2014-11-30 ~ Wazzup Pilipinas News and Events

Saturday, December 6, 2014

Animahenasyon 2014: The 8th Animation Festival from the Animation Council of the Philippines

Wazzup Pilipinas!
Who doesn't love animation? I haven't met anyone who isn't interested watching one or two of those computer-generated graphics coming to life on any screen size may it be on TV, the cinema house or online. It's actually harder, more expensive and takes a lot of patience to make a blockbuster animated movie compared to a regular movie minus the special effects and the huge Hollywood paycheck of the celebrities.

All of the movie productions nowadays implement the use of digital graphics and animation to enhanced their movies, you can find the works of animation artists almost everywhere especially on mainstream movies. They can create animations that are almost life-like and could pass for the real thing.
Here in the Philippines, some of our local artists share the limelight with other foreign animation experts as they now could also apply the same techniques in our local movies, for example "Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles," which have used the art of digital animation for their special effects and background/foreground settings. The part 2 of the movie now called "Kubot: The Aswang Chronicles 2" also capitalized on the use of digital animation incorporated in the movie to make an outstanding array of special effects to improve the entertainment viewing experience.
The 8th Animation Festival dubbed as Animahenasyon (Filipino equivalent of Animagination which is a combination of animation and imagination) organized by the Animation Council of the Philippines in partnership with the iAcademy, gathers together experts and enthusiasts in one venue to give opportunities to the youth, and the young-at-heart, to discover and explore the art of animation. The event happened from November 25 to 28, 2014 at the new iAcademy building (formerly the Mondragon building) located along Buendia (Gil Puyat) Avenue.

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The Theatre at Solaire at the Solaire Resort & Casino proudly raised its curtains and is all set for stellar performances. Just a few days ago, it initiated the opening of its doors to the performing arts with a grand launch last November 26, 2014 led by Audie Gemora, Director for Entertainment.

Your friendly neighborhood pambansang blogger was among the select few who was invited to witness the unveiling of the spectacular fan-shaped lyric theater with a seating capacity of 1, 760 people. The theater is ideal for all forms of the performing arts - be it musical, opera, ballet, pop concert, concerto, awards night, competition, circus act, kiddie show or corporate event.

Boasting of the best light and sound equipment, it is the first theater in the country and among a few in the region that is equipped with the groundbreaking technology called Constellation Acoustic System (CAS) exclusively provided by Meyer Sound. The CAS combines patented algorithm, advanced digital processing, and miniature transducer technology to provide optimal yet flexible acoustics in building design. It enables the acoustical properties of a room to be altered to suit the nature of the event taking place in just a touch of a finger.

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Asia’s largest mixed martial arts organization with a 90% market share, ONE Fighting Championship (ONE FC), returned to Manila in spectacular fashion, showcasing another night of world-class mixed martial arts action in front of a packed crowd at the MOA Arena. In the main event of the evening, Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes submitted Dae Hwan Kim with a Rear Naked Choke to retain his ONE FC Bantamweight World Championship. Brandon Vera knocked out Igor Subora in a battle of heavyweights and Timofey Nastyukhin shocked the crowd with a knockout of hometown MMA hero Eduard Folayang.

ONE FC Bantamweight World Champion Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes retained his title with a submission win over Korea’s Dae Hwan Kim. Kim proved to be a live challenger as he tested Fernandes’ championship mettle in the first round with a display of lightning quick strikes that found their mark. In the second round, Fernandes turned to grappling as he quickly worked to secure Kim’s back after the Korean missed a punch. Moments later, Fernandes locked in a Rear Naked Choke, forcing Kim to tap out.

In the co-main event of the evening, international mixed martial arts superstar Brandon “The Truth” Vera of the Philippines defeated URCC champion Igor Subora of the Ukraine via spectacular knockout, sending the MOA Arena crowd into a frenzy. The fight started off with both fighters trading heavy blows. Vera caught Subora in a Muay Thai clinch and unleashed a couple of knees to the head. Towards the end of the round, Vera slipped a punch by Subora and countered with a straight left, dropping his opponent and throwing in two more kicks for good measure. The referee stepped in to stop the fight, awarding Vera with the victory.

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Is Shabooya from 99 Percent already a dance craze?

If not, well maybe after watching this video, it will soon become a viral video. I've personally witnessed how these popular celebrities rehearsed the steps pertaining to the dance, and enjoyed every minute of it. The dance encourages all participants in the group to do individual freestyle dancing while the rest of the group cheer on.

Shabooya is said to be a song from 99 Percent and used at the Bring It On 3 movie and is a part of a certain cheer routine to introduce the squad; also known as scatting.

