2014-04-13 ~ Wazzup Pilipinas News and Events

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Kyle Can Cook: Apple Cinnamon Fritters for Summer

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Filipino turon consists of a plantain wrapped like a spring roll and then deep fried -- sort of like banana lumpia. The Tagalog word turon comes from the Spanish turrón, a nougat confection that's a traditional dessert at Christmas. The most common turon filling is the saba variety of banana. Jackfruit is also added as a filling. The rolls may be dusted with brown sugar before frying.

Many have been revolutionizing the preparation of turon by not just using the popular banana as the main ingredient. There have been many variations by using other ingredients using different fruits, root crops, and other alternatives to the banana and jackfruit combination. Others have even made a "halo-halo" turon with ice cream on top.

I also thought of using apples as my main ingredient just like how they prepare the apple pies at a certain fastfood restaurant that is very popular with kids.

Well, the idea came to me when I saw the apples in the refrigerator being invisible to the members of my household. These apples were being ignored and I was worried they will just rot. I've also noticed mom has bought some lumpia wrappers so I decided to make a confection out of it.

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Globaltronics, Inc., your partner in digital innovation, held their “National Digital Arts Awards (NDAA)” at Republiq Club in Resorts World, Manila last March 28, 2014. Loyal clients, esteemed media guests, and other notable personalities including Laguna Governor Hon. Er Ejercito.

Digi10 highlighted all of Globaltronics cutting-edge products like the 3GS Multi-Task kiosk, the Cascading Mounted Display, touch-screen Table-top display, high-definition Large-Format-Display among many other top of the line products. This awarding ceremony of Globaltronics Inc. is also in connection with its 10th year anniversary, “Digi10.”

Digi10 also featured the National Digital Arts Awards, a project of Globaltronics that seeks to high-light the talent of local digital artists. Continuing the success of last year’s National Digital Arts Awards: Fast Forward Pilipinas, this year's awards dubbed as NDAA: Redefine, Recreate, Revolutionize encourages artists to embody change in their artworks to bring home not only the top spot but also a piece of the P1,500,000 cash prize.

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Runners Republiq is a group consisting of runners, bikers and triathletes who aim to enjoin and encourage people from all walks of life to start running, endure the physical challenges and conquer their limits by providing a venue as a training event and to break their PRs.

This coming June 15, 2014, Runner Republiq, in cooperation with Runners Guild, will hold a fun run dubbed "Let's Run Endure and Conquer" that will be held at the PICC.

Race Categories will be 3k, 5k, 10k and 21k distances. We are estimating that with the current surge of runners in Metro Manila and nearby provinces, around 3,000 to 5,000 runners are expected to participate.

Who should participate?
This run calls for runners, bikers, and triathletes, their families, relatives and friends to join our event that might be called a unity run for these athletes.

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Being bitter never tasted this good! After almost a year, one of the country’s top plays is back. Arts and Culture Asia Philippines (ACASIA) proudly presents Kapeng Barako Club (KBC): Samahan ng mga Bitter.

Staged in well-known coffee shops around the metro, KBC is set to please kape lovers once more on September 6, 2014. The first show will happen at the Third Cup Cafe, one of the premier go-to coffee shops in Rosa Alvero Street, Katipunan Avenue Quezon City.

This Palanca Award-winning play is written and directed by Lourd De Veyra's co playwright, Juan Ekis, who is previously known for his other Palanca winning play "Twenty Questions" which went viral in the internet.

The playwright shares with us that he “...just wanted to stage a play with the title Kapeng Barako Club: Samahan ng mga Bitter. I didn’t know yet what it was going to be about. But I just knew I wanted to write about types of people and the types of coffee they love and how their personalities are reflected in their drinks."

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You will feel the divine embrace as you tread on the holy ground trail on your way up to a hill composed of 308 steps of paved stairs leading to where you can find a towering statue of the blessed virgin Mary with the young Jesus in one of her arms. It is known as our Lady, Regina Rosarii - a 71-foot high image of our Lady, Queen of the Holy Rosary designed by artist-sculptor Jose Barcena Jr.

