It’s about time to start my annual Christmas season tradition of sharing Winter Tales (Christmas Ghost Stories) on my blog. Here’s an early pre-season treat, from an early African-American periodical: A Drink From the Cup.

I’ve been streaming music from BayBeats, a (curated) music streaming service sponsored by the San Francisco Public Library, featuring music by local SF Bay Area artists. It’s free to the public, but you need an SFPL library card to download. It’s been a great way to discover l...

Installment 11 of my 1950s Filipino Darna comics translation project: Valentina Amazes the Townspeople. Things just keep getting stranger…..

A bit of Filipino folklore I only recently learned about: snake-twins. Yes, people who allegedly were born with snakes for twin siblings. Such people, kambal-ahas, can reputedly cure snake bites and other ailments, and communicate with snakes. Sometimes they’re said to have ot...

Installment 10 of my 1950s Filipino Darna comics translation project: Valentina as the Virgin?. Edwardo said Valentina would be worshipped for her beauty—and he may be right, but not quite the way he meant.