Wazzup Pilipinas News and Events

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

The Ultimate Up In The Air and Down On the Ground Adventure in Pampanga

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Your Pambansang Blog ng Pilipinas is very grateful for being part of the Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta as one of its volunteers in helping promote the event through our blogs and social media accounts.

With the presence of the Flag of Fire or Bandera ng Apoy hot air balloon, we hope to be able to get a photo of it while we do a selfie, or at least the balloon as our background. There is nothing more special in having the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas in a picture together with this hottie.

We will soon experience up close and personal coverage of the event highlights including the welcome dinner for all organizers and participants on February 10, the early morning media access to the hot air balloons grounds area while they are prep, inflated and soaring up into the sky, and the lunch and interview with the esteemed pilots who are part of the performing artists to brighten up the sky with their high-flying acts.

But not everything at the event is up in the air, there are several other attractions that can be conveniently found down on the ground like booths and exhibits of all kinds synonymous to the main event.

We will also be touring around Pampanga for amazing restaurant visits which includes a cafe owned by a famous celebrity chef of the Philippines, a spectacular Japanese restaurant, and an Asian Fusion restaurant that are all making names in Pampanga.

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Every adventure is not complete without the knowledge one can pick up along the way. Luckily, for those who seek learning and fun, Discovery Kids, Discovery Science and Discovery HD World have it all covered!

Discovery Kids

Looking for adventure? Watch Justin and his pals Olive and Squidgy become stars in the biggest stories of all time, told from every corner of the world. Preschoolers will be surprised how Justin's imaginative adventures reflect their everyday life. Every time our little explorers set out on a new adventure, children will discover that fun has no expiration date, and that life lessons, good values and true friendships are timeless! Justin Time will air starting February 8, Mondays to Fridays at 6:55 PM.

Also, the new season of Doki is coming out soon. Catch Doki which will air on February 15, daily at 4:25 PM.

Discovery Science

Follow valiant hosts Kevin and Grant as they investigate some of the best fail videos and asking how they could have done it better.

Kevin and Grant are two buddies with two very different jobs and perspectives on the world. Kevin is the know-it-all Ph.D who spends his days analyzing failed engineering projects for mega-corporations. He tackles everything with analytical precision and carefully thought out plans. Grant is a former US Marine Scout Sniper turned survivalist and trainer for the US Military, FBI and DEA. Grant jumps into every challenge feet first and thinks about the consequences later.

In each episode Kevin and Grant dive deep into a new viral video of a great plan gone wrong. They analyze each video and figure out how it all went south.

Then it’s off to their top-secret test facility (Kevin’s backyard) to experiment and figure out how to make it all go smoothly this time. Using common sense, Ph.D smarts and a bit of brute force they uncover… What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Catch What Could Possibly Go Wrong? on its new season airing Tuesdays at 9 PM.

Impossible Engineering looks at the history of pioneering modern-day mega structures. Behind every seemingly impossible marvel of modern engineering is a cast of historic trailblazers who designed new building techniques, took risks on untested materials and revolutionized their field.

Each episode details how giant structures, record-beating buildings, and the world’s most cutting-edge ships, trains and planes are built and work using 3D graphics, archive and specially shot footage. As this series revels in these modern day creations, it leaps back in time to recount the stories of the exceptional engineers whose technological advances made it all possible. Impossible Engineering premieres February 4, Thursday at 9:50 PM.

Discovery HD World

The Malaysian jungle is an ecosystem of great biodiversity. In the shelter of the forest wild elephants, tigers, tapirs, and a rich bird life can be found. But rapid deforestation is threatening the future of many species of wildlife.

While willingness to protect the rainforest is growing as prosperity increases, nature and species protection conflicts with the need to improve living conditions for the rural population. Malaysian Wildlife (New One Off) premieres February 4, Thursday at 9:25 PM.

Scientists regard it as one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world. Time and again, it has proved its deadly potential – Merapi, the Fire Mountain of Java.