The construction of the statue started in October 7, 2009 and the blessing took place on March 19, 2010. It was inspired by the Dominican tradition of Our Lady's protective mantle that shelters her devoted children. Below the statue is a canopy of clouds where the faces of 17 angels or cherubims can be seen. You may also see this cheap travel destinations options.

The 13.5 hectares of Regina RICA (Regina Rosarii Institute for Contemplation in Asia) is located along Marilaque or Marcos Highway at Sitio Aguho, Sampaloc Tanay, Rizal. It is roughly a two hours drive from Pasig city where we originated from. We only commuted so it may take just an hour and a half if you have your own vehicle. If you don't,just rent one from easyrentcars.com

Visita Iglesia on a Good Friday: San Sebastian Parish

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Our last destination for our Visita Iglesia was a visit to the San Sebastian Parish. This parish is located at M.H. De Pilar street of Barangay Pinagbuhatan in Pasig City. It is one of the oldest parish in Pasig city celebrating more than 400 years.

It originated as the first chapel established by the Spaniards prior to the establishment of the present-day Pasig church. It comprises the entire barangay of Pinagbuhatan, being a parish under the Diocese of Pasig.

It's parochial erection was on May 31, 1990, with Fr. David Colong as its parish priest. San Sebastian Parish is adjacent to its parochial school, the Escuela Catolica de San Sebastian.

WE again saw the cross and images of saints all covered up with purple cloths. In fact, the entire altar was covered up with a huge purple cloth.

"The custom of veiling crosses and images .... has much to commend it in terms of religious psychology, because it helps us to concentrate on the great essentials of Christ's work of Redemption."

Although this is true, the historical origin of this practice lies elsewhere. It probably derives from a custom, noted in Germany from the ninth century, of extending a large cloth before the altar from the beginning of Lent.

This cloth, called the "Hungertuch" (hunger cloth), hid the altar entirely from the faithful during Lent and was not removed until during the reading of the Passion on Holy Wednesday at the words "the veil of the temple was rent in two."

Some authors say there was a practical reason for this practice insofar as the often-illiterate faithful needed a way to know it was Lent.

Others, however, maintain that it was a remnant of the ancient practice of public penance in which the penitents were ritually expelled from the church at the beginning of Lent.

After the ritual of public penance fell into disuse — but the entire congregation symbolically entered the order of penitents by receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday— it was no longer possible to expel them from the church. Rather, the altar or "Holy of Holies" was shielded from view until they were reconciled to God at Easter.

For analogous motives, later on in the Middle Ages, the images of crosses and saints were also covered from the start of Lent.

The rule of limiting this veiling to Passiontide came later and does not appear until the publication of the Bishops' Ceremonial of the 17th century.

After the Second Vatican Council there were moves to abolish all veiling of images, but the practice survived, although in a mitigated form.

This is me having my photo taken with the image of Mama Mary, the blessed virgin mother of Jesus Christ.

We left the parish saying "Viva San Sebastian!"

After we left the parish, we noticed some of the residents preparing for a procession later that night. There were several images of saints all lined up at that particular area of the barangay. I think a few of the more affluent residents acted as sponsors to the procession and they have their respective images of saints all dressed up for the occasion.

The barangay will convert itself into a vibrant place of festivities even during Lenten season. There is an almost mardi gras-like atmosphere when a parade or procession takes place on the streets. People tend to dress their best and decorate their float with the most flowers they could possibly use to make it colorful and appealing.

There was even an image of Jesus Christ nailed on a cross.

To reward ourselves for completing the strenuous task of going from one church to the next within one day, we decided to buy some halo-halo being sold at a nearby carinderia. The summer heat was tolerable since we mostly walked under the shades of the small neighborhoods of Pasig, but it was pure bliss the moment we tasted the cool refreshing mixture of bananas, jackfruit, beans, black mongos, sweet potatoes, jellos, ube and leche plan,

The halo-halo was the perfect sweet treat to end the day.

