Objectum Sexuality Tops Short + Sweet Theatre Festival Manila 2016 Winners

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Congratulations to the winners of Short + Sweet Theatre Festival Manila 2016 who were all recognized during the gala and awards night held on November 5, 2016 at the Power Mac Center Spotlight theater located at Circuit Makati.

Since the performers for that night were all top finalists from the two weeks and wildcards groups of this wonderful festival of 10-minute plays, all of them are winners already. Thus, everyone who went on stage that night should already be proud by just being among the finalists.

Topping the list of winners is the group that did Objectum Sexuality -  an unusual psychological phenomenon in which an individual feels powerful affection toward a particular inanimate object – for all intents and purposes falling 'in love' with the object which in this case was a rocking chair. 

A psychiatrist tries his best to understand a patient with a strange affection for a 'rocking chair' he calls "Rocky." It seems this group has caught the attention and interest of the audience especially with its end scene where the psychiatrist falls prey to the tempting allure of "Rocky."

Their ultimate edge among the other finalists was obviously the rocking chair which also shares the stage with them, including during the awarding portion.  The rocking chair is an intriguing component of the story, but I would say it was also the actors' effective and convincing facial expressions, body gestures, and perfect timings in delivering their punch lines. The humor was apparently hitting their target as intended. The audience were fully focused on the scenes and all were anticipating what would happen next.

16th Grand Wine Experience: We Keep Coming Back Because It Always Gets Better

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Congratulations to the Joseph brothers of Philippine Wine Merchants for the Grand Wine Experience for another success on their sweet 16th run held on November 4, 2016 at the fabulous and equally grand Marriott Hotel Manila in Pasay city.

At a bigger space, you can't imagine that the ballroom would be filled with so much people that were all excited to taste the more than 500 wines, beers and other spirits, plus the amazing buffet spread of tasty dishes lavishly displayed all over the grand ballroom. Sumptuous culinary treats were at everyone's easy reach courtesy of the chefs and crew of Marriott Hotel Manila led by Executive Chef Meik Brammer.

The event started with the attendees having chill time with white wines at the red carpeted halls leading to the main ballroom while everyone waited for the grand ballroom event venue to open its doors. Live music was also playing on stage to complete the mood, and then host of the night greeted everyone to officially start the event. Finally he led everyone in to the grand ballroom where everyone was amazed with the spectacular wine choices and buffet spreads. 

The program continued after a few minutes of the attendees already engaged with eh wines and food offerings. The Joseph brothers held a welcome toasts for all on stage as many were already busy with their wine tasting and buffet dinner. Robert Lim Joseph, Chairman of Philippine Wine Merchants said a few messages including the announcement about the partnership with the Department of Tourism making the Grand Wine Experience another tourism attraction that will include visits at the different destination of the country. He also announced the very first issue of the Grand Wine magazine which featured Ralph Lim Joseph on the cover.

The Very First Whisky Live Manila Held at Shangri-La BGC

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The very first Whisky Live Manila was an outstanding success! Even during the first hours of the event, hundreds of attendees, both enthusiasts and newcomers to the world of the dram, sampled the many available whiskies within the ballrooms of no less than the newly opened Shangri-la Hotel, Bonifaco Global City in Taguig, Metro Manila, Philippines on October 28 and 29, 2016.

Whisky Live Manila opened its doors to a huge number of whisky enthusiasts for two days. Manila is the world's premier whisky tasting show's 5th venue in Asia, and we are fortunate to be among the lucky media attendees invited to taste the whiskies and witness the other happenings including learning a little more from industry experts, and took it a step further by attending some of the organised master classes conducted by whisky experts like Jim Murray, author of the bestselling Whisky Bible, the world's leading whisky guide containing over 4,600 whiskies tasted, evaluated and rated.

I am amazed at how the event was promoted as there were a lot of foreigners, celebrities and other VIPs who attended the event. Some of the personalities that were at the event were Philippine Volcanoes team captain Jake Letts, veteran character actor Joel Torre,  fashion designer, columnist and socialite-philanthropist Tessa Prieto-Valdez, Uno Magazine editor-in-chief and Mercator Centrale owner RJ Ledesma, Model and son of governor Imee Marcos-Manotoc Birgy Manotoc, actor and Persia Grill restaurant owner Kian Kazemi, and a lot more.