In the past hundred years alone, it has claimed over 1,500 victims. The risk of another serious eruption is high and could possibly even have consequences which would be felt globally. Now scientists are looking for a thus far unknown tectonic disturbance, which might possibly prove the key to their research. The researchers are pursuing two main goals: firstly, to enhance the forecasting options to enable people in the densely populated region to be protected more efficiently in the future. And secondly, they want to understand the mechanisms of this highly volatile type of volcano, which serves as an example of a number of particularly dangerous volcanoes on the planet. Witness the exciting search for clues on Indonesia’s most active volcano on Java In Jeopardy – Exploring The Volcano as it premieres on February 19, Friday at 8:10 PM

UP JMA Proudly Presents ADHOC: The Final Reveal

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The UP Junior Marketing Association (UP JMA) is a student-run organization that holds the biggest collegiate events every semester. Composed of over 300 members, the organization is divided into teams that create various innovative events starting with nothing but an idea. Among the teams include ADHOC, UP JMA’s biggest fundraiser and pride. After a 9-month hiatus, UP JMA ADHOC is coming back with an even bigger surprise—its very last ADHOC installment, ADHOC: The Final Reveal.

ADHOC has decided to culminate their legacy by celebrating 8 years of continued success in one night. The organization has decided to close the ADHOC era for the reason being that they want to start pursuing other ventures in order for its members to experience growth and development. The Final Reveal will be the LAST biggest college party in the metro that is reminiscent of the usual ADHOC stint--the perfect combination of premium alcohol drinks, dancing to the EDM and hiphop beats of well renowned DJs, and of course the famous FINAL MIDNIGHT REVEAL. The DJ lineup includes Kat DJ, Ron Poe, Jason Dewey, Martin Pulgar and ADHOC regular, Ace Ramos, hosted by MC Pao. This last ADHOC event will definitely bring out the inner party animal in everyone.

But contrary to what people know, ADHOC is more than the most epic college party in the metro. The proceeds of the said fundraiser go to UP JMA’s Kids Integrated Development through Schooling (KIDS) Program and Scholarship Fund composed of over 20 students and scholars. All the hard work of the ADHOC team does not only bring together one night of crazy and wild but brings kids to school as well. What better way to spend this Saturday night than to party with a cause!

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Herald the Lunar Year with joyous celebrations, traditional festive goodies and sumptuous feasts at Chinatown Lai Lai Hotel, set to take place on February 7, 2016, 6:00 pm to 12:00 mn.

To celebrate the year of the Fire Monkey, Chinatown Lai Lai Hotel has prepared an array of traditional Chinese activities. The celebration will kick off with a Lion Dance and Taoist Blessing to bring good luck to the whole Filipino and Chinese community. There will also be snippets of Feng Shui forecasts and predictions for the upcoming year.

In addition, the hotel will also host its first ever Search for Little Emperor and Empress of Chinatown Lai Lai Hotel. The contest is open to all children around the country from age 5-9 years old, who will compete in Chinese New Year costume, talent showdown and question and answer portion. The winners will be the face of Chinatown Lai Lai Hotel’s print and online advertisements.

Another contest during the celebration will be the 1st Chinatown Lai Lai Hotel Singing Idol. The completion is open to all Filipino/Chinese male and female contestants at least 18-27 years of age. Grand winners will receive cash prizes and gift items from sponsors.

Chinatown Lai Lai Hotel has also designed a special offer featuring 20% discount on all room categories from February 8 – March 1, 2016.

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Local cloud services and data center pioneer IPC (IP Converge Data Services, Inc.) has launched a series of free webinars for the first quarter of 2016. In its commitment to help enterprises succeed through cloud and managed data solutions, IPC lends its pool of digital business solutions experts to explain the latest technologies that can help protect and grow businesses.