The Visita Iglesia was an experience worth repeating every year. Our country has several churches that it will take you almost a great deal of your lifetime to be able to visit seven of them for every year. The Philippines has about as many Catholic churches as Bali has temples.

While others start within their neighborhood, others prefer flying off to other cities to make it more special, and to become their vacation as well as they go through the other notable tourist spots of the country.

But wait, somebody told me that a few people are doing fourteen churches instead of just seven. Wow! Now that's what you call a real challenge.

In fact, there's this invitation to go around the following churches of Manila:

1. Assumption Church (Our Lady of the Assumption Parish)
2. Malate Catholic Church (Our Lady of Remedies Parish)
3. Ermita Church (Archdiocesan Shrine of Nuestra Señora de Guia Parish)
4. San Agustin Church (Shrine of Our Lady of Correa / Immaculate Conception Parish)
5. Manila Cathedral (Manila Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica)
6. Binondo Church (Minor Basilica of St. Lorenzo Ruiz and Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Parish)
7. Chinese Catholic Church (This I don't know the formal name)
8. Sta.Cruz Church (Church of Our Lady of the Pillar)
9. Quiapo Church (officially known as the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene, canonically known as Saint John the Baptist Parish and colloquially known as Quiapo Church)
10. Holy Face Church (Holy Face of Jesus Chapel)
11. San Sebastian Church (Basilica Minore de San Sebastian)
12. San Beda Church ( Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat)
13. St. Jude Parish (Saint Jude Thaddeus Archdiocesan Shrine)
14. San Miguel Church (National Shrine of Saint Michael and the Archangels) (aso called Villa de San Miguel Church and Malacañang Chruch due to its proximity to the Palace)

I will be sure to try this list soon even if not during Visita Iglesia.

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Visita Iglesia on a Good Friday: Immaculate Conception Cathedral

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The second church we went to on our Visita Iglesia on a Good Friday was the one that we often go to when attending mass every Sunday. This is also where I was baptized and Christened. This is the same church where my daughter was also Christened.

According to Wikipedia, the Immaculate Conception Cathedral, or also known as the Pasig Cathedral, is located at Plaza Rizal in Barangay Malinao, Pasig City in the Philippines. It is the cathedral or seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pasig, belonging to the Vicariate of the Immaculate Conception. It was established as a mission-parish by the Augustinian missionaries on July 2, 1573, coinciding the foundation of the town of Pasig (now, Pasig City).

The former Immaculate Conception Parish was administered by the CICM Fathers from 1910 to 1979, after which the Filipino clergy took over the pastoral leadership of the parish. Until 2003, the parish was a part of the Archdiocese of Manila. On August 21, 2003, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pasig was inaugurated, with the elevation of the parish into the status of a cathedral.

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It's time again for another Visita Iglesia adventure on a Good Friday. While some spend their long weekend at the beach, devotees seek serenity by doing the Visita Iglesia to contemplate on the Passion of Christ. It is the time of the year when the churches comes alive as Catholics from all over the country flock to their choice of churches.

Visita Iglesia is also known as the visitation of seven churches, but some would go beyond that number if time, and budget, permits. Also a weak knee, a sore feet and a hungry or thirsty stomach, could add to the factors necessary to decide whether to move on, rest for a while, or go back home and sleep.

We would normally start early morning, but a few days before we've already planned where to go and which church to go first. We'll have a list of churches on our schedule and sometimes a map if we are not familiar with the places we have selected for this year's Visita Iglesia.

For some, accomplishing the task of finishing all seven church visitations will reward the doer with a wish granted. Maybe the higher power above will hear our prayers for all the effort. But in my case, as a traveler, it is a pleasure to see the sights especially if we will be there for the very first time. Many of our churches are built with superb architecture worth capturing to share with readers of my blog. Plus, the thought that I was able to accomplish the strenuous task of going from one church to the next in just a day is highly rewarding enough for me.