Seen below are the lovely cosplay queens Alodia Gosiengfiao and Myrtle Sarrosa who were part of this dance show-off after the Amazing Stories of Yexel's Toy Museum grand launch. Yexel Sebastian danced with the two cosplay queens together with other amazing and cool friends like Eric Ejercito (Alodia's boyfriend), Brian Poe Llamanzares, Moymoy Palaboy, Roadfill Sparks, Chicser and, of course, the adorably sweet and lovely girlfriend of Yexel, Mikee Trixia M. Agustin. Eric Ejercito was acting as the choreographer of the group who patiently taught everyone the steps.

What is amazing about these teens is that they were able to easily and quickly learn in such short tutorial session. More videos of the rehearsal at the Wazzup Pilipinas YouTube channel.

The newest life-size toy museum dubbed as "Amazing Stories of Yexel's Museum" is located at the 2nd level of the Manila Ocean Park alongside its other equally amazing attractions, is bound to attract the attention of many people especially this holiday season.

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Eat Out Manila, the Philippines' first restaurant reservations app, expands its reach even further with the Android version, and now brings its convenience to users of the two leading mobile operating systems. Launched on the iOS platform initially when it came to market just middle of 2014, Eat Out Manila is now available to all Android users via the Android app store.

The premier restaurant reservations application in the Philippines is making eating out a more fun experience for Filipinos who love to dine out. Diners can now easily reserve seats at their favorite restaurant and even gain benefits from doing so as Eat Out Manila also offers exclusive deals including discounts, gift certificates, and freebies from its top-notch partner restaurants.

“This app is borne out of our frustrations on our personal experiences with manual restaurant reservations. When we first came up with the app, our goal was to bring it to as many users as possible. We’re very happy to introduce it to Android users and see what they think,” said Iñaki Lamata, Co-Founder, Eat Out Manila

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The Amazing Stories of Yexel's Museum just had its grand launch last December 5, 2014 and your friendly neighborhood pambansang blogger just had to be there to cover it myself.

I'm a fan of Yexel Sebastian's work, as well as avid followers of his guests like Alodia Gosiengfiao, Eric Ejercito, Myrtle Sarrosa, Brian Poe Llamanzres, Moymoy Palaboy, Roadfill Sparks and even Chicser....seriously! Yexel's other museums are equally incredible especially the one in Las Pinas with the giant Optimum Prime bust! This one at the 2nd level of the Manila Ocean Park is indeed a venue where amazing stories can be forever told.

A truly family-friendly attraction where even the kids-at-heart can marvel at the fascinating life-size replicas of famous very and familiar characters form the movies and comic books, plus lots of other stuff on display at this incredible toy museum where learning comes natural as children and adults immerse themselves to the world of fantasy and movie magic.

An interview with a Manila Ocean Park official said the museum is a collaboration between them and Yexel. They initiated the arrangement to come up with this truly amazing display of sculptures mostly made from styrofoam and other light materials. Though the creations are images taken from the movies and comic book characters we all loved, Yexel personally created them with love and passion. You'll be amazed at the life-size sculptures of the cute Chipmunks, the adorable Minions room, of Spiderman, the Lord of the Rings including Ganfalf the Wizard, the Star wars with Lord Darth Vader, and most especially the Ironman room with all the intricately-designed Ironman suits on display.

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My kids call me the pancake master at home because I am the only one who can cook pancakes with very little flaws. Perfect they would say, for I can quickly come up with a batch of great smelling buttered pancakes that's a little crispy at the edges and in almost perfect circle shapes that no one could resist. I would sometimes include some other ingredients like cheese, raisins and chocolate bits as a decorative and taste add-on. They would quickly eat them all up before you could say "Pass the maple syrup."

But I guess I need to step aside now because I've just seen a real artist when it comes to mastering the art of pancake cooking. Imagine pancakes in all shapes, sizes and color neatly mixed or arranged together to produce an artwork that is so appealing. They say it's bad to play with your food but you will surely make an exemption the moment you experience being in front of international all-day breakfast joint Slappy Cakes special pancake cooking grill.

Slappy Cakes recently introduced its Christmas offerings which are specially designed for kids and kids-at-heart to enjoy this season. Let us present to you the seasonal Gingerbread Batter that's perfect for the holiday season. All brown and gooey but once you've cooked it to a pancake and put on top some sweetened apple bits (apple compote), whipped cream, plus the basic syrups, you'll wanna do it all over again.

Google Announces Online Resources for Typhoon Ruby/Hagupit

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Typhoon Hagupit (Ruby) is currently an extremely powerful tropical cyclone approaching the eastern part of the Philippines, which is also the most intense tropical cyclone of 2014 in terms of sustained winds.

In this regard, we would like to share a very important message from Gail Tan, Google Philippines Head of Public Affairs and Communications, that might be of big help for the coming typhoon Ruby (international name Hagupit)

Google has announced that is has activated several resources for typhoon related information.

