Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Now Available at Leading Bookstores

Wazzup Pilipinas!

"This is funny. Fully Booked is selling the new Harry Potter book for only 999. While National Bookstore is selling it at almost 1,500. Of course, you would go to the one selling it at a lower price. 

By the way, both bookstores are selling the same story. Scholastic Asia's post made it appear that Fully Booked is selling it illegally. Fully Booked's editions are from the UK publisher. Scholastic Asia from the US publisher. 

It's just unfair that the Harry Potter books (through Scholastic Asia) in the Philippines is more expensive compared to other countries. 

What an injustice to the PH Potterheads, who happen to be one of the most dedicated fandoms in the world. 

I hope J.K. Rowling is aware of this." - Kat De Castro

You must be one of those Harry Potter fans who already have a copy of the book by visiting either Fully Booked or National Book Store early in the morning of July 31 here in the Philippines when the book is officially sold. 

Just keep on mind the price difference between the two leading bookstores since the two releases came form different publishers (US and UK). They have different pricing. But I'm sure for many Harry Potter fans, the price difference is insignificant. They would immediately bu at the nearest bookstore where the book is available in fear of running out of stock of the very popular book series.

The 8th book of the ‪#Harry Potter‬ Universe, which is a compilation of the rehearsal scripts for the play 'HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD', has been released today! The play is set 19 years after the conclusion of 'Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows'... and held its world premier on July 30, 2016 at London Palace Theater.

The story follows Albus Severus Potter, Harry and Ginny's 11 yr-old middle child, as he starts his own journey at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The play — which opened Saturday at London's Palace Theatre — is receiving equal enthusiasm.

For those who can't get to London, or wherever the show may debut next, Rowling said: "People will be able to read the play, so they won't know everything because there's lots of surprises on stage but they'll know the story."

The surprises of production and plot have stayed largely clandestine, despite two months of play previews, with the help of #keepthesecrets buttons handed out at each performance.

Cursed Child goes far beyond dutiful brand extension with an entirely original and hugely ambitious sequel to the Potter books, presented in two parts and nearly five hours long. Author J.K. Rowling, working with London theatre veterans Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, have delivered a production that’s as spectacular as it is ambitious, stuffed with special effects and twists that had a preview audience gasping, Cursed Childis a story that doesn’t play it safe with the Potter canon and will change how fans see certain favorite characters forever.

The plot, kept under an invisibility cloak of secrecy until now, has a very grabby premise.

WSOF Global Championship 3 Philippines Winners

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Global Fighters took over the decagon in the Araneta Coliseum we popularly know in the Philippines as the Big Dome located at Cubao, Quezon City. This is the venue where most big events are held in the country and we are proud to have been a part of another main event that happened on July 30, 2016.

The WSOF Global Championshi3: Philippines has been a highly anticipated event with 5 rising Filipino stars, namely Jujeath Nagaowa, Mario Sismundo, Jennifer Olsim, Neil Larano and Jessdan Dela Pena, ready to battle for the "Philippines VS The World" theme, along with other fantastic bouts from our talented global fighters and 2 Heavyweight Cops Erokhin and Odoms for the main event!

The official decagon ring girl Michelle Jeanpierre was awesome to look at the event where her beauty shine out very vibrantly as always. Seeing such a lovely creature between fights is a welcomed respite. Though I would love to see more of her, the night is meant for the fighters who are all eager to show the world what they are made of.

MMA fans were thrilled with two highlight-reel knockouts and three superb submissions.

Surprisingly, at the very first round, the policeman from Russia, Evgeny Erokhin, knocked out the policeman from the United States, Richard " "The Black Eagle" Odoms, to retain the WSOF Global Heavyweight Championship of the World. The victory marks Erokhin’s first title defense and an unprecedented 10th straight knockout victory. The Black Eagle was not able to fly high ad soar above the clouds this time as his wings were pinned down by Erokhin.

During the weigh-in, I thought that Odoms would be the one to rise above Erokhin for being strikingly bigger and meaner. But it seems you really should not judge a book by its cover, or a fighter by his physique, since Erokhin was obviously the better fighter, for that night specifically.

Though we wanted a longer fight for the main event, it's beyond our control that these giants are that powerful and speedy enough to end the fight just at the first round. Just as the livestream was not successfully established that night due to technical problems, the disappointment for fans who could not be there personally was something equally out of the control of teh organizers. You should blame our telcos for that. Since the venue is also called Smart Araneta Coliseum, I believe you know who the culprit was. Lol!

"Due to reasons beyond our control, WSOF-GC was unable to stream its 3rd event live from Manila. Tests of the streaming system had worked without fail, and unfortunately, the day of the event, there was a system error for the streaming feed.
Due to the time difference with the US company that houses the stream, WSOF-GC was unable to rectify the problem in an expedited fashion.

We recognize this news is no solace to the fans and casual fans who wanted to see the event. We can assure all of you that there is no group more disappointed than ourselves.