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Visita Iglesia is an annual tradition that many Filipino Catholics observe come Holy Week. Usually we will read about many travel bloggers who would go on some "church hopping" at different places in the country. Admirable, yet so old ages. Been there, done that, what's new?

We suddenly decided one day that we won't be going back to those far off but popular churches in the Philippines. They are all too over-rated already. Almost everyone has been there and seen it for so many times already.

So since we were actually a tad busy too, we decided to do our Visita Iglesia within our neighborhood only. Yes! We will be visiting just the churches of our beloved city of Pasig.

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The third church on our Visita Iglesia on a Good Friday was the San Antonio Abad Parish church located at Stella Maris Avenue in barangay Maybunga of Pasig city. It is very near the barangay hall of barangay Maybunga, and not really that big so you might miss it if you are driving too fast.

From what I have researched on, a certain Fr. Alonzo de Alvarado led the Augustinians in sailing down the Pasig River with the encomendero Juan de la Isla in January 1572. They reached Maybunga on January 17, the feast of San Antonio Abad, placing him as its titular. Maybunga was then an independent community with its own group of lakans and maginoos.

It is likely that this community was the settlement established by Dayang Kalangitan and Gat Lontok, centuries before the Spanish arrived. – Three days later, the Spaniards moved on from Maybunga to the center of ancient Pasig at Pinagbuhatan.

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The fourth church on our Visita Iglesia on a Good Friday was the "Parokya ng Sto. Rosario" or the Sto. Rosario De Pasig Parish.

Would you believe that we walked from the San Antonio Abad Parish at Stella Maris Avenue just to get here? We were misinformed that the church was very near so it took us a while to realize we've been punk'd! Bah! I guess the people we asked were also unaware of the distance.

But it was a worthwhile exercise amidst the heat of the sun.

Looking back, I think there is truth in the saying that everything is all in the mind. If you believe that your destination is just around the corner, you'll get there with less effort.

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Doing Visita Iglesia is fun!

The churches are not crowded, you get to pray in silence, and it seems people are more sincere during the Holy Week. I think its those days that the people you'll meet in churches are those that truly live a life of greatness.

But I saw some teens who were also doing it for the Instagram! Yeah! its also fun posting the pictures online for all your friends to see, but are we being serious with the Visita Iglesia that way?

100 million monthly users love Instagram! It's a free, fun, and simple way to make and share gorgeous photos on your mobile phone.

From their website "It’s a fast, beautiful and fun way to share your photos with friends and family.

Snap a picture, choose a filter to transform its look and feel, then post to Instagram. Share to Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr too – it's as easy as pie. It's photo sharing, reinvented.

Oh yeah, did we mention it’s free?"

To Go on Visita Iglesia or Hit the Beach?: That Is the Big Question!

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What are your plans for the long vacation days this Holy Week?

Holy Week or “Semana Santa” is one of the most important religious festivities of the year. They say the Lenten season starts on Ash Wednesday, when people get ash in the form a cross on their foreheads. During my younger years, I would usually get annoyed seeing those and sometimes tempted to get their attention but had to stop when I realized it was Ash Wednesday. Holy Week culminates on Good Friday commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ, and ends on Easter Sunday to celebrate his rise to heaven.

If you're like me whose plagued with a constant case of wanderlust, I am always itching to go somewhere when time and budget permits. I am raring to go on an adventure, and hop on board a plane, cruise ship or bus to anywhere I can afford. The free days off work, with no immediate responsibilities and very minimal obligations, during Holy Week is very tempting to push me somewhere off to where I will enjoy the most - to those places that I've never been to and worth exploring.

But I guess I have to make use of the week doing something else instead of further turning black because of too much exposure under the sun. While some of you head off to lounge on the beach, I will going around visiting churches. Anyway, luckily there's an alternate invitation that I accepted to quench my thirst for adventure. This week I am off to a Visita Iglesia, but next week I will set foot on one of the most beautiful and developed beach in the Philippines.