Public Alerts- real-time updated information from Pag-asa and other information on the typhoon and its route and expected effect. On the right side, you'll find a Google Crisis Map for Ruby. This map contains information on shelters, evacuation centers, and the track of the cyclone.

Crisis Landing Page houses our Person Finder and a lot of emergency contact numbers.

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Visiting the Phil-Bike Expo 2014 brings back memories when I still had plenty of time to ride a bicycle. With my new line of work as online media, I would be out most often attending press conferences, media previews and launches and would often just sit down infront of the computer and forever type away until the end of the day. Well, I had my reasons why I stayed away from biking, but this expo made me want to dust off my mountain bike and start riding again.

The event was held at the World Trade Center (WTC) last November 15 and 16, 2014 with lots of fun activities, promos and discounts, raffles and performances for the entire family to enjoy! Many folks from all demographics visited the WTC for a feast of two-wheeled wonders.

I had my first bicycle, with training wheels, when I was still at a very young age of 3 and still could not forget about it ever since I saw my back and white vintage photo together with the bicycle. I don't remember my experience with the bike but the photo was evidence that I do adore riding a bicycle during those times. The more memorable moments in the past was when we had an accident while riding a bicycle with a side car. We were all so eager to try it out when our father gave it to us as a gift that my brothers and I (all five of us) rode it immediately on the neighborhood streets. However, due to the heavy load, the bicycle flipped over.

But that didn't stopped us from continuing to love biking especially when our parents gave each one of us our very own bicycles. Wow! We were roaming around the streets of our neighborhood like we were a bike gang. The fun part was there were so huge open spaces back then, and wide field where we can safely ride away without fearing being struck by a vehicle.

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PLAY 2D BEAT was a variety show which main purpose was to celebrate PLAYHOUSE PRODUCTION's 2nd Year Anniversary by discovering new talents through a healthy competition of KPop cosplay and open dance categories.

The event was dubbed as PLAY 2D BEAT: An Open Dance Competition and was held last October 31 (Friday), 5-9PM at CAP Auditorium, CAP Bldg., Amorsolo Street in the city of Makati.

PLAYHOUSE PRODUCTION is a full production house with indoor and outdoor studios, shooting equipment, talents, event management and story conceptualization experts and production staff. They offer event/talent/product or service publicity, marketing and advertising as well as event coverage and online media partnership.

There were three featured KPop cosplay contestants who all strut their way on stage in the tune of their favorite KPop artists' music.

The declared winner of the night was Pielle Coscolluella in the said category.

As for the open dance competition, the rankings are:

Champion - Four One Seven
1st runner-up - J.Crisis
2nd runner-up - Autonomicass Crew (AC)

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Usually, we’d go places to celebrate the holiday to commemorate the spirit of Christmas. An example are performances set onstage. For ballet, it’d be the Nutcracker. For stage musicals, it’d be the adaption of The Christmas Carol. This year Repertory Philippines presents the perfect holiday affair with Scrooge the musical, an adaptation by the musical legend, composer, lyricist, and playwright Leslie Bricusse. This version was taken from the music and screenplay of the 1970 musical film Scrooge.

Based on the mentioned novel by Charles Dickens set in Victorian era Great Britain, with countless number of adaptations on TV, movie and stage through the years. Tells about the story about the bitter miser of a businessman named Ebenezer Scrooge and that fateful Christmas eve.

As we relive this holiday classic, we take a trip down memory lane and rekindle such memorable characters such as Harry, Tiny Tim, the Crachits and the Fezziwigs to the familiar tune of “Sing a Christmas Carol", which you might have sang unconsciously from before.

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Revolutionary products deserve a revolutionary launch. So when Post-it and Scotch Brands unveiled their new products, they celebrated with a grand dance off.

The new line of stylish products was introduced at a dance event last November 11, 2014 at the Alphaland Tents in Magallanes attended by 3M trade partners and media.

Hip hop and street dancers pepped up the event with high-energy moves and a lot of pop-and-locking and awesome aerial moves. The dance event was the perfect back-drop for the newly unveiled products from 3M’s Post-it and Scotch Brands.

A new line of Scotch Magic Tape Dispensers shaped like rolling cats, a football player set to kick the ball, and a lime-wedged martini glass is sure to glam up any workspace.

Scotch Multi-Purpose Scissors in Zebra and Gingham prints allow anyone to express themselves and make cutting more enjoyable. The new Scotch Designer Student Scissors in Confetti print will surely add color to any school activity or project.