“IPC's cloudvocacy has always been to increase knowledge and understanding of cloud-based business tools, as well as appreciation for its benefits to organizations regardless of size,” said Niño Valmonte, Director for Product Management and Marketing of IPC. “We hope that through this webinar series, we can reach more stakeholders with only their time and internet connectivity at cost.”

The said webinar series commences on Wednesday, February 3 with Secure your website: WAF Awareness Webinar. This will discuss what a Web Application Firewall (WAF) is, amidst the growing sophistication of attacks against web-based applications used in conducting business. This talk aims to help curb significant business risks and exposure to a wide range of public security breaches.

The one-hour webinar will start at 10 A.M. and will be conducted by Mr. Ricardo Anselmo Jr., a Senior Product Manager at IPC.

Following that is a webinar especially for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry. Recognizing that one of the problems in BPO is maximizing the business and its individual team members without affecting its stability, especially in times of unforeseen events, IPC created the Call Center Continuity webinar to be held on February 17 at 10 - 11 A.M. At the helm are Mr. Angelito Yutuc, Senior Product Manager at IPC and Mr. Antoine M. Nookadu, CEO & Co-Founder of BlueCloud Australia.

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"Puerto Galera has also become a family-oriented tourism destination since many have been going there for family gatherings and celebrations. The popular getaway located in Oriental Mindoro is attributed by some as the poor man's Boracay because it's obviously more affordable to go there but is almost as similar to the party destination of Panay island. Boracay is located in the municipality of Malay in the Aklan province so it's more expensive to plan a trip there if you're from Manila or another country. " - Wazzup Pilipinas
It’s not about NO classes, No schools and YES to video games. The whole month of April I thought would be the happiest thing, being at home and playing video games. I thought staying at home the whole summer vacation was fun, not until we planned a FAMILY TRIP to Puerto Galera.

I did not think being together would be as interesting or even more than playing video games at home. It’s the JOY from the heart I am saying, not the joy from the eyes, or for yourself.

Let’s go on our first day. The first time I swam in more than 7 feet swimming pool. At first it was kind of scary, but when I get the hang of it, and my cousins joined me. I felt blessed to have this family.

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Summer is the season which students are usually excited with. Well it wasn’t like that for me. In my opinion summer is just another hot and tiring time at home. But this year’s summer vacation made me change my mind and realized it is far from what I thought it was. In fact my summer vacation was very fun and memorable. I was able to go to different places, meet new friends and visit my relatives which I rarely see.

It was my father who decided to change our annual routine. He told us that we will be going to their province. At first I wasn’t excited to go because I really don’t like to be in a place without my friends but when we got there already, I found out I am able to have fun even without them.

My family and I went to a nearby river and swam there. Though it was very cold, I enjoyed it because the water was very clear and it even had crabs and small fishes swimming on it.

After that we went to the neighboring town to participate in their fiesta which I really enjoyed. I even sang and performed a dance number with some friends I met there. We stayed there for a day and walked back home which took us almost four hours. Oh, haven’t I mentioned that my father’s province is in Kalinga province? And I’ll tell you it’s a 4 or more kilometer walk from the downtown to their “baryo”.

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The statement below is something I got from a "bubwit" (not the one who was found in a Starbucks Frap) who is also part of the blogging community. If there is any truth to it, I surely hope it's not 100% accurate as I believe we are still among the ones that publish only what we really feel no matter how others feel it as uneducated observance or lacking the critical eye to be legit and authoritative.

"Nice chat with a PR earlier about the ups and downs of the blogging community, and how the negative issues involving bloggers are not entirely different from what goes on with trad media (print, radio and TV) practitioners.

Sadly, many bloggers now exhibit the negative traits that were previously attributed to erring members of the media.

Blogging for many is no longer what it was originally meant to be.

Unfortunately, it has been tainted when bloggers started holding back or go easy on writing the truth so they can retain friendships with the sponsors and brands.

It has been ruined when bloggers only aim to get as much loot bags or tokens from the sponsors, brands or companies that they are promoting. They don't really advocate a single brand and does not stay away from the brands that they do not really like. Meaning, everyone can avail of their service in exchange for a fee or freebie.