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Are you searching for an eat-all-you-can shabu-shabu restaurant?

Cooked right before your eyes, it's a feast worth taking your family, friends, or colleagues for a night of tasteful and mouth-watering experience. There's something fun seeing how your food is prepared. It's actually enjoyable to watch the restaurant staff mix ingredients and stir them in the cooking pot. Thinly sliced meat and vegetables and served which you can dip in several kinds of dipping sauces.

You can go visit the Typhoon Restaurant and Bar located at the 2nd level of the A. Venue Mall in Makati Avenu.They will give you one of the best shabu-shabu experience, plus they are not called the King of Soup for nothing because they have 27 kinds of soups that can melt your soul.

They are cooking up a storm signal so intense it will most probably uproot you from where you're sitting right now and immediately take you infront of the restaurant doors.

You wont regret it! Promise!

Zipping Through Zamboanga Hermosa in a Day

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We had very little time to explore the many tourist spots that can be found in Zamboanga because we had to attend to the many celebrations and activities lined up at the town plaza. I guess a few days will not be enough to go around and explore the many interesting sites in and out of the city, especially the destinations that will take more than an hour's drive to reach. We were there for four days, but it seemed to pass by so quick that we were surprised it was already time to go back home to Manila.

But we've visited quite a lot already that's more than enough to give us great reasons to consider the adventure a very memorable one. In fact, I've already posted a lot of articles about Zamboanga, from the hotels, to the restaurants and the many celebrations and activities we've done and cherished.

Asia's Latin City was truly a remarkable place that you'll have many reasons to go back and relive the adventure. Join me as I share with you just some of the many places in Zamboanga that I've been to.

The Department of Tourism has selected Zamboanga City as a flagship tourism destination in Zamboanga Peninsula probably because it contains several sites that have valuable heritage backgrounds, and other establishments that pay tribute or homage to their former leaders, and as service to the people of Zamboanga.

Wazzup Pilipinas!It may be old news but it's still cool to have one of those and be able to officially use them as valid for your mail and/or packages is totally uber mega cool to the highest level!

I'm talking about the unique attraction being offered by the Philippines through its postal service, the Philippine Postal Corporation (PhilPost) in coordination with the Department of Tourism (DOT), that you won't see anywhere else.

Travel to the island of Boracay, or any one of the other 11 recommended tourism destinations in the Philippines, and have your own picture featured on a stamp. Personalized stamps? Now that really sounds like a fair deal! What's the catch? The "selfie" stamps cost Php 250. That much huh!

PhilPost postmaster general Josefina de la Cruz said by the time the summer season starts, their personalized stamp issuing photo booths would have rolled out in some of the country’s international airports and tourist destinations. Have you seen one already? It is said that they will make these photo booths available in cities like Baguio, Boracay, Bohol and Palawan. Let us know if there are PhilPost photo booths already setup at the said areas.

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Zomato Philippines invited us over at Ristorante Bigoli in Eastwood a few days ago to try out a couple of new pizza flavors of the restaurant... plus a surprise activity that won me some Gift certificates that I still am waiting to be delivered at home.

They have introduced the new pizza flavors almost a month already but this will be the first time they will present it to bloggers.

Zomato has been partnering with great restaurants of the metro (and continuously growing everyday) to add more publicity to promote the mouth-watering delicacies offered at the partner food establishments.

Zomato is an international brand that provides an online portal for foodies to check out restaurant reviews and directory guides. Its one of the most convenient way to be informed of food options in the Metro

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In the Philippines, we celebrate March as Women’s Role in History Month in accordance to Proclamation No. 227, signed in 1988. In this month, we recognize the contributions and achievements of the female genderwhich includes the most important women in our lives—our mothers.