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Working abroad is no walk in the park. A number of Filipinos still choose to leave the country with the hope of giving a better future for their family. Our Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) earned the label “modern day heroes” because of this remarkable sacrifice as they are not only helping their family but the whole nation as well. Based on statistics, OFW remittances have reached about 2,107 million U.S. dollars in September 2014. The testament of the significant contribution that our modern day heroes bring back to the country is the continuing rise in remittance from our OFWs.

In its continuing commitment of serving and building a stronger tie with our OFWs, the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), continues to further improve its products and services to address the rising needs of OFWs and their families. BPI will be welcoming our modern day heroes this holiday season at the new BPInoy Corners, a “one-stop” spot inside the bank that will cater to the needs of OFWs and their families.

The BPinoy Corners are strategically located in selected locations where there is high volume of OFW clients. The BPInoy Corners will be manned by a dedicated sales associate that will provide clients with professional guidance in remittance, loans, investments, and other financial needs. The BPinoy Corners can be a one-stop spot in BPI banks that addresses the needs of the OFWs and their family with ease and utmost care.

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For years, the Philippines has been an attractive real estate market because of its young population, sound macroeconomic fundamentals, and relative affordability. But what does 2015 hold for the country’s real estate industry?

This will be the topic that will be discussed in Lamudi Philippines’ first conference on real estate, to which you are cordially invited. Spend time networking with your fellow real estate professionals during the conference, and take part in the discussion.

Lamudi managing director Jacqueline van den Ende is slated to speak at the conference, along with KMC-MAG’s Yves Luethi, Colliers’ Chris Wells, and PSBank’s Yvette Go.

Luethi will talk about the outlook for Metro Manila’s commercial real estate market, while Wells will discuss what’s in store for the Philippine capital’s luxury and high-end residential market in 2015. On the financial side, Go will tackle the country’s mortgage market.

The Lamudi Conference will be held on December 6, 10 am to 1 pm, at the Hall 2 of SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City. The event will coincide with the Philippine Property Expo 2014, which Lamudi Philippines is co-presenting with MediaCom Solutions Inc.

One FC: Warrior’s Way Official Weigh-In Results

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ONE Fighting Championship™ (ONE FC) announced today that all but one of the mixed martial artists competing tomorrow have made weight and are ready for ONE FC: WARRIOR’S WAY which takes place tomorrow evening at the state-of-the-art MOA Arena. Herbert Burns came in over the featherweight limit and his bout against Honorio Banario will now be a catchweight contest.

Visit the official ONE FC: WARRIOR’S WAY weigh-in photo gallery by clicking:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/7pof14b9qwz30a2/SFZmzHv8q8

Check out the ONE FC: WARRIOR’S WAY weigh-in video by clicking:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4KIX1kkUIY0R21MTHlaY1pFYWs/view?usp=sharing

ONE FC Bantamweight World Champion, Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes stated, “On the day of my fight, it doesn’t matter what my opponent does. I want to do my best and that will be good enough.”

The challenger, Dae Hwan Kim, stated, “I know Bibiano Fernandes is a world champion in Jiu-Jitsu, but I’m confident in my skills and I think I can beat him.”

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The success of the Singapore partnership between two leading mobile apps paves the way for a similar campaign in Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.

We are happy to share that users of Easy Taxi and WeChat can now use the popular social communications app to book their Easy Taxi rides in the mentioned countries above, as both companies build on the success of the Singapore pilot programme launched last July 2014.

“We are happy to renew our partnership with WeChat, benefitting our users in Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. The move further supports our regional footprint, and the synergies between both apps will allow for a greater mobility among smartphone users in our partner cities,” said Daniel Torres, CEO of Easy Taxi Philippines. He explained how the partnership is beneficial to both brands, as offering a taxi booking functionality abroad enables WeChat to be part of one of the world’s most disruptive technologies among startups. On the other hand, Easy Taxi expands its reach across millions of WeChat users.

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The Philippines’ world-renowned Loboc Children’s Choir (LCC) will take center stage as Bohol launches its year-round tourism campaign at the Glorietta Mall, Makati City on January 9-11, 2015 instead of December 8 to 10 due to the coming typhoon with international name Hagupit, which may affect the Central Visayas province where most of the fair participants will be coming from.

Dubbed as “Visit Bohol 2015,” the campaign is aimed at re-launching Bohol as a major tourism destination. Monthly activities will be lined up for next year, including the launching of two international music festivals, international triathlon event, dive festival, new eco-tourism products and the much-awaited geo-science tours.

Next year also marks the grand homecoming of Boholanos all over the world called Tigum Bol-anon Tibuok Kalibutan, a triennial event which also coincides with the Sandugo Festival held every July.

In a statement, Bohol Governor Edgar Chatto said that “Visit Bohol 2015” is his province’s way of supporting “Visit the Philippines Year 2015” (VPY) rolled out by the Department of Tourism.