We will look to rectify these problems in the future, and will do all we can to assure this problem never occurs again." -WSOFGC Technical Team

China's Mai Mai Tuo Heti defeats Philippines' Mario Sismundo

Jujeath "Bad Girl" Nagaowa defeats Japan's Yuko Kiryu

Here are some of the results of the fights as reported by their official Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/wsofglobal

Philippines' Jujeath "Bad Girl" Nagaowa defeats Japan's Yuko Kiryu by unanimous decision 30-27 / 30-27 / 30-27

Pakistan's Ahmed "The Wolverine" Mujtaba defeats Philippines' Neil Larano by 1st round triangle choke.

Malaysia's Kelvin Ong defeats Philippines Jessdan Dela Pena by 2nd round TKO!

China's Mai Mai Tuo Heti defeats Philippines' Mario Sismundo by rear naked choke in the 2nd round. It was an intense see-saw battle, with Maimai capturing and keeping the upper hand in the second round with a rear-naked choke.

By unanimous decision 30-27 / 30-27 / 30-27, Japan's Yusaku Nakamura defeats Australia's Tim Moore.

United States' Lawrence Digiulio defeats Brazil's Marcel Adur by split decision 29-28 / 28-29 / 30-27

Pakistan's Uloomi Karim defeats India's Yadwinder Singh by unanimous decision 30-27 / 30-27 / 29-28. In a very emotional, and well-deserved sign of respect for one another’s countries, the two warriors posed together with their country flags to show a unity between the two nations. It was an emotional moment and both fighters represented their countries with honor and pride. It was truly “Fight of the Night” in more ways than one.

Katherine Roy defeats May Ooi by unanimous decision 30-27 / 30-27 / 30-27

Pakistan's Uloomi Karim defeats India's Yadwinder Singh by unanimous decision 30-27 / 30-27 / 29-28

In the swing bout of the night, Brazil's Nayara Hemily defeats Philippines' Jennifer Olsim round 3 tap out by rear naked choke.

Congratulations to all the winners though we preferred to have more Filipino fighters winning, the night offered really outstanding fights that will be remembered.

Perhaps our very own kababayan fighters should train more so when WSOF Global returns to the Philippines, they would be more than ready to defeat their opponents that time.

World Series of Fighting Global’s ultimate mission is to bring together the best athletes from countries and organizations across the world to compete for a true, globally-recognized world champion.

You may check out https://www.wsofgc.com/ for more information about the fights.

Congratulations to the Mutya ng Pilipinas 2016 Winners

Wazzup Pilipinas!

We are sending our congratulations to the Mutya ng Pilipinas 2016 winners crowned recently on July 30, 2016 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater of Resorts World Manila in Pasay City!

Five lovely and gorgeously talented young ladies have been recognized as now among the beauty queens of the Philippines all eager to again represent the country at respective international beauty pageants.

Do you think the judges made a great choice in picking these ladies, or was the question and answer portion that really made a big impact in the selection? But even before the Q&A, most of these ladies were really superb and belonging to top class beauties. I have to admit that the ladies that join beauty pageants such as the Mutya  ng Pilipinas keep getting better and better in both looks and intellect.

30 gorgeous ladies show off their toned physique during the swimsuit portion, followed by the evening gown presentation in red theme while being serenaded in acapella by a musical group. Best designer Philippine terno gown is worn by candidate number 30, Ashley Nicole Smith. The beauty pageant was hosted by Richard Guttierez and Arci Munoz.

The five winners are:

Mutya ng Pilipinas Asia Pacific Int'l: Candidate #28 Ganiel Akrisha Krishnan
Mutya ng Pilipinas 2016 Tourism Int'l: Candidate #26 Justine Mae San Jose
Mutya ng Overseas Communities: Candidate #10 Michelle Thorlund
2nd runner up: Candidate #30 Ashley Nicole Singh
1st runner up: Candidate #1 Lynette Bradford

A favorite among the beauties is Justin Mae San Jose or more popularly known as Jaya San Jose. She has been the photographers pick as seen from the many shots taken when she's on stage. Aside from being photogenic, she really exudes a vibrant charm that is so alluring that it shines even in photos. She's the bet of most and undoubtedly stood out among the many candidates.

Top Ten Candidates:

Candidate 12 Marielle Cartagena
Candidate 1 Lynette Bradford
Candidate 4 Jannie Loudette Alipo-on
Candidate 28 Ganiel Akrisha Krishnan
Candidate 30 Ashley Nicole Singh
Candidate 13 Mayu Murakami
Candidate 2 Joanna Rose Toledo

Candidate 26 Justine Mae San Jose
Candidate 10 Michelle Thorlund
Candidate 21 Diane Irish Joy Lacayanga

If you were not able to watch the live show, you can still get to watch it on TV for its delayed telecast on July 31 at 10 am at ABS-CBN channel 2.

Photography by Collin Sarthou Yap