Women have contributed much to the development of our nation. There are many we now consider heroes. In the past, their accomplishments have been neglected or relegated as something of lesser importance. But now with keen awareness, we are reassessing their roles and appreciating their participation. In this day and age women especially mothers are able to multitask and perform the multifaceted role of a mom. There are home makers who are also in the corporate world. Some are entrepreneurs who are also experts in raising children.

“Knowing that the task of motherhood is delicate and requiring dedication, Philips Avent has been coming up with innovative products that will help mothers everywhere. This year, it is celebrating 30 years of passionate pursuit of creating products with mothers in mind,” says Me-Ann Achacoso, Philips Consumer Lifestyle Business Development Manager for Health and Wellness.

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The world - in the midst of economic development and unprecedented advances in technology – faces an uncertain future as far as conservation and preservation of the environment is concerned. Rapid industrialization, massive deforestation, and other unscrupulous and indiscriminate ways of man have led to the deterioration of the environment and climate change whose ugly manifestations – landslide, flooding, and the unusual weather – have cost lives and properties.

The scale and magnitude of this environmental catastrophe gave rise to such international organizations as the World Wide Fund for Nature established in 1986 (its predecessor was the World Wide Fund conceived in 1961 and initially covered the protection of endangered animals). It mission is to stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world’s biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is available, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.

One aspect of the environment which is adversely affected by man’s wicked activities is the freshwater biodiversity which is among the most threatened in the world. Human activities such as overfishing, pollution, and economic development have pushed a number of species to the brink of extinction. Estimates show that 7.5 million people depend on freshwater fish for food and income. It was reported by British scientists that freshwater fish are the most endangered group of animals on the planet with more than a third threatened with extinction.

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One Fighting Championship (ONE FC), Asia’s largest mixed martial arts organization with a 90% market share, has finalized the lineup for the blockbuster ONE FC: RISE OF HEROES event with the addition of a bout between boxing world champion Ana Julaton and Egyptian kickboxing champion Aya Saeid Saber.

Victor Cui, CEO of ONE Fighting Championship stated, “ONE FC is returning to the Philippines with a night of exciting mixed martial arts action! Filipino fight fans have been clamoring to see Ana Julaton in action for years and their wait is finally over as Julaton will make her mixed martial arts debut opposite kickboxing champion Aya Saeid Saber. This explosive bout completes the lineup for ONE FC: RISE OF HEROES. Fans all over the world can look forward to a night of world class mixed martial arts action as ONE FC: RISE OF HEROES comes to you live from the Philippines!”

Ana “The Hurricane” Julaton is the first Filipina boxer to win the women’s WBO Super Bantamweight and IBA Super Bantamweight World Championships while Aya Saeid Saber is an Egyptian kickboxing champion who has conquered the kickboxing scene in the Middle East.

Solenn Heussaff and Nico Bolzico Covers Hola Philippines April 2014 Issue

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"Hot and power couple Solenn Heussaff and Nico Bolzico turn up the heat in Aman Resorts' latest Vietnamese paradise on Hola Philippines magazine's April 2014 issue.
They will also be the first faces to grace their special cover edition in digital version on Zinio! Subscribe and grab a copy now! Get a copy here: http://bit.ly/solennnico

Read about how the couple allowed their love to bloom in the peace and beauty of Amano'i.

Get inspired to transform the beach strip to a summer catwalk under the heat of the sun with the laidback and comfy resort outfits of the couple.

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Our beloved cosplay idol Alodia Gosiengfiao was recently seen as a part of a Japanese TV commercial intended to promote a popular hand-held game. Alodia is seen here playing a Sony Playstation Vita and dancing along with a bunch of other Hatsune Miku fans performing a lively dance while playing the game. Behind them is a large screen display of the game. It mainly features the Tokyo Otaku Mode Special Creator.

To commemorate the release of Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F 2nd, a rhythm-action game that features Vocaloid Hatsune Miku, a new TV commercial was recently created and is now already creating a huge stir and now eventually online since it has been recently uploaded on YouTube.