It has been diluted when bloggers started to participate in syndicated Comments, Likes, Shares, etc., exchanges.

It has turned into a joke when brands now think that views, hits, impressions, ranking, etc., is the primary factor to determine if the blog is significant or not.

Many people used to rely on bloggers to share real reviews and information with a personal touch. Now, most of what we read are either spoonfed or posted without any personal involvement of the blogger.

Now, it has become so easy to manipulate blog rankings, but it has become so difficult to keep our contents appropriate."

How about you? Do you believe in this point of view? I would rather keep my comments after everyone else has shared their own beliefs.

But what I would not tolerate is when some would look down on others just because the person under scrutiny is part of a community. You do not generalize a group based on a few members' acts. Each one still has their own personality that is unique and never similar to anybody else. Even twins do not share the same point of views, how much more are two individuals born from different mothers.

The Arrogance of People Heightens When in Social Media

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Social media has its positive points, but many have been also using it to bully those they believe are inferior and does not meet their high standards.

Many of us believe we are faultless and fail to see that big lump of mole right smacked in the middle of our foreheads. If we really care for the community, we do not shame, harass, bad-mouth, or alienate our fellow men. Instead, we should try to work it out as decent grown-ups.

Madalas kasi, kapag inuna mo ang pakikipag-away, defensive siyempre agad ang kabilang party. So instead na magka-ayos, lalo lang nagkakagulo at lumalala.

Please do not single out a certain online community and generalize them as sole perpetrators of these acts. Even the so-called number one blog or online magazine in the Philippines post press releases as is.FYI...some PRs give options to just copy-paste or edit as preferred, but copying an "entire article" from other publications should never be tolerated unless there was permission from the original source or author. This has been debated on just recently.

I think the real reason people block you is because you confront them publicly with disrespect with the sole intent to humiliate rather than help. We can see naman that you have your own share of typos, arrogance and mistakes.

If you have a personal grudge against an individual or an entire community, talk to him/her/them privately. Peace.

Daanin na lang natin ito sa ma-boteng usapan. :)

Wazzup Pilipinas!

In order to move forward, we first need to look back to the past. This February, we look back to the past in order to move forward.

The UP CMC Student Council and the Mass Media Awareness Movement proudly bring you

‪#‎RetrospectivexProspective‬: Mass Media Awareness Month 2016

The Mass Media Awareness Movement (MMAM) is the flagship initiative of the UP College of Mass Communication Student Council.

Launched in 2010 as a month-long campaign, it now exists as a yearlong project that aims to raise awareness on different media-related issues, promote media literacy, forward the call for media freedom, and instill upon everyone our role as responsible and critical media consumers and practitioners.

Join this event as they create and raise discourse among UP students and other students from different parts of the country about Philippine media through the different events within the month:

Indak [24]7 Dance Force is Back-to-Back Grand Champion at Dance for Health 3

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"Healthway Philippines' Dance for Health 3 is more than just a dance competition but a community who advocates and inspire others to live the SEED lifestyle, which refers to sleeping right, eating right, exercise and de-stress."

True enough, all the members of the dance teams showcase physical prowess and angst that makes them all stand out despite not being professional dancers. Most of them have days jobs so it's surprising to see these teams perform like they do their dance moves everyday.

I'm a frustrated dancer myself, but since I was destined to be in another field of expertise, that frustration continued to be just wishful thinking. I keep thinking maybe when I retire and start living in our dream rest house will I probably find time to finally firm up and make some moves to change my lifestyle.

But that is not what Healthway Medical, the country's biggest chain of mall-based clinics, wants us to believe. We should start living the SEED (Sleep, Eat Right, Exercise, De-Stress) lifestyle. To take the lead in promoting clean living. One of the best ways aside from eating right, and doing regular exercise is by always sparing time to dance and celebrate life to the fullest. We only live once in this world so we better make the most of it and by leaving a memory, or a legacy, of us being healthy and fun loving individuals.

