Wazzup Pilipinas News and Events

Thursday, February 20, 2014

WhatsApp Now A Part of Facebook says Mark Zuckerberg

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Fresh from Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg FB status is the announcement of taking over mobile app WhatsApp. It's an impressive and expensive acquisition. We thought the guys at Apple would've beat the Facebook team to it but instead of focusing on M&A's, I think Apple is buying back stocks.
You only mentioned WhatsApp 15 times. Maybe now everyone will go find out who the hell they are. It's just a 30 person team, the development is done in Russia for cheap, 8 million raised and BOOM.... 16 billion acquisition! We're looking forward to what this relationship produces.
Everywhere I've traveled outside of the US, people are using WhatsApp extensively. Very cool to see this partnership, congratulations, great minds and teams uniting! It is like Facebook is trying to take over the world and control everyone's lives. They should buy Instagram now and conquer the world.

Congratulations, Zuck!

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Canadian pop-punk sensation Avril Lavigne rocked the Smart Araneta Coliseum last February 17 with her all-time favorite hit songs plus the massive turn-out of fans that were jumping up an down most of the time during her fabulous concert at the big dome.There are many new and younger artists so I never imagined she will still be able to draw a huge crowd.

My wife and I were very lucky to have attended her concert and getting a great seat at the same time. Though the waiting time was almost an hour, we spent it taking "selfies" using our smartphones, eating snacks like pizza, buttered corn bits, potato wedges, and drinking mango fruit shakes. There were a lot of vendors roaming around so we were tempted to buy a lot from them so we won't get bored waiting and doing nothing. Next time we'll probably eat first before coming to another concert because the prices were like double from what is sold outside.We also spent some time observing the crowd as most of them are around their 20s and younger.

The concert started off with Avril wearing a Hello Kitty-inspired black and pink outfit for her “Hello Kitty”opening song. It was followed by her 2007 single “Girlfriend” Half-way, Avril shouted “Manila!” then followed it with “Everybody put your hands up! Are you guys ready to have fun tonight?”

Special Blocked Screenings of Awesome Movies Every Month

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Hold on to your seats because every month will be awesome!

Three upcoming blocked screenings every month: Need for Speed (March 14), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (April 4), X-Men: Days of Future Past (May 23) from The Great Events Plus Phil. Inc.

The said movies are all winners! These movies are undoubtedly on everyone's list of movies to watch, and what better way to experience them than by joining the special blocked screenings where you'll be one of the very first to preview the movies while they are not yet seen by many. Making it more amazing are the freebies or giveaways that comes with these events.

So what are you waiting for? Find out how you can get access to these special blocked screenings by communicating with The Great Events Plus. Contact details are posted below this article.

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Bird watching as an activity for tourists has become prominent all over the world. In the Philippines, major milestones contributing to its growth are the coming together of Filipino bird enthusiasts forming the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines and the release of Volumes I and II of the book ‘Birdwatching in the Philippines’ which made a significant contribution in the promotion of bird watching in the country.

Birdwatchers are a group of people who have a peculiar passion of observing birds in their natural habitat. They find satisfaction in watching birds in the wild while making a compendium of birds personally encountered in their natural environment. They operate on the value of honesty in compiling their respective list of birds seen in their lifetime. They have the tendency to be challenged, racing among themselves to the top by having the most number of birds encountered. Since their activities involve travelling to far flung and remote areas, birdwatchers mostly belong to an affluent group who finds pleasure, not only in their hobby, but also in the culinary offerings of the places they visit.

Seeing that local and international birdwatchers are a potential niche market for ecotourism destinations such as Zamboanga city, the Department of Tourism -Regional Office 9, after participating in the 8th Philippine Bird Festival held in Manila last December 2012, pitched for the hosting of the 9th Philippine Bird Festival with the main objective of promoting tourism in Zamboanga city.

The Philippine Bird Festival annual event, organized yearly by the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines, has been hosted in different places in the Philippines – previously in Dumaguete, Cebu, Puerto Princesa, etc. Now on its 9th year, it will be co-organized by the Department of Tourism - Regional Office 9 and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

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Every year since 2009, the Ajinomoto Umami Culinary Challenge (UCC) gathers the Philippines’ most creative and innovative culinarians. The event is now one of the country's biggest intercollegiate culinary competitions.