“We are very grateful to Secretary Jimenez of the DOT and its marketing arm, the Tourism Promotions Board, for their full support in the tourism recovery program of Bohol. This year has been an exciting year for Bohol and we are seeing a much revitalized tourism industry,” he said.

Epson Philippines Plans to Construct New Epson Printer and Projector Plant

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There was a recent announcement from Seiko Epson Corporation (SEC) that it will invest 12.3 billion yen in manufacturing subsidiary Epson Precision (Philippines) Inc. (EPPI) to construct a new plant for increasing inkjet printer and 3LCD projector production volumes. The state-of-the-art facilities will be constructed inside the existing site by the early part of 2017, with operations slated to begin in the spring of that year.

The plan of Epson is to install a mega solar power generation system with a capacity of approximately 3,000 kWh on the roof of the new plant. It is expected that this system will reduce overall daytime electricity consumption at Epson Precision (Philippines) by half.

As it implements its mid-range business plan, Epson has determined that its current inkjet printer and projector manufacturing facilities in China, Indonesia and the Philippines are insufficient to meet expected demand. In inkjet printers, the company is forecasting the need to significantly boost production capacity for its core high-capacity ink tank models, which are currently experiencing rapid growth, and also for office inkjets, which are beginning to make steady inroads into the market. Epson also sees the need to increase projector production as it expands its lineup.

Kitchen Diaries Cafe: Our Food, Your Story

Dear Wazzup Pilipinas diary,

I have a wonderful story to tell about a promising new neighborhood restaurant which could very well offer almost everything you could think of. They are actually just a few months old and in a stage of experimenting to find out which of their dishes would click to their customers.

Our visit at their restaurant a few nights ago was labeled as a food coma for we were so overwhelmed with many interesting dishes from their menu, including the over abundance of sweets that our sugar level rose to an all-time high! The owners really pampered us to the extreme. We were actually surprised that they have so many food choices. At first look you would think they would only have sweet treats like cupcakes and cookies, but we were all wrong about that assumption.

There's an old saying that we should not judge a book by its cover, and we learned that the hard way. Their cutesy facade and display of sweet treats were just the cherries on top of the Black Forest cake. A closer inspection of the establishment introduced us to the many culinary delicacies that seem to magically came out from their kitchen.

Aside from the sugar-filled snacks, they also have filling main dishes fit for every time of the day may it be breakfast, lunch, or dinner. So you better start thinking beyond the usual cakes, krinkles, krunchies, choco pops, and other assortment of sweets for there are so much to discover at Kitchen Diaries Cafe.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The fast-paced advancement in technology has dramatically changed the way we live. We are in a stage of our lifetime when you could achieve almost anything as long as you have enough resources to support you in the conceptualization, development, and implementation. We now have several means to improve our lifestyle and could even have the power to extend our life and reach our maximum potential if we play our cards right.

A company has recently announced new facilities that features separate isolated processing rooms for cord blood and cord lining, the first and only such facility in the Philippines. The facility is designed with cryogenic storage capacity for as many as 30,000 cord blood/cord lining units.

Cordlife Medical Philippines Inc, a fully owned subsidiary of Cordlife Group Limited, a Singapore Exchange mainboard listed consumer healthcare company catering to the mother and child segment, announced the opening of their newly upgraded stem cell processing and cryopreservation facility at UP-Ayalaland Technohub, Quezon City. This expansion came less than 5 years from the opening of its facility in the country and was mainly driven by the growing number of parents who recognize the value of banking their baby’s stem cells in the country.

The event launch held at Crowne Plaza in Ortigas on Nov. 18, 2014 was hosted by popular DJ Delamar Arias and graced by celebrity moms, actress and beauty queen Lara Quigaman and reporter/journalist Niña Corpuz. Delamar, Lara and Nina all shared their personal experiences of being Cordlife moms themselves.

Gumbo Offers Combo Magnifico for Christmas

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Everybody’s in a rush because Christmas is just around the corner. If you have no time to prepare for your Noche Buena or get-together with your family and loved ones, then do not worry because you have the option to relax, just go out and dine in at any Gumbo restaurants!

Gumbo restaurants are located at the 2nd level, Entertainment Mall, SM Mall of Asia; 2nd level, The Block, SM City North Edsa; 3rd level, Robinsons Place Manila Midtown; 2nd level, Atrium Bldg., SM Megamall; Gateway Mall Araneta Center; and Robinsons Magnolia.

Gumbo is a perfect place to celebrate this season as they prepare delicious and mouth-watering dishes for your family and friends to feast on such as Seafood Jambalaya, Fish & Chips, Cajun Fried Chicken, New Orleans’ Delight Pizza, Baked Artichoke, etc.

