence. When you feel the music, it penetrates your soul. Everybody’s a dancer. The greatest dancer is someone who is willing to dance, not afraid.”   Alyssa Edwards Afraid Douglas is not. For 3 decades he has been honing his dance and creative output. He is not afraid to blend technology with a live human component. He projects video clips in 3D format and he adds 4D synchronized dance movements. The dancer syncs with the motions in the film clips. He also employs aerial dancing techniques. People wonder how Douglas creates his dance artistry and movements. He quips, “ I go through experiences and transform my thoughts into dance movements.”   Nierras continues, “When I lost my Dad, I created some dance moves to honour him.” He taps Pinoy classic music, jazz, contemporary pop musi...

LAWYER BECOMES DIPLOMAT WITH A HEART by Tom Choy Vancouver, British Columbia “ Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become of value.” Albert Einstein D eputy Consul General (DCG) Leo Tito Ausan may have spent a limited time in Vancouver but his limited presence was huge to all the people he came across and touched their lives. His brief legacy will stay for a long time. “ I met DCG Leo in Surrey during the SPIDS Philippine Independence Day celebration and I felt DCG Leo’s genuine interest in talking to people,” quips Vancouverite Ana Napieralski. Before Vancouver, DCG Leo was also the previous Consul General of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He was in charge of helping kababayans who may be falsely accused of a crime. He made sure if there was voting to be done by our overseas workers in the Kingdom, he made it smooth and honest. He was also in charge of repatriation of deceased compatriots. He was a man with a mission. DCG Leo is a lawyer ...

THIS GIRL IS ON FIRE By Tom Choy Vancouver, British Columbia “ My parents taught me how to become successful in both my academic and athletic journeys.”     Maxine Isabel Esteban, Fencing Sportswoman Maxine Isabel Esteban is not even 19 years old but everyday and every moment now, she dreams, breathes and wakes up in the morning wanting to become an Olympian to make the Philippines proud of her. At the rate she   is winning medals and accolades, she may be on her way to Tokyo in 2020. “ I want to excel in my academic and athletic pursuits,” declares Maxine. She is a Management Engineering student athlete at the Ateneo De Manila University and a star   fencing athlete. She was the Rookie of the Year and MVP of the UAAP fencing Season that just concluded. She just won 2 Gold medals in the individual women’s fencing in 2 weapons (Foil and Sabre). In team events, she was awarded a Gold and a Bronze medals. She was in awe: “It was truly surreal wi...