This year, Ajinomoto UCC attracted thousands of visitors and hundreds of HRM and Nutrition students from 51 Universities and Colleges, not just coming from Metro Manila and nearby provinces, but as far back as Ilocos, CAR and Visayas.

Distinguished judges during the event included culinary experts Chef Bruce Lim, Chef Dino Datu, Chef Sau del Rosario, Chef Rosebud Benitez and nutrition experts Dr. Veritas Luna, Dr. Zenaida Narciso and Ms. Joan Sumpio to name a few. There were four (4) competition categories that included the Best Filipino Umami Dish, Umami Bento Meal, My Eat Well, Live Well Plate and My Own Umami Creation.

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Neymar Jr, the new hope of international football and budding style icon, is the new face of the Police S/S 2014 advertising campaign.

Shot by globally renowned fashion photographer, Rankin, the new Police campaign portrays Neymar Jr in a number of minimalist shots with an urban finish; enhancing the charismatic style of the talented Brazilian footballer. The result is a series of genuine and spontaneous portraits, each brimming with character and perfectly reflecting Neymar Jr’s personality.

The 2014 Police eyewear collection combines the brand's traditional hallmarks with modern finishes. The bold and contemporary design of the Sun and Optical ranges adhere to the brand’s strong identity and urban roots.

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With the growing popularity of Bitcoin in the Philippines, experts from leading secure content and threat management solutions developer Kaspersky Lab urged Filipinos to learn its benefits and risks before using the online currency.

Bitcoin is a digital crypto-currency or a virtual currency in the form of a cryptographic string of characters instead of a printed bill or a minted coin.

Bitcoin transactions are fast, taking around only 10 minutes to verify a transaction. It’s also cheap as it liberates users from the need to maintain or pay for processing fees to a credit card company.

It can be transferred to another person from halfway around the world in minutes and can be converted to traditional currencies on various exchanges at any given time.

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The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and the Philippine National Railways (PNR) are set to launch a Special Coach service to provide travellers with a convenient alternative to the anticipated traffic escalation in the areas affected by construction works for the Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 and the NAIA Expressway Projects.

Scheduled to be launched on March 3, 2014, the Special Coach service will make use of air-conditioned train sets with features to ensure passenger convenience such as fixed seating, on-board comfort rooms, reclining seats, and a lounge section. It can accommodate 120 people per trip.

“This is one of the DOTC’s first efforts towards easing the present traffic situation in Manila, Makati, Pasay, and other affected areas especially in the southern part of the metropolis. Instead of taking private vehicles, motorists will now have a more efficient alternative. We are also working on other solutions which we will be ready to implement as our infrastructure projects are rolled out later this year to 2015,” said DOTC Spokesperson Michael Arthur Sagcal.

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Binibining Pilipinas 2014 candidates shows to everyone who attended the Talent competition that they're not just a bunch of pretty faces but also smart individuals that possess amazing talent and skills comparable to the best performers around the world.

Nine of the 40 candidates in Binibining Pilipinas 2014 regaled members of the press, shoppers and couples out on a date as they showcased their talents during the Binibining Pilipinas 2014 Talent Show held February 14 at the Farmer’s Plaza Activity area.

This years roster of talented beauties impressed the crowd with their talents in singing and dancing. The list of judges include Ms. Universe 2013 3rd Runner up Ariella Arida, Ms. Supra Natural 2013 Mutya Johanna Datul, ABS-CBN Creative Director Chris Violago, and choreographer Joan Laygo.

Auditions for Repertory Philippines' Pinocchio

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Repertory Theater for Young Audiences (RYTA) is holding auditions for the title role of Pinocchio in the forthcoming production of the same name opening on August 16, 2014.

Auditions will be held on Saturday, March 1 at 10:00am at the Onstage theater 2nd floor Greenbelt One. Auditions are open to boys and girls 10 to 15 years of age. Girls must be willing to play a boy. Boys older than 15 should be less then 5 ft. Those who audition should be able to sing in a high or tenor voice, to move well and be able to take choreography, and to speak good English.

RYTA is specially searching for home schooled children who can perform on weekdays. Because of the number of performances, the role of Pinocchio will be alternately played by at least five actors.