Likewise you should not miss Gumbo Christmas offering “Combo Magnifico” valued at P1525.00 but you can avail for only P999.00, a huge saving of P526.00! This sumptuous treat includes Chicken and Cheese Melt Fries, Shrimp Aglio Olio and Cajun Fried Chicken, plus a carafe or 1 liter of Coke, guaranteed good for five persons!

Wazzup Pilipinas!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Everywhere you look would contain images and decorations pertaining to the very special holiday season. Christmas is truly in the air! Everybody is busy shopping for gifts for their friends and loved ones. This is also the time of the year for the much-awaited Christmas parties or get-together at schools, offices, neighborhoods and communities or at your own homes.

I know everyone is very busy nowadays that in case you have very little time to prepare foods for your parties, Burgoo is now offering free delivery at its Tomas Morato and Rockwell outlets. Now that's a very convenient offer from this famous American restaurant.

Just call 9277396 or 8981815 and you can have your favourite Burgoo dishes such as Shrimp and Ribs Platter, Seafood Caesar Salad, Chicken Dianne, supreme pizzas and pastas and luscious desserts, among others in an instant and without the fuss.

You can also have them take out in other branches located at The Podium and Robinsons Galleria in Ortigas, SM Mall of Asia in Pasay, Gateway Mall in Cubao, The Block at SM City North EDSA, SM City Marikina, Fairview Terraces Mall, The District Ayala Mall in Cavity, SM Southmall in Alabang, and Starmall in Taguig.

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The hotel we formerly know as Traders Hotel Manila now rebrands as Hotel Jen Manila, as part of a diverse collection of hotels in the best locations across Asia Pacific, with a unique brand of style and service delivery designed to appeal to a ‘New Jeneration’ of travelers.

Your friendly neighborhood pambansang bloggers witnessed the rebirth of hotel into something more youthful and exciting. The hotel was filled with guests from all over including fellow members of the media, together with top accounts, owners and staff of the hotel.

At the unveiling are Mr. Gordon Aeria, General Manager of Hotel Jen Manila; Mr. Paulo Paulino; Mrs. Pia De Leon-Ongsiako, Chief Operating Officer of New Riviera Hotel; Mayor Juliet Ferrer; Ms. Kitchie Benedicto-Paulino, Chairman and CEO of New Riviera Hotel; Mr. Golden Whitehead, Director of Special Projects of Hotel Jen HQ from Hongkong; Mr. and Mrs Roger Rosales; Mrs. Jonah Paulino, wife of Mr. Paulino; ms. Ruth Corcega, Director of New Riviera Hotel

This is the first to welcome the Hotel Jen brand in the Philippines catering to a new ‘Jeneration’ of independently minded business and leisure travelers. The brand will launch quickly with ten Hotel Jens opening in major cities in Asia Pacific by March 2015.

A wonderful unveiling of the hotel logo plus the taking flight of a huge letter J tied to a group of balloons were officiated during the grand launch followed by a ribbon cutting at the entrance of the hotel. Traditional festivities followed the ceremonial champagne toast and speech from the owner like an Ati-Atihan native dance performance, some medley of songs from the Ryan Cayabyab singers, fabulously sweet champagne for everyone, and of course a wonderful feast from the Latitude hotel buffet for all the guests that day.

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Busy, busy, busy! What a hectic week this will be for One FC organizers. This is ONE FC's adrenaline pumping week as Asia’s largest mixed martial arts organization ONE FC has brought a series of engaging pre-fight events targeted at the various stakeholders. Fans, partners and media will get an opportunity to spend some time with the world-class stars set to feature on December 5 at the SM MOA Arena.

Today, December 2, will provide the media the opportunity to witness three of the country’s best in action. Eduard Folayang, Honorio Banario, Kevin Belingon, Ana Julaton and Brandon Vera will conduct an open workout session, where they will showcase their skills as well as share with the country their mindset ahead of the upcoming clashes at ONE FC: WARRIOR’S WAY. Event will be at Fight Factory at Karport, Bonifacio Global City at 1 p.m.

Selected gym partners will also be in for a treat as one of the greatest minds in the sport today, ONE FC Vice President of Operations, Matt Hume will be imparting his skills in an MMA seminar. Several of Hume’s students have gone on to win world championships and he will share his knowledge with a few lucky gym partners. There will also a summit for some of the martial arts leaders in the country on that day.

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EDSA Shangri-La hotel was filled with amazing bodies from 24 individuals who personify great bodies that can be considered almost perfect. The candidates strutted and flexed their lean body and muscles to show off to the audience their amazing physical beauty. Fit, trim and muscle-bounded, these are just some traits that you'll find from the men and women who frequent gyms and fitness centers to keep their body to the most pleasant and healthy condition.