In order to further deepen enjoyment of Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F 2nd, which was released in Japan only last March 27, Sony Computer Entertainment Japan Asia (SCEJA) had previously announced “Dance with PS Vita” - a play style in which “players use their full bodies and dance to control the PS Vita version of the game.”

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Mangan tana! In celebration of International Museum Day in Central Luzon, the Museo ning Angeles would like to invite foodies to a culinary tour of Pampanga on May 15-16, 2014. Invited speakers are Felice Prudente Sta. Maria, Chef Claude Tayag, Atching Lillian Borromeo and Francis Musni.

Museo ning Angeles promises a guided tour of the inner depths of Filipino cuisine with lecturers who not only talk about the food but actually live it, at the same time, experience Kapampangan cooking traditions and feast upon it.

This will be an interesting event to join as we will hear from the real foodies themselves. Right now, everyone wants to be a culinary chef because of the perception that it gives an added prestige not brought about by merely being a cook. Today, the taste of the food is not the only objective. Everything from presentation, color, texture and smell must be well-coordinated to achieve an appetizing dish. I would like to see if Pampanga cuisines are going with the flow or maintaining the well-loved traditions.

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Since I have a few tickets that will let me and my family enjoy a thrilling day at this unique new summer getaway that's now redefining outdoor fun, I wanted to share a preview of what it will be like as I read everything about the place so I would know what to expect.

I've been to Porac, Pampanga particularly at Poracay, but that place only offers facilities for swimming, zipline and canoe-riding. But from what I hear about SandBox, it seems to be offering some sort of extreme activities suitable for those who want a taste of adrenaline-pumping action.

SandBox, which officially opened just last April 12, 2014, can be found in the vast terrain of Porac, Pampanga located in the new Alviera township development of Ayala Land, Inc., in partnership with Leonio Land.

Visitors of any age will have memorable experiences at SandBox since it features an array of exciting attractions that pumps up visitors to get active and enjoy the great outdoors. From the fun activities amplified by the scale of the facilities to Porac's wide green plains, there's plenty of reasons to get excited.

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In line with “Oplan Ligtas Biyahe: Kwaresma 2014,” Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) Secretary Joseph “Jun” Abaya will join President Benigno S. Aquino III in inspecting various air, land, and sea transport facilities in Metro Manila tomorrow, to ensure smooth and seamless operations during the Holy Week.

“As part of our duty to provide safe and convenient transportation to the public, the DOTC has instructed all transport agencies to take necessary measures to ensure security at our terminals and stations, quick response capability in cases of emergencies, and enhanced facilities and services to meet the needs of our travellers during this peak season,” said Abaya.

The transport department launched this year’s Holy Week Oplan Ligtas Biyahe as early as last week, on April 11. It will run until April 20, to cover the period when large volumes of people were anticipated to travel in and out of Metro Manila.

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Zamboanga was originally called the City of Flowers even before another city used it, and so apparently they gave way and just used the monicker Asia's Latin City instead to also highlight the Chavacano (Spanish-based creole language) speaking residents of the city.

This is probably why when I entered the lobby of the Lantaka Hotel by the Sea, there were so many flowers, aside from the cannons, used to decorate the place. Flowers do beautify everything including the vintage, and Lantaka Hotel by the Sea is a popular heritage site known all over the Philippines as Zamboanga's pride and foremost hotel.

Although vintage, the location of the hotel is more than perfect. Located at the NS Valderossa street, it is just a stone's throw away from everywhere else including the Zamboanga city hall, Paseo Del Mar, Fort Pilar, Plaza del Pilar, and the newly constructed Cinematheque Zamboanga.

But what I consider the best part is the magnificent vantage point towards the crystalline waters of the Moro Gulf and the Basilan Island. You get to dine on the veranda of the in-house coffee shop and watch the sun rise and set on the beautiful Moro Gulf.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Buenas Dias to all and let me welcome you again as your friendly neighborhood pambansang blogger of the Philippines continue sharing with you another one of the many places we've been to during our four day visit to Asia's Latin City - the home of the only pink sand beach in the Philippines called the Grand and Little Santa Cruz Islands which we visited a few days ago.