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From her teenage days as a Starstruck survivor to a celebrated Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) Best Actress awardee she is now, seems like there is no stopping Jennylyn Mercado. She has been around for over a decade in the industry, but is still highly admired and sought after. With recent back – to – back TV appearances and magazine covers, topped with her latest movie that left us with so much feels, she’s definitely our #lifepeg!

Let’s have a rundown, shall we?

1. The Ultimate Survivor

Not only did she dream, she believed and is an ultimate survivor in life. Being a single mom isn’t easy, but she surely makes it seem so with how fab she is now - definitely an inspiration to women.

2. Single and Happy

Whoever said being single is equivalent to being sad needs to look at Jennylyn. She is a single mother, but she is living THE life! If you’re single and just constantly waiting for that someone, take your cue from her and improve yourself. Enough with the “Oo na, ako na mag - isa!” and stick to Walang Forever’s famous line: “Kailangan mo lang hintayin ang tamang tao sa tamang panahon, sa tamang pagkakataon”. Cheer up na, girl!

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When payday comes, there’s a life-changing investment for patients with high cholesterol.

Bad cholesterol, according to recent reports cited by the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development, is becoming a major health concern in the Philippines. In fact, it stated that high levels of bad cholesterol have been responsible for thousands of cardiovascular mortality in Asia.

In a separate report, the Food Nutrition Research Institute revealed that the risk of having high cholesterol increased with age, where the study’s respondents aged 50 to 58 were found to have the highest cholesterol levels at 48 percent and those aged 20 to 29 had borderline high to high cholesterol levels.

With this, Pharex HealthCorp., the most prescribed generic brand of medicines, introduces its unique 15-day Compliance Pouch to help Filipino patients with high levels of bad cholesterol improve their adherence to their therapy.

“Complying with the medication schedule prescribed by your doctor will go a long way in preventing the worst consequences of bad cholesterol,” said Tomas Luke Marcelo Agana III, president and CEO of Pharex. “However, most patients fail to follow their medication program because of the challenges that come with costs.”

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This February, let your tongue do the travelling as TLC presents a lineup that will surely indulge your wanderlust. Couple this with some fun and drama with EVE’s fresh programs, and a month of life and love it is with TLC and EVE!

Looking for something new to tickle your taste buds? Follow six of Britain's best-loved cooks as they share their passion for exquisite food and exotic flavors. Each will travel to a different country to track the origins of the dishes they love and discover how history, geography and culture have shaped what we eat today. "A Cook Abroad" goes off the beaten track to bring viewers a sun-kissed travel experience to some of the most fascinating places on the planet, making it a mission to get under the skin of cultures very different from our own. A Cook Abroad premieres on Monday, February 22, at 8 PM on TLC.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Premier Apple reseller Power Mac Center launches Cinemansanas, a campaign for aspiring and established artists who have a vision in storytelling through film in the digital age. Cinemansanas is the second installment of Pixelworx, Power Mac Center’s advocacy of recognizing artists who break the standards of the art scene. It is celebrated with a series of workshops, live demos, and an ultimate art challenge.

This year, Cinemansanas dares artists to defy convention and create a short film using Apple devices. The digital short competition calls for short film entries with the theme “Designing for a Bold New World.” Entries may be executed in any form, i.e., documentary, narrative fiction, and the like as long as they are original and shot and edited using Apple devices.

The contest has two main categories. The Student Category is open to all officially enrolled High School and College/University students while the Professional Category is for local residents. All finalists in the Student and Professional categories will qualify to win the People’s Choice Award.

Power Mac Center aims to honor the brightest and best local talents in contemporary creativity further by participating at the Adobo Design Awards Asia (ADAA) Open/Theme category: Digital Short Film. Student entries are automatically eligible to win the much coveted ADAA recognition (Student category) while professionals will have to pay a nominal fee Php500 for their category (exclusive of 12% VAT).