I am amazed of the discipline and patience of these individuals on how they can manage to keep their bodies to the optimum condition and appearance. It is no easy task to maintain such physical prowess. It takes a considerable amount of time to regularly visits gyms and fitness centers and a lot of fighting power to keep away from the temptations of eating fatty and cholesterol-laden foods. I envy these individuals who can resist indulging on the many sugary treats out there enabling them to keep their superb abs.

Slimmers World International, Asia’s foremost name in fitness, health and beauty recently held a media presentation and pre-judging of candidates as an initial activity to their search for the 2014 Mr. & Ms. Great Bodies on December 2, 2014 at the UP Theatre. Members of the media were at awe seeing these incredibly fit and muscled individuals from many age brackets and genders.
There were some older candidates but still with unbelievable bodies, and some members of the LGBT community but with well-sculptured bodies that straight ones would envy.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Fun runs are everywhere! I hear about a run organized by different organizations almost every week that we could probably also call our country the fun run capital of the world.

Last November 23, 2014 was one awesome comic experience for many running enthusiasts as they braced themselves for one epic run! The HERO RUSH 2014 was a superhero-themed fun run with a cause with lots of freebies as well courtesy of their sponsors.

Since the run was open to the public, the students of the University of the Philippines Diliman was joined by other students from different colleges and universities and other runners from all walks of life. We even saw a few foreigners joining the fun. In fact, they were the most competitive among the hero rushers.

Your friendly neighborhood pambansang blogger also saw a cosplayer in an Ironman suit. This made me look around just in case there's a Captain America cosplayer as well. But sorry, only Ironman was there to thrill the crowd with some photo opportunity with him.

Kiddo-Preneur Christmas Bazaar 2014: Learning Entrepreneurship at an Early Age

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Bigger and better, the Kiddo-preneur event had just concluded a well-accepted Christmas bazaar flocked by thousands of buyers from all over the Metro. Most buyers were fascinated and curious seeing children as the primary sellers of numerous products ranging from all-time favorites like ice creams and shakes to fancy printed shirts and glittery accessories. Guided by their parents and/or guardians, these kids were naturally eager to show off their products and interact with their customers like it was more than just play time.

I attended the summer run of the Kiddo-preneur event held by the same organizers a few months ago at Robinsons Place in Manila, and I could say that the event held this November, a few weeks away from Christmas, was a stunning success for engaging a lot more young entrepreneurs in participating in a very educational and worthwhile event. I saw many of the same faces have returned to compete again for some recognition, or maybe just to have fun exploring how it is to be in business earning their own money at a very young age between 5 to 17 when most kids will just spend their time checking on their social media accounts or playing with their game consoles or tablets.

The whole day event held at the Glorietta Activity Center, Palm Drive in Makati last November 23, 2014 teaches the "kiddos" the value of earning the hard-earned money. It primarily focuses on four learning motivations on how to earn, save, invest and donate. The principle of donating is an admirable activity added to the event as it teaches the kids to recognize charitable institutions and advocacy programs as a way of giving back to the community.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Watching the third part of the Hunger Games entitled as Mockingjay Part 1 was a definite thrill as we are all excited to what comes next after the first two parts of the movie, and too excite us further for the upcoming fourth part dubbed as Part 2 of the Mockingjay.

Thanks to Golden Ticket and Astig.ph, many of us were able to watch the movie before the actual play dates ahead of the rest of the crowd. I wanted to post some spoilers already but I made an extreme effort to put it on hold.

The special blocked screening was given an extra value of appreciation when they informed us that there would be a bloggers gathering a few hours before the actual movie. We are very thankful for the extra dinner treat plus giveaways. These perks made the special blocked screening really "special."

Practically all of us got something to bring home with us. The movie was a great treat already. We levelled up further by receiving a few tokens from the many sponsors (namely Racks Megamall, Torch, Great Image Photography, Food Panda, and Regroe) of the special blocked screening.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

These spherical tasty takoyaki tummy treats at Tamayaki may just be the "tama" (right) filling snack you can conveniently grab to eat while doing almost anything. They come in handy cardboard boxes along with a "spork" so you can easily eat it out while strolling in the mall or watching your favorite movie in the cinema houses.

Takoyaki is a ball-shaped Japanese street food snack made of a wheat flour-based batter cooked in a special grill. Tamayaki is a lot more than just the traditional takoyaki balls containing bits of octopus. Its is actually a franchise from China with over 200 branches all over the world.

The family owned restaurant managed by four sisters has lots of other fillings so you are sure to find more than one favorite. Prices ranges from P95 (Chicken Teriyaki and Korean BBQ) to P125 (Mussels & Cheese). They have flavors like the Mussel & Cheese and Smoked Mackerel which are only available in the Philippines and uniquely made to suit the Filipino taste.