Since we couldn't get enough of seafood, we visited another seafood restaurant for dinner during our last night in Zamboanga. We will be flying back to Manila later that night so we had to eat quick if we don't want to miss our Cebu Pacific flight. We also needed to go back to the Garden Orchid Hotel after dinner to get our stuff which we already packed earlier so it will be all ready for an immediate departure from the hotel.

Our gracious host picked the Zamboanga Seafood House located at Gov. Ramos Avenue of Barangay San Roque. It's my first time to hear about it so I was excited to try out another new restaurant so I can showcase it on my blog. I've always preferred to eat seafood because they say it's more nutritious and less fattening compared to the meat products like pork, beef and chicken. However, I do try my very best to balance my meals with small portions of each during every meal especially when its an eat-all-you-can buffet.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

It may be grim sight to look at but it was a reality that we could not hide from the world but only accept that there are really times that we even though we are all Filipinos living in one country, we could not agree to work out our differences in a peaceful manner.

That building that now looked like Swiss cheese was formerly a school but ridden with holes by weapons from government forces so they can drive away the alleged spliter group of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) away from the town they recently occupied by force.

We will never really know what drive these seemingly misguided elements to do such horrible acts because we mostly heard only from the side of the government. But in wars like these there are really no winners. Both lose in their hope for peace and unity, and the real losers are the families whose lives were lost, their properties damaged, and quite a number of them displaced. The conflict had paralyzed the economic activity of Zamboanga City. I am honored that I am now helping the city regain its foothold on its former glory.

The residents affected were from the barangays of Sta. Catalina, Rio Hondo, Kasangyangan, Mariki, and Sta. Barbara. Some of them settled in evacuation and relief centers while some are all lined up at the boulevard named after Filipino politician Roseller T. Lim, "The Great Filibuster".

Wazzup Pilipinas!

I missed the album launch of Paolo Onesa last March 19 at Cucina ni Bunso in Quezon City so it was a good thing for MCA Music to provide me a copy of his album during their next OPM artist album launch which was at the Johnny Alegre Infinity Stories album launch held at Tiendesitas in Pasig.

I decided to at least listen to the album first since I didn't have the pleasure of listening to him sing a few songs like what these artists do during their album launching. However, it took a long time before I could even open the album and play it due to a lot of backlogs.

Lucky enough that Holy Week is here and there are very little events scheduled for the week thus it was the right time to unwind and listen to some crooning from the Voice of the Philippines' “Ultimate Heartthrob Crooner.”

Paolo rightfully earned that monicker as evident from his album Pop Goes Standards as he takes you away (to dream land where you do nothing but fall in love) with his soothing voice caressing hit songs to the tune of signature pop-jazz standards.

Zamboanga Adventure: Exploring Asia's Latin City (Yakan Weaving Village)

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Located in upper Calarian, northwest of downtown lies the Yakan Weaving Village. The place does not look like a village because it's quite small and you'll surely miss it so easily because the only signage available is a dirty and worn-out tarpaulin that says Yakan Village Weaving Association with the word "Association" blocked by a wood used to put the signage in place. There's another signage beside it situated on top but its obviously not helping much because majority of the signage only displays a cola brand advertisement.

It seems they desperately need some funding to come up with a more decent signage. I hope the government could at least support them to become at least more visible for potential tourists. I admire what the Department of Tourism (DOT) is doing by inviting members of the media on a media junket and introducing the Yakan Weaving Village to us so we could help share their existence.

The Yakan people are among the major indigenous muslim tribes in Mindanao. They are the traditional settlers of Basilan Island in the Sulu Archipelago, situated to the west of Zamboanga. Some of them settled in Zamboanga City due to political unrest which led to the armed conflicts between the militant Moro and government soldiers.