They also come with either spicy or sweet sauces, or a mixture of both. I would prefer both sauces on my Tamayaki as it somehow enhances the flavor into a more fulfilling dining experience.

To add to the treat are several choices of drinks from milk tea to juices that perfectly matches the food. You'll enjoy every bite and sip of the two combinations. What else can you ask for?

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The night of was full of music with different renditions of their own contest piece and songs from the Apo Hiking Society. It was a night with competitors from different schools around the metro. All time favorite Apo song was Doo Bi Doo with different attack from different schools. My personal favorite was Ewan sang by School of the Holy Spirit. Everyone was singing like I was watching Pitch Perfect all over again. I loved how these kids sang from their hearts that made everyone in awe.

Panel of Judges include Jim Paredes, Boboy Garrovillo, Janet Sabas-Aracama, Ma. Lourdes Hermo, Jun Murillo, and Emmanuel De Leon Jr.

Participants were all competitive with their own renditions as well as their choreography. Everyone did a great job from the students to their mentors. While the competition was going on, I had my personal bets and favourites. One was the Paref Southridge High School who gave Blue Jeans a very nice version and had a comedic performance too.

On the other side, bias side, I was rooting also for School of the Holy Spirit because I was an alumnus of Holy Spirit too but in Mendiola. They were really so good. I never had listened to a great version of Ewan, and they’re one of those on my favorite list.

On the fashion side, I loved the costume of UST High School because it was so consistent from head dress to shoes. Wwwooowww!!! I also loved the gown worn by the School of Holy Spirit. The simple red gown just made them more beautiful. I also loved the pink dress of Manila Science High School because it’s very wearable.

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago: Stupid is Forever Book Launch On December 3

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Ignorance is curable, stupidity is eternal.

Watch out stupid presidential wannabes. She has arrived! I'm referring to the book Stupid is Forever which is a compilation of jokes, one-liners, pick-up lines, comebacks and speeches delivered and/or curated by the senator who hates corrupt politicians.

Yes! We are talking about Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago. She is undeniably an icon in Philippine government already that the media pay closer attention to her than any other politician except of course for those who have current issues.

This is a great choice for a Christmas gift since the season of gift-giving is fast approaching. What better way to spread cheer and joyfulness but a gift of good laughter from a humorous personality who has been known to crack jokes during her talks may it be an inspirational message, a keynote or privilege speech, an interview, or a press conference.

Would you agree that stupidity is eternal?

I'm sure regardless if you agree or not, this will be a sure hit at the bookstores soon as it launches on December 3, 2014 at National Bookstore in Trinoma. Many will be curious to read the contents but a lot more would like to keep this as a collectors' item. After all, it's not everyday you read a book written by one of the most controversial politician in the Philippines.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

More than 60 percent of renters in a recent survey of online house-hunters cite cost constraints as the primary reason why they leased their home. The top of mind reason for Filipinos who choose not to buy property is "affordability."

Here are the key takeaways from the research:

Affordability emerged as the key reason why many Filipinos choose not to buy their own home
Nearly three-quarters of buyers cited security as their primary motivation for purchasing a home
Two-thirds of the real estate agent surveyed are expecting growth of 8% or higher in the property market this year. The country’s real estate market has emerged as one of the most promising in the Asia Pacific region

Global property website Lamudi recently released a survey report indicating the situation of real estate in the emerging markets. The report, Real Estate in the Emerging Markets, provides a comprehensive overview of the property sector in 16 emerging countries, including the Philippines.

Based on a series of online surveys conducted with house-hunters and real estate agents in each country, as well as onsite data from Lamudi’s global network of websites, the research examines the habits of online property-seekers, while offering insights into the future of the property sector based on interviews and surveys with local property experts.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Asian Games gold winner and Wushu world champion Rene Catalan has arguably one of the most impressive track records among all Filipino fighters.

Even though his mixed martial arts career has not gotten off to as smooth a start, he always put up a spirited performance. He may have fell to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Alex Silva and then had a controversial loss that was eventually reversed into a no contest against Khim Dima, he continues to rise up to prove his might.

On December 5, 2014 he now gets a chance to right the ship in Manila, as he finally gets to compete in his home country for the first time when he takes on Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke at ONE FC: WARRIOR’S WAY- the much awaited MMA big fight to be held at SM MOA Arena in Pasay City.

Enlisting the help of ONE FC Malaysian Featherweight Champion AJ Pyro, highly publicized last year as one of the first foreigners who went to Tacloban to help the victims, Rene Catalan aims to do great against his opponent.

Coach AJ Pyro, fresh from winning a ONE FC tilt in Kuala Lumpur, pledged his earnings to Yolanda’s victims. He arranged a visit in Tacloban, along with a team of 25 doctors, thru